A roundup of 2016 cricket

Hello and wishing you a happy new year 2017!

What better way to ring in a new year than to ramble about cricket from the year just gone by? Here are some notes about what I liked from the world of test cricket from the second half (or last quarter?) of 2016.

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As a cricket fan, the past few months have been embarrassingly rich. A veritable buffet of fine games, emerging heroes, exciting finishes and pleasant upsets. One couldn’t really ask for more; although waking up early (or staying up late) to take in the entertainment was certainly not easy.

As an Indian cricket fan, the India New Zealand series was a good appetizer. But the only lowlight of the series was the toss. The win toss-bat first-win formula did take away a bit of sheen off the 3-0 score line. Although I would say that the series itself was well contested, India was never found fighting to save a match. Cricket is the only game that throws up an “intense, nail-biting draw” and the lack of a fighting session where a team hangs on by their nails was a bit disappointing. And the unease that grips a fan that the pundits of the cricketing world will write this off as another dust bowl triumph even before, ahem, the dust had settled doesn’t help one bit.

The series that really set the tone was, of course, the 3-0 romp of South Africa against Australia. Any team that can compete on an equal footing against Australia – forget winning – in their own backyard deserves respects. But a visiting team tearing them Aussies a new one down under isn’t something that people of a certain age remember since the marauding buccaneers roamed the cricketing world. That the Springboks did this without the services of AB D and losing Dale Steyn dramatically midway through the first test sweetens the deal further. A victory at either MCG or the Gabba would have been nicer but I’ll take the 2-1 result as such. Take a bow guys.  And that Bavuma-Warner run out??

And when you thought that things couldn’t be any more acceptable came the 1-1 surprise in Bangladesh. The B’s producing limited over victories are no longer termed upsets. They are quietly shedding their “giant killers” tag, routinely snatching a victory here and giving a scare there. I’m not calling those a fluke but test cricket is certainly a sterner examination. A test victory cannot be achieved by merely lady luck flashing her smile at you – she better be wearing a toothy grin over many days. That B’desh managed to pull off a victory against a top tier test team right after a defeat is truly commendable. I was particularly impressed by Mehedi Hasan who proved to be a handful to the touring Englishmen.

The five tests against England set many things right for the Indian fan. First, some revenge (even if served cold) for the 3-1 drubbing in 2014. Second, I don’t know if Kohli had done something to upset them, but the Gods of the toss world finally decided to favor the visitors. So India winning the tests after losing multiple tosses took away that element of “what-if” from the equation (a.k.a one excuse less). In the end it was a great contest between bat and ball. So what if the bat was in Kohli’s hands and the cherry in Ashwin’s? The positives for India were many. The Kohli-Ashwin form, the lower order chipping in with runs, the Dravid-Kumble conduit to identify and blood the right talent from domestic circuit and the problem of excess be it openers (Vijay, Rahul, Parthiv, Gautham and err…Rohit Sharma) keepers (Saha, Parthiv) or spinners (Ashwin, Jadeja and Mishra – all three of them staking a deserved claim for all-rounder). I was super elated by Karun’s knock more for the sweep shots than the big score he piled up. Indian batsmen using their feet against spin is a common sight, less so the sweep shot. To see an Indian bat sweeping fluently was a sight to behold. On the same note, these are early days and sterner tests lie ahead. Good luck young man! The only two points of concern for India would be Ashwin’s ability to be among wickets abroad and our batting unit’s performance against the short/moving ball. I read somewhere that Kohli was considering a county stint ahead of a tour of the UK: professionalism flows forth from the captain! P.S: Kudos to the TNCA for getting the Chepauk stadium match ready after the fury of Varda.

The best fare, however, was reserved for the very last few days of the calendar. The first test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane will be recorded in history as having been won by Australia. But the drama that it provided, particularly on day five, was something that the people that watched it unfold will not forget any time soon. Call it the magic of test cricket or a virulent hatred for Aussie cricket, but I was robustly rooting for Pakistan for two full days. Ending up 40 short in a valiant chase of 490 on day five at the Gabba somehow summarizes Paksitan better than any length of prose or any set of statistics. And following up that performance (and cricketing world’s brownie points) with a good old collapse on day five of the Boxing day test? Pakistan’s brand of cricket has changed very little over the years.