Why women need to know (more) about Cricket

..So the wretched cricket world Cup has ended but if all you women think the worst is over, you are mistaken. For though India crashed out early, the coach of the neighbouring country got murdered and we got beaten by two minuscle neighbours, I can guarantee your partners, fathers and boyfriends will be infront of the idiot box again come the next series. The unfortunate incident of Mandira Bedi defaming the Indian flag once again lowered the already dim perception of the average Indian woman's cricketing acumen. So how do you beat them at their own game. Well for starters educate yourself on the finer nuances of the game. Learn the fielding positions, arm yourself with stats and most importantly pick a team other than India to infuriate your partners. I'm not suggesting you switch allegiances forever but if you had picked a team like SriLanka before the World Cup that would have shamed your male counterpart's armchair predictions. Most men regurgitate borrowed knowledge they pick up from cricinfo and rediff cricket channel. But being primitive, they lack the brain power to sift through data the way women are more equipped to do. While India has a few quality journalists like Sonali Chander (NDTV), Sharda Ugra (India Today) and Kadambari Murali (Hindustan Times), this list needs to be substantially longer. Surely if Indian television can accommodate the likes of Chetan Sharma, Madan Lal and Kris Srikkanth, a few beautiful and intelligent women with a fresh perspective couldn't fare much worse. So good luck with your endeavours ...in the meanwhile I will go back to my favourite issue of Maxim and study Mandira Bedi's views on cricket.