سجل فريق برشلونة هدفه الأول في شباك أتلتيكو مدريد، في مباراتهما الجارية حاليًا، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني.

ويستضيف ملعب “مونتجويك” مباراة الفريقين في الجولة الثامنة عشر من الليجا، 2024/25 (لمتابعة اللقاء من هنا).

ونجح برشلونة في تسجيل هدفه الأول في شباك الضيوف، أتلتيكو مدريد، في الدقيقة 30 من عمر الشوط الأول.

الهدف جاء عن طريق بيدري، بعد سلسلة من التمريرات المتبادلة بين لاعبي برشلونة، انتهت بتمريرة من جافي إلى بيدري، ليسددها الأخير وتسكن الشباك تحت يد الحارس يان أوبلاك. هدف بيدري في مباراة برشلونة وأتلتيكو مدريد

أصدر مجلس إدارة نادي سموحة، بياناً رسمياً اليوم الخميس، بشأن الهزيمة التي تعرض لها الفريق في مباراته أمام غزل المحلة، التي جمعت بينهما ببطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

واستضاف فريق سموحة نظيره غزل المحلة، على أرضية استاد الإسكندرية ضمن منافسات الجولة السادسة من عمر الدور الأول ببطولة الدوري.

ونشر نادي سموحة بيانًا على الصفحة الرسمية عبر موقع “فيسبوك” قال فيه: “قرر الجهاز الفنى للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بقيادة أحمد سامى المدير الفني توقيع غرامة قدرها خمسين ألف جنيه على كل لاعب من الذين شاركوا في لقاء غزل المحله مساء اليوم مع إيقاف صرف مستحقات اللاعبين لحين تحسن النتائج”.

طالع أيضاً.. ترتيب الدوري المصري بعد نهاية الجولة السادسة

ونجح فريق غزل المحلة في تحقيق فوز كبير على صاحب الأرض سموحة برباعية مقابل هدفين.

ويحتل فريق غزل المحلة المركز التاسع في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 8 نقاط، فيما يتجمد رصيد سموحة عند 5 نقاط في المركز الرابع عشر.

Greg Chappell, acknowledged thinker though he may be, has little to show for as coach

Commentary by Rahul Bhattacharya26-Sep-2005

Look where we’re stuck now. Sourav Ganguly, cornered, fighting, armed with supporting evidence and affidavits, will respond point by point to the contents of the most read email in the history of cricket. The review committee which meets tomorrow (why must Jagmohan Dalmiya be on it?) will have before it sets of claims and counter claims to negotiate, and no power save that of an advisory body. It will emerge that both parties have told some truths or what they believe to be the truth and both parties will have told some half-lies. Inevitably the issue will be politicised.Eventually one man must have to make way. That man ought to be Ganguly; yet the irony is that, thanks to a calculated leak by the board, in being accused he now has his greatest chance of redemption.A few points. It needs mentioning here that Greg Chappell, acknowledged thinker though he may be, has little to show for as coach. He took over South Australia in 1998-99, much like he did India, a messiah, in charge of a team that had tailed off after a high. The expectation in the state then was that he would do a Malcolm Blight, the Aussie Rules Hall of Famer who had just coached a mediocre Adelaide Crows outfit to a pair of premierships in his first two years. Quite to the contrary, Chappell’s five years saw SA finishing fourth (out of six), fourth, last, fourth and fourth.One SA journalist says that Chappell `helped develop several poor performers into handy ones but found it difficult to communicate well with the lesser players. His major battles came with the state’s administrators and the conservative culture of SA. The relationship ended with both parties thinking they could have got more out of each other.’ Another SA observer thought Chappell overly theoretical, unable perhaps to connect with the team, and half-jokingly described his tenure as `reign of terror’. Whatever, that South Australia won a championship under Chappell, as was mentioned in a few news reports in India either shows the sheer sloppiness of journalists or else indicates how enamoured they were of him.And the press Chappell got in India was so fabulous that it immediately made one wary. Chappell does like the press, and he does talk a good game. He sought out the Indian media and wooed them with a presentation of his vision for Indian cricket on the last tour to Australia; barely a day has gone by in his tenure so far that an exclusive interview is not granted. Far more worrying is the number of journalists who routinely receive detail and opinion, plenty of it in writing, that really ought to remain inside, unless the idea in the first place is to spread the word.Is it unreasonable to harbour mild scepticism of Chappell? Leave aside Ganguly, the noises emerging from a significant section of the team indicate that he has not been able to hit home with them. By introducing the coloured hats of Mr de Bono he can come across to players as much a bullshit artist as enlightened guru; by expressing displeasure over players whistling or singing, as some have claimed, he risks being seen as an unbearable bore rather than a hard taskmaster. There is no telling yet if the Chappell way will work simply because there is no evidence of it.Chappell’s first objective of making India look beyond Ganguly is not just fair but necessary; yet reading his own account of trying to destabilise the captain before the Test match makes you wonder. He saw a moment which he tried to exploit, to finish off Ganguly. But what were the percentages here? What odds that Ganguly would indeed stand down on the eve of a Test match against Zimbabwe when he’s trying to save his career?Has Chappell been able to foster an atmosphere of positivity? Looking back at his early days, when he was presented with an England team that had scraped bottom, Duncan Fletcher said, “The first thing I say is that you win as many games in the changing room as you do out in the field.” It is worth analysing – and it is the more profitable area for the review committee to concentrate on for it is the younger members and not Ganguly who are important now to India – how much of this has been the wailing of slackers and how much of it is down simply to ineffective coaching. If the dissidents, and several of them have been pulled up for attitude before, are using this standoff as an opportunity to pave an easy path then they are not worth a moment of indulgence.The big worry for Indian cricket has become that a player rebellion against Chappell will take its final form in the reappointment of Ganguly. That Ganguly must be replaced as captain ought to be non-negotiable, email or no email. It is a decision that would have ideally been taken four months ago. The details remain open to dispute, but not much in Chappell’s email has surprised the majority of journalists.And there is a point in that. Much of the Chappell `vision’ is something any half-astute observer could tell you. Chappell’s job is that of execution. Has he the ability to? Crucially, is the system prepared to allow him to? These are questions which will only be answered over time but they must be raised.Despite the scepticism offered here, my personal opinion is that Chappell must be given the latitude and the duration to work things his way, to toughen up the side as is his brief. Ganguly, due respect and all, has nothing really to offer the future of Indian cricket. With Chappell we will not know unless we let him have his shot. Unpleasant as it may be, Indian cricket must brace itself and make the leap. We could come to owe him. It may help if Chappell, committed to holding up an unforgiving mirror to the team, can also hold it up to himself and consider his management of men. Perhaps he could start by dropping the MBE.

Daryl Tuffey cut down on pace, and concentrated on off-stump accuracy to embarrass India on the final day at Mohali

Dileep Premachandran11-Jul-2005When India’s batsmen emerged this morning, they would have expected Daniel Vettori to be the main obstacle between them and the follow-on target of 431. But as it turned out, he was relegated to bit-part status by a magnificent spell of controlled medium-pace from Daryl Tuffey, which pushed India over the edge and into the humiliating situation of following on in a home Test match.Tuffey never attempted to match the pace of Ian Butler, bowling most of his deliveries at around 125kph, but he compensated with an unerringly accurate line that gave the batsmen no room to take liberties. His spell in the morning – straddling two innings – produced 4 for 14 from 10 overs, and was characterised by his ability to put the ball on a spot just on or about off stump, while also obtaining occasional steepling bounce. Of the 60 balls he bowled, 55 pitched on or outside off stump, and all four wickets came courtesy of edges to the wicketkeeper or slip.LineBallsOutside off47off08Middle Off01Leg03Outside Leg01He started off by snipping off India’s excuse of a tail to enforce the follow-on. L Balaji and Zaheer Khan were both undone by deliveries that pitched bang in the corridor of uncertainty outside off stump. Two feathered edges did the rest.But Tuffey wasn’t done. Virender Sehwag, who lashed a cavalier 130 in the first innings, was tempted into slashing at one that was just a mite too close to his body, while Rahul Dravid played a more hesitant stroke to one that was pitched on off stump. Stephen Fleming took both catches, and Tuffey went to lunch well pleased.As if to prove that he wasn’t just a morning person, he came back after the interval to castle Sachin Tendulkar. Medium-pace bowling in Indian conditions doesn’t get much better than that.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan on why India’s premier cricketer needs to fire both as player and captain

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan26-Jul-2007

You normally don’t associate words like “confused” and “unsure” with Rahul Dravid but there are times during this early stage of the England tour when they have seemed apt. Amid all the excitement over the bowlers and the angst over the batting heavyweights, Dravid’s situation should not be ignored. It is one that prompts more empathy than criticism.He endured two failures with the bat at Lord’s and, excluding Bangladesh, he has now gone four Tests without a contribution (in South Africa last year, he didn’t once go past 50). He’s leading a side that includes a few rookies and has to do without the services of a coach. It comes as no surprise that he has stuttered through press conferences – before the game he said Harbhajan when he meant Kumble; after the game he said, “England’s confidence will surely be 0-0.”Most of India’s important victories in the last five years, at venues as diverse as Adelaide, Rawalpindi and Kingston, have been Dravid-inspired. Under normal circumstances you wouldn’t want your best batsman to be straddled with the captaincy, but Dravid remains the best available option and there’s no point debating the issue. He needs to lead, he needs to score, he needs to win matches. It may be too much to ask but he also needs to win tosses.If the bowlers need to iron out a few creases, they have Venkatesh Prasad to approach. There’s Robin Singh to talk to if anyone has an issue with fielding. But who does Dravid turn to?He is someone who thinks a lot about his batting, visualises his shots the previous day, and ponders hard over the construction of an innings. “I do my best to be in a relaxed state of mind because that’s when I play at my best,” he told in December 2003, when he was still a long way away from the captaincy. “I try to slow things down a couple of days before the game. I have long lunches, do things in an unhurried way. The morning of the match I always get up a couple of hours before we have to get to the ground, so that I have plenty of time to get ready. I take my time to have a bath, wear my clothes, eat breakfast. I never rush things, and that sort of sets up my mood for the rest of day.”

It’s tough to imagine the Dravid of today having enough time to go through all these routines in a relaxed manner. He needs to think of team composition, plan net sessions, sort out his team-mates’ struggles, and do his best to keep morale high. Captaincy can be hard work in such circumstances. Ravi Shastri, who led in only one Test but made a name for himself as a shrewd tactician, thought Dravid was over-attacking on the first morning by setting a 7-2 field for the England openers. India’s bowlers were taking time to come to terms with the Lord’s slope, as well as the occasion, but Dravid refused to relent. It was no doubt the bowlers’ fault for being off line, but England raced away with the momentum too easily. Again Dravid was probably guilty of letting the game drift on the fourth afternoon, but stopping Kevin Pietersen when he’s in that mood isn’t easy.India have relied so much on Dravid over the last five years that a minor blip in his form causes a rise in the mercury levels. England experienced the downside of appointing a talisman like Andrew Flintoff as captain; are India entering similar territory?The last time he left England, Dravid had successfully made the step up from a good batsman to a great one. If he can get back his groove and help India win this series, he might transform himself from being an uncertain leader to an assured one.

It’s a typical afternoon at the National Cricket Academy in Edinburgh, where a small, but fiercely energetic staff, are multi-tasking with a resolve that belies the governing body’s dearth of finance

Neil Drysdale10-Jul-2006

Scotland: lacking finance but not resolve © Getty Images
It’s a typical afternoon at the National Cricket Academy in Edinburgh, where a small, but fiercely energetic staff, are multi-tasking with a resolve that belies the governing body’s dearth of finance.A year ago this week, Craig Wright’s team triumphed in the ICC Trophy, thereby securing World Cup qualification and earning automatic ODI status, whilst climbing to a global ranking of 12th. There were plenty of lofty promises about how the game was poised for all sorts of monetary windfalls, but as it transpired these forecasts sprung from the Wilkins Micawber School of economics.The reality for Wright and the national coach, Peter Drinnen, is that they must keep advancing in spite of a system that is absurdly obsessed with medals, and seemingly designed to deny cricket any of the same advantages afforded to other pursuits.Drinnen shrugs his shoulders when confronted with these issues. As somebody who inherited the job, in controversial circumstances, from Andy Moles, the Australian has stepped up to the plate in stirring fashion, orchestrating a series of victories for the Saltires in the revamped C&G Trophy and watching proudly as his charges rallied from 20 for 4 to push Pakistan hard at The Citylets Grange last month.Elsewhere, concerns have been expressed as to the validity of the ICC’s philosophy of introducing half-a-dozen new countries onto the ODI circuit – and the sceptics’ fears were borne out by Sri Lanka amassing a record-breaking 443 runs in 50 overs against hapless Holland – but Drinnen is unrepentant in his assertion that Scotland has the ability to rise above Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Kenya in the next 18 months. If he was allowed access to a bigger annual budget than £180,000, there is no inherent reason why his personnel can’t be beating anybody in the planet by the start of the next decade.”Of course, we would benefit from extra cash,” says Drinnen, “and I have the plans in place if it happens to create an A team, packed with 18, 19 and 20 year-olds, who would go to Bangladesh, to India and Sri Lanka, and test themselves in high-pressure contests, which would allow a natural progression through to the senior side.”That contrasts starkly with the present situation where we are shoving in guys from the SNCL and expecting them to tackle professional rivals head-on but, to be fair, we have definitely increased our strength in depth in the last 12 months.”Drinnen highlighted the example of Neil McCallum, who made a conscious decision to put himself in the spotlight, thrived at the Grange, and forced himself into the Saltires’ scene through sheer 100% commitment and application. It was he who marched to the crease at 20 for 4 against Pakistan, and proceeded to dig his side out of a huge hole with a gritty 68.”I am always asking questions of players and Neil has responded,” added Drinnen. “What I would ask of some others is: are you equally determined to invest in the hours of practice and demand an opportunity? Even six months ago, there were some individuals who probably imagined they had booked their World Cup berths, but I have told a lot of them to take nothing for granted.”I have 18 or 19 names in my mind for 15 spots, and there is still time for one or two others to stick themselves in the frame, before the squad is announced in September. But if anybody is half-hearted, or believes they have enough talent to sit out net sessions, or doesn’t understand they have to be fit, I am afraid they are in for a disappointment when the party is announced for the most intense period in Scotland’s history.”Drinnen, a reticent character by nature, was disinclined to indulge in specific selection discussions. Nonetheless, he has been significantly impressed with Paul Hoffmann (“the lad has bowled beautifully”), Ryan Watson (“he refuses to stay out of any game”), whilst his warm words for Dewald Nel, Ross Lyons and Gavin Hamilton and for Wright and Dougie Brown’s “innate professionalism” suggest that they can anticipate a winter abroad.That winter could possibly begin with a trip to Bangladesh in November, followed by the inaugural World Cricket League, prior to meeting the UAE in the Intercontinental Cup. Then it’s off to St Kitts for their hat-trick of World Cup assignments with Australia, South Africa and Holland.It is a daunting schedule and one which promises to tax the players’ employers and spouses alike. But if Drinnen is feeling the strain of existing on a shoestring budget, he is keeping it remarkably well-hidden.”I know that some of the lads will have to make sacrifices and tough choices, which isn’t ideal, and although we are grateful for the sponsorship of Lloyds TSB and the funding from Sportscotland, it would clearly be fantastic if we could offer contracts to seven or eight players and progress towards a scenario where they were full-time cricketers.””All the same,” he added, “I’m both pragmatic and excited about our prospects, because I genuinely, 100% reckon that we can have a very good Scottish cricket team for years to come, the foundations have been laid, and an awful lot of development has occurred in a short time. What we need now is the funding to take a big leap, instead of moving forward in short steps.”Drinnen’s ultimate fantasy is for Scotland to take part in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which could even be held in Glasgow if their bid is successful. “If it is, then Twenty20 cricket could be included on the programme and we could have a pop at chasing a medal. Why not? If we can score 200-plus against Pakistan and have them at 93 for 5, without several of our key performers, why shouldn’t we dare to dream?”Drinnen is currently debating the logistics of sending a couple of players to Australia and two more to India this winter, as part of his fast-track policy. He may speak in measured tones, but this man is on a mission and has no truck with part-timers or pessimists.

When it comes to England in India, it’s all too clear who the poor relation is now

Suresh Menon28-Feb-2006

From the India hater of old, Geoff Boycott has turned into an India-lover on television © Getty Images
The last time England won a Test series in India, under David Gower in 1984-85, the past was still ruling the present. Superpowers England and Australia had the right of veto in the ICC, which was administered by the MCC, a venerable private club whose members hadn’t yet recovered from an attack of modernity in 1965 when the ICC ceased to be the Imperial Cricket Conference.Today, a combination of world-class players, business-savvy officials, a cricket-hungry market and a huge fan base has made India the game’s sole superpower. The media explosion has contributed too. Seven of the 11 who played in the final Test against Gower’s England have turned television commentators, some adding lustre to the profession, others letting the fusion between cricket and language end in confusion.India generates over 60% of the money in the game. That they are attempting to do with money power what England did with colonial arrogance may be a case of bullying by other means, but both England and the ICC have succumbed to the blandishments of the rupee and cannot complain now. You can view at it either as payback, or as the progression of a sport that leaped from the dark ages of colonialism to the modern age of globalisation without a necessary period of enlightenment in between.Gower’s tour is a good starting point. India had won the previous World Cup, and a group of marketing managers had emerged to convert the popular appeal of the game into big money. Colour television had arrived in India only a couple of years earlier, and Indian cricket was at the take-off stage.England lost the first Test after a traumatic introduction to India. Within hours of their arrival, the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated and the capital was in flames. The England team then accepted an invitation from Sri Lanka to practise there. When they returned, they had dinner with the British Deputy High Commissioner, who was shot dead a day later, on the eve of the first Test. As Gower said, “It’s all pretty grim isn’t it?”Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, the legspinner, claimed 12 wickets in the Bombay Test and the visitors were quickly one-down. They then came back to win two Tests and take the series. Madras prepared a “turner” but it was the medium-pacer Neil Foster who took 11 wickets there to settle the issue. Mike Gatting and Graeme Fowler became the first pair of English batsmen to make double-centuries in the same Test. By then the Sivaramakrishnan bogey had been laid to rest by batsmen willing to play the sweep. The new spin twins Pat Pocock and Phil Edmonds had harried India to defeat in the second Test at Delhi. Pocock was 38 at the time, and Edmonds had a reputation for being “difficult”; he was in the team only because Gower said he could handle him.By the time England next came to India, in 1993, their hold on the game, supported by the mindset of their former colonies, was beginning to slip. First there was the 3-0 clean sweep that Mohammad Azharuddin’s men dealt them thanks to the spinners, particularly Anil Kumble, who claimed 21 wickets. This after a spying mission by Keith Fletcher, and his immortal conclusion that Kumble was no bowler, and that England “had nothing to fear”.India won in Calcutta thanks to some judicious help from the fog, in Madras because the prawns at a Chinese restaurant turned the English stomachs more than Kumble turned the ball, and in Bombay because skipper Graham Gooch didn’t shave. England’s chairman of selectors Ted Dexter then kindly volunteered to set up a commission to study the pollution in Calcutta. He didn’t delve into the eating habits of his players, particularly Mike Gatting who, as on the previous tour, swept all before him. In the end Gooch’s face was left bloody but unmowed. In those days it was still possible to make India feel apologetic about thrashing England.Mike Atherton saw it differently in his book, Opening Up. “For the dusty turners of India we prepared on the hard rock surfaces of Lilleshall. We knew we would be facing a phalanx of spinners, so we left out our best player of spin, David Gower. In Kolkata the pitch looked dry and cracked, so we played four seamers. We knew that the food could be dodgy so we ate prawns in Chennai and got food poisoning,” he wrote. Not surprisingly, Atherton was made England captain soon after.Some weeks after the end of the tour, there was a divorce; the ICC became an independent body, with its own chief executive and its headquarters at Lord’s. Significantly, the veto rights were abolished. Eight decades after the founding of the governing body, there was some measure of equality. The two men chiefly responsible for this, IS Bindra and Jagmohan Dalmiya, have since had a falling out.The manner in which India “stole the World Cup” from under England’s nose in 1987 because the Indian board president four years earlier, NKP Salve, was denied extra passes for Lord’s, is part of folklore. The anointment of Dalmiya as the president of the ICC in 1997 did not go down well with the old order in England. Made to feel like an outsider, Dalmiya decided to hit back every opportunity he got. He scheduled matches in Agartala and Jamshedpur on the current tour. The message was clear – India ruled, and England had better realise that. Some months before the tour, however, Dalmiya was voted out of office, and the new dispensation, which had no personal vendetta, agreed to change the venues.There is no telling just how often Dalmiya would have taken world cricket to the brink with his desire to appear a patriotic Indian who wouldn’t kowtow to the former colonial masters. The media lapped up the posturing, and it was fun, if a bit childish, while it lasted. In the new millennium, though, Dalmiya was already an anachronism, as Lalit Modi, the present vice-president of the board has shown.In the decade during which England did not come to India for a Test series, India’s accent shifted from post-colonial angst to global chic. Personal vendetta is passé. It is not the colour of skin that matters, but the colour of money, and India has been telling the leading cricketing nations something along the lines of, “Behave yourselves, listen to us, and there is enough money for all. Rock the boat, and you go down.”It is to this new India that Michael Vaughan leads the 11th English Test squad (if you don’t count the one-off Jubilee Test which England won). England have won only three of those series – the first in 1933-34, and the second under Tony Greig in 1976-77 when Derek Underwood took 29 wickets and made rather better use of the Indian turners than the famous quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan. Greig was all praise for the Indian spinners and named the first three as the best of their type in the world. But except in Bangalore, where everything clicked for India, including a brand new fielder at short leg, Yajurvindra Singh, who clung on to a world-record seven catches, England had the upper hand, having won the first three Tests.When India recently threw the ICC’s Future Tours Programme out of the window, most Englishmen asked why Australia are generally given preferential treatment with regard to venues and dates. There is a simple answer: Australia have usually come to India with their best team, led by their reigning captain.Englishmen pulling out of tours on flimsy grounds have always irritated Indians. Geoff Boycott didn’t tour India until the world-record aggregate was within his grasp. In 1981-82 he played three Tests, went past Garry Sobers’s record of 8032 runs, played one more Test in Kolkata (during which he disappeared to play golf in the middle of the match), and was gently asked to go back home. He wasn’t particularly fussed since that was what he had in mind once the record was his anyway. From such an India-hater Boycott has metamorphosed into the India-lover of television. He loves Indian players, Indian actresses, and even Indian food. Such is the pull of television money. The delicate walls of Boycott’s stomach are now lined with Indian rupees.Douglas Jardine’s only tour following the Bodyline series was to India, the country of his birth, in 1933-34; in 1951-52 England were led by a debutant, Nigel Howard. Howard only ever played four Tests, all as captain on that tour. Freddie Brown, captain in England’s previous series against South Africa wasn’t in the team. Nor were Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Godfrey Evans, Alec Bedser, Jim Laker or Peter May. In the next series, in 1961-62, there was no Colin Cowdrey, Brian Statham or Fred Trueman in Dexter’s side. Mike Smith’s 1963-64 squad did not have Cowdrey originally. A decade later another debutant, Tony Lewis, captained England. When Fletcher came to India as captain, he had been in retirement for four years. Such condescension was not guaranteed to endear English cricket to the average Indian fan who was treated to the Benauds and Borders from Australia leading teams while at the top of their games.Vaughan’s team is not the first that will begin the series as underdogs. India have won five series to England’s three, 12 Tests to England’s 10. From here on, the two teams will play each other home and away in four-year cycles. If India get their math right they could host the 2011 World Cup too.England are not just cricketing underdogs vis a vis India (14-1, in the eyes of some London bookmakers), but in other senses too, with a softer voice in international cricket than their rivals. This is a new situation for both, even if India have been heading for superpowerdom for some time now.The new officials will try to divorce India’s performance on the field from their influence off it – the reverse of the West Indies situation in the 1980s, when they were the best team in the world but had no voice in the ICC. India’s current position may have been built on the successes of their teams, but they have known failure too and their administrators, so full of beans and ideas today, will not want to go around with a begging bowl tomorrow. It is not just the Future Tours Programme that comes in cycles. After the first flush of triumph and triumphalism, the Bindras and the Modis will have to look beyond the market, and that is where the relationships they carve out today will be important. If Gower arrived when the past was ruling, Vaughan arrives when the future is set to rule the present.

Cricinfo got a ticket to find out what sort of buzz the IPL generated

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan19-Apr-2008

Anticipatory buzz: The Anil Kumble circle outside the ground was the beehive of most of the buzz. It became tough to navigate through the area at noon and by 5pm, Queens Road was partly blocked. It was obvious the numbers would match any one-dayer though it
was also evident that there wasn’t going to be too much of a partisan element to the cheering.Twelve years ago few Bangaloreans would have even imagined a day which could rival the excitement that surrounded the India-Pakistan World Cup clash but the response here was threatening to approach it. Not many had their faces painted, fewer carried the tri-colour. Signs
showing fours and sixes, though, were generously distributed.Entry time: It’s usually not too much of a hassle entering the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The queues are well set out and very few security men rough you up. Mobile phones aren’t a problem and the frisking is usually nothing more than a quick run-through. What all this means is
that the smart ones can sneak their cigarettes in.Exit time: A no-contest meant people gradually trickled out of the stadium, reducing traffic hassles. Less than half the crowd was left at the end of the match and it meant a far smoother flow of people. There was parking available right next to the stadium at Cubbon Park and the road connecting the two was turned in to a pedestrian one for the night. A few corporates had arranged buses for their employees but there was no arrangement by the organisers as such (something they could probably think of with 11pm finishes.)What the fans got: Vijay Mallya might have been gutted with the show his side put up but the alcohol sales would have brought a big smile. The sale of liquor – mostly around the corporate boxes – was something regular cricket fans were not used to and the scenes there appeared out of an American sports movie.It was difficult to get water but the beer flowed at a McCullum-esque rate in the more expensive stands. The security personnel around these stands had it good and were often seen stationed right next to the liquor booths with glasses in hand. Priced reasonably, it was set out in stalls, along with wine and vodka, behind the stands, though it required some to walk some distance before they could get back to their seats. The best part was the clear signboards at every corner. A hot day ensured plenty of sales and also had the spectators heading to the restrooms. Though they seemed to have been set up in haste, the restrooms were occasionally inadequate but largely useable. The women’s sections were relatively cleaner and had large mirrors placed in them as well. A scuffle broke out in one of the stands and more of those could see the alcohol sales being more closely monitored.The higher-priced tickets had food included in their charge and spectators were able to enjoy a good quality buffet-style dinner. The caterers started serving food – which included three types of rice, roti, vegetable and chicken curries and kebabs – during the first innings, which somewhat lessened the rush at the break, and most spectators returned to their seats to cheer for their side while shovelling into their stomachs.Atmosphere: Bangaloreans used to the slew of rock concerts
would have hoped for a better sound system but the intensity levels
matched the big nights at Palace Grounds, where the bands play.
Bollywood numbers blared out frequently but the crowd really got going
with a few Kannada songs that played later in the day (interestingly
coinciding with the home team’s dismal show). The quality of fireworks
– dazzling the audience for more than five minutes – matched the ones
that light up the Sydney skyline on New Year’s day and the lighting
sat well with the grand scale of the event.Crowd support: European football teams talk of the distinct
edge they get in home games (with the crowd acting as the extra
player) but it will take a while for these teams to develop such a
following. Only once, when Sunil Joshi came on to bowl, did the crowd
actually egg him along fervently on a night when the home side weren’t
really distinguishable from the visitors.

McCullum’s sixes were applauded (much more than they would have been
if New Zealand were playing India) and Sourav Ganguly received big
cheers after his wickets. So cosmopolitan is Bangalore’s crowd that
visiting teams are bound to find pockets of support every time and
nothing symbolised it more than a group of fans who took their shirts
off and swirled it above their heads the moment Ganguly was on strike.No dull moment: Unlike in a Test match, though, the spectators
had plenty of chance to get involved. Every good move by the Bangalore
side was followed by the Redskin girls twirling their hips (and
pom-poms). It took a while for them to realise when to cheer (the
spontaneity came only towards the end) and it was hilarious to see
them jiving to Kannada numbers. The crowd, though, swung with them all
night. The girls cheering the Kolkata side had much more work on the
night (McCullum ensured that with 13 sixes and 10 fours) and
some even got the fans to synchronise with their movements.Score? What score? Somebody needs to ferret out the digital
scoreboard that’s usually installed at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The
manual scoreboard was hardly visible and the giant screen stopped
working mid-way through the second innings. This was hardly a match
when the scores needed to be closely monitored but come a nail-biter
and the crowd may just be a bit confused.

India’s IPL stars have been exposed at the World Twenty20 again. Apart from technical shortcomings, it suggests a shocking lack of respect for the international game and its challenges

Sidharth Monga12-May-2010It was almost farcical. A group of nervous West Indies players was actually hoping an underprepared, lethargic Indian side would keep them alive in the tournament by beating Sri Lanka. As India went about conceding 33 runs in the last two overs – admittedly they didn’t have any interest left in the tournament – the IPL final came to mind.Kieron Pollard seemed like he was pulling off a heist against Chennai Super Kings when MS Dhoni came up with the move of a genius. He placed a mid-off almost behind the umpire, and a long-off almost behind him. The bowler was asked to bowl full and straight, and err, if he had to, on the fuller side. Lo, Pollard was out, caught at the very straight mid-off. Later Dhoni explained how he had not pulled a rabbit out of the hat, and how it had been a rehearsed move, which had worked against such big hitters as Matthew Hayden in the . Yes, Indian cricketers have time to prepare and play warm-up games for the IPL, but not for major international events like the World Twenty20.How impotent India’s batsmen must feel. They knew exactly where they would be hit, they had enough time – about a year – to prepare for it, yet they reacted to balls headed for the ribcage and upwards almost as if it was a hitherto unknown underhand tactic. And there was no devil in the Kensington Oval track either: it just offered pace and true bounce. No sideways movement, no unplayable swing.Unlike Dhoni with his genius move in the IPL final, not many in the batting line-up can be said to have worked endlessly in the nets, at camps, during warm-up matches, to try and eliminate the weakness that was pointed out to them a year ago, by the likes of Luke Wright among others. Between the really important cricket, a number of needless ODI series and tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, (both outside their FTP commitments and both involving the BCCI’s unconditional allies in cricket politics), the IPL (demanding schedule, travel, inane media work, mandatory late-night parties), and the false confidence that the flat pitches and hyperbole during the IPL tend to create, who has the time to think about bouncers? If they had had the time, at least some improvement would have shown. They actually seemed more clueless this time around.For two editions of the World Twenty20 running, India haven’t won a Super Eights game. But it is the manner of the defeats, almost identical to the ones produced any time this line-up bats on a bouncy track, that will hurt them more. To be fair to them, there is hardly any time in Twenty20s to duck under a few bouncers and try to wear the bowlers down. There is a reason, though, why such tactics are not tried against the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen, et al. The bowlers know those men can hook them for sixes; the Indians’ only scoring shot to well-directed bouncers has been the top edge over the keeper’s head. Their team-mate Virender Sehwag is a perfect man to learn from; bowlers have tried bowling short at him but don’t quite like being upper-cut for six or getting whipped away for four.Suresh Raina has reiterated that if he’s not allowed to plonk the front foot down, all those heaved sixes and slog-sweeps become top edges that go nowhere: against Australia he nearly played on with an edge that could have hit a low-flying aircraft. On a slow and low St Lucia pitch against Sri Lanka, he was back in form, crackling away to a good-looking 63. M Vijay, who had come across as a more solid batsman, doesn’t attack the short ball. Although Gautam Gambhir did most things right, his wrists didn’t drop in time, something he will now have to contend with in the longest version of the game too. Yuvraj Singh managed to keep the pull shots down, but his head kept falling away. After a couple of short ones – not nasty ones mind you – Rohit Sharma stopped moving his feet completely and kept edging slower deliveries floated outside off.India’s fielding standards were below average, and of the quality on display during the IPL•AFPNeither does Yusuf Pathan enjoy the captain’s confidence to bat before the game is almost over, nor has he shown the aptitude to translate his daredevilry from the IPL (“greatest innings” and all that) to the international level. Dhoni felt he needed to pick an extra batsman in back-to-back Twenty20 internationals, going with just three bowlers, much like he invariably did in the IPL, where he picked one of Manpreet Gony, Joginder Sharma, L Balaji or Sudeep Tyagi as a specialist bowler.The bouncers actually did the team a favour. They hid that the captain seemed to have no confidence in the specialist bowlers picked by the selectors (R Vinay Kumar was finally played after Praveen Kumar had returned home, Umesh Yadav was found to have travelled with the wrong visa, and Zaheer Khan had a niggle). That the captain was not only defensive, he was stubborn too. That Gambhir ran between the wickets in a manner that Ravi Shastri called pathetic – and it takes a lot to get Shastri to utter a negative word on air. (Nor does Gambhir usually convert threes into twos.) It hid that India’s fielding continued to match IPL standards – minus the crazy catches pulled off by the likes of David Hussey.It turns out there is a far wider gap between the quality of cricket in IPL and internationals than the Indian team lets on. Their coach is slightly old-fashioned and saner. For last year’s embarrassment, Gary Kirsten blamed IPL fatigue and the sudden shift from that substandard cricket to top-quality international stuff, without sugar-coating his words. He also spoke about how his team had handed Australia their worst Test-series defeat in recent times, and that it followed a gruelling camp was not a coincidence. Only a board as deafened by the sound of money as India’s could have not listened to the man. This time he may as well ask for subtitles.The IPL tragics often cite India’s No. 1 ranking in Tests to make themselves believe the cricket can’t be so bad. Therein lies the major flaw: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are too established and too good to let a hit-and-giggle league effect their techniques or work ethic. And it’s because of them, not the IPL stars, that India are No. 1 in Tests.Dhoni admits his side is tired. He says that’s the reality of being an India cricketer. He admits most of his line-up can’t attack the well-directed bouncer. He says his spinners bowled flat and his seamers kept bowling the same pace. He says his side didn’t play to its potential, but he finds nothing wrong in either the IPL or the scheduling. Yet clearer signs of either a tired or unprepared side could not have been cited.While defending the IPL and the scheduling, Dhoni said, “Players need to be smart because IPL is not only about cricket. You have to respect your body, and if you don’t do that, the IPL is draining.” The team and the board will do well to add international cricket to the to-respect list.

Is there anything more predictable than a McCullum playlist filled with nothing but power ballads?

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Jul-2022The night before the fifth Test between England and India at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes watched “Elvis”, the biographical drama about rock n’ roll icon Elvis Presley.You would not describe Stokes or his teammates as cinephiles, though they often take trips to the cinema in Test match weeks to kill time. Picking the film is usually pretty easy, though Stokes’ penchant for a horror flick can polarise.On the odd occasion they have drawn inspiration from the big screen. During the 2019-20 tour of South Africa, they were blown away by Sam Mendes’ “1917”, about the quest of two British soldiers delivering a message to call off a doomed operation. It helped that Mendes, a cricket fan, named three characters after Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alastair Cook.This time, there weren’t too many cricket references – even if director Baz Luhrmann is an Aussie – but there was a particular moment that struck a chord with Stokes.During the 1950s, Elvis held a reputation as a troublemaker for swirling up uncontrollable frenzies at his gigs with his antics on stage. He was even threatened with jail time. One particular scene in the film relays an incident when Elvis is warned not to perform any of his signature hip-thrusting movements. Specifically: don’t even wiggle a finger. Elvis gets on stage, hoards in front of him being held back by security, strikes a pose and says the following: “There’s a lot of people saying a lot of things. But in the end you’ve got to listen to yourself.” He then raises his right hand and wiggles his little finger, before breaking into his usual act. Bedlam ensues.Stokes was so enamoured by this moment, in part because he saw a bit of himself in it. An entertainer who for the longest time had felt bound by cricket’s conservative ways, particularly at Test level. And so on the morning of day one, England got into a huddle and he referenced the scene, along with the little finger wiggle and, having previously urged them to consider themselves as entertainers, implored them to go into this series-saving match with India thinking they were “rockstars”. He then looked over at Joe Root: “What are we, Rooty?””Rockstars!” Replied the former captain. And off they went to win the game, bringing down the house with a record chase of 378 inside 76.4 overs.Stokes went to the finger wiggle on day four when he took the four wickets that ended India’s second innings on 245 with a lead of 377. Root celebrated his hundred on day five with it, too, encouraged by his skipper who looked so chill on the balcony the only way you knew he was in next was because it said so on the scorecard. He also had his pads on, but you just don’t know with this lot anymore. He might have been wearing them for a laugh.”I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rockstar,” admitted Root as he sheepishly explained the celebration. “But for 10 seconds,” he added, “I might have done today. That’s what the little pinky was about.”Hands up – who thought Root, manner born, FEC, high elbow, would ever refer to himself as a rockstar? But here he is, part of the gang, joining in with all the unserious bits around the very serious bits. There in the house party, where they’re all having the best times, even if he’s making sure the empties are going into the recycling on the way.Related

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If there is a warm feeling in English cricket right now, it’s because the heat is emanating from that England dressing room. A room with some big egos are all pulling together. And above all else, seemingly having the most fun. Enough that their captain can go watch a film, quote his favourite bit and get the best batter of his generation to shout about being a rockstar in front of those he was leading with a guard up just a few months ago, then indulge an in-joke to celebrate one of his more remarkable knocks.This success is not solely built on private schools, bowling machines and performance programmes but heart, nu-soul and genuine camaraderie. This isn’t Andy Flower’s grizzled, top-of-the-Test rankings England or Steve Waugh’s Australia – and, heck, it might never be. These are just some dudes being dudes, handing kebabs down a pissed-up human chain at 4am and somehow playing the best, most entertaining long-form cricket this country has seen for generations.It is alright to have watched them over the last month and come away not really knowing what’s going on. This team have gone from one win in 17 to four in a row against two teams that contested last year’s World Test Championship. They have taken down fourth-innings targets of 277, 299, 296 and now an English record 378. Only five times in Test history have a team chased down 290-plus scores at a rate of 4.5 an over – three of them are England in the last month. Seemingly off the back of nothing more than vibes.Even the vibes, though, have been given some thought. For instance, both Stokes and vibesman-in-chief Brendon McCullum knew they wanted to make Test cricket feel a little bit more casual, believing many cricketers, both in and out of the team, have been crushed by the weight of it. They knew they could not brainwash them into believing Test cricket didn’t need to be taken so seriously given how many English kids grow up dreaming to play it. But they could strip away some of the elements to at least make it “smart casual”.Now, nets last for as little or as long as players like. There’s a start time for organisation’s sake given the opposition trains before or after, but otherwise, batters can just bat until they feel good. That extends to match days. While previously the team would aim to travel together to the ground to be on deck between 9am for an 11am start, they just need to be in the dressing room half an hour beforehand if they don’t want to do any warming up (if they have already batted in the match, for instance). A couple of messages did have to go around ahead of this India Test to remind the players of the 10:30am start but, so far this summer, no one has abused the lenient call time.The results, so far, speak well of this approach. In fact, “approach” seems too formal a word. But what you are seeing is players taking that sense of ease out to the middle with them. Zak Crawley and Alex Lees’s century opening stand – now England’s fastest – was testament to that. Two players who in any other iteration of this Test side would be waiting for the axe going out there and swinging it themselves.Ridding the dressing room of the usual anxiety, especially in a chase, has been surprisingly easy. Language has been a big part of that, with Stokes’ positivity on Monday ahead of the fourth innings all about getting the total, none of this “have a look” fluff. As Lees said at the end of day four after his 56, the players joked about Stokes winning the toss at the start of this match and saying “he’ll have a chase”, such has been the straight-talking. Similarly, the revelation Stuart Broad has been primed as a “Nighthawk”, ready to go out and swat boundaries in that very Stuart Broad way if England lost a wicket late on an evening when they were after a score, speaks of trying to break convention and have a laugh while doing so.James Anderson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope with the Pataudi Trophy after England’s win•PA Photos/Getty ImagesAs withdrawn as he might seem from the outside, having given just one written media interview since joining at the end of May, McCullum is an active part of all this. Perhaps the most enjoyable nugget to emerge from the last month is the Kiwi has a big bluetooth speaker he uses to play his favourite music, whether on the team bus or the changing room, where, amazingly, it is on throughout the day. It was on full volume in Edgbaston at around 5pm on Tuesday, as the players and coaching staff supped beers on the balcony and on the outfield, scored by the likes of Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Is there anything more predictable than a McCullum playlist filled with nothing but power ballads?During the Leeds Test, McCullum made a note of sitting in the public bar at the team’s Marriott Hotel rather than the Executive Suite, with its guards, table service and discretion. He’d often sit at one of the bigger tables, which was visible from the street, and chat to coaches or players who wanted his ear, offering wisdom or simply a few jokes, like some everyman King Solomon.So much of what England are doing at the moment can be boiled down to the question, “Why?” Like inquisitive children, that has been their starting point for any conversation, leading to the kind of searching that every now and again elicits a “yeah, good point – why do we do this like that?” On balance, the follow-up answers have improved matters. The best has arguably given us The Nighthawk, the less certain put managing director Rob Key in a bit of a quandary as he continues his search for a role-appropriate outfit because he didn’t see the need to wear a suit.All of this makes this England Test side more relatable and, importantly, accessible. For so long the barriers have been up, the rules draconian and the dress code restricting. Now, this team seem to feel it is their duty to provide something for all-comers. They’ve mentioned a few times that they want to bring more fans to Test cricket, and to be honest it seemed a bit too altruistic. But even the most cynical must be starting to crack. Because it’s working.If you were lucky enough to witness the final day at Edgbaston, Headingley, Trent Bridge or the one that kicked this all off at Lord’s, you’d have done so without paying a penny. Lord’s was a clerical twist, with Root finishing that particular chase inside 20 overs to entitle punters to full refunds. The rest, however, were as part of a buy-in from the respective counties that getting more eyes on the game is what it’s all about.Amid all the beer and skittles, there’s a steel to this team that should not be dismissed. As Stokes said, relaying a line Jack Leach had said to him moments earlier: “A great way to explain is that teams are perhaps better than us, but teams won’t be braver than us.”They have turned a sizeable corner and are full of belief. And perhaps the most compelling aspect is, after years of doubt, they have come to an important realisation: Why can’t Test cricket be fun?