An ump to a vamp !

"From an umpire to vampire", that's how a fan tiptoeing across the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium during a Duleep Trophy match recently described Steve Bucknor.

Even as the Sydney fiasco has been buried to death, the man who was at the epicentre of all the drama still continues to be in the news; for all the wrong reasons off-course.

And taking a toll worldwide are the men who are into the same profession it seems !

Providing fillip to such thoughts is the West Zone versus Central Zone Duleep Trophy match.

Even as both teams boasted of many talented players in their ranks, there were a few good knocks too and a fiver-wicket haul, the handful of spectators present inside the stadium though seemed more busy pouring scorn on the two umpires officiating the match. More than the Kaifs, Munafs and Kartiks, it was the word Bucknor that reverberated across the stadium.

A rare case of umpires stealing the limelight from players. Thank you Mr. Bucknor.

Wrong' un

THE SELECTION of Charanjit Singh, the Punjab off spinner, to the Duleep Trophy, was indeed a wrong'un by the selectors. The spinner had just four wickets to his credit in the Ranji Trophy; and yet he was awarded a place in the North Zone squad. The reasoning for the selection, too, was equally baffling. "We don't have off spinners coming through, so we pushed him as he seemed to be the best on view," explained Bhupinder Singh (Sr), the national selector. Now, can someone ask the wise man if an off spinner is mandatory in the squad? If no, then why pick up someone who just didn't deserve to be there?

Practice and Perfect

Questions are often asked about the behaviour pitch if a team is out for a paltry score. "How is the pitch?" "Is the pitch so bad for batting?"

Not many accept that the batsmen did not apply themselves and play according to the merit of the ball. For example, South Zone were all out for 157 against North on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy in Ahmedabad. They were 84 for eight and it needed their bowlers R Vinay Kumar and D Kalyankrishna to put up a partnership, the former emerging joint top-scorer. Often, it has been the bowlers who have made the top-order batsmen eat humble pie under such circumstances with their batting skills. And these bowlers hardly get quality time in the nets. How often do we see bowlers taking just throw downs from half-pitch from one of the support staff? The bowlers should also be given good batting practice in the nets. And it is the responsibility of the coach to ensure that the 'tailenders' face good bowlers, not just the batsmen who indulge in slow bowling or tired net bowlers.

When the team is in a disaster, the bowlers could be mightily effective. And practice makes perfect, didn't someone say?!