Warnie calls it quits

Amongst the speculation, the great man has finally announced it officially. Shane Warne is set to retire from cricket. I loved to see him in action ,having a go at the batsmen, always having fun. I think he has chosen an appropriate time for his last bow. The Aussies have got the Ashes back and are heading for a white-wash.



My only grouch against Warne has been his poor figures against the Indians, who are the best players of spin. I was just having a chat about this with my Aussie friend the other day. It all starts with "Mate that guy was the best bowler in the world". Best in Australia, YES! But definitely not best in the world for me. For him to be called the best, he should have performed against all teams and in all conditions. His bowling figures against India are not too flattering, and those in India even more so. Have a look at this. I know there have been several questions asked about the inability of the Indians to play abroad and therefore they are not rated as the "best" by people. For me same should apply for bowlers as well. Warnes biggest test yet was bowling against the Indians and he hasn't done well there has he? But who cares about not performing against India, as long as you get to play more against the Poms and the Proteas.

If Anil Kumble had played as many times against the English and South Africans, I am sure he would have been near to Warne. Wanna bet!! ;-)

The Simpsons: Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore

I hope you guys have seen the episode Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore. If not watch it asap. It is easily one of the funniest episodes for me. It's got an awesome sarcastic take on outsourcing. The best part of it though is the song sequence at the end. Watch it. It's too good. :-)

In the country

Had gone for a week down in the country to Port Pirie. Was absolutely thrilled to watch the Flinders ranges stretching parallel to the road. I was almost scared to travel here. There were miles and miles without a living soul. It's like there is no civilization in the interim. The country people are really friendly and surprisingly knowledgeable. One of the things that I love about the Aussies is the love for sports and the importance given to it. In a pub at Pirie there was an excellent collection of memorabilia starting from the 1948 Invincibles signed photo to Don Bradman's bat to Rossi's signed photo.
I saw some emu on the way back to Adelaide and a roo as well. According to my Aussie friend we were lucky that the Kangaroo did not veer to our path. These blokes are huge and do have a tendency to topple a few cars. ;-)
I really am starting to enjoy the vacation here. Lots to look forward to as Christmas and New Years approaches.

The favourite game

Its been awfully long since I posted anything on the blog. I won't bother with the lame excuses either. I was just too busy ;-) . Lots of cricket stuff to talk about.

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Starting with the Ashes. The build-up to the series was just too much. As the Brisbane test got closer people just were bugged about the ads and wanted the bloody thing to start. And start it did. England lost the first test comfortably. The atmosphere in Adelaide for the second test was phenomenal. The Barmy Army descended in huge numbers. There is a sizable British population living in Elizabeth and some other suburbs of Adelaide. So England actually had equal if not more support at the oval. After the first four days, with a draw looming large, day 5 began slowly. The way England batted that morning was just stupefying. They somehow managed to lose that game. For the last session, since there were plenty of seats available, the gates were thrown open for the public. Australia pulled off an unbelievable victory.

England lost both the games because they did not field the best team. Monty should have walked in the squad. How Giles can ever be preferred over him only Fletcher knows. He still claims that he has the respect of the squad after all that, then I guess the Poms are pretty forgiving in nature.

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India's tour of South Africa started poorly with a defeat in the warm-up game. Not surprisingly India lost the ODI series. Not for one instant did they look like they could win a game. To be fair to Team India they really had no time to acclimatise. Probably by the time they did the series was already dead.
The first test was won by India convincingly. Shreesanth was easily the star. The way he bowled was fabulous. And of course the war dance or whatever he did after hitting Nel, was something that will never be forgotten. :-) Handy innings from Tendulkar, Ganguly in the first and Laxman in the second molded the Indian victory. I am glad Ganguly is back in the Indian colors and playing well. He has plenty to offer to Indian cricket especially in Yuvraj's absence.
The series now is one to look forward to unlike the Ashes.

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One of my favorite batsmen Damien Martyn retired after the second test. He was highly under-rated batsmen. He has won games for his country in all kinds of conditions. If there is someone to be brought in ,automatically it seemed like Martyn would get the axe. I really admire him for taking the decision when he did. He could have easily stayed on the squad, handled the urn, but he took the last bow with his head held high. I hope he has a good life after cricket.

There is talk that McGrath and Warne may call it a day at the culmination of the Ashes. That will be the end of an era for sure.