Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: West Indies – The Hosts.

The West Indies go into the cricket World Cup 2007 aware of one fact that unlike any other major sport in the world, in cricket, the hosts have never won the world cup. In the past eight editions, all hosts have tried and only one comes close. Sri Lanka in 1996. But they were the co-hosts and will only be considered if cricket forever remains without the headline, “And the world cup has been claimed by the hosts this time around.”

Sad but true is the fact that this time too, like the previous editions, the hosts will not make the cut. Yes we have all heard the same thing before, that the West Indies are no more that force to reckon with. I mean, come on now. Cant you just judge these 11 players on their on merit. Well that’s what I intend to do. However we need to know who the chosen ones are. Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Kieron Pollard.

A decent team on paper you would say with the right mix of experience and youth. Some very good players and some decent players. The sort of balance you might say is required for winning the cup. But they won’t win the cup. Many reasons for that but as has always been the case, we will take them one by one. First of all the expectations. Cricket in this part of the world is a second religion after only the NBA. But make no mistake the fans are as fanatic as you will find in the sub-continent. All this only makes them the people’s favourite, without proper rhyme or reason as to, are they fit enough to make the semi-finals. Too much hype and hoopla will only add to all the pressure there is already on the players, who know they are the home team.

To win this world cup, all you need is a batting line up which can chase down a target of 350. That essentially means you can actually afford to have half decent bowlers in your squad and get away with murder. And that is exactly what they intend to do. With a batting line up which sees the likes of Chris Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul being supported by the inimitable Brian Lara, you know that they are capable of chasing even the tallest targets. Add to that the guile of Bravo, Samuels and Ramdin on their home grounds and you get reassured about their ability to chase.

It’s their ability to defend that I am worried about. They are only as good as any other average team in the field and their bowling attack, as already mentioned is good enough to be taken for 300+ on a decent batting pitch. Bradshaw, Colleymore, Taylor and Powell do not exactly strike fear into the hearts of the opponents on any given day. No comparisons people, but this is true. The one person who ought to have been considered could have been was Fidel Edwards given his raw pace, but his tendency to break down must have been a deterrent.

So far we have discussed the various capabilities of this squad and I must confess that time and again, I have called them good enough. So is the home team pressure enough to say that they won’t win the cup. For all you might know, it might have an opposite reaction. But still I maintain that they won’t win it. Why? Simply put because other teams have better players in both the categories than them. They have bowlers who do give away runs almost every alternate game but also have the tendency to win you some tight matches or defend low scores, ala England. Or the batsmen, they might be good on paper but they have never actually chased down 320+ in the recent memory. eg. New Zealand.

The point I want to make is very clear. They have the gift but it is not enough to win atleast this time around. But cricket as we know is a very unpredictable game. Every thing is going as you say or plan and then suddenly some one just takes it onto him to disrupt your apple cart. And that man in their squad is the dangerous Chris Gayle. He knows the grounds very well. Bats like an indomitable ice man and bowls shrewdly. He could be the one to turn around their fortunes. For the Windies to fire time and again and especially in the second round, he has to be in the form of his life. It doesn’t get any opportunistic than this for some one like him.

Doesn’t mean that Lara is not important. That is actually not possible. Such is the stature of the man. However the role he has to play this time round is totally different. His current stint as captain has been remarkably different than his earlier ones. However the team still has shown suicidal tendencies under pressure. From many a winning position they have taken the plunge. He is the one who can resurrect that. A bit more leading from the front required from the man, which might mean him batting down at 7 or even 8 in the order. Something he has done in the past season quite a few times.

Peeping onto their form book for 2006-07, we see them reverberating between crests and troughs. From the loss in New Zealand to the home win against the Indians to the finals in Champions trophy to again the bottom against Pakistan and the last few games against India, they have had exactly what you call a mixed season, giving at all times mixed signals as to their chances for the big one. Proving all the above correct.

The match against Pakistan, the tournament opener will be their most crucial one. Winning this one would set the tempo for a great tournament for them. Lose it and they will be watching quite a lot of the tournament from the sidelines.

My verdict – The hosts have never won the cup. This headline will remain the same.

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the world stage: Sri Lanka – The Underdogs.

The last time Sri Lanka was regarded the clear under dogs for the cricket World Cup was way back in 1996. Bookmakers had put their chances to 66/1 and we know the end result of that tournament. The Lankans shocked the world with their slam bang approach and great quality spin bowling to lift the trophy, much to the chagrin of the cricketing world. A new force had been born. And it was a force to reckon with.

However ten years is a long time. Much has changed in Sri Lankan cricket, as in the case of all other teams. But the change I am going to discuss is more related to on the field activities rather than the political battles being fought in the Sri Lankan board. So let us first take a look at the team sent to the West Indies: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara.

You compare this team with the ’96 champions and the biggest problem which glares right back at you is probably the biggest reason why they won’t win the cup. They just don’t have that flair. Let’s admit it. Arjuna Ranatunga’s team had that distinct capability to pull a rabbit out of any hat. Be it the (in)famous Kolkatta semi-final, where they were 1/2 in the first over and the rest we know. Or the final in Lahore where they chased down 240+, a feat never achieved before in any previous final. Even much before that, when they made Manoj Prabhakar and the rest of the Indian attack eat out of their hands in a league match in Delhi.

It was as if they were making a point. After West Indies and Australia refused to play in Sri Lanka in the 1996 tournament, the resoluteness showed by the team in proving to the world that they deserved every bit of the credit they got, is historical. But this is not the only reason why they won’t win this time. The other big difference being the leadership. Mahela jayawardene is no Ranatunga. Or for that matter nobody in the present team is as mercurial as the former captain. And that matters why? Because at times like in the semi final at Eden Gardens, you have to lead from the front. Or like Steve Waugh in 1999, you have to rise to the challenge and beat South Africa in the super six to make your team advance. Jayawardene might be the best guy to lead the Lankans into battle as of now, but no, he doesn’t have the makings of a world cup winning captain.

Of course the rest of the team also matters. But there too the story isn’t exactly rosy. The middle order is almost non-existent. It is not like when Roshan Mahanama and the invincible Aravinda de Silva used to take charge and save them from disaster ten years ago. Atapattu’s ODI credentials are still not proven although he is near the end of his career. Tilaktratne Dilshan and Russell Arnold are good players but within their limitations. Sangakkara is the dashing batsman of the team and much will depend on him and his “non-existent” consistency. He needs to be in a purple patch for the Sri Lankan middle order to work. And again, Jayawardene doesn’t exactly score when he needs to.

However, the most important player in the tournament in 1996 is still very much there and as was then, he needs to play out of his skin to make the rest of the Lankans believe that they can go all the way. Sanath Jayasuriya has to replicate the form he showed in England last year. It is going to be his swansong and he knows it. Can his aged shoulders once more take the huge responsibility of guiding his team’s boat of fortune?

The bowling as always is in the hands of two great stalwarts who like Jayasuriya will be playing their last cup finals. Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas have been great for Lankan cricket as individuals and as a hunting pair, but recent trends show that when their 20 overs end, that’s where the problem begins. Malinga, Maharoof and Bandara aren’t exactly in the same class and runs will be taken off them, and that too in plenty, believe me. And that’s why not sending the two great bowlers to India for the recent ODIs is going to prove a mistake.

Their most important match too is against the Indians on 17th march. And had they gone there and taken some wickets, even the Indians would have been wary of them. They (the Indians) were in the midst of building their team, remember? A few questions posed by these two wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. But now the whole ball game is different. As in Pakistan’s case, a win that day is of utmost importance because the points are carried forward.

Talking about recent form, they have won seventy percent of their matches last year. From the 5-0 white wash to the Champions trophy, where they were unlucky not to progress, to the drawn series in New Zealand. The only misfit is the loss to India and that too right before the big tournament. That makes the mistake of not playing Vaas and Murali all the more obvious. But this is exactly the situation where the coach, Tom Moody steps in. He has to make them forget the loss and look ahead to the big one. The way he did when they were smacked by India 6-1 in 2005. He was a key to their reversal of fortunes. Can he do it again?

My verdict – Good guys finish last. Don’t think the old saying is going to change much.

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: Pakistan – The Unpredictables.

If ever Ekta Kapoor wanted to make a television soap on the melodrama in the cricketing world, she doesn’t need to write a script. All she needs to do is follow the fortunes of the Pakistan cricket team for six months and she will get enough antics to keep that soap series running for weeks.

The problem however is that no one in Pakistan is complaining. It has always been like this, some will say, why bother? Yes but its time for the world cup. Better pull your socks up and try and win it. But don’t be surprised if they reply that since it is the world cup year, let’s have a bit more of the drama. And believe me, by making more news off the field than on it this past season, they have done just that.

Taking a look at the fifteen who are currently in the West Indies preparing for the tournament: Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Mehmood, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Yasar Arafat, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, you will find two names missing, those of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. Two players on whom the bowling attack hinges. The very same duo, who have been embroiled in the doping controversy for the past six months.

Actually nobody knows what the whole mess is about. Did Shoaib really slap Woolmer in Jaipur? Did Asif really get into crowd trouble in a party in India and get into trouble, in which Akhtar was party too (pun unintended)? Or is it just ego issues again with inzamam? Is it really that they have failed the drug tests? One thing is for sure, that we will never know. Because this is cricket in Pakistan and probably they themselves don’t know. Unless that or how else do you explain that these two were first implicated in a doping scandal, then banned, then the bans overturned and played in South Africa and then again, didn’t bother to show up for the tests before their departure for the world cup. Or is it that they are really injured?

Whatever the reasons might be, we know that the Pakistan bowling is depleted. If we study the history of their cricket, it is quite clear that pace is their strength. The batting just revolves around it and spinners, except one or two quite good ones, were never that a big factor. That’s the way Pakistan plays its cricket. Now it has to change. It has to find the strike bowlers in the likes of Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Sami. Both don’t make the first team on existing form. Plus Umar Gul’s fitness is still under the scanner as is Sami’s.

In this melee, the bowler who might just land in the Carribean unnoticed is Danish kaneria. The leg spinner has been seldom part of the ODI plans of Woolmer and Inzamam, featuring in less than 20 ODIs so far. His selection is not a surprise anymore because Pakistan has so far failed to fill up Saqlain Mushtaq’s shoes in the shorter version of the game.

And this is the one place the all-rounders would have been valuable. Pakistan has always supported its fast bowlers by able players who bowl first or second change and bat aggressively down the order. Abdur razzaq however got injured at the worst possible moment, in the nets just before leaving. His replacement Azhar Mehmood though a good player when in mood, is clearly an old horse and should have been resting at home. The biggest blow however is Shahid Afridi not playing the first two matches because of suspension.

By the time Afridi returns, they would have already played the West Indies and since the points are carried forward to the next round, this is one reason why the Pakistanis’ world cup might end early. In this edition, carrying points forward in the next round is of utmost importance, when all the best teams will play each other (presumably). And that is exactly where the batsmen have to step up. Only Yousuf Youhana looks a safe bet considering his past year’s run, where as Inzamam remains his mercurial self. Younis Khan is still finding his feet in the ODIs. Plus like all sub continent teams, they are fiddling with their opening combination. Shoaib Malik could come in handy at the top of the order but what Imran Nazir is doing in the team, after a whole year in the wilderness, only god knows.

So much so that even Moin Khan offered to come out of retirement. At what position Moin? If one position in the team is safe, that is of Kamran Akmal, the keeper. And why do you want to de-stabilize that? Guess controversies and Pakistan cricket go hand in hand. If we check the run in to the tournament over the last season, we will see them losing to India at home and then the big debacle in England. The ODIs were lost somewhere in the aftermath. The Champions trophy was bogged down under the doping fiasco but somehow managed to save face against the West Indies at home. However, just when things started looking up, the thrashing in South Africa undid all that.

Clearly, this team has had very little or no preparation at all. Very unlike a Bob Woolmer team. But then Woolmer didn’t know what he was getting into when he took up the job. Inspite of all this, the Pakistanis are a threat. Exactly what anybody in the world will say this, whatever be their form or present state of affairs. They are a sleeping volcano which can erupt anytime. Bob Woolmer knows atleast that. The big question is: can he ignite them?


My Verdict: They won’t win the cup but I am not betting my life on that.