Aces hold off Wizards- Article #16 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from the Auckland Aces' ultimately comfy 12-run win over the Canterbury Wizards in the HRV Cup at Colin Maiden Park.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/21/12/2010/aces-hold-off-wizards

Tendulkar the Unmatchable- Article #15 on Twenty20.co.nz

My tribute to Sachin Tendulkar after the Little Master reached Test century number 50.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/20/12/2010/tendulkar-the-unmatchable

Rain trumps the Aces- Article #14 on Twenty20.co.nz

My report on the rain washing out the Auckland Aces' weekend double-header against the Otago Volts and the Wellington Firebirds.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/19/12/2010/rain-trumps-the-aces

Knights disarm Wizards- Article #13 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from Hamilton of the Northern Knights' pummelling of the Canterbury Wizards, including quotes from former South African opener Herschelle Gibbs, now playing for Northern.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/17/12/2010/knights-disarm-wizards

McGlashan seeking call-up- Article #12 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with former Black Caps keeper Peter McGlashan ahead of the Northern Districts Knights' match with the Canterbury Wizards.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/17/12/2010/mcglashan-seeking-call-up

India seek history- Article #11 on Twenty20.co.nz

My preview of India's Test leg in South Africa, a battle between No 1 and No 2.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/16/12/2010/india-seek-history

Hakaraia cautiously hopeful- Article #10 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with new Auckland Aces debutant Dusan Hakaraia ahead of his side' match in Invercargill against the Otago Volts.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/10/12/2010/hakaraia-cautiously-hopeful

Best King's side I've coached- Article #9 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with King's College 1st XI coach and head of cricket operations Roy Goodyear ahead of his side's trip to the Gillette Cup, New Zealand's premier secondary schools tournament.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/06/12/2010/best-kings-side-ive-coached

Aces turn tables on Stags- Article #8 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from Colin Maiden Park for the 2nd game of the HRV Cup between the Auckland Aces and the Central Districts Stags, including quotes from former Black Cap and Aces captain for the game Lou Vincent.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/12/2010/aces-turn-tables-on-stags

Adams excited about trip- Article #7 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with Auckland Aces' overseas import, Englishman Jimmy Adams, before their opening HRV Cup game against the Stags.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/12/2010/adams-excited-about-trip

Stags outclass Knights- Article #6 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report live in Hamilton from the opening HRV Cup game for 2010-2011 between defending champions the Central Districts Stags and the Northern Districts Knights, including quotes from former Black Caps Mark Richardson and Shane Bond (now CD's bowling coach).

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/12/2010/stags-outclass-knights

Ghosts of 2000 still loom- Article #5 on Twenty20.co.nz

My take on the Pakistan spot-fixing controversy, the PCB, Ijaz Butt and why I believe Pakistan should be banned from international cricket for at least one year, as well as a nostalgic look back at a Mohammad Azharuddin special at the Basin Reserve in 1998.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/15/09/2010/ghosts-of-2000-still-loom

EXCLUSIVE Interview with former India Under-19 batsman, Karnataka captain and teammate of Rahul Dravid, BARRINGTON ROWLAND

My exclusive feature-length interview with Barrington Rowland, now playing and coaching in New Zealand.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/30/07/2010/rowland-relishing-next-challenge

The John Howard saga- how did it all go so wrong- Article #3 on Twenty20.co.nz

My take on the John Howard saga at twenty20.co.nz http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/13/07/2010/the-john-howard-saga-how-did-it-all-go-so-wrong#more-845

The good, the bad and the ugly of the IPL- Article #2 on Twenty20.co.nz

Back on Twenty20.co.nz with an overall look at the IPL.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/19/04/2010/ipl-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

Veterans dominating IPL- Article #1 on Twenty20.co.nz

My debut article for Twenty20.co.nz in my new role as an opinion columnist.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/26/03/2010/older-brigade-dominates-ipl

Fan Following report for Cricinfo

My report from the stands for Cricinfo's Fan Following section on Page 2 on the 2nd Chappell-Hadlee Trophy ODI between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park in Auckland on March 6 2010.

http://www.cricinfo.com/page2/content/story/450980.html

Anil Kumble's retirement

A post I wrote for Cricinfo's Inbox blog following the retirement of Anil Kumble.

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/inbox/archives/2008/11/the_5th_element.php

Open Letter to Dr Vijay Mallya, Owner of Bangalore Royal Challengers

(also on Cricinfo's Inbox blog)

Dear Dr Mallya,

It has been mentioned with continuing frequency on news channels over the past few weeks that you are looking at appointing a new captain for your Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, the Bangalore Royal Challengers, due to the underwhelming results achieved last season under Rahul Dravid. However in my opinion he should remain as captain, and thus I would like to present to you the case for retaining Rahul Dravid as captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Firstly, in the first season of the IPL only one Bangalore batsman scored over 300 runs. That batsman was Rahul Dravid. Thus it can certainly be seen that he led from the front, and with a strike rate of over 120 he cannot be criticised for slow scoring, given that he scored faster than batsmen such as Graeme Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Hussey, Shikhar Dhawan, Herschelle Gibbs and Irfan Pathan.

Secondly, Dravid was criticised for the recruitment policies adopted by your franchise. In actuality, Martin Crowe in his role as cricket operations officer was responsible for the recruitment of players. However, even players who were suited to the Twenty20 format such as Cameron White, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis (at least with the ball) underperformed, while the same can be said for Misbah ul-Haq who you personally recruited. On the other hand, someone like Wasim Jaffer who cost only US$100000 scored a 40 and 50 but was widely criticised despite being injured for the majority of the season. Ultimately if the players don't perform there is little the captain can do.

Indeed, despite all the doom and gloom Bangalore still won 4 games, including one against eventual finalists the Chennai Super Kings, and suffered close losses against Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 runs, Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs and Chennai Super Kings by 13 runs. They finished comfortably ahead of Deccan, who were supposedly far superior to Bangalore's 'Test team'.

Kevin Pietersen has been touted as a possible captaincy candidate. However, it should be remembered that England players will only be available for the first 3 weeks, meaning that Pietersen is unavailable for the whole tournament. Pietersen would certainly not be setting a good example as captain by leaving halfway through.

It should also be remembered that Kevin Pietersen's only allegiance to Bangalore is money. His services are loyal only to the highest bidder. This attitude is in stark contrast to Dravid, who is a Bangalore boy through and through and without whom the idea of city-based franchises, and indeed the idea of the IPL, would never have been possible. Dumping Dravid as captain may alienate many Bangalore supporters whose allegiance to their team was due to their local boy captaining the side, which could result in lower ticket sales and thus lower profits, which in this recession-hit world is certainly something to be avoided if possible.

However, the biggest reason not to install Pietersen as captain would be his ego which, as proved by the Peter Moores saga, is incompatible with figures of authority. His stint as England captain has raised serious concerns about his ability to deal with people, and with new coach Ray Jennings also being a strong personality, it is difficult to see how the two can work together, despite Jennings' statements. Indeed, Jennings' belief that the Moores saga will motivate Pietersen even more as a captain is indicative of the fact that Pietersen is motivated by himself and his ego only. In contrast, Dravid comes across as a gentleman who always puts the team ahead of his own needs, which is an important attribute for a captain to have.

Thus, I believe that you should retain Rahul Dravid as Bangalore Royal Challengers captain for the second season of the IPL. I hope you remember that what Rahul Dravid has done for Bangalore is far more than Kevin Pietersen or even you will ever do, because if you alienate the people of Bangalore you may find that the damage will be irreparable. I trust you will make the right decision.

Yours sincerely,

Avi Singh

Welcome!

Hello I'm Avi and welcome to the first post of Straight Plays, my blog on all things sporting and occasionally news. Here I will write on whatever has been dominating sporting news as the hot topic as well as what is on my mind. Feel free to comment and disagree with what I've written, and I hope that you are all provided with some food for thought. Enjoy!