January 19, 2008

Towards winning

Cricket: I write this just as a sixth Australian wicket has fallen -- Gilchrist. I don't know yet if India will win this terrific Test match, but it looks like they will. I certainly hope they do.

And if they do, I'll feel like the team responded to the Sydney mess in the best way possible: play hard and win.

No peculiar wriggles, no whining, no burning effigies and threatening to pull out of a tour and going on about national honour.

Just play hard and win. Honour, right there.

And a seventh wicket! On the doorstep.

***

And they're through that door!

3 comments:

asuph said...

Amen :)
Yes, it's a best response for sure. But till day before, I was sceptical about the capacity of this team to deliver it. hats off!

-asuph

Anonymous said...

I congratulate the Indian team on their well-deserved win. couple of points though:

- IMO, what happened at SCG is not "undone" by this victory any more than it would have been accentuated by a defeat at Perth.

- I am concerned at the lack of momentum to build in structures and mechanisms in cricket rules & governing bodies to prevent repetitions of what happened at SCG. Are we just waiting for the next flap?

* Vivek has a point abt mandatory retirement ages for umpires.
* Regardless of age, there should be fitness and eyesight tests.
* Tech should be used wherever possible to aid the umpires, I think most of them would welcome it rather than bear the burden of their errors sending a WorldCup or something the wrong way. Bucknor shouldnt have the option of ignoring and refusing this tech help.

- Lastly, whatever we achieved w.r.t Bucknor and Harbhajan didnt come about by sitting quitely and taking it on the other cheek.

Thanks,
Jai

OT 'insight': It has occurred to me that your blogging in general may follow the rules you have abt gamesmanship and playing the game hard.

You pitch your case hard and well. Its not your job to play up points in favour of the opposing 'team'- that's theirs.

We the readers are in umpiring roles and are expected to be alert to hard-playing and possibly gamesman moments and take our measured verdicts.

No guilt attaches to either team for hard-play and umpiring 'errors' if any are the umpire's responsibility.

A fair set of rules. Not one that I would subscribe to entirely ( I have this hangup: a reasonable guy arguing the exact opposite of my point should find me fair) but okay.

Anonymous said...

"whatever we achieved w.r.t Bucknor and Harbhajan"

What did we achieve about Harbhajan? He is now going to tell in his appeal that he didn't say "monkey", but "maa ki". You call this an achievement??