The Cricket World Cup 2011 thread. EDIT: India World Champions !!

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The writer probably has never stayed in India. And his/her upbringing has been in an upper class european neighborhood probably.

India has people and it is noisy. In no way good but that is the way we are.

See our festivals - drums, big cymbals, etc. See our marraiges. Its a reflection of that culture.

Yes vandalism is an issue. But then the author has probably never heard of football.

A look-at-me, I am intelligent then the rest because I talk elite stuff. The writer is a self proclaimed misfit to write about Indianess.

Well, he is comparing the two cricketing cultures and giving his opinion on what he feels is better for the game.
But I feel he was spot on regarding the commentators. Indian commentators are outright boring and don't know that it is better to shut up when you don't have anything to say.

Without trying to pass a judgment on the author's background, I feel he has brought out a few very valid points regarding spectators and commentators in India.

Of course, we have the right to brush them aside by proclaiming that we are who we are.

[Spitfire]

He is the editor in chief of a publication not an individual blogger.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Well, he is comparing the two cricketing cultures and giving his opinion on what he feels is better for the game.

His opinion seems to be biased. His take the game is not being cheered but the nation is. So? And how is the team representing the nation different from the nation itself.

About cheering only their team, this is a fanatically followed one. There is no quarter given.

He has also turned a deaf ear to the cheers Afridi got at the presentation.

Without trying to pass a judgment on the author's background, I feel he has brought out a few very valid points regarding spectators and commentators in India.

If you are a person people follow and look up to as an editor in chief then you need to be a bit sensitive to the culture and the people.

A comparison without bias could have been better.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

He is the editor in chief of a publication not an individual blogger.

He has also turned a deaf ear to the cheers Afridi got at the presentation.

If you are a person people follow and look up to as an editor in chief then you need to be a bit sensitive to the culture and the people.

A comparison without bias could have been better.

For the cheers that Afridi got, the credit goes to his speech, not the audience. I also recall Ponting getting booed when he came up to the stage in the post match presentation.

I give credit to the article based on what it contains, not who it is coming from. And we are already overly sensitive people (what with banning books and expelling people) Some tough love will hurt but I won't say it is out of order.

Also, the article does not hold cheering your own team as a fault. It is the grave silence when the opponents perform that doesn't go down well.

I think i know what ticked you off about the article. It was that one line about Tendulkar, ain't it?

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I think i know what ticked you off about the article. It was that one line about Tendulkar, ain't it?

LOL!!! The nerve of that guy to talk about Sachin like that??

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

LOL!!! The nerve of that guy to talk about Sachin like that??

all iz well.. all iz well..

we got a fight at hand tomorrow remember!! you guys fight later

[markmytravel]

Originally Posted by amitoj

But I feel he was spot on regarding the commentators. Indian commentators are outright boring and don't know that it is better to shut up when you don't have anything to say.

I haven't read the article but Indian commentators being boring
Mr Harsha Bhogle is one of best in the business and no one is more entertaining than our very own Sidhdhu Paaji.

Boy! Is this author born in Ice age. Is there any other country where Home side against Ireland is a full house. and what's his problem with group of spectators offcourse we come in groups and we enjoy the game that way. If he wants to live an individualistic life, why go to a gme of cricket, sip your cola in the bathtub man.

Guess he didn't get ticket to the SF and all his friends did

[harry10]

Originally Posted by akhilesh

An INCREDIBLY INSIGHTFUL article which I came across.... dont miss it for anything
The banality of the Indian cricket fan - Lounge - livemint.com

Completely Biased and ridiculous article. He does not have any idea bout cricket in india and the passion we people have. He should sit in the boring stadium of Lords and just do clap,clap,silence technique

Originally Posted by Eddy

You guys want a howlarious article ? Read this one

Sidin Vadukut: Watching India v Pakistan in Basel | Page 2 | ESPN Cricinfo

What a pleasing and funny article

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by markmytravel

I haven't read the article but Indian commentators being boring
Mr Harsha Bhogle is one of best in the business and no one is more entertaining than our very own Sidhdhu Paaji.

My personal opinion on this:

All Indian commentators are boring. Harsha is an exception but he is more of a host rather than commentator these days.

Sidhu is pathetic. Leave out the similies and metaphors and the cricket content is crap. Ravi Shastri's commentary is nothing but cliches and stating the obvious. Sunil gavaskar has no tone modulation at all and is too politically correct. Manjrekar too is nothing special. The less said about Arun Lal and Lax Sivaramakrishnan, the better.

The only bright spark is Ganguly. He has the content, and his improving his delivery and voice modulation. Hope for the future.

So who's the best commentator currently (doing commentary in the WC) ? In no particular order

Nasser Hussain
Ian Chappel
Bishop
Bumble
Mbangwa
etc

[IronH4WK]

i actually agree with the author of that article on many points.

there is a stark difference in the commentary provided by our very own-you-know-who's and the likes of Tony Greig, Ian Bishop and Ian Chappell. i used to like Harsha when he started off. now he's more of a presenter rather than a commentator.

and somebody please shut up Siddhu paaji! first of all nothing intelligible comes out of his mouth, secondly he doesn't let others speak! even in the Extra Innings of the ICC WC he just wouldn't let Tony or Ian speak - he was literally bullying Simon!! many a times Harsha had to stop him in his tracks to get on with the show!

regarding Indian spectators - anybody remember the game we lost (fortified rather) at Calcutta to the Lankans because of a unruly crowd? i don't remember the year. people throwing projectiles and bottles at fielders just because India was looking like losing the game. yeah, very mature

[asdon]

My picks for this world cup

Ian Chappel
Washim Akram
Mark Nicolas
Nasser Hussain
Tony Greg
Ganguly
Micheal Artherton
Robin Jackman
Tony Cojier
Gavaskar
Ramiz Raza

Ravi Shastri is Sr. Gautam Bhimani for me.

[creative420]

Aiyo! After all the chants and status updates....Grrrrr. The Ind-Pak match was fixed.

http://www.dominatingseo.net/Match_F..._India_Pak.mp3

[markmytravel]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

regarding Indian spectators - anybody remember the game we lost (fortified rather) at Calcutta to the Lankans because of a unruly crowd? i don't remember the year. people throwing projectiles and bottles at fielders just because India was looking like losing the game. yeah, very mature

Every country has there own ways of expressing emotions. When games happen in Aus, SA, NZL you are always certain to see a naked sole running around the field. One can argue on the impact of the ways. Yes, the Ind SL Semifinal in 1996 WC was a disaster and so was the Chennai Test (If I am right against Pakistan) but that doesn't mean spectators from other countries are better, they are just different.

IMO, author is just trying to generate traffic by going against the masses. Similar to the way people rate Ponting better than Tendulkar, Lara or Kallis just by showing favorable statistics and hiding the facts. Citing the winning percentage, he even showed WI is better than India but that doesn't tell the current story.

[amitoj]

How soon we forget.
Memory refresh: Angry fans stoned Dhoni's house after 2007 World Cup debacle.
More recently, Windies bus was stoned at Dhaka. Whether they thought it was Bangladeshi team or not, it was a disgrace nonetheless.

[markmytravel]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Sidhu is pathetic. Leave out the similies and metaphors and the cricket content is crap. Ravi Shastri's commentary is nothing but cliches and stating the obvious. Sunil gavaskar has no tone modulation at all and is too politically correct. Manjrekar too is nothing special. The less said about Arun Lal and Lax Sivaramakrishnan, the better.

I agree now. And though it may not be boring but most of the Indian cricketers certainly are biased towards India and fail to appreciate the good part.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by Eddy

My personal opinion on this:

All Indian commentators are boring. Harsha is an exception but he is more of a host rather than commentator these days.

Sidhu is pathetic. Leave out the similies and metaphors and the cricket content is crap. Ravi Shastri's commentary is nothing but cliches and stating the obvious. Sunil gavaskar has no tone modulation at all and is too politically correct. Manjrekar too is nothing special. The less said about Arun Lal and Lax Sivaramakrishnan, the better.

The only bright spark is Ganguly. He has the content, and his improving his delivery and voice modulation. Hope for the future.

So who's the best commentator currently (doing commentary in the WC) ? In no particular order

Nasser Hussain
Ian Chappel
Bishop
Bumble
Mbangwa
etc

I agree with this expect the part where you say Gavaskar is politically correct. I find him highly biased. He used to have some kind of agenda against the Aussies earlier. He doesn't miss any opportunity to take a dig at someone with his sarcasm.

During the telecast of one of the matches, he was at the ground. Harsha asked him how eager Pakistan would be to play in the final. He replied something like this: "There is a thing about Pakistan. They love to come to Mumbai. Final will be in Mumbai, so will be very eager to come to Mumbai". It was obvious that there was a hidden reference to 26/11. Harsha had no words to respond back and just thanked him and took over.

Who is Bumble by the way?