C̶r̶i̶c̶k̶e̶t̶ ̶A̶u̶s̶t̶r̶a̶l̶i̶a Crazy Aussies set a stupid precedent

What’s wrong with the Aussies? 

Seriously, what’s Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke up to?
4 players suspended for not doing their assignment. To be honest, my jaws were left wide open when I first read about it. It seemed more like a Faking News or The Unreal Times article! But guess what, this is 100% true. Would you believe that? 

“Four time world champion Australia have dropped Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and youngster Usman Khwaja for failing to make presentations in a team meeting as instructed by the team management.”

I should thank my stars 'cause my engineering college professors weren't as strict as Mickey Arthur. In my 4 years of B. Tech life, hardly did I submit any assignment! (Most engineer’s would consider that as a feather in one’s cap ;) ). And in spite of that, I managed to get through it! Goodness gracious me. I was way better off than those poor Aussie cricketers. They have become the laughing stock of the whole cricketing fraternity. Well, my sympathies are with them…. just can’t comprehend what they must be going through. There must be something more than that meets the eye, to trigger such a reaction from the team management. I mean writing reports isn't a player's virtue, they need to focus more on their on field performances. By the way, Johnson and Khwaja weren't even in the playing XI. Expecting them to do a performance analysis is a bit too much. It's a little over the top reaction. In fact, I believe, it's more of a coach's job to find the grey areas and work on them.  

On a lighter note, I absolutely agree with Andrew Flintoff when he says, "Amazing 4 Aussie players banned for not doing homework. I thought letting them play in the next Test would be punishment enough"

Mickey Arthur is setting a pretty dangerous precedent for the world of cricket. Imagine what would be the consequences if other people followed suit as well. Newspapers and tabloids could present similar headlines in the future as mentioned below :

Australia crashes out of the World Cup'15 in the league stage. Michael Clarke submits a detailed report; gets nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Infosys stock prices double after reports of negotiations between the Indian software giant and the Aussie players for outsourcing the task of creating PowerPoint presentations.

Just a few days left before India tour South Africa. Team India practice hard on the "Net". BCCI ropes in major software firm to help players create PowerPoint presentations on the Cloud platform.

BCCI modifies the selection criteria. Players need to pass 10+2 with a minimum percentage of 50. SC/ST/OBC need to secure at least 35%. Sachin goes back to school, says he would open the innings alongside his son after completing his class 12^th exams

ECB impressed with the opening lines of the new Jeffrey Archer book. Archer is set to replace Cook as the new English opener.

Pakistani players protest against Dav Whatmore's instruction to submit PowerPoint presentations in English. Request the board to consider Urdu presentations.

Kevin Pietersen allegedly sends his PowerPoint presentation to the South African coach instead of the English coach ; gets suspended from the English cricket team;

Hope the Aussies manage to sort their problem out pretty soon... Until then, you can continue to have a good laugh.

Do share your views in the comments box below 

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Kaunain : The Barbarian

Yes, it's Kaunain. If you think I should have spell-checked the title of this post before publishing, you've got it wrong. I'm talking about Kaunain Abbas, the lanky, 6 ft. 3 in. tall captain of the Southern Champs, Jain University, Bangalore. Instead of carrying a sword and a shield, he has a bat in his hands and still, he manages to evoke the same kind of terror from the opposition.

The inaugural Toyota University Cricket Championship has finally come to an end, the final of which saw the Southern Champs, Jain University, Bangalore snatch the trophy from the clutches of Jamia Milia Islamia, under the inspirational leadership of their captain, Kaunain Abbas.

The tournament has brought to the forefront many talented cricketers. But Kaunain stands out from the rest. And of course, no prizes for guessing, he's bagged the Player of the Tournament award for his consistent performance throughout the tournament. Averaging over 104 and scoring runs at a strike rate of 134.91, he has managed to score 313 from the 5 matches that he has played. No wonder then, the second highest run scorer in the tournament, Mumbai's Kevin D'Almeida, is more than 100 runs behind him.

What's most impressive about this young lad is that he is a thinking cricketer. He uses his brawn as well his brain quite maturely. A die hard fan of Mr. Dependable Rahul Dravid, Kaunain, himself, has picked up a thing or two from the cricketing icon he idolizes. In this all important final against Jamia, when they had lost the top 3 wickets even before opening their account, he shunned his normal attacking style of cricket and played a mature innings along with his partner, Shreyas Gopal, putting together 98 runs for the 4th wicket. He eventually got out at 33 of 45 deliveries, after having played at a pace unlike him. Defending a low total of just 122 runs and playing at Jamia's home ground where a capacity crowd of over 20K+ were all rooting for Jamia, Kaunain maintained his cool and his spirit rubbed on to his team mates as well. The Bangalore team had some pretty good bowlers and Kaunain used them to perfection. He rotated the bowlers and made   the changes in the field pretty well which did pay its dividends. He kept the pressure on the batsmen and didn't let the match slip away. Ultimately, the boys from Jamia crumbled under the pressure and the match ended with a thrilling win by 2 runs in favour of the Bangalorians.

His most impressive performance has been against the Eastern Eagles, when he scored a brilliant 128* of just 65 balls, hitting the bowlers ruthlessly all over the park. This was also the tournament's first century by any player.

TUCC has had a great opening and players like Kaunain have shown what young University cricketers are capable of. Don't be surprised if you find Abbas being roped in by any IPL team one month from now. Wishing this young lad success in all his endeavours. Hoping to see him donning the Indian colours soon!

To know more about Kaunain and TUCC, follow this link

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Poles not so polished against the Greeks

What a dramatic way to begin the Euro 2012! The opening match between Poland and Greece lived up to all the hype surrounding Euro 2012. Though the game ended in a 1-1 draw, it was, nevertheless, an aggressive and lively game that saw both the teams reduced to 10 men each after the Greek defender Sokratis and Polish goalkeeper Szczesny were shown red cards.

The Poles, playing on their home ground, amidst the cries of “Polska, Polska” coming from their supporters and fans, had an impressive start to the game. It was expected of the Poles to play well since the team was loaded with some of the best players of the game in the form of Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski. The Poles made several attempts in the opening minutes of the game, capitalizing on the weak Greek defence, but they failed to materialize their efforts into goal. It was in the 17^th minute when Lewandowski delivered a splendid downward header to Jakub Blaszczykowski's cross, giving the Poles a well-deserved lead in the game.

Lewandowski celebrates after scoring the goal

Greece tried to regroup, focusing on the game and increased the attack on the Poles but failed to create any goal scoring opportunities for themselves till the end of the first half. To add to their misery, first Avraam Papadopoulos had to leave the field with an injury and then Sokratis Papastathopoulos’s misadventure resulted in him being shown the door with a red card (The decision was a bit harsh in my opinion). The first half ended with the Poles leading 1-0.

Sotiris Ninis was replaced by Salpingidis after the game resumed in the second half. And what a gem of a decision it was! Salpingidis made full use of the opportunity when there was a mix up between the Polish goalkeeper Szczesny and defender Wasilewski, striking the ball to the back of the net. 17 minutes later, Szczesny almost handed the match to the Greeks when he tripped Salpingidis that resulted in him getting a red card and the Greeks a penalty. Amidst the jeering and resentment of the Polish fans at the referee’s decision, the new goalie PSV Eindhoven’s Tyton entered the grand stage.  The fate of the Poles now literally lay on his hands. The penalty spot kick was to be taken by the experienced Greek captain, Giorgos Karagounis. The referee blew the whistle. Karagounis took the spot-kick. But his attempts were foiled by the hero of the day, Tyton, who diving to his left, parried the ball to safety. What a moment it was. The Greeks had the finest opportunity of creating an upset in the opening game of the match itself. But they were turned down by Tyton’s brilliance.

Salpingidis scores

Brilliant save by Tyton

This highly entertaining match finally ended all-square. However, the Poles would be kicking themselves considering the formidable team they were and ruining their chances especially when the Greeks were reduced to 10 men in the first half.

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