More Sunnycasts

Does a minimum number of overs have to be bowled before Sunny Gavaskar does his daily podcast in this series? Podcasts for days two and four of the Lahore Test are now out, following from his debut on Day One, but it seems the fifteen overs of play produced on Monday was insufficient.

I suppose it was pointless having high hopes for this latest platform for Gavaskar's bland platitudes. Not a word of criticism for the Pakistani bowlers, even the pitch is called a "beauty" after Sunny invites the curator to fix up all the potholes on Indian roads, so immaculate is the roadway he has constructed at the Gaddafi Stadium.

But Gav the Gab really should learn the meaning of some of the cliches he makes use of. He says that the final day's play will not merely be of academic interest - there's the record for the opening partnership to be broken, Sehwag going for his triple century and maybe Lara's world record, there's the question of how far Dravid can go, how many India can score before stumps... Sorry mate, but that all fits neatly under the banner of "academic interest" in a match which, as a contest, will die the moment India notches up 480.

Ravi Shastri is also doing voice reports on this Test, which can be called up by mobile phone users in India. Save your dough and listen to them on CricInfo (when it's not overloaded) like the rest of us. The Ravicasts are, however, not technically podcasts as they can only be streamed, and not downloaded for future reference.

Not that the Ravicasts are rivetting listening either, and his voice gets drowned out by that bloody background muzak. At least he acknowledged the existence of the Pakistani bowlers. A legendary ex-cricketer does not necessarily an interesting commentator make. Where's Navjot Sidhu when you need him?