A bit of trivia indulgence takes us back to the Packer phenomenon, which dealt with rights, social & financial uplift-men of players  In terms of a metaphor we can describe the Packer era as the” INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION” in the world of cricket.

On the other hand the T20 phenomenon and the launch of the ICL & Stanford league is a metaphor of globalization & privatization of the sport and it is for public sector units (read BCCI & ICC) of the sport to acclimatize to the new change or perish.

The BCCI stance to leagues like the ICL has been like the iconic stance take by Ford motors which once shoved products with the approach of “you can have a car in any color as long as it is black”; how relevant that iconic positioning holds today for Ford is anybody’s guess. Similarly the BCCI needs to look at the change in order the sports consumption pattern is undergoing & change its approach towards two areas; first private entrepreneurship in the world of cricket & the basic product dynamics of all three forms of the game.

ICL which started the city league format has seen its innovative format being replicated around the world. With it’s first off the blocks advantage today the ICL has built a formidable resource base in terms of player pool, facilities and support staff and it is for the BCCI to take a stance of either a synergistic approach or antagonistic position. The BCCI needs to understand that with a tight international calendar and large player pool it needs to outsource some portions of its domestic cricket to a private body so that majority of  Indian domestic players receive the best of financial & social benefits.

It is a logical business solution of outsourcing & as a sports organization which prides itself on its financial success; it baffles me as to how the messiahs of modern sports management (Lalit Modi & CO) do not see the benefit of doing the same.

The rich representation of the ICL players in what is probably the oldest cricket league in the world (English County), was as an eye opener for cricket pundits who so far took the bait that ICL was a league of second rung and retired players.

The ICL is in the growth mode & with every tournament has thrown up a stronger player base (look at the progression in its foreign player signing since its inception) & therefore it is logical for the BCCI to bring the ICL under its fold to capitalize on the ICL resources.

Some may say that with IPL the BCCI has proved its might, but on the other hand the IPL has opened a Pandora’s Box which has seen countering polices adopted by old guards (ECB& PCB) against the shift in power. The result is initiatives like Stanford-ECB tie up or a proposed Pakistan Cricket League.

It would be a catastrophic mistake to rest on the inaugural IPL laurels.  New leagues and initiatives will mean new challenges for the IPL in forthcoming editions. Also one needs to understand that the IPL has monetized its product financially to its full potential. This is at least for the next couple of years till they add new teams & increase the IPL calendar. On other hand, Stanford & ICL are in the growth mode; two years is a long time and things may just take a U-turn if the BCCI stance remains static.

The second point that ICC needs to address is the product format of especially its two longer formats of the game, One day internationals & Test cricket.

If they still rest on artificial assumptions that test cricket is the supreme format of the game (based on ex- players opinion) then they will be in for a rude shock. The arrival of T20 format is like the introduction of private news channels in the world of single state broadcaster or private telecom operators in the ruling times of BSNL & MTNL.

This area has been identified by astute readers of the game like Jaideep Ghosh (Cricketnext.com) & Harsha Bhogle (ESPN Star). Jaideep has thrown light of having a 125 over format in tests,(Ref:  www.cricketnext.com).  Harsha has dwelled on the introduction of two innings format for the one- dayers.

It is time for the ICC to consider these opinions with utmost seriousness; after all it survives  in the modern competitive sporting scenario with mass sporting disciplines like soccer , Formula-1 & rugby to name a few.

These days we are much more open to the idea of rather unconventional careers.

Many years ago, when a cousin signed up at a top Catering Institute to study to become a chef, many amongst his relatives were horrified that a person from such a well educated family become- in their words-a "cook". Today he has made a name for himself in his profession. Probably done much better than many of his contemporaries in more conventional careers. The son of another friend has made a name as a Radio Jockey- a career option which would have been considered most unusual some decades ago.

I am conviced that you will shine if you get true enjoyment from what you do. Staying on in a job which you dislike is not being fair either to yourself, your employer or your organization.

You can subscribe to the A-Step-A-Day series using RSS at http://bprao.wordpress.com/category/a-step-a-day/feed

This is Post No: 184 of the “A Step A Day” series : To provide perspective and provoke thought to facilitate self-development across a wide spectrum of issues- big and small- crucial for executive success

Also I never fully understood why exactly some suave MBA types of likes of Harsha Bhogle and Charu Sharma become the ultimate presenter and the masala artist or even worse the CEO of one of the teams. Equally mysterious is the fact that he gets fired when his test team from the past fails to perform in a 'perform-through-the-ass' 20-20 tournament. I still remember the days of my yonder years when cricket was cricket, not a masala show of major Mandira boobage(not to mention the cheerleaders) run by some IIM grads.This is what wikipedia says about the boobage :

She is also very glamorous Television Presenter, widely known in India for her interesting dressing senses.

The mere presence of the yum-bee-yeas indicates that cricket in this generation is no more the gentleman’s game. It’s a business. Again name a religion which doesn't have the glitter of business!

Now heres the nasty trend that has flashed its ugly pimply ass for once outside the IT world. I am talking about 'retrenchment' boys, to put it in sugar coated terms. ReTRENCHMENT so far an IT-only word until Vijay Malya brought up the topic to the masses. I seriously do not think that you really can bleed performance from your ass with a gun pointed on your head.I have seen this tendency across the IT corporate world. First time its beyond. No matter which Havard, Kellogs or ISB you graduated from, that’s simply not the way. It does more harm to the talent pool than actually helping it. Again that’s just me. Until you seriously break some policies and all you don't deserve a 'bang-in-the-a$$' treatment. Again that’s just me......

Had an unpolished wave of thought about how the entertainment scenario is changing by the day and how everything bad about the IT world is becoming a de-facto on talent based jobs across the job board. We may soon have circus monkeys performing with an 'in-the-a$$' contraption (as shown here) with some more racism victims cheering all along....spreading a very happy feeling all around.....

Harsha Bhogle in The Indian Express:

"Intentionally or otherwise, Vijay Mallya has unleashed a wonderful, but hitherto unknown, word into Indian cricket. We have always plodded along in Indian cricket and accountability was this word from another language that occasionally filtered through our barriers. We knew it existed, as we did at various times achtung and détente and glasnost or even shiraz and tom yum."

Meanwhile excerpts from Vijay Mallya's diary:

"Another loss. Got piss drunk. Broke some bottles of competitors' booze and had a few swigs of RC. Blanked out. I hate cheap whiskey. Awoke to Rahul's sms. Says he's not going to play the game anymore. What a relief. Finally, I can replace that white elephant.... More bad news, I looked at Rahul's sms again. He said he's not going to play the blame game anymore. I hate cheap whiskey."

Read the full diary: Excerpts from Vijay Mallya's diary

Photograph: Mangalorean.com

"A lot of our cricketers start early in life and since university education is considered unnecessary, and inter-university cricket is long dead, they step into a bubble very early. They are indoctrinated into a brotherhood where cricketers are considered hallowed, where favours are meant to be received as a matter of right and the arrogance that is the inevitable result closes the door to further education.

"As a result most of our young cricketers, so good at putting bat to ball, know very little else and indeed are woefully unprepared for a life beyond cricket. You would have thought that if there was only one thing they were good at, they would bow before it every morning, pay obeisance to it. But humility is not a very well understood word, I suspect it is not a very popular way of life either."

Read the full article: 'Disease of arrogance is taking its toll'

Indian cricket has taken giant strides in the world’s toughest testing ground. Some wonderful cricket was played on the ground and it was the attitude that fuelled it as much as the ability. This might be the turning point in our cricket, though the assessment must be made a little later — every event seems momentous in the hours immediately following it.

But as far as I recall, it has been a long time since a set of youngsters took the opportunity that was offered them so spontaneously and that is why I believe the reason for this success goes beyond training on a cricket ground. It has to be symbolic of a larger force, a greater movement. Something bigger than what we saw on a cricket field is taking place in India and that is what makes the present moment so terribly exciting.

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My sincere opinion is that cricketers should be allowed to use sledging, without any constraints, irrespective of how offensive it is. Most people take offense because they might feel ill-equipped in the approved forms of retaliation. In the newly recommended open environment, one can use whatever means one has, to retaliate. In a bizzare way, nothing will eventually be offensive to anyone, since its free for all. I look at it as a positive development in line with the ongoing changes that cricket has embraced in Twenty20, IPL and Technology.

Also, with every control that has been vested in the hands of the ICC, there have been perceptions of inconsistency and impotence felt by stakeholders of the game across the globe. In the interests of the game and a practical step forward, I feel its best that the players are let loose on each other in the center, so that the public is relieved of the after shocks. This brings to an abrupt end, months of debate and platitudes over whether someone or some society is racist or not, whether a certain person was as severely punished as another etc. I am positive that with each sledging act in the field, players will yell the choicest of abuses at each other without any interruptions from any players or officials, and when the energies are exhausted in that act, each will take their stance to bat or bowl or field the next ball and the game will move on.

- Bharath

This is where a little help from one of the greatest cricketers of the modern era, Sir Ian Terence Botham, will be useful to our team. As soon as the man who walked all over England to raise money for charity landed in Australia for the 1992 World Cup, Botham said: "I am happy to come here and want to know how my ancestors are doing in Australia!"

This led to wide condemnation of Botham, but why?

Google shows how right Botham was. If Harbhjan Singh is an 'obnoxious little weed' in Hayden's estimation, historical documents show what Hayden and his countrymen and women have been down the ages. Australia was to England what Andamans was to India till 1947. Stealing sheep or wool or cloth in 18th- and 19th-century England could land you a minimum seven-year sentence at an Australian penal colony.

As the New Zealanders say, the only difference between us and the Aussies is, we chose to live to in New Zealand!

"The British government deemed transportation, as the practice was known, just punishment for a mixed bag of crimes from marrying secretly to burning clothes. Although "felony," "larceny" and "burglary" described the overwhelming majority of crimes, a few records include juicy details, such as, "obtaining money by false pretences," "stealing heifers" and "privately stealing in a shop." The convict records typically contain convict's name, date and place of sentencing, length of sentence---usually 7 years, 14 years or life---and, sometimes, the crime committed," one document reads.

Such being the case, expecting civilized behaviour from the offspring of 'burglars', 'heifer stealers',' felons', etc is a little too demanding. If 165,000 convicts were sent to Australia betwen 1788 to 1868, if not all, at least most of them should know where they come from. At least 22 per cent of Australians are descended from exiles. Their sentences served, many convicts remained Down Under, becoming Australia's first western settlers.

"By today's standards, many of these crimes are minor misdemeanors or are no longer illegal, and the severity of punishments seem ludicrous," said Megan Smolenyak, chief family historian for Ancestry.com. "No wonder Australians consider a convict in their family tree a badge of honor and seek to uncover the amusing, quirky and outrageous details in their family's 'criminal' past."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ishant Sharma should call up Botham and get specific details. Sunny Gavaskar, Harsha Bhogle and Ravi Shastri could also help in this regard.

As for Andrew Symonds, the Indians should not get into any argument or fight, because ICC match referees will hold Indians guilty as a matter of rule. They should just casually ask him: "We know you did not come from England. But won't your legs ache when you walk continuously?"

A typically Navjyot Sidhu-ish line. Which doesn't do even Bhogle much credit.

Chappell: Vaas is probably more suited to low and slow pitches these days than quick, bouncy ones with no seam movement like the 'Gabba.

Exactly right I say to myself, once he's said it. Chappell can always be counted on to give the listener that little bit of extra insight (and this is not the best example). Not something that can be said of Messrs Gavaskar or Shastri. In fact, I reckon that the field of machine intelligence has progressed to the stage where Shastri's commentary can probably be automated.

I have no comments on this issue any more. Am just waiting for the matches to start again, so that there is something positive to talk about.

+++

Dont move when Sachin is nearing his HUNDRED. That was the message Harsha Bhogle, the leading commentator, gave the nation as sachin was in his 90s. There was anguish....big AHHHH and HOOOOS when there was a big LBW appeal on one Brett LEE delivery. I am sure Harsha was mirroring the whole nation with his frustration. In came Ravi Shastri and the very next ball, Sachin came down like a house on fire and hit Michael Clark over long leg for his third six of the day. With that Sachin breezed on to 98. Second ball of the Clark over, Sachin again came forward and played the drive.....pearcing the ball through cover for another two...reaching his 39th Test Match Century !

I contrived to travel to Adelaide on Business and finish all my meetings by lunch, whereupon I took a taxi across town to the Adelaide Oval to a press pass organised by a relative who was with ESPN.

I watched Dravid get his double from the George Giffen stand and post lunch, went up to the press box from where I watched Ajit Agarkar get his immortal 6-for. This was as close to cricketing heaven as it got. I was directly behind the bowler's arm. On either side were the Channel Nine, ESPN, ABC and other media boxes.

Tony Greig, Ian Healy, Wasim Akram, Ravi Shastri, Harsha Bhogle, Geoff Boycott-they all came to stretch out in this area and grab a drink or two. Gavaskar played tennis ball cricket with, I think, Jim Maxwell's son while he was waiting for his lunch of naan and subzi from the local Indian restaurant.

Various print and internet journalists flitted about-Roebuck especially stood out in his kurta-particularly appropriate wear for that hot day. When I gushed to Sambit Bal that Cricinfo was my homepage, he asked politely whether I also subscribed to Cricinfo magazine. When I said no, his look, I imagine, seemed to say "Kanja Pisnaari payal" (Tight fisted so-and-so).

It was an unforgettable day, made particularly eventful when India won the next day.

Here's hoping there's an encore this time around and we are celebrating it in full measure over the Australia Day/Republic Day long weekend!

Soundar

India's sojourn down under may have been a cricketing "disaster" so far, but it has been a godsend to the sore ears of Test match fans.

Aching from the impositions of half-ticket cricketers dusting up the cliches on Doordarshan and Neo Sports as commentators, the soothing Star Sports' team of the incomparable Ian Chappell and Alan Wilkins, and Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Michael Slater, has been just what the doctor ordered.

As "right-hand leg break batsman" V.V.S. Laxman stroked a few stanzas of pure poetry on the second day of the second Test, Harsha Bhogle came up with a gem in the run of play:

"Rahul Dravid is charging for a third run, but V.V.S. Laxman, who is a part-time traffic constable in Hyderabad, puts his hand up and says no."

Also read: Who killed (good) cricket writing?

Mukul Kesavan on Rahul Dravid

Photograph: courtesy Sydney Morning Herald

The little master talks about getting struck at the 90s. Great comments!

Excerpts here.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6807227655383067984&hl=en]

The T-20 has been called a lottery by Kevin Peitersen and although it may be called that at times, it is also a test of talent and grit. You can win/lose a T-20 match in just one over, a stark contrast to its 50 over sibling which allows the teams to  consolidate, change gears, re-think strategy, etc. I think the best thing that came out of this for the cricketing world in general is that it proved that the game can win in this format and true talent could outshine the bigger names. Good old fashioned cricketing skills: good batting, fielding, bowling, and standard strategy is all you need to succeed in this version. What seemed to be a batsman's game turned out as much a bowler's game. It's not like you cannot pace the innings in a T-20 game; a classic example of this is how India batted their way to victory in almost every game. Slogging alone cannot take you through: Bangladesh and Sri Lanka might have learnt this the hard way.

Enough about the format, here are some quickies on the some aspects of this tournament:

1. Fearless cricket: Young and fearless goes the adage; India and Bangladesh stand out for just that. Many Indian fans watched gaping as the Bangladeshi top order fearlessly (though recklessly) ripped the South African bowling the dead-rubber game. Although they lost wickets quickly, their positive spirit was apparent; they only needed to perfect some of the basics to build a successful team. If Indian fans who watched the Bangladesh-South Africa match were wondering "Why are'nt our batsmen so fearless or attacking", they were answered very shortly. In this tournament, India, I think are the perfect examples of fearless cricket with the right proportions of caution, recklessness, agility and last not definitely not least, "never-say-die" atttitude.

2. Batting: There's no dispute that this was a batsman's game. Strokeplay will reward, calculated risks pay dividends, and old-fashioned running between wickets can win matches. Some of the impressive batsmen from this tourament: Mathew Hayden, Mohammed Ashraful, Kumar Sangakkara, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Brenden McCullum.

3. Bowling: Wicket taking can win matches here, and this semblance to Test cricket made the watching the T-20 matches very thrilling. Good old fashioned line and length, swing and change of pace makes a huge difference. Best bolwing from this tournament: RP Singh, Mohammed Asif, Umar Gul, Daniel Vettori, Stuart Clark, Irfan Patan, Sreeshant.

4. Fielding: India, South Africa, and Sri Lanka did well in this department. Best fielding display: Karthik's blinder of a catch at slip in the match against South Africa, Uthappa's direct hit to cause the run-out of Imran Nazir in the T-20 Final.

5. Umpiring: was top notch for this tournament. I don't remember seeing any controversial lbws, or any rightful appeal turned down. Best Umpire for this tournament: Simon Taufel.

6. Commentary: almost as entertaining as the games themselves. Best commentary range: Ravi Shastri, David "Bumble" Lloyd and Harsh Bhogle for excitement, Nasser Hussain for honest and fair commentary. Other noteworthy mention: Ian Chappel for his snideness.

7. Teams to watch out for: Bangladesh, definitely. This group of youngsters have talent; they only need more practice. India on the other hand seem to a new, positive face now; although this tournament may not be the best yardstick to judge a cricket team, success in this format surely must count for something. The new Indian team has given a nation faith that their favorite game will be in good hands after the Tendulkar-Ganguly-Dravid trio bow out of the cricketing arena.

Ian Chappell observed that this was a team that was playing fear-free cricket in the spirit of their captain.

At this point in time, perhaps justifiably, most fans, observers and commentators are completely enamoured by Dhoni's freshness, approach, acumen and style. If sceptics needed more convincing, apparently he and Sreesanth had an early night after the T20 finals with Dhoni saying that there was still much to do in the Australia ODI series and there was no need to get carried away. He is reported to have said to his teammates, "Sab kuch normal rakhne ka (keep everything normal). Just live in the present, keep your feet on the ground, enjoy your success but don't get carried away by success."

These are good days for Dhoni and his team. These are honeymoon days for Dhoni. They are happy days too, for his team has won when no one expected it to do so.

However, there are some stark realities of captaining India and if he is not aware of it already, I am sure it will hit Dhoni most when he contends with three evils in Indian cricket which are, in no particular order, (a) 'the system', (b) the dressing-room-egos, and (c) unsurpassed expectations.

The System:
This is euphemism for the BCCI and its machinations. Harsha Bhogle, writing in the Indian Express, says in the context of Rahul Dravid's resignation: "Ideally, a captain should be free to think about the game and his players. If matters outside the playing field begin to occupy his mind more than those on it then there is a problem in the system that is causing it to happen. If a captain has to keep thinking about contracts, coaches, schedules and such other matters that really should be someone else’s responsibility, it is taking away time from his primary activity. Nasser Hussain quit as captain in 2003 because he was being forced to think more about Robert Mugabe than about the opposition. If Dravid has left the job for similar reasons, then all we will have is a new face with the same worries."

And that is essentially what Dhoni will face too.

Subsequent to my conversation over the weekend with my friends, I was reminded of this lovely article I read by Rohit Brijnath -- in my view, one of the best writers on Indian cricket -- just before Rahul Dravid and his team departed for England in June 2007. He wrote of the BCCI: "On 23 March, India's World Cup challenge ended. In July, India opens its tour of England. Ample time existed to find a new coach. The BCCI's inability to do so is further confirmation that no one in the Indian board knows, or seems to care, how to build a world-class team. As a group they remain unfamiliar with excellence."

Dhoni will be faced with a similar inept system that has no commitment to excellence. As I have said before, I doubt that this mob would be able to plan a booze party in a brewery even if their lives depended on it. They would, however, organise it in a hurried manner as though their backsides were on fire if and only if they smelt money.

Sourav Ganguly was able to manipulate this system to his -- and his teams' advantage. But then he was a master politician and moreover, he had Dalmiya on his side. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni copes with this single major challenge that he faces to his tenure as captain.

Dressing room egos:

If one were to accept the scuttlebutt , there may have been a blip in the dressing-room temperature in the game against South Africa with Yuvraj Singh being one of the culprits. Harsha Bhogle gave the impression on air that the "tendonitis of the elbow" explanation was a bit of a furphy. He follows that up with the following lines in this article: "India should have been rocked by the withdrawal of a champion batsman, but the captain let him sit out and didn’t bother persuading him to play. That is the way to go and in doing so he made a statement on what he thought the rest were capable of. Only Yuvraj will know how bad the pain was but it must have been excruciating enough to warrant missing a game a day after playing the innings of his life."

If there were any tensions subsequent to that game, Dhoni appeared to have smoothed them over, given Yuvraj Singh the ego-stroke that he was possibly looking for -- if indeed, the scuttlebutt was to be believed -- and then gotten on with the job.

But this is just the start. As Rohit Brijnath comments eloquently, "Indian cricket is alive, constantly, with a dozen mutinies and a captain must deftly quell them. Some insurrections are quelled by a quiet word at dinner or a friendly pat to an uneasy bowler. Dravid's toughness has reportedly made him intimidating to men who are not on his wave length. Of course he must not pander to indolent fellows, yet must convince men to a common cause. A fellow at ease with words must communicate more ably."

What Brijnath writes about Dravid applies equally to Dhoni with a few exceptions. The problems are the same -- there are always a "dozen mutinies" to quell -- but the approaches will be crafted by the leader. Where Dravid was seen as "intimidating", Dhoni may be more "approachable". And Dravid's "toughness" may make way for Dhoni's "tough love" approach.

Dressing-room-mutiny-quelling is a necessary skill that any Indian captain must possess. Sourav Ganguly had this in spades, in my view and that made him more able to curtail the inevitable "slow leak of spirit from the team". Ironically, in Ganguly's reign -- and so also in Dravid's reign -- this "slow leak" occurred most when the team was winning! Somehow, when effigies were being burnt and when houses were being stoned whenever the team lost, team spirit was at its highest! These events seemed to spur the team to band together and play for each other! Dhoni will face the same challenges, particularly as the team has started on a winning note. The more the wins, the greater the dressing-room-egos! He needs to manage that and the mutinies that could result and this is certainly not a job for the faint-hearted!

The most telling paragraph in Brijnath's wonderful piece is this one: "No doubt there are players in the team who complain about the imperfections of Indian cricket (selection, too much cricket, etc), yet never strive for their own personal perfection. There are fading elders around, too, of varying utility. Yet for better or worse these are Dravid's men, this is his team. A great leader finds a way to unite the most rag-tag bunch, rousing them to play harder for him and each other."

And as Dhoni sits down on the flight back to Mumbai and as he charts out his own roadmap, it would do him good to have the above paragraph -- with Dhoni instead of Dravid -- in front of him. His task will be one of managing egos, stopping the slow-spirit-leak and uniting a rag-tag-bunch that is not high on self-discipline and extremely short on consistency!

Unsurpassed expectations:
This was one area where neither Ganguly nor Dravid managed well. These expectations come from the media and the fans.

Dravid always talked about the lack of proportion. In an interview with Mike Atherton midway through the England series, when asked about whether captaincy was a "burden", Dravid perhaps gave an insight into the resignation that was to follow when he said, “Burden is too strong a word and people say that because of how I look. I’m not naturally a cheery-looking soul on the field. I do enjoy it but there are aspects I find tough. What I find hardest is the absolute lack of proportion. It makes it very hard to build a team when two or three bad games provoke such an extreme reaction. The media in India have been changing rapidly. I actually enjoy reading the papers over here because I’ll get criticised for how I actually captain the team, the bowling changes I make and the field placings I set, rather than, for example, how many times I clap my hands and something equally irrelevant.”

And seriously, the braying mediocrity of Indian cricket -- its media -- must cop a lot of the blame for setting and moderating the expectations of fans. Media people will tell you that they are merely reflecting the pulse of the nation. And that may well be right. However, the quality of commentary is more often than not, based only on opinion and completely devoid and bereft of analysis and "proportion". There are TV programs that regularly tease out and hang-to-dry "culprits" of losses that the team endures! There is too much banality, too much opinion-driven hysteria, too much drama and too much sensationalism -- just in the name of filling up column-space or air-time. There is very little deep-analysis. And the real danger is that those that do indulge in analytical pieces are dumbed down as boring and irrelevant.

Dravid had to battle the system that did not provide him with support. He had to fight the egos in the dressing room. But the public couldn't care less! Joe Public wants to see achievements. And achievement, for almost every Indian fan, is thrashing the living daylights out of the opposition. Nothing else will do, thank you very much!

These are the realities and challenges that Dhoni will face once the honeymoon period is over. Will he overcome these to make an imprint on Indian cricket?

I sure do hope so.

-- Mohan