Ecstasy and Despair...

Life can be very cruel is an oft-repeated statement. Yesterday, on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon, watching one man leap in joy and another sink in despair, this seemed to make all the more sense. Sport in general has been known to make heroes and villains in an instant and make or break a man's resolve. There are occasions though when you really feel that there is such a thin line between the ecstasy of triumph and the despair that comes with defeat. Having watched the classic contest between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick yesterday, one could not help but admit that the tennis Gods had been rather unkind at least this one time.



When the two players walked onto centre court of the greatest tennis stage in the world, they climbed down the staircase, the wall above it bearing Rudyard Kipling's immortal line from his poem 'If'--> "For if you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.". Was it really possible to be that way? We were just about to find out. Andy Roddick had contested two previous Wimbledon finals in 2004 and 2005 and on both occasions had come up short against the very same opponent. His record was an unimpressive 0-7 in Grand Slams and Federer led 18-2 overall which made facing him a very daunting prospect indeed. The American though was a more complete player since his horror run last year and was hugely inspired by his excellent coach Larry Stefanki. Vijay Amritraj said it perfectly that Centre court had the ability to either demoralize or inspire a player and the latter is what it did to the gritty American.

In the semi finals, Andy Roddick had crushed the hopes of a nation when he vanquished Andy Murray. He had mixed up his game beautifully, combining excellent baseline play with brilliant volleying at the net and had come up trumps against the Scot. His main weapon, the serve was holding up remarkably and with him having a first serve percentage in the 70's, it was always going to be difficult to play him. Roger Federer though had not had any problems on any front till then and he had faced Roddick's serve before and treated it with total disdain. This match seemed headed only one way.

The great Swiss's inexorable march to tennis immortality had very few hurdles. One of the big ones was eliminated even before the tournament started with Rafael Nadal, the man who had dethroned Federer from his lofty perch last year in an epic battle withdrawing due to tendinitis in his knee. Roger Federer had also won the only slam that was missing in his collection by trouncing Robin Soderling at Roland Garros. All through the two weeks of Wimbledon, it seemed like Federer lifting the trophy would be a mere formality.

When the battle commenced on centre court, the early signs were that it was Federer who was nervous. He was making a few uncharacteristic errors while Andy Roddick was playing some terrific tennis whilst making some tremendous passing shots. At 5-6, Federer's serve wilted and the American capitalized on a couple of lapses winning the first set 7-5. This was only the second set conceded by Federer in the entire tournament and the crowd realized they were in for a contest. A host of big names including tennis legends Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras (whose record of 14 grand slams was in danger of being eclipsed, Hollywood stars Woody Allen, Russell Crowe, the former American diplomat Henry Kissinger, the great Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and the Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson watched this big game and this had perhaps made Federer a little nervous.

The second set went with serve as was expected. Roddick's serve stood the test and was turning out to be a potent force. In the tie break he forced a couple of loose shots and at 6-2, he had 4 set points to take a 2-0 lead against the Swiss. In these moments of adversity do true champions stand out as was demonstrated by Federer. Riding on a single misjudgment by Roddick when he put a volley out, Federer served his way back and after a couple of rallies, a wide backhand by Roddick had given Federer the set and a new lease of life. The American knew that he had squandered a golden opportunity.

The third set once again went to a tie break and despite a couple of nervous moments, Federer calmly closed out the break 7-5. He had taken a two set to one lead and it seemed like curtains for the fighting American. The Roddick of few years back would have folded by then but not the new rejuvenated and fitter version. He served even better than before wriggling his way out of trouble and got a crucial break of serve with a great backhand pass forcing Federer to net the volley. He held his nerve and served out the fourth set 6-3.

The fifth set got underway and by now it was not just a test of skill but also the will power and mental strength. No tie breaks were possible and people knew it was all about the one moment of brilliance or madness that would decided this extraordinary contest. The games went on and on and in one game at 15-40 late in the set, Federer stared at defeat. He brought out two of his finest serves and then closed out that game yet again showing the stuff champions are made of. Roddick continued to torment Federer with his serve and overall game and he started his serve with the score reading 14-15. The set had by itself gone over 90 minutes, easily the longest set in Wimbledon history. Federer started off with a good return forcing Roddick to net the ball. A bad error from the American made it 0-30 and now the pressure was right on him. Three great serves made it 40-30 and then Federer pulled it back to deuce. Another error from Roddick brought Federer to match point and in the most unfortunate way for the classic to end, a Roddick mishit sailed out giving Roger Federer his 15th Grand Slam and sixth Wimbledon title taking him past the legendary Pete Sampras. Roddick was crushed and Federer was ecstatic. Everybody felt that Roddick had played the better game and deserved the trophy every bit as the champion did. As is usually the case, champions revel in crises and Federer did when it mattered the most. In the second set tie break and the final game which turned out to be the only game he conquered the Roddick serve, he raised his pkay and won the pivotal moments on which the fate of the match hung. It was a cruel way to end for the American star who had given it everything he had and more. He could never have played a better game of tennis and yet he lost.

Ever gracious in defeat and never one to lose his sense of humour, Roddick won more fans than ever before. Roger Federer had triumphed on the day and created history and the joy was all his, but in this historic moment in the game, Andy Roddick had done himself proud with his remarkable fighting qualities and brilliant display of tennis not to mention his impeccable sporting quality that made him so endearing to the tennis lover.

My top reads...

I have always loved to read a wide variety of books and hate dwelling on a particular genre such as fiction..My interest lies in sports, history, medicine, mythology and of course fiction and classics...Of late I have found a lot of time as I stay alone and books seem to be the best way of passing time..Here is a set of books that I have read over the last year or so and found them particularly good..Hope you guys read them too and lemme know how you feel..

1. India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha

I am in the process of reading it and this is one of the few books that I decided to buy without a second thought. Truly an impeccable account of modern Indian history full of fascinating information, great descriptions of the personalities who have shaped our history and overall very delightfully written. I would highly recommend this brilliant work by a man who is undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable and erudite scholars to grace our country...

2. Indira- The biography of Indira Gandhi by Katherine Frank

A fantastic book. Indira Gandhi has for long been a name that is associated with intrigue, controversy, amazement and what not. This work really does help one get to understand the great lady and know more about her political career and personal life. Very well researched and written.

3. Head on-The autobiography of Ian Botham

Ian Botham's autobiography. What could be more interesting for a die hard cricket fan? Botham's achievements and genius together with his antics on and off field including the numerous controversies and allegations make for a riveting read..a book I would definitely suggest for anyone who loves cricket..

4. The Mahabharata: English translation of the original ..

Its a work that never ceases to amaze me. I must have read at least 5-6 different versions by various authors but there's almost always something new I learn. This is a set of pdf docs that I found here. A truly comprehensive treatment of the immortal epic and a must have for anyone who is into Indian mythology.

5. Test Cricket Lists

Thanks to a couple of great pals, I managed to get this book shipped from UK to the US and then brought to India..A must have and read for people into cricket stats.. contains virtually every stat and record that can be associated with the great game..A remarkable compendium of information and a book i will truly treasure...

6. Test match special (TMS)

A superb book mainly focusing on the legendary members of the Test match Special commentary team including John Arlott, Brian Johnston, Christopher Martin Jenkins and their exploits in the commentary box. The gaffes, laughs, highs and lows and their favorite matches and cricketers are recalled making this a quite glorious book..

7. The Kingfisher Football Encyclopaedia

Awesome photos, brilliant player profiles, match info and simulated sketches of great goals along with extraordinary trivia makes this one a highly entertaining read..


8. AIDS and HIV in perspective

A very well written guide which teaches all you need to know about the scourge of humanity. The virus itself, its actions and the way it acts is quite superbly explained. The book can be used by beginners and casual readers too without being overawed by medical terminology. The AIDS vaccine development and future of research is elucidated well too making it one of the better books I've read in this field..

Random few years...

Life has truly come full circle in the last 4 years or so..you might hear many people saying this but in my case the veracity of this statement is all too obvious..I was going through a fairly normal life of an engineering student in Bangalore when I happened to send off a friend of mine who was leaving to the 'land of opportunities' to do his MS..He wasn't the first I had known embarking on that journey but I hadn't until then given a proper thought about this path..I later did go ahead and write the all too hyped GRE exam..The univ application process followed and I was all set to join the bandwagon of guys who had made the 'career defining' decision of going to the US..I was never the one who had planned this but things just seemed to fall in place and a rather teary few days followed before I took the British Airways flight on Dec 30, 2005..

Life in the US initially was very tough and I contemplated my decision to have gotten there in the first place..Got a great set of pals and had a wonderful time..cricket, tennis and a few short trips kept me feeling good about the whole experience..The acads were never an issue and I balanced them quite well with my endless phone calls, tennis and trips..Life couldn't have been better I thought..

I was proved wrong...life just got better and better..a fantastic trip with pals to New York and the Niagara Falls was just the beginning..I made a couple of more short trips and before I knew I was ready to come to India in Dec 2006. This was something I was definitely looking forward to right from the day I left India..played lots of cricket, went out for umpteen lunches and dinners and before I knew one month had flown by and I was ready to get back..After getting back, things got a little busy with my acads and research but not once did I miss out on the usual fun that had been the sole reason I had managed to stay in the US for a year..A fiasco followed when the brilliantly planned world cup trip failed but this was compensated for when I had a great California trip which had its fair share of highs and lows though..I decided to come to India again in July 2007 and this trip was almost fully a case of visiting the doc, taking rest and recovering after my LASIK surgery..I did make a fun filled trip with friends to Tirupati and played enough cricket..I left in late Aug very much assured of the future....again how mistaken I was!

The job situation was slowly getting tougher and tougher and I also had a very bad time with some personal issues..My research and acads didn't help me relax either and things were just getting a bit shaky. I decided to move to California around Christmas and look for a job there..After all it was the Silicon Valley..where else would a job be easier to find..?..or so i thought..There were a few interviews but none materialized.I was to blame partly for refusing to be flexible and learn up stuff..but i never was interested in coding and C/C++ was never what I wanted and this was very evident in the way I approached that portion..Later, the interview calls dried up and after a lot of problems with my thesis, I was forced to make a big decision to switch to an all course degree which I did ultimately..Financially I was taking a beating and if not for my fabulous set of pals and the amazing help they were during those trying times which I can never ever forget, I would never have managed to live there for even a few months...

I tried everything from online applications, email, phone calls, contacts and even going personally to the companies but when your time is bad, there is very little you can do is what I realized..Every day was a torture and I somehow endured the many disappointing replies I got from the companies..I did get a breather when we made a couple of trips within California and luckily for me cricket and tennis kept me going..The US seemed to have absolutely everything and was tailor made for someone who was ready to spend well... I visited many a place and dined in some great restaurants. Fantastic road trips were also something I can never forget...But I was gettin an eerie feeling that the fairytale was about to end..I finally got a job but just as I thought, there was no provision for me to work in the US but instead I had to get back to India..By then I was ready to move on in life and anything was ok..The monotony of applying and rejections had changed me so much that I had decided it was all enough!..

But it wasn't all that easy to just leave and get back..Emotionally I was so attached to all the guys around me..We shared many a common interest and I more often than not seemed to be the person everybody wanted to have around when they were bored...It seemed a bit like when I left from India..I put on a brave face but beneath that I was struggling..Emotionally, financially and almost in every sense this was a major blow..The only solace was my family back in India..If not for them I surely couldn't have made this decision of getting back..

Just as everybody tends to experience a so called culture shock when they get to the US, I had a similar one when I moved to Chennai for my job..It was not the case of not having been in India long enough or having been in the US long enough, but a considerable time in the US tends to drastically change a few and a few people very subtly..I belonged to the latter category..My expectations from people, attitude, interests, way of life were different and virtually every aspect in my day to day approach to life seemed to creating a gulf between me and people around..I did have pals but everyone were in the US and the people around me in Chennai are all nice people but its just that I have not found a single person, let alone a gang that even bears a semblance to the kind of pals I had there..People might say am being foolish in expecting that but I don't think that way..I am going through the motions and its only the Bangalore trips and time with family coupled with the memories of great times in the US that keep flooding me every so often that are keeping me going..

But I ultimately do feel its all a case of justice being done..I was never the kind who wanted to be in the US and only did make a decision to go there very late and it was more of a knee jerk reaction..So it seems all too apt that I was given a brief time there and allowed to have a quite wonderful and memorable time before being brought back to the place I belong and wanted to belong..It just that Life has gone a full circle in the last few years and I have been changed ever so subtly that I am taking and am sure will take quite a while to start feeling at home again...I don't quite know what/who can help me but do pray things change for the better soon...

Unforgettable memories of test cricket....!

Test cricket in all of its 130 year history has produced some fantastic cricketers, exceptional athletes, outstanding performances, mouth watering contests and immortal moments overall. Of course it is almost impossible to select a set of moments which is acceptable to everyone as the greatest in the history of the game. But I stick my neck out and embark on a venture back in time through the annals of the great game to select what I believe are the events, matches and moments that have shaped the game's glorious history. This involves players, achievements, matches, many a memorable series and so on..I shall come up with eleven such choices (surely the number is not a coincidence!)..I might definitely have missed some great ones in the course of this all too difficult endeavor but maybe you can fill them in..!

Photo below: The Ashes urn



1. The Ashes (1882)--> What started as a satirical journalistic criticism of England's inept performance against a not too strong Australian team in 1882 has gone on to become the most talked about and legendary contest between the two teams. It has produced innumerable classic moments not to mention some everlasting memories of great players. The Ashes urn is still the most famous trophy in the game and widely respected. Some glorious moments and players in the 120+ year history of the Ashes include the legendary pre war English pairing of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, the greatest batsman of all Don Bradman, Wally Hammond's legendary exploits, Douglas Jardine's unforgettable Bodyline series, Len Hutton's masterpiece at the Oval, Bradman's 'Invincibles' laying siege to England, Fred Truman and Frank Tyson terrorizing the Aussies, Jim Laker's 19/90 including the first all 10 wicket haul in a single innings, Lillee and Thomson destroying England, Botham's Ashes of 1981, Australia's dominance for 16 years, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath combining to pulverize England, the most memorable Ashes 2005, the whitewash in 2006...

Photos below:

Left- Sir Jack Hobbs- one of England's greatest pre war batsmen.

Right- Len Hutton, who scored 364 against Australia in 1938.






2. Birth of the Don (1908)--> In every sport there come along players who during their day and much after leave behind such an impact that they always seem larger than life and the game. Pele and Maradona in football, Micheal Jordan in basketball, Michael Schumacher in F-1 are examples. Don Bradman is one such player who has made everyone else look puny in cricket. He was born in 1908 in Cootamundra, Australia. His achievements and statistics are mind boggling to say the least. His unparalleled and never to be matched average of 99.94 is still the most famous and well known statistic in the game. 29 centuries in just 52 games with twelve 200+ scores and two triple centuries demonstrate his genius and insatiable appetite for runs. The very fact that England had to resort to the most controversial tactic of Bodyline to try and restrict this one man shows how he played on opposition minds. He captained a legendary team known as the 'Invincibles' in 1948 which toyed with a very good England team..The Don continues to be the name that pops up first when cricket and batting in particular is discussed as he set many a mark that are unlikely to be emulated ever...

Photos below: Sir Donald Bradman- The greatest batsman ever





3. Bodyline series (1932-33)-->England had suffered many a bout of 'Bradman bashing' in the preceding years, nothing more than in 1929 when he scored 974 runs in the series, still a record. Douglas Jardine, England's captain, who incidentally was born in Bombay, decided that playing the normal way would only get them butchered further. He devised a tactic known as 'leg theory' or colloquially as 'Bodyline'. This involved getting his fast bowlers to bowl from around the wicket on the body of the batsman whilst having upto 7 men catching on the leg side close to the batsman. The batsman either had to play the ball and risk getting caught or be ready to take the hit on the body which was not a very good idea considering that Jardine had at his disposal one of the fastest bowlers around in Harold Larwood. Larwood predominantly and his partner Bill Voce terrorized the Australians with some deadly attack on the body. Despite some heroic efforts from Stan McCabe, who made a glorious 187 at Sydney, the Aussies were routed 4-1. Bradman was kept down to an average of 56. But during the course of the series, there were numerous injuries which were very serious and threatened to disrupt the game. Bill Woodful, the Aussie captain remarked rather famously after being hit on the head. "There are two teams playing out there, Only one is playing cricket!". Bert Oldfield was struck on the chest and many more such injuries left a bad taste. Douglas Jardine, much to the annoyance of players and people said " I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to win the Ashes". After a lot of discussions and meetings, the tactics were banned and it was decided that there would be no repeat. The series still remains fresh in people's minds after many years for all the drama, the passion and not to mention the controversy surrounding the very theory of 'Bodyline'.

Photos below:

Left: Douglas Jardine, the controversial captain who devised Bodyline tactic.

Right: Bill Woodful, the Australian captain hit by Larwood.






4. The greatest test series ever (1960)--> By 1960 , Australia under Richie Benaud was a very formidable team and possessed some of the greatest players in Alan Davidson, Norman o'Neill and they played host to Frank Worrell's West Indian team. The West Indies till then had been on and off and occasionally produced some exceptional talents who could single handedly win games. Worrell, Walcott and Weekes or the three W's as they were known were world class players and in Garry Sobers, they had the man who would go on to become the game's finest all rounder. Their bowling, led by the fearsome Wes Hall made them extremely dangerous opponents.
Sobers initially in the tour games seemed to struggle against spin and people started thinking that the series was easy for the Aussies. The first test began at the Gabba in Brisbane and this would go on to become the greatest test ever. West Indies made 454 on the back of a glorious 132 from Sobers. Australia not to be intimidated replied with a monstrous 505. The Windies folded up for 284 leaving the Aussies to score 234, a seemingly easy task. But they collapsed in the wake of some hostile fast bowling by Wes Hall and Benaud and Davidson spared the blushes by putting on a century stand. Wickets fell regularly and at the end, in a dramatic last over bowled by Hall, there was a wicket, a drop catch and a quite remarkable run out effected by the brilliant Joe Solomon to seal a tie. This was the first ever tie in the history of the game and took its place rightfully as the finest test. Greater things were to follow. The Aussies won the next test in Melbourne and the Windies leveled at 1-1 in Sydney. The Aussie last pair held on for almost a full session to help them survive the next test at Adelaide and in the final test, the Aussies squeezed home by 2 wickets in another thriller. Thus concluded the greatest test series ending 2-1 in favor of Australia, but the real winner was cricket and this was definitely a shot in the arm for the game.

Photos below:

Left: Sir Frank Worrell, the legendary WI captain after whom the WI-Australia trophy is named.

Centre: Image of the run out that resulted in the tied test.

Right: Sir Garfield Sobers: The greatest all rounder to grace the game.








5. South Africa's ban (1969-70)-->According to many, the South African team of the late 1960's could have easily gone on to become the greatest of all time but for the country's policies. They had amongst other stars, the brilliant Barry Richards who made batting ridiculously simple, the divine southpaw Graeme Pollock, the wonderful allrounder Mike Procter, Eddie Barlow and their captain Ali Bacher. They had just thrashed a very good Aussie team led by Bill Lawry 4-0 and just before they were duee to play England, the selection of one man Basil D'Oiviera (he was colored) for England led to a very big racist controversy and South Africa made a big hue and cry about this leading to the tour being scrapped and the South Africans being banned from cricket. Numerous greats lost their chance to play the game and had to seek a chance to play in leagues and rebel tours. What might have been the truly glorious phase of South African cricket had been nipped in the bud.

Photos below: Members of the unfortunate SA team

Left-The sublime and immensely talented Barry Richards

Centre- The elegant southpaw Graeme Pollock

Right- Wonderful all rounder Mike Procter









6. The glorious 70's-->The 1970's according to me and a lot more people was probably the most interesting decade of cricket. Many legends came to their own in these years and quite a few extraordinary performances were witnessed. India's conquest of England and the West Indies was a great beginning to the decade. India, under Ajit Wadekar, never quite dreamt of being able to compete, let along defeat the English and the West Indians in their own backyard. Aided by the legendary Bhagwat Chandrasekar's 6/38 at the Oval, India pulled off a remarkable win. In the West Indies series, a young man by name Sunil Gavaskar made his debut and left an indelible mark on the game. He scored an astonishing 774 runs at an astounding average of 154.8 and announced his arrival. India won at Port of Spain and this was truly a big boost for Indian cricket.


Photos below: Two legends of Indian cricket

Left: The technically perfect Sunil Gavaskar

Right: The great allrounder Kapil Dev






The 1970's also marked the debut of the Master Blaster Viv Richards and the great opener Gordon Greenidge at Bangalore in 1974. Also, other greats who made their entry were Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Malcolm Marshall and a galaxy of stars which is what makes the 1970's the most exhilarating.

Photos below: The Aussie pace legends

Left: The complete fast bowler-Dennis Lillee

Right:The quickest-Jeff Thomson






The mighty Australians led first by Ian and then Greg Chappell dominated world cricket in the early to mid 70's. They had at their disposal two outstanding quicks in Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. They destroyed England in 1974 and also wreaked havoc on the West Indies in 1975 when they triumphed 5-1. West Indies also lost to India in 1976 and then realized that spin was not the way to go. Clive Lloyd assembled a pace battery which has never been rivaled in the game's history.

Photos below: The great West Indians

Left: The scourge of bowlers the world over- Viv Richards

Right: 'Whispering death'- smooth n deadly Michael Holding against England 1976







The West Indies, especially Viv Richards and Michael Holding who was rightly known as 'Whispering Death' were rather incensed by a couple of comments of the English captain Tony Greig's comments which had a racist touch and they took it upon themselves to destroy England. Richards batted fantastically for 829 runs in the series and set a then record for the record number of runs in a calendar year. But the series will br remembered for Michael Holding's chilling hostility and deadly bowling which left England's players running for cover. His 14/147 on an Oval featherbed (Windies made 687 on that track) mus go down as one of the greatest fast bowling performances in history.

Photos below:

Left: Dennis Lillee appeals in the Centenary test at the MCG in 1977

Right: Kerry Packer, the man who changed cricket.






The centenary test was played the the MCG to commemorate test cricket's 100th anniversary. In a fantastic test remembered for Dennis Lillee's bowling, the five fours hit off Tony Greig hit by the fearless debutant David Hookes and Derek Randall's fighting 174, the match finished by the exactly same margin as 100 years earlier- victory by 45 runs to Australia.

The media tycoon Kerry Packer revolutionized the game by luring most of the greats to play a breakaway league after he was not given rights to telecast the cricket in Australia. Finally, the issue was settled and cricket resumed normally with players back to their countries. This had left quite a few teams totally weakened for 3 years though. The 1970's set the tone for another great decade of cricket.

7. Botham's Ashes (1981)-->Australia arrived in England in 1981 a much stronger outfit than the one England had walloped in 1980. Australia had most players back from the Packer years and were a very formidable unit. They took the lead in the first test and England managed to hold on to draw the 2nd test at Lords. Ian Botham, never the man who was inclined to captaincy resigned after an inglorious pair in the 2nd test. Mike Brearley, who many regard as the finest man manager and shrewdest cricket brain was recalled from retirement to captain his team. The return didn't begin well. The Aussies made 401 and bowled England out for 174 and enforced the follow on. Ian Botham had made 50 in the first innings. After following on, Botham was left standing alone when at 135/7, it seemed all over for England. Graham DIlley joined Botham and started playing a few shots and this seemed to fuel Botham and he proceeded to play one of the finest counter attacking innings under pressure. He had made a superb 149 n.o when the innings ended. The Aussies were set 130 to win and it seemed rather too low a target. Botham picked up the first wicket and after that, Bob Willis bowled the spell of his life picking up 8/43 and in quite remarkable circumstances bowled out Australia for 111. England had won after following on and this ahd turned the Ashes on its head. Botham's confidence was back and the morale of the Aussies was down. Yet, they were in a position to win the next test when they required about 30 runs with 5 wickets in hand when Ian Botham bowled a great spell grabbing 5/1 and snuffed out all the hopes of Australia. He then played a blinder at Old Trafford scoring 118 and starred in another win. The Ashes had been won from a near impossible situation and he was the toast of the nation. Not for nothing is this known as Botham's Ashes.

Photos below: Ashes 1981 heroes

Left: Ian Botham after his heroics at Headingley

Right: Bob Willis enroute to his 8/43.






8. The West Indian hegemony (1980's)--> By the mid-late 70's the West Indian's had discovered a pace battery that could terrorize rival teams and only the Packer drama came in between and slowed the onset of their dominance of world cricket. In the 1980's they were virtually unstoppable and destroyed anybody who played them. None more so than the hapless Englishmen in 1984 and 1985. They were blanked 5-0 both in England and in the West Indies. The highlights of these series were Greenidge's glorious double hundreds in England, West Indies chasing down 340 as if it were a stroll, Malcolm Marshall bowling with a fractured hand and annihilating England with 7/53, Viv Richards lashing England in an audacious display of batting to score the fastest hundred ever in tests at his home ground. The only real resistance the Windies had was from Pakistan who drew three test series 1-1 against them. Pakistan were also playing brilliant cricket and thrashed India and Australia in the early 1980's and they were led by the charismatic Imran Khan. The West Indies though had a steady supply of great fast bowlers including Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh who led their attack well into the next decade.


Photos below:

Left: Gordon Greenidge- one of the finest openers

Right: Malcolm Marshall-arguably the greatest fast bowler ever

Centre: Imran Khan, the dashing and charismatic Pakistani captain







9.Lara, Sachin, Warne and a change of guard at the top (1990's)--> By the 1990's, the game had become quite fast. The influence of ODI cricket was seen in the pace of the game and the athletic saves on the field. The 1990's also saw the rise of three of the greatest players of all time. Brian Charles Lara of Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies rose to prominence with a sublime 277 at Sydney. This was followed by a glorious run in 1994 when he made the record score of 375 eclipsing the 365* set by Sir Garry Sobers in 1958. He then scored 7 hundreds in 8 innings in first class cricket and a mammoth 501* for Warwickshire against Durham which is till the highest first class score. He had his fair share of ups and downs in the following years but rose when it mattered the most. In 1999, after capitulating 0-5 to South Africa and being bowled out for 51 against Steve Waugh's marauding Aussies, he proceeded to score 213 to win the next test at Kingston. Then, in an immortal display, he shepherded the tail including the notoriously inept Walsh, scoring a classic 153* and chasing down 308. He also played a glittering knock in the next test scoring a 100 off just 84 balls and had single handedly ensured that the West Indies were not embarrassed. Some more glorious performances of his in the next decade include scoring 688 runs ina 3 match series against Sri Lanka where he mastered the great off spinner Muralitharan, reclaiming his test record which had been eclipsed by Matthew Hayden by scoring a jaw dropping 400* against England.

Sachin Tendulkar had long been touted as India's next Gavaskar. But he did far more than that. He announced himself by playing two dashing innings against the powerful Aussies in 1991-92. His innings of 114 on a Perth flyer mus rank right up there in terms of skill. A remarkable figure of consistency and poise, he played great knocks everywhere and his mastery of Shane Warne in 1998 left watchers bewildered. Holder of the record for most 100's in tests and odi's, the highest aggregate test runs when he went past the West Indian genius Brian Lara, he has achieved almost everything there is and his simplicity on and off the field has been a revelation.

Shane Warne made his debut in rather forgettable circumstances with 1/228 at Sydney in 1991-92 when Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar put him to the sword. He turned it all around in the Ashes 1993 when he picked up 34 wickets including a bemused Mike Gatting with the 'ball of the century'. He made a fool of many a batsman with his outstanding repetoire of leg breaks, wrong un's, flippers and other variations. He proved to be a great match winner and appeared in the Wisden top 5 within 10 years of his debut which is testimony to his greatness and influence on the modern game.


Photos below: The 3 modern day legends

Left: The thrilling and mercurial Brian Lara essays a classic cover drive during his immortal 153* against Australia in 1999.

Right: The Little master Sachin Tendulkar acknowledges the cheers for yet another milestone in a glittering career.

Centre: Shane Warne celebrates after bowling a bemused Mike Gatting with the 'Ball of the century'.









The 1990's also saw a change of guard at the top of the world standings when Australia who had risen from the depths of the mid 1980's put it across the West Indians in 1995. Aided by a glorious 200 by Steve Waugh and 126 from his twin Mark Waugh, they went on to triumph in the unofficial test championship and ever since went on to dominate world cricket well into the 2000's. Led by Mark Taylor and then Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, they played an aggressive brand of cricket characterized by ruthless efficiency and boasted of a galaxy of match winners such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and the exciting keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist. they took the world by storm and ruled the world for well over a decade. In a decade of great bowling performances, Anil Kumble's historic perfect 10 at the Kotla against Pskistan in February 1999 must rank as the finest performance by an Indian bowler.

Photos below:

Left: The Aussie juggernaut keeps rolling on..

Right: The entertainer par excellence Adam Gilchrist







10. Australia in India (2001)--> Steve Waugh's mighty Aussies had won 16 tests in a row and wanted to cap it off in India where they did not have a great record. Waugh called it the 'final frontier' and by the time the matches started their intensity was visible. They won the first test at Mumbai by 10 wickets after a stupendous innings from Adam Gilchrist. The 2nd test started at the Eden Gardens and in response to Australia's 445 India had been bowled out for 171 and were asked to follow on. It seemed like curtains for the Indians, when one VVS Laxman who had been promoted to number 3 after he made 50 in the first innings started timing the ball quite beautifully. Joined by Rahul Dravid who had till then been mesmerized by Shane Warne, the pair set about playing some gorgeous strokes. The Aussies tried everything but to no avail. The pair batted through the entire 4th day unbeaten and when Laxman finally fell for an unforgettable 281, the match ahd been turned head over heels. Rahul Dravid made a brilliant 180 and the Aussies were stunned by what had happened. They collapsed against Harbhajan Singh who bowled a dream spell and lost by 171 runs. The teams moved onto Chennai where the master Sachin Tendulkar played a great knock setting it up for India. Matthew Hayden was the sole performer for the Aussies and India had to chase just 165 to win. In a match full of twists and turns, the Indians showed their nerves and finally the unlikely heroes were Samir Dighe and Harbhajan himself who managed to get India past the line by 2 wickets in a humdinger. The win at Calcutta had shades of Botham's Ashes in 1981 when the team had come from follow on to win the match and then the series. It was undoubtedly one of the greatest test series of all time and stands firmly etched in the memory of all cricket lovers.

Photo below: Laxman and Dravid walk off after their historic partnership at the Eden Gardens against Australia 2001.




11. The Ashes 2005--> Australia had dominated England ever since 1989 in the Ashes and English fans feared yet another repeat when the mighty Australians reached the shores of the Old Blighty. England made a fascinating start by bowling the Aussies out for 190 at Lords. Hopes were raised but were also brought down quickly to earth by the metronome Glenn Mcgrath. He destroyed England with a spell of 5 wickets as they folded up for 155 with only debutant Kevin Pietersen providing any resistance. Normal service resumed in the second innings with Michael Clarke making 91 and the Aussies set England a target of 420 and bowled them out for 180 winning by 239 runs.
The second test started at Edgbaston and England were granted a life line when Glenn Mcgrath was declared unfit to play because of a twisted ankle. The England openers made hay and only Shane Warne stood in the way. England made 407 and in a brilliant display of reverse swing bowling, the Aussies were bowled out for 308. England were then bowled out for 182 leaving the Aussies to get 282. At the end of the 4th day, England seemed to have the match in the bag with the Aussies tottering at 175/7. But England's nemesis Shane Warne had other answers. He in partnership with Brett Lee took Australia closer. Harmison removed Warne but Lee and Kasprowicz kept going and the situation became grim for England. They were just praying for a miracle when it came. Kasprowicz tried to get out of the way of a bouncer from Harmison but gloved it to a gleeful Geraint Jones. England had won by 2 runs in a fantastic game!!...But..this was only the precursor to a classic nail biting series.
At Old Trafford , McGrath was back but no where near his best and England piled on the runs scoring 444. They bowled the Aussies out for 302 with Simon Jones picking up 6 wickets. They then scored 280 setting an unlikely target of 423. Australia made a good start but soon the pressure was telling on them. The wickets continued to fall but the captin Ricky Ponting stood firm. He made an excellent 156 before being dismissed with 24 bals to spare. With just Glenn Mcgrath to come, the English thought they had it sealed. But Lee and Mcgrath resisted and held firm taking blow after blow for 4 overs and the Aussies lived to fight another day!..England were by now the more confident team and with Mcgrath missing again, they posted 477. They bowled superbly and bundled the Aussies for 218 and enforced the follow on. It was the first time in 17 years that Australia had followed on and England were right on top. Australia responded with 387 but England just had to chase 129. Enter Shane Warne, he flummoxed the batsmen with some quite brilliant leg spin bowling and England were staring down the barrel at 4 down for 57. Pietersen and Flintoff combined to raise the score past a 100 when Brett Lee struck twice to remove both. Warne removed Geraint Jones and it seemed like England didn't have it in them to win. Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard combined pluck with some luck and took England past the finish line albeit only just and the nation erupted. In the final test at the Oval, weather played a major part and Pietersen's lucky breaks when he was dropped thrice eary helped him score a superb 158 and save the test thus enabling his team to regain the Ashes. This was one of the most closely contested series and could have gone either way and left one hungry for more!...

Photos below: Ashes 2005 scenes

Left: Euphoric England after their fantastic win

Right: Amazing scene at Edgbaston. Amidst all the celebration, Flintoff consoles a valiant Brett Lee after the Aussies fall just short.






Ok then I have completed compiling my set of the greatest moments, episodes, players and matches from the glorious history of test cricket..Do have a read and let me know what can be included and your own list as well..!


Disclaimer: All images shown are for informational purposes only.

A real tough exercise!!

Recently Cricinfo came out with a really interesting yet extraordinarily difficult idea of selecting the greatest eleven players from the glittering test cricket history of each team. It kindled my imagination immediately and I wasn't going to sit still for s single minute without trying to select my own team and compare it with friends. I entered into detailed discussions and made use of all the stats and history of each country and player and eventually made a selection. I am putting up my teams (Australia, England, West Indies, India and Pakistan) in batting order. I am not providing any explanations for the selection (wait for a later post). Only a rather strange selection will carry some kind of reasoning.

It would be great if you guys can flip through the record books and rummage through the stats and come up with your own classic eleven for each team. It would make for an extremely interesting time comparing the lineups we come up with. I should believe I wont be off the final panel's decision by more than 2/3 names!!.

Index--> * ->Captain + -> Wicket Keeper


Australia

Matthew Hayden
Bob Simpson
Don Bradman(*) (:D)--as if there was a doubt..lol
Ricky Ponting
Greg Chappell
Neil Harvey
Adam Gilchrist(+)
Alan Davidson/Keith Miller(prefer Davidson because he adds variety with left arm)
Shane Warne (guess no arguments here)
Dennis Lillee
Glenn Mcgrath


England

Len Hutton(went for Hutton over Sutcliffe--dont ask why!)
Jack Hobbs
Walter Hammond(*)
Dennis Compton
David Gower
Ken Barrington
Ian Botham
Alan Knott(+)
Jim Laker
Harold Larwood
Syd Barnes------pretty old but the record does speak for itself


West Indies

Gordon Greenidge
Clyde Walcott/George Headley
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Frank Worrell(*)
Garry Sobers-----------absolute no brainer :D
Jeff Dujon(+)
Malcolm Marshall
Lance Gibbs
Michael Holding/Wes Hall
Curtly Ambrose


India

Sunil Gavaskar
Virender Sehwag (guess he has done enough to get there)
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Gundappa Viswanath
Vijay Hazare/Dilip Vengsarkar
Kapil Dev
Syed Kirmani (+)
Anil Kumble (*)-->guess he would have made a very fine captain
Bishen Singh Bedi
Erapalli Prasanna/Javagal Srinath (depending on the wicket i suppose!!)


Pakistan

Hanif Mohammad
Saeed Anwar
Zaheer Abbas
Javed Miandad
Inzamam Ul haq/ Mohd Yousuf
Imran Khan (*)
Wasim Akram
Wasim Bari (+)
Abdul Qadir
Waqar Younis
Fazal Mahmood-----------thought his record was stupendous


Its quite hard coming up with the teams for SA, NZ and Sri Lanka due to different reasons. Will try to do so shortly.

Till then happy selecting!!

The finest team to grace the game!

Statistics and sports go hand in hand, even more so in case of cricket with the innumerable parameters that are a part of the game. Though statistics never quite tell the complete story, they quite often present a very fair analysis and allow one to make a sound judgment. In cricket, there have been many classic arguments and debates such as 'Who is the greatest batsman?', 'the greatest bowler', 'The finest team in history' etc. Reaching a conclusion on any of these debates can be extremely difficult and time consuming and having been involved in these arguments myself more often than not, I sure do know how best to approach these and what the focus is supposed to be on. As a cricket fanatic, I have always wanted to delve into the fascinating world of statistics and apply the findings to reach some conclusions. In this case, I am trying to find out which has been the greatest test team to grace the game. Numerous parameters and stats combined with some sound interpretation of these figures will undoubtedly stir the imagination of those not into cricket statistics and history and also prove to be a great source of information for those already in love with the game.

I have tried my best to interpret the stats in a very simple manner and though almost most of them are very self explanatory, wherever they require any kind of interpretation, I shall provide sufficient explanation and detail out any historical information and comparison that might help put things in perspective.

Test cricket has always been the most fascinating version of cricket and the only one that I quite truly consider capable of providing the right judgment on the calibre of a player. In the 130 odd years of test cricket history, there have been some glorious players who have been part of some brilliant teams. The ones that come to mind are the 'Invincibles' led by Don Bradman in the years just after the second world war, England's team in the mid 1950's led by Peter May, Frank Worrell's fantastic West Indian team of the early 1960's, the rather unfortunate South African team of the late 60's, Ian and Greg Chappell's Australian outfit of the early to mid 1970's, the Caribbean juggernaut of the 1970's and 1980's led by Clive Lloyd and later by Vivian Richards and then finally the all conquering Australian units led by Steve Waugh and then by Ricky Ponting. Of these, though it is very hard to pick just two for comparison, I ultimately and also logically decided to compare the performance of the West Indian teams of Lloyd and Richards and the Aussie teams led by Waugh and Ponting. The simple reasons I picked these two teams is that they have dominated every other team for a good part of a decade which is unprecedented in the history of the game and also because they are much more closely separated in time which makes it comparatively easier to apply similar metrics.

Firstly, it is very important to fix the time frame or the period of play for both teams before comparison. After considering quite a few factors, I have decided to compare the West Indian team's performance between 1980-88 (9 years) with the Australian team's performance between 1999-2007(9 years). Though the West Indian team was very strong from about 1976, they did lose some great players during the Packer series of 1977-78. Hence I have decided to focus on their performance from 1980. Also, Allan Border and Mark Taylor's teams of the 1990's were very good but were not as consistent and dominant like their successors Waugh and Ponting. Hence the period 1999-2007.

I have formulated set of metrics with a few of them being fairly straight forward, but I also have added a few other interesting factors which might prove to be helpful in coming to the conclusion as to which has been the greatest team. For the sake of ease of understanding, the way the points are allotted is very simple. The score is 1 point for whichever team has a better performance in each metric. In a case where there is any complex calculation, I shall provide the required information for the sake of clarification.

For every metric, the link to the source used for comparing (Cricinfo statsguru) or the stats are provided so that you can try and work out your own metrics and indulge in other very interesting comparisons.

1. Overall record (win-loss ratio): The West Indies during this period played 76 test matches and have an astounding record of 40 wins, just 7 losses and 29 draws. The win loss ratio comes up to be a remarkable 5.71. The remarkably high number of draws is generally because of the style of play in those days. Quite a few outfits preferred to play slow and draw rather than lose by trying to be aggressive.

When we shift the focus to Australia, their record is just as remarkable. They played 102 tests, winning 76, losing 13 and drawing 13. The lower number of draws is attributed to the exceptional scoring rate of the Australian teams who on an average scored close to 3.5-4 and over thus giving themselves enough time to bowl out the opposition. The Win-loss ratio of 5.84 is almost the same and there is hardly anything to choose at this stage. So, both teams get 1 point each.

The stats for West indies can be found here and the corresponding metrics for the Australian team can be found here.



2. Home and away records- Most teams in any sport tend to have an advantage when they play at home and this is something that very much applies to cricket as well. The team has a great idea about the home ground and pitch and is more often than not a step ahead of the opposition. The home record will present a clear picture as to how often the great teams have been able to drive home the advantage of playing in familiar conditions with home crowd support.

Away records present a great way of judging how well a team has been able to acclimatize to new conditions and whether they have found a way of dealing with the hostile and often partisan crowds.

The West Indians have a truly world class record at home in that period. They won 15 , lost just 1 and drew 10 out of 26 tests played at home. Australia have en even more spectacular record playing 53 tests, winning 44 and losing just 2 whilst drawing 7. This gives them a stunning win-loss ratio of 22 which is higher than the rate of 15 for the West Indies. Though the West Indies have played fewer tests and whether they might have surpassed the Aussies if they had played more is something that cannot be determined. Going by the figures, Australia take the honours here and gain 1 point.

The home records for the West indies can be found here and those of Australia can be found here.

When it comes to the away records, it is seen that the Caribbeans emerge the better team with 25 wins and just 6 losses when compared to Australia's 29 wins and 11 losses. The West indies gain 1 point here.

3. Win percentage: The overall win percentage i.e. the number of matches won/total played is clearly in favor of the Aussies as they won 75% (76 of 102)of their games as opposed to the Windies winning a shade less than 60% (40 of 76). The Aussies gain one point and at the moment lead 3-2.

4. Number of series lost- This is a very good indicator of the dominance of the team against all opposition and shows how many teams have managed to stand up and triumph in the period of total domination. The West indies lost just 1 series and that too an ill tempered contentious one against New Zealand in 1980. The Aussies lost 1 against Sri Lanka in 1999 0-1 and then two more. The first of them against India 1-2 in 2001, best remembered for VVS Laxman's immortal 281 at the Eden Gardens and second was quite possibly the greatest series of this era 1-2 against England in 2005. So the West indies gain 1 point and the scores are level at 3-3.

Now we move on to some of the more detailed parameters and the comparison of these is very vital in order to reach the right conclusion. Detailed analysis and explanation along with the stats will be provided in the following sections.






5. Number of massive wins (ranging from an innings win to a win by 7 wickets) and a win by margin of runs>150--> (gives indicator of strength in batting & dominance).

The West Indian team won 33 matches out of its 40 (82.5%%) by a huge margin which is rather astonishing considering that it did come up against some very good teams in Australia (early 1980's), England and also India and Pakistan. The mighty Aussies won 57 games out of the overall 76 won by a huge margin i.e. about 75%. Though extremely close to call, the point goes to the West Indies also because of the quality of opposition. The Aussies did come up against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh which made huge wins lot easier to come by. Score is 4-3 in favor of the West Indies at the moment.

The stats for both teams can be found here and here.

6. Number of times match won after conceding lead- (indicator of bowling strength and second innings batting)

The West Indies in their heyday conceded the lead 17 times out of 76 and won 3 games and lost 5 of these whilst drawing 9. This gives a win loss ratio of 0.6 which is not very impressive.

Moving on to Australia, they have a more impressive record with 8 wins 5 losses and 8 draws out of the 21 times they conceded leads giving them a win-loss ratio of 1.6.
The score now stands level at 4-4.

The stats are available here and here for Australia and the West Indies respectively.


7. Number of times team has won chasing more than 200 in last innings and successfully defending less than 200-- (indicates great batting and bowling performance under pressure)

Quite remarkably, both the teams have won 6 times, lost thrice and drawn 4 times when they are faced with a target of over 200 in the 4th innings. The similarity is quite astonishing and reflects how close the two teams are when compared.

While defending a score of less than 200, Australia have never won, lost 4 times and drew once. This indicates two things, one that the team almost always set a high target and defended it easily but on the rare occasions that they set a low target, they have not been able to conjure up some magic to defend it despite some great efforts as against England at Trent Bridge in 2005 defending 129 and India at Chennai in 2001 while defending 155 losing by just 3 wickets and 2 wickets respectively on these occasions.

The Windies on the other hand also never won when the target was less than 200, lost 3 times and drew once. This is very slightly better and can be disregarded. So,the scores still remain level and the comparison gets even more interesting.

8.Number of times team dismissed less than 200 (indicator of frequency of top order not performing)

The West Indies team was dismissed for less than 200 12 times in the period i.e. 12 in 76 games while the Australians were dismissed for a score less than 200 12 times in 102 games. Though this difference can be attributed to the poor bowling quality of other teams playing Australia, this does show that the West Indian top order was a little less reliable than that of the Australian batting which rarely folded up for low scores. The score is now 5-4 in favor of the Australia.

The stats can be found here and here for the West indies and Australia respectively.


9. Performance of top batsmen of the team in the period (includes the centuries, averages) when compared with the overall fray.

Index: M-matches R-runs Avg-batting average 100-100's scored 50-50's scored

Read as: Batting average(number of matches played)

Player M R Avg 100 50 Average against top teams of period

Viv Richards: 72 4826 50.27 14 26 (Aus-46.76(17) Eng-56.4(24) Pak-58.35(9) India 44.15(15))


Gordon Greenidge: 69 4675 46.75 10 23 (Aus-43.5(16) Eng-47.2(23) Pak 24.27(6) India 56(14))


Desmond Haynes: 75 4478 39.62 10 25 (Aus-41.33(17) Eng-49.36(23) Pak 20.5(10) India 30.86(15))

Also provided are the performance of the great West indian batsmen against the leading bowlers of that era.

Index: no of dismissals(no of matches)

Bowlers: Kapil Hadlee Botham Imran Lillee/Lawson/Alderman

IND NZ Eng Pak Aus

Richards --------> 5 (15) 3 (7) 7 (19) 1(9) 3(4)/4(12)/4(9)

Greenidge--------> 5 (14) 6 (10) 5 (19) 5(6) 3(3)/8(11)/2(8)

Haynes --------> 6 (15) 6 (10) 6 (19) 6(10) 2(4)/4(12)/2(9)


Viv Richards and the other two batsmen also to an extent have performed fairly well against the top bowlers of the period. The rate at which the bowlers have got their wickets has not been high except in a couple of cases.

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When this is compared with the performance of the Australian outfit's top 3 batsmen, we can clearly observe the that the quality of bowling faced by Australia has been overall poorer. This is reflected by very high averages for the batsmen. Yet, it has to be accepted that the Aussie batsmen have been in the best form this decade and the points go to them. The score now stands at 6-4 in favor of Australia.


player M R Avg 100 50 average agst top teams of period

Ricky Ponting: 91 8306 64.38 31 31 (SA-67.73 (12) eng-52.81 (20) India 59.36 (12) )


Matthew Hayden: 85 7742 55.69 27 27 (SA-61.19 (12) eng-45.65(20) India 64.31 (12) )


Adam Gilchrist: 93 5478 48.91 17 25 (SA-47.12 (12) eng-45.12 (20) India 29.87 (15) )


Bowlers----> Muralitharan Harbhajan/Kumble Flintoff Ntini/Pollock

Ponting -----> 3(9) 6(6)/4(8) 5(11) 4(9)/3(8)

Hayden-------> 5(6) 7(8)/4(8) 6(11) 7(9)/2(8)

Gilchrist----> 4(6) 7(8)/8(11) 5(11) 2(9)/0(8)


In the case of performance against top bowlers, the Aussies seem to fall short. Ponting has been found wanting against spin most times and Gilchrist and Hayden have also been dismissed regularly by more than one bowler. In the ability to counter the best bowler from the opposition, the West Indies have performed better and gain one point. The score is 6-5 in favor of the Aussies.

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10. Bowling (performance against all opposition and dependency of team on bowlers i.e. performance in absence of frontline bowlers).

Given below are the stats of the star bowlers who took these teams to great heights. It is said that test matches are won by bowlers and this has been proven true by these legends.

Index: M-matches W-Wickets Avg-bowling average 5&10-no of 5 & 10 wicket hauls.

M W avg 5 10 average against top teams of period

Malcolm Marshall: 78 373 20.42 22 4 (Aus-22.51 (19) Eng-19.18(26) Pak-20.7 (12) India 19.26 (14))

Michael Holding: 45 184 23.38 9 1 (Aus-15.67 (10) Eng-24.63 (17) India 27.73 (11))

Joel Garner: 49 210 20.62 7 0 (Aus-22.24 (14) Eng-17.93 (19) Pak-19.2 (4) India 43.00 (3))


In the matches not involving the lead bowlers, the performance of the West Indies does drop. When all 3 were missing, they lost 2 and won 1. When Marshall, their best bowler was missing, the win-loss ratio fell to 1.5 from the amazing 5.7 overall. When all 3 were playing, they had a win loss ratio of 16 which is quite unbelievable and shows that they were true match winners.

Not involving lead bowlers:

Malcolm Marshall: played-18 won-6 lost-4 draw-8

Marshall, Holding and Garner missing-- 1 win and 2 losses in 5 games.

all 3 present----> won 16 lost 1 in 26 games

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M W avg 5 10 average against top teams of period

Glenn Mcgrath: 80 364 20.67 18 3 ( SA-26.52(9) Eng-20.62(18) India 17.65(10) )

Shane Warne: 78 395 25.92 23 6 ( SA-27.27(12) Eng-23.01(19) India 39.40(9) )

both players missing---> won 8 lost 2 out of 12 games

without Glenn Mcgrath--> won 16 lost 4 out of 22 games (notably lost 3 out of 3 against Eng and 1 of 3 against Ind)

without Shane Warne----> won 18 lost 4 out of 24 games (2 against India)


Though Australia's performance is better than West Indies statistically, the facts are that they lost all 3 tests to England when Mcgrath was missing and they also lost to India twice when Warne was not around. This does show that they had the bench strength but were able to put it across relatively poorer attacks which were not even as good as the replacement attack of Australia. Hence the scores remain the same.







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11. Performance of wicket-keepers

Both the teams had fantastic batting wicket keepers who were exceptional behind the stumps and also contributed handily with the bat on more than one occasion. Though Jeff Dujon was a good player, Adam Gilchrist was a once in a generation batsman who could fit into a team purely as a batsman and had a quite jaw dropping strike rate of 82. A match winner par excellence, he had the ability to turn the game on its head in a session. He played many an important knock that stunned the opposition. His fantastic keeping to both Mcgrath and the legendary Shane Warne wins the points. The Aussies lead 7-5.

Here are the stats for the keepers.

Wicket Keepers:

M Runs Avg 100 50 Catches/Stumpings

Jeff Dujon 38 2747 38.15 5 14 182/5

Adam Gilchrist 93 5478 48.91 17 25 362/37

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12. Performance of the bowlers against the top opposition batsmen of their period.

A key factor that goes into the great performance of top test teams is the fact that the bowlers are able to dismiss the leading opposition batsmen cheaply. This goes a long way in establishing a position of strength. The stats below show how the great bowlers of the West indies and Australia fared against the great batsmen from other teams.

Performance of bowlers against top batsmen of period


Malcolm Marshall---> England (Gooch (16) Lamb (13) ,Botham (7) Gatting (7) Gower (5))
Australia (Border (11) Boon (10))
Pakistan (Imran(5) Javed Miandad (3))
India (Gavaskar (7) Vengsarkar(10) Amarnath (6))


Michael Holding ---> England (Gooch (7) Boycott (6) ,Botham (5) Gower (5))
Australia (Kim Hughes (7) Border (5) Greg Chappell (4))
India (Gavaskar (7) Vengsarkar(4) Shastri (6))

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Glenn Mcgrath---> England(Atherton(6) Stewart(6) Vaughan(6) Trescothick(6) Pietersen(5))
South Africa (Smith(5) Gary Kirsten(4) Gibbs(3) Kallis(3))
Pakistan (Inzamam(3) Mohammed Yousuf(3))
India (Tendulkar (5) Dravid(5) Laxman(5))
West Indies(Brian Lara(8) Chris Gayle(4))


Shane Warne ---> England (Trescothick(8) Strauss(8) Flintoff(7))
South Africa (Prince(11) Boucher(9) Gibbs(6) Kallis(5))
Sri Lanka (Jayawardena(4) Sangakkara(4))
India (Dravid(5) Laxman(4))
West Indies(Brian Lara(3) Chanderpaul(2))



This is a clear illustration of the fact that in both cases, the bowlers managed to snap up the leading batsmen quickly thus creating a vice like grip on the match. There is almost nothing to separate the two teams. Hence the points are shared. The score is 8-6 to Australia.

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13. Funnily though, I retained this for the last. Both the West Indies and Australia had fantastic opening pairs. They set up many a match and helped chase down numerous targets easily. They faced the best of bowlers and came out on top more often than not. Undoubtedly, the teams owe much of their success to the world class opening pair they had.

The records of the opening pair are given below.

M R Avg 100 50
Gordon Greenidge/Desmond Haynes (WI)--> 148 6482 47.31 16 26
Matthew Hayden/Justin Langer (Aus(----> 111 5655 51.88 14 24

Again as it has been so far in this incredible statistical venture, it is too close to call. Ultimately, I have to give it to the Caribbean pair because they came up against much better bowlers in their time than the mighty Aussies who did not really have many a great bowler to contend with most times. This does not diminish their aura in any way but just shows that a team's strength is best measured by its opposition. The score is 8-7 in favor of Australia now.

14. Performance against leading teams of era (comparing with performance of other teams also in period to reflect how far ahead the team was)-> The West Indians and the Australians strode the world like lords and conquered every team. They had an exceptional record in almost every situation and consistently triumphed both home and away.

The performance of the Calypso kings of the 1980's against each team can be found here.

The Aussies also conquered all opponents quite easily but also had weak teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and also faced the declining West Indies team. Their stats with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh filtered out can be found here.

It can be noted that their W/L ratio comes down a touch to 5.30, still and exceptional record.

Again, it is very important to read into the stats and not look at them superficially. The West Indians had more draws but against the leading teams, they performed quite brilliantly. Pakistan were probably the only team to challenge them and they dominated England and Australia easily. Australia on the other hand did not have any tough opposition other than India. They lost a total of 9 games to these opponents and did not really manage to conquer the sub continent especially India. Here, the West Indians were different as they did not lose a single series after the controversial defeat to NZ by 1 wicket in 1980. Australia did lose a couple of test series to India and England which blemishes their overall record somewhat. The final score now stands at 8-8.



Also, when we have a detailed look the performance of the other top teams (among themselves except matches against WI) of the respective periods, i.e. by comparing their W/L ratios, we can make some interesting observations. In the 1980's, the closest any team got to West Indies was Pakistan with 16 wins and 9 losses (W/L of 1.77), followed by England (1.00), New Zealand (0.91), a comparatively poor Australia (0.85) and India (0.71).

I use a metric to calculate the average W/L of these teams which works out to be 1.05, a difference of 4.66 when compared to the West Indies (5.71).

Taking the case of Australia (again, for all teams calculations are done after eliminating the minnows), they have a W/L ratio of 5.30. The South Africans also proved to be terrific during this period and have a great W/L of 2.32 followed by England with 1.75, Pakistan with 1.09, India with 1.05 and Sri Lanka (due to an exceptional home record but a very ordinary away record) have a W/L of 0.90. When these ratios are averaged out, the value is 1.42, a difference of 3.98 when compared to the Aussies.

This shows that the West Indies in their heyday were more dominant in world cricket i.e. the difference between them and the rest of the fray was larger than in the case of Australia In the latter case, South Africa, India and also England did have great runs and narrowed the gap a touch. The final score is WI-9 and Aus-8.

The final conclusion is the West Indies of the 1980's were probably the slightly better outfit when compared to the great Australian team under Waugh and Ponting due to their overall dominance and the fear they induced in opponents. Whatever chinks they had in their armour were swiftly eliminated the moment they took the field. Their approach was exciting and made test cricket such a pleasure to watch.

There may be numerous more factors that can be compared and argued about. After a long and hard effort grinding through all the stats and history, I believe that the West Indies were a top heavy team whilst the Aussies had a little more depth. The Wicket keeper in Adam Gilchrist was world class and of colossal importance in their victory streaks. They also played a very aggressive brand of cricket and made the test game very interesting to watch. West Indies had a set of fast bowlers who have never been matched nor will ever be in the game. Australia in Shane Warne had a bowler for the ages and this spin factor gave them more variety and along with Glenn Mcgrath, he provided a lethal combination which ruled the game.

The West Indies was the team that set the tone for what was to follow. It has been the team every person loves and has produced the most charismatic cricketers ever. Finally, if I were to choose a team I would love to watch, I would choose the West Indians any day over Australia because despite their chilling efficiency and professionalism, the Aussies can never hope to match the joy that watching the Calypso kings brings to the cricket lover.

We have been rather fortunate to witness such fantastic teams grace the beautiful game and this has been one of my best journeys through the most interesting and absorbing field of cricket statistics and I sure do hope to do it once again!