I am here not to talk about tennis and I can’t even forget almost six hours of clash between Djokovic and Nadal in the Australian Open final. However, I am here to talk about the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

I tweeted at the end of the 4-match Test series about India’s flop duo Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman’s retirement plans. I wrote: “this will not gonna happen” and it will not happen.

No doubt they had extraordinary talent. Sachin Tendulkar, well every one can put him on exceptional case, will and can play as long as he wants to. By the way he is 38 years old and I guess waiting for his 100th ton to think about retirement.

Among the all batsman who toured at this test series Sachin was the only player who looked in good touch, it was perfect bowling by the Aussies that made it difficult for him to score. Rahul 39, VVS 37 and a flop show this summer has hinted to play more, more and more, and they will, trust me.

As they enter the big stage back home no one can stop them. This is what I don’t like about Indian Cricket Team. Talents that are willing to play for their country has to wait a long time and when time comes they look depressed waiting for long time.

Rohit Sharma is a good example, the selectors made him chew his nails even in the last match, we all guessed this time he will get a chance but he didn’t. This is what Indian team is, was and will be…

Indian bowlers? I have a suggestion: do not tour abroad until and unless you have bowlers who can hit the deck hard at 150 kmph. Zaheer was one and Yadav looks like having a bright future. I missed Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh.

As previous tour, Team India were here in Australia to get rid of the cold weather back home. They lacked cricket basics. Few old legs combined with a few young lazy legs. Players were chasing the ball as if a Bollywood Actor running to hug his heroine in super slow motion.

A tour should be planned and you should act on the plan and give a fight. Team Australia did this and they are holding the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Every player played their part, captain Clarke passed his exam, his decisions were extremely impressive and it stroke the brain and hit the heart.

This series became a good platform to former captain Ricky Ponting get his form back. Aussie bowlers are the true winners if we analyze the whole series. Hilfenhaus, Sidddle, Pattinson and Harris all bowled according to the plan and they got the reward whenever their captained.

Overall, this summer cricket didn’t give me The Entertainment. Lets see what will the ODI Tri-Series has for me.

Now I am eagerly waiting for our boys for the U-19 World Cup…

Cricket Nepal special correspondent Sudin Pokharel writes from Sydney, Australia.

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This is not the first preparation tour for Nepal and neither shall it be the last. But this time around, the team will be traveling without former skipper Binod Das, who has been dropped from the team.

There would be few people to challenge this decision, but it should be noted that he has been dropped only for the T20 matches. Many would remember his over against Afghanistan in recently held ACC T20 Cup. As he ran in to bowl 4^th over, Nepal was defending 68 runs, he looked out of sorts, having a catch dropped in his previous over. He was promptly belted all around the park, 21 runs were conceded in the over and match was as good as over for Nepal. Binod cut a lonely figure in the ground, not much activity going around him. Maybe that was the moment; many had concluded it was all over for him, so there is not much of a surprise in him being dropped. After all, you cannot have a strike bowler who bowls at less than 70 miles per hour.

The good thing is, this was the first time that a player was told by the coach and the selector about being dropped from the team, unlike earlier, where players came to know of them being dropped through newspapers. Apparently he was told that team needed to try out new combinations and was looking for fresher faces.

“I was obviously disappointed, but I will keep improving myself in all formats of the game,” Binod says, “I am in fact fitter than earlier.” His fellow players will tell you, Binod was in fact the pick of the bowlers during the camp held. He took 7 wickets in 4 practice matches and had at least one catch dropped off his bowling in every one of them.

That is what we should expect from a player that has taken 82 wickets in 62 One Dayers. His record at U-19 level has also been impressive. He has been even more potent in the longer version – the 3-dayers – with 67 scalps in 14 matches. Many would remember his 6 for 29, when Nepal defeated UAE in 2005-6. The numbers force you into believing he is good at what he does.

But, of late, Binod has been a story of diminishing returns and maybe not as potent a force that he was a few years ago. But his story should be an inspiration to many other budding cricketers of the country. Coming from a modest family from Kalaiya, with limited means and rising to the ranks becoming a mainstay of national cricket team for over a decade. He is the first Nepali cricketer to have played more than 100 international games (in all formats of cricket). He is also a success story for Cricket Association of Nepal too, coming from age-group teams and taking the helm of a national team. He played in U-17, U-19 and the senior side, and this alone should tell the cricket authorities why feeder system of players in the form of age-group tournaments is a must, if you want a good national side.

The Binod story may not yet be over, for he feels that he can still be a part of the team, something that Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake also echoes. “He’s still a part of plan in the longer version,” he says.

Despite his loss of form and injury in recent times, one should hail him for his contribution to Nepal cricket. Yours truly would always remember 2000, when Binod was batting as a tailender against Hong Kong – the match we lost with a good margin – and Rameez Raja, former Pakistan Test player was commentating on TV. Watching Binod bat, Raja said, “I’ve never seen a No 10 batsman, playing with such good stance and straight bat.”

For me, that shall remain Binod’s contribution, being the first person who got us noticed in World Cricket.

(Ed: This write up appeared in The Kathmandu Post, national daily, under Somesh’s column: OFFSIDE, on 28th Jan 2012)

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(Ed: This write up appeared in Republica national daily under Ujjwal’s column: SPORTY SPIRIT, on 28th Jan 2012)

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Clarke has shown his maturity after 2-0 lead in the series. His dominating knock of 329 not out, his surprising declaration and the wins has made him a hero in Australia.

Amongst all these discussions, a man is a hero behind the scene and I guess, no one has talked about him. I am talking about Australian bowling Coach Craig McDermott. It’s his troop which has rattled India, a team with world’s best batting line up, completely. Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and James Pattioson have already sealed the show in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy.

I remember watching McDermott at his best during his days. He was an aggressive fast bowler who loved hitting the deck. Hitting the deck technique was seen in the current Australian bowlers. Hit the deck around off stumps and the ball will do the rest: this was the theory that the Aussie bowlers applied.

Australians have started looking at Pattinson, a tall 21-year-old lad as an aggressive right arm fast bowler who is all set to go on the track of Glenn McGrath. I could see the pace, the movement and the temperament of the fast bowler. He has only played four Tests and has already taken 25 wickets.

He will be out of the next two matches because of knee injury. Is it good news for India? Obviously not because Ryan Harris is all set to be in the team.

During the second Test, I reached the Sydney Ground a bit early on first day to see the teams’ warm up sessions. I saw McDermott working with his troops, Siddle , Pattinson and Hilfenhaus. In the Melbourne Test, these bowlers took 18 wickets. They were all set to do the same at the Sydney Test and they did it again taking 19 wickets together.

If India were not bowled out for just 191 in the first innings of Syndey Test, the scenario would have been different. It’s the bowlers who have taken a centre stage in the ongoing series. I talked about Hilfenhaus in my previous article, where I wrote as a swing bowler he has made his place in the playing XI. Hilfenhaus’ selection was a bit of controversial in Australia but he has proven them wrong. He has already taken 15 wickets in this series. Siddle lead the troop in a matured and aggressive way, he looked a different bowler this summer, he pitched the ball on a good line and the pace was there.

Australia’s batsman Ricky Ponting , Clarke and Mike Hussey all are back in form. If we evaluate India’s performance everyone is struggling except Tendulkar. Tendulkar looked like of back in old days middling the ball well. The only negative thing that I saw in his inning was him switching the gear. Starting on a good pace from 100kmph and when he was about to reach 50 the pace came down to 10, again after 50 the pace went to 100, this switching of gear is not doing good for his consistency.

An old person was watching the match with me, his name was Watson and he was from New South Wales. He told me that he has never missed a single Test match at Sydney and that day he was there to see Tendulkar’s landmark century which unfortunately he couldn’t. He said he loved to see him play.

India is full of questions. VVS the very special batsman who had the ability to score against Australia seems a flop show. Will Rohit Sharma get a chance? What about Virat Kohli? And what about Ishant Sharma? They have done nothing yet.

As the series is still alive with two more Tests to go, both the team will face each other at Adelaide next. Adelaide has the fastest and bouncy pitch. India is waiting for Tendulkar’s century, McDermott and his troops will be waiting his wickets!

(Cricket Nepal’s special correspondent Sudin Pokharel is currently in Australia)

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(PS: The write-up originally appeared in The Kathmandu Post, on 24th December, 2011)

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Congratulations for becoming the first elected president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

This is indeed a great moment for you for at least two reasons. First, you completed the mandate given to you as the interim president of CAN within the stipulated time. Second, despite having no relation with cricket until a few months ago, the people who have devoted their lives in cricket elected you unopposed.

We, the Nepali cricket fans, are looking at you with optimism because past presidents, despite having long engagements with cricket, failed to deliver contrary to our expectations. They even didn´t fulfill all their promises. So, we believe, maybe a man with political ambition is capable of taking Nepali cricket to new heights.

In your post-election interviews, you have outlined over half-a-dozen priorities that you would like to accomplish during your four-year tenure. We hope you are serious about the promises you made. To remind you, and us as well, of your promises, we are putting them here in a list under bullet points:

• Development of grounds in Mulpani in Kathmandu and Pokhara
• Expansion of cricket in all 75 districts of Nepal
• Establishment of National Cricket Academy
• Establishment of Nepal as neutral venue for international cricket
• Central contract to cricketers based on grading/performance
• Restructuring of domestic cricket structure
• Conversion of CAN as autonomous cricket board

More than half of those things wouldn´t have been promised, had you seriously consulted your deputies before telling them to the media. That is because they are not easy promises.

Some of them like development of grounds in Mulpani and Pokhara have already started and you can extract more budget from the government because of your political background (of course, we all know you are also the central committee member of the country´s largest political party which is also leading the government). But it will take a lot of hard work and strategizing to turn them into world class grounds for holding international matches as neutral venues.

The expansion of the sport in 75 districts is also not easy (unless you decide only to form district committees). Similarly, national cricket academy, players´ contract and restructuring of domestic cricket are challenging tasks. They call for proper planning and lot of work (apart from political links) to be completed.

We are not discouraging you but only reminding you that they are challenging tasks requiring lot of hard work. We sincerely hope that you and your committee are able to put up the hard work, complete those tasks, and uplift Nepali cricket to the height it long deserved.

We will be writing to you again next year, and subsequent years, evaluating your promises. We wish to be able to clap for you in those years. We are also afraid we may have to use angry words for you because we have seen political leaders, who have made big promises and forgotten them all (including all those tall figures in your party as well).

We wish you all the success and luck. We also assure you of our complete support for any good work. But we are also keeping an eye on what you´re doing.

Yours truly
Nepali Cricket Fan

(As published in Republica national daily)

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Speculations and discussions are seen and heard everywhere from newspapers to people traveling on train, buses and coffee shop, coz its summer and cricket fever is on here at the Aussie land.

I was at Canberra to watch the practice match between Cricket Australia Chairman’s 11 and India. I was impressed with Cowan’s batting technique and the way he played against Abhimanyu Mithun , Umesh yadav and yes, Zaheer Khan.  He is surely a key player for Australia this time. But again if he fails then there is a fear that he might lose his spot just like Philip Hughes did, after failing against the Kiwis.

My focus was specially on Zaheer’s fitness and form , because for team India Zaheer is the key bowler. Zaheer looked a different bowler this time, he was not at his best, may be because it was just a practice match for which he is not giving his hundred percent. Among the spinners who replaced Harbhajhan Singh, R. Ashwin was at his best. His form and confidence could be seen. Pragyan Ojha seemed an OK bowler to me that day. Other seamers Mithun and Yadhav were spot on.

The Boxing Day Test will be a different type of match this time compared to previous clashes between these two teams. Team India looks balanced but their bowling attack could be a worry for them. Zaheer is back and Ishant struggled in the first practice match.  When we look at the batting line-up, it is one of the best line-up in the world. With Gambhir and Shehwag opening the batting , Dravid , Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman after that, and MS Dhoni to follow, it should be a treat to watch. How VVS will bat against Australia will be worth watching. He has always made runs against Australia.  Sachin Tendulkar could be in a bit of pressure as he seemed in previous matches against West Indies, in search of his 100^th test century.

Team Australia has announced a balanced side for the first test. Beside Cowan and Warner, selectors are expecting a good knock from former captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. They both failed against New Zealand recently. Ponting and Hussey have always made runs against India and that could be the main reason why they were picked. These two will surely be watched this time. Shaun Marsh has replaced Usman Khwaja. Khwaja struggled a lot against the Kiwi attack. When we look at the bowing attack James Pattinson will be the key bowler this time, his pace and the short ball could create a big problem for the Indian batsmen. Ben Hilfenhaus is back in the team because of his ability to swing the ball in the Australian condition. They will be bowling to one of the most experienced batsman of world cricket today and which will be a worth to watch. Beside these players, Aussie captain Michael Clark’s decision on and off the field will be watched keenly because experts still say he is ‘not a captain material’.

(Sudin Pokharel is currently in Sydney, Australia and is a contributing writer for Cricket Nepal.)

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But before the clash of Titans on the turf, the war of views and opinions has started with experts flowing out their opinions on Twitter timeline.

Before all this started, India’s ‘the wall’ and one of the most descent cricketers Rahul Dravid showed a richness of his knowledge when he spoke at the Bradman Oration 2011.

Many cricket analysts called it ‘Memorable at the Memorial’. Dravid not only showed his seriousness about cricket but he showed his keen knowledge about the ‘Memorial ‘. Dravid, the first foreign player to deliver the Bradman Oration, said: “Players need to sacrifice a bit of personal comfort for the good of the game.”

India’s former cricketer Sanjay Manjreker tweeted: “No current cricketer I have known is more aware of the world outside cricket than Dravid. His talk in Canberra as expected, brilliant!”

Well, that was Dravid at his best outside the pitch. Now let’s talk about the fever here.

Team India is at Canberra playing practice match. The speculations and analysis have started pouring out everywhere where cricket lives. It was a tough day for the Indian bowlers on the first day of the tour match and all seemed struggling.

It will be a tough time for Australian selectors too. Wes Robinson and Tom Cooper’s tons have of course made them think a bit. Ishant Sharma was wicket-less and he bowled only five overs and Umesh Yadav was good on picking up three wickets.

Is it good news for the Australian Camp? May be or maybe not. Key players of Australian cricket team are on a camp practicing how to play swing. Well it’s just because of the defeat against the Black Caps at Hobart where Australian batting order collapsed at once, except T20 specialist David Werner, who played a fighting innings but couldn’t save the Test.

Pressure is mounting in both the camps as Indian strong batting line-up will be facing Australian new bowling sensation James Pattinson. It will be a big test for Indian openers Virender Shehwag and Gautam Gambhir and all eyes will be on Shewag, the hand eye co-ordination smasher. Of course all eyes will be on the little master as well because the world is waiting for his 100th century.

But no doubt pressure will be ticking in both the camps as the Boxing Day is coming close.

(Sudin Pokharel is currently in Sydney, Australia and is a contributing writer for Cricket Nepal.)

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I believe the first agenda that the newly-elected committee should take up is the review of the ACC T20 Cup and Nepal´s performance.

As a host, apart from a few minutes´ crowd trouble during Nepal-UAE match, the tournament was successful. No complaints from the teams and thousands of spectators even in matches not involving Nepal should be a matter of great pride for the country, the board and the game. The issue of crowd trouble needs a thorough review since it happened for the second time and CAN should work out a detailed plan on its own to ensure such incidents do not occur in future.

Nepal´s performance, though the best in Twenty20 so far, is a matter of concern for all – it was not the defeats, rather the way the team played. Frankly, Nepal looked ordinary – its batting, fielding and even bowling was below-par. The promises of new coach Pubudu Dassanayake for a different kind of cricket seemed void on the ground.

The truth is Dassanayake hadn´t had enough time to evaluate players before the tournament. I am among the believers that after a long stint with cricket-book coach Roy Dias, we need ´performance coach´ like Dassanayake. The capacity of the new coach will take at least a couple of more tournaments to be seen as the team is still in transition.

But CAN should nevertheless develop a mechanism to evaluate the coach and the players and make them accountable for the performance. Reviewing the ACC T20 Cup, CAN should ask Dassanayake, manager Rajesh KC and captain Paras Khadka to submit reports evaluating the team´s performance including what was good and what went wrong as well as what can be done to improve. It´s useful in three ways.

First, it makes them responsible and accountable for what they do, second, it gives an idea what CAN could do, and third, it´s a record of the history. Report should be made mandatory after each tournament – no matter even if the team wins it.

CAN sould also ask a few questions on issues arising during the tournament from both coach and captain. For example, Dassanayake should be asked about his priority and future use of unorthodox shots in the context that despite repeated attempts, Nepali batsmen failed to use that for good.

Similarly, manager KC and captain Khadka should be asked why pacer Amrit Bhattarai chose to stay back in the hotel while the team was playing and why Khadka and a few players skipped the presentation ceremonies.

For the success of the team, the mantra for the sports association should be: Give them (coach and players) any logical facilities they ask for and ask them questions about their performance.

(As published in Republica)

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Lot of people including leading media of the country is not
hesitant to call it a Nepal’s luck to qualify for the semi final. However, I
have a different view here and totally disagree with those who term our
qualification as a matter of luck.

First thing we got to remember that net run rate comes in to
play only when there are equal points of more number of top teams than allotted
maximum numbers of team that can actually qualify further from the group. Since,
we shared equal points with UAE and Hong Kong with same number of wins it had
to get down to net run rate to judge two better teams to qualify further as per
the rule of the event. Winning equal number of matches along with Hong Kong and
UAE proves that we were equally good team to qualify further.

Some people also argue that we won our two league matches
with very narrow margin. We won the match against Hong Kong in the last ball
with two wickets and against Kuwait in last over by one run and it was due to
our good luck. In sports it doesn’t matter how big is a winning margin, what
matter the most is winning. An athlete also wins gold medal in hundred miter
sprint by just fraction of seconds and nobody says that he won by luck. This is
because in competitive sports margin of winning or losing is generally very narrow.
Moreover, how many people would have called it our bad luck if we did not get qualified
for semi due to net run rate?

One more thing I would like to reiterate that, after three matches
each of Nepal, UAE and Hong Kong, Nepal was placed at number three in the group
with same points but negative net run rate. In fact Nepal’s net run rate was
much below than UAE and Hong Kong. To qualify further in the event the scenario
was to defeat Saudi Arabia with a very big margin. Under tremendous pressure at
home ground Nepal put up a great show by scoring 183 runs in 20 overs. The task
was not yet completed; Nepal had to bowl Saudi Arabia out below 100 to get its
net run rate positive and decent, which Nepal did.

All these cannot just happen by luck!! Boys had worked very
hard over past one month along with their new coach. Hence, let’s not term our
qualification as “luck” and enjoy our victory and support our team.

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