BREAKING NEWS: Sir Richard Hadlee has just said that India deserved to be the number one test side. So, Ian O Brien is not the only New Zealander who reads this blog.
Yesterday, Ms Print wrote something about why India is not the absolute number one team in the world. I strongly recommend you read that one first before coming back here. Here is that post.
I somehow disagree as well as agree with Ms Print on this one.
I disagree because India is, among the current lot, the most deserving to be number one. We are playing the most consistent cricket.
And bear in mind that its a fan’s view, not a fanatic’s.
On the other hand, I agree because a comment on the same post by TifosiGuy led me to a bit of silent contemplation about the rankings system. Here is the said comment:
South Africa became #1 in the mid 2000’s after beating Bangladesh thanks to some quirky ICC calculations when all and sundry knew the rankings went : Australia, day light, night, and then the rest.
Never did anyone question it then ! So why this silly question now ?
@TifosiGuy When SA got the number one tag, it was because at that time they were playing great cricket and the Aussies were not playing that much away from home.
In my honest opinion, rankings are only plausible when all the stakeholders play consistently together, for example in tennis. In a game like cricket or hockey or international football, rankings should not be revised in real time. The rankings should be over the course of a full FTP cycle. What do YOU think? The comment’s section is all yours.
![]()
The simple answer to that incredibly complex question is no. Not at the moment. Maybe last year but not right now. I am a fan of some of India’s cricketers. I’m certainly a fan of their fans but I am not a fan of them being number one. Virender Sehwag’s chirp prior to their first Test against Bangladesh irked me slightly. As much as Bangladesh are like school boy team, stacked with talent but with absolutely zero temperament, it’s not nice to say that they can’t take 20 wickets. They can’t, we know, and in this dog eat dog type of cricketing world – some punches below the belt are okay but you wouldn’t punch your 16-year old child in the nuts.
There was a stage during India’s second innings where it looked like Sehwag was going to wait until India were nine down before declaring and then go: ” LOLOLOL!!!0one Told ya so, lol!”
But he didn’t. Because Bangladesh are shit at taking wickets and cashing in on momentum.
But, in all honesty – nobody deserves to be number one at the moment. There should be a gap at the top saying, come get me bitches. Like a really pretty lady in a tight dress flirting with a bunch of guys who she’s never going to give it to.
If number ones were judged on things that aren’t cricket related then West Indies would be number one. Why? Because they are damn entertaining, they are passionate and when they are not passionate they might be stoned and when they might be stoned they look like they couldn’t really give a shit about winning anything they just like lazing around on the green, green grass. They also have the super villain called Sulieman Benn. And they have Chris Gayle – the ninja. Kieron Pollard. Kemar Roach. Fidel Edwards. Lendl Simmons. On paper, not only do their names look cool but they look like fucking Titans.
![]()
Loading ...
