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Vas Venkatramani

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12,728 Article Reads
17 Articles Written
76 Comments Written

About

Member Since:: June 2009
Based In:: NSW
Favourite Sporting Team:: Liverpool FC
Favourite Sports:: Motor, Cricket,

Latest Articles

Showing articles 1 - 6 of 17 | More Articles >

The Australian trait of avoiding responsibility

13 Mar 2013

Out of all the media buzz words that have greatly infuriated a disaffected public, the one that irks more than anything else is that misnomer called ‘professionalism’. What does it even mean anymore? Is it the traditional meaning of the term that implies providing a good or service at cost that supplements a career? Or [...]

India vs Australia: the battle to win the fans

16 Feb 2013

It’s hard to describe such a feeling going into a series that usually claims top billing. Reviewing my 20+ year obsession into this great game, I can recall tingling with anticipation as great Australian teams would do battle with great opponents to produce thrilling contests. Think West Indies 1995 or 1999, India 2001 or England [...]

Pakistan win shows what's beautiful about the game

8 Feb 2012

The weight of expectation is a funny thing: pressure is there where once there was none. The natural processes give way to the nagging thought at the back of your mind that your performance doesn’t befit your ranking. That is one of two things can be gleaned from England’s capitulation at the hands of Pakistan [...]

A typical canary yellow Indian's day at the SCG

3 Jan 2012

Over the last 15 years, since I first attended a day of Test match cricket, I’ve honed and perfected my own pre-match ritual. While items such as sunscreen, water and Aerogard (not to mention the tickets themselves) are always mandatory, one particular item carries extra weight on a once-in-four-year cycle. That is my beloved gold [...]

Cricket Australia's scheduling blunder must not be repeated

17 Dec 2011

One-all with all to play for in Adelaide on Australia Day. Suddenly, two of your fast bowlers break down. Let’s call them Harris and Pattinson, for they are two of Australia’s bright lights. Who replaces them, and more importantly, under what circumstances? Are they coming in after hours of hard toil in the Sheffield Shield, or [...]

Self-absorption does Australian cricket no favours

14 Dec 2011

As a defender of Michael Clarke’s captaincy since his ascension in April, it was hard to stomach his lack of grace on New Zealand’s superb comeback in Hobart. Not one mention of Doug Bracewell or of the Black Caps’ sharp, slip-catching. Not one mention of Dean Brownlie’s dogged fight or their captain’s call for pride [...]

Vas's Recent Comments

Vas Venkatramani has written a total of 76 comments

The Australian trait of avoiding responsibility

I'm happy to claim this article as mine mate, as I'm not using an alias in claiming my viewpoint (regardless of how informed or ill-informed it is - that's for the beholder to determine). So I solely and happily bear whatever responsibility that comes with it. Whether it is an excuse or justification (again, a subjective matter), there are reasons for the view I have taken. I accept yours on the point of how performance is based on the characteristics you mention. The Indians were good enough to exploit our weakness in facing spin and aggressive enough with bat in hand to completely dismantle our tactics. Kudos to them. I won't go into the mentality of the BCCI - that's a completely different topic that requires separate study. But I will pose the question as to what we can do better. This series has exemplified how the powers that be in Cricket Australia have made questionable selections and even more ridiculous rationale (Xavier Doherty as one example) to justify their position. What has come out of it? A 4-0 whitewash, and a team bitterly divided between the authority figures in place and the people answering to them. Please don't tell me that isn't worthy of scrutiny. Otherwise, we can simply flap our hands and accept the fact that we'll beat them here, they'll beat us there, and that the status quo between two proud cricketing nations is unlikely to ever change. And thanks for the journalistic feedback. I'll table that along with everyone else's two cents over the years :)

26 Mar 2013

The Australian trait of avoiding responsibility

"Here's another example of the sub-continental bully boys of cricket having a free swing at the struggling Aussies when we're down". First, I am an Australian cricket fan for the last 20 years since I discovered what cricket was. If your description me as a "sub-continental bully boy" was based on my name plus the overall critical tone of this story, then the fool is you for making ill-advised presumptions. I'm not surprised we (that means Australia) struggle in India either. I've seen us struggle in the 1996 one-off Test in Delhi, the 1998 series when Tendulkar tore Warne to shreds, the 2001 series when we did not seize the big moments, and then in 2008 and 2010 where bad tactics let us down. Even 2004 had its moments of struggle, but we survived them well enough to take the series. But in every one of those series, the Australian team looked like they had an ounce of fight in them. Even if they were not scoring runs, they would fight like hell to preserve their wickets, or try and keep the runs down by some tight bowling or a bit of fielding brilliance. These attributes have all but disappeared in this series. I will never forget Steve Waugh's fighting 67 in Delhi 96, Mark Waugh and Mark Taylor's hundreds in Bangalore 1998 to stave off a whitewash, Matt Hayden's titanic 01 series, as well as Ponting's fighting hundred in Bangalore 2008 that all showed the fighting spirit of our team. Apart from Michael Clarke and at times James Pattinson, none of the players out there looked like they wanted the win badly enough. That's an attitude problem which I have been referring to in this series, hence the article. I hope I am enamoured with the written word JMW, having been writing on and off for the last 10 years. I'm okay with you having a go at my journalistic style, as I'm not seeking to please everyone. But please let go of the stupid assumption that my name and the critical tone of the story makes me a "sub-continental bully boy", if that's within your reach. Cheers.

24 Mar 2013

DRS snub blows up in India’s face

It begs the question: is the 2015 World Cup going to be with DRS or without? As it is an ICC-sanctioned tournament, but at the recent meeting the BCCI threatened to pull out of any tour/series that imposed the system, will that mean the ICC will cave and make the World Cup without the decision review system?

23 Feb 2013

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