Champagne time! Let’s click the glasses and share the bubbly on the occasion of my 200th blog! Let me bow to you my friends. It is your continuous support and encouragement that has allowed me to share the bubbly with you folks. Thank you very much for reading my blogs. Some of you have even suggested the subjects. Some have commented but I am happy that I was never been ignored. Since this blog is about cricket I will share with you some mundane statistics to follow cricket tradition. BTW I am an avid cricket lover and saw my first test match, against West Indies, at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in 1958! My last live match was in 2015 at MCG in Melbourne!
Initially when I started blogging, I had a captive audience of three. Jaya, Sachin and Priya! With your love and encouragement this number has reached 10703 clicks in 2017. There were 3786 clicks in the first three months 2018- extrapolated to 15144 for the whole year of 2018. Those who want to ensure that they get my blog link, may kindly share with me their e mail id; I will put you on the mailing list!
Now to cricket! Reaching double century is a big deal in cricket, in test match it feels even better; reaching that hall mark in one day cricket is THE real big deal! Who reached that landmark first ? Of course, Sachin Tendulkar, that too against South Africa when Dale Steyn was at his best!
I am writing about the ball tampering affair that is currently going on. Australians were literally found with their pants down. In every sport, there are some people who cheat. There will be some who will do it at the borderline cheating level. But idea is not to get caught. There have been some great athletes who have been found cheating, in the game or with the family. Tiger Wood, Lance Armstrong, Ben Johnson are some of the names that come to mind. Wood cheated his family in a big way, Armstrong for a long time was a hero who overcame cancer! But in the end was caught for doping. Same was the case with Ben Johnson. But the cricket fiasco comes to the fore because they were caught red handed on camera! Cheating is a reasonably normal trait in humans. The child starts cheating or lying maybe at the age of 4 to 4 ½. So, continuing the same behaviour is not abnormal. Again the idea is not to get caught.
It appears that the main person behind the episode of ball tampering is David Warner, the vice-captain. He had a bright idea to remove the shine of the ball from one side, so that the ball may start swinging. This could help Australia take some wickets, quickly! This was approved by his captain, Steve Smith and they put a 21-year-old kid Bancroft to act. Bancroft was caught on the camera during the act and his picture was displayed on large screen in the stadium. He too saw it, got scared, and tried to do something even crazier. Rest as they say is history! They were caught, they are officially punished by the ICC, world cricket body with some fine and suspension. But there was such a large hue and cry in the Australian media, that Australian prime minister too intervened. Australian board sent them from South Africa back home and further punished them by captaincy stripping, 9 months to one-year suspension. Matter over! Field day for TRP guys to give stories about these three guys!
Later I saw the interview of Steve Smith after he reached Australia. His father was standing behind him. I felt pity for him. The guy made a very big blunder, accepted it, is punished for the same. What more do we want? I hope nobody says, that he was not really remorseful, he just made it dramatic by crying. Which 30-year person would publicly cry? He has made wrong judgment, he has done something because he is naïve. Who would do such a blunder when you know that there are 30 video cameras capturing every possible thing that is happening on the ground. I am sure at least one camera will be always focused on the ball; because in cricket everything happens with reference to the ball! How can an Australian be so naïve? They are supposed to be rough and tough and have always been pushing the rules to the limits. Once in a while they get a Kohli, who gives it back to them.
This guy has a family, wife, children, parents, siblings. All three are normal human beings like you and me. Bancroft is a 21-year-old kid; he has not even had a glimpse of the bad bad world. Should he be pushed further? He suddenly found himself at the pinnacle of things for all wrong reasons. What everybody should do is to give these blokes some time. Let them overcome their demons, let them overcome their sorrows. Let them spend some time with their family and friends. One more thing we seem to have forgotten. Besides the punishment, humiliation, and bad name they lost commercially, in a big way. All have also lost their IPL contracts. Australian Cricket board has lost their main sponsor. The shame that this episode has brought to their country, is too much for the shoulders of 21-year old guy! With all that is known today, I think they have done it without realizing the consequences, if caught. At least for the commercial part, they would have been a bit careful; but at that moment something went seriously wrong with the brains of Smith & Warner! Please remember these are not murderers or robbers. They were trying to change the condition of the ball with the hope of defeating South Africa! Ended up making a major blunder of their life; I am sure they will never be able to forget it and history will remember them as “Those cheats who tried to roughen up the ball”. This is the biggest punishment that is like life term in jail! Just be a little soft with them now. Don’t forget that there is that 21-year-old kid involved!
Now the million-dollar question, why do I write? Honestly, I don’t know. But writing bug has caught up with me during last few years. Another thing is that the thoughts have been always coming to mind and writing needed some impetus to do it! Availability of good blogging sites was the major impetus. Like great R K Laxman had once said when he was asked why doesn’t he create his own cartoon character? Keeping poker face, he said, ” When there are so many politicians giving me infinite subjects what is the need to have a separate Cartoon character?” Similarly, with progresses in technology so many new subjects available on the net, for me, I keep on writing the thoughts that ooze out from my mind. I am also using my life’s experiences, my interactions with friends, family, business associates and many people I meet in life. On top of that you folks read what I write! You send your likes, you send your comments; you folks always interact! That keeps me going!
Cheers folks! Wave, criticize, shout, laugh, cry but react. It is the reactions that I like the best! A big Namaste to all!
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