Comeback quote

An amazing one from Rabindranath Tagore: "Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."

Where was Harbhajan's high-school teacher?

I can say with reasonable confidence (based on what I have seen of late on TV) that Indian journalists today missed out on a human interest story related to the Harbhajan saga. Apparently, the offspinner was let off by the ICC because of his "previous good conduct." Today was the day they should have interviewed Harbhajan's high school teacher to find out how he used to behave in class, as also what he thought about the entire issue. His mother has already been given a chance, so it would only be fair to give others in the Harbhajan growth value-chain an opportunity! Having said that, they might have done it if Harbhajan was charged with a stricter penalty based on his "previous conduct."

Btw, if the Procter hearing charging Harbhajan with racism was funny, the review that rendered Procter's verdict null and void was funnier. ICC evidently looks only at its own history of charges against the player. If only it could have asked the Indian cricket establishment, ICC would have been told that Harbhajan was chucked out of the National Cricket Academy for indiscipline years back.

Another question comes to mind. What if a cricketer has been charged earlier for crime under a country's laws (say someone with a murder charge; and this isn't unprecedented)? Will ICC still look only at its own charges against that player?

The best Indian XI for Sydney

Here's how a winning Indian team would look (the list follows the batting order):

Phil Jaques, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Adam Gilchrist, Anil Kumble (C), Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Zaheer Khan

On a serious note, it was quite amusing to see Kumble talk about the lack of form of Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik. The popular perception was that he was the one who backed both of them during the selection meeting. And Sehwag wasn't even in the initial shortlist. Why then didn't he back the in-form Akash Chopra and Parthiv Patel (who are supposedly in-form by virtue of their Ranji performances). Btw, before the first Test, all Indian batsmen including Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh were said to be in rocking form!

Done in by the rain?

Why is the lorry acting like a crane?

A shocker of an intro

I have a vague feeling that it was Richie Benaud who, giving tips on commentary to wannabe commentators, said a dropped catch is no 'disaster'; the crisis in Somalia is. Don't know whether I am ascribing the right comments to the right man but I hope you get the essence of it. And perfectly acceptable stuff too I guess.

So, I was shocked to see this intro in a Times of India article: "It's a jolt that probably matches the severity of the 2001 earthquake. For once, Gujarat forgot the heat and clamour of elections to raise its voice against what it sees as "sheer injustice" to the state — national selectors ignoring Parthiv Patel for the Australia tour despite excellent performance. And, Parthiv fans and commoners alike are crying foul as they see a plot in this to "ensure a berth for Dinesh Karthik"."

I admit I am a Dinesh Karthik fan but what shocked me was the first line of the article: comparing the disappointment of Parthiv's non-selection with the pain of the Gujarat earthquake. What else can the line mean? I guess everyone should remind themselves one more time that it's just a game.