The loop holes in the points system, perhaps, gave Mumbai the leeway to not force the issue and hence find their way through © Cricinfo Ltd

A bulk of the Ranji Trophy matches played this season were neither won nor lost, they were drawn. So much so, that only one outright win was enough to take Mumbai into the finals this season. The loop holes in the points system, perhaps, gave Mumbai the leeway to not force the issue and hence find their way through.

The BCCI’s scheme of granting one bonus point for every outright win with ten wickets or an innings could prove to be a good attempt in taking things forward. The plan, in fact secured Delhi its place in the Ranji knock-outs. Yet, most teams are not willing to go that extra yard. After all, taking twenty wickets is quite a task, which requires both quality and physical strength amongst the bowlers.

Perhaps, it’s time to give the Ranji Trophy a facelift and make the ‘system’ and the approach a lot more exciting. How about making the first-innings lead not as significant in the scheme of things? How about giving teams a substantial initiative for winning the game?

My suggestion would be to:

a) introduce the system of grace points for batting and bowling
b) to either completely do away with the points for first-innings lead, or to give them away nominally.

Sample this – A maximum of five batting points shall be awarded starting with 125 runs on the scorecard. After which the batting team would get a point each for every 75 runs scored till they reach a total of 425 runs, which means a maximum of five batting points. For the bowling team, every two wickets taken would mean a bowling point.

	What was the Kings XI Punjab management thinking when they decided to replace Yuvraj Singh with Kumar Sangakkara? © Associated Press

Yuvraj Singh has been replaced by Kumar Sangakkara for the top job of Kings XI Punjab for IPL 3. Some may call it a wise decision to ease off Yuvi from the responsibility of leading the side, which, in turn, may result in him prospering as a player. Some (the right wing people) may take it otherwise – “Alas! Yet another ‘essentially-Indian’ Premier League team is to be led by a non-Indian.”

Well, to the detriment of camping with the rightist, I’d insist that perhaps, for once, the wing might just have a point there. My endorsement of it though is based purely on reasons Greek to them. Of course, unlike them, I’m talking cricket.

Now don’t they say – “When in Rome, do as the Romans do!” Let’s face it – a) seven out of 11 playing members of any given IPL team are Indians, b) The setup, right from the board, management and the owner(s) are all Indians, c) Spectators/viewers are also mostly Indians.
One certainly needs to understand the dynamics of the IPL. While it boasts of a popular lineup of reputed players, it also proves to be a Mecca for domestic players waiting in the wings to make their big International debut of sorts. Playing along side their Indian idols means a world to them and trust me on this; they would go through a wall for them.

	Each domestic team should play at least eight first-class games © Cricinfo Ltd

Six different trophies, three different formats, all crammed up into a five- month window - India’s domestic season runs at a breakneck speed. To make matters a wee bit tougher for the players, only a three-day breather is granted between first-class matches (in the league phase) and even lesser between the shorter formats.

Perhaps, one wouldn’t have whined over this ‘cricket congestion’ if it had served the purpose it had accidentally set for itself. One would assume that a choc-a-block schedule like this, might amount to teams and players getting a lot more games to showcase their talent. Unfortunately though, this isn’t exactly how it transpires on the ground.

Would you believe if I were to tell you that quite a few teams/players play only five first-class matches in these five months - a match a month? And those five matches get over in five straight weeks. All hell would break loose if one gets injured or goes out of form during these five weeks. There’s hardly any scope of recuperating from an injury or regaining form in such a short time. Odds often stack up when time runs out.

	Mumbai didn't bother pushing for a win after taking a 236-run lead against Haryana, opting for batting practice on the final day instead © Cricinfo Ltd

Not even a single Ranji Trophy quarter-final match produced an outright win. All winners were decided on the basis of the first-innings lead. This happened primarily because there wasn’t enough time to go for an outright win and also there was no intention to force the result.

Neutral Curators = A good batting surface
The BCCI did the right thing by appointing neutral curators for the knock-out matches. It was the second best thing after hosting the matches on neutral venues. Yet, the curators only get a few days to prepare the track as the venues depend on the teams qualifying. All that they can do is to not allow the hosts to prepare a track which suits their needs. For example, they would not leave too much grass to assist the quick bowlers or an underprepared wicket to suit the spinners. But that invariably results in preparing a good batting surface. And in any case it’s unfair to expect a miracle in four-five days of preparation. You can’t change the nature of a particular track overnight.

Dear friends,

Till a few years ago, the knock-out matches of the Ranji Trophy were held on an home-and-away basis. Teams hosting the match had two major advantages. Preparing the pitch was their prerogative and they had the support of the home crowd. Those were days when people turned up in big numbers to watch a first-class game. And if that game happened to be between Mumbai and Delhi with all the big players available, the atmosphere would match up to an international game, or so I’m told.

Gradually the crowds starting dwindling and the home teams abused their right to prepare the track. They started preparing tracks to suit their strengths without keeping the larger interest of the game in mind. A spin-heavy attack would prepare a dustbowl to have an upper hand; similarly the team which was banking on their batsmen to win the game, started dishing out feather beds. A first-innings lead was enough to decide the winner and they were under no pressure to prepare tracks which would produce results.

The BCCI tried to counter this by appointing a chief curator to overlook the preparations. But that wasn’t enough because the chief curator didn’t have complete control over the ground staff. He would give suggestions which very few who would obey, especially when it meant putting their team in jeopardy.

Hence the BCCI was forced to have neutral venues for the knock-out matches. In my view, it was a wonderful move because it negated home advantage and tested teams on a neutral playing ground. It also meant that the knock-outs were held at Test centres and if prepared properly, most of them are capable of preparing a result-oriented pitch.

	Everything to do with umpiring is now under the purview of the umpires’ coach© Getty Images

Dear readers,

How many times have we sat in our drawing rooms and been irked by appalling umpiring decisions! You wouldn’t believe me then, if I were to tell you that, once upon a time in domestic cricket, the umpires used to be bullied by captains! Trust me, as blasphemous as this sounds, it is true. Indeed it was a “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” situation. In those days, the quality of umpiring was judged by the "captain’s report". The report required captains to mark umpires on various performance parameters such as their control over the proceedings, their positioning, decisions etc. A lot of players knew the power at their disposal and used it to suit their needs. They would write favorable reports only if the umpires obliged on the field. Some even went to the extreme of letting the umpires know that their scores in the report would depend on their on-field decisions.

Thus came in the match referees to put an end to this underhand practice. The captains continued to write their report at the end of the match though it wasn’t the final word on the umpiring anymore. All was not bad with the captain’s report. Firstly, not everyone was bullying the umpires and secondly, all umpires were not bad and hence didn’t give in to such pressures. The report also kept the players involved and allowed them to write their comments in case something went extremely wrong. It was followed up by annual meetings of captains with board officials. This provided an opportunity for the players to air their views and for the board to get first-hand information on what was ailing domestic cricket and how to work towards improving it.

	Getting young and enthusiastic spectators involved with players is a must © Cricinfo Ltd.

Dear readers,

Isn’t it a pity that there weren’t even 100 people at the ground to watch Rahul Dravid bat during Karnataka’s match against Delhi? Well, enough has been written and talked about the interest a domestic game generates or the lack of it. Not many people turn up to watch a Ranji game despite some of the international players playing and more importantly representing their own state which I guess should mean something. After all we see fierce loyalty by the same people towards their team during the IPL.

What needs to be done?

We have seen that free entry into the stadium isn’t translating into numbers and hence a different, more aggressive approach is required. It starts from publicising using different mediums and radio seems to be the easiest and cheapest way of spreading the word. The domestic matches, at least in the games where international players are available, should be built into personal clashes.

How about watching Praveen Kumar bowling to Virat Kohli? Or Suresh Raina batting against Irfan Pathan?

	Wouldn't Gambhir, in the middle of a purple patch, be the last person to want to miss out on a Test? © AFP

Hi guys,

Gautam Gambhir missed the third Test match against Sri Lanka to be there at his sister’s wedding. While the Indian team and captain MS Dhoni understood his predicament some of the Indian media had a real go at Gambhir. One news channel went to the extent of doing a half an hour show on whether ‘Desh bada ya behen?’ (Is sister bigger than the country?). This was the most ridiculous piece of news I’d come across in recent times. How can one stoop down to such level?

Haven’t cricketers done enough to prove their love for their country? Remember Sachin going back to play the World Cup match immediately after his father’s death? Or Kumble playing in the West Indies with a broken jaw? There are incidents like these which everyone knows of and then there are plenty more which are not brought into public domain. Cricket is as much a mental game as it is physical. There are things beyond physical fitness which have an impact on your game. It could be a sour relationship with your spouse, parent’s health, and children’s problems at home to name a few. Rarely have we seen Indian cricketers taking a break to address these issues (players taking a break is common in countries like England and Australia) so one must respect when Rahul Dravid wanted to be with his wife during the birth of their second child or Gautam attending his sister’s wedding.

Hi guys,

The Baroda-UP match in Ghaziabad had a sizeable crowd at the ground. The same scenes were repeated during our game against UP in Lucknow. While it’s great for the local public to get the opportunity to see their stars from close quarters without spending money, the players also feel good to finally have an audience. After all, cricket is played for a couple of core reasons and one of them is to entertain people.

Personally, I prefer having all the first-class matches at Test centers because that’s where players will eventually be playing international cricket once they graduate from the domestic level. But we have seen that, at Test centers, regardless of the players involved in the match, people don’t turn up. Perhaps it’s because they get ample opportunities to see international stars on a regular basis in both international and IPL games and hence they don’t feel the need to watch them again in the non-glamorous domestic matches. But for the people in smaller towns, it seems like a God-sent opportunity and that is made clear through their actions.

They come in big numbers and create enough noise throughout the day to make their presence felt. I remember one such game in Rohtak. There were at least 5000 people in the ground and the buzz around the stadium was unbelievable.

The only drawback of playing at smaller venues is the quality of facilities provided to the players. In Rohtak and now in Lucknow, the practice surfaces were way below par. No one in their right minds would have toyed with the idea of having a hit in the nets were a first-class game not looming large the following day. Bowlers do not bowl at full throttle and are asked not to bowl short because they could hurt the batsmen.

While the outfield in Rohtak was pretty good, the ground in Lucknow was quite uneven. On such outfields, safety is at the top of the priority list when the ball is hit in your direction, and making a good stop or affecting a run-out become secondary concerns. Let’s not forget the importance of a good playing strip, which is also an area of concern in smaller venues due to the lack of first-class games played on the strip.

Another thing that goes unnoticed is the standard of the dressing rooms. The dressing rooms and the toilets at most of the smaller venues are not good enough to host a first-class game. Also what about the basic civic amenities for the people who come to watch? These things need to be kept in mind to ensure that players are not hesitant to play at smaller centers and the spectators get value for time spent watching our matches. It’s only when all these things are taken care of that the game can reach out to more grounds and cities.

Cheers.

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November 23, 2009

Suspect action, suspect reaction

Posted on 11/23/2009 in Ranji Trophy, 2009-10

	Sarandeep Singh is one of the bowlers who have been called for chucking this season © Cricinfo Ltd.

Dear readers,

In the course of the current domestic season, the BCCI has decided to play cop to “illegal bowling actions”. Last year the board had begun a campaign through which six cameras around the ground monitored the standard of umpiring and the conduct of the game. Logically the same data was also used to take a closer look at bowling actions of bowlers with suspect actions. Towards the end of last season, the BCCI had issued a list of over 40 such bowlers. Apparently all were summoned to Bangalore by the National Cricket Academy for corrective measures.

This year, though, the board went a step ahead and empowered umpires to no-ball bowlers they thought chucked. The board has also directed umpires officiating in various age-group tournaments to follow the same protocol to stem the rot right at the beginning. In the first couple of rounds of this Ranji season, there have been quite a few instances of an umpire warning the bowler by no-balling him. A bowler can only be warned thrice before he is stopped from bowling. Thereafter he has got to go to the NCA to rectify or clear his action.

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November 17, 2009

Watching the Wall

Posted on 11/17/2009 in Ranji Trophy, 2009-10

	Always the inspiration, Rahul Dravid gets going in a Ranji match © Cricinfo Ltd

Hello folks

I wasn’t too far off from the reality when I wrote that the presence of players like VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid has a mesmerising effect on the players, especially the youngsters. In our recently concluded match against Karnataka, Dravid scored 78 on a difficult pitch. He, as usual, made batting look easy, which left most of us awestruck.

The ball was darting around, and everyone was getting beaten at least a couple of times every over. But here was Dravid, always taking a long stride forward to the balls that were pitched up, and then either playing with the sweetest spot of the bat or allowing it go to the keeper. One of us would ask the keeper if the ball had stopped moving, but the answer would always be that Dravid is just making it look like that.

Our bowlers rarely bowled a bad ball to any of the Karnataka batsmen - except Dravid. Somehow bowlers kept dishing out half-volleys regularly. Obviously it wasn’t going down well with our team because he kept dispatching them to the fence. But I knew that it was very difficult to keep all your faculties under control when someone you have always admired is standing only a few meters away.

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November 12, 2009

An unfortunate ban

Posted on 11/12/2009 in Ranji Trophy, 2009-10

Dear readers,

Let me make it clear at the outset that I’m neither authorised nor qualified to figure whether Services were justified in refusing to play their Ranji Trophy game against Jammu & Kashmir, in Srinagar. Or whether the BCCI was right in disqualifying the team. I’m writing this just to share the plight of my fellow cricketers.

A player spends a lot of time preparing for the first-class season. It is, therefore, both demoralising and frustrating to be told that his toil during the off- and pre-season has been in vain. And that he must wait a year to make a mark at the national level.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what this ban has done. Not only does it mean that players like Yashpal Singh won’t get a chance to score runs in the Ranji Trophy this year, it has also put an end to the team’s hopes of making it to the knockouts (which means promotion to the Super League), and any player's chance of being picked for North Zone. In these times, a year’s gap pushes you back at least a few seasons because of the intense competition. You are expected to start afresh next season, by which time a lot of players would have cemented their place in different sides.

The Ranji Trophy is also a platform to impress IPL teams, and this ban would now take even that opportunity away from the players. What makes it worse is that not only will players from the Services be deprived of an opportunity to play, but also that every other team in their group in the Plate League will play one match less in the league stage. One match, for teams who don’t qualify for the knockouts, makes up 20% of their first-class season, so players from these teams must perform exceptionally well over four games to be picked for zonal sides.

A cricketing colleague remarked that it was a mess of Services’ own making, that they had no business not turning up for a first-class game. Absolutely right, but what could the players have done once their association informed them that they were not going? The sad part about all this is that players seldom have a say in the decision making process. We are just told what to do and we comply.

If there has been a mistake, which is likely the case here, it demands punitive action. But while punishing the offender is justified, maybe it’s unfair to make the players pay the price. The Ranji Trophy has just turned 75, and it’s a pity if cricket and cricketers are the losers in this.

Ciao

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November 3, 2009

Real stars, reality check

Posted on 11/03/2009 in Ranji Trophy, 2009-10

	Professionalism is what professionals do © Getty Images

Hi guys

The first round of the Ranji Trophy features a lot of big names. Rahul Dravid will turn up for Karnataka against the Mohammad Kaif-led Uttar Pradesh, Zaheer Khan for Mumbai and VVS Laxman for Hyderabad among others. The mere presence of these names makes these matches very important.

Players in their respective teams get a first-hand account of what it takes to be an international cricketer. Dravid, for instance, is invariably the first man to get into the team bus, Laxman is ever so calm before going in to bat, Zaheer and Ashish Nehra spend countless hours working on their core muscles even while their team bats, and so on and so forth.

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October 27, 2009

A crowded, and sometimes chaotic, carnival

Posted on 10/27/2009 in Indian domestic cricket

Hello friends,

Imagine this - There are two nets and about 15 batsmen queuing up for a few throw downs. Quite chaotic, you might think. Before you start racking your brains let me tell you that it wasn’t some kind of competition or a coaching session. It was the scene at the nets every morning of our T20 tournament. There were four state teams playing in the two morning matches at two adjacent grounds but at the same venue. All teams shared the facilities right from the dining area to the lavatories. Only the dressing rooms were not shared as makeshift dressing rooms (a covered seating area) were erected for two teams at the adjacent ground. The scenes at the nets were quite interesting both on the eve of the match and every morning.

Firstly, batsmen were not allowed to use spikes while batting for the fear of ruining the surface. Well, would they tell the same batsmen not to wear spikes during the match? Then, since there were only two nets to accommodate players from four teams, none of the batsmen would get more than a few balls for throw downs. Is it the ideal preparation for a match?

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October 19, 2009

Looking T20, thinking Ranji

Posted on 10/19/2009 in

	Coloured clothes can wait © Cricinfo Ltd

Hello friends

The season for Delhi, like most other states, kicks off with the domestic T20 tournament starting Tuesday. I, along with my peers, am expecting the IPL teams to keep a close eye on the tournament. Good performances here might translate into a contract with a franchise and a chance to play in the coveted IPL. Ideally one would expect the batsmen to be hitting big shots and innovating in the nets, and the bowlers to bowl a lot of yorkers and slower ones. But a visit to our practice session would prove you wrong. We’re practising in white clothes and with the red ball. Most batsmen are playing proper cricket, leaving balls outside off stump and trying to hit along the ground as much as possible. The bowlers are also doing what it takes to succeed in the longer version of the game, bowling longer spells, practising to maintain a teasing line just outside off stump.

“Are we missing something?” you might wonder.

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