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What is the biggest event in world cricket in recent times?
Was it Sachin notching up his elusive 100th ton? Or England reclaiming the Ashes under Michael Vaughan? Or was it India winning 2011 World Cup?
Surely they would outclass every other event that comes in their way. But I doubt that as cricket is changing very rapidly. So is the way it is followed across the globe. Modern day cricket fans are not just confined to Cricinfo top stories. There is much more on web. Twitter has been a revolution ever since it came into the picture. A cricket follower gets to Twitter to check if Jesse Ryder has given up his boxing gloves. Or just to decode a dropped catch by Ishant Sharma (the reason given: his long hair). Some people even go on to suggest that Ishant should get a haircut to improve his catching skills.
The Women’s World Cup kicked off yesterday and is supposed to be a trending topic as everyone would deem it to be. But two events have totally overshadowed it so far and are trending like they are the biggest events in world cricket history. Traditionally they would not have been of much significance but now they are on everybody’s lips with cricket’s ever changing scenario.
Warne Manifesto:
Warne came up with something that turned twitter on its head. He unveiled a manifesto named “Where is Australian cricket at? Part 1”. It was as unusual as one of his blogs, as most of his blogging is related to 888poker. Still it left the cricketing world baffled. He mentioned changes that he wants to see in Australian cricket as a concerned cricket fan and as someone who cares for ‘floppy white’ (generally baggy green).
He feels Australian cricket is in a deep crisis and urgent steps are needed to build a strong side or the team would slide back 30 years. For the changes to happen, he suggested a few known and unknown faces to take important roles in administration and management of Cricket Australia. All this attracted criticism from all nooks and corners. People came up with funny and serious responses to his blog. Some went on to say the blog was just to gain publicity while some felt it was something to do with Warne’s troubled relationship with Cricket Australia’s chiefs.
Warne had recently branded them “Muppets” and called their player rotation policy as absolutely rubbish. Whatever it was, we leave it to Warne because it had everything to make a cricket fan think beyond the boundaries of a cricket field. Part 2 of the blog is eagerly anticipated in the cricketing circles and there remains no doubt that it will be a cracker.
Aussie Squad for India Tour:
There is something unique about the Australian team selection. They have a tradition of announcing their playing XI a day before the match day. No other country does that. Usually the team is made public on the match day after the toss. Yesterday the Aussie Squad for Indian Tour was announced.
Here’s the squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson, David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Matthew Wade, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Jackson Bird, Xavier Doherty, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Peter Siddle
Michael Clarke will lead Australia on their of India.
Whenever an Australian team is announced, it is a big event in itself. It is one of those events that attracts a lot of talk. Twitter exploded when the team was announced. It altogether looks a new team without the likes of Ponting and Hussey. Players like Khawajaand Maxwell are there to take their places but nothing can be said about them as of now. Team looks a bit inexperienced on the paper with a bunch of first timers to the Subcontinent.
Dry Indian pitches await their much frenzied pace attack. But bowling in India is all about spin. They have brought their best spinner at the moment in the form of Nathan Lyon. As his credentials suggest, he might not prove much of a threat to the Indian batsmen. The Australians have tried Jason Kareja and Nathan Hauritz in their last two tours of India but none of them are in picture right now. They have also picked Xavier Doherty, which has raised many eyebrows with people calling it unfair on Steve O’Keefe who has been brilliant in domestic season. Steve Smith has also come in line of shock for his inclusion into the side. His stats in the domestic season are not much to stake a place in the 17-member squad, to be honest.
The Indian squad is due to be announced soon. It will be a thing to look at as what awaits us is in a mouth watering contest between two giants of the game.
PS: These two might not be the biggest events as the title suggests, but they are definitely big events in today’s social media mad world.
