Oz Series - Comments on Indian team

The Indian team has been facing a hostile press Down Under but the press back home is not good to them as well.

India's ex-coach, Greg Chappell, writes in Hindu on the steps the Indian team needs to take and highlights the areas he had pointed out earlier

Personalities should not enter into it. Just pick the players who you think can do the job.

HINT - Drop VVS & Rahul Dravid and pick youngsters to replace them. 

Players will not respond to cajoling and threats from the coach alone.

HINT - Selection committee (as well as BCCI administrators) should also cajole and threat

fielding and fitness were two things that I identified nearly seven years ago that needed improvement. That it is still a problem is just not acceptable.

HINT - Younger players are the way to go forward

Greg agrees with the go-karting however - one that Sunil Gavaskar was not happy about.

Makarand Wingankar in the same paper, also points out different reasons that are contributing (as per him) to the ills of the Indian team.

newly married couples and whole lot of families with children on tour have certainly been a distraction

Makarand goes on to take a dig at the Master and his son

If he allows a son of a cricketer to practice with the team, he is not the Fletcher that we have heard of.

World Cup 2011 - Windies-Pak in Quarter-finals

The first Quarter-final gets underway in Mirpur on Wednesday between two teams that are not too dissimilar. The West Indies have, to take Greg Chappell's words few years ago, forgotten how to win. Pakistan is, the least to say, one team whose players themselves will not know how they will play on the day of the match (no, I am not hinting any other thoughts here). Castrol Index shows both of them to be very close - in fact, Windies lead the Pakistan team 150-149.

The Paks have beaten the World Champions in their last match and that must have given them a lot of confidence but that is not assuring anything for this team. Their bowlers have mostly won the match by restricting the targets that their not-so-sure batsmen have to chase. Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi have been the stars while the others have been more steady than spectacular. Hafeez, in particular, was miserly in the match against Australia. On the Mirpur pitch, will he be so effective against the Windies who admittedly played the Indian spinners better than most expected?

The batting of Pakistan has revolved mainly around Umar Akmal so far. The youngster is so talented that he will be able to walk in to any team's playing eleven but one is not so sure about where his priorities lie, if stories are to be believed. He shares a strong bond with his elder brother and that is where the rumor-mills start their tales about him feigning injuries to save Kamran's place in the squad. Misbah and Younis have played their part but failure to hit the boundaries (check their rotation rate) will cost the team critical runs in the final overs.

West Indies have to thank Devon Smith for his contributions so far and expect him to shore up the batting with the returning Chris Gayle. If Gayle can put his head together and stay for a decent period at the wicket, he can take the match away from the opposition. His is the key wicket for Pakistan for the dependency on him is so high that Windies have lost their way after his dismissals. Bravo has blown hot and cold while Sarwan has been disappointing. Only if these players can put up a score against Pakistan that is challenging to chase, the bowlers can probably play on the pressure created on the minds of Pakistan batsmen.

Kemar Roach is one bowler who will be expected to rip through the top-order of Pakistan with his sheer pace. Benn has opened the bowling but has not been so effective. Bishoo was very impressive in his stint against the Indians - he will play and I feel that he will do well once again taking wickets by the handful. Rampaul will play, thanks to his fifer against the Indians - who will be dropped to accommodate remains to be seen since Russell had played well in earlier games. It is a good sign for the Windies that their bowlers have slowly started to show signs of taking wickets.

An even game is what one might be tempted to call. But, Windies have not won enough against major test-playing nations in recent times. Will this be the match that will stop the bad streak? Will Pakistan self-destruct as they can? Interesting match in store tomorrow but I will support the Windies to create an upset here!

World Cup 2011 - Learnings from 87 and 96

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The 2011 World Cup will be the third time the competition is being conducted in the Indian sub-continent. Is there anything the teams can learn from the first two editions - 1987 and 1996 - and apply as part of their strategies? Australia reached the finals of both the versions winning in 87 (against England) and losing to Sri Lanka in 96.

What happened in the 1987 World Cup? Australia and England reached the finals by defeating the co-hosts (Pakistan and India respectively). The batting was bolstered mainly by the opening batsmen on both sides. David Boon and Geoff Marsh were the top run-getters in the tournament scoring more than 400 runs at an average of 55+ every match. There were good contributions by Dean Jones and Allan Border down the order while Mike Veletta and Steve Waugh were good in rotating the strike in the final overs as well as hitting the ball out of the park. This phase marked the initial stages of the Australian resurgence in World cricket after the slump post retirements of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh. Under Bob Simpson, the team was beginning to discover themselves at the World stage and there was no major hopes on the team before the World Cup.

Craig McDermott was one of the bowling stalwarts picking 18 wickets during the tournament, troubling batsmen with his pace and control. He was ably supported by bowlers who would pioneer the use of slower ball in ODI matches - Steve Waugh and Simon O'Donnell. During most of the matches, Waugh would be the one who would operate the slog overs of the match - with his variety, he could control the scoring of the opposing batsmen very well. Border with his part-time spin would chip in few overs, taking up critical wickets at a decent run-rate.

England similarly had Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting in their lineup who contributed more than 350 runs in the tournament while Lamb and Athey gave good support down the order. In fact, the final was going the way of England when Gatting tried a reverse-sweep against Alan Border to get out. Gatting and Lamb were equally adept in rotating the strike to keep the scorecard ticking. Gooch was instrumental in negating the spinners on the sub-continental pitches during this World Cup - his century against the Indians in the semi-final was a masterpiece on how to attack spin and turn tables on the more famed Indian spinners. Eddie Hemmings and Phil DeFreitas were the strike bowlers from the English team who provided the crucial breakthroughs.

The current Oz team is placed in a similar situation as this 87 Cup-winning team was, if one considers the Ashes performance (though they have achieved good strides in the ODI arena) - will they win it a fourth consecutive time? Similarly, the current English team has Greame Swann and Jimmy Anderson as the spearheads - will they don the role of Hemmings and Defreitas? Swann has been injured after the Ashes series - it remains to be seen how quickly he can return to mainstream cricket. Anderson looks jaded in the ongoing ODI series against Australia (last evening, he gave away 91 runs in his 10 overs - a century!!!)

What happened in the 1996 World Cup? Sri Lanka and Australia reached the finals by defeating co-hosts India and West Indies respectively. It was the turn of Mark Waugh to score heavily (even though Sachin raked up more runs than him). Waugh opened the innings in all the matches with captain Mark Taylor and ensured that Australia had a good start always. There were few contributions down the order from Ponting, Steve Waugh, Stuart Law but not all as consistent as Junior Waugh. No wonder, they fell at the final Lankan hurdle. Damian Fleming and Shane Warne took the maximum number of wickets by contrasting ways. Fleming used to swing the ball, especially under lights while Warne found the subcontinental grounds to his liking. Mcgrath was at his miserly best but could not add much in the wickets tally.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, also got off to quick starts through their crack combination of Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana - they formed a potent partnership at the top of the order scoring runs at rate of 8-10 in the first 6-7 overs. The opposition bowling would get rattled and lose their composure. This would be then captialised on, by the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga and Asanka Gurusinha. Their batting used to run deep with Mahanama coming at No.7 while their bowling revolved around spin. The wickets taken by the SriLankan spinners hardly goes more than seven wickets (in 6 matches) but their run-choking efforts had to be seen to be believed. Murali, Vaas conceded less than 4 runs an over in the tournament while Jayasuriya, Dharmasena and Aravinda de Silva together conceded less than 4.5 runs on an overage. On Lankan grounds, this team knew how exactly to rattle the opposition and keep them quiet. Their strategy was very well devised and execution was perfect. Will they repeat the strategy this team also?

Toss will play a very vital role in the matches played in Sri Lanka with teams batting first more often than not, winning the matches after posting a decent score. Murali is bowing out of international cricket after the World Cup - will it be his swanswong? He has Mendis, Herath & Dilshan to support him in the slow bowling options while Matthews is known to be a wily customer with the ball. The magic of Mendis has worn off slightly but to teams that havent played him, he is still a mystery. At home, it has been only the Indians who have put up good displays in the Emerald Isle. One match in the Quarter-final and one semi-final will be played in Colombo - can Sri Lanka qualify for these matches and continue the home advantage? 

I feel that it is important to have quality opening batsmen in every team for them to have a chance to win the title. India have Sehwag and Sachin, Bangladesh has Tamim Iqbal, Sri Lanka have Dilshan, West Indies' Chris Gayle, South Africa's Amla and Smith, Australia's Watson, England's Strauss. Definitely India and South Africa seem to have the edge over the others in this aspect. 

What do you think? Can some of the lessons from these editions be adapted to the 2011 version? If so, which ones?

Related articles

• Australia have an outside chance, says Steve Waugh (espncricinfo.com)
• World Cup 2011 - How will teams innovate? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Disaster at 2007 World Cup

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India had a golden period around the 2003 World Cup when even in test matches they played to their potential. The loss in the final rankled the team but they put it behind them and continued to go places. John Wright relinquished the position of coach, triggering off a manhunt around the world for the next coach. Greg Chappell was selected after a series of meetings.

Very soon, the Indian team (especially the Senior players) got into a conflict with the Coach about his style of working. The lowest level was reached during the 2007 World Cup when the Indians lost two of the three matches that they played. The only win came against lowly Bermuda when they raked up a huge score of 400+   

Greg Chappell hinted to Sachin and the other senior players that he should retire from the game and give way to youngsters (though he has publicly stated that Ricky Ponting should continue playing for Australia - conflicting suggestions for similar players!!). Sachin Tendulkar was dropped down the order, which didnt go well with him. Despite having three players who had more than 10,000 runs in ODI's, the Indians faltered in their batting displays against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Greg Chappell lost his position while Rahul Dravid continued as the Indian captain.

Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid are no longer part of the Indian setup though Dravid still continues in test matches.      

See these posts for more details -

• India at the Warm-up matches
• India vs Bangladesh
• India vs Bermuda
• India vs Sri Lanka
• Summary
• World Cup aftermath

Related articles

• Best World Cup so far for Tendulkar - 2003 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• English World Cup for Sachin in 1999 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Ashes series - Even-stevens at MCG

After the resurgence of the Australian attack in Perth, the series is even-stevens at MCG with everything to play for both the teams. Ricky Ponting seems to have recovered and is all set to play tomorrow - news that must have made the team Management feel relieved. More so Greg Chappell who believes that Clarke is not ready to be the captain now.

The pitch will be key after there were reports that the playing deck was switched. If it supports the slower bowlers, England will enjoy the advantage while if it is a hard one, the onus will be on the batsmen to revive the innings from the opposition bowlers.

Will Hussey and Cook continue their golden run? Or will it be the resurgence of Ponting and Collingwood? Similarly, will Johnson continue his all-round performance he showed in the Perth test or will another avatar of the fast bowler appear at MCG? Will Anderson rally his team after reports of stiffness were played down by him?

All questions will be answered over the next five days when one team will blink. Which team will it be?

Related articles

• Shane Warne: momentum says Australia will defeat England at Melbourne in fourth Ashes Test (telegraph.co.uk)

John Versus Greg

There have been several discussions going on in the cricket world about who would be a better coach for Indian cricket. But, in this article I am going to focus on the statistics on John Wright and Greg Chappell and get a comparison between them. Agree that a good cricketer deosnt make a good coach always. But, this comparison will have an effect on the expertise that is present between the 2 players. Arguably, Greg is the more experienced of the two, but what do the stats say? This is being done only from the perspective of test matches. Let us see.



Greg played his test matches during the period 1970/71 - 1983/84 whereas John played from 1977/78 to 1992/93. Both of them have played test matches beyond their personal age of 35 (38 for John). This would be a critical factor since most of the Indian team batsmen (Sachin, Sourav, Rahul, Laxman) is now around 32. So, Greg knows what to expect from these stalwarts and how farther he can push them to perform. As per present indications, I am sure the Golden Four can continue for another 2-3 years, provided they maintain their form.



Overall, both of them have played similar number of tests (87 for Greg Vs 82 for John) whereas the averages and other stats show a major plus for Greg. Greg is also one of the few players who have scored centuries in their first and last test match.

Deciding Factor - Greg - John
#Runs - 7110 - 5334
Average* - 54 - 38
Centuries - 24 - 12
Fifties - 31 - 23
Average against WI* - 56 - 30 (Taking this as a basis since WI was the most challenging opposition during their terms)
Matches in which team won - 38 - 21
Matches in which team lost - 19 - 23

Greg has appeared in more test match wins for his country as compared to John. So, obviously he knows how to win and keep the run continued. John has played in more drawn matches than Greg and hence I feel we can see India appearing in more matches having a result than draws.

Greg Chappell has not played a SINGLE TEST MATCH IN INDIA!!! He has played 3 test matches in Pakistan, though. Greg has played only 24 tests outside Australia/NZ continent whereas John has played 26 outside. So, in terms of their hands-on experience on Sub-continent, both of them are on a weak wicket.

Greg's difference of averages from home and away is only 1 run (54 home and 53 away) whereas John had a bias for home grounds (42 home and 33 away). I think Greg has to try and imbibe in his current team the idea of having a very similar average both home and away - in short, be consistent wherever you play so that the results will come even outside the sub-continent. If he can achieve this, that will be the greatest feat of his coaching career.

As captain, Greg has averaged 3 more than occasions where he was not. John, in this regard, used to average 13 runs more!!! But inspite of this, Sourav's figures as a captain is not good!!!

Greg has appeared in only 2 test matches when his team was asked to follow-on, whereas the number is 8 for John. This is one area where Greg has to ensure that the team doesnt get to this situation at all.

So, overall, looks like India are in a good wicket with respect to the pedigree of the coach ;) There will not be any doubts on the minds of the Indian team members about the credentials of Greg as a player. That in itself, I feel is half the job done. In such a situation, it is more likely that the team will benefit from each other and not get into arguments or disputes that were mentioned had happened during the last few days of John's tenure.

Its all upto Greg and the team to take off on what John has achieved. ALL THE BEST INDIA!!!

*All averages are rounded off