Sunday, April 29, 2007

Domination or Annihilation?

Dublin (Ireland), Apr 20, 2031: The customary rites are over and the Aussies have streamrolled their opposition once again, this being their 9th World Cup in a row and extending their unbeaten winning streak in the competition to 120 matches!
Aah.. that seems to be picture-perfect..
Alright, as for now the above scenario seems to be a not-so-surprising future for the indomitable Aussies. Yeah, Dublin might seem to be a bit of an exaggeration to few, but with the ICC's so-called Global-Spread-of-the-Game Policy, who knows!
Anyways, enough can be written 'bout the morons later. For now, hail the Champions for they showed us once again the way this game should be and needs to be played. For those who crave for soccer, et al on the premise that they beat other sports on the excitement factor - watch the Aussies. They are splendid to say the least. To me, when they march on the cricket field, they give an illusion of an 11 men army who'd give almost anything for the glory of a win! I'm not saying that others don't play to win, but the intensity thats on display when these folks play is intimidating - to say the least..

In my countdown-to-the-cup review, I had given a 9.5 on 10 to them, just because a 10 on 10 would have been unethical. Well, I think a 9.5 would probably be an injustice to them - they definitely deserve a 10 pointer.

"I've been joking around the rooms saying that I'm thinking about coming out of retirement."

-Glenn McGrath


Few players have ended their international campaign on such a brilliant note, the last one probably being the legendary Imran Khan with the shining World Cup crytal in his hands. Glenn McGrath probably just managed to take it a step further. To say that he has been very accurate in his bowling would be inappropriate, I'd rather say that few can make robots matching it! From the 1996 edition to the 2007 one, not much has changed. In fact, it would make for an interesting pitch map analysis indicating the percentage of McGrath deliveries landing on the perfect length spot.. The Athertons, Tendulkars, Laras, Kirstens - all would have created a lot more records for sure had this genius not been around. Too bad, his final adieu has come a trifle too late for them to celebrate. A master craftsman, an asset, a trier - one can keep gesticulating along with the adjectives - to sum it all, its just brilliance personfied!
Well, he also won me a few goodies - one of my friends had a bet with me that the master bowler is gonna go for more than 5 an over in 5 matches in this edition. Needless to say, I did win it. Thanks Glenn.. :)
With Mcgrath retiring, and probably a few others as well from the Aussie team in the coming months, their lineup for the future edition in 2011 would be a matter of deep interest, but rest assured they'd be as confident as we are of their chances of winning the premier compeition for the 4th consecutive time.

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