http://desicritics.org/ Superior South Asian bloggers on Culture, Media, Politics, Sport, Business, and Technology. en Copyright 2006 by the authors Thu, 1 May 2008 00:47:36 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss BC custom software http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330926 Temporal, I think the format is pretty balanced. Good bowlers like McGrath, Lee, Warne, Pollock, even young Piyush Chawla are all performing well which shows that you get what you are worth in this format. At the same time, they should make concessions in the favour of the bowlers, in the interest of fairness and not because this format is harsh for bowlers. Narrow leg side wides are such a joke. You have to bowl just half an inch outside the batsman's butt to see the umpire stretching his arms. That's ridiculous. Likewise, it's time they put some sense into deciding what an off side wide is and what is not. It should be decided on the basis of distance between bat and ball (which is what a wide signifies in the first place - a ball which is so wide that the bat cannot reach) and not on whether the ball crossed some line or not. 330926@desicritics.org Thu, 1 May 2008 00:47:36 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330924 chandra: so you (seemingly) believe the format is not batsmen tilted? 330924@desicritics.org Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:52:34 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330923 Looking at the way McG/Vettori/Warne are bowling does not seem to support what T says. 330923@desicritics.org Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:38:12 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330919 temporal: That sure sounds like a good idea! wonder why that didn't occur to those at the helm. 330919@desicritics.org Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:01:46 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330897 T20 format is flawed the biggest flaw is pandering to batsmen if bowlers are restricted to 4 overs the batsmen should be restricted to 20 or 24 balls (unless they are out first) that should even the playing field 330897@desicritics.org Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:14:02 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330896 T20 format is flawed the biggest flaw is pandering to batsmen if bowlers are restricted to 4 overs the batsmen should be restricted to 20 or 24 balls that should even the playing field 330896@desicritics.org Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:13:55 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330736 Hey Adithya or whatever u call urself... If Preethi Zinta or SRK is in the ground its understandable for the money... but if Sivamani is there for no reason ... then that shows his love for the sport and home team... atleast these guys dont have to buy someone to cheer them while they have such people who can cheer them with love ... so what do u want to see... people with passion for cricket or people who are lobbying around cricket for money ..?? 330736@desicritics.org Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:01:09 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330614 Chandra: I never said Football is better than cricket or T20 or anything in that sense. I love cricket as much as I love football. I just don't understand the way IPL has been marketed and handled. All the publicity stunts and the deliberate frenzy. Senthil Kumar: 1. I never said I don't like T20. Nor did I say I like football better and its a better game. I do follow the matches on cricinfo. 2. I did not say people come to watch T20 to see white women. I don't understand the need for them is what I said. That was a quote and it was not mine. 330614@desicritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:27:43 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330612 and here are some highlights of an article which was published in the daily mail today http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_article_id=562415&in_page_id=1951 "The grasping, grappling, shirtpulling, head-elbowing use of the upper limbs is reducing the beautiful game to an ugly wrestling match" "At every corner, every free-kick, defenders are shoving and pushing as well as wrapping their arms around opposing forwards as if they are longlost lovers. Invariably, this goes unpunished" "Not only does this flagrant and widespread use of the arms have nothing to do with football as it should be played, but it is increasing the emphasis on upper body strength which is turning so many footballers into muscle-bound weightlifters" "Before today's power-centred training regimes, George Best would simply have been flung to the ground by Ballack" "the game at large needs to remind itself that this is supposed to be football's Great Race not a WWE Smackdown" 330612@desicritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:56:18 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330591 Some of cricket playing countries are so small in population. For e.g. Australia population is about same size as Mumbai population. West Indies population is less than half the size of Chennai population. The point is that, Each IPL league represents lot more humans than a country cricket team could represent. You are saying that you have watched less than 10 hours of IPL. Why don't you watch some more before passing on your judgment? I live in a small town here in Southern Tamilnadu. The people here all so much excited about cricket like never before. Most of the new coming spectators are woman and children. I hardly could watch more than 10 minutes of either soccer or American football. Just because I don't like Soccer doesn't mean that that game is bad. If you don't like T20x20, just change the channel. The way I do with Soccer. You are silly to say that Indians come to 20x20 match to watch white women. If that is the case, then making the hockey or soccer popular in India should be as easy as bringing white womens to stadiums. Basically you are the one who is insulting the intelligence of Indian viewing public. 330591@desicritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:48:40 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/04/28/000711.php#comment-330577 "I'd watch Real Madrid play Manchester United at Old Trafford rather than Mumbai Indians play Chennai Super Kings. That is until they play proper cricket and inspire me to give up my board exam and invite friends home" I know many English folks who have a similar aversion for Football. In fact, at my workplace NONE of them agree that they watch Football (cannot be validated though). I used to watch a lot of football until I moved to England. Here you have football all the time. It is not that the quality of football ins brilliant. Remove half a dozen players (Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, a couple of Goal keepers) and you have RUGBY masquerading as football. Most of teh times players are physically hitting each other than the ball. 20 years ago even the slightest physical touch would be an infringement. last year I had the opportunity to read some research on who watches football. No wonder that most people in my office donot claim that they watch football. Only 42% of british population watch football. It is quite a shocker considering the 99% newspaper space it takes. I also suspect it is because of the the 3rd rate football that is being played. No beauty nothing. Bang bang.....not only that, a majority of people who wtach football in Europe are working class. That is strange because in India the 'new' fans of the English premier league are nowhere near working class....... This whole craze for Real Madrid and Manchester united is another way of distinguishing amongst our peers. here is a sample discussion at a workplace..........You watching IPL? you retarded or what? Have you heard of Kaka? oh! you havent? Bloody Indian watching cricket........me? I am great!! i watch European football...i am GORA!!!! Tell your friend....Sport is sport. If you dont enjoy it, leave those who watch it alone.....no sport is perfect and everybody does not have to like other sport....and real madrid (or barcelona) versus manchester united can be very boring too...did your friend watch the semi last week?..or did he watch a thrid rate game etween Chelsea and MU last weekend....i was surfing channels to watch T20 highights.....that was better..... 330577@desicritics.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:09:32 EDT