Beamers!

The great Athers (aka Michael Atherton) has given his verdict on the 'beamer' Sreesanth bowled at Pietersen, calling for Sreesanth to be banned. From the way the ball went off at a tangent, it seemed like a genuine slip.

Frankly, I like the way the Pommies seem to be suddenly terrified and vulnerable! It's all good when they indulge in their puerile acts (jellybeans and what not), but when they're in the firing line, it's all very unfair. Their coach wants the stump-mikes to be switched off, so that his (foul-mouthed) wards can give their jaws a good workout. The Indian cricket team has become quite adept at giving as good as it gets when it comes to sledging and it looks like the poor Pommies find themselves on the backfoot on that count.

But it still doesn't take anything away from the fact that Sreesanth behaved in a rather abominable fashion by shoulder-charging Michael Vaughan. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan was spot-on when he suggested Sreesanth was just "buffoonery over brilliance". It is a Malayali tendency (so I have noticed) to throw a tantrum when things don't go your way - being over emotional is our forte!

SV has a very valid point when he hopes Sreesanth doesn't go down the path (less) trodden by some other cricketers. He referred to four blokes - Sadanand Vishwanath, Maninder Singh, Vinod Kambli and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - who were simply mind-blowing in terms of cricketing talent only to blow it all away. Sada could be forgiven his decline, as it followed the death of his parents within a few months of each other.

I had written a few lines about Kambli and Siva here, talking about Kambli's salad days. Harsha Bhogle has a brilliant article (written way back in August 1998) about Pravin Amre and Siva. Back then (apparently), Siva was in the process of plotting a comeback to first-class cricket, having spent almost a decade in the (cricketing) wilderness. For reasons unknown, nothing came of it; but it's nice (in a way) to see him on TV these days, although some folks say they'd rather be deaf than listen to Siva's inanities spewing from the commentary box. There are a few lines which stand out from Harsha's article, where he quotes Sachin Tendulkar as saying how he was a huge fan of Siva and it was an honor to have him bowling to him in the nets at Chepauk (before the Aussies visited in 1998, when Sachin made Siva bowl into the rough outside the off-stump, so that he could take on Shane Warne).

Trapeze artists with short-term memory

Another case of our politicians getting their priorities all muddled - especially when there's a cloud of doubt hanging over the issue!

The venerable B. Raman wrote recently that we are "a nation with no memory", which quite succinctly sums up the sudden rush to jump off the trapeze to be seen with the 'flavor of the month'. Yes, politicians are experienced trapeze artists - they do fall, but then they dust themselves up and continue swinging!

It is unfortunate (and unfair) that true heroes get forgotten in this circus. But then again, it's pretty much the same story everywhere - even the average Joe here is more interested in the doings and undoings of Hollywood blondes (Lohan, Beckham and their ilk), than in matters of national importance.

Looking back at Mr. Raman's article, the innumerable times our national security has been compromised is mind-shattering! 26th May 1999, 12th March 1993, 11th July 2006, 25th August 2003, 13th December 2001, 14th February 1998, 24th September 2002, 24th December 1999, 29th October 2005.......the list just goes on.....and we forget our true rainbows and chase false, fleeting ones!