The Duniyah Cricket Blog

Over the course of a long career, Sourav Ganguly has amassed more detractors than fans but even they would not accuse the Prince of Kolkata of lacking spunk. Ganguly burst into the international scene as a 24 year old, with a 100 in his debut match at Lords. That knock provided us with a first glimpse of the fighter he was. Ganguly was never as talented as Sachin or as technically equipped as Dravid. Left handed batsmen are known for their natural elegance and though Ganguly personified that word when stroking the ball on the off side, his leg side play had the awkwardness of a naturally right handed person batting left-handed. A Test average of just above fourty two might suggests that he underachieved. In fact he achieved exactly what a person of his ability could achieve and maybe a tad more. His style of play was more suited for ODIs anyway.

Ganguly was always a fighter. When he emerged onto the scenes, Indian cricket was mostly associated with one Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The match fixing scandal and the subsequent sacking of Azhar and Jadeja gave him a chance to emerge as a prominent member of the Indian squad eclispising the introverted Dravid who was also making a name for himself through his batting. Within 4 years of his joining the Indian team, Ganguly had established himself so well that after Sachin resigned following his disastrous captaincy stint, he was the automatic choice for captain, over senior members like Kumble. Ganguly’s stint as captain marked the coming of age of India as a team. For the first time Indians were being known for giving as good as they got. Not always politically correct and with an uncanny knack of ruffling feathers and rubbing people the wrong way wherever he went, Ganguly nevertheless helped the Indian team achieve some of its potential with a 2nd spot in the World Cup being the high point of his captaincy. He was a reliable middle order batsman in Tests. In ODIs, along with Sachin, he became one half of one of the most successful opening pairs ever.

Ganguly’s loss of form coincided with Chappel’s coaching stint and a media hungry nation made the most of it. Taking turns to crucify first Ganguly and then Chappel equally, the media fought the battle from both sides. Rumours spread, e-mails were leaked and players and officials interacted mostly through the media. Something had to give and the new selectors decided to side with the new coach instead of a tried and tested captain and Ganguly was sacked as captain. His in-different form didnt help the matter either and soon he was struggling for a place in the team. Most players would have given up then. Not Ganguly. His subsequent come back in the team is an example for any struggling player.

But he had been tainted once and it did not rub away easily. His commitment was constantly questioned, his form forever under the scanner. Of all the senior members in the team, his place was the least granted. Every series he played, he was on tenterhooks. Only his constant performances kept him in the team for so long. But there’s only so long you can prove something to people. With years of playing behind you, you feel you deserve some sort of security and respect. Being dropped and re-picked time and time again while others maintained their spots despite similar form began to rankle. Not being picked for the rest of India side was the last straw.

You see, he finally understood that it was not a question of showing that he still had it in him to score a century. That was for the world to see. He understood that he would forever be on trial no matter what he did. So he chose to go on his own terms, one of the best descisions he ever made. One last century and a couple of good scores in this tournament will remind everyone of his class. The royal Bengal tiger roared for one last time. Unfortunately, in his last test he missed a century and his last innings was a first ball duck but as he walked the last walk to the dressing room, the Prince had every reason to hold his head high.

So much has been written about in the past several months with regards to the decision made by our cricketers to honour their lucrative IPL contracts rather than playing for their Country in the hastily arranged tour of England next year which co-insides with the second season of the IPL.

Most of us Lankans here at Duniyah rather unanimously backed the stance of our players as all of us were and are well and truly aware of the way Mr. Ranatunga operates and we also believed that Ranatunga not once but twice (even last season) attempted to sabotage our players chances of participating in the IPL.

Leaving the above alone for a moment I am keen to look at the above issue from a different perspective. Being contracted players of the SLC it is my understanding that the contracted players of the SLC should be available for national duty as and when required by SLC to represent their Country. This is also why when our players signed to play for Counties their participation was possible only when Sri Lanka was not involved in any international cricket.

Let us for example take the case of Sanath Jayasuriya who signed with the Warwickshire Bears, reportedly for nearly 1 million US$ to represent them in the English 20/20 tournament earlier this year. At the time Sanath signed his lucrative contract with the Bears he was dropped from the national team and was not expected to be a part of the Sri Lankan side to defend the Asia Cup in June. However, due to his rich run of form for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, he was eventually picked to play for Sri Lanka and was unable to fulfil his lucrative contract with Warwickshire.

A similar situation was faced by the Sri Lankan Captain Mahela Jayawardena who signed to play for Derbyshire last season as there was a window between the end of the IPL’s first season and the Indian tour to Sri Lanka in July where Sri Lanka was not involved in any international cricket. However, all of a sudden the Asia Cup was re-scheduled for June and Jayawardena had no choice but to forgo his contract with Derbyshire.

Both Jayawardena and Jayasuriya put the Country before their lucrative county contracts because it clearly states in their central contracts that they should be available to play for their Country at all times unless otherwise they have been excused by the SLC in advance with a ‘no objection’ letter. Coming back to the issue concerning the SL tour of England which is clashing next year with the second season of the IPL, it has now emerged that the SLC provided ‘no objection’ letters to the various players under contract with IPL franchises only for the first season of the IPL and not for the first three seasons.

So were the Sri Lankan cricketers right to opt to play in the IPL as opposed to tour England representing their Country? Can we (especially the Lankan posters) leave our biases aside for a moment and genuinely ask ourselves as to whether Rantunga was wrong to organize that England tour next year? Where does it say that the Sri Lankan cricket board has to consult it’s players before organizing a tour or a series?

Given the above I personally feel that firstly Ranatunga was indeed wrong to organize the tour without even consulting his board. In my opinion he does not have to consult the cricketers as they are centrally contracted to SLC and it’s their job to play for their Country as and when they are required to do so. Last but not least having followed this saga closely over the last several months and of course leaving aside my utter dislike for Rantunga I have to confess (as much as it hurts) that the Sri Lankan players in my opinion were wrong to opt for the IPL over playing for their Country.

Your views?

Danny Guthrie’s tackle against Hull said it all - volatile, desperate, mindless.  The past few weeks at Newcastle have been nothing short of farcical and the mood was summed up beautifully by a Geordie woman being interviewed by the BBC: “Mike Ashley has ruined my life!“  In Mike Ashley’s emotional statement he concluded “I am now a dad who can’t take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted. Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United.” Yes it would appear the global economic crisis has managed to totally elude the city of Newcastle.

In the madness of it all, there are a few very important facts to remember about Newcastle United.  This is a club that has failed to win a single trophy since 1955.  This club is the only major football club in Tyneside which forms the sixth most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom.  This club regularly comes in the top 3 of the highest Premier League average attendances for the season.  The hard facts show that Newcastle United has a passionate fan base but no success.  Add to that the statistic of 5 managers in 5 years and ponder whether to substitute the word, passionate, with desperate.

Then take Kevin Keegan, the man known as The Geordie Messiah.  The man who got closer than any other Newcastle manager in the last 50 years to winning the Premier League.  Add to that unrivaled passion and occassional hatred of Manchester United and you have the reason why he is so revered in the North East.  Cue scenes of mass jubilation when the Messiah returned from the footballing wilderness last season to manage Newcastle one more time.

Up to this point the situation seems fairly normal.  Failing organisation to be saved by the people’s hero.  Unfortunately for the Toon Army, football’s recent scripts seem to be more soap-opera than Spielberg.  Football in this era relies on strong owners and ruthless businessmen as much as it does on football management.  When Mike Ashley stood in the stands with the Toon Army drinking beer with them, did anyone really believe he was one of them?  When he appointed Dennis Wise as ‘Executive Director’ did anyone really trust either of them?  Even more importantly, did Kevin Keegan trust either of them?

Newcastle’s meltdown seemed inevitable from the start to most neutrals but just like the credit crunch, it seems common sense has managed to pass over the city of Newcastle.  It is hard to say anyone is blameless.  Keegan confessed to having not watched any live football matches at all in the 3 previous years. Did he expect to have great spending freedom and control over transfers after that comment?  On the subject of the Wise versus Keegan confrontation, lets face it, Michael Owen is not worth £100,000 a week, Jonas Gutierrez looks a decent signing and football will be better without Joey Barton.  Also the selling of James Milner was ridiculous especially if it was done behing Keegan’s back. When you look at the lack of structure and organisation at board level, it is no surprise the same lack of structure and organisation can be seen in Newcastle’s defence.

Judging from Mike Ashley’s statement it seems he feels he is the victim of this mess.  Yes some credit should go to him for his effort to clear the club’s debts.  However to think he could support Dennis Wise over Kevin Keegan and not expect any protests proves he is as deluded as the most drunk Geordies themselves.

Newcastle does not need a Geordie Messiah.  What it needs is stability, intelligent spending and most importantly patience.  If the Toon Army continue to lack perspective, the club’s title drought may even continue for the next 50 years.  The volatility of their behaviour makes them difficult to invest in, especially since the club is already in debt.  The players need to get on with doing their job.  Finally the new owners need to be rich and patient, giving the new manager control of all footballing decisions.  It does not take a rocket scientist to see that in the last 2 decades the best 2 Newcastle managers (Robson and Keegan) are the ones who were given the most time.  If the new owners repeat the same mistakes it will only be a short time before Alan Shearer is hailed the new Geordie Messiah.

The setting was the eleventh hour of Transfer Deadline Day.  The rumours flew around with the usual names mentioned.  News filtered in that Manchester United had finally managed to snatch Dimitar Berbatov away from Spurs. The status quo had been preserved. Another season of Big 4 dominance was on the horizon …… and then in one split second the footballing world was turned upside down.  Robinho was heading to Manchester City. Yes, City. TV companies checked to confirm no typo had been made, fans started texting their friends and the Robinho shirts in West London remained in their boxes. For many fans only when photos appeared of Robinho with Mark Hughes did the reality begin to sink in - Chelsea had been outbid.

Now that the hysteria of the moment and the week that followed has died down, it’s time to analyse the situation.  Will City be able to win the Premiership this season? No. Is Robinho the best player in England? No. Are the administrators in Liverpool and North London worried? Slightly. And that is why many experts believe this moment is so momentous. Finally the stranglehold of the big clubs over English football has been loosened. Chelsea are now unable to sign players as they wish.  In several years we are bound to see Manchester City in the Champions League (meaning 1 of the big 4 will not be). But are these developments just covering up the problem of vast inequality in football?

Consider this: are the big 4 wary of Manchester City or are they wary of Manchester City’s owners? Contrast Chelsea now to the Blues when Ranieri took over (heavily in debt, no spending). The truth is money dominates football. Only in rare occassions in this decade have teams been successful without spending vast sums of money. Manchester United spent more than Chelsea in the last 2 years and won the league, just as Chelsea won the league when they outspent United. Most Arsenal fans believe their team have no hope of winning the Premier League until Arsene Wenger raises his spending significantly. Without Roman Abramovich’s billions Chelsea’s recent success would not have happened and the likes of Terry and Lampard would probably be playing for Manchester United or Liverpool.  What has happened in the ‘Blue half of Manchester’ is more likely to represent the Big 4 becoming the Big 5 rather than a big shake up in football.

Also consider my suggestion that if instead of what did happen, Robinho had signed for Portsmouth, a team built from scratch by Harry Redknapp and one that has truly earned their success. The truth is this suggestion sounds like a complete fairytale. The turn around at Manchester City was at least somewhat believeable. After billionaire investment big spending was bound to happen (although no one expected in within 24 hours). There is no doubt that money breeds success but the important question is does success breed success? Harry Rednapp wheeled and dealed in the transfer market while his team produced their best last season - The FA Cup success was truly earned. But already Sulley Ali Muntari has been sold to Inter Milan, another sign that when the small fish grow a little bit, they get eaten up by the sharks. Combine this with Carling Cup Winners, Spurs, selling their best player to Manchester United and it is hard to see how an average team can make their way to the top without a billionaire.

Another interesting comparison to make is between Aston Villa and Everton.  Since billionaire investment from Randy Lerner, Villa have gone from the bottom half of the Premier League to be challenging for European places.  Meanwhile Everton have been knocking on the door of the big 4 for the last few years without being able to break in. Like Redknapp at Portsmouth, David Moyes at Everton has done his best to build a strong team and he has succeeded. However most experts will tell you Everton do not have the X Factor to break into the Big 4. In fact they did. His name was Wayne Rooney and he was sold to Manchester United at the age of 18. It is no wonder Everton’s chairman (only a millionaire) is doing his best to sell the club to the billionaire. Few experts will be surprised if Aston Villa overtake Everton this season.

When you combine the above examples with the events at Newcastle and West Ham, the message becomes even clearer. (Both Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley left their managerial posts after transfer disputes where both were disgusted over the selling of players). To win you need to spend big and to spend big you need a billionaire. Therefore Manchester City’s riches will benefit themselves and not football. However if we look forward there is a possibility of having more than half the Premier League owned by billionaires in the forseeable future. That automatically means some billionaires will not be able to buy success. Then will they concentrate on buying Spanish or Italian clubs? Or will the current ones get bored and move on? The long term future of English football is impossible to predict. In the short term all clubs can really do is find a billionaire and hope he gives the manager control over transfers and full support. Those 2 things will be very difficult to come by. Billionaires, by definition, have power. Mangers, by defnition, need power. Football has its own collision experiment.

Michael Atherton recently said the Champions Trophy in Pakistan ‘was called off because the players didn’t fancy going.’  Ironically at the same time it seems these same players have made up their minds to compete for Olympic glory in 2020.  Comments praising the Olympics and the credibility of Twenty20 cricket as a sport have been coming from all over the cricketing world with Ricky Ponting saying Olympic cricket is ‘inevitable.’  However cricket’s authorities need to consider whether these plans will do anything for the game.

Those who advocate cricket’s entry to the Olympics have stated it will provide a global stage for cricket to show itself with several references to the potential in China.  Kumar Sangakkara has stated the Olympics represent ‘the final step for a sport to be recognised globally.’  The dream of taking cricket to the world seems high on the agenda.  Although the Olympics are a major sporting and global event I seriously doubt they represent a free ticket to cricket’s development around the world.  Sports like handball have been at the Olympics for over 30 years - this sport is dominated by European nations, yet you don’t see Indians and Chinese desperate to play just because it is in the Olympics.  Clearly the mere presence of cricket at an Olympics will not transform the game.

So the next question should be: what does cricket specifically need to do at the Olympics to attract new nations?   The answer will be difficult to digest for many supporters of the cause.  Look at the sports that generally receive most press coverage at the Olympics regardless of whether your country’s home athletes are involved: athletics, swimming, gymnastics.  One of the main reasons is that everyone associated with those sports considers the Olympics to be the pinnacle of achievement.  All cricketers themselves do not believe Twenty20 surpasses Test cricket.  Even those who love the limited overs game will tell you the pinnacle of that is the World Cup.

Now look at 2 sports that fill the headlines when the Olympics are not on: football and tennis.  These 2 sports are even part of the Olympics, yet receive insignificant coverage during those 2 weeks. Why is that? It’s because the Olympics do not represent the pinnacle of those sports.  Olympic football gets overshadowed by transfer news in Europe, never mind the Premier League and La Liga.  This year Andy Roddick pulled out of the Olympics to focus on the US Open.  Four years ago Nicolas Massu (who?) won the men’s singles gold medal.  No wonder the global audience doesn’t care about these sports at the Olympics; and the same fate awaits cricket unless you live in a major cricket nation, which defeats the point of cricket at the Olympics itself.

Another startling reality to the likes of Ponting is this: the Olympics generally do not like bat-and-ball sports.  Baseball and softball are off the calender for London 2012 and no one seriously believes these sports managed to broaden their global audience.  You might say cricket is greater than baseball but what will the untrained eye see?

So you might be wondering why I’m being so negative.  There are 2 reasons, both stemming from hypocracy in the game. One year ago players were moaning about overcrowded schedules …. then the IPL came.  Recently we have seen one player choose to opt out of a Test series to rest and prepare for an ODI series.  But can we really blame him when the priority of his employer is T20 over Tests?  T20 overkill will not be good for the game in the long run.  We will end up with half empty stadiums just like the overkill of Ind-Pak games affected the Asia Cup.

My second complaint is the way cricket is run around the world.  The same people advocating taking cricket to the Olympics happen to be simultaneously killing cricket in Pakistan.  The level of self interest shown by several different countries in the Zimbabwe situation is disgraceful.  Further mismanagement by administrators has led to severe decline in West Indies cricket.  It is nothing less than a joke that people who cannot organise a tournament for 8 teams want cricket to be played all over the world.

Then finally there is the question: why are people so desperate for cricket in China?  It’s because they see another cash cow.  The logic is If India with its 1 billion population produced IPL millionaires, how much more money will China produce?  My answer may be cynical but trust has to be earnt.  There is more passion for cricket in places like Afghanistan, Nepal, Kenya and Ireland than in China.  Surely these countries deserve investment first.  To sum up, anyone who has followed cricket in the last few years knows it has been run shambolically.  Therefore before cricket can expand it has to stabilise its base even if that means no Olympics.

Seldom does one experience great pleasure and joy at being proved wrong and I happen to be one to experience such a feeling as Sri Lanka wrapped up an impressive series win over the Indians in the 3rd Test played at the P. Sara Stadium on the 11th. As those of you who read my previous blog are aware I questioned in no uncertain terms the character of our Captain and the players in the aftermath of our 2nd Test defeat at Galle and was sceptical about our chances to make a comeback in the 3rd and final test and win the series. I was proved wrong and hats off to Mahela Jayawardena and the boys for pulling off a sensational series win over the Indians.

With all the talk of late being about 20/20 cricket and it’s potential impact on Test Cricket, the Sri Lanka vs. India Test series was just what Test cricket needed and showed that the game’s ultimate format can be just as exciting and enthralling as the game’s shortest format.

“Cometh the hour cometh the man”

The year 2008 thus far had been a quite one for our premier Test batsman Kumar Sangakkara. However, with the series against India on the line and his team under immense pressure the entire nation was counting on Kumar Sangakkara to come up with yet another match winning hundred under excruciating circumstances and he did exactly that and did so with great character and determination that we often see from him. He was a picture of concentration and it was an incredible Test innings of the highest class and personified to the letter why he is without a shadow of doubt the best Test batsman in the game today.

I have always regarded Kumar Sangakkara as an out and out batting match winner for us in Test cricket and the fact that 13 of his 17 Test match hundreds have been match winning efforts for us very clearly illustrates this point. Sangakkara has always set very high standards and his rather pensive celebrations upon reaching his hundred showed what that innings meant to him.

Why? Where? How?

In the days ahead a lot will be written about as to how and why this series was won by Sri Lanka. In my opinion it’s pretty simple; in the batting department our FAB 2 out batted India’s FAB 4 and in the bowling department Ajantha Mendis on his own had more wickets than the combined tally of India’s spin twins. Last but not least Sri Lanka’s fielding was miles ahead of India’s shoddy display. When one takes all of this into account the 2-1 result in favour of Sri Lanka should not come as a surprise to anyone. It could have in all likelihood been 3-0 for Sri Lanka had it not been for a mercurial innings from Sehwag and some poor cricket from our boys in Galle. What I am sure would be most disappointing for the Indians would be the fact that the wicket at P. Sara unlike the SSC or Galle had no demons in it and just required from their batters the application and discipline to be patient and play a Sangakkara type old fashion Test match innings. Dravid for a moment or two gave the impression that he was getting set to do exactly that before Mendis got him for the fourth time in the series. In his defence I must say that Dravid gave it everything and kudos to him for getting India out of the troublesome situation they were in towards the end of day three. When the series began the great Sachin Tendulkar was just 170 odd runs short of surpassing Brian Lara to become the highest scorer in Test match cricket and the fact that the Sri Lankan bowlers managed to keep him down to a mere 95 runs in 6 innings was indeed a phenomenal achievement. Even as a Sri Lankan a part of me wanted Tendulkar to break that record in Sri Lanka as long as we won the series.

Sachin Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsmen in the game of all time and the likes of Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman are all class acts who I am sure will be back to their respective best by the time the Australians arrive in India in about six weeks or so. I some how feel that Ganguly might have played his last Test match for India as he looked the most vulnerable amongst the fab four and add to that his below par efforts on the field, it might not come as a surprise if he is omitted for the Aussie series. If I was an Indian selector I would not change the Test team that toured Sri Lanka and would go with the same combination against the Australians with of course the obvious addition of Dhoni, provided of course the Indian one day Captain is not in the mood for another trip to the spa?
Ajantha Mendis

When Sri Lanka set off to Pakistan in June to defend the Asia Cup I feared for Mendis as he was going to be bowling to some of the most destructive one day batsman in world cricket who also happen to be excellent players of spin bowling. He took the challenge on and bowled Sri Lanka to a memorable victory over the Indians in the final.

When the Indian Test team arrived in Colombo for a 3 Test series on the 15th of June, once again I feared for Ajantha Mendis as he had the enormous task of bowling to the best players of spin in World Cricket, a star studded Indian line up which included their famous FAB FOUR! I still can’t believe that Mendis picked up a world record 26 wickets on debut and once again spun Sri Lanka to a hard fought win over the Indians a few days ago.

The above achievements have made Mendis the headline act in World Cricket. What I have found most impressive about Mendis is the fact that he maintains tight lines despite bowling with a plethora of variety. This together with a strong mind that he seems to possess indicates that Mendis is likely to taste many such victories in the years ahead as well. He has become the most sought after poster boy of Sri Lankan cricket with a host of local companies signing him on as their brand ambassador. I am pleased for him and hope that his new found and richly deserved fame and fortune will help him and his family a great deal. In the midst of all of this hype, hoopla and financial rewards I sincerely hope that Mendis is able to keep his feet firmly on the ground and continue to work hard on his game and become the great bowler that he has promised he can become in his short career thus far. Captain Jayawardena, Vice-Captain Sangakkara and the entire Sri Lankan team management must see to it that this happens.

The Review System

So much was and has been and continues to be written about the review system particularly by the Indian media. In my opinion the review system is a great and long over due addition to the game of cricket and I am glad that it finally arrived during the SL vs. IND series and I hope that it stays. Had the review system been in place during the IND vs. AUS series in Australia a few months ago, India would have quite easily become the first team in many, many years to have defeated Australia at home. Sure, some modifications and fine tuning is required but there is no question about the fact that the review system must be a part of the game.

My concerns about Team Sri Lanka remain

Despite a tremendous come back victory at the P. Sara stadium to win the Test series especially after the Galle debacle, I am still concerned about certain aspects of Sri Lankan cricket.

If we are to win consistently and more importantly if we are to become a team that can win overseas consistently, we need to start addressing the problem areas of our cricket. Team selections that have been ridiculously baffling and inexplicably inconsistent have to be more consistent and opportunities must be given to those who deserve it. The Sri Lankan think tank must be on the ball and make sure that they do all that they can to help improve the team. A case in point is Michael Vandort who seems to be struggling a bit at the moment. No one should be overly worried about this as Vandort is without a doubt our best Test opening batsman and I am sure he would work on his game and get back to his consistent best. This is the first series in Vandort’s career that he has gone without scoring at least a 50. He has been very consistent and solid as a rock for Sri Lanka at the top of the order and his return to form is imperative for us. Keeping this in mind the selectors should have opted to send Vandort on Sri Lanka’s ‘A’ team tour of South Africa beginning in a few weeks time. Not just Vandort I would have sent Prasanna Jayawardena on that tour as a batsman in order to work on his batting. These are the kind of things that the Sri Lankan think tank needs to do in order to make sure that our squad is in good shape. Sri Lanka does not play any Test cricket up until their tour of Bangladesh in December and in this context it would have been more than handy to send both Vandort and Prasanna Jayawardena to South Africa.

We also need to find a long term solution to that pivotal number six slot in our Test team. Beating a strong Indian side at home is no doubt another feather in the cap of Mahela Jaywardena. Despite this as most of you know I am not a big fan of his Captaincy. However, given his record both as Captain and as a batsman since he took over the leadership of the side some two years ago the chances of him being removed are very remote at least for the moment.

As I said before despite our success in the Test series I will continue to have my concerns about Team Sri Lanka and as long my team continues to prove me wrong, I will continue to derive great pleasure from the thrill of being proved wrong!

To those of us outside China, the name, Liu Xiang, may not sound familiar but next Thursday the world’s most populous nation will stop to watch the defining moment of his career.  Every 4 years the Olympics makes and breaks thousands of athletes’ dreams and in Athens in 2004, a Chinese hero was made.  Since then Xiang has achieved much and established his legend so much so that in Beijing, he is the face of the Olympics.  However next week his legacy will be decided as a country expects and demands nothing less than gold.

Before 2004, China had never won a gold medal in a men’s athletics event. Then the (at the time) unknown Liu came along and not only won the gold in the Men’s 110m Hurdles final but also equalled the world record which had stood for over 10 years.  Subsequently he has won 6 out 7 major finals establishing a reputation for finding his best on the biggest stage.  Today his legs are valued at $13.5 million and he is one of the most popular athletes in China.  Most experts consider Xiang to be the only realistic gold medal hope for Chinese athletics leading to comparisons with Australia’s Cathy Freeman from 2000. Her advice to Liu is to consider his race as ‘just another day at the office’.  The only differences are she had never faced the hero worship of over a billion fans when she left the blocks in Sydney.

One of Xiang’s biggest hurdles (excuse the pun) will be overcoming his form, which is poor to say the least.  After winning the World Indoor Championships 5 months ago, he has struggled from a hamstring injury  and he has false started in his last 3 races.  As if beating the nerves and the pressure were not enough, Xiang faces a major challenge in the form of Cuba’s Dayron Robles who broke his world record 2 months ago.  In a similar situation to Xiang in 2004, the spotlight will be off Robles.  The carefully planned Beijing script will only give him a minor role but Robles has the speed and ability to gatecrash China’s biggest party.

For China this will be the biggest event of the Olympics even overshadowing the Men’s 100m (hyped as the closest race ever).  Ironically it also happens the result is the one thing the Chinese officials cannot control during these 2 weeks.  The State General Administration of Sport has told Liu’s coach that failure will make his entire career meaningless.  A coach of the Chinese rowing team said that the attitude from his seniors is ‘1 gold equals 1000 silvers.’  In a country where a vast number of people have all or nothing, it is the all or nothing attitude which means next Thursday Liu will either be a nobody or the King of Beijing.

I am a massive fan of Kumar Sangakkara and have followed his development as a world class batsman with great interest over the years. Like many others, I have also read with great interest and admiration the plethora of articles that Sangakkara seems to be writing these days to various publications. The following comment made by Sangakkara in his most recent opinion piece published on the cricinfo website on the eve of the Second Test between Sri Lanka and India , most certainly caught my attention.

He writes -:

“Most of the time between Tests has gone in looking after day-to-day stuff - domestic responsibilities, mainly, as well as catching up with friends and relatives after our success in Colombo ”

Given that the above comment came from Sri Lanka ’s most disciplined and hard working cricketer, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out as to what the other lesser mortals in the Sri Lankan team might have been upto in the days after their emphatic first test triumph, leading into the second Test at Galle . In this context the fact that Sri Lanka were humiliated in their so-called fortress at home by 176 runs by an Indian team that was supposedly down and out just a week ago in Colombo, does not by any means come as a surprise to me.

In cricket or in any sport or life in general for that matter, you win some and you lose some and that’s just the way it goes. From my point of view what was most displeasing was the manner in which we succumbed to the Indians more than the loss it self. From day one in Galle , there was no evidence of even an ounce of fight or desire to win by the Sri Lankan cricketers and this was most disappointing. I have always felt that most of Sri Lanka ’s Test cricket under the leadership of Mahela Jayawardena has been played with an intention of not losing rather than with an intention of winning. This is clearly evident when one considers the number of series that we have managed to draw as oppose to win in the past two years or so.

How long are we to allow this negative trend to continue??? What has happened to the ruthless nature of the way we use to play our cricket??? Kumar Sangakkara who use to be the talisman of the team and the man who spurred on the rest of his team-mates has now become quite and a virtual non-factor on the field for the Sri Lankans. Is he a bit too concerned about maintaining a good boy image on the field for reasons best known to him??? I would on any day take the old Kumar Sangakkara who played that feisty in your face brand of cricket and AVG in the mid forties over a Kumar Sangakkara of today who AVGs in the mid-fifties and has become timid and a non factor for us when it comes to on – field energy. The Sri Lankan cricketers have become nauseatingly friendly with opposing players on the field and their approach to the game is as similar to a team going in for a Sunday picnic cricket match. I am aware that the likes of the IPL has improved international player relationships drastically but my advise to our players is to save that camaraderie for after the game and while the game is on play it like professionals and play it ruthlessly and with purpose much like the Indians did in the second Test to bring Team Sri Lanka back down to earth.

The thrashing at Galle couldn’t have come at a better time as we Lankans were almost getting ready to be fooled by a freak Asia Cup final win and a surprise first Test win, both of which transpired as a result of the emergence of one man and that man being Ajantha Mendis. The humiliation that we suffered in the hands of the visiting Indians at our so-called fortress, Galle, personifies very accurately the real state of Sri Lankan cricket at the moment and the steady downward trend that it has experienced since the World Cup final in 2007. It is time for Arjuna Ranatunga and the Sri Lankan selectors to seriously sit down and take some long term decisions for the greater good of Sri Lankan cricket. For many, many years Sri Lankan cricket has been predictable and boring. Team selections have been ridiculously baffling and inexplicably inconsistent with certain players like Upul Tharanga and Jehan Mubarak constantly preferred over the likes of Thilina Kadamby, Ian Daniels and even Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura until very recently. This has to stop with immediate effect and the place of no player in the team should be taken for granted by the said players and the selectors must create a selection policy and a system that passes that particular message on to the players in no uncertain terms.

In the 10 year period beginning end of Sept 1998 to-date Sri Lanka has managed to win only one Test series away from home and that was against Pakistan in the early part of 2000. If this is not a problem then I am not sure what is? At home where we have traditionally been hard to beat, we were humbled in a one day series by none other England last October and have now been beaten by India . We were lucky to have won that Test series against England last December thanks mainly to some questionable decisions that went against England during the Kandy Test.

In my opinion the areas in our Test team that needs urgent addressing is the number six batting spot, the role of the wicket keeper and a potential new ball partner for Vassy in the absence of the big three. In order to succeed as a quality Test batsman one has to have a sound temperament and an impeccable technique, both of which are words that Tilekaratne Dilshan probably has no clue about. In this context his continuous selection to our Test team has been baffling to put it mildly. Dilshan has scored just 5 Test hundreds in a Test career spanning nearly nine years and two of those five scores of 100 or above have come against the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh . Let us for argument sake compare our number six Test batsman to batters of other teams who do occupy that pivotal spot like, Ian Bell of England, VVS Laxman of India, AB De Villiers for South Africa, Andrew Symonds of Australia or even Misba-ul-Haq for Pakistan and I think you get the picture and where I am going with this. A batsman should be selected to a Test team based on his batting merits and a bowler for his bowling merits. Fielding should never be a criterion to be drafted into a Test team for anyone. This is why I have always had a problem with the selection of Dilshan into our Test team. Thilina Kadambay or Tharanga Paranavithana or even the likes of Chamara Silva or Chamara Kapugedara in my opinion will be a way better option than Dilshan for the number six slot in our Test team.

Nuwan Kulasekara is a very typical wicket to wicket bowler at gentle pace who’s main task is to keep one end tight and get through his quota of ten overs in a one day match with minimal damage and in his defence he has done that job admirably well in the recent past in ONE DAY CRICKET. But giving him the new ball in a Test match????? Are you kidding me???? What happened to Thilina Thushara who bowled well in the WI and also gives us that much needed extra pace option and also what on earth happened to Chanaka Welagedara who made a very impressive debut against England last December ???? Nuwan Kulasekara is another classic case of inconsistent and baseless Team selections.

It goes without saying that Prasanna Jayawardena has been exemplary behind the stumps for us in the past two year period after taking the wicket keeping duties from Kumar Sangakkara. What worries me though is his batting ability or more precisely the lack of it which has clearly been evident in the said period. He AVGs around 22 with the bat (excluding his 100 against Bangladesh) in the said period and has hardly been of any use to us at number 7. How comfortable or conversely, worried should we be about this???

Last but not least the very sticky topic of Captaincy. Mahela Jayawardena’s 2 year period as Captain has neither been here nor there. One can’t exactly say he was poor nor can they give credit to him for being brilliant. Nothing illustrates this point better than the spate of drawn series that he has managed during his time at the helm of Sri Lankan cricket. His strategies have often been predictable and at times defensive. A few things that I noticed during the Galle Test -:

In the Indian first Innings, when VVS Laxman walked into bat, Mendis who had got him out on both occasions in the first Test was given just the one over and taken out of the attack only to be brought back into the attack some 11 overs later by which time VVS had shared a crucial stand of 44 with Sehwag. Predictably, Mendis dismissed Laxman almost immediately but why VVS was allowed a period of 11 overs without facing up to the one man who had bothered him the most, was quite frankly beyond me.

In the Indian 2nd innings, Mendis was introduced in only the 16th over when the score was at 77 for no loss and a lead of 114 was already on the board for India. Jayawardena persisted with the two fast bowlers (if one may call them that) despite the fact that there was nothing in it for them and nor did they have the Sharma type of pace and bounce to extract anything from the wicket either. This flawed approach of our Captain allowed the Indian openers to get plenty of easy runs.

As I write, I have just read that both Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood have resigned from their respective roles as Captain of the Test and One day team of England. They did so supposedly for the greater good of English cricket and their own individual games.

I would have a better chance of going to the moon than expecting a cricketer from our part of the world to do as the above. But the time has come for those who care about and love Sri Lankan cricket to make some tough decisions. This is by no means a knee-jerk reaction to the Test defeat at Galle . As I said before Sri Lankan cricket has been in decline for sometime now and the final of the Asia Cup and the Test win at SSC last week may have enabled us to forget that for the time being but reality has made a timely return and in my opinion it would be a good move to appoint Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lanka’s Captain and build a team around him sans the likes of Dilshan and so on that will take Sri Lanka cricket to the next level.

Coming back to the Test series and looking ahead to the third and final Test at the P. Sara Stadium, it scares me to think that India’s brilliant come back win at Galle had little or no contributions from their world class BIG FOUR, in Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman. One would be ill-advised to believe that an entire series will pass by without these guys getting involved and if and when that happens at the P. Sara stadium, there is little doubt that we will be dead and buried in no time. Either way one thing that is for sure is that Kumar Sangakkara and the rest of the Sri Lankan cricketers will have more important things to do than visiting relatives and friends or watching the F1 or other sporting events on the Telly in the days ahead.

It was the great Martin Luther King jr who once said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”

Almost in line with the above the last few days or so has seen some tough cricketers prove their mantle against all odds. England ’s Paul Collingwood scored a brilliant hundred under pressure with his Test career on the line and almost immediately South Africa ’s inspirational Captain Graham Smith scored a magnificent century to guide his team to a famous series win over England . Sri Lanka has been humiliated by a brilliant Indian team making a perfect come back after their big loss at the SSC. Does Mahela Jayawardena and his players have what it takes it to make a strong come back at the P. Sara stadium and win the series against the Indians? Smart money would say HELL NO!

Some of you on the Duniyah Forum have requested and are waiting for this updated guide to Vegas..so here it is.
Hotel prices can vary from day to day in Vegas, depending on demand. Off-season they will of course be cheaper but more importantly, there is the chance you could be upgraded if you are sweet enough at the desk. When I went we got upgraded from a regular room at the Venetian to a ‘Renaissance’ Suite - over 2,000 sq. feet of lounge area, walk-in shower, jacuzzi and of course bedroom Huge plasma screen too.

Stay in a hotel on the strip. This is very important or you will be walking for miles (the scale of ‘central’ Las Vegas is huge) or sitting in cabs stuck in traffic. It will take you half an hour to get anywhere even if you are staying just off the strip. The better hotels or more reputed ones at least are The Venetian (but I would stay in the new wing - the older of the two wings is a bit dated now) or its sister hotel, Palazzo which is right next door. You also have the Wynn which is more upmarket but very nice - of course you will pay for it. If you want a hotel with more young people, stay at Hard Rock - but this is off the Strip so bear this in mind.
If you want budget in the middle of the strip, try Harrah’s, Flamingo’s, Bally but, unless you are a student or really on a budget, I’d advise going for the big and best ones. You can often get deals if you look in the right places or dependent upon season and time of week (earlier in week is cheaper than Thurs-Sun)
On the topic of taxis , always tip the cabbies. It’s expected (as anywhere in the States) but these guys will give you a tough time if you don’t. On a $10 dollar fare, a couple of dollars would be fine.

The main Strip is about 3 miles long. The central part is around Caesar’s Palace, Bellagio etc. so stay here ideally. The Venetian is a bit further down but well worth considering. The service and opulence of this hotel makes it one of Vegas’ best (although I did notice from my latest visit, that its standards of service have fallen). Bellagio has the name but it probably isn’t as amazing as you would expect plust the crowd is more middle-aged couples - as the prices would frighten off the young crowd.

Allow time in Vegas to look around the hotels. This can take a couple of days in itself! They are huge. My favourite is the Venetian’s lobby. Bellagio and Caesar’s are grand too. It’s all free to walk around. The shops in the Wynn are really top end including Graff diamonds, Cartier, Dior, the second biggest Rolex store in the country (biggest one is in the ‘Forum Shops’ at Caesar’s) and plenty of others. This is where the high rollers shop! The shopping centre in Palazzo is top class as well including beautiful watch shops for those of you who are into them . Have a look around the casinos even if you don’t gamble. They are massive.
The Venetian and Caesar’s have beautiful indoor shopping malls with designer boutiques and pseudo-skys which vary with the outside light. Pretty cool. The Venetian also has indoor gondola rides if you like that sorta thing.

You must take in at least one show. Cirque du Soleil is a fantastic circus/show that are well worth seeing. They’re not cheap ($50+) but you need to see one. Treasure Island , Bellagio (”O” - done on water) and one or two other hotels have shows every night. On my last visit, we saw ‘Le Réve’ (The Dream) at The Wynn which is a show done on water where all the seats are less than 40 feet from the action. This is written by the same guy who wrote the Circ du Soleil shows at Treasure Island (Mystére), Bellagio (O), New York New York (Zumanity) which are all MGM-owned hotels - hence that’s why they can’t call this one at The Wynn Circ du Soleil -it’s not part of the group. Very chic show - ideal to see with your partner but catch it anyway. Prices are around $100 with top prices being nearer $150. Get seats about 4 rows back - perfect.

If you want to fly to the Grand Canyon from Vegas, helicopter rides can be booked from the many small operators at the top of the strip (Stratosphere end). If you want to hire a car and drive, it will take 3-4 hours to get there. This route also takes in the Hoover Dam on route. Do an overnight stay so you can catch sunset and sunrise there. While you’re there, you must take a helicopter ride over the Canyon. About a hundred dollars , a once in a lifetime experience. Must-do.

If you are feeling really flush, catch one of the live concerts by names such as Elton John, Celine Dion etc. (although I know Celine Dion does not perform there anymore, not sure about Elton John). Might have to book way in advance though even though ticket prices are in the hundreds of dollars.

MGM Grand has fully grown lions kept in a glass ‘cage’. There are glass tunnels where you can observe them at close hand. There’s also some nutter there who seems to taunt/play with the lions and they haven’t killed him yet.

Go to the Stratosphere (one of the older hotels at the top of the strip) and go on the rides. If you like scary rides, you’ll love the 3 they have there, that dangle you off the top of a tall tower. Not for the feint-hearted.

For Nightclubs, many of the hotels have their own. The better ones are Pure (Caesar’ Palace) - a great place with high celings, white drapes and a terrace that overlooks the strip. Full of hot young things strutting their stuff.
The Palms has a good one (Rain I think) . Bellagio has ‘The Bank’ which is supposed to be good on Sundays.
The ones I have experience of are:
Fridays - LAX at Luxor . Pretty good…pretty packed.
Tao (Venetian) on Saturdays - awesome. Absolutely huge place - a restaurant earlier in the evening , then a bar , club and ‘beach’ terrace in the evening. If you get a table (minimum 2 bottle spend - $300 each), then you will get a table in the open air ‘Tao Beach’ upstairs.
Sundays (during the day, 11am - 7ish) - Re-hab at Hard Rock. Crazy beach party, you’ve never seen anything like it -it’s a must-do. Can go to Body English afterwards which is the resident club. Good young crowd at this hotel as I said earlier.
Mondays - at Jet, inside the Mirage. Jumping club on Monday nights..and totally packed. Slip the bouncer $50 a piece via the touts who will meet you at the entrance andt take you to the front of the queue. (it doesn’t come any cheaper, trust me) - either that, or queue for 2 hours and pay almost the same in entrance anyway. I know which one I’d choose.

Tryst at Wynn - one of the newest clubs on the Strip - incredibly elegant and beautiful with a view of a waterfall in the middle - the grandest club I’ve ever been to. Get a table (it’s mostly tables) and try and avoid Sundays where the crowd seemed a bit older. Friday would be better.

Food - well there is so much choice and just so much food. The Venetian alone has about 25 restaurants with everything from fine dining to noodle bars. The Cut was recommended to us as a good steak restaurant but have to book weeks in advance. Basically there is so much choice everywhere, you won’t go hungry and you won’t have any problems finding what you want (not sure about Indian food though :-S)

Try the buffets. These are truly mindboggling operations where they serve breakfast , lunch and dinner all day in huge dining halls - think big Indian wedding catering 24/7 - quite incredible. A few of the hotels run them (Luxor, Bellagio) of which I’ve tried The Wynn’s buffet - not bad but not as good as ‘Cravings’ at Mirage. Better food (surprising as The Wynn is a top hotel) and better value for money too. Do not miss Cravings. Lunch is $20, dinner is around $30. Every kind of food in any kind of quantities. Must-do.

And that is that…….as far as I can remember. Enjoy..and do tell us about your trips if you do go.

When Virender Sehwag’s IPL Franchise decided to name themselves the Delhi Daredevils, they could not have chosen a more appropriate description of their captain.  Sehwag’s swashbuckling style has made him both a hero and a zero in his career and has infuriated opponents and teammates alike.  One week ago Geoffrey Boycott described him as talented but brainless after a reckless dismissal but a magnificent 201* won Sehwag the Man of the Match award in the subsequent Test.  This type of contradiction has been always been a part of Viru’s career but he is looking to become more consistent as he is now the 2nd top run scorer in Test cricket in 2008.

Coming from a humble background in the outskirts of Delhi, Sehwag and his mother recognised at a young age that whatever he lacked in academic talent he made up for in cricketing ability.  Instead of following his father into the family business, he developed his batting style on the streets of Najafgarh and consciously attempted to bat like Sachin Tendulkar.  It is the uncomplexity of Sehwag’s style that has made neutrals say that he is “great to watch” with Sehwag himself saying “If the ball is there for hitting then I hit it. That’s it, nothing else.” He made his big breakthrough for India in 2001 where he scored his first ODI Century against New Zealand and his first Test century against South Africa (on debut) overshadowing the bigger names in the Indian line-up.  From this point, Viru has retained the trademark clean-hitting, free-swinging approach as well as a lack of footwork.

After being promoted up the order, Sehwag has become one of the best Indian openers ever averaging over 50 in Test match cricket.  He has also become famous for scoring big centuries with the last 10 of his centuries all being over 150.  These innings are characterised by the ‘zone’ that he can get himself into where he is seeing the ball big and is able to fearlessly hammer the ball wherever he pleases without conceding any chances.  Sehwag has scored hundreds all over the world including in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand so the accusation by some critics that he is a flat track bully cannot be valid.  In one instance this year Sehwag scored 319 against South Africa including over 250 in a single day and over 100 in one session.  The magnificent strokeplay means his innings in Test cricket are often more entertaining than many others batting in ODIs and even T20.

Video: Triple Century against SA

All this begs the question: Why is it that when most experts talk of greatness in the Indian batting line-up they rarely mention Sehwag’s name?  Viru’s average is nearly 10 runs more than Sourav Ganguly, he has scored more hundreds than VVS Laxman and his strike rate overshadows nearly every batsman in world cricket …. yet Viru was saddened to find no county even offered to sign him during 2007.  Some of it has to do with the age gap that separates him from those in India’s middle order - Sehwag has been thought of as a careless protege for much of his career while the likes of Laxman seem to carry an air of sophistication.  There is also the notion that due to the extravagant approach, Sehwag’s shots must carry risk and his technical flaws ensure he requires luck to succeed.  Surely though it is naive to say someone who averages over 50 in Test cricket is lucky?  Another reason for his lack of recognition is the myth that Sehwag is inconsistent.  That statement is only true when completed with in ODIs. In Test cricket, Sehwag averages one century every 4 matches and in his worst run of form ever, he went 5 matches without a 50.  By comparison, Sachin Tendulkar has once gone 8 matches without a 50.

However it would be wrong to say every criticism of Sehwag is a myth - he does have his failings like everyone else.  Firstly there are modes of dismissal.  It is the great number of soft dismissals caused by a lack of patience to score at a strike rate of 100 rather than 150 which has brought about the valid criticisms of inconsistency in ODIs.  Therefore it is no wonder that the likes of Sunil Gavaskar have questioned Sehwag’s attitude.  There are also times when bowlers manage to expose Sehwag’s technical flaws with Mohammad Asif being the famous example.  Finally there is also the fact that Sehwag is not yet 30 even though his hair growth would indicate otherwise.  Most players are not labelled greats until they pass 30 and in Sehwag’s case, he may still be yet to hit his prime.

Video: Asif to Sehwag

Video: Ridiculous Sehwag Dismissal

When cricket experts talk of great opening batsmen, they speak of Geoffrey Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar among others.  Their techniques were in a supreme class which makes it very difficult for traditionalists to compare them to today’s batsmen like Sehwag.  What we must remember is that class can come in many styles and forms.  Sehwag does not need hi tech analysis of his technique, indeed that may only hinder him.  All he needs is to focus on hitting the ball and being patient enough to wait for the correct ball to hit.  Albert Einstein once said “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.” For all the inadequacies and recklessness in ODIs, Sehwag will always be remembered by me as a genius because on one particular day in Multan and another particular day in Chennai, he stood above Sir Don Bradman.

Video: The Sultan of Multan