Wrong shots get right results : World Cup 2007 - HTCricket.com SpecialsHindustanTimes.com

One of my favorite writer , Akash Chopra talks about the unusual shots being deployed in One day Cricket.

"'m going to bet that Shane Watson hadn't learnt how to get down on one knee and scoop-heave a yorker-length ball over the fine leg boundary for a six in that young cricketer's technical bible, Don Bradman's The Art of Cricket. Watson probably saw that a short-fine leg was in place and wanted to go over him but hit it hard enough to send it sailing over.

Watson played the shot in Tuesday's rain-curtailed Super Eights opener, but I doubt you'll see that Watsonesque whack played in Tests, unless by a lower-end-bat. It's a typical bastardised one-day shot — like so many others. Though I wasn't around when cricket was played for the first time somewhere in England, I'm sure that one of the main cricketing shots from that early era was the cross-batted slog. That's probably the easiest shot to play and the beauty of the shot is that one does not have to learn how to play it."
Wrong shots get right results : World Cup 2007 - HTCricket.com SpecialsHindustanTimes.com:

Coach alone should not get the stick - Daily News & Analysis

Now that India is out of the world cup and I am back posting on my original Cricket Blog. Here's Ayaz Memon saying why coach alone shouldn't get the blame

Assigning blame for India’s debacle in the World Cup only to Greg Chappell is neither fair nor fact. This would be missing the woods for the trees, finding a scapegoat instead of the real culprit, and so on.

I don’t hold a brief for Chappell. Applying the simple equation of promise and delivery, he has failed and should probably lose his job. But it is pertinent to remember that he is the one guy who does not step on to the field to play. That is done by the 15 others who wear the Indian cap, most of whom performed agonizingly below par.

If Chappell is punished without concurrently acting on the niggardly contribution of the players, it does not help Indian cricket. In fact, this would induce a sense of infallibility in players which, as we have so sadly witnessed, contributed not a little to the dismal show in the West Indies.

Panic is no panacea to what is beginning to appear as the grimmest period in Indian cricket. We are what we are, and the truth is that we are just not good enough. But clearly, some strong message of intent needs to be sent down — to the coach, players, selectors et al —- as the Board buckles down to a deep analysis of what went wrong, and what shape the rebuilding process should take. If this message is weak, it becomes pointless.

DNA - Sport - Coach alone should not get the stick - Daily News & Analysis