What lies ahead

Greetings!!!

It felt nice to see a decent turn out at the sports field for the flag hoisting ceremony on the occasion of Republic Day. A large number of people came after the national anthem was sung and the flag was raised. They entered the Sports Complex at the time when sweets were being distributed but then let us not doubt their intentions. Let us believe their reasons and ask no further questions.Not surprisingly final year students formed a major part of this gathering. It's kinda a strange situation where in the final year students want to be part of each and every event that is being held in college. There are too many 'lasts' that we get to hear these days - 'Last year', 'last sem', 'last music nite','last Republic Day in college', 'last synapse' just too many of them...we probably need a break from this may be for a month or so. I mean to say that we all know this is the last year in college but we don't actually have to repeat it again and again every time we sit for dinner or every time we are attending an event. Okay, I am getting bit wayward right now. This blog is meant for cricket and I should stick to it for the time being.

The race for the top position at the international level have never been so interesting before. Australians have dominated rankings for decade or so with virtually no resistance (well, a little bit from India and perhaps from the Proteas as well) to their supremacy. With Australia playing a series oppositions enjoyed better stats only in the betting circles. When it came to field there was no match to Kangaroo's dominance in any department bowling, batting, fielding or even in sledging. Australians simply were the best.But now as their cricketing heroes have started saying adieu to cricket the Australians are looking more and more vulnerable. Ricky Pointing is looking more and more like former President Bush.On the other end Smith or Dhoni might emerge as Obama(s) of the world cricket. Both these men have potential to influence the results by sheer force of their captaincy.And they certainly have stats to speak on their behalf.

But statistics at times hide more than what they show you. The position of a team in rankings depends not only on the total number of matches played by that team in a calender year but also on how matches their counterparts played. For e.g. if South Africa play more number of matches than India then they certainly would have a better chance of succeeding Australians as cricketing leaders but that will only be possible if Australians fail to recover from the slump they right now are in. Australians would be touring South Africa this year and at the same time the Indians would take on Kiwis down under. Both these clashes will determine who would rule the rankings. India's tour to New Zealand will also determine Dhoni's position as a leader in
comparison to his South African counterpart Smith who has won accolades for his tactics (and his stint with his broken arm) in Australia. Another team to look forward to will be Sri Lanka. They had couple of tough matches against Bangladesh but they literally savaged Pakistan few days after that and importantly Srilankans always have been unpredictable. England are themselves to blame for their dismal performance in India and with captain coach controversy still fresh their chances to win back Ashes are still bleak. West Indies need some Harry Porter kinda a magic to come out of their graves. There is little point talking about Bangladesh. They, at times play good cricket but they are still very far from earning respect as a test playing nation. They still have to cover long distances before opposition consider them as a potential threat.With IPL,T20 world cup and Champions trophy (if at all it takes place) 2009 will belong more to the shorter versions of the game than the Test cricket.And we have seen in the past that teams that perform well at the Test level usually are hard to beat in ODIs and T20s as well. There is too much to look forward to in'09.

PS - I had a great time representing my wing in the inter wing cricket tournament. Was out on duck but took a stunner to dismiss the so called 'best batsman' of the opposition camp. Felt great. Aaah!! it was last cricket tournament in DAIICT :(

PROLOGUE: Dipen's Take

This blog is conceptualized by two ‘common’ Indians. Common though for only one reason, because they share a thing with most other Indian males…. a fascination for CRICKET (If you put ‘ers’ after cricket, you might include females as well). Being childhood friends, it was this game that carried their friendship forward through their early years. It gave them new friends to play with, new challenges to conquer on the playing field and new rivals to beat. It gave them reason to talk when they had nothing else to say. Off-field also, they became ardent followers of cricket, and competitors in their own right…. Who can devour more stats……. Who was able to watch more overs in the last match.

Life continued as such for years, until they became adolescents, when they stumbled upon a common Indian problem that accompanied growing up…..studies and career. The free evenings and mornings gradually disappeared. Friends and rivals moved away. As a matter of fact, these boys’ homes also became farther than they used to be. Limited by time and pressured by other engagements, the passion for cricket started diluting………and before they could realize it, Alas! ‘The Golden Period’ had suddenly ended.

The two gentlemen have now grown from young school toddlers to adults…… in pursuit of a dream future. The ‘players’ in them have become more or less sedentary, but the ‘follower’ genes are still active. Maybe the process of dilution will continue further…but deep down, the spark will always exist, waiting for moments to ignite into a fire.

‘The Cricket Diaries’ is the pitch where these two ordinary gentlemen will play through words, & pen down their thoughts about this ‘extra-ordinary’ game, which has been a prominent part of their lives. These thoughts will be of all kinds, from the silliest to the most esoteric….those that suddenly strike them when they think cricket!!!.......those that have accumulated over the years they have spent playing & following the game, and much more.

It will have cricket-involving incidents from their lives, their memories of the past matches, their views on the present happenings, their takes on changes in cricket, their expectations from the future…… practically everything they feel about the cricketing world that is worth writing down. It will also look at the larger picture, i.e., the impact of cricket on Indians, on Indian economy, on our international relations and on other sports, loopholes in the Indian cricket system, relations between various cricket boards, steps to be taken to popularize cricket in the west etc. etc. These posts will all be randomly organized, rollicking between different time-zones, from the distant past to the ultimate future.

Having presented the Third person view, from now on THEY will become WE, THEIRS will become OURS & THEY will become US.
The two of us, dipen007(dipen) & gravity(harshal) dedicate this DIARY to all cricket fanatics, especially fellow ‘common’ INDIANS.

TO THE BLUE BILLION..................…..CHEERS

“India doesn’t need cricket as much as cricket needs India.”

For now, the weather is bright and clear!!!

PROLOGUE: Harshal's Take

The cricket diaries is started by two individuals who have grown loving the wonderful game called 'Cricket'. Cricket, the game that has brought smiles to their faces on innumerable occasions along with an occasional tear in their eyes. Cricket, the game that motivated them to finish their homework early or at times to leave it incomplete. The game that miraculously made scorching summers worth waiting for and the game that made them curse winters for its early fading light. The game that made them feel proud as Indians and the game that burdened them with a sense of disdain every time their team did not do well.

With time their passion for the game started falling. The reasons..well we will take it on some other day. For now they are back in the cricketing world. Hope you enjoy their company.