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.

Sachin Tendulkar’s 154 was an expert innings from a batsman in control, someone who knew what the situation demanded

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan at the SCG04-Jan-2008

The Sydney crowd savoured a masterclass from Sachin Tendulkar © Getty Images
A banner at the ground summed up Australia’s affection for Sachin Tendulkar. “Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting,” it read. “They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching.” Great players have a feel for the big stage and Tendulkar couldn’t have chosen a better moment to turn in such a regal performance. Efficient and authoritative, this was a flawless innings.He had a royal audience. Neil Harvey and Arthur Morris, two Invincibles, were here. Steve Waugh had come in, as had the prime minister. Morris couldn’t stop gushing about the ‘little’ batsman. “The Don and me were right,” he smiled. “Little men like batting on this ground.” A nonagenarian on a wheelchair entered the ground at lunch with only one question on his lips, “Is still there?” The adulation reserved for Tendulkar often make him appear like an Australian hero.When a bunch of school boys, sitting in the Monty Noble stand, were being noisy after lunch the teacher who had accompanied them screamed, “Nobody talks when Tendulkar is on strike”. Soon the boys started chanting: “Nobody talks when Sachin strikes”. The heartfelt applause when he reached hundred carried on for close to two minutes. First there was a cheer for the couple, then an even bigger one for the celebration. Sydneysiders knew they were witnessing something special; importantly they knew they may never see him again.Here was an expert innings from a batsman in control, someone who knew what the situation demanded. Tendulkar’s dazzling array of strokes make him the icon that he is but it’s his consolidation skills that make him revered. Some batsmen give you a chance, Tendulkar, in this mood, gives you no hope.It was an innings reminiscent of his 194 in Multan four years ago. Virender Sehwag had pummelled the Pakistan attack before India needed someone to build the advantage. It’s ideal for Tendulkar, a master at knowing how to make use of an advantage. VVS Laxman’s innings pushed Australia back but it took Tendulkar’s masterclass to open up the Test. Ignition is vital but it means nothing if there’s nobody to switch on cruise control.If Laxman loves batting at Sydney, Tendulkar seems obsessed with it. In four Tests here he’s rattled 148 not out, 45, 4, 241 not out, 60 not out and 154 not out. His average here is a staggering 326. Add a couple of fine one-day innings here, including a 54 not out in the 1992 World Cup match against Pakistan, and you have someone turned on by the SCG. “Sachin Cricket Ground,” said a banner fittingly.He ran hard, both for himself and his partners. He trusted the tailenders, a tactic which Brett Lee was to later term “brilliant”. Bowling to a great batsman is bad enough, knowing he trusts his allies more so. He refused to farm the strike and saw his tactic pay off with Nos. 9, 10 and 11.Here was an expert innings from a batsman in control, someone who knew what the situation demanded. Tendulkar’s dazzling array of strokes make him the icon that he is but it’s his consolidation skills that make him reveredAmid this run-accumulation were sparks of brilliance. Anil Kumble’s wicket perked him up: two fours dripped off his bat. Lee had trapped him with the wide one in Melbourne and he chose to slash more judiciously. Rarely did he flash awkwardly and, even when it was airy, it was well over. The second fifty came up in exactly two hours, a precision Tendulkar displayed through his innings, knowing when to score and when to leave.He chugged along with a bit of help from his friends. Sourav Ganguly conjured up some magical strokes to provide the impetus early on before Harbhajan Singh joined in the fun. “I’ve always believed that Harbhajan can bat,” said Tendulkar before cheekily adding, “and Harbhajan has believed in that more than I do.” Close friends who love to play pranks on team-mates, the duo thwarted the Australian attack – Harbhajan with unconventional shots, Tendulkar with mathematical exactitude.Tendulkar’s childhood coach loved to take him from one game to another, fitting in three or four matches in a day. When he was out in one game, he would be put in the back seat of the scooter and taken straight to another. Tendulkar has spoken about how that shaped him as a cricketer. It was fitting to see him walk into the press conference with the bat in hand. Nobody could get him out on the field and he was ready for more at the end of the day.

Osman Samiuddin on Pakistan’s recurring problems with extras in the ODIs against Bangladesh

Osman Samiuddin15-Apr-2008
Wide gulf: Pakistan’s bowlers have conceded 28 more extras than their Bangladeshi counterparts in the series so far © AFP
In few departments of the game have Bangladesh been visibly better than Pakistan in this series. Their batting, though improving, has been fitful and when they have scored runs, they have given away the fruits of their effort. Their bowling has broadly been ineffective, save the admirable Mashrafe Mortaza. Bangladesh’s youth possibly edges the fielding stakes, though not by much.But the one department where Bangladesh are better off is the discipline of their bowlers. In three matches so far, they have given away 32 extras, of which 19 were wides. Moreover, they have bowled just a solitary no-ball in the series, and that too was a beamer from Shahadat Hossain.In contrast, Pakistan have leaked 60 extras in three matches, of which 39 are wides and 10 front-foot no-balls. Against Zimbabwe earlier in the year, Pakistan conceded 80 extras in five games, with 62 wides and 10 no-balls. Under the free-hit rule, even a single no-ball is a sin and witha coach who is an ex-bowler himself, even more so. But this is an old, embedded problem that has afflicted most Pakistan pace bowlers through the 90s, briefly controlled when Waqar Younis became bowling coach two years ago.”It is definitely a concern for us,” Shoaib Malik, Pakistan captain, said. “The problem has been with controlling the new ball at the start. We have tried some new bowlers and that has affected it [the extras] as well. But we are working hard on it. If you make 300-plus and give away 30-40 extras, that takes away the advantage of such a big total and we really need to control this element.”Perhaps they can learn from their opposition, who work hard to eradicate the problem in net practices. “We’re pretty good in that department to be honest,” said Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh’s coach. “We can’t afford to give away runs through that. Discipline on that in the nets is tough. We know that is one of the things in a cricket game we can control and we do it.”The recent figures for Pakistan mask the fact that a number of new fast bowlers made their debuts in the series against Zimbabwe. Umar Gul has also just made his comeback from a long lay-off and has struggled to relocate his rhythm. Mohammad Asif is likely to make his return in Multan so there might yet be more headaches with extras.Pakistan might get away with such spendthrift ways against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, but when the competition gets tougher at the Asia Cup or the Champions Trophy, Malik knows an extra 20-30 runs in each game will make the difference.

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.

His path to the England squad has taken in Denmark, Kent, and a career-threatening knee injury. A look at the rise of a quick bowler with a fascinating story

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2008
Back after a severe injury, Amjad Khan is in the England Test squad, but that’s only part of his story © Getty Images
Denmark is famous for many things. Bacon, Carlsberg, European football glory in 1992, and Hans Christian Andersen, to name but a few. International cricketers have been rather thinner on the ground – after all the country’s most notable contribution to the sport until now was Derbyshire’s workhorse seamer Ole Mortensen. That could be about to change, however, after Amjad Khan, who was Denmark’s youngest player at 17, wascalled into the England squad for the Test series in India.The overseas route has been a common path into the England side for many years. The current captain, Kevin Pietersen, is just the latest high-profile import from South Africa; there have been a fair few of Caribbean descent, while Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan have regularly chipped in as well. Geraint Jones’ Papua New Guinea roots were often mentioned, but seeing as Jones learnt his cricket in Australia, Amjad’s passage to the Test squad is arguably the most obscure yet – for the talk of integration andcommon policies, Europe has hardly proved a hotbed of cricket talent.Amjad’s childhood wasn’t without cricket links, as his parents were from Pakistan and had a passing interest in the game, but moving through the professional ranks was still a success against huge odds. He could easily have followed Denmark’s national football obsession and was, in fact, on his way to practice as a six-year-old when he stumbled across a cricket match and quickly asked if he could play. Given that in 2007 there were 45 registered cricket clubs in Denmark, it’s fair to say that when a young Amjad was walking around Copenhagen in 1986 the chances of hearing leather on willow were slim.In 1998 he became Denmark’s youngest player when he was picked against Ireland in the European Championships, and in the next game, against Scotland, he claimed an impressive 3 for 34. Still, the professional game – let alone Test cricket – was a million miles away.His first significant step came when he appeared in the Natwest Trophy against a Kent Cricket Board XI in 1999, where he opened the bowling and took 2 for 38. What really furthered his cause, however, was the friendship between John Wright, the former New Zealand batsman, who was Kent’s coach at the time, and Mortensen. The pair had played together at Derbyshire and Mortensen recommended Amjad as a county prospect.Kent snapped him up and Amjad made his debut in 2001, before taking 63 wickets the following summer. By the time he’d completed his residency qualification and earned a British passport in 2006, the England selectors were already watching. “The defining image of the day was of Amjad Khan bowling hostile leg theory to the well-set Mal Loye and Stuart Law,” was how the reported one spell against Lancashire. “He showed the ability to reverse swing the old ball and looked to have impressed AndrewFlintoff, who was building a nice innings.” In the last few days, Flintoff has become a team-mate.Then, in a flash, the dream nearly ended. By a quirk of fate it was in Chennai, two winters ago, that Amjad’s career was almost finished. He was part of a fast-bowling camp training at the world-renowned MRF pace academy when he felt something click in his knee. A few days later he was sent home from the A-team tour of Bangladesh and the seriousness of the injury became apparent. He needed surgery on his cruciate ligament and was ruled out of the entire 2007 season.By a quirk of fate it was in Chennai, two winters ago, that Amjad’s career was almost finished. He was part of a fast-bowling camp training at the world-renowned MRF pace academy when he felt something click in his knee Less than two years later, however, he finds himself one dose of Delhi Belly away from a Test debut, and that too after playing only six Championship matches last season as Kent nursed him back into first-class cricket. He claimed 21 wickets at 20.61 in that time, and more importantly, showed he hadn’t lost the pace and swing that first caught the selectors’eye. Before his injury he was clocked at 93mph, and while those sorts of levels may be a way off yet, his ability to find reverse swing gives him a chance to fulfil a similar role to Simon Jones (they certainly have dodgy knees in common).”Amjad was someone we identified very early as a player who could have an impact. I remember Adam Hollioake once saying that Amjad had the X-factor as a fast bowler,” Simon Willis, the former Kent coach and now professional cricket manager told Cricinfo. “He’s had a few setbacks along the way, but his selection is down to a lot of hard work.”Don’t get me wrong, there were some very tough times and sometimes we had to keep him away from the cricket field for his own good,” Willis added. “But he is a very focused individual and maintained a positive outlook. Now is his chance to show what he can do.”A number of England players needed plenty of convincing before agreeing tojump on a plane and return to India, little more than two weeks after Mumbaiwas struck by terrorism. However, for Amjad there was never a doubt he would go back. He’d been called into the one-day party after the fifth ODI, but hadn’t had a chance even to get on the plane before all thoughts turned away from cricket. Even as thePerformance Squad arrived home from Bangalore a week ago, he was one of thefirst to state his desire to return.Although what happens on the field over the next two weeks has been putfirmly into context by recent events, no one can begrudge Amjad a feeling ofsatisfaction. His promotion is reward for months of toil, sweat and gymwork, and a little bit of good fortune more than 20 years ago in Copenhagen.If he goes on to have a successful international career, England fans willhave found their favourite Danish export.

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.

In a summer of gloom, the two silver linings for New Zealand cricket shone bright on a lovely sunny day in Napier today

Sidharth Monga in Napier26-Mar-2009In a summer of gloom, the two silver linings for New Zealand cricket shone bright on a lovely sunny day in Napier. Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder go back a long way. They both come from the Wairarapa region, they were both coached by Mark Greatbatch at around the same time, both dreamed of playing for New Zealand, they have punished many an age-group side together in the adjoining Nelson Park, and they rescued New Zealand from possible humiliation on a flat McLean Park track.Both have taken different routes to the Test team. Taylor has been the good boy who went down the straight, unobtrusive road. Ryder has had a colourful ride through the fields by the side of the road, with his off-field activities outshining the blatant talent. It was ironic, in that light, that Ryder was the calming influence to a nervous and flashier Taylor. In a way it was almost like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli batting together at Test level, with Kambli playing Tendulkar’s game, and Tendulkar Kambli’s.But that is how Ryder and Taylor bat. Ryder is compact, always has the extra second on hand, looks relaxed, and is more in control. Don’t go by his bang-bang style in ODIs, Ryder is perhaps the most accomplished Test batsman going around in New Zealand today. Taylor is flashy, has quick hands, prefers the leg side, needs to keep seeing the scoreboard move, needs a release every few minutes.So it wasn’t a surprise in the way Taylor started his innings when New Zealand were down at 23 for 3. He opened the face of the bat to fetch a boundary off his third ball, and edged the fifth one to third slip where Yuvraj Singh dropped a tough chance. The quick hands were at play again, making him push at the ball early. He slashed the next one hard and edged over the slips. An over later he edged Munaf Patel again, just falling short of gully.”I haven’t scored any significant runs for a while now and I was probably a little bit more nervous than I have been in the past,” Taylor said. “I am probably a nervous starter normally, but today I was a little bit more nervous. I was happy with the let-off and as it worked out, I made them pay today.”The let-offs and the luck continued for Taylor as he kept expressing his love for the flamboyant strokes and leg-side play. When he got it right he was beautiful to watch, when he didn’t he was lucky to survive edges that fell short and ones that didn’t go to hand. Just after lunch, he got into an interesting little duel with Ishant Sharma. Taylor continuously moved to the off side, Ishant continued to line him for the lbw, and the quick hands kept getting him runs. In two Ishant overs, Taylor hit five boundaries – a swivel pull and a whip through midwicket, another flick off a straight delivery, and one drive from outside off to wide mid-on.

In a way it was almost like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli batting together at Test level, with Kambli playing Tendulkar’s game, and Tendulkar Kambli’s.

At that point, Taylor got going. He looked the part until he reached the nineties, where he got nervous again, almost played one on, edged to slip, and almost ran Ryder out. But that’s when Ryder’s calming influence came in. “Jesse was a big help throughout that whole innings,” Taylor said. “He was geeing me on a lot. We got to give a lot of credit to Jesse. Just got to praise Jesse for his mature innings and for keeping me going and hopefully, I did the same to him.”Last week, when Ryder was on 98 and Chris Martin had to face five balls from Harbhajan Singh, Ryder was the same cool self, smiling, almost laughing, and keeping Martin going. He was unfazed today when Taylor hit straight to mid-on, called Ryder for a run, and sent him back. One wonders if there’s anything on the cricket field which can faze Ryder – he has seen much worse growing up. So it wasn’t surprising that when he walked out at 23 for 3 on a flat track, the inept-looking top order behind him and a series defeat looming, he was solid from the first ball.Ryder started his innings facing a fast offcutter from Zaheer Khan, and defended it off the front foot, from the middle of the bat. Two balls later, Zaheer erred too straight, and the wristy glance got Ryder a four. He was off. He was in the Hamilton state of mind, where he played second fiddle to the chancy Daniel Vettori. With edges flying at the other end, Ryder seemed on another island, calm and unaffected. Today though, he enjoyed more freedom, with the side only three down, and it showed in how he picked on Virender Sehwag.The only bowler to trouble Ryder was Harbhajan Singh, who conceded only 32 runs off 80 balls bowled to him. The others found it a tough task to get him to play away from the body. It would be easy to call Ryder the second fiddle to Taylor today, but he still batted with a strike-rate of 62.Together, they broke the record for the country’s highest fourth-wicket, reminded the local bowlers of horror stories at Nelson Park as well as how they used to bat together. “There was a few times we talked jokingly about the bush, it was good.” But – albeit on a flat deck – they were playing one of the best Test attacks going around.

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.

Some have found the spotlight, some have found extensions to their career, the lesser known South African players talk about their IPL experience

Firdose Moonda20-May-2009It appears as though South Africa and the IPL have exchanged eternity rings. South Africa, the knight in rainbow-coloured armour, galloped to the tournament’s rescue when it searched for a new home. While not everyone in the country has embraced the IPL with loving arms, South Africa has presented some of its best cricketing crowds to the tournament.The IPL, in return, has gifted its temporary home with a brand of cricket it would never otherwise have had played on its soil, resurrected veterans such as Matthew Hayden, and provided the Twenty20 specialists such as Albie Morkel with a platform to perform. But the tournament’s greatest gift has been the birth of new stars such as Dirk Nannes and Shadab Jakati. More so the South Africans who were little known outside their country.One of those offspring has been 24-year old Roelof van der Merwe. The sturdily built left-arm spinner made his mark during South Africa’s ODI series against Australia in April. He played in four matches and took eight wickets at an average of 18.62. That, and his superb domestic form, earned him a place with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.van der Merwe has had two dream seasons for his domestic franchise, Titans. In 2007-08 he was the third-highest wicket-taker in the domestic Twenty20s, with 13 wickets at an average of 13.92, and received the Player-of-the-Year award. He also took away the Domestic Championship (45-over competition) Player-of-the-Year and Newcomer-of-the-Year awards.He followed that up with 30 wickets, at an average of 13.96, 14 more wickets than any other bowler in the 45-over competition in 2008-09. He has also been selected for South Africa’s World Twenty20 squad. van der Merwe regards his stint with the IPL as the best preparation for that tournament. “Being in a side with a lot of South Africans has meant we have a similar work ethic to the national side, so that’s going to be handy ahead of the World Twenty20,” he says.While he credits his dogged domestic determination for launching his career, he admits that the IPL will thrust him further into the spotlight. “Given the size of the spectacle, and the money involved, if you’re not already on the map, it will certainly put you there. And if you are on the map and do well, I can see it being a big advantage.”Dillon du Preez, who also plays with Bangalore, is hoping the event will bestow on him some of the benefits van der Merwe has experienced. du Preez originally played for the Eagles, but signed as a Kolpak player for Leicestershire in March last year and played a season in England. This year it all went bust.”I haven’t been able to secure a work permit for this season, so I won’t be going back,” he says. “At the same time, I still desperately want to play for South Africa, but given the calibre of players in the set-up it seems almost impossible.”He isn’t rolling over and playing dead just yet, and bared his eagle talons in his debut IPL match, taking two wickets in two balls of his first over, including that of Sachin Tendulkar. He also claimed JP Duminy in that match. Even though his future hangs by a filament, he doesn’t want to rely on the IPL to relaunch his career, and is trying to enjoy it as an isolated experience. “I am really enjoying being in the same change room as guys like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid – and even Kevin Pietersen,” he says. “The only complaint I have is that I have probably had enough of Indian food for a while. I went for a steak the other night and it was beautiful.”

“Given the size of the spectacle, and the money involved, if you’re not already on the map, it will certainly put you there. And if you are on the map and do well, I can see it being a big advantage”Roelof van der Merwe

Over in the Kolkata Knight Riders side, Morne van Wyk views the event as an extension, and possibly a resurrection, of his career. “There are two things I would still really like to do in my cricketing career: play Twenty20 and ODI cricket for South Africa, and I would like to have a county stint,” van Wyk says. “But whether the IPL will pave the way for that, I can’t say, although I hope it will.”van Wyk, an Eagles opening batsman and wicketkeeper, is a seasoned campaigner and was the highest run-scorer in this year’s domestic competition, with 269 runs at an average of 38.42. Unlike some of the other South African players, who have been grateful the tournament has allowed them to spend time at home, van Wyk says he is looking forward to spending six weeks in India next year. “I was contracted on the day of the auction, long before it was announced that the tournament was coming to South Africa, and I was gearing up to play in India,” he says. “I was really looking forward to crowds of 70,000 or 80,000, the kind we never see at home.”van Wyk seems to see the half full glass in every situation and speaks of Kolkata Knight Riders’ failure without too much disappointment. “We all came into this tournament with high hopes and let our imaginations run wild about how well the team would do,” he says. “To be honest, it’s felt like being in a boxing match most of the time: we work hard and we’re up and ready to go, and then we keep getting knocked down. But it hasn’t been terrible. The real make-up of people is tested when disaster hits, and we have had no bust-ups, which is a credit to the calibre of players and management we have.”While he does hope the tournament will provide a much needed career injection, he is also blissfully soaking up the Bollywood-ness of being part of the most glamorous franchise. “I didn’t know anything about Shah Rukh Khan before this, and when I met him I thought he would be like any other celebrity. It’s been a real eye-opener to meet a man who is powerful yet so humble. He really did take the time to speak to all the players, not just a small chat, but really spent time getting to know us all. He calls himself our big brother, and he really is.”While most of the South African players in the IPL view the tournament by what they can take out of it, some are looking at things a little differently. Charl Langeveldt, also with Kolkata, says, “This is not about what value I am getting from them, but what value they are getting from me. I’ve brought lots of local knowledge and bowling experience to the side.” It has puzzled most that Langeveldt, who was the local Pro20 competition’s highest wicket-taker, with 16 wickets at an average of 13.31, has not played, particularly given the success of another local swing bowler, Yusuf Abdulla. That doesn’t seem to bother Langeveldt much, who shrugged off being left out of the starting XI and said, “The balance of the side is not quite right, which is the reason I will not play.”Morne van Wyk has had his fill of superstars, both cricket and Bollywood•AFPOne who is not laughing off being a paid spectator is Tyron Henderson. With the most wickets in Twenty20’s short history to date, a total of 75 at an average of 21.41, it’s similarly mind-boggling that he is sidelined. “I was initially bought because with the tournament in India they thought I could do a job with the ball, given the conditions,” Henderson says. “But now with Smith and Warne already occupying two of the four positions for internationals, there’s only two left, and unfortunately I’ve been the one who has had to sit out.”Even though he has been forced to warm the dugout, Henderson’s record in the game speaks for itself. In the 2008 Twenty20 Cup he scored 281 runs at 40.14 and took 21 wickets at 16.61 for Middlesex. He thinks this format of the game has given his career new legs, and allowed him to keep playing when he might otherwise have retired. “I’ll be playing in three different competitions: from here, I’m going to Middlesex, then I’ll come back home to play for the Titans in the Pro20 domestic competition and then back to the IPL. So, in a way this has allowed me to become a specialist Twenty20 player and given me a longer career.”Henderson has been serenaded by the IPL because it has given him the opportunity to eke out that extra bit of cricket, while most of the other South Africans’ love affair with the tournament has been sealed because it has allowed them to live some of their dreams. du Preez summed it up perfectly: “It’s really been something wow.”