http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/ Life in India's domestic cricket en Copyright 2009 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:08:34 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss

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. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/watching_the_wall.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/watching_the_wall.php Ranji Trophy, 2009-10 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:08:34 +0000 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 http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/an_unfortunate_ban.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/an_unfortunate_ban.php Ranji Trophy, 2009-10 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:56:47 +0000

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. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/real_stars_reality_check.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/real_stars_reality_check.php Ranji Trophy, 2009-10 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:21 +0000 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? http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/10/a_crowded_and_sometimes_chaoti.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/10/a_crowded_and_sometimes_chaoti.php Indian domestic cricket Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:59:46 +0000

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. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/10/looking_t20_thinking_ranji.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/10/looking_t20_thinking_ranji.php Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:40:58 +0000 Dear Chintan, We used to follow a similarly formatted schedule earlier i.e. playing a one-day match a day before the longer version. But all this changed when the Elite and Plate divisions were introduced in the Ranji Trophy. The old zonal system continued for the one-day tournament, though. Hence, it isn’t possible to hold both formats in the same week. I won’t be surprised to see the Elite and Plate divisions introduced soon in the shorter format as well. Yes, I completely agree that there could be more matches in the Duleep trophy. Posted by: Angi on February 24, 2009 11:20 AM Dharamsala is a beautiful place - wonderful scenery and locations. I'm a bit curious to know one thing: when did you first debut in the Ranji Trophy? I mean, did you represent your school teams first and then some clubs - basically, how did you get noticed? Dear Angi, I made my first class debut in 1997 against Services. Yes, one needs to play for the school team, then some club and eventually in age-group tournaments for the state. One must do well enough in the age-group tournaments to get noticed and picked to play for the state team at first-class level. Posted by: Vikram Kewalramani on February 24, 2009 12:31 PM Hey Aakash, Love your book. I live in Canada but I made sure that I got one sent to me as I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts. According to you, what is the difference in pre-match preparation between a Test player v/s an above-average Ranji player for the same game? (Let’s say a Laxman versus a Mithun Minhas.) Or to compare Apples with apples (how do you/ Gambhir differ in preparation versus a Rajat Bhatia/ Minhas? ) Thanks, Vikram Dear Vikram, Many thanks for your feedback and I appreciate the effort you made to get hold of my book; and I’m glad that you liked it. There is always some difference in the way each one approaches and prepares for an event i.e. a match in our case. Some players like to bat for hours prior to the match and on the eve of the match, they simply refuse to leave the nets. Then there are some who don’t bat in the nets at all especially on the eve of the game. They prefer to have a few throw downs instead. Some people give a lot of emphasis on visualization and try to simulate the match situation before the game starts. In the end, it’s all about what works for each individual. There are no fool proof methods of preparing. As they say, if you’re not prepared to succeed you must be ready to fail. Hence, prepare we must. Posted by: Raghu on February 24, 2009 3:18 PM Aakash, saw your scores in the tournament, looks like you’re on a purple patch, hope you continue making the big runs. Here's my question - I am sure its hard to adjust to a higher level of the game when you take a step up but how difficult is it for a player to adjust to a lower level of the game after having played at the highest level? For instance you have played in the best of the grounds and against the best bowlers in the world in Australia, so how difficult is it to adjust to the not-so-great grounds and face lower quality - if I may say so - bowling in domestic cricket. Dear Raghu, Thanks for your wishes. Well, it doesn’t take me a lot to adjust to domestic cricket because I’ve been around for a while. I played quite a few seasons in this circuit before making it to the top and therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise. Yes, the difference does seem more blatant when you’ve played at the top. Posted by: Ravi on February 24, 2009 4:19 PM As usual, a nice article from you Aakash. Nowadays I’ve got so habituated to reading your articles, I am checking for one everyday when I logon to Cricinfo. You’ve hit the nail on the head regarding scheduling. As you said the elite/plate should be introduced here to bring out the best out of the players. But why is it that players get selected in the ODI team based on their performances in four-day games instead of the shorter format? Dear Ravi, Yes, there’s some food for thought in what you say. As I’ve said earlier, I won’t be surprised to see the Elite and Plate division system introduced in the shorter format as well. Yes, it does seem a little unfair to select players to represent India in the shorter format based on their performances in the longer format, but that’s where the selectors come in. They’re the ones who decide whether someone is suited for the shorter version or not. Since they’ve played at the highest level, they generally tend to get it right. Posted by: Denzil Correa on February 24, 2009 4:54 PM Hi Aakash, I am a near regular follower of your blog and most articles on Cricinfo. I would like to know whether players’ opinions are taken into consideration while deciding the itinerary. In international cricket, the two member boards sit and decide the itinerary. Who decides the same for the domestic matches? All the best for your one-day campaign. If possible, can you explain how teams qualify for the Ranji one-dayers? Thanks Dear Denzil, Thanks for your feedback. No, the players’ opinions aren’t taken into consideration while chalking out the schedule for the domestic competitions. There’s a valid reason for that. There are 27 teams playing the domestic circuit and it’s impossible to have a representative from every team on board while chalking out the itinerary. The top two teams from each zone qualify for the Knock Out one-day competition. Posted by: Aditya on February 24, 2009 4:57 PM Hi Aakash, Beautiful post again. I had a question for you: Just like you discussed about cricket balls in your two previous blogs, can you give us insights into a batsman's gear such as bats, pads, helmets, etc? I know there are English and Kashmir willow bats. Which ones are better and why? Keep writing, regards, Aditya Dear Aditya, Thanks for your feedback. The bats made from English willow are much better in comparison to the bats made from their Kashmiri counterpart. The difference lies in the climate in which the tree is grown. The climate in Kashmir gets hotter in the summer and hence the wood gets dry as compared to the region in which the trees are grown in England. The wood from England is less dense and has more moisture when compared to the willow from Kashmir which is more dense and dry, and hence makes the wood heavier, which isn’t ideal for a top quality cricket bat. Posted by: Satyanand on February 25, 2009 4:10 AM Hi Aakash , I have always wondered why the domestic matches are not popular ,whereas the IPL seems to be such a success. If we ignore the four foreign players per team , it would basically boil down to a majority of Indian players. Most Ranji matches nowadays are playing to empty stands . Any thoughts on how to improve the attendance? For one, I think the State/Club youth teams can be encouraged to watch and learn from the matches (at least). Dear Satyanand, At the risk of sounding bizarre, I think that we might have to make the Ranji trophy matches day-night affairs. It wouldn’t be a bad option to start the game under lights at 3pm. This would mean that the second half of the day's play would be at prime time and I’m sure that people in this country would like to watch live cricket even if it’s a domestic match. Posted by: Akash on February 25, 2009 11:41 AM Hi Aakash, Very good one mate. A request for your next blog: is the money earned through domestic cricket sustainable? Can all domestic cricketers earn enough for sustenance of their families or they have to alternative work during off season......after they retire ...etc? Dear Akash, The BCCI must be given credit for pumping in the money for domestic cricket. Nowadays if a player plays an entire season of domestic cricket he makes enough money to maintain a decent lifestyle. Besides that, most first class cricketers are working for one organization or another and are therefore drawing a comfortable monthly salary from their employers as well. So they don’t really have to work in the off-season, but they are required to turn up for the matches their respective organizations play during the off-season. I'm sorry for not being able to answer all the questions as that's a slightly difficult task on the blog. So in the meantime please browse my website which is called www.cricketaakash.com and feel free to ask questions and give feedback. Cheers.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/answers_to_your_questions_1.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/answers_to_your_questions_1.php Indian domestic cricket Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:46:14 +0000 Chak De, but our last 47 overs on the field (the match was reduced to 47 overs a side) reminded me of that ‘Yeh 70 minute’ speech that Shah Rukh Khan gives his players before the finals. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/the_cuttack_chronicles.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/the_cuttack_chronicles.php Deodhar Trophy, 2008-09 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:30:08 +0000

The damage in the attack on the Sri Lankan team was limited because the bus was able to move, once the driver got going © Getty Images

Dear readers, This post is not about domestic cricket or perhaps, not even about cricket, but about the prevailing circumstances in the game and our society in general. Today, this piece appeared in the Hindustan Times and I felt the need to share it with the people who follow my blog here. So here goes.... The terror attack in Lahore brought back memories of the time I spent in Pakistan during the 2004 tour. The security blanket thrown around us was unprecedented. Our team bus was part of a convoy that had a fire brigade, an ambulance, and helicopter surveillance along with quite a few police vehicles. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/safety_harnesses.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/safety_harnesses.php Security concerns Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:05:20 +0000 Dear readers, We’re in Agartala for the knock-out rounds of the Vijay Hazare trophy. For those who are not aware Agartala - the capital of Tripura - is located in the far east of India. One needs to take a flight from Kolkata and fly over Bangladesh to reach here. We realised its proximity to our neighboring country as soon as we landed. The network for mobile phones, if not selected manually, tends to log onto Grameen, the telecom service provider in Bangladesh. So if you’re not careful you might end up paying a lot of money for making and receiving calls under the international roaming rates. http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/dear_readers_were_in_agartala.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/03/dear_readers_were_in_agartala.php Ranji one-dayers 2008-09 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:49:40 +0000

The Ranji one-day matches for North Zone were conducted in Himachal Pradesh this year. The choice of venue is based on a rotation policy and this year it was their turn to host the games. The state needs to have three grounds to hold this tournament because three matches are played every match day as we have five state teams and the Services in the north zone. We played our first two games in one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world – the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Ground in Dharamsala. The snow-covered peaks in the backdrop add to the charm of playing cricket in this mountain city. The hotel we chose to stay in was about half an hour's drive away from the ground and driving in that kind of terrain can be a bit of a bother for some, but once you set foot on the ground, everything else fades into oblivion. I must mention here that a lot of thinking and hard work has gone into building this facility and other associations can take a cue on just how much can be achieved if one has vision and the passion. The track is also almost ideal to play cricket on as it offers enough for everyone in the business. It won't be long before an international match or a national camp is held here. The tournament finishes in nine days as the matches are held on every alternate day and if the rest day in-between includes travelling, it can get gruelling for the players. Contrary to popular belief, a one-day match takes a lot out of a player and the lack of adequate rest and time to recover can lead to injuries and fatigue. One might suggest a player-rotation system but with selection for the Deodhar Trophy, the one-day zonal tournament, at stake one can't afford to take a break because in the end it's all about the numbers: how many runs and how many wickets a player took. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/picturesque_venues_tiresome_tr.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/picturesque_venues_tiresome_tr.php Ranji one-dayers 2008-09 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:41:22 +0000

Unforgettable friendships are formed, while sharing the best times of one's life with team-mates © Cricinfo Ltd

Dear friends Talking about cities and suchlike certainly isn't my cup of tea, but having returned to this splendidly beautiful place, Dharamsala, I felt obliged to write something about this place, to share my feelings with pen and paper, or monitor and keyboard as it is for me now. We are in Dharamsala for our one-day matches. I have been here a few times before, but every time I return I feel a renewed love for this state. It is so beautiful and serene, one couldn't ask for a better getaway from the chaos and rush that big cities are partial to. We have matches on alternate days and that allowed us a free day in between to simply laze around, a luxury in our hometowns where we are constantly on the run - even on rest days. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/enjoying_it_while_it_lasts.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/enjoying_it_while_it_lasts.php Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:18:25 +0000

That red thing in his hand is a Kookaburra, but chances are Siddharth Trivedi didn't get to practise with it © Getty Images

Dear readers In the previous post I wrote about the decision, taken a couple of years ago, to use the Kookaburra ball in the Duleep Trophy. We were excited about this change, but we faced a strange situation right at the beginning. These Kookaburra balls are really expensive - over Rs 3000 - and hence were not made available for use in our practice sessions, even on the days before the matches. It was a little bizarre to practise with an SG Test ball when the game was to be played with the Kookaburra. But who were we to complain, and more importantly to whom? The second bit of surprise came when the match referee explained the playing conditions to the captains. It was decided that the ball would not be changed even if it went out of shape. Reason? There weren't enough spare balls available! The hosting association was provided with only six to eight new balls to conduct the match, out of which one was to be used at the start of every innings in the match. They were given a cushion of four additional balls in case the teams took new balls after 80 overs. It goes without saying that the number of balls provided to the fielding team to choose the match ball from kept reducing by one with every innings. Normally, the fielding team is provided with 10-12 balls to choose from, but these were not normal balls. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/the_elusive_kookaburra.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/the_elusive_kookaburra.php Duleep Trophy, 2008-09 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:49:16 +0000

'The SG Test ball doesn't swing much when it's new' ©AFP

Dear readers, A couple of years ago the BCCI decided to use Kookaburra balls in the Duleep Trophy to give our domestic players a feel of this type of ball, as at the international level, except for the Test cricket played in India and England, this ball is commonly used. We, in India, use the SG Test ball and England plays with either a Duke or a Readers ball (these two are quite similar to the SG Test balls used in India). But even that is restricted only to the red balls because the shorter formats all over the world are played with the white Kookaburra ball. It was exactly the same in the Indian domestic circuit till the introduction of the Kookaburra ball for the Duleep Trophy. The longer format, before this move, was played with the SG Test ball and the one-day matches with the white Kookaburra ball.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/decoding_the_sg_and_kookaburra_1.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/02/decoding_the_sg_and_kookaburra_1.php Indian domestic cricket Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:32:13 +0000

"Duleep Trophy might have lost a bit of its sheen and importance in the recent past, but it is still very dear to me" © Cricinfo Ltd

Dear readers When I started playing first-class cricket about a decade ago, the whole purpose of playing Ranji Trophy was to do enough to get picked for North Zone in Duleep Trophy. The Ranji format was different back then. Teams were divided into zones, and would play each other before the top two qualified for the knock-outs. Hence the media coverage was also restricted to the matches in the particular zone. For example we would rarely get to know about the matches happening in the south or east. I'm sure it must have been the same for other zones too. Doing well was important and one got noticed all right, but only in his respective zone - unless someone did something out of the ordinary, something like a triple-century or 15 wickets in a match. The knock-out matches were always pretty important, but there were only a handful of teams involved. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/01/no_longer_the_national_tournam.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/01/no_longer_the_national_tournam.php Duleep Trophy, 2008-09 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:47:44 +0000

Dear readers, Though this post has probably got nothing to do with domestic cricket, my book most certainly does have. I'll take the liberty of taking you through the journey of how Beyond the Blues happened. At the insistence of Siddhartha Vaidyanathan, a friend and former Cricinfo journalist, I started keeping a diary for the 2007-08 first-class season. Even though I had read quite a few rather popular diaries in England, I was sceptical about the interest such a book would generate with the Indian reading audience. People in India don't follow domestic cricket as closely as they do in England and perhaps that's why there has never been a book written about India's domestic cricket. The second issue preventing me from writing the book was the discipline and effort it would require. I knew that once started, I had to commit myself to write almost everyday, and that included days when I would come back home knackered after the day’s play, days when I would fail on the field and writing would be the last thing on my mind and on days when nothing of note would happen and hence would find it equally difficult to write. But when I did start writing eventually, little did I know that it would become a book some day. I started writing notes at the end of the day and started enjoying it. Within two months into the season I had written over 20,000 words and that's when I realised I needed to see it through till the end. Writing at the end of a day's play was keeping me on my toes during the day as well. Though I wrote on days when I didn't do well, it wasn't a happy feeling. I would constantly tell myself that it would read quite badly in the end if I have a poor season; that I'm commenting and recording everyone's performances while I scored only a handful of runs. A very scary thought indeed. Not that it prevented me from nicking the ball outside off-stump to the keeper, but it did add that extra focus to do well. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/01/how_i_wrote_beyond_the_blues.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/01/how_i_wrote_beyond_the_blues.php Beyond the Blues Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:04:51 +0000