Musings about sports in general, & Cricket in particular. With baseball season coming up, will look into that, too. And lots of good cricket in 2007, including the World Cup.
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This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.
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20060323
ENGLAND END TWO DECADE DROUGHT IN INDIA
Missing 6 regular players, plagued by injury and health problems, England defied all odds and pulled off a magnificent series-levelling 212-run win, their biggest victory in the subcontinent since Karachi in 2000-01. Requiring 313 for an unlikely win, India were never in the hunt in the face of a superb bowling performance, and capitulated to 100, losing seven wickets for 25 in a manic 75 minutes after lunch, as England quite emphatically ended their 21-year winless streak in India
Andrew Flintoff, England's guiding star throughout the series with bat, ball, and in the field, starred on the final day as well with spells of sustained hostility, taking 3 for 14. But the bowler who finished with most wickets was the one reckoned to be the least threatening of the lot: Shaun Udal, (celebrating his 37th birthday on Day 1 of this Test) who had a tally of three scalps in three matches before this one, found appreciable turn and bounce from the fifth-day pitch and spun out four batsmen, including the most crucial one of them all, Sachin Tendulkar, to set the Indian innings into a tailspin and hasten England's march to victory.
A target of 313 was never likely to be an easy one, but till lunch, which India took at 75 for 3, the contest was on, with Tendulkar - showing signs of returning to form with a fluent 34 - and Dravid putting together 42 after two early setbacks. After the break, though, the contest turned in a mere 15.2 overs of breathless action.
Flintoff, with two innings of exactly 50 and a wicket in the Indian first innings, started the slide. Having already bowled two outstanding spells in the morning, troubling Wasim Jaffer no end and then finally putting him out of his misery, Flintoff now came back and removed the batsman who was most capable of batting India to safety. He got one to pitch perfectly in the corridor, and forced Dravid - whose 100th Test went horribly wrong - to nick it to the wicketkeeper.
Next over, Tendulkar - who showed signs of returning to form with a fluent 34 - offered a bat-pad catch to short leg off Udal, stunning the crowd into silence and effectively ending the Indian resistance. James Anderson then did his bit, winning an lbw verdict against Virender Sehwag, clearly hampered by back spasms.
The Indian innings was now spiralling downwards rapidly, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had resisted the England attack for more than three hours in the first innings, was in no mood to repeat that performance, offering two chances, before being out to the third, all within nine deliveries. After being reprieved in the slips off Anderson, Dhoni faced up to Udal, and was clearly intent on demonstrating his ability to hit the ball far and wide. The first slog hovered over mid-off for an eternity, before Monty Panesar, easily England's weakest link in the field, made a complete mess of it - the ball actually landed 10 feet to his right. Satisfied that Panesar wouldn't hold on to any offering, Dhoni charged again when he next came onto strike, miscued again, but this time Panesar did latch onto the ball.
Yuvraj Singh attempted to bat sensibly, playing all of 46 deliveries for 12 runs, but on this day England, and Flintoff, were not to be denied. A waft outside off ended safely in the slips cordon, before Udal wrapped it up even as the Indians seemed in a tearing hurry to get the match done with and leave the ground. And when Matthew Hoggard pouched another miscue off Munaf Patel to give Udal his fourth of the innings, England had pulled off a result which had seemed impossible only five days ago.
5:12 AM
20060321
INDIA ON THE BRINK & RIPE FOR THE TAKING
A tantalising fifth day was in prospect at the Wankhede Stadium as India fought back magnificently to give themselves a chance of eking out a memorable win, though England still had the advantage after an intriguing contest on the fourth day. England's curiously passive approach meant they only managed 160 from 77.4 overs and were bowled out for 191.
But, chasing a victory target of 313 - more than has ever been scored in the fourth innings at Mumbai - India's start was disastrous. With Virender Sehwag sidelined with back spasms, his replacement, Irfan Pathan, was bowled by James Anderson for 6, as India closed on 18 for 1, needing a further 295.
Down 1-0 in the series, England were the team which needed to do all the running to try and force a result, but from the start, they adopted a strangely go-slow approach, perhaps worried by the possibility of a collapse if they charged for quick runs. Andrew Flintoff's knock was symptomatic of the entire innings - a batsman who usually scores at 66 runs per 100 balls eked out 50 from 145, only very occasionally attempting to break free from the shackles imposed by the bowlers. Owais Shah managed 38 from 118, while Paul Collingwood faced the same number of balls and scored five fewer runs.
After three ordinary days, with the bat and in the field, the Indians had a largely memorable day except for a couple of lapses in the field and the late wicket of Pathan. The bowlers were particularly impressive: Anil Kumble performed as only Kumble can, toiling over after over, going round the wicket to check the runs, hardly bowling a loose delivery, and taking a splendid return catch too to dismiss the dangerous Kevin Pietersen.
Inspired by his act, Harbhajan Singh turned in a fine performance too. He was introduced into the attack well after lunch, but immediately settled into a rhythm, extracting turn and sometimes exaggerated bounce from the surface, something that should surely encourage Monty Panesar and Shaun Udal, the two England spinners. Harbhajan pulled off a superb return catch of his own too, and his figures of 2 for 39 from 23 overs should help a bowler who has been searching for form and confidence lately.
When play resumed this morning, England were 152 ahead, with eight wickets in hand, and it wasn't unreasonable to expect them to push the lead to around 350 by tea, and then give themselves four sessions to bowl out the Indians and level the series.
What transpired, though, was quite different: 54 came from 26 overs in the first session, as Shah, Udal and Pietersen stodged, and then stodged some more. The two wickets they lost in that session - those of Udal and Pietersen - meant India had done their job well. More of the same followed after lunch, as 29 overs fetched 53. The pitch misbehaved occasionally - the odd ball jumped up or turned more than expected - but most deliveries were played with the middle of the bat.
Flintoff's exercise in restraint was the most unusual: off his first 128 balls, he had made 32, a run-ball equation usually associated with his opposite number in the Indian team, Rahul Dravid. Finally, he opened out, sweeping Harbhajan powerfully for six over midwicket, before losing his wicket while charging Kumble. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who completed the stumping, had earlier missed a similar chance to nail Flintoff when he was only on 14 - how critical that reprieve was, we shall know tomorrow.
In the end, though, Flintoff's was a crucial innings, without which England would have probably had a less than even chance of winning this match. As it stands, they must still fancy themselves - the highest any team has scored to win here is 164, while the highest any team has scored in the fourth innings is 266. The stats don't look encouraging for India, but chances are Dravid and Co. won't be looking at them tonight.
In another ball & bat sport, the Japanese beat the Cubans in the 1st World Baseball Classic. It's about time that they had their own world cup...I just hope that enough of the money people get behind it.
And lastly: Arsenal are only 2 points from 4th place. If anyone had told me a month ago that Arsenal would be so close to 4th, I would have wondered what they were smoking. Maybe, just maybe the Gunners can remain in the Champions League. We'll see.
11:19 PM
ENGLAND LEAD INDIA BY 152 RUNS, DAY 4, TEST #3
Despite losing two wickets late on the third day, there's little doubt that you'd rather want to be in England's camp at the moment than India's. With an overall lead of 150, Andrew Flintoff will feel fairly safe if he can stretch that to 350. India's top order has been struggling for form all season, and with the pitch likely to become more bowler friendly as the match wears on, it's difficult to see a target that stiff being chased down. For Rahul Dravid, so far it hasn't quite been the memorable match he would have hoped his 100th Test would be. However, India aren't quite completely out of the match yet. The two quick wickets last evening should have given their camp some cheer, and another heap of wickets in the first session could still put India back in the reckoning. For England, it will be crucial to bat through the morning losing no more than two wickets. If they manage that, the rest of the day will almost surely see India on the defensive.
5:15 AM
20060320
Gonzaga won last night. 90-80. That being said, it was not the prettiest of wins for the team, but they are advancing to the Sweet 16™, something they have not been able to do previous—not even with big Ronny Turiaf, 1st round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Turiaf’s successor, & player of the year candidate, had an off-night (for him—he still scored 14 points, which would be a great night for many others). Indiana contained the man who usually carries his team on their backs, & the ‘Zags responded by others picking up the slack, particularly Sean Mallen, who was loosed by Indiana’s fettering of Morrison. Baptiste, the big Brazilian, played his part admirably too, has the whole supporting cast gelled & so Gonzaga gets to play again next week & Indiana goes home to Bloomington. Gonzaga is looking like the Starship Enterprise, where everyone knows his position & task, but can be counted on to help in the tough situations. Coach Mark Few now has the best winning percentage of any basketball coach in Division I, & if he beats up on a few more East Coast based teams, may find himself as nationally well-known as any ACC or Big Ten coach.
But have a thought for poor Mike Davis. This is a guy who replaced the original gangsta Bobby Knight (the only thing more baffling than why Knight is not tucked tightly in some jail cell is why so many Hoosier fans consider to support him & his thufgish behavior). Apparently, many never forgave him for that, although he had nothing to do with Knight’s removal…Knight himself provided the long overdue impetus for his dismissal from IU. What happened is that even though Davis took the program to the championship, even though his 6-year tenure saw him put up better numbers than just about every other coach in the nation (including those mentioned as succeeding him), even though Indiana became a class act under him (because Davis is always classy), he somehow winds up as just an interim figure in many eyes. At least until we see how his replacement(s) do(es). Perhaps then, Mike Davis will get his due in Bloomington.
And so, while Indiana goes home to an uncertain future, the Bulldogs advance to face UCLA, another storied program that has had its fair share of turmoil in the past, although they seem to have gotten over the fact that John Wooden actually retired & is not coming back. It would seem to be healthier for a team to look forward, rather than back. This actually favors the ‘Zags, who seem to have more in front of them, than behind them. We will see.
1:02 AM
20060317
 My Final 4 picks are Gonzaga, Texas, Boston College, & North Carolina. All ready, 2 of my picks have had a bit of difficulty in moving on to the next round: BC had a bit of a stumble, & I swear I thought the Zags had blown their game against Xavier. Actually, it's kind of ironic that 2 Jesuit-sponsered insitutions should have to face off against each other in the 1st round, but those heathens at NCAA hq probably didn't think that out when they were scheduling. Anyway, the Zags looked flat, Xavier looked sharp, & after Raivio fouled out I was certain that the Bulldogs were headed back to Spokane. Happily, I was wrong. Maybe that was the one bad game every tournament winning team seems to need to get out of their system.
The George Washington-NC-Wilmington game was a real barn burner, too. And Indiana's darn lucky to be playing again on Saturday--San Diego State really WAS the better team tonight--but, as Pippin sings, "It's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart."
Today was entertaining. Looking forward to the next 3 days.
7:11 AM
20060314
 Here's the acting England captain Freddy Flintoff congratulating the real India captain Rahul Dravid. Unfortunately, England are once again having to be good losers. I know it's tough on the subcontinent, but you guys beat Australia, for goodness sake!
Time to pull it together. Stiff upper lip, & all that, lads!
6:13 AM
20060313
Dateline: Greensboro
The Day After. The ACC Tournament is over; the tents are folded. The brackets are finished. And Duke, for the 16th time, is ACC Champion, bettering the 15 title mark held by their rivals 7 miles down the road, the NC Tarheels. This time, they beat the new kids on the block, Boston College, who had won 3 straight Big East titles before joining the ACC. The Eagles announced their presence with authority, but it was the Blue Devil's day.
I had picked the Tarheels to win. They seem to be peaking at the right time. Last year, of course, the Heels didn't win the ACC but still wound up winning the national title. Boston College just had the Heels number in the Saturday game.
With 6 teams in the NCAA, & the other 6 in the NIT, the ACC has proved itself to be the dominant conference in college ball this year. Cannot think of another conference that can boast that.
Some of the NCAA parings were strange: why is Gonzaga only a 3 seed. I would have picked them as a 1 seed. You can see that East Coast bias creeping in, as both Villanova & Connecticut (who LOST in their conference championship, by the way) were given #1s, while Gonzaga (who won their conference, both in the regular season & tournament) winds up where they are. If you look at it, all the #1 seeds are East of the Mississippi River. Coincidence? Maybe. Of all the #1s, I think only Duke (maybe) will reach the Final 4.
And in the World Baseball Classic? Japan wuz robbed, as they used to say in Brooklyn.
3:03 PM
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