Here's my first post in this year... Hell, it took a lot time to come. But rest assured it will be as good as one would want a first to be. So without further ado presenting to you my reply to participation in the cricket tournament to be held (not sure whether it will be) by the prestigious CSE department of IIT Madras...
Hi,
With everyone intent on playing i think i will apply for the position of the coach of the team that takes to field. I dont promise the stars but will try to help out people by correcting their techniques, stance, follow through and whatever else you guys call it. No comparisons to be made between this and a film by name Chak de India because lets accept the fact that though the coach would be as good as the one in that (if not better) I would not have the same awesome and
pretty team...
Positives to take (if i am selected that is)
When you come to my fees... well let me tell you its not even one millionth of what SRK or Greg Chappell or any guy who coaches (rather is named as a coach of) an Indian team gets... a treat in an average restaurant would do. Another point would be that I wouldnt ask you for your thumbs and all, I'm not a freak who gets pleasure from others discomfort.
Resume:
After my glittering career which lasted 13 long years (standard 1 to standard 12) of gully cricket, I have decided to devote my energies into making life more miserable for other people. Didn't want to go into acting as Irrfan rightly put it - "hum actors ko kaam nahi dekar woh log naakh se gaane waalo or pahaad jaise logo ko chance dete hai". No to umpiring as it is a thankless, tiring job and very difficult (dont even want to think of umpiring an India-Australia clash). Commentating was a lucrative offer but to tell you the truth, with Harsha Bhogle, Tony Greig, Boycott, Ravi Shastri (all positive sense) and Navjot Sidhu (negative sense) I didn't have many opportunities. So here I am - coaching. This will be my first time and I would like to thank the (...Academy?) CS dept which has such tournaments that let people like me have a flavour of coaching. But to put things in perspective, and I wouldn't want to name 'which' teams, I was approached by 'atleast' 3 IPL teams for my services. You can consider it a matter of pride that being the team player that I am, I would rather coach you than make easy bucks out there.
Hope this fits the bill (though a treat wouldn't be filling mine, I am ready to compromise for the best interests of the team)
Thanking you for your time,
Suket.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, December 17, 2007
PETE SAMPRAS - TENNIS' GREATEST
The retired U.S. tennis legend Pete Sampras shocked the present World No. 1 Roger Federer Saturday by 7-6, 6-4 in the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown, the last stop of their Asian exhibition match tour.
I have to say, well done Pete Sampras. Bravo. This is truly an extroadinary sporting achievement in time and in the modern game of tennis. Whether or not Roger Federer played at his absolute best is irrelevant, Pete Sampras after five years out of the game has defeated the grand master, where others have failed and failed again.
Sampras who fired down a number of trademark his massive serves put the current world number one into severe difficulty. Federer who was defeated by Sampras in the final of the three match series said that "Sampras could still be a top five player"...try a number one player Roger!
But in all seriousness Sampras has done very well in the shorter version of the game and to his credit notched up a victory. The 36 year old Sampras, who at times pumped out some major first serves at up to 210 km/hr, according to Federer could still be a top five tennis player in the world standings.
Sampras who has no intentions to return to world tennis, certainly put in an admiral stand where the rest of the world has struggled in recent times to put a dent in Federer's armour. After the match, Sampras who has been retired from the game for five years mentioned how much the game has changed with a lack of serve volley tennis, and the developments in tennis racquet technology being a catalyst for this.
With Roger Federer dominating the men's game, I think it was amazing to see Sampras take on Federer, hold his own, and change it up with Roger to great effect. The question is, if Sampras, as accomplished as he is, can still take it up to Federer with being out of the game for so long, what is wrong with the seasoned professionals on the men's tour? Why can't we find a group of all court challengers to Roger Federer like in the days of Sampras, Edberg, Agassi and so forth?
"I guess it's one for the old guys," Sampras joked at the award ceremony. He said at the press conference later on, "I made it competitive and I am serving very well."
"Pistol Pete" displays his trademark serves and volleys Saturday. The former world top player won the first set on a tie-break by 10-8 when neither player could reach a break of serve.
Sampras got the first but vital break of the match at 4-4 in the second set and went straight for the victory by 6-4.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not coming back, " Sampras said when asked about whether he would return from retirement.
36-year-old Sampras, who retired from professional tennis five years ago, had won a record 14 Grand Slams.
Pete Sampras has defeated Roger Federer in the final of their three scheduled matches this time in Macau. Sampras took it to Federer in straight sets winning 7-6(10-8), 6-4 in 70 minutes.I have to say, well done Pete Sampras. Bravo. This is truly an extroadinary sporting achievement in time and in the modern game of tennis. Whether or not Roger Federer played at his absolute best is irrelevant, Pete Sampras after five years out of the game has defeated the grand master, where others have failed and failed again.
Sampras who fired down a number of trademark his massive serves put the current world number one into severe difficulty. Federer who was defeated by Sampras in the final of the three match series said that "Sampras could still be a top five player"...try a number one player Roger!
But in all seriousness Sampras has done very well in the shorter version of the game and to his credit notched up a victory. The 36 year old Sampras, who at times pumped out some major first serves at up to 210 km/hr, according to Federer could still be a top five tennis player in the world standings.
Sampras who has no intentions to return to world tennis, certainly put in an admiral stand where the rest of the world has struggled in recent times to put a dent in Federer's armour. After the match, Sampras who has been retired from the game for five years mentioned how much the game has changed with a lack of serve volley tennis, and the developments in tennis racquet technology being a catalyst for this.
With Roger Federer dominating the men's game, I think it was amazing to see Sampras take on Federer, hold his own, and change it up with Roger to great effect. The question is, if Sampras, as accomplished as he is, can still take it up to Federer with being out of the game for so long, what is wrong with the seasoned professionals on the men's tour? Why can't we find a group of all court challengers to Roger Federer like in the days of Sampras, Edberg, Agassi and so forth?
"I'm sort of surprised. This guy can play tennis, you know," Federer said after his loss.
He put on a positive spin on the match, saying he wasn't embarrassed to lose to his idol.
I would say on his day, Sampras can defeat anyone.
PAOLO MALDINI - THE GREATEST FOOTBALLER
On Tuesday (Feb 22, 2007), AC Milan's Paolo Maldini played in his 100th Champions League match. In an age with plenty of living legends, Maldini is that rarest of things – a legend not only living, but still playing. And in his own quiet way, Maldini, 38, continues to build his case as the best defender of all time.
His professional connection to Milan stretches back nearly three decades. His father Cesare was a star with the club. Paolo was first signed at age 9. He made his senior debut as a speedy, offensive-minded fullback at age 16. In the late '80s and early '90s, he earned a reputation as the finest left back in history – it's really not a point of argument.
But as his career stretches into its second phase, he continues to ladle on the laudables. Should Maldini drive Milan to its seventh (and his fifth) European crown this year, it might be time for a serious discussion about The Greatest Ever.
The best indication of his current stature is what is known as The Maldini Effect. Whenever a young striker sprints in toward the Milan goal and sees il capitano standing before him, his nerve goes. He passes when he should have run on or shoots long before he has the proverbial snowball's chance at hitting the goal. Wayne Rooney was a notable victim a couple of years ago.
Maldini is well aware of his imposing reputation. When he makes international appearances these days, opposing players not only ask to exchange jerseys, some request autographs. Maldini always obliges.
The Effect, like his feet, is only another tool Paolo Maldini uses to cripple the opposition.
He was always a chess player plotting in the midst of a field full of dervishes. His thoughtfulness has the result of slowing the game to his preferred pace – glacial. Thus, a Maldini highlight reel would make fairly unimpressive viewing, considering the superlatives that circle around him.
Most of his best plays involved snuffing out an offensive movement a heartbeat before it actually got started. He wasn't the quickest or strongest, but he was always the smartest. His unerring field intelligence allowed him to use his considerable physical gifts to their greatest purpose. Had he been as dominant an offensive player as he has been as a defender, he would likely be regarded as the finest soccer player ever.
In his 30s, he developed serious knee problems that put his career in doubt. Rather than give in, he adopted a more static role in the centre of the defence. Along with another superlative defender, Alessandro Nesta, Maldini helped build the Muro Milan – the Milan Wall.
The knees still bother him. But during the second stage of his career, he's been named to the FIFPro starting World XI and finished eighth in 2005 world player-of-the-year balloting. Pretty nifty for a makeshift centre back.
The Maldini legacy continues apace for the Rossoneri. In an echo of family history, Paolo's 10-year-old son Christian has been signed to the club's youth set-up. Although Milan has already promised to retire the elder Maldini's No. 3 when he decides to quit, special arrangements have been made for Christian to inherit his father's number if and when he makes the senior team.
But what would happen if the pair were to play together? Though retirement rumours have swirled around Maldini for years now, he has publicly mused about playing until he's achieved 1,000 games for Milan. To get there he must make 166 more appearances – roughly six seasons worth at his current rate. If Christian proves as prodigious as his father, there is the faint hope of two Maldinis in one Milan lineup.
For any other player, these would be laughable goals. In the case of the peerless Maldini, and in the hearts of his fans of all stripes, it's a fervent hope.
And today...Italy and ACMilan great Paolo Maldini has confirmed he will end his 24-year career at the end of this season. Speaking to Italian TV channel Mediaset Premium after Milan's 4-2 Club World Cup triumph over Boca Juniors of Argentina, the 39-year-old claimed he would not play past his 40th birthday - which arrives just a week after the end of the Italian season.
"It's wonderful because it's difficult to reach 39 years old at a great club such as Milan, a club that has always given me the possibility to play for important trophies," said the left-back.
"Now, I feel really satisfied with what I have achieved." Maldini has set many records during his remarkable career, including earning 126 Italian caps, with 74 of those coming as captain, playing in 170 European club matches - although his return of just three goals is less impressive - and playing 603 Serie A matches.
"I have absolutely no regrets," he said of his decision to end his career next June. "I have done everything possible during my football career."
The Rossoneri beat Boca Juniors 4-2 yesterday to clinch the trophy and cap off an impressive year."Today I truly feel satisfied with what I have achieved," said Maldini, who earlier this year lifted the Champions League trophy. "In June I will retire without any regrets."
As far as honours go, the 39-year-old defender has had his fair share including five Champions League titles, two Intercontinental Cups, four European Super Cups and seven Serie A titles.
But the Club World Cup is the icing on the cake for the iconic defender. "It's great to have won this trophy, because it's difficult to be playing at 39 at a great club like AC Milan," he said.
"I have had everything in my football career but I have pain. I still have a lot of fun, but the pain is beginning to take over."
Kaka, who is expected to win the Fifa World Player of the Year award today, set up two goals for team-mate Filippo Inzaghi and scored a wonderful solo effort to help the European champions beat the Argentine side in the final.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
STUPIDITY AT ITS BEST!!!
These are the stupidest laws, according to percentage share of public vote.
Most ridiculous British laws:
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (7%)
3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (6%)
4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day (5%)
5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (4%)
6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (4%)
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen (3.5%)
8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (3%)
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour
10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (2%)
Most ridiculous foreign laws:
1. In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk (9%)
2. In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation (8%)
3. In Bahrain, a male doctor can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror (7%)
4. In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm (6%)
5. In Alabama, it is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle (6%)
6. In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on a Sunday could be jailed (6%)
7. In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth (6%)
8. In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except funerals or hospital visits (5%)
9. In Japan, there is no age of consent (5%)
10. In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon (4%)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Third time lucky for new champion Raikkonen
Finally, after two near-misses, Kimi Raikkonen has his very own world championship. It may have been a long time coming but what a one to win. By bettering double world champion Fernando Alonso and the sport’s newest superstar, Lewis Hamilton, Raikkonen has secured Ferrari their first driver title of the post-Schumacher era and denied former team McLaren their only compensation from a difficult season.
Back at the season-opener in Australia, Raikkonen was already looking like a champion-in waiting. Taking pole, victory and fastest lap to boot, he dominated the Melbourne race weekend. Of course, the McLaren duo were also in the mix, as was Raikkonen’s team mate Felipe Massa, but it was the Finn who looked to have the advantage.
Fast forward to mid-season, however, and it was different story. As Hamilton, Massa and Alonso traded wins, Raikkonen seemed to slip by the wayside. Struggling to adapt to the new Bridgestone tyres, the 28-year-old went six races without a victory. With less than half the points of championship leader Hamilton, his title chances looked decidedly bleak.
For one thing, luck seemed to have deserted him. An electrical failure in Spain and an accident during qualifying in Monaco were just two of the mishaps which seriously dented Raikkonen’s mid-season challenge. A faulty wind tunnel back at the factory was also wreaking minor havoc on Ferrari’s programme of development.
But just as matters looked to be irretrievable, fate moved in his favour. In France, whether down to clever strategy, hard work or just plain good fortune, Raikkonen began to look at ease in the F2007. Backing up his victory at Magny-Cours with another in Silverstone, a revival was on the cards. Even the hydraulics failure at the Nurburgring did little to dent Raikkonen’s resurgence. With the impetus on his side, the quietly determined Finn hauled in valuable points to close on leader Hamilton.
Although reliability problems continued to plague the Italian squad, it was Massa who seemed to bear the brunt of their effects with the Brazilian’s title fight eventually petering out after his suspension strife in Monza. Raikkonen’s charge, meanwhile, was unrelenting. With his title hopes further strengthened by dominant victories in Belgium and China, the Finn arrived in Brazil for the final race of the season still in the running.
Seven points adrift of Hamilton, and three shy of Alonso - he needed a victory to seal the deal. He had history on his side, however. Back in 1986 - the last time three men were still in contention at the season finale - outsider Alain Prost had taken the championship in Adelaide after a sterling drive for McLaren, pushing out Williams team mates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet. In Sao Paulo, Raikkonen was favourite to win the race, but his title hopes would rest just as heavily on the performance of his rivals. But as with Prost, it all came together. He won the race, with team mate Massa protecting him in second. Alonso had no answer to the Ferraris’ pace and gearbox gremlins demoted Hamilton to seventh.
Despite Raikkonen’s title challenge taking some severe knocks in the early stages, the ‘Iceman’ has fought back with admirable determination. Against the odds, he has done it. By outstripping team mate Massa, taking on the might of the McLaren duo and muscling his way into the title showdown in Brazil, Raikkonen has shown himself not only to be a worthy replacement for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, he has also proved himself a worthy world champion. Congratulations Kimi!
In the end, Ferrari came away with everything, and McLaren virtually with nothing. Having already had their points in the constructors’ championship annulled, the Anglo-German team lost the drivers’ title too, at the 11th hour.
With tyre wear being a major concern, the odds were always going to favour the Ferraris here since they used their tyres better over race distances, and thus it proved, though Lewis Hamilton was able to demonstrate with the second fastest lap that there wasn’t a lot to choose between the two teams on sheer pace.The red cars owned the race from the start, and his ability to run three laps longer in the second stint proved crucial as the new world champion Kimi Raikkonen sped home to a deserved sixth victory of the year. Felipe Massa, having started from pole and led much of the race, dutifully did the right thing by not trying to make a race of it as his team mate needed the 10 points for victory. Some days it’s tough being a hero, but Massa carried it off with dignity in front of his adoring countrymen.
Fernando Alonso said he could hold the Ferraris initially, but not once they really began to push. And that said it all. But had his gearbox not selected neutral on the eighth lap, before resetting itself, Hamilton might still have had his crack at the title. As it was, he was able to fight back to seventh place, bringing his points tally equal to Alonso’s but taking second overall on countback on the strength of five second places to Alonso’s four.
Back at the season-opener in Australia, Raikkonen was already looking like a champion-in waiting. Taking pole, victory and fastest lap to boot, he dominated the Melbourne race weekend. Of course, the McLaren duo were also in the mix, as was Raikkonen’s team mate Felipe Massa, but it was the Finn who looked to have the advantage.
Fast forward to mid-season, however, and it was different story. As Hamilton, Massa and Alonso traded wins, Raikkonen seemed to slip by the wayside. Struggling to adapt to the new Bridgestone tyres, the 28-year-old went six races without a victory. With less than half the points of championship leader Hamilton, his title chances looked decidedly bleak.
For one thing, luck seemed to have deserted him. An electrical failure in Spain and an accident during qualifying in Monaco were just two of the mishaps which seriously dented Raikkonen’s mid-season challenge. A faulty wind tunnel back at the factory was also wreaking minor havoc on Ferrari’s programme of development.
But just as matters looked to be irretrievable, fate moved in his favour. In France, whether down to clever strategy, hard work or just plain good fortune, Raikkonen began to look at ease in the F2007. Backing up his victory at Magny-Cours with another in Silverstone, a revival was on the cards. Even the hydraulics failure at the Nurburgring did little to dent Raikkonen’s resurgence. With the impetus on his side, the quietly determined Finn hauled in valuable points to close on leader Hamilton.
Although reliability problems continued to plague the Italian squad, it was Massa who seemed to bear the brunt of their effects with the Brazilian’s title fight eventually petering out after his suspension strife in Monza. Raikkonen’s charge, meanwhile, was unrelenting. With his title hopes further strengthened by dominant victories in Belgium and China, the Finn arrived in Brazil for the final race of the season still in the running.
Seven points adrift of Hamilton, and three shy of Alonso - he needed a victory to seal the deal. He had history on his side, however. Back in 1986 - the last time three men were still in contention at the season finale - outsider Alain Prost had taken the championship in Adelaide after a sterling drive for McLaren, pushing out Williams team mates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet. In Sao Paulo, Raikkonen was favourite to win the race, but his title hopes would rest just as heavily on the performance of his rivals. But as with Prost, it all came together. He won the race, with team mate Massa protecting him in second. Alonso had no answer to the Ferraris’ pace and gearbox gremlins demoted Hamilton to seventh.
Despite Raikkonen’s title challenge taking some severe knocks in the early stages, the ‘Iceman’ has fought back with admirable determination. Against the odds, he has done it. By outstripping team mate Massa, taking on the might of the McLaren duo and muscling his way into the title showdown in Brazil, Raikkonen has shown himself not only to be a worthy replacement for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, he has also proved himself a worthy world champion. Congratulations Kimi!
In the end, Ferrari came away with everything, and McLaren virtually with nothing. Having already had their points in the constructors’ championship annulled, the Anglo-German team lost the drivers’ title too, at the 11th hour.
With tyre wear being a major concern, the odds were always going to favour the Ferraris here since they used their tyres better over race distances, and thus it proved, though Lewis Hamilton was able to demonstrate with the second fastest lap that there wasn’t a lot to choose between the two teams on sheer pace.The red cars owned the race from the start, and his ability to run three laps longer in the second stint proved crucial as the new world champion Kimi Raikkonen sped home to a deserved sixth victory of the year. Felipe Massa, having started from pole and led much of the race, dutifully did the right thing by not trying to make a race of it as his team mate needed the 10 points for victory. Some days it’s tough being a hero, but Massa carried it off with dignity in front of his adoring countrymen.
Fernando Alonso said he could hold the Ferraris initially, but not once they really began to push. And that said it all. But had his gearbox not selected neutral on the eighth lap, before resetting itself, Hamilton might still have had his crack at the title. As it was, he was able to fight back to seventh place, bringing his points tally equal to Alonso’s but taking second overall on countback on the strength of five second places to Alonso’s four.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
'I'm not really feeling my age' - Shaun Pollock
Chatting to Shaun Pollock about as-yet-unreached career milestones is a lot like trying to pick out a birthday present for a billionaire. What do you give the man who already has it all?
Take a glance at Pollock's career statistics. He's already played his 100th Test (against New Zealand, 2006); he's already taken his 400th Test wicket (India, 2006); he's already scored his 3000th Test run (India, 2004); and, even though he's nominally a fast-medium bowler, he's already scored two Test hundreds (Sri Lanka and West Indies, both 2001).
His one-day international record reads much the same: he's already scored his 3000th ODI run (Bangladesh, 2007 ); taken his 350th ODI wicket (New Zealand, 2006); and scored his maiden ODI hundred (against the Asia XI in 2007). Oh, and he's also captained the national team already - in 26 Tests, 97 ODIs and, lest we forget, in South Africa's 1998 Commonwealth Games gold medal campaign. So could Shaun Pollock possibly have any milestones left to reach?
"Yeah, I do," he nods. "You've got to have goals, you know. If you have nothing to strive for, your passion will start to dwindle. So yes, I do still have some goals. But that's not my main focus and I'm not the kind of person who puts them out there. There are, at the back of my mind, some milestones that I'd like to achieve. And you'd love me to tell you what they are, but ..." He closes his lips into his familiar naughty-schoolboy grin.
Ag, c'mon, Polly.
"Okay, I'll give you one," he relents. "I'd like to get 400 one-day wickets. And I'm not too far off." Indeed not: at last count, Pollock had 383 ODI scalps.
It all seems a long way from his illuminating maiden ODI, against England at Newlands in January 1996, when as a wide-eyed, red-haired youngster he thwacked an unbeaten run-a-ball 66 and took 4 for 34 to announce his arrival on the international scene. He was named Man of the Match and then Man of the ODI Series, having already averaged 26.60 with bat and 23.56 with ball in the Test series.
Pollock's early reputation - no doubt fortified by his famous family name - was based on what was perceived as an ability to intimidate the batsman. "People had this big impression that I was a tearaway quickie," he says. "But I've never enjoyed pinning people, and I still don't get any pleasure out of tonking someone on the head. I had quite a quick bumper back then, and another one that nipped back at the right-hander and tended to follow him, so that probably got the batters into more trouble than my actual pace."
Come to mention it, Pollock's pace has faded over the years - to the point where there's now talk that his time as a top-level cricketer may be coming to an end. But all that talk has been limited to press opinions, commentator chatter and idle around-the-water-cooler office debates. Speak to Pollock himself, and it's clear that he's not ready to call time just yet.
"I'm not really feeling my age," he shrugs. "Yes, you get sore, but that's part and parcel of playing international sport. You wake up some mornings and think, 'Gosh, how'm I gonna get out of bed here?' But that's also part of the mental side of things, of lifting yourself every morning, lifting yourself out of disappointment, lifting yourself when you're feeling sore to come back and fight and put in another performance."
So were we wrong, in our World Cup previews earlier this year, to suggest that 2007 would be his last World Cup? Is he saying that he'll stick around till 2011?
I'd like to challenge myself outside of the game for a while, and then maybe come back to it at a later stage. I've always been very passionate about cricket and I believe you have to be passionate about what you're doing in order to get the best out of yourself
"Ja, that's not going to happen!" he laughs. "Look, I've always been very conscious of not overstaying my welcome. I don't want to be here for longer than I should. But then I also don't want to cut my career short prematurely. I still want to be contributing and helping South Africa win games. And when I'm not doing that, the time will be right to retire."
But when? And where?
"That's difficult to say," he says. "But it is something I do give thought to. It's not like I'm putting my head in the sand here and saying I'll stick around forever or until someone kicks me out. I've had a lovely career. I've enjoyed everything. And I believe I still have a part to play for now. And when I feel like I don't ..." He sighs.
"You know, you hear guys talk and they'll say they knew when the time was right to retire," he says. "Well, for me it hasn't felt like the time's right yet. You have times when you think, you know, it's more time away from your family, your body hurts, you're getting older ... but I'm 34. The other guys were finishing when they were 38."
We put it to him that he might, as others have in the past, decide to retire from one form of the game, and focus his energies entirely on either Tests or ODIs. "I've given a lot of thought to that," he nods. "But that's the funny thing: for now I'm still enjoying both. So we'll have to see."
Ag, c'mon, Polly. Gun to your head, which one would you choose?
"Gun to my head? At this stage I'd probably choose one-day cricket," he says. "And that's just because of the time you're away from home in Test cricket. The strain on your body, bowling 30 overs a day. In one-day cricket you know you've just got ten overs per match."
It's obvious - and it's been obvious from the start, from that warm January evening at Newlands in the summer of '96 - that Pollock has had a particular affection for cricket's abbreviated form. "It's the hype," he says. "It's the adrenaline rush. And you know what you're going to be doing. You know how many overs you're going to bowl, you know where you're going to bat. It's something you can deal with. Test cricket is the true test of the game: it's where your proper skills are tested and it's where the proper players tend to come to the top. So it's going to be sad, but just from a holistic perspective it would make a lot more sense to retire from Test cricket first."
At the insistence of the no-nonsense TWC editor, we're still probing: How about the full England tour in 2008? Wouldn't that, then, be the obvious (grand, fitting, etc) occasion to call time on Tests?
"I'm not even 100 per cent clear in my mind at this stage."
***
Pollock is that rarest of things in the current Proteas side: a family man. While some of his team-mates are filling the pages of South Africa's gossip rags with their swimsuit girlfriends and, erm, their late-night exploits, Shaun Pollock is a husband and father. And as much as he loves playing cricket for his country, he hates spending too much time away from Tricia and his two girls, Jemma and Georgia.
"I think it's more difficult on them than it is on me," he says. "When I'm away on tour I'm surrounded by a squad of 20 guys. But there's a lot of downtime for my family, and there's a lot of pressure on Tricia having to deal with the kids and the household while I'm away. I've been very fortunate in that they've made the sacrifice and allowed me to live my dream and pursue my career. But the more you play and the older the girls get, the harder it gets for me to go away and for them to understand why."
Pollock suggests that as the international cricket calendar becomes more and more filled up, senior players like himself might start selecting which tours they'll go on. "Like the golfers and the tennis players do now," he says. "They don't play in every event. They work out their schedules so that they're peaking for the majors. You might find if you're going to play against Bangladesh at home, where you'd be expected to win, that the selectors might bring in the younger players. Keep the nucleus of older guys, but throw in the young brigade to give them a bit of experience, and then rest the other guys.
"But it's a delicate balancing act, and it's not always popular with the media, with the spectators, and sometimes even with the players. I know from a player's perspective that none of us likes to miss a game. We like to play and we don't like to be rested - especially when the team's playing at home. You want to be out there in front of your own crowd where the battle's happening."
Judging by the ICC's Future Tours calendar, there'll be plenty of time to play - and to rest - in the coming months. After the Twenty20 World Cup, South Africa face series against Pakistan (away), New Zealand (home), West Indies (home), Bangladesh (away) and India (away). And that's just between now and April.
Ticking another box: Pollock gets his maiden ODI hundred, earlier in the year © AFP
For Pollock, that's a mixed blessing. "It's good for the game that there's a demand for that amount of cricket," he says. "At one stage with the match-fixing and all that, people were worried about where cricket was going. But that's not saying it's good from the players' perspective, because the workload is not ideal. And you always want the big players to be playing; that's what makes the product good."
Returning, gingerly, to retirement talk, we press Pollock for what his plans are when he does ultimately decide to hang up his gloves.
"I think I'd take a six-month sabbatical," he says, with the air of a man who's thought this all through already. "I'd like to challenge myself outside of the game for a while, and then maybe come back to it at a later stage. I've always been very passionate about cricket and I believe you have to be passionate about what you're doing in order to get the best out of yourself. So I'd have to find something else that I'm passionate about and that I'd want to put all of my time and energy into. I'm not too sure what that would be. I've got a Bachelor of Commerce degree, so maybe I'll have to go back to some work at some stage."
And discover, perhaps, that there's more to life than cricket?
"I know there's more to life, trust me!" he says. "But my focus has been so much on cricket that there are things I've not been able to do. For example, I've never been able to go skiing in case something happened to my knees. So that six-month sabbatical will be time where I do the things I wish I could have done while I was still playing.
"Not," he adds, "that I would have changed anything."
With more than 100 Tests, more than 400 wickets, more than 3000 runs, and nearly every ODI milestone reached (except, of course for that elusive 400th wicket), it's hard to imagine much Shaun Pollock would have changed about his career. Except, perhaps, for the idea that at some point it will all have to come to an end.
Take a glance at Pollock's career statistics. He's already played his 100th Test (against New Zealand, 2006); he's already taken his 400th Test wicket (India, 2006); he's already scored his 3000th Test run (India, 2004); and, even though he's nominally a fast-medium bowler, he's already scored two Test hundreds (Sri Lanka and West Indies, both 2001).
His one-day international record reads much the same: he's already scored his 3000th ODI run (Bangladesh, 2007 ); taken his 350th ODI wicket (New Zealand, 2006); and scored his maiden ODI hundred (against the Asia XI in 2007). Oh, and he's also captained the national team already - in 26 Tests, 97 ODIs and, lest we forget, in South Africa's 1998 Commonwealth Games gold medal campaign. So could Shaun Pollock possibly have any milestones left to reach?
"Yeah, I do," he nods. "You've got to have goals, you know. If you have nothing to strive for, your passion will start to dwindle. So yes, I do still have some goals. But that's not my main focus and I'm not the kind of person who puts them out there. There are, at the back of my mind, some milestones that I'd like to achieve. And you'd love me to tell you what they are, but ..." He closes his lips into his familiar naughty-schoolboy grin.
Ag, c'mon, Polly.
"Okay, I'll give you one," he relents. "I'd like to get 400 one-day wickets. And I'm not too far off." Indeed not: at last count, Pollock had 383 ODI scalps.
It all seems a long way from his illuminating maiden ODI, against England at Newlands in January 1996, when as a wide-eyed, red-haired youngster he thwacked an unbeaten run-a-ball 66 and took 4 for 34 to announce his arrival on the international scene. He was named Man of the Match and then Man of the ODI Series, having already averaged 26.60 with bat and 23.56 with ball in the Test series.
Pollock's early reputation - no doubt fortified by his famous family name - was based on what was perceived as an ability to intimidate the batsman. "People had this big impression that I was a tearaway quickie," he says. "But I've never enjoyed pinning people, and I still don't get any pleasure out of tonking someone on the head. I had quite a quick bumper back then, and another one that nipped back at the right-hander and tended to follow him, so that probably got the batters into more trouble than my actual pace."
Come to mention it, Pollock's pace has faded over the years - to the point where there's now talk that his time as a top-level cricketer may be coming to an end. But all that talk has been limited to press opinions, commentator chatter and idle around-the-water-cooler office debates. Speak to Pollock himself, and it's clear that he's not ready to call time just yet.
"I'm not really feeling my age," he shrugs. "Yes, you get sore, but that's part and parcel of playing international sport. You wake up some mornings and think, 'Gosh, how'm I gonna get out of bed here?' But that's also part of the mental side of things, of lifting yourself every morning, lifting yourself out of disappointment, lifting yourself when you're feeling sore to come back and fight and put in another performance."
So were we wrong, in our World Cup previews earlier this year, to suggest that 2007 would be his last World Cup? Is he saying that he'll stick around till 2011?
I'd like to challenge myself outside of the game for a while, and then maybe come back to it at a later stage. I've always been very passionate about cricket and I believe you have to be passionate about what you're doing in order to get the best out of yourself
"Ja, that's not going to happen!" he laughs. "Look, I've always been very conscious of not overstaying my welcome. I don't want to be here for longer than I should. But then I also don't want to cut my career short prematurely. I still want to be contributing and helping South Africa win games. And when I'm not doing that, the time will be right to retire."
But when? And where?
"That's difficult to say," he says. "But it is something I do give thought to. It's not like I'm putting my head in the sand here and saying I'll stick around forever or until someone kicks me out. I've had a lovely career. I've enjoyed everything. And I believe I still have a part to play for now. And when I feel like I don't ..." He sighs.
"You know, you hear guys talk and they'll say they knew when the time was right to retire," he says. "Well, for me it hasn't felt like the time's right yet. You have times when you think, you know, it's more time away from your family, your body hurts, you're getting older ... but I'm 34. The other guys were finishing when they were 38."
We put it to him that he might, as others have in the past, decide to retire from one form of the game, and focus his energies entirely on either Tests or ODIs. "I've given a lot of thought to that," he nods. "But that's the funny thing: for now I'm still enjoying both. So we'll have to see."
Ag, c'mon, Polly. Gun to your head, which one would you choose?
"Gun to my head? At this stage I'd probably choose one-day cricket," he says. "And that's just because of the time you're away from home in Test cricket. The strain on your body, bowling 30 overs a day. In one-day cricket you know you've just got ten overs per match."
It's obvious - and it's been obvious from the start, from that warm January evening at Newlands in the summer of '96 - that Pollock has had a particular affection for cricket's abbreviated form. "It's the hype," he says. "It's the adrenaline rush. And you know what you're going to be doing. You know how many overs you're going to bowl, you know where you're going to bat. It's something you can deal with. Test cricket is the true test of the game: it's where your proper skills are tested and it's where the proper players tend to come to the top. So it's going to be sad, but just from a holistic perspective it would make a lot more sense to retire from Test cricket first."
At the insistence of the no-nonsense TWC editor, we're still probing: How about the full England tour in 2008? Wouldn't that, then, be the obvious (grand, fitting, etc) occasion to call time on Tests?
"I'm not even 100 per cent clear in my mind at this stage."
***
Pollock is that rarest of things in the current Proteas side: a family man. While some of his team-mates are filling the pages of South Africa's gossip rags with their swimsuit girlfriends and, erm, their late-night exploits, Shaun Pollock is a husband and father. And as much as he loves playing cricket for his country, he hates spending too much time away from Tricia and his two girls, Jemma and Georgia.
"I think it's more difficult on them than it is on me," he says. "When I'm away on tour I'm surrounded by a squad of 20 guys. But there's a lot of downtime for my family, and there's a lot of pressure on Tricia having to deal with the kids and the household while I'm away. I've been very fortunate in that they've made the sacrifice and allowed me to live my dream and pursue my career. But the more you play and the older the girls get, the harder it gets for me to go away and for them to understand why."
Pollock suggests that as the international cricket calendar becomes more and more filled up, senior players like himself might start selecting which tours they'll go on. "Like the golfers and the tennis players do now," he says. "They don't play in every event. They work out their schedules so that they're peaking for the majors. You might find if you're going to play against Bangladesh at home, where you'd be expected to win, that the selectors might bring in the younger players. Keep the nucleus of older guys, but throw in the young brigade to give them a bit of experience, and then rest the other guys.
"But it's a delicate balancing act, and it's not always popular with the media, with the spectators, and sometimes even with the players. I know from a player's perspective that none of us likes to miss a game. We like to play and we don't like to be rested - especially when the team's playing at home. You want to be out there in front of your own crowd where the battle's happening."
Judging by the ICC's Future Tours calendar, there'll be plenty of time to play - and to rest - in the coming months. After the Twenty20 World Cup, South Africa face series against Pakistan (away), New Zealand (home), West Indies (home), Bangladesh (away) and India (away). And that's just between now and April.
Ticking another box: Pollock gets his maiden ODI hundred, earlier in the year © AFP
For Pollock, that's a mixed blessing. "It's good for the game that there's a demand for that amount of cricket," he says. "At one stage with the match-fixing and all that, people were worried about where cricket was going. But that's not saying it's good from the players' perspective, because the workload is not ideal. And you always want the big players to be playing; that's what makes the product good."
Returning, gingerly, to retirement talk, we press Pollock for what his plans are when he does ultimately decide to hang up his gloves.
"I think I'd take a six-month sabbatical," he says, with the air of a man who's thought this all through already. "I'd like to challenge myself outside of the game for a while, and then maybe come back to it at a later stage. I've always been very passionate about cricket and I believe you have to be passionate about what you're doing in order to get the best out of yourself. So I'd have to find something else that I'm passionate about and that I'd want to put all of my time and energy into. I'm not too sure what that would be. I've got a Bachelor of Commerce degree, so maybe I'll have to go back to some work at some stage."
And discover, perhaps, that there's more to life than cricket?
"I know there's more to life, trust me!" he says. "But my focus has been so much on cricket that there are things I've not been able to do. For example, I've never been able to go skiing in case something happened to my knees. So that six-month sabbatical will be time where I do the things I wish I could have done while I was still playing.
"Not," he adds, "that I would have changed anything."
With more than 100 Tests, more than 400 wickets, more than 3000 runs, and nearly every ODI milestone reached (except, of course for that elusive 400th wicket), it's hard to imagine much Shaun Pollock would have changed about his career. Except, perhaps, for the idea that at some point it will all have to come to an end.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Mr Unpredictable
Craig McMillan was one of those players who always dominated the conversations of New Zealand cricket fans. Whether the discussion focused on his dismissal after attempting a reverse sweep or dancing down the wicket to hit his first delivery for six, he was never far from the action.
It's ironic that McMillan should now exit the game of his own accord, when so many people over the last ten years have called for his dropping on many occasions. His ability has never been in question, but his decision-making at the crease often frustrated New Zealand supporters.
But when that decision-making paid off, there were very few batsmen in international cricket that could entertain as well as McMillan. His unpredictability not only frustrated fans, but also opposition bowling attacks. At times it was impossible to predict what he would do. He may dance down the wicket, play a reverse sweep or even play a beautiful cricket shot that would please Martin Crowe or Glen Turner. This style of batting was never more evident than in March 2001 when he hit 26 off a Younis Khan over to break the record for the most runs scored in a Test over.
McMillan made his debut for New Zealand in the 1996-97 season, but he would not play a Test until the following summer. From those early days, he was never scared to take on his opposition. He had some interesting verbal exchanges with a few Australian players. He liked to dominate Shane Warne with the bat and the two had some great verbal battles over the years. They later became good friends, particularly after McMillan played for Hampshire in 2005 under the captaincy of Warne.
When he first entered the New Zealand team, there were high hopes that McMillan would become an international star. After a good start to his career, he never quite made it to the level some expected him to reach. Many argue that his shot selection was why he failed to score more runs. But McMillan liked to dominate bowling attacks. He would refuse to get bogged down, particularly in the one-day game. If he had to risk his wicket to keep on top of a bowler, that's what he would do.
He was also explosive at the bowling crease. Although he did not have the pace to scare opposition batsmen, his energy and determination gave him an uncanny ability to break up longstanding partnerships.
Scoring over 3000 Test runs at an average of 38.46, he has contributed a great deal to his national side in the longer form of the game, even if the record is not spectacular. His ODI statistics look less impressive, but they do not tell the whole story.
His overall batting average in the one-day game is just 28.18 and he has reached three figures on only three occasions in his 197-game career. But as a middle-order batsman, he often came in during the death overs and had to sacrifice his wicket. Despite the low average, he did play some useful innings for his country.
The other interesting thing about McMillan is his fighting spirit. It was never obvious to spectators or viewers that he had to regularly take his diabetic medication. He refused to let that affect his game. This fighting spirit was also evident on the field and through his determination to get back in the team when he was dropped. This first happened when he was dropped for the New Zealand tour to Sri Lanka in 2003. When he was re-selected for the tour to India later that year, he scored 83 not out to save his team in the first Test. He followed that up with a century in the second.
But the more remarkable comeback followed his failure to secure a contract with New Zealand Cricket in June 2006. After his re-selection later that year, he would dominate the Australian bowling attack in the 2006-07 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The highlight was the final game where he was instrumental in chasing down 346 to see his team win the series 3-0. His century came off 67 balls and he was later dismissed for 117. McMillan followed that performance up with 228 runs at 32.57 in the World Cup earlier this year, while he was New Zealand's highest run scorer in the recent ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.
His explosive nature on the park and fighting spirit will be missed by his team-mates and New Zealand cricket fans. He may go down in history as someone who could have done more, but no-one can deny his determination and natural ability.
It's ironic that McMillan should now exit the game of his own accord, when so many people over the last ten years have called for his dropping on many occasions. His ability has never been in question, but his decision-making at the crease often frustrated New Zealand supporters.
But when that decision-making paid off, there were very few batsmen in international cricket that could entertain as well as McMillan. His unpredictability not only frustrated fans, but also opposition bowling attacks. At times it was impossible to predict what he would do. He may dance down the wicket, play a reverse sweep or even play a beautiful cricket shot that would please Martin Crowe or Glen Turner. This style of batting was never more evident than in March 2001 when he hit 26 off a Younis Khan over to break the record for the most runs scored in a Test over.
McMillan made his debut for New Zealand in the 1996-97 season, but he would not play a Test until the following summer. From those early days, he was never scared to take on his opposition. He had some interesting verbal exchanges with a few Australian players. He liked to dominate Shane Warne with the bat and the two had some great verbal battles over the years. They later became good friends, particularly after McMillan played for Hampshire in 2005 under the captaincy of Warne.
When he first entered the New Zealand team, there were high hopes that McMillan would become an international star. After a good start to his career, he never quite made it to the level some expected him to reach. Many argue that his shot selection was why he failed to score more runs. But McMillan liked to dominate bowling attacks. He would refuse to get bogged down, particularly in the one-day game. If he had to risk his wicket to keep on top of a bowler, that's what he would do.
He was also explosive at the bowling crease. Although he did not have the pace to scare opposition batsmen, his energy and determination gave him an uncanny ability to break up longstanding partnerships.
Scoring over 3000 Test runs at an average of 38.46, he has contributed a great deal to his national side in the longer form of the game, even if the record is not spectacular. His ODI statistics look less impressive, but they do not tell the whole story.
His overall batting average in the one-day game is just 28.18 and he has reached three figures on only three occasions in his 197-game career. But as a middle-order batsman, he often came in during the death overs and had to sacrifice his wicket. Despite the low average, he did play some useful innings for his country.
The other interesting thing about McMillan is his fighting spirit. It was never obvious to spectators or viewers that he had to regularly take his diabetic medication. He refused to let that affect his game. This fighting spirit was also evident on the field and through his determination to get back in the team when he was dropped. This first happened when he was dropped for the New Zealand tour to Sri Lanka in 2003. When he was re-selected for the tour to India later that year, he scored 83 not out to save his team in the first Test. He followed that up with a century in the second.
But the more remarkable comeback followed his failure to secure a contract with New Zealand Cricket in June 2006. After his re-selection later that year, he would dominate the Australian bowling attack in the 2006-07 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The highlight was the final game where he was instrumental in chasing down 346 to see his team win the series 3-0. His century came off 67 balls and he was later dismissed for 117. McMillan followed that performance up with 228 runs at 32.57 in the World Cup earlier this year, while he was New Zealand's highest run scorer in the recent ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.
His explosive nature on the park and fighting spirit will be missed by his team-mates and New Zealand cricket fans. He may go down in history as someone who could have done more, but no-one can deny his determination and natural ability.
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