Test Cricket around the Globe, and Tendulkar’s Withdrawal: a Week In Review

As I write this, the winners of the inaugural Indian Premier League are yet to be announced. The tournament has been great, exhilarating, and eye opening, to say the least. But it has left me feeling a bit over fed!

By the end of it all, I can even say that the last few games have bordered on boring! But then again, I did lose a lot of interest once the Mumbai Indians were knocked out. All said and done, this has left me craving for the longer versions of the game.

Thankfully, the test series in England and West Indies have been welcome distractions from the T20. Australia, as usual, is busy mauling the highly inconsistent Windies. The flat wickets are only adding to the home team’s problems. The Calypsos should be looking to back their fast bowlers with some livelier tracks!

Their bowling is by far their strength, with Powell, Edwards and Taylor, all tall and well built fast bowlers, and Dwayne Bravo, a skiddy customer with the ability to move the ball either way, providing enough reasons for a green and bouncy track.

Their batting at the moment looks almost as brittle as that of Bangladesh. Their only saving grace is probably Chanderpaul, and they really need Sarwan to click more consistently if they are to stand a chance against any team placed higher than them in the ICC standings.

The absence of Chris Gayle at the top is being cited as a reason for their poor batting performances, but the fact of the matter is, I doubt Gayle would have made much of a difference! With an average of 38 in tests, his record against the world champs is even worse. Unlike Bangladesh, though, this team has hope, and a legacy to uphold. Reasons enough to dream of a revival? We will find out soon…

In Europe, on the other hand, the visitors seem to be going one-up on the West Indians when it comes to cricketing lunacy. While they managed a draw in the first test, due to some brilliant batting by McCullum (1^stinning) and Oram (2^ndinning), and of course Captain Daniel Vettori’s seemingly perpetual all round brilliance, they squandered any chances of an easy victory at Old Trafford, with appalling running and fielding.

While Vettori continued the good form with the ball, he threw his wicket away, to say the least, while Oram showed how carelessness can ruin batsmen at the very top of their game. A run out in the first inning ended what looked to be another brutal and entertaining inning from the big Kiwi, while a careless swing outside off stump in the second inning betrayed the kind of form he has been in.

One does feel for Ross Taylor, though. He played aggressive cricket to get to his hundred, and then rallied with the tail-enders to set up a huge total for self and team, only to see his team mates squander it all away. Nevertheless, it augurs well for New Zealand that Taylor, McCullum and Oram all seem to be in good form.

It’s just a matter of it all falling together now, and they might yet salvage a drawn series. England, on the other hand, looked good in the batting department. Vaughan and Strauss have shown good form, and Pietersen looked like gaining some sort of his former self in the last inning at Old Trafford.

Their bowling has left much to be desired, notably in the fast bowling department. It’s a pale shadow of the Ashes line up, and quite tragic in hindsight. Injuries have rendered that triumph of three years ago as a one-off. One just hopes Hoggard and Harmison can make a comeback.

Sidebottom and Anderson, though they have done a decent job thus far, just don’t seem to be in the same class as The Class of ’05. Panesar put up a show at Manchester, but he needs to do better on less helpful wickets, something which Vettori manages masterfully well, before he can be classed along side his opposite number. But the talent is there. So is the time.

Back in India the squad for the One Day Internationals (At last! When was the last one played?) in Bangladesh (triangular; including Pakistanand Bangladesh) and the Asia Cup in Pakistanhave been announced. The only notable omission being Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Much has already been said about his withdrawal. While some seem to be exasperated with his recurring injuries, others are pleading for him to quit the sport. The latter is highly likely of the media, which always seems to swing from one extreme to another, never content with the moderate in between. The former though is quite clear, most visibly in his die hard fans, as well as the general viewing public.

It kept him out of the home series against South Africa, half the IPL games of his team, the Mumbai Indians, and now it has forced him out for another month. While people go an rambling about his future in Indian cricket, it is important that one look beyond Tendulkar for a bit, and check out the larger picture.

The two events will give India ample opportunity to look for a replacement at the top of the order, something that has troubled the team for the past four years, a period in which Tendulkar has constantly been missing ODI games for the country. A steady replacement, only in the batting position, never really a replacement in effect, would ensure a relatively hassle free phasing out of the Little Master in the near future.

Meanwhile, the injury gives Tendulkar a much needed break from the rigours of international cricket, ahead of an important clash against Sri Lanka, in the Emerald Island itself. It’s been seven years since India last visited the islanders.

Last time around the series was won by the Lankans, 2-1 being the final tally. Of course the great Tendulkar versus Murali battle will be revived, and there is every possibility, fitness willing, that The Master may overtake Lara’s run tally, too.

That’s a long way off though.

Now, I begin preparing for the IPL final later tonight. Hopefully, it will be one to remember!