All posts by n8rngtd.top

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan04-Jul-2006India

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Rahul Dravid
No one would grudge him the Man of the Series award, especially after his never-to-be-forgotten twin fifties in the final Test at Kingston. With four half-centuries and one hundred, he was the talismanic presence in the Indian side and took some bold decisions throughout. His catching at slip was a bit suspect at times, and his field placements, on occasions caused a few heads to spin, but those were just small blips in a memorable summer. Purely on batting alone, he had no peer.Anil Kumble
Tireless as ever, Kumble showed his unquenchable thirst for a fight. In a series where no bowler managed more than 150 overs and on pitches that didn’t offer him much support, Kumble sent down 223.1 overs and always provided some solidity at one end. He was streets ahead in the wicket-takers’ lists (with 23 wickets he had eight more than Corey Collymore at second place) and it was only fitting that he finished it off at Kingston. His batting was crucial too – his partnership with VVS Laxman at St Kitts went a long way in thwarting West Indies while his 45 at Kingston proved vital in the final analysis.8

Munaf Patel
On his first foreign tour, bowling largely on shirt-fronts, Munaf took several strides forward. He cranked up the pace consistently and hit the splice of the bat even when the pitch didn’t offer any assistance. Barring a brief session at St Kitts, when Sarwan pelted him for six fours in an over, he managed a steady length and troubled all with reverse swing too.Virender Sehwag
For sheer impact, it would be tough to find an innings as glorious as Sehwag’s hundred at St Lucia. On the first morning of the Test, with speculation rife about a green pitch, he manhandled the bowling as only he can. His rapidfire fifty at St Kitts gave India a whiff of winning a contest where they had played catch up throughout. Sehwag’s bowling also developed wonderfully on this tour – the fact that India chose four bowlers reposing faith in his bowling ability must tell you something. He teased with his offbreaks and his nine wickets in the series at 23.22 were thoroughly deserved.Wasim Jaffer
India’s fightback in the first Test at Antigua revolved around Jaffer’s magnificent maiden Test double hundred, an innings where he produced some gorgeous strokes on a slow pitch. The value of his twin fifties at St Kitts, when India had their backs to the wall, should also not be underestimated. He fumbled a few chances at slip, surprising given how safe he is while fielding in that position for Mumbai.7
Sreesanth
Sreesanth showed why he was rated so highly by the team management with some inspired spells when they were needed. He gave India a wonderful start on the final day of the Antigua Test, only to be thwarted by the last-wicket partnership, and was outstanding in the decider at Kingston. His batting too showed some promise though his out-fielding, at times, left a lot to be desired.

Harbhajan Singh
Shrouded by intrigue for the first half of the series, Harbhajan delivered fine spells in the final two games. His two five-wicket hauls were a study in contrast – the first, at St Kitts, came when West Indies were looking for quick runs, the second came in just 4.3 overs on the second day of the final Test. His unbeaten 38 at St Kitts also proved crucial in frustrating West Indies.VVS Laxman
Laxman’s workman-like hundred at St Kitts helped India claw their way back into the game, one in which they were heavily up against the odds. He showed glimpses of his vintage best but mostly preferred to grind it out on a pitch that was slow from the outset. He followed it up with a fifty in the second innings ensuring that they left unscathed.Mohammad Kaif
Kaif’s maiden hundred at St Lucia put India on course for a big first-innings total. After nearly seven years in international cricket, he finally seemed to have cemented his place in the middle order. However, he looked out of place in the next two games and needs to show more consistency if he harbours hopes of a permanent slot. He was an energetic presence while fielding in the covers but his close-in catching wasn’t upto the mark.6
VRV Singh
VRV Singh showed tremendous promise in the two Tests he played, turning in some fiery spells. He even impressed Brian Lara, who didn’t hesitate to complement him at the end of the series. One thought he was under-bowled in the second innings at St Lucia, despite having a good outing in the first innings. His batting though, an aspect where he has shown some ability at domestic level, produced more humour than results.Mahendra Singh Dhoni
It was unfortunate that the Caribbean public didn’t get to see Dhoni in his full splendour. He carted the bowling around in the second innings at Antigua, when India were pushing for a declaration, but managed only 99 runs in the other six innings. His wicketkeeping, though, improved as the tour went along and he gave a good account of himself against both spin and pace.5
Yuvraj Singh
An average of 17.33 in four Tests, with a highest score of 39, tells you what a poor series it was for Yuvraj. He gave glimpses of overcoming the lean run, especially in Kingston when he began with some confident drives, but invariably got out owing to poor shot selection. His fielding, though, remained sharp.4
Irfan Pathan
It was a harsh learning curve for Pathan, going from India’s golden boy to fifth-choice bowler in a span of a few months. After a poor showing in the one-dayers, he only played in one Test and, though he showed signs of improvement, was nowhere close to his best.

Peter Chingoka, chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, is confident his country are well on their way to being a Test nation again

Interview by Osman Samiuddin21-Jan-2008

Zimbabwe’s Test status is likely to come up for review again this year …

It’s not a general question of coming up for review, we have to be clear. Firstly, in February 2006, after we had problems at the end of 2005 and early 2006, Zimbabwe Cricket took the decision [for suspension] on its own. We initiated this, so it was a voluntary thing. And it’s voluntary to be saying we are coming back in. As soon as we believe we are ready, we will let the ICC know.How far, then, are Zimbabwe from becoming a Test side again? There have been a few four-day matches, some with promising performances.

There has been that, yes, but we must remember, all this time we have really played most of our cricket at home. If not at home, we have played the four-day games in South Africa. This is the first chance we have had to play outside, so after this, after this series in Pakistan, we go home, we regroup and we take stock of where we are.A key indicator of progress will be the domestic system’s ability to constantly produce players for international cricket. How viable is the domestic cricket structure currently? There are reports that standards are not very high right now.
The standard is reasonably good and improving all the time. It is not yet perfect. We do need some additional resources. By that I mean possibly bringing in one or two players from outside Zimbabwe to play so that it helps younger players. Kenya playing last year [in the Logan Cup] was useful. Also, we could look at Namibia taking part and helping us as much as helping themselves as well. We are also playing the South African competition. So we are playing tough cricket where the players learn the hard way.Robin Brown, Zimbabwe’s coach, said recently that schools cricket and the academy and Under-19 structures were doing some good work. Tell us a little more about that.
We have an academy which operates, but the structures were burned down unfortunately. We are in the process of repairing that now. We take youngsters between the age of 17 and 23, those with promise and potential to be high performers, and we take them through not just the different facets of cricket, but we make them rounded people. Things like public speaking, how they control their financial management, know more about diets and nutrition and sports psychology.The U-19s we have over the last three U-19 World Cups have excelled. We got to the quarter-final last time and the time before that we beat both Australia and New Zealand when the tournament was hosted in Bangladesh. At U-19 level we can mix it with the best.Brown was appointed coach in September and that seems to have sparked something in the side. Were there problems for the players with Kevin Curran?
It’s going well at the moment. Under Robin’s care we have done quite well, but I don’t want to over-criticise the predecessor because he could’ve done something to be planting a seed, which Robin also propagated. Robin is doing well, he seems to be enjoying it, he’s doing a good job for the team. We keep monitoring that, talking to the players as well as Robin himself and the technical people around him to see that we are getting the best team around the young players.Do you feel Zimbabwe cricket is in a better state now than it was three or four years ago?
Yes and no. Starting with the no side, the popular question that everybody asks is: what happened to this player or that player. From that point of view, the idea would’ve been for these young fellows to be sort of dovetailing in. In as much as we try to make it an all-inclusive squad, there were people that were against that whole idea. Some people thought it was an elitist sport that must remain elitist. As a policy there was no way we could subscribe to that, so there was a downside to reconstructing. But the reconstruction process also takes care of the fact that a lot of the players people would’ve asked questions about would have reached their sell-by date in any case by now. Some were near 36, 39 – the fullness of time has arrived for them.

The positive side is obviously from our administration point of view, that we have a much, much more stable version now. It’s a structure that covers all the four corners of the country, which was not the case before. We now have ten provincial associations that are active. We followed the government in imitation, where we have ten provinces and all of them are active. Most of them are solid first-class anyway, when they are on, and in all aspects they are carrying out serious progressive programmes. From a structural point of view we are better off now and the quality is just what we have to work on now. Before we only had five provincial associations and of those five we had an additional two that were only involved in districts cricket.A player who was involved in the exodus in 2003-04 has said that to a different degree both players and administrators were to blame for what happened. He also suggested that a more serious, mature attempt to integrate black players could have been made by the team. How do you feel about that?
Before I answer your question, Zimbabwe must be such an interesting subject that a 2004 story seems to be news still. Why is this? I never hear anybody raking up old quotes about Australia when they had their problems between players and administrators, but Zimbabwe seems to be a topical nation. Fashionable.Well, that is his opinion and he is entitled to one. I said to you earlier that there were some people prior to 2006 who believed that cricket is a game for only one sector of the community. There is no way one could accept that. There is no way one could accept that you don’t give equal opportunities to everybody who makes himself available to play for their country. That is where the board stood, that is where the board stands now. And I am sure incoming boards in the future will stand for this, to say: equal opportunities for all people that are Zimbabweans.Four years ago no one said that. Four years ago no one in the Western media went to ask him to say what he has said now. Four years ago we were not even given an opportunity to state our side of the story.A number of countries refuse to play Zimbabwe in bilateral competition. What is the best way of dealing with this issue, especially if governments get involved?

I haven’t been given a genuine reason for them saying why they don’t want to play us, so I can’t really respond to that with logic. What we see is people telling us about safety and security concerns, which we have said time and again are not applicable. We can’t comment without knowing exactly why they are doing it.In so far as the game is concerned, all countries have had problems at one time or another. There are times when England has had problems. Before 1999, England were not in the top five. New Zealand in the late 90s were also not there. They were allowed to regroup, reconstruct and move on. Surely, we are entitled to do the same? Surely we are allowed to reconstruct and be allowed to come back into the fold and take our rightful place as we will do when we are ready?By doing so the game will get stronger. By doing so we are true to the vision and mission of the ICC which talks about the globalisation of the game and is not in the business of shrinking the game. It means we have an opportunity of ensuring that Africa becomes the next growth centre … for other countries in Africa to come through and play Test cricket, countries like Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, and I could name a couple more.

A couple of incidents in international cricket recently seem to have split the ICC down geographical or racial lines – the Asian bloc coming together on issues, the African countries doing so as well or supporting Asia. How dangerous is that trend?

Democracy. Democracy is that you are allowed an opinion and we respect it. If Zimbabwe want to take a particular line and their mind meets with India, Pakistan, South Africa or anyone, so be it. That is democracy.Given the criticism Zimbabwe cricket comes under, what prevents you from leaving it all behind and getting on with your life outside cricket?
There is no one who has come to us to say exactly where the issues are. If you say so with substance, if you say so with evidence … just general mudslinging in the hope something will stick doesn’t convince me to review my position. You just said now that in hindsight certain people are saying that maybe there are two sides to the story. At the time you people in the media – I don’t mean you personally – only looked at it from one side and went beyond the bounds of just cricket.So coming back to your question, if you say to me that we have failed, for example, in our development programme and that nothing is coming through and you show me a way of doing it better, in a second I will listen to you. If you identify to me areas, other areas in our administration that, with substance, with evidence, you can say, this could’ve been done better, in a second I’ll listen to you. But just generic throwing mud against a wall and hoping it sticks, doesn’t help me, doesn’t help Zimbabwe cricket, because it doesn’t give us a basis on which we can … even if we were to leave now, the people that are incoming must know, with substance, where things could have been done better by the previous administration.What was the reasoning behind the recent removal of lifetime administrators of Zimbabwe cricket, men such as Dave Ellman-Brown?
No one has been removed. You see, we all talk about democracy as a convenience. What has happened is that with effect from 2007 a new constitution for Zimbabwe cricket is in place. That new constitution had to come in place because we are now in a new reality of having ten provincial associations as opposed to what we had, which was five provincial associations plus two so-called associations. The one in Matabeleland, there was no cricket played in the last two years of existence of them being there. So they were just there for political purposes really. There was nothing happening there. The one in Mashonaland, there were only two teams that sometimes played. So we had to get into a new dispensation, with ten new provincial associations. Those ten new provincial associations that we have, there is no way that a constitution that was suitable for five provinces plus two could be adapted for ten provincial associations. That is what has happened. The constitution has come through a democratic process, it is in place, it has a structure, it has got a margin to include certain life members but did not see the need for life presidents and life vice-presidents as we had in the previous situation. Democracy must rule. That is what it is. Nothing personal, just how we move forward.What are the challenges of running cricket in a country where the game was once run by an elite?
It’s taking its natural course now. Selection … there will be some black players unhappy that they have not been selected and there will be some white players unhappy. It’s not because of colour but their ability. It is what we are fighting for: that everybody is given an equal opportunity. Now if you are saying to me that there is a concession from former players that other young black players didn’t have an equal opportunity earlier, then basically you are endorsing what we stand for and what we stand for is equal opportunity.Following on, there are also severe economic problems in Zimbabwe. How does that affect the running of the game?
Yes, there are situations that are tough in general terms and we have to cope like everybody else in Zimbabwe does either in their individual lives or in their business lives. You have to be resourceful, you have to work hard with honest endeavour.

Our situation is even tougher because unlike certain other countries where the infrastructure is already solid for cricket, we are trying to do a balance. We are looking after the top of the pyramid which is hopefully our Test team, but our national team certainly. That is the top and the base is having as many people participate so that we end up with high performers. That pyramid needs to be solid. We have ten provincial associations now; we have to make sure we have activities in each and every one of them. We have to go beyond just the provincial level and have the same at district level and the real grassroots level. There is still a long way to go because of financial constraints but those are the reasons why it is tough to run it anyway. But also the more reason to try and make it a mass sport.There will be better days. Even in the capital now we are drawing a lot of support and goodwill from the corporate world and I am sure that there is no reason why that should not continue for a long time, for as long as the administration is seen to be solid and with the right vision and mission.Malcolm Speed, in a leaked report, revealed that a forensic audit of the Zimbabwe board’s accounts found that they had been “deliberately falsified to mask various illegal transactions”. What is the story there?
We won’t comment on the leak because that is being attended to by the ICC. As far as the report itself is concerned, why is there so much anxiety of pre-empting the report? The report is due to come out. It has not been neutered in any way. Let the report come out and move on from there. And hopefully, if the report is as clean as we are confident it will be, you will give as much space, as much prominence and as much justice and fairness to it as you have done over the last few years. If it comes out, then do justice to that report, give it as much prominence as it deserves and also accept it.What do you want your legacy to be?
That I didn’t do anything personally, that I was, hopefully, a member of a collective that has helped transform cricket from an elite sport to a national sport, which today we can pride ourselves in saying we have taken to second place in terms of popularity. That we have put in a solid enough structure to carry the game in the country, that we have given equal opportunity to everyone to play it, that we have bridged the gap between the haves and the have-nots as far as cricket is concerned. I emphasise this is not me individually but as a part of a collective.

Having moved from Australia to Jamaica, Brendan Nash hopes he can now represent West Indies

Interview by Peter English21-May-2008

The 117 in the Carib Challenge final against Trinidad and Tobago was obviously satisfying, especially after the near miss of 96 in Queensland’s 2001-02 Pura Cup success. How important was that innings in justifying your decision to move countries?

The hundred in the final was great. Coming close for Queensland all those years ago [2001-02 Pura Cup final v Tasmania, where he made 96] was disappointing, but the main thing was Queensland won. This time I got both, which was a great feeling. Before the final I did think back about that match against Tasmania. Obviously a final is where everyone wants to do well the most, so you know it will rate highly with yourself and onlookers. It made the move-over all the more sweet, to finish the season like that.In your first season you scored 422 first-class runs. How did you judge that return?

I was very pleased with my efforts and that the team won the competition, which is what you hope to be a part of.What are your future aims? Do you have a five-year plan to play for West Indies?

The future at the moment is that the move to Jamaica is for the long term, so I will be around for them next season. I wouldn’t say I have a five-year plan, but if it [playing for West Indies] does happen, I would like to think it would happen in the not-too-distant future.Do you know what you have to do to make national selection happen?

None of the selectors has ever spoken to me, so it’s simple: next season I have to take more wickets and score more runs. It was the same for Queensland. I was never given anything. I had to earn every match I played, which I loved because you appreciate your opportunity so much more than those who were given their go on potential over performance. I am available to play for West Indies as I am a citizen of Jamaica, but the hardest thing is for all the islands to come together on selections. Each island is very proud of its players.Have things happened faster or slower than you expected?

Things have probably moved a little faster than I thought. The only thing I am a little disappointed in was my batting performances in the 50-over KFC Cup at the start of the season. [He scored 67 runs in five matches.]What are the major differences between Australian and West Indian cricket?

The on-field stuff like the lack of facilities to train or play on. The culture is also much more laidback, which has taken some getting used to. On the field, I have come from a set-up in Queensland where I was only a type of fill-in player. In Jamaica I am seen as a type of leader and someone that the team relies on. Mentally it is a very different approach for me and something that seems to be working.The thing that has surprised me the most is how much these guys who play first-class cricket sacrifice to play, both financially and with how far they come to train in Kingston. Most of them have to travel around three or four hours and most of them do not have cars.Was it easy for you to settle into life in the Caribbean?

At first, when I was going through all the trial matches, it was a little difficult, but once I had proved myself, it made it a little easier. When the West Indies players came back into the Jamaica set-up they saw where I had come from and what I could bring to the squad, so they made it easier again for me.

What are your expectations for the Australia-West Indies series. Have you passed on information to West Indies about the Australians?

I really don’t know what to expect, but I am hoping that Windies put up a good showing. They have been a little inconsistent, but with Gayle leading them they should be a little more consistent. Obviously, professionally the Aussies would be on top. They have been on top for so long and are a well-drilled unit. Skill will be a closer match-up, and you could never question West Indies’ will to win at home.I haven’t passed on too much information to Gayle about the Australians. He did ask me what I thought would be the Aussies’ weakness, so I told him what I thought, but I really don’t know all that much about the way the Aussies play anymore. They are very good at leading, but the new players may not be able to fight their way back into the game as they used to be able to.Who do you want to win?

It’s very hard to say as I still have a few friends who play for the Aussies, but now I have a few friends who play for West Indies. I want to see a good series.What do you hope to achieve during your off-season in England?

I’m playing for Monton and Weaste in the Central Lancashire League, which I have played in before. It’s a chance to work on my 50-over cricket some more, as that is what I need to improve on for next season. It also helps me set myself up better financially to play again in Jamaica. It costs me money to play there, but thanks to family and friends it has eased the load a lot. I am also looking into starting a career to give me the best chance of achieving my sporting goals.

The ball may have gone for six, it may have gone to hand – King Kris cared not a bit

Ruchir Joshi25-Nov-2008

At lunch on the third day of the Karachi Test in January 2006, with India two down and staring down the barrel, I sent off a text message to some Indian and Pakistani friends: “Forty-two runs in nine overs. I don’t see a problem, do you?” [India were chasing 607 in the fourth innings]Though Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were still batting, to imply not only that India would save the match – not such an outlandish possibility – but actually scoot up the vertical mountain-face and win it, was the equivalent of the grinning refusal of the blindfold before the firing squad. It was facetious, but only just so. Had the score at that point been 42 for 0, with Rahul Dravid playing bass to Virender Sehwag’s heavy lead guitar, even Pakistani supporters might have been a tad tense if not quite sending out their own pre-seppuku one-liners.I can trace being able to think like this at all to the doings of one man: Krishnamachari Srikkanth. It wasn’t as if there hadn’t been hard hitters before Srikkanth, even in the ranks of Indian batsmen, most of whom swore by the God called “Along the Ground”. MAK Pataudi had re-introduced to Indian batting the heretical art of deliberately lofting the ball; Farokh Engineer was always busy and burly; Brijesh Patel, Sandeep Patil, and the Palmolive , Kapil Dev, were all known to be able to hit a ball pretty hard; even SM Gavaskar (the most parsimonious of them all, especially with wasteful energy) had a square-cut with which you wanted to avoid anything close and personal. Outside India, you had thick-shouldered Pakistanis, beefy Englishmen and beefier Aussies, all of whom could send the ball a long way pretty damn quickly.And then you had those other guys. The other guys comprised a team in which a man called Gordon Greenidge was not the hardest hitter of the cricket ball, or even the second-hardest – that was Clive Lloyd – but the third. By the time I started paying attention to cricket after a five-year hiatus (things such as America and girls having obscured my true calling, which was to sit endlessly before a green-screened TV set) I had only heard of this demon called Viv Richards and how he had brought great fast bowlers to the point of tears. The moment I turned my attentions properly back to cricket was when this Richards fellow hit a high ball at Lord’s, and this Kapil Dev fellow sprinted around to pull off a pretty impossible catch. Among other things, the catch then allowed Kapil to replace the ball in his hands with the World Cup.I watched many replays of that final from the safe shore of victory, and it was then that I began paying attention to the “other things” that contributed to victory. One of them was this mad Tamilian opener who seemed to enjoy facing Andy Roberts and Joel Garner in a cauldron divided between roaring Afro-Caribs and . As I followed him on TV, I saw that he also found Australian quicks quite tasty, and Imran Khan and Mudassar Nazar downright yummy, whether on Australian tracks or a first-hour Eden pitch.

As an Indian fan, watching King Kris gave me an exhilaration no batsman had before and few have since. I don’t remember statistics and I don’t even want to dwell on specific matches. What I still hold precious is the sheer, violent poetry of the moment KS hit the ball. The stance was one of the widest in world cricket: almost like a slip fielder standing with pads on, and holding, for some odd reason, a bat in his hand. The movement could be minimal or those feet could blur; he had footwork to go with the eye-hand, but he often didn’t need it. The bat did what for the time were very strange things: slashes, jabs, exhibition swordplay; a lot of the time it was kris-kross, but then it would suddenly become straight, scything down two cover fielders long-distance or turning long on into L-O-N-D-O-N statue!After the ball – hit, miss, or near-dismissal – the ritual would always be a long walk away from the stumps towards square leg, as if that was his invisible home base, just as the bowler’s is the starting marker. He would return to the crease, never with reluctance but always with the air that he was there only momentarily, to dispatch the silly distraction of a delivery before walking away again to whatever was really occupying him.With Srikkanth it is the memory of an attitude, a certain taste of confidence in the mouth, that stays. Of course, he got out in some terrible dismissals – first over with nothing on the board, or just when he looked like taking the team through to a sure win – but the chief trace he left behind for me was that of an unstoppable, cheerfully whirring energy turbine of optimism. No matter what the situation, at the start of the bowler’s run-up there was no question who this man backed – the bowler, unless he got very lucky, was basically . In this, King Kris was the first of a kind for India, but, simultaneously, in another sense, he was perhaps the last of a kind as well.When Tendulkar arrived, he came heavily mediated not only by television but also by advertising – the guy has been a ham actor for almost as long as he has been a great batsman, and when you see him you see all of that attaching itself to him, the Shahrukhs, the Pepsi bottles; tied to his back is the monster radial-belted tyre of his extra-cricketing persona. When you see Tendulkar, or Sehwag, you see a two-legged industry that also happens to bat beautifully. With Srikkanth there was no sense that this was anything but a very enjoyable game he was playing; that, if it bored him, he was capable of turning from the stumps and just keeping on walking, past the square-leg umpire, past the boundary and out of the ground. Even in those days it was not something you saw very often. As for now and the future, I doubt we’ll ever see that spirit again.

During the 1990s Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar were the twin pillars of a team that sought to establish itself as a big player on the world stage

Dileep Premachandran02-Nov-2008

For those of us old enough to remember the days before black bats and matches worth $20 million, it was the most poignant of snapshots. As he walked off the square for the final time, Anil Kumble got a pat on the back from the only man who has been playing international cricket even longer than he has. Kumble’s first Test, at Old Trafford in August 1990, was Sachin Tendulkar’s ninth, and in the decade that followed they would be the twin pillars of a team that sought to establish itself as a big player on the world stage. Over time, they would be joined by other great players, a nucleus that would allow India to challenge Australia on a consistent basis, but the mind-boggling durability of the two main men remained a source of wonder.By the time shoulder surgery laid him low at the turn of the millennium, Kumble had already been around for a decade, inspiring an unprecedented number of victories on home soil. Coming back from that was perhaps the greatest challenge of his career, especially once Harbhajan Singh stole the limelight with his 32-wicket haul against Steve Waugh’s side.

The return in South Africa wasn’t especially memorable, but as soon as the team returned to India, it was as if he had never been away. Eight wickets sent England tumbling to defeat in Mohali , and there would be over 300 more in a second coming that was to last eight seasons. With a greater emphasis on variety and more faith reposed in the googly, he wasn’t quite as Scrooge-like as before, but the strike-rate was markedly better, suggesting that the new model was an improved one.In the years that followed, he would play his part in nearly every significant Indian victory, something that he admitted gave him the most satisfaction. Unlike the 1990s, when successes arrived on designer pitches at home, the millennium version of team India won all over the world. Kumble picked up seven at Headingley, eight in Multan and four in Perth . Inevitably, for a man who finished his career with 111 wickets from 20 Tests against the best team in the world, the standout performances came against those in baggy green.He picked up 12 wickets in Steve Waugh’s farewell Test, bowling himself into the ground as India strained every sinew for the epochal series victory that never came, and there were 13 victims in Chennai in a match that was ruined by last-day rain. He picked up 7 for 48 on the opening day after Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had emerged from the dressing room like buccaneers intent on pillage. In the second innings, he bowled Adam
Gilchrist behind his legs with a googly, a dismissal that he said was one of the most satisfying of his career.For someone who started out as a medium-pace bowler, it was almost appropriate that he took the new ball when he came out for the last time. Hayden had already pulled a long hop for four and flailed a cover-drive by the time Tendulkar took his cap for the final time to hand over to the umpire. And with his penultimate delivery, Jumbo rolled back the years. Lifting from the rough off a good length, it beat the Hayden forward push
and nearly decapitated Dhoni.That it was followed by a full toss that was smashed past him for four was almost incidental. A journey that had lasted 18 years was finally over. It spanned 132 Tests and 619 wickets, figures that might embarrass the strident critics who derided his ability when he first came into the team as an earnest and bespectacled engineering student.After the game, there were no tears and no histrionics, just the modulated tones of a man who always put his team-mates first. “It’s very tough when you’ve been playing for 18 years,” he said with a stoic expression at the press conference. “My body gave me the decision. I didn’t want to let the team down, and I thought it would be fitting to finish here.”The Kotla and Kumble will forever be entwined, in the same way that Brian Lara and St. John’s and Jim Laker and Old Trafford will be. The 10-wicket haul in 1999 will always be part of the Indian-cricket highlights reel, and he didn’t do too badly in his other six Tests either.After all was said and done and the match called off, he came back out to be chaired around the ground, part of the way on the shoulders of the man who will succeed him as captain. For someone who scaled the greatest heights, it was one of the very few occasions during the 18 years when his feet actually left the ground.

They didn’t win the tournament, but T&T got the cricketing world talking of the talent in the Caribbean

Nagraj Gollapudi in Hyderabad23-Oct-2009Trinidad & Tobago should not be disheartened at having lost the final, their only defeat of the tournament. Instead, the tiny nation of 1.3 million should be proud of its men, who not only won Indian hearts with their distinctive brand of cricket but also brought alive the tournament which at its halfway stage was flickering once the hopes of the IPL teams had been extinguished.But the Trini-Tobagonians – as they are called back home – brought the crowds to their feet with the flair that was once a hallmark of Caribbean cricket. They rose to the occasion when not many gave them a chance. Daren Ganga brought an inexperienced team to the tournament and there were few expectations, but they dazzled everyone with some endearing performances – natural, fearless, open and vulnerable. That last characteristic, so human, was completely opposite to their Australian opponents this evening.Both sides had a measure of each other, having already clashed once at the same venue last week, a tense affair that was clinched single-handedly by Kieron Pollard. His powerful 54 off 18 balls reverberated around the cricketing globe, bringing desperate IPL millionaires knocking on his door.Ironically, Pollard walked in today to bat under similar testing circumstances. Dwayne Bravo, whose brilliant half-century against the Cobras had put T&T into the final, had just played on to Doug Bollinger. As Bravo and later Ganga departed after making starts, Pollard walked out to loud applause. If he could win the game when the equation was 55 from the last five overs, surely he could pull off another trick today when 92 were needed from the last ten.But today the pressure and the situation were of a different kind, something virtually unknown to most of the T&T players, who were playing on the international stage for the first time. It didn’t help that the crowds expected a six off every ball. William Perkins, Adrian Barath and Lendl
Simmons, all fine young men with nerves of steel, had played some terrific knocks in previous games but this was the summit and they slipped even before they got a grip. To face men like Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Doug Bollinger in a final of the most expensive cricket tournament was no doubt an exciting prospect; but there’s always a method in the madness. Sadly, that was absent in T&T’s chase.T&T were also hurt by the absence of a second specialist fast bowler. Bravo is a good foil to the consistent Ravi Rampaul, but he has found it hard to stick to a tight line. Yesterday his three overs cost 46 and today he again expensive, going for 28 in three.”We set ourselves goals with regards to getting the runs but we lost our head in certain situations,” Ganga said later. He admitted that the pressure of playing in a big occasion was too much for his players. “I just don’t think we understood how to go about getting that 160. When you lose wickets very early in a Twenty20 final it puts a lot of our players under pressure and I don’t think we handled that pressure well.”Ganga was in no way being harsh on his young team-mates. It’s just that in this format, players needed to think on their feet and adapt to conditions. That did not happen today. “It was the one game we faltered a bit,” Ganga said.Still, with their successful run in the Champions League, T&T have managed to get the cricketing world talking of the talent in the Caribbean. More importantly, the ability of the youngsters to believe in themselves and carry themselves in a mature fashion in victory and defeat has shown that there is still hope for the revival of West Indian cricket.”For both West Indies and T&T, this performance has put our cricket back on the horizon,” said Ganga. “There’s been a lot of things that people don’t want to hear about our cricket. But this is something that has turned that around. It is just going to ensure we grow as a cricketing nation, not just T&T but the rest of the West Indies too.”In the end T&T should go back happy for all the smiles they put on the faces of the Indian public. Every game they played, the Indians turned up in huge numbers; today the stadium was brimming with support for T&T. There is no doubt that Ganga’s men were the entertainers of the Champions League.

Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger are starting to form a particularly useful bowling combination

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG28-Dec-2009While families all around Australia continue to enjoy their Christmas leftovers, the country’s cricket team is filling up on left-arm overs. For most of the past two decades, Australia have relied heavily on right-arm fast men but Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson, who combined for six wickets in the first innings at the MCG, are starting to form a particularly useful left-arm combination.Johnson is the leading Test wicket-taker in 2009 and, as Australia’s spearhead, he continues to tally up victims with speed and unpredictability. Bollinger is a new man in the Australian team but has rapidly bowled himself into a position from which the selectors will find it hard to drop him.Bollinger’s 13 wickets in two Tests against West Indies, and then 3 for 50 at the MCG, means he might not be the one to make way once Ben Hilfenhaus recovers from his knee problem. Today, he was again the catalyst for a run of wickets after the nightwatchman Mohammad Aamer, a promising left-armer himself, frustrated the Australians for more than two hours.When the new ball arrived, a well-rested, fired-up Bollinger found the outside edge from Aamer. Such was the pace and bounce that Marcus North at first slip did well to snare the chance in front of his face, which was a surprising result given the general deadness of the pitch had caused several edges to fall short of the cordon.All of a sudden Pakistan lost 4 for 17 including two more for Bollinger, as his angle across the right-handers drew edges that were taken behind the wicket. Having earlier had the dangerous Umar Akmal caught at slip, Johnson then finished the task by coming round the wicket and rattling the off stump of the No. 11 Saeed Ajmal.Before Johnson and Bollinger came together for the first time in Sydney last summer, Australia had not played two left-arm fast men in a Test for more than 20 years, since Bruce Reid and Chris Matthews joined forces in 1986-87. Other countries haven’t had the same predilection for right-armers and various combinations of Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra have worked well together for India, while Sri Lanka have regularly used Chaminda Vaas in concert with Nuwan Zoysa and Thilan Thushara.Part of the attraction towards Johnson and Bollinger lies in their contrast. Both men are very quick but that’s where the similarity ends. Bollinger is all aggression, loud and brash, and sprints in like he’s racing against Usain Bolt. He has control over his swing and enjoys reverse when the ball gets older, but equally loves to dig in short ones.Johnson is quiet and sensitive, ambles in off a short run-up and generates his pace with his slingy action. He too can swing the ball but just as often the seam is scrambled, angling across right-handers and in towards left-handers. His unpredictability is one of his biggest weapons, because occasionally he’ll unexpectedly curve a delivery in to a right-hander or bang in a nasty bouncer lethal enough to injure or dismiss.He has taken 60 wickets at 28.03 this calendar year and was named the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year, and is already the third-most successful Australian left-arm fast bowler in Test history. But then, with the exception of Alan Davidson, Bill Johnston and the injury-prone Bruce Reid, the team has rarely had a quality left-armer on a permanent basis. They might now have two for the foreseeable future.

This romantic tour through the 2009 English season is a must-read for those who love the game, and those who control it

Alan Lee18-Sep-2010Anyone who has watched cricket from the prim old Ladies’ Pavilion at Worcester, gazing through the green-and-white canvas to the cathedral and river beyond, will appreciate that such moments are made for profound thoughts on the best-loved game.Duncan Hamilton, whiling away a dreamy afternoon and doubtless awaiting the homemade cakes, found himself musing
on what it is that sets Anglo-Australian rivalries so distinctly apart. “Beneath the thick crust of cynicism England and Australia are like the two old men in Somerset Maugham’s short story “The Sanatorium”, who squabble and feud, complain about and provoke one another – mostly over trivialities. The fractious relationship gives meaning and purpose and identity and definition to both their lives.”It was a summary to linger in the consciousness, encapsulating the work of a book that achieves more than its ambitions.
Hamilton, already the recipient of five prestigious book awards, can confidently expect more to follow for this lyrical, evocative but absolutely timely volume, a kind of travelogue of the English cricketing summer of 2009.His inspirations were threefold: first his grandfather, who had introduced him to cricket and whose memory lives with him
still; secondly JB Priestley’s , a ramble round a changing land in 1933; finally Hamilton’s deep fears that the rhythms and romance of the game were about to be lost forever, bulldozed by rampant commercialism.Because cricket has, indeed, become avaricious and celebrity-led, Hamilton’s thoughts are not fashionable; these days the banal soundbites of Freddie or Jimmy or KP are so much easier to market. If sales of this book suffer for that, however, it will be the greatest shame. Everyone who loves the game, and especially those who administer it, should read this and prepare to weep.Hamilton admits he is something of a modern misfit. “To describe oneself as a ‘cricket purist’ these days risks derision. You’re dismissed as ultra-conservative, unprogressive and as fogeyish as a pocket watch and chain. I am that cricket purist.” He calls himself a “raving sentimentalist” and adds: “I am always measuring today against yesterday. I know there are times when it makes me sound one hundred years old.”

Mostly Hamilton’s comparisons are sharp and his longing for the eroded joys of the county game shrewdly expressed. Unsurprisingly he reserves his bile for Twenty20, and specifically for the noise and ballyhoo seemingly inseparable from it

And, yes, just occasionally, he does get almost tiresomely wistful, straining a shade too far for the right, regretful image. There is, too, the odd misspelling of a player’s name to irritate.Mostly, though, his comparisons are sharp and his longing for the eroded joys of the county game shrewdly expressed. Unsurprisingly he reserves his bile for Twenty20, and specifically for the noise and ballyhoo seemingly inseparable from it. He loathes “the show-off announcers” and the “acts of forced jollity”, comparing the experience to “someone at a party constantly blowing a streamer in your face and telling you to enjoy yourself”.Hamilton regards the IPL as “plastic cricket, pre-packaged and oversold”. The domestic product, he warns, has already been given undue priority. “Twenty20 is barging in on every summer like an exasperating holiday guest; not only demanding the best room in the house but insisting that everything is run to fit around its whims.”His graphic disapproval of the beer-drinking marathons that have been allowed house room in English cricket will strike a chord with many. He experienced it at the Edgbaston Test and reports his revulsion at the abuse and “rank obnoxious” conduct of the drunks. “If the ECB ignores the drinking culture, or allows it to go unchecked, it will at some stage find itself trying to explain away a profoundly serious incident.”Hamilton starts his odyssey at Lord’s, for the MCC v champion county fixture, and ends it at Canterbury deep in September. He is at his best and happiest away from the rowdy throng – at Colwyn Bay, for instance, earwigging on endearing conversations in the crowd, or at Scarborough, where his cricket-watching routines are engrained.At Cheltenham he reflects how county cricket has lost so much of its character through the steady elimination of outgrounds. He steals a look at a 1978 and counts 26 that have since disappeared. “It is as if cricket’s own version of a flint-eyed and unfeeling Dr Beeching stared at a map of England one summer’s day and tut-tutted his disapproval.”Hamilton feared the end of the line for the cricketing time tables he reveres. Most of us join him in hoping he is wrong.A Last English Summer
by Duncan Hamilton
Quercus
377pp, £20

Michael Clarke is no prima donna leader, but large chunks of the Australian cricket public still haven’t warmed to him

Peter English at the Gabba30-Jan-2011The fifth ODI was dedicated to charity but there wasn’t much given to the captain Michael Clarke. For so long the anointed leader, Clarke is out of form as well as being out of favour in large sections of Australia.Of course big parts of the country quite like him, but boos usually find a way to drown out the cheers, as Clarke discovered when he walked out to bat at the Gabba this afternoon. Jeering the leader has been a popular past-time this summer, whether it was the England fans targeting Ricky Ponting during the first four Tests, or the locals showing displeasure at Clarke’s elevation when the incumbent was injured.Pockets jangled with coins headed for the collectors’ buckets, raising money for the Queensland flood victims, but there was only sympathy for Clarke after he was welcomed with boos. After that most supporters clapped him extra hard when he hit three boundaries in his first 13 deliveries, and later brought up his first one-day half-century since the game here against Sri Lanka in November.He was also applauded loudly, with some standing in acknowledgment, as he left with 54 off 74 deliveries, an innings which became the high point of Australia’s 248. A handful of angry radio listeners texted apologies to Clarke for the behaviour of the people in the stands, especially on a day throbbing with community spirit.It probably happened to Mark Taylor in 1996-97 – although most of his most famous slump occurred overseas – and Greg Chappell can’t have been popular during his duck run in the early 1980s, but turning on the leader is a rare event in Australia. Booing the opposition is standard, as Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen re-discovered tonight, but Clarke is a victim of the displeasure in the early stages of his captaincy.”Obviously you’d like people to be cheering but I can understand why a few of them were booing,” Clarke said. “I’ve had a lot of support throughout this time, I haven’t performed as well as I’d like, so I don’t blame the public for being disappointed with my performances. It was nice to finally contribute and help the boys get a win. It was a great feeling.”All the unwanted attention is extra strange because his team is doing so well. Under Clarke the side has moved on quickly from the Ashes defeat and the 51-run success gave Australia a 4-1 lead, sealing the series with two games remaining.The best way for him to win the adoration is to score fluent runs, but that has become increasingly difficult over a summer without much love. What he has shown is his dedication to exiting his slump, even if it is not paying off yet.He has given up the associated riches of Twenty20 by retiring from the international format to focus on Tests and ODIs. This week he was so desperate for a decent bat that he suggested to the Australian hierarchy that he turn out for his Sydney club side. The request was rejected. Those two actions are not the behaviour of a prima donna leader, but a man who wants to excel for himself and his country.As a person Clarke can be generous. The day before this game he walked on to the Gabba with a group of under-9s from a Brisbane club side to spend time with them, just like he did on Friday with school children affected by the floods. Part of it was his job, but there is more to him than professional duty.Like all of his team-mates, he donated his entire match fee to the flood appeal. “It was a no-brainer for the boys,” Clarke said. “Everyone is doing that and the boys are signing a shirt as well.”It’s great to see so many people in this country be willing to put their hand in their pockets for such a wonderful cause. A lot of people have been devastated by what’s happened and the least we can do is donate a bit of our money and our time. That’s a reason why it’s even more special tonight to get a victory. It’s great we’ve won the series.”By the end of the game the tally from Cricket Australia and its supporters had reached approximately A$6million, a phenomenal amount of financial support. Over the next week, before the team leaves for the World Cup, Clarke deserves some goodwill too.

ESPNcricinfo presents plays of the day for the Royal Challengers Bangalore v Warriors CLT20 game

Siddarth Ravindran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium23-Sep-2011The attentive sidestep
A quick straw poll of people lining up to enter the Chinnaswamy Stadium confirmed Chris Gayle was the man people were turning up to see. “Gayle show mercy on the ball and on the opponents,” said a poster. It didn’t take long for Gayle to give the Royal Challengers faithful what they wanted: in the second over of the match, a brutal hit off Rusty Theron sent the ball flat over cover and all the way to the boundary. An attentive ball-boy proved all eyes were on Gayle, nimbly stepping out of the way as the ball bounced next to his feet and thudded into the advertising hoarding.The tumbling take
It took less than 15 minutes for Gayle to have the opposition in despair. A monstrous hit over long-on off Lonwabo Tsotsobe followed by a boundary to midwicket powered Royal Challengers to 34 in three overs. Rusty Theron had already been whacked for 14 in his first over, and taken out of the attack. The new bowler, Wayne Parnell, managed to keep Gayle quiet for three deliveries, prompting a mow over mid-on off the next. Gayle didn’t middle it, but the top edge looked likely to beat Johan Botha at mid-on. The fielder, though, quickly back-pedalled and plucked a left-handed overhead catch before tumbling over. “It was a little bit of a fluke in the end,” Botha said, adding that he recalled Ian Chappell’s advice about always turning round and chasing the ball instead of back-pedalling. “I thought, ‘Oh, you’ve made the same mistake here.’ I just stuck my hand out and it stuck in there.”The ironic cheers
As Ross Taylor and Gayle have found out, an ability to belt sixes is sure to make you the Bangalore crowd’s favourite. Those with a more sedate batting style don’t get quite the same warmth from the fans. When Mohammad Kaif, not a renowned hitter, walked in at No. 6 and played out four dot balls, the crowd let him know how they felt by mockingly cheering every run-less delivery. There was no derision from the crowd, though, when Kaif lashed a couple of leg-side sixes soon after.Guess who hit the biggest six?
During a media interaction earlier this week, Ashwell Prince had bristled at suggestions that his game was more suited to Test cricket than the slam-bang versions. “Those are just others’ perceptions, I know what I’m capable of,” he insisted when asked whether he could provide the firepower at the top in the absence of Davy Jacobs. A career Twenty20 strike-rate a little above 100 is hardly something to set the fans’ pulse racing. He backed up his talk, though, with a 55-ball 74, the highlight of which was a superbly timed 82-metre hit over long-off that nearly went into the second tier.The redemption

In the space of seven deliveries, Abhimanyu Mithun goofed up in the field twice. When Virat Kolhi rifled in a throw from point, attempting to run-out Ashwell Prince, Mithun couldn’t back-up properly, letting the ball through his legs for four. Soon after, he shelled what should have been a simple catch at third man, stopping short after misjudging where the ball was landing. Four balls later, the ball soared towards Mithun again, this time at deep square leg as Colin Ingram swiped at the ball. This time Mithun clasped the ball safely, and flung it up in relief.The crowd-silencer
After 12 overs of the chase, it looked like game, set and match to Royal Challengers as the asking-rate was over 11 with four Warriors’ batsmen dismissed. Prince and Johan Botha kept Warriors in it with a brisk stand, but with 36 needed off the final three, the crowd sensed the home side still had the edge. Botha swung the game, though, and left the home fans nervy and rather quiet with consecutive ferociously hit sixes off Gayle, to bring the equation down to a gettable 20 off 13 balls.