The Mendis carrom ball

dcsiva — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:58:00 GMT

India take on Sri Lanka in a one month series, containing 3 Tests and 5 ODIs. The big draw is, of course, Ajantha Mendis. Here's Mohan on the Indian squad:

The major surprise is that Virender Sehwag is vice-captain of the Test team!
After his comments on the idiocy of back-to-back games in the Asia Cup and after his comment that he was “running on reserve”, not unexpectedly, M. S. Dhoni, Team India Test vice-captain, has opted out of the Tests citing fatigue.

Also, Irfan has been dropped and Ojha included. Ottayan has the stats on all the hard work Dhoni has been putting in for the team.

Ducking Beamers has a post on that mystery of a bowler, Mendis, and his carrom ball. Meanwhile the really shocking news has been Pepsi's non-renewal of Tendulkar's contract. "Insider trading" on his retirement, perhaps?

Team spirits and beers

dcsiva — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:36:00 GMT

Homer reports that England's players are not happy about playing in a winner-takes-all care of Stanford. From the Daily Mail article Homer links to:

The players are keen to take part in the annual big-money match at Stanford's private ground in Antigua, and an annual quadrangular tournament in England, featuring the hosts, the All-Star XI and two other international sides, initially from Pakistan, Sri Lanka or New Zealand. But the prospect of winning — or losing — such an enormous sum of money as £10m, perhaps on the misfortune of a dropped catch or the outcome of the last ball of the game, has proved too much.

Why? They fear that it will effect team cohesiveness. In a similar move, much to Miss Field's consternation, the Aussies went so far as to wear VB caps so that poor old baggy green-less Brad Haddin wouldn't feel left out during a tour game:

Former Australian player Greg Matthews has told News Limited publications that he would never have abandoned the traditional baggy green cap in favour of a sponsors cap.
"Money talks," Matthews said. "You're selling your pride, selling the baggy green. It just cheapens things.
"If someone said to me I had to wear a VB hat, I'd tell them to piss off," he continued emotionally.
Cricket Australia's public affairs manager, Philip Pope, said that the decision was made for the sake of uniformity, with commercial considerations not coming into it.

Anyone want to ask Vijay Mallya about team cohesiveness? Finally, Ottayan lists the terms of the IPL contracts and argues that they're loaded in favour of the players.

Cover Points : sponsors

The Mendis carrom ball

Team spirits and beers