If the crowd had turned raucous, then the media will cry "Eden crowd always rowdy". Now, that they were very orderly, some find that odd. Prem is right in pinning down the greedy establishment, but the talk about crowd behaviour is an unwarranted diversion.
It's true that they should make a "real" judgment call in calling off the match as early as possible so that the spectators can get partial refund. These days, the spectators are taken for granted in our country unlike places in Australia where in a test match if rains on day 2, that day's ticket is allowed for the following day. But again, our ppl can talk about the mass coming into the match and being unable to accommodate. For an One day international, there should be a partial refund if there's no reserve day. Prem seems to talk about the laws of the game saying that it wouldn't be fair to cut off the game with 25 overs to SL. Well, that's how it is mate! It's a set of rules apparently agreed around the cricketing world and can't blame it now. But, there's no doubt that the organising ppl/assn are interested only in MONEY!!!
Entire country misssed the match. The so called good ones and the bad ones equally. There is no prudence in saying that only those who booed on the last occasion are punished. Shocking that my well thought out essays are called \'blabbery\' by one rediff reader. I am helpless and can only advise such readers not to read these. I would be greatly shocked to miss some such erudite scholars n my readership but I can not help. I am not telling any body to stop writing, nor going to stop my writing at anybody\'s dictat as I already said. We are a democracy the meaning of which is perhaps understood by my such intelligent and learned friends. One pillar of democracy is freedom of expression. I am happy that rediff provides us that opportunity. I thank rediff for this excellent arrangement where I can get views from my respected friends immediately, just like chatting. Thanks. God bless you.
RE:Do not Try To Choke Voices You Do Not Like
by Indian Fool on Feb 09, 2007 08:25 AM
I have just one question for you? If Ganguly plays badly in World Cup, will you find some excuses and still worship him he he he There is a good possibility that India wont even qualify for semi-finals, after all Indian batting heroes play well only on Indian pitches where balls dont come above knee level. The only reason last time India reached finals was because Kenya was our semi-final opponent and we struggled to beat them too he he he
RE:RE:Do not Try To Choke Voices You Do Not Like
by Indra Sengupta on Feb 09, 2007 08:32 AM
Yes, I would continue worshipping him, for his character, charities leadersdhip qualities etc, but would not perhaps like him to wear cricketing gears once again. Yes I agree, some grave disappointments might be waiting for us in WC. Omission of Laxman and Kaif is not acceptable. There absences might be felt in due course.
RE:RE:RE:Do not Try To Choke Voices You Do Not Like
by Indian Fool on Feb 09, 2007 08:39 AM
Here is one hypothetical question. India plays badly at world cup and ganguly also plays badly, but after that you will still worship Ganguly as you mentioned above and will denigrate Chappell and Dravid etc aint it ? So isnt there a clear case of double-standards?. After all Dravid and Chappell are also cricketing giants too like Ganguly
RE:RE:RE:RE:Do not Try To Choke Voices You Do Not Like
by Indra Sengupta on Feb 09, 2007 08:49 AM
Another startling discovery! You are really a genius!! Examination and cross examination!!! Lawyer perhaps? Eh!
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Do not Try To Choke Voices You Do Not Like
by Indian Fool on Feb 09, 2007 08:57 AM
Come on man, it is not a cross-examination and examination, it is just some questions to my friend, i hope they are not too tough for you to answer, btw you can throw some questions at me and i m from andhra, so you can post all sorts of questions to grill me,
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Do not Try To Choke Voices You Do Not Like
by Indian Fool on Feb 09, 2007 09:16 AM
At least you are not dumb or jingoistic as I thought you were. I am not from Andhra, and honestly i was expecting some tirade against Andhra people. You have some flicker of intelligence and some sense of national pride in you. Thanks for the all the entertaining reading you provided this morning.Good bye friend
Ganguly played his last test match on 29 jan 2006 vs pakistan before being dropped. We will see Test statistics of ganguly , dravid, laxman, and sachin from 1 jan 2004 to 29 jan 2006 and its clear why ganguly was dropped.
Ganguly TestStats from 1 jan 2004 to 29 jan 2006
Matches= 17, innings = 21, runs = 728, highest 101, 50's = 4 , 100's = 1. , Not out=0, avg= 34.67 There were 2 innings against bdesh for 71 and 88 and one against zimbwe for 101. remove that and the average becomes 26.00 with two fiftys and zero 100's
Lets also see ganguly stats from 1 jan 2005 to 29 jan 2006. that is the last one year before he was dropped. Matches= 9, innings = 12, runs = 320, highest 101, 50's = 0 , 100's = 1. avg= 26.67 remove the 101 against zim and the avg becomes 19.9 with no 50s and no 100s.
Now lets do the same for other players
Sachin TestStats from 1 jan 2004 to 29 jan 2006
Matches= 19, innings = 28, runs = 1422, highest 248*, 50's = 5 , 100's = 4, not out= 5, avg= 61.83 There were 2 innings against bdesh for 248*, and 26. remove that and the average becomes 45.92 with 5 fiftys and 3 100's sachin test Stats from 1 jan 2005 to 29 jan 2006. that is the last one year before ganguly was dropped. Matches= 9, innings = 13, runs = 507, highest 109, 50's = 3 , 100's = 1. avg= 39 no innings against bdesh and zim.
Laxman TestStats from 1 jan 2004 to 29 jan 2006
Matches= 23, innings = 33, runs = 1159, highest 178, 50's = 6 , 100's = 3, not out= 3, avg= 38.63 There were 2 innings against bdesh for 32 and 9. 2 against zim for 140 and 8. remove that and the average becomes 33.4 with 6 fiftys and 2 100's laxman test Stats from 1 jan 2005 to 29 jan 2006. that is the last one year before ganguly was dropped. Matches= 11, innings = 17, runs = 646, highest 140, 50's = 4 , 100's = 2. avg= 46.14 removing the 2 innings against zim for 140 and 8 avg becomes 33.2 with 4 50's and 1 100.
There were 2 innings against bdesh for 0 and 160. 2 against zim for 77 and 98. remove that and the average becomes 57.4 with 6 fiftys and 5 100's Dravid test Stats from 1 jan 2005 to 29 jan 2006. that is the last one year before ganguly was dropped. Matches= 11, innings = 17, runs = 881, highest 135, 50's = 4 , 100's = 4. avg= 58.73 removing the 2 innings against zim for 77 and 98 avg becomes 54.3 with 2 50's and 4 100's.
Its clear that Ganguly's average was the least amongst all and he averaged a very poor 19.8 in his last year. and also the manner in which he was getting out clealy suggested that he had lost it. the way he started struggling at the centre and the stats justifies all.
RE:Ganguly was dropped for his performance and not due to politics from Sudhir
by Indra Sengupta on Feb 09, 2007 07:47 AM
I do not agree that politics from Sudhir was at all responsible for Ganguly's exclusion.
RE:RE:Ganguly was dropped for his performance and not due to politics from Sudhir
by S Sudarshan on Feb 09, 2007 08:06 AM
by S Sudarshan on Feb 09, 2007 08:05 AM sorry abt that. sudhir is my name. i meant to mention that the article was by sudhir. whatever it is , the reason was performance and you shud know it.
RE:RE:RE:Ganguly was dropped for his performance and not due to politics from Sudhir
by Indra Sengupta on Feb 09, 2007 08:18 AM
Yes, it was so confusing that clarifications were badly needed. Thanks.
RE:RE:RE:RE:Ganguly was dropped for his performance and not due to politics from Sudhir
by srinivasa on Feb 09, 2007 12:35 PM
Well done Sudarshan, the stats speak. Though there are lot of polotics involved, Ganguly lost his place only because of poor form. I am happy that he was dropped and now he is playing like the old Ganguly we all know...who is a match winner.
RE:kolkata ODI
by Arindam Mukherjee on Feb 09, 2007 07:39 AM
To be honest, EDEN deserves to get a match every single time a tour is held in India, the very reason SCG or Lords gets a match. It is sad to see the best ground in the country get a match after this long, and that too the end was dictated by nature
RE:RE:kolkata ODI
by Prasanna on Feb 09, 2007 08:13 AM
Yeah. Eden is a big huge ground and it deserves to get a lot more matches. But maybe BCCI is scared of the spectators misbehaving. India V/s South Africa and the India V/s Sri Lanka are two examples that always remain in mind. Ultimately the atmosphere which includes spectator behaviour at the ground is more important than size and eden doesnt score highly in that respect. Chennai is best in that respect atleast. The people there dont boo anybody and though they support India, they also applaud opposition when they play well
RE:RE:kolkata ODI
by bharat on Feb 09, 2007 10:21 AM
Eden garden is a waste of precious land and is famous for anti-India activities. Put it to better use by turn it into a housing complex.
RE:RE:RE:kolkata ODI
by DHARMENDRA CHAUHAN on Feb 09, 2007 04:19 PM
my friend, are you from mental hospital?i think you probably don't know what is anti-india activities.think twice before making such comments.
RE:RE:RE:kolkata ODI
by Maha Stud on Feb 09, 2007 11:45 AM
oh yeh ....... neva knew dat .... supportin for tendu when given out wrongly ...is anti-indian activities.....
I have only one request please do proper editing before publishing this kind of article. I know, you may remove my message but what I am thinking I am writing. Spectators should not go to watch match if they care for money. And i think our craziness towards the game make BCCI more rude. It's better to watch the game on TV. Cheerss... Jai HIND
I witnessed the match from the stadium, thrilled to be there, thanks to my boss. It is sad to see CAB was using only one super sopper to make the ground fit for play. BCCI & CAB is no dearth of funds. They can press into 4-5 super soppers when the rain had stopped. They can even engage more groundsmen during the match days. They can even cover entire entire ground, with some support above the ground leveil,so that water directly go into the drainage. For 1 lac spectators seeing one person managing super sopper is inadequate. BCCI is cash rich, they should make use of technology, other wise, what is the use of it.
I just wish to inform others who did not know, how big the rain was, it was nothing, but a good rain for 10-15 minutes and some slight driggle. But because of the either non availability of infrastructure available with BCCI/CAB or their lack of planning ruined the match and 1 lac spectators.
RE:What the authorities doing with only one super sopper and few groundmen
by Ramakrishna Panicker on Feb 09, 2007 10:14 AM
Thanks Sathish Babu, your suggestion deserves clapping. In between we should also discuss on others too who are without any ways and means quarreling to each other. Prem Panicker only reported about the match and audience, and our message writers are quarreling picking up unnecessary things. Any way, thanks to Rediff for their forbearance.
RE:RE:What the authorities doing with only one super sopper and few groundmen
by sathish babu on Feb 10, 2007 06:41 PM
Thanks a lot Mr.Ramakrishna, i believe prem panikar reported about the match, but these are the ones who should reproduce without fear and favour. Mr. Prem are you listening???
RE:What the authorities doing with only one super sopper and few groundmen
by Ravi Saini on Feb 09, 2007 10:23 AM
I fully agree with Mr Satish Babu, I was one of the spectators in the Eden Gardens and I realised that Eden Garden cricket ground facilities were actually substandard and were very poor by far from any stadium. Further, the administrative authorities entrusted for the upkeep of the gound were very slow in reacting to the situation although they were aware how important it was for Eden Garden to hold this match. I think merely making a stadium for capacity of 1 lac spectators is not enough, you need to maintain it also with regard to all the facilities.
I fully agree that 4-5 super soppers would have made it easy for the play to resume within an hour, also increase in the strength of ground staff would be worthy.
dude..90% of ur writing is trash.,seriosly,how wud u think that sharad pawar wud be knowing that it ll rain yesterday in Kolkata about 3 months ago???do u think he is a physic reader or something??rediff must review articles b4 they publish shitty things such as this..
RE:this guy needs a break
by Prem Panicker on Feb 09, 2007 10:55 AM
"dude", since you clearly don't have a name, the match was given to Kolkatta not three months ago, but three weeks ago. There are such things as weather forecasts. In any case, the larger question was whether it is right for a BCCI boss to hand matches to a venue to reward it for helping him settle his own scores. If Rediff reviewed stuff rigorously, incidentally, this post of yours would probably have been deleted, so maybe it is a good thing we don't.
RE:RE:this guy needs a break
by bharat on Feb 09, 2007 02:58 PM
Does the BCCI has any guidelines requiring the weather forecast requiring to be reviewed a certain duration before the match and based on the forecast, decide on whether the match venue needs to be changed?
After all, weather forecast taken 3 weeks before a given date may not necessarily come true. If the BCCI has established guidelines on how the weather forecasts are to be dealt with, these should be applied uniformly for all matches at every venue. If no guideline exists, then there is no case for the not moving the match to Kolkata on consideration of the weather forecast, even though, perhaps the shifting of the venue may have been politically motivated as alleged by some readers.
As most of us have pointed out, knowing two days before the game that its going to rain is a helpless situation and nobody can do anything about it. The decision about moving the ODI to Kolkata was taken on 28th Jan, more than 10 days before. Moreover, BCCI adopts a rotation policy which I think is fair enough so that all venues get an equal share. Kolkata was next in line (according to BCCI, and I have no reason to doubt that). So I am not sure if this has anything to do with politics. Maybe BCCI should also take into consideration the weather history instead of just pure rotation.
Prem's utter disgust with BCCI regarding refunding the spectators money is understandable. What BCCI can do is properly insure the match to take into consideration such eventualities.
First and foremost, a ticket holder should be allowed to get a refund of his ticket one day before the match. I am not sure if this is true as of today. But if it is, then people have an option to get back their money if there is a chance that the match might rain out. However, not many are likely to miss out on a chance to watch their heroes live on basis of a forecast.
BCCI does take an insurance cover for each cricket match. (It bought a 15.18 crore cover for the tri-series in Malaysia. See http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/insurancenews/boardforcricketcontrolindiabccitournament/orientalinsurancecoverforbcci triseries/market/stocks/article/239760) What is interesting about this is that they only buy a %u201Cone-ball bowled cover%u201D - where the claims will be paid only if not a single ball is bowled. Isn't this cheating ? If, lets say, one ball is bowled and the match rains out, the insurance company is going to put up its hands and BCCI (as we know it) is not going to shell out a single rupee. Why can't BCCI pay a little more and cover what can be called a "Fair Refund Policy" ?
Maybe its time to devise a refund policy. It could be something like: 1) 75% refund if less than 25 overs are bowled 2) 50% refund if the opposition bats first and not more than 25 overs have been bowled in the Indian innings. 3) 25% refund if the match does not run to completion but India has had atleast 25 overs to bat. 4) No refund if each team plays at least 25 overs (i.e there is an official result of the match)
This is just a start and it cant be as simple as a 4 step decision as above. I am only suggesting that there should be a move towards the "pay for what you get"- policy.
BCCI makes enough money out of every match - at least thats our understanding. It is not unreasonable to ask of it to spend a few lakhs more and show some kind of consideration for the people. After all, we are the ones who are ultimately responsible for making it the richest cricket body in the world.
RE:A refund policy ?
by Indra Sengupta on Feb 09, 2007 04:21 AM
Sounds very sensible. The booking should be like railway tickets also. The suurendered places can be sold like RAC or waitlisted tickets. If someone surrenders the ticket he should be entitled to refund. More close to the game lesser refunds. Total cancellation of the game - at least 75% refund.
