^^ Such a shame, isn't it? The skill gap is still there but Associate nations keep demonstrating their willpower with an amazing performance.
Broadcasters will do that as they are in for profits but ICC? That's why these ICC guys don't deserve any respect and should be called out every time they give a virtue signal on spreading the game.
With 90% of the revenues coming from India, the TV rights holders are concerned that if by some chance India gets kicked out during group phase, then they will lose massive amounts of advertisement revenues. They are conveniently forgetting the fact that during the 2007 World Cup, it was Bangladesh which caused the exit of India (not one of the associates). Pakistan lost to Ireland and they exited as well. But then Ireland is also a test nation now. Also, rather than having 4 groups of 4 teams, they should have created 2 groups of 8 teams each. I can understand Broadcaster's point of view as these companies spend billions of dollars but at the same time, ICC needs to be smart as well. At best Broadcasters demand a minimum 7-8 matches for India with a perfect schedule against Big teams and marquee fixtures It can happen if they allow more teams in the tournament with strategic scheduling of Indian fixtures but all they do is squeeze every marquee fixture in the beginning. |
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Did anyone notice, In this Spirit of the game controversy no one from England's side talking about lagging 0-2 in the Ashes?
Be it Media, Pundits or Fans, literally no discussion on how Bazball rolled over and lost the plot in the first 2 matches and too at home. In contrast, I remember how brutally Aussie media reacted when they lost 2 consecutive home series against India and I can imagine what would happen if India manage to lose 2 back to back matches on their home turf.
Having said that i'd still like to see them doubling down on an aggressive approach and in this process i am okay with both results be it 0-5 for Aussie or 3-2 for England.
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^^ Such a shame, isn't it? The skill gap is still there but Associate nations keep demonstrating their willpower with an amazing performance.
Broadcasters will do that as they are in for profits but ICC? That's why these ICC guys don't deserve any respect and should be called out every time they give a virtue signal on spreading the game.
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Looks like Ashwin and Karthik are about to retire soon from the T-20 format considering their age and their bad performances in this particular format in recent years. Am surprised that they didn't retire sooner.
It's good to see the BCCI focusing more on younger, performing players across all formats.
Their international white ball career finished already so no surprise move from the BCCI. Although these 2 guys can still play the IPL for a couple of more years. Ashwin in particular didn't look bad in his previous IPL gig and did a fine job in the last season. Every Indian player suffers from this "Not announcing retirement" problem because of brand value. |
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Despite being careless in death overs, i thought Zimbabweans are going to chase this total down with not many difficulties.
But they crumbled under pressure. Tough luck after playing good cricket in the qualification. They are virtually out of the competition unless the Netherlands beat Scotland by a big margin, in this case, everything might come down to NRR.
---
Edit
Ah, They are out!
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for every one or two series like the Ashes, we get 10 lop-sided ones.
Ashes is competitive only in England and the way the last 3 Ashes went in Australia, it looks like a disgrace to many (5-0, 4-0, 4-0). So according to last decade's data and in the context of numbers or competitiveness, almost all series are lopsided. Except for Ind vs Aus (home or away), Ashes in England, and to some extent Last 2 Indian tours of England. Having said that we do get some gems here n there tho, a couple of recent thrillers from NZ vs ENG, NZ vs SL, BAN vs WI are fine examples. |
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Lol! Just found out that Bairstow tried running out Marnus in a similar manner thanks to footage provided by the Australian media which just goes to show that the English are proper hypocrites.
He threw away his wicket at such a critical juncture of the game which is why the blame should only fall on Bairstow alone.
Invent a game, write a rule book and when someone follows the rules. Scream about the spirit of the game and cry like a baby.  I don't understand how tough is to stay in the crease, be it striker or nonstriker. A big virtue signals came from Stokes, McCullum and Broad. Ironically 1 won the WC for his team because of the hilarious rule. Back in the day, the second one denied the ton to Sangakkara by running out his partner Murli (he was celebrating), after retirement, he apologized to Sanga. Last but not least Broady, he refused to walk out when he had edged a ball and was caught by slip. |
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Yeah, stadiums are built by State Governments but at the same time, every year all the funding of State Boards comes from BCCI, not State Government.
Overall i am not arguing about who maintains the stadium or built it/ownership for that matter, my whole point is every state board gets more than enough money but still spectator experience is not good due to their ignorance.
In general there is a " chalta hai" attitude all across India. Tickets are in short supply and demand is huge. Administrators (both from the BCCI and state/municipal governments) think that they are doing some sort of charity by allowing fans inside the stadiums. And level of corruption is just huge. At each and every level, commissions are involved. Food vendors and washroom maintenance contractors are selected on the basis of who can pay the maximum amount of bribes, and not based on their quality of work. Given this, you should not be surprised about the lack of quality. "Chalta hai" Attitude might be one of the reasons but to me, main reason looks like, these guys just don't respect spectators and the public. These folks know that there is more than enough demand and even if they treat their audience like shit, they will still come in masses. |
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~
But they are still shitty when it comes to their own cricketing infrastructure. If we leave out VIP boxes then it's a very sad situation in every stadium, Motera might be exceptional but the ones i have attended so far, the majority of em were really bad. During IPL they are okay but everything goes down to shit when it's over. From what i understand the BCCI is not funding the state Cricket boards to built stadiums, all the infrastructure should be maintained by the respected owners, some are privately held and some are held by the respective state boards and the stadiums that meets the BCCI standards will get the opportunity to host International matches. The exception you mentioned about Motera Stadium is simply because it is renovated recently, all new stadiums will have the same quality and the older it gets and the way in which they maintain, the quality goes down. Yeah, stadiums are built by State Governments but at the same time, every year all the funding of State Boards comes from BCCI, not State Government. Overall i am not arguing about who maintains the stadium or built it/ownership for that matter, my whole point is every state board gets more than enough money but still spectator experience is not good due to their ignorance. |
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It was a damn funny, not just run-out but a meltdown after that as well. Plenty of drama so far which is suitable for spectators.
Atm everything is possible because Ben Stokes is there and he seems so changing gears so i won't count England out right now. Cummins should bowl against him more, it's a good match up as both of em are clutch players.
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I think Poms are pulling back nicely, they might have a real shot if they wrap Aussie's tail cheaply and they are 1 batter short i suppose because Lyon is injured and won't be able to bat.
Nathan Lyon came out to bat and it is a matter of time that England fold their innings but the target right now is 355 runs plus the runs they will be able to add in the last wicket and Australia will be bowling the bouncers just like the England bowlers and it is not an easy target to get in the final innings. With the attacking game if the openers give them a good start then it will be interesting. Idk how he's walking atm, everyone (media, commentators) did all the theatrics of his walking on crutches and not being able to walk at all for a few days but here he is? Must be a brave call from the Lyon or the injury wasn't that serious. Aur maybe these fuckers chutiya bana rahe hai public ko.
I believe Poms have a chance to level a series 1-1. |
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England's bouncer tactics are boring as hell. Australia is playing very sensibly which is why such tactics are pointless against them at the moment. None of their bowlers are able to produce the much needed breakthrough.
Australia might even end up providing a lead close to 420 at the rate at which they are going sealing the game and possibly the series too.
It's not just England but Australia also followed the short ball and well directed bouncer tactics as there is hardly any lateral movement. I think Poms are pulling back nicely, they might have a real shot if they wrap Aussie's tail cheaply and they are 1 batter short i suppose because Lyon is injured and won't be able to bat. |
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Now it's almost confirmed that West Indies will not qualify for the ODI World Cup this year. Scotland needs just 89 more runs, with 9 wickets in hand. And if by some miracle Scotland can win their remaining two matches (against Zimbabwe and Netherlands), then they will be able to qualify to the World Cup. At this point, it looks like Sri Lanka will qualify with ease. And this is going to be the first time that West Indies could not qualify for the ODI World Cup. They were the champions in 1975 and 1979, and played all the editions to date.
Yeah, the Scots are in a good position so it's fair to say Windies are knocked out of the world cup race. Weirdly surprised that a nearly full strength Windies team was beaten by not 1 but 2 teams and one of them was an associate nation. Scotland will become 2nd associate today if they successfully chased down this humble target. |
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Bazball seems to be hurting Poms here. I am not against this approach per se, i actually admire the fact that they are trying to do something new with their cricket, which was needed badly. There is nothing wrong with the attacking style of Cricket but they need to play carefully when the situation is not in their favor and they are failing to adapt to the situation when they are facing tough competition. In the second innings in this match the England middle order tried to play a defensive innings but they failed to stay in the crease for a longer period and it is a matter of time Australia built a huge task and win the match if rain stays away. Yeah, they should at least be aware when they are at the top. At one point, they were in a great position but a mix of amazing bowling and reckless batting damaged their cause and resulted in 90 odd runs lead. I am still hopeful tho, not for this match but remaining 3 fixtures. |
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^^ BCCI might be rich and generate more than enough revenue in the context of the ICC setup.
But they are still shitty when it comes to their own cricketing infrastructure. If we leave out VIP boxes then it's a very sad situation in every stadium, Motera might be exceptional but the ones i have attended so far, the majority of em were really bad. During IPL they are okay but everything goes down to shit when it's over.
The state governments also impose tax of up to 28% over the ticket price (on top of that, they charge exorbitant amounts for providing security and ruling politicians demand thousands of complementary passes). And they never do anything for the cricket fans. I understand the criticism directed towards the BCCI, but not everything is black and white here. In India, attending cricket matches is considered as a luxury, and politicians believe that they should tax such super-rich people to the brim. An example here: https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/thiruvananthapuram/story/kerala-minister-abdurahim-entertainment-tax-tickets-india-sri-lanka-thiruvananthapuram-odi-2319587-2023-01-10Yeah, that's absolutely correct but i'd blame BCCI for this as well. They have the power of distributing revenue, they actually control it and if they are determined then they could just fix such an issue or minimize the damage by just stopping funding the state board or at least advocate some sort of penalties. Just recently they handed out more than 500 crores INR to 10 WC venues for renovation. Upgradation of the Outfield, lights, and new tech integration all are important but when 100s of crores are spent i am sure they could take care of small things (food, hygiene etc)as well, which is a basic need for the spectators. |
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^^ BCCI might be rich and generate more than enough revenue in the context of the ICC setup.
But they are still shitty when it comes to their own cricketing infrastructure. If we leave out VIP boxes then it's a very sad situation in every stadium, Motera might be exceptional but the ones i have attended so far, the majority of em were really bad. During IPL they are okay but everything goes down to shit when it's over.
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Bazball seems to be hurting Poms here. I am not against this approach per se, i actually admire the fact that they are trying to do something new with their cricket, which was needed badly.
But at the same time lot of brainless cricket is going on, sometimes it even looks like amateur cricket and in contrast, Aussie just going with their usual Ashes business.
Hope they bounce back otherwise plenty of Op-eds are coming soon.
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So Nathan Lyon got seriously injured (calf strain). Not sure about the complete series but he'll surely not bowling in this match anymore. Definitely a big setback for Australia and let's hope it doesn't ruin their Ashes campaign. Maybe time for Todd Murphy to get his first Ashes match. ------------ Edit Head doing what Rooty did in the first inning. |
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I would say not a bad response from the Poms. For now, everything looks in balance because
First, they took the last 7 Aussie wickets quickly and gave only 100-ish runs and when it comes to bat, then they already put 100 runs on the scoreboard and lost only 1 wicket. Looks like they will comfortably avoid the follow on. Nathan Lyon has taken the only wicket to fall so far. This is quite strange actually. The pitch was rumored to offer a lot of support for pacers, but it is the spinners who are looking threatening. When Australia was batting, it was Joe Root who troubled them in the first day before the pacers cleaned up the lower order. And now among the Australian bowlers, it is the lone spinner who has taken the only wicket to fall so far. Anyway, the partnership between Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope has added 54 runs so far for the second wicket. England looks to be quite comfortable at this point. Out of 12 wickets, only 3 wickets fell against spin so i won't read into it much. Having said that there was literally some weird turn, which happens in India frequently on the 3-4-5th day. For now, Poms are looking good, almost 200 up and they only lost 2 wickets. Aussie might get into some trouble as this match or series progresses because Lyon just got injured i supposed, let's hope it's just a cramp and not some serious issue. |
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I would say not a bad response from the Poms. For now, everything looks in balance because
First, they took the last 7 Aussie wickets quickly and gave only 100-ish runs and when it comes to bat, then they already put 100 runs on the scoreboard and lost only 1 wicket.
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