Hitting Against the Spin - Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones

The authors are leading cricket thinkers who have researched and analysed the hidden workings and dynamics of International cricket. Nathan is the lead analyst with the England 1 day and T20 sides and a consultant with KKR while Ben Jones is an analyst with CricViz.

They both share why they got interested in metrics - childhood stories. They give two stories - one of a tethered cat and the other of the Chesterton fence. Tethered cats are those that we follow blindly like the monks disciples who bought a cat and tied it outside to replace a cat that was tired outside because it was making noise. Chestertons fence is the guy who breaks tradition and instead of walking around the fence goes through it one day and gets killed by a bull. The first about holding on mindlessly to old traditions, and the second is about breaking rules without thinking about the repercussions properly. 

To win a world cup they say one needs a strong back (to stand tall in adversity and labour hard) a soft front (be open and friendly and not be defensive) and a wild heart (to dream of things unimagined) - the keys to survive and be happy in life. The other factors the analysis found were - batting strength, winning record and experience in squad. In shorter formats as rules changed to two new balls, four men out instead of five, they needed three categories of batsmen who could open aggressively, rotate strike in middle, hit boundaries in the end. 

England, under their new selector Strauss and captain Eoin Morgan, adopted an openness to fail and bat aggressively, prepare for physical and emotional toil, get centred on HOW they decided to play - aggressively.  England came back strongly and won the World Cup.

The authors talk of playing ones natural game. When faced with big battalions they say it's better to innovate like the Lankans did with their opening pair, Murli,  Malinga, Mendis, choices to attack, bat second. Another innovation is the reverse sweep which is a high risk and high reward shot. To innovate one needs to accept a negative metric that other people are unwilling to accept. The idea is that the comparative advantage of being unorthodox increases as the proportion of orthodox players increases. 

In the chapter on fast bowling they conclude that the ideal length for a fast bowlers is the 6-8 metre length more than the pitching up length of 8-9 metres. The length that most economical and those with the best averages bowled - McGrath, Bhuvaneshwar, Philander and Abbas. 

There is a lot of discussion on why Indians don't have many left handers - something to do with pitches that favour spin versus those that favour pace. Something to do with the angle that right hand bowlers bowl. With the advent of neutral umpires, DRS, Hawkeye, many issues got sorted. I always thought it was something you were naturally - didn't think so much about pitches and stuff. 

Other interesting things are that toss didn't play any role in results. The thing about how the swing in the ball is an advantage to bowlers. That spin is only four degrees turn and the best players of spin score twice as fast and twice as safely when hitting against the spin - something Dravid endorsed. 

Come One days and T20s and the resources became limited - wickets and overs increasing the value of the wicket, of scoring rates. The importance of leg spin in T20s as they are unpredictable and in the hot zone, most dangerous. They actually combine the best aspects of fast bowlers and finger spinners - taking wickets and conceding fewer runs. 

And it ends with a nice quote from Brad Gilbert's book 'Winning Ugly' where he says 

- Give your opponent nothing

- What are his strengths? Weaknesses?

- How do I play my strengths to his weaknesses?

- Read no 1

With all their experience with Rajasthan Royals and Multan Sultans where they used a lot of analytics, they decided to captain the side from the outside. And then decided against it, wisely i would think. 

Very interesting book with a lot of insights. Thanks Krishna.

Thought for the Day - Reduce, Reduce, Reduce

'The wisdom of life is the removal of non-essentials.'

Remember reading something like this when I was in school. Makes so much sense now.

To look at my life and reduce, reduce, reduce. The non-essentials. 

It will really enrich life I feel.

Acts of Love - Yuvraj's Pics

While we were marvelling at the stunning vistas, our Man Friday Yuvraj decided to use his excellent camera work to take some nice pics. Way better than what we could imagine. 

Thanks Yuvraj ji. For the brilliant memories.

The Art of Batting - Jarrod Kimber

The tag line is 'The Craft of Crickets Greatest Run Scorers'. The author is the Melbourne writer, commentator and other of media network Good Areas.

He starts off with the grand old man of cricket Dr WG Grace and gives some insights into the good doctor's attitude to medicine - he practiced medicine only for two months in a year, thought pus was part of the healing process, thought infections were caused by bad air etc. Though he may not be the best doctor to visit, WG certainly introduced all the modern shots and also figured how to use the front and back foot when bowling went from underarm to overarm. He did set cricket off well with his innovations. 

There is a bit about the evolution of the game - pitches, bats shaped like hockey sticks for underarm bowling, pads, muck spreaders, wickets, the leg glance of Ranji, increase in size of ball and stumps, Hawkeye and DRS. Interesting stuff. 

So much of batting is about the eyes and he has a chapter on it. From the key element of watching the ball closely, there is a facility on how to train the eyes on where to look - Sheryl Calder has an institution that helps that. It's how when we lose focus we are not looking in the right places. Or how Indians got better at playing pace bowling because we got better throw down specialists and a crop of fast bowlers. The various changes from copy book styles of high front elbow - Chanderpaul, Steve Smith, Lara, Graeme Smith all had completely different styles. It finally boils down to handling that one delivery that needs to be conquered.

That fast bowling scares but spin embarasses. One has to watch closely 

 Dravids hovering foot advise to Pietersen (don't plant foot since you can't adjust)  - play spin without pads, watch the ball and trust yourself. Gavaskar would watch the release of the ball. And then a chapter on running - the art of getting to the other end, getting singles. Greenidge was never run out in 108 tests. Kohli ran 500 kms in runs as on Aug 23.

The way to attack - like attacking the weaker bowlers, to Richards developing leg side play because a neighbour in the off side would not return the ball, Gilchrists philosophy of 'just hit the ball' and each having his own philosophy about it. 

I liked the one on when batsmen peak - apparently the really good ones peak between 28-32. A typical batter peaks at 20 while really good batters peak in their late 20s and decline at a slow rate. While the 20s benefit from athleticism the late 20s have the benefit of technical knowledge by then. Interestingly spin offers the same degree of difficulty for both. 

He analyses players like Simpson who made his debut in his 20s, scored his first hundred by 28 and played his final test at 41. While discussing the art of batting, style vs substance, he finally concludes that in the end the currency is runs. 

An interesting look at motivation - those motivated by records, by sheer pleasure of playing, by the challenge, by purpose of team. Interestingly he analyses how the top individual score in Tests went from 165 in 1877, 211 in 1884, 287 in 1903, 325 in , 334 in 1930, 336 in 1933, 364 in 1938, 365 in 1958, 377 in 1994, 380 in 2003 and 400 under a year later. 377 and 400 belong to Lara. 380 to Hayden, so Lara just took it back. 

I also liked what Sagakarra said - started putting more value on runs scored and being effective and understanding how to change that up in the innings. Don't try to protect the reputation or legacy or kind of career. 

Interesting tactics by players include George Headley hitting the ball hard back at the bowler to injure his bowling hand, Miandad never standing in one place and unsettling the bowler, Kohli mentally second guessing the bowler by reading his body language, Sachin not playing a cover drive in 436 balls, digging up wickets to practice playing Warne, Lara perfecting his placement because of a game he and his bother played with a stick and a golf ball where they needed to find gaps for runs and so on and on. 

I also liked how the author asked himself in his worst times - what does Gilly do in a similar situation? Gilly normally would go for it. 

Interesting book. Thanks Satish. Too much stats which i breezed through, enjoyed reading all the examples he gave of spectacular innings and hope to see then. But the number of times he says something was weird or confusing is amusing - with so much analysis it will get both weird and confusing I'd think.

The Rajkot Diaries - Road to Heaven

Road to Heaven - so named because the road seems to merge with the sky and the sea is located in the Great Rann of Kutch area and is a 30 kms strip of road connecting Khavda to Dholavira.

On either side is water - thanks to some recent rains - else it's salt marshes. Some pics.

A little further and we found flamingoes and cranes and other birds. It's crazy how many pictures I took - just so beautiful. More later

Most Memorable Walks

While walking along the Road to Heaven near Dholavira the other day I couldn't help thinking that it was one of the most memorable walks in my life. That got me thinking of all the walks that I had with people that were memorable.

Walking with Dad - He was big into walking. As a seven year old kid I would tag along behind him, he ahead, me behind. (I don't think he liked the idea of me tagging along but I liked it). He would buy me something on the walk though he wasn't much into talking. Once I crossed in a hurry and a cycle banged into me and he asked if I was OK gruffly. Dads!

Walking home at Hanamkonda - I was all of 11 when me and my brother were to be escorted to Hanamkonda from Hyderabad by our Man Friday Ahmed. Ram did not like the idea of a general compartment travel and wanted to go back. I wanted to go forward. So I assumed leadership, sent off Ahmed and Ram back home and headed to Hanamkonda to play with my nephew Ajay. 

I got off the Golconda Express at 9 pm at Kazipet, caught an RTC bus to Hanamkonda, walked in the pitch dark towards home worried about dogs, and somehow made it. My mom almost fainted when she saw me standing there. The last part of the walk in the dark is what's memorable apart from the story.

Walk with Mohan - This must have been around the same time, 11 years old. Ever the adventurer Mohan got his dog Jackie and the three of us aped some Enid Blyton characters as we walked into the overgrown TB Hopital estate. We roamed around for an hour and had to retreat when the local strays started to go after Jackie.

Walk to Parameshwari - Walked from school to Parameshwari theatre to watch 'Jaws' with the entire cricket team of All Saints HS - a reward for beating HPS Begumpet. Conversations with Ifti who asked me what a Commerical bank was (I told him it was Commercial and we laughed out guts out, still do)

Walk home from Sheesh Mahal on Maha Shiva Ratri -  We were probably in our tenth or ninth class when we decided to watch the late late night show on Maha Sivaratri (ended at 2 am). Choudary and I  walked back home from Ameerpet. Freedom!

Walk home from school after Farewell Party - Farewell party at All Saints and five of us - Choudary, Chandu, Suresh and Desai walked all the way back home from Abids. Crazy. But again, being done with school made us feel all adult and grown up. 

Walk on Ramakrishna beach - Osmania University cricket team split into two in 1984. One faction of the XI (the Righteous one) walking one evening on the Ramakrishna Beach road in one line to get dinner. Ehtesham, Suresh, Chakker, Chatterji, Subbu, DTS, Me. Couple more I cannot place. Movie like scene. Superb vibe.

Walk at Nagarjuna Sagar - On a college trip to Nagarjuna Sagar with the Electrical Engineering gang in our first year (I was in Electrical then and these chaps were in Civil). Subbu got a cassette player and played Beatles 'Paperback Writer' etc as we walked in the setting sun. Unforgettable.

Beach walks with Kartik - 1991. Osmania University wins final. Everyday young Kartik (who I would call Kiddo) would join me for a walk to the beach. Our chats helped clear my mind as I bowled well enough for Osmania to win the finals - and ended as highest wicket taker with 12 wickets.

Walk in the rain with Sanjay - 1989.  It's pouring cats and dogs for a couple of days, and Sanjay and I decided to walk in the rain to Sitara for chai. Grabbed an umbrella, rolled out pants up in the knee deep water, walked and sang our way to Sitara which was empty. After chai we walked all the way to Vardha's house in that crazy rain.

Goa - 1998. One crazy road trip with Choudary, Ranjan and Vardha to Goa. A long walk by ourselves during the day followed by a tipsy walk at night on the beach, trying to jump across a puddle, singing Lucky Ali aloud. And then we drove all the way to Bangalore to meet my editor.

Night walk at Mahabaleshwar - Sanjay stopped the car in the middle of nowhere and we saw this brilliant sky with stars. So many of them.

Sinhagad - 2010. Doubts about my fitness, health, were overcome with this one challenge - climbing Sinhagad after recovering from my illness. Parth was with me and I have a pic. Heaven. Must do it again! 

Pune Walks - Walks in Pune with Milind, Satish, Parth, climbing Karve Nagar, Vetal tekdi, Law College road hills. With Pooja exploring Pune. Going to Durga with Anjali. Brilliant.

Cherai Walk - Post Pandemic finding myself, me and Tanhai, long 10 km walks on the lonely, lovely Cherai beach every morning and evening. Reminded me of the Wills ads which I loved. Unforgettable.

Walk back after winning against Mumbai in Jaipur - Hyderabad beat Mumbai in the SMAT match at Jaipur, a most satisfying win. NP Singh and I just walked for 3 kms soaking in the feeling, not saying a word. One of the best walks in my life.

10 k walk Hussain Sagar - Sunnie and Kiran joined me on this 10k walk around Hussain Sagar last year. Loved it. 

Long rambling walks with Sunnie - A whole bunch of walks with Sunnie earlier this year exploring the city by walk, chatting, discussing. Lovely. 

Road to Heaven - Walking on the Road to Heaven as the sun set with NP Singh. And at night watching stars. And next morning watching the sun rise. Amazing.

I'm sure there are more. I'll add as I remember.

The Rajkot Diaries - Dholavira

Since we drove from the Bhuj side we had to navigate really bad and narrow roads on the way to Khavda from where we turn right to Dholavira. Somewhere there one can turn left and you find the White Rann which we didn't have the time for. We turned right and headed towards Juna, where our resort stands on the edge of the Road to Heaven.

Water reservoirs

Bathing place 

We checked in and found a million visitors to the Road to Heaven in all kinds of cars etc. They somehow checked us into the tent which looked quite nice and then we decided to avoid the crowd and head to Dholavira.

More reservoirs

But to go to Dholavira we have to go past the 30 kms Road to Heaven and couldn't but stop on the way. Either side was water (they said it was rain water which is a few inches deep over the salt marshes) and the road just went right through. Cars stopped at every possible place, pictures, shoots, selfies, bikers, you name it. We took in the sight and headed straight to Dholavira.

Granaries

 Dholavira appears to be on an island. It's a major archeological site of the Indus Valley Civilisation located at Khadirbet in Bachau taluk. The ruins of the 5000 year old city are now a UNESCO World Heritage site and its the most prominent site in India. The ruins were discovered by one local named Gadvi in 1960 and later officially discovered by ASI in 1967-68. A megalith site, it has been under excavation since 1990.

Dholavira (named after a nearby village) is a qiandrangular city located between two streams and is considered to have been inhabited from 3500 BCE to 1800 BCE. Spread over 22 ha  and of rectangular shape it shows a geometrical plan with a citadel, a middle and lower town, defence work, gateways, well, resorvoirs etc.

Residential area

The castle has ramparts, there is a place where officials lived called bailey. It is made of stone. 

The place has reservoirs, a harvesting system, advanced hydraulic engineering all made of stone. There are bathing tanks, fresh water tanks. Evidence of seal making etc can be found. 

Well laid out in stone

We walked around and clicked a few pics. Headed back because we were famished

 Found a small restaurant who served us fresh meals. And then we headed back to the resort and the Road to Heaven at sunset.

The Rajkot Diaries - Bhuj

Planned to visit Dholavira which is a Harappan site - and even more for the Road to Heaven experience which somehow got stuck in my mind ever since  saw a picture or a video of it.

Smritivan - Earthquake museum

Dholavira is 260 plus kms from Rajkot and google maps showed 5 and a half hours. Our cab owner, the highly efficient and likeable, Yuvrajsinh felt we could do Bhuj and go. Just turned out that the road was so bad and narrow that it took us seven and a half hours. 

Entrance to the Smritivan museum

Bhuj is the Head Quarters of Kutch district, and an earthquake prone areas, which suffered massive earthquakes in 1829, 1956 and 2001 that killed thousands. The seven gallery museum called Smritivan Earthquake Memorial which showcases the earthquake and it's aftermath, how it was rebuilt etc is a major attraction. We went there but were told there was a two hour waiting list and that the tour would take two hours by itself. 

Checkdam, can see names of the victims of the Bhuj earthquake on the panel behind

Smritivan museum in the foreground

So we just walked about, took some pics and saw one check dam. They have put the names of all those who died in this disaster in each of these check dams. A thoughtful way to remember them.

There was a lovely fort on top of the hill and its called Fort Bhujia, apparently built by Rajput Parmar kings of the area. The city is founded by Rao Hamirji Jadeja in the 1500s and remained a princely state. It saw battles between the Rajput kings and the Sultans of Gujarat and the Mughals until they finally accepted the British sovereignty. There is also a legend about Nagas protecting the area, and there is a temple in the fort where Bhujanga the snake god is worshipped. We didn't go up to the fort though it looked inviting. 

Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and the Bhujia Fort in the backdrop

Out on the road waiting for Yuvraj who had gone to fill gas, we saw a couple of statues, one Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and another one of a Raja.

Bhujia Fort on the hill 

Interestingly the Rani Jhansi Lakshmi statue has a plaque that prominently mentions Smriti Irani as the one who inaugurated it - made me double check if it was Smriti Iranis statue. Some other interesting sights i would have loved to look at are the Prag Mahal, Aina Mahal, Kutch museum but didn't have the time.

Ate a Dabeli for 20 bucks which is a local snack apparently. Worked well.

Thought for the Day - What Does my Spirit Want

All my life I have thought of others and what they want and adjusted my life around that. These days I catch myself asking myself - what do you want? 

What does my spirit want? What does my soul want? What do I really want? Many times the answer is clear but i choose to ignore it to make others feel good. 

I would like to ask this question of myself more often - what does my spirit want - and follow it. It might keep me happier, more in control and more aligned with my inner self.

Acts of Love - Love is Playing Together

Suddenly an overdose of love - perhaps the season, the vibe, the reflective warm mood. Some of my best memories are from December, Christmas time. 

Today while at the Race Course in Rajkot, Chatterjee and i sat down for a bit to rest. A middle aged couple came and started playing badminton by themselves. I found that very endearing, their commitment to each other, doing things they both enjoy, perhaps stuff they did in their youth. Something about having played games together as youngsters gives another dimension to relationships i feel. 

Loved it. Wishing them many years of fun, health and playful times.

The Rajkot Diaries - Random Sights

Back in Rajkot after a year. Since we have explored so much of it last year decided to chill off this year. So just a few walks to the Race Course or a visit to Grand Thakkar for the Kathiawadi meals. 

Here are some random sights, I clicked. 

Blue mosque

An old mansion in dilapidated state

A pergola in the Race Course garden

Railway bridge of some vintage

A statue of a lion on the side of the bridge - can't make out what is written on the plaque though

Acts of Love - Caring for Oneself

While looking at acts of Love in our life we normally look at the acts of Love between people. What one must not forget is that caring for one self is also an act of love. Perhaps the best. 

So to keep the mind clear, to prioritise oneself over others, to pamper oneself, to really love oneself, to enjoy the time with oneself, just listening to what's deep inside, listening to one's rhythm and going with it instead of always trying to please others is an act of love.

Do what you love. Love yourself. It's the best act of love.

Acts of Love - Grandfather and Grandson

While traveling by an auto this morning I noticed a picture of a little kid on the front windshield. Definitely a reminder to the auto driver of someone he loved so much that he wanted to look at his face often. It will surely make his day go easier, bring a smile to his face when he needs it.

It reminded me of a campaign that APSRTC had apparently conducted to reduce rash driving by drivers - they put photos of their families in front of the steering so the drivers are reminded that there are loved ones waiting for them. Apparently it reduced the number of accidents drastically. 

I asked the driver whose picture it was. He said it was a picture of his grandson, his daughter's son (meri beti ka beta hai). I have not seen many grandfathers put up their grandkids pics like this (though every grandparent dotes on their grandchildren). Obviously a very special connection. 

An act of love for sure.

Acts of Love - Old Man and Little Girl

I really don't have a story to say - just the sight of this cute old shop run by this ancient man and this little girl standing in front of him buying some stuff made me feel that it had to be an act of love. 

Little girl near quaint shop

Certainly the old man is living in his little shop which is next to several glitzy bakeries - he sells home made fafdaa and jalebi, packs it in paper and gives it. He manages the store by himself.

And this little girl probably came to buy some fafdaa or jalebi. Something in the way she stands, in the way the old man is going about his work makes me feel warm. Makes me feel the existence of love.

It's a very nice feeling. A feeling that I associate with winters, with Christmas and New Year times, with cold mornings and bonfires. All the nice things.

Thought for the Day - To Increase Your Receptivity, Practice Gratitude

What we get in life is because of how willing are we to receive it. The key then is to improve our ability to receive.

Pic Satish N

How does one improve the ability to receive? How does one make the ground fertile to receive? 

The key is to pratice gratitude. When you are grateful for what you have, you are removing all blocks to receiving. You are willing to receive more.

Practice gratitude. You'll open your channel to receive.

Thought for the Day - Love, Commitment are Acts

 I remember this lovely line - there is no love - 'there are only proofs of love!' Love is not saying 'I love you' - it is showing it through giving proofs of love or acts of love (of course everybody has different ideas of what an act of love is or what is proof of love!) 

Similarly the word commitment also comes up - that a person cannot commit. To commit is to say 'I am committed' is the popular idea. I would also like to put it along with the first definition 'there is no commitment - there are proofs of commitment'. 

Look for those!

Covenant of Water - Abraham Verghese

Abraham Verghese is a physician and an author. I remember reading about this book and filed it away in my mind, hoping to read it. Finally got it and read all 700 plus pages of it.

The books spans three generations of a Christian Malayali family that is cursed with what they call a 'Condition'. The members of the family die by drowning in each generation and they feel it is a curse and do not talk of it. In fact they avoid water which is the best way to connect in the place where they live in Kerala and take all kinds of trouble to keep away - but still the condition finds it way. They have a family tree with a symbol for those who died by drowning.

The story begins with a 12 year old Mariamma marrying a 40 year old widower who needs a mother for his son. They somehow find ways to make love and produce a baby girl also and all seems well until the son dies by drowning. They have another boy together. So happens that when the widower dies Mariamma gets to run the property well and she does - its a 500 acre land she has to look after with help from a loyal servant.

Story shifts to Scotland where a young doctor finds the campus politics stifling and comes to Madras where he gets into an affair with his boss's wife. She dies in a fire and he burns his hands (literally) trying to save her. It means he cannot do surgery. Only when he meets another famous doctor who tries to rehabilitate him does  he recover a bit. he also starts working in the leprosy hospital where the other doctor is working. He has an affair with another girl who comes to teach him to draw as part of his rehab (I think she is married then or she carries his child into her marriage). Obviously this guy is not to be trusted with married women.

The girl who teaches drawing to the Scottish doctor marries (or is married) to the son of Mariamma - he is a writer and she an artist. Their son Nina dies But their daughter (little Mariamma) lives on and becomes a doctor. No one notices that she has some Scottish blood in her for some reason and one day her mother disappears and is given up for dead. Turns out that little Dr Mariamma finds out that the 'Condition' is actually a medical condition and no curse. Also that her mother did not die but had contracted leprosy and had therefore left home and gone to the one man who is working in a leprosarium - the father of her child.

All's well and that ends well.

Too long. Somewhere I realised that this condition will have some medical consequences and finally did not stop to  understand why the water angle came. But that's ok, they are dying and that's enough. All else happens. No character moved me, no relationship had great emotion. Digby seems dubious. Anyway, done! Thanks mate for the gift.   

Cultural History of Holkar State - Dr. Ganesh Matkar

Dr. Ganesh Matkar is considered a living encyclopedia on Holkar's history. He is a multi faceted personality who has been a Professor, an actor, a playwright and director and an author. The book is published by Ahilyabai Holkar Smarak Samiti. Pooja got this book at the Pune Book Festival recently and gave it to me to browse and I found some interesting snippets in it.

The Holkar dynasty ruled over Indore and further North from 1728-1948. It was known as the Dhangar (shepherd) dynasty. The roots of the Holkar dynasty begin with Subedar Malharrao Holkar whose ancestors came to Maharashtra from Mathura. Malharrao's father was a Veerkar and they changed their name to Holkar because they lived in a village named 'Hol' near Pune. As a young man Malharrao looked after the goats and sheep of his uncle who was in the army, learned horse riding and eventually joined the army where he showed great military prowess. Malharrao shone during the defeat of Nizam Ul Mulk of Hyderabad at Tirla.

After this sensational victory he was made Subedar of Malwa by Peshwa Bajirao I where he developed Indore as his Head Quarters. The Delhi Emperor, pleased with Bajirao and Malhar for wiping out the Nizam's gifted Malwa to them. Malharrao looked after Rampura, Bhanpura, Tak from the Jaipur king and got a promise of lands from the Nawab of Ayodhya. An able administrator Malharrao purchased Chandwad from the Mughals in 1752 AD and developed a military base and trade centre. In 1766 he died in Alampur.

Malharrao's son Khande Rao predeceased him as he was killed in battle in 1954 leaving behind his widow Ahilyabai Holkar. Ahilyabai wanted to commit Sati but was stopped by her father in law who asked her to take his son's place. He trained her to rule. In the same year Ahilyabai lost her father in law, mother in law and son and was given the responsibility of handling the Holkar state. She shifted the capital from Indore to Maheshwar and successfully ruled the kingdom for 30 golden years. Ahilyabai ruled the state in Lord Shiva's name, patronised arts and culture and made the land prosperous and harmonious. Ahilyabai was so famous that they say she was known in other countires.

The next famous ruler was Tukoji Rao I who ruled from 1795 to 1997 AD and then Yeshwantrao Holkar who fought the British, raised his own army, manufactured cannons. He built a Chhatri for Ahilyabai Holkar at Maheshwar. During 1811-33 period Malharrao II ruled the state - as he was a minor his mother Tulsabai ruled. She was an able administrator who was unfortunately killed when the outlaws of Pendhari revolved against her. The Holkar state had to make concessions to the British who built a Military Head Quarters of War (MHOW) 20 kms from Indore. In 1844 Tukoji Rai II came to power and  built the new Indore. In 1886 Shivajirao Holkar built Lalbaug Palace, Hawa bungalow, Sukhnivas Palace, Yeshwant Nivas Palace, Darya Mahal etc.     

The Holkars were considered an extension of Maratha rule. Their family deity was Khandoba. The Peshwas of Pune gave khasgi privileges to Holkars and not to other commanders like Shinde, Bhonsale, Gaekwad, Jadhav etc. The Maratha rule across India was controlled through the Holkars (central India), Bhonsales of Nagpur (East), Shinde and Pawar to the North, Patwardhans to the South and Sardar Angre to the West. 14 rulers ruled Holkar during the period 1788-1948. 

During Ahilyabai's time they say there was no rest for the chisel as she constructed many temples, forts (Maheshwar, Chandwad, Sindhwa), did work on all Jyotirlingas (Somnath, Srisailam, Omkareshwar, Vaijnath, Nagnath, Vishwanath, Trimbakeshwar, Ghrineshwar, Gokarna, Mahakaleshwar, Rameshwaram, Bheemashankar).   

Interesting tidbits. Thanks Pooja.

Handbook and Guidelines for New Curators - HCA

This is a wonderful effort by the HCA curator Chandu and his team. It helps understand how wickets are prepared and what are all the elements that go into making wickets. 

To start with, to prepare wickets in new grounds or practice wickets, one should should first assess the ground for levels by a survey. Wickets should be oriented North- South with a maximum of 5% deviation.

What Is a Good Pitch

A good pitch is an even and hard surface having good grass coverage with consistent bounce and progressive wear and tear - result oriented.

T20 pitches - need to prepare 6 days prior, should offer a fair chance of chase for the team batting second, more favourable to batsmen. Can have 2-4 mm size of grass.

1 Day pitches - Start prep almost 6 days prior, see that conditions are almost the same for the duration of the match (no excessive grass cover or moisture at start of match), not provide excessive seam movement or excessive spin, even bounce, batsmen and bowlers have equal opportunity.

4-5 day Matches - start preparing 6-8 days before. Grass kept at 4-6 mm. 
Day 1 - Some moisture, consistent grass cover, pitch should ease out in the afternoon, no variable bounce or excessive spin or seam movement.

Day 2 - encourage stroke play, no variable bounce.
Dy 3 - good for batting, show signs of gradual wear, bounce becomes variable with wear and tear, some purchase for spinners
Dy 4 - still conducive for batting, due to deterioration of pitch, assistance to spinners
Day 5 - deterioration of pitch, continuous wear and tear, spinners get assistance, variable bounce

Don't play on new pitches. Some matches should be played on new pitches and rested for a few days.   

Key Points for Ground Maintenance
A minimum of 65-90 yards from the centre of the wicket, a slope of 1:100 from centre of wicket
Good irrigation system for continuous maintenance of ground and pitch
Good drainage system to drain water
Practice areas
Zero cutter and outfield mower, mechanised and manual roller, brush cutter, super sopper, grass cutter
Pitch cover 4.75 ft X 100/120 ft silpaulin 200 gsm (before covering we use dharis of carpets)
Stumps and ball gauge
Boundary rope with flags
Sight screen 18ft X 45 ft
Score board, cameras provision, rooms for match referee, umpires, video analyst, scorer
Pavilion with dressing rooms, toilets, chairs for players

Preparation of Pitches 

Soil
Black soil - should have high clay content 55-65% with a ph of 6-7 (above 8 indicates presence of sodium), should have good hydraulic conductivity, should swell and shrink well, have cracks to allow water and air to penetrate deep and regenerate, should retain moisture and encourage grass recovery
Red Soil - clay content of 20-25%. As it is low in clay content it does not swell/shrink, cannot regenerate, has poor aeration, has to be manually aerated to allow air and water to enter, cannot retain water as it contains sandy soil. As grass recovery is poor, wicket recovery time takes long. 

Wickets should not be rolled in dry condition.

Grass
In wickets only 30-40 mm of the top soil is dried by expiration, removal of balance water depends on transpiration by grass. Good and consistent grass cover is essential for quality picthes. This will ensure that 100 mm of soil profile is dried to achieve uniformly dry, hard surface.

Bermuda grass is the most favoured grass for cricket pitches. Stolons should not be thick as it affects ball behavior. Not more than 1/3 of the grass should be mown at one time.

Mixed soil wickets of red and black and red spoil wickets are doig gwell for T20 and one day matches. Black soil is good for the longer version of the game (because black soil has a character which can bulge and shrink and becomes harder as it dries which is good for multi day matches.

Because of less fertility and water retention capacity the grass survives for a longer period in black soil. In red soil due to less content of clay and more content of sand, less fertility and pitch dries faster and bounces more. 

Red and soil mix is now being used.

Wicket Preparation    

Pitches are two and three layer pitches. Earlier people would did 8-9 feet depth using bricks and charcoal for making wickets. 

2-layer pitches
Now 12-13 inch depth - bottom 3-4 inches (100 mm) in two layered wicket with fine medium sand, 7- 8 inches (200 mm) above with good cracking clay soil or red and black mixed 50% each.    

3-layer pitches
In 3-layer wickets we dig 12 inches - 100 mm of coarse washed sand at bottom, 100 mm of loamy sand in the middle and 200 mm of clay soil/red and black mix. The intermediate layer of loamy sand is a mix of fine sand and 10% clay (retains water and serves as a reservoir of water for grass roots)

Compaction
Use 1.5 ton/2/ton/4 ton roller on the surface of the wicket, max compaction will be up to 4 inch only. After every 2 inch layer it has to be compacted by using compactor or a roller and levels have to be maintained.

Grass planting
Grass can be planted using basal fertilisers and planted by doubling closure space. It takes almost 30-35 days to have good coverage and growth of grass on the pitches. After uniform growth of grass on the pitch, cut grass upto 8 mm and see the watering to percolate up to 150 mm/6 inches into the pitch

Use light roller first followed by 500 kg - roll straight first and then diagonal to compact surface evenly 20-30 minutes in early hours and late in the evening.
After 1-2 days, heavy roller using 4-5 passes per session, brush and cut grass at 5 mm, light watering to be done before rolling again, water after every spell of rolling

Checks

Take up rolling in cooling hours, avoid use of cut grass, rolling spells should be 20-30 min
after every spell of rolling see the water level and monitor moisture levels (to retain moisture use carpets or Hessians)
Spike instrument should be used for the depth of the moisture in the pitch. When spike is pushed it should be able to penetrate easily to depth of 4inches.

For every match coring has to be taken up to measure the level of moisture, grass roots and soil density

 

Rolling patterns

Rolling is done as Cross rolling (light roller 2 times), diagonal rolling (follow cross rolling by diagonal rolling), straight rolling is the main process in preparing a wicket. While straight rolling the surface of the pitch should not be too wet or too dry. Before rolling there must be some moisture on the surface. 

Measuring Bounce

Check bounce by throwing up the ball 16-18ft high. If bounce is less than 15 inch very slow, 15-20 inch - slow, 20-25 inch is good, 25-30 inch is fast and 30-35 inch is very fast.

...

It's a slim book of about 15-20 pages. A very honest effort went into making it. It has a wealth of information for all cricketers and not just curators - captains especially - to understand how wickets behave. I feel HCA should have workshops for all cricketers, captains based on the book and that each captain at every age group should be given a copy of this book. Good job Chandu! 

Police in Blunderland - Bibhuti Dash

This is a fun and informative read, written by retired IPS Officer Bibhuti Dash. It gives a peek into the world of cops in India - an area that most of us are curious to know about. The book is also a refreshing change from books normally written by beaurocrats which have a serious tone and an I-know-all attitude. Bibhuti Dash stays grounded, pokes fun at himself, is honest and forthcoming and says it like it is. Bibhuti is an alumnus of Hindu College, Delhi University, IIM, Bangalore, Harvard University and holds a Ph.D from IIT, Delhi (pretty much checked off all great institutions). He is also a recipient of the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service, Police Medal for Meritorious Service, UN Peace Medals and DG's Commendations. 

The book has abut 40 pieces, all of a nice readable length, all of them with tongue-in-cheek humour, and all of them providing an insight into the life of a policeman in India. The first article set the tone where he protests against Shashi Tharoor writing a book titled 'Why I am a Hindu'. Dash reminiscinces his days at Hindu College and says he is more qualified to be a Hindu than a Stephanian like Tharoor. He dives into one of the high profile cases he solved - the Purulia arms drop case where the main suspects were apprehended thanks Dash's investigative work. He writes about incidents with loyal but corrupt subordinates, egoistic officers who would not see eye to eye with peers, families of officers who would collect bribes, meeting celebrity cricketers (Ravi Shastri for instance who came to collect his Audi in 1985) when Dash was the officer concerned, Union troubles, handling sensitive areas and mobs in Calcutta, quirky peers who would not spend any money, his carrying a resignation letter in his pocket so to speak,finding his name in the list of officers to whom the bribes are distributed when he actually never demanded or got one (it's a smooth well oiled system), of politicians and their sons, high-profile Ponzi or chit fund scheme fraudsters, and so much more.

Dash has a funny bone that keeps the reading light even though some of the subjects are heavy and sensitive. I always feel that people who have a sense of humour are also people who are compassionate and I could see how he does not judge harshly many of those who worked with him who chose the wrong ways. He merely laughs about it and gets along. 

The book is actually a collection of blogs from his site https://b-b-dash.blogspot.com (domain title 'Whatever it is, I am against it'). I think I will now check his blog out to read more stories. Thanks Raja for gifting me this book and thanks Dash for writing it. Very enjoyable!