Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Moin - Do you listen to yourself?

I believe it was very unsporting of the Indian cricket team to successfully appeal for obstructing the field against Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and that too at a very crucial stage of the first one-day international at Peshawar. To me, it appears that the Indian team was desperate to win the game by hook or by crook, no matter even it came at the expense of the norms of this sport known as the gentleman's game.

Those are sane words - heard normally from one of the game's mostly misinformed greats. Which is why it is surprising when one reads the byline accompanying these words. Even though I believe that the circumstances leading to this quote could have been avoided (from both sides), let me take you back in time to the year 1999 to demonstrate why this particular comment riles me up.

Exactly 7 years and one week ago in Chennai, on January 31, 1999, India lost the first Test of their two Test series against Pakistan. This particular Test match shall forever be known to every Indian cricket fan as a story whose positive end was so near and yet turned out to be so far. For some people in Chennai, that Test match shall be the one that sealed the reputation of the crowds at Chepauk for being the most sporting of live audiences ever. But to me, the Test, particularly the last day, will be a milestone dripping in infamy - the day when Sachin's back began asserting itself and when Mongia's wild hoick against Akram with so few remaining to be scored changed derailed India's fight-back. While these incidents are all that most people will remember about the Test, personally I will never forget one particular ball.

Now, most people talk only about Mongia and the subsequent failure of Sachin and the tail to score those precious 17 runs. But if you ask me, I think the deed was done much earlier. For, I am of the firm opinion that the vital balls/wickets that change the complexion of a game are always the ones that come at the start of a innings. So if you lost a game by one run, don't blame the late order batsmen, but blame the top half of the order for not scoring that vital run.
Similarly don't blame the misfield at the fag end of the innings, but the reprieve earlier. Don't blame that run out that claimed the 9th wicket, but blame the umpiring error that caused the premature demise of number 3.

So, it all happened on the 4th (and what turned out to be the final) day. I did not see the match live. But I remember lying flat on my belly in my hostel room and listening to the radio commentary on AIR. Twenty three overs into the final day, India were with their backs against the wall. Earlier that morning, Dravid had lost his off bail to Akram and Azhar had fallen cheaply too, lbw shouldering arms to Saqlain, while Ramesh and Laxman, the openers had already been cleaned up by Waqar the previous evening.

With Tendulkar looking rock solid at the other end, in walks Ganguly as India are down to the 5th wicket (and last remaining) pair of specialist batsmen, still requiring 191 runs to save the game. But Sachin is soon frustrated, with only 9 runs coming in the next 10 successive overs bowled in tandem by the Saqlain - Afridi pair. And then comes the shocker, the memory of which exposes Moin Khan as a man possessed by double standards like the worst of us. I will let Cricinfo's Travis (Basevi?) describe what transpired in his own words (as part of the ball by ball commentary).

41.1 Saqlain Mushtaq to Tendulkar, no run, a step forward, aggressive shot, played to midwicket fielder

41.2 Saqlain Mushtaq to Tendulkar, one run, bounces and spins a lot, turned to backward short leg, quick run

41.3 Saqlain Mushtaq to Ganguly, no run, short ball, cracked very hard at silly point fielder. both silly point and short cover turned their backs. the ball bounced off silly point's back but short cover was not ready either turning his back too


41.4 Saqlain Mushtaq to Ganguly, no run, pushed to offside


oh no....


41.5 Saqlain Mushtaq to Ganguly, OUT:


India 82/5, Partnership of 9

SC Ganguly c **** b Saqlain Mushtaq 2 (25b 0x4 0x6)


Saqlain Mushtaq 14.5-5-19-2

Ganguly cracked this ball to ohard at silly point. the ball off his body fell down and diving **** caught it off the ground very clearly and Dunne gives him out! this is clearly not out according to TV replays


Now, I saw the replays during the evening news and what I saw clearly corroborates Travis's version of what happened. Ganguly's defensive stroke off the front foot hit silly-point and one could see the ball bouncing on the ground before being pouched by ****.

Guess who "****" is? It is the same man who has been quoted in the first para of this post. Lets see what more he has to say.

A captain needs to stand tall and handle situations, specially when they come in critical stages of the game and I think, Dravid has not only let himself down but also his team. I am dead sure that if Sourav Ganguly would have been the captain, the matter would have been defused tactfully and sportingly.

Ummm.. Moin, if I remember right, you were also the vice captain, that day in Chennai! So now, 7 years thence, you are qualified to comment on Dravid's integrity as a sportsman?

I understand that according to the laws of the game, Inzamam was out and if he does not know the laws, then it is not the fault of the law but Inzamam himself. But my point is that there are several cricketing laws that we don'?t follow because they are not considered within the spirit of the game.

You need to watch yourself, Moin. For, upon reading what you have to say, if they did not know even as much of cricket as I do, someone might start to wonder if you are a Nobel Laureate.

Batsmen don't run for singles or twos when the ball is deflected off their bodies or bats from throws, batsmen pick the ball and throw it to the close-in fielder or the bowler when it falls close to them. So much so, when Greg Chappell told his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball under-arm, it was also within the laws of the game.

So, now it is Chappell's integrity you are questioning? Hmm, wonder what qualifies you. Let us see. What were you doing in Calcutta, barely 20 days later, when Shoaib (while glancing over his shoulder to see Sachin sprinting toward him at the non striker's end) took a step backward calmly plonking himself firmly on Sachin's path, forcing Sachin to run wide (a few extra steps) to avoid him and getting him run-out in the bargain. Did you say something about your own team's insistence to win, hook or by crook. Even if we just assume it was a honest mistake from Shoaib, why did you, the magnanimous clean character you are, not rescind your appeals (in both Sachin's and Saurav's case). I saw that on TV, Moin.

I fear history might not forgive Dravid for his poor captaincy and unsporting attitude. After all, we have still not forgotten the acts of the Chappells, have we?

Yes, Moin, history might not forgive Dravid, if his captaincy was judged to be poor at the end of his career. His tenure is just a few tests old, but every other "expert" has praised his captaincy these past few months. But hey, I forgot. You are the "all-knowing guru", aren't you?

Anyways we have certainly not forgotten about the Chappells, but neither have we forgotten you. And lest YOU forget, a lot of Indians (in fact, let me add the Englishmen to this list too) have forgotten neither your un-sporting attitude nor your chaffing demeanor on the cricket field. Were you not the captain who resorted to moving your fielders after every single ball, and that too making these from mid pitch, seemingly in deep discussion with your bowlers, under fading light at Karachi in 2001 against England when they were fighting to win the test on the fifth day. I saw that too, Moin.

And in case you want to know, this was the verdict from one of your own countrymen (writing for the Dawn) after that Karachi Test match

...Moin Khan's captaincy and wicketkeeping (was) far from satisfactory.

Without taking any credit from England in this Test, Pakistan's batting proved disgusting, their bowling pathetic, fielding horrendous and Moin Khan's captaincy and wicketkeeping far from satisfactory. Saqlain Mushtaq picked up three wickets but conceded 64 runs from 17 overs.

Moin Khan showed that he needed a lot of experience before he can command his men in the field when he made senseless bowling changes. ...

Moin, let me stop now. I think I have made my point. I hope you read this and I also hope to get a chance to remind you of your on field shenanigans every time you conjure up something similar.

(P.S: What the hell was the New Indian Express thinking when they were giving Moin a chance to comment? When will the Indian MSM learn? If this is how they are going to function, looks like I will be making more such posts here!)

50 comments:

Unknown said...

Well Said aNTi.. i was fuming inside after reading his piece this morning... and now it is Inzi's turn to say the same...(in cricinfo)... these SOB has no right to question the integrity of Dravid....bloody a***hole

anantha said...

Cipher: Thanks. But I have no grouse against Inzy. The man seems to be a gentleman. I think there are vested interests that put him up to saying these things. Did u see the way Ramiz Raja brought the topic up during the post match ceremony?

Scott: Thanks for the kind words. I did not catch the incident live cos I had dozed off (it was daybreak here). But i saw it on google video and was amazed that people are making an issue about it. It is debatable, nevertheless I think the Indians had sufficient reason to appeal. First point, I think Raina is one of the better sharp shooters in the team, having hit the stumps more often than not. The second point, as you must have noticed, was that Inzy was atleast a couple of steps out of the crease and he would had to dive full length to get back in. When he used his bat, it was as if he was practising his back foot punch or something. It was also instinctive. As someone (I think it was Prem Panicker) said he could easily come out of this looking like the better person, if he had just met Dravid after the game and talked to him, rather than come out swinging like this and looking like a jerk (which I don't think he is). As I mentioned to Cipher, someone put him upto it. Btw, dunno if you have actually seen those dismissals i mention, but Moin is the last person who should be ALLOWED to talk about sportsmanship! Its incredulous. He had the gall to appeal for a bump catch and now talks like he is the chaste virgin in a houseful of seasoned escorts!

J Ramanand said...

Exactly. I usually don't get worked up about such things, but this relentless assault is a little too much, so yeah, what the hell is happening at IE :-). But it clearly is psychological warfare, so Dravid and co. are hopefully too wise to get into this trap. I wish the likes of Bedi would point out the unathleticism of Inzy than Sehwag :-) I'm telling you - ever since Tendulkar got Moin out that day, Moin's brains have become addled.

Unknown said...

I didn't get the chance to see it in video..just read in cricinfo....

Is that incident available in google ? I'll try searching it..if u hv the url pls post it....

anantha said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anantha said...

Cipher: Search for Inzamam at video.google.com

Jagadish said...

Anantha - lovely pullis. Linked from my Cricket 24x7 post.

Anonymous said...

Hi from Italy

Chakra said...

Fortunately or unfortunately, I was part of the Chepauk crowd on the 4th & 5th day of the test against Pak in 1999. Incidentally, that was the last match I watched live in India.

Chakra said...

btw, a very well written piece dude.

Anonymous said...

Oh well, we have Boycs talking about attacking cricket too.

Our fascination for the phoren ex-players, it seems, as extended to the Pakis too. I mean, Moin Khan. I could understand if it was Imran or Wasim or even Waqar getting that much space.

Moin Khan ? Obviously then he's gonna spew trash. That he chose this particular angle (sportsmanship et al), of course, is jest too much funny.

Jagadish said...

anantha: I was actually supposed to do the ball-by-ball commentary for CI for day 4. I had done bbb comms on the first three days. I pulled out due to a ricked neck and scoring on day four (and as it turned out, the final day) was done by Venkatakrishnan. I watched the ridiculous batting by the other ten batsmen on TV.

Sriks said...

Very well written article.
Indian media is giving Moin too much free space to publish his moronic opinions. Your article cleary nails where Pakistan stands when it comes sportmenship.
Moin & co needs to shut the @#@# up

Ritesh said...

Moin has been given the license to bark after his retirement. So let him do that (freedom of press and everything). But why the hell is Inzamam making juvenile comments about spirit of the game. You fat *&$%, where was the spirit of the game when your best bowler, excuse me chucker was throwing a beamer in the second test and not even bothering to pretend. Where was the spirit of the game when your fielders were giving an earful to Irfan, who by all accounts looks like a gentleman. Well done RD. If Moin thinks that Ganguly wouldn't have done what RD did, he is right. Ganguly would have not just appealed, but personally escorted Inzamam off the field and send a message along for his wife and kids !!

anantha said...

Tafosi: Don't think Inzy would have talked, if not for some goading from ppl like Ramiz Raja! And ya, who is Inzy kidding when he compares what happened with the "what would have" if Gangs was the captain.

Sriks: Wow... Welcome on here. Read all about ur "curry rock"! Awesome!
As for the Indian media, this is one of my pet peeves. We give too much space to our opponents!

Jagadish: Oh.. wow. I thought Travis was Travis Basevi. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. More so because everyone talks about Sachin getting out and holds that day against him. Only the people who remember much more than that single ball that got Sachin know what really happened there. Btw, thanks for the link!

?!: More sad than funny, man! You would think that at least the press would know the history of the sport better, but no!

Chakra: Thanks. My last memories of watching cricket live are better, thankfully. India beating Australia in Chennai!

Yadoge: Ummm ok...Welcome, I mean.

Lahar said...

I've started following the Sehwag technique when it comes to reading cricket articles. Ignore everyting except the ball that's being bowled. If you think Moin is bad, you should check out Sanjay Jha.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tip aNTi..i saw the video now....

anantha said...

Lahar: There is a reason why I don't go anywhere apart from Cricinfo and some blogs for my daily cricket fix. Sanjay Jha is that freak who writes for Cricketnext. Even Rediff is going down and I get my fix from Prem Panicker's blog instead! And now they moved it from Blogger to Rediff's hosting which is a major pain in the posterior!

kuttichuvaru said...

seriously, I was infuriated by these Moin's comments n wat does he think of himself?? he doesnt even qualify to write abt sportsmanship.... Sidhu's suggestions hold very true..... send Moin to a mental asylum in Amritsar!!! he has his head up his a$$!!

worma said...

Ahh well....I never take Moin seriously anyways...as a matter of fact I've stopped reading his articles (yes I know, my loss....poor me :-) And most of these players, as Scott said earlier, are not sparkling clean themselves to talk of sporting spirit.

What irked me most about this issue was Inzy's statements...either he did not understand the implications of what he was saying, because what he says as the captain of the side is much more important than all other noises coming out on the issue, or he is stupid enough to indulge in such behaviour. As I wrote once, even Ponting, with his lack of tact, is more intelligent than this. Btw, this is the second and final Inzy outburst, as far as I am concerned, that has let me make up my mind about what kind of person he is (not about cricket, on field game is different kettle of fish). The first was his repeated and varyingly funny whinging about his omission from the SuperSeries squad. Remember??..the final words being funniest "I am going there because of my country..otherwise I didnt want to go.."

Vee Cee said...

great post Anti! I just hope some of the ex-Indian cricketers who write for the MSM (assuming there are) bring out the EXACT same points as you have mentioned.
Or even some of the cricinfo writers.

Tarun said...

A former Pakistani captain talking of "Spirit of a Gentlemens Game" is a height of hypocrisy.

anantha said...

Tarun: Yup, thats exactly my point.

Vc: Thanx. Ex Indian cricketers (barring mah man Kris Srikkanth) are the same as ex Pak cricketers. And btw, I stopped clicking on the link to your profile long time ago and suddenly today I find you have a blog too :O

Worma: Honestly, I thought Moin suffers from amnesia of some sort or has grossly underestimated the Indian cricket fan that most of us are. I still think someone put him upto both these whines. Shahryar Khan made some statements, if I remember, when Inzy was not chosen and this time I strongly feel that Ramiz is the cause.

Kuttichuvaru: Right.. he does seem to have his head up into his posterior.

RPM said...

Unbelievable putting together of facts/history, Anti. I am speechless reading this post.

Moin has absolutely no right to talk about sportsmanlike conduct, and worse, comment about how a certain incident is going to go down in history.

anantha said...

rpm: Thanks buddy. But Cricinfo is my bible for all numbers. I just remember some snippets! Ya, but then thats true of most cricketers! Like Scott mentioned in his first comment, "gentleman's game" is definitely an oxymoron.

Nilu said...

aNTi,
This is classic 'ad hominem'.

How does it matter what Moin did, in order to take note of what he says? That I really hated his own sportsmanship is no reason for viewing his ideas through the prism of a run out.

I don't agree with Moin - but my argument will not be "Moin says it and therefore it is wrong"

anantha said...

Nilu: Hey, it is ad hominem. But neither do I care, nor am I going to stop. This is hypocricy and though its not recursive (btw, uncool as I am, I never got that), it is hypocricy nevertheless. Being someone who actually had a "Wall" dedicated to the Wall in Shan, I consider it my birth-right to jump at people like Moin. The post might be long, but the bigger picture and a recurring theme whenever I post on cricket is what I have given right there in the post script!

Nilu said...

yeah yeah, your wall was simply stinking of soiled underwear....adangu da dei...

anantha said...

Nilu: Oh... so when did you come and smell my wall? You sure you weren't smelling the ones that you used to wear over your head....:p

Anonymous said...

Nilu doesnt wear any underwear, What is there to protect? Nilu usually shops panties from victoria secret.

Emma said...

Very well said... and a very well written piece.

Minal said...

Anti,
Neat Stuff. Was planning to write one myself cause I'm rather sick after reading the issue all over in the papers.

Sporting spirit? Pakistan asking us to be sporting ! Have they ever taken a look at themselves. What noise are they creating? Wasn't it just the last series against England when Shahid Afridi got suspended for damaging the pitch!

And where was Akram's spirit in calling Sachin back when clearly he would not have been run-out had Shoaib not blocked his way!

Spirit they are talking about and that too Moin Khan of all the people.

Give me a royal break!

Nav said...

Hey Anti,

First of all Moin khan is a "has-been" cricketer who finds no place in the present pakistani cricketing establishment. Given that situation, we should listen to his comments with a pinch of salt. It's "sensational journalism" at its worst made by a desperate man in an attempt to draw more readers. And ofcourse Indian express is gonna run his column. Good for business. And besides his comments also serves a two-fold purpose and that's to generate some kind of excitement into this boring series. And in this he has succeeded cos I'm sure we're gonna witness a very strong response by the Indian cricket team on the field. Can't wait for tonight!

Nav

Jagadish said...

anantha: Travis _is_ Travis Basevi. As far as I remember, Venkat scored the game from the ground. It might have been that Travis did some of the scoring as well, off TV in Australia perhaps!

Anonymous said...

Anti,
engayooo poitta da.loved the piece.moin has no business talking about sportsmanship..infact no Paki cricketer who has ever played against india does.i was there at chepauk that fateful day,sitting right next to the press box.i vividly remember the ganguly dismissal..i can never forget the reaction of those in the press box and the ones sitting close to it coz we could see the TV replays there.One journo even screamed 'Man of the match-Steve Dunne'.for the next 2 sessions,all that was eclipsed by the unparalleled genius of a little man..only for his back and the tail-enders to play spoilsport.hey,but then as u say,y blame the tail..blame the umpire who gave that horrendous decision.so the journo was right eventually;).
BTW,looks like u r ghost writing for Osman Samiuddin;).http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakvind/content/story/236394.html.
Its way better than the stuff that the morons who ghost write for Moin and Inzy come up with.

Arvind

Anonymous said...

Nice fisking Anantha.

Interesting though that no one seems to mention remember Inzi's outburst at Toronto almost 9 years ago

Anonymous said...

I can't say India was justified in doing what it did. But Moin Khan has always been an idiot. Like you, I wonder why he is given a column. But then, almost every former (and present) cricketer is, whether they have anything to say, or not.

Harish said...

annaathe..
Thank you!

I wanted to rip his gut out when I read that piece.. started writing a post about this on my blog, but ended up spewing too many bad words.. not my style nu vittuten.

Reading this post helped. danks ba.

anantha said...

Anirudh: I dunno about the justification either. But I am not sure whether Dravid/Raina/Dhoni/everyone who appealed can honestly say they will do it again. Well, I am not saying they would or wouldn't, but just that I am not sure about them. Either way, according to the law he was out and no amount of excusing can mask the fact that the ball was met with the middle of the bat and the eyes were watching the ball till it rolled away after hitting the bat. I am guessing that Inzy did not realise that he was out of the crease. If you notice in the Google video, you can see him try to get his bearings after hitting the ball.

Sesh: I have shouted this like a madman here. One of my major pet peeves. No one listens though :(

bongo: Thanks for the comment and the shout out on your blog! I remember that Toronto incident. But I was not sure wether I should hold that against him. Being a relentless loud-mouth when I watch cricket, live or otherwise, I know how it would have sounded. I totally would understand if the heckling got under his skin. YESSS.. I was racking my brains to remember that fan's name... Shiv Kumar Thind it was! If i remembe, Outlook even did an interview with him!

Arvind: How are ya buddy? Where are you nowadays? About that dismissal, I am not sure you could blame Steve Dunne. I am not quite sure whether it was referred to the third ump. If it was, then AV Jayaprakash ought to be lynched. But if I remmeber right, the third ump was not called for. Again, wouldn't blame Dunne. The same pressure that affects players plays on the on field umps too. Besides with Saqi and Moin, the appealing was going to be over the top in any case. You guys really watched genius unfold that day. Mebbe Ganguly staying there would have turned the match toward our side :( You will never know. But one thing is sure. I think Tendulkar "threw away" two battles that day. One against the Paki bowlers and one with his own resolve. Sunil Joshi was at the other end and he WAS batting positively. I never thought I'd say this about Tendulkar, but I think pain got to him that day, sadly for India. But he had done all he could and its a shame that everyone still talks about the way he got out, rather than the way he GOT US THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! Btw, call me da. I am in NJ!

anantha said...

Magix: danks ba.. One one person, one one type.. you kadi type.. me cricket type. So you type what you type and I type up this type. :D

anantha said...

Ramanand: Oops... how did I miss your comment? :) Psychological warfare or not. Its certainly germ warfare with people like Moin and Bedi being the farts they are! And ya, that wonderful wrong 'un sneaking between Moin's legs not only took off the bails, but his balls as well and since his brains seem to be below his waist, his brain was most certainly disturbed too.

Nandini said...

'elo !!

How are ya ?! :)

-Nandini

anantha said...

Nandini: Hello madam.. Long time no see :) Me doing fine.. and can see you are too!

Whoosh 2 said...

Very well said Anti.,... Everyday I read that fellow's column and I say to myself "Can a person ever make such pathetic remarks"!!!!!

Dude, send this post to the New Indian Express editor and get it in the paper man.... Also, is there a way to email Moin Khan?? Should be, I guess!

Hawkeye said...

i am not a big fan of gentleman's game. if i were courtney walsh i would have mankad'ed the paki batsman. u know which game im talkin about.

if its within the rules. do it. gentleman's game my foot.

Anonymous said...

Hello Superstar, this is Sam from Athens....nice retort..wish Moin Khan reads/read it...

Tyler Durden said...

and what does he have to say about shoaib "maradona" malik, shahid "bad mouthing pitch mower" afridi and shoaib "i bowl beamers when am pissed" chuckthar ?? zilch.

some people lose respect when they write crap. moin never had anything to begin with. watch him trash inzy and the rest if india wins the ODI series.

anantha said...

Tyler Durden: True, zilch. Personally, I'd have loved if Dravid had appealed for that Shoiab Malik incident and explained to the umps if needed. In fact I'm pissed that Dravid chose not to appeal. An appeal would have showed Moin and Co. that we are not emotional and we mean business on the field and care two hoots for the whiners. Frankly I don't think no team in modern cricket would want to be to leave a legacy as a "sporting" team if it means that their "winning" legacy would be under doubt. Btw, nice to see Arunther Dent here :)

Sam: Dude thanx :) How are ya doing?

capriciously_me said...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4711292.stm

moin gets mentioned here too :D

Avinash said...

Hey aNTi,

That was well-done da.. It would be useful if u cud send the same to "The Hindu" da...

Keep continuing ur good work da...

Cheers,
Avinash