The Making of Freddie

It took seven years for him to fulfill his potential, but most (including the Aussies) will agree it was well worth the wait.

From being the Next Botham in 1998, to the Fat Lad in 2000 and finally World Beater in 2005, this is his journey over the years.



ps. The Red line indicates the point when his batting average finally overtook his bowling average (the hallmark of a Genuine allrounder).

35 years, 323 days and counting (down)...

There is nothing sadder then watching a great player struggle at the end of his career, and they don't come any greater than the Pigeon himself.

Six months ago, McGrath was Australia's undisputed strike bowler (of course along with Warne) but since coming back from his freak injury after Lord's 2005, his Strike Rate and Bowling Average has been on a decline.

Though he did finish the Melbourne Test with 4 wickets, he has taken just 31 wickets in the last 9 Tests (excluding Lord's) at SR of 62.13 and Average of 28.52 (compared to a career SR of 51.3 and Average of 21.44). But more importantly, he rarely looks like taking wickets these days. His is not accurate (one of his biggest strengths) and he is (now) just a line and length bowler who can be taken apart.

Question is, will he realize his time is up, or will he prove me wrong with another "5 for nothing" performance at Sydney next week? Either way, I will be surprised if he is still around for the Ashes next year, let alone the World Cup 2007.

Anyway, here is his Cumulative Strike Rate and Bowling Average since Lord's 2005 (included)...


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SRT Vs SG (again)

I know its a few days old, but I came across this article by Ashok Mitra in the Telegraph, so couldn't resist.


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Now if only someone could point Mr Mitra to this blog so he can shut up, once and for all. In case he still misses the point (or the lines), SG's Average since the World cup excluding the Minnows is 27.08 (as opposed to SRT 42.31). Or in other words he has scored 1083 runs in 40 completed innings compared to Sachins 1,777 in 42 (again excluding the minnows). And no, his stats including the minnows dont get any better either....

Walk (but don't hop) like an Aussie!

More Spaghetti here, but this time of the shorter version.


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Nothing special if you look at this in isolation. However, if you merge India’s ranking in the ODI’s with that of its Test Ranking during the corresponding period, you get an interesting picture.


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Is it pure coincidence that India's ODI and Test Performances have finally began to move upwards, and more importantly, merge since Greg Chappell took over?

ps. Apologies, my laptop is still acting up. and I am working on an Italian computer, hence the Months are in Italian. But you get the point. I hope...

Break-down

Guys,

Sorry for ignoring the blog these last few days. I am on Skiing holiday in the Italian Alps but worse, my Laptop's gone kaput. While the former was a welcome and planned break, the latter definitely wasn't.

And while I am busy trying to sort out my Skiing and the Laptop (both of which can be, on a cold icy day, a real pain in the backside), here is wishing you all a (Belated) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

One more to go...

So India has finally reached the Nr. 2 spot in the ICC Test Championship (which indecently is the only Sporting Championship in the world without a Winner).

While we all know that India is some way away from reaching the top, lets not forget that India’s progress in the last four years (in Test cricket) has been remarkable.

Here is the journey of the various Teams since the ICC Test Championship was introduced in 2001. Looks like Spaghetti to me, but that could be because I spend too much time in Italy....

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Poor Warney

So Warney's got every right to be worried that there are "some blokes" out there who bowl from one end all day and will eventually break his record.

After all, he only got to bowl 37% of his Team's overs in this match, which interestingly is being played in Perth (today, he 'merely' bowled 39% of his Teams overs, i.e. 35 overs).

And not to forget that he only got to bowl 33% of the overs during the Ashes (toping at 39% at the Oval in the last Test).

Anyway, a quick look at Warne's increasing workload this year (Given that the Aussie bowling attack looks more like that of the Lankans, I think its not just Warne who needs to be worried here).

India's Most Valuable Player

He is, in my mind, India's Nr. 1 Match winner of all times. Sachin, Rahul, Kapil & Sunil; take a bow.

And on the eve of his 100th Test, his strike rate over the years...

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Games BCCI plays

No, I don't mean the political ones, but the ones it has sent "Team BCCI" to play since the 1990/91 season (Home and away).

If only they spend less time on playing "Games" on a regular basis, and more time playing Regular games...

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Ganguly and the BIG-3

While Ganguly's own performance dipped since he became captain, that of Dravid, Tendulkar and Kumble definately improved under him.

Was he plain lucky to have them in his team or did he really know how to get the best out of them? Guess we will never know...

Anyway, a simple graphic showing how the BIG-3 performed under Ganguly.

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Milestones

Came across Dravid's milestones on Midday
Could not resist a comparison with his contemporaries

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