Ashes!!

This years Ashes has been by far the most dramatic series of all times. If there is anyone reading this blog who doesn't know what cricket is then they should definitely follow this series and I am sure they will be addicted. The third test I think was the best. Till the last two hours of play in the test all the four results were possible. I think a draw was just fair as neither of the teams deserved to loose. But here is a incident during the fianal stages which amazed me.

"Before Stephen Harmison started the final over Stuart MacGill rushed out to tell Glenn McGrath to bat a metre out of his crease to reduce the chances of him being given out lbw. What MacGill forgot to tell the fast bowler - why are we always portrayed as being dumb? - was to get back in your crease once the ball had been bowled.

McGrath lurched forward to smother the second ball of Harmison's over but missed it, and Geraint Jones, the wicketkeeper, threw the ball to Matthew Hoggard, who was standing next to the stumps. Thankfully - it would have been a totally immoral way to win a match of this stature - Hoggard chose not to break the stumps, but this did not prevent MacGill feeling that he had almost cost his team a Test match."

Now if australia win the final test and draw the series they will keep the Ashes and somewhere in the bottom of Hoggard's heart he must feel guilty about it. Infact I think this article shouldn't have been published as it puts his live in danger in that senario. Personally I also think it was stupid of him if he did that. Thats a way of getting a batsman out and it is not immoral at all to use it.

Trivia: Did you guys know that all tests in England start on thursdays. There have been only three exceptions in history so far!

Will we ever grow up?

August 15th. A quick look at "Times of india" bombay edition -

"At Anand, state co-operation minister C D Patel and Anand district superintendent of police B S Jebalia saluted the national flag while it was yet to unfurl."

Mr. Patel and Mr. Jebalia have received a lot of flack over this. But what else could they have done. If they stopped the national anthem and asked the flag to be unfurled again I am sure the headline would have been about the same people direspecting the national anthem. If they would have moved to ask somebody else to unfurl the flag properly again the same result. I felt these are unncessary things to be reported. The media should mature beyond this.

"Dalit woman not allowed to hoist national flag in chhatisgarh."

If the earlier news was frustating this one is disgusting. Especially for people like me who always argue that one of the reasons why reservation should be removed is that there is no more distinction among castes in modern India. I if this sort of thing is happening after more than 50 years of independence, then there is something seriously wrong in the way the country's population is being educated.

The only consolation is these things are not unique to India. Such narrowminded people have universal existence!!