FCKING BLOG

If you can’t figure out who’s playing for who in this series, you’re not alone. This ensemble is good enough to make a soap opera of a series with all the underlying allegiances and doubtful loyalties.

England has in its ranks players of South African and Irish origins while South Africa has in its ranks Ex Kolpak players who decided to come back home rather than play under another flag.

The T20s begin today and coupled with injuries,  some weird selection decisions have been made. Alistair Cook, who doesn’t feature in the England ODI squad is set to open the batting. Andrew Strauss, their most prolific scorer in Tests and ODIs and captain of those two teams does not like playing T20 and hence will sit out. But wait, Cook is doubtful to start due to a sore threat and Strauss may just play under Collingwood in the T20 team.

The South Africans have a much stronger team. The sheer amount of players who can pass off as all rounders is their trump card. They have Albie Morkel, Duminy, Botha, van der Merwe and Ryan McLaren. So strong is their squad that they have rested Jacques Kallis for the first T20.

England’s response to this crack team of all rounders is a rather modest line up of Paul Collingwood, Luke Wright, Graeme Swann. Dimitri Mascarenhas is not in the team, Stuart Broad is out with an injury and Tim Bresnan has not done much besides a solitary 50 in the Champions Trophy.

The batsmen on either sides could probably match each other. Graeme Smith, Loots Bosman & A B deVilliers against Joe Denly, Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan.

The bowling is much more balanced with Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt and Wayne Parnell up against James Anderson, Graham Onions and Bresnan/Sajid Mahmood.

South Africa will use the T20s to test young wicket keeper Heino Kuhn as a choice for the future. He has been consistent in his batting and keeping for his domestic team and will be eager to seal a place ahead of other competitors such as a Morne van Wyk.

Dhoni with his fantasy cricket spoils

Hahaha Dhoni! What a way to crap all over my predictions. You must be laughing smugly in your hotel room and winking slyly at Raina, thinking about how much more awesome your keeping is than Paine’s and how you can hit sixes over long on with just a flick of your wrists.

Smashing the highest score by a wicketkeeper/captain against Australia and helping post the highest total against the Australians in the first innings is a good way to answer people. Good move sending Yuvraj ahead of you and coming in before Raina and then playing to the plan. Let’s see you do that again, make everyone happy you punter!

Ishant, earlier the uncertainty has now sealed his place in the side for at least another two matches which makes you wonder whether it was the absence of Sehwag which led to his dip in form or was it an actual fcking rooted in technical flaws dip in form so serious that it cost Venkatesh Prasad his job.

The curious Jadeja<Bhajji<Jadeja>Bhajji phenomenon in which Ravindra Jadeja has bowled better than Harbhajan who has batted than Jadeja  is causing some serious filips in the time space continuum. Here the designated batting all rounder and the aspiring bowling all rounder are eating into each other’s points and I’m confused if I should just get two specialists in their places and get on with it.

Australia will miss their all round strength. Hopes injured himself pretty badly in the first match and so did Brett Lee although Hopes is out for the tournament while Brett Lee is being rested as a precaution. Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson have both been ineffective till now although it’s about time for Watson to be warmed up and acclimatized enough.

The Delhi pitch should come as respite for the bowlers who’ve been subject to much violence in the two matches. If anyone remembers how the pitch behaved in the Champions League, this will still be the slow, low and deceptive track that teams slaved on to make runs.

Coming to batting, Australia must now also replace Tim Paine, reliable both in front of and behind the stumps after he broke his finger collecting stray missiles. Coming in his place is Graham Manou, no good as a batsman in international cricket so this makes Dhoni a better wicketkeeping option for your team unless you want to keep Manou because he’s so cheap and load up on other specialists.

This gives Shaun Marsh the chance to return to the top of the order while Moises Henriques can come into the team to provide an all round option they so badly need. Hilfenhaus who is a much better bowler in the right conditions deserves a match on this pitch but not only Bollinger has done well on this very pitch a few weeks ago but he’s also pledged to put in a 150,000% effort if he plays so that just wins the stats fan in me.

Gautam Gambhir’s policy of using his anger to motivate himself is working out well. The idea is to make a significant contribution before being run out so that the blinding rage fuels the next big knock. This self sustaining reaction is serving India well while Tendulkar takes his time to start seeing the ball and Sehwag starts doing just whatever it is that he does.

Raina, despite his flashy cameo makes it to the team primarily because he’s the cheapest buy in the Indian batting line up. Everyone has made their claim to stay in the team on both sides but Australia will worry about Adam Voges.

If only because of the pitch the Delhi game will be interesting to see how India handle victory.

And how they play now that I’ve praised them all.

Who let the dogs out?

This series will essentially settle for a while the question about who is the better among these two teams.

The series is also expected to (temporarily) settle the contest between Ricky Ponting & Sachin Tendulkar, the places of Nathan Hauritz, Ravinder Jadeja, Munaf Patel and Adam Voges in their sides, whether Harbhajan could be the bowling all-rounder India are looking for and the Cauvery river water issue.

Wait, it will not settle the Cauvery river water issue. That’s for the matches between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore to do.

So, sub continental pitches and a tradition of raising his game against Australia make Harbhajan a must have for this series. Yuvraj & Sehwag dominate on these pitches (remember what they did to England last year?) and this time they will be supported by Raina and Jadeja (they better be). The four will also shoulder the burden of India’s part time bowling between them.

Dhoni is a good wicketkeeper and was a explosive batsman but Tim Paine has been much more consistent at the top of the Australian batting order and makes a cheaper, much more sensible option over Dhoni.

Brett Lee has been in amazing form in the limited overs matches this year and his batting is top class too as he showed in the Champions League final but with his injury in the first ODI, Peter Siddle becomes a safe replacement. Mitchell Johnson comes into the team purely on the basis of his all round contribution while Hauritz comes in with his new found attacking belief. Of the Indians, only Ashish Nehra is a surety to play all the matches.

PK and Ishant might be rested if Dhoni decides to play Munaf and test Tyagi in at least one match in the series. Given Dhoni’s recent tendencies to not experiment with a combination this is most likely to happen only if the series is decided before the last match.

For Australia, Voges might play rather than Shaun Marsh as both Watson and Paine have had a good run as openers. Playing Voges gives them a middle order batsman as well as a part time spinner without having to disturb a set opening combination.

So, get your team together and earn your points already!

Three state sides and a team representing a sovereign nation will compete in the semi finals to decide who goes into the final of the Champions League. Here’s a quick look at the dudes you might want to pick in your team.

Perkins of Trinidad & Tobago is technically a wicket keeper and an explosive opening batsman so he is a better choice than all the other keepers remaining, all of whom have been largely unimpressive.

The bowlers in the semifinal between NSW and Victoria Bushrangers will have a good time on the slow and low pitch at the Kotla in Delhi. NSW’s attack was good even on the Hyderabad pitch while Victoria found the going hard in Bangalore. The spinners of the two sides, Jon Holland & Nathan Hauritz have done well and will enjoy bowling in Delhi.

Victoria’s top order has been inconsistent while Warner and Hughes from NSW have been much more consistent.

The batsmen in the Hyderabad semi final between Cape Cobras and and Trinidad & Tobago will find it easier to slog  but don’t dismiss the bowlers. T&T were in a corner against NSW before Pollard let the crowd smell what he was cooking (Moises Henriques). If the bowlers on both sides hold their nerves despite any assault, this match will surely turn out to be even and exciting.

Charl Langeveldt’s return might see the Cape Cobras get an early breakthrough but they face an explosive roadblock in the form of Lendl Simmons & Kieron Pollard to get through. Then there is Dwayne Bravo to follow.

The Cobras batting too is somewhat  strong with every batsman except for Gibbs having contributed. Henry Davids has been the most consistent while Duminy & Puttick have done one man demolition acts too.

Watching teams that I know shit about lose is quite a relieving feeling. No disappointment to shrug off. Maybe it’s because my fantasy team has been doing well. Or the hot cheerleader close ups.

The Champions League T20 has been fun with the pitches which have made it a contest between the bat and the ball. Hopefully more than a few minds will be changed about ‘the nature of subcontinental pitches’ by the time this tournament is over.

It’ll also valuate the IPL sides skill and sporting value wise never mind how much they cost and slot them in the world order of domestic set ups. Maybe the debate about what kind of domestic system nurtures the best talent will be settled here.

Also interesting to watch will be the difference in the mindsets of players when they play for a home team against when they play for a team that pays them a lot. A lot of IPL & national duds/ perennial benchwarmers/ discards are in this tournament playing for their state teams in the CLT20 so it’ll be interesting to see how they seize their chances on the closest thing to a international tournament they’ll get to play representing a domestic side.

Anyway, the return of international cricket to India and the planning for this tournament meant that I spent a lot of time online changing my team and found this while going through the rest of the site:

He’s no bird but boy can he fly! Brendon McCullum’s electric wicket keeping is only bettered by his explosive batting. Practice your skills with the Otago Volts, Kolkata Knight Riders & New Zealand wicket keeper as he prepares for the Champions League T20 in India.

Catch It Like It's Swine Flu

Click here to go to the Official Otago Volts League

The New Zealand domestic State Twenty20 champions, the Otago Volts have a new sponsor, Dream11, who have promised to feed 100 hundred children for every run the Volts score and for every wicket they take in the Champions League T20.

In return, the Otago Volts players will play some real cricket against the domestic champions from South Africa & the runners up from India who actually played in South Africa.

Then they will play fantasy cricket against Dream11 users in a public league on the site. They’ll probably interact with the users on the message boards, profess their immense respect for other players while justifying selections and omissions.

Some of the international players might be pulled into interesting discussions where they will be asked to justify their decision to play in a exhausting tournament in the middle of a hectic international season. Maybe we’ll see some wit, temper fail or a knack for the gross out. Maybe some’ll actually play and not have a dummy click on stuff for him.

Maybe it’ll be like Star Wars on Page 2 from Cricinfo during the IPL2 & ICC T20 WC. Maybe it won’t. But you might have Brendon & other assorted Kiwis for playmates.

It’s big, it’s overwhelming and it’s coming fast.

The first ever edition of the Champions League T20 is gonna leave a hell lot of people confused by the time it’s done. Teams you already know and teams you might start liking over a period of three games might suddenly be dumped out and you’ll be left stranded without a team to cheer.

Managing a fantasy team for such a tournament  is a chore with all the plotting of transfers with the schedule and that’s where  the  split round format saves the day. In this the different stages of the tournament are split into rounds of 2-3 games. Your team is locked for each round and at the end of the round you can completely overhaul your team. This takes out the whole problem of balancing your transfers and doesn’t cost you for injury substitutions & dumping passengers from your team. Dream11 and Cricket Inc are the two big websites which have this round system as of now.

Cricinfo has a good game on which following up on points is easy but the limited number of transfers in a league stage and the inflated valuations piss off the good work. Specifically when a lot of players drop out due to injuries in a long tournament.

Putting grievances aside, here’s my dastardly dozen for the Champions League T20. It’s the team for the first round hence the selections from only 6 of the 12 teams. The H. Singh is Harmeet Singh from Deccan Chargers, the lucky mascot for the team according to Gilchrist because they never lost a match whenever he was in the playing 11. He’s my 12th man.

FCKing's Dirty Dozen

I’m like a kid the day before his birthday. Something big’s coming around and I’m waiting for it.

The depth of cricket has made it hard to recreate the experience in other forms. There are many board games, online games, video games and even card games based on cricket but nothing’s close to the real thing.

Most online games are a variation of see ball-hit ball or are fantasy cricket games, nothing kick ass radical. While this remains a classic for the first case, this is the moon landing as far as fantasy cricket is concerned.

My point is, we’ve got to look at infinity & beyond.

Howzat is a about to be launched social online multi player cricket game. You can play with people from all over the world. From the looks of it, the game will merge the fantasy cricket aspect with improved simulation of cricket to bring you something never seen before.

The alpha version will be out shortly and you can sign up to play at their site. They’re also running contests in which you can win some killer stuff (16GB iPod Touch, Rapidshare accounts, Amazon vouchers, etc). A lot more details are on their site including links to their Facebook and Orkut pages and also check out their blog.

So get your ass there! Now!