So much for Atherton mentioning IPL in a sort of derogatory way

[King]

If you watched last night's test match between England v West Indies you will know what I mean. Atherton mentioned IPL in derogatory way many a times prior to the lunch. Picked on Ravi Bopara's technique and mentioned it is possible the initial trigger movement must have creped in during IPL. He called IPL slogathan many a times. Just because during his time people thought back and across or forward movement is the only trigger doesn't mean you have to have the same text book trigger was proved yesterday. So much for Atherton's IPL derailment the two players that stood out yesterday were Bopara and Fiedel Edwards, both successful IPL representatives. Both have been in great form and thanks to some positive batting/bowling by these two, both England and West Indies benefited. Bopara batted positively and played to the merit of the ball meanwhile Fiedel Edwards pitch the ball up consistently to let the ball swing on a green track. Green track didn’t mean there was good pace and carry. The pitch was slow and anything that wasn’t full, hardly troubled the batsmen. I think IPL must have helped both Bopara and Fiedel Edwards providing the much needed match practice/training against good players prior to an important series and also must have instilled playing positive cricket. Here’s hoping the IPL players come good in this test series and shut the likes of Atherton up.

[Freedom]

Looks to me like case of sour grapes. BTW do people really care what Atherton says? He was a sore looser even on his hay days.

[flamy]

IPL

[ritwik]

If you watched last night's test match between England v West Indies you will know what I mean. Atherton mentioned IPL in derogatory way many a times prior to the lunch. Picked on Ravi Bopara's technique and mentioned it is possible the initial trigger movement must have creped in during IPL. He called IPL slogathan many a times. Just because during his time people thought back and across or forward movement is the only trigger doesn't mean you have to have the same text book trigger was proved yesterday. So much for Atherton's IPL derailment the two players that stood out yesterday were Bopara and Fiedel Edwards, both successful IPL representatives. Both have been in great form and thanks to some positive batting/bowling by these two, both England and West Indies benefited. Bopara batted positively and played to the merit of the ball meanwhile Fiedel Edwards pitch the ball up consistently to let the ball swing on a green track. Green track didn’t mean there was good pace and carry. The pitch was slow and anything that wasn’t full, hardly troubled the batsmen. I think IPL must have helped both Bopara and Fiedel Edwards providing the much needed match practice/training against good players prior to an important series and also must have instilled playing positive cricket. Here’s hoping the IPL players come good in this test series and shut the likes of Atherton up.

Fully agree there. The way the white press/former players [including cricinfo] go on about the IPL/Lalit Modi/BCCI/Indian "domination" is exceedingly hypocritical. I wouldn't be surprised if Atherton begins to notice some of the benefits of twenty20 "slogathans" once the P20 kicks off. I can't see what's wrong with the IPL at a cricketing level. Its exceedingly competitive [because of its commerical nature, no less], features the top international players, and gives a chance to relative unknowns to shine on a global stage. It brings in massive numbers of new fans; it brings money into the game which eventually trickles down to the lower leagues. Name a single cricket tournament which could have shifted to South Africa on 2 weeks notice, and created a significant impression on the local audience bang in the middle of the rugby season. Test cricket, for all its glories, hasn't achieved that in about a hundred years. This brings us to a deeper discussion about the nature of professional sport. I've always regarded professional sport as essentially a form of public entertainment. It must have its rules and its ethics, but at the end of a day, a sport is successful not only if it sees keen contests between skilled opponents, but if there are people around to witness these contests. A sport is successful if there are people who are emotionally affected by the outcome in spite of the fact that they are personally not involved. In other words, a sport's success is measured in terms of its ability to draw in CASUAL fans. Even acquiring skilled competitors depends on widening the support base. Its not for nothing that India's slide in hockey coincides with falling public support for the game. Obviously, only fans take to a sport and encourage their kids to play the game. Cricket will be healthy and will continue to prosper if it can pull in new fans, because only if there are new fans will there be a new crop of superstars tomorrow. The English fully realize it and consequently invented twenty20. Only, they are not happy that their baby has been "hijacked" by somebody else [shockingly, a "brown" man who does not play by the MCC style of conducting the game]. Its not just Modi. Cricket has an ugly history of racial discrimination. As recently as 1995, ICC mandarins were said to be dismayed by the fact that a brown man [Dalmia] had acquired the most powerful position in cricket. Its not for nothing that it was called the IMPERIAL cricket council till not too long ago. Frankly, I believe that ever since Jagmohan Dalmiya changed the laws of marketing the game by bringing in much greater TV exposure and selling the product mainly to the subcontinental audience [remember the rescheduling of matches during 1999 WC to suit viewers in the subcontient?], cricket has only grown as a mass sport. Combined with the success of Twenty20, cricket administrators now have the luxury of thinking on a much bigger scale. Like it or hate it, cricket hasn't really developed much in a single non-commonwealth territory in the last several decades. Twenty20 is the only form in which cricket can be promoted to new markets in America, Canada, China or elsewhere. Thus, to deride Twenty20 as a "tamasha" or "slogathon" is nonsensical and counter-productive.

[ViruRulez]

If you watched last night's test match between England v West Indies you will know what I mean. Atherton mentioned IPL in derogatory way many a times prior to the lunch. Picked on Ravi Bopara's technique and mentioned it is possible the initial trigger movement must have creped in during IPL. He called IPL slogathan many a times. Just because during his time people thought back and across or forward movement is the only trigger doesn't mean you have to have the same text book trigger was proved yesterday. So much for Atherton's IPL derailment the two players that stood out yesterday were Bopara and Fiedel Edwards, both successful IPL representatives. Both have been in great form and thanks to some positive batting/bowling by these two, both England and West Indies benefited. Bopara batted positively and played to the merit of the ball meanwhile Fiedel Edwards pitch the ball up consistently to let the ball swing on a green track. Green track didn’t mean there was good pace and carry. The pitch was slow and anything that wasn’t full, hardly troubled the batsmen. I think IPL must have helped both Bopara and Fiedel Edwards providing the much needed match practice/training against good players prior to an important series and also must have instilled playing positive cricket. Here’s hoping the IPL players come good in this test series and shut the likes of Atherton up.

I have read a lot of Atherton's articles recently and he seems to be anti-BCCI and anti-India ... he blamed IPL and BCCI for Flintoff's injury .. he said ECB should never have allowed any English players to participate in IPL ... he is an @$$ ... even his own countrymen do not like him because of his behaviour I have read a lot of his articles and get really pessed off .. I have not watched the England-WI test but his anti-India attitude there is no suprise because it was known to me previously too .. maybe BCCI never gave him any good chance and hence he is jealous of IPL, BCCI and India Check some of his anti-Indian cricket and anti-IPL articles dated many days ago and check how Englishmen react .. they think him to be a mental case and nothing else .. even normal English people make comments on his posts about his foolish attitude.. check a few artilcles and the comments and you would realize what I mean http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article6164216.ece http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/mike_atherton/article5976858.ece :hatsoff:

[King]

Good post Ritwik. Cricket like other sports has to have an eye for the future. Although I don't endorse Twenty20s as much as I endorse Test cricket it is still needed to take the game ahead. Despite what the purists say this edition of IPL has seen quality players suceed consistently and bowlers have had a good say in a lot of games not just the batsmen that have the ability to send the ball out of the ground consistently. Twenty20 will evolve just the ODIs and Test cricket has over the last couple of decades. ICC should set together a window for IPL and if it doesn't it's the cricket that will lose in the long run. I have read/seen interviews where eminent players/coaches like Martin Crowe, Fleming, KP, McCullum to name a few have mentioned they have been under even more pressure/nervous than they have been when playing international cricket. That says a lot about the commitment and the opponent they come across. The imperialists such as Atherton will continue to derail and discredit IPL but honestly the players don’t seem to mind a bit. As long as IPL is not over done as in having two competitions a year, it will compliment test cricket and ODIs. It could even help the other format given the high octane and positive cricket that is the requirement of Twenty20s. P.S : BTW glad to have noted another successful IPL player Malinga has been chosen to play for Sri Lanka again. I heard from one of the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team player the real reason behind Malinga not being picked for Sri Lanka was to do with his somewhat bitter relation with the then boss of Sri Lankan cricket board Ranatunga. The disciplinarian Ranatunga was so much against Malinga’s hair style, it seems he demanded Malinga to have a hair cut before he can think of representing Sri Lanka.

[ViruRulez]

Good post Ritwik. Cricket like other sports has to have an eye for the future. Although I don't endorse Twenty20s as much as I endorse Test cricket it is still needed to take the game ahead. Despite what the purists say this edition of IPL has seen quality players suceed consistently and bowlers have had a good say in a lot of games not just the batsmen that have the ability to send the ball out of the ground consistently. Twenty20 will evolve just the ODIs and Test cricket has over the last couple of decades. ICC should set together a window for IPL and if it doesn't it's the cricket that will lose in the long run. I have read/seen interviews where eminent players/coaches like Martin Crowe, Fleming, KP, McCullum to name a few have mentioned they have been under even more pressure/nervous than they have been when playing international cricket. That says a lot about the commitment and the opponent they come across. The imperialists such as Atherton will continue to derail and discredit IPL but honestly the players don’t seem to mind a bit. As long as IPL is not over done as in having two competitions a year, it will compliment test cricket and ODIs. It could even help the other format given the high octane and positive cricket that is the requirement of Twenty20s. P.S : BTW glad to have noted another successful IPL player Malinga has been chosen to play for Sri Lanka again. I heard from one of the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team player the real reason behind Malinga not being picked for Sri Lanka was to do with his somewhat bitter relation with the then boss of Sri Lankan cricket board Ranatunga. The disciplinarian Ranatunga was so much against Malinga’s hair style, it seems he demanded Malinga to have a hair cut before he can think of representing Sri Lanka.

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[ritwik]

The disciplinarian Ranatunga was so much against Malinga’s hair style' date=' it seems he demanded Malinga to have a hair cut before he can think of representing Sri Lanka.[/quote'] That's a bit rich of Ranatunga. He should've lost some weight before representing Sri Lanka.

[King]

I have read a lot of Atherton's articles recently and he seems to be anti-BCCI and anti-India ... he blamed IPL and BCCI for Flintoff's injury .. he said ECB should never have allowed any English players to participate in IPL ... he is an @$$ ... even his own countrymen do not like him because of his behaviour I have read a lot of his articles and get really pessed off .. I have not watched the England-WI test but his anti-India attitude there is no suprise because it was known to me previously too .. maybe BCCI never gave him any good chance and hence he is jealous of IPL, BCCI and India Check some of his anti-Indian cricket and anti-IPL articles dated many days ago and check how Englishmen react .. they think him to be a mental case and nothing else .. even normal English people make comments on his posts about his foolish attitude.. check a few artilcles and the comments and you would realize what I mean http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article6164216.ece http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/mike_atherton/article5976858.ece :hatsoff:

Good spotting. It pretty much shows what some of the old timers are, divorced from the fact and lack of ability to see the future. They can’t stop going backwards, can’t live in the present and can’t appreciate the future. Atherton's life circled around just playing "Ashes". In his article he's being a hypocrite Atherton accuses ECB Chairman of being derogatory to West Indies because of his opinion the injury didn’t come late so that Freddi can rest before the all important “Ashes”. At the same time he reckons the English players should be resting like the Aussie counterparts. Just look at some of his quotes :

So, having played three of the six games to which he was contracted, his IPL adventure is over, although it is understood that he will keep his full £450,000 fee. The players are under contract to England for a reason, and are well remunerated for a reason. The ECB ought to have asked a simple question of those who wanted to play in the IPL: do you want to be a centrally contracted player or a free agent? You cannot have it both ways. Flintoff is extremely wealthy and if, as he constantly assures us, England are his first priority, he did not need to take the rupee. The IPL has found its home in South Africa, but while the negotiations were continuing, where was English cricket’s Jamaica Kincaid? Nobody — certainly not the ECB, nor the county executives who cannot see beyond the next rupee — had the clear-eyed sense to say, and loudly, “thanks but no thanks” and spurn the handshake.

I still cannot understand how he cannot wonder playing county cricket where Freddi will be required to be out playing cricket constantly and anyone that plays in England testifies it’s not just cricket but the travel that goes with it is a killer. Freddi would have been playing non-stop cricket, traveling around the counties and bowling at least 15 overs a day. Bowling not more than 12 overs in the IPL has him injured and imagine him going through the arduous county season as preparation? Bottom line is that Atherton is pissed off at the kind of money the current cricketers are making. Too bad Atherton couldn’t foresee the way cricket was heading. His often mention of “Rupees” is testimony to the way he feels about it, pissed off the likes of Freddi will make as much money he made through out his career in one single season. I wonder what his opinion is about the English football premier league? I’m sure he will have his favorite county and will be supporting them to the hilt despite the fact that the players don’t attach as much importance playing for the nation .

[ViruRulez]

Good spotting. It pretty much shows what some of the old timers are, divorced from the fact and lack of ability to see the future. They can’t stop going backwards, can’t live in the present and can’t appreciate the future. Atherton's life circled around just playing "Ashes". In his article he's being a hypocrite Atherton accuses ECB Chairman of being derogatory to West Indies because of his opinion the injury didn’t come late so that Freddi can rest before the all important “Ashes”. At the same time he reckons the English players should be resting like the Aussie counterparts. Just look at some of his quotes : I still cannot understand how he cannot wonder playing county cricket where Freddi will be required to be out playing cricket constantly and anyone that plays in England testifies it’s not just cricket but the travel that goes with it is a killer. Freddi would have been playing non-stop cricket, traveling around the counties and bowling at least 15 overs a day. Bowling not more than 12 overs in the IPL has him injured and imagine him going through the arduous county season as preparation? Bottom line is that Atherton is pissed off at the kind of money the current cricketers are making. Too bad Atherton couldn’t foresee the way cricket was heading. His often mention of “Rupees” is testimony to the way he feels about it, pissed off the likes of Freddi will make as much money he made through out his career in one single season. I wonder what his opinion is about the English football premier league? I’m sure he will have his favorite county and will be supporting them to the hilt despite the fact that the players don’t attach as much importance playing for the nation .

The use of the word "Rupee" as you mentioned was not only a testimony of his frustation but I felt he also tried to show his idea of colonial superiority .. he seemed to be making mockery of India and Indian currency by pointing out the rupee again and again .. I have read a lot of his articles and he always seems to mention to write the articles with an attitude of "England and English cricketers are better than the rest" And I dont understand that what is the pride that he has about England .. and how does country cricket differ from IPL .. if county cricket would have paid more than or even near to IPL then I dont think English cricketers would have even played in IPL .. it is because they cannot afford to pay as much IPL, BCCI, India and Indian IPL owners can .. so I still dont understand what is he so proud about about Englishmen, England and England cricket .. He must realize that England had invented the game and played it for centuries but it is India which is making the sport globally popular and acceptable by investing money and great ideas like IPL Just check this quote from his article

Pierce may well be correct to imply that Flintoff could have been injured just as easily playing for Lancashire, but would he have been tearing around the outfield at Hove, sliding on his injured knee to save a boundary, as he was on Thursday? In any case, getting injured playing for the Super Kings, instead of Lancashire or England, somehow makes things worse.

His attitude towards IPL and India is evident in the quoted lines. He accepts that Flintoff could have been easily injured by playing county cricket too although he tries his best to defend his points by saying "but would he have been tearing around the outfield at Hove, sliding on his injured knee to save a boundary, as he was on Thursday". He then goes on to says that getting injured playing for Super Kings instead of Lancashire makes things worse. So, how does that matter as both are domestic crickets. He is quite biased and all his statements have always represented his anti-Indian nature. He still lives in the past and thinks that UK is the best and nobody can be superior to the English in cricket especially India. But you will find the comments quite interesting in his posts because most of people simple ridicule him in the comments although they are from England too

[Gambit]

Fully agree there. The way the white press/former players [including cricinfo] go on about the IPL/Lalit Modi/BCCI/Indian "domination" is exceedingly hypocritical. I wouldn't be surprised if Atherton begins to notice some of the benefits of twenty20 "slogathans" once the P20 kicks off. I can't see what's wrong with the IPL at a cricketing level. Its exceedingly competitive [because of its commerical nature, no less], features the top international players, and gives a chance to relative unknowns to shine on a global stage. It brings in massive numbers of new fans; it brings money into the game which eventually trickles down to the lower leagues. Name a single cricket tournament which could have shifted to South Africa on 2 weeks notice, and created a significant impression on the local audience bang in the middle of the rugby season. Test cricket, for all its glories, hasn't achieved that in about a hundred years. This brings us to a deeper discussion about the nature of professional sport. I've always regarded professional sport as essentially a form of public entertainment. It must have its rules and its ethics, but at the end of a day, a sport is successful not only if it sees keen contests between skilled opponents, but if there are people around to witness these contests. A sport is successful if there are people who are emotionally affected by the outcome in spite of the fact that they are personally not involved. In other words, a sport's success is measured in terms of its ability to draw in CASUAL fans. Even acquiring skilled competitors depends on widening the support base. Its not for nothing that India's slide in hockey coincides with falling public support for the game. Obviously, only fans take to a sport and encourage their kids to play the game. Cricket will be healthy and will continue to prosper if it can pull in new fans, because only if there are new fans will there be a new crop of superstars tomorrow. The English fully realize it and consequently invented twenty20. Only, they are not happy that their baby has been "hijacked" by somebody else [shockingly, a "brown" man who does not play by the MCC style of conducting the game]. Its not just Modi. Cricket has an ugly history of racial discrimination. As recently as 1995, ICC mandarins were said to be dismayed by the fact that a brown man [Dalmia] had acquired the most powerful position in cricket. Its not for nothing that it was called the IMPERIAL cricket council till not too long ago. Frankly, I believe that ever since Jagmohan Dalmiya changed the laws of marketing the game by bringing in much greater TV exposure and selling the product mainly to the subcontinental audience [remember the rescheduling of matches during 1999 WC to suit viewers in the subcontient?], cricket has only grown as a mass sport. Combined with the success of Twenty20, cricket administrators now have the luxury of thinking on a much bigger scale. Like it or hate it, cricket hasn't really developed much in a single non-commonwealth territory in the last several decades. Twenty20 is the only form in which cricket can be promoted to new markets in America, Canada, China or elsewhere. Thus, to deride Twenty20 as a "tamasha" or "slogathon" is nonsensical and counter-productive.

Great post ritwik! I used to turn my nose up at the mention of T20 only because I feared that it would usurp test cricket and destroy the 'international' nature of cricket and reduce it to a club/city level. I vowed not to watch the T20 world cup in 2007 but couldn't quite keep my promise and celebrated like crazy when we won the World Cup. When the IPL came around, I wanted it to fail because of the reasons I mentioned earlier but ended up loving the whole tournament. As long as IPL,T20 co-exist with Test Cricket, life is good and I am happy. But if it results in the demise of Test and International Cricket, then cricket will lose a fan in me. I live and die for the Indian Cricket Team and not for Delhi Daredevils or anyone else. Coming to Atherton, he only hates the IPL because his daddies Warne and McGrath play in it. :D

[flamy]

Fantastic post, ritwik. :hatsoff:

[ritwik]

Thanks Ravi, Gambit, Flamy :) Gambit - fully agree with your views there, including the Atherton bit :p

[vvvslaxman]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25442086-5001505,00.html Ravi Bopara hails IPL after Test century at Lord's May 07, 2009 Article from: Agence France-Presse ENGLAND centurion Ravi Bopara says the Indian Premier League has helped him hone his game after he made his second successive Test hundred against the West Indies. The 24-year-old all-rounder's Test-best 118 not out was the cornerstone of England's 7-289 on the first day of their series opener at Lord's in what was Bopara's first Test since he made 104 against the same opponents in Barbados in February. Bopara, who only recently returned from playing for Kings XI Punjab in the lucrative IPL, defied sceptics who said the short format was no way to prepare for the challenges of Test cricket. SCOREBOARD “I wasn't thinking too much about it (the change from Twenty20 to Tests) in the last couple of days, I felt very relaxed,†Bopara said after scoring his second hundred in only the fifth Test of his career. “I think sometimes it works to your advantage when you come from a place where you are trying to play positively get into better positions. “Sometimes when you are negative, you can poke around a little. My instinct is to hit every ball.†Bopara's century meant he'd achieved at the first attempt the lifetime ambition of many players of getting his name on the Lord's dressing room honours board which records all those who've made a Test century at the home of cricket. “To have my name on the board, makes me really proud,†he said. “When you play county matches here, you wonder if your name will ever be up there. It's the biggest test I've had so far and I've really enjoyed it.†First-wicket down has proved a problem position for England in recent times and Bopara saw off competition for the place from more experienced number three batsmen Owais Shah, Ian Bell and former captain Michael Vaughan. He now wants to make the spot his own for the second and final Test of this series and the Ashes campaign that starts in July. “I hope I go into the next Test batting at three and hopefully for the Ashes,†said Bopara, previously a number six for England. “It's only a problem if you make it a problem, all you can do is your best,†added Bopara, who rightly said it wasn't his fault he'd been dropped on 76 and 100. Such was Bopara's unspoilt self-confidence he even felt capable of offering Kevin Pietersen advice after the star batsman was caught behind for a first-ball nought off a superb delivery from fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who led the West Indies' attack with 4-53 runs from 19 overs. “It's a horrible ball to get first up, 90mph swinging away. “But I'm sure he'll learn from it,†added Bopara, to laughter from some reporters who initially thought he was joking. “There are ways of combatting it, you can lower your backlift and don't go so hard at it.†http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25442086-5001505,00.html

[ViruRulez]

^^^^^ Bopara has said that IPL has helped him but dont know if the jack@ss Atherton will ever learn it Check his latest anti-IPL article here http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/mike_atherton/article6236529.ece I still dont understand why Atherton is so anti-IPL and anti-India Anyways good to see that the IPL players have done great in the England - WI test series too Two of the three stars of the match till now are Ravi Bopara and Fidel Edwards who were both actively playing the IPL a few days earlier

[graphic23]

VR, you're trying to understand a guy who said 'ban Sreesanth from Int'l cricket' after that beamer to Kevin Pietersen in the 2nd test match in Nottingham in 2007. I wouldn't try and reason with him. Just enjoy some videos of Allan Donald pwning him.

[Guest Hiten.]

....in b4 Onions is offered millions by one of the IPL franchises :desiman:

[flamy]

....in b4 Onions is offered millions by one of the IPL franchises :desiman:

:desiwoman:

[ViruRulez]

....in b4 Onions is offered millions by one of the IPL franchises :desiman:

Graeme Swann and Onions are both expected to fetch good bucks next year .. but ECB is also planning their own t20 named P20 from 2010 :dontknow:

[ViruRulez]

VR' date=' you're trying to understand a guy who said 'ban Sreesanth from Int'l cricket' after that beamer to Kevin Pietersen in the 2nd test match in Nottingham in 2007. I wouldn't try and reason with him. Just enjoy some videos of Allan Donald pwning him.[/quote'] I get pessed off whenever I see his articles ... and Times Online website highlights his anti-India kind of comments especially in all his articles on their main cricket page .. I dont understand why Times keeps on allowing him to write BS when all the comments in his articles also oppose his views :(( The worst think about him is his articles and statements trying to show "England better than the rest" attitude