Sour Grapes

The more I see Australia play and less I hear them talk I have to admit that they deserve to take this cup ..... until I switch back to watching Murali. Then the intellect is quietly packed away and pure emotion taketh over..... GO SRI LANKA... do the unthinkable (and probably undoable).

More realistically speaking, if there is a team that can at least pose a few questions it is them. SL has to play first, score 250+ and then quickly dismiss Ponting (it doesn't matter who gets out first Gilchrist or Hayden). Then at least they build pressure. Obviously, the game would not be over still but with Murali tightening the screws and Malinga providing the variety there is a good chance for Sri Lanka.

It is not my bias, I don't think Australia bowled exceptionally well during the semis. It was more a case of self-destruction from SA. Definitely it is not easy to score 300 with Australia, but teams other than SL have such a mediocre bowling attack that they had no option but to try and perish in that effort. The most underrated bowler in this tournament is Brad Hogg and during the Sri Lankan innings it would be crucial that their batsmen give him the due respect. I have a feeling that if the SL batting collapses it would be more due to Hogg than the other bowlers. Tait has been improving each game, it is amazing how the Australians are always improving.

The umpiring standard in the first semi-final was atrocious. The two decisions, one thick inside edge and the second leaving the leg stump by miles were really bad. Thank god the umpires were not Asian, otherwise there would have been snide comments from the chatteratti about Asain capabilities.

Peter Roebuck had written an atrocious article in which he says "Pakistan must be banned from international cricket for five years. If Bob Woolmer was indeed murdered by corrupt players, then they should be ousted for a decade. What has been their contribution since Imran Khan left the scene? Ball tampering, match fixing, zealotry, chucking, steroid taking and tantrum throwing."

If you look at the list of litanies probably every one of these accusations (what does he mean zealotry? growing beards?) applies to one or another Australian player in some point of time. Warne was suspended for drug abuse, Warne again for match fixing along with Mark Waugh, Lee's and Tait's fast balls are as close as Akhtar's in terms of action. Ball tampering charges were not proved, does he read the papers at all. In the recent debacle in England, Pakistan had come clean! Such unabashed racism! In a world where winning is all that matters, if Australia behaved the same way in the pitch as they do now and were losing, people would have come down heavily on them for their on field behavior.

May be they should have a coaching session from Roger Federer on behavior, on and off the field. Good behavior doesn't mean that you are loser. I guess if they stop aping the US and start getting an identity of their own they might improve in that department.

(Is all this griping a question of sour grapes? :) )

Oh Murali!

The torchlight eyes and the spectacular smile makes cricket all the more worth watching. For me, the moment of the first semi-final was when Murali took a diving catch of a Styris scoop and jump in sheer joy only to realize it was a no-ball. His facial expressions changed not to disgust but just muttering under his breath. It was just fantastic. You can keep watching this man play, it reminds me of the old West Indians, sheer joy. Somehow one does not get the same feeling when the Australians or South Africans triumph, it is more clinical and definitely superior but not joyful.

An earlier Murali moment was when he took KP's wicket against England. A beautiful doosra, a good catch and a priceless expression. I am sure even without these powerful TV cameras Murali's eyes would have been caught back in 1983. It is not just about winning or losing but how you play the game. Sadly, I don't see any Indian cricketer do that any more. I guess the endorsements are back in their mind all the time. With West Indies in terminal decline and Pakistan in shambles and the rest only clinical, we had to look for some joy in the inconsistent Bangladeshi tigers and of course the Sri Lankans. But Murali is the only beacon of hope in this cup.

I have to admit I was hopeful of Freddie Flintoff. After a long time it appeared that a true cricketer was emerging out of England, Kapil/Botham style. But he was very disappointing in this series. It would be good for world cricket if he bounces back. Another loss was Brett Lee. A cricketer whom I enjoy watching. There is something about their attitude and how they play their game which is more appealing to me than their actual performance. McGrath is any day better than Lee but I would prefer the latter any time.

I guess Murali's action is definitely suspect, but I will set all aside just for his personality and attitude in the field. Go Murali, make cricket worth watching..

P.S. - It is sad to see here that most Indians have stopped watching the game after India was out. Young boys were playing outside when Jayawardene was building one of the classic innings in the game. I don't see much hope in Indian cricket improving....