tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166428932024-03-08T05:34:22.297-06:00Jaywalking with JauntyThanks for wandering in. Join me as I jaywalk through the thoughts of columnists, sports figures, and sometimes mine.Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.comBlogger1071125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-29997354984570692222021-11-17T22:57:00.003-06:002021-11-18T09:45:40.182-06:00The Midwest Chronicles: Mid-American Cricket League Division II Final- Double or Nothing<p>After a long and winding 2021 season, the Division II playoffs of the Mid-American Cricket League, (MACL) hosted by Simply Play Cricket in Omaha (Nebraska), began with the top two Division II teams facing off in the first match. <a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-midwest-chronicles-mid-american.html" target="_blank"><b>Nebraska Cricket Club </b>endured some nervous moments before defeating arch-rival, <b>OCC Patriots</b></a><b> </b>to move into the final while the loser played the winner of the 3-4 placed teams for a chance to play in the final. In due course, the <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewScorecard.do?matchId=1619&clubId=621" target="_blank">Patriots took care of their end of the bargain</a>, too, and set up a dream re-match with NCC in the final. The teams had split their two meetings of the season so the final was set up very well as the rubber match - the winner would go home with bragging rights while the loser would have to endure a long off-season.</p><p><b><u>Patriots Team</u></b>: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=1493796&clubId=621" target="_blank">Achyuth Kalluchi</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=1725070&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ajinkya Paikine</a> (WK), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=220480&clubId=621" target="_blank">Bhaskar Setti</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=314504&clubId=621" target="_blank">Deepak Agarwal</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260400&clubId=621" target="_blank">Gowtham Maranani</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=682355&clubId=621" target="_blank">Harish Bv</a> (C), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=314451&clubId=621" target="_blank">Kiran Gade</a> , <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=1193319&clubId=621" target="_blank">Sudhir Kondapalli</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=314502&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vijay Yajjala</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=645708&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vinod Yarroju</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=269121&clubId=621" target="_blank">Kaushik Chittam</a></p><p><b><u>Nebraska CC Team</u></b>: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=470208&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ashish Sathyan</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=584086&clubId=621" target="_blank">Asif Iqbal</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=295276&clubId=621" target="_blank">C S Manish</a> (WK), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2042731&clubId=621" target="_blank">Jainil Savaliya</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2008877&clubId=621" target="_blank">Mahek Patel</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=412472&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ramesh Suvvari</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=294812&clubId=621" target="_blank">Rakshit Rekhi</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=99396&clubId=621" target="_blank">Sriram Surapaneni</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=479564&clubId=621" target="_blank">Suresh Gorantla</a> (C), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=380895&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vijay Reddy</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260515&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vinothkumar Rajendran</a></p><p>The Patriots made one big change in light of the previous loss to NCC - they formally changed captains, installing Harish Bv in that role. The change in captaincy did not matter as far as the toss was concerned, though, as Suresh Gorantla won the toss and immediately decided to bat first, hoping to drown the Patriots under a deluge of runs, a tactic that had worked well in the previous week.</p><p>Each team made one change - Kaushik Chittam came into the squad for the Patriots while NCC's gunslinger - Danial Faisal - went home to attend his sister's wedding (priorities...priorities!) and was replaced by Rakshit Rekhi (much more on him later on the piece).</p><p>Another difference from the previous match was in the way it started. In the Qualifier, the NCC openers had sedately played out the opening overs before setting up a launch pad for the middle order to blast off. But a week is a long time...</p><p>Harish Bv began the inning by zinging an outswinger past Vinothkumar Rajendran's bat. The next ball was a similar but declared a wide. The third ball was (as expected) an in-swinger that was going down the leg-side. Vinoth played at it instinctively and it caught the edge for the keeper, Ajinkya Paikine, to take a sharp catch moving swiftly to his left. The umpire was unmoved but Vinoth, to his credit, walked back acknowledging his misfortune. 1 for 1 in 0.2 balls. <i>Not the start the doctor ordered</i>, thundered the imaginary Ravi Shastri from his imaginary perch in the imaginary commentary booth.</p><p>Vinothkumar Rajendran c †Ajinkya P b Harish B 0 (2b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 0.00</p><p>The most versatile player on NCC's roster is the captain himself. Far too many times, though, it's his versatility that is a deterrent since he is willing to sacrifice his spot so others can get a chance to perform. On this, the most important day of the season, <i>a la</i> MS Dhoni, circa 2011, Suresh Gorantla met the moment and decided to take it upon himself to show the way and promoted himself to #3 after having spent the entire season batting at 8 or lower. </p><p>The fielders crowded in to put more pressure on Suresh, whose main scoring shot is the nudge for a single. His immediate response to his first ball was to stand tall to a short pitched ball and upper cut it to the third man boundary to quieten the crowd. The rest of the over passed uneventfully with Suresh and Vijay stealing singles with well placed pushes.</p><p>8 for 1 after 1 over </p><p>Gowtham Maranani took up the attack at the other end. Packing the off-side field, Gowtham began with his trademark outswinger. Vijay unfurled one of the shots of the day, calmly reaching forward to lift the ball over the infield to the cover boundary. Immediately that brought about a change with a deep cover being added to the already packed off-side field. Looking to exploit the big open gaps in the leg-side, Vijay moved across his stumps. Unfortunately for him, Gowtham got the ball to cut in, beating Vijay's forward press, pinning him LBW. Both openers were gone, 8 balls into the inning, a far cry from the nearly 100 runs that they had combined to score in the previous week.</p><p>Vijay Reddy lbw b Gowtham M 5 (3b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 166.67</p><p>In the absence of Danial Faisal, Suresh tweaked his batting order holding back Asif and calling Ramesh Suvvari to the crease. Gowtham tried the same trick again, but that only played into Ramesh's strength and he calmly flicked the ball to square leg and rushed back, in typical fashion, for a couple, followed by a more sedate single to calm the nerves. Suresh carefully played out the rest of the over.</p><p>15 for 2 after 2 overs</p><p>Ramesh has been the find of the season in the Omaha circuit and has worked his way up the batting and bowling order on the basis of his outstanding efforts in each chance he gets. With time, however, as teams got to see more and more of him, the bowlers realized that he is a leg-side dominant player whose fitness is outstanding, so he pinches twos and threes where others would jog a single. To counter that the Patriots adjusted to a 5-4 field and took to bowling outside the off-stump. </p><p>While the rest of the league has been catching up to his strength, Ramesh has been using NCC's practice sessions to work on his off-side game. The first ball of the third over was viciously square-driven to the point boundary, resulting in another flurry of field changes. Ramesh then followed Ravi Shastri's patented advice and tapped the ball for a quick single to get off the strike. Suresh then followed his coach's advice of blocking any ball that was on the line of the stumps and pushing the ones outside the stumps for singles to finish the third over with no further damage.</p><p>23 for 2 after 3 overs.</p><p>Gowtham steamed in, building up a good rhythm and bowling faster and shorter than he had usually done this season. Ramesh and Suresh used the pace to deflect the ball behind the wicket on either side to pick up a couple of singles . The fifth ball of the over was the carrot, dangled full, fast, and outside the off-stump to Ramesh, inviting a strike across the line. Instead, Ramesh leaned forward and replicated Vijay's feat and smashed the ball to the extra-cover fence. The next ball was, naturally, quietly paddled away for a single.</p><p>30 for 2 after 4 overs</p><p>The NCC players began to breath more freely again as the early loss of the openers was slowly receding from memory. Harish continued and the first ball was flicked for a couple by Ramesh, who was well and fully in rhythm. That very rhythm resulted in disaster. The next ball was fuller, swinging into his pads and Ramesh flicked it to midwicket and took off immediately. The Patriots are, collectively, the best fielding side in the MACL and they showed why. The ball was hit fiercely but straight to the midwicket fielder, who picked up the ball and took an extra second to gauge which end to throw to. Ramesh and Suresh hesitated mid-pitch and then continued on with the (non-existent) run. The fielder could have picked either end but smartly chose to throw it straight to the bowler who broke the stumps before Ramesh could make his ground at the bowling end. </p><p>Ramesh Suvvari run out (Harish B) 17 (11b 2 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 154.55</p><p>Asif Iqbal came in and the two batsmen quietly played out the over producing just one single in the next 4 balls while the entire Patriots team came well inside the 30 yard circle to put further pressure on the batsmen.</p><p>33 for after 5 overs</p><p>The NCC think tank has always felt that opposing teams save their main bowler's overs for Asif. Even though Gowtham had already bowled 2 overs, unsurprisingly, he came back for a third one. Understanding that, Suresh decided to play out the entire over, to the increased frustration of the Patriots. Twice Gowtham slid onto the pads to try to give away a single but each time, the pair ran really fast to convert it into twos. Asif did not face Gowtham even once in that over.</p><p>38 for 3 after 6 overs</p><p>Knowing that Asif represented the Big Fish, Harish decided to finish his spell and came back with some vigor. The first ball zipped past the bat. So did the second one. While the first ball harmlessly went to the keeper, the second one hit the pad right in front of the stumps! </p><p>Asif Iqbal lbw b Harish B 0 (4b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 0.00</p><p>Just like that, the 4 batsmen whom NCC was counting on to bat a majority of the 20 overs were done for the day! The situation was a tense one and Suresh turned to the senior-most player in the 11 to defuse the situation. C.S. Manish has batted in every imaginable situation and batting position over the many years he has played but, even for him, this was a moment that held deeper meaning because of the opponent he was playing against and the fragile batting order behind him. </p><p>A little bit of background here is necessary. In the previous match, Manish had gone into bat with a couple of overs left in the inning and swung at and missed as many balls as he connected with in trying to access the leg-side boundary. When NCC was fielding he marveled at Harish's range of off-side play and the two spoke at length about batting grips and loosening the bottom hand. One week later, Manish was primed to bite the hand that taught him.</p><p>Buoyed by gutting through the top order, Harish strived for extra pace in his last over, and three of the first 5 balls to Manish were wides that were calmly left alone. The other two honed in on the stumps and were patted back safely. The fifth (legal) ball was marginally outside the off-stump and Manish, to Harish's surprise, punched the ball through the cover region for a double. With one ball to go, inexplicably, Harish decided to change tactics and went around the wicket. He was probably aiming for a yorker at the base of the stumps. Anticipating something along those lines (and also to reduce the chances of getting out LBW), Manish took guard well outside the crease. The resultant attempt at a yorker instead turned into a full toss that was calmly flicked over the square leg umpire and crossed the boundary after a couple of bounces. And just like that, a switch had been flicked on.</p><p>47 for 4 after 7 overs</p><p>Harish finished his spell in one go: 4.0 overs 28 runs 2 wickets<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(6 wides)</p><p>Unsurprisingly, with Manish at the crease, the Patriots turned to <i>their </i>veteran - <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=220480&clubId=621" target="_blank">Bhaskar Setti</a>. There's a great deal of history between the two (but that's a story for another day) and the Patriots players vociferously reminded Manish of the potential ignominy of getting out to this particular bowler.</p><p>(As an aside, for 20 full overs, the Patriots fielders kept up a non-stop burst of chatter between balls, cheering their bowlers just as much as they sledged the batsmen. To their immense credit, not once did they veer into darker territory and everything that was said was well inside the (oft-quoted) boundaries of civility.)</p><p>Well aware of the history, Suresh decided to spoil the party once again by playing out as much of Bhaskar's bowling as possible. Also, the duo had settled on a simple strategy - for the next few overs they would carefully play out any balls that were within the stumps and only look to score off those that were outside that line. Bhaskar's strength is to bowl skiddy, low bouncing balls from a short run up. Probably because of the moment and the adrenaline coursing through him, the bowler went back to a longer run up and bowled faster than he had in many a match. He began with a wide, and then compensated by drifting onto the pads (flicked gracefully for a couple of runs) before settling into his typical stump-stump line. Three dot balls later, he changed track and got deflected to third man for a single. The last ball, finally, was bowled to Manish and was harmlessly left for the keeper to collect.</p><p>51 for 4 in 8 overs</p><p>Sudhir Kondapalli began with a wide down the leg side that was not collected cleanly, resulting in an extra run. Manish took a single off the first (legal) and sixth balls, while Suresh played out the middle stretch with a slash to third man yielding another couple of runs to his total followed by a quick single off the fifth ball.</p><p>58 for 4 in 9 overs</p><p>Finally, Bhaskar had Manish on strike from the first ball of the over. With the drinks break scheduled to be taken at the end of the over (or after a wicket, as the Pats fielders kindly reminded the batsmen) this was going to be a pivotal over. By now, Suresh was beginning to feel the after-effects of a long stint under the hot sun. Unfortunately for him, Manish is not the type of person to jog singles. The first ball was fast, short, and wide and Manish unleashed a square-cut that his childhood idol, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundappa_Viswanath" target="_blank">GR Viswanath</a>, would have been proud of. The long grass prevented a boundary but the duo hared across the wicket to pick up three precious runs. Warming up to the occasion, Suresh promptly took a single to bring Manish back on strike. Clearly looking to make a mark, Bhaskar adjusted the field and bowled three wides in a row, uncharacteristically trying to bowl faster with each delivery. The next ball was pushed into cover for a single but Bhaskar had overstepped. Free hit coming up!!</p><p>Suresh walked across the stumps and attempted a ramp shot that took a top edge and flew high behind the keeper. Deepak Agarwal, posted at short third man, raced to his left and pulled off a stunning catch. Except, he had either forgotten or was unaware that it was a free hit. Even as he was celebrating, the two batsmen raced back and completed a second run. The rest of the over was uneventful, with Suresh and Manish collecting two singles each through the cover region to reach the drinks break with no further damage. 13 runs from the over definitely tilted the scales in NCC's favor.</p><p>71 for 4 after 10 overs</p><p>During the drinks break, Suresh's exertions finally caught up to him and he puked his entire breakfast on the ground. With half the overs still to go, Manish convinced the captain to not throw it away and hang in there a little longer. The 11th over was bowled by the erstwhile Patriots captain, Kiran Gade. Kiran bowled within himself and did not try anything different, preferring to probe away on the stumps. The batsmen played him out watchfully, content to collect singles in the off-side, playing as straight as possible.</p><p>75 for 4 after 11 overs</p><p>Ajinkya Paikine took off the keeping gloves (Harish Bv took over) and bowled his brand of fast-ish off-spinners. Manish took a liking to his bowling, first chipping him over cover for a couple and then, after exchanging a couple of singles with Suresh, getting down on one knee to fiercely sweep a fuller ball to the square leg boundary. A single and a dot ball to Suresh later another over had been negotiated.</p><p>85 for 4 in 12 overs.</p><p>Kiran's next over featured a a lot of running. Manish pushed into the gaps on the off-side for singles while at the other end a string of tired looking hoicks ensued from Suresh, who had decided to hit-out-or-get-out. Suresh managed to do neither as his hits cleared the in-field but did not reach the boundary. Manish was merciless, forcing Suresh to run as hard as he could but two doubles and a single later, Suresh began to cramp up and retired hurt to prevent more serious injury, bringing Jainil Savaliya to the crease.</p><p>91 for 5 in 13 overs</p><p>Manish took a single off the first ball of the 14th over, leaving Jainil to face Ajinkya. Jainil does not waste too much time at the crease and, at the same time, is not shy about talking back to the opposition. With each delivery, Jainil swung harder and harder at the ball in his typical fashion. An old fashioned cat and mouse game developed between the batsman and the bowler with Ajinkya trying to keep the ball out of Jainil's reach while the batsman tried his best to hit everything without getting stumped The result was the type of over that pleases and displeases both teams equally - wide, dot, wide, SIX, wide, dot, dot, dot.</p><p>101 for 5 in 14 overs</p><p>Kiran continued his steady bowling and Manish took the majority of the strike in the over which yielded three singles and a wide before Jainil pierced the midwicket region for a double to end the over.</p><p>107 for 5 in 15 overs</p><p>With 5 overs to go, the message was clear - start taking more risks. The first ball from Ajinkya was lofted by Manish over cover, the second was lofted towards deep point, the third was lofted to deep midwicket - two, two, two. Two singles later, Ajinkya went round the wicket for the final delivery of the over. The delivery was a shin high full toss that Manish went to flick and missed (a better option would have been to hit it over the bowler's head) and his enterprising vigil came to an end, trapped LBW.</p><p>C S Manish LBW b Ajinkya P 35 (31b 2 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 112.90</p><p>115 for 6 in 16 overs</p><p>Kiran bowled a brilliant 17th over, beating the batsmen multiple times and giving up just two singles - one each to Jainil and Ashish Sathyan. Kiran finished with the tidy figures of 4-0-19-0</p><p>117 for 6 in 17 overs</p><p>The Patriots were well and truly ahead in the game now. With just 3 overs to go in the inning, Ajinkya finished off his spell. Ashish swung his bat merrily, as is his wont, connecting with as many as he missed, mostly finding the inside or outside edge of the bat. Wide, dot, two, dot, one, wide...the over went as one would expect when Ashish is at the crease. Jainil broke the spell by slamming a ball to deep cover and picking up three runs in the process. Ashish managed to find the same area off the last ball for a couple of runs.</p><p>127 for 6 in 18 overs</p><p>The pivotal 19th over was bowled by Gowtham, as was to be expected. Coming in off his long run up, Gowtham built up quite a bit of speed. The first couple of balls fetched singles. The third ball whizzed by Jainil's bat and the fielders riled up Jainil by pointing out how slow his bat speed had been in relation to the ball. It took a few seconds for everyone to settle down, by which time Jainil also calmed himself and tore into Gowtham. The next three balls were hammered to the boundary in the arc from point to cover and just like that Jainil had made an emphatic statement - Gowtham could be hit for runs, too - 14 in all in the over.</p><p>141 for 6 in 19 overs</p><p>Ashish swung and missed the first two balls of the 20th over bowled by Sudhir. A quiet word from Jaiil later, Ashish sensibly patted the ball for a single. Jainil then swung to deep midwicket and deep long off for two doubles, followed by a wide down the leg side. The last ball finally fetched the wicket the Patriots were seeking as Jainil got bowled trying to hit across the line.</p><p>Jainil Savaliya b Sudhir K 31 (20b 3 Fours, 1 Sixers) SR 155.00</p><p>Ashish Sathyan 8 not out (12 balls) SR 75.00</p><p>From a precarious 38 for 4 in the 7th over, NCC had managed to reach a creditable 147 for 7 in 20 overs. Not a winning total but at least one that could potentially be defended IF the bowlers and fielders kept their nerve. </p><p>If past history was anything to go by, the Patriots would attack during the powerplay and the NCC bowlers prepped themselves for it by deciding to target only one side of the ground, employing a 6-3 offside dominant field.</p><p>New find, Ajinkya Paikine, and the captain, Harish Bv, took guard against Vijay Reddy. When on song, Vijay is one of the most difficult new ball bowlers to face in Omaha. His natural delivery is one that swings in prodigiously. Unfortunately, if he lands the ball in line with the stumps, it usually swings down the leg-side for a wide. When he compensates for it and pitches it a foot outside the off-stump, the fun begins. Some balls come in alarmingly, homing in on the pads in front of the stumps while other balls go straight through. For batsmen, that presents a very difficult proposition since they do not know whether to attack through the off-side or guard against the LBW.</p><p>The first ball of the inning landed outside the off-stump and <i>still</i> swung way down the leg-side and beat the outstretched hands of Manish, to bounce away for two wides. The NCC keeper prides himself on not letting any wides go for extra runs and wasn't pleased in the least bit by this lapse. </p><p>Ajinkya, having never faced Vijay before, did not appear too worried about the swing, and ambitiously flicked Vijay off the first ball but only managed to send it high in the air towards midwicket. Vinoth ran at full speed for more than 30 yards to his left but could not hold onto the catch after getting to the ball, which itself represented a great effort. A potential momentum inducing first (legal) ball wicket went abegging while the batsmen crossed over for two runs. Having learnt his lesson, Ajinkya took a single off the next ball. Vijay then bowled another wide down the leg side before Harish got off the mark with a typical cover drive. The next ball was destined to be another wide down the leg side but Ajinkya decided to instead reach for it and flick it away, very elegantly, high over the square leg umpire for a four. A single off the last ball brought the over to an end.</p><p>12 for no loss after 1 over. </p><p>136 runs needed in 19.0 overs (114 balls) with 10 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.16</p><p>Jainil Savaliya took over at the other end, eager to continue to build on the momentum of his slog over assault. Ajinkya was beaten by a brute of a first ball, and then walked across to punch away the second for a single. Harish slashed hard at the next ball and got a four to the point boundary to get things moving further away from NCC. The rest of the over was quieter, fetching two singles while Jainil began to settle into a rhythm, bowling faster and faster with each delivery.</p><p>19 for no loss after 2 overs</p><p>129 runs needed in 18.0 overs (108 balls) with 10 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.17</p><p>With Vijay unable to control the swing, Suresh turned to Ramesh Suvvari. In the previous week, Harish had badly mauled Ramesh and the after-effects were still in the mind so it was a surprising decision and a bold one. Ajinkya promptly capitalized on Ramesh's tentativeness by slamming two fours and two doubles to squash any notion of an early collapse.</p><p>33 for no loss in 3 overs (14 runs off the over)</p><p>115 runs needed in 17.0 overs (102 balls) with 10 wickets remaining. RRR: 6.76</p><p>Jainil continued from the other end and began to hit his mark. When he gets his rhythm going, Jainil's ball appears to defy the laws of physics, actually getting faster and bouncing more than expected after it lands, continuing to rise even as it reaches the keeper. A few weeks earlier, one such delivery had taken off so dramatically, it had split the webbing between the thumb and index finger of Manish's right hand - even though the keeper was wearing gloves. By now, in this match, Jainil's bowling had begun to sting the keeper's tender hand again. Harish smartly went off strike and left Ajinkya in the firing line. The third ball of the fourth over finally produced the result that NCC was anxiously awaiting. Ajinkya was beaten for pace and before his bat could come down, the ball had crashed into the stumps and the first breach had been made. Jainil S to Ajinkya P OUT! BOWLED </p><p>Ajinkya Paikine b Jainil S 24 (16b 3 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 150.00</p><p>35 for 1 in 3.3 overs.</p><p>With NCC under pressure, OCC surprisingly sent in Vinod Yarroju ahead of Gowtham. This was a time to put away the game but OCC opted for the safety of keeping their highest scorer and best batsman away from Jainil and the new ball. Vinod edged the first ball away for a single while Harish could not get his bat on the last two balls of the over. By now, Manish had stepped way back and was collecting the ball well beyond the end of the concrete pitch.</p><p>36 for 1 after 4 overs</p><p>112 runs needed in 16.0 overs (96 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.00</p><p>With Ajinkya out of the way, Suresh went back to Vijay and was rewarded with prime Vijay. The pacer made the ball swing into the batsmen, cramping them for room, while Suresh strengthened the leg-side to prevent extra runs from being taken. Only 5 runs came by in this over, mainly from nudges on either side of the wicket. </p><p>41 for 1 after 5 overs. </p><p>107 runs needed in 15.0 overs (90 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.13</p><p>Sensing a shift in momentum, Suresh brought in a second slip and strengthened the arc behind point and let Jainil bowl his third over. Vinod sensibly took a single to get off strike. The next four balls were bowled with menace, each one thundering past the batsman's outside edge followed by a very long extended follow through from the bowler, who was giving back all the barbs he had endured from the batsman while their roles had been switched in the previous inning. The NCC fielders got into it, too, and began to exhort their teammates - something they kept up right until the end of the match, irrespective of the match status. With the runs drying down, Harish was getting itchy and looked to slam Jainil over long off - instead sending the ball high in the air. Vijay calmly waited for gravity to do its work and took a well-judged and very important catch.</p><p>Jainil S to Harish B OUT! CAUGHT </p><p>Harish Bv c Vijay R b Jainil S 8 (13b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 61.54</p><p>42 for 2 in 5.5 overs</p><p>Jainil, in the excitement of finally getting to bowl to Gowtham Maranani, began with a wide before the Patriots star quietly defended the last ball of the powerplay back to the bowler.</p><p>43 for 2 in 6 overs</p><p>105 runs needed in 14.0 overs (84 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.50</p><p>The very definition of a rhythm bowler, Vijay was well and truly in his elements by now. His natural inswing was finally coupled with the ability to land the ball a foot outside off-stump and bring it into the batsmen. Both Vinod and Gowtham struggled to decipher how much to account for the inswing and managed just two singles in the over, with the remaining deliveries either being defended carefully or beating the outside edge.</p><p>45 for 2 in 7 overs</p><p>103 runs needed in 13.0 overs (78 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.92</p><p>Jainil came back for one last burst at Gowtham but the batsman was unfazed by the pace and bounce, rising on his toes to square cut and then cover drive the bowler for a double followed by a triple. The rest of the over passed uneventfully with Jainil slipping in a couple of wides in an attempt to bowl the perfect ball. Jainil's fourth and final over was his costliest, adding 9 runs to the total to finish with the fine analysis of 4-0-21-2</p><p>54 for 2 in 8 overs</p><p>94 runs needed in 12.0 overs (72 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 7.83</p><p>Vijay's last over also proved to be an excellent one. After two dot balls, Gowtham slogged a ball to deep square leg to collect three runs before Vinod struggled to get his bat on the ball, only getting a streaky single off the last ball. Vijay finished with a four run over to end up with 4-0-24-0 for the day, a good recovery after the 12 run first over.</p><p>59 for 2 after 9 overs</p><p>89 runs needed in 11.0 overs (66 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 8.09</p><p>Slowly and quietly, Suresh was putting the squeeze on the Patriots batsmen and the blazing early start had been contained even as the required run rate crept over 8 runs an over for the first time. The infield was in single saving mode with Mahek, Rakshit, Sriram, and Suresh staying well inside the circle. Rakshit and Mahek also added a nearly constant burst of chatter to keep everyone, including the umpires, well and truly awake. Team men to the core, they showed that you need not score runs or take wickets to contribute in the match.</p><p>Most teams wait for the opening bowlers to finish their spell so they can take advantage of the first change bowlers. But when you play NCC, it is a different scenario. Suresh holds back his ace - Asif Iqbal - till after the shine has gone. In another lifetime, Asif probably bowled in Australia, since his length is just short of good length but, because of his tall frame and broad shoulders, he generates the bounce typically associated with shorter pitched bowling from the rest of the bowlers in Omaha. The REAL match up of the match was at hand - Asif versus Gowtham.</p><p>Uncharacteristically, Asif began with two wides on either side of the wicket, before honing onto a metronomic line and length. Gowtham and Vinod were content to deflect the ball into the gaps and collect 5 additional singles in the over to leave both teams happy and unhappy with the outcome of the over - 7 runs.</p><p>66 for 2 after 10 overs</p><p>82 runs needed in 10.0 overs (60 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 8.20</p><p>While NCC had done well to bring things back after the torrid start, the advantage was clearly with the Patriots - with 8 wickets in hand and Gowtham still at the crease the game was theirs to lose.</p><p>NCC's most underrated (and have I mentioned versatile) bowler is Suresh Gorantla himself. With no spinners in the team (Sriram was there but had little practice so he wasn't too sure he could bowl) Suresh switched to bowling his version of fast offspin, top spinners, faster ones, and anything else that came to mind, off a short run up. With Manish standing up to the wicket, the batsmen were crease bound emboldening Suresh to experiment even further. The tactic had been set - while Asif would probe away just on or around the off-stump, Suresh would be the bait, trying to entice mistakes from the batsmen. </p><p>One single came off the first four deliveries as Suresh focused on getting his line and length first. But the need of the moment were wickets and Suresh changed up by trying a faster one. Unfortunately for him, it was faster but not accurate and Vinod heaved a sigh of relief as well as his bat and hoicked the ball to the midwicket fence, followed by a fortuitous top edge that landed just beyond the cover fielder for two more runs off the last ball of the over.</p><p>73 for 2 after 11 overs</p><p>75 runs needed in 9.0 overs (54 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 8.33</p><p>Asif continued with his typical Asif line, giving up a quick single off the first and fourth balls while forcing the batsmen on the defensive for four precious dot balls. By now, Asif had not only begun making the ball rise off his shortish length but was also managing to get the ball to swing away from the batsman at such a pace that Manish decided to step off the concrete pitch and collect the ball nearly 20 yards behind the wicket.</p><p>75 for 2 after 12 overs</p><p>73 runs needed in 8.0 overs (48 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 9.12</p><p>The noose was starting to tighten ever so slightly. After Vinod slogged to deep midwicket for a quick single, Gowtham was beaten by a leg spinning ball from Suresh (who knew he could bowl that!?). Suresh tried the same line off the next ball and Gowtham launched him toward wide long off. Vijay raced across to his left, collected the ball and in the same motion fired back a perfect throw to the bowler, who knocked off the bails to run out Vinod, desperately racing back to complete what looked like an easy two!!</p><p>Suresh G to Gowtham M, 1 run OUT! RUN OUT </p><p>Vinod Yarroju run out (Suresh G) 19 (25b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 76.00</p><p>In his excitement, Suresh next ball was a faster one down the legside and he was promptly admonished by the keeper. The bowler took a couple of deep breaths and returned to bowling his slower stuff, enticingly landing a foot outside the off-stump. Gowtham tried to repeat his stroke from earlier in the over. This time, however, he tried to hit a six. Instead, he only managed to send the ball high in the air. It took a long time to come down but when it did, the ball was collected by Vijay after a slight bobble. And just like that, for the umpteenth time in his NCC career, Suresh had nabbed the Big Fish of the opposition.</p><p>Suresh G to Gowtham M OUT! CAUGHT </p><p>Gowtham Maranani c Vijay R b Suresh G 17 (22b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 77.27</p><p>Suddenly, the complexion of the match had changed. Two completely new batsmen were at the crease and the fielding side was ahead for the first time. On the previous day, in the Qualifier match against the UNO team, in a similar situation, Kiran Gade had come and <a href="https://www.cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewScorecard.do?matchId=1619&clubId=621" target="_blank">slammed 41 runs off just 24 balls to seal the game</a>. Would he be able to replicate that on this day?</p><p>Kiran quietly took a single to long on to get off strike and Achyuth Kalluchi ignored Rakshit's pleas and quietly patted away the last ball to end the over.</p><p>79 for 4 in 13 overs</p><p> 69 runs needed in 7.0 overs (42 balls) with 6 wickets remaining. RRR: 9.86</p><p>Unsurprisingly, Asif's next over was brilliant, resulting in three hastily scrambled singles while the remaining dot balls were gratefully collected by the keeper. The batsmen showed signs of wanting to hit out but struggled to connect with the menacing bowling they faced. </p><p>82 for 5 in 14 overs</p><p> 66 runs needed in 6.0 overs (36 balls) with 6 wickets remaining. RRR: 11.00</p><p>With Asif proving to be difficult to score off of, the batsmen turned their attention to Suresh. Kiran hit the first ball to deep cover for a double. The next ball produced a swing and a miss, followed by a single to deep midwicket. Suresh erred once again, a short ball off an attempted faster one was pummeled well over deep square leg for a six by Achyuth! The next ball was a wide on the offside before Suresh calmed down and produced a yorker that was barely kept out by the batsman for a single. The last ball of the over was going to be a key one. Suresh tried to repeat the yorker and missed his length. Kiran latched onto it and connected very sweetly with a full swing of the bat. The ball was on its way over the fence when Asif, fielding at long on, intercepted it mere inches inside the boundary!</p><p>Suresh G to Kiran G OUT! CAUGHT </p><p>Kiran Gade c Asif I b Suresh G 6 (7b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 85.71</p><p>92 for 5 in 15 overs</p><p>56 runs needed in 5.0 overs (30 balls) with 5 wickets remaining. RRR: 11.20</p><p>While the equation was starting to move towards NCC's side, the game was by no means over as Bhaskar Setti strode to the crease. In the previous match, Asif had dismissed the Patriots veteran off the first ball he faced and, much to everyone's surprise, Suresh decided to save Asif's last over and bring back Ramesh to bowl. (In hindsight, this was understandable, since Suresh had decided to use just 5 bowlers, and with just 5 overs left, he was forced to shuffle Ramesh's 3 remaining overs in starting with the 16th).</p><p>Knowing that Ramesh was under pressure, Bhaskar pounced, square cutting the first ball to the point boundary and then stepping deep into the crease to send the next one to the square leg fence. Two quick singles later, Bhaskar went back to doing what he does best - running hard between the wickets, taking two doubles to finish off a very good over for the Patriots - 14 runs coming from it.</p><p>106 for 5 in 16 overs</p><p>42 runs needed in 4.0 overs (24 balls) with 5 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.50</p><p>Achyuth got into the act, biffing Suresh for a double to deep midwicket. The next ball was an ugly swing and a miss. Not surprisingly, the third ball was a faster one down the leg side that, for once, Manish was unable to collect cleanly and two wides were added to the score. Bhaskar took a gently run single to bring Achyuth back on strike. The hitter swung and missed again but half-connected on his next two swings to score another set of doubles to end the over and Suresh's match-altering spell.</p><p>114 for 5 in 17 overs</p><p>34 runs needed in 3.0 overs (18 balls) with 5 wickets remaining. RRR: 11.33</p><p>Ramesh gave Achyuth a single to midwicket but then got hammered to the cover boundary by Bhaskar, who seemed to have stablished a hold over the bowler in his short stay. Ramesh took a deep breath, talked to his captain and keeper and switched to bowling round the wicket and turned into a completely different bowler. Bhaskar could only play out two more dot balls as he began to swing harder than he usually does and failed to make contact. With the pressure mounting, Bhaskar swung again at a wide-ish ball, but only managed to send it high in the air towards point where Suresh held on for a splendid catch under duress.</p><p>Ramesh S to Bhaskar S OUT! CAUGHT </p><p>Bhaskar Setti c Suresh G b Ramesh S 18 (10b 3 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 180.00</p><p>Inexplicably, Ramesh tried a short pitched ball to Kaushik Chittam and the left-handed batsman gleefully pulled it away for three runs to end the over that produced 8 runs and a vital wicket.</p><p>122 for 6 in 18 overs</p><p>26 runs needed in 2.0 overs (12 balls) with 4 wickets remaining. RRR: 13.00</p><p>The pivotal 19th over was, therefore, Asif's responsibility. Kaushik took a single off the first ball. The next 5 balls were short and fast, aimed at Achyuth's chest. The batsman stepped out of the way and swung cross batted and missed the next two balls, edged to third man for a double, and then missed the 5th ball, too. With one ball to go and everyone on the edge, Achyuth swung again and this time he connected big time to send the ball way over the cover boundary for a gut-punching six! In spite of the last ball blemish, Asif finished with the wonderful line of 4-0-21-0 on the day.</p><p>131 for 6 in 19 overs</p><p>17 runs needed in 1.0 overs (6 balls) with 4 wickets remaining. RRR: 17.00</p><p>With the left handed Kaushik at the crease, Ramesh stayed with his round the wicket line. The first ball was a wide down the leg side. The second ball was even wider down the legside. And so was the third ball! Thankfully for NCC, their keeper moved across swiftly and collected all three of them with no fuss, preventing additional runs from leaking. Suddenly, it was down to 14 runs off 6 balls. The next ball was a yorker on the pads that Kaushik flicked away for a double. The second (legitimate) ball was punched past the bowler for a single. The third ball was attacked by Achyuth but only resulted in an inside edge onto the pads for another single. Kaushik hit the fourth ball hard to the midwicket area but only got a couple. The fifth ball was a pinpoint yorker and resulted in a hastily dug out single to the bowler. With one ball to go and 6 runs to tie, Ramesh delivered once again - a yorker that Achyuth could do nothing except hit back to the bowler to end the match!</p><p>141 for 6 in 20 overs - NCC WON BY 6 RUNS!!</p><p>After going more than 11 years having never defeated the Patroits, the NCC team pulled of back-to-back wins over the Patriots in two consecutive weeks. What pleased the NCC think tank the most was that the two wins had been achieved in contrasting styles with the team pulling off a narrow victory while scoring big as well as while defending a small(ish) total.</p><p>For his splendid all round performance, Jainil rightfully received the Man of the Match Trophy. A special mention should be made of Mahek Patel, Rakshit Rekhi, and Sriram Surapaneni, who did not get to bat or bowl but stayed energized for the entire 20 overs, choking off the off-side with their fielding and impactful banter (Rakshit especially, with ample support from Mahek. As we all know, Sriram did not utter a single word, preferring to let his fielding do the talking).</p><p>With that, the official 2021 season came to an end. The victory will be spoken about for a long time as it was a much sought after labor of love for the older players, who have a better idea of the history of the rivalry.</p><p>To see the complete scorecard and other details of the match, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewScorecard.do?matchId=1620&clubId=621" target="_blank">click on this link</a>.</p><p>Until next time, <b><i>au revoir</i></b>.</p>Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-18396248860166651102021-09-21T16:03:00.005-05:002021-09-22T01:19:09.451-05:00The Midwest Chronicles: Mid-American Cricket League - Of cold dishes and hot hands<p> After a long and winding 2021 season, the Division II playoffs of the Mid-American Cricket League, (MACL) hosted by Simply Play Cricket in Omaha (Nebraska), began with the top two Division II teams facing off in the first match, where the winner would move directly to the final while the loser would await the winner of the 3-4 placed teams for a chance to play in the final.</p><p>Those are the cold, hard facts. But the facts that really matter are these: Omaha Cricket Club Patriots and Nebraska Cricket Club share a very long history, most of it covered elsewhere in this blog but none of it friendly since the two groups spilt away in 2010. The one constant has been that OCC has defeated NCC every time they met on the cricket field in the 11 years that have followed. </p><p>2010 was so long ago that only two persons from either team were even around 11 years ago when everything was going downhill. For them, the rivalry has held a deeper meaning than any of the other 9 members of the team can even begin to comprehend.</p><p>Against this backdrop, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=479564&clubId=621" target="_blank"><b>Suresh Gorantla</b></a>, NCC's captain, won the toss and immediately announced his decision to bat first. All through 2021 NCC has been snakebitten as far as the weather has been concerned. If ever a team was blighted by bad weather in a season, then it was this season and this team. However, on the day the Patriots played NCC, the Gods wanted to watch too, and cleared the clouds so they had a good view of the proceedings.</p><p><b><u>Patriots Team</u></b>: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=1493796&clubId=621" target="_blank">Achyuth Kalluchi</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=1725070&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ajinkya Paikine</a> (WK), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=220480&clubId=621" target="_blank">Bhaskar Setti</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=314504&clubId=621" target="_blank">Deepak Agarwal</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260400&clubId=621" target="_blank">Gowtham Maranani</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=682355&clubId=621" target="_blank">Harish Bv</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2143782&clubId=621" target="_blank">Karthik Rao</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=314451&clubId=621" target="_blank">Kiran Gade</a> (C), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=1193319&clubId=621" target="_blank">Sudhir Kondapalli</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=314502&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vijay Yajjala</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=645708&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vinod Yarroju</a>, Super-sub: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=269121&clubId=621" target="_blank">Kaushik Chittam</a></p><p><b><u>Nebraska CC Team</u></b>: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=470208&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ashish Sathyan</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=584086&clubId=621" target="_blank">Asif Iqbal</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=295276&clubId=621" target="_blank">C S Manish</a> (WK), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=313632&clubId=621" target="_blank">Danial Faisal</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2042731&clubId=621" target="_blank">Jainil Savaliya</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2008877&clubId=621" target="_blank">Mahek Patel</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=412472&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ramesh Suvvari</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=99396&clubId=621" target="_blank">Sriram Surapaneni</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=479564&clubId=621" target="_blank">Suresh Gorantla</a> (C), <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=380895&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vijay Reddy</a>, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260515&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vinothkumar Rajendran</a>, Super-sub: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=368310&clubId=621" target="_blank">Cornelius Aleti</a></p><p>The two NCC openers, <b><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260515&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vinothkumar Rajendran</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=380895&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vijay Reddy</a> </b>were given one mandate - do not get out in the Power play (6 overs), especially to the Patriots' best bowler - <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260400&clubId=621" target="_blank">Gowtham Maranani</a>. </p><p>A long time ago, circa 2009, this is what I had written about Gowtham <a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2009/05/midwest-chronicles-episode-0-ground.html" target="_blank">on my blog</a>:</p><p><i>Gowtham Maranani - Gunmaster G9. Okay, I was wrong when I said that Abhi was the fastest bowler in the team. Gowtham is it, by a good yard or two. A gunslinger in the truest sense, he is a throwback to the good old days when bowler's run-ups were 30 yards long, and their primary attacking balls were the yorker and the bouncer. Gowtham looks like a docile Telugu movie actor and the next sledge that comes from his lips will be the first words he has probably ever uttered on a cricket field but do not mistake his docility for weakness. Many batsmen have made that mistake and numerous crushed toes, jammed fingers, and dented egos have been left in his wake</i>.</p><p>Age has exacted a toll on Gowtham and he has lost (several) yards of pace but he has lost none of his guile or control making him, even today, a daunting proposition for any batsman. </p><p>Uncharacteristically, Gowtham began with a wide but quickly found his bearings. Supporting him admirably from the other end was Harish Bv. Between them, the duo kept the openers quiet and gave 4,4,4, runs in the first 3 overs. 12 for no loss after 3, a start that was neither here nor there form both team's perspectives. Two precious Maranani overs had been navigated without losing a wicket. </p><p>Vinoth took it upon himself to take most of the strike in the early exchanges. In the fourth over, bowled by Harish, Vinoth began lofting the ball over the infield, picking up braces to get some momentum in the inning (8 runs in the over). In the meantime, Vijay was content to rotate the strike not looking to do anything foolish, letting Vinoth be the aggressor. </p><p>The 5th over of the powerplay was bowled by Karthik. By now the batsmen were ticking along nicely taking runs off every ball but the first big strike of the day was a stunning six launched over extra cover by Vijay. 33 for no loss after 5.</p><p>Harish dragged the scoring back in the next over, bowling close to the stumps and not giving either batsman any room to swing freely. 37 for no loss after 6.</p><p>With the Powerplay done, the ball was tossed to the slow bowling of Deepak Agarwal. This was just the release that Vinoth was looking for. The first ball was hammered straight over long-on's head for a massive six. The next ball was a wide down the legside that slipped by for an extra run and the third ball was pulled by Vijay to the square leg fence. However, in bowling that ball, Deepak hurt himself and left the field for the day (hopefully it is not something serious). The rest of his over was taken over by Achyuth Kalluchi , who managed to keep any further damage under control. 53 for no loss after 7 - 16 runs from the over.</p><p>Harish came back to finish his spell and was bludgeoned by (a fast tiring) Vinoth for a boundary in an over that yielded 12 runs. 4,8,4,12....Harish finished with okay figures of 4-0-28-0. 65 for no loss after 8 overs.</p><p>The foundation had been set and the time had come to launch into the next phase of the inning. Achyuth was in the line of fire. The first ball was the type of ball Vijay dreams about when he thinks of World Cup winning sixes. Short and down the leg side. Instead of the six he should have hit, Vijay toe ended the ball and it gently found the substitute fielder, Kaushik Chittam, next to the square-leg umpire.</p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=380895&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vijay Reddy</a> c (Sub) Karthik C b Achyuth K <b>20</b> (18b 1 Four, 1 Six) SR 111.11</p><p>65 for 1 in 8.1 overs</p><p>Conventional wisdom says that the loss of a wicket brings the run rate back. Conventional wisdom is for statisticians and commentators. By now, Vinoth was in a groove but gasping for breath as the hot day began to get to him. Luckily for him, the next batsman <b><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=313632&clubId=621" target="_blank">Danial Faisal</a></b> does not believe in the MSD school of running between wickets. Now that Vinoth was able to catch his breath, he began to free his shoulders, flicking Karthik for a four and then launching him way over midwicket for a huge six to spoil the mood of the over for the Pats. 77 for 1 after 9 overs.</p><p>Kiran Gade came on to bowl the last over before the drinks break and it was progressing sedately with singles and a couple of wides until Vinoth ushered in the break with a six over long off. 89 for 1 after 10 overs.</p><p>At the half-way stage every imaginable cliché from the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/2f2xlp/25_things_ravi_shastri_says_over_and_over_and/" target="_blank">Ravi Shastri bot</a> was applicable. NCC was ahead of the game but anything could happen (and usually does). </p><p>Everyone in the NCC pavilion (and their grandchildren) knew that Gowtham was saving his overs so he could bowl to Danial. Right on cue, the 11th over featured the return of Gowtham. Once upon a time, before Life intervened, both the players were teammates at the University of Lincoln-Nebraska. Since then they have had a few good battles in different tournaments and the spectators were looking forward to see who would come out on top of this one.</p><p>Like two boxers warily testing each other out, neither player made a major strike as Danial was content to push away the ball into the gaps. The pressure of trying to compensate got to Vinoth who had a couple of swings-and-misses to end the over but no harm done. 5 runs accrued to the total 94 for 1 after 11 overs. Gowtham's analysis read 3-0-13-0.</p><p>The senior-most Patriot, Bhaskar Krishna, came on to bowl his unique brand of fast-ish off-breaks and other assorted balls in his armory. Across many state lines and midwest leagues, Bhaskar has accrued a reputation of being a wily and cunning bowler. Unfortunately, for him, Danial and Vinoth did not buy into that reputation. Two fours (Danial) and a six (Vinoth), separated by singles, ensured that Bhaskar would end the over having conceded a momentum generating 18 runs to the total. 112 for 1 after 12 overs.</p><p>By now Vinoth was swinging at every ball within his arc, and connecting lustily with most of them. Kiran came on to arrest the momentum. Two, Four, wide, wide ... and then he got the big wicket of Vinoth, who mis-hit a tired-looking shot to pop up to Kaushik inside the circle on the leg-side. All season long Vinoth has been threatening to cut loose and, finally, he produced just the type of knock the think tank has been expecting from him. </p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260515&clubId=621" target="_blank">Vinothkumar Rajendran</a> c (Sub) Karthik C b Kiran G <b>68</b> (48b 3 Fours, 4 Sixers) SR 141.67</p><p>120 for 2 in 12.3 overs. Definitely a job well done by the openers, setting the stage for the middle order to explode.</p><p>The ball after a wicket is a crucial one. Kiran bowled a full toss well above waist height and Danial needed no further invitation, hammering it for a six. The free hit was then sent to the long-off boundary and Vinoth's dismissal was already receding from the mind. 22 runs from the over. 134 for 2 after 13 overs.</p><p>The Super Sub, Kaushik, came on to bowl in place of Deepak and was greeted by the new batsman, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=584086&clubId=621" target="_blank"><b>Asif Iqbal</b></a>, with a front-foot, leg-side drive over midwicket. The fielder on the boundary scrambled backwards desperately, falling over in his excitement only to see the ball sail well past him and land more than 10 yards further away. Kaushik responded by bowling a bouncer that surprised Asif. The batsman was only able to mistime a hook shot that ballooned up to midwicket where Kiran took a comfortable catch, jogging backwards, over his left shoulder.</p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=584086&clubId=621" target="_blank">Asif Iqbal</a> c Kiran G b Deepak A <b>7</b> (4b 0 Fours, 1 Sixers) SR 175.00</p><p>140 for 3 in 13.3 overs. The next batsman, <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=412472&clubId=621" target="_blank"><b>Ramesh Suvvari</b></a>, began in his inimitable style, flicking in the gaps and scurrying a pair of twos and a single to end the over. 145 for 3 in 14 overs.</p><p>With the game running away, Gowtham came back for one last fling. Like a good understudy, Ramesh quietly took a single so the main players could take center stage. Gowtham steamed in and attempted a yorker, targeting the stumps. He missed his mark slightly and Danial's bat came down in a blur, all speed and timing, sending a flick-drive high into the air. For a split second, the midwicket fielder thought he had a chance at it. But only for a split second. The ball was still climbing as it crossed the midwicket boundary and eventually came down near the road beyond the electric poles. For a couple of seconds there was complete silence followed by gasps from everyone at the ground. Gut punches do not come in more emphatic fashion. </p><p>The next ball was quietly put away in the gap at cover for a single by Danial (somewhere Shastri approved the <i>sensible batting</i>). Having missed with his yorker, Gowtham sent down his next weapon - the head-hunting bouncer. Ramesh is no stranger to fast bowling (having opened the batting in earlier matches and even <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewScorecard.do?matchId=1455&clubId=621" target="_blank">being involved in an unbroken stand of 210 runs with Ali Hussain</a> against the Knights). Ramesh met the bouncer right in front of his face and had so much time that the hook shot propelled the ball in front of midwicket over the fence for a resounding six. Two singles later, Gowtham bowling was done for the day. 16 runs in the over. 161 for 3 in 15 overs.</p><p>Now that he was warmed up, Danial got into another groove altogether. A groove that very few batsmen in Omaha inhabit. Some batsmen are able to hit singles and boundaries with similar bat swings, without losing shape or appearing to be trying too hard. Danial belongs to that group and, in the past few weeks as the NCC batsmen around him started to deliver, has demonstrated why he's among the most destructive batsmen in the city. </p><p>Danial was charged up and the bowler who suffered was Kaushik. A flick to the long leg fence, a drive to deep cover, and a flick-drive to deep midwicket all fetched fours and a couple of braces that followed were enough evidence that Danial was doing as he pleased as he reached 50 off just 21 balls. The last ball of the over was met with another drive on the up in the gap between long-on and deep midwicket. Achyuth raced to his right and backwards from long on to the longest part of the ground and timed his leap to snag the ball even as it was racing past him to pull off a spectacular catch to end Danial's blitz.</p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=313632&clubId=621" target="_blank">Danial Faisal</a> c Achyuth K b Deepak A <b>50</b> (22b 6 Fours, 2 Sixers) SR 227.27</p><p>In spite of the wicket, NCC managed to score 17 runs in the over. 178 for 4 after 16 overs. If the Patriots could slow things down in the next 3 overs and keep NCC under 200 it would be a great finish to the inning for them.</p><p>Ajinkya Paikine took off his keeping pads and tried his hand at some slow, spin bowling. <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=470208&clubId=621" target="_blank"><b>Ashish Sathyan</b></a> was new to the crease but that did not stop him from threading a cover drive to the fence past three fielders off the first ball. The next ball was a typical Sathyan double. The third ball was once again scythed by Ashish, except it went up in the air as opposed to far and Gowtham settled under it at mid-off for a simple catch to end the cameo. </p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=470208&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ashish Sathyan</a> c Gowtham M b Ajinkya P 6 (3b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 200.00</p><p>184 for 5 in 16.3 overs. The batsmen crossed over while the catch was being taken and that was a good thing. Ramesh stepped back and pulled a short ball high over square leg to snatch back the momentum with a six. </p><p>190 for 5 in 17 overs. </p><p>Kaushik pulled things back spectacularly with <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2042731&clubId=621" target="_blank"><b>Jainil Savaliya</b></a> struggling to find the middle of the bat. 3 dot balls and 2 singles to Jainil sandwiched a solitary single by Ramesh. 3 runs in the over. 193 for 5 in 18 overs.</p><p>The pressure of the quiet over told as Ramesh tried to clear the longest boundary where Bhaskar comfortably took a routine high catch to end the flashy inning. </p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=412472&clubId=621" target="_blank">Ramesh Suvvari</a> c Bhaskar S b Ajinkya P 21 (12b 0 Fours, 2 Sixers) SR 175.00</p><p>If Ajinkya thought there would be a respite having taken a big wicket, it was immediately dispelled by Jainil. Having struggled to time the ball, Jainil took the proactive measure of hopping down the wicket to meet the ball and sent it high over long-off's head for a huge six to take the NCC total to 200. <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=295276&clubId=621" target="_blank"><b>C S Manish</b></a> and Jainil then proceeded to take singles and doubles on offer, collecting 12 runs in all in the over, to take the score to 205 for 6 in 19 overs.</p><p>The last over was bowled by Vijay Yajjala. All six balls produced the same result - a cross batted slog by Manish. The veteran missed three of them, connected with two (a four and a couple), edged one to third man for a couple and watched a wide ball go by to scarf up an underwhelming 9 runs in the final over. </p><p><b>214 for 6 in 20 overs</b></p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=2042731&clubId=621" target="_blank">Jainil Savaliya</a><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> not out<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>10</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8 balls (0 fours 1 six) SR125.00</p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=295276&clubId=621" target="_blank">C S Manish</a><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>not out<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>11</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>9 balls (1 four 0 sixes) SR 122.22</p><p>The Patriots' task was a simple one - score big upfront, score big through the middle, and score big at the end. An asking rate of close to 11 runs an over is a daunting one, especially if a team has to sustain it for 20 overs. </p><p>The instructions in the NCC huddle were simple - make the Patriots earn their runs. Limit the extras (wides) and look to always take wickets with attacking fields.</p><p>Harish Bv and Ajinkya Paikine squared off against Ramesh. Ajinkya made the first thrust by dragging a ball outside the off stump to the midwicket boundary to send notice that it would not be a simple defense. Two balls later, he tried the same thing, except this time the ball was even wider and all Ajinkya did was chip it up for Danial to accept the generous offering at mid-on. </p><p>Ajinkya Paikine c Danial F b Ramesh S 4 (3b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 133.33</p><p>5 for 1 in 0.4 overs. Gowtham quietly played out the next two balls. 5 for 1 in 1 over. 210 runs needed in 19.0 overs (114 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 11.05</p><p>During the regular season, the most consistent batsman in the MACL league was Gowtham, so much so he topped the run-scorers charts with <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/battingRecords.do?league=59&clubId=621" target="_blank">an incredible tally of 549 runs in just 10 innings</a>, including a whopping 149 in one match. Here's another incredible stat that shows how consistent Gowtham has been. In his T20 career in SPC, he has batted 32 times. <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=260400&clubId=621" target="_blank">He has scored at least 25 runs on <b>27 </b>of those occasions</a>! To say, his wicket was the key is an understatement.</p><p>While NCC was focused on Gowtham, it was Harish who thundered away and crashed the party. Ashish Sathyan, who was entrusted with the second over, is menacing when he gets late swing. He did not get that swing on Sunday and Harish punched him over cover for a six and Gowtham repeated the dose, this time for a four. 13 runs in the over. 18 for 1 after 2 overs. 197 runs needed in 18.0 overs (108 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.94</p><p>In a surprising move, Ramesh was replaced by Jainil. As a bowler Jainil's strength is to pitch the ball just short of good length and getting it to jag back in or swing out with little change in his action. Harish sat back on the crease and waited for the ball to do its bit. When the ball moved away he pounced on it to pound two fours - one to deep cover and the other off the edge to third man. 11 runs in the over. 29 for 1 in 3 overs. 186 runs needed in 17.0 overs (102 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.94</p><p>Ashish came back for his second over and kept things quiet, except for one short pitched ball that was hit way over the boundary by Harish, who was beginning to get into a dangerous mode. 11 runs. 40 for 1 in 4 overs. 175 runs needed in 16.0 overs (96 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.94</p><p>Jainil bowled a much better over, hurrying Gowtham with his extra pace and bounce. The fourth ball, however, was short and wide and Harish sliced it over the point boundary. The next two balls were among the fastest of the match, thudding into the keeper's gloves before Harish could finish his swing. 7 runs in the over. 47 for 1. 168 runs needed in 15.0 overs (90 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 11.20</p><p>With the required rate still hovering over 11, something had to give and when it did the Patriots were ahead of the game. Ramesh was brought back to continue from where he had been abruptly left off after the excellent first over. However, after Gowtham took a quick single, Harish relished the fuller length balls from an increasingly helpless Ramesh, thumping the ball majestically in the arc from point to long-off. <b>Six, Six, Four, Six, Four</b> - 27 runs from the over and the Patriots were definitely in the hunt. In the midst of that carnage, Harish reached 50 off just 17 balls. 74 for 1 in 6 overs. 141 runs needed in 14.0 overs (84 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.07</p><p>With things getting uncomfortable, Suresh turned to his lynchpin, Asif Iqbal. Asif managed to hurry the batsmen for pace but still conceded three boundaries to Harish, two of them off thick edges to point and third man and the third an exquisite off drive on the up that simple raced away to the left of long-off. 16 runs in the over. 90 for 1 in 7 overs. 125 runs needed in 13.0 overs (78 balls) with 9 wickets remaining. RRR: 9.62</p><p>Suresh brought Jainil back and, by now, the bowler was well into a good rhythm, getting the ball to cut in or swing away from the same spot on the pitch. After two singles, the third ball was pitched on the 5th stump, drawing an ambitious drive from Gowtham. It instead moved away and took the outside edge and swirled up in the air to the Suresh, fielding at point. Suresh and Cornelius (subbing for Ashish) nearly collided on the field but the captain at least held onto the crucial catch! Gowtham had been contained to less than 25 - goal #1 fulfilled.</p><p>Gowtham Maranani c Suresh G b Jainil S 15 (18b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 83.33 </p><p>92 for 2 in 7.3 overs</p><p>The batsmen crossed over while the catch was being taken and Harish capitalized by brutally smashing a six way over long off to stall the slight shift in momentum. 8 runs in the over. 98 for 2 after 8 overs.</p><p>117 runs needed in 12.0 overs (72 balls) with 8 wickets remaining. RRR: 9.75</p><p>Suresh Gorantla has reinvented himself as a bowler seemingly on a weekly basis. Each time he comes with more tricks up his sleeve and greater control and variation in his armory. On Sunday, he slowed down the pace and focused on wobbling the ball from outside the off-stump. The very first ball was punched by the new batsman, Achyuth, straight to the cover fielder. For some inexplicable reason (nerves?) Achyuth just took off and did not stop. Unfortunately for him Harish did not budge. Vinoth calmly collected the ball and lobbed it back to Manish to complete the simplest of runouts. 98 for 3 in 8.1 overs</p><p>Achyuth Kalluchi run out (Vinothkumar R/C S M) 0 (1b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 0.00</p><p>Bhaskar Setti came to the crease with the required run rate under control and the situation needing his experienced hand. He began in typical style, chipping away singles until Suresh decided to test Bahskar's ability to hit short pitched bowling. Four runs later, Suresh went back to his normal bowling. 9 runs in the over. 107 for 3 in 9 overs.</p><p>108 runs needed in 11.0 overs (66 balls) with 7 wickets remaining. RRR: 9.82</p><p>The very first ball of the next over by Asif produced a fast bowler's second favorite mode of dismissal. The ball was angled in and landed in line with the stumps, then rose sharply while moving away and squared up Bhaskar, inducing a thick edge that travelled comfortably to Manish behind the stumps. Cheteshwar Pujara woke up in a cold sweat in Surat when the dismissal happened. The Patriots bus was starting to teeter but they still had two good batsmen left. One of them, Kiran Gade, came in and punched an attempted yorker right over the bowler to the straight boundary. The last ball of the over was another short of good length delivery that rose more than anticipated and, unlike earlier deliveries, came in after pitching, cramping Kiran for room. The batsmen tried to cut the ball, based on the bounce, but the inward movement ensured it caught the inside edge en route to the stumps.</p><p>Kiran Gade b Asif I 5 (4b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 125.00</p><p>113 for 5 in 10 overs. 102 runs needed in 10.0 overs (60 balls) with 5 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.20</p><p>At the half-way stage of the inning, the Patriots were ahead of where they needed to be. Having scored 113 in 10, they needed fewer in the second half - 102 runs. Unfortunately for them, they had used up 5 wickets to get there. One man stood between NCC and the victory - Harish.</p><p>Right after the drinks break, Suresh came back with a plan. Having seen how easily Harish was handling the pace of the faster bowlers, Suresh slowed it down considerably and lobbed it up outside the off-stump. Unable to control himself, Harish reached for the ball and attempted a slog to midwicket. He got more elevation than distance. Ramesh raced in from the boundary, judged the trajectory, slowed down and took the catch reverse cup as it came hurtling back to the earth near the 30 yard flag! Having endured a beating at Harish's hands, Ramesh was relieved to have taken a great catch to end the inning - and deserved all the accolades he received in the huddle.113 for 6. Dagger in the heart of the chase!</p><p>Harish Bv c Ramesh S b Suresh G 78 (31b 7 Fours, 7 Sixers) SR 251.61</p><p>By now Suresh was in great rhythm, and ended the over with no further damage. 4 runs in the over with 1 precious wicket. 117 for 6 in 11 overs. </p><p>98 runs needed in 9.0 overs (54 balls) with 4 wickets remaining. RRR: 10.89</p><p>Asif continued his good day giving away just six runs, in spite of a boundary that came out of nowhere by Sudhir Kondappali. The other 5 balls were seriously fast and bouncy, more reminiscent of the Asif we have come to expect. 6 runs in the over. 123 for 6 in 12 overs. </p><p>92 runs needed in 8.0 overs (48 balls) with 4 wickets remaining. RRR: 11.50</p><p>Suresh bowled an over similar to the previous one wherein one ball was slugged away to the boundary by Vijay Yajjala but all the others were tough to put away, yielding the stray single. 7 runs in the over. 130 for 6 on 13 overs.</p><p>85 runs needed in 7.0 overs (42 balls) with 4 wickets remaining. RRR: 12.14</p><p>At this point in time, after 13 overs, NCC had also been similarly placed at 134 for 2. Runs-wise there wasn't much separation but the 4 extra wickets were crucial. It is a measure of how devastating Harish's knock was that it wasn't until the 13th over that the Patriots actually fell <i>behind</i> the over-by-over scoring of NCC. </p><p>Vijay Reddy typically opens the bowling for NCC; his strength being the ball that swings in from the 5th stump. Having ceded the new ball to Ashish, Vijay finally came on in the 14th over and had the batsmen in trouble right away, inducing inside edges one after another with his inswing. The fifth ball was pushed out wide, and Sudhir reached for it and sliced it to Jainil, hovering about 3/4ths of the way to the point boundary.</p><p>Sudhir Kondapalli c Jainil S b Vijay R 7 (9b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 77.78</p><p>132 for 7 in 13.5 overs. The over was then completed with no further damage to the wickets column. 3 runs in the over. 133 for 7 in 14 overs. </p><p>82 runs needed in 6.0 overs (36 balls) with 3 wickets remaining. RRR: 13.67</p><p>Mahek Patel had patiently waited in vain for his turn to bat and then fielded, as usual, with great verve and enthusiasm in the cover region. He was given the 15th over and produced six balls that teased the batsman's outside edge repeatedly. One edge even flew through a vacant second slip area. 4 runs in the over. 137 for 7 in 15 overs.</p><p>78 runs needed in 5.0 overs (30 balls) with 3 wickets remaining. RRR: 15.60</p><p>Vijay's next over was on the money. The first three balls found his namesake unable to clear the fielders. In desperation, Vijay, the batsman, took off for a nonexistent run off the 4th ball. Vijay, the bowler, calmly collected the ball on the leg-side and threw the wicket down to run out the striker as he ran to the bowler's end.</p><p>Vijay Yajjala run out (Vijay R) 12 (23b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 52.17</p><p>137 for 8 in 15.4 overs. Vinod Yarroju threw his bat at the ball and smashed two fours to end the over on a happier note for the Pats. 9 runs in the over. 146 for 8 in 16 overs.</p><p>69 runs needed in 4.0 overs (24 balls) with 2 wickets remaining. RRR: 17.25</p><p>Sriram Surapaneni came on to bowl his flattish off-spinners. Once upon a time Sriram was not only the captain of NCC but also the leading wicket-taker in the MACL and HCL. Those days are in the past while he focuses on the joys of spending time with a young child at home resulting in sporadic appearances on the cricket field. His over showed NCC what he was capable of with six balls pitched exactly where they used to pitch in his heyday. With no room to swing across the line and no freebies on offer, Vinod tried to manufacture a run but only succeeded in getting Kaushik Chittam run out.</p><p>Kaushik Chittam (Super-Sub) run out (Sriram S) 2 (2b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 100.00</p><p>151 for 9 in 16.5 overs. 7 runs in the over. 153 for 9 in 17 overs.</p><p><a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewPlayer.do?playerId=368310&clubId=621" target="_blank">Cornelius Aleti</a> is the oldest player in the MACL. Well into his 60th year, he retains the enthusiasm of a person without the last digit in the age. As the designated 12th man for the match, he came to the ground and when Ashish had to leave, fielded in his place and was rewarded with the 18th over. With one wicket to get, Cornelius delivered just that. Karthik Rao tried to disrupt the rhythm by walking across the stumps. Cornelius was not fooled by it and bowled a straight ball that the batsman missed completely to be bowled.</p><p>Karthik Rao b Cornelius A 1 (4b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers) SR 25.00</p><p>3 runs in the over. 156 all out in 17.4 overs. <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/fullScorecard.do?matchId=1613&clubId=621#tab5default" target="_blank">NCC won by 58 runs</a>.</p><p>With the win, NCC completed step 1 of the two step journey, reaching the Division II final. More importantly, they finally defeated Patriots after 11 years of futility. While Harish was blazing away the game was in the balance but once his resistance was accounted for, the game was practically over. </p><p>As a bowling unit notorious for bowling wides, NCC bowled just 10 wides in the whole match, none of them went for extra runs. 5 of those wides came after Harish got out in the 11th over (by which time the match had been decided for all practical purposes). The sustained pressure by the bowlers ensured that the Patriots had to score all the runs and not get any free ones to reduce the target.</p><p>Batting-wise there were a few heroes. The opening pair of Vijay and Vinoth played it perfectly, carefully seeing off the initial overs before accelerating to 65 for no loss in 8 overs. When Vinoth was second out at 120, it was in the 13th over. The launchpad had been well set and Danial teed off from there with his blazing 50. The Man of the Match was Vinoth Rajendran for his stage-setting inning at the top of the order.</p><p>With the IPL-syle format, the Pats can make it back to the final if they beat UNO next Saturday. Either way, the final is going to be one last hurrah for this year's team. Check back in a week or so to find out how it ended.</p>Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-86618431735044528612021-01-21T11:39:00.004-06:002021-01-22T11:25:11.318-06:00The strength of the wolf is in the pack<p> The Indian cricket team just did the seemingly unthinkable - <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-in-australia-2020-21-1223867/australia-vs-india-4th-test-1223872/full-scorecard" target="_blank">beat Australia at it's ultimate stronghold, the 'Gabba</a>! And did it in incredible fashion, chasing down 328 runs on Day 5 against the most potent quartet of bowlers in the world, including the top dog - Pat Cummins who is the #1 bowler by a fair distance.</p><p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wY6UyatwVTA" width="560"></iframe></p><p>In no particular order, here are some random thoughts that are floating through my head as I think about the match:</p><p><b>1)</b> Speaking of colossal mismatches - nothing summarizes it better than this - at the start of the Test match, the <b>Australians had <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/aus-vs-ind-4th-test-stats-australia-with-1033-wickets-in-the-xi-india-with-13-1247900" target="_blank">collectively taken 1033 Test wickets while the Indians had a sum total of 13</a> </b>(including 2 by Rohit Sharma who is not a bowler any more...though, ironically he did end up bowling in this match).</p><p>The famed Australian quartet took 17 wickets in this Test while the unfancied Indian bowlers took all 20 on offer.</p><p>2) Poor Tim Paine. For the last two years he has done his best to revamp the image of the Aussie team. All his hard work may have gone in vain because of his <a href="https://www.thequint.com/sports/cricket/good-evening-from-gabba-r-ashwin-responds-to-tim-paine#read-more" target="_blank">"conversation" with R Ashwin during the waning moments of the Sydney Test</a> where he lost his cool. That may end up defining him as much as Kim Hughes is remembered for his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkKDQp9BeQY" target="_blank">teary press conference</a> or Michael Clarke is for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKtvZhmAn0I" target="_blank">his "broken arm" sledge to Jimmy Anderson</a>.</p><p>3) T20 cricket has changed the way we approach targets. When 140 plus runs were required in the last session, no one spoke in terms of time but only in terms of overs left. <b>When 50 runs were required in 8 overs with only 5 wickets in hand, it was considered very achievable</b> - a thought that would have resulted in shuttered doors even as recently as a decade ago (see below). It was a tight equation but 26 runs were plundered off the next two overs by Sundar and Pant and, suddenly, the match was gone from Australia's hands for all intents and purposes (except for minor blemishes from Sundar and Thakur that injected some excitement into the proceedings).</p><p>4) In 2011, the India cricket team had a golden chance to win a <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-tour-of-west-indies-2011-489197/west-indies-vs-india-3rd-test-489228/full-scorecard" target="_blank">Test match in the West Indies</a>. <b>Chasing 180 to win, they were 94 for 3 when MS Dhoni agreed to a draw with the mandatory 15 overs (in the final hour) about to be bowled.</b> The batsmen who were still not out or in the pavilion? Dravid, Laxman, Kohli, Dhoni and Harbhajan. As it was happening then, I was flabbergasted at how the Indian captain, fresh off a World Cup triumph, gave up the ghost of the chase so easily. I was thinking of that match as the last hour started in Brisbane. </p><p><b>At Brisbane, at the start of the mandatory 15 over final hour, India needed 69 runs to win</b></p><p><b>Batting: Pant (51) and Agarwal (9) with Sundar and Thakur after them</b></p><p><b>At Roseau, in 2011, at the start of the mandatory 15 over final hour, India needed 86 runs to win</b></p><p><b>Batting: Dravid (34) and Laxman (3) with Kohli, Dhoni, Harbhajan after them</b></p><p>The fear of failure weighed heavily on the 2011 team. Unencumbered by any such pressures, the 2021 team finally released some of the anguish of that failed chase of a decade ago.</p><p>5) Rishabh Pant was the first visiting batsman to record scores of 25+ in 10 consecutive innings in Australia (surpassing, among others, <a href="https://cricketaddictor.com/cricket-news/rishabh-pant-becomes-the-first-visiting-batsman-to-score-9-consecutive-25-scores-in-test-cricket-in-australia/" target="_blank">Viv Richards who had a streak of 8</a>). He got 23 in the first inning at Brisbane, snapping that streak, but then added 89* in the second inning. His scores across all Tests in Australia read:</p><p><b>25, 28, 36, 30, 39, 33, 159*, 29</b>, and <b>36, 97, 23, 89*</b> in this series</p><p>6) The Indian 4th inning was a tale of two strategies. At one end Pujara scored <b>56 in 211 balls</b>, typical of a team fighting for a draw and at the other end Gill, Rahane, and Pant scored a combined <b>202 in 306 balls</b>, symbolizing a team going for the win. <b>Chalk and cheese, black and white, night and day - the beauty of Test cricket is that it can simultaneously accommodate two entirely opposite batting styles.</b> As <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNBGmrZVb1M" target="_blank">Harsha Bhogle pointed out in his post-match review after the Sydney Test</a> - Test cricket showed the value of two opposite approaches seeking the same common goal (even there he was referring to Pujara and Pant's approach to the task at hand right at the start of the video). </p><p>7a) At the end of day 4, Indians prayed for rain. <b>And rain is what they got - a rain of runs!</b></p><p>7b) Actually, it DID rain. There were surreal scenes with about 20 overs to go when the ground was bathed in bright sunlight and yet the players were playing in a drizzle from a passing cloud. <b>Maybe the gods felt the need to bless the batsmen as they dreamt the unthinkable.</b></p><p>8) Cummins set a record during the 2019 Ashes series for the most number of wickets in a 5 Test series without a five-for when he took <a href="https://inshorts.com/en/news/cummins-sets-record-for-most-wickets-in-a-test-series-without-a-fivefor-1568574191871" target="_blank">29 wickets with no five wicket hauls</a>. <b>In this 2020-21 series, Cummins once again led all bowlers with 21 wickets and no five-fors.</b> I do not know if that is a record for a 4 Test series but it has to be up there if it isn't.</p><p>But it says something about Cummins: I do not recall him having a defining spell where he blasted away the opposition like Broad or Steyn or even Bumrah seem to have in our memory banks.</p><p>9) <b>The man who spent the most time in the middle (after Pujara) seemed to be Nitin Patel, the physio. </b>The number of times he ran onto the field to tend to an injured player almost warrants a sponsorship deal from someone!</p><p>10) Over the course of 8 innings (both teams combined), <b>123 wickets fell on helpful tracks but there were only three 5-for (Pfeiffer in honor of Dean Jones) hauls in the series</b> - two by Josh Hazelwood and one by Mohammad Siraj.</p><p><i>(***PTS messaged me to point out that in the entire series, the number of centuries scored was in the same ratio - Australia had two centurions (Smith, Labuschcagne) while India had just one (Rahane).)</i></p><p>11) In 2018, when India finally breached the Aussie stranglehold we were told that the result would have been different if Steve Smith and David Warner had been there. (And, they did not have Marnus Labuschagne either at that point in time). In this series, they had all of them at various times.<b> In fact, Australia won the Test where Steve Smith contributed only 1 run and lost (or drew) the matches where he scored centuries or fifties. </b></p><p>I am actually very happy that <b>there were no broken Aussie players or missing players for any reason. There are no excuses left on that front to explain away the losses.</b></p><p>12) The Australian batting line-up was very brittle. Even Labuschagne received numerous lives in all his innings and it could have been much worse for Australia if India's fielding had been as disciplined as its batting or bowling. <b>Even in the first Test at Adelaide, after posting 244, India had Australia reeling at 111 for 7 when Bumrah dropped an easy catch off Paine.</b> The Aussie skipper then counter-attacked (with more luck and lives) and kept the lead down to just 54 runs. The rest is history (36 and all) but think about how the Test may have played out had we gotten them all out for, say, 125 and batted with a lead of 100 plus rather than having to come in the next morning on a fresh day at 9 for 1 and a lead of 63 runs.</p><p>13) After the events of the Sydney Test, where tremendous amount of energy was spent in achieving the draw, I was concerned that there would be a let down at Brisbane. <b>I was convinced that if we lost the toss, the Australian batsmen would bat us out of the game. And they were close to doing so - at 200 for 3 </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Editor's note: I had previously noted that it was 206 for 2, which was actually the score in the Sydney Test).</span><b>**. From there onwards, the resilience and fight of the Indian team came to the fore.</b> Getting Australia all out for 369 was a monumental feat. Had they reached 450 or even 400, it would have been devastating.</p><p>Actually, Rahane lost all three tosses in the Tests he captained, adding another layer of improbability to the stupendousness of the series win. Time after time, the odds were stacked against the team and they kept overcoming it. All along we had been told that the GOAT (Lyon) would be unleashed in the 4th inning on a wearing wicket while exploiting the footmarks made by Starc. Lyon was more bleat than roar.</p><p>14) <b>Fame is fleeting, ephemeral. Success is occasional, failures are more common. The playing 11 at Brisbane will look nothing like the playing 11 in the next Test against England.</b> In my estimation, only Sharma, Gill, Pujara, Rahane, and Pant are certain to play. The other 6 are unlikely to feature since the following will return: Kohli, Bumrah, Sharma, Ashwin...leaving spots for only 2 other players, who may both be spinners. I do not know when Thakur or Saini or Natarajan or Sundar will play again for India. If you think it is unlikely they'll never play again having contributed to this win, think about this:</p><p>The miracle of Kolkata 2001 was the last Test match for: Nayan Mongia and Venkatapathy Raju </p><p>The euphoria of victory did not extend their careers. They were replaced by Sameer Dighe and Nilesh Kulkarni (for whom Chennai was the last Test of <i>his</i> career, too).</p><p>15) <b>The value of Pujara's self-denial became apparent to me the moment I realized that when Cummins opened the bowling after lunch, he was already into his <i style="text-decoration-line: underline;">third</i> spell of the day.</b> And when Hazelwood replaced Cummins, it was <i>his</i> third spell, too. Drip by drip, drop by drop...the miles started piling accruing on those legs and when the second new ball was available the engine was willing but the body was not as sharp.</p><p>16) The loss was disastrous for Australia's World Test Championship (WTC) hopes. Here's <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/world-test-championship-scenarios-what-india-australia-and-england-still-need-to-do-to-make-the-wtc-final-1248488" target="_blank">what needs to happen</a> in order for Australia get to Lord's for the final.</p><p></p><blockquote><i>The unexpected series defeat against India has severely dented Australia's chances of making the top two. Their points percentage has dropped to 69.2, and they will need 89 points from the three-Test series against South Africa - which is yet to be confirmed - to go past New Zealand. That can only happen if they win at least two Tests and draw the third, in which case they will get 93 points from the series.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>And, since you asked, this is what has to happen for India:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>India have moved to the top of the table, with a points percentage of 71.67, with New Zealand currently second. To stay ahead of New Zealand's 70%, they need 80 more points out of 120 in the four-Test home series against England. They can get there with a 2-0 series win; if they lose one Test in that series though, they will need to win three. Given India's home record in the last eight years - 28 wins, one loss in 34 Tests - they should fancy their chances of securing those 80 points.</i></blockquote><p></p><p><b>The WTC has added a new wrinkle to Test series, providing an additional layer of context where the outcome of a series matters not only to the participants but also to other nations, which is a good thing.</b></p><p>17) After the second Test, I had some misgivings about the umpires. I did not doubt their bias or their skill. Rather, I felt that there might be a subliminal tendency of lenience towards the Australians. For example, there were decisions that were given out to an Aussie bowler while a similar appeal from an Indian bowler was turned down (subsequently overturned on DRS appeal). That was my perception and it was reinforced when a few "out" decisions against the Indian batsmen were overturned upon review. </p><p><b>The fears that I had turned out to be largely baseless and unfounded. I did not sense any such umpiring bias during the fourth Test and was, actually, very impressed with the umpiring of <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/7029.html" target="_blank">Bruce Oxenford</a> and <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8241.html" target="_blank">Paul Wilson</a>. </b>Sure, they had to overturn a decision or two but there was nothing that was egregiously out of place. In fact, considering how tense the match was they were outstanding. I was particularly impressed with Paul Wilson, who seemed very calm and measured in everything he did. I hope he grows in stature and umpires more games.</p><p>And I dislike the rule that an umpire cannot stand in games featuring his home team. In this day and age with the scrutiny they go through and the ability to use DRS to overturn decisions, we could keep one umpire at least from the home nation on the ground, I would think.</p><p>18) In the long, storied history of Test cricket, <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ask-steven-where-does-hanuma-viharis-23-from-161-balls-rank-among-the-slowest-test-innings-1248291" target="_blank">never have 20 players been used by an away team during the course of a series</a>. India did that this time, demonstrating the incredible turnover from test to Test, so much so <b>only two players - Rahane and Pujara - played all 4 Tests for India</b>. <b>High turnover is usually associated with teams that lose by huge margins not series winners.</b> Yet another amazing stat in a series filled with bizarre stats and facts.</p><p>19) When the series began: </p><p><a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/26421.html" target="_blank">Ravichandran Ashwin</a> had 365 wickets in 71 Tests. </p><p><a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/272279.html" target="_blank">Nathan Lyon</a> had 390 in 96 Tests.</p><p>The series ended with Ashwin on 377 (12 in 3 Tests) and Lyon on 399 (9 in 4 Tests). </p><p><b>Ashwin clearly outbowled and outperformed Lyon in the latter's den (pun intended). I am going to make a very bold prediction - Ashwin will reach 400 Test wickets before Lyon reaches 400. You heard it here first!</b></p><p>19) Prior to the Brisbane Test, the general consensus was that the Indian team should stack it's roster with every healthy batsman available and hedge their bets and bat out for a draw. When the team was announced I was surprised to see FOUR fast bowlers and one spinner. FIVE bowlers on a ground that favors bowlers. It took guts to make that call and, in the end, turned out to be an inspired one when Saini pulled up lame.<b> Kudos to the team thinktank for deciding that taking 20 wickets was more important than scoring an additional 50 runs while facing a larger deficit. </b></p><p>It also put more onus on the batsmen to perform, knowing that there was little to follow as we effectively played with three #11 batsmen. The top order batsmen didn't score as big as they should have but knowing there was nothing behind them probably made Thakur and Sundar value their wicket even more and score all the runs they did. Runs that won us the game, honestly speaking, since it tired out the Aussie bowlers and demoralized them. Further, in the second inning, even when Agarwal got out (more on that below) there wasn't too much panic <i>since we still had Sundar and Thakur to come.</i> Think about that last sentence again. It's a sentiment that would have been improbable to consider at the start of the Test!</p><p>20) When Mayank Agarwal was padded up in the pavilion, I was content thinking that we had a competent player should the second new ball need to be played out in Brisbane. His first inning of 38 was very promising until a strange blunder - trying to punch on the up to the second ball after the lunch break, doomed him. I thought he would have learned from that but he did not. <b>One ball after Agarwal survived a DRS review for caught behind he, inexplicably, tried to loft over the in-field and gave a catch to Wade at short cover. The fielder accepted the chance. Ironical since Wade himself had been guilty all series of gifting away his wicket to the Indians! </b></p><p>If Agarwal had not perished and had survived till the end with Pant, imagine the plaudits that would have followed him. It is good to "play your natural game" but, at times, some context needs to be enforced. </p><p>And, no, I would not have applauded his courage if that drive had gone to the boundary. I know it for a fact because, even as Cummins was running in, I was thinking to myself - play out the over, play out the over, expecting something disastrous to happen.</p><p>21) Shubman Gill scored: <b>45, 35*, 50, 31, 7, 91</b> - 259 runs @ 51.80 </p><p>I watched almost every ball of all his innings. <b>I do not recall him being hit on the body even once. Every other batsman had moments of concern or times when they were flinching and getting hit, including Labuschagne and Smith. I do not know if it my mind blocking it but Gill came out unscathed, I think. </b>He plays beside the ball and his technique will be tested in England or whenever the ball moves in the air but speed did not bother him one bit. Take a look <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6UyatwVTA" target="_blank">at these highlights</a> (see above/below) and just listen to the sound of the bat hitting the ball - it is hitting the sweet spot more often than not (look at the 1:12 mark as Isa Guha points out, too). And when you hook Starc in front of square leg (at the 2:25 mark, for example) it means you have a lot of time to play the ball. What a player. I hope he stays hungry and grounded and plays for another 15 years. (Touch wood). And if he does that...uff....who knows how many runs he will score.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wY6UyatwVTA" width="560"></iframe></p><p>22) During the first inning of the 4th Test, the broadcaster's shared an amazing bit of information. <b>According to their ball tracking software, Pat Cummins had not bowled a single ball down the leg side <i><u>in the whole series</u></i>. In the whole series. Just think about that. </b>To bowl at his level and not stray even once is as much evidence as anyone needs to support his standing as the #1 bowler in the world. What a bowler. Test after Test, inning after inning, spell after spell, over after over, ball after ball, he just ran into and through the wall relentlessly attacking the batsman. If Pujara was the immovable wall, Cummins was the irresistible force. </p><p>23) On his YouTube channel, Ashwin sat down with the fielding coach, R Sridhar, and got him to reveal what happens off the field while the action we know so well unfolds on it. <b>Ravi Shastri comes out looking really good from a tactical and leadership point of view. Many nuggets of information are revealed with a good dose of humor and self-deprecation. </b></p><p>It's in Tamil but has subtitles if you don't follow the language. Well done, Ashwin.</p><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/juZ3z8SH67w" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>24) One moment stood out for me from the above video. Sridhar pointed out that, after the dismal batting collapse of 36, the conventional wisdom was that the batting should be strengthened. Instead, the Indian think tank went the other way - strengthened the bowling by making it a 5 bowler attack and relying on Jadeja to replace Virat Kohli. What a masterstroke it proved to be. Simply brilliant. Especially when Yadav pulled up lame in the second inning.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>I still think Ravi Shastri is more of a rah-rah guy than a nuts-and-bolts coach but he has, smartly, surrounded himself with very competent coaches in the specialist positions of his support staff. While they take of the nitty-gritty stuff, he is able to macromanage the whole thing in his typical, bombastic way.</b> Kudos to him and his support staff for keeping the players focused on the big picture while not dwelling on the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>25) BD asked if if I thought Brisbane 2021 trumped Kolkata 2001 as the definitive Test win for an Indian team. This was my response to him: </div><div><br /></div><div><div>On an individual basis, Kolkata 2001 still comes out on top, in my opinion. Considering the context (following on 274 runs behind, playing a team with a streak of 15 straight Test wins, the Final Frontier, and the fact that in the Aussie team there were at least <b>5 all-time Australian Greats</b> - <b><i>Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Ponting, Waugh</i></b> and <b>4 Modern Greats</b> - <i><b>Hayden, Junior Waugh, Langer. Gillespie </b></i>and the last 2 - Slater and Kasprowicz - were no mugs by any stretch of imagination) the Kolkata win was more improbable and seminal.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a whole, this Test <i><u>series</u></i> has to be almost the best ever, even factoring in recency bias.</div><div><br /></div><div>Each Test had its own script and context. No two Tests were similar and all were enthralling.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Every Test, every session was meaningful. No lulls...no periods of boring domination. (The 36 was mesmerizingly bewildering and so out of the blue... it wasn't domination so much as dream-like. It's how Hazelwood would have dreamt bowling a perfect Pfeiffer would be when he was a kid).</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>26) <b>As Julius Caesar once proclaimed:</b> <i><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNG0W45iCHI" target="_blank">Veni, Vidi, Vici</a>.</b></i></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wNG0W45iCHI" width="560"></iframe>Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-31867475433892642662021-01-14T14:53:00.003-06:002021-01-14T14:53:43.573-06:00The ecstasy of the agony<p> During a game, I have always felt it is tougher to be a spectator than a participant. At least the participant can do something to influence the outcome. The spectator can only resort to superstitious gimmicks to believe that they have some influence on the proceedings.</p><p>While the Sydney test was going on, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari were battling together during a 261 ball partnership that kept the Australians at bay. They had it easy - they only had to worry about the ball being bowled at them (and the occasional pointed barb from the increasingly frustrated Aussie tongues). </p><p>Here's how it feels to be a helpless spectator, especially one who knows more about the behind the scenes events than the viewing public does. Prithi Ashwin <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/ravichandran-aswhin-prithi-narayanan-daughter-australia-test-draw-injury-7145229/" target="_blank">describes the 5th day's activities</a> from her unique perch. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to know how the support staff feels.</p><p></p><blockquote><i>I would never forget the surreal moment when Ashwin walked into the room that evening. We laughed, we cried, we laughed. We didn’t know how to react. And we howled. It wasn’t an euphoric cry – that was after the Melbourne win in the second Test. That had a different feel. I had rarely seen him that light, that bouncy, that delirious. This was something different. We were howling. It was utter relief – a draining out of emotions from our system. We just had two minutes together; he had to get back to the physio and medical scans. He came back at 11 that night. Next morning, the daughters were surprised when we said it’s time to go to a new city. “Why, aren’t you going to play today, match over?” Akhira asks. “Did we win, appa?’ the nosy one asked again.</i></blockquote><p></p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M4j4dp-Pj0o" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-47311752544441625302021-01-14T14:38:00.007-06:002021-01-14T14:54:22.673-06:00Of nerves of steel and worsdmithsWhen the Indian team toured Australia in 2020-21, the conventional wisdom was that the first Test would be the most competitive because India would have the services of its full team, including the captain Virat Kohli. His subsequent departure for the rest of the series for paternity reasons was proposed to be a hole too big to fill. <div><br /></div><div> I did not share the same misgivings. Having seen, time and again, sports teams outperform expectations when a star player is lost or not playing, I expected a better than hoped-for response.
What I have seen in the <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-in-australia-2020-21-1223867/australia-vs-india-2nd-test-1223870/full-scorecard" target="_blank">Melbourne Test</a> and the <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-in-australia-2020-21-1223867/australia-vs-india-3rd-test-1223871/full-scorecard" target="_blank">Sydney Test</a> has far exceeded even my expectations.<div><br /></div></div><div>My thoughts on the Sydney Test are many but nearly all of them were encapsulated by Prem Panicker, who came out of hibernation to pen <a href="https://prempanicker.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/of-boys-and-burning-decks/" target="_blank">a post that is a celebration of the fightback as well as a eulogy</a> for his recently departed beloved uncle. </div><div><div></div><blockquote><div><i>For a little over a day this team — of which, thanks to an attrition without parallel in our history, I at least had little expectations — made memories to cherish. And, more importantly, helped me forget that an uncle who was the wind beneath my wings is no more; that as the fourth Test winds down to a close in Brisbane, I will be back in Calicut, immersing his ashes in the sea and bidding him a last farewell.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>To borrow from Shakespeare, ‘For this relief much thanks. ‘Tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart.’</i></div></blockquote><div></div></div><div>Read it in its entirety to comprehend the magnitude of the task at hand and how a bunch of steely professionals did not flinch in the face of sustained hostility for 131 overs.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M4j4dp-Pj0o" width="560"></iframe>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-36272616220583046392021-01-07T14:44:00.004-06:002021-01-07T14:44:46.940-06:00Happy New Year<p> Out with the old, in with the new. 2020 is history, 2021 is here. And it could not come soon enough. The vestiges of 2020 will linger on for a little while but we can hope 2021 will be different. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTWQPyVyaxerIiZujv75qpPGpFUAyGdRsw3Y-dvYocPOAA4f_2u-mqDvGgz3ybK6v6KRncR32VSNuvqoKT1RpeA3XU8x4PkWDNhzcfXDGPrJ1li_wnwvfmLyihvLKnmzzG4_y/s2048/20201221_090140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTWQPyVyaxerIiZujv75qpPGpFUAyGdRsw3Y-dvYocPOAA4f_2u-mqDvGgz3ybK6v6KRncR32VSNuvqoKT1RpeA3XU8x4PkWDNhzcfXDGPrJ1li_wnwvfmLyihvLKnmzzG4_y/w400-h300/20201221_090140.jpg" title="It's as if a giant clawed at the sky...." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>It's as if a giant clawed at the sky... </b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(C.S. Manish 2020)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">It already feels different. The above photo was taken as 2020 ended. The following was taken this year.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggb22EZn_dgKAdr-QfotUz9s-Q3TlbMl9Vp7Pc11X5FlI-jAz7Qvlkv99SgoMVl6ePGJzZqifP9Co1IHv0CkDwg6Gcx0-pblraxnWFZXT26fACBMjJE2ME9JJvYZGYgozZUWBQ/s2048/20210105_073626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggb22EZn_dgKAdr-QfotUz9s-Q3TlbMl9Vp7Pc11X5FlI-jAz7Qvlkv99SgoMVl6ePGJzZqifP9Co1IHv0CkDwg6Gcx0-pblraxnWFZXT26fACBMjJE2ME9JJvYZGYgozZUWBQ/w300-h400/20210105_073626.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>All's well on the western front...</b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(C.S. Manish 2021)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Here's to a year of fresh memories, old reminisces, and new beginnings....</div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p></p>Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-66556633733397023772020-07-16T11:36:00.005-05:002021-01-07T14:02:26.573-06:00Travel: Day 6 - Long drives and history lessons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to one's heart. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2011 (and 2015), I taught <u>Tropical Ecology</u> and, for one of the class activities, I took a group of students on a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico . (<a href="http://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Puerto%20Rico" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Puerto Rico</a>). </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2013, I taught <u>Ecology of Australia</u> and, naturally, it entailed a field trip to Australia! (<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Australia</a>)</i>.<br />
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<i>In January 2016, I taught <u>Tanzania: Culture, Climate, and Connections</u> and took students to Africa.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2018, a group of <a href="https://www.midlandu.edu/" target="_blank">Midland University</a> students embarked on a learning adventure to Australia for a course titled: </span><b><i><u>Ecology, Environment, and Culture of Australia</u></i>. </b>This is what they gained on their learning adventure.<br />
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<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2019/03/travel-day-1-3-lack-of-motion-sickness.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Travel: Day 1-3 - Lack of motion sickness<br />
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<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2019/03/travel-day-4-dandenong-range.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Travel: Day 4 - The Dandenong Range<br />
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<a href="http://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2020/02/travel-day-5-en-route-to-outback.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Travel: Day 5 - En route to the Outback<br />
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<b>Day 6: Long drives and history lessons</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Subject Matter Expert - Michael Taddonio/Erikur Arnason<br />
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Today was another day spent driving towards our eventual destination - the Outback. We drove from Renmark to Hawker.<br />
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<i><br /></i>Our first night of sleeping at Renmark was a lot cushier to get us acclimated to what our new sleeping arrangements would be for the next few days<i>. </i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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Our first stop of the day was at Morgan, a town in South Australia on the right bank of the Murray River.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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Morgan was established in 1878, an important stop on the (then) railway line from Adelaide and was named at that time after Sir William Morgan, then Chief Secretary, later Premier of South Australia. Peter Hicks, a guide who joined us overnight at Renmark, led us on a tour of the abandoned railyard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnpguJaJ5K_w2rcEY2b9-AB6xBiF8z0MKFR7EUqrMppgg_iLIRvu4vmeAyjfa-_UFu5hj7A73NFTNP1vLp89CNOKXwaw4QXxDURUnSvd0nDUbhWBVfz4GPUgN-s0INj3WAG5e/s1600/20180527_105857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnpguJaJ5K_w2rcEY2b9-AB6xBiF8z0MKFR7EUqrMppgg_iLIRvu4vmeAyjfa-_UFu5hj7A73NFTNP1vLp89CNOKXwaw4QXxDURUnSvd0nDUbhWBVfz4GPUgN-s0INj3WAG5e/s400/20180527_105857.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
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(C.S. Manish 2018)</div>
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At one point Morgan was one of the busiest ports on the Murray handling nearly all the goods that were being imported and exported (particularly wool) to and from a vast region upstream from Morgan along the Murray and Darling rivers. At its peak, Morgan was the second busiest port in South Australia (behind only Port Adelaide)<i>.</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">(Logan Paasch 2018)</td></tr>
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However, the good times did not last. As road transport improved through the early part of the 20th century, river transport declined and the railway to Morgan finally closed in 1969.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: small;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</span></td></tr>
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After lunch, we sat on the grassy bank by the river and unhurriedly chatted about everything under the sun, finally getting a chance to get to know our guides, as well as each other, a little better without the pressure of having to be on the move.<br />
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In the afternoon, we stopped in some smaller towns along the way and explored places such as Burra which had a World War II Monument in the middle of the city to commemorate the soldiers that died from the town in the War.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Fred Wigington 2018)</span></td></tr>
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The Burra mines supplied 89% of South Australia's and 5% of the world's copper for 15 years, and the settlement has been credited (along with the mines at Kapunda) with saving the economy of the struggling new colony of South Australia. The Burra Burra Copper Mine was established in 1848 mining the copper deposit discovered in 1845. Miners and townspeople migrated to Burra primarily from Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Germany. The mine first closed in 1877, briefly opened again early in the 20th century and for a last time from 1970 to 1981 (Wikipedia).<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Fred Wigington 2018)</td></tr>
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After making a wrong turn out of Burra, we passed Peacocks Chimney, where they melted the above-mentioned Copper.<br />
<br />Eventually, as we left the towns behind we began to notice a distinct change in the landscape. Gum trees don’t have a trunk above ground, and they store water underground in the thick roots and branch out on the surface. The leaves are used to shade the tree by hanging down during the day to prevent the sun from drying out the tree. In the evenings they are able to get good exposure to sunlight to help the tree survive. Mistletoe gets deposited high in the gum tree by mistletoe birds, which is an invasive relationship.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">(Jodi Kimborough 2018)</td></tr>
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The gum trees gave way to frosted saltbush that surrounded us as we traveled down the highway. As the name suggest, saltbushes are halophytes - plants that are adapted to dry environments with salty soils.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">(Logan Paasch 2018)</td></tr>
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Even the saltbushes became infrequent as we headed up towards the Flinders Ranges. We crossed the Ranges and entered the real Outback.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAOLB2Kz6EJfuTj-e8mo1oHdAnFwMqdfBrx-yrghAgOHS0vYafXdoVFoGH3s9TYhtDC12GwKNxt1K8_4XA5LADzPTxBaBjgWQqDARtPUOPB5eKHVL1hyphenhyphenmE6AL_-ldHUfeba4B/s1600/DSCN0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAOLB2Kz6EJfuTj-e8mo1oHdAnFwMqdfBrx-yrghAgOHS0vYafXdoVFoGH3s9TYhtDC12GwKNxt1K8_4XA5LADzPTxBaBjgWQqDARtPUOPB5eKHVL1hyphenhyphenmE6AL_-ldHUfeba4B/s400/DSCN0596.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">(Derrick Kruetzfeldt 2018)</td></tr>
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As we went over the ranges, we spotted our first Emu - just traipsing around unaffected by the convoy of intruders from a strange land. The sheep that are raised on the farms are stained red from the dirt and Barry Walker told us of a farmer who had one single alpaca guard 1,000 head of sheep. <br />
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As anecdotes like these were shared by the guides the weather changed and, to the surprise of even the locals, it began to rain on us.<i> </i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Logan Paasch 2018)</td></tr>
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We did not know it then, but the rain would influence our trip in a day or two. But, at that moment, all we cared about was reaching the campsite in Hawker, setting up tent, eating dinner and then settling down for a good night's rest. We had reached the Outback.<br />
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Day 7 - A tale of two bakeries and a stick of dynamite</div>
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-18064178443037043732020-02-26T15:28:00.002-06:002021-01-07T14:02:17.981-06:00Travel: Day 5 - En route to the Outback <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to one's heart. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2011 (and 2015), I taught <u>Tropical Ecology</u> and, for one of the class activities, I took a group of students on a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico . (<a href="http://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Puerto%20Rico" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Puerto Rico</a>). </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2013, I taught <u>Ecology of Australia</u> and, naturally, it entailed a field trip to Australia! (<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Australia</a>)</i>.<br />
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<i>In January 2016, I taught <u>Tanzania: Culture, Climate, and Connections</u> and took students to Africa.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2018, a group of <a href="https://www.midlandu.edu/" target="_blank">Midland University</a> students embarked on a learning adventure to Australia for a course titled: </span><b><i><u>Ecology, Environment, and Culture of Australia</u></i>. </b>This is what they gained on their learning adventure.<br />
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<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2019/03/travel-day-1-3-lack-of-motion-sickness.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Travel: Day 1-3 - Lack of motion sickness<br />
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<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2019/03/travel-day-4-dandenong-range.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Travel: Day 4 - The Dandenong Range<br />
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<b>Day 5: En route to the Outback </b><br />
<b><br /></b>Subject Matter Expert - Paige Kapperman<br />
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<i>The Outback is the vast, remote interior of Australia. </i><i>The Outback extends from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompasses a number of climatic zones, including tropical and monsoonal climates in northern areas, arid areas in the "red center" and semi-arid and temperate climates in southerly regions. </i><br />
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<i>The Australian Outback is massive - about 2.5 million square miles in area. Compared to the United States, Australia’s seasons are the opposite. So when it is fall in Australia, in the United States it is spring. We experienced the Outback during its dry season. About 70 percent of the Outback is dry and composed of two arid zones, one with cold winters in the center and one with mild winter near the north. For the most part, the majority of the country is very hot. In the deserts, temperatures can get as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit and get as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit. </i><br />
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But getting to the Outback from Melbourne is not a short drive. We had to break it up into two parts. On the first day we drove from Melbourne to Renmark, where we stayed overnight, before heading to Hawker (more on that in the next day's report).<br />
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On the way we left the state of Victoria and drove into South Australia. Because of the fear of spreading invasive species, the states are very particular about what food gets transported across the border and rightfully so.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Fred Wigington 2018)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Eddie Reddick 2018)</td></tr>
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Technically we were <i>leaving</i> Victoria but it did not stop us from crossing the road and taking a picture in the other direction on the off-chance that we would not get that picture on the way back (and that was true).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Eddie Reddick 2018)</td></tr>
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We stopped a couple of times to refuel, eat lunch, and stretch our legs. During the stops the guides regaled us with stories about the local history and traditions of these small towns.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpKih8z2A0KsluSsY4BMVRMcXEVJpY98soIjMeukGPeYbZuedIc4knS6a-q88S0qkleD2KwHozWSJlNCfKZ8eTfg1JDj2WkJty_qIRtGsQVEC8ma87D9b_qYdTqDOfk_1kqpY/s1600/Wigington+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpKih8z2A0KsluSsY4BMVRMcXEVJpY98soIjMeukGPeYbZuedIc4knS6a-q88S0qkleD2KwHozWSJlNCfKZ8eTfg1JDj2WkJty_qIRtGsQVEC8ma87D9b_qYdTqDOfk_1kqpY/s320/Wigington+1.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Wigington 2018)</span></td></tr>
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<i>There are only about 60,000 people that live in the 2.5 million square foot Outback. The Outback is mostly a desolate place and most people live mainly in small villages. The small villages are close to connecting highways and dirt roads. When it comes to work and jobs in the Outback, the majority of the people are either cattle or sheep farmers or they are miners.</i> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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The rest of the day involved getting to know the guides as they drove on paved roads, eventually getting to a campground in Renmark on the banks of the Murray River.<br />
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Once we were directed to our campsite, we received out first (and last) training in how to set up and dismantle a tent. Each pair of participants was, thereafter, responsible to setting up and taking down their tents, a process that became a fun part of our routine in the days to come.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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Once the tents were set up, the students wandered around the campground while the guides cooked dinner. While we had (officially) not made our way into the actual Outback, the excitement was palpable and we knew that the next day would give us our first glimpse of what we had traveled halfway across the world to experience.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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Day 6 - It does rain in the Outback!<br />
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-80129119052680215662019-08-24T01:19:00.000-05:002020-02-26T14:03:39.133-06:00The Midwest Chronicles - Hefflinger Cup 2019: Staring into the abyss<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>The Cricket Association of Nebraska (CAN) and Simply Play Cricket (SPC) co-hosted the 2019 Invitational Hefflinger Cup in August 2019. Nine teams were divided into three groups with the top 4 teams making the knockout. Here are the exploits of the Nebraska Cricket Club (NCC).</i><br />
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2019 Invitational Hefflinger Cup<br />
Group C game: <a href="https://cricclubs.com/SimplyPlayCricket/viewScorecard.do?matchId=1185&clubId=621" target="_blank">Nebraska Cricket Club versus Titans</a><br />
Venue: Hefflinger Park, North ground, Omaha, Nebraska<br />
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<b><u>Nebraska CC Players</u></b>: Anoop Reddy, Ashish Sathyan, Asif Iqbal, C S Manish (wk), Dikshant Saini, Mojib Afghan, Phillip Blake, Saumil Patel, Sriram Surapaneni, Suresh Gorantla (C), Vijay Reddy<br />
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<b><u>Titans Players</u></b>: Abdul Khaliq Shaik (wk), Akash Vemulapalli, Amarendra Dasari, Avinash Gurram, Hiren Tummala (C), Jithin Pavuluri, Ravi Teja Gadde, Rohit Kashyap, Sampras Manpoor, Sandeep Reddy Palle, Vishnu Gude<br />
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Overnight showers had left behind a damp carpet and the NCC captain, Suresh Gorantla, had no hesitation in asking Titans to bat first. Ashish Sathyan, trundling in off a shortened run-up took his time getting his radar organized, with 4 wides in the first 3 balls. His third legitimate ball was the stuff of which fast bowler's dreams are made, a rapidly climbing delivery that forced the batsman to flinch and turn away, resulting in a simple, loopy catch next to the square-leg umpire. Practice catches don't come easier than that and Suresh Gorantla made no mistake.<br />
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Sandeep Reddy Palle c Suresh Gorantla b Ashish Sathyan 0 (2b, 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
3 for 1 in 0.3 overs<br />
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In walked the titan of the Titans batting line-up - Avinash Gurram. Avinash began as if he were batting on a different pitch - unruffled, untroubled, and looking in ominous touch. Dikshant Singh Saini bowled a spell filled with impeccable outswingers that kept the batsmen quiet. At the other end, Ashish mixed in the wide balls with unhittable bumpers to keep the scoreboard and the batsmen hopping around. Dikshant was bowling a great line and length and had the batsmen reaching for his outswingers when Suresh removed the cover fielder and moved him to midwicket. Dikshant immediately lost his line and gave two wides and a four in the next 3 balls. Avinash hit a trademark boundary to extra-cover and decided to pay heed to Ravi Shastri's <i>sensible advice</i> by taking a single off the next ball. The only mistake he made was to hit it straight to point. Ignoring his partner's cries, Avinash raced to the non-striker end. Unfortunately, his partner did not make is safely as Anoop rifled in a throw that detonated the stumps.<br />
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Ravi Teja Gadde run out (Anoop Reddy) 6 (9b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
29 for 2 in 3.5 overs<br />
<br />
Avinash continued on while his partner, Abdul Khaliq, was less composed but still managed to pull Dikshant to the midwicket fence to bring a frown on the fielder's faces. That frown was quickly transformed into a smile when Abdul swung hard at Ashish and managed to connect only with air.<br />
<br />
Abdul Khaliq Shaik b Ashish Sathyan 9 (12b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
41 for 3 in 6.1 overs<br />
<br />
Ashish Sathyan bowled his 4 overs in one spell (4-0-26-2) and at the other end Dikshant stopped after 3. In the 8th over, Suresh brought himself on to control the flow of the increasingly dangerous-looking Gurram. The fourth ball was pitched fuller, inviting the drive, but moved enough to take the edge for a regulation catch at first slip by Phil Blake. The Big Fish had been snared!<br />
<br />
Avinash Gurram c Phillip Blake b Suresh Gorantla 19 (19b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
48 for 4 in 7.4 overs<br />
<br />
NCC suddenly felt like the match was in their hands. All season long the fate of the Titans was linked with Gurram's scores. A low score meant a certain defeat for the Titans. But no one seemed to have told Rohit Kashyap and Vishnu Gude that. The duo mixed defense (by Rohit) with aggressive hitting (by Vishnu) to keep scoring runs at a steady pace through the 10 over drinks break. 62 for 4 in 10 overs.<br />
<br />
After bowling 2 overs for 11 runs and the all-important wicket of Gurram, Suresh inexplicably took himself off and gave Vijay Reddy the ball in the 12th over. The need to get the 5th bowler's overs out of the way is an over-powering one for captains at any level of the game, it seems. The first ball was a dipping full-toss that was called a no-ball, a marginal call but understandable. Unfortunately, Vishnu pulled it hard and flat into Ashish's hands at square-leg. It could have been a wicket but instead it was a free hit. The next three balls were bludgeoned for 4,4, and 6 and the momentum was back with the Titans. Asif Iqbal, threatening with every ball he bowled, brought some control back with a 3 run over.<br />
<br />
Suresh then turned to Anoop Reddy's off-spin and, barring one 6 off an errant delivery, the off-spinnershowed he'd be a threat on the pitch. However, Suresh decided to bring himself back for his own brand of dibbly-dobblers. Those who have not played Gorantla are often fooled by his doe-like gait and short run-up. The mistake they make is to underestimate the accuracy and control that he has. With the big hits getting increasingly difficult to come by, Vishnu swung really hard and was horrified to find his stumps all over the place.<br />
<br />
Vishnu Gude b Suresh Gorantla 32 (20b 3 Fours, 2 Sixers)<br />
103 for 5 in 14.4 overs<br />
<br />
With just 32 balls left, the gameplan for both teams became simple. Rohit Kashyap had been batting sedately, content to swim along in Vishnu's wake during the 55 run partnership. But with time running out, he attempted an extravagant drive off Anoop, only to give C.S. Manish a chance to take a sharp catch standing up to the wicket.<br />
<br />
Rohit Kashyap c †C S Manish b Anoop Reddy 18 (29b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
104 for 6 in 15.1 overs<br />
<br />
Hiren Tummala does not waste time or do anything in half-measures. The first ball he faced was bludgeoned to deep square leg, where Mojib Afghan made a valiant effort to take the catch but just missed it for a boundary. The follow up ball was short and flat coming from Anoop and short and flat going to deep square-leg for a thundering six. The next over was Gorantla's last and he got a wicket off the first ball when a mistimed hit went only as far as Phillip Blake waiting for it at the boundary. Phil turned an easy catch into an exciting one by bobbling it three times before collecting it.<br />
<br />
Akash Vemulapalli c Phillip Blake b Suresh Gorantla 0 (4b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
116 for 7 in 16.1 overs<br />
<br />
Suresh should have had another wicket in the over but a carbon copy of the previous dismissal was botched by Phil who, this time, could not collect the rebound and Tummala survived. But not for long. In the next over, Tummala's hopes of hitting a six off Asif only cost his team a wicket.<br />
<br />
Hiren Tummala b Asif Iqbal 15 (8b 1 Fours, 1 Sixer)<br />
123 for 8 in 17.2 overs<br />
<br />
Jithin Pavuluri is a hustling, bustling batsman who hares between the wickets and converts ones into two and threes. He began to do just that when, unfortunately for the Titans, the other batsmen decided to take matters into their own hands. First Amarendra Dasari's eyes lit up when Anoop flighted one. Had the zing bails been used here they would have lit up, too.<br />
<br />
Amarendra Dasari b Anoop Reddy 2 (5b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
130 for 9 in 18.4 overs<br />
<br />
And two balls later, Anoop completed a good day on the field by pinning Sampras LBW when the batsman went back and across and missed a straight ball.<br />
Sampras Manpoor lbw b Anoop R 0 (2b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
<br />
Jithin Pavuluri not out 8 ( b, 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
<br />
<b>130 all out in 19 overs</b><br />
<br />
Ashish Sathyan: 4-0-26-2<br />
Dikshant Saini: 3-0-19-0<br />
Suresh Gorantla: 4-0-20-3<br />
Asif Iqbal: 4-0-21-1<br />
Vijay Reddy: 1-0-19-0<br />
Anoop Reddy: 3-0-24-3<br />
<br />
A good start is half the job, they say, and getting the Titans all-out for 130 definitely buoyed the NCC hopes immensely. Anoop Reddy and Vijay Reddy began in enterprising manner, thumping away good and bad balls with a straight bat and a high elbow. Jithin, Vishnu, and Avinash bowled different lines and lengths but did not trouble the two batsmen. Both of them hit boundaries over and past long-off and after 4 overs the target was brought down to double digits and the NCC bench began to relax. It appears, so did the batsmen.<br />
<br />
Hiren Tummala is a bowler who would have been deemed aggressive no matter which era he bowled in. Coming in off a long run-up he likes to bowl really fast and focuses mainly on smashing the stumps or the batsman's head. The greater pace he bowls at, compared to Jithin or Vishnu, was accentuated by the low bounce of the pitch which made short-length balls not rise above the stumps. The pace also caused batsmen to stay on their back foot when the bounce required them to move forward. Vijay paid the price of that folly, being pinned on the thigh in front of the stumps. And the first breach had been made.<br />
<br />
Vijay Reddy lbw b Hiren Tummala 8 (16b 1 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
33 for 1 in 4.5 overs<br />
<br />
<a href="https://cricclubs.com/viewPlayer.do?playerId=599077&clubId=164" target="_blank">Mojib Afghan</a>, on NCC debut, came in with a burgeoning reputation as the new wunderkid in the Heartland Cricket League (of Iowa). On this day, his exuberance got the better of him. Eager to make an immediate impression, he tried to launch the first ball he faced straight over the bowler's head. On a normal day, on a normal pitch, against a normal bowler, he'd probably have connected. But on this day, he was batting on the North pitch at Hefflinger Park whose much lower bounce was compounded by the damp pitch. On top of it, he was up against the faster pace of Tummala. In two balls, Hiren had changed the complexion of the match!<br />
<br />
Mojib Afghan b Hiren Tummala 0 (1b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
33 for 2 in 5 overs<br />
98 runs needed in 15.0 overs (90 balls) with 8 wickets remaining.<br />
<br />
The situation called for a calm and clear mind and, generally, you'd expect NCC's senior citizen - C.S. Manish - to provide plenty of both. But he went in to bat with a mind cluttered by off-field incidents of the previous week, determined to not let the opposition get the better of him. The first legitimate ball he faced from Amarendra hit him flush on the pads but was definitely missing leg stump. Unfortunately for Manish, it wasn't missing the middle stump. LBWs are rarely more clear cut than that.<br />
<br />
C S Manish lbw b Amarendra Dasari 0 (1b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
37 for 3 in 5.2 overs<br />
<br />
The Titans had not only pried open the door to victory, they were now threatening to blow it away. The rest of the over went by without much incident as Saumil Patel calmed some nerves with a straight bat to Amarandra's increasingly pacy offerings.<br />
<br />
93 runs needed in 14.0 overs (84 balls) with 7 wickets remaining.<br />
<br />
Hiren continued breathing fire at the other end and the Saumil-Anoop combine gently eased their way to 4 singles in the over. But this was just a prelude to the carnage that was to follow.<br />
<br />
89 runs needed in 13.0 overs (78 balls) with 7 wickets remaining.<br />
<br />
All game long, Saumil Patel had been talking about the low bounce being generated on the pitch. Unfortunately, he appeared to have let that get into his head but did not heed his own advice, getting comprehensively bowled by Amarendra who, by this time, was bowling as fast as anyone has bowled in Omaha this year.<br />
<br />
Saumil Patel b Amarendra Dasari 3 (9b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
44 for 4 in 7.3 overs<br />
<br />
Anoop Reddy is an enigma. As a batsman he has no discernible weakness and his preferred hitting area is the V but oddly, with a tennis forehand-like shot that is not a crossbatted slog. All through the season, he has settled in, gotten a start and then thrown it away in an effort to manufacture a boundary where none existed. Having watched Saumil perish, Anoop took the fight to Amarendra's doorstep, smashing him to the boundary when the bowler overpitched. But, in his enthusiasm to dominate, he overlooked the danger of playing loosely, and lost his stumps. The Titans were in the driver's seat and in no mood to let up.<br />
<br />
Anoop Reddy b Amarendra Dasari 22 (20b 2 Fours, 1 Sixers)<br />
49 for 5 in 8 overs<br />
<br />
82 runs needed in 12.0 overs (72 balls) with 5 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
The noose was tightening and the NCC batsmen were not helping matters by choking. Both teams knew that while 5 wickets were down, the Universe Boss of NCC - Phil Blake - was still at the crease. The Titans needed his wicket and needed it badly. Four balls into his third over, Hiren stuck pay dirt in the form of the Jamaican's pads. The collapse was well and truly underway. Iceberg!!<br />
<br />
Phillip Blake lbw b Hiren Tummala 1 (4b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
50 for 6 in 8.4 overs<br />
<br />
At the end of the over, Hiren's analysis was a mind-boggling 3-0-5-3 while Amarendra's 2-0-12-3 was not too shabby either.<br />
<br />
81 runs needed in 11.0 overs (66 balls) with 4 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
Suresh held back his last trumpcard, Asif Iqbal, and sent in NCC's most improved batsman -Sriram Surapaneni. Sriram and Dikshant applied the breaks and carefully played out Amarendra's thunderbolts.<br />
<br />
80 runs needed in 10.0 overs (60 balls) with 4 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
Hiren then took himself off to save an over of his (presumably) for Asif Iqbal. His replacement, Akash Vemulapalli needed just one ball to make an impact - castling a laden-footed Sriram.<br />
<br />
Sriram Surapaneni b Akash Vemulapalli 2 (5b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
51 for 7 in 10.1 overs<br />
<br />
Suresh Gorantla promoted himself up the order, reminiscent of MSD's move to come on ahead of Yuvraj Singh in 2011. The end result was just a few runs different. Three balls later Suresh played outside the line of a ball that cut back into his pads and NCC was on the brink of an ignominious defeat.<br />
<br />
Suresh Gorantla lbw b Akash Vemulapalli 0 (3b 0 Fours, 0 Sixers)<br />
51 for 8 in 10.4 overs<br />
<br />
Many teams have collapsed spectacularly over the years but this one has to rank right up there with them. 18 for 8 in 6 overs in a T20 game with no fielders involved has got to be something special.<br />
<br />
80 runs needed in 9.0 overs (54 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
The margin for error was almost non-existent. Two mistakes by NCC and the match (and tournament hopes) were done.<br />
<br />
What followed was a period of exceptional batting and bowling. Bowler after bowler targeted the stumps and the batsman. With around 9 runs required per over, conventional wisdom (i.e. MSD school of finishing wisdom) says you tap around for ones and twos before launching the big shots in the last couple of overs. Dikshant Singh Saini and Asif Iqbal adopted a very different template.<br />
<br />
In the 48 balls the pair faced, they played 21 dot balls. Any ball that remotely looked like a wicket-taking one was patted back to the Titans, In the 48 balls the pair faced, they hit 3 fours and 6 sixes. In the 48 balls the pair faced, they hit 48 runs in boundaries. Aided by singles and a few wides that leaked as the Titans got increasingly desperate to get them out, the pair added 70 runs in just 8 overs for the 9th wicket.<br />
<br />
While the previous paragraph says a lot of things it does not do justice to the counter attack launched by Asif and Dikshant. Each six that was hit would have been a six on any ground anywhere. All of them were hit with a straight bat. In fact, in both innings, this narrator is hard-pressed to recall a single slog or cross-batted hoick. But even then, the quality of the hitting by this pair was breath-taking.The arc from cover to long-on was the target, and with no room for error the duo did not miss.<br />
<br />
When Hiren came back to try to get Asif out, the response was a straight six so long, it stopped the match on the South ground as the fielder in the other game had to scurry to fetch the ball. That shot, of all the shots hit on the day, suddenly made everyone at the ground realize that something special might be possible after all.<br />
<br />
The progression of the scores will tell you the tale....<br />
<br />
77 runs needed in 8.0 overs (48 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
69 runs needed in 7.0 overs (42 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
59 runs needed in 6.0 overs (36 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
49 runs needed in 5.0 overs (30 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
*****<br />
28 runs needed in 4.0 overs (24 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
22 runs needed in 3.0 overs (18 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
11 runs needed in 2.0 overs (12 balls) with 2 wickets remaining<br />
<br />
***** The key over in the midst of all that was the 16th over, bowled by Avinash Gurram, that Asif took for 21 runs with 3 sixes, each one sending a deeper strike into the Titans hopes.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, the scales had tilted in NCC's favor. Just 11 runs needed in 12 balls with the two marauders at the crease. Jithin took it upon himself to bowl the pivotal 19th over. He began with a nervous wide (1 runs in 12 balls) and then, after a couple of dot balls, got Asif adjudged caught behind off the 3rd ball of the over. The Titans were BACK!<br />
<br />
Asif Iqbal c †Abdul Khaliq Shaik b Jithin Pavuluri 35 (27b 1 Fours, 4 Sixers)<br />
<br />
10 runs needed in 1.3 overs (9 balls) with 1 wicket remaining<br />
<br />
Ashish Sathyan walked up to the crease with a thousand instructions ringing in his ears, the foremost among them being - don't get out. A nervous waft off the first ball had a hundred heartbeats being skipped on both sides. The second ball he faced deserves it own paragraph.<br />
<br />
Players from both sides, including the batsman himself, must have imagined, wished, prayed, begged, and hoped for a particular result to happen. No one, in their wildest imagination, would have predicted what actually transpired. The North ground is the graveyard of the technically classical batsman, the tall grass and the uneven ground serving to stop any groundshot from travelling beyond the 30 yard line. Jithin bowled a slightly fuller ball just outside the off-stump - the perfect ball for any batsman from 1 to 11. Ashish Sathyan turned out to be the joker that no one accounted for in the deck of cards, unfurling the most vicious and picture-perfect extra-cover drive that I have seen in my 9 years of watching cricket on the North ground. I still find it hard to believe that the ball was hit so hard that it went all the way, all along the ground, past the (imaginary) fence for the most important four of Ashish's life so far!<br />
<br />
6 runs needed in 1.1 overs (7 balls) with 1 wicket remaining<br />
<br />
Jithin was rattled enough to bowl a leg-side wide next ball.<br />
<br />
5 runs needed in 1.1 overs (7 balls) with 1 wicket remaining<br />
<br />
The last ball beat the batsman, thudded into the keeper's gloves, resulting in a celebrappeal from Jithin that was turned down by the umpire.<br />
<br />
5 runs needed in 1.0 overs (6 balls) with 1 wicket remaining<br />
<br />
The other ace in the NCC deck - Dikshant Saini - was still at the crease and (unbeknownst to the audience) had decided that he would play all 6 remaining balls. After all, expecting Ashish's lightning bolts to strike twice was expecting too much of him!<br />
<br />
The first ball from Vishnu was calmly tapped back to the bowler. 5 runs needed in 5 balls.<br />
<br />
The next ball was short of good length, outside the off-stump and Dijshant exploded into his favorite shot - the square-drive, high over the gully fielder's head, a couple of bounces later crossing the flags that make up the boundary at Hefflinger Park! 1 run needed in 4 balls. Scores tied!<br />
<br />
The way the tournament is set up - a tied game actually worked in the Titans favor so NCC needed a win and nothing else from the game.<br />
<br />
Since the previous ball that pitched outside the off-stump had been thumped away, Vishnu overcompensated and bowled a wide down the leg-side and, just like that, anticlimactically, NCC had pulled off the heist!<br />
<br />
Ashish Sathyan 4 not out (3 balls, 1 four, 0 sixers)<br />
Dikshant Singh Saini 33<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>not our (27 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixers)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<b>NCC 131 for 9 in 19.2 overs</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Special mention needs to be made of the heroic bowling analyses of these Titans:<br />
<br />
Hiren Tummala: 4-0-15-3<br />
Amarendra Dasari: 4-0-16-3<br />
Akash Vemulapalli: 3-1-18-2<br />
<br />
In 11 combined overs, they took 8 for 49. In the remaining 8.2 overs (50 balls) NCC picked up 82 runs for 1 wicket. And therein lies the whole tale.<br />
<br />
The death defying heist was pulled off by two talented all-rounders. For his spectacular hitting, and incisive bowling Asif Iqbal was adjudged the man of the match. An honor he shares with Dikshant Saini, in my opinion. Each player's contribution was just as vital to the other's success.<br />
<br />
All season long, Asif has been searching for a defining inning - one that can launch him into the conversation about the elite of Omaha's all-rounders. Hopefully, this is that inning. It certainly has the pedigree and result to be a launch pad. Dikshant is a proven performer, having established himself as as one of the pillars of the HCL. We have high hopes of the duo for the rest of the season.<br />
<b><br /></b>
Days later the NCC players still talk about the match in hushed tones unable to believe that they actually pulled it off. A tournament that appeared to be done and dusted within just 10 overs of the chase is still well and truly alive. Next up - the second and last league match against the Riders, who are fresh off a victorious, championship winning Nebraksa Cup (T14 hard tennis ball) campaign.</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-52508047101063783932019-03-26T16:59:00.002-05:002019-03-26T17:02:59.564-05:00Glasshouse dwellers on notice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, Ravichandran Ashwin set the <a href="https://wwos.nine.com.au/videos/cricket/ashwin-mankads-buttler-in-ipl-shocker/cjtorrnzl003f0gqid4wn9ttv" target="_blank">cat among the pigeons</a> by<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/26362854/faq-mankading-ashwin-v-buttler-law-spirit" target="_blank"> <i>Mankading</i> Jos Buttler in an IPL match</a>. Immediately, the <i><u>spirit of the game</u></i> was invoked (which <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/26365422/jos-buttler-dismissal-deemed-legal-mcc-amid-scrutiny-laws" target="_blank">the MCC officially shot down very quickly</a> indicating there was no merit to that argument).<br />
<br />
The ICC amended the rule concerning Mankading to clearly indicate that the batsman has to wait until the ball leaves the bowler's arm before venturing outside the crease. Ashwin was perfectly justified in doing what he did, legally as well as morally.<br />
<br />
If a bowler bowls a no-ball, the umpire does not say, <i>"Okay, that was your first offense so I'm letting you off with a warning."</i> Then why should the batsman be accorded the favor of a first warning prior to being Mankaded?<br />
<br />
If I were Ashwin, I would release the following statement before the next match:<br />
<i>From here on, EVERY opposition batsman is put on notice and warned. If you leave the crease before the ball is bowled, ANY bowler in my team WILL run you out. You have been warned so do not break the law by leaving the crease and we won't have to break the spirit of the law to fix your action.</i><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-47822588816474869092019-03-14T14:29:00.004-05:002021-01-07T14:02:07.424-06:00Travel: Day 4 - The Dandenong Range<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to one's heart. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2011 (and 2015), I taught <u>Tropical Ecology</u> and, for one of the class activities, I took a group of students on a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico . (<a href="http://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Puerto%20Rico" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Puerto Rico</a>). </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2013, I taught <u>Ecology of Australia</u> and, naturally, it entailed a field trip to Australia! (<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Australia</a>)</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>In January 2016, I taught <u>Tanzania: Culture, Climate, and Connections</u> and took students to Africa.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 15.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2018, a group of <a href="https://www.midlandu.edu/" target="_blank">Midland University</a> students embarked on a learning adventure to Australia for a course titled: </span><b><i><u>Ecology, Environment, and Culture of Australia</u></i>. </b>This is what they gained on their learning adventure.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/2019/03/travel-day-1-3-lack-of-motion-sickness.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Travel: Day 1-3 - Lack of motion sickness<br />
<br />
<b>Day 4: Dandenong Range </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Subject Matter Expert - Allison Buehring<br />
<br />
<i>The Dandenong Mountain Range is named after an Aboriginal word called, <u>tanjenong</u>, which translates to ‘lofty’. This word has no real origin other than the fact that it was named after the nearby Dandenong creek. </i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrwfwg8QYxlnNYvcsTsys1v34ytyi9dADdfsBP1_Fyy3gKs8kJqQ-UAnlgKh6cMtzRwLE-1JzDmdec13y-9I27m7hT9yO6WPpoWbdPsBGAo4zT9lF1rxcZM6_jQar4qphtqqU/s1600/Buehring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrwfwg8QYxlnNYvcsTsys1v34ytyi9dADdfsBP1_Fyy3gKs8kJqQ-UAnlgKh6cMtzRwLE-1JzDmdec13y-9I27m7hT9yO6WPpoWbdPsBGAo4zT9lF1rxcZM6_jQar4qphtqqU/s400/Buehring.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Allison Buehring 2018)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>This range is found in Southern Victoria, which is just East of Melbourne in the Highlands. These are low mountain ranges that have several peaks exceeding 1,600 feet. Mount Dandenong is 2,077 feet high and is the highest peak in these ranges. </i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMCR9EtjKEjDnE83VcL2V3Sz9BexPzaj_oProGw1dNq1Zu_BJcVkAqdgd0zvZq7mCAw-qRhWhcSrgQdQFX1JMx7ntFVhZmr_2eYwpZGOXYaw6R-BKdpj6XvpcCiJ3Z6htTwoh/s1600/Dandenong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="800" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMCR9EtjKEjDnE83VcL2V3Sz9BexPzaj_oProGw1dNq1Zu_BJcVkAqdgd0zvZq7mCAw-qRhWhcSrgQdQFX1JMx7ntFVhZmr_2eYwpZGOXYaw6R-BKdpj6XvpcCiJ3Z6htTwoh/s400/Dandenong.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Nick Carson, Wikipedia)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>This mountain range is very fertile due to the coastal rains and volcanic soils, leaving the vegetation dense in its coverings. This gets twice as much rainfall as the coastal plains receive. </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlGjyLoyc_1N_Y0mkoTLDdqzv8LHZMuT_eTl8I51DoVx-O7bClcVTXG8QrKcqSGhP7_Iok12BP9xbLFxT3akuvvsiRE25YZzVkRL74pjOD-UFV-ukyxs_IMWnVVBIl8Koicfz/s1600/Bertram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="1600" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlGjyLoyc_1N_Y0mkoTLDdqzv8LHZMuT_eTl8I51DoVx-O7bClcVTXG8QrKcqSGhP7_Iok12BP9xbLFxT3akuvvsiRE25YZzVkRL74pjOD-UFV-ukyxs_IMWnVVBIl8Koicfz/s400/Bertram.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Tianna Bertram 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>The ranges are mostly comprised of rolling hills, steeply weathered valleys, and gullies (a channels cut into the soil, in hillside formed by running water). The type of vegetation here is a thick temperate rainforest, which contains tall Mountain Ash trees along with dense fern-like undergrowth. </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhRcNLfx25I-TxjW0J_Y8aYBvx3MlTWIMEk4buw9Cfas-EesD3Ag6TMYhvIANe3TQYfffuGu1kXUm0jdLztksiEyGMMb5euP7chogUDpboIPtIiMSx_LAwWv_cYSy6IPBZCEk/s1600/Arnason+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhRcNLfx25I-TxjW0J_Y8aYBvx3MlTWIMEk4buw9Cfas-EesD3Ag6TMYhvIANe3TQYfffuGu1kXUm0jdLztksiEyGMMb5euP7chogUDpboIPtIiMSx_LAwWv_cYSy6IPBZCEk/s320/Arnason+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Erikur Arnason 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>Starting in 1882 lots of the parklands were protected, but intensive expansion created the Dandenong National Park in 1987. In 1997 the ranges were further expanded. These ranges receive moderate snowfall a few times a year, within the months of later winter into late spring. . The drier ridges are where the <u>Eucalyptus regnans</u> (Mountain Ash Forest) are exposed on the northern slopes and are covered by dry sclerophyll forest and stringy barks and box. This range experiences bush fires quite often as they are in the drier portion of the forest. There are 10 plus creeks trialing through these ranges along with two major water falls (Olinda Falls and Sherbrooke falls) along with quite a few summits. The climate is mild and wet with temperatures as low as 1 degree in the winter. Precipitation is common all year round, but peaks between April and October. Heavy fog is common within these ranges. </i><br />
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<i>Currently, the Dandenong Ranges occupy nearly 100,000 residents and allows lots of attractions with its National Parks. </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijIdaS50fJ7xNb3tEbuaIvWw3V5Jxid38HvbA9DExdVM1Xy8QhWDJRALa0I1buv-SNSaMPqmC_bKrCaQiUk_0at2wwB32t1aktXLH0xN31bWMqZ4FHIXFIOG295nlsSbmkt7U/s1600/Taddonio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijIdaS50fJ7xNb3tEbuaIvWw3V5Jxid38HvbA9DExdVM1Xy8QhWDJRALa0I1buv-SNSaMPqmC_bKrCaQiUk_0at2wwB32t1aktXLH0xN31bWMqZ4FHIXFIOG295nlsSbmkt7U/s400/Taddonio.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Michael Taddonio 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>After reaching the Forest, all of us went for a walk on one of the many trails leading away from the Visitor Center.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYbcLJy6OIjmz3zIEl_iZLr_4wDmA4W_GnKUL5TWYHa9BHdyYTLM_mCYMcdAt9xdidz3CLtHZLKh6JIrzySCQEZw9RfXL9CxP7TfQz_e_0RZrmh_GQhziKMQcNY8AUexDhxAh/s1600/Arnason+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYbcLJy6OIjmz3zIEl_iZLr_4wDmA4W_GnKUL5TWYHa9BHdyYTLM_mCYMcdAt9xdidz3CLtHZLKh6JIrzySCQEZw9RfXL9CxP7TfQz_e_0RZrmh_GQhziKMQcNY8AUexDhxAh/s400/Arnason+3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Erikur Arnason 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>After the walk, we had some English tea and scones before embarking on a learning tour of the forest along another, longer trail. Along the way, Manish talked about the history, geography, and ecological features of the forest.</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCz1lRs0WJlKQeianV1BV1d-USwEwylXyYelmsxsY0WgGJBIdT7HJD3pl3QPznhvjtgnySOMv5AaULE3KHwiSVPCUA6ZXRU2QKkjZOhpcexBLvbaS4Sk-7nR1QHzLAX4ViAVIx/s1600/Manish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCz1lRs0WJlKQeianV1BV1d-USwEwylXyYelmsxsY0WgGJBIdT7HJD3pl3QPznhvjtgnySOMv5AaULE3KHwiSVPCUA6ZXRU2QKkjZOhpcexBLvbaS4Sk-7nR1QHzLAX4ViAVIx/s400/Manish.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>The mountain range is the remains of an extinct volcano that was active nearly 373 million years ago. The composition of it is mostly Devonian dacite and rhyodacite. The topography of this consists of lot of ridges dissected by deep cut streams. As mentioned already, lot of gullies are found in the southern portion of the range. These gullies are full of lots of fern. The drier ridges are where the Eucalyptus regnans (Mountain Ash Forest) are exposed on the northern slopes and are covered by dry sclerophyll forest and stringy barks and box. This range experiences bush fires quite often as they are in the drier portion of the forest. There are 10 plus creeks trialing through these ranges along with two major water falls (Olinda Falls and Sherbrooke falls) along with quite a few summits. </i><br />
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We stopped briefly for the traditional "squad" picture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm0NreRLUZlTQHVoj2MSE2tT6CblCJwzTZXmhjVgr9__UTL3uBLqLrSxRCpF7an91fUFO7B1PIBkstpXdTRjDCQHj2CeR6Ci2nOwcWGjayUhCvkl7tw99y62KDWHm_KFa_pAH/s1600/Manish+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm0NreRLUZlTQHVoj2MSE2tT6CblCJwzTZXmhjVgr9__UTL3uBLqLrSxRCpF7an91fUFO7B1PIBkstpXdTRjDCQHj2CeR6Ci2nOwcWGjayUhCvkl7tw99y62KDWHm_KFa_pAH/s400/Manish+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh151CIFMf5mRe1YpOr1t-0p_BsprADFpdbOC9lmdG2XTzMPeQBlkT-HGGn-Ek95OTwPPU7GCk4ckCQp7ILErYWjf_n9zfdTjrpX94g4BAq5jbQxwsirbxl0HhO33JvASkvFOHo/s1600/Wigington.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh151CIFMf5mRe1YpOr1t-0p_BsprADFpdbOC9lmdG2XTzMPeQBlkT-HGGn-Ek95OTwPPU7GCk4ckCQp7ILErYWjf_n9zfdTjrpX94g4BAq5jbQxwsirbxl0HhO33JvASkvFOHo/s400/Wigington.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Fred Wigington 2018)</td></tr>
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At the Visitor Center, for a token price, guests are allowed to feed wild cockatoos that live in the mountains.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJOtUo_dD4gI0eyZVTSUCcfc0xlOW2KZemMAX3dPMjND4Cmc6Num6VU2a_VC7YX-NGuWUsSExlOV3ZPOG7JF34xBEkKPVbqx1lZScaeQozS5AX_Bn9ta2QXmRNL2D2Y0M93Lq/s1600/Arnason.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJOtUo_dD4gI0eyZVTSUCcfc0xlOW2KZemMAX3dPMjND4Cmc6Num6VU2a_VC7YX-NGuWUsSExlOV3ZPOG7JF34xBEkKPVbqx1lZScaeQozS5AX_Bn9ta2QXmRNL2D2Y0M93Lq/s400/Arnason.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Erikur Arnason 2018)</td></tr>
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After a sumptuous meal, cooked on the barbeque pits provided by the facility (a feature we learned was common to most of the sites we visited) we headed back to Melboune. Some of the students went back to the ocean for another dip after which we packed our suitcases, placed them in storage, and got ready for the next adventure on our list - the drive into Australia's famed Outback.<br />
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Day 5 - To the Outback!<br />
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-58603010721394500612019-03-12T15:19:00.004-05:002021-01-07T14:01:33.984-06:00Travel: Day 1-3 - Lack of motion sickness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to one's heart. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2011 (and 2015), I taught <u>Tropical Ecology</u> and, for one of the class activities, I took a group of students on a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico . (<a href="http://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Puerto%20Rico" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Puerto Rico</a>). </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>In January 2013, I taught <u>Ecology of Australia</u> and, naturally, it entailed a field trip to Australia! (<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Australia</a>)</i>.<br />
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<i>In January 2016, I taught <u>Tanzania: Culture, Climate, and Connections</u> and took students to Africa.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2018, a group of <a href="https://www.midlandu.edu/" target="_blank">Midland University</a> students embarked on a learning adventure to Australia for a course titled: </span><b><i><u>Ecology, Environment, and Culture of Australia</u></i>. </b>This is what they gained on their learning adventure.</div>
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Day 1-3: <br />
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The excitement of traveling abroad vastly compensated for the really long time (and changes of flights) it takes to get to Melbourne from Omaha. Luckily, all the details of the trip were very well taken care of by an Australia-based adventure travel company, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Travel-Company/Ozi-Expeditions-Australia-258516797671926/" target="_blank">Ozi Expeditions</a>.<br />
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And away we go....</div>
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(C.S. Manish 2018)</div>
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We left Omaha in the afternoon of Day 1. A brief layover in Denver was followed by a flight to Los Angeles, where we completed all our international travel check-ups and boarded the looooooong flight to Melbourne around 10:30pm. By the time we landed in Melbourne it was 7:30am on Day 3, thanks to our crossing the International Date Line. "Day 2" was therefore spent somewhere over the Pacific on a plane and did not exist in our timelines.<br />
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Clearing Immigration in Melbourne was not much of a hassle and a relieved group assembled for the first (of many, many) group pictures.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnHZ5BASCjX_DIcBxC7STxdl97o4GdUZhPaR6w8q8xdwMPKFRgdNDmax5WUKHILqtGuy12dsShRzZQQS8DyyiWX2roRUt5Y_kjl9G7JJBN4XpyLRzEufI-Vo4kOTeFrxoGh-UG/s1600/20180524_081023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnHZ5BASCjX_DIcBxC7STxdl97o4GdUZhPaR6w8q8xdwMPKFRgdNDmax5WUKHILqtGuy12dsShRzZQQS8DyyiWX2roRUt5Y_kjl9G7JJBN4XpyLRzEufI-Vo4kOTeFrxoGh-UG/s400/20180524_081023.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back row (L to R): Sean Kelley, Michael Taddonio, Tieryn Arens, Paige Kapperman, Tianna Bertram, Payton Coon, Derrick Kruetzfeldt, Allison Buehring, Logan Paasch<br />
Front row (L to R): Erikur Arnason, Fred Wigington, Tanner Swett<br />
(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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We were received by the Ozi Expedition guides - Damian, Peter, Eddie, and Barry (and the other Peter, in absentia), who also doubled up as our drivers for the trip. Since we were going to be traveling deep into the heart of the Australian Outback, we were also accompanied by a nurse (Jodi) for any emergencies, medical or otherwise.</div>
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After collecting our bags, we got into 5 vehicles and went to a youth hostel. After freshening up, we went right back to downtown Melbourne as we had an entire day ahead of us.<br />
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We began a tradition that would last for the duration of the trip . The first photograph of each day was a group photo of our shoes<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MKytguWb9GyyxRzSpRVDc2r0duDZl4TeWm0SVWOG2eUS_nMNFv0NBycWOUHu5sxsOBDgy14PNHdavckvSxmEgj237l6hE-_lo3v1JKL5r8rL99RLl3H_qAO9k3auJ63TBEbq/s1600/20180524_152911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MKytguWb9GyyxRzSpRVDc2r0duDZl4TeWm0SVWOG2eUS_nMNFv0NBycWOUHu5sxsOBDgy14PNHdavckvSxmEgj237l6hE-_lo3v1JKL5r8rL99RLl3H_qAO9k3auJ63TBEbq/s320/20180524_152911.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For each day of the trip, a student was assigned the task of doing background research and informing the group about the sights we saw and the places we visited. The city of Melbourne was research by Derrick Kruetzfeldt. Here are some excerpts from his findings:<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Settled by the British in the late 1830s, Melbourne has a population of </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">over 4.7 million making it</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> the second most populous city in Australia. Located on the southern most part of Australia, Melbourne is in the state of </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Victoria and is a very popular tourist destination.</span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiB9ATDFLmMdf7H7dcbd4g7duN6lKIyxeOayHeQTAaJjP3hdMzdf2i-g9G4S9OjU5xn64eSZtkooCSJ8njNfoU6ONK9N-KwxSKiOo44qN4JkfOFxKhTxKNGgF5mxc6bxNSQkL/s1600/20180524_120500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="1600" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiB9ATDFLmMdf7H7dcbd4g7duN6lKIyxeOayHeQTAaJjP3hdMzdf2i-g9G4S9OjU5xn64eSZtkooCSJ8njNfoU6ONK9N-KwxSKiOo44qN4JkfOFxKhTxKNGgF5mxc6bxNSQkL/s400/20180524_120500.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>Melbourne is a very walking-friendly city and usage of public transportation is encouraged by the government by not charging patrons using the trams in the Central Business District. This significantly reduces traffic since visitors can simply park on the edge of the city and then ride the extensive network of trams for free to get across town for no additional cost.</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcwTxu9t6IbtzLjUdRvbsLV9-dNM02wSw2we0JCZA8DepLg3LP4eELWBxn1vom_Ewu7WApIz6Ku64GlbPOI5GbU2MJeaZQCCCTLftZjnnDSzJtAK9oUaaVkgCPlt613ZcmxNL/s1600/20180524_153143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcwTxu9t6IbtzLjUdRvbsLV9-dNM02wSw2we0JCZA8DepLg3LP4eELWBxn1vom_Ewu7WApIz6Ku64GlbPOI5GbU2MJeaZQCCCTLftZjnnDSzJtAK9oUaaVkgCPlt613ZcmxNL/s400/20180524_153143.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C.S. Manish 2018)</td></tr>
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<i>A hidden jewel of Melbourne is the street art (graffiti) that is encouraged and supported in certain locations. One such location is opposite Federation Square, joining Flinders Lane and Flinders Street - it is a cobblestoned street closed to traffic called Hosier Lane. Almost any surface is covered with creative graffiti honoring many known and unknown artists and ideas.</i><br />
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<i>Melbourne is known for three very popular sports played in iconic sporting arenas. The Australian Football League and Cricket are played at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (commonly referred to by the locals as the G), which can seat more than 100,000 fans</i>.<br />
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<i>Melbourne is located on the Southern Ocean but not many people swim in it, especially during the winter months when it can get very cold. The Melbourne’s beach/coastline stretches out for more than over 2000 kilometers and has diverse creatures such as jellyfish, bull sharks, great white sharks, and even octopuses in it.</i><br />
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Swimming in the ocean in the winter is not for the faint of heart but Logan Paasch was definitely not going to be denied. Having never seen the ocean in his life, Logan was determined to take a dip it it no matter what.<br />
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After dinner at the hostel, Damian took us on a leisurely walk to St. Kilda beach (a couple of blocks from the hostel), where he sprung a surprise on us - a visit with penguins! The St Kilda breakwater at the end of the St Kilda Pier is home to a colony of Little Penguins. At the end of each day, just around dusk, come penguins swim back to the breakwater, climb out of the water and waddle over the breakwater rocks to their nests among the rocks.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Tianna Bertram 2018)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Tianna Bertram 2018)</td></tr>
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This was an eminently satisfactory way to end our first day in Melbourne. </div>
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Next up: Day 4 - The Dandenong Mountains and a walk through an old growth forest</div>
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-75209693260586625212018-10-30T10:21:00.001-05:002018-10-30T10:25:05.661-05:00Travel: Day 0 - Tanzania - An African adventure begins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to one's heart. </i><br />
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<i>In January 2011, I taught Tropical Ecology and, for one of the class activities, I took a group of students on a 10 day trip to Puerto Rico. (<a href="http://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Puerto%20Rico" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Puerto Rico</a>). </i><br />
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<i>In January 2013, I taught Ecology of Australia and, naturally, it entailed a field trip to Australia! (<a href="https://jauntyjaywalking.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel" target="_blank">Click here to read about the trip to Australia</a>)</i>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2016, a group of 14 <a href="https://www.midlandu.edu/" target="_blank">Midland University</a> students embarked on a learning adventure to Tanzania, led by Dr. Jamie Simpson and me. The course was titled - <b><i>Tanzania: Culture, Climate, Connections</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s a note from Jamie to start us off:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;"><b><i>3 flights, 14 students, 15 days, 1 Kilimanjaro, 4 safari nights, 2 hospitals, 3 universities, 2 schools, 1 Evangelical Church of Tanzania, 2 parishes, endless memories!</i></b></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSQXqQ-4-jZMQNzCj3lea9r2xaWKiItNcdh4dURyBILU5xOVl4RcXqdaSFbjF4PHxmTHxhDZGJWugH42qUPytkKAynZGiFhyphenhyphenCkxiMFeqAeoT0XIZjQZpCATIzBn5-W53VoZsd/s1600/Photo+for+webpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1364" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSQXqQ-4-jZMQNzCj3lea9r2xaWKiItNcdh4dURyBILU5xOVl4RcXqdaSFbjF4PHxmTHxhDZGJWugH42qUPytkKAynZGiFhyphenhyphenCkxiMFeqAeoT0XIZjQZpCATIzBn5-W53VoZsd/s640/Photo+for+webpage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Participants: Standing L-R - Kyle Courtright, Jonah Hoshino, C.S, Manish, Rebecca Walker, Mandi Uecker, Victoria Tuttle, Jamie Simpson, Amy Aufenkamp</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kneeling L-R - Jessica Harms, Emily Wiegand, Rachael Lehr, Paige Clemmons, Jessica Nekl, Ana Guenther, Sarah Hill, Elise Hubel</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;">Tanzania here we come! Keep reading to learn more about what we did!</span></span></div>
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-25200413858949661492018-08-27T23:32:00.000-05:002018-10-18T23:21:08.457-05:00Change is everything<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I can put this item to rest. Virat Kohli, in his 40th Test match, led an side unchanged from the previous one!<br />
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Virat Kohli has captained India in <strike>17</strike> <strike>18</strike> <strike>19</strike> <strike>20</strike> <strike>21</strike> <strike>22</strike> <strike>23</strike> <strike>24</strike> <strike>25</strike> <strike>26</strike> <strike>27</strike> <strike>28</strike> <strike>29</strike> <strike>30 31</strike> <strike>32</strike> <strike>33</strike> <strike>34</strike> <strike>34</strike> <strike>35</strike> <strike>36</strike> <strike>37</strike> <strike>38</strike> <strike>39</strike> 40 Test matches<b>*</b>. The most incredible fact that I can report from this is that India has never fielded the SAME playing 11 in <u>consecutive matches</u> under his watch. Every match has featured a change from the previous one.<br />
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Update: Sourav Ganguly once had a 29 Test streak like this as captain. That's done and dusted with now!<br />
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India has lost only 8 Tests under Kohli. I guess there is some method to his madness. His overall record sits at - 39* Tests captained, 22 wins, 8 losses, 9 draws.<br />
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For comparison:<br />
MS. Dhoni: 60 Tests, 27 wins, 18 losses, 15 draws<br />
Sourav Ganguly: 49 Tests, 21 wins, 13 losses, 15 draws<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>P.S. Yes, I know that injuries have forced his hand on multiple occasions.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>* Updated as of the end of the Fifth Test match - September 2018 against England</b></span></div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-70190189614956496692018-04-10T20:49:00.002-05:002018-04-10T20:49:31.288-05:00Linked up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
1) I do not follow Major League Baseball closely any more. I'd be hard-pressed to name 5 players who are currently active. The first name that comes to mind, though, is <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/_/id/4570/ichiro-suzuki" target="_blank">Ichiro Suzuki</a>. I recently wondered whether he had retired and came across <a href="http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/22624561/ichiro-suzuki-return-seattle-mariners-resolve-internal-battle" target="_blank">this haunting, haunting piece about Ichiro</a> - the man who has become the very thing he hated to become as a 3 year old. Very sad.<br />
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2) If a tree is falls in a forest but there is no one to hear it does it make a sound? The <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/icl/content/story/343384.html" target="_blank">best bowling analysis EVER in a T20 match</a> happened at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad but to the cricketing it world it does not exist. Alfred Absolem took a scarcely believable <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8049/scorecard/340392/ahmedabad-rockets-vs-hyderabad-heroes--icl-2007-08/" target="_blank">7 wickets for 15 runs</a> but his achievement will probably never be acknowledged because it was a played between two teams in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) which was obliterated by the IPL/BCCI within a few years.<br />
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3) The only NFL player I actually wanted to watch in person was Randy Moss. I managed to do it once at Ford Field in Detroit. If you want to know why he has great, watch this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q7lGl_EfbE" target="_blank">EVERY TD of his greater than 40 yards</a>. Mind you, these are only those that were 40 yards or longer.... <br />
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-40425347192384626632018-03-27T12:22:00.000-05:002018-03-27T12:23:07.002-05:00The unluckiest man in the world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Some time ago, Steven Smith had a "<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21251445/was-mentally-drained-end-india-tour-had-left" target="_blank">brain fade</a>" in India. And the first time he made the mistake, he got caught and apologized for it.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;">... because that was certainly the only moment that ever happened</span></blockquote>
A few days ago, Steven Smith made a "<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22897468/cameron-bancroft-steven-smith-admit-ball-tampering" target="_blank">poor choice</a>" in South Africa. And the first time he made the mistake, he got caught and apologized for it.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;">This is the first time it has happened under my leadership. </span></blockquote>
Poor guy. He has the worst luck in the world. Imagine how he must feel knowing that the <i>first</i> time he does something wrong, he gets caught right away.<br />
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Yeah, right!!! "First time" indeed.<br />
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Hmpff...where's the sarcasm font when you need it?</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-37776425529192978142018-03-27T11:58:00.000-05:002018-03-27T12:09:53.419-05:00The Price of Power<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power</i>. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Charles A. Beard</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">One week ago, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/267192.html" target="_blank">Steven Smith</a> was the undisputed leader of the Australian team. Of late his batting had reached a plane occupied by only The Don himself. He led a rout of the English in the Ashes and began the tour of South Africa with a thumping win in the first Test. Life was good. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Today, he stands on the cusp of the unknown, his Fate hanging in the balance, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22908218/steven-smith-david-warner-face-life-ban-ca" target="_blank">to be determined by others</a> whom he has no control over. A rabid mob is baying for blood, happily throwing stones from glass houses, determined to bring down a man who was flying so high, he didn't realize he was getting perilously close to the sun.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Paradoxically, even as the sun is melting his wings it has begun to set on his playing career. Not in the physical sense. Smith will come back from this after serving whatever ban is imposed on him. He is 28 years old and, I suspect, will be given a one year ban from the game. Much like Shane Warne's one year exile in 2003 did no damage to his ultimate playing aura, Smith's year in <i>absentia </i>will not impede him too much. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The sun is, however, setting on his reputation. Once someone is labeled a cheat, that sticks for life no matter how hard you try to make amends for it. Especially in today's world of instant condemnation and slow forgiveness.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I'm not sorry for Steve Smith. He decided to cheat and should pay the price for doing it. Most importantly, because it was <i style="font-weight: bold;">premeditated</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b><i>Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching you.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Unfortunately, for Steve Smith, over 30 cameras were watching closely. Thank heavens they were.</span><br />
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Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-14473518134093520342017-11-21T10:36:00.000-06:002017-11-21T10:36:01.200-06:00The razor's edge of tomorrow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Picture this: India is batting in the third inning of a Test match. It is midway through Day 4 and the team is trailing by 125 runs. One need not know too much about Indian cricketing history to know how the rest of the story plays out. In an attempt to play for a draw, some of the most elegant and exciting batsmen in the world will will eschew every risk known to batsmankind and block every delivery that comes their way. Soon, the pressure will build, a tiny mistake will be made and a feeble lead will eventually be produced before, on Day 5, the opposing team polishes away a small target with the loss of a couple of wickets, thereby giving the Indian team "something to build on".<br />
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In the most recent <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18074/scorecard/1122723/India-vs-Sri-Lanka-1st-Test-sl-in-india-2017-18" target="_blank">Kolkata Test match between Sri Lanka and India</a>, India began the second inning staring at a 120-odd run deficit. But this Indian team, under Virat kohli's bristling, in-your-face leadership is a different beast altogether. Soon it is 166 for no loss in 37 overs...and the match transforms.<br />
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But, there is a twist in the tail. Day 5 begins with the Indians playing a subdued game and staring at difficult times with the lead just 170 runs when the 7th wicket fell.<br />
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At that point in time, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/253802.html" target="_blank">Virat Kohli</a> was batting time, still managing to be on 58 off 93 balls. The game was in the balance and, breathtakingly, the anti-Tendulkar came to the fore. Rather than retreat into a shell, and try to shield the tail, Kohli went into ODI-mode and took the attack to the Sri Lankans. Boundary after boundary followed and the Indian captain turned the match on its head with a totally-safe but very aggressive display of walking the talk. In the next 28 balls, he scored 46 of the most risk-free but dashing runs imaginable and reached 104 not out with an inside-out six over wide mid-off that was as exciting as it was inevitable. And then India declared! Setting Sri Lanka 237 runs to get off (possibly) 40 overs. Realistically, because of the deteriorating light conditions it was closer to 30 overs and the Indian bowlers came to the party with a vengeance.<br />
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Bhuvaneshwar Kumar repaid his captain's faith (11-8-8-4) and when light finally rescued the Sri Lankans, they were tottering at 75 for 7.<br />
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A stunning turnaround orchestrated by a man who is, hastily, rewriting how the rest of the cricket world is going to view Indian cricketers. In a good way.<br />
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Virat Kohli just turned 29, scored his 50th international century, captained the 30th Test of his career, and oddly, looks like he is <i>just now</i> getting started.<br />
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Suddenly, away tours to South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand don't seem as daunting any more.</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-50548848061637260002017-07-17T16:42:00.001-05:002017-07-17T16:47:53.127-05:00High on the hills was a lonely GOAT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Only one man could bring me out of blogging semi-retirement: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Federer" target="_blank">Rajah</a> himself.<br />
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The story arc of Roger Federer's resurgence has been written many times over by multiple authors around the world and I will not repeat it here. A cursory Google search will suffice. Instead I want to put down some random, disjointed thoughts that float through my brain...<br />
<br />
a) For a long time DH and I were reconciled to the fact that he'd be stuck on one prime number - 17. When he won #18 earlier this year in Australia, DH remarked that he would <i style="font-weight: bold;">HAVE</i> to win one more to get back to a prime number because that's where he should be (by himself and one). Well, what do you know? It may be time to start thinking of 23 now. Impossible? Well, many of us thought 18 was impossible.<br />
<br />
b) Remember this commercial from 10 years ago? It was released on July 6th, 2007, just moments after Roger had won his 10th major and was narrated by Tiger Woods who ended it with the haunting words: <i>My name is Tiger Woods. I have 12 majors and counting. So keep up, buddy</i>.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, Roger did what Tiger always dreamed of - overtaking Jack Nicklaus' major count (18). For the record, Tiger has stalled at 14 for over eight years and it does not appear he is going to add to that total.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rdWtpbuUEy4" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
c) The Federer of 2017 is winning because he is better than the Federer of a few years ago. He is winning because he has improved. His backhand, especially, is a lot flatter and more potent. the elegant top-spin laden one has been beefed up by another version - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYbygk-ljc" target="_blank">a flattened, whiplash of a shot</a> that singes across the court with power that is approaching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyj1Id6HDJ0" target="_blank">Wawrinka territory</a>.<br />
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d) The 2017 Wimbledon final was, finally, lacking in excitement or prolonged tension for Federer. But I am not complaining one bit. I'll take that any day over the 5 set gut-wrencher from earlier this year at the Australian Open where he was (gasp!) trailing 1-3 in the fifth set. Even today I sometimes break into a cold sweat thinking about what might have happened had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmpLSW47MPQ" target="_blank">Roger not raised his game</a>.<br />
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Imagine this - Nadal wins the Australian Open. Suddenly the major head-to-head is 17-15 in Roger's favor with the French Open coming up where Nadal would make it 17-16. Oh dear...the GOAT narrative would have taken a drastic turn for the worse for us FedFans. Phew! Thank heavens for that atomic backhand (and <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1620715-rafael-nadal-a-look-back-at-his-2009-french-open-loss-to-robin-soderling" target="_blank">Robin Soderling</a>).<br />
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e) The loss to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxb4MIsBBsg" target="_blank">Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 US Open</a> stung for a long, long time. Then came the capitulation to Marin Cilic in 2014 when all Roger had to do was take out Cilic and then Kei Nishikori (neither of whom he had ever lost to at that point in time). For years, I've wondered what those two missed US Opens would have done for his legacy. Suddenly, after what has transpired this year, the pain has eased tremendously.<br />
<br />
f) Roger is the only man to have played at least 5 finals at each major. At the French, he has one win (in 2009, thank heavens for Soderling) and 4 losses to the clay GOAT - Rafael Nadal. One wonders what the actual count might have been if the gods had not sent Nadal to mess with us FedFans.<br />
<br />
g) But seriously, just watch these 5 games from the 5th set of the 2017 Australia Open again and marvel at how close it was to being a completely different narrative. A matter of inches...literally, on multiple occasions.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gmpLSW47MPQ" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
h) In 2012 after the Olympics in London, in spite of winning a silver medal, it seemed quite inconceivable that Federer would last as long as Rio in 2016. Verily, it came to pass - Federer did not play in Rio while recovering from his myriad injuries. But if you had told me in 2012 that he would not play in Rio but would win multiple majors in 2017, I would not have believed it possible. I am still having a tough time believing it.<br />
<br />
i) Hailing from a nation where we revere the Krishnans and Amritraj for simply making it to the quarter-final at Wimbledon, it is astonishing to think that Federer has played 70 Grand Slam events (tied for first all-time with Fabrice Santoro) and has reached the quarter-final or better in 50 of them. Yes, 50 of them!<br />
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j) For a man known for the beauty of his groundstrokes and the fluidity and grace of his foot movement, it is mind-boggling to think that he is <a href="http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/stats/aces" target="_blank">third all-time in the list of aces hit on the ATP tour</a>. And, if he plays the rest of the year, he's definitely going to be #2 behind Ivo Karlovic.<br />
<br />
k) The final word has to, definitely, belong to the late, great David Foster Wallace from his famous essay: <i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html" target="_blank">Federer as a religious experience</a>. </i>Mind you, this was published on August 20, 2006, almost 11 years ago, but it still resonates just as loudly today:<br />
<br />
<i>... Roger Federer is showing that the speed and strength of today’s pro game are merely its skeleton, not its flesh. He has, figuratively and literally, re-embodied men’s tennis, and for the first time in years the game’s future is unpredictable. (...) Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform — and even just to see, close up, power and aggression made vulnerable to beauty is to feel inspired and (in a fleeting, mortal way) reconciled</i>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="221" src="https://cdn-s3.si.com/styles/marquee_large_2x/s3/images/roger-federer-wimbledon-trophy.jpg?itok=GGLDkX0O" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: <a href="https://www.si.com/tennis/2017/07/15/roger-federer-marin-cilic-wimbledon-final">SI.com</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-65742018278996350772016-11-15T13:25:00.002-06:002016-11-15T13:25:33.879-06:00Born again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Gautam Gambhir was jettisoned from the Indian Test team after a series of failures. In true Gambhir fashion, the man worked on his game, changed his stance, put in the hours and fought his way back to the Indian squad, only to keep failing in the same fashion as he used to before his comeback. His days seem to be numbered with the (injured) incumbent KL Rahul about to make a comeback.<br />
<br />
Many years ago, Virender Sehwag was at a crossroads - staring at an Indian middle order that read Dravid, SRT, Ganguly, Laxman. At which point he re-invented himself as an opener and set the world afire.<br />
<br />
I think it is time for Gambhir to do the same, but in reverse. He is as fine a player of spin bowling as an opener has ever been and I think he would be better served coming in at #6 in the line-up. This way he would not be facing the new ball but could ease into his inning while the spinners were operating. And when the second new ball is due after the 80th over, he would be perfectly placed to combat its threat.<br />
<br />
Going down the order will only make Gambhir's chances of a prolonged career go up.</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-48588897011572383632016-11-15T09:52:00.000-06:002016-11-15T09:52:09.246-06:00For the want of a nail - part 2??<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On June 17, 2015 I wrote something that I am scared may repeat itself....here it is with some modifications:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">In an alternate universe somewhere </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="color: red;">Ajinkya Rahane</span></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> </span><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/live-cricket-score-india-vs-england-3rd-test-day-1-india-take-on-england-in-southampton/" style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" target="_blank"><strike>Ravindra Jadeja</strike></a><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/live-cricket-score-india-vs-england-3rd-test-day-1-india-take-on-england-in-southampton/" style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> does not drop Alistair Cook</a><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">, </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="color: red;">Umesh Yadav</span></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> <strike>Pankaj Singh</strike> gets the first (of many) wickets, India gains ascendancy and wins the Test series against England, Alistair Cook is sacked as captain, India </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="color: red;">hosts</span></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> <strike>goes to</strike> Australia buoyed by their <strike>away </strike>win,</span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.....</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Months later, I still relive that dropped catch.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Because </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="color: red;">Ajinkya Rahane</span></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> <strike>Ravindra Jadeja</strike> did not take a simple catch at point, a kingdom was lost.</span></div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-11792713378123232832015-06-17T22:14:00.001-05:002015-06-17T22:15:57.209-05:00For the want of a nail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In an alternate universe somewhere <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/live-cricket-score-india-vs-england-3rd-test-day-1-india-take-on-england-in-southampton/" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja does not drop Alistair Cook</a>, Pankaj Singh gets the first (of many) wickets, India gains ascendancy and wins the Test series against England, Alistair Cook is sacked as captain, India goes to Australia buoyed by their away win, <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/comment-virat-kohli-s-captaincy-at-adelaide-heralds-the-dawn-of-a-new-era-in-indian-cricket-2045541" target="_blank">Saha does not suffer a brain fade</a> at Adelaide and Kohli is able to pull off a monstrously incredible Test victory and gives the perfect speech in Hughes' memory, India gains further confidence, wins the Test series, steamrolls through the World Cup semi (where Kohli does not drop Johnson), pulverizes New Zealand in the final.....<br />
<br />
Months later, I still relive that dropped catch.<br />
<br />
Because Ravindra Jadeja did not take a simple catch at point, a kingdom was lost.</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-88081589285571295562015-06-08T23:25:00.000-05:002015-06-08T23:25:02.967-05:00Giving thanks - part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For the past few days I have been reflecting on everyone I have to be thankful to for shaping me and my life. Apart from the usual suspects (family and close friends) there are a few I need to remember while I can for the little things they showed me or did for me.<br />
<br />
In no particular order:<br />
<br />
BPJ: He did a lot of things for me and I cannot thank him enough for them. But the biggest thing he probably did was insisting that my PhD funding was tied directly to being able to drive the departmental truck to our field site. If I did not get the license to do so, he said my funding would be revoked. As simple as that. And it worked. And he insisted that I take official driving lessons to do so. It changed the direction my life was to take.<br />
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EP: My driving instructor. Even now when I change lanes, take an exit, brake for a traffic light, take a curve or parallel park, I apply the little tips and rules he told me during our hour-long night sessions so many years ago. All our sessions were in the dark and it rained during every one of them (which maybe one reason why I am more comfortable driving at night than in the day time, relatively speaking).<br />
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GM: I would not have taken his course if a researcher at ISU had not taken back his offer of a fully-funded PhD program. But, in hindsight, I am glad the offer was rescinded. The way I teach today is based almost entirely off the GM playbook. He had the incredible gift of being able to take a complex issue and simplify it so the students could learn it piecemeal without losing sight of the bigger picture. Someday, I hope to be half as good as he is.<br />
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RP: Bored me to death with his long-winded, one-sided conversations but he did teach me one important thing before he left for Atlanta - how to iron my clothes. Don't scoff...it is not as simple as he made it look.<br />
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SM: When the temperature drops and the house gets cold I remember his tip - take a hot shower and then you'll be fine, And the bathroom also becomes the warmest room in the house in the winter.<br />
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RT: His simple policy for office hours - if the door is open, come right in - is one that I practice. Nothing gives me more joy at work than having a student walk into my office, sit down, and chat about life in general.<br />
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KDK - One week after I received my driver's license I was convinced to be the sole driver on a road trip to Alabama. A lifelong love for the open road and spending weekends in different places was born. The confidence I gained from that trip was immense and life-changing.<br />
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SKP: The most generous and giving person I have ever met. Never said no to any request for help without compromising on his ideals. I am not as good as he is but at times I have my moments.<br />
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JM: The first person in the US who took me aside and talked to me about my anxieties. He was my professor (and adviser) but I never felt a gap between us. When I wasn't sure if I was good enough to do a PhD, he took me to CEM's office and the two of them convinced me I was capable of it in just two sentences. More than half the labs I teach in my Ecology course are ones I learned from him. He passed away recently and has been in my thoughts a lot since then.<br />
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KM: Taught me how to cook dinner for two in 20 minutes or less. And also gave me his warmest winter coat when he moved back to Japan so I did not freeze as much when I walked to my classes.<br />
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CR Jr: Ice-fishing? Check. Canoeing? Check. Rafting through rapids? Check. Playing croquet? Check. Golfing? Check. Indoor soccer? Check. Trapping coyotes for research? Check.How to throw a football in a perfect spiral? Check. Spelunking? Check. Bowling? Check. There are more "firsts" that C was able to check off my bucket list but you get the picture. He even drove me to WV and back from Illinois just so I could visit with BPJ and see the PhD program there.<br />
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JM: For teaching Biometry. The best statistics course I have ever taken and even today I can teach basic stats without referring to notes because of him.</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-90615617428430008902015-06-08T23:03:00.002-05:002015-06-08T23:03:30.562-05:00Reading the tea leaves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When the draw for the men's singles event of the 2015 French Open tennis tournament was announced, all eyes were focused on the quarterfinal where two titans were slated to clash against each other. Learned reporters nodded their collective heads and the phrase <i>de facto final</i> was bandied about.<br />
<br />
After the first four rounds, the mega-clash came to be and so it came to pass - the winner of this particular quarterfinal <i style="font-weight: bold;">DID </i>win the French Open. While most people thought it would be the Djokovic-Nadal clash, any true tennis fan knew - the <i>de facto final</i> was the all-Swiss clash between Wawrinka and Federer. When Federer lost, my good friend DH and I knew that the GOAT had missed a golden opportunity to pad his resume.<br />
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Either way, watching Stan Wawrinka's blistering one-handed backhand made me smile, albeit with a tinge of sadness that it wasn't the <i>other</i> Swiss one-handed backhand player mesmerizing the audience.<br />
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चलो कोई बात नहीं, Federer नहीं तो Wawrinka ही सही!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16642893.post-48338786413184036272015-03-12T18:02:00.002-05:002023-01-04T15:53:59.840-06:00They speak...I learn...or not<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have watched a few of the matches in the World Cup; bits and pieces of about 50% of them; major bits of about 25% and all the India matches except the second inning of the most recent game against Ireland.<br />
<br />
From listening to the commentators this is what I have learned or realized:<br />
<br />
<u>Shane Warne</u>: According to him - the best way to win a game at any point in time is to bowl a spinner, preferably a leg-spinner. Leg-spinners, no matter how filthy their bowling, are the best wicket-taking options in the world. Bar none. A pitch is magnificent no matter how many runs it leads to. Awwww.....is a new word that we should all learn to use in our daily lives.<br />
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<u>Sunil Gavaskar</u>: If a batsman is near a milestone, our man will sniff it out in a heartbeat. You can tell a lot about his mentality from the way he appreciates milestones, game situation be damned. Also, he has a curious habit of making a joke, explaining it, and then repeating the joke again for emphasis just in case we had forgotten it.<br />
<br /><u>Sanjay Manjrekar</u>: I actually like the guy and the insight he brings in each of his stints. He picks up a <i>hatke</i> point of view. Unfortunately, he will then spend the next 15 minutes beating it into the ground by repeatedly pointing it out. Glenn Maxwell was at the crease in a recent match en route to his first ODI century. Manjrekar stated early on that Maxwell is an atypical batsman in that he does not play the ball or the bowler but instead frames his batting based on the type of field being set. Brilliant point. And then, for the rest of the session this lesson was drummed into our senses with each Maxwell hit. I was hoping for further insight into how captains could counter that strategy or bowlers could plan and make Maxwell hit into areas he is less comfortable (or would take more risks) hitting to. I am still waiting for that.<br />
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<u>Kiwi commentators</u>:All the Kiwi commentators have been excellent so far. Treating the game with respect, discussing strategy, pointing out the good (and bad) things players are doing, and staying quiet when needed and letting the crowd shots tell the story at times. (Luckily I have not heard Danny Morrison so far).<br />
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<u>Channel 9 commentators</u>: Back-slapping, inside-joke telling, laughing out loud once-every-minute, Aussie propaganda stumping. All of these are what I have (unfortunately) come to expect from them. They are rah-rah boys of the worst kind. They often don't even know who the opposing players are and sometimes will (shockingly) admit it. How can they not research the 22 players on the field before beginning their stint? How can the producers of the show let them get away with displaying such ignorance?<br />
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<u>Mark Taylor</u>: Special mention - he hasn't met a non-Aussie name that he hasn't mangled. I cannot fathom how he neither cares nor tries to pronounce players names correctly. That is just rude and inconsiderate and unbecoming of someone who, at times, has insightful things to say, especially related to strategy and game plans.<br />
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<u>Rameez Raja</u>: Like Ravi Shastri, he has about 10 stock phrases that he uses in varying patterns. Has not done much research for years and it feels as if the only cricket he watches or follows is the little bit he sees when he is commentating.<br />
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There are others, plenty of them. If you are interested shoot me their names and I will tell you what I think of them.</div>
Jaunty Quicksandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02949958217093999874noreply@blogger.com0