TON or NOT

So it is now open season on Suraj Randiv, who bowled the no-ball that ‘denied’ Virender Sehwag a century he truly deserved (In contrast to those knocks where he blazes away from ball one, on this particular occasion Sehwag absorbed the loss of his colleagues at the other end, battled with the demons of the pitch and atmosphere, revealed an unsuspected ability to do the grind, and fulfilled the fantasies of millions of Indian fans who, ever since the swashbuckler made his debut, have lusted after the possibility that one day, he will bat through an innings). It is also open season on Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain, who if the transcription of words picked up from the stump mike is to believed, reminded Randiv, just as he prepared to bowl the decisive ball, that “If he hits it, he gets the run”.

Digression: Consider Randiv’s brains, or lack thereof. If Kumar was in fact instructing his bowler, was that instruction to bowl a no-ball? Ridiculous – a batsman can and, in this instance did, hit a no-ball. A more canny bowler would have bowled a wide – because it is the wide that, by definition, you cannot hit.

But back to cases: So everyone, from the Sri Lankan cricket board to sundry Indian stars of yesteryear, have been banging on about the Lankans’ lack of sportsmanship (If there is any irony in Mohammad Azharuddin, who was banned from international cricket for match-fixing and related activities, talking of the spirit of the sportsman, ignore it, please – it is also the silly season).

What strikes us is how the public discourse, and wall to wall ‘exclusive’ coverage on television channels, misses the point: Sehwag was denied his century not by the Kumar-Suraj combine, but by scorers and umpires who were clearly asleep and/or ignorant of rules that, incidentally, have been framed so ambiguously as to convert a fairly simple proposition into a complicated situation.

Here is what happened, pure and simple: Randiv bowled. The umpire called ‘no-ball’. There is a reason the umpire calls it as soon as a bowler bowls one – it is to let the batsman know that there are no real penalties attached to having a go. A batsman, on hearing that call, knows he can have a swing without running the risk of being bowled, caught, declared LBW.

So Randiv bowled. The umpire called. Sehwag had a swing, and despatched the ball over the ropes.

That logically is seven runs added to the total – one to the team total as an extra, the other six to Sehwag, the batsman who was quick to seize on the opportunity. Simple.

This is where the idiocy of umpires and the ambiguity of the rule book come in: How could the game be over as soon as Randiv over-stepped? A ball, to be deemed bowled, has to be delivered; the batsman has to play/miss it; in the case of the former the ball has to be retrieved while the batsman runs, or not…there is no provision in cricket for declaring a result, and ending a match, at some intermediate stage of this process.

Thus, for umpires to declare that the game was over as soon as Randiv overstepped is plain folly. To understand this, consider a hypothetical situation: Randiv bowls. It is a no-ball. Sehwag decides the game is over, lets the ball go and walks off. Sangakkara collects and whips off the bails.

Is the batsman out? Of course he is. The extra run cannot be counted until the ball in question is officially dead; in our example Sehwag left his crease while the ball was in play, therefore he is out.

So, if his dismissal off a no ball counts, why were the runs he scored off that no ball not counted to his name?

The question, simplified: How could the umpires, or the scorers, or both, consider the match over before the ball had completed its necessary course?

Read Law 24 (No ball)

Runs resulting from a No ball

The one run penalty for a No ball shall be scored as a No ball extra. If other penalty runs have been awarded to either side, these shall be scored as in Law 42.17 (Penalty runs). Any runs completed by the batsmen or a boundary allowance shall be credited to the striker if the ball has been struck by the bat; otherwise they also shall be scored as No ball extras.

Where is the ambiguity? The law clearly says that any runs completed by the batsman, or a boundary allowance, off a no ball shall be credited to the striker.

Sehwag ‘completed’ a sixer. His score – unless the scorer is a congenital idiot – should have been 105. End of story.

The key is to understand that a game is not declared over midway through a cricketing action – which is the space between a ball being ‘live’ and being ‘dead’. Consider this example: India needs one run to win. Sehwag whacks the ball high in the air. While the ball is in the air, the batsman cross over and complete a run. The ball comes down, and is caught.

Is the game over, simply because the batsmen had crossed while the ball was in the air, and had not yet been caught? No, the verdict in this case would be, the batsman is out, the run doesn’t count. So clearly, runs and results are not declared at some arbitrary point while the ball is live – such a determination happens only after the ball is ‘dead’.

The fallacy appears to be in the thinking that any runs accruing to the batsman and/or side after a result is achieved do not count. That is equally a fallacy. Here is an illustrative example:

India needs to get one run to win. Sehwag drives, and the batsman race across for a single. The ball then goes on to cross the boundary. Do you award Sehwag one run, or four? Clearly, the answer is ‘four’ – despite the fact that the first of those runs won the game.
It is not the intention of this post to ‘excuse’ what Randiv did, or what Sangakkara asked him to do. That action was clearly unsporting, childish, petty. Here was one of the great batsman of the modern era, in challenging conditions, digging deep within himself to play a match-winning innings that was contrary to type. A gracious opposition would have admired, applauded; instead, the Lankans appear to have conspired to score a childish ‘victory’.

Fair enough. What beats us, though, is this: Why is there, amidst all this noise, no attempt to question the outcome declared by the scorers? Why is there no debate on the central question? Where were the umpires, the match referee? And where, incidentally, was the Indian team management that it did not think to question the scorers’ declared result?
Source: http://in.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/17/sehwag-did-get-his-century/

Sach is the in(m)pact...

‘Failure making headlines’ is a strong indicator of success. At least such (sach) is the case in India (+in = Sachin). Having a cursory look at the media reports in past few days gives an idea how this little (?) man has been under scanner for over two decades now. I was going through a piece this morning on rediff which talked abt the records that this man does not hold until now. And guess what- some of them would soon be in his kitty. That is besides the point here. Conducting oneself for over 20 years without the starry tantrums off the field and consistently scoring on the field are what has made him what he truly is. Take a bow!!! Zahanpanna- tusi great ho...

What I am afraid of, of late- is whether cricket in india will be the same after Sachin retires. On a personal note I cannot even think abt cricket without this great ambassador of the game. I don’t know if I wud follow the game the way i have been doing for over two decades now. It pains when Sachin gets injured or prefers to be rested for a series or a tournament. Imagining that someday he would hang his boots is nothing less than a nightmare.
Being what he is or has been with the changing rules of the game is awesome. I have always hated to compare anyone with sachin or the other way round. But I would never hesitate to add the numero uno tag with his name, no matter what! If he is not then who is !!! I am not quite sure what plans he has in mind before he calls it a day. But one thing I am quite certain that the millions of fans around would want him to score at least a half century of centuries in both the forms, a century of half centuries in ODIs, now that a double ton in ODI is already in his kitty- can there be a test-triple as well?-, and a world cup which has been eluding the most successful ODI batsman of the game..The list is not too big, but then many like me would love to see these ticked sooner than later. There is no denying to the fact that whatever he has achieved so far is unmatchable. But the insatiable fans want to see more against his name even if he thinks otherwise. I can only put these items in my wish list and hope that he ticks them before finally seeing his active days off.

To be(at) or not to be(at) !

I don’t think a national sport would have been abused anywhere else on the plant the way Hockey has been managed in India. Even cricket in West Indies and Zimbabwe would be dwarfed by the sorry state of affairs in Hockey India.
Hockey in India has become a football which gets kicked by people who don’t know an iota of sports and games let alone hockey. The legacy left behind by the big names (who have made us proud with the 8 Olympic golds- which unfortunately has become a part of our folklore) is witnessing something which is an all time low. Guess, the infighting during KPS’ rein was not enough. HI was created out of a sheer farce and what followed its creation has become a ludicrous thing. Am sure many hockey lovers in India would hand their heads in shame for the fallen grace of the game. The current young brigade is immensely talented. But the only thing that’s eluding them is a good management of the admin affairs. But what in offer now is yet another dirty politics surrounding the control over the game’s administration. The ongoing series in Europe has taken a backseat and hockey lovers in India have been forced to wait to see the outcome of the much-awaited polls. An 83-yrs old Vidya Stokes ( for heavens sake let her do what people at 80 should do) locking arms with one of the best in his trade that the game has ever seen- Pargat Singh. Well, i have no idea how good or bad administrator Pargat Singh would turn out to be. But even a 4th grader would say who is what. And guess what- I am just told that the govt’s guideline on age limitation has also been violated. God bless these Indian politicians. They are awesome in humbling even Napoleon. Poor hockey lovers like us have to bear with some more dirt slinging before we get to see or hear about the team’s performance. Such has been the impact of the game’s administration. Wow (hockey) India wow!!!

Aaall izz well...

Sadly its curtains for the soccer extravaganza now. With Spain emerging as the king of the game for at least until 2014, many analysts, critics and gurus have been left scratching their heads. Btw, what went wrong? Well, for me- nothing. Am glad that the better team of the day has won. And it was the case for most of the matches played in the land of rainbows barring few heart-breaks like Ghana-Uruguay match. Like for Paul, the whole football world was split down the middle for Suarez. May be, his million-$ celebration after Gyan missed the stroke did not go down well with many. Any ways, thats past now. I just hope FIFA feels it a serious business to amend or introduce some rules. With many high points like Higuain’s hat trick, Ghana making to the last-4, brave shows by teams like NZ and North Korea, etc., this edition will also down to history as one with many forgetful things. But then, don’t we say this after every edition? Lolz...........Paul the unlikely hero will now be provided z+ security. Hope we get it to India some day. Thats a great business idea. Kuchh ho na ho, it will make lots and lots of money. Am sure there wud be a beeline stretching a lightyear to get Paul predict people’s lives here. Less to say abt our Netas, the better. On a personal note, I am very happy for Spain and I would have been equally happy if the Dutch team was to be crowned. Such is the impact of the game.....

Aaall izz well...

Sadly its curtains for the soccer extravaganza now. With Spain emerging as the king of the game for at least until 2014, many analysts, critics and gurus have been left scratching their heads. Btw, what went wrong? Well, for me- nothing. Am glad that the better team of the day has won. And it was the case for most of the matches played in the land of rainbows barring few heart-breaks like Ghana-Uruguay match. Like for Paul, the whole football world was split down the middle for Suarez. May be, his million-$ celebration after Gyan missed the stroke did not go down well with many. Any ways, thats past now. I just hope FIFA feels it a serious business to amend or introduce some rules. With many high points like Higuain’s hat trick, Ghana making to the last-4, brave shows by teams like NZ and North Korea, etc., this edition will also down to history as one with many forgetful things. But then, don’t we say this after every edition? Lolz...........Paul the unlikely hero will now be provided z+ security. Hope we get it to India some day. Thats a great business idea. Kuchh ho na ho, it will make lots and lots of money. Am sure there wud be a beeline stretching a lightyear to get Paul predict people’s lives here. Less to say abt our Netas, the better. On a personal note, I am very happy for Spain and I would have been equally happy if the Dutch team was to be crowned. Such is the impact of the game.....

Paul the Octopus

I am sure most Germans would be vying for Paul's blood now. They would not have taken Paul so seriously when it predicted Germany's loss to Serbia in the league stage. But Paul shot to limelight after it went to the box with the other box having England's flag. Then it became the darling when it ignored the in-form Messi and co. But now ??? AM quite sure Vuvujelas and Jabulanis are not making headlines any more....After the white and black brigade lost to the Euro champs, Paul would have become a villain of sort. poor thing..Come 11th and we would have the new champs crowned. A big game on cards. Am certainly luking fwd to it. Honestly I never expected this orange-roja battle. One is in the final after 32 yrs and another a first-timer in the biggest match in 4 yrs. This makes the grand finale a very interesting prospect. My limited competencies don;t allow me to sit down and do a postmortem of what has happened in the rainbow land until now. However, I have really been chasing the news on Paul's million $ predictions quite eagerly. Every time we would talk abt law of average catching up Paul which in fact is not something to happen as yet. Villa and Sneijder would also battle for the golden boot.Now we have 2 days to rest before getting glued to espn on 11th. oh oh- we also have a match in between to decide who is placed 3rd. Btw, do we even care to remembers who comes 3rd !!!!!

time to deliver the knock-out punch in the land of rainbows.....

This edition of the WC football has, so far, been a dull and lull thing for me personally. At least the preliminary round has been so- am sure many would agree with me here. Sans couple of games where Argentina got the better off Kor Rep 4-1, Portugal thrashed a hapless Nrth Korea DPR 7-0 (btw, portugal scored only those 7 goals in 3 matches of the leage stage) and Gemany handing over the OZs a 4-0 defeat, most other games failed to produced the quality of game that was expected of this extravaganza. 4 matches ended with 0-0 and 13 others decided with a 1-0 scorelines- doesn't this point to something? Well, am not talking about the number of goals scored alone. But of course, people pay to see some goals being scored in a match. I don't possess a great knowledge of the game but I do know something more than just what meets the eye. Blame it on the ball (well, can't they practice enough to get complete hang of it), but there is a limit upto which you can escape with that. Arg has by far been the best looking side ( awesome messi touch- a goal has eluded this poor chap- but am not complaining for his 0-balance. Brasil looked good in patches. But i know they pull up their socks to deliver the knock-out punch when it matters the most. Holland is another side which I am looking fwd to in the knock-out stage along with Portugal. And, I also pray that the Spanish brand gets back to their rhythm. With the reigning champs gone along with two flamboyant teams: France and England, the title race is wide open. I am not putting my money on anyone yet. Hope, i just get some good games to watch.....