K Vijayaraghavan, known as Raja to his freinds, was born in a family of cricketers. His brothers- “Balaji” Srinivasan has played against Commonwealth Eleven that toured India under Frank Worrell and represented Karnataka {known as Mysore during his playing days} with distinction. K Sridhar has played for the then Mysore. His first cousin – G Kasturirangan is still a house hold name in Karnataka cricket circles.

He has penned an interesting article – Silly Point – for the visitors of crickick.com in which he shares two anecdotes pertaining to India-Sri Lanka one day series which was conlcuded recently. Read on …..

This is my debut to publish my opinions mainly on Cricket and incidentally on a few non allied subjects. The need for a proper title led me to one which has a close relation to the game namely – Silly point.

I researched a number of Cricket rule books and found no convincing explanation for some of the names of the fielding positions. For e.g. Slip, Gully and Silly point etc. Take Silly point. Let me offer a theory. It was silly for a fielder to agree to field at that position unless one had 360 degree vision to see if the bowler has commenced his run up, watch if the batsman is ready and look for the captain (could be fielding anywhere), has any last second suggestion {not last minute, but last second} and had superb anticipation and great agility to catch or avoid being hit. For the also played it was sheer luck to survive and for fielder it depended on the ball catching the hand {also known as BCH in cricket parlance – the ball just latching on to the hands unintentionally when one ducks for protection or tries to avoid the same}. My points of view would be analogous to BCH and would be silly .

If it inadvertently makes any sense please trust me it was not intended. Let me open my innings.

In Cricket all the main stake holders, the competing teams, local administrative body, the sponsors and the spectators have their axes to grind. Evolving Technology is being used to enhance the value for all the above. (The third umpire, hawk eyes etc), bats, balls and cricket equipment all have been upgraded by technology. So also the 22 yard Cricket pitch. It is expected that bowlers and batsmen have a win win set up.

Let us see what happens when one of them has an undue advantage. It happened in the recent India vs Sri Lanka ODI series.

The first one was in Cuttack where 800 runs were scored in a day to the very excitement of crowd and batsmen but at the expense of bowlers. Reputed bowlers were reduced to tears and driven to extreme despair. It was said that the wicket was a bowlers’ grave yard and a batsman’s paradise. An indeed a rare situation when one found a Grave yard and Paradise were at the same venue at the same time. This type of situation can wreck bowler’s careers and demoralize a few. The culprit was the pitch. The dice was loaded fanatically in favour of batsmen. It will take some counseling for some bowlers to agree to visit let alone bowl at Cuttack

Let me cite the second one also. This was the Kotla ground where the match had to be abandoned in a hurry .A lot has been said and written in the media. The pitch was the culprit again. The bowlers were now calling the shots so much so the batsmen were literally being grounded .This shouldn’t have been done to one of our friendlier neighbors and enthusiastic spectators .How and when will more than 25000 spectators get their refund? (remember Union Carbide tragedy at Bhopal)

Was there a solution for both the fiasco? Yes, there is one – based on Technology. A Bowling machine which is used in the practice and coaching sessions. The Bowling Machines are designed to recreate all the aspects of any bowling attack. From the bouncers and Yorkers of the speed bowlers to the subtle spin of the slow bowlers the machines can give you as many variations as one wants to suit all the aspects of the game, which includes the pitch.

In both instances the bowlers could have been replaced by the machines. In Cuttack a neutral umpire could have operated the unit providing the same type of deliveries to both the teams. The team which scored more could have been the winner. The bowler’s reputation and confidence would have stayed in tact . In fact the bowler could have been an extra fielder

In Kotla again the Machine in place of the bowlers could have been programmed to deliver less bouncy balls, there by not making the game dangerous for the batsmen. Spectators could have witnessed the complete game. The administrators could have kept the money instead of refunding. BCCI and DDCA had less to explain to ICC. Holding the world Cup 2011 at Kotla need not be debated (with a bowling machine as a standby). The batsmen need not wear armors next time

Why did not the organizers and curators opt for this silly solution ? Perhaps they must have thought that it is too silly to adapt to the technology.