He was on a king pair and without technology would have gone down in the record books for the wrong reasons, but Pakistan’s debutant keeper turned into a hero

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston08-Aug-2010Belief. Goddamn belief. Where have you been hiding all this while? Pakistan might well ask that question after a day in which Zulqarnain Haider, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Amir played like the most cocksure men in the world. They showed the necessary arrogance to stand up to England, and coupled that with a self-confidence that irritated, frustrated and exhausted in equal measure. By the close Pakistan had done the unthinkable: they had batted a whole day for the first time this summer.It would have been ridiculous to entertain such a notion in the morning. The other prediction – that Graeme Swann would bowl rather more than his series quota of two overs – came to fruition fast and quick as the best offspinner of the moment deceived Pakistan’s specialist batsmen with stunning flight and turn. By lunch, Salman Butt was already pondering what new reasons he could offer for another shameful fold-up. Once again the young and old in the Pakistan top- and middle-order had played aimlessly, flopping into a discarded heap like dirty laundry.But then came Zulqarnain and Co. who refused to be hung out to dry on the line. After technology spared him the ignominy of a king pair on debut, Zulqarnain steeled himself for whatever England could threw at him for the rest of the afternoon. And let’s not fool ourselves. The real story wasn’t about how he rose above his debutant nerves. The real story was of how he lorded it over England’s bowling. Along with Amir for the 90-odd minutes after lunch, and the next couple of hours in the company of Ajmal, he forced Strauss into a complete re-think of his tactics.Remember England had one foot squarely on Pakistan’s throat already. So something extraordinary was needed to get them off the canvas. But Zulqarnain did something clever. He sensed the bowlers were attacking him but he needed to get back on top. Against Swann he took guard slightly outside leg stump to take lbw out of the equation, as Swann attacked his pads from around the stumps. At other times he was seen walking up the pitch a few yards to face down James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Nothing dents a fast bowler’s ego more than a batsman charging him with such impudence. Both gave him a ‘don’t-you-dare-do-that’ stare immediately. He out-stared them.Even Strauss, at first slip, was rattled. What helped Zulqarnain was Amir’s dead-batted defiance at the other end. And whenever Zulqarnain tried to do something silly, it was the 18-year-old Amir who slapped him on his wrists. Ajmal did the same later. Like a nagging pair of parents, the duo protected the newcomer from getting carried away. The three amigos understood patience was key and the only way to push back the enemy.The other aim was to tire the opposition and make them do things that they would not normally attempt. Like placing two fielders in the deep behind square as Steve Finn mechanically tried to knock Ajmal’s block off with bouncers but ended up wasting them. It proved to be a futile tactic as Ajmal grew confident and even notched his own maiden half-century.Zulqarnian said later he was playing with the psyche of his opponents. It was working. Naively Broad threw back a ball in disgust at him, and earned himself a date with the match referee. Anderson was chirping constantly at the Pakistan wicketkeeper from mid-on, but was just wasting his breath. At times when the situation got out of hand, the Pakistanis were not afraid to have a go at the hosts. Ajmal was seen walking up towards Strauss, asking the England captain to mind his own business. Strauss walked, head down, towards the other end.Situations such as today’s are when a cricketer reveals his character. Zulqarnain, who was picked ahead of Kamran Akmal, could not properly celebrate his debut because his father was in a coma in hospital after contracting Hepatitis C. Syed Raza Haider only regained consciousness on the day the tour selectors picked his son in the team for the second Test. But today the senior Haider watched his son’s stoic battle with the English from the hospital bed on TV. He would’ve been proud of Zulqarnain keeping his head high throughout.It was double joy for Zulqarnain as the four that got him his maiden fifty also took Pakistan past England and put them into the lead. A more important stat came at the end of the day. In their last 15 Tests over the last two years, Pakistan have batted for 100-plus overs in an innings only five times. It is a damning indictment of their ever-failing top-order. But by the end of the day Pakistan had batted for more overs than in any other Test in 2010.All three of their lower-order batsmen showed a distinct quality which was sorely missing from the specialists: Zulqarnain, Amir and Ajmal showed the hunger to stay at the crease. They took the blows, the opposition taunts, and battled the pitch and the conditions with a poker face permanently in place. England hated being dominated in such a manner.”Frustrations arise from the fact that all through the series we have taken wickets at regular intervals and very quick and very easily almost. So when two guys apply themselves that is when our standards drop. But all credit to Pakistan,” Swann said of Pakistan’s fightback. He even admitted that watching his opposite number Ajmal get his half-century gave “perverse pleasure”.Butt, grim faced on the previous evening, was all smiles today and said he and the other batsmen has a lot to learn from the lower-order today. “It is remarkable the way he played,” he said of Zulqarnain. “And he has shown us all that if you are willing to stay there and take the pain there is surely gain.”For the first time this series, Pakistan played proper Test cricket today. They tested England’s patience and came out on top. Pakistan might not win the Test, but this particular battle belonged entirely to them.

Despite being a very different bowler, Morne Morkel shares many traits with Makhaya Ntini, whose place he has taken in the South Africa squad. His performace in Centurion suggests the handover is complete

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park17-Dec-2010Morne Morkel led the South African team off the field after they had bundled India out for 136. His geeky grin was on full display while his teenager-like uncertainty remained as he acknowledged the cheers. He looked a little embarrassed to receive the praise being lavished on him. A meek gesture, two small raises of the right hand, and a purposeful walk back to the dressing room. The only thing that revealed how delighted he was with his career-best haul was his toothy, goofy, sweet smile.Some of Morkel’s youthful jubilance is quite similar to the man whose place he has taken, the man who, for the first time in a decade has not been part of a South African home series – Makhaya Ntini.A room cannot stay silent if Ntini is in it. He walks in with a swagger and a smile and nothing can stay still. He projects his voice to all corners, guffaws loudly, cracks jokes, interrupts conversations and makes them his own. A party has not seen life until Ntini is there, no matter who else the saying applies to. There’s no party he liked better than the one he could have had at SuperSport Park, where the echoes of his grand legacy remain. In ten matches here, Ntini claimed 54 wickets, 14 more than his nearest rival Jacques Kallis. With the amount of grass on the pitch and the bounce there was to exploit, Ntini may have felt a pang of nostalgia when he turned on the television in his Beacon Bay home in East London.Ntini is being rested for the SuperSport Series match between the Warriors and the Knights and is working at his academy back home, which means he’s got plenty of time to think about the current Test and Morkel’s supreme haul. Think about it maybe, but he isn’t willing to talk about it. Some close to the seamer say it’s because he finds it too painful, since part of him longs to be on the field, perhaps this field in particular.This is where he had four five-wicket hauls and enjoyed tremendous support from a knowledgeable crowd. By the time all of those successes had been recorded, Ntini has already had his most successful year in Test cricket. He took 59 wickets in 12 matches in 2003, the highlight of which was his 10-wicket haul at Lord’s. That fruitful period was followed by 5 for 49 against the West Indies in 2004, a series in which he was the top wicket-taker. His next dominant display at SuperSport Park was when he had five-fors in each innings against New Zealand in 2006, followed by another memorable five-wicket haul, against Pakistan in 2007, to complete a South African white-wash.As eye-catching as Ntini’s displays were, some will argue that they didn’t reach the spectacular heights of Morkel’s 5 for 20 in this match. Morkel, who uses his height to extract bounce, cannot be seen as an immediate replacement to Ntini, the ultra-fit machine who started off only concerned with raw pace. The one thing they do have in common is their new-ball partner. Dale Steyn shared the new-ball with Ntini, and stamped his authority on the international scene in the match against New Zealand were Ntini picked up ten. Steyn and Morkel were partners at the domestic level and are now being dubbed the most feared opening pair in the game. The mantle, it appears, from Ntini to Morkel has been completely handed over.Ntini’s last Test was in December 2009 in Durban against England, where the 114 runs he conceded in 29 overs effectively ended his career. Morkel took 3 for 78 in that match and it kicked off a magical year for him. In 10 Tests this year, he has taken 42 wickets at an average of 23.09 and a strike rate of 46.0, both major improvements on his overall figures.Rahul Dravid’s wicket on the opening day was Morkel’s 100th in Tests. The last time Ntini was here, he also had a century milestone. It was his 100th Test, a special and, if he’d paid for it himself, costly occasion. Castle Lager promised a free beer to everyone in the stadium when Ntini got his first wicket of the match. Salivating fans waited two days before Ntini removed England’s captain Andrew Strauss’ off stump. The round had been bought. The Xhosa-word for Castle () was displayed on the scoreboard and with a wide smile, Ntini made a round gesture with his arm. “It’s on me,” he meant. Inqaba Makhaya!His joy that day was a cruel precursor to what was to come. Ntini is suffering in silent pain after a decade of participation came to an abrupt ended. He knows he may not even be able to anymore, but he wants to be the one ripping though the Indian line-up. That’s not to say he will begrudge Morkel his glory. When Ntini is ready to speak again, there can be no doubt he will congratulate Morkel in the only way he knows – by making one heck of a noise.

The CAB is adamant Eden Gardens would have been ready in time for the India-England match, but they are expecting a crowd of 35,000 for the game between South Africa and Ireland

Firdose Moonda in Kolkata14-Mar-2011Eden Gardens’ wait is over; the World Cup has arrived in Kolkata. It’s more than two weeks later than was originally scheduled, but it’s finally come.It hasn’t come with the pomp and ceremony it was supposed to bring: a match between India and England would have, no doubt, been played in front of a capacity crowd. It hasn’t come with the local heroes that the people of Kolkata have not seen play live for their country, in the city, since February last year in a Test match. It hasn’t come with a match that, on paper, offers a close contest that may prove decisive in the group stage. But it’s come; and, more importantly, the iconic stadium is ready to receive it.Eden Gardens was stripped of its right to host the India-England clash because the ICC decided that it would not be ready by February 27, when they inspected the venue on January 27. It was a massive blow for the stadium and considered an embarrassment; but instead of cowering away, the Cricket Association of Bengal have come out defiant, insisting that they were always ready on time.Kishore Bhimani, veteran administrator, journalist and now media manager of the venue, was involved at the time and was among those who believed the match should have stayed at Eden Gardens. “I thought we were ready,” he told ESPNCricinfo. “There were some problems with the drainage system, the radio boxes and the sightscreen, but I think the main issue was that there was a mismatch between our promise to them [the ICC] that we would have it all done and their belief in our promise.” The drainage system and media facilities have been spruced up and the sightscreen now covers the entire lower tier, things the administrators say were easy to fix.The CAB is adamant that they could have had those alterations made in time for February 27 and that they were denied their golden moment of the tournament. For them, the loss they have suffered, not just in monetary terms, but purely by not having an India game, cannot be recovered. “It’s like having had diamonds and now being given silver,” Biswarup Dey, the joint secretary of the CAB said. “Everything was fine, it was all ready and nothing major has changed since we were first inspected. But the ICC is the parent body and we can’t say anything more.”Most of the officials had the same attitude, not wanting to hark back to the game they so desperately wanted to host, and are anxious to get on with hosting the matches they do have. Bhimani is even optimistic that the response from the public will be positive. “We are expecting a crowd of around 35,000 for the match between South Africa and Ireland. Of those tickets 7000-8000 were sold, the rest were given to affiliates”It still means that more than half the stadium, which has a capacity of 63,000 (down from 100,000 after the renovations) will be full. That so many people were willing to buy a ticket to see the game is impressive, especially since the cheapest seat is Rs 400 (10US$), and Bhimani thinks the reason may lie with one of the teams that is in town. “South Africa are playing very well so people want to see them but they are also a real favourite in Kolkata.”Eden Gardens was the stadium where it all started for South Africa, in 1991, when they re-entered the international fray. This is where they came after a 22-year exile imposed on them by Apartheid and this is where they re-started as an international cricket team.Bhimani was part of the organising committee for that tour and he remembers the excitement when South Africa was welcomed at Eden Gardens. “There were at least 100,000 people lining the road from the airport to the hotel to see the South African team. At the hotel, there was great curiosity from people to see the team. And they [the team] weren’t worried about security, they were happy to meet people.”On the field, South Africa weren’t quite as suave. They were overawed by having to play in a “stadium with 87,000 seats, each of which was occupied,” as Bhimani said. Most of the players had only performed in front of domestic crowds in South Africa, which never numbered more than a few thousand. Andrew Hudson, who opened the batting then and is convenor of selectors now, admitted to being so nervous that “I was trembling” and was out for a third-ball duck. India won the match that day, but South Africa won hearts.Twenty years later, South Africa have a lot more experience in international cricket and of playing in front of big crowds, and are back in the city for a pit-stop on what they hope will be a road to a title that has evaded them. The memories of their first visit may be what draws Indian crowds to come and watch them here but the team is not dwelling on the past. They are here thinking only of the future that they hope will include a piece of ICC silverware, and are only too happy for Kolkata to be one of the venues where that crown is won.”It’s a special place to play,” Corrie van Zyl, South Africa coach said. “It’s awesome to be back. We were here last year when the stadium was being built and it will be nice to see it now that it’s finished.” The concrete slabs have been replaced by bucket seats with roofs being constructed over them. Not all of the roofs are complete, with two of the stands only sheltered by a skeleton structure on which the covering is yet to be added. Ironically, that covering is being imported from South Africa.

Shahid Afridi has been a true leader of men, with them on bad days and good days, taking Pakistan ultimately to a place few expected them to reach

Osman Samiuddin in Mohali29-Mar-2011Until two weeks before this World Cup began, it mustn’t be forgotten, Shahid Afridi wasn’t even captain of Pakistan. Misbah-ul-Haq was a strong contender and a number of players were said to be unhappy with Afridi’s gift – and curse – for public straight-talk, particularly when criticising players.Yet, in four days time, he may well be a World Cup winning captain. He continues to be appointed on a series-by-series basis and he must be the only captain in the world who doesn’t complain about that unstable arrangement. Every game, he insists after all, he plays as if his first or last. He thrives on it.So now he leads his team into a World Cup semi-final, precisely as he said he would before the tournament began. It’s India, so it will be among the biggest games he has played, and for many of his younger players, a game that can make a career. Ian Chappell has criticised him, but really? Afridi, as captain, taking Pakistan this far? If you’d said it two years ago, you would have been committed.The success of any Pakistan captain lies basically in his own individual success. Players respond naturally to the man who does well, because they think that makes him strong, the man who can get stuff done, the man who can make ’em or break ’em. Afridi has done it by becoming arguably the most important player in the side and its very personification. Few would have expected him to be the leading wicket-taker at this tournament so far but here he is, having bowled vital, wicket-taking spells throughout. Take him out and the nature, to say nothing of the threat, of the side is greatly diminished.Without ball in hand, on the field, he has led by energy, keeping his players alert and on edge. Occasionally he has shown tactical awareness. No Pakistani captain had opened with spin, for example, until he did so with Abdur Rehman against New Zealand. Against West Indies, he picked Saeed Ajmal to combat their left-hand batsmen but opened with Mohammad Hafeez, whose spell set up the game. He has brought back his strike fast bowlers at the right time, early when needed.Behind him, Waqar Younis has provided a very organic assistance. They haven’t used any gizmos, there is no nutrition expert or fitness guru or mental conditioner. They’ve just made the players work damned hard in practice and allowed them to play a game of bat and ball on the field.Probably the two smartest things Afridi has done have been away from the play. One, he has taken on board a clutch of senior players in the side, men such as Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul. He has mostly just let them be, trusting their experience, but involving them as well on the field and in training, where Younis and Misbah have been particularly influential.And in the public eye he has backed each and every one of his players, making some tough calls. Players from the periphery, like Razzaq, to the under-fire, like Kamran Akmal (apart from a brief period of wobble in the immediate aftermath of New Zealand) to the out-of-form, like Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, have been persevered with. He has backed them in the name of stability, in the name of a winning combination. Not all has made sense, but togetherness has been built, hardly a murmur from the dressing room.”Some things I do very emotionally in team meetings, to get the boys fired up and they do get fired up because of that,” he said ahead of the semi-final in Mohali. “We are an emotional people, both countries. I don’t think that the unity of the team, or where we have reached, it is not down to me. I don’t want to take credit for that. When the team does well, 15 out of 15 do well and that is when you get a proper unit. All the credit I will give to the 15 guys, the seniors, our management, our coaches, they have made all the effort.”It was a good appearance ahead of the game, full of humour, bonhomie, wisecracks and digs; Afridi in a good, relaxed mood, comfortable as captain of Pakistan. To follow him through Sri Lanka and Dhaka has been to humanise him, an expressive man given to moods, but a naturally charismatic presence in any gathering. Over the last month and more, he has also been surprisingly focused, surprising given his generally short attention spans.But in every sense, come what may on Wednesday, Afridi has been a true leader of men, with them on bad days and good days, taking them ultimately to a place few expected them to reach.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the one-off Twenty20 between West Indies and India at Port of Spain

Sriram Veera at Port of Spain04-Jun-2011The reaction of the day – I
It went off the bat. It really did. Surely, Shikhar Dhawan felt the impact? It was a short ball from Darren Sammy and Dhawan made a lame attempt at an upper cut. The ball lobbed up to the wicketkeeper, the umpire nodded his head to suggest it was out; perhaps he felt it was so clearly out that he didn’t have to raise the finger, but he had to since Dhawan didn’t budge. And as he trudged off ever so slowly, Dhawan even had a wry grin as though he had been wrongly given out. Strange.The reaction of the day – II
Lendl Simmons couldn’t believe it when he was given out. He was cramped for room by an offbreak from R Ashwin and the ball seemed to go off the thigh and bounce off Parthiv Patel’s helmet. Never mind whether there was an edge or not, since a batsman cannot be given out if the ball touches the external protective gear of a fielder. His partner Andre Fletcher even tried to argue the case, but the umpires did not agree. Perhaps they just didn’t see the impact with the helmet. Simmons had to depart. Shame.The effort of the day
It was a free-hit and S Badrinath lifted it to the left of long-off, but Ashley Nurse was in some mood. He dashed across, flung himself full-length to his left and caught the ball with both hands. It was an outstanding effort but he couldn’t help but touch the ropes before he managed to throw the ball inside the boundary. Pity.The flying turf of the day
It happened off the fifth delivery of the day. When Ravi Rampaul landed the ball on a length, a piece of the pitch flew up. It was the sign of things to come. It proved a slow turning track. If such surfaces persist through the series, things are going to be difficult for West Indies.The distraction of the day
It came from Chris Gayle. Dressed in a white costume, he was seen in the stands sitting with Jerome Taylor. As the game progressed, he tweeted that he planned to move to the Trini Posse stands. As the game neared the end, Gayle was seen there, mixing with the crowd and posing for photographs. Christopher Barnwell then launched a massive six and the cheer-girls, standing in front of Gayle, swayed ever so joyously. Gayle smiled and waved a small white towel that he held in his hands. Later he even tweeted: “WI Fans..Don’t worry about a thing,cause every little things gonna be alright…” (sic). Were the white flag and the tweet that followed signs that he has reached some sort of compromise with the board? Hope floats.

Unlike in his previous four years as India captain, MS Dhoni’s now-famous clinical detachment has been unable to produce a turnaround for his team

Sharda Ugra at The Oval22-Aug-2011India’s last word at the end of a Test series in which they made very few statements was MS Dhoni trying to be heard during his media conference in a committee room at The Oval. As the ICC Test mace was presented to England outside, the PA system played loud celebratory music – Jerusalem, Land of Hope & Glory and more such stirring stuff – while Dhoni answered his questions. In his line of vision was a television showing live pictures of England’s players receiving medals and trophies, jumping up and down on stage, their lap of honour. It must have hurt. It better have. Dhoni, not given to many shows of emotion, unsurprisingly, looked neither crushed, nor dejected. He looked as he has always looked as India captain: quite together.A short while before he spoke to the press, Dhoni had passed a man during the presentation who appeared to have taken the defeat personally: Tiger Pataudi, the first India captain to have won a Test series overseas. Four years ago, Pataudi sat on the steps outside the old dressing rooms at The Oval, with the Indian team, including Dhoni, gathered around him. In a photograph from that day, like everyone else, Pataudi is beaming, sharing the frame with a brand new shining trophy named after his family, for which India and England will forever tussle in Tests. The Pataudi trophy now belongs to England after a 4-0 rout of clinical execution. On the stage, with the game lost well before tea, Pataudi could not even force a manful smile as the Indians walked past him to collect their medals.Unlike in Dhoni’s previous four years as India captain which began, coincidentally, after that 2007 win, a now-famous clinical detachment has been unable to produce a turnaround from his men. India could not bat out the 30-odd more overs that would have saved the final Test and left them with a scrap of at least something from the series, rather than another thumping defeat.All that India gained from this series were lessons in what not to do in the future. Dhoni talked about what is going to be a perpetual headache over the next few years: grooming the next generation and among them, building a pool of young bowlers. “It’s important to not lose bowlers, especially when you are not in the subcontinent, because manoeuvring three specialist bowlers becomes very difficult, and using part-timers, who are usually spinners,” he said. “I think it will be very important to groom a few bowlers or [to] have the bench strength. If we keep playing with the same bowlers and don’t give exposure to some of the youngsters, we may be forced at some point of time to straightaway bring them in to play Test cricket, which can be tough on them. So I think you need to plan it a bit and hopefully utilise the time in between in the best possible manner.”The defeat to England aside, India, Dhoni said, were going through a “grooming” period. Their challenge would be handling public expectations of victories, based around performances from their most experienced, along with giving a new generation the opportunity to break into the international game. Dhoni said the younger players coming through were of two kinds – those who immediately started “scoring from the first game they play and they are superstars in their own way” and others who took their time.”It’s not like you are always entitled to get those kind of players, which means you will have to start grooming youngsters so that they are able to play in different conditions and different scenarios once there is pressure on them. We need to groom as many youngsters as possible, try to give them confidence by not shuffling them too much. It will all be about giving confidence to the coming generation so that they are at their best when thrown at the top level.”The burning IPL questions

A centrepiece of the instant postmortem of India’s 4-0 defeat to England has been the involvement of most of the Indian team in the lucrative six-week IPL tournament that followed the ODI team’s World Cup victory and preceded the tour of England.

MS Dhoni was asked two specific questions about it: one, whether new coach Duncan Fletcher should be empowered to control how much key players took part in the IPL, particularly before major series. “Let’s see and hope for the best, you know, who gets empowered and who gets the power,” Dhoni said. “Hopefully we won’t miss players, you know, if you all feel it’s because of the IPL.” It was then pointed out to Dhoni that, since 2009, there had been three straight dips in India’s performances in major events immediately following the IPL: the two World T20s and now the Test series in England. Asked directly whether the IPL was good for Indian cricket, Dhoni appeared amused. “Well, this was not just after the IPL, you know, so let’s not bring everything out of cricket and put it on IPL.”

England captain Andrew Strauss was asked whether his team had benefitted from the fact that most of its players did not take part in the IPL due to its clash with the English season. “You can never hold it against a player for wanting to play in the IPL for financial reason or for improving their game or whatever,” he said. “But in some ways, we have been less affected by it than other sides. And as an England team, looking at it purely from an England perspective, there have been some benefits in us being less involved, but as I said you can understand players want to be involved in that tournament.”

As long as this result rankles India, this debate too will rage.

In this series the only “youngsters” to come through were Amit Mishra, ironically with the bat, and Praveen Kumar, for his all-round feistiness. “Definitely we have the talent,” Dhoni said, “if you see the players who have been performing for us who have been part of the Test side. Of course they have not been very consistent. We have somebody like a Suresh Raina, we know how talented Rohit Sharma is, Cheteshwar Pujara did decently well in South Africa, Abhinav (Mukund) did a good job in the last two series. I think we have got the talent that is needed, they need to be given the exposure and confidence. I feel that it is not always the technique… technique is important, but it’s also the confidence level. If the confidence level is high, people stop talking about the technique because you are scoring runs.”On a pitch that England captain Andrew Strauss called a “little more subcontinental” compared to those for the first three Tests, India produced an almost 1990s-style post-Tendulkar collapse. Seven wickets fell for 21 runs. Seven was also the top score from the last five wickets. It came, not from three of India’s top seven batsmen who were part of the crash that followed the Mishra-Tendulkar century partnership, but Ishant Sharma. Ishant’s call for a review after being given out caught bat-pad, was perhaps the strongest gesture of defiance in India’s nausea-inducing last hour of the Test series.Dhoni said later that the loss of quick wickets just before the second new ball had led to the slide, after what had begun as India’s best day of the tour. “It sets like a panic in the dressing room if you lose wickets in quick succession. We should have been able to stop that but we were not able to, which was the main reason why the game ended so quickly.” Dhoni said, “the batting department should have performed a bit better.”Injuries, particularly to key players like Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag, have been cited as one of the reasons for India’s failure in England. When asked whether the team should find a way to ensure that its best players are at their fittest for the most important series, Dhoni’s answer appeared to indicate that external expectation often dictated how the Indians went about their business. “The expectation level is too high – (it is) one thing that doesn’t allow the kind of… I wouldn’t say experimentation … but the kind of procedure that needs to involve the youngsters. When we play any side, we are expected to win and the pressure comes on the same players who have been playing for the past few years. It takes a toll on them, everyone wants to play as many games as possible. How can you say this series is important and that is not, but you don’t want to miss players in key series?”Until this result, Dhoni had not lost a series as captain. When he was asked whether his enthusiasm for the job as leader had begun to dip at any time during the series, he said, “I don’t believe in surrendering. This job was given to me when I didn’t really expect it and I’m not a person that believes in surrendering. I’m giving it my best shot and that’s what it’s all about.”For all his success, courage and risk-taking ability, a World Cup-winning captain has, within four months, become part of India’s most monumental series surrender in the last decade. It must hurt. It had better. Even if he didn’t show it.

Cricketers have often had to choose between cash and country. For some, like Rod McCurdy, it was a choice that raised many questions about what might have been

Brydon Coverdale22-Nov-2011In 1985, Rod McCurdy had a decision to make. At 25, he was a journeyman fast bowler who had already played for three Australian states. He was married and had a six-year-old son. He needed financial security. The rebel tours of South Africa offered that.On the other hand, he had just made his one-day international debut. A place on the 1985 Ashes tour beckoned. The baggy green was there for the taking. History shows that McCurdy chose the rebel route and settled in South Africa after the tours. More than a quarter of a century later, he still wonders what could have been.”I pulled out of that 1985 Ashes tour,” McCurdy says. “It always bugs me. I was picked on the Ashes tour. Would I have gone there? Yes, I was going there. We would have loved to have gone there, played in the Ashes, and then come out to South Africa afterwards. At least I would have had my opportunity. That’s a disappointment for me.”Some fast bowlers, Terry Alderman and Carl Rackemann, for example, returned home after the rebel tours, served their two-year bans and went on to play Test cricket. But McCurdy was offered a contract to stay on and play with Eastern Cape under the captaincy of Kepler Wessels. Then another contract and another. He never played in Australia again.”A lot of people may not like this, but being a bowler in those days, the money wasn’t great, and also you didn’t know if you were going to get a stress fracture in your back, was your ankle going to get stuck in the footholes,” McCurdy says. “You don’t know. It sounds mercenary but today the guys don’t mind moving around and playing for as many sides as they can, whoever pays them.”I had a young family and at the time it was very enticing. The money was guaranteed and back home it wasn’t guaranteed. A lot of people may not like that comment, but that’s the fact of it. If you look at modern-day sport, there’s no loyalty anymore.”It’s every kid’s dream to have the baggy-green cap. When I was a kid, I was getting Dennis Lillee’s signature on the boundary when I was about 15. Three and a half years later I was playing my first game against him in Perth. That’s the dream. Every kid, when they go to the MCG and see a Boxing Day Test, you just want to have the chance to run out. I had the chance to run out and play one-day internationals, but it would have been great to play a five-day game. But we all make choices in life and you live with them.”Now 51, McCurdy still lives in South Africa with his wife Donna. Their second and third children were born in South Africa and have never visited Australia. For several years McCurdy has run a security business in Port Elizabeth, marketing alarms for homes and small businesses. Not surprisingly it’s a lucrative market in South Africa.He is about to start a new job in Johannesburg, as operations manager of Tellytrack, the racing television station. McCurdy will work both behind the scenes – he shares an office with the former New Zealand captain Ken Rutherford – and on camera, at the racetrack. His love of punting came from his father, a greyhound trainer in Melbourne.McCurdy remembers skipping a Victoria state training session early in his career – “It was pelting with rain,” he says – to go and watch one of his father’s dogs run in the country town of Warragul. It was a lucrative night and McCurdy returned home with a wad of cash, only to be told by his wife that Victoria’s chairman of selectors had been on the phone looking for him.”I was suspended for one game,” he says. “The next day in the the headline was ‘McCurdy Gone to the Dogs’.”Over his career, McCurdy became no stranger to the occasional run-in with authority. During the rebel tour he was fined 1000 rand for allegedly kicking Australia’s team manager, Bruce Francis, in the change rooms. McCurdy had been batting in a match Australia needed to win to level the series; not only were they playing for honour, but for the chance to play a tie-break game for more money.”I was batting and facing Hugh Page, who was bouncing me, and my record shows I wasn’t the greatest batsman in the world,” McCurdy says. “I got out and as I walked up the race, the crowd was giving it to me. We were desperate to win it, not just for Australia but to load our pockets [in] the next game.”I walked inside and Bruce was not even watching the game, he was reading the newspaper with his feet up – and he was our team manager. I just walked straight through him, he fell on the ground and then reported me to Ali Bacher. I got a hearing and a 1000-rand fine. That was big money in those days. There was contact – I walked straight through his legs, but I didn’t kick him. I’d never kick anyone.”McCurdy would have been a nightmare for cricket administrators these days. Not surprisingly, he is pleased that he played in an era in which players could still be themselves.McCurdy now works behind the scenes and in front of the camera at a racing TV station in Johannesburg•ESPNcricinfo Ltd”One day I was playing against David Hookes in Tasmania when I was about 20,” he says. “I threw a mock punch at him on the field, Hookesy ducked for cover. Some of the stuff Hoggy [Rodney Hogg] and Lillee said – it was brilliant stuff. But these days you can’t say a word. You can’t even look at an umpire like you’re disappointed, or you’re fined. They’ve taken all the characters out of the game. People want them but how can you be a character if you’re not allowed to show any emotion?”A barrel-chested fast bowler who compares his style of bowling with that of Peter Siddle, McCurdy was the type of man who could run in all day without dropping his pace. He was good enough to take 305 first-class wickets, plus plenty on the rebel tours, including 6 for 67 in Johannesburg either side of Christmas Day 1986.McCurdy has fond memories of the rebel matches. He recalls breaking Clive Rice’s foot with a yorker in a one-day game, only to watch Rice bat on and win the game for South Africa. “After that I just had so much respect for the guy,” he says. “We had the game won but he turned it around and they won it.”Rice would eventually play three ODIs for South Africa when they were readmitted to international cricket. McCurdy’s official international career never went beyond the 11 ODIs he played in early 1985, before he signed the deal that would change his life.”Would I change it? Probably not, no. Did we ever think we would live in South Africa? No, we didn’t. But we’ve had a good time here. The people are great and the lifestyle is fantastic.”Everyone likes to say, ‘At least I played one Test.’ I suppose we can always live in dreams of what could have been. But it hasn’t happened and I’ve got to live with that. I’ve certainly enjoyed my time here. It’s been great fun.”

The semi-final scenarios for group B

S Rajesh03-Oct-2011Royal Challengers Bangalore haven’t won a single game so far, but two big wins might yet give them a shot at the semi-finals•Associated PressWarriors
They’re currently sitting on top of the group with four points, but whether they make the next stage or not depends largely on what they do in their final game, against Somerset on Wednesday.If they win, they’re through. If they lose, it could get complicated: they’ll have to hope that South Australia lose to Royal Challengers in the last match; else Somerset and South Australia will both have more points and will qualify. Even if South Australia lose to Royal Challengers, Warriors will have to ensure they don’t lose to Somerset by a margin that will pull their net run rate below that of Kolkata Knight Riders, who have four points and a NRR of +0.306. Warriors are currently on +0.592, but they don’t have much room to manoeuvre: if they’re chasing 140 against Somerset and lose by eight or more runs, their NRR will slip below that of Knight Riders.The weather in Bangalore has had most teams fretting, but the one side which will welcome rain is Warriors. One point in the last game will leave them with five, which means Somerset will be the only side that could go past them. South Australia could reach five points as well, but their NRR is languishing at -0.775: they’ll have to beat Royal Challengers by at least 67 runs (if they bat first and score 160) to go past Warriors’ NRR.Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata have played all their matches and their fate rests entirely on the hands of the other teams (and the weather). If all three matches produce decisive results, Knight Riders’ best chance is this: Somerset lose both their matches, while Royal Challengers win theirs. In such a scenario, Warriors will move to the top of the table, with Knight Riders and Royal Challengers tied in second place on four points. If Royal Challengers don’t win by huge margins, Knight Riders will stay ahead on NRR.Knight Riders will also go through if Somerset beat Warriors by a margin that is enough to pull the Warriors’ NRR below that of Knight Riders (see the write-up for Warriors above). In this case, South Australia will have to lose to Royal Challengers so that they stay on three points.Somerset
Somerset are the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far, and with three points from two games, they have an excellent chance of making it to the next stage. One win in their next two games will almost certainly get them through. Even if they beat Royal Challengers and lose to Warriors, and if South Australia win their last game, Somerset and South Australia will be level on points, with Somerset currently far ahead on NRR.South Australia
With three points in three games and a terrible NRR, South Australia’s equation is fairly simple: they must win to give themselves any chance of making the semi-finals. Even if they win, they’ll have to hope other results go their way. If Warriors beat Somerset, who in turn beat Royal Challengers, then South Australia will most likely miss the cut even if they win their last game.Royal Challengers Bangalore
They’re the only team not to have won a match in the tournament so far, but if they win their last two matches, Royal Challengers may yet have a chance of qualification. To do so, they’ll have to go past the NRR of Warriors or Knight Riders (depending on the result of the Somerset v Warriors game). Royal Challengers’ NRR is currently -0.648, but if, for instance, they score 140 in their last two matches and win them by 25 runs, they’ll sneak ahead of Knight Riders’ NRR.However, if either of their two games is washed out, then Royal Challengers’ Champions League campaign will end before the semi-finals.

Playing in a team whose batsmen have regularly struggled outside Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara has stood out because of his consistency and reliability in away Tests

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan15-Sep-2011Proven performer home and away

In the third Test at the SSC, Kumar Sangakkara will become the fifth Sri Lanka player and the 51st cricketer overall to feature in 100 Tests. Ever since his debut in 2000, not only has Sangakkara been one of Sri Lanka’s most successful batsmen in home Tests, but has also shown good consistency in away Tests, something very few Sri Lanka batsmen have managed over the years. Sangakkara, like most top batsmen, has a home average higher than his overall career average, but stands out among Sri Lanka’s players because of his solid performances in conditions outside the subcontinent. He is Sri Lanka’s highest run-getter in Tests played outside Asia and also boasts the highest average among Sri Lanka cricketers who have scored at least 1000 runs in Tests outside the subcontinent (excluding Zimbabwe Tests). Although he has a lower conversion rate of fifties to hundreds (0.36) than Mahela Jayawardene (1.67) and Marvan Atapattu (0.66), he has far fewer low scores and has been dismissed for a duck only once in 48 innings. However, Sangakkara’s average of 41.66 in Tests outside the subcontinent (Zimbabwe Tests not included) is only seventh on the list of averages for top subcontinent batsmen in Tests outside Asia.Between his debut and the end of 2005, Sangakkara scored 3822 runs at an average of 46.60 with eight centuries and 18 fifties. Since then, however, he has had a far more prolific run, scoring 4750 runs at an average of 65.97 with 17 centuries. His finest year was 2007 when he scored 968 runs in seven matches at an average of 138.28. Sangakkara also played as a wicketkeeper in 48 Tests but was less successful as a batsman in those games. While his average is 40.48 in the matches he played as a wicketkeeper, the corresponding number jumps to 70.84 in games where he has played purely as a batsman. Sangakkara also had a very successful time as a batsman in Tests in which he was captain; his average of 69.60 is second only to Don Bradman’s average of 101.51 among captains who have scored at least 1500 runs. During the course of his career, Sangakkara has demonstrated a penchant for big scores. His tally of seven double-centuries is joint-third on the list of batsmen with the most 200-plus scores in Tests.

Till the end of the 1990s, Sri Lanka won and lost 11 Tests in Sri Lanka, and were not quite a force to be reckoned with at home. However, all that has changed since 2000 when they have won 32 Tests and lost just 13. Along with Muttiah Muralitharan’s extraordinary bowling display, the batting exploits of Sangakkara and Jayawardene have proved crucial to their success. While Jayawardene averages 63.04 in home Tests with 20 centuries, Sangakkara is not far behind with an average close to 62 with 16 centuries. They have, by far, been the best batsmen for Sri Lanka in home Tests over the years with only Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya coming close. Away matches have never been Sri Lanka’s forte. They had won five and lost 27 Tests till the end of the 1990s. Since then, they have been more successful winning 13 and losing 21. Sangakkara, who has nine centuries at an average of 48.61 in away Tests, is well ahead of Jayawardene and de Silva, who have away averages of 40.45 and 36.12 respectively.

In a period when Sri Lanka’s win-percentage significantly went up, Sangakkara played a significant role. Overall, in matches won by Sri Lanka, he has averaged 76.46 with 15 centuries. More importantly, perhaps, he has averaged 71.00 in away wins, the best among Sri Lanka’s batsmen. Sangakkara has also been consistent across the four innings with his average ranging from a high of 66.13 in the second innings to 39.00 in the fourth innings.

Unimpressive in England and South Africa
Among home grounds, the SSC, which is the venue for the third Test against Australia, has been Sangakkara’s favourite. He has scored 1864 runs at the SSC with seven centuries in 18 Tests at an average of 74.56. Sangakkara has generally reserved his best performances for matches against Pakistan. He averages 77.29 with five centuries in eight matches against them. He has been highly successful in Pakistan, especially in Lahore and Karachi where he has aggregated 634 runs at an average of 105.66. While he has done very well against India at home (average 74.33 with four centuries), he has not quite been the same force in India where he averages just 36.50. He has had an ordinary time against Australia in home Tests (average 25.60 with just one fifty)
but has been Sri Lanka’s best player in Australia. On the 2007 tour, Sangakkara missed the first match but nearly helped his team pull off a sensational win with a superb 192 in Hobart. However, he has struggled in England and South Africa with only one century in 14 Tests.

Outstanding record as a pure batsman
Doubling up as a wicketkeeper did seem to affect Sangakkara’s batting as he averaged just over 40 in the 48 Tests when he kept wickets. The story is altogether very different in matches when he has not had to keep wickets. He averages 70.84 with 18 centuries and his average is second only to Don Bradman’s among batsmen (non-wicketkeepers) who have scored a minimum of 5000 runs. Ten of his 18 centuries came in wins and he averaged an astounding 86.28 in these matches. However, his average of 40.48 in matches when he played as a keeper is behind only that of Andy Flower (53.70) and Adam Gilchrist (47.60) among wicketkeepers who scored over 3000 runs.

Top-class partnership pairing
Sangakkara and Jayawardene have been the most prolific batting pair for Sri Lanka in Tests. In 87 innings, they average 61.42 and have shared 13 century partnerships including the record 624-run stand against South Africa in 2006. In 47 partnerships in home Tests, they average 72.41 and have shared nine century stands, of which seven have been over 150. Among batting pairs who have aggregated at least 4000 runs, the Sangakkara-Jayawardene pairing’s average is behind only Australia’s Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting (average 67.11).

Rajasthan, who sealed their second consecutive Ranji Trophy title, led the way with both bat and ball this season

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan23-Jan-2012Vineet Saxena’s double-century is the 21st overall and the second by a Rajasthan batsman in Ranji Trophy finals•K Sivaraman

• 3: The number of times a team has posted 600-plus against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy final. Karnataka and Mumbai are the two other teams to achieve the feat in 1995-96 and 2003-04 respectively. Rajasthan’s 621 is also their highest total in the 2011-12 season and is the second instance of a team posting over 500 against Tamil Nadu this season.
• 21: The number of double-centuries scored in Ranji Trophy finals. Vineet Saxena became the second Rajasthan player after Hanumant Singh (1966-67) to score a double-century in a final. Of the 21 double-centuries, seven have been scored by Mumbai batsmen. Gul Mohammad has the highest score in a Ranji final (319) while Vijay Hazare is the only batsman to score two double-centuries in finals. Denis Compton is the only non-Indian batsman to score a double-century in a Ranji final, when he played for Holkar in 1945-46.
• 236: The opening partnership between Aakash Chopra and Vineet Saxena in the final. It is the third 200-plus opening stand in a Ranji final after the 279-run stand between Sunil Gavaskar and Ashok Mankad in 1969-70 and the 243-run partnership between Vinayak Mane and Wasim Jaffer in 2003-04. The Rajasthan innings witnessed three century stands for the first three wickets making it the first ever instance of three century stands for first three wickets in Ranji finals.
• 28: The number of 500-plus totals scored this season. The highest score (698) was made by Tamil Nadu against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. Karnataka and Rajasthan made over 500 on four occasions each, the most by any team. However, only on four of those occasions did teams go on to win the match outright (the others were decided on first-innings lead).
• 19: The number of double-century scores in the 2011-12 season. Saxena’s 257 in the final was the second double-century for Rajasthan in the season and only the second one scored for the team in a Ranji final. While Abhinav Mukund is the only player to score two double-centuries in the 2011-12 season, Manprit Juneja of Gujarat is the only one to score a double-century on debut (against Tamil Nadu).
• 16: The most century stands for a team this season. Not surprisingly, Rajasthan, the champions, are on top of this list. Karnataka and Mumbai are joint second, with 14 century partnerships. The most century stands in a match (6) occurred in the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh game in Jaipur and in the game between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in Ahmedabad.
• 85: The most overs bowled by a bowler in an innings this season, by Aushik Srinivas of Tamil Nadu against Rajasthan in the final. Overall, in the season, there were eight instances of bowlers bowling more than 50 overs in an innings. Pankaj Singh (Rajasthan) and Aushik bowled the most overs in the season (368.0 and 357.4 respectively).
• 5: The most centuries scored in the season, by Dheeraj Jadhav of Assam. Jadhav, in a stunning performance, scored five centuries in five matches in the season and aggregated 704 runs at an average of 176.00. Robin Bist (Rajasthan) and Akshath Reddy (Hyderabad) scored four centuries each. Karnataka, Mumbai and Rajasthan are on top with the most centuries scored (12 each) followed by Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu (10). Rajasthan also conceded the most centuries (12) followed by Uttar Pradesh (10).
• 156: The number of centuries scored this season, in 88 matches. In the same number of matches in the 2010-11 season, 130 centuries were scored. In the 2009-10 season, five fewer matches were played (83) and 127 centuries were scored.
• 8.53: The difference in average between pace bowlers (30.83) and spinners (39.36) this season. The difference was 6.55 in the 2010-11 season when spinners averaged 36.76 and pace bowlers 30.21 and even lower (4.57) in the 2009-10 season when pace bowlers averaged 30.05 and spinners 34.62.
• 33.79: The runs per wicket in the 2011-12 season. This is higher than the corresponding number in the 2010-11 (32.76) and 2009-10 (31.89) seasons.