Anamul, Soumya and Litton have arrived, but ...

In the recently concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup in Australia there had been some exciting players to watch from India, South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan. Like their elder brothers in Test cricket, Bangladesh too has unearthed some exciting young guns to demand the attention of the critics and cricket fans.

The main three to attract eyeballs were Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das. Among them, Anamul was the standout performer - the tournament's leading run scorer with 365 runs at an average of 60.83 and a strike-rate of 85.08 with two match-winning hundreds and one fifty. Litton, an opener, made 262 runs at 52.40 with a century and two fifties.

What stood out from these two batsmen was their technique and temperament. They delivered with the bat on difficult tracks where the ball swung and tested the batsmen to their limits. Traditionally, Bangladesh batsmen aren't at home against the moving ball but Litton and Anamul were never found wanting. They played their strokes according to the merit of the deliveries and were accustomed, while exhibiting shots, both on the front and back.

Soumya, Litton's opening partner, wasn't as successful but like the other two his temperament was appreciable. In the quarterfinals against Australia, his 73 against a potent attack hinted at the talent this boy possesses. He was also a handy customer with the ball, chipping in with four wickets in six matches at an average of 21.25 and economy rate of 5.79.

The emergence of players such as these, especially Anamul and Litton, are encouraging for Bangladesh's batting order which is struggling to surface dependable middle-order and opening batsmen. At the top, Tamim Iqbal lacks a reliable partner while in the middle order the responsibility is still shouldered by Shakib Al Hasan. Litton can provide the perfect foil to Tamim while Soumya could be instrumental at No. 3. The middle order's security can be vested upon Anamul.

Many will come up with ideas of surfacing them late. Many will say that they are still aren't mature enough for Test cricket. But, in my opinion, they are prepared temperamentally to play international cricket. In the course of time their talent will be galvanized by facing various challenges of Test cricket. Bangladesh plays lesser amount of Test cricket so they must be made available for the four and five-day games against the A teams. In the batting line up there are mediocre players who for years have given nothing but frustration to our ardent cricket followers, and thus a bold step must be taken to ensure these young gems' availability.

The biggest challenge for young talents would be the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and its management policy. In the past, we have seen many young and promising cricketers take the center stage with a bang but the BCB's poor abilities to groom and nurture young talents have seen them get lost in the long run. The fading away of Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmad and Alok Kapali is nothing but BCB's poor management in handling talents.

Talented cricketers are an asset and to ensure the utmost services from them, a cricket board must be highly professional. The BCB and its officials must not act like they had in the past and let talents fade away. They should provide a healthy environment to groom them in the best possible manner. The seniors of Bangladesh cricket should act like Sourav Ganguly and Imran Khan and pass out necessary tips and advices to these youngsters which for them will serve as a great motivation. We don't want to see them grow up playing excessive T20 leagues in the name of nurturing. They must not be taught to chase such financial rewards too early.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Note: This write up has been published in CricketNext.com written on 31/08/2012

http://cricketnext.in.com/live/blogs/faisalcaesar/3379/63857/anamul-soumya-and-litton-have-arrived-but-.html

Cricket South Africa: It's time to enjoy Hashim Amla

The retirement of VVS Laxman has created an emptiness in the hearts of the cricket romantics. In this age of T20 cricket, it’s all about brute force – hitting the ball hard so that it clears the boundary in the twinkle of an eye. A cricket romantic doesn’t find any beauty from any of the strokes exhibited by the batsmen at present. The canvas of Test cricket is not glorified  by the artistry of cricket’s sublime artists. There are no Yousufs, the Laxmans, the Azharuddins or the Zaheer Abbases.

But cricket’s habit of producing the beautiful artists with the willow has not stopped. Even in this age of brute force, cricket is gifting the romantic hearts, though not in plenty like the past, with the artists who use their bat like a painter’s brush to describe cricket in its most beautiful form – one can watch their batting whole day without any sort of boredom.

Hashim Amla, at present, is undoubtedly the best in the business when it comes to use the bat like a magic wand. In the modern day, he is carrying the legacy of the Laxmans and Azhars with immense pride and has become one of the beauty of the game of glorious uncertainty. Time passes by and Hashim Amla seems to get more beautiful with his wrists and timings.

Like all the artists of the game, Amla uses his wrists effectively and beautifully. The use of his wrists allows him to contact the ball late with no loss of power. The way he stands firm on the back-foot, with minimal footwork, and pierces the ball through the covers is a purist’s joy. Then those off-drives where the confirmation of the straight bat at impact is done by soft hands but either through the firm or velvety writs, simply punches a bowler’s Mojo terribly without the exhibition of any sort of arrogance. Then there is a mixture of audacity and dexterity in Amla with his artful weapon of demoralization – the occasional late cuts which at times kisses the boundary ropes leaving the spinners to stand clueless. In Amla there is a flavor of Azhar, there is a flavor of Yousuf and Zaheer, and there is a Taj Mahal in him.

During his debut, Amla was rusty. With a  wide stance, bat swinging in the air and too much body movement while facing the bowlers’ deliveries made the critics wonder whether he will be able to stay longer in international cricket or not. But Amla worked on his game and developed himself without changing much in his style. The wide stance is still there, the bat still swings in the air but the body movements have minimized while facing a delivery and the wrists swing more swiftly than the past. His ability to play the ball late allows him to execute any strokes against the fast men or the spinners with an outstanding authority.

Hashim Amla is an asset to cricket. He offers a touch of beauty and artistry to cricket which is so rare nowadays. He is the perfect torch bearer to the legendary artistic batsmen of the game. The more he occupies the crease the more you get the feeling that he can’t make a mistake, he can’t offer any ugly strokes. The world of cricket has lost Laxman but Amla is carrying on the legacy of Laxman with his majestic wrist works. It’s time to enjoy Amla’s magic, it’s time to clap for each of his strokes.

Note: This article has been published in Sportskeeda on 23/08/2012 Cricket South Africa: It's time to enjoy Hashim Amla

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

V.V.S. Laxman - The master that never failed

In the modern era, in the age of T20 cricket, the bat is used more to clover the bowling rather than a painter’s brush. Other than Hasim Amla or Kumar Sangakkara, who are still carrying on the legacy of artistic batting, there are hardly any artists in the game at present. The world of cricket is getting addicted to rush. Modern eyes love the wild swing of the wrist rather than the silky wrist crafts.

For more than a decade, one man’s wrist has been like a wizard. One man painted epic arts on the white and green canvas of Test cricket. One man’s bat spread magic all over the world. Yes, VVS Laxman’s bat didn’t treat the ball, released from the bowlers hand, harshly; but he used to play them so sweetly that it spread a sweet fragrant across the stadium to leave the purists spell bound. When Laxman batted the Indian dressing room used to relax. And why not? Time and again, the Hyderabadi maestro delivered the best when the going used to get tough.

India’s rise to the pinnacle of glory in Test cricket in the last decade heavily depends on two warriors’ gallant efforts – Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. India’s poor show in abroad has been erased by these two warriors’ heroics. Dravid built a fort while Laxman scripted the classical essay. And years after years the Ram-Laxman duet of world cricket made the opposition, especially the Australians, cry by essaying some famous victories for India.

Laxman had been the sailor of an angry sea. In his whole career he had been asked tough questions and again and again he answered those questions with utmost authority. No matter how difficult the situation it might be, Laxman used to guide his team safely to the shore. The most difficult task of a batsman is to marshal a tail-ender in trying circumstances. A batsman of special caliber and guts associated with solid technique and iron steel temperament can only ensure security while batting with a tail-ender. Inzamam was the one who did it in style and the other was VVS Laxman.

To many the 281 against Australia will be rated amongst his all-time best. But in my book the 96 runs he scored at Durban will be written in the letters of gold in my memory. In that knock he made many of his teammates look ordinary. Again, he was batting with a tail-ender and again he nurtured the tail so well to ensure India a safe total to defend. The presence of Laxman simply generated a feeling of assurance which is a unique quality, very rare in this age of T20.

He had never been a star, he had never been a ‘GOD.’ He had never been worshiped by the Indians. But he had been the master who never failed on tough assignments. By watching the craziness of the prophets of doom and gloom,  his bat didn’t stop making runs; but they tackled the adversities with a touch of  majestic artistry. The prophets of doom and gloom halted their craziness , bowed down in front of the master of disaster management and ended up worshiping the master.

 Laxman had been a champion artist. The bigger the stage, the bigger the occasion, the bigger the challenge; Laxman will paint the finest of the arts with his magical wrists. Today, Laxman said goodbye to Test cricket. And suddenly, I see the world without any colour. I shall not see the mulberry leaf becoming a silk with time and patience. I shall miss an artist of a very, very special kind.

Goodbye VVS Laxman!

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

The ECB is right?

A boss of an institution should be like a father. And it’s his duty to ensure his beloved employees’ utmost security and comfort zone.  He should be as caring as a father.  No institutions are without egotistical personalities.  A boss’ biggest challenge comes while handling such colorful personalities. A smart boss operates his egotistic employees with enough intelligence to produce the best of results.

The bosses of a cricket board should be like that. A cricketer’s best comfort zone depends on how the chiefs of a board are handling everything. Cricket is not without egotistical stars. In each decades the green canvas of cricket has observed wonderfully gifted cricketers whose egos ran high. A smart captain and  board operated them well to reap rich harvests. And those boards which have failed to handle their best talents, in turn, have essayed disasters for their teams.

I can see that the ECB is going the same way.

Kevin Pietersen is England’s number one player. Over the years, he has been instrumental in scripting an absolute purple patch for England in Test cricket. Whenever England had needed him, he delivered rollicking performances with the willow to pull England out of the troubled waters several times. He’s a star in world cricket and like most stars he has an ego.

Can you imagine an English batting line up without KP? No you can’t. An English batting lineup without KP is just like a motor car without an engine. But at Lord’s, in the decisive third Test match against South Africa, you won’t find him batting for England. The ECB has omitted KP ‘the morning after releasing a video where he committed himself to all international cricket, because he has failed to confirm that he did not send derogatory texts about Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower to South Africa players during the Headingley Test.’ (source: Cricinfo)

I won’t dig deep about that text messages or video release, but I will like to state that the ECB proved to be a less smart operator while handling his best player. KP has selfishness. He is attracted towards money, thinks more of himself and does things on instincts. But, as Jarrod Kimber said, ‘The ego, instinct and even the selfish nature of KP are part of what makes him a great batsman. He's far from the first great selfish batsman, in fact many of the greatest batsmen have obvious selfish tendencies. Just as many of the greatest cricketers have amazingly big egos. And instinctively doing things is how many athletes live.’

The relationship between KP and ECB have deteriorated over the past couple of months. ECB’s golden child’s ego  was running high but rather than performing the role of a caring father, the ECB acted like a step father towards KP. The ECB has forgotten about those players who have been critical in essaying England's number one position in Test cricket. You don't slice your best players but preserve them smartly.

There had been critical issues and I believe that there were options to solve such issues. Rather than making  the whole saga a circus, things could have been solved had the ECB been like the parents. KP acted like a spoiled child but don’t forget he felt betrayed by his parents. His parents did those acts (feeding the media with talks between KP and ECB again and again) which KP disliked. As Jarrod Kimber said that no matter how insane or egotistical his claims were, KP was within his right to believe that they stayed with his employers.

The ECB has been too harsh towards KP and proved less smart in handling the whole situation. And I also think that captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower could have played vital roles in managing such a critical situation. They both should have stepped up to save their best man in the business.

Imran Khan and Javed Miandad were polarized apart. But Imran handled Javed smartly to make him perform. Imran never let ego intervene to spoil the Same goes with Mike Brearely while handling Ian Botham. The kick of that cow is always felt good as she gives milk in plenty. KP is that cow in the farmhouse which gives the best quality milk. If the cow kicks then make sure you are  smart and expert enough to operate her.

But was the ECB smart or expert enough while handling the KP saga? Is The ECB right with their decision?

I don’t think so.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Test cricket needs Kevin Pietersen

 After tea, on the third day of the second Test match between England and South Africa the atmosphere at Leeds became electrifying. A batsman, who was restrained till then, suddenly broke free to punish one of the lethal  bowling attacks in Test cricket of the modern era with one of the finest displays of self-belief. It was extraordinary, it was brilliant and it was jaw- dropping. Kevin Pietersen’s mind was not cluttered by his standoff with  the ECB officials, but instead he scripted a magical knock to leave everyone spell bound.

There was still something for the bowlers in that Leeds track. But it became an irrelevance. Since he was being reprieved, KP thought himself invincible and unleashed a brutal assault. He stood tall and strong against Mokel, Steyn and Kallis to command full authority. As David Hopps described, “He flung his front leg to the leg side, to haul a succession of short balls from Morkel riskily above and beyond three boundary catchers, causing South Africa to abandon the ploy prematurely; he stood tall to drill Dale Steyn through point; and he met  Jacques Kallis with the whippiest of straight drives.”

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. To control a drastic situation a drastic approach is much needed. On a track which was showing an uneven bounce to make life difficult for the batsmen , KP took the challenge and went berserk to dazzle the Leeds crowd. Till now, KP might not be considered amongst the all-time greats,  but on that day the world witnessed greatness in full swing. The world, again, came to know how special a talent KP is!

Very few in Test cricket can transform an attritional day of cricket into a riveting one. Very few dare to go aggressive and sail the ship against the tide. KP belongs to those rare species of cricket.

But the recent saga between KP and ECB have created an unhealthy environment which might trigger his retirement from Test cricket. Mind you he has already announced his unavailability from ODIs and T20Is. After the Leeds Test news broke that, “Kevin Pietersen could have played his last game for England after conceding that there were deep, perhaps irreparable, divisions with the ECB and some other members of the England dressing room.” (Cricinfo)

Not an impressive news to cherish at all. Test cricket is in need of such special talents. It’s never a happy thing to witness the premature end of a talent who is all set to claim a place amongst  the all-time greats. It’s  very important to save such talents. The presence of such special diamonds is critical to keep the flame of Test cricket shine brightly once and for all.

Whatever the issues, whatever the reasons are there between the English cricket officials and KP they must be solved for the sake of Test cricket. KP must not forget which platform has given him the stardom while the ECB must not forget those players who have essayed an absolute purple patch for England in Test cricket in recent times.

Great players don’t surface in Test cricket easily and the emergence of T20 cricket has dried up the production of the true greats in Test cricket. So, if KP says goodbye to Test cricket then Test cricket will be poorer. The preservation of KP is important to glorify the white and green canvas of Test cricket.

Save Kevin Pietersen!

Thank You

Faisal Caesar