Stani Army

The stupidity of Shahid Afridi’s actions was profound, there is no question. As if the two whitewashes hadn’t caused us fans enough embarrassment, Afridi had to compound it by taking a bite out of the ball with as much subtlety as that spectator’s tackle on Khalid Latif. By the way, everyone’s talking about security in Pakistan, what happened here Cricket Australia?

Captains take a bite. Maybe there was something wrong with the Australian food?

Afridi was being touted for captain in the Test and ODI formats and I would not have minded. He made a good case with his recent performances and showed signs of maturity but his actions here have got me wondering if he really has matured. Yes, every team probably does it Shahid, but I doubt they use their teeth and make it so blatantly obvious. He may as well have gone up to umpire Asoka De Silva and asked to use his dentures. And when quizzed on Pakistani television

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For quite some time now, I’ve felt that those of a coloured complexion in English cricket have not been given a fair chance when it comes to playing for THEIR country. At first I fought against thinking this way as it was a very easy accusation to make, but after Ravi Bopara’s recent exclusion I have run out of reasons to defend it.

I have always felt that Nasser Hussain (along with Duncan Fletcher) till this day has never been given enough credit for what he did for England. People are all too ready to shove their heads up Michael Vaughan’s behind yet fail to recognise the work Hussain put in in dragging the English side off the floor and onto its feet before Vaughan arrived. Those that point to Vaughan’s Test record should know that a captain is only as good as his team. Had Hussain had half the players Vaughan had at his disposal, he would have done much better in my opinion.

Many Asian cricketers have manged to break into the English set-up but have not been given a fair chance and have been axed at the earliest opportunity, or have been ignored completely even when excelling in county cricket; the yard stick used by the ECB. Sajid Mahmood, Kabir Ali, Vikram Solanki, Mark Ramprakash and Owais Shah are just a few that come to mind

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It was said to be the more difficult group and so it proved as the current holders India went out of the tournament. It was sad in a way as the favourites, and rightly so, did not manage to quite galvanise themselves when it mattered after two easy pre-tournament games. The loss of the brilliant Sehwag and talk of unrest behind the scenes can’t have helped.

There’ll be lots of ifs, buts and maybes from the Indians; would India have did it had Yuvraj stopped the 5 byes in Harbajan’s last over? Yuvraj himself would say that he made up for that with a ridiculously good first ball 6. Then there’s Jadeja who faced 3 overs of dots. Many said that he played too slow yet he will argue that he got two important wickets including that of Pietersen’s and took an important catch.

It was clear what Pietersen and Collingwood felt fired the English up and that was the booing their team got at the beginning of the game. It was a strange thing to have occurred

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