Significantly Special - A Fan's Tribute

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman while performing yet another easy to the eye yet supremely stylish master class at “The Eden” became only the fifth Indian to scale the 7000 run summit in test cricket, joining the exclusive club that includes Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and one Mr. Sachin Tendulkar. This, on first reading makes an odd group - The Little Master – Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul “The Wall” Dravid, the greatest leader for Indian cricket S.C Ganguly, God of a billion – Sachin Tendulkar and one VVS Laxman – whose “very very special” innings make sporadic headlines on a sports front page?

Once the dust settles on the careers of this generation of extra-ordinary batsmen that India has been gifted with, the name that perhaps will be least etched on the minds of the followers of Indian Cricket will be of this special player – VVS Laxman. Sloppy running between the wickets, a pathetic fielder outside slips, a false start in the most popular version of the game of the last decade – the one dayers, a non start in the most popular version of the game now – the T20s – and playing at a time when the media and the public in general is obsessed with blooding in the more “flashy” youngsters into the middle – there are enough reasons to excuse a follower of Indian cricket to overlook VVS Laxman’s contribution over this decade outside of the one magical innings of 281. When you think about it, Laxman has played half the decade with the media bating for his blood.

Enough has been written about that epic knock and the consequence it had on Indian Cricket – providing a huge thrust for the Sourav Ganguly era of Indian cricket to flourish. However, the resolve, grit and the ambition to make a difference to the outcome of the game are the qualities sometimes lost in the pure class, skill and elegance, Laxman exhibited in that knock. It is these qualities that Laxman has managed to display throughout his career, right from his debut till his latest majestic essay at the Eden, without catching attention. Much like his innings, artistic, elegant and ridiculously skillful but never craves for attention. The fifty on debut against a strong South African side when the side was tottering at 6/120 to setup a target enough for Javagal Srinath to weave his magic proved to be a precursor for two observations –1) the indomitable will of VVS Laxman to make a significant contribution to the outcome of the game and 2) The significance of the innings is usually forgotten to a more dynamic performance.

The 89 against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 2001 with India tottering at 8 for a little over a hundred to give India a chance to fight to stay in the game, the extremely cautious fifties in Trinidad and Tobago to setup India’s first victory in the Caribbean in a generation, the magical summer in Australia in 2003-04, a 69 made with ridiculous ease to setup a win on a rank turner against the mighty Aussies in Mumbai, a game saving century at home against New-Zealand and Sri Lanka, or for that matter the 167 at Sydney that announced the arrival of a special talent to the world and I am only scratching the surface of the impact VVS Laxman has had on test matches.

However, rather unfortunately, once the dust settles on his career, perhaps the significance of this simple genius to Indian Cricket and World Cricket will be lost in his single greatest production. The 281 at the Eden. His direct impact on the outcome of games, series even, his momentous sense of occasion, and his unerring ability to perform in the crunch time, besides being one of the few foundation pillars upon which the stupendous success of the Indian test team, this decade, was built on, will perhaps be forgotten to this one great knock and in general, his performance against this one great team.

This brings me to the Laxman Conundrum. Owner of arguably the greatest innings ever seen, one which even the likes of Sachin Tendulkar can only dream off and owner of more than a 100 test caps for team India. Yet the career will seem unfulfilled as Laxman yearns for a World Cup cap that a fast running bloke who can throw himself around on the field might have a better chance of earning. Someone who perhaps one day will be called a modern day legend, yet never really came to terms with the modern forms of the game.

From a historic perspective, he is probably the link to the old school and the new school of batting. The artistic batsman who looks hideous when attempting the sweep. Also, perhaps like how Lara had such a Caribbean flavor to his batting, Laxman will be missed for what he brings to world cricket – a distinctively south Indian school of batting that has amazed the world with the magical display of wrists.

The Laxman Conundrum is probably the most fitting way to remember the career of VVS Laxman once he hangs up his boots. A conundrum can be a fitting definition of a career of a player who invokes contradictions. And Laxman manages to do just that – a modern stalwart with no accolades to speak off in the modern form and one who manages to take the life out of the opposition while being extremely gentle at it. But for the fan of this great player, it is a day like this, when just looking at the group he is a part of, the 7000 run club for India, his career will be remembered with respect to its contribution to Indian cricket in particular and the game of cricket itself, as Very Very Significant!

The Right Formula, finally!

The change in the point system for this year's drivers championship has attracted a lot of debate. This year, the driver with most race wins will be crowned the champion with rest of the standings the same as before. This change, an absolute u-turn on the change made about half a decade back in the points system, makes sense for a lot of reasons.

The very nature of F1 is going to prevent it from ever being it top heavy. The constant change in technology constraints, the massive sums of money put in the off season resulting in the rapid rate of development is never going to give you more than two or three teams contending for the championship. This statement is true irrespective of the points system you chose to have for the drivers, the 10-6-4, or the 10-8-6, or the new one. It is because of this nature of competition for the top spot, that the new ruling makes sense. While the ruling on the face of it appears to favor heavily, brilliance to consistency, the motivation for such a ruling is easily seen.

The points system was changed from the 10-6-4, to the 10-8-6 format for two obvious reasons. One, was to obviously reward consistency. The other was, by giving greater number of teams a chance to fight for the final point and all the good stuff that comes with it, an incentive for teams to compete at the F1 level. While this looked good on paper, the light top, heavy bottom nature of competition in F1 makes consistency, in F1, overrated, from a driver's perspective. Just about any driver who makes it to the F1, given a Ferrari or a Mclaren, is good enough to finish in the top 4 seventy percent of the times (Rubens, David will testify to that). However, what the 10-8-6 system did was to penalize a contender heavily for a car failure, as it opened up the field for his rival to pocket at least 6-8 points without taking any risks. In the present scenario, even with the new rule, it is impossible to win the championship with say, 3 good races.

The alternative suggestion was to give greater importance to the winner of a race, by increasing the gap between 1 and 2. Like in the 2 wheeler competition. Suppose a 25-15-10 system. Although something this drastic has not been discussed (There was a proposal to increase the difference to 3 by the F1 teams Association). A look back to the 2003 season, will show why this system is not the best for F1. Kimi, was just 2 points away from winning the championship, despite winning just one race. The cars built on the edge, are much more suspect to failing, more often. Astonishingly enough, the two drivers of the team never seem to have the same luck. It has almost never happened that both the drivers had the same number of retirements due to car failures. In most cases, it is not even comparable.

This system keeps the drivers away from assuming the 1-2 role much later into the season. The change rewards the winner to the maximum, but the present nature of competition makes them get away with such ignorance to consistency. The new rule gives all the drivers sitting in capable machines a greater chance to win the championship and hence will promote a much more aggressive brand of racing. Also, this only has to improve even the slightest of chance the middle rung teams have, to produce a champion. And quite often, that is more than enough to put in more commitment to bridge the gap. Hence for the scenario as it is, the new system is the best thing to happen to F1.

And from the viewpoint of a fan, it will be the most aggressive brand of racing to witness this decade. Just wait for the five red lights to go off.

Rewind

The last year had lots of action, in the domain of sports. I will try through this post, to look back at what has been a wonderful year from a sporting perspective, with an unapologetic biased view. A lot of things could be inferred from the year gone by, which I will try to list, in no particular order.

The biggest event of the year, without a shadow of a doubt was the Olympics. The Chinese government's effort to produce a generation of freaks brought them 100 medals. Through, the same time, the Indians effort to produce another generation, of people, produced three times the medals given at Athens. What it also taught us, is a man can beat the 100m WR, by walking the last 10m. Bolting through the first 90 helped. It is tough to understand the hype and hoopla behind Bindra's gold medal performance. After all, all it takes is a jump into the pool. Ask Michael Phelps.

This was also the year of the Spaniards. The Euro Champions, when you talk about individual performances, VAMOS RAFA, comes up foremost. Spaniards one the Davis cup, and also had many individual success firsts, never heard of in the history of Spains. In fact the year was so good for the Spaniards, that a Spaniard who did not win anything, just managed to win over the beautiful Women's French Open Champion, Ana! I never had a reason to hate Fernando Verdasco, now I am glad I do.

While with Verdasco, and ofcourse Ana, lets stay with tennis for a while. The year proved winning grand slams has nothing to do with being the best in world. Ask Jelena. This year taught us that King Federer is proud of winning the doubles gold, where their toughest opponents were two old Indians, who were never a team. Doubles??? However, 2k8, also taught us that Federer is not invincible at Wimbledon, Rafa is, at Roland Garros. Andy Murray has ruined any chance of Djokovic winning any other grand slam by dominating the hard courts. But, 2k8 will always be the year of Rafael Nadal. VAMOS RAFA!

Still with Ana. Oh Verdasco. He reminds me of Fernando, Fernando Alonso. He had a great year, by turning around the horrendous Renault racing team to race contenders. This year also taught, that the class of Kimi, needs a driver 0f Alonso's calibre challenging him, to keep him interested in racing. The year also taught us that the eventual world champion is either color blind, or just plain stupid! I would like to tilt on the latter. Lewis! No idea who sees a tiger in him!!

That brings me to golf, we learnt that Tiger can beat rest of the field, on a wheel chair, when he won the US open with no legs. No wonder, he says he would be embarassed to return to the field now :). Sticking with USA, we also learnt that, KG is delusional. When he barks non decipherable shouts aimed at some one sitting in the roof of every arena, visible to no one else. Also, incredibly, the guy most valuable to a team, with a winning record, is not LeBron, but a guy called Flash. Luckily, NBA does not seem to agree with that definition for the MVP, so the King, has his hands on the trophy! The year also taugt us that Boston still remembers the Beat LA chant from the 80's and Boston still remembers how to win a championship.

Speaking of championships, Manchester United, were crowned champions of the world!!! Ridiculous as that sounds, this will blow you over. They beat some random team from the far east, Japan, after beating another random team in the semi finals! Is this the new definition for farce? However, they were also crowned champions of Europe and England! The second half of the year taught that Liverpool actually knows that a league in England exists, and have finally showed up. Arsene Wegner wants to be the new Jose! Chelsea actually play pleasing football. Manchester United - I have nothing to say. And Hull City has loud fans! Else where, the year also taught us that the Spanish League, is a misnomer. It has just one team.

For no reason, I need to shift focus, to the greatest city in the world. Hyderabad. The biggest sports starlet from the city, and also, of the country, has the letter S, A, I, N and is not Sania. Saina got into the top 10, and apparently, the most promising, and has promptly managed to get herself a few ads. Meanwhile Sania, after her memorable, for whatever reason, 2k8 campaign, managed to become the first Indian woman to earn 1 million US dollars in prize money. If you thought that is unrewarding, how about 1 million, for a 9 over spell! Another dude, to break the mark, was Jeev, with a season to remember! So now you know what sport you should have taken up! 9 overs for a 900,000!! Hyderabad - Nothing about Hyderabad in 2k8, can be complete without talking about the Deccan Chargers!! The IPL introduced a new era into international cricket. Enough has been written about it. But, the absolute brain wave of Lalit Modi, besides - like everything Indian, taking the best from European and American leagues, was to fight all those who opposed cheer leaders for the games. It was the single biggest move and Deccan Chargers benefitted the most. Without a shadow of a doubt, DC had the best cheer leader troop. Nothing else can explain 50,000 people lining up to cheer the home team crash to 7 defeats in the space of a month! Remaining with the Deccan Chargers, Afridi is up for sale folks! Any buyers?

But yes, the IPL, has taken cricket into an exciting phase. 2k8 was a particularly good year for cricket with a frightening end for, forget the purists, probably even the generation brought up on t20. A little on that later. The year started off magnifying cultural difference, where a probable Hindi abuse, was thought off as a racist abuse. The Monkey gate was entertaining! But through this year, we learnt, that only two teams are fighting for the top spot, and Australia isn't one of them. Shocking! This year also showed that bowlers can think of alternate career options, with teams chasing scores in the unbelievable realm with effortless ease. Even Bangladesh threatened! But, for good or for bad, atleast for now, the year ended with Test cricket back above one day cricket in popularity, with amazing run chases. The year also witnessed, international cricket matches decided in a best of 1 over!! The golden over, introduced in the match between New Zealand and West Indies, was used to decide the better team. Thankfully, NZL and Windies were those teams. Who cares? The year also saw right handed batsman hitting left handed sixes, Pakistani cricketers in action in IPL, and nothing else, oh, of course the home series in Abu Dhabi. The year saw a prodigious carrom board talent make a name atleast for some time. The year also saw matches held in an environment where an excited Michael Holding, saying "whizzing bullets past the batsman's nose", might no longer be a metaphor. But 2k8 will always be remembered, as the year, Australia, fell, at a pace, that would make cricketers believe in gravity more than ever before.

A lot to look forward to in the coming year. The power struggle for the top of World Cricket, a great tennis rivalry, and an engaging F1 season to look forward to, are just some of the things that come to my mind foremost.

However, for all the great things that happened through 2k8, in the sporting domain, a few natural disasters, a few man made atrocities has drilled in more emphatically than ever before, that at the end of the day, all we are talking about, is just a game.

Wish you a happy new year!

Lets paint it red for next year!!

It has taken a long time, for us to catch up with Lewis, the 2008 World Champion. But, in our defence, it takes time, when the man in question, spends half his time, running from the police for jumping the red signal ( Kimi might sympathize) and the other half, for paying speeding tickets or fines for driving under the influence of alcohol. But the reigning world champion, has been graceful enough to give us sometime, while holidaying in St. Lucia, where the champion wasted no time in getting high.

Here are some excerpts from our conversation with Lewis " I nearly blew it again" Hamilton.

WaG: First of all congratulations on your championship, Lewis.
LH: Yeah thanks. I worked really hard, to lose it again, but then, these days money talks.

WaG: This is with reference to the dramatic last turn overtake of Timo Glock???
LH: Yes, it was a tough race. I worked very hard. I was driving aggressively and on the edge. But I somehow got beaten by a Minardi. But then, Mclaren worked out a behind my back deal with Toyota, the moment Vettel showed me his back. Mclaren agreed to fund the Toyota F1 racing team for the next 5 years. If Toyota are not happy with the progress, I can still have the championship stripped off, when they go public.

WaG: Interesting, the politics of F1. But you still had a great year. Can you explain the Vettel move in the last race from your point of view?
LH: Well, I raced hard, was driving flat out, but at the end of the day, the Minardi was too much for the Mclaren Mercedes to handle. It was a good move, but I thought he pushed me off the racing line a bit and that was not good.

WaG: Ofcourse. What made you interested in racing?
LH: The freedom to drive flat out. That is the biggest thing.

WaG interrupts: Like ramming into the car in front when the red light flashes brighter than ever.
LH: Hehe. Yeah, that was fun. But, ofcourse, that is something I can do on the racing track, and get away with it. Also, blocking cars, going off road and taking others with me, I own the road. However, shifting from the race track to the roads, has been a huge mental adjustment, as can be seen, from the number of tickets I had to pay on the road this season.

WaG: Yes, tough to be an F1 driver. How did you feel, when the idea about Wembley was mooted?
LH: Honestly, I was releived when the idea was called off. If you look through my F1 career, I have never been able to overtake someone without taking him off road, or myself off road. So I thought it would be something very risky for the public and the guy whom I was racing against.

He signs off by saying that he has been working hard this off season, to make out the difference between red and green, and for that, he suggests, they paint Mclaren red next year, and believes that is the only way he can keep the championship, how to keep his car on track without pushing the other one off, as he tries to overtake, or gets overtaken, and hopes for a less eventful 2k9.

Whatever you say about the guy, he won the championship after all, and deserves credit for that. But WaG, cant settle with that, and has to add this - the two best drivers were not even contending for the championship.

Uncomplicated Genius

It has been a long time since there has been any activity on this space allocated for random rumblings. But, I have been busy assembling a team and sending them across the world to meet up with the current F 1 Champion , Blew it Hamilton, and homegrown talent ( this was never promised, but this team is in a generous mood this time of the year), the Nawab of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag holidaying in some god forsaken place, to top off his splendid year.

Excerpts from the really candid Viru conversation:

Wine and Gold: It's been a great year for you, Viru, out of the side, and the brilliant comeback into the team, you must be really satisfied.
Viru: Thanks, yes, it was a tough year before, but then I have always believed in my style of batting, if the ball is there to be hit, I will hit it. This year, luckily, I hit some.

WaG (not the brightest idea I think) : So what did you do, to get back into the form you displayed down under?
Viru: Nothing, if the ball is there to be hit, I just hit the ball. I have always believed in this and I saw no reason to change that.

WaG: Not even after the horrendous last year and a half?
Viru: I felt I was getting out when I was batting well. But in this game you either play or you dont, so I said, if the ball is there to be hit, I will hit it.

WaG: Enlightening, I can't help but notice, that you sit, right next to Gary, if your in the dressing room. What is the reason for that? Some superstition?
Viru: No, nothing like that. I just get frustrated in there, when a ball is there to be hit, and it is left alone. I am not taking any names, but the wall, for example. So i mouth obscenities in Hindi, which Gary really can't understand. That's all.

( and then he mutters - I broke a TV thanks to him, hitting a ball that was there to be hit, watching him bat)

( Looking for the Breaking News scroll!! Damn, where did it go??)

He rounds off advising youngsters playing cricket, to hit the ball if it is there to be hit, after all, you either bat, or you dont. ( Uncomplicated genius) Obviously, if you are still interested to know, there is no bowler, Sehwag fears, because, he has nothing to do with the bowler, as any bowler, has to bowl the ball, and any ball is there to be hit.( Oh yes, after admirable restraint the man said it)

But, the team would like to thank him, for giving his precious time while trying to find a ball that can be hit, and also, for the amazing exhibition of sheer audacity and exhilarating batsmanship, in a year where, he setup the march of this Indian team to the pinnacle.

Keep it up Viru, Pure Genius!

A happy ending to the "Fabulous" Era

P.S: By Indian cricket I am referring to the test circuit

The culmination of Australia tour of India has brought to an end a few long lasting eras' of modern cricket. For a start, the 2-0 result has officially(well not yet, if you want to follow the ICC rankings) put an end to Australia's authority on top of World Cricket. They have been challenged a few times the last decade, by India, almost every time they met, in the Ashes, but this series has showed the huge void left behind by Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist and the fishing adventures of Symonds.

But from an Indian fan perspective, especially, us who have grown watching them, it is finally the end of the Fabulous Era - The era of the Fabulous Four. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, Saurav Chandidas Ganguly, Rahul Sharad Dravid, and VVS Laxman (never expanding a gult's name :)).
The longevity of them together itself is a testament to their greatness. As we all know, no community is as demanding as the Indian, and no community is as tough to win over as the Indian, no community is as hungry for the next big thing as Indian. The media, the fans, the politics all made sure in the past that the theatre of Indian Cricket has rarely had actors who played a part in each offering over as long a period as these four gentlemen have. That alone is enough testament to the greatness of this era.

An era so great, that I could not stop myself from coming out retirement, to use my office internet facilities (yeah, I'm still not fired) to celebrate a truely special part of Indian cricket history. One that will be etched in gold and framed, and will be placed right up there where it deserves, on the very top.



For a group as much as it has achieved, the forming of it was anything but trivial. As the Indian cricket fan had got used to by then, this group was plagued by inconsistency in the years before it donned its regal avatar. Inconsistency in direction, policies, selections, and when given the opportunity, the performances itself. It took four years, since the entry of the players in question, before the Fab Four took shape.

The contribution of the Fab Four to Indian Cricket cannot really be appreciated without looking at Indian Cricket through the 90's. The 90's brought to Indian Cricket, its first superstar, Sachin Tendulkar and with it great hope to a nation. And with great hope, unfortunately, came rather huge doses of disappointment. India had the best batsman in the world, it had Mohammad Azharrudin, a great captain, Javagal Srinath - one of the first "fast" bowlers of Indian Cricket, emergence of the next great spinner in Anil Kumble, and lots of bubbles, that would then soon burst, in Vinod Kambli, Jadeja, Manjrekar etc. An Indian fan will have fond memories of Sachin oozing exuberance, style, class, grace and genius in his innings in Sydney and Old Trafford. The amazing counter attack launched by Sachin and Azhar on a bouncy South African track, or the brilliant double century of Siddhu in West Indies, or many a fierce spells of Javagal Srinath and testing seam bowling of Venkatesh Prasad, but the overriding emotion of the decade had to be grief for the ever demanding Indian cricket fan, the sadness of Tendulkar's brilliance only resulting in a defeat by 200 runs, or the failure to chase 120. Most of you know what I am getting to by now. However great India were at home in the 90's, and initially, that was a big thing for young fans like me, even later - like the 98 Australian tour to India, the semi finals of 96 and other highlights of the decade, it eventually got to a point - the disappointment of the 99 World Cup, where the atrocious record abroad finally screamed out to even the most uninformed Indian (has to be a cricket fan). It finally made a fan wonder, if waking up at 4 to watch a test match in Australia was really worth it. The final blow was of course, the match fixing scandal.

From those depths, it needed something as special as these four to revive Indian cricket in the hearts and minds of the fan. From those depths, it needed something as special as these four to make the Indian fan wake up at 4 to catch even the pitch report of matches in Australia and stay up as late as 3 to see the post match analysis for matches in West Indies.

The heroics of VVS and Dravid at Kolkata in 2001, resulting in a dramatic series victory against the invincibles, the first test victory on the soil, in a long long time, of West Indies on the backs of Saurav and VVS, the Headingley assault led by Sachin and Ganguly, after the vigilance of, by now, "The Wall", Dravid's heroics in Adelaide, and finally series victories in Pakistan, West Indies and England and a test match victory in South Africa, the brilliant comeback in Perth, and Sri Lanka tour, and I am only scratching the surface. There were the occasional hiccups like the New Zealand tour in 03, but for the Indian fan brought up in the 90's, that is easy to digest. All this while maintaining their supremacy at home, only blemish being a series defeat to Australia in 04. (There were some drawn series). The 2000's for the first time in Indian cricket, made the Indian cricket fan, revel in the success of a group, and admire a group. That is the biggest compliment that can be put for these four, especially after Tendulkar became God somewhere in the 90's.

The Fab Four marked an era of Indian cricket, where its first serious push to the top of Test cricket was made. The start of the era was anything but a loud statement. But what we witnessed over the last eight or so years is batsmanship of the highest quality, and grit, fight and resolve never seen before in Indian cricket. And it is fitting that it has ended with a defining victory over the reigning test champions. Fitting that it has ended in taking India from being the forever middle of the pack team to the threshold of the best team in the world.

The Fabulous Four have cemented their place in Indian cricket history, and have become immortal in the minds of the Indian cricket fan.

Olympic Quotes

As the title suggests, great research has gone behind this post. I spent a lot of time going through the archives of all the games held since 1896 - the modern version of the games. I also consulted historians, translators, archaeologists - everyone I could to understand quotes of the ancient versions. After all this I put together a compilation of quotes, that I think are truly apart in terms of content. Here it is

1) "I could not run, I could not jump."

Anju B George, after failing to make even one legal jump in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Talk about a Government funded holiday and this tops it. Sorry to all other quotes that could not make the cut, but this is truly a class apart.