Courting controversy (Cricket)
Two questions came to mind when I read Sunil Gavaskar's article on John Wright not having renewed his contract because of abuse from some players.
Firstly - what was he thinking?
Secondly - was he thinking?
Much has been said since then, including an article in the Asian Age today that adds another incident to the list being compiled. About a player (one would infer from the information provided that Virender Sehwag is being referred to) sent a cuss-filled message back with the twelfth man for Wright.
I just learnt of Prem Panicker's blog today, and it has been wonderful reading. If you enjoyed Amit Verma's posts on cricket, when he wasn't doubling as an online newspaper (and not much more), you'll love this. Particularly interesting are Panicker's comments about Saurav Ganguly not being arrogant. He also links to this cricinfo article about what some players remembered about John Wright. Particularly interesting are Harbhajan's comments. For me, Wright has been the best coach since Anshuman Gaekwad. He seemed just as passionate about the team, if not more, and his commitment was quite obvious. The instances mentioned in Panicker's blog post confirm the same. I still remember seeing tears in Gaekwad's eyes at the end of his final match as coach, and the respect and love the team had for him. Not too different in John Wright's case, I'm sure.
Unfortunately, Panicker's blog doesn't have an RSS feed. :(
Of those who were in contention for the post of coach, the one who irritated me most was Mohinder Amarnath. While I do agree that the half baked behaviour on 'Fourth Umpire' on DD biased me against him, what I found worse was sentimental appeal to people that he should be chosen because he is an Indian. Hogwash. If anything, that sort of positioning actually dilutes whatever impact his credentials as an accomplished all rounder and a coach might have had.
Greg Chappel's selection was not surprising, though I did feel that Tom Moody might also have been a good choice. Moody's always been a fighter, and pretty effective with both bat and ball. He bowled within his limitations in the world cup in England and was among Australia's most effective bowlers then. As a coach and a tactician - I'm not sure. Greg Chappel's a master tactician. While some might criticise him for that underarm ball decision, I thought it was brilliant. It wasn't illegal, and it got the team the result they needed. I'm sure he's still got quite a few tricks up his sleeve. If the rules of cricket are changed to allow substitutes, the coach will have more of a role, ala football.
Addendum
Prem Panicker's blog *does* have RSS syndication. Somehow, bloglines wasn't able to fetch it initially. Secondly, he's a prolific poster. So, if you like reading about, and discussing cricket as much as I do - Yay!
Furthermore
Found this post on Ubersportingpundit
Tags:
Cricket
Firstly - what was he thinking?
Secondly - was he thinking?
Much has been said since then, including an article in the Asian Age today that adds another incident to the list being compiled. About a player (one would infer from the information provided that Virender Sehwag is being referred to) sent a cuss-filled message back with the twelfth man for Wright.
I just learnt of Prem Panicker's blog today, and it has been wonderful reading. If you enjoyed Amit Verma's posts on cricket, when he wasn't doubling as an online newspaper (and not much more), you'll love this. Particularly interesting are Panicker's comments about Saurav Ganguly not being arrogant. He also links to this cricinfo article about what some players remembered about John Wright. Particularly interesting are Harbhajan's comments. For me, Wright has been the best coach since Anshuman Gaekwad. He seemed just as passionate about the team, if not more, and his commitment was quite obvious. The instances mentioned in Panicker's blog post confirm the same. I still remember seeing tears in Gaekwad's eyes at the end of his final match as coach, and the respect and love the team had for him. Not too different in John Wright's case, I'm sure.
Unfortunately, Panicker's blog doesn't have an RSS feed. :(
Of those who were in contention for the post of coach, the one who irritated me most was Mohinder Amarnath. While I do agree that the half baked behaviour on 'Fourth Umpire' on DD biased me against him, what I found worse was sentimental appeal to people that he should be chosen because he is an Indian. Hogwash. If anything, that sort of positioning actually dilutes whatever impact his credentials as an accomplished all rounder and a coach might have had.
Greg Chappel's selection was not surprising, though I did feel that Tom Moody might also have been a good choice. Moody's always been a fighter, and pretty effective with both bat and ball. He bowled within his limitations in the world cup in England and was among Australia's most effective bowlers then. As a coach and a tactician - I'm not sure. Greg Chappel's a master tactician. While some might criticise him for that underarm ball decision, I thought it was brilliant. It wasn't illegal, and it got the team the result they needed. I'm sure he's still got quite a few tricks up his sleeve. If the rules of cricket are changed to allow substitutes, the coach will have more of a role, ala football.
Addendum
Prem Panicker's blog *does* have RSS syndication. Somehow, bloglines wasn't able to fetch it initially. Secondly, he's a prolific poster. So, if you like reading about, and discussing cricket as much as I do - Yay!
Furthermore
Found this post on Ubersportingpundit
Tags:
Cricket
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