On 4th Mar 2018 I had posted on this batsman .. .. about the injury sustained by Victorian batsman Will Pucovski in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales after being hit on the head by a delivery from a fast bowler, who too has made headlines.Pucovski had to be helped from the field after he was felled by a bouncer on day two of the match at the Junction Oval. The 20-year-old ducked into a short ball from Sean Abbott and was struck on the side of the helmet, before kneeling on the ground. The bowler and other NSW players quickly went to his aid and signalled to the dressing room for help. Pucovski walked off the oval with assistance a few minutes later, retiring hurt on 4. In the game of Cricket, the decision to bat or bowl is decided by ‘coin toss’.Though there are many other versions for deciding the first option in other games, in Cricket, the coin is tossed and goes up on air, falls on its sides – the Match Referee checks to see whether the caller is right ? It could be any coin (specially minted gold coin in IPL) – coin with two sides ‘a Head and a Tail’ – ‘Heads you win – tails you lose’ !!- generally it is the standard coin of the host country; tossed by the Host Captain, called by the Visiting Captain. Before you proceed further, do you find anything odd with this toss photo ? [the match referee is Javagal Srinath !]
When
a coin is tossed up, there are only two possible outcomes – it can be Head or a
Tail [crooked possibility of coin standing up removed]- the possibility of somebody determining the
outcome, scientifically, isnot probable
– yet when it occurs in sequence by chance, some Captains are touted as
intelligent when calling them ‘lucky’ would have been more appropriate.This
is no post on ‘probability theory’ -probabilities are written as
numbers between zero and one. To understand ‘Probability theory’ – the primary
thing is that they do not tell you what would happen – merely what is likely to
happen.So if the probability is say 4
out of 10 and you toss a coin 20 times, still you may not get even once right
!! – might startle you but that is real.If you flip a coin 200 times and get 80 heads, then the estimate should
be 80/200 = 0.4.
Neither
the Captain Tim Paine not Aussie strategists could explain this any time – the abysmal record of ‘temporary Captain’ at the coin toss as Australian Test captain.When he walked out on Friday, he had a
poorwinning percentage of 12.5 per cent — the
lowest of 173 players to captain their country in eight or more Tests.Paine’s
only win at a toss in eight Tests as skipper came in Perth against India where
he had no hesitation in batting first after ViratKohli called incorrectly.But at Canberra.. .. after having lost seven out of eight
coin tosses since becoming Australia's Test captain, Paine shocked the cricket
fans by winning the toss. In a hilarious
attempt to change his poor luck, the Australian captain devised a new technique
to change the results. Paine switched his hands and flipped the coin using his
left hand and actually won it!
Aussie
batting success was no fluke though.Australia
finally found its batting mojo on day one of the second Test against a Sri
Lankan team that was completely outclassed despite a promising start in
Canberra.Having been reducedto 3/28, Joe Burns and Travis Headcombined for a double-century partnership
that has almost certainly batted the visitors out of the game and ensured
Australia will reclaim the Warne-Muralitharan trophy.The partnership also
ensured that Australia would not finish the home summer without a Test century
as both Burns and Head made the most of the under-strength SriLankan attack.Head’s 161 marked his maiden
Test century, having been Australia’s most consistent batsman throughout the
summer while Burns booked himself a ticket to the Ashes with his fourth Test
century.Burns will be looking to bring up his first double century with Kurtis
Patterson also trying to ensure he is on the flight to England.'
Lankans
are struggling in many a fronts ..Sri Lankan cricket has lurched further into
crisis after a social media spat involving the wife of one-day captain
Lasith Malingalabelling the team as a
"laughing stock". All-rounder Thisara Perera wrote a letter to the
Sri Lanka Cricket chief raising questions over Sri Lanka's leadership after
allegations by Lasith Malinga's wife, Tanya Perera, that he had asked the
nation's sports minister to ensure his selection for the side. The drama comes
with Sri Lanka in disarray on and off the field. The former World Cup champions
have won just one of their past 18 internationals, sacked a batting coach and
lost another coach to the match fixing scandal that has engulfed the island
nation. Earlier this week head coach Chandika Hathurusingha was removed as a
selector just days before the start of the second Test against Australia in
Canberra.
Former
Australian selector Mark Waugh has urged Usman Khawaja to take a break from the
game to clear his head after a “shocking” shot and cheap dismissal that has
heaped further pressure on his position in the team. Khawaja’s lean summer
continued on Friday at Manuka Oval when the left-hander edged his third ball to
second slip off the bowling of Vishwa Fernando for a duck.
Then
there is another bizarre occurrence .. ..Victorian young gun Will Pucovski has been released from the Test squad
due to mental health concerns, Cricket Australia announced on Friday
night.Pucovski reported his concerns with CA medical staff in the lead-up to
the second Test this week and after consultation with his family and Cricket
Victoria it was decided to send him home. Pucovski, who turns 21 on Saturday,
took indefinite leave from the game due to mental illness earlier this summer
after hitting 243 against Western Australia in October. He returned to play in
the last round of the Shield for Victoria in December before being
sensationally picked in Australia’s Test squad for the series against Sri
Lanka.
Pucovski
was surprisingly overlooked for the first Test last week in preference to NSW’s
Kurtis Patterson, who blazed twin centuries in a warm-up game against Sri
Lanka.It is stated that the issue was
not related to his non-selection in Brisbane.“Will Pucovski has been released
from the men's Test squad and will return home to Melbourne to continue
managing his wellbeing,” CA doctor Richard Saw said.“He reported some
challenges over the past few days, and the decision has been made that the best
thing for Will’s welfare is for him to return home to Melbourne.”“Will’s
decision to speak up and continue to ask for assistance in managing his ongoing
mental health is extremely positive.”Pucovski had spoken positivelty about his
mental health last month after his call-up to the Test squad. ‘‘I am feeling
really good. I am feeling as good as I have felt in a really long time. I have
met some people along the way that have really helped me turn things around,’’
he said.
Sad,
and young Pucovski needs all the support..
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
1st
Feb 2019.
