Harsha The Sage

Harsha Bhogle has a new column out. An Excellent read. Some interesting snippets:

"Australia’s biggest strength over the years has been the aura around it. The awe they have generated in the opposition ranks that wins more matches than any bowler or batsman can. But when a team says “hey, hang on, maybe we can” - it takes the first step towards winning and now the world has taken that step. Their biggest weapon lies on the floor, disabled. It’s a long time since an Australian captain has said he was “demoralised”. That is music to the opposition because they now know that a new, hitherto unknown, word has been added to the Aussie vocabulary."

"...Surely they must now ask Adam Gilchrist whether he is a family man first or an Australian cricketer. It is a cruel question to ask but in times of strife the general must be with the troops..."

As a purely academic exercise, what is Gilchrist supposed to do? Play for country or be the good family man? What is the right thing to do here?

"...But teams become champions because they learn faster than anybody else. And that is why, in spite of the evidence above, I am willing to take a contrarian stance. If Australia had to stumble, this was the best time. If this had happened to them midway through the World Cup, they might have found it difficult to rally back, as they discovered during the World Cup of 1992 where they were tired and jaded."

Exactly.

"In India, meanwhile, far too many people are agonising over Irfan Pathan and I do not see why. Maybe there is too much space to fill or too much time to consume unless there is something we do not know. The only thing at stake is whether or not Pathan is fit, not whether or not he is good enough. That decision has already been taken. Now he has to be fit, and indeed match fit, before India’s first game which is still three weeks away. Some fractures heal in that much time. And so I do not know why three selectors have to come to see him play. One of the reasons Pathan is in this side is that we do not have anyone that offers the package he can. If we did, that man would be in the side already."

Spot On.