Ponting: beaten...literally

What do you call a formula-1 driver who refuses to wear a helmet? brave fellow or a stupid? While "stupid" is the best answer here, any other related words will fit well.

Ricky Ponting refuses to wear a helmet while standing at the Silly Point position. It is about 2-3 yards away from an international batsman who is looking to score. See this pic:


I have even seen Ponting not wearing a helmet and standing in that position for Sachin Tendulkar. If I were a batsman, the first thing I'll do is ask him not to stand that close or wear a helmet. Who would want a Ponting's damaged brain in conscience? If he refuses to move or wear a helmet, what prevents you from aiming your shot particularly for his head? Is that your problem...or Ponting's problem. Dhoni, the audacious cricketer, always wears a helmet while standing up, even to spinners. Does this mean Dhoni is not as courageous as Ponting on a cricket field? While Ponting's case is stupidity, Dhoni is just being extra careful.

Lets come to the point - On the 3rd day of 5th Ashes 2009 match, Ponting was hit by Matt Prior's cover drive on the face and got swollen/bleeding lips (which a helmet would have prevented). See the pics:












[ Note: Original pics are at cricinfo]

I have nothing against Ponting to feel happy about this - in fact, I feel sorry for him. However, almost everyone knows about his arrogance and win-at-any-cost attitude. Looking back at his actions as Australian captain, may be.......just may be...Matt Prior was programmed to pay back on behalf of countless number of batsmen he bullied standing at Silly Point while Shane Warne was bowling.

VR in Spring 2009 Season

[ L->R Table: Vijay Kumar, Satish, Jaggu, Ashwin, Appu(standing), Shiva, Kripa, Mummoorthy (Captain); L->R Floor: Parmesh (Wkt Keeper), Vishal, Raja(Bala) ganesh]

Virtual Reality fielded its 3rd generation cricket team in the Spring 2009 PUCC Indoor Tournament. Having been in VR from Spring 2006 (when it was founded), I can say VR09 is my favorite along with the VR06. Well, VR06 is the unbeatable team in Armory in every sense of the word - no team can even come close to being at the same league as the first version, VR06. The ironic comedy is that these two best teams lost out in the semi-finals in their respective season. VR06 lost to GoCityBus in the Semi-finals. Batting first, VR06 scored 89 and still ended up losing due to insipid fielding and bowling. VR09 just scored 66 but almost won the match with some great bowling/fielding performances from every one.

This VR team of Spring 2009 put up a performance the Armory has not witnessed in many seasons - it is not one of those fluke performances. The team worked hard, practiced hard and played hard. I would say VR09 was qualified to be the Champion, but still ended up in the losing side - it is hard, but everyone should realize that the team which learns from a heart-breaking loss is the true champion team. Players from VR06 did just that. May be the history won't repeat itself.....or may be it will. Who knows!!!

Since some players are leaving this semester, let me comment about each player in VR09 ( follow the picture order). Vijay Kumar is one of the dynamic opening batsmen in Armory. It is not only his range of strokes, but his running between the wickets, and non-selfish batting that always inspires others. Satish single-handedly helped VR to register our first win in this season with some awesome batting. His QF bowling performance is a special and a match-winning one. If Satish almost sealed the QF win, it was Jaggu's bowling that really inspired us to win that game. Jaggu produced some amazing spells in QF and SF that set him apart as a champion bowler - his bowling showcased why VR won so many matches in our previous seasons. Aswin started brilliantly with some nice batting at the top order. Lack of form towards the end didn't do much for his confidence but he contributed greatly by his athletic fielding. Appu came to many practice sessions and even demonstrated batting skills for the players. Shiva fit into the strike bowler role very smoothly for VR. His disciplined and lethal bowling at the start of innings provided great start to VR in almost every match. And he bowls those well-disguised slower balls ;). I personally think Kripa exhibited only 10% of his bowling potential. It is just a matter of time before he poses danger to many batsman, probably in Seattle ;).

Skipping me (as this blog space is not enough....just kidding), we'll go to Paramesh. I have often told people to bat naturally; hit the easy ball, defend tricky balls as you perceive in any instant. Batting natural is about trusting your instinct as you wait for the ball at the crease and playing accordingly. Well, match after match, Paramesh showcased the natural batting effortlessly. He is one of the best batsmen and allround cricketer I have ever seen in Armory, in the ranks of ex-Ashwin and Paranjpe. It was a delight to bat with him. Too bad he is leaving this semester. Vishal's QF blast against Bullets was magical. I always thought he was highly gifted as a batsman but somehow didn't click until the end. His QF batting was flawless and his team spirit while fielding is an example for many others to follow. Bala Ganesh (also known as Raja Ganesh ;) ) was an embodiment of VR spirit; unadulterated fun & energy while playing Cricket. Somehow I see some similarities between him and Sachin Tendulkar...wait a minute..let me explain. He opens the batting, almost always gets out by edging the ball on to his stumps or gets some real bad decisions and that too in the first over!!! :). He even plays soccer in the cricket field ( recall he kicked a ball to single which was a sure boundary in QF). He was one of our finest and reliable fileders. And finally, Venkatt, our regular opening batsman missed most of the season to work on his defense (i.e. thesis defense...as his defensive techniques are already well-developed and borrowed from the great wall, Dravid). He's a very strong and reliable opening bat, plus partners very well with others. Any one can trust him in running between the wickets - if at all there's a miscommunication - somehow, he'll be the one to get runout ;).

According to me, there are two kinds of cricketers; the ones you want in your team and the ones you want in your opposition team. Well, personally, I'll not hesitate a moment to be team-mates with any of these guys!!! - MM

Gilly's Gilli-Danda

Adam Gilchrist's autobiography has been out. Read the cricinfo report here. Well, the opening is just as his batting: exhilarating. What else can you say about someone who can destroy a bowling attack of {Donald, Ntini, Nel} combo (See here). Gilchrist's book talks about Shane Warne, Slater, etc. The main thing we are concerned about are those that involve Sachin Tendulkar. He has supposedly said couple of things about Tendulkar.

1. He questioned Tendulkar's evidence in favor of Harbhajan Singh whether Bhajji called Symonds a 'Monkey'.
2. He has also said Tendulkar was "hard to find for a changing-room handshake after Indian was beaten"

I agree with Gilly on the first point. Tendulkar essentially lied to protect his teammate Bhajji, from what could have been the end of his career. What Gilchrist has said is only the partial truth. The whole truth is the fact that Symonds (and few othe Aussie players) picked on Harbhajan, when Bhaji was just minding his own business. Symonds had no business to talk to Harbhajan since they already had plenty in the plate.....previous episodes. It was nothing, but a set-up to make Harbhajan say that particular word. Well, Bhaji, not so cunning in anything other than off-spin bowling(slap), fell in the trap. I don't understand what else Gilchrist expected from Tendulkar. That Australian team was the most despicable ever, and Gilly wants to play Gilli-Danda with Bhajji's career. May be he wanted to hear Tendulkar's kiddish voice saying,"Gilly bhai is right, Harbhajan said that word". In that case, why can't Gilly come clean about the whole episode - the aussie trap for Bhajji, and what was said by Symonds, Hayden and the punter. Considering all these, Gilly should either keep his mouth shut or say the whole truth.

The second comment is very close to get a thumps-up from me; but not quite there. Gilchrist basically says that Indians shouldn't be complaining that Aussies didn't offer handshake with Kumble/Sharma after the Syndney test - because Tendulkar and Bhajji hide themselves whenever India loses. Personally I believe the teams that lose are better left alone, by their own choice to reflect upon the loss. So, the winning team shouldn't complain if the team that lost the match is not available for a handshake. On the contrary, the more serious issue is that when a team wins a match, and celebrates so much so that they forget to offer handshakes to the losing team members - In my book, the second scenario is more serious sportsmanship than the first. Well, it is no wonder Gilly complains about this since he often ended up in the winning team. For him, it might look strange when Tendulkar or Bhajji is so disappointed and wanting to have some time alone, because Gilchrist didn't have to do that often. For Gilly to be talking about loss, it is like a life-long rich man talking about hunger. Well, Gilly, you've got it wrong again. I wish Gilly didn't retire that early - may be he'll have some those moments when he wants to get into the cold shower just to avoid handshakes from Indians after Aussies get thrashed. Gilly has made a good decision on his retirement timing!!!

In my own experience, I encountered only one team that actually acted so disgracefully on the cricket field. When we were chasing, we lost many wickets too soon and were at the brink of defeat with our 11th man batting. That opposition team members realizing that we didn't not have any chance to win, crowded the batsman, every one of them and started a big bantering on that batsman - they just humiliated that 11th man. As you might know, the history repeats itself; The same team got thrashed - really thrashed by our team with in a matter of 1 month. When that happened, all of them tucked their tails between their legs; When their stumps were shattered, they ran like rats, and finally ended up in the hole. After that match, I refused to handshake with any one from that team. Cricket is a sport - I understand when players occasionally cross the limit..but the captain has to reign in. There are certain occasions when some captains/team members are better categorized as rats - not gentlemen. Handshakes are unnecessary in such cases.

I am not sure what Gilchrist perceives himself or his teammates to be.

- Brownstone Cricketer.

PS: Gilli-Danda is an India sport - popular among youth rather than adults.

The Sydney Saga and the Spirit of Cricket

If it is not a law, what is it then? I mean, 'Spirit of Cricket'. Is there a set of rules that govern the spirit of cricket? Well, it is not hard to realize that only lack of such rules create the notion of spirit of cricket. Otherwise, they would be simply be termed 'laws of cricket'.

After that Sydney test between Austraila and India, this topic has gained lots of attention. Especially after Kumble uttered (i.e., repeated) those historically important words, "only one team played in the spirit of the game". I was told this remark evoked plenty of claps from journalists in that press room. In contrast to the Indian captain, Pointing was adamant that he or his Australian team did nothing wrong to deserve such a comment from Kumble. Oops, Ponting had committed a mistake of his life right there. He is simply the best batsman in terms of attacking the opposition, scoring quick runs, and importantly, winning matches. With just sticking to his one view, and blinded by his team's heavy success, he obviously couldn't see the other side of the argument. I believe Australia will struggle with this 'spirit of cricket' for more years to come, considering the fact that MJ Clarke (the street cheat cricketer of next era) will be captaining Australia.

Overall, it was a reality check. Australia was never blamed before for their win-or-nothing attitude, and that match showcased their sickening on-field actions beautifully for everyone to see. In retrospect, I feel that India's loss was a good thing. Otherwise, I am sure the rest of the events would've unfolded quite differently to what we have seen.

So, the main question is what is 'spirit of cricket (SOC)'. The answer is not simple. If you start listing things that are against the SOC, believe me, the list is endless. And similarly, you can't list all that are for the SOC. Personally, I feel that whenever someone uses a statement, "by the laws of cricket..." as the ONLY ONE defense for the actions done on a cricket field, then most likely the spirit of cricket is thrown to gutter, and that player is left with only laws to defend himself.

Consider the famous underarm incident. The rule was not in place to call the underarm ball a no-ball. Gregg "Evil" Chappell knew about this, and used it well for his team's victory. At the end of the day, Gregg could have simply said, "By law, it was a legal ball", and end the argument. There was nothing else to justify that ugly, and dirty trick. Same thing applies to the body line series.

Second recent incident that I could recall dates back to 1999, India-Pakistan test @ Calcutta. India was chasing ~270 in the 4th innings. Sachin hit 3 runs of Shohaib, and got runout only because Shohaib (unintentionally) pushed him out of the crease while backing up the throw. Pakistan team appealed, and Sachin was rightly given out, technically speaking. However, Pakistan captain Wasim Akram didn't have the decency to recall Sachin, which I found to be against the spirit of cricket. How Akram could have defended himself? Use the phrase, "by laws of cricket, Sachin was out...blah blah". It was highly inappropriate gesture from Akram. [ He should have simply recalled Sachin. I am sure Sachin would've got out immediately. OR he would've scored a century, and got a back pain, and got out. Eventually India would've lost, and Sachin would have picked up his another man-of-the-match-India-lost award].

Now, to the critical question: If a batsman does not walk, is that against the 'spirit of cricket'? Of course not. It is the umpires duty to judge the appeal, and decide. After that Sydeny test, there were many articles (most from Indian press) saying, "Ponting, MJ Clarke , Symonds all stood their ground when they were clearly out. How could any one trust their word on catches?". I found this silly. Consider this: In a recent ODI between India and Australie, Sachin nicked a ball from Clark, and he stood his ground. Eventually he was not given out. He didn't walk, does that mean Sachin is a liar? Probably not. Walking and not-walking should never be used in the context of 'Spirit of cricket'. It is the choice of the batsmen, and it is mainly individual one. Sometimes, it is even dependent on the opposition team [who would want to walk against Australia?] or score.

'Spirit of cricket' has to do with what people do when things they do are not against the laws, but anyone playing cricket in good spirit wouldn't do that.

Delaying things to avoid a defeat (Pakistan did it against England, but Eng won anyway), throwing the ball at the batsman while pretending to run him out, sledging using personal matters, deliberately running down on the pitch to help spinners (you get warned though), slow things down purposefully, bowling well wide of the off-stumps consistently to reduce the run-rate in tests, starting the run-up before batsman is ready (MJ Clarke's top ball)......plenty you can add.

Coming back to the Sydney test, it is clear that Pointing conned Kumble somehow to have an agreement that the close catches would be decided by the fielding captain & his fielders. How naive of Kumble to trust those dirty characters (read Australian team) in cricket? It is of course not thief's mistake if he steals your money. This only came to strike Kumble when Ponting appealed for his grounded catch of Dhoni, and MJ Clarke claimed a catch he clearly grounded. By rule, Kumble had to accept those decisions because he had agreed with Ponting to trust the fielder's call. However, this was against the spirit of cricket because MJ Carke or Ponting could have easily preferred to ask the third umpire. Instead, their greed for win blinded their eyes, and to say, "they acted as cons" is very much appropriate. However, if you ask me, I find Kumble as the guilty party. Leaving the door open for thieves, and then shouting for justice is childish.

Nevertheless, Kumble should be congratulated for leading the team bravely after that fiasco. He has once again shown what a great cricketer he is.

- Brownstone Cricketer.

Dissecting Dravid's brain: If such a thing exists ....

WARNING: Let me warn you first if you are a Dravid fan: Don't read further. Either you'll feel depressed to see some blatant truths about Dravid's brain or unwantedly get high BP about this article. Either way, it's not good for health. For the rest of the thinking population, you have the green signal to go ahead & enjoy this.

Dravid's batting in the first test of Aus 2007 series is a study of a unread book. The problem is that the book is blank as his brain. It is not hard to write a book of no shots, and indeed it is empty. What is cricket without actually hitting the ball? That innings reminded some acute observers, including myself, those olden days when Dravid was well known for his half-an-inch-outside-offstump-well-left, and the-not-a-penny-worth-rock-solid-defense. Dravid, the name itself sparked emotions from the innocuous cricket balls since only he took care of them properly, by simply not hitting them. The likes of Pollock, Donald, and Akthar had to think twice to bowl at him....just to not waste their energy in runups: anyhow, he was going to beautifully (as described by the Sunny-another-darvid-Gavaskar) leave lot of balls. why run so long...!

Somehow he transformed himself to a better player, and remained in both the ODI and the Test team. Those periods were his golden era. He played the balls on their merit, and scoring runs was back on his priority list. And now, suddenly he is back to his old & useless self.

Any batsman, at the start of his innings , defends few balls to get set, and then starts playing his shorts. Sometimes, when a wicket falls or a particular bowler is bowling a testing over, it is okay to defend few more balls. Dravid's mind somehow gets the idea that every ball by an australian bowler is a threat to his wicket, and he is the last wicket OR has it got a wrong idea that runs are measured by how many minutes he stays at the wicket?? OR has it taken his nick 'wall' literally?

The pure joy for hate-dravid-as-captain-club people is to watch him captain the side during an ODI in the first 15 overs. Since there's a freedom of placing catching fielders anywhere in that 15 yard circle, he's usually confused like hell. He'll remove the 2nd slip, and the next ball would fly through 2nd slip for 4. So immediately he'll move the short cover to 2nd slip, and the next ball would go down as chance at cover......overall, he simply didn't have any gameplan as captain. Now, by playing like a brain-dead batsman, sweat-like-crazy-for-scorning-5-runs-in-11-overs, eat-balls-like-kumbakarna, score-20-runs-play-30-overs....he has shown that he can't have a gameplan as a batsman too. Let no one say 'Dravid is a class act' as he's only fit for closet (something else fits here nicely, but this blog is a neat place you know).

Looking at this in any angle, it is hard to fathom what was his mind upto. Only he'll know. Till then his batting remains an empty book. Simply nothing!

THREE CHEERS TO VIRTUAL REALITY

14 runs were needed off the last over. This was a match befitting of a final. Yagna was given the task of bowling the last over. Punjabi Pride was definitely hanging in there hoping that they could pull of a dramatic victory. I must admit I was a little nervous and was biting my nails when Yagna started running in to bowl the last over. Yagna was slightly off color and had bowled his fair share off wides in the game. But he delivered when it mattered the most; five good balls yielded only seven runs. Seven runs off the last ball. What a fitting climax to the tournament. Six to tie the match. I had a word with Chintan asking him what would happen if the match ended in a tie. A bowl out was what he said with a chuckle. I was pretty sure that we would win the match, but being a pessimist the thought of a bowl out crossed my mind. Yagna ran up to bowl the last ball, hearts in my mouth. It was a good length delivery, and the batsman wildly swung his bat, but connected only the few mosquitos flying around. Sreeram safely collected the ball, and removed the bails, just in case batsmen attempted a run. No run was scored on that last ball and we had silenced the Punjabi Pride!! We were champions again. Wow…

Dead, buried and written off a few weeks back, playing spirited cricket when it mattered the most, the Virtual Reality bounced back from the ignominy of being dumped out of the tournament even before the knock out stages began to convincingly beat Team Waqas and PUCC in the quarters and semis and then defeat Punjabi in a close encounter.

Earlier Appu won the toss and elected to bat. It was good that we won the toss as he had batted well in the semis and quarters running impressive scores when it mattered the most.Appu and Yagna started off. Yagna was soon run out (for the umpteenth time). Bharath joined Appu at the middle. Bharath was in irresistible form, striking the ball brilliantly. His six being the pick of his shots left us wonderstruck. This was the best we had seen him bat. The innings quickly picked up momentum Appu at the other end started off slowly with a few delicate slices. Appu was all elegance, shifting gears with an effortless six and an amazing flick which brought him a boundary. Runs started to flow, as Punjabi Pride wilted under the onslaught. The bowling looked sub standard, the fielding looked ragged as the two of them made merry at their expense. Their partnership of about 75 finally ended when Bharath was run out. The two of them were playing so well that a run out was the only way they could have got out. A soon visibly tired Appu soon followed him back, after a well made 42. The two had propelled us to a total with which we could not lose. Punjabi Pride were in run containment mode, their fielding once again let them when Moorthy and Jaggu ran four runs off the last bowl. From our point of view it was a fitting end to our innings. We finished at 102. We were definitely in pole position at the end of the first innings. It was up to us to bowl and more importantly field well.

We knew that Punjabi Pride had nothing to lose and will definite
ly come out fighting. That is exactly what happened.Jay and aditya looked comfortable against both Moorthy and Jaggu. Though runs were not coming a t very fast rate, they played sensibly keeping wickets in hand. Jaggu was looking slightly off colour. They were up to 38 when there was Appu decided to have a bowl. It was a crucial time in the match. It was evenly matched probably we were slightly ahead at that time. The change soon worked as Appu and Sriram combined together to remove Aditya. Yagna then had a bowl. It was definitely not Yagna’s best performance with the ball .He was inconsistent initially with his line sliding down the leg a couple of times. We got a lucky break when Ronak tried pulling a short one from Yag only ended up with a top edge which came straight to me. Unfortunately for him, I held on to the catch. Jay was batting well threatening to take away the match from us. His run out was probably the turning point.Vishesh and Qasim tried hard to make a match of it. The reqd run rate was climbing. Moorthy in his second spell cleaned their stumps. His aggressive reaction to Qasim’s dismal was a result of both anger (at being hit for a boundary the previous ball) and relief. We were on our way to winning the Indoor league for the third consecutive time.

From being written off after the first couple of weeks to the winning the Indoor league again, we had proved our doubters wrong.

Three cheers to Virtual reality.

Hip hip Hurray

VR wins the PUCC cup for the third time!

Virtual Reality are the PUCC Indoor League Fall 2007 Champions ! VR beat Punjabi Pride in a pulsating finals on Nov 10, 2007 to become the champions for the third consecutive time.

Here is the first article, one of many more to come!

Success Tastes like Doodh Pedha the Third Time Over

By Bharath Chandrasekaran

Virtually out and
Reality looking bleak
After a season start from hell
The team finally began to gel
The result- a final against PCYell

Having chosen to bat
Yagna and Appu open
Soon Yagna wanted a run,
But defiant Appu refused to give in

Our red-hot, in-form, run-getter
Had fallen in a manner of dismissal,
Only slightly less dismal
than leaving the ball well alone
for it to shatter furniture

In walked Bharath amid the tension
Whoz immeasurable contributions
this season have only benefitted
the other team's fortunes

But then he set the armory alight
Surprising the bowler and himself,
With a second-over six
That went beyond the reach
Of a flummoxed long-on fielder

Appu on the other end,
Was driving like a Beemer,
Not a length ball or a beamer,
was spared,as all fielders could do was fend

To be continued.....next week...same time same place

Virtual Reality Team

The complete team !!! ( with the championship trophies)





Front-Left & clockwise direction: Karthik, Yagna, Bharath, Ananth( honorary member), Moorthy, Krish (center), Sreeram, Jaggu, Ashwin, Harish, Kaushik ).

Mr. Chapal...oh sorry, Chappell

Presentation Ceremony Pictures and Others

On 04/21/2007, PUCC held its annual banquet. It was that day Virtualy Reality was presented with the Championship trophies of Fall 2006, and Spring 2007 leagues. Here is the picture:
(from left: Harish, Kaushik, Karthik, Ashwin, Dr. Ravi, Moorthy, Jaggu, Yagna, Bharath, Krish. Sreeram is missing.)


We took the following picture immediately after the finals on 04/21/2007. Sreeram missed the match as he was on a conference trip.

WE ARE (VR) CHAMPIONS AGAIN!!!

We did it again. Virtual Reality have successfully defended their title by winning a pulsating encounter against PUCC.

The final week of the Spring Indoor League 2007 kicked off on Friday with a must-win game against Sachin 9. Having beaten PUCC earlier on Friday, Sachin and his boys were confident that they could pull it off against us.

Kicha, as always, called correctly, won the toss and elected to bat. Moorthy, who barely made it from Turkey, minutes before the match opened the innings with Kicha. The openers started scratchily playing out Midhun with respect. There were no free runs in the form of extras offered. So some steady batting, good running and a few lusty blows from Jaggu ensured that our bowlers have a decent target to bowl at. It was time for our bowlers to have crack at their batsman. It was always going to be a close match but we always fancied our chances of defending the score coz v knew v had a good bowling attack.

Moorthy and Jaggu shared the new ball. People who expected Moorthy to still be dreaming about Kababs were wrong as he was spot on in the very first over. Jaggu was the one who gave us the earlier break through. After two overs, Ashwin decided to preserve our strike bowlers to the end and bought in himself, Yagna and Koushik to bowl. Our rustiness showed on the field. The usually reliable Yagna bowled an unusually long over with more than just a couple of wides and surprisingly failed to cut a boundary at mid-off. Kicha was livid and in his characteristic manner started yelling from short third man. The match was going to the wire. Some good depth bowling by Jaggu and Moorthy and some good catching from Koushik at long off helped us win the match and nearly book our place in the final.

When our opponents didnt show up on Saturday morning we knew we were in the final. We were out to prove that ‘our victory in the fall semester was not mere fluke ‘and what better way to prove that than by winning the final against PUCC. Kicha spun the coin this time, lost the toss and we were invited to bat.Krish and Moorthy opened our innings as always. It was action from the first over. Krish was run out in a controversial circumstance. In came Bharath, who started middling the ball. Moorthy was growing in confidence. Just when they were getting settled, Bharath , thanks to some bad communication was run out .Worse was to follow as Moorthy had a mix up with Karthik and he was soon back in the hut. Our minds went back to Ashwin’s words appreciating our running on Friday and how he had expected us to show the same maturity in the final. Jaggu however was there in the middle timing the ball beautifully. He had a runner with him for a few overs as he had taken a knock in the knee. Inzi might have must have been proud of Jaggu who did an ‘Inzamam’ by forgetting to run thinking he had a runner. What was Jaggu doing admiring his shot? The answer remains a mystery! We kept loosing wickets though we were maintaining a good run rate. A god last over (12 runs) helped us reach 68.we had lost 6 wickets all through run outs. It was upto Moorthy, Jaggu and the rest of our bowlers to do their job. The left right opening combination gave some problems. Both our opening bowlers were a little erratic in their line. Wickets fell at regular intervals. With 6 overs left PUCC had to score around 7 runs per over. Vijay stood between us and victory. Ashwin bowled an over of his leg spinners. Vijay and Shantanu played him easily taking advantage of a couple of half trackers. Was the match slipping away from our hands? It was there that Koushik made his presence felt by bowling two tight overs. Karthik and Bharath put pressure on the batsman with their tight fielding. Moorthy was brought back for one last over and he delivered by getting the big fish ‘Vijay’ bowled. Victory was within our grasps. In the last over 12 needed, and we knew we were almost there at the finishing line. When Karthik stumped KK off Ashwin it was all over. We were champions again. We had come from behind, beating PUCC , having lost to them earlier in the tournament. Victory tasted sweet. All of us had a small part to play. I felt really bad for Sriram who missed the games coz he had to go for a conference. Victory would have been sweeter if you had been there Sriram.

We had a real good season. This in very likelihood is the last match that we will play together. Ashwin and Krish might be leaving next season. Yagna and others might follow soon. But thanks for the memories and for making a fresher like me feel comfortable in his first season at Purdue. I am sure that Koushik and Karthik would also agree with me. Hope we can play cricket on at least two or three more occasions before you guys leave…

Thanks for the wonderful memories.

By

Harish.S

Bob is gone: who did it?

It is the most unfortunate cricket related event to have happened in recent years, especially considering the circumstances. A coach of a national team to be found dead, in his hotel room, and that too after a crucial, and disgraceful loss, does not happen too often..may be once in a century....and it has happened.

Plenty of theories are floating around in the newspapers. And many point out to one theory...Suicide: but It is IMPOSSIBLE that this man could have committed suicide. Pak team (without shohaib, asif) being eliminated from Worldcup was just around the corner, and it is highly probable that Bob would have predicted few losses for that Pak team. And think about the 1999 South Africa and Aus semi-final. He survived that moment when his home team lost by a thin margin. It is 100% certain that 1999-semi final loss for his home team could have hurt him more than this loss.

His interview immediately after the match shows how well he tried to manage the loss. He said "I've had bad days before, the worst of them was at Edgbaston in 1999 [when his South Africa team missed out on the final despite the game ending in a tie]. Things like this happen in cricket."

If we rule out suicide as the cause of his death. that'll leave us with only two options:
1. natural death
2. death by third party

Natural death..such as heart attack, etc....to have occurred on this occasion, especially after several hours of this event...is a statisticians' nightmare. And also, given the evidence that Bob took this not seriously as some of his past disappointments, it is highly unlikely that he got a broken heart.

Thus, we can safely conclude that was some third party(s) involved, and that too

1. Someone he knew well (otherwise Bob wouldn't have let anyone into his room at that time)
2. And someone he did not feel obligated to treat with some food (did not call food service)
3. And someone he could talk to in a informal manner (presence of alcohol, and half-naked dressing (he was found in his bath towel))
4. Someone who was big enough to bring down another man like Bob who was big, fit, strong and athletic. And that too in such a way that Bob couldn't call for help.
5. Someone who did not have to flee the hotel building (otherwise he/she could have been caught by now by looking at the security camera tapes or some bystanders would have come up already saying that they spotted suspicious looking persons in hotel premises)
6. and probably someone who took offence at the following instance, and was present at the site: "Despite the setbacks, there was still time for a droll moment, as someone asked what sort of reaction he anticipated when the team arrived home. "In my view, there won't be a reception," said Inzamam poker-faced, as a laugh escaped Woolmer's lips" (from the same post match interview)
   

Considering all these points, suspicion clearly rests on a very few set of people. I am not going to reveal the names here, but lets wait and watch!!!

P.S: If you are certain that there was no suicide..how about this twist? Lets say something was about to become public, which could make him infamous.....and he comes to know about it at that hour, and gives up his life. That something could be 'match-fixing'.....remember anyone named 'Hansei Cronje'........Bob was his coach.

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7 Things England Can do ....

So much talk is going on about England's lowest ever in its cricket history. Here are 7 things that they can do to improve the situation.

1. Invent a time machine: Go back to the 18th century, and change the law to something as follows: Criminals would remain in England, and for each criminal one innocent person would be exported to Australia. This reverse chain reaction would have created a strong England team (i.e. Aus team).

2. LBW: Remove LBW law from the cricket rules. This allows a perfect replacement of England cricket team with their stronger football (soccer) team. Players like Beckham, Gerrard will play far far better than the current cricket team: of course they'll kick every ball.

3. Medal of Shame: Just because they won ONE Ashes series, all of them got MOH awards. Now, establish a rule that allows the Queen to present Medal of Shame. May be then at least Flintoff's proud players will do something.

4. Make the ECB pay a bonus every time Duncan Fletcher smiles. He usually has a look as though he has just been robbed of 1m$.

5. Attack Shane Warne....by sledging
Invent more sledging methods against players like Shane warne. One particular example: Ian Bell walks in the middle. Before facing his first ball, he gets a ring from his mobile. He takes out the phone, and says 'Oh text message....dirty one', Shane it is for you, from a nurse". During the drinks break, ask Shane if he needs some drugs, and you could get it for him through the england dressing room. etc, etc!

6. Bring down Mc Grath...
Before the start of a test match, put lots of cricket balls completely covering the ground. Wait & Pray that Mc Grath will step on to one of them. That ball also would be awarded a 'Medal of Honor'.

7. Pieterson (reminds me of a frog)
Teach him not to come down the track for every ball, and it is PERFECTLY okay to play from the crease. Currently he has fractured his rib, and remind him that something else could be broken too....
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dROB7_eZa14<<


-----------------------
P.S: Just for fun!!!

Title Defence Off To a Shaky Start

:: by Harish ::

Friday was the day when the Spring Season of the Indoor League kicked off. We started our campaign against Down N Out at 10 pm. Prior to the match, there was a team meeting where team ‘KAPTAN ‘ Mummoorthy addressed the team explaining the new strategy of giving responsibilities to a set of 5 players in both the batting and bowling dept. and encouraging all of us to give our best shot. Kicha, our toss man, won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. Kicha and Kaushik opened the batting. Moorthy’s advice seemed to have the right effect on our openers who batted beautifully.

Kaushik in particular was in sublime form driving and flicking off his hips. He seemed to be in exceptional touch. Kicha at the other end was scratchy to start with but then grew in confidence. Our opponents seemed down and out and were clueless about how to bowl to our openers. After a good solid start the openers fell in quick succession. Kaushik was looking to accelerate when he fell trying to clear long on. Kicha who had always problems sighting the ball (inspite of new eye glasses with correct vision) followed him. Jaggu and Sreeram replaced them, lived dangerously. The calling and running between the wickets kept us at the edge of our seats. Jaggu soon was walking back after a terrible mix up. What followed was chaotic, a procession of wickets. We finished at 90, an average score considering the start. It was up to our bowlers to deliver the goods. Moorthy and Jaggu were as usual lively and were giving problems to their openers. After the initial break thru wickets started falling. Yagna, Bharath and Koushik who replaced our opening bowlers also chipped in with useful wickets. They were 5 down for around 30 and things looked rosy. The tide turned. Positive batting from their lower order and some bad bowling from us kept the match interesting. Kicha, our coach [ரொம்ப கோச்சுகிறவன்] for the match, was livid and was really upset with the number of extras we were conceding [46 for this match]. They needed 30 from the last 5. Game on. Yagna bowled an amazing over where he was on the spot and gave nothing away. After that over the match was pretty much sealed. Finally, Bharath finished the match by bowling a tight last over. We had scrapped through!

We had won but our performance left a lot to be desired. After the game Ashwin and Moorthy worried about our performance in the match and how we needed to tighten up our game for us to defend the title successfully. I am sure we will get better as there is scope for tons of improvement.

Bottom line: Ashwin, Bharath, Harish, Jaggu, Karthik, Kaushik, Kicha, Moorthy, Sreeram, Yagna

[greener the normal, bluish the better, reddish the worse]

May you rest in peace, Nattu!

Hey almighty! Move over and share that seat with our beloved founder of Virtual Reality. For you had already committed the mistake of taking him on your team, a lot early.

Nattu (Natraj Iyer to all those poor souls who didn't get to know him) met with a fatal accident on 31st Dec, 2006, exactly a week ago. Its reported that his van went airborne on hitting the median and landed on the opposite side of the highway and rolled to a stop. I pray for his soul to rest in peace.

Imagine a bag of or a room full of, even better imagine a truckload of ideas generated every minute. Add to that the maximum amount of cheer, indomitable spirit and sea full of friendliness and now you can get an idea of what a person Nattu was. Nattu may not be known for punctuality, geekiness, astonishing mathematical skills etc. But if you were looking for a smart, cherubic, team leader with perseverance and a go-getter, Nattu would have been the ideal answer.

One fine day in 2002/3, Nattu uttered that the official team of Purdue university cricket club (PUCC) is no more the place for enjoying cricket especially when it comes to the indoor tournaments. Everyone doesn't get a fair chance to play and its only a set of 3 or 4 people who get to do anything. Nattu included yours truly and Srini (another specimen from PRECISE+Tamil combination) into an immediate high level committee and thereby was born PUCC II team. Even though people were discontent with the PUCC affairs they were not willing to do anything about it. Nattu put the foot forward and formed the new combination that included an amazing set of individuals ranging from great talents to sheer hobbyists. But they were a team! They gained instant accolades and went on to win tournaments. Then PUCC II became 'Nawab's navaratan Biryani' reflecting the color of desi life with the right spices. And after the Brownestone Gang merger along with Tamilisation became the present 'Virtual Reality', the current ruling champions. And it all started with you Nattu, we'll remember you for that.

Having worked with Nattu in the Shape Search group, which once again was the result of his idea, and have founded and played with him as PUCC II and also have partied with Nattu and gang, I can certainly tell you that Natraj was a great team leader who is simply fun and joy to work with or party with or whatever you may choose to do. Our deep heartfelt condolences go to Emily, Nattu's remaining half. We shall cherish those memories, oh Nattu, may your soul rest in peace. You were a true sport!

Sneaky Singles: technical kisukisu

Sneaky singles frustrate the opposition team, yet they are real and joy to players who are sneakers. They add 1 to the total, and also to the striking batsman. And in local parlance, it means kisukisu. Now we list several sneaky singles, which we believe are true to our knowledge. Yet, we leave it to the reader's imagination and curiosity to explore further.

• The curtain is about to lift for another season in Purdue's indoor league. The toppled champions are heavily plotting various strategies to re-claim the title. Another recent incident proves this claim i.e. a secret meeting held among the three main members of that team: A lean left-arm fast bowler (note: a tail-end batsman), the smiling death i.e. a dashing opener who is ambidextrous, and the bomber of tora-bora mountains. Though the only news that has reached us is that the meeting was just about strategies, we'll not be fooled. It has been decided that we will not release all we know in this blog. A rather interesting note to the reader is that the meeting happened without the player who was at the helm of their team during the last season. It is rumored that there is an expulsion order waiting for someone, and our guess is none other the X missing in that meeting.....wait & see
• Anti-consultant is on a trip across US to provide us with some new insights on cricketing intelligence. There's a meeting scheduled in Chicago on Dec 29. It is expected that top players from VReality will attend this meeting.
• In our recent interview with the top-scorer of the Fall 2006 finals, the following saying was uttered more than once: "chingathukku pallu pochunaalum, chingam chingamdhaan". .......interesting remark! [ Note: chingam went through a dental operation in Nov, 2006 ]
  

See you in our next edition of sneaky singles!

The Sneakers

Note: Do send in your entries for this column.

The missing three

In our team picture, three main figures were missing, and here they are: Appu, Guru and Sreeram.

Appu [ VReality : 2006 - Current ]

Guru [ VReality : 2006 ]

Sreeram [ VReality : 2006 - Current ]

Come on Dravid, you got to be kidding!

All hardcore team India cricket fans must have read Dravid's talk on the eve of the first test in South Africa series. Dravid's speech can be written programmatically as follows:

/* Question variables:
* Topic: can be anything like fielding, bowling, strategy
* state: Boolean - Good/Bad
*/
Dravid_Response(Topic, state)
{
array lots_of_boys; // stores all the boys and related words in the universe
array indian_record_stats; // some crap record relating to ground, team, series
array feelings; // stores all the big feelings like motivation, inspiration, dedication

response = random_entry each_from lots_of_boys + record_stats + feelings;
return response + random_sentence_completion_words; // like keenly, focus...
}

One must really praise the reporters to make an article out it. More especially when he tries to make it sound intimidating to the opponent team. Now that Ganguly is in the same hotel wing, Dravid should take evening lessons from him on "arrogance: a must for a captain". Hopefully India performs better. Being a spiritual country, we fans know that the real secret for India's win lies in the strength of our prayers than the selected team. Let us all begin our prayers! Amen [thathasthu].

"Return of the King...forgive me, the Prince!"

"What do we do now, Gandalf. How do we escape from the destruction of middle-earth?".

Gandalf, with a thoughtful face, replied " Master Hobbit, Pippin of the shire,no one can escape the malice of this aus-dor evil..even the shire-folks who play peaceful cricket in brownstone, corec or armory will come under attack one day. This dark lord has determined to destroy each and every cricket-child born in middle-earth Myindia. But, don't let your heart be troubled. The dark lord is evil enough, but the king...forgive me, the prince will return and save us".

Pippin was still unconvinced, "Dark lord was dead...killed long back"..before he could finish the statement, the flash-news on TV was showing Gregourn (i.e. our version of sauron) talking to reportes "our team is still young, so we lost by 100 runs. But We can do much better than this..." and then Grgourn relased a wicked smile, which only Gandalf could decode. The great wizard thought to himself "Note that wicked smile on his face..when he says much better, he means that to get defeated by 150 runs in our next match.."

"Master Pippin, you should understand onething; Gregourn has returned. His spirit was lurking around in Aus-dor to get an opportnity to return to life. Once it got the position as the doom-coach to the Myindia team, it grew much stronger, and even taking up a human form, as you can see. Then slowly it kicked out the elves, and men, and recruited orcs and uruk-hais into the team, and the most dangerous ring-wraiths. He has recruited 3 ring-wraiths, as I hear....Ra-in-bo`w, son of sures-shish, Pat-ana`e son of Irfanish, and the most evil Aj-ii`it A-aa-gaaa-kar. He has put a spell on remaining people". Gandalf suddenly paused here for a moment, and looked slowly at all the sides confirming no spies were around and continued...

"That is why you see the captain Draw-out-wits of Ragullom always repeating the same set of sentences 'Boys are young and we must play well'. However he does not realise that he has been saying this for the past 2 decades. Note that ragullom sounds like "raagu gaalam", the most ancient curse in the language of tam-dor land."

"But how come we have so many supporters for him, knowing Gregourn is bad", asked Pippin.

"It is the black magic. Everyone believed his tricks as he is from the land of aus-dor, and trusted that he is a good coach. However, he is the evil to wipe out the lives of cricket-men & cricket-elves"

"Gandalf, I cannot anymore listen to this evil story. What is the solution to all of this", Pippin asked with the atmost concerned look ever a hobbit has had in history.

"My dear little hobbit, you've asked the right the question at the right moment. The prince is going to return and defeat the Dark Lord Gregourn. In fact, he has returned!"

Pippin thinks little more, and his face brightens slowly when he realises that the prince is none other than:

"Sau-ar-gon, son of Gang-thorn"

With this, the conversation ends, and Pippin goes to sleep. The wizard Gandalf sets on his shadowfax for a journey to the capitol of middle earth, Gon-del`h-or.

[based on the news story http://o3.indiatimes.com/diva/archive/2006/11/30/2806066.aspx ]

Kathai, Karpanai, Vasanam & Direction,
Brownstone Cricketer.