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| Image Credit: magnific.com |
Hello Sports lovers,
Hope a sporting action filled month has treated you well so far. First of all I would like to mention that due to some health issues I could not publish the June edition of Sports talk of the month. But this month it seems like there is plenty to talk about. In a long time this has been a month when major sporting actions from different parts of the globe arrived to entertain us. This was the month that hosted Women's T20 World cup, Wimbledon tennis, FIFA World cup as well as some exciting international cricketing action. Australian women's team's seventh T20 World cup title, Spain's second FIFA World cup title, Jannik Sinner's second consecutive Wimbledon singles title including a win against Djokovic in the semis were some of the major sporting highlights of the month. Before the month comes to a conclusion Indian sports lovers got another reason to cheer as Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won India's first gold medal in women's 48 kg weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games. Hopefully many more to be added to the medals tally.
Let's start with Women's T20 World cup. Indian team hasn't won a single T20 World cup till date whereas the Aussies clinched their 7th title this year. That shows the gap we still have with the best in the world despite organising highly competitive T20 league like Women's Premier League (WPL). End of the day what matters is how a team shows character and grabs the crucial moments to win a knockout match or a big tournament. It's fair to say that we were not at our best in the recently concluded T20 World cup. Loosing a crucial game against South Africa and then facing Australia in a crunch game was tough. Our team was good in patches and that's not sufficient to win a global title.
A new direction with a lot more aggressive approach is indeed the need of the hour. Changing the captain or coach is not the obvious solution. If the same group can take the team forward successfully then nothing like that. Talent scouting needs to happen lot more aggressively. WPL is definitely a great platform to showcase talent but how those talents are nurtured to face the big stage is what matters. Players need to play a fearless brand of cricket to succeed in the shortest format of the game. And that confidence for the players to express themselves needs to come from the top. Hopefully stakeholders of Indian cricket take corrective measures sooner than later to ensure that women in blue shine brighter on global stages more frequently.
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| Sophie Molineux proved her credentials as captain in her first big assignment Image Credit: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses /by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
On the other hand the eventual champions Australia played like true champions. Fearless cricket, playing to their strength, adapting to the conditions quickly and big players leading from the front in big matches were some of the prominent features of this team throughout the tournament. The way they performed it was hard to believe that two of their senior pros & ex captains in Meg Lanning & Alyssa Healy have retired not long back. Under the newly appointed captain Sophie Molineux the transition seemed effortless. She herself was under the injury cloud prior to the big tournament. But the way she performed both as a player & leader was commendable. Despite having several other prominent candidates for captaincy she was appointed as the captain around six months back and the way she has delivered in her first big tournament, that definitely shows how Australian cricket keeps producing such wonderful leaders.
Talking about soccer World cup, yet another World cup & the buzz once again was not what it used to be a decade or two back. Surprisingly none of the prominent television channels opted for the broadcasting rights of the global tournament in India. That itself tells the story of how the global event slowly loosing its old charm. It was a heartbreak for the fans of both the Latin American giants Argentina & Brazil since the former failed to win consecutive titles after their defeat in the final and latter failing to make it to final four one more time. Spain was consistent throughout the tournament and was deserving champions. With this victory they once again established their dominance in European football. Icons like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Modric may not participate in the next global tournament four years from now. But football fans would expect next generation talents led by Mbappe, Haaland or Yamal would take forward the legacy of FIFA World cup with grace.
Talking about cricketing actions it was a busy month with almost all the major teams starting the new season with zeal. Let's start with men in blue. Not the start they would have wanted for yet another packed season. New T20I captain Shreyas Iyer's debut was not ideal at all. India lost their first ever T20I series against Ireland 0-2 followed by a 0-4 debacle against England. Recently crowned T20 World champions got a proper drubbing in the UK and their troubles continued as they lost the ODI series too against England. Controversial team selections, fitness issues with key players in addition to speculations of rift among key stakeholders were what doing the rounds in the entire tour. A 3-0 T20I series win against Zimbabwe post the England series would have been some sort of relief for the captain & team management. Women in blue post their disappointing T20 World cup campaign were able to restore some pride by registering a dominant test match win against England at the historic Lord's ground. Now key players of the team are once again honing their T20 skills in the Hundred competition organised in the same country.
West Indies men's team registered a rare test series victory with the margin of 1-0 against Sri Lanka after winning the T20I series against the same opponent last month. But consistency has been a big issue for them in ODIs. They lost the home ODI series against New Zealand 2-3 after some really disappointing performances by their batting group. This was their second consecutive home ODI series loss since they lost against Sri Lanka 0-1 last month. Now their chances of an automatic qualification for ODI World cup next year is in real danger. Currently they are competing with Pakistan in a home test series which will be followed by a tour to India for white ball series which will be a real test for them. Hopefully their hard work to regain their cricketing pride pays off sooner than later.
Zimbabwe having a really busy season. Post their encouraging performance in T20 World cup earlier this year they are on a real high. They have registered series wins against Bangladesh in test & ODIs whereas lost the T20I series earlier this month. After loosing the 3 match T20I series against India they will be gearing up to face Australia in a home ODI series. Getting opportunities to play against top teams will only give them more confidence to perform well in big tournaments.
Talking about franchise leagues Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA completed yet another power packed season whereas island nation Sri Lanka is busy with their annual league SLPL. English cricketers are competing with their fellow foreign counterparts in the Hundred tournament (For both men & women). Among so much sporting actions in a month it's difficult to point out one or two incredible achievements or incidents. I could shortlist three of the major stories which I felt were worth mentioning in this edition of Sports talk of the month. Let's start then.
Topsy-Turvy Road For The World Champions
Past one month or so has been really tough for the Indian men's cricket team. What seemed to be a new beginning post T20 World cup triumph didn't go as planned. Under new leader Shreyas Iyer men in blue lost six out of seven T20Is played against Ireland & England (One game getting washed out). Biggest shock was though the 0-2 series loss against Ireland. Without underestimating the Irish team it is fair to say that the current T20 World champions played way below their potential. Questions were plenty in terms of team selection, individual form & fitness, adaptability in different conditions & most importantly the overall strategy of the team management. There is no point throwing one or two individuals under the bus since it was a collective failure. Thorough introspection & review is required to improve the performance rather than just blind criticism.
With the return of some of the big names for the ODI series it was expected that the results will change. But 1-2 ODI series loss against England was another major blow to a team which is building towards next year's ODI World cup. As usual blame game has already been at its peak in media circle considering the team has been struggling in tests & ODIs for a while now. An embarrassing loss in the T20Is made it worse. Despite having all the talent & required facilities to grow the talent men in blue still struggling in overseas conditions. English men once again exposed India's age old weakness in bowler friendly conditions. Batting friendly pitches in IPL is definitely one of the major factors for such under performance in trying conditions. Let's talk about some of the factors which at this point of time seem major concern areas.
Firstly team selection has been a major talking point throughout the series in the UK which is justified. It has been observed lately that we are not selecting players based on conditions, form or fitness. In seam friendly conditions where Bumrah has been rested (T20Is) it would have been ideal to bank upon Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj or the old horse Bhuvneshwar Kumar. All of them are fresh from some very good performances in IPL this year. Specially Bhuvi's non selection was a real shock considering we were handing debuts to newcomers or depending on bowlers who are yet to be tested in overseas conditions. Lack of experience hurt India badly throughout the T20I series. The youngsters looked under pressure and didn't have the answers to the challenges thrown at them.
Secondly selection of playing eleven was a clear indication of lack of clarity which we somehow guarded behind the excuse of experimentation or finding the right combination. A player of Sanju Samson's calibre getting dropped after three matches in favour of young prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was a real shock specially when Sanju has proved his mettle at the big stage. Again dropping Vaibhav after three games and going back to Sanju was not just a blow to the youngster's confidence it clearly showcased team management's lack of backing of players.
Another frustrating feature which has been constant in India's recent team selections was their obsessive search for seam bowling allrounder. If Hardik Pandya is not fit we get desperate for a replacement and in that desperation we keep trying bits and pieces players rather than specialists. It's time we make peace with the fact that we are unable to produce quality seam bowling allrounders for whatever reasons. Let's focus on our strengths and capitalise on the same instead of trying to build something which might not be our forte in long term.
Third aspect that seems to be pivotal in this entire debacle is fitness issue. If our players aren't able to sustain the grind of international cricket then it's the responsibility of all the stakeholders of Indian cricket to chalk out a clear plan on how we want to go about it. Whether creating some breathing space in the cricket calendar to allow the players to work on their long term fitness or selecting fit only players irrespective of their age is the way forward needs to be decided. More frustrating was despite some of the players being usual suspects in terms of fitness keep getting opportunities and eventually disrupt the team balance once they get injured. It was fair on Gill's part to say that players unable to sustain for two or three consecutive games is a real concern & that concern must be addressed.
Though it may sound weird to Indian fans but it's high time that the team management comes up with a plan to not get affected by constant injury concerns to regulars like Bumrah or Pandya. It's time we aggressively work on the back up options. Whether they come from the younger group or the discarded veterans don't matter. We can't just keep coming back with the excuses of absence of Pandya or Bumrah to hide our shortcomings.
If we talk about last ten years or so first Dhoni and then Kohli made sure that fitness of the players gets utmost importance. It was one of the major factors behind selection or non selection of players. But at this point of time it seems like one of the most important aspects of any sports getting overlooked in Indian cricket. This can't be extended for long. Both the current captains Shubman & Shreyas have to put forward standard of fitness as the highest criteria to be able to play for country. At the same time they themselves have to exhibit top level fitness. It's not only on the field but off the field too they have to be the role model for their teammates.
Fitness has been a concern for all the international teams at the moment amid a packed calendar of international cricket & franchise leagues. But that can't be an excuse for a top side like India. Either we have to form our own model or need to take lessons from how other teams are managing the same issue. Absolute transparency among players & team management in terms of fitness standards is a must. Hopefully with proper measures in place soon we will witness improved fitness standards among our players.
Another factor that somewhat has led to below par performances overseas was lack of tours for junior or India A teams. Earlier such tours were a commonality. That used to provide lot of information to the team management in terms of oppositions or conditions and startegise accordingly. Another benefit of those series was players performing in junior teams used to create possibility of entering the senior team. But now a days such tours are very less resulting in lack of information of the conditions or opponents. Hopefully future tour programmes start including such tours more frequently which can be an ideal platform for players to showcase their talent in difficult conditions. With both the white ball World cups lined up in next two years in addition to participation in Olympics, Indian team needs to get their acts together quickly to be better prepared for the global stage.
Abrupt End To An Exciting Combination
Next big story of the month was definitely the departure of both the architects of England men's team's unique approach towards test cricket popularly known as Bazball. Captain Ben Stokes, arguably England's best ever allrounder took a shocking retirement decision from international cricket and then it was the turn of the coach McCullum who got relieved of his test duties soon after. He now only leads their white ball setup. Even though a drastic change in English cricket was inevitable because of the recent happenings both off & on the field but it had its seeds sowed for some time now. The actual turmoil started since their disastrous performance in the last Ashes where they seemed to be completely clueless. Post series there were talks of difference of opinions between the captain & coach though both of them denied such rumours.
Constant criticism by media & former cricketers, couple of off the field incidents of breaching team protocols involving captains Stokes & Brook, failure to win marque series against Australia & India and a downward graph of overall results for past one year were some of the major factors behind the dismissal of one of the most talked about playing styles in test cricket in recent times.
During their last series against New Zealand Captain Stokes' involvement in one of the late night incidents which was a clear incident of breaching team protocols was kind of a final nail in the coffin. For any sporting team discipline is one of the most important parameters to assess their success. In fact sports persons are role models for many because of their non negotiable discipline. Breach of protocol by captain of the team is really unacceptable irrespective of the stature of the person. Though there was no immediate action on both the players involved in the incident (Gus Atkinson being the other player) apart from sitting out in one of the test matches, there was buzz of Stokes' retirement or removal. Whether there was internal pressure or it was a result of self assessment by Stokes was hard to find out but surely this was coming for a while now. Surprisingly immediately after declaring retirement from international cricket Stokes was seen participating in county cricket.
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| Stokes will be thoroughly missed in the England test team Image Credit: BBC News اردو, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
Coming back to the on field results definitely there was a dip in team's performance. The way Stokes-McCullum partnership started and took everybody by surprise with their ultra attacking style of batting display it was expected somewhere down the line to get trapped by opponent teams. First Australia (Both home & away), then India & now even New Zealand seemed to tackle their one dimensional approach in test cricket with ease. Not able to beat a rather inexperienced Indian team (Series was drawn) during last home summer followed by heavy defeat in Ashes were difficult pills to swallow for the stakeholders of English cricket and those two results created serious question marks over the continuity of their debatable approach in test cricket.
Not playing according to match conditions, reckless shot selection by most of the batters, blindly chasing the end goal without a plan B in case of failure of plan A became some of the common features in the batting display of English batters. Since the inception of the WTC cycle they not only have failed to qualify for the finals but performed poorly throughout all the cycles. End of the day results what matter be it in sports or in organization culture. Bazball eventually was failing to produce the desired results. But the bigger question is are only Stokes & McCullum responsible for this debacle? Had the big guns in the board raised the red flags earlier with respect to results or approach? Saturation point can't come all of a sudden. Or was it constant criticism in the cricketing circle that forced the stakeholders to pull the plug on Bazball all of a sudden? McCullum could have continued in his role and combined with the new captain to take the test team forward. But his removal clearly indicates that the board has lost faith in his style and wants a new leadership group to take charge to reverse their fortunes in the longest format of the game.
Whether in the right manner or not the fact is English cricket is once again gearing up for a change in their red ball setup. A new appointment of coach followed by captain should be decided sooner than later considering they have games lined up shortly. It will be expected that the board will have a clear communication with the new leadership group in terms of their expectations and the coach-captain duo would also have to firmly work towards achieving the desired results without much of a noise. English cricket fans would be eagerly waiting for the upcoming changes as well as challenges.
SRK's Knights On Top
Third & final story is about a memorable redemption and some proud & happy faces. This story comes all the way from the USA. A country not known for its cricketing legacy slowly turning its head towards the T20 cricket frenzy. And a big reason for that being their T20 franchise league named Major league cricket (MLC). Yet another league which is slowly gaining momentum and top of it is its IPL connection. Some of the top IPL franchise owners have teams representing in this league too. Though it's a new participant in the rat race of franchise leagues but involvement of some top foreign players & big names from cricketing as well as corporate world with an aim to make cricket popular in world's biggest economy slowly making this league a mouth watering prospect.
A six teams competition in its fourth season staged some breathtaking matches. After fierce competition for about a month eventual champions Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) which is owned by superstar Shahrukh Khan under Knight Riders Group lifted their first MLC title keeping aside the disappointment of past three seasons. Interestingly they won only five matches in previous three seasons before becoming the champions this season by winning a thrilling final with a margin of just 1 run against the tournament favourites Washington Freedom. It was a happy ending this season for the Greater Los Angeles based franchise which is also loaded with Caribbean flavour.
What changed for them this year? They were able to hold on to the core group of players from the previous seasons. The team looked formidable on paper with plenty of firepower with the likes of Russel, Narine, Holder, Fletcher, Hales, Powell to name a few and well complimented by some quality local talent. They had a terrific captain-coach combo in the form of Holder & Dwayne Bravo. Holder has been one of the most underrated captains in the T20 circuit for a long time. But now with his focus firmly being on T20 cricket he is slowly turning out to be yet another T20 maestro adding his name to the coveted list of fellow Caribbeans. As far as DJ Bravo is concerned he might not have a very long exposure to coaching in T20 circuit but his knowledge of the game after playing across the globe for so long keeps him in good stead. He seemed to be rigorously involved with the on field actions throughout the tournament. A street smart captain-coach combination paired with power packed Caribbean flavour played its part in a triumphant season.
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| Holder played a pivotal role in a triumphant season for his team LAKR Image Credit: CRICKETNEXT, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
Start to the season was good for them when they won their first two matches. Then came the slide which once again threatened to dent their chances of qualifying for the knockouts. But some collective performances towards the end of the league phase saw them getting into the knockout phase for the first time and eventually lifting that trophy after two thrilling victories in the knockouts. Interestingly Knight Riders group also built a new ground in Pomona, California this year which hosted some of their matches too and it will be their home ground from now on. Luck factor really complimented the hard work for the SRK owned team.
It's never easy to produce such performances specially when your team has hit the rock bottom in the previous seasons and one or two poor performances can once again repeat the same result. But the leadership group ensured that the team plays fearless cricket in order to achieve desired results. Lot of credit for this performance should go to the captain Holder who played a pivotal role both as a leader & player. His all round performances throughout the tournament was an apt act of leading from the front. Hopefully this victory produces the launchpad for captain Holder that he deserves.
That's all for this edition. We'll be back soon with more sporting action updates.
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