Namastey London, Namesake, Provoked

Posted: April 8, 2007 in A R Rehman, Aishwarya Rai, Irfan, Jug Mundhra, Kal Penn, Mira Nair, Namastey London, Namesake, Provoked, Tabu
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Saw these few movies recently.

Namastey London was the least impressive of the three. Having said that, personally I found it to be a reasonable ‘time pass’! Nothing outstanding in the storyline, but sufficient to not feel, ‘why did I pay Rs. 150 for this?’. Nothing more to say about this one.

I went to Namesake with a lot of expectation. Mira Nair. The hype. The pre-publicity. Tabu, Irfan, etc. Perhaps that was my undoing. The weight of the expectations. The film was just fine. In fact, I was quite engrossed in it. But I was hoping for something that was outstanding. Which this was not.

The story line and the screenplay shows the life of an NRI lost in some small town USA, lonely, away from home, going through the routine that is life there, moving from his small apartment to a big house, but remaining lonely all the same. While it was very true of the NRIs who migrated in the 1970s or thereabouts, and things may be a bit different now, they may not necessarily be a whole lot different. Especially if the shift is dramatic. Like someone from small town India speaking passable English, not quite accustomed even to the Indian urban culture, and suddenly finding himself in the melting pot of the US. The culture shock is depicted very well in Namesake. Then of course, is the search for identity that is represented by Kal Penn’s character, Gogol. That is very American, I would believe. An Indian having a pet name, even teased on it, may let it be, and go along with life. It is the American curiosity that embodies Gogol’s confusion and his striving to figure out why he was named thus, and therein, the entangled relationships are brought out. The Bengali culture is shown well, perhaps a bit overdone, if I may say so. Did Mira Nair have to show every known Bengali nuance, to prove the point that these were Bengalis we were seeing?!

The performances of Tabu, Irfan Khan and Kal Penn were top class.
All in all, a good film to see. I suspect though, that in this case, the story might well have come out better in the book, than on cinema. I have not read the book, but its my hunch, based on the nature of the story telling.

And that brings me to the last of the three films that I recently saw, Provoked.
A true story of Kiran Ahluwalia, of the UK. I liked the film. The story is moving, it creates a sense of tension. The life in a UK jail, the courthouse scenes, seem to have been captured very realistically. At the core, there is an interesting story – of the traditional Sikh woman, oppressed by her husband, bearing it for long, then getting into a sudden bravado and killing her husband, but repenting and remorseful at her act, feeling ashamed to even open out with her side of the story, but then with the help of her jailmates, seeing clarity of her life and her purpose, and fighting back, with the help of a social organization, and redoing her life, as a result. Definitely interesting. Jug Mundhra’s direction was excellent. I went to the film, also on account of seeing A R Rahman’s name as the music director. Well, its not a musical or music does not have a strong play in the film, but to the extent that it is present, its good, as can only be expected with A R Rahman!

Aishwarya Rai, who is the central character, could have done better. She does not emote as well, although the character gives her ample scope to do so. Perhaps someone else could have done better justice to the role. But in spite of this, the film leaves a mark. Worth seeing..

Cheers to Jeev Milkha Singh

Posted: April 8, 2007 in Augusta Masters, Golf, Jeev Milkha Singh, tiger woods
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Is it a sign of the times, that as India becomes a more dominant player in the economy of the world, they have a sporting hero emerging in the elitist sport of Golf?

Few years back, who would have reckoned that an Indian golf player’s name will be taken in the same breath as the leading players of the world like Tiger Woods? The small breed of golf fans in India, found solace in following the performance of the Fiji player, Vijay Singh, whose name was Indian. That was the closest that India got to golfing greatness!

And now we read that an Indian player, playing at the Augusta Masters, for the very first time, has made it to the cut, and will continue to play over the weekend. Also he has not ‘just’ made it, but reasonably comfortably, with a 3 over score card, the same as that of Tiger Woods.

Its a very creditable performance by Jeev Milkha Singh. We will watch with a lot of interest, his further progress at the Augusta Masters now.

Jeev Milkha Singh is the son of one of India’s foremost athlete and Olympian, Milkha Singh. Thankfully, Jeev did not pursue athletics but chose to make golf his sport!

** Update **
At the end of the third day, and going into Sunday, Jeev Milkha Singh was just 3 strokes behind the leader, at +4. That is amazing, as he is still in striking distance, and if he has a good day on Sunday, it could well see him surging ahead and getting closer to the leader! Waiting with bated breath..

If only the SA-Bangladesh game had happened earlier..

Posted: April 8, 2007 in bangladesh, cricket, india, south africa, world cup
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None of the ruckus would have happened.
In Indian cricketing world, in the Indian media, with the BCCI, amongst the players, etc.
If only the Bangladesh – South Africa game had happened earlier.. !

The Indian team crashed out of the World Cup, because they lost to Bangladesh. The world (well, the billion Indians at least) was shocked because India lost to Bangladesh. “How can they lose to lowly Bangladesh?”, the world asked!

If Indian had beaten Bangladesh and then lost to Sri Lanka (which was always possible, and could have been acceptable too), India would have still made it to the Super 8 stage, lost their badly, and then returned home. The noise levels would have been lower, the advertisers and sponsors would have enjoyed a few weeks more of television viewership, and a general stability would have prevailed.

But that did not happen, and the floodgates of criticism were opened.

Because of the fundamental question, “How could India lose to Bangladesh?”

Things would have been different though, if Bangladesh had met South Africa earlier and beaten South Africa, as they did yesterday.

THEN, the scenario changes dramatically.
Bangladesh is a great cricket team. One that can beat the number one team in the world rankings, South Africa. They are a turnaround team, a champion team. Etc.

Now, after that, if India lost of Bangladesh, it would not matter. After all, if the top team in the world, South Africa, can lose to Bangladesh, then its not such a bad thing for India to lose to them now, is it?

But fate had it otherwise, and the India-Bangladesh game happened a lot earlier, and all the worst things that had to happen for the Indian players, the BCCI, the media, the sponsors, the advertisers, etc., there was ample time for all of that to happen!

Oh well..

What a great giant killer performance by Bangladesh.
And as for South Africa, with everything going for them, they are still going to find a way to lose. Australia-Sri Lanka final, is my tip now!

The BCCI statement for Indian cricket revamping

Posted: April 8, 2007 in BCCI, cricket, new policy statement, rebuilding
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Right from morning, television has been covering as its headline story, the new policy of BCCI announced yesterday, to revamp Indian cricket. And as media goes, they want to pick the most media worthy point of the statement, while ignoring everything else.

They are talking about BCCI’s curbs on player endorsements, and whether these are right or not. I guess, that part of the statement is a little harsh, and may get criticism from all quarters. It can even be challenged as a Monopolistic Restrictive Trade Practice, since it simply tells the players, that they have to cut their incomes of they do not get selected for cricket matches. And the players cannot go anywhere else, as BCCI is a monopoly.

So there, I agree that this is one of the tough call portions of the statement.
But really, there is so much more that is creditable, and if BCCI really means what it says here, there are good things that can come out of this policy.

1. Asking zones to set up cricket academies and have them associated with the National Cricket Academy. That is money spent in the right place!

2. Asking for faster and more sporting pitches to come up across the country. Something that I have been shouting about for a long time.

3. Having more India A team games, and especially with countries like Australia, South Africa etc. Yes, get the next gen of cricket ready with some competitive cricket.

4. Making it mandatory for senior cricketers to participate in domestic games. Absolutely necessary. All countries have this requirement, except India. Now its coming in and we should hopefully see much lesser of the ‘guys being rested’! Also it is made clear that performance and participation in domestic cricket and clearing fitness tests, become criteria for selection. Awesome.

5. A limit to the number of playing days in a year, for test and ODI playing cricketers. Yes, that leaves them with time to play the domestic cricket referred above. And leave them with lesser reasons to ‘need rest’!

6. Doing away with zonal selectors and going for professional ones, who will be remunerated for their efforts too. Perfect! A must-need.

7. Doing away with slab wise incomes. Well, this is a yes and no situation. Earlier players were graded and got different levels of incomes. In a classic corporatish structure, this is essential. However, a non-performing senior getting more money, and a performing junior making less, was an anamoly. Worth trying this out.

8. Performance based pay. For ODIs, the fixed amount paid to players is reduced and a large bonus is introduced for winning series. Now, if endorsements are reduced and the direct rewards from playing cricket becomes a significant part of the revenues for a player, hopefully, the bonus will motivate the players to give their best and be focussed on winning, rather than just playing!

9. Focus on youth. They are sending a youthful team to Bangladesh. Makes sense. Even at the cost of losing some games at this time, if we focus on rebuilding the team with an eye on the future, its a great investment. Completely endorse it.

10. Dravid retained as captain. Shashtri as manager / coach. Prasad and Robin Singh as additional bowling and fielding coaches. Dravid as captain is good continuity. The perfect person to be an example for a young team that he will hopefully lead. Very intelligent. As long as he does not insist on Sehwag and Harbhajan, I am okay with him! Splitting the coach’s duties into three is a good step in the Indian context. It reduces pressure on a single person. Shashtri is a good choice as manager / coach. He is smart, articulate, young enough, can speak his mind, does not care hoot for authority, and if he establishes a good equation with Dravid and the team, nothing could be better. He is very commercial so I don’t know if that may come in the way, sometimes. But otherwise, I would definitely prefer him over a Gavaskar (puh-leese.. how can anyone even suggest his name!), Kapil Dev (great captain-leader, but would not make a good coach, especially in terms of offering scientific coaching techniques which are the need of the hour) or puppets like Anshuman Gaekwad / Mohinder Amarnath and the like! Robin Singh and Prasad, I don’t know how they will turn out. Have my set of doubts about their choice. I am just happy that the coach’s duties are split into three.

Many of the above are brave steps. Almost un-BCCI-like. Like they have stepped on their own toes, perhaps reduced their powers to an extent, or their means to be corrupt to an extent, or reduced the earnings opportunities. But if the BCCI sees that they need to nurture the golden baby, so that it keeps delivering for a longer time, then clearly these steps are in the right direction.

The mood of the nation being as it is, with the world cup loss, and the players own voice getting muted to that extent, this is the BCCI’s best opportunity to push these changes through. I am hopeful of improvements, as a result.

Interesting headline..

Posted: April 8, 2007 in elections, headline, television, UP
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Saw this headline on television, with regards to the UP state elections.

“No violence on first day of UP polls”

So its news if there is no violence?!

Found it quite funny…

Finally they see sense in not killing the golden goose..

Posted: April 7, 2007 in BCCI, cricket, india, rebuilding
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The money in Indian cricket had made the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a very greedy board. Trying to squeeze every drop of juice that was available to squeeze out, somewhere in that process, it appeared that they had forgotten about cricket. It was all about selling rights, playing more cricket even if it was inconsequential, etc. To a large extent, these policies of the Board had a role to play in India’s early exit from the World Cup.

Finally they have woken up. Perhaps it required a shock of the World Cup defeat to beat some sense in to the Board. Maybe the unanimous and strong reactions from the public at large, maybe the sharp drop in the TV ratings for the world cup, somewhere some sense was knocked into the Board’s heads.

And they realized that they were trying the kill the goose that was laying the golden egg. And they seem to have retreated just in time.

If the BCCI’s statement at the end of the 2-day session is anything to go by, there are steps in the right direction. Almost all of them. Well, a few things could have been a little different, but hey, why complain? When almost all of the thoughts appear to be, for a change, in the interest of Indian cricket, and not just in the interest of the BCCI’s coffers!

It is flattering to find that several of the suggestions that I had penned out, as the potential solutions, in the interest of Indian cricket, seem to have found their way in the Board’s statement today!

Looking forward to better times in Indian cricket.. !

A quirk / blooper in Sholay

Posted: April 2, 2007 in sholay
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Being the Sholay buff that I am (yes, I could probably relate the entire film, scene by scene, and would probably remember all characters, dialogues, etc.), I thought I knew all that was to be known about the films. I mean, after so many years, was I likely to discover something new?

So I was surprised to hear this interesting factoid. Almost like a blooper.

Ramgarh, where the story is based, is never shown to have any electricity. In fact, there are scenes of Jaya Bhaduri lighting the oil lamps each evening. So it is assumed that electricity has not quite reached the village.

And yet, Dharmendra climbs up the really tall water tank, in that drunken “suicide” scene. So the question was, if not with power, how the hell did water go up all the way, into that tall tank?

Okay, for arguments sake, it could be mechanical pumps and the like, but one would more likely expect it to be done by electricity driven pumps.

Oh well, something more to think about, as one ponders on Sholay, that all time top hit of Indian cinema…

An Asian team could still come out on top!

Posted: April 2, 2007 in chamara silva, chaminda vaas, dilshan, jayasuriya, jayawardene, lara, lasith malinga, murali, russell arnold, sangakara, sri lanka, tom moody, world cup
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After the early exits of India and Pakistan from the cricket World Cup, the chances of an Asian team emerging victorious, reduced. There were still two teams from Asia, left in the running, viz. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In reality, while Bangladesh has done creditably to make it to the Super Eight stage, no one is going to give it any chance for becoming the ultimate winners here. They can cause a little flutter here and there, but surely they do not have a chance to go all the way.

That left Sri Lanka. The one team from Asia, with a half chance of going all the way. At the outset, when the World Cup started, most critics gave Sri Lanka an outside chance to make it to the semi finals stage. That was about it.

Having seen them play in the recent matches, I have a much much higher respect for the team, and I just feel that their quiet, no-nonsense, low profile approach, might actually see them going far, and perhaps all the way too.

Let me ennumerate the reasons I feel thus:
1. Sri Lanka had a dream run in ODIs last year, where they won a very high percentage of their games, soon after Jayawardene took over as captain, in absence of Atapatu. Amongst their big series wins was the 5-0 washout of England in England. Now whatever you think of the English team, beating them 5-0 in England is no mean achievement. And in all of those victories, Sri Lanka looked eminently confident to take the game, in spite of whatever resistance England was putting up, each time.

2. Only in recent past, just before the World Cup, doubts were raised about Sri Lanka’s abilities, as they came to India and lost. What we did not realize is that the Sri Lanka team very purposely rested their star bowlers, Vaas and Muralitharan, for this India trip, coming so close before the World Cup, as it did. Only India and West Indies played their best teams, and took the risks of injuries and fatigue so close before the WC! So Sri Lanka’s loss in India before the WC may be taken with a pinch of salt, on account of their depleted bowling strength.

3. Attitude wise, Sri Lanka is SO different from India and Pakistan. Its surprising that a subcontinental team has such a different style, compared to the other 2 big boys in the area. At the outset, they seem to have far less politicization about their cricket, compared to India and Pakistan. They seem to focus on cricket first and foremost, and other factors follow in priority. The egos of cricketers seem to be far lower. They carry no airs about them. Except for Ranatunga and Murali who have been somewhat vocal about their feelings against Australia, especially, you scarcely hear a word of controversy from their players. And even with regards to Murali, it was a clear case of self-defense. The Aussie press and public really harried him down. And as far as Ranatunga goes, I do not know of a more wily cricketer, one who is extremely proud of his country and the team, and who will play whatever card is necessary to get victory. It was his cunning and Aravinda’s dash that made them World Cup winners, few years back. So his words are always having a strategy behind them, I am pretty sure.
In other respects, the Sri Lanka team, from Murali and Jayasuriya down to all the newcomers and youngsters, seem to be prepared to listen to their coach and work hard. Murali and Jayasuriya are clear revelations as fielders, at this World Cup. That shows the kind of commitment and respect to the coaches, that they show. Which is of course, how it should be. Except that their more famous sub-continental cousins don’t seem to think so!

4. All through this World Cup, we have seen the Sri Lanka team showing clearly, how each of the players knows his role. About how they seem to be playing to a common goal for the team, and not for individual glory. Players like Dilshan and Chamara Silva are embodiments of average players, knowing their clear tasks, and doing just that, without fanfare. When the team loses early wickets, it is for them to curb risky shots, take quick singles, don’t go crazy with airy shots, stay till 40th-42nd overs, and then start increasing the pace. They have had to do this on more than one occasion, and they did well. So also did Russell Arnold. A veritable batsman in his own right, but coming at number 7. Vaas has his work cut out. Strangle the batsmen early, not allowing them to make runs, and pick up a couple of wickets. He does that to a tee. Malinga has to fire early and see if he can hustle out a batsman early on. If not, he comes back with reverse swing and his unique action, to pick up wickets in a second spell. And so on. Each person knows their role. And they do it just fine.

5. Be it the batting order or the bowling order, there is a basic strategy which is followed, without going into too many random experiments. Like how India did, and like how West Indies was forced to attempt yesterday in their game against Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka team follows a set batting order, the team is more or less constant (which means, ex-captain, Atapatu cools his heels in the dressing room, never mind that; could we have done that to Ganguly?!). Yes, one may argue, that if it does not work, then you think of making changes. Yes, true. But when a certain strategy has been finalized well in advance, and players have worked at it for long, that stable strategy has been fine tuned and works. And which then, as a consequence, does not demand constant tweaking! Its like a positive spiral.

6. I was most impressed by Sangakara’s interview with Michael Holding, after they beat West Indies yesterday. First of all, I think Sangakara is one of the most intelligent crickets on the cirtuit today. And my opinion is not based on his interview of yesterday (although the opinion only got further strengthened) but on the basis of all the articles of his that I have read. While articles of cricketers could well be ghost written by others, I do feel that the gist of the thought process has to be that of the cricketer, and considering that, if you read Sangakara’s writings, you realise that he ia a sharp cricketing brain. When he spoke to Holding yesterday, after one of the biggest wins in World Cup (at least against a non-minnow team), there was absolutely no going overboard. There was a clear attitude that came out like ‘a task needed to be done, which we did, and also that we have a few more games to win, and we are focusing on that’. I suspect that is also the team’s attitude. In fact, as they picked up wickets, the bowlers were not jumping up and down, like they had scaled Mount Everest. There was some celebration, but beyond that, it appeared like ‘this is what I am supposed to do, and I am doing just that, so what’s the big deal here’! Even as Dilshan hammered a six off the last ball, and took the total beyond 300, there was not even a smile on his face, as he walked back to the pavilion with his teammate. His face seemed to show something like ‘so okay, we have got 300+ now, and we have to go back to the field and make sure that we get them out in less than this score’. No sense of a big time achievement. Similarly, Jayasuriya actually seemed to feel bad that he got out when he did, when there was a task still to be done. Or in fact, when Vaas got Bravo with a beauty, you could be mistaken to believe that Vaas was on his way to a funeral. He had no emotions of joy or celebration on his face. Basically what I am seeing is that they are work oriented, and they are fully prepared to delay the gratification till the end result is achieved.

7. Another incident I remember, was a press conference addressed by Jayawardene, around the time when they lost in India, before the World Cup, and when he himself was going through a rough patch in terms of form. He stated in a very matter of fact manner, and very sincerely too, that ‘only the best team needs to be picked for the World Cup; I have not been in good form, and if the selectors think that someone else will be a better option, they must drop me, if they feel someone else will make a better captain, they must replace me, but the most important task is for us to put our best foot forward for the world cup’. It was a genuine and sincere comment, and not just ‘drama’. I was very impressed. This kind of selfless spirit is seen on the ground too. With a slight exception of Murali (and he being really so special, can be excused on this ground), no one else seems to show even the slightest hint of ego, or selfishness. From Vaas to Jayasuriya to Sangakara, all of them are prepared to be playing for the team, whatever it takes. Likewise, Atapatu sitting in the pavilion.

8. Finally in summary, their actual strengths are worth recalling. Jayasuriya at the top, is amongst the best in the world, and is in good nick too. Thiranga has also done well in recent months, and comes with confidence. He needs to get a good score and he will be on his way. With Jayawardene, Sangakara both very effective and talented, to follow, and then the so called bit players who are in great form, Chamara Silva, Dilsha and Arnold, the Sri Lanka batting appears to be in good shape. Also they have all kinds of batsmen. Players who can stay at the wicket, milks singles and twos and who can also blast out and hit big winners. Players like Sangakara, Arnold, Silva and Dilshan fall in this dual role capability. Jayawardene is a little patient, like an Atapatu and Jayasuriya is a blaster, much needed at the top. There are left and right handers, so in short, there is great balance in batting.
Coming to the bowling, Vaas leads the way. For all the noise that we make about the more high profile pacers on display, like McGrath, Pollock, Bond, for my money, I think Vaas is the best pace bowler at the World Cup, at this time. He does not need any warming up – he is on the dot, from ball 1. He has great variety, without the risk of being expensive. He has a phenomenal economy rate, and is always good to pick up wickets. The balls that he got DeVillers and Bravo with, against South Africa and West Indies respectively, were absolute beauties. A true champion. As supporting case in the pace battery, Malinga, Fernando and Maharoof are able allies. Malinga is a little ahead of the pack, as he seems to be in good form right now. But otherwise, all three of them are not world beaters, but are extremely effective. I think the coaching has really helped them to make them come out looking far better than their talents. And in spin, there is range. Of course, Jayasuriya and Murali and the regulars. Murali undoubtedly is the best spinner on display at the World Cup (in that sense, Sri Lanka have the best paceman Vaas and the best spinner, Murali, in their teams; quite an enviable situation). Jayasuriya has worked so well on his bowling, that he could even command his place in the side, for his bowling alone. He ensures that runs are kept under control and can pick up wickets every once in a while. And for the supporting case, bowlers like Dilshan and Arnold do a good job. The batting team cannot think of running away merrily, on the ‘fifth’ bowler’s expense. Again, you will see that the bowling options are very varied, and this variety is a strength. Sri Lanka’s fielding is looking comparable to the South African and Australian varieties. Sangakara is a very smart wicketkeeper. His standing close to the wickets to Vaas, accounted for Lara yesterday. He also got another stumping. The outfield and the catching talents are also very good, and here again, the coaching staff have done wonders for the team. I would give a lot of credit to Tom Moody, the coach, in achieving this transformation for Sri Lanka. Of course, he may not be a lot different from Greg Chappell, but he has wards who listen to him, unlike what Chappell has!

With all this going for them, and with very level heads that the Sri Lankans have, I think they are in an excellent position to go all the way. While they lost a close match to another contender, South Africa, we will see how they do against Australia and New Zealand. Even if they don’t do so well in the Super Eight, as long as they get to the semi-finals, I think they will raise their game to a different level, and take it all, and become the champions!

Indian cricket – funny side to the World Cup loss

Posted: March 30, 2007 in dilip vengsarkar, india, selectors, twenty twenty, wives, world cup
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As the Indian team sneaked into the country, unannounced, in late night flights, the papers were full of their photos, their better halves escorting them out from the airports, in most cases. Faces glum, the smiles missing, fearing a possible fan revolt, etc.

Seeing these, I realized that this was a rare occasion in recent years, that the teams had gone without their better halves, for a tour. A little explored factoid, this one, may actually be the most important reason for India’s loss. That they did not have the motivation and encouragement that they usually get from their wives, standing beside them, and secondly, missing the wives so much, the team chose to exit and come back to the wives sooner rather than later!!

And we keep barking at the wrong trees, like selectors, board, players’ performances, etc. A resolution should be immediately passed at the board level, that wives should compulsorily accompany the players, on all tours. And if a wife refuses to go, for any reason, or for the bachelors in the team, the board undertakes to arrange alternatives like girlfriends for such players. Then you see, the World Cup will be ours!!

The other funny piece that I picked up in the papers was the announcement of the Twenty/Twenty cricket teams, including the Mumbai team. Announcing the selection, the Mumbai chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar (also the chief national selector) conveyed that Sachin, Zaheer and Agarkar have been ‘rested’ and are therefore not made a part of the Mumbai 20/20 team.

These are the three Mumbai players who were in the World Cup squad, and who returned back.

They are “rested”??
They need a rest from what??
From playing all of THREE one day games??
Are they so tired that they need to rest, after such a no-show??

That is as funny as it gets. The selectors cannot find any new words to justify a non-selection. Little realizing that using senseless words like ‘rested’, they are making a mockery. Why not just state the truth – whatever it may be. If you want the fans to behave with maturity, start by being transparent to them, and not beat around the bush.

Characters in the World Cup cricket teams

Posted: March 30, 2007 in characters, cricket, heroes, world cup
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Can a team win a big event like the World Cup in cricket, without having genuine heroes or characters?

Was the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1983 a team like that? Well, Kapil Dev was a character for sure. So, I would not call it a team without any heroes. But yes, other than Kapil, the rest of the team was pretty much, average chaps.

Pakistan as a World Cup winner, had of course, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, two amazing characters. Sri Lanka, in their win, had a Jayasuriya and an Aravinda D’Silva, not to speak of their most amazing captain ever, Ranatunga.

Which brings me to the current World Cup and the teams in the reckoning. Leaving Ireland and Bangladesh aside, lets examine the rest of the teams, and see if there are heroes or larger than life characters present, in these teams.

Australia of course, has Ponting. But they also have awesome heroes like Gilchrist and McGrath, and budding ones like Hussey and Clarke. And then there is Symonds.

So yes, Australia may only have an excess of them!

South African characters would include guys like Smith at the top, followed by Kallis, Gibbs, Pollock and Boucher. People with fan followings, people who are capable to turning things around on their own, guys who have done it few times, people with a certain style about them.

Which is why, in the above two teams, if one had to pick a single name each, it would have to be Ponting and Smith respectively. The style and aplomb with which they bat and lead their sides from the front qualifies them, for these unique positions.

Then coming to Sri Lanka. Certainly its got to be Murali. What a character.. he is an enigma of sorts, almost a magician like figure. A big wide smile each time he gets a wicket, or even when he takes a catch or fields well or throws his bat around to score some runs. Other names to be picked could include Sangakara, Malinga and Vaas. But Murali is streets ahead.

England has Flintoff and Peitersen. Both have a certain style and confidence to be the heroes of their teams, and aptly become the characters for England. Panesar is the only other name that comes to mind, but more so, because he is a Sikh, and stands out, and has that oriental spinning magic. But he has a long way to go.

The West Indies have Lara. Again, like in case of Sri Lanka, he is the one man who is streets ahead of all others. Quite like a Viv Richards before him, the absolute confidence justifies the tag for him. He can take on complete teams single handedly, and as long as he is on the crease, no matter if 9 wickets are down, the opposite team cannot heave a sigh of relief! Other characters in West Indies would include Gayle and perhaps, Chanderpaul. Bravo is an emerging one, and if he justifies the potential that he shows, he could be their future character!

That brings us to New Zealand. Where from actually this thought came to my mind, in the first place. I find that New Zealand as a team, does NOT have any such characters! Yes, guys like Oram, Mcmillan, Bond, Vettori, have flirted with the tag, but they still do not really ‘own’ the character tag! None of them. Least of all, their captain, Fleming. And yet, they could be the genuine dark horse of the World Cup, to challenge Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

So, to repeat my question from the beginning of this post, “Can a team win a big event like the World Cup in cricket, without having genuine heroes or characters?”.
I am not sure. We will see if New Zealand gets there.. then, we will know the answer to this.

Oh, by the way, I do not want to talk about teams that are already eliminated, as to whether they had any characters or not. Which is why India and Pakistan are not even mentioned here.

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