Sports This Week
There promises to be a feast of cricket in the next few weeks, with six of the best teams facing off in Test and ODI series around the world. Australia have already drawn first blood against India with a facile win in the first Test. South Africa and Sri Lanka are tied at one all in their series after Sri Lanka fashioned a morale boosting win in the second Test. Pakistan and England face off in the third week of January.
Australia have not been their usual confident, cocky self of late. They are slowly rebuilding after losing a clutch of players from what was possibly the greatest Test team ever. The old guard is also losing some of their sheen. Ricky Ponting seems to have lost the ability to score big hundreds and is finding himself getting out after reaching his half century. Mike Hussey has also been a bit shaky and skipper Michael Clarke would have struggled to get into the Aussie team of 10 years ago.
But then, there are few sporting nations such as the Aussies and the talent continues to rise. There is the young paceman James Pattinson who has had some of the best batters shying away. Pattinson was man of the match in the first Test with a haul of six wickets even though Ben Hilfenhaus took seven. However it was Pattinson’s adventurous batting that earned him his second man of the match of his young career.
Sri Lanka snatched a much needed win over South Africa, tying the three Test series after an abject performance in the first Test. A nervy South Africa did their usual choke, giving away wickets as the Sri Lankans rode Kumar Sangakkara’s hundred to their first Test win since Muttiah Muralitharan retired. This underlines the value of the wily spinner who cast such a long shadow over Sri Lankan cricket. The Sri Lankans have always had good batsmen but it is bowlers who, in the end, win matches and Murali won countless Tests for his team. It remains to be seen whether this team can build on this success and prove that it was not merely a flash in the pan.
In another series that will have a considerable bearing on the world standings, the high flying English team are taking on a resurgent Pakistan on what is, effectively, Pakistan’s home grounds, the UAE stadia. The English bowlers are very effective in the swinging seaming English conditions and will have their work cut out for them in the placid UAE pitches. A lot will depend on how Graeme Swann does with the ball. He will be matched up against Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal. Pakistan may have the edge with the secondary spinners Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Rehman. The pacers will be led by the impressive Aizaz Cheema who seems to be able to wring life out of any wicket and Umar Gul who is bowling well of late.
England will be choosing between James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett and Steven Finn. The English pacers are taller and should be able to extract more bounce out of the tracks. The batting on both sides is solid. Pakistan, under the calm leadership of Misbah are showing much needed maturity at the crease. The result should be a tossup with Pakistan’s familiarity with local conditions giving them a slight edge. The side that holds its catches should win.
International tennis resumes
The international tennis season resumes after an all too short break, with the Qatar Open and the Chennai Open paving the way for the Australian Open which starts in mid January. The long season and the deep inroads they invariably make into every tournament, has meant that two of the top players Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, are hobbled by niggling injuries. With the Davis Cup final which Spain won against Argentina in November, there was all too little time for Raffa to recover and he plans to take a February off after the Open. Djoker is also suffering from niggles and ironically, the oldest player among the top five, Roger Federer is looking fresh and strong after superlative end to 2011 where he won 17 straight matches.
Roger would be fancying his chances for another Grand Slam or two to add to his 16 and will be looking confidently at Australia. Federer’s smooth, effortless style means that his body suffers less than the counter punching physical games of Raffa and Novak. 2011 could also be a turning point for the luckless Andy Murray who is struggling to win his first major. He has gotten into a couple of finals but has found players so in the zone that Murray’s inability to lift his game has left him completely becalmed. Murray will have to take a close look at his attitude on court where he shrieks in agony upon missing a shot and his shoulders sag. Not only does that reduce his performance but it also encourages his opponent and in a close match, it makes all the difference. Till now Murray has shown that he is one of the best players but is not a champion. That is a bridge he has to cross, but it may just be a bridge too far.
Caroline Wozniacki must also be finding some solace from Murray’s troubles. She is world number one but is yet to win anything of consequence. There are too many players who are stronger than her the talented Czech Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova, Russian Maria Sharapova and the American Williams sisters are big hitters and can overpower players of Caroline’s size who do not have a major weapon. Look for Kvitova and Sharapova to go deep into the draw, with the fearless hitting Kvitova a likely winner.
Our own newlywed Aisam Qureshi will be making a fresh start in doubles with a new partner. His former partner Rohan Bopanna clearly has the Olympics in his sights as he partners countryman Mahesh Bhupathi. It should be worthwhile for Aisam to consider partnering our own Aqeel Khan with an eye to qualifying for the Olympics. Aqeel is a talented player and has partnered Aisam to wins over several world ranked players. The two could compete with the very best on the tour. Having Aisam and Aqeel in the Olympics would be a big boost for Pakistan tennis.
