Stats highlights from the first day of the third Test in Perth

S Rajesh and HR Gopalakrishna16-Jan-2008

When Rahul Dravid was asked to explain another depressing day at the IPL office, he spoke of being outclassed

Cricinfo staff12-May-2008
When you consider that Jacques Kallis, a US$900,000 signing, has been warming the bench, you begin to get some insight into why Bangalore are where they are in the table © AFP
When Rahul Dravid was asked to explain another depressing day at the IPL office, he spoke of being outclassed. There was a moment when you thought he would actually let off some steam, but instead he settled for the phrase: “Pretty much second-best.” Had he said second-rate instead, few could have blamed him.Everything about the Bangalore Royal Challengers’ organisation is in shambles. The chief executive was sacked midway through the campaign, and the owner loves opening his mouth even more than Tom Hicks, the Texan tycoon now so detested by football supporters in Liverpool. With everyone else having done a Pontius Pilate, Dravid has been left to carry what is now a rotting corpse of a side.This wasn’t a contest. It was an embarrassment. With three Australians to the fore in the facile chase, you could close your eyes and imagine a team in green-and-gold battering some hapless invitation XI somewhere. It really was that one-sided, with Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach using the stage, and a beautiful batting pitch, to highlight their ability.Marsh alone has made 295 runs in the competition, from just five matches. When you consider that he, Pomersbach and James Hopes cost less than half of what Bangalore paid out for Jacques Kallis, the most expensive bench-warmer in the IPL, you begin to get some insight into why Bangalore are where they are in the table.”It’s been a fantastic experience,” Marsh said of his IPL adventure.”You’re playing with the greatest players in the world. And I’m getting to learn from the likes of Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh], Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara] and Mahela [Jayawardene]. And to play in front of crowds like this is something I’ve never experienced before.”That’s not something Dravid or even a Mark Boucher could ever say. Yet, time after time, when the situation has demanded something special, Bangalore’s finest have failed to deliver. It’s almost like they lack an extra gear. A Mercedes convertible is an object of envy out on the road, but a tadpole amid sharks if placed on an F-1 track. Most of Bangalore’s top players appear similarly out of place.The two Twenty20 specialists have been a huge letdown. Cameron White’s highest score is 30, while Misbah-ul-Haq hasn’t gone past 21. He also finds ever more ingenious ways to get out. As for the opening partnership, that’s almost an oxymoron when it comes to Bangalore.”It helps to have openers in form and playing well,” Dravid said withreference to Marsh’s superb unbeaten 74. “It sets the tone for the game up front. We haven’t had that, and it’s filtered down to the rest of the batting.”As poor as Bangalore were though, take nothing away from the King’s XI, whose bowlers were simply sensational. Post-slap, Sreesanth has focusedmore on his bowling and less on grimaces, and the results have taken him to the top of the wicket-takers’ heap. Aside from a couple of poor short balls to Misbah, he was superb on Monday, swinging the ball at pace. The 94kph leg-cutter to get Praveen Kumar was magnificent, while the early wickets ensured that Bangalore never really got away.His new-ball partner, Irfan Pathan, also has 13 wickets and he gave nothing away in a probing opening spell. Yuvraj Singh, the captain, saved his praise for the third musketeer though, calling VRV Singh’s 1 for 15 a “matchwinning spell”. And if the King’s XI didn’t get you with pace, there was the legspin of Piyush Chawla. Virat Kohli was utterly flummoxed by one that he played back to, while White’s miscue became a caught-and-bowled for the highlights reels.With six wins from their last seven games, Mohali are now poised to seal a semi-final berth, which most likely leaves India’s three biggest metros – Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi – to slug it out for the fourth spot. Bangalore, like Hyderabad, have only pride to play for. Given the backroom shenanigans, even that might be exhausted by the time their wretched summer is over.

Muttiah Muralitharan, pointed out two things about Ajantha Mendis – one that Mendis is far more talented than he was when he debuted and two, that Mendis will take the pressure off him and perhaps extend Murali’s Test career

Jamie Alter in Colombo26-Jul-2008

Not since Michael Clarke’s first match has a Test debut been so anticipated and turned out to be so spectacular. Like Clarke against India in Bangalore in 2004, Ajantha Mendis has burst onto the five-day scene in style, becoming the first Sri Lankan to take eight wickets on Test debut. Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 11 wickets at the SSC, pointed out two things after Sri Lanka handed India their third largest defeat; one, that Mendis is far more talented than he was when he debuted and two, that Mendis will take the pressure off him and perhaps extend Murali’s Test career.There is plenty of evidence supporting his first claim. Offspinners (Mendis falls under that category, believe it or not) don’t usually bowl googlies. Yet there was Mendis, slipping it in silently between top spinners and various cutters. Mendis’s googly is rather unconventional, when you analyse it through the slow-motion replays. He releases the ball from the back of his wrist with the seam up, and he flicks the middle finger to spin the ball.Nothing summarised the impact Mendis has had on this Test more than the over in which he brought India’s first innings to a sad close. The whole over was magnificent as Mendis set up VVS Laxman with two legcutters and then finished him off with a googly.Laxman, who had batted supremely for a stand-alone half-century, pushed the first ball to cover but waved back the single. The second ball cut away and beat Laxman, who pushed the bat forward hoping to defend. He was beaten yet again off the third as he played down middle stump. The fourth was an orthodox offbreak and Laxman turned it to forward short leg. And the fifth was just absurd.It was Mendis’s googly, two-fingered and bowled with the wrist-spinner’s action. The ball looped up outside off stump and dragged Laxman forward on the defensive. It then spun in sharply past bat and pad and crashed into the stumps. Laxman held his shot in bewilderment for a few seconds and then tucked his bat and walked off. Later the googly also accounted for Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.Watching highlights of Mendis run rings around India during the final of the Asia Cup recently was stunning, but to see him live, in cream, on a Test field, explains a few things. He is a rare breed, like Jack Iverson and John Gleeson, and should thrive in Test cricket. His ‘flicker’ ball – let’s settle on that, because that’s precisely what it is – could be to cricket what the knuckleball is to baseball: the erratic, unpredictable delivery that stymies big bats with its killer efficiency. It bamboozled Dravid yesterday, and that wicket set into motion a most stunning surrender to a lethal spin duo.

Murali’s second remark could also be true for Mendis compliments his senior partner well. With all the attention focused on Mendis’s every move, Murali quietly chipped away from either wide of the stumps in his 23rd Test at the SSC. Never in Murali’s career has he had a spin partner who bowls so well in tandem with him. Murali and Mendis are different because of their range of variation. Mendis is quick and wicket-to-wicket while Murali is slow through the air, relying on flight and turn to flummox the batsmen.Sample the differences in the dismissals of Laxman and Gautam Gambhir in the second innings. This time it was the length that got Laxman. Two deliveries in to his post-lunch spell, Mendis skidded one in – as opposed to turning it loopily – and Laxman was struck flush on the back pad. It was a quick delivery. Murali later dismissed Gambhir with lovely flight, drifting it in, luring him out of his crease, only to be deftly stumped.Murali reinvented spin bowling and created a new genre. Last year he started bowling more around the stumps and that new tactic has worked for him. Here he towered over India’s batsmen, bounding in and taunting them with offbreaks and doosras that were near unplayable. Dinesh Karthik perished to a doosra; quick offbreaks took care of Sourav Ganguly and Kumble. His slowness and guile meshed easily with Mendis’s line and assortment.India had a tough time picking Mendis’s doosra because they didn’t have much time to decide what to play. This is something Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, identified yesterday. Like for his googly, Mendis uses a flick of the middle finger for his doosra. But instead of placing his finger behind the ball, as he does for the googly, Mendis positions it at the lower edge of the seam on the right side. If he develops his offbreaks with the same action, he will be tougher to handle. Another feature of his bowling is his wicket-to-wicket method; if the ball misses the bat, chances are you’re lbw or stumped. On television, Mendis’s cluster of deliveries is stunning, making you wonder how he can be so accurate with that bag of tricks and varying hand and wrist movements.

Previously when teams played Murali in Sri Lanka they had the option of playing him out and making runs at the other end. That is not possible any more. In tandem, Murali and Mendis gave India’s batsmen no room to breathe. It was like a pressure cooker, Murali bounding in, wide-eyed, and Mendis harrying in, arm flailing. India simply choked.But the two spinners are undoubtedly aided by intelligent field placing. Mahela Jayawardene is in a different league as captain compared to Kumble, and there was something almost uncanny in his decisions. All through the first innings he had the placements spot on – there was one waiting for the hook from Virender Sehwag, while short cover, deep square leg watched for mistimed sweeps. Today he employed a forward short leg and leg slip when Murali bowled to Sachin Tendulkar and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s excellent timing worked a charm.World-class spinners have always had a hold on certain batsmen and teams – just ask the English how much they worry about getting dominated by blonde wrist spinners and unorthodox doosras, especially those pitched on leg stump. Ask India about Mendis after this series and see what they have to say.

Bad hair, near-naked cheerleaders, Harold Pinter, brassy impresarios, fishing trips, lots of lolly… and some cricket as well

Osman Samiuddin31-Dec-2008
It’s not how they come: Pietersen unleashes his inner leftie at Chester-le-Street © Getty Images
Shot of the year
Kevin Pietersen’s switch-hit, the human in the evolution chain to the reverse-sweep’s ape: As opposed to the shot Mike Gatting made infamous, Pietersen’s requires pre-meditating and changing grip as well as stance, making it riskier still. Most notably, he did it in an ODI against New Zealand in the summer, in Durham, twice hitting Scott Styris for six. The second went over the right-hander’s long-off. Even the MCC took notice, promptly concluding it wasn’t against the laws of the game.Ball of the year I
Anything bowled by Ajantha Mendis, but if pushed, one ball stands out. First Test wickets, or runs, are remembered usually only by the player himself but Mendis’ first in Tests will live on. It was the flicker, the carrom ball; pitched on middle, on a length, it left Rahul Dravid completely unsure of what to do, before zipping off, turning away and clipping the off bail. Set the tone for the series.Ball of the year II
Mohammad Ashraful’s wonderfully disguised delivery to AB de Villiers during the first Test in February in Mirpur: it bounced first at his own feet, then , a little closer to de Villiers, who, completely bamboozled by now, top-edged a pull back to Ashraful. If you fly over Dhaka, it is said you can still hear them laughing.Cricket headline of the year
“Pinter: Cricket is better than sex” (The , days after the death of playwright Harold Pinter). Perhaps, and it definitely lasts longer.Catch of the year
The league may not be recognised, but nobody will argue that Justin Kemp’s catch in the second ICL final doesn’t deserve recognition as one of the finest seen in recent years. Mohammad Sami was rightly expecting a maximum from a smash towards long-off. Kemp, however, sprinted across, leapt as if to pluck out a shooting star, twisted and caught the rocket, all at once, before falling over just inside the boundary. So unbelievable was it that the Lahore Badshahs didn’t believe it, subsequently sparking a bust-up.Clash of the year
Australia-India? England-South Africa? South Africa-India? South Africa-Australia? Nope. Stanford v Lord’s. New money v old power, Yanks v Brits, Bacon n’ egg ties v Armani suits, 20 million dollars v millions of years of tradition, a helicopter v the sacred Lord’s turf. Stanford’s shopping trip to Lord’s to buy English cricket was the heavyweight clash of the year. Even now no one is sure who won. Or whether there was a winner at all.Controversy of the year
Race, power, money, monkeys, s, culture clash, poor umpiring, icons: The surprise of Sydneygate was that it didn’t spark off WWIII. At its heart was something Harbhajan Singh said to Andrew Symonds, in a Test marred by diabolically poor umpiring. He was banned for three Tests, the BCCI and India screamed murder, threatened to call off the tour, appealed; the decision was overturned, Steve Bucknor was removed. Cue pained debates on sledging, race, power, monkeys, s, culture clashes, umpiring and icons, and precious little on India losing three wickets in an over, to a man KP might call a pie-chucker, to lose the Test.Debutant of the year
Twenty-six wickets in his first three Tests against the best modern-day players of spin; 48 wickets in 18 ODIs, including a six-for on essentially a cement track in Karachi against the best modern-day players of spin, all at an average of 10. A strange grip, no stock ball, more variety than Murali has wickets, and a nice smile; welcome to cricket, Ajantha Mendis. Last year windows for rest were being sought desperately; this year the panes shifted, and windows to cram in more and more games – and more ways to make more money – were created Makeover of the year
If cricket was Pamela Anderson, then the IPL was Pam post-op. It wasn’t bad before but it’s never been sexier since. Liquor barons, cheerleaders allergic to clothes, film stars, big money, big businessmen, music, noise, lights, and a marketing campaign to match any. There were also some pretty handy cricketers playing some pretty handy cricket, but that was almost besides the point.Spell of the year
Ishant Sharma’s hour-long torment of Ricky Ponting on the fourth day in Perth set the tone for both players’ year: Sharma confirmed himself as the best young fast bowler going, and Ponting, though never out of form, was never the perky intimidator. The duel was fascinating, nine overs of the most intense examination. There was pace, bounce, movement, accuracy, heart, near-misses and close things. Finally, as his spell neared an end, he brought about Ponting’s, with one that rose sharply and caught the edge. A star was thus born.Costliest hook of the year
The one Andrew Symonds used while fishing, having skipped a team meeting to do so, the day before an ODI against Bangladesh. The price? His place in the squad for that series, and more importantly, the one against India that followed. As punishment, CA officially placed him in the saloon for last chances, which, given his preference for an ale, he may not mind so much after all.Over of the year
Actually 10 balls bowled by Andrew Flintoff to Jacques Kallis at Edgbaston, but they produced more threat than some bowlers do over an entire career, and more quality cricket than do some Test series. Two sharp yorkers, one lbw appeal that Stevie Wonder would’ve given out, bouncers hellbent on rearranging Kallis’s face. The 10th was another yorker – quick, swinging out, against which Kallis had no chance. The sightscreens weren’t great apparently but were Kallis’ bat a wall and the ball a balloon, Flintoff’s will still would’ve forced it through. Loud and clear it was announced: Three injury-marred years after another special over to Ricky Ponting at the same ground, Freddie was back.Most embarrassing thing of the year about the Stanford Series I
EnglandMost embarrassing thing of the year about the Stanford Series II
The English press complaining about pitches, poor lights and Americans. In Antigua. While being paid to watch cricket.The Muntazer Al-Zaidi Public Service Award of the year
To Harbhajan Singh, for slapping Sreesanth at the IPL, and thus doing what all batsmen who have come across the breakdancer have presumably wanted to do. Funnily enough, the Annoying Prat Formerly Known as Sreesanth has been less annoying since. The spirit inspired a copycat attempt at the end of the year by the Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist after whom the award is now named.The AWOL cricket gripe of the year
Player burnout: Funny that, how no player spoke of being overworked despite schedules more crammed than Dolly Parton’s bra. Last year windows for rest were being sought desperately; this year the panes shifted, and windows to cram in more and more games – and more ways to make more money – were created.
Apparently the new Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif emerges from yet another hearing © AFP
Timeliest comeback of the year
Stephen Harmison, disenchanted with international cricket, suddenly rediscovered his fire in the summer. It had nothing to do, of course, with selection for the Stanford series and a potential million-dollar payoff, or the India tour and a possible route into the riches of the IPL. Just like the late Anna Nicole Smith’s marriage to that old whatsisname had nothing to do with his fortune. By the end of it, England had won nothing in Antigua and Harmison looked likelier to become a roving ambassador than to end up in the IPL.The “Oops I Did It Again” Award of the year
One drugs scandal is generally enough for most sportsmen, but three in two years? Mohammad Asif should’ve been on thin ice after the 2006 Champions Trophy scandal but he skated on. The folly of the PCB’s lenience then came back to haunt them this year, when first Asif was detained at Dubai airport for possession of an illegal recreational drug. Soon after, it emerged that he had tested positive for nandrolone again, this time during the IPL. Thus became Pakistan’s brightest star it’s biggest disappointment.The worst advertisement for Test cricket this year
The Bangalore Royal Challengers. They were a Test side, everyone groaned. No they weren’t. They were just a crap team. The Mohali Test between India and England was a close second.The best advertisement for Test cricket this year
Test cricket has never been as rowdy as when Virender Sehwag is at the crease. He resurrected his career with a resolute Adelaide hundred but he lit up the year with two outrageous innings. A triple hundred against South Africa at better than a run-a-ball in Chennai was easily the fastest triple ever, managing to enliven what was otherwise one of the year’s dullest Tests. The second capped off one of the best: A ludicrous 68-ball 83 that really made impossible nothing, letting India chase down 387 at the same venue but on a very different pitch.The most audacious match-winning innings of the year not played by V Sehwag
This year Graeme Smith confirmed his status as one of the best last-innings batsmen ever, leading South Africa to victories in four countries. He started with a 79-ball blitz against the West Indies in Newlands in January, his 85 fairly hunting down a tricky 186. Sixty-two came in a dicier 205-run chase in Dhaka. But the glory lay first in a monumental unbeaten 154 at Edgbaston, chasing 281; a blistering 108 in Perth in the second-highest chase ever; and a calming 75 at the MCG to seal the series. No longer the cocky kid, in 2008 Smith became a man of indomitable will.Streak of the year
Once a more solid Imran Farhat, Gautam Gambhir became a smaller, less puffy-chested Matthew Hayden this year. No batsman was more difficult to remove: in 16 innings his lowest score was 19, and only once did he bat for less than an hour – that was for 55 minutes. He didn’t dawdle either, crossing 50 nine times, and always scoring three runs an over.Bradmanesque streak of the (last 2) year(s)
Shiv Chanderpaul: 13 Tests, 1467 runs, six 100s and ten 50s in 23 innings, and at an average of nearly 105. We are not worthy.Late cut of the year
It will happen, it will happen, it will happen, it will… actually it won’t. So went the saga of this year’s Champions Trophy. Nobody knew, least of all hosts Pakistan, whether it would happen, until the day it was postponed. It was a cruel, devastating and poor decision.Comeback of the year
On the back of a sensational domestic season, Simon Katich forced his way back into the national side two-and-a-half years after last playing for them, and this time as opener. By a troubled year’s end, he was one of the few rocks in an uncertain batting order: Four hundreds and over a thousand runs, each of which suggested you would have to kill him to get past him. No less obdurate was Neil McKenzie, who also came back as an opener for South Africa four years after last playing for them. He helped Graeme Smith to all manner of opening records and himself to over 1000 runs, and three hundreds. Once a more solid Imran Farhat, Gautam Gambhir became a smaller, less puffy-chested Matthew Hayden this year Career-saving hundreds of the yearThis was a vintage year. Andrew Strauss saved himself in March with 177 in Napier, having averaged 27 over his previous 14 Tests (and made a duck in the first innings). Paul Collingwood went into the Edgbaston Test against South Africa with 92 first-class runs in nine innings, having been dropped for the previous Test. He responded with a hundred that should have won the game. Rahul Dravid averaged 31 over two years and 19 over his last ten Tests before he made 136 against England in Mohali . Career-saving perhaps, but ugly as sin all the knocks. “If he was batting in your front garden, you’d draw your curtains,” David Lloyd quipped of Collingwood recently. Had any of these been played in your front garden, you’d move house altogether.Most bizarre selection of the year
Darren Pattinson. Who? Yes, precisely. Nothing more left-field was seen until Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave the world a Christmas message on the UK’s Channel 4.Most overworked officials of the year
Reg Dickason, the freelance security expert, clocked up more air miles than Simon Taufel as cricket met the harsh realities of today’s violent world. If he wasn’t scoping out Karachi and Lahore – more than once this year – it was Chennai and Mohali, before heading all over the world to report back to players. Followed closely by the PCB’s lawyers, who slapped more lawsuits than were slapped in all of the US.The Inzamam-ul-Haq Award for figure of the year
Jesse Ryder. The boy may be fat but the boy can most definitely bat.The Lalit Modi Award for services to cricket
Lalit Modi. Obviously.Quiet champion of the yearHow many people noticed the work of Hashim Amla this year? Quietly, unnoticed, and with a lovely, old-world dignity (and quirky technique), Amla went about ensuring South Africa barely felt the lack of runs from Jacques Kallis. Over a thousand runs from that crooked back-swing, with three elegant hundreds, meant South Africa always built on the fine starts their openers gave. Other contenders were, unsurprisingly, also South African: Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Paul Harris, and Kallis with the ball.Retirements of the year
The quietest but loudest “Just one more things lads’ was how one of Indian cricket’s most significant figures quietly announced his retirement. Sourav Ganguly signed off with a bang, however, with 324 runs at over 50 against the men he riled the most. No better way of saying he could’ve played on.
The least noticed The most famous red top since Archie Andrews, and less notably, one of the finest allrounders of the modern age, Shaun Pollock wrecked West Indies in his final Test, in January. That was his first Test in almost a year, though his team have hardly, in the year since, missed the only South African with 400-plus Test wickets.
Most statistically satisfying Stephen Fleming’s actual batting was far sexier than his career numbers suggest, but if he had failed to finish with an average of 40, it would’ve been cricket’s greatest injustice since Bradman’s 99.94 and Inzi’s 49.60. Fortunately, two typically smooth innings (typically, not hundred either) ensured he didn’t.
The biggest shoes to fill Those left behind by Anil Kumble and Adam Gilchrist. Both were among the biggest game-breakers their country – and cricket – has seen. Who will be the more difficult to replace: A wicketkeeper-batsman who made 33 international 100s at a strike-rate not far from 100, or a grim-faced leggie with over 600 Test wickets? Will make the search for the next Beefy look like a walk in the park.
Jesse Ryder: Not bad for a fat lad © Getty Images
Lamest excuse of the year
Ricky Ponting citing the spirit of cricket, and his obligation to try and bowl 90 overs in a day, to defend his tactics on the fourth afternoon of the Nagpur Test. Australia needed a win, and India were in trouble, whereupon Ponting turned to those renowned threats Michael Hussey and Cameron White to make up time. Was avoiding a suspension more important than the win? The worst excuse since the dog ate my homework.The batsman to bat for your life of the year
If ever there was a man for a crisis this year, it was < Kevin Pietersen, Mr 911. Each of his five hundreds, and a 94, came when England in serious strife. First was a 129 at Napier with England 4 for 3; the Kiwis were pummelled again for 115 at Trent Bridge – handy, with his side 86 for 5. The Lord's hundred against South Africa was the most comfortable, Pietersen steadying only a slight wobble, but the 94 at Edgbaston came with England effectively 21 for 4. His next hundred was in his first Test as captain, and in Mohali, he came in at 2 for 1. All he was missing was a cape, some tights and a mask.Haircut of the year
Ishant Sharma, because he got one.Finish of the year
The touch he’s in, Shivnarine Chanderpaul could get 36 off the last over to win it, so 10 off two balls against Chaminda Vaas in Trinidad was never going to be a problem. He drove a boundary first before flicking a full toss over midwicket to finish, as coolly as you’d flick the ash off a cigarette. Kamran Akmal wasn’t far behind in stealing 17 off Jerome Taylor’s last over to seal a thrilla in… er… Abu Dhabi.Captain of the year
MS Dhoni and Graeme Smith were very good, and Mahela Jayawardene always is, but there was only one captain this year. Shane Warne proved that genius remains in all formats and that old dogs learn new tricks. As performer, he was undimmed: his bowling was magic, as 19 wickets for the Rajasthan Royals – joint second-highest in the IPL – testifies. There was the odd batting cameo, as Andrew Symonds will tell you. But his captaincy sealed it: A gambler’s touch complementing the sharpest mind. One-over spells, surprise bouncer barrages, no coaching BS, and his players loved him. On rolled the “best Australian captain that never was” debate.Fruitless search of the year
How many men does it take to replace Warne? Australia tried six spinners this year alone, and by the end, none had really convinced. In 13 Tests, Beau Casson, Stuart MacGill, Nathan Hauritz, Jason Krejza, Brad Hogg and Cameron White took 38 wickets at over 50 each. How many men? How long is a piece of string?The return to terra firma of the year
Once he had only Bradman in his sights; now Michael Hussey’s horizons have shrunk to include other, more mortal, batsmen. Mr Cricket started the year averaging 80 and, having scored an even 900 runs at the comparatively derisory average of 37.50, ended it at 60. This included four ducks in the year, after getting none in his first three years, and the grand total of 10 runs in the last four innings of 2008. How the mighty have fallen indeed.

Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor have become stronger and fitter over the past couple of years under the tough conditioning regime of a succession of Australian trainers

Tony Cozier17-Feb-2009

The embodiment of the fearsome fast bowling on which the reputation of West Indies cricket is largely founded has been all around the Antigua Recreation Ground over the first two days of the shifted Test.On the outfield during the lunch break, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding were officially inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame. The still massively imposing figures of Ian Bishop and Colin Croft dominated the respective commentary boxes. Curtly Ambrose, still as tall, upright and pencil-slim as he was when he and Courtney Walsh swept aside the game’s finest batsmen, strolled around the ground he called home.On the field, two of their present-day successors, unfairly carrying the long, unfulfilled burden of expectation, showed that reports of the disappearance of Caribbean pace have been somewhat exaggerated.Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor do not fit the stereotype of West Indies fast bowlers. The former is just six feet tall, the latter two inches shorter. They lack the physiques of heavyweight champions that added a further intimidatory factor to Roberts, Bishop, Croft and company. And they are only two of them, not the packs of four as there used to be.Their statistics are unflattering. Each averages in the mid-30s runs per wicket. Yet they have become stronger and fitter over the past couple of years under the tough conditioning regime of a succession of Australian trainers.Taylor’s potential was obvious in his demolition of England at Sabina Park. Edwards has become the spearhead of the attack, passing 100 Test wickets (a landmark already passed by his elder half-brother, Pedro Collins) with his personal best 7 for 87 against New Zealand in Napier in December.After a difficult opening day, during which their captain, Chris Gayle, was not inclined to subject them to overwork on a typically lifeless Antigua Recreation Ground pitch, they each produced a spell that drew appreciative nods from their famed compatriots beyond the boundary.
Edwards operated throughout the first hour, never flagging through six hostile overs, consistently generating speeds of 90 miles an hour and above, he unsettled England’s premier batsman, Kevin Pietersen, and the dogged Paul Collingwood.Lifters were fended off bodies, hooks were mistimed, deliveries flashed past probing bats. His length, neither too full nor too short, set problems for the front-foot inclined Pietersen. Collingwood stabbed his first ball just over gully and spent an anxious half-hour settling into customary groove.Yet, when the first drinks break ended Edwards’ exertions, the only reward he had was that of the nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson’s wicket to add to Andrew Strauss the previous evening. He deserved more. Ironically, his one chance of success was a stiff return catch from a rare full toss that surprised Pietersen.By then, Taylor was patrolling the outfield, awaiting treatment during lunch on a niggle in his side. When Gayle summoned him again, to operate from the Factory Road end, Pietersen and Collingwood were well established in a partnership of 95 and, at 406 for four with Andrew Flintoff in next, England were headed for an overwhelming total.Even as Taylor sprinted in for his first ball, it was evident that the rhythm of Sabina Park, clearly missing on the opening day, was back. It was just under 90 miles an hour and trapped Pietersen in no-man’s land, skidding through to rake the inside edge on its way into the stumps. Pietersen’s 51 was an untypical struggle yet his removal, as always, was significant.Flintoff arrived to the type of reception from the thousands of England fans in the stands that Russell Crowe received from the Romans on his entry to the coliseum in . Two balls later, he was making the return journey, undone by another low, spot-on delivery that he might have kept out had he been further forward.In three balls, Taylor had changed the course of the innings, not with anything like the impact of Sabina but with a boost to sagging West Indian morale all the same.His five overs brought the two wickets for two runs. At Sabina, a similar burst yielded five for 11. But that doesn’t happen every day, certainly not at the ARG.

Graeme Smith announced his return to form in typically ebullient manner and, if he is consistent, Rajasthan are bound for the final four

Karna S05-May-2009Rajasthan got what they wanted from this game. The team has spoken about the need for consistency in the batting; Graeme Smith, who averaged 13 before this game, got among the runs today and his new opening partner Naman Ojha looked pretty solid too. Smith had not been himself for a while; he had a quiet last three games against Australia in the ODI series and flopped in the first seven here in the IPL. Today, he announced his return to form – good news for South Africa as much as Rajasthan – in typically ebullient manner.Watching Smith bat is not the most joyful act. There is nothing graceful about his batsmanship but it almost mirrors his steely mind that is so evident and celebrated in his captaincy. A tough and hard captain doesn’t usually conjure up visuals of lyrical batting; as Allan Border grew into his captaincy, he seemed to get more crab-like in the crease. It was almost a fight within himself. Smith can be a power hitter but he is not your flowing Yuvraj or Gilchrist. Everything about him suggests force; muscle over wrist, batsman over bowler, mind over matter.It begins with his stance, and how he tries to bring the bat down – a deliberate, almost very conscious, move to get it straight down, as if he is almost willing himself to get it right. It doesn’t seem to be a natural movement. More often than not, the straight drive goes to mid-on. He has a mean flick shot but even there he has turned that graceful movement to something hauled off the assembly line. Young boys are not going to fall in love with the game after seeing him bat but his peers will admire his guts and want to play as tough as him.Today offered more evidence of his tough and calculating mind. He was about to take first strike but once he saw it was the offspinner Ramesh Powar who had the ball, he asked Naman Ojha, the right hander, to do so and go after the bowler. With Ojha getting off to a flier, Smith didn’t have to worry about runs or preserving his wicket. He was not in great form when he started off, the ball meeting the edge more than the middle, but he fought on.The field setting for him was perfect, Mahela Jayawardene stationed at short mid-on to catch the error from the bottom-hand powered drive down the ground. And it almost worked: Smith hit one hard and Jayawardene almost pulled off a blinder to his right. Once let off, though, Smith broke away. He hit four fours in the next eight balls, which included his favourite flick and a slap past point, and charged along to unfurl powerful sweeps and carved drives before he holed out to long-on. The pitch helped him; it was faster, the ball came on nicely to the bat and he prospered.Later, Jeremy Snape and Darren Berry spoke about how delighted they were with Smith and Ojha’s partnership. “They played proper cricketing shots. Smith has been very professional in his preparation and it was just matter of time before the runs came. This was the strip on which he played the Test against Australia and was feeling good ahead of the game.” The strong-willed Smith is back and, if he is consistent, Rajasthan are bound for the final four.

Now that he has stayed on as captain, Gayle has the chance to break the mould.

Tony Cozier05-Jul-2009For Chris Gayle to have been retained as West Indies captain for the forthcoming two Tests against Bangladesh, as he is expected to be, the selectors and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) needed to be convinced of his commitment to the role for at least another year.Had he remained as downbeat as he was in an interview in a British newspaper last May someone else would surely have taken over by now. He revealed then that his enthusiasm for Test cricket was being diminished by schedule overload (he wouldn’t be “sad” if it died out was the way he clumsily and misleadingly put it) and that he intended to give up the captaincy “shortly”.Even though Gayle protested that he had been misinterpreted, it was the negative attitude of a reluctant leader. His delayed arrival in London two days before the first Test so that he could turn out in one last Twenty20 match for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa seemed to confirm his priorities. Had they remained the same, he needed to step aside, or be removed, to allow a new skipper the ideal preparation of a home series against Bangladesh.In spite of their shocking record of a solitary victory (over Zimbabwe) in their 59 Tests, they cannot be underestimated by opponents who are only one rung above them on the ICC’s rankings. But they are flyweights compared to the heavyweights next on the Test card for the West Indies-Australia in Australia later this year and South Africa at home in the second half of next season.In between are various, significant one-day tournaments – the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September and, next year, ODI series in Australia and the third World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. Surely Gayle, even as jaded as he claims to be, wouldn’t be so uncaring as to take his leave once Bangladesh are gone and leave yet another captain-the seventh in a dozen years-to handle the daunting challenges just ahead. Even if that was so, the options are limited.Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan have already drunk from what has become a poisoned chalice and publicly stated they won’t touch it again.Denesh Ramdin, pitch-forked into the vice-captaincy when Sarwan curiously quit prior to the New Zealand tour last December, and Dwayne Bravo, Gayle’s deputy in South Africa two years ago, remain in the frame. Their time will come but, right now, they lack experience and, as keeper and key allrounder, already have plenty on their plate.In other words, for all his cool-dude approach, his tactical deficiencies, his stand-offs with the board and his confusing comments, Gayle was the man once genuinely prepared to take on the later, more pressing engagements that follow Bangladesh. His role as opening batsman is as critical to the team’s strength. His flat-footed method does not stand up to technical scrutiny but it is counter-balanced by his awesome power and aggressive intent. Only the Indian, Virender Sewag, among his contemporaries, is as capable of dismantling an attack – and not in the shorter formats alone.It is ironic that he should have moaned about the burdens of Test cricket and leadership in his much discussed newspaper revelations. Jimmy Adams, who himself has experienced the pressures of West Indies captaincy in a year at the helm, stated that Gayle was “looking forward to the day he can be himself again, bat in his own style, enjoy his game in his own way”. Yet, since he came to the captaincy by default two years ago, following injuries to Sarwan, the originally chosen successor to Brian Lara, Gayle’s batting has flourished.In his 14 Tests in that time (against South Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and England), he has averaged 46.55 against an overall 39.58. His 197 against New Zealand in Napier last December, occupying eight and a half hours yet still including seven sixes, typified a new maturity. To me, it was his finest innings. His limited-overs returns have also been impressive-an ODI average of 45.17 in 25 matches and some unforgettable hitting in the Twenty20s.Adams noted the many West Indies captains, including himself, who have succumbed to the burdens of leadership. “I only did the job for a year, and that was enough for me,” he said. “It is hard to describe what it is like to lead a losing team, with the expectation that exists in the Caribbean, until you have experienced it for yourself.”Richie Richardson came down with acute fatigue syndrome, Brian Lara initially quit to take a break from the game, Chanderpaul gave it up to concentrate on his batting. Gayle has shown signs of similar disenchantment. Now that he has stayed on, he has the chance to break the mould.

Rajan Bala’s writing was only a portion of his contribution to the game. He also built up teams of writers across the country

Suresh Menon09-Oct-2009For a couple of decades from the start of the 1970s, Rajan Bala was India’s most provocative and controversial cricket writer. Not for him the well-turned phrase or the surprising metaphor; his writing was aimed not so much at the head or the heart as the solar plexus. Sometimes he missed the target, especially when he let emotion get the better of him. But more often he shocked because he knew well both the game and the people involved.At his best he was stimulating, and even when he wrote with the awareness of an insider he gave the impression that he knew much more than he wrote. He was blessed with the attributes of the popular columnist: a passion for the game, the love of language that placed simplicity of style above what Hemingway called the ten-dollar words, a remarkable memory for facts and figures and a sharp opinion on most matters.As a reporter he was hard-working, had a great instinct for news and an almost virulent dislike of the fakes and phoneys of the cricketing world. He was 23 when he wrote his first book in 1969, the story of the New Zealand tour of India that year (), an expanded version of his reports for , Kolkata. Very quickly, he took Indian cricket writing beyond the Cardusian cadences of a KN Prabhu or an NS Ramaswami, combining his understanding of technique and human nature to produce stories that went beyond the 22 yards. In this he was a pioneer, setting the agenda for today’s writers who, forced by the immediacy of live television and the internet, look for the stories behind the story. Had Rajan Bala not been on the 1974 tour of England where India lost the three-Test series 0-3, it is unlikely that some of the more unsavoury aspects of that tour would have seen light of day. Bala sniffed out the stories of personality troubles in the team, the unhappiness of those who had come to play cricket and not politics.His presence at cricket stadiums and at board meetings thereafter was guaranteed to keep the officials and players looking over their shoulders. In those years, Bala was the conscience-keeper of a cricketing nation. Yet, for a writer who often wrote about the underbelly of the sport, Bala was no cynic. He saw every game with fresh eyes, arrived at the press boxes around the world with infectious enthusiasm and a determined effort to beat the other guy to the news story. He continued to look up to his heroes. Tiger Pataudi, Erapalli Prasanna, the late ML Jaisimha, Gundappa Viswanath, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, the late Dattu Phadkar, Garry Sobers, Bob Simpson, the late Ken Barrington and many who didn’t get to play international cricket but were no less icons for that. He wrote about them, wrote for them, and wrote by them. And he was prolific. But that was not all.

All of us were inspired to feel extremely possessive about the game: if things went wrong we felt personally responsible. “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” Rajan was fond of quoting.

His writing was only a portion of his contribution to the game. He took a path through and the now defunct , , , , , and publications spread over the country, from Kolkata to Chennai to Bangalore to Mumbai – and built up teams of writers in each of these publications.Just over a quarter century ago, Rajan was sports editor at , Bangalore. On my first day at work, fresh out of university, I asked hesitantly, “Is it all right to smoke in here?” and was welcomed with the memorable words: “So long as you don’t f**k on my table, you can do what you want.” Rajan was friend, guide, philosopher and mentor to a bunch of talented youngsters who went on to make a name for themselves. At a recent Test match, someone calculated that the press box was filled with a good percentage of Rajan’s boys and one-time acolytes. All of them had been put through the Bala school of hard work, passion, respect for facts and endless debates over bottled stuff. All of us were inspired to feel extremely possessive about the game: if things went wrong we felt personally responsible. “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” Rajan was fond of quoting. Sixty-three is no age to die.In the last decade or so, Rajan had become unhappy. There were medical complications, and emotional ones too. He wrote books on the character of Indian technique (), the politics of Indian cricket () and biographies of Chandrasekhar and Sachin Tendulkar. He wrote less than he knew, which works for a newspaper column but doesn’t in a book. His final book was to be released this week. Its title, , sits well as his epitaph. For despite everything, he would not have wanted it any other way.

That Vijay managed to make an impression through the mayhem created by Sewhag at Brabourne Stadium testifies to his innings – and also to his ability to stay calm

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009It must have been the Sehwag effect; nothing else could have prompted M Vijay, playing his second Test, to bring up his maiden Test fifty with a six off Muttiah Muralitharan. For the record, Vijay issued a disclaimer – “I can’t get influenced by Sehwag because I can’t bat like he bats” – but with that one shot he announced his arrival. More than the daring, it was the youngster’s composure, confidence and body language on the day that have probably vaulted him ahead of other contenders for the vacant batting slots when the Big Three retire.That Vijay managed to make an impression through the mayhem created by Sewhag at Brabourne Stadium testifies to his innings – and also to his ability to stay calm. To an extent, Sehwag’s assault on the Sri Lankan bowlers took the pressure off Vijay and gave him the freedom to express himself. It also helps that Vijay is no stranger to the Indian dressing-room – this may be his first Test since his debut last October against Australia but he’s been an understudy ever since and this is his fourth series in the Indian squad.So when he walked in as Sehwag’s opening partner he knew his job was to be the sidekick. On a day like Thursday it becomes the easiest role to perform, and also offers the best seat in the house to witness Sehwag’s innings. He could have been tempted to also go for the big shots but, barring the occasional rush of blood and slice of luck, he kept his head down, rotated the strike and allowed Sehwag to take centrestage. He was disappointed to lose out on a deserving century but admitted he fell to a “wrong shot”.It was a rare error for this technically adept batsman. Upright at the crease, he has a classical side-on stance with a high left elbow that precedes the marvellous batswing unravelled as he leans into his shots. There were a few beautiful strokes today, the best of which was a leaning cover drive against Murali; he picked the bowler quickly, moved into the stroke early and then leaned forward to punch the ball past the ropes.He also displayed an ability to leave the short ball. Generally tall batsmen don’t cut an impressive figure while fending off the short stuff but whenever he was bounced he assumed the correct position without losing his footing.All of that was largely within his control – off his own bat, forgive the pun. His other main contribution was building an opening partnership with Sehwag by playing to his partner’s strengths. Rotation of strike is one of the pillars of success of the Sehwag-Gautam Gambhir combine and Vijay happily moved to the non-striker’s end at every opportunity.He understands his current role is to warm the seat for Gambhir and doesn’t mind it at all. “This is just a learning curve,” he said. That accommodating nature could be to his advantage – the opening slots are booked for the long term but there will be slots lower down opening up over the next couple of years and Vijay could do worse than move to the middle order with Tamil Nadu.He’d have to contend with the likes of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Subramaniam Badrinath (not in any order) but he’s stolen a head start with this innings.

Minor selection issues converge to become major headache for India

N Hunter06-Feb-2010It was a day of two contrasting debuts. For the last five years S Badrinath has been shouting himself hoarse trying to attract the attention of the selectors with a truckload of runs. Finally his call was answered – he got his debut in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh. What raised eyebrows, though, was the inclusion of the second debutant, Wriddhiman Saha, a last-minute decision that put the player and his team under considerable, perhaps unfair, pressure.It forced the question: Why was the Bengal wicketkeeper, just 24 first-class matches old, out on the field when he really should have been carrying the drinks? The simple answer: he was here in Nagpur and the team management were put in a spot once Rohit Sharma, himself a last-minute inclusion to cover for the injured VVS Laxman, twisted his ankle during the morning warm-ups.Behind that simple answer lies a questionable selection decision, a gamble that could yet backfire on the selectors should events in this game go against India. The squad for this Test had six batsmen – there no wriggle room in the event of injuries, nor even the more established batting wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik to fall back on.Instead, the selectors picked four seam bowlers, seemingly one too many given that India have rarely played three quick bowlers in a home Test. One spot could have been freed up for a batting back-up, and the need to include Saha as a specialist batsman would have also been avoided.Asked after the day’s play if he felt the squad lacked an extra batsman, Dhoni gave a mixed response: “This question should have been asked when the squad was announced. No one expected the injury [Rohit] to happen 15 minutes before the start.”Rohit’s was a case of being in the right place at the right time. He was leading the Board President’s XI in the warm-up game against the South Africans and was asked to stay back at the team hotel as the cloud over Laxman’s wrist injury had not yet cleared. Barring a triple-century against a below-par Gujarat attack at home, Rohit had little to show this domestic season. Even in the ODIs his spot has now been grabbed by Virat Kohli, who has been earning plaudits with his performances with the national team.This was the first instance of both Dravid and Laxman missing a Test since 1996. Both men are in the twilight of their remarkable careers and selectors over the last few years have been working hard on grooming their replacements. Badrinath has proved to be the most bankable scrip on the domestic cricket indices and the first name on the replacement list. But selections are matters of choice, and across history selectors have picked players in the past on pure instincts, willing to take the gamble. Another route has been to pick a player on his current form.If you use the second parameter as the yardstick, Karthik should have been the ideal choice as your reserve keeper. Despite the lacklustre Bangladesh tour, he has outperformed Saha in the domestic season and if he was pressed in as a specialist bat, his 23-Test experience would have added weight to a new-look middle order. But Dhoni mentioned he was left with no choice. “We went with the best option available option because Laxman was 50-60 % fit,” he said.So India had two debutants in the middle order for the first time since 1996 when Dravid and Sourav Ganguly played at Lord’s. In the last decade only Yuvraj Singh managed to make a place in the middle order, playing his maiden Test in 2003 since when it has had a settled look.Kris Srikkanth’s selection panel has, through most of its tenure, stuck with players who were introduced to the national pool by the previous two selection panels. You cannot blame them for riding on the success that the pairing of Dhoni and Gary Kirsten has scripted in the last two years in Test cricket, but they need to work out the pros and cons of every decision they make.There is no doubt Saha is happy and excited about his debut – though doubtless he would have preferred different circumstances and a different role. Spare a thought, though, for those young aspirants who have been shouldering responsibilities for their respective states piling up big runs – the likes of Manish Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and other good batsmen who are bound to feel distraught at not being considered despite their domestic success. Their time will probably come but it could have been sooner rather than later.