Month: August 2005

Masala Cricket: Asia XI vs Africa XI

The “masala” cricket that is underway between Asia XI and Africa XI just witnessed another display of classic spineless performance from our Indian tail-enders. Just when tail-enders in the Ashes series are performing unbelievable wonders, the Indian tail-enders succumb with the least resistance as always. Btw, Viru’s bad form seems to continue into this worthless series. India should have sent in the lesser stars/discards like VVS instead. Dravid did a smart thing by withdrawing.  Btw, this entire series is available for $20.00 on broadband.

Wine Tasting in Fremont, CA

There was Blockbuster video store next to the Wells Fargo Bank on Mowry Avenue (in the Dana Bazaar complex: 5113 Mowry Avenue, Fremont, CA). Now this store has been replaced by a pretty fancy wine shop. Amazing collection of wine from all over the world. They even have some limited wine tasting. I can’t remember the name of the store, unfortunately.

Ashes: Third Test

Wow! What an exciting test match. I can’t remember the last time test series was so exciting.

Hats off to both teams for spirited performances. Flintoff seems to have come into his own this series and that makes all the difference to the England side. For Australia, Brett Lee deserves a lot of credit for saving the Test unlike the last test where he ended up on the loosing side despite a fighting performance. Most importantly, Ponting played an outstanding innings when most needed.

Here are some thoughts that come to mind after this test:

  • Hayden badly needs a break. Katich failed too but I think he deserves a longer rope. Brad Hodge in place of Hayden might be a useful change. However, I think Brad Hodge will come in place of the injured Clarke and both Hayden and Katich will survive another test.
  • Steve Bucknor must be forced to retire. His umpiring has been consistently poor for the last few years (especially in matches involving India). His Martyn decision almost cost Australia the match. Btw, I am curious if he (or whoever the match referree is) will show the guts to haul Ponting to the discplinary stand for resenting when Martyn was given out?
  • Gillespie is another guy who badly needs a break. His batting is more useful to Australia than his bowling 🙂 Kasporovich or Shaun Tait should definitely play in the fourth test! I will be terribly surprised if Gillespie plays in the next test.

Ashes: England bounces back

What a game! Hats off to the Aussies for fighting back so hard and almost pulling off a victory. England should be relieved to have leveled the series. Flintoff’s super abilities and McGrath’s absence made the difference to both teams respectively.

With both Lee and McGrath doubtful for the third Test, the Aussies have their hands full with problems. Lee was taken apart in this test, and both Kasparowicz and Gillespie are no where are as menacing (even from a wicket taking point of view). I think its a good idea to try out Shaun Tait as a good surprise package for England. This Ashes is shaping up very well with England putting up a credible fight. Its is also a sign of Australia’s waning superiority over other International teams.

Thunderbird is cool

I switched to using Thunderbird (I have been using MS Outlook Express for many years now) a few months back. Its look and feel is very much “Outlook Express like” with lots of cool features as a bonus. So if you are an Outlook Express user, the switch is painless.

The Junk handling capability is especially welcome and powerful in this day and age of relentless junk mail. Search capability is excellent. Since the move to Thunderbird I have been exploring new features more than I ever did in Outlook Express. So this is not necessarily a Thunderbird vs Outlook Express report. Instead its just a re-assurance for anyone contemplating a switch.

Indian Oil Cup: India scrape through to Final

It was a close match after India had WI on the mat. It just proves that India’s bowling is weak with a full fledged fifth bowler. Given the wickets in SL are conducive to spin it makes sense for India to play five bowlers including two spinners. This match also strengthens the case for saving Dhoni for the last 15 overs. The opening spot should be a choice between VVS and Ganguly. I don’t think there is room for both of them in the team. Hopefully, Viru will fire in the final. Its a pity the JP was a mere passenger on this tour. And sure enough the poor guy will be dropped for the next tour. So much for India’s search for the elusive all rounder.

The team for the final in my opinion must be:

Sehwag
Ganguly (if he is fit, else open with Yuvraj and play Venu in the middle order)
Dravid
Yuvraj
Kaif
Dhoni
Pathan
Kumble
Harbhajan
Zaheer
Nehra

WI win against SL. Huh?

Was this match fixed? Or the Sri Lanka team took it easy? Or they decided to lose the match in order to inject some excitement into this boring triangular series? It had to be one of these. Its hard to imagine this WI team pull off a victory against any team. …barring maybe India on a really bad day:-(

Supreme Court Justices: Term limits?

Why don’t Supreme Court justices have term limits? I don’t understand the logic behind these life time appointments. The US produces so many lawyers with great credentials, so why should this privilege of being on the Supreme Court be restricted to just a few individuals.

Its sad to see Chief Justice William Rehnquist drag himself to court despite his poor health. Sure, its a personal decision and he wants to continue serving. But when the country has so many qualified individuals can’t we give the poor guy some rest? (Btw, I truly admire his resilience and commitment, and this is nothing personal towards him or other cancer patients).

I just think its crazy to have lifetime appointments for any post. Getting rid of it will certainly help reduce the partisan nature of the battle that goes in the appointment and confirmation process. Some kind of system where every President gets to appoint a couple of Supreme Court justices or something on those lines.