The Lord’s” The lord of the grounds”

When we discuss about the cricket grounds for the pitch, outfield, facilities, stands & the history 10 out of 9 people would choose the name The Lord's as the first choice. The oldest & if I am not wrong the first ever official Test match between Australia & England was played on this very ground (Around 1884). Every player dream to play on this ground to make himself a part of the history. It is motivation & also the pressure that sometimes gets good out of a normal player & below par performance from a great player. The Great sunil Gavaskar could not score century on this ground even Sachin have not scored half century on this ground but the Mumbai duck Ajit Agarkar holds that privilege of scoring the hundred (109 ) on Lord’s though we lost that match.

It is said that 3 W’s of London shall not be believed ( Wine, Woman & Weather.), add to it the nature of Lord’s pitch. This ground has seen the lowest scores as well as mammoth totals. The lowest team score on this ground is 42 by India !- 1974. & the highest being 729 by Australia in 1930. (In most recent 682 by South Africa in 2003). This is the same ground on which Graham Gooch murdered Indian bowling during 1989-90 series scoring triple century & century in the same match. & Glenn McGrath took 8/38 in 1997 to bowl out England on 85 odd runs.

Generally Lord’s pitch does not offer much to the swing bowlers after the first two hours of the game unless the weather is cloudy & breeze flowing across the ground specially from pavilion end as the Lord’s has the slope on one side of the wicket. The genuine fast bowlers in the likes of Brett Lee, Andrew Flintoff or the spin bowlers like Shane Warne , Muralidharan can extract good out of it.

India does not have the good,,, it’s better to say bitter memories on this ground. Out of 15 matches India have lost 10 & managed to win only one in 1982 thanks to Kapil Dev’s all round performance in that match. Be the 100th test match between India & England at Lord’s bring luck to the lucky captain Dhoni or the Ashes winning team keeps their good record against India at Lord’s….. I expect the close encounter, as close as the World cup tie match……

Ritesh R. Kadam
9011020015
rityakadam@rediffmail.com

West Indies - “The Lost Glory”

What we remember when the name West Indies comes ahead. Blue seas, beaches, Pineapple and.. and The legends… The Richards, the Gary sobers, The Clive Loyad along with the fierce bowlers The holdings, the Garners, The Marshal ,The Ambrose. The late 70’s, 80’s & some part of 90’s known as the reign of West Indies. These legends had the impact on world cricket. Be it Gary Sobers all round Performance, Clive Loyads effortless elegance, Viv Richard’s dashing & powerful hits aligned with the whispering death Holding’s bouncers, Garner’s teasers, &  swing bowling of Marshal. This team played like  “the dada” but at the same time gave respect to the cricket & stayed in the code of conduct. Their batsmen always believed they are in the middle to score runs & the bowlers always remembered they are bowling to take the wickets. The world of cricket always remembered the team as the fearless performer…….& the honest players.

But what is the current status. The team west indies is now playing as the individuals from the various Irelands jamaika, Tobago, Trinidad… The batsmen are lagging the then player’s fearless attitude, focus & technique, though the bowlers have shown some promise in the likes of Roach, Rampaul, Edwards & the new leggie Bishoo , they are not able to click as a unit consistently .  Unlike other teams the players in the middle look casual in their approach, down shoulder body language, & lacking in determination, the conflict between the players & the board is not helping the cause either.  The lone Gladiator Lara tried to lift his team leading from the front  in his playing days but could not go far ahead. The second stream Indian team beat them in their own den. Though they went on to win the last two matches it did not bring any difference in the series result.

As a die hard cricket fan & passionate about fast bowlers I always had a special place for the west indies in my mind. It gives the pain when  Sir Viv Richards says that West Indies is going through the bad patch or build up phase just to hide their disappointment or in a hope that West indies would bring the lost glory.

The likes of Gayle, Pollard, the bravo brothers, the veteran Chanderpaul, Sarwan,  has the ability to present west indies as a respectable team if they give their combined efforts towards the team ‘s goal. Oteis Gibsson need to bring these individuals together , Inculcate the importance of playing for the nation, introduce the new ideas , & bringing the discipline. And the last (need not to say the least) players has to understand it’s not the individual but the efforts of the bunch that will lead the team to the road of success. Let’ see how the three test match series undergoes. 

Ritesh R. Kadam
09011020015
ritesh05kadam@gmail.com
rityakadam@rediffmail.com