You Never Lose It

Today saw 39 year old Adam Gilchris make a fabulous 100 for the Kings XI Punjab from just 53 balls. That's a pretty special effort by anyone, but a lot of attention has been put on his age, as he is now one of the elder statesmen of the IPL.

Since retiring from international cricket, when he realised his body wasn't up to long days in the field any more, Gilchrist has freelanced as a T20 player, plying his trade for Deccan, Middlesex, and now Punjab. This week we've also seen one of Gilchrist's former international team-mates Shane Warne step away from the IPL at the age of 41, despite not appearing to have lost any of the guile that made him the best spinner in the history of the game.

A lot has been made about Gilchrist's innings, mainly because of his age. "You never lose it" has been the gist of the consensus from those in the know. There has been some thought that Gilchrist, like Warne, will retire from cricket following this year's IPL, but I honestly don't see why he would need to.

Retiring from test matches and longer one day games is an obvious decision for players. It can be a long day in the field, with a lot of overs needed to be bowled for the bowlers, and a lot of time stood around for those who don't. Aching bodies and creaking joints mean that there is a much more clearly defined shelf-life for players in those formats - around 34/5 for bowlers, and 37/8 for batsmen. But for T20, the age limit need not be the case. It's only an hour and fifteen before the aging fielders can put their feet up, and only 24 deliveries (max) for the veteran bowlers. In this era of massages and ice baths, even the oldest players can be nursed into relative health before the next match, meaning the best players can stretch their careers to way beyond the end of their test or ODI ones finish.

It's fairly well agreed that Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne are among the greatest cricketers to ever play the game, and that cricketing genius does not fade. Gilchrist's heroics today underline that. So if players like Gilchrist, Warne or Muralitheran were able to keep themselves fit and healthy through the T20 "off-season", why shouldn't they be thought of for international T20 matches? We've seen a move towards 'specialist' T20 players such as Shaun Tait or Michael Lumb being introduced for the one-off games, so why not the legends? Their bodies can handle it, and they evidently still have the skill. In fact, they would be far more valuable than their younger counterparts, as they would have vast amounts of experience to help the team out in pressure situations.

It's only a thought, and while it may not ever happen, Australian fans, answer me this. At next year's World T20, who would you rather see bowl? Xavier Doherty or Shane Warne

The Idiot's Guide To The IPL - Part Two

So you've spent the past 24 hours absorbing the format. So now you've bluffed your way through that chat with the friendly IPL fan, what to say when he asks about the teams? Who are your men to watch, who are the teams who will be involved at the business end of the tournament (sometime in 2015)? Fret no longer, as The Idiot's Guide to the IPL Part Two is here!

So who are the favourites this year? Well, the bookies make Sachin Tendulkar's (you may have heard of him) Mumbai Indians the shortest price, followed by Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. After that, it's the also-rans and the rest.

While Mumbai had a great year last year, and Chennai even won it, technically the previous editions shouldn't have any bearing. A new auction was set up, with the talent being supposedly evenly spread around the various franchises (although the teams were allowed to retain the services of four top players from previous years). And while some teams have hoarded the big name overseas players, the rules say that only 4 non-Indians can play at any one time. So let's have a look at the various teams that will contest IPL4.

In today's Idiot's Guide I'll have a look at the five teams in Group A, while tomorrow will be Group B.

Group A


Mumbai Indians - Captained by Sachin, and keeping hold of some big name players, Mumbai are favourites this year. With Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds they'll hit big, and in Lasith Malinga they have a deadly player with the ball. Downside is that there are nine overseas players - who may not be too pleased if they're on the bench every game. Squad perhaps a bit top heavy, with some huge names followed by some not very big ones, but the MI will hope the lesser known guys can step up to complement the big performances of the stars.


Delhi Daredevils - Choosing only to retain Virender Sehwag, who captains the side, the Daredevils selected a almost completely new squad from before. Only Sehwag and South Africa's Morne Morkel were at the World Cup, which could play into their hands compared to the fatigue of other teams. The DD have "taken punts" on a few players, with lesser known overseas Aussies Travis Birt, Matthew Wade and Aaron Finch all getting selected - but they've all excelled in the Big Bash so could really pay off. Big hitting David Warner will return at the top of the order as well. The Daredevils have gone for inexperienced players who could pay off spectacularly, but then again, the lack of star players may count against them as they could slump in form. Will be interesting to see how they go.


Deccan Chargers - After winning IPL2 (the South African one) under the stewardship of Adam Gilchrist, the Chargers released all of their players and started again. Now with a new wicket-keeper/captain in Kumar Sangakkara, the Chargers have a completely new squad, filled with some big names. While they will probably miss Kevin Pietersen for the tournament due to injury, Dale Steyn, Sangakkara, JP Duminy and Cameron White are all big names and proven T20 players, as well as having local internationals such as Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and MS Gony on the books. Could be dark horses as have strength in both batting and bowling.


Kings XI Punjab - Deccan's loss is Punjab's gain, as Adam Gilchrist comes in to captain the Kings XI, who have been the whipping boys of previous IPL's. However, in Gilchrist, David Hussey and Dinesh Karthik, Punjab have players who have been there and done it in T20s, as well as handy players in Piyush Chawla, Ryan McLaren and Shaun Marsh. Not much is expected of the Kings XI, but they will hope to improve on the previous disappointments.


Pune Warriors India - Not a great deal is known about the new boys Pune, but they're captained by World Cup Man of the Moment Yuvraj, as well as boasting the likes of Jesse Ryder, Angelo Mathews, Graeme Smith and world's greatest T20 bowler ever Alfonso Thomas. Not much is known about the Warriors, and as such, could spring a few surprises.


So there's the teams of Group A. Check back tomorrow for some Idiot's Guides to the teams of Group B.

The Maths of the IPL

Whilst flicking through Twitter earlier, I saw some tweets from Lalit Modi speaking of how great this year's IPL has been. To be perfectly honest, I have lost all interest in the tournament. Even Cricinfo, who had pictures, reports and comment on the IPL plastered over the front page for the first 8 months of the tournament have now news on the county championship. Which has been where my attention has been.

For the first part of the IPL, I was aware of what was going on. I dipped in and out of matches, but knew the scores, tables and results. I knew David Warner was in good form and that Michael Lumb was flattering to decieve. I knew that the Mumbai Indians were on top and the Kings XI Punjab only had a fat bloke and had no chance. I even had a favourite team; the Delhi Daredevils. I got into the IPL spirit; watching the awful karaoke video (and blogging about it). I had grown used to the constant adverts, the DLF Maximums, and even the MRF blimp. While I wasn't the IPL's biggest fan, I was more of a fan than most, and was sort-of enjoying it.

On Friday, the county championship started. On Saturday, Steven Finn took 9/37. Also on Saturday was the golf from Augusta, and Chelsea playing at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final. The IPL was relegated so far down my list of sporting priorities that it no longer registered. I didn't know who was playing, and to be honest, I didn't care.

The IPL has gone on far too long, and while many matches = many millions in Lalit's pocket, the simple equation of many matches x start of county season + boredom = lack of interest in the IPL. The IPL as a tournament could be brilliant; it has the best players in the world all playing together for a prolonged period of time. However, if the competition was not focussed on making money, and instead it was focussed on being a great tournament, it could be the best cricketing spectacle ever. If the number of games was halved; with 3 or 4 played a day, it could be crammed into a neat 2 week slot, with semis and a final at the end. The overkill of the IPL will continue next year, as two new teams have been added to the roster. Two new teams = 36 more games = even more boredom. The shelf life of the IPL is unknown, and while India will always be fanatical about it, the rest of the world is in danger of switching off. And this = bad times for Lalit.

More IPL stuff

Contrary to previous predictions, I have actually watched a fair bit (a few overs here and there) of the IPL. However, I still haven't been fully involved in it - mainly as I do not have a team. While picking a team might be easy, each has their own unique charms that could attract me to them.

Delhi have Paul Collingwood and Dirk the Diggler; Bangalore have Eoin Morgan; Kings XI have Ravi Bopara, Rajasthan have Warne, Mascarenhas and Tyron Henderson; KKR have Owais Shah; and the rest have players who I'm either not interested in or I dislike.

So I am handing it over to you, my loyal Short Third Fans; pick for me an IPL team. I will forever follow them, look out for their score, buy their shirt, whatever. You have three days to vote.

The Short Third Man