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The Asia Cup coverage

This one is somewhat in the nature of a Rediff circular to readers, and concerns a new, comprehensive, state of the art package we have put together to enhance our live coverage. However, before getting to that, I owe readers an explanation, and an apology.

Yesterday, I had written a column titled 'The Proof of the Pudding...' . Part two dealt with possible solutions to match-fixing. And a lot of it was based on developments in professional baseball over the last eight decades and more.

Among the many mails I got today, in response to that piece, were two suggesting that the article was plagiarised from an English paper. By way of aside, I wish I could browse for the original -- however, one mail seems to suggest that it was taken from the Guardian, while the other mentions the Telegraph, and neither mentions the date. So I don't at this point know what the original article said, or even where it appeared. However, I am taking the two emails on faith, and presuming that one of those papers has published something on lines similar to part two of my column.

Through the weeks and months since the whole affair kicked off with the Cronje tapes being outed, I have been receiving mails from readers, a lot of them giving their thoughts, views, suggestions. Some of these make it to the guest columns. Some of them get reflected in my own columns -- because the mailers wish to not have their names mentioned. And always, I tend to save advice, suggestions, ideas that are sent to me, in file for subsequent reference.

One such reader, an Indian based in the States and a baseball fanatic, sent me mail about a month ago, about fixing in baseball and how the authorities countered it. His thoughts were interesting, but when I suggested that it be published as a guest column, the reader wrote back saying he would rather not, that the mail was just for my information.

It is from that mail that I got the information about how baseball appointed a commissioner, how that official functions, and about the Pete Rose affair.

If, as the two mails I referred to above indicate, a similar piece has appeared in some English newspaper, then do please treat this as a formal apology. There was no intention to plagiarise a published piece, I merely took the email I received on faith, and since I agreed with the ideas, I used them as part of my column. Once again, my apologies -- there was no intent to mislead the readers.

Now for the coverage details...

Last season, we had received several requests for enhancements of our live coverage section. Based on these, we have introduced some changes, and additions, to the format you are familiar with. As under:

1. In keeping with your request, you will now know who is logged on. On the extreme right of your commentary-chat interface, will be a link to all chatters who are online at any given time.

2. Chatters sometimes like to carry on one-on-one conversations with their peers. That has now been enabled. So, apart from the general chat, an individual reader can also click on the name of any chatter online, and send him or her a private message. Please note, this does not translate into a license for vulgarity, or for harassing fellow chatters. To this end, we have provided each individual chatter with the means to freeze anyone whose messages they do not wish to receive. And any complaints of abuse will render the chatter frozen completely, even from general chat.

Computerised analysis of cricket matches became big once Woolmer and his laptop kicked into high gear. Now every team that wants to do well, has begun to rely increasingly on incredibly complex forms of analysis.

One of the most complex versions is the one developed by Stumpvision, the software company set up by the Kumble brothers Dinesh and Anil. Rediff has tied up with Stumpvision, to bring the enhanced computer-based graphical analysis to you, live.

To get an idea of what it is all about, check out these two scoreboards, generated by Stumpvision:

Bangladesh versus Sri Lanka

India versus Bangladesh

These are the facilities, and how to use them:

The main page gives you the basic scoreboard. On the left hand panel, you also get the standard overs Manhattan, the scoring 'worm', the details of the various partnerships in terms of runs scored to balls used up, by each batsman involved in the partnership, and the scoring-rate comparisions of the two teams.

Now, on the main scoreboard, click on the name of any batsman. You will get the following: A basic analysis showing you how many runs said batsman made against each bowler he faced and his percentage of runs to dot balls per bowler; a separate dot ball analysis again based on individual bowlers, plus a ball summary that shows you how each individual batsman got his runs, and his percentage in comparison to the team. (For instance, if you look at S Hossain's ball summary in the first game of the Asia Cup, you will find that he played out 10 dot balls, which was 90 per cent of all deliveries faced by him, as opposed to the team's average of 60 per cent dot balls -- all of which tells you that Hussain batted slower than the team's average rate of scoring).

Still on the batsman's page, you will find, on the left hand side, the following: A region summary that shows you how many runs were scored in each region of the playing field by that batsman; the wagonwheel which graphically represents how he performed; and the Oval chart, which helps you trace each scoring shot played by him, colour-coded to show you how many runs were scored off each shot.

Now click on the bowlers, individually, and you will find similar options for each, enabling you to analyse their performance every way there is.

Taken together, we believe, the whole thing bundles into an awesome package.

Of course, in these troubled times, it all comes with a statutory warning attached. Something on the lines of: Rediff is content to report the events onfield as it happened, but makes no claims about the integrity of the participating players or their actions.

Am I joking? Only partly, I think...

Anyways. As always, we will look to you for constructive suggestions and feedback, aimed at improving the package even further.

Postscript: Please note that we are still in the midst of development work. Therefore, in the interests of fruitfully employing time, we will be live only with the following games of the Asia Cup:

India versus Sri Lanka on June 1

India versus Pakistan on June 3

Pakistan versus Sri Lanka on June 5

The final, on June 7.

In other words, we will not be covering the various gmes involving Bangladesh. However, the analytical scoreboard will, henceforth, be live for all international matches, Tests and one dayers both -- even those not involving India.

Prem Panicker