Hey there again

Nothing great in this article but it was written in New York Times ... cricket article in NYT ... in this they call Andrew Flintoff "amiable all rounder" ... lol ... worth a dekko just for the title of the story.

http://www.nytimes.com/iht/2005/10/26/sports/IHT-26CRICKET.html

This one is Gavaskar's rant on the game yesterday - Click here ...

What is his problem anyway? U know one thing about Gavaskar I have always believed? He is one of the shrewdest cookies in the jar which is Indian cricket but man, does he have a chip on his shoulder about anything and everything? India get a great victory yesterday and he cribs about Venu not batting and Agarkar and Pathan coming before him etc etc etc ... I can't believe he doesn't have the sense to understand that strategies r made on the run and for a different situation (say lesser score for more number of wickets), it would most probably be Venu who would have come in ... but in this scenario where going slam-bang was the need of the hour, it was a smart decision to keep Venu back ... I know Gavaskar can understand that coz he is shrewd enough ... but he has also faced defeat in his public support for Sourav Ganguly and opposition for Greg Chappell during the selection of coach and during the face off between captain and coach... so expect many such diatribes from Gavaskar if Chappell's tenure produces some good results ... coz Gavaskar would be one of the unhappiest around. He would rather have India losing and getting his "i told u so" moment.

Fletcher takes off on Gavaskar for his "unworthy" comments about the English team the last time they toured India. Gavaskar also belongs to the school of thought where in order to show that they don't consider "white skin" to be superior, they have to say and do everything against the white skin even if it is not required. He champions himself as an "India is better than England ... or any other white country" preacher ... but he rarely talks sense. I remember the diatribe that Fletcher is talking about ... and Gavaskar must be a real shameless guy to be taking off on the Englishmen when the Indian team played equally lousy "and boring" cricket so many times.

Interestingly, Dinesh Mongia gives an interview on Rediff where he questions his ommission ... has he given up hope of being in the Indian cricket team ... coz generally those that have hope don't go around questioning authority as he is doing -http://us.rediff.com/cricket/2005/oct/26cinter.htm?q=tp&file=.htm

BTW, on non cricketing news, before she goes into the Australian Open next year, Sania Mirza would have done a stint with the Australian great Tony Roche, current coach (not permanent ... I guess, consultant coach) of Roger Federer. Acknowledged as one of the best (if not the best) coaches, he has agreed to a stint with Mirza on the recommendation of Jaideep Mukherjea ... would be nice if he can teach her some things about strengthening her serve and learning to serve & volley a little bit ... something that is almost absent from her game today.

Ok guys ... back to the grind.

Cheers