All posts by n8rngtd.top

The West Indian coach has been hampered by issues which are far beyond his control

Tony Cozier in Dambulla01-Aug-2005

Although he doesn’t publicly let on, there must be times when Bennett King wonders just what he got himself into when he finally accepted the offer to become West Indies’ coach.King is one of the three Australians in charge of the teams in the triangular Indian Oil Cup. While Greg Chappell, with India, and Tom Moody, with Sri Lanka, have taken over strong, well-settled teams in the past month, King has been surrounded by controversy and chaos over which he has had no control during his eight months in the post.His assignment was difficult enough as it was. Following seven eminent West Indies players since Rohan Kanhai was the first official appointment in 1992, the 40-year-old King, who was the head of Australia’s much-vaunted Academy, arrived last November to what was, at best, a lukewarm reception from the Caribbean public.He was, after all, the first foreigner in the post. Such West Indian icons as Kanhai, Andy Roberts, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall and Viv Richards had preceded him.After declining his initial announced appointment a year earlier in circumstances that are still unclear, he was second choice this time around to the same Greg Chappell who has now moved to India, a celebrated player who could not agree on the terms with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).Unlike Chappell and all the West Indians previously in the post, King did not possess the credentials of even a first-class playing career. He brought with him an entourage of fellow Australians in support and landed at the onset of the latest, longest and most bitter row between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) that has made his job, and any reasonable assessment of it, virtually impossible.He has seldom known, from one day to the next, what players he would have under him for the next international engagement, even whether he would have any at all. Thirty-one players in three separate groups under two different captains have represented West Indies under him, all to the constant detonation of angry words in the war between Roger Brathwaite and Dinanath Ramnarine, the feuding front men for the board and the players.Even when he had the first-choice players available on his first international assignment, West Indies were beaten in four of their five ODIs in the VB Series in Australia in January. It was followed by a 2-0 loss in the Test series against South Africa and unprecedented losses to South Africa and Pakistan in eight consecutive ODIs. The satisfaction of the first Test victory under his watch, over Pakistan at Kensington Oval, was immediately compromised by the disappointment of defeat in the next at Sabina Park.Worse was to follow. The tour of Sri Lanka, for two Tests and the ODI triangular, would have given King the chance to judge the progress of his work, as disrupted as it had been. Instead, it turned into a horror story for West Indies cricket that is still to run its fearful course. On the advice of the WIPA, ten of the originally selected 13 refused to sign the tour contract that contained two clauses – 1(k) and 5 – that were the bones of contention between the two organisations from the start.There was no Brian Lara, no Ramnaresh Sarwan, no Corey Collymore, no Fidel Edwards. Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul, promoted to the captaincy when Lara withdrew from the first Test against Pakistan in April over the sponsorship row, remained as the solitary player of genuine Test experience and quality. WICB managed to raise replacements from the A team that was, coincidentally, on tour of Sri Lanka at the time but they were no more than novices at the highest level of the game.More disturbingly, their decision to go against that of their seniors created an ugly divide between players, the effects of which are likely to further undermine King’s effort in the months to come. At that point, he might well have advised the WICB that the seemingly never-ending disorder had made his position untenable and he was withdrawing from his contract and going back to the peace and calm of Brisbane. He hasn’t.”He [King] and the support staff haven’t whinged about all the problems,” said Tony Howard, the team manager, last week. “They’ve just got on with things.” King doesn’t dwell on the hullabaloo that has swirled around his players.There has been no perceptible slackening in his enthusiasm or that of assistant coach David Moore and Bryce Cavanagh, the unrelenting trainer from the same tough rugby background as Dennis Waight, his Australian equivalent of the Lloyd-Richards era. While the WICB and the WIPA continue to wash their dirty linen in public, King and Howard have busied themselves preparing recommendations for presentation to their employees aimed at, among other things, increasing international competition for the A team and for youth teams at under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels.”The pleasing thing is that West Indies cricket has invested in moving the game forward and not staying where they have been,” said King. “They have taken the approach that they’re not going to do what they always did which is good. My role in West Indies cricket is more encumbering than just the West Indies side,” he explained. “It’s certainly evolved that way although it’s something I didn’t expect. We’ve managed to put plans in place from a developing point of view,” he added. The immediate improvements in whatever team has played under King have been in fitness levels and fielding.Cavanagh has certainly been a hard task master – and King is adamant that the players have responded positively to the challenge. Before the Sri Lankan series, King spoke hopefully of “finding diamonds in coal.””Sometimes you have to go through some pain to get some joy,” he said. “Test cricket can make men out of boys and children out of men. It’s one of the beauties of cricket, finding someone who rises to the occasion.”No individual diamonds appeared from the coal in the two Tests, no men were made out of boys. The depleted team was duly beaten by both Tests in Sri Lanka but what did emerge, as it often does in times of adversity, was a spirit and a resolve that earned the respect of opponents who looked at their collective record and dismissed them as no-hopers who would have been better advised to stay at home.”In terms of this team, it could have some players of the future,” King said. “It’s the way we are thinking, the way we are looking forward.”The future, however, is in the hands of the WICB and the WIPA, rather than King and the management team. The trouble is they don’t seem to appreciate it.

It was the naked hunger and opportunism of Vandort that was the most compelling story of the day

Charlie Austin25-Jun-2007

If Marvan Atapattu was given a day off at Lashings CC and was able watch the opening day of this series then it might not have been easy viewing. According to Jayanda Dharmadasa, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chairman, Atapattu has requested more time to overcome the “trauma” of his difficult World Cup on the sidelines. Michael Vandort, meanwhile, a opener that has been overlooked so much in his career that he might be forgiven for seeking professional trauma counseling, was, not for the first time in his stop-start career, grabbing an opportunity with a typically solid 87 not out.The first day at the near-empty Sinhalese Sports Club was dominated by the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan, who wreaked havoc with his devilish doosra, and the most sublime batting came from Mahela Jayawardene, who was in regal form until a calf strain interrupted his fluency. But it was the naked hunger and opportunism of Vandort that was the most compelling story of the day. With Atapattu taking a mental break in England, Sanath Jayasuriya “resting” with Lancashire and Upul Tharanga nursing a broken bone in his left foot, Vandort once again laid out his credentials.Atapattu’s controversial decision to sit-out the series could have serious repercussions. Whether he really is recovering from trauma or not, when senior players try to pick and choose tours then selectors and coaches are naturally suspicious. Trevor Bayliss may yet be convinced that Atapattu, now aged 36, still has a role to play, especially in tough series against Australia and England at the end of the year, but if Vandort keeps showing this commitment, composure and stickiness at the crease then it will be brutally unfair for him to be unceremoniously unseated later in the year.

It is true that Vandort has a long way to go before he can claim to be equal to Atappatu, a classical batsman with a marvelous record. It is true, as well, that this is Bangladesh, the weakest Test team in the world. But you can’t knock the ability to score runs when under personal pressure. He did this when he was selected back in 2002, scoring a century against Bangladesh only to then spend three-and-a- half years on the sidelines. He did it again when picked for the England tour in 2006, scoring an obdurate 105 on a tricky pitch at Edgbaston. Surprise, surprise…he seized his chance today too.The experts seem to be in two minds about his ability to produce the goods against top-class bowlers. His fielding has also been highlighted as a weakness. But having now passed fifty in seven Test matches spread over six years, he surely deserves a proper chance to disprove his doubters. He is organised in approach, well aware of his strengths and weakness, and quite prepared to graft hard for his runs. In a team of strokeplayers his adhesiveness could be a great asset. Atapattu should be ruing his incredibly short-sighted decision to opt-out of the tour.

At the Bradman Oration in Brisbane last Friday Bill Brown’s 94-year-old charm again showcased him as Australian cricket’s greatest living treasure

Peter English06-Nov-2006

Bill Brown rarely outshone Don Bradman during their playing days. Brown was a cautious accumulator in the 1930s and 40s alongside Bradman’s furious adding machine, but at the Bradman Oration in Brisbane last Friday Brown’s 94-year-old charm again showcased him as Australian cricket’s greatest living treasure.Waiting in the foyer before the fourth celebration of “the Australian spirit of cricket” Brown wondered why the dress code was black tie. Jeans and a business shirt can cover most functions in Queensland in November but the extra layers were requested on a night for remembering Bradman’s unmatchable deeds. During Brown’s first two tours of England in ’34 and ’38 dinner suits were almost standard night attire, but World War II curtailed such luxuries for his final trip in ’48.Bradman’s son John was a guest of honour at the function and told how Brown had stayed with his parents in Adelaide and remained a special family friend. “There’s a picture in the house of Dad’s last first-class game overseas, with he and Bill walking together,” John Bradman said. “It’s a very moving picture and I look at it a lot.”On a busy night Brown was also called to unveil the rescued Sheffield Shield, which was in ruin until the Brisbane jewellers Hardy Brothers spent more than 400 hours attempting to return it to its original appearance. It had been out of action since the entry of the sponsored Pura Cup in 1999 and had almost fallen apart. When asked what it looked like when he played almost 60 years ago Brown said: “I honestly can’t remember. Back then we didn’t really know what we were playing for.”While Brown’s appearances were the most memorable of the program, the Bradman Oration was delivered by Alan Jones, a broadcaster, former Australia rugby union coach and regular lunch guest of Bradman. John Howard, the prime minister, gave the first speech in 2000 and was followed by Michael Parkinson, the English journalist, in 2003 and Richie Benaud in 2005.Preferring to talk about Bradman rather than explore a current issue, Jones said his friend “defied comparison”. The pair exchanged many letters and Jones would fly to Adelaide for lunch up to ten times a year. “We always ate the same thing,” he said. “Vegie soup followed by whiting fillets and dessert. Don always ordered white wine and liked chardonnay.”The pair’s closeness did not prevent Bradman from pointing out errors and in 1989 Jones received a letter following his broadcasting of a television story. “It was kind of you to do a piece on me and the praise was more than generous,” Bradman wrote. “You have given me more credit than I deserve. I didn’t make a hundred in my first Test, but got 18 and 1. I’ll die in the belief that the lbw in the first innings was missing leg and in the second it was the first sticky I’d ever seen.” He was dropped for the second match against England in 1928-29 but returned with a century in the third.

Jones said Bradman was “quiet, unpretentious, extremely argumentative” and sometimes found the public attention “a nightmare”. At the opening weekend of the Bradman Museum in Bowral in 1987 he reckoned he signed 4000 autographs in two days.Praising Bradman’s statistics, Jones recalled numerous quotes about his batting, but none was more powerful than RC Robertson-Glasgow’s “poetry and murder lived together”. No example of his dominance was better than his 100 in three eight-ball overs during a second-class game at Blackheath in 1931. Wendell Bill, a New South Wales opener, managed two singles at the other end. “Wendell, we’ve passed their score,” Bradman said before the onslaught, “I think we’ll have a go.”Despite his occasionally terse letters, Bradman was also generous in passing on his knowledge. And if he could not do justice with his descriptions he found other materials to help make his point. When Jones wondered how good WG Grace was Bradman sent him AA Thomson’s book The Great Cricketer.”Don’t keep it too long, I want to read it again,” Bradman wrote in the accompanying letter. “One day I want to meet WG, touch his shaggy beard and tell him that I walked through the Grace Gates at Lord’s many times and tried to live up to his image.”

Stats preview to the fourth Test between Australia and India in Adelaide

George Binoy23-Jan-2008It’s not often that a visiting team can draw confidence from a previous performance at an Australian venue, especially in recent years. But with one Test to play and the scoreline 2-1 in Australia’s favour, the series moves to Adelaide for the final Test, a venue where India scored a thrilling win in 2003-04. However, leaving that blip aside, Australia have a formidable record at the Adelaide Oval, winning 12 out of 18 Tests since 1990, and eight out of nine since the draw against South Africa in 1998. Since their defeat against India, Australia have had convincing wins against New Zealand, West Indies and England.

Matthew Hayden has recovered from a thigh injury and his return will add considerable strength to the batting order. The third Test in Perth was the first that Hayden missed since 1999 and his absence was felt as Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques added only 12 and 21 for the first wicket at the WACA. Moreover, Hayden has a splendid record in Adelaide, where he has scored 722 runs at 55.53. In fact, all of Australia’s top-order batsmen have excellent records in Adelaide: Michael Hussey averages 315 here for he’s been dismissed only once while racking up scores of 133, 30, 91 and 61.Among the Indian batsmen, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who average 115.33 and 55.25 respectively, have performed well here, but Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have failed. It was Dravid’s 233 and Laxman’s 148 that led India’s revival in 2003 after they were struggling at 84 for 4 in the first innings. Tendulkar, however, has managed only 122 runs from six innings while Ganguly has 117 from four.

India’s inexperienced pace attack exceeded expectations in Perth, which means it will be tough to leave out any of Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma or RP Singh to accommodate Harbhajan Singh, who could play a role on an Adelaide pitch that is expected to aid spin. In such a scenario, Wasim Jaffer could make way for Harbhajan with either Irfan Pathan or Rahul Dravid opening the batting. The table below shows the average partnership for each wicket in Adelaide since 1990 and, although Australia have higher figures, the overseas teams haven’t done too badly either. The only significant difference is for the second wicket, where Ricky Ponting, at No. 3, has been a tremendous force for the home side.

Of Australia’s bowlers, Brett Lee is the only one to have played more than one Test in Adelaide and his record isn’t flash: he’s picked up 12 wickets in three Tests at 36.75 apiece.Pathan made his Test debut in Adelaide in 2003 and had a torrid match, finishing with figures of 1 for 160 and an economy rate of 4.70 per over. Anil Kumble has nine wickets from two Tests in Adelaide but has had to labour through 126 overs for them. His average of 42.88 and strike-rate of 84 indicate a success for perseverance rather than brilliance.

There’s rain forecast for the first two days in Adelaide and the groundsman has said that the cloud cover could help the fast bowlers. However, batting first would be the way to go, for the average runs per wicket, for both Australian and visiting teams, have dipped steadily as the match progresses.

Amit Mishra is wearing a borrowed Test cap, but he has the heart to match the man he has borrowed the cap from

Cricinfo staff19-Oct-2008

It was a pleasant evening in Bangalore after a rain-curtailed first day of the first unofficial Test between India A and Australia A. It hadn’t been a pleasant day for Amit Mishra, though. He had been left out of the playing XI; Piyush Chawla and Mohnish Parmar, the Murali clone whose action has been under the scanner for a while, were selected ahead of him. When asked why he wasn’t in the team, Mishra replied: “They had one legspinner already [in Chawla], and they went for the offie [Parmar] because Australia have many left-handers.” The story of his life.After close to eight years of first-class cricket for Haryana, one of the cricketing backwaters of India, it was his impressive showing in the IPL that had caught everybody’s imagination. The IPL followed his best first-class season, when he got 46 wickets at 18.21. The A games (also against New Zealand A) were his best chance to push for national selection. Despite being omitted for the Australia A Tests, he was not bitter. Responding to a remark that the left-hand batsmen would stay, he said: “Tab to legspinner change karna padega [Then the legspinner will have to change].”That was September 3, and by October 17, the circumstances had changed. Anil Kumble got injured and a replacement was required. Sooner or later the cupboard will open permanently for legspinning hopefuls, with Kumble at the twilight of his career. Mishra, fortunately, has already given India a ready option.He is wearing a borrowed Test cap, but he has the heart to match the man he has borrowed the cap from. “How many spinners have made their debut for India, with the ticker showing 300 first-class wickets to their name already?” asks Vijay Dahiya, who has played with and against Mishra on the Delhi circuit. “It takes a lot of character, and consistency to do that.” In the last eight years, he has come close, without actually making it. A member of the squad against the touring West Indies in 2002, he didn’t get a game. He also played three ODIs for India in 2002-03, and was a forgotten man after that.Even now, Chawla has been talked of as India’s next big spinner after Kumble. When Chawla failed to make the cut, Pragyan Ojha went to Sri Lanka. All through, Mishra was barely considered, but as a testament to his spirit, he kept waiting.Mishra’s big heart shows in his bowling. It is a genuinely refreshing sight: a wrist spinner, on debut, throwing the ball up, giving it serious rip, giving the batsman time to think twice about the shot, drawing them out, and using the googly sparingly. The heavy bats be damned. Legspin is not the job of one who worries about the consequence. Even when he moved away from Delhi, where he wasn’t selected for the Under-17 team in 2000, the consequences were not on his mind.Twenty20 cricket is threatening to take the oomph out of legspin bowling, but even in that format he succeeded because he was not afraid to give it air, much like Shane Warne. It’s fitting he bowled like the man who inspired him to take up legspin, after that mesmerising delivery which stunned Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes. “I watched it in awe, and it was magic for me,” Mishra has said before. The Victorian Frankenstein had created a monster who would haunt his own team 15 years later, with a five-wicket haul on Test debut.Only five Indians before Mishra have taken a five-for on their debut. One of them is a national selector right now, and he was seen grinning from ear to ear when Mishra bowled. The inspired selection was not the only reason for Narendra Hirwani’s pleasure. Mishra reminds him of himself – the flight, the slowness, the turn. And even Hirwani tormented a formidable opposition in his debut, West Indies. “Bahut mazaa aaya hai iska bowling dekh ke [It was a big pleasure to watch him bowl]. More so, because I am reminded of myself when I see him flight it,” Hirwani told Cricinfo. “Uska dil bada hai, aur pet khali [He has a big heart, and is hungry], such people rarely fail.”

Hirwani has also worked a bit on Mishra’s bowling, both before and after becoming a selector. One of the main criticisms Mishra has drawn in domestic cricket is that he is slow in the air, and that takes the sting out of the turn he gets. “There was a time when he looked to bowl faster, but I told him to play his own game,” Hirwani said. “But the main thing was to keep the head still. When you bowl a googly, your head tends to fall a bit, and you sometimes continue doing that when you bowl the legbreaks. That way you push the ball through, as opposed to flighting it. I told him that the head was like a camera. Just like you need to keep the camera still for a good picture, you need to keep the head still to bowl legspin.”The head might not have been perfectly still all the times, but Mishra managed both types of deliveries to near perfection in his first bowling effort. His first wicket was a left-hander, Simon Katich, off a well-flighted legbreak. That was followed by the deadly googly, from round the stumps, in the last over before stumps on the second day. It was a delightful piece of bowling, as he got the ball to pitch in line with the stumps, and then brought it in a trifle, beating the bat. Michael Clarke had fallen in the last over again, like he had in Bangalore.Mahendra Singh Dhoni had picked Mishra ahead of Munaf Patel, who had himself made an impressive debut at the same venue against England two years ago. That confidence didn’t show when Dhoni refused singles with Mishra, the No. 11, at the other end. It wouldn’t have flattered Mishra, who is a handy bat himself – his coach had to dissuade him from making a career as a batsman for the first two years of their association – but it perhaps goaded him to make his point with the ball.He generated huge turn on a track that had not afforded any spin for nearly two days. He went on to fox Cameron White and Peter Siddle with the googly. Although he took three of them with the wrong ‘un, it was sparingly used. Shane Watson was probably the most satisfactory wicket, done in with a legbreak that turned a little less than usual. Watson had frustrated India long enough to give them nightmares about their past failures to mop up the tail.The beauty of the Mishra story, though, is that the legspinner could change again once Kumble is fit. And Mishra’s big heart will be tested one more time. At least he has shown that borrowed it might be, but the cap fits.

Vaughan the captain put you in a good space, Vaughan the batsman was one of the best England had. So what if he isn’t exactly a Yorkshireman?

Matthew Hoggard30-Jun-2009Before I crack on with my eulogy to Michael Vaughan, there is one thing I’ve got to get off my chest: he ain’t a Yorkshire lad, he’s from fricking Lancashire! He always wanted to be a Yorkshire lad, but unfortunately for him he will always be from the wrong side of the Pennines. But we have tried not to hold that against him, and he has probably been at Headingley long enough now to have earned honorary status.Seriously, though, this is a very sad day for Michael and for everyone who played under him during his days as England captain. I remember him from the days when he was just getting into the first team at Yorkshire. He used to be a batter who couldn’t hit it off the square, but then all of a sudden he turned into a fantastic, elegant and free-flowing run-scoring machine.He obviously wanted to get back into the England team and play in this summer’s Ashes, but his not making the squad made his decision for him. His knee is clearly still troubling him, and playing county cricket day in and day out isn’t good for it. But he captained England, took them to an Ashes victory and is one of the most successful captains in recent history. He has done a lot for the game, and now he’s looking forward to new challenges.It was great to grow up with and play alongside a man like Michael, and I particularly remember how my England debut, against West Indies at Lord’s in 2000, was made so much easier by the presence of three of my Yorkshire team-mates, Darren Gough, Craig White and Michael, in the same England dressing room.In fact he had been a team-mate for so long at county and international level that I never really thought of him as a captain until the moment it happened. I know he captained England A before he played his first Test, but when Nasser Hussain stepped down the choice was between Vaughany and Marcus Trescothick. And I remember looking at Tres – and I knew him pretty well by then – and thinking that if he tried to tell me off, I’d just laugh at him. I just couldn’t envisage Tres handing out bollockings, so I thought, “Yeah Vaughany will be the captain.” And what a good captain he turned out to be.He always had a humour about him. Even when things were going against you, he’d come out with a quick one-liner, or a wry little look and a smile, as if to say, “Yeah, we’re in the shit here, but you know what you’ve got to do, get on and do it.” He was fantastic like that – he never got at you, even when you weren’t bowling at your best. Instead he always seemed to know what you were feeling, and would coax the best out of you anyway.Of course he had very high standards, so did we all, but he was a completely different kind of leader to Nasser, who used to kick the dirt and chunter whenever you bowled a bad ball. Vaughany would just roll his eyes at you, and say: “Hoggy, Hoggy, Hoggy, what the f*** are you doing?” Instead of thinking “I need to bowl well because I’ll get a bollocking if I don’t” it was more a case of thinking “Yeah, it’s my performance, I need to sort this out”.

Michael was a completely different kind of leader to Nasser, who used to kick the dirt and chunter whenever you bowled a bad ball. Vaughany would just roll his eyes at you, and say: “Hoggy, Hoggy, Hoggy, what the f*** are you doing?”

But from time to time, he’d have a few harsh words with us. I remember our first game in South Africa in 2004-05. We were hammered by South Africa A in Potchefstroom, and afterwards he got us all into the changing rooms, and said, “Look, I don’t give a f*** about this game, it’s a warm-up, I really don’t care. But this was an absolutely crap performance. We need to improve our game immensely. Again it’s only a warm-up, so don’t take it too much to heart, but get your f***ing acts together.” He got his message through loud and clear, and we went on to win the series.He was great on an individual level as well, and he was the first captain who really managed to spell out what it was that he wanted from me. It was in the Caribbean in 2003-04 when he basically told me he wanted me to be the shop-floor steward, the guy he could rely upon to put the ball on the spot and give him control of the game by not going for more than two or three an over.He told me that the big fast lads, Steve Harmison and the like, would take the limelight and get the wickets. He just told me to do my job quietly and nicely, and if I did the right thing by the team I’d still pick up a few wickets here and there.He used to make me laugh, stationed under his sun-hat at mid-off, and yelling to me, “Hoggy, get off those office steps, you’re not going up there. Now get down and sweep the freaking floor.” It was lovely to be captained with such a fresh approach. He showed no fear of failure, and so long as you were seen to be trying the right thing at the right time, whether you were batting or bowling, it didn’t matter whether you succeeded or failed.As a captain, he was good at hiding the pressure. Even when the heat was on at the height of the 2005 Ashes, he was still the same chilled-out, laid-back guy that I’d always known. Off the pitch he had some tough times like everyone else, but his outward persona around the team and the media, he was still Vaughany, still the same relaxed character you’d come to expect.Scoring centuries at will in Australia, with a broken shoulder•Tom Shaw/Getty ImagesCricket is a cruel game, though, and it was massive bad luck when he was struck down with that knee injury in Pakistan, which effectively ended England’s run of success, straight after the 2005 Ashes. He had been in good form, leading the team well, and it was always going to be tough to lose such an influential captain, and one of the team’s best batters. We didn’t exactly cover ourselves in glory after his injury, but there’s no way that Michael can be blamed for our poor performances in the following seasons.Who knows what might have happened if he’d got the right treatment for his knee straightaway. Unfortunately it robbed him of some of his best years, and it still troubles him. If he turns the wrong way, or dives in the field and lands a bit funny, it clearly troubles him. He played a shot at Warwickshire the other day, and just collapsed. Everyone thought he’d slipped, but his knee had actually given way. It still gives him a lot of gyp.But that’s the thing about Michael. He goes through a lot of pain that nobody knows about. I remember his first Ashes series, in Australia, when he scored three centuries – he actually did it with a broken shoulder. Jason Gillespie hit him on the point of the shoulder in the first Test and broke it. But he still played and not only did he score a massive amount of runs, he didn’t moan on the pitch or complain about the pain. He just got on and did it, which is the Vaughany way.But now that he has taken the decision to retire, the world is Vaughany’s oyster. He can seriously turn his hand to anything. He has got a business brain, he is good at speeches, he’d be a good coach and a mentor, and he has even turned himself into an artist with his Artballing project. And then there’s Sky, they’d be silly not to have him on their books. He will succeed in anything he wants to turn his hand to.

What Simon Katich has done in Twenty20 is understand his limits while playing to his strengths

Nagraj Gollapudi in Delhi09-Oct-2009Simon Katich has been an unassuming character for as far back as one can remember. Today, in New South Wales’ opening game of the Champions League, there was no change in that outward character. This tournament was expected to be the hunting ground for the likes of David Warner, Phillip Hughes and Moises Henriques – his younger, fitter team-mates – but it was Katich who added to the purist theory that playing orthodox cricket remains more beneficial than all the innovative fireworks of the Twenty20 format.One of the hallmarks of Katich’s career has been the strong mindset mandatory in a successful Test opener. Today, when the much talked about Hughes departed ten balls after Katich opted bat on a dicey, re-laid pitch, the New South Wales captain walked out to the middle needing to steady proceedings. And that he did, with little fuss.Katich faced the first three balls on the back foot before neatly sending three of the next four deliveries to the rope. He opened his account with a strong push past cover for the first four of the day; a tuck past midwicket and a cut in front of square got him quickly into his stride. Meanwhile, Warner was still trying to play hard at everything – an exercise as futile, and fatal, as trying to board the notorious Blueline buses in Delhi.Just like JP Duminy’s breathtaking display of classical batting the previous evening, Katich also stayed put till the last second before making his move. He understood pretty quickly that, to handle the slow and skiddy nature of the pitch, he needed to use the pace of the ball more than muscle power. Playing mostly with soft hands, Katich deftly pushed the ball into the wide gaps in front of square and the lush green outfield took care of the rest.The Eagles seemed overawed by the occasion. None of their bowlers could create any sort of intensity or rhythm, thereby allowing Katich to accelerate. He slotted a harmless offbreak from Thandi Tshabalala over the straight boundary for his second six and raised his half century. Even if he failed to add more after that, Katich’s 53 was the highest score of the match, and it made the difference between victory and defeat.Unlike Warner, who announced himself with an assault against South Africa, or Brendon McCullum, whose Bangalore blitzkrieg declared the IPL open in 2008, Katich has never made a telling statement in front of a global audience in a Twenty20. What he has done, though, is understand his limits while playing to his strengths.Little wonder then that respected minds still consider Katich captaincy material for Australia. The man himself feels happy that he is mentoring young men and today was a fresh example of his leadership qualities. With the bat Katich led by example, and in the field he was proactive. He showed fresh legs and an accurate arm to effect two direct hits but, more than anything, Katich stamped his ruthlessness by never allowing his men to take their eyes off the ball. A good example of that came when he rapped Henriques on the knuckles for casually collecting the ball in the field early during the Eagles’ chase.That has been the biggest change in Katich over the last two years. Today he is more expressive and he admits that. It’s a sign of his confidence and maturity. This was a fresh example of that, as he utilised his experience to help his team dominate proceedings. “If you look at the last IPL in South Africa, the top performers were a lot of the experienced cricketers like Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar,” Katich said in that self-deprecating manner. “Even though it’s a young man’s game you still have to make the right decision at the right time with the bat and the ball.”This format may afford many a level of flash, but experience matters.

Stats highlights from the first day’s play between India and Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad

Siddhartha Talya16-Nov-2009

• India’s 385 for 6 on the first day in Ahmedabad is their second-highest total in a single day of a Test. They fell one short of the 386 against South Africa, which they achieved on the third day of the Chennai Test in 2008. On a flat deck, they reached 468 for 1 at stumps after beginning the day on 82 without loss. Earlier this year, India managed 375 for 9 on the opening day of the third Test against New Zealand in Wellington, their second-highest overseas total in a day, behind the 378 against England on the third day of the Oval Test in 1936. (They began the day on 156 for 3, were bowled out for 222 and made 312 during the follow-on).
• Rahul Dravid’s 27th Test century was only his second against Sri Lanka in 15 Tests. He’s edged ahead of Mahela Jayawardene and Garry Sobers – who have 26 Test centuries to their name – in the list of players with most hundreds in Test cricket.
• Dravid, upon getting to 177, reached 11,000 runs in Test cricket, the fifth batsman, and the second Indian, to do so. He is now fourth on the list of highest run-getters in all cricket (Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals) with 21,765.
• Dravid also reached a personal best of most runs scored in a single day of a Test. He went past the 156 (43 to 199) he scored against Australia on the third day of the Adelaide Test in 2003 during his epic 233.
• Dravid was involved in two century stands today, with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, which took his Test tally to 78 and stretched his lead against Ricky Ponting (who has 75) by three. Ponting reached 75 by being involved in five century-stands this year; Dravid, too, has five to his name in 2009, but in fewer Tests – four, as opposed to Ponting’s nine. Sachin Tendulkar is third on the list of batsmen with most century-stands, 71, followed by Steve Waugh (64).
• The 224-run sixth wicket stand with Dhoni was Dravid’s 12th in excess of 200. It ranks No.3 in the highest sixth-wicket stands for India, overtaking Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin’s 222 against South Africa in Cape Town in 1997.
• Dhoni’s 159-ball 110 was only his second century in 38 Tests, and his first in more than three years. Among Indian batsmen who have played 40 or fewer Tests with more than 2000 runs, only two other batsmen have done worse: Chetan Chauhan and Ajit Wadekar. However, Dhoni’s career is still ongoing unlike most others in the list.
• Dravid was his most aggressive against the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, Chanaka Welegedara, scoring 44 off 40 balls. He took Muttiah Muralitharan for 45 off 61, and was most watchful against Angelo Mathews, who conceded 26 off 45. Dhoni was harsh on Dammika Prasad, scoring 26 off 24, but was eventually dismissed by him. He took the two frontline spinners, Murali and Rangana Herath, for 66 in 106.

Australia fought hard, but the lack of a good spin option was a huge handicap in the two-Test series

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan15-Oct-2010India reasserted their home dominance with a seven-wicket win in Bangalore which was their first at the venue in 15 years. The 2-0 defeat was the first time Australia lost all Tests of a series of at least two Tests since 1982-83. Australia are yet to beat India in a Test since the acrimonious Sydney match – they have lost five and drawn three out of eight matches played. Since 2000, India have challenged them both home and away, and have won 12 Tests to Australia’s 10 since the inception of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 1996. Both teams have been much more convincing at home, though Australia have won a series in India while India are yet to triumph in an away series.

The first Test at Mohali was incredibly close, but VVS Laxman’s superb 73 guided India to a narrow one-wicket victory. The Bangalore Test hung in the balance for more than three days, but excellent bowling on the fourth afternoon and disciplined batting on the final day swung the fortunes India’s way. In both the matches, the first innings proved to be a high scoring one, but witnessed collapses in the latter half of the innings. India lost their last five wickets for nine runs in Bangalore and for 23 runs in Mohali, which must be a source of concern before the tour of South Africa later in the year. Australia, on the other hand had strong starts, but were let down by poor middle-order batting in both games. In an otherwise closely contested series, India’s more experienced and skillful bowling attack proved to be the difference.

The difference between the batsmen of both teams was immense: India had three who averaged 75 or more; Australia had none. Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting were clearly Australia’s best batsmen , but Ponting let the team down by his conversion rate: he had three fifties, but his highest score in the series was 77. Watson and Marcus North were the only centurions, but apart from his century, North scored 13 runs in three innings. Australia were let down most by the failures of Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey – both are considered good players of spin, but both had a rough time, with Clarke being especially poor. Hussey’s average fell below 50 for the first time in his career since November 2005 while Clarke, who entered the series averaging over 46 against India, did not reach 20 even once in four innings.For India, Sachin Tendulkar reiterated the value of his experience by aggregating more than 400 runs in the two matches. His 214 in Bangalore is his sixth double-hundred in Tests, bringing him level with Virender Sehwag in the list of Indian batsmen with the most double centuries. Murali Vijay demonstrated excellent technique and patience in the course of his maiden century. Vijay and Tendulkar shared a 308-run stand for the third wicket which is the second-highest for the third wicket against Australia. Suresh Raina and Sehwag had starts but failed to convert them. Rahul Dravid struggled a bit, but he has an opportunity to regain his touch in the forthcoming home series against New Zealand. (Click here for the series averages of India, and here for Australia.)In terms of partnerships, India’s top order did significantly better than Australia’s. The visitors’ opening pair was consistent, but failed to convert their starts into bigger partnerships. Watson and Ponting were the best batsmen in the top order, but the poor form of Clarke and Hussey significantly affected the batting. India had just one fifty-plus opening stand but Vijay and Tendulkar made amends with a massive partnership in Bangalore. Marcus North and Tim Paine shared a 149-run stand for the sixth wicket in Bangalore and the lower order also contributed substantially. India, on the other hand suffered lower order collapses in both Tests, but the 81-run stand for the ninth wicket in Mohali between Laxman and Ishant Sharma helped clinch the first Test.

Among the Indian bowlers, Zaheer Khan was outstanding, while Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha did their bits too. Zaheer used the reverse swing to great effect while the accurate and economical Ojha combined superbly with Harbhajan in the second innings of both Tests to restrict Australia to low scores. Ishant Sharma was inconsistent in Mohali, but brought India back in the contest with a three wicket spell in the second innings.

Ben Hilfenhaus was Australia’s best bowler throughout the series, bowling testing spells in both matches without luck. Mitchell Johnson had a five wicket haul in Mohali but was quite ineffective in Bangalore. Doug Bollinger’s injury proved to be very crucial for Australia as he had proved to be the best bowler in the pre lunch session in Mohali. His absence in Bangalore weakened the attack considerably and Nathan Hauritz’s poor form only added to their woes. In the crucial second innings in Bangalore, he conceded over a run a ball while picking up just one wicket. Clearly the performance of the spinners was below par for Australia.

In the end, the factor that separated the two teams was the performance of the spinners. In both matches, the first innings witnessed high scores, but on wearing tracks, the ability of the Indian spinners to contain and pick up wickets regularly proved to be the difference. The Indian pace bowlers, especially Zaheer, were highly effective with the old ball in both matches. Hilfenhaus was the most consistent bowler for the Australians but Hauritz’s innocuous display dented their chances.

Player-versus-player statsPonting sorted out his previous troubles against Harbhajan superbly. He scored at a consistent rate and was not dismissed even once by the off spinner. Ojha though, had a better time against Watson dismissing him on two occasions. North and Johnson were unable to cope with Harbhajan and Zaheer respectively, falling to them three times in four innings. Clarke, one of Australia’s finest players of spin bowling, had a poor series falling three times to the spinners while Hussey was dismissed by Zaheer in both Tests.

Tendulkar and Vijay completely dominated Hauritz in Bangalore during their record stand. Tendulkar, the highest run-getter in the series, did not lose his wicket even once to Hilfenhaus, who was arguably Australia’s best bowler in the series. Sehwag though, fell to Hilfenhaus three times in four innings. Bollinger, whose absence in Bangalore proved crucial, bowled impressively in Mohali dismissing Dravid in both innings.

Who took over the Basin in their baby pink outfits. And the mystery of the messed-up scoreboard finally revealed

Trish Plunket12-Dec-2010Choice of game
It was the Hell Firebirds versus the Yahoo!Xtra Northern Knights who wear pink. I couldn’t miss a game like this, especially not with the stunning day Wellington turned on. (So ner ners Scotty Styris.)Team supported
I was again supporting the HellFirebirds, though it was a bit of an effort, as I do like pink, and am a fan of a lot of the Yahoo!Xtra Northern Knights. I was very restrained however. I let BJ Watling escape with his cheeks unpinched.What’s in a name?
Four of the Yahoo!Xtra Northern Knights are named Bradley. A third of the team. Does naming your child Bradley increase his chances of cricketing success? Was it just a trendy name however long ago? Are Bradleys more partial to pink?Key performer
Brad Hodge, Peter McGlashan, and Anton Devcich all did horrible things to the Hellfire Birds’ bowling attack. At one point the PA had to remind people that the ball is hard, and thus you need to watch to make sure it doesn’t kill you.One thing I’d have changed

What the Hell Firebirds? Again I have to change the top order’s inability to bat. And Matthew Bell isn’t around to blame it on this time. In fact, looks like the whole team forgot how to bat.Detective work of the day
After my suspicions last time that the keepers of the scoreboard were in fact drunk, I confirmed it today. Wine spotted in the windows at the bottom of the scoreboard! How’s that for investigative journalism? (Or just being really nosy?)Wow moment
Wow the Yahoo!Xtra Northern Bradleys are an amazing outfit. And not just the pink. Scoring 200 runs and giving an exhibition of batting the likes of which the Basin has not seen in a while.Player watch
Completely overshadowing the return of Jesse Ryder is the supreme confidence of Anton Devcich. Rocking the baby-pink broad brimmed hat (which looked remarkably bonnet-like) while all his team-mates stuck to their caps… Fierce.Shot of the day
While it wasn’t the biggest six, it was the most terrifying. Devcich slammed a shot over the long-off fence, where it flew over the head of a small child by approximately three inches. Child remained blissfully unaware; all of us who saw it felt the need for a stiff drink.Crowd meter
Biggest crowd so far this summer, and why wouldn’t it be. It was hot, the breeze was pleasant, the cricket was fantastic. The bank was full and a few people had even spilled up into the museum grandstand. Can’t beat Wellington on a good day. (Note: that saying is about the weather).Entertainment
It seems they’ve managed to pick out someone with an actual sense of humour to run the music and address system. The music as Wellington tanked grew progressively more depressing. I think “Sending out an SOS” probably summed up everyone’s feelings as we got to seven down.Accessories
Today I took several mates, an ugly, ugly blanket, and a top with the NZ flag printed on it. I figure there needs to be some support for the local boys among all the ring-ins. I attempted to purchase a Hellfire Birds top, but they were going for $135 and I couldn’t locate a small child to sell.Overall
It was glorious. The summer is in full swing, Christmas is coming and the cricket is great. Well, the XtraBradley! Pink Knights are great. The Hell? Firebirds? Are their lovely inconsistent selves.Can I make any more terrible puns out of the team names?Marks out of 10
8. Minus two for losing and not getting a cheek to pinch.