ASHES

Real version of the Fevicol Ad

This photograph was taken at the Gujrat-Maharashtra border..


Do you remember the fevicol ad???

Isn't it just like that.....

The Longest Test.............

It was the match that ended timeless Tests in Australia. The longest Test ever played on Australian soil was fought out between Australia and England at the MCG on March 8,9,11,12,13,14,15, and 16, 1929. It was the fifth Test of a series England had already clinched, but Australia fought through to win by five wickets, the locals¦ only victory of the summer.

However, despite the home side being happy about the victory, Melbourne fans expressed their disapproval for the concept of timeless Tests. By the closing days the torrent of spectators into the ground had slowed to a trickle. It seemed that even sports-mad Victorians could have too much of a good thing.

A total of 213,794 patrons witnessed a genuine battle of attrition, with stamina rather than skill being the dominant attribute on display. By the close of play on the first day the visitors had dawdled to 4/240. By the end of day two England was 9/485. Then came a rest day, before England was dismissed for 519 and Australia commenced its painstaking reply. The Aussies were all out just before stumps on day five for 491. On day six England was knocked over for 257, but it took two more days for Australia to post the 286 needed for victory.

Aussie debutants Tim Wall and Percy Hornibrook were quickly introduced to the rigours of Test cricket v they bowled 49 and 48 eight-ball overs respectively in England¦s first dig. Mind you, England¦s George Geary bowled 81 overs in Australia¦s first knock.

Donald Bradman (aged 20) knocked up a ton in Australia¦s first innings and was not out in the second, Jack Hobbs (aged 46) and Bill Woodfull scored centuries too, and a fellow called Douglas Jardine was fired out for a duck, no doubt embittering him towards his hosts no end.

Which was all very fine, but the progress by both teams throughout the match had been snail¦s pace. Australia¦s safety-first approach is demonstrated by the fact that not one but two nightwatchmen opened the second innings v Hornibrook and keeper Bert Oldfield. The English players were sick of being away from home and fretted when the match stretched into an eighth day. The MCG patrons grew restless. This was the match that killed off timeless Tests forever in Australia.

Jim Laker's other ten-for

Jim Laker takes his tenth wicket as Jack Wilson is caught by Roy Swetman © The CricketerJim Laker's remarkable performance in the fourth Ashes Test of 1956 at Old Trafford has gone down in cricket legend. His 19 for 90 remains not only the best bowling in a Test but also in all first-class cricket, and his second-innings return of 10 for 53 is one of only two instances of a bowler taking all ten in a Test.

What is less well-known is that it was Laker's second ten-for against the Australians that summer. Three-and-a-half months earlier, he had grabbed 10 for 88 for surrey in the tour match at Oval . That feat was widely reported at the time, but has since been overshadowed by his achievements at Manchester

The 1956 Australians started their tour with four draws, stifled by indifferent weather which continued throughout the summer, and the conditions were overcast and chilly when they arrived at The Oval on Wednesday, May 16. Laker himself was not in the best frame of mind after a sleepless night looking after his unwell daughter, and a half-hearted attempt to declare himself unfit was brushed aside by Stuart Surridge, Surrey's captain. Ian Johnson, Australia's captain, won the toss and batted in front of a disappointingly small crowd. The first hour was uneventful, Jim Burke and Colin McDonald making steady progress. At 12.20pm Laker was brought into the attack from the Pavilion End, and over the next four hours and 20 minutes, he left the Australians in tatters.

Unlike Old Trafford, where the pitch was a spinner's paradise, at The Oval it was far less accommodating. "The ball turned only a little," Laker recalled, "and not consistently. It was never as difficult as was generally accepted at the time." He added that half of his wickets came with straight balls. "Yes, five victims were bamboozled by balls that did not turn at all."

The CricketerAlthough he troubled both batsmen, his first wicket did not come until his seventh over, almost as soon as he switched from over to round the wicket, trapping Burke lbw when he missed an attempted sweep. That was the only success before lunch, but soon afterwards, Ken MacKay followed, edging to Surridge at point after four singles in an hour. As was the case at Old Trafford, while Laker whirled away at one end, Tony Lock snarled and cursed at the other without reward. Between them they strangled the Australians, and by tea the tourists were four down.
A tired Laker, who by then had bowled 30 overs on the trot, asked to be taken off at the interval, but for the second time in the day his request was dismissed by Surridge. In the first two overs Laker bowled after the restart he took three wickets - those of Len Maddocks, Ray Lindwall and Johnson - without conceding a run. As news began to spread what was happening, the crowd grew, slowly at first and then after tea, rapidly.

When Laker had taken nine, Keith Miller was joined by Jack Wilson, a slow left-armer from Victoria who was known as Chucker on account of his jerky action, a legacy of a footballing injury which at one time threatened to leave him with an unusable left arm. Wilson was no batsman, and Miller set about the bowling with characteristic gusto while ensuring that his partner did not have to face a ball, jokingly telling Laker:
"You won't get all ten"
"Keith seemed to deliberately be hitting catches at the other end," Laker said. At one stage, Miller lofted Lock to Denis Cox at extra cover, but a straightforward chance was spilt. "I cannot figure out whether he did it on purpose," Laker said, but others were in no doubt. "I was so tired I just wanted the innings to end," he added. "I would certainly have held the catch had it been mine."

But the end did come soon after, as Miller took a single from the fifth ball of Laker's 46th over, and Wilson was caught - dubiously according to some, and certainly to the batsman's displeasure - by wicketkeeper Roy Swetman off the first ball he faced at that end.

"Laker, weary, happy, and somewhat embarrassed, led his team off the field to take a triumphant hero's ovation," wrote Peter West. Minutes later he was again cheered when he returned to be presented with the match ball. Tired he may have been, but in his benefit season he could not turn down such superb publicity.

In the Daily Telegraph, Jim Swanton described a great performance. "Nothing less describes the unfailing accuracy, the power of spin, and the little variations on a theme of a perfect length which brought him the glory." Laker himself said that this was, from a technical point of view, a better performance than for England at Manchester.

Second time round, still weary, he struggled, adding only two more wickets. Lock, who finished with 0 for 100 in the first innings, was given the end that favoured the spin and took 7 for 49. He wasn't so lucky later in the summer at Old Trafford, finishing with 1 for 106 in the match as Laker cleaned up.


Surrey went on to win by 10 wickets, the first county to beat the Australians since 1912, and Johnson presented Surridge with his Baggy Green, quipping that he had a spare and didn't think he would have occasion to give that away as well. How wrong he was.

Laker was immediately elevated into a media star. Within days he had signed a deal to write for the News Chronicle and was endorsing Lucozade. And yet the real story of the summer was still some three months in the future.
Martin Williamson

Jim Lakers wife was an Austrian who had no knowledge about the game of cricket. After taking 10 wickets in the test match against the Aussies when laker went back to his home Lakers wife said to Laker "Darling have you done something wrong today.... Everyone has been calling since afternoon asking about you".
All that Laker did after that was smile at his wife.

Laker's benefit match later on that same year at Oval was washed out due to Rain.
Sourabh Daga

Most (In)Famous Hat-trick

It was the most unwelcome hat trick in the history of Test cricket. Joe Solomon, the West Indian middle-order fighter, was given out in the second Test of the 1960-61 series after his hat fell on the stumps and dislodged the off bail. The MCG crowd was incensed, but the dismissal stood.In the first Test of the classic 1960-61 series, Solomon had etched his name in folklore with two dead-eye run-outs. His second throw, aiming at just one stump, ensured that the Brisbane Test finished in history¦s first-ever tie.

When Melbourne hosted the next stanza in that memorable summer of Test action, Solomon was promoted to open in the absence of Cammie Smith. He was caught behind for a duck in the first innings. When the Windies were asked to follow on he made just four runs, but provided staunch support to flamboyant Conrad Hunte in an opening stand of 40. His innings ended when Richie Benaud came on as first-change bowler. Solomon jerked away from a leg-break and his cap fell from his head onto the stumps. Wicketkeeper Wally Grout pointed to the dislodged bail and appealed, Benaud joined in, and Solomon was sent on his way.There was no doubt that the correct decision was given, but the MCG crowd was angered by the Australian skipper¦s failure to recall the batsman, and hooted Benaud throughout the rest of the day. It was a remarkable display of sportsmanship by the big crowd, siding with the underdog visitors over the local heroes. Australia went on to win the Test by seven wickets, despite Hunte¦s blazing century.

A fascinating sequel to the Solomon incident occurred in the fifth Test, also at the MCG. On that occasion Grout was batting when the stumps were disturbed. The West Indians appealed, but no-one could ascertain exactly what had happened so the batsman was given the benefit of the doubt. Grout showed his quality by deliberately spooning the next delivery to slip, an act of batting µsuicide¦ that was a marvellous sporting gesture.

Cricket: A Gentelman's Game???

If New Zealand was ever to declare war on Australia, the events of February 1, 1981 at the MCG would have tipped the Kiwis over the edge.
This was the day of the infamous µUnderarm Incident¦, a cricketing low-point that was criticised by Prime Ministers on both sides of the Tasman.It was the third final of the 1980/81 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup. Australia had scored a reasonable 4/235, but a patient century by Bruce Edgar allowed New Zealand to almost match the hosts. With one over left in the match, the Kiwis needed 15 runs for victory. After a couple of lusty blows by Richard Hadlee and Ian Smith, then a couple of quick wickets, New Zealand was left needing six runs to tie the match with one ball remaining. The final delivery was to be bowled by Trevor Chappell to Kiwi number 10 Brian McKechnie.

Australian skipper Greg Chappell (Trevor¦s older brother) ordered that he deliver the ball underarm, and informed umpire Don Weser of his intentions. At this point underarm bowling was not specifically prohibited by the laws of the game. To the disgust of McKechnie and the obvious dismay of several Australian players, Trevor Chappell rolled the ball down the pitch carpet bowls-style. The batsman blocked the ball then threw his bat away. Edgar at the non-striker¦s end made a two-fingered gesture to the bowler, and Kiwi skipper Geoff Howarth ran on to remonstrate with the umpires.

New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon called it, "the most disgusting incident I can recall in the history of cricket", and "an act of cowardice". Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser called it, "contrary to the traditions of the game". Greg Chappell¦s decision was universally condemned. Immediately after the game he said, "If it¦s written in the rules of the game it is fair play," but he later apologised and claimed that the stress of the situation had got to him. It took many years for him to be fully forgiven.

Sachin Alla Re!!!

This was the first time I watched a young batsmen representing India. I was still six and a half years old.The official one-dayer had been abandoned because of bad light and a 20-over exhibition match organised instead.probably the first unofficial 20-20 match. Pakistan put on 157 and India only got close thanks to an 18-ball 53 from a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar. One over from Abdul Qadir read: 6, 0, 4, 6 6 6. It announced Tendulkar to the world.


Abdul Qadir

The game was being played in the festive spirit. I had just bowled a maiden to Krishnamachari Srikkanth and I went to Sachin, who was the non-striker, and told him that when I bowled him the next over he shouldn't treat me as Abdul Qadir, but just as any other bowler from his galli or school, and go for his shots, as that would be good for his future. He was just a young boy then and I wanted to give him confidence.

He just smiled at me and didn't say anything. Next over when I came on to bowl to him, he stepped out to hit the first ball for six over long-off. He was dropped at midwicket later in that over as he tried for another big one, but he managed three more sixes. It wasn't like I was just feeding him: I was trying my best to get him out, but he was just so talented that he gave me no chance.

Sachin Tendulkar
When I came in to bat we needed 69 runs in five overs or so. I had a go at Mushtaq Ahmed who had taken two wickets and hit him for a couple of sixes. Qadir then came up to me said, "Bachchon ko kyon mar rahe ho? Hamein bhi maar dikhao" ("Why are you only hitting the kid? Hit me too.") Qadir was a great bowler and I was only playing my first series. I didn't say anything, but it fired me up. I took up the challenge and gave it a go. Ultimately we fell short only by four runs.

Benaud - a 'pianist in a bordello'

Whoever devised the Wisden poll for commentary's dream team deserves an elephant stamp. Over few aspects of cricket is disagreement more commonplace - and rightly so. If someone invited themselves to your home, you'd probably form a strong view; a commentator who invites himself to your ear deserves to run a similar critical gauntlet. Nor is the unchanging partiality for Richie Benaud much of a surprise, precisely because, I think, he does behave like a civilised guest in one's home, knocking politely, wiping his feet, seldom wasting your time and never overstaying his welcome.

One of the amazing aspects of Benaud is that, in spite of his unvarying popularity, no commentator seems to pay closer attention to his craft. He has no particular motifs, no special catchphrases, relying simply on a lifetime's knowledge, applied pertinently and phrased accessibly: he places himself at the service of the game, rather than vice versa. Benaud the commentator also seldom refers to his experiences as a player, which has the effect of making him seem almost ageless, and expresses amusement when admirers enquire innocently whether he was a player: he would rank among Test cricket's elite leg-spinners and captains, of course, had he never uttered or written a word about the game.

The reasons for this are not far to seek. Benaud learned the trade a long time ago, before the age when commentators were expected to be personalities too. It is now almost fifty years since, after an Ashes tour, Benaud undertook a BBC television training course, studying the commentary styles of the likes of Henry Longhurst, Peter O'Sullevan and Dan Maskell in order to understand sport 'from the commentator's point of view'. He then accepted BBC invitations to England in 1960 as a radio commentator and in 1963 as a television commentator, between times writing the books Way of Cricket (1960),Tale of Two Tests (1962), Spin Me A Spinner (1963) and columns in Sydney's Sun and London's News of the World. He stills writes for the latter, looking at times a little like a pianist in a bordello.

Television, of course, has proved Benaud's metier. It suits his sharp captain's intuition and succinct expression. He is authoritative but not pedantic, dignified but not pompous, and never speaks unless he has something to say. Alan Ross said of Benaud the captain that he managed to give the impression that everything was part of a master plan; the same thing, I think, is true of Benaud the commentator, who deals in grand strategies undetectable to ordinary mortals. The only thing that has changed about him has been the accent. The vowels are rounder than in the 1970s and the delivery a little more deliberate; but despite being so popular that humourists strive to imitate him, he is so distinctive that none has ever quite got him right. And perhaps no one ever will.
By Gideon Haigh

The Three Musketeers

A sequence of mails shared between me, Prashant and Abhishek

sourabh daga wrote:
since abhishek seriously think that we were not one series wonder (MAMC) rather we were a legend who will always be a legend. if that argument hold true then that means that we were big match players who never played club, state, zone level cricket.now here is our oppurtunity to play in a big match scenario-:

MCC auction an over from Warne at Lord's
Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne will give a wealthy fan the opportunity of a lifetime with one-on-one tips during next Tuesday's tsunami appeal match between MCC and an International XI at Lord's. During the lunch break the highest on-line auction bidder for the prize will receive 15 minutes of coaching from Tendulkar before walking out to the middle to face an over from Warne, the world's leading Test wicket-taker.Tom Graveney, the MCC president and former England batsman, said it was an incredible chance for a supporter to live the dream of batting against Warne at Lord's in front of a large crowd and worldwide television audience. "We hope that this amazing opportunity, which has been made possible by the generosity and co-operation of Shane and Sachin, will raise a significant additional sum for the tsunami appeal."The auction begins at 1400GMT on Wednesday, June 8 and closes at 1400GMT on Saturday, June 11. Bids can be placed at www.cricketrelief.org and the winner also receives two tickets to the match.

well someone once told me chase ur dream. now dude chase ur dream else acknowledge the fact that we were a one series wonder ( and there's nothing wrong in it)
sourabh

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 Prashant Chandra wrote :
hey daga n doggy dudes!!!well warne's already had an encounter with me and as a consequence is shifting forever to england. he just can't face the aussie's fans after i hit him all round the park a few days back. he really does believe that i could give sachin a run for his money. just a few more days left before mcgrath says the same........ i have got an invitation from mcgrath to face his deadly bowling at the mcg but i'm busy with my exams right now so told him that will deal with him later. so i don't need no auctions right now maybe doggy cud participate.cheers
prashant

sourabh daga wrote:
dear chandra saab!!!
we all are aware of your amazing batting exploits agains shane warne. but the only problem is that it only came while you were batting in nets. there is no dearth of talent inside you and ur batting genius is known through out the world but the reason why you never end up in big league was that you always kept on appreciating your shot . and while your partner (which was me most of the times ) was running haplessly to score more runs for the team, he suddenly finds you in his part of the pitch saying " ABE DAGA TU YAHAN". you were like those prince charming who never wanted to run only wanted to bat.so you never made to the team because of your lousy attitude. and i never made it to the team coz i was always run out even before playing a single ball (thanx to you).though we both have reasons to not make it to the team, doggy however was never talented enough to make it even in the club side ( and we both know that)keep thumping all the aussies in MCG.I'll come to melbourne next year before VB series finals and afterwards ill carry on your good work
your running partner
sourabh

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 Prashant Chandra wrote :
dear mr. daga saab
i agree i was a lil lousy with my calling but it does not change the fact that u were a lousy runner. u never made it to the big league coz u never cud get rid of the GULLY cricket attitude.but there's one thing both of us agree on ... and that is although both of us had our legitimate reasons for not making it to the big league but doggy's the one who never had the talent but just a very big mouth. all he was capable of was making it to DAKSH 11 which he eventually did and is very happy about.well u'r welcome to aussie land any time daga and we'll have lots of fun. i really miss those days guys.
prashant

Abhishek wrote on 10th june

FUCK YOU GUYS!!!

When defeat is beyond Unthinkable

Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz could hardly have done any more to turn an Australian defeat into a thrilling victory, but to come so close makes the pain of defeat even worse

Perspective, perspective. That's what's needed at a time like this. It's only a game, we tell ourselves. Victory and defeat, it's all immaterial in the grander scheme of things. There have been tight matches in the past - tighter even than the two-run margin that England squeaked today - and life goes on regardless of the result. Even for the losers.

But this was different. This was so, so different. In the heady aftermath of what, without hyperbole, can already be bracketed alongside the Tied Test at Brisbane as the greatest game of cricket in a generation, victory and defeat meant absolutely everything. For England to have come so far, and to have been squashed at the last, would have been a mortification beyond comparison - and quite possibly, beyond salvation.

Let's face it, the match was already over when the fourth day began. Steve Harmison's exquisite slower ball had nailed Australia's last remaining batsman, Michael Clarke, and the rest ought to have been a formality. Oh, such foolish assumptions! Instead, Harmison had a later, greater invention to come.

Three balls from batting out the day is one thing, three runs from sealing the Ashes in a game that England had bossed from the opening morning is something else entirely. Harmison had had a quiet game by his recent standards, but those who have questioned his bottle in the past had to salute the vigour he summoned when all others - even, by this stage, the mighty Flintoff - seemed to have allowed those long-surpressed seeds of doubt to germinate. One vicious lifter, a brush of an instinctively raised glove, and the Ashes were ablaze once more.

Up until that point, this heady tale of redemption was taking the bitterest of twists. The pitch was bland and England were flat, drained no doubt by the enormity of their third-day performance, and as Shane Warne and Brett Lee countered every threat and whittled down the requirements, a creeping sense of dread throttled every stakeholder in the game. For, without putting too fine a point on it, the future of English cricket seemed to hinge on this very result.

The fans had been sucked in all right. During Flintoff's Saturday onslaught, Channel 4 had postponed its coverage of the racing from Redcar; during Australia's Sunday fightback, BBC Radio took an even more extraordinary step and delayed that sacred cow of the airwaves - the shipping forecast. But now, they were about to be spat out in the most deflating of fashions. One game apiece would leave everything to play for, but 2-0 down and the floating voters would drift away and the finest England team of a generation would have been exposed as just another herd of nearly-men. It was a fate too horrific to contemplate.

Where would that have left the game in England? As from next year, there will be no domestic coverage of Test cricket, so no opportunity for hungover passers-by to accidentally chance upon such a thriller while looking for their weekend dose of Hollyoaks. And where would defeat have left the shreds of this season? The FA Community Shield kicked off three hours after the end of the match, but it's a safe bet that football will not enjoy its usual blanket coverage on tomorrow's back pages.

England were fortunate in this match, no question. Australia were magnificent in adversity, with Warne resplendent with bat and ball, and Lee and Kasprowicz playing out of their skins until the tightening of the sinews that occurred as the requirement reached single figures.

But, from the moment that Glenn McGrath was felled to throw the Aussies' preparations into disarray, England grabbed their luck and ran with it. Defeat for Australia is not the end of the world, for they possess the players and the self-belief to bounce back, especially at a venue, Old Trafford, that is tailor-made for their one remaining champion, Warne.

Defeat for England, however, would have been unthinkable. The end of the Ashes, the end of the summer, the end of the game as we know and love it - who knows? But happily, that awful eventuality was avoided, and in a manner that showcased everything that is wonderful about Test cricket at the absolute highest level. If anyone doubted how good this game can be, their queries have been answered in emphatic and lasting fashion.

Come on SHANE!!!!!!!!

Few players enjoyed a closer view of a master bowler at work than Ian Healy, Australia's first-choice wicketkeeper until 1998-99 when Adam Gilchrist burst onto the scene. In this article, originally published in January 2000, Healy outlined the qualities that set Shane Warne apart from his peers. But, even he had no idea of the heights that Warne would go on to scale.

Down I'd go into my crouch early enough to watch Warnie's visible cues, but not long enough to get leg-lock. I'd position myself outside the off stump so that the batsman couldn't obscure my view easily, and I'd go through my cues. Every ball, my mind says: Watch the ball, move, stay down. There's Warne's slow walk in, the build-up of energy through the crease, and the release. The flipper would have been detected two strides earlier, and this is not it. Legspinner coming, last seen leaving the hand, but how much will it turn? Looks like he's just rolled it out rather than ripping it, but it's heading straight for the big hole outside leg stump. Stay down and move late, I keep telling my legs. This could do anything off the pitch, and by then it will be behind the batsman. Must ignore the batsman as he will only further distract me as I strive to isolate the ball. It should slide down leg, but will it? That's the dilemma, and I must wait and watch before deciding to move low and strong. Gloves low and relaxed enough to give with the ball, and in it goes cleanly. Pat yourself on the back, take a deep breath or two and settle in for your second delivery of a captivating 30-over spell. How great it was to witness the hustling, bustling blond ball of body language, systematically glueing batsmen's feet to the crease, as they realised that what they had in mind for that innings simply wasn't going to work. Last-day survival plans became impossible, by even the world's best players, when Warnie spun his magic. On-field genius aside, he has the team's fortunes at heart, which further inspires peers of all experience levels. I was lucky enough to have the best seat in the house as the man who recently became Australia's greatest wicket-taker dismantled opposition batting line-ups and changed the face of world cricket. Shane Warne is not just Australia's most successful bowler, but the most successful spin bowler in Test history.

THE BIGGEST THUGS: CONGRESSMEN

Just another incident which shows us that RSS is only blamed by the media the congress supporters inspired by their ministers and Ala Kaman are even worse.

http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2005/august/115807.htm

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE THE KING

some time back i was telling a friend of mine (after England tour of South Africa) that if england has to make a mark on australia and ashes then Kevin Peiterson has to play a big role.

Today is the 2nd day of the 2nd test match at Edgebaston and i guess my perdicions are really coming true.

on this occasion i would like to make one more prediction. I beleive that in a year or two Kevin Peiterson would become the next most feared batsman of the world and he along with Andrew flintoff will be the biggest assets for england in 2007 world cup.