Sidharth Monga

[Ram]

This guy is turning out to be a prolific cricket writer. It quite manageable to write the odd good cricket article, but he reels of one meaty piece after the other, day in and day out. His match previews and End-of-Day analysis are always on the button, very well researched and an excellent mix of facts and prudent opinion. He’s probably amongst the best cricket writers in the world today, if not THE best.

[Show_stopper]

I always felt he was a bit biased and OTT..but hey i'm not complaining as long as he writes about India.

[Don Sharma]

Peter Roebuck still stands out for me. There was one CLR James of West Indies, many rate him as the best ever.

[Mr. Wicket]

Eh. Plenty of better names out there. Check out some of the guys who write for the Guardian like David Hopps and Mike Selvey. Much, much better.

[DomainK]

Yeah....he is good.

[vroomfondel]

cricinfo writers in general are somnolescent.

[coffee_rules]

Another Dileep clone, I thought.

[Gambit]

Dileep, Kanishka B and Rahul B are much better.

[Mr. Wicket]

I think the Guardian's got some of the best writers out there. Mike Selvey's a brilliant writer, and David Hopps has been an old favourite (anyone remember his columns from the 93 England tour to India?). Mike Atherton also writes some outstanding columns in the Telegraph. And IMO Gideon Haigh's one of the very, very best out there - his books are fascinating, really well researched and well written, and his columns are usually on the mark. Miles better than the CI crew.

[Dhondy]

This guy is turning out to be a prolific cricket writer. It quite manageable to write the odd good cricket article, but he reels of one meaty piece after the other, day in and day out. His match previews and End-of-Day analysis are always on the button, very well researched and an excellent mix of facts and prudent opinion. He’s probably amongst the best cricket writers in the world today, if not THE best.

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[EnterTheVoid]

Has anyone read his articles over the on going test series ? Uses words like "enigmatic", "flamboyant", "exhilirating" etc to disproportionately hail useless sponges as mercurial match winners. After Pak failing big time (the 72/1 to 117 collapse), he recently wrote something to the effect of ".... how Pak's unpredictability make cricket interesting" :bird:

[Mr. Wicket]

Nice one Dhondy. Can you link me to his recent piece on Pakistan? Missed it as I normally ignore his stuff - put him in the same category as guys like Vasu and a bunch of others who write a lot but say very little.

[sangrock]

The writer I enjoy the most - Andrew Miller, esp after England receive a thumping defeat - one after another! He is just too hilarious. Sid Monga is OK, but Dileep remains the better of the 2. Peter Roebuck (as mentioned by Don sahib) is excellent, probably due to his long cricket-journalism career.

[Dhondy]

Nice one Dhondy. Can you link me to his recent piece on Pakistan? Missed it as I normally ignore his stuff - put him in the same category as guys like Vasu and a bunch of others who write a lot but say very little.

http://www.cricinfo.com/slvpak2009/content/current/story/414444.html

[Mr. Wicket]

"For years to come, Younis Khan's reverse-sweep will be discussed, debated, derided, and blamed for the final collapse that cost Pakistan the match and the series." Good lord, not even through the first paragraph and I almost had a spittake moment given the nonsensical writing and the significance attached to such an irrelevant moment. What ludicrous, absurd overhype. Thanks for sharing that Doc. Given that amits isn't around, this is something to torture my eyes and brain cells with.

[Ram]

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

I still maintain he is one of the better cricketer writers out there. It isnt easy to dole out pre and post match articles on a daily basis. When the frequency is so high, obviously the quality will suffer every now and then (as with most cricket writers).

[Dhondy]

Thal, notice how he drags in Sachin's fatigued shot, battling with back cramps against a supremely skillful Saqlain at Chennai to apply balm over frayed Pakistani egos? He has the gall to compare that shot with Younis' brainless fart against a part-timer.

[Mr. Wicket]

It isn't easy, but the better ones do it. Mike Selvey, Gideon Haigh, Lawrence Booth, Makarand Waingankar, Fazeer Mohammed, Rob Smyth, Peter Roebuck all do it very well and very regularly. Monga writes a lot of nonsense punctuated with a few good pieces. But even a broken clock is right twice a day. Even right now Dileep Premachandran's writing is more interesting, relevant and readable.

[Mr. Wicket]

Thal' date=' notice how he drags in Sachin's fatigued shot, battling with back cramps against a supremely skillful Saqlain at Chennai to apply balm over frayed Pakistani egos? He has the gall to compare that shot with Younis' brainless fart against a part-timer.[/quote'] What's laughable is the level of significance he attaches to this game. Let's see, Sri Lankan attack missing its premier quick bowler and premier spinner, Pakistan team in rebuilding phase #137, game hardly ready to become a classic given the humdrum performances from many on both sides, series being played between a team of clowns who should stick to the circus and one test team, and he thinks it's some immortal contest where the shot will be remembered eternally. [Oh, and who the **** thinks KP's sweep shot from Cardiff will be another long-remembered bad sweep? Only Monga, maybe his devoted readers, nobody else. Not even the more deluded English Ashes writers, and when the more extreme voices in the English media have more perspective than you, something's wrong.]

[Dhondy]

Indian writers bend over backyards when writing about Pakistan to come across as neutral. In the process, they invariably overcompensate. What amazes me is that an Indian is covering this series between Pakistan & SL almost singlehandedly. This was the first piece today (the one I quoted with the S'kkara interview) by Sa'adi Tawfeeq, who is a Sri Lankan & a pretty decent writer. There are at least two Pakistani cricket scribes on Cricinfo, who have obviously made themselves unavailable to cover their side's return to Test cricket after waxing eloquent in column inches during the 20-20 cup. Shows where their priorities lie. It completely demolishes CI's claim to be a global site. You can't do justice to coverage of world cricket with a couple of men and their dog as staff.