Sports : life magnified

The big question is who should England play if Simon Jones does not recover for the 5th test. Does England include Chris Tremlett, inexperienced yet promising? He is the logical next in succession in the squad. But a debut in the moest crucial test for England is years will be a huge gamble.

Collingwood? I dont think so as bowlers win test matches and going for him is not an option from any angle.

What about bringing back some old war horses? Caddick is injured. He is not an option either.

So I ask the question. Not why Darren Gough but why not Darren Gough. Yes he has retired from test cricket but I dont think he will refuse a request for a come back for the crucial test.

Gough has been England’s best strike bowler since Bob Willis and Ian Botham writes cricinfo. And its not that Gough is now old and thus cannot match up to international standard. He is still active as a one day international and despite recent ordinary performances in the tri series involving Australia and Bangladesh and the Natwest Challenge, has shown he still has it in him.

Certainly a better option than raw Tremlett. Gough’s performance in the one day series in South Africa is a point in case:

England in South Africa, 2004/05 [Series]
SA 6 58.1 241 11 3/52 2/14 21.90 4.14 31.7 0 0

One day and test cricket are different ball games but that certainly indicates Gough has not lost it all yet.

Sania Mirza will face fairly unknown Italian Maria Elenea Camerin in round 2 of the US Open. Mirza had a rugged start in round 1 with loads of unforced errors. Compared to that, Camerin surprised one and all by defeating 21 seed Danira Safina in round 1.

Camerin is an even match for Mirza. She is currently ranked a lowly 81 but has been as high as 41 finishing 2004 at 43. However, she has never been past round 2 in a grandslam in 13 appearences. Mirza has already bettered that in her first year at the highest level.

But Camerin is slightly more experienced at the age of 23 having been in the top 120 or near about since 2001. Mirza kept her cool against a much more experienced player in round 1.

It is an even matchup and Mirza would not mind facing Camerin instead of Safina.

The side was a shadow of its former self last season. They were displaced from the traditional big 4 of english football. This early season has been worst than ever in their history. So a boost was definitely needed. The signing of Michael Owen, a scoop considering Owen first wanted to go there on loan may be one of the crucial turning points in the history of Newcastle.

In Shearer and Owen they have former England pairing. Shearer is on the way to retirement but Owen is still very young and has a lot ahead of him. Will Owen decide to stay more than a year? Who knows. You can never say in football.

After winning versus Washington, Sania Mirza has become the first Indian woman to reach round two of the US Open. She is also the first who will break into the top 40 in the rankings.

At 18, Mirza has a lot of tennis ahead of her.

I will be happy if she can reach the top 10 in 2 years.

Kudos and congratulations.

First things first. Congrats to England on the victory. Well played and they have showed without a shadow of a doubt what a quality side they are.

Second thing.

The series is not over. Whether England claim back the Ashes or not, no one will deny what a quality side they are. However, to gain appreciation as the best side in the world, a distinct possibility England face, the road is still a long one.

Firstly they have to win back the Ashes. A draw series will mean they would have to wait till the next Ashes in Australia to hope to get the title of the best side in the world. If they do get back the Ashes, they then have to have draws/victories in India and Pakistan. After that there is a fair possibility they will be called the best side in the world.

Exciting times ahead for world cricket.

In a big surprise, Barca failed to score versus newly promoted Alaves. I am worried. Barcelona is one side which showed last season it could score a lot of goals. Bonano, the former Barca player jept out of his skin to avoid Barcelona a win.

I hope this is just a hitch start and not a sign of things to come.

When he have the facility to conclusively state out or not out, we should use it.

Hawk eye and other inconclusive technologies should not be used but if the fans and people sitting in the media boxes and dressing rooms can see a decision being made is clearly wrong on tv (like inside edge given out lbw), it brings the game to unnecessary disrepute.

The day saw some brilliant cricket. But we remember the error decisions most. It would not have happened 40 years ago to this extent as the cameras would not have been that conclusive and the media was not as strong and communication not as fast.

With the news coming in that Clijsters is likely to retire at the end of 2007 aged 24-25, the feeling that some thing is wrong with the way tennis is played at the highest level cannot stop from surfacing. Martina Hingis retired at a very young age and tennis lost one of its most dedicated, gifted players.

Yevgnevy Kafelnikov, who played more than any one on the tour, got the label of a player who was playing for money and not for the pasison of the game. Sport is a dramatisation of life. If it is made mechanical by having tournaments 48-52 weeks a year, 3 tournaments a week, the quality and uniqueness of tournaments is bound to be minimised.

Player burnouts will also invariably happen. Chris Evert needed time off from tennis in a day and age when tennis was not played so much. The modern demands of the sport, the travelling, the pressure of spending time away from family is some thing we cannot augur. No other professional sport demands such a tough routine.

I hope things change.

Ponting has been found wanting of ideas. First in the match versus Bangladesh and then on several other ocassions.

Today, the field placings were poor giving the english too many easy runs.

After the Ashes, I think its time for a change of leadership. Warne back as captain and a one day come back? He has a good cricket mind. If the Australians do not find it uncomfortable that his personal life is not a great example, then why not?

Or maybe Gilchrist. It is too early for Clarke to step into the helm.

I dont know but Ponting is not satsifactory as captain at the moment.

First McGrath is injured. He feels there are some voodoo charms behind the most imperfect of timings for his injuries. Then England bat like champions on a flat pitch after being 5 down courtesy of superb batting by Flintoff and Jones and captaincy lacking in innovation by Ponting - giving the English easy runs.

The pitch is flat. So you would expect the Aussies to target a score of atleast 400 if not go for a 600. They are 5 down at the end of the day. The batting form is woeful and the English bowling is unrelenting.

Maybe the English tabloids should apologise to the fans for their over reaction on their home team after the first test. Maybe the Aussie tabloids should learn from this and not create their own over reactions. Bleak chances of either of those happening.

The weather forecast says bleak chances of rain. Meanwhile in another cricket match, India and New Zealand play one of the strangest matches in one day cricket history. First the kiwis collapse but manage a total of around 220. Then India collapse, stage a recovery with 8 wicket down, only to lose the 9th and 10th before some thing dramatic could happen.

Cricket is a funny game.

After the joy of watching Barca play beautiful one touch football under Rijkaard, I cant wait for the first game on Saturday. Apart from the magic of Ronaldinho, I am looking forward to seeing Van Bommel in his first la liga match for Barca.

The first port of call for the Catalans will be Mendizorroza stadium, home of newly promoted Alaves and the league’s second smallest venue with a capacity of 19,000.

Madrid is looking more knit than last season with the likes of Baptista and Robinho. Can they pose a serious challenge? I certainly hope so as it would lead to a good battle as to who finally ends up the champions.

Also, I really hope Barca can win the Champions league this season and show every one what a great team they are.

With McGrath out of the 4th test, Australia decided to go with 4 regular bowlers which meant Ponting had to share the burden of the attack. That England have not amassed a huge total and lost 4 wickets is the good luck of Australia, helped by the rain no doubt.

I do not see England losing this match without doing some really stupid stuff.

Its a tough few days in the office for Australia.

The more I think of it, the more I feel Australia should play 5 bowlers in the 4th test. Bowling wins test matches and to get 20 wickets a line up of McGrath, Gillespie(before he went out of form), Lee/Kasporwicz and Warne looks strong.

But a line up of a dicey McGrath, Lee, Warne and Tait does not.

Should Australia go with MacGill despite the curator saying it wont support the spinners or Kasporwicz as a 5th bowler? If the Aussies feel the pitch has some thing for the spinners, I would have chosen MacGill as the 5th bowler.

I know the long tail becomes a problem. But equally big if not bigger is the problem of a high probability that Australia will not be able to take twenty wickets with an attack of McGrath (not fully fit), Tait (untested), Warne and Lee (unpredictable).

Really underlines the problem Australia is facing.

highly unlikely the Aussies will go with 5 bowlers though.

It was just West Brom but the display by Chelsea versus West Brom was impressive. Wright Philips was fast and persistent. Makelele and Lampard were strong. I thought Ession showed a bit of inexperience but did not lack in enthusiasm. Drogba is some one I am not hugely impressed by. Maybe try Crespo more for a while.

Barcelona start their Spanish league defense over the weekend and they have a stronger side.

Will we have another Chelsea versus Barca clash with a stronger team for both squads? The prospect with a hopeful Barca victory makes me smack my lips!

The hype surrounding the Ashes has been proven to be real. With 3 tests gone and the score tied at 1-1, the 4th test is one of the most awaited test matches. I certainly cannot remember a match for which I have had more anticipation in my 14 years of cricket watching.

Champion teams have had their eras in test history. When Australia beat the West Indies in West Indies in 1995, they started their era as test champions ending a 20 year reign of the West Indies. I still do not fathom the current English team will be able to win the Ashes. But the possibility is very real. It is this possibility which elevates the 4th test of the current Ashes series to another level.

Can England win the 4th test? Or will Australia bounce back stronger than before? I am of the belief the second possibility will occur. But cricket is an unpredictable game.

England will not be proclaimed world champions isntantly. But if they beat Australia in England and then go on to show mettle in their winter tours of Pakistan and India, there will be many who will believe England is the best team in the world.

If England cannot manage to win or draw the Ashes, such thoughts of England replacing Aussies as world champs will be put to the trash can. This is why the match is eagerly anticipated. It has much more at stake than the outcome of a single match.

The test squad to play Australia in the Super Series is strong. Perhaps Kaneria instead of Vettori would be more apt. And perhaps English fans would want a few more poms in the team. I am happy Tendulkar makes the teams and sense prevails and the world XI selectors show more sanity than the Joe on the street who doubts Tendulkar.

My more bigger complain: The exclusion of Inzamam-Mr. Cool-ul-Huq.

A superb 6 day match is in prospect.

The only way left is to boycott the Karachi one dayer. Miandad has requested fans to not go to the stadium to watch the match.

I certainly will not be watching the match on tv.

I bought the Latest Wisden, the second Wisden I have bought since buying the Millenium Edition of the Almanack. The articles in the first half are firthright as usual. But my complaint with national cricket almanacks is always the same. 60-70 percent of it goes in focussing on a specific nation. Wisden launched Wisden Australia 7 years ago which contains Australian cricket in depth.

An innovative book, with the articles, the tours and more focus on records would be apt. The number of articles can be increased and player profiles of all current players and not of one specific country (like English internationals in Wisden) could heighten the appeal.

Between work 10 AM to 8 PM the sport action I have been able to catch up has been the excellent Ashes contest and the football.

The Ashes have truly surprised me. I did not give the English a chance to win even a test even though I was sure they would give a good fight. I have never seen a close Ashes contest and feel luck I am able to catch the best Ashes contest since 1989.

I managed to catch three Premiership games over the weekend. Liverpool and Gerrard could not score but I liked the well fought out match nevertless. Arsenal vs Newcastle was scratchy but the backup strength of Arsenal looks good. Chelsea vs Wigan was a classic and a heartbreak when Crespo scored.

Too bad the net connection in my room has been non existant for the past few days resulting in a dormancy in posts in the blog.

I have been very busy with work and have not been able to catch a lot of sports. I do not care much about one day cricket which means no real interest to catch the Indian Oil Cup being held in Sri Lanka.

I heard Raina played well in the little time he spent in the crease and fielded superbly which makes me glad. But the news of interest is Ganguly not being consdered for even the first 20 for the Asia vs Africa match. Again the question raised by me earlier comes up. Why were the selectors for these matches not 1 member from the national selection boards of the concerned countries?

And is Habibul Bashar a better player than an out of form Ganguly. Why has Ganguly been treated like this? I do not think the conspiracy theory suggested by the article regarding Lloyd vs Ganguly in an earlier Asia selection holds much ground. But in this instance the reason for Gangul not being there looks to have deeper connotations. He may not be a great test player but there is no dounting his one day credibility.