Mad Queues, High Hopes & Hard Kill

The morning alarm went off at 6.30am on the Monday morning, we were on our way to where 30,000 people were headed. Got off at the wrong tube station and having never been to Lords, got a bit lost when we asked a postman for directions. "Head that way and keep to the left of the big airship balloon that will come in sight high up in the sky, you will start to see the crowds". He was talking about the MRF tyres blimp and the sea of cricket fans trying their luck if they can at all get into the ground. People were apparently queuing up from about 2.30 am! It was 8.30, soon  the signposts to the Lords, led us to our first glimpse of the crowd. Our search for the end of the queue made us realize it was monumental! Soon the realization started to set in, that we may never be able to find that end of the queue! It snaked around for perhaps a mile or two; or more we never know. It was a sinking feeling. Then came the stroke of luck. A decision to abandon our quest to join the East gate queue and instead look to join the North, however logically inconsequential it may seem, paid off. We saw our closest two friends on the queue, well and truly in the home stretch. Incredible odds! Perhaps this is my day, perhaps India could dig out a draw, perhaps a Tendulkar hundred...

Just for a glimpse of a star..

The things we dont see on the TV  when we tune in just before start, are all the individual fan stories and the story of the crowd or sets crowd on the ground. What makes watching any given game on a ground  unique is the makeup of the overall crowd and the individuals that make up the crowd in your immediate surroundings. Its 9.30 am, settled in to the seats on at the Compton stand upper tier, just under the pressbox. I had to remind myself, its the last day of the Lords test where home team was pushing for a win, but the large Indian support made one feel like India were on the drivers seat on day 2 of a test in Mumbai! Few English supporters behind us were having a conversation about this "Its not good to see the home team being out numbered by opposition fans, this is probably how the few Aussies who turned up to the ground for the last few tests in the recently concluded Ashes must've felt". The difference is, I thought to myself, India are scratching to save a test here and the Poms were dominating the Aussies. This is sort of support that fills the BCCI coffers with mad riches and help them get away with murder most times!

11.30 am, 30 minutes into play, Dravid plays an un-Dravid shot to get out, "There goes my tenner" said another English supporter. Overhearing their conversation, turns out he took the 8-1 odds from bet365 for Dravid AND Laxman to score tons. Talk about the trust people have on the Indian batting legends! But for people like me following the Indian test team closely and seeing how well English pace trio bowled in the first innings, surviving 100 overs would be enough of  a confidence booster to take into the second test. Expecting anything more, however well one can argue, is purely driven by heart.

1.00 pm, its lunch! There was plenty of sunshine and only a glimmer of hope that the Indian cricket team will see the end of the day. But the Indian fans are far from worried, there was still 'The Man' still out in the middle. Even the most analytical minds let only their hearts do the thinking at this point. With lots of hope providing food for the soul, it was time to feed the body. It could be an energy sapping (mental and physical) afternoon. At this point I should emphasize the importance or the 4 & 6 cards that we have on cricket grounds. On a scorching hot day like this (Yes it was really hot!!) and when you have little to cheer in terms of 4s and 6s, the boundary card serves as headgear for those who underestimated the sun. They also serve as a temporary table to prop up your lunch. So thanks nPower!

About 2.40pm, not completely sure when( usually happens when you are watching Sachin bat, even if he is scratching around at the crease)  the curtains fell, hopes were dashed and hearts were broken. But it took, 2 bowlers, three chances and 2 appeals to get the little master.  Surely the last time for Sachin at Lords, well you never know! The match is now headed for the inevitable.

Standing ovation for a 12! - Its Tendulkar afterall

4.30 pm, MS Dhoni gets out poking at one on outside off-stump and now its only the final rites to carry out. Sometime later a cover drive from Raina gives India a hope for the future and a  poor shot from Harbhajan reminds of the demons of the past. But soon all the discipline and persistence of the English bowlers help finish things off. Its all over for India and joy for England. The better team won. It was a hard kill but that's what would make this victory even better.

The final moments of the test match

5.30 pm, made the way to the exit, having conversations about the what went wrong for India and also acknowledging that a skillful and persistent pace trio was perhaps the best in business as of today.  It was a good day of test cricket.

The future of test cricket is sound, further emphasized by enthusiasm shown by  four or five11-15 year old kids on the same train we were returning on and who had been on the ground earlier. "KP, Broad and Jimmy were awesome", "What sort of a shot did Bhajji play, even we know you should'nt play that shot at a critical time like this", "Zaheer's absence was the key reason", one said; "More than his absence it is the workload that it put on the other bowlers that cost India", another quipped. Excitement and wisdom from the next generation.

Partisan Cricket Commentary - SKY is the limit!

Cricket commentary on television, as we all will agree, must as far as possible be neutral, professional and free from prejudice.Cricket commentators every now and then lose the professional focus and slip into moments of partisan or opinionated drivel. As reasonably smart viewers we overlook these indiscretions. After all  most of them would have represented their countries in the past and patriotic emotions will surface every now and then. They are only 'human'. But watching the SKY Sports coverage of the second day of the 1st test match between England and India at lords was a rather unpleasant experience. Not because I was rooting for India and Kevin Peterson was beating India to pulp- infact like most good  cricket fans I love watching good cricket even at the expense of my country being hammered -but because of the abysmally partisan and at times cringe-worthy commentary, mostly  from Ian Botham, David Gower and Nasser Hussein.

Ian Botham - Commentator & Former England Allrounder

Before going into specific examples let us get a few things out of the way. Coming into the series, India are ranked the #1 test side and deservedly so through consistent performances home and abroad. England look the best side they have had in at least 15 years! So a cracking contest in the offing. England want to push for the top spot and good on them to have the ambition. Neither side compares to the great Windies and Aussie sides of yesteryear's. Ranking does not equate greatness. So both sides have a long way to go for such a quest. Having said that it is good for world cricket if the number #1 spot is challenged often. Another important hot topic of cricket that is in every cricket followers head is the whole set of issues surrounding BCCIs domination of world cricket and ofcourse DRS. I cannot sum up the situation and the general mood better than Harsha Bhogle did on Cricinfo. To sum up BCCI are not entirely wrong their stand on Hawke Eye's predictive ability. They are just not taking the effort to package the explanation with better articulation and grace.

England challenge India in a  4 match Test series 

Lets look at some quotes from the 1st test day 2 SKY sports commentary (some paraphrased); "England will win the match and series." Incredibly presumptuous and bordering on arrogance, for Botham to say this halfway into day 2 of 20 days of test cricket! India did ok with three bowlers on a flat pitch. India's 1st innings batting should reveal how the English bowling stacks up. There were plenty of India bashing with quotes like  " ICC is bending the DRS rules to accommodate India". Glass is still half empty for the English commentators, never once conceded there is now a minimum DRS requirement across the board for all countries. Picking up from a technical discovery from Michael Holding, David Lloyd suggested "Praveen Kumar has a fat hip and hence cannot rotate it fast enough to get off the pitch" Oh yes, he didnt notice the unfit guy bowled 40+ overs in a day. There were plenty of others like " Indian bowlers bowl Dibbly Dobblers", "The whole Indian team is unfit and cant last the series", "India has to get used to this sort of leather chasing throughout the series with such a strong English batting lineup". The one that takes the cake was from Botham when Morgan got out, he assumed the batsmen thought it was an LBW decision and walked off and did not know it was given caught behind. The hotspot did not show any evidence of a nick and Morgan did not challenge the caught behind decision. "See what has happened because of the DRS rule changes, Morgan thought he was LBW and walked off because it cant be referred in this series, clearly he did not get the edge, its all because of the watered down DRS". It takes an unprejudiced mind to think there is a possibility that Morgan did nick it and Hotspot might not have picked the faint edge. Didn't the Hotspot CEO say it was not 100% accurate? Eoin Morgan later confirmed he thought he edged it. 

Hope as the series gathers steam, the commentators don't let their hate filled prejudice against BCCI steam up their vision, skew their voice and make it difficult for the viewers to enjoy good cricket on TV.