Cricket trivia

Was kinda jobless when I got enthu to do some queries on Statsguru at Cricinfo and I have come up with the following interesting facts -
1. How many of VVS Laxman's 48 test match scores of 50 or above (35 fifties and 13 hundreds) as on 30th Oct 2008 contain a sixer?
None! His highest score that contains a six is 44
2. Sticking to VVS - How many of his top 4 scores in Test cricket have come against Australia?
All four! and 5 of his top 6 scores are also against the Aussies.
3. From 2001, How many boxing day test match hundreds has Mathew Hayden scored?
Six! The only year he missed out was 2004, when his top score in the test against Pak was 56. He averages 102.4 in the MCG from 2001.
4. Hayden has scored 17 of his 30 hundreds to date in just 4 grounds.
MCG - 6, SCG, Gabba - 4, Adelaide - 3. This I consider as quite staggering. And in Australian venues - he has 100s in all venues but Darwin.
5. A strange coincidence is that Ponting too has scored 17 of his 36 test hundreds in the same 4 grounds :P (Adelaide, SCG - 5, Gabba - 4, MCG - 3). No wonder they are so strong at home.
6. Sticking to Ponting - 24 of his 36 hundreds have been scored in 4 calendar years (year wise split 2002-5, 2003-6, 2005-6, 2006-7). Quite amazing runs of form in those years.
7. When a similar analyis was performed for Hayden, it was found that he too has scored 21 of his 30 hundreds in 4 calendar years. But what is really striking is the fact that, Hayden and Ponting together have scored 11 hundreds in each of 2002, 2003, 2005 (2002 - Hayden 6, Ponting 5; 2003 - Hayden 5, Ponting 6; 2005 - Hayden 5, Ponting 6). This was and still is truly a pair of devastating batsmen, much like McGrath and Warne.

Will post more as I find interesting stuff...

Staying up till 3 am listening to music...

... is an extremely high pleasure exercise. I must make it a point to create musical late nights on a regular basis. It used to be the lifeline of my IIMB existence and to a certain extent even last year after I started working. What joy! Bliss max!!! Anyway - late realization indeed, but point noted.

Penmaane Sangeetham paadavaa

What a song. Outstanding bass guitars. Excellent support to what is a flowing, wonderful and happy song. Perfect for those in a mood to appreciate the emotion. Excellent strings in the BGM and the typical 80s Ilayaraja humming sections. Unobtrusive and free flowing singing by S Janaki and SPB adds to the effect. Happiness all round on listening to the song.
See if you guys can download it, in case you haven't listened to it enough. Thanks to Radio City, in its new avtar claiming "Namma city, Namma radio". Indeed.

"Bad"-ting woes

Looks like my batting skills (if ever I had them) are on the run downhill...
0(1) - caught at cover thanks to a woeful miscue .
1(4) - bowled attempting a swipe across the line.
5(7) - caught behind in what is my only regret-less dismissal.

These have been my returns in my last 3 innings in tennis ball cricket. Whatever happened to the run machine that I was a few years back. Hmmmm....

Random observation

Busy work days are stressful, at all times. But free work days are stressful too, if they are timed badly. No new insight in this. Yet, blogworthy. So I think. Here comes a long weekend I don't really welcome. K to it.

Random thoughts

1. I had blogged 4 years back about Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's achievements (It was a young Harish blogging his opinions away then. Can't imagine such an entry now). I really don't use the blog for covering my opinions on current affairs anymore, but still, PRIDE ARE THERE in Bindra's achievements. For posterity's sake here goes a tribute to Abhinav Bindra for his awesome achievement.
2. Atthini Chitthini (Tenali) is a great song. Completely out of the world and unique. The guitars in the start rock. Memories of those times where Girish and me used to listen to it came back. Good stuff.
3. Super singer on Vijay TV Monday- Wednesday evenings 9 pm - Watch it. Great timepass and some seriously good songs get thrown back into my consciousness.
4. Jaane Tu - is good fun, but one should watch it with the right company to enjoy it better :), as the rest of the crowd in INox demonstrated.
5. Badrinath is in the Indian team. Finally. Good luck to him.

List of movies to watch - Poi Solla Porom (Khosla ka Ghosla's remake which incidentally will also do just fine, I haven't watched it either), Aamir, Azhagiya Theeye, VaaraNam Aayiram.

Blog

This blog has served its purpose. Now I realize. Good.