From: 9063iyerm@vms.csd.mu.edu (Murali Iyer)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Re: Impressions
Date: 10 Jan 93 17:01:43 GMT
Reply-To: 9063iyerm@vms.csd.mu.edu
Organization: Marquette University - Computer Services
NNTP-Posting-Host: vmsa.csd.mu.edu

In article <1993Jan8.173029.21978@ecrc.de>, sanjiva@ecrc.de (Sanjiva Prasad) 
writes a wonderfully entertaining article after an exhilarating trip home. 
{You lucky dog, Sanjiva}.

>Fielding was generally poor.  Azhar's fielding was a disappointment.  Why
>the hell is he fielding in the slips and not in the covers?  He also looked
>puffy in the face and distinctly fatter than he was when I saw him on TV in 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Exactly my sentiments after I saw some of his pictures in Sportstar. He looks
either like he is eating too much or sleeping too much (or too little). I
should know. :--)

>England in '90.  And beleagured and unimaginative. And the snide attacks by 
>Gavaskar and  Pataudi made things worse.  

Pataudi was never in favour of Azhar. Remember his public attacks on Azza after
the OZ tour? Perhaps they have their justifications, but I can't bear to see
a player of Azza's class going to pieces.

>But the absolute stinker was a
>rumour, circulated by *some* Hindutva proponents, that Azhar being a Muslim
>was deliberately tanking these matches.  Ridiculous though it may sound,
>I heard a few people quite earnestly stating and believing this (and calling 
>him foul names).

These are best ignored. You are right, though, in saying that some of these
people are actually believing what they are saying. I have seen my share of
such nuts.

>About the commentary.  Aargh! Won't someone go out and silence Suresh Saraiya.
>He's definitely the all-time worst commentator.  I know you guys are grumbling
>about Bhogle, but he was a relief after Saraiya.  Every time the ball went
>to Shastri, we hear "Ravishankar J___ Shastri", and it wasn't "Jonty" but
>"Jonathon", pronounced in the most impossible way.  And the batsmen either "uar
>uarking it away uith dee tyed to beckward of dip skwear laeg fur uan run,
>the batsmen hurrying through for an eezy single" or "offering a defensive
>bat to a ball spidding and shutting off dee pichch, and demanding full
>rispayct from the batsman who must delve dip into his reserves to come up
>with a sootayble anser, and there is no possibility indeeeed of ay run as
>Jo-naathun Rhodes is in from ayxtra cover wary quickly".  Jasdev Singh
>was as ever, and Sunny Gavaskar was quite the smart aleck but entertaining
>and enlightening.

Absolutely fantastic, and made me shudder to read Suresh Saraiya's
"commentary". I have been told by my dentist that my teeth have been subjected
to some harsh treatment. I told her she should have listened to some of our
commentators, she would have been more empathetic. :--) 

>Domestic cricket saw Delhi struggle against Punjab, and I was delighted to
>read that my old classmate Gurusharan "Pappi" Singh hit form.  Another
>schoolmate, Maninder, also did quite well.  I wonder if Bantoo Singh is 
>the same Bantoo, son of Coach Gurcharan Singh.

>
>Enough said.  Cheers,

Keep'em coming, Sanjeeva. They make good reading.

>Sanjiva

-Murali