West Indies

Sanjay Manjrekar: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Sanjay Manjrekar Finds Test Centuries Easier To Get Than a No. 11

What he said:

“Courtney found it a little more difficult than me, but trust me Test centuries are not easy to get.”

Former India batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar, taking a playful dig at fellow commentator, Courtney Walsh, points out that Test tons are not facile.

Sachin Tendulkar missed out on his 100th international hundred once more in the first Test against West Indies at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

Tendulkar has not scored a ton in his last five Tests; he averages one in three.

What Manjrekar really meant:

“Courtney made it a lot more difficult—for most.”

What Manjrekar definitely didn’t:

“Courtney was the best night-watchman you could wish for.”

Ottis Gibson: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ottis Gibson Pitches For Seven-Up

What he said:

“Against this Indian batting line-up, you probably need seven bowlers.”

West Indies coach, Ottis Gibson, is none-too-optimistic about his side’s chances against a strong Indian batting line-up—in familiar Indian conditions.

What he really meant:

“In English, Australian or South African conditions, four bowlers can bowl them out every time.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“We’re going to do that. Seven bowlers, it is.”

West Indies Cricket: The Curious Case of Christopher Henry Gayle

The curious case of Christopher Henry Gayle grows stranger by the day.

Here is a man who has two Test triple hundreds under his belt; his ability to scorch opposition bowlers with his big hitting has the best demoralised and he continues to take the  West Indian domestic league, Regional Super 50, by storm.

Middlesex are yet another team that seeks to have the buccaneer in their midst.Gayle is perhaps the most successful free agent in the cricketing realm.

Following the exit of Brian Charles Lara, Gayle dons the mantle of ‘Entertainer’ with typical Calypso swagger . However, he has no place in the current West Indian scheme of things.

His running feud with the West Indian Cricket Board is well-documented. The West Indian Players Association (WIPA) rallied to his defence but to no avail.

Gayle rubbed the high-and-mighty in the corridors of power the wrong way with his damning indictment of their high-handed ways. His displacement from the national side following disagreements with Dr. Ernest Hilaire of the WICB forced him to cast aside the kid gloves and  slam the board’s idiosyncratic ways.

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Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Graeme Swann reflects on his former, ‘loony’ self.

What he said:

"Graeme Swann the captain would never pick Graeme Swann the kid.”

English off-spinner, Graeme Swann, while thrilled to lead national T20 side, believes that his younger self would not have found a place in the side—under him.

Swann added:

But the one regret I have about the young lunatic Graeme Swann is that there was not much Twenty20 around then. I’m sure I would be pretty good at it because I could bat in those days. I would have had a way of staying in the England squad for a few years while I developed my skills in the longer form.

The T20 skipper admitted that "the young lunatic is still in there, but I manage to hide him most of the time."

On the captaincy allowing him to exhibit his mind’s keen edge, Swann said,

No one would have believed this five years ago, least of all myself. It’s surreal in a way, but I have always harboured ambitions of captaining at first-class level and it is nice that I have got a chance if only for a couple of games to show the inner workings of my mind.

On leading in the abbreviated format:

It’s a reactions game. You can start with grandiose plans about how you want to start and they can change quickly. I am not sure it will be too maverick or out of the box, but I like to think I will be attacking. It is important in this form of the game to take wickets. That is what won us the World Twenty20.

Swann feels T20 games should replace ODIs:

It is the biggest game in the short format and somewhere down the line we will have to treat it a bit more seriously and play series of Twenty20 games.We are world champions but going into Sri Lanka we will only play half a dozen games or so in this format before that World Cup starts. For every touring team that comes over it will not be frowned upon if there was a three-game ODI series and a three-game Twenty20 series. That makes more sense than five one-dayers.

Swann disclaimed that his opinion coincided with those of the English Cricket Board (ECB), saying, “These are my views, not the views of my employer.”

What Swann really meant:

“Graeme Swann, the kid, would be such a pain in the butt for Graeme Swann, the No.1 off-spinner, skipper and elder statesman.”

What Swann definitely didn’t:

“There is a Graeme Swann in the younger lot.”

Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Graeme Swann Is No ‘BullDog’

What he said:

“I can’t make speeches like Churchill and I’ll try to be as natural as I can.”

Graeme Swann—the comedian—takes over from Stuart Board as skipper of the English T20 squad for two matches against West Indies next week.

Swann claimed:

It’s a Twenty20 series with a lot of young lads so I’ll have to change the way I am from the Test side.

I’m very much the joker in the Test team, I’m there for a stupid quip at the end of the session. With this Twenty20 side, I’ll naturally have to be more grown up and mature about things.

But I don’t intend to be deadly serious and change too much. I believe a fairly high-spirited approach has made me the cricketer I am.

I’ll certainly look to keep that going within my own game and, if that’s infectious to others, then great.

What Swann really meant:

“I have games to win, not speeches to make.”

What Swann definitely didn’t:

“I’ll just get the Windians to fall over—laughing their guts out.”

Michael Holding: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Michael Holding Asks The Question

What he said:

“But how come they never miss the IPL with injuries?"

Michael Holding voices the opinion of every Indian fan when he points out that Indian cricketers are rarely injured or rested during the IPL.

What he really meant:

“But how come they never miss the IPL with injuries?"

What he definitely didn’t:

“The IPL is the best thing that could have happened to Indian and West Indian cricket.”

Michael Holding: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

“We wanted to beat everyone and whether they were white, black, green, pink, Australian, English, Pakistani – we just wanted to beat them.”

Former West Indian fast bowling great, Michael Holding, does not agree with the portrayal of the West Indian side of the 70s and 80s in the documentary, “Fire in Babylon”.

Holding said:

“It is very powerful, very political.I can’t say I’m 100 per cent with the final product to be honest, because I think the race thing was overplayed a little bit.”

He added:

“Some of the interviews they did with some of the Caribbean personalities didn’t really reflect how we as cricketers thought, but perhaps we are the sidelines.”

“At no time that I played in that team did I ever get the impression from anybody that we were playing against these people because they were former colonisers, I didn’t get that impression.”

“We were just playing cricket.”

What he really meant:

“We just wanted to be the best side in the world and play our best cricket. If we had to knock heads over, so be it.Race, colour and creed mattered little. We were secular—in that respect.”

What he definitely didn’t say:

“We loved having opposing batsmen turn all shades while facing us. Green (sick), white (fear) and red or purple(bruised).”

Darren Sammy: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

“I wanted to be a pastor. One of my favourite lines is, "The almighty never gives you more than you can bear." So I see it as: whatever comes my way I can face it.”

Darren Sammy can lead his West Indian flock with inspirational words and deeds.

What he really meant:

“I believe I can face quality pace bowling with a smile. After all, it is the West Indian way.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Let’s perform only on Sundays.”

Kirk Edwards: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"In life. It’s me. Always."

Kirk Edwards has no illusions about being someone else. He’s always himself, frank and forthright. Or at least, that’s what he believes.

What he really meant:

“Can I be anyone else? It’s hard enough being myself.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“The name’s Edwards. Kirk Edwards. And I’ll have that martini shaken, not stirred.”

India cricket: Closing out games, a matter of intent, not skill

If you don’t play to win, can you triumph?

The Indian team, in the 3rd Test, accepted a tame draw instead of grasping a victory within reach.

Much has been said and written about the Indian batting line-up’s unwillingness to take up the challenge of scoring 180 runs in 47 overs.

Not much has been made of the Indian bowling’s lack of incisiveness and penetration when they should have gone for the kill. The last five West Indian wickets added 121 runs between them.

The Indian and international press have unflinchingly condemned the No.1 team’s tactics.

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