The 2009 first-class competition will feature “return” matches, will run for 14 successive weekends and will allow teams 12 matches in the season, the most in regional history

Haydn Gill04-Jan-2009

	Will more first-class games provide the much-needed boost to West Indies cricket? © The Nation

For the vast majority of the past 40 years, regional cricket has been blessed with a sponsor for the annual first-class competition. Yet, with the exception of two seasons, it was limited to an unsatisfactory handful of matches. Now that there is no sponsor, we have the reverse.The 2009 first-class competition, which bowls off on Friday, will feature “return” matches, will run for 14 successive weekends and will allow teams 12 matches in the season, the most in regional history.It is a welcome change. Every cricket expert – and there are thousands of them in the Caribbean – has long lamented that the short season is a major reason for the West Indies’ unacceptable performances at the international level.Yet those in charge hardly did anything to change it, with the expectation of the 1997 and 2005 seasons. For much of the past 15 years the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has been soundly criticised for its inefficiencies – with some justification in many cases.Today, however, we can salute the regional body for an initiative that is long overdue. The WICB could have simply used the excuse that with no sponsor on board, it could not afford at this time to undertake expenditure for a tournament that is likely to cost them more than US$2 million.
Instead, the WICB will use its “own cricket development funds” to finance the tournament. Would it be logical to assume that some of the US$50 million profit from World Cup 2007 is being put to good use?Having also recently lost out on sponsorship of its limited-overs tournament and bearing in mind the current global economic crisis, the WICB will face a long-term challenge in ensuring its competitions are adequately funded. With the first-class season requiring 14 weekends to complete, the WICB has taken the unprecedented step of running the regional season alongside the international engagements, largely due to time constraints.The debate, however, still remains on the pros and cons of this move. The major benefit is that players outside the West Indies team will be kept active with a serious level of competition and would not be rusty if they were required for higher duties.The downside of it is that the regional competition could be put in the background. When Kensington Oval will be hosting the third Test between West Indies and England from February 26 to March 2, Barbados will be playing Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park.It is a distinct possibility the latter match will get little or no radio coverage and less than usual newspaper column inches. Could it be one of the reasons why a sponsor would not be attracted to the regional competition? After all, any sponsor wants maximum mileage from its investment and the current schedule would not have been beneficial to sponsors.Some observers often argue that the English county season doesn’t stop when England are playing Test matches at home, but it can be countered by saying that we in the Caribbean have a different culture. Traditionally, when international cricket is on in the West Indies, everything else takes a back seat.To have first-class cricket on at the same time is virtually reducing those matches to club games, although it must be pointed out that authorities have tried to diminish the effect by not scheduling regional matches in territories that will be hosting international matches at the time.While the WICB must be praised for going ahead with the extended season, it deserves some criticism for the late availability of fixtures. The itinerary for the 2009 competition was released on Wednesday, a mere ten days before the start of the season. For the recent regional limited-overs competition in Guyana, which started on November 13, the fixtures were made public on November 1.This has now become the norm and it often presents challenges to local associations in planning their domestic engagements. It also puts fans in the dark. In stark contrast, the England and Wales Cricket Board already has on its website itineraries for all of its 2009 competitions between April 9 and September 27.

Take nothing for granted. That was the mantra being chanted by increasingly anxious West Indians during the lunch interval at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday

Fazeer Mohammed11-Mar-2009
West Indian nerves began to fray as England chipped away at the batting order © AFP
Take nothing for granted. That was the mantra being chanted by increasingly anxious West Indians during the lunch interval at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday, when just a couple hours earlier they were lolling off in their favourite vantage points in the stands with a dull draw and a series triumph over England taken for granted.But it’s only when an elusive goal is so very close that it suddenly appears to be so very far away. And desperation for that success can do strange things to people. Take Sir Vivian Richards for example. Ask anyone remotely familiar with his stature in West Indian and world cricket to characterise him, and adjectives like “aggressive” and “domineering” or even “arrogant” and “hostile” are more than likely to crop up.Yesterday morning, though, as Kevin Pietersen blazed away to his 16th Test hundred (in just three-and-a-half hours, mind you) and Matt Prior plundered a half-century in helping England pile on 157 runs in two hours, the celebrated “Master Blaster” was close to being a nervous wreck.Exaggeration you say? Well, picture it. The place already surprisingly cool with all this strong breeze that we’ve been experiencing for the last few days. Add to that an air-conditioning unit operating efficiently in our radio commentary box. Yet despite all that ventilation, the man who never lost a Test series as West Indies captain and took a particular pleasure in whipping England, was running out of napkins to mop his brow.Only when you see such patent anxiety from a batting giant who stood and delivered haughtily and mightily against the very best in so many great arenas of the world can you appreciate how much passion and pride he has for the Caribbean game, to the extent that it borders on an obsession.By the time James Anderson was running in for the first delivery after England had declared at 237 for 6 at lunch, you could feel the tension and pit-of-the-stomach trepidation among the locals at the same time that hope and anticipation of a minor miracle were keeping the visitors on the edge of their seats and beach towels.Everything seemed to be pointing towards the sort of nerve-jangling drama that no hometown fan wanted yet were almost prepared to believe was inevitable given their team’s oft-exposed vulnerability under pressure in recent years.Why, it was only in the hastily-arranged third Test of this series that Fidel Edwards, for the third time in his career, was called upon to hold up the side in a prolonged last-wicket partnership, on that occasion with Daren Powell.Speaking of Powell, what are we to make of him not being utilised for a single one of the 38.4 overs bowled in the England second innings? For someone in whom both the head coach and captain have reposed such unstinting faith and confidence so consistently, it was perhaps a telling omission. Maybe all the licks shared by Pietersen and Prior had Chris Gayle and then acting captain Denesh Ramdin confused.Confusion certainly reigned when Lendl Simmons wasn’t sure whether to continue to the pavilion, reverse his steps or stand and wait for a referral after Paul Collingwood’s contentious catch at second slip off Anderson. By then it was too late to attempt to seek a reprieve from the man upstairs (TV umpire Aleem Dar, that is), but the frantic signalling from Simmons’ teammates at the same time that the huddled English were waving him away merely added to the drama that has been long overdue in this otherwise tedious Test.A few minutes later and you were hoping that Tantie Merle hadn’t just walked in. There was her fellow Grenadian, Devon Smith, surviving an appeal for leg-before off Graeme Swann that the English didn’t challenge, only for replays to suggest that the ball would have clipped leg stump. And what does he do two balls later? Pelt a big swipe and is palpably lbw, yet has the temerity to seek a referral that confirms his embarrassing lack of judgment.By then both Tantie and Sir Viv were probably heading to the nearest pharmacy in St James for something to control their rising blood pressure. Pressure, boy. Enough can burst the strongest pipe.It’s almost too much to take. It certainly was for “Smokin’ Joe”, who steered clear of the commentary box in the afternoon session, especially after Ramnaresh Sarwan fell to Swann. Tantie Merle? Well she was probably lying down somewhere sapping her head with bay rum and maybe drinking some too.

Stats preview to the first Test between England and West Indies at Lord’s

S Rajesh05-May-2009The Ashes may be the showcase event of the season, but before England take a crack at Australia, they have the not-so-insignificant task trying to regain the Wisden Trophy after West Indies wrested it with a 1-0 series win a couple of months back. For all West Indian fans that win has raised hopes of a revival of West Indian fortunes, but for that to happen the team will have to perform well consistently overseas, a task they’ve struggled to achieve over the last year years. The last time they won an overseas series against meaningful opposition was in 1994-95, against New Zealand. The last time they won a series in England was way back in 1988; since then they’ve drawn two series and lost the last three. (Click here for all England-West Indies series in England since 1990.)England have their own house to set in order before the Ashes, and a comprehensive win against West Indies will be just the right boost for Andrew Strauss and Co before the Australians arrive.Historically, West Indies have won more than they have lost against England, but the gap is narrowing, especially in Tests in England: the Windies have had a dismal time here of late, losing ten of the last 13, including three out of four in their last series, in 2007.

Tests between England and West Indies

	Played	Eng won	WI won	Drawn
In England	78	28	29	21
In England since 2000	13	10	1	2
At Lord’s	18	7	4	7
Overall	143	41	53	49

Most of the West Indian batsmen have struggled to cope with the swing and seam of England recently, but the one player who has been the glorious exception is Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with more than 1000 runs in England in 11 Tests, at a superb average of nearly 78. He has scored at least a half-century in each of his last five innings.The rest haven’t even managed half his average: Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan both average in the mid-to-late 30s.

West Indian batsmen in England

Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	11	1090	77.85	3/ 7
Chris Gayle	9	620	38.75	1/ 4
Ramnaresh Sarwan	9	465	35.76	1/ 2
Devon Smith	6	215	19.54	0/ 0
Denesh Ramdin	4	127	18.14	0/ 1

England’s batsmen have fared much better against West Indies, which is exactly what you’d expect against a bowling attack which has lost much of its ferocity. The only batsman with disappointing stats is their captain, Strauss, who averages less than 35.

England batsmen v West Indies at home

Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Kevin Pietersen	4	466	66.57	2/ 1
Matt Prior	4	324	64.80	1/ 2
Paul Collingwood	4	359	59.83	2/ 0
Alastair Cook	4	398	56.85	2/ 2
Andrew Strauss	8	485	34.64	1/ 2

Among England’s bowlers in the current squad, only two have played West Indies at home. One of them, Monty Panesar, has especially enjoyed himself, with three five-wicket hauls in four Tests.

England bowlers versus West Indies at home

Bowler	Tests	Wickets	Average	5WI/ 10WM
Monty Panesar	4	23	18.69	3/ 1
James Anderson	3	7	31.28	0/ 0

The venue for the first Test will offer plenty of cheer for the batsmen: the last six Tests have all been drawn, with West Indies being involved in one of them, in 2007. (Click here for all results at Lord’s since 2000.)The innings-wise runs-per-wicket stats indicate how easy the conditions here have been for batsmen over the last three years: in the first innings teams average almost 60 per wicket, and while it drops significantly in the second innings, teams have managed to bat long in their second try as well, suggesting that the pitch stays excellent throughout the entire duration of the game.

Innings-wise runs per wicket at Lord’s since May 2006

1st innings	2nd innings	3rd innings	4th innings
58.33	30.68	46.84	45.00

As you’d expect, almost all the current England batsmen have relished playing here. Paul Collingwood averages 45.33, and his average is the lowest of the lot among the top order.

England batsmen at Lord’s

Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Kevin Pietersen	7	802	80.20	4/ 2
Matt Prior	2	190	63.33	1/ 0
Alastair Cook	6	542	60.22	2/ 4
Andrew Strauss	10	959	59.93	3/ 4
Paul Collingwood	6	408	45.33	2/ 1

Among the bowlers, Anderson has been among the wickets, with two five-wicket hauls in five matches. Panesar has one five-for too, against West Indies in 2007, but Stuart Broad has found wicket-taking far more difficult here.

England bowlers at Lord’s

Bowler	Tests	Wickets	Average	5WI/ 10WM
James Anderson	5	22	27.13	2/ 0
Monty Panesar	6	18	39.16	1/ 0
Stuart Broad	2	5	61.00	0/ 0

As the table below indicates, there hasn’t been much joy for pace bowlers or for spinners during this period.

Pace and spin at Lord’s over the last three years

	Wickets	Average	5WI/ 10WM
Pace	117	44.11	2/ 0
Spin	45	40.04	2/ 0

Somerset’s wicketkeeper is a South African import who Marcus Trescothick thinks is the real deal

Jeremy James20-Sep-2009Selecting a wicketkeeper was once a straightforward affair. The best technician was chosen, regardless of whether or not he could score runs, for cricket was an art for individuals of specialist talents. It has metamorphosed, partly as a result of the amount of one-day competitions and fewer overs bowled by spinners, into a game in which run-making is seen as of equal importance. The very role, then, for Craig Kieswetter.Kieswetter, the son of an Afrikaner father and Scottish mother, qualifies to play for England next February. There is little doubting that he will do so – and soon. Marcus Trescothick, who will be his captain next year and who is not a man given to superlatives, compares his batting to that of Kevin Pietersen for strokeplay born of hard pitches in the southern hemisphere, and there can be no higher praise.James Whitaker, an England selector, watched Kieswetter at Taunton earlier this month. There is work to be done on his wicketkeeping, which is why Somerset are planning to ask Alec Stewart, essentially another batsman-keeper, to give him some tuition. And James Foster was generous with his time earlier this summer.To score 1000 runs for the first time, as Kieswetter has done at the age of 21 this season, is a laudable achievement and to have dropped a straightforward chance given by Daryl Mitchell, who had made 28 at the time, in the last first-class match of the season at Taunton, could be put down to tiredness. Or, then again, to not being ready to play international cricket. When he was eventually out, Mitchell had made 298.What happens if South Africa seek him as the successor to Mark Boucher? “I have no interest in that,” said Kieswetter. “For the first 18 years of my life I was chosen by my folks to live in South Africa and when I turned 18 I decided I wanted to live here and make my career here – just for the opportunity and fairness of opportunity compared to what is happening in South Africa. I love living in Somerset and playing for them. I hope I can be selected for England somewhere along the line.”Kieswetter does possess that ideal qualification for a Somerset cricketer in that he was educated at Millfield. Only for a year, but the headmaster and Richard Ellison, the former England allrounder and master at the school, chose wisely in bringing him over from South Africa. County cricket was a seamless progression and his coach, Andy Hurry, is but one close observer who thinks international selection will shortly follow.In fact Hurry puts this at a year “at a conservative estimate”. Boys growing up in South Africa often possess a maturity and self-confidence beyond that of their English contemporaries and Kieswetter is as ambitious to make a name for himself in his adopted country as, well, Pietersen was. There is a difference, he stresses, between his position and that of Kolpak players from the Republic, some of whom, he says, come for the money. “I realise my accent does not qualify me to play for England, but I feel English and England offered the fairest opportunity.

“I am not angry about the system there, but I was disappointed at the way I was handled. Western Province, for whom I played at junior levels from 13 to 18, did not tell me why they felt I should go and play club cricket and come back to them two or three years later”

“South Africans say they want players to stay in the country and fight for their places. I am not angry about the system there, but I was disappointed at the way I was handled. Western Province, for whom I played at junior levels from 13 to 18, did not tell me why they felt I should go and play club cricket and come back to them two or three years later. It could have been because they preferred to give opportunities to players of colour. I did not tell them I was going to leave but said I was going to England for my education.Keeping is not a role that has come easy to him. “Wicketkeepers are all nuts with smelly kit. Who wants to stand behind the stumps all day and catch 1000 throws and talk and run around?” he asks. “I was never big on shouting and making a lot of noise but Justin Langer, my captain, and Andy Hurry want me to keep the momentum and the over-rate going. I am slowly learning what my game is and I’m looking to try various things to see what makes me a better player. Justin has suggested kick-boxing and martial arts and I am seeking advice from dieticians and am keen to go to the spin clinic in India to further my performances.”Hurry emphasises the importance of working on his fitness. “The ECB is very keen on that now. As a wicketkeeper, he is catching the ball better and more cleanly. He needs to make sure he is technically so sound that he scores runs consistently. Craig is very South African in that he likes to hit the ball behind square and we worked on him punching the ball back down the ground and on his pulling. He needs to score lots of big hundreds so the selectors can’t ignore him.”Nor will they, according to Trescothick. “I spoke to Duncan Fletcher when Somerset played Hampshire, and he was really impressed with how he batted and reined himself in when we lost an early wicket. Batting-wise he is fantastic. I see little things that I see in KP. The odd time he flicks the ball or picks it up over the leg side, or the way he can smack it out of the park. Not many of us can hit it like KP, and he breaks a lot of bats, like him. He just has a natural talent with fast hands and fast wrists.”

Tait and Gul bowling like lightning in a game that went down to the final ball – the raucous MCG crowd couldn’t have asked for more

Bharath Rao06-Feb-2010The match
The world champions of Twenty20 v Australia at the “G” is reason enough. Before the start of the series if I had to bet on a game Pakistan could win, it would have been this one.Team supported
Neutral. In the normal course of events I’d be supporting Australia. However, after Pakistan’s losing streak on this tour, it would have been hard to watch such a talented bunch lose again. A strong Pakistan team is good for world cricket. I was just hoping for a lot of runs and for the better team to win.Key performers
David Hussey and Shaun Tait. While it was Tait’s pace that put Pakistan on the back foot, it was Hussey who stayed there till the end of the innings and gave his team something to bowl at. His 40 not out, catch of Kamran Akmal, and the energy he displayed on the field had a big say in Australia winning.One thing I would have changed
I would have liked to see Pakistan being led by Shahid Afridi. He was in a destructive mood during the one-day series and this game would have been even more interesting had he been in the line-up. The body language of the team changes under his leadership.Face-off I relished
Umar Gul v the Australian batsmen, and Tait and Dirk Nannes v the Pakistan top order. Gu showed again why he is considered one of the best bowlers in Twenty20. He consistently bowled at a lively pace and put his team in the driver’s seat. However, with Nannes for company, Tait answered Gul’s fiery spell with one of his own. The home crowd started getting behind Tait and he kept cranking it up. In the end he was too hot for the Pakistan team to handle.Wow moment
Tait bowled like greased lightning during the first over of the Pakistan innings. The third ball of the over was clocked at 160.7kph and there was a hushed silence across MCG as it was flashed on the big screen. This was followed by thunderous applause and a standing ovation.Player watch
Umar Akmal was fielding at deep midwicket, right in front of some Pakistani supporters. They were screaming for him and he did not disappoint. After Pakistan’s poor fielding display in the Tests and one-dayers, it was refreshing to see him swoop down on the ball and effect two run-outs. It was evident he was enjoying himself as he repeatedly waved and acknowledged the cheers from the crowd.Shot of the day
At the end of 13 overs Australia were 86 for 6. Shoaib Malik was bowling well, and prudence called for consolidation from Australia. However, Hussey danced down the track and deposited Malik deep into the stands over wide long-on.Crowd meter
Some say the MCG is so big that it can never be filled, but with over 60,000 fans screaming their hearts out it seemed like a full house. The Mexican wave, the “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi ” chants and the beach balls made the stands a fun place to be. Security played spoilsport, popping a couple of the beach balls, but there seemed to be an endless supply of the things. The crowd also demonstrated their singing skills to “We Will Rock You”, “Wild Thing”, “La Bamba”, “Macarena” and “Banana Boat Song” among others, and clapped to the line, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands”. Local boy Cameron White got the biggest cheer among all the players. Steven Smith’s performance on debut won many hearts and he got a huge cheer at the end of his spell.Fancy-dress index
There were a few interesting costumes on view during the game. A bunch of guys dressed as girls with long blonde hair, Superman costumes, the KFC crew with their red outfits, Australian fans with their bodies painted green and gold and with watermelon caps on their heads.Entertainment
It was a thoroughly entertaining evening. The fireworks at the beginning of the game and mid-innings were a sight to behold. There were flames that flared up behind the boundary lines at the fall of a wicket, during a third-umpire referral, and when a boundary was scored.During the mid-innings break, the KFC Classic Catches contest kept the crowd entertained. One spectator won A$3760 for taking a few catches. A couple of them were absolute rip-snorters.Songs were played at the end of every delivery. Gul started his spell to the theme and walked in to bat to James Bond music.Banner of the day
The “Boom Boom Afridi” and “Be Afridi, be very Afridi” banners were notable absentees, but Afridi did feature on many banners after his ball-chewing incident.Marks out of 10
8. It was a barmy, noisy, festive atmosphere. The feel within the stadium and the closeness of the contest made for a great evening. Australia and Pakistan seemed equally matched in all departments of the game for the first time the summer. However, Australia held their nerve at crucial moments and on the night were first among equals.Want to do a Fan Following report? Read our FAQ here

The players who justified their costs in IPL 2010, and those who didn’t

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan26-Apr-2010With the on-field IPL action finally over, it’s time to look back at the players selected by the franchises, and check out which ones justified their paycheck. While the performance of some players were worth their cost, certain others failed to live up to the expectations. The tables below look at the cost-performance analysis of major batsmen and bowlers in this season. The last column in the tables is the value index which looks at runs scored or wickets taken per US$10,000. This gives an idea of the value provided to the franchises by the major stars and lesser known players.

Cost vs performance analysis of batsmen in IPL 2010

Player nameTeamCost in $Matches playedRuns scoredAverageStrike rate10050Value Index-Runs scored per 10000$MS DhoniChennai15000001328731.88136.66021.91ML HaydenChennai3750001634621.62124.01019.22M VijayChennai500001545835.23156.841291.6SK RainaChennai6500001652047.87142.85048.00AC GilchristDeccan7000001628918.06156.21014.12TL SumanDeccan300001430734.11119.4502102.33A SymondsDeccan13500001642930.64125.80041.97HH GibbsDeccan5750001026726.70113.61014.64RG SharmaDeccan7500001640428.85133.77035.38G GambhirDelhi7250001127730.77127.64023.82DA WarnerDelhi2500001128228.20147.641111.28V SehwagDelhi8337501435625.42163.30034.26DPMD JayawardenePunjab4750001343943.90147.31029.24KC SangakkaraPunjab7000001335729.75138.91115.10Yuvraj SinghPunjab10637501425521.25128.14002.39SC GangulyKolkata10925001449337.92117.66044.51CH GayleKolkata800000929232.44158.69023.65BB McCullumKolkata700000511428.50103.63011.63SR TendulkarMumbai11212501561847.53132.61055.51JP DuminyMumbai950000715731.40119.84001.62ST JayasuriyaMumbai9750004338.25106.45000.33KA PollardMumbai7500001427322.75185.71003.64SS TiwaryMumbai400001641929.92135.5903104.75YK PathanRajasthan4750001433327.75165.67117.01SR WatsonRajasthan125000618537.00162.280214.8NV OjhaRajasthan300001437731.41132.2802125.67JH KallisBangalore9000001657247.66115.78066.35KP PietersenBangalore1350000723659.00150.31021.75RV UthappaBangalore8000001637431.16171.55034.67

Cost vs Performance analysis of bowlers in IPL 2010

PlayerTeamCost in $Matches playedRuns concededWickets takenEconomy rateAverageStrike rateValue Index-Wickets taken per 10000$R AshwinChennai3000012293136.1022.5322.14.33DE Bollinger**Chennai6750007207126.6717.2515.50.178M MuralitharanChennai60000012329156.8521.9319.20.25PP OjhaDeccan2000016429217.2920.4216.810.5A SymondsDeccan13500016372127.0131.0026.50.89KAJ RoachDeccan720000280010.00–0.0A MishraDelhi3000014363176.8421.3518.75.66DP NannesDelhi70000922476.5532.0029.21.00DL VettoriDelhi67500039728.3148.5035.000.03PP ChawlaPunjab40000014367127.4830.5824.50.3IK PathanPunjab92500014426159.1928.4018.50.16S SreesanthPunjab6250006191310.0563.3338.00.05M KartikKolkata4250001025396.4828.1126.000.21SE BondKolkata750000822497.2224.8820.60.12I SharmaKolkata950000723679.4433.7121.40.07KA PollardMumbai75000014274157.4018.2614.80.20Harbhajan SinghMumbai85000015377177.0422.1718.80.20SK WarneRajasthan45000014381117.6234.6327.20.24DW SteynBangalore32500015406156.8827.0623.60.46A KumbleBangalore50000016407176.4223.9422.30.34R Vinay KumarBangalore3000014396168.5724.7517.35.33

Chennai Super Kings made one of the most valuable investments in M Vijay. He was extremely consistent, and scored 458 runs which included one century and two fifties. Suresh Raina vindicated his price as well by scoring more than 500 runs and also winning the Man-of-the-Match award in the final against Mumbai. On the bowling front, R Ashwin performed quite exceptionally for Chennai and the inclusion of Doug Bollinger, who replaced injured New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram in the latter half of the tournament, proved to be a masterstroke. T Suman and Pragyan Ojha were the two best investments for Deccan Chargers while their decision to buy Kemar Roach proved to be a huge failure.Daniel Vettori was unused for a large part of the tournament by Delhi while Punjab’s woes were compounded by the poor showing of Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth. Rajasthan Royals did not have a great tournament but their batting was boosted by the performances of Naman Ojha and Shane Watson. For Kolkata, Murali Kartik was easily their best bowler but Ishant Sharma did not live up to the hype and cost. Kieron Pollard was a great all-round success for Mumbai with his explosive hitting and useful bowling performances throughout. Saurabh Tiwary was an unknown quantity for most viewers, but he was one of the success stories of the tournament for Mumbai Indians. For Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa produced top batting performances and the bowling of Vinay Kumar was also a major factor in the team finishing third.

The rare failure of the Indian batting line-up in the finals of the tri-series is acceptable, but that it happened in batsman-friendly conditions is not

Sriram Veera at the Shere Bangla National Stadium13-Jan-2010On a mildly overcast day, on a flat pitch, in an empty stadium somewhere in the outskirts of Dhaka, Sri Lanka reopened some old Indian wounds. The top-order collapse was slightly surprising but it wasn’t shocking. The surprise was not over how they collapsed but where they collapsed. That it came in Dhaka, and not Headingley or Wanderers, caused eyebrows to raise. Do you see this as an Indian collapse or do you see it as a tribute to Sri Lankan bowling? Or do you settle for that wonderful cliché – “the truth lies somewhere in between”? MS Dhoni put it thus: “It wasn’t a seaming track. It was slightly helpful to the fast bowlers when they bowled short of length but our shot selections could have been better.”And to think that it all started with a soft dismissal. Gautam Gambhir probably wore his thigh pad slightly loose this afternoon to avoid cramps or perhaps it was just an oversight but that mistake proved fatal for India as it exposed the middle-order. A harmless Nuwan Kulasekara delivery moved past the prod, collided with the protruding thigh pad and fell on the stumps. Gambhir’s dismissal could have been blamed on bad luck; but not the ones that followed.In a blink-and-you-will-miss span of play, India were cut open by the seamers. The bowling was certainly disciplined and even intelligent as there seemed to be a plan behind it but it did not justify a scorecard that read 60 for 5.Virat Kohli would have aged a year in a few minutes of batting. A couple of nights back, he was the toast of India but it took just a few balls today to bring him crashing down to earth. Chanaka Welegedera chose to attack him from round the stumps. It was a short-of-length delivery away from the off stump and Kohli was fresh from a hundred and two fifties in this tournament. You could understand why he went for it, but he could only get an edge.Yuvraj Singh edged early to his demise – he has always been an iffy batsman against the moving ball and quality spin. It’s an indictment on Indian cricket that his name used to be relentlessly pushed forward as a Test replacement for VVS Laxman. Through this tournament, you could see that Yuvraj’s old habits were rearing their head again. Today, Welegedera got one to land outside off and veer further away and Yuvraj stabbed it behind. It shouldn’t have surprised anyone who has closely followed his career.Enter Dhoni. His reaction to such situations has almost become predictable. If there is slight movement off the track, he starts getting down the track to change the length and interestingly, when a bowler comes from round the stumps, he walks across to the off-stump to try and tap the ball to the leg side. Both methods have brought him success in the past and though the shot rarely yields more than a single, he does it to cut out the swing and force a change of line.Today, he attempted the lunge-cum-walk routine but Kulasekara pushed him back with bouncers. He shuffled across to Welegedera, bowling from round the stumps, but Welegedera stuck to his guns and continued to home in on off stump. The noose was tightening and inevitably, Dhoni lunged out again to defend against Kulasekara but got a thick edge.India’s hopes survived on Virender Sehwag’s belligerance at this point and as ever, he wasn’t thinking about survival. He carved, slashed, punched and lofted his way out of trouble and it very nearly worked. Kumar Sangakkara delayed the bowling powerplay, the fielders started inching back and India would have dared to hope again when a slightly slower bouncer from Kulasekara got him to edge his upper-cut to the keeper. Suresh Raina did his best to push India to a competitive score and though Sri Lanka threatened to choke in the chase, Mahela Jayawardene pushed them over the line. 245, even on a day when dew played no part, did not prove enough.

The Australian captain gives India their due as No. 1, warns of a bouncer barrage for Sehwag, and is optimistic about catching up with Tendulkar’s centuries

Interview by Nishant Arora27-Sep-2010 Ricky, you’re coming off a long break. You must be looking forward to some good, challenging cricket?

We are very excited. Looking forward to the challenge in the next few days of these Test matches. It’s a very challenging place for all teams to play.It was supposed to be a seven-match one-day series, then the BCCI requested two Test matches. You play a lot of one-day cricket but Test matches are everything for any cricketer…
It’s always been my favourite format of the game. We’ve got the Ashes series just round the corner as well, and I’d rather be playing these two Test matches and three one-dayers, rather than the one-dayers that we were supposed to playing. It is a good opportunity for us to get back to playing Test match cricket.Two Test matches is a tricky kind of a series. If you lose the first, you are chasing to get the series level. You think this could be a tricky one?

Yeah, I guess there’s a chance for everyone. We’ve got a really short window. We’re cramming everything in at the moment and then we get back to Australia and play three one-dayers against Sri Lanka. Hopefully we’re the team that can take some initiative along the series and start the Test matches really well.In 2001, Australia came here as No. 1 and India were trying to challenge them. If you look at the history of India-Australia cricket, Australia has been dominant and India have tried to pose a challenge. This time it’s the other way round.
Well, I think we’ve got three very strong rivals. India is obviously one, as we have had such intense tussles in the last five years. The Ashes series against England – that has a bit of an extra edge to it. But I think some of the challenges against South Africa have been pretty tough. If you look at those three series, there is not really much to differentiate between them, but there is probably just more of an edge [in those] than in any other game.There have been fears that Test cricket would die, but it seems to be in the pink of health. There seem to be five teams competing at more or less the same level.
Test cricket is really strong. You need all the countries that are playing to be strong. That’s why Pakistan’s situation is a shame.We never thought about our team as No. 1 team or of our team as being better than anyone else, but when Australia play, there is very good cricket. We don’t play draws, we always have results. Now it is time we start lifting ourselves back to the top. The best way for us is to come back to India and perform. We look forward to the summer and Ashes series. We have got seven Test matches up until the middle of January. We’ll manage to come out on top.How much you believe in the rankings? Do you think India is a worthy No. 1?
Yes, of course.Does it give the players an extra incentive? This is India, No. 1, let’s go out and teach them a lesson?
It is a great challenge. We are not focused or sold on rankings. We plan to give it a good shot.

“None of the other offspinners have their way around me as Harbhajan does. So I have to give it to him. He has bowled very well against me”

Looking at the Indian side, what do you think of their team?
Their bowlers were a lot better than our bowlers last time. The spinners played really well last time, but we are very well prepared on those fronts this time.When you look at someone like Sehwag, do you think he has been an impact player of the decade?
Indian players play their best in Test cricket. Sehwag’s dangerous. Our bowlers will be bowling their fair share of short balls at him. Young bowlers like [Mitchell] Johnson are looking forward to unsettling him at the top of the order.Sachin Tendulkar – people are falling in love with him all over again. You are about the same age. Is he an inspiration for you?
Over the last 12 months, Sachin’s been playing exceptionally well. He seems to be the batsman everybody seems to be chasing. He is the key wicket – if we get him, there is a good chance to win the game.There was a time when people used to think that Ponting would catch Sachin in terms of runs, but do you now think that he has widened that gap a bit?

He is in his 40s, I am on 39 [centuries]. I am in the best of shape. Honestly, it feels like some of my best batting is just round the corner.I have worked really hard in the gym over the last four or five years to make sure of my fitness. One thing I have been working really hard on is to get that pull shot back on the way it was before.Harbhajan Singh has taken your wicket a few times. Why do you think he has been able to do so so often?
None of the other offspinners have their way around me as Harbhajan does. So I have to give it to him. He has bowled very well against me, and he has picked up my wickets seven times [10] in Test cricket and a couple of times [three] in one-dayers.How much do you miss the early days of the India-Australia rivalry?
It was a great period to play and every player was a champion player. We had [Matthew] Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, [Glenn] McGrath. Those guys built their own reputation. You can’t afford to miss those players. We might not be as dominant as we were four or five years ago but we will really be looking to get some good results.

Imran was at the heart of shaping modern-day Pakistan cricket, and all we love about the team and their play can be traced back to him

Osman Samiuddin31-Oct-2010There lies, pop stars and politicians will tell you, great reward in transformation. Imran Khan, who hung out with the former and has become one of the latter, will tell you there lies greatness itself in transformation. This is the truth of his life and career. Many are conceived great but it can also be achieved by not necessarily being yourself as at conception, by changing, evolving, renovating.The broad outline is that he went from being a good player to the finest one his country produced, and arguably the finest allrounder cricket has seen in a gathering not involving Sir Garry Sobers. Underpinning this was his real genius: an unbending commitment and a pig-headed focus, a blind devotion, really, to any given single cause – to better himself, to better his side, to better his country, to better the world.So fierce is the single-mindedness that it has often become divisive, as with the 1992 World Cup-winning speech remembered so bitterly in Pakistan. So obsessed had he become with building the cancer hospital in memory of his mother, he didn’t think to thank his own team or anyone else, speaking only of the project. That is the downside; the upside is that the cause drove him, and thus his team, to win the damn thing in the first place. And it isn’t as if he was building something that would devour babies.Details, though, are instructive.His action, for example, when he began in the early 70s, looking like a misplaced Beatle with a mop top, had more windmills in it than Holland, and was as flat. Yet by 1982 it had become such a leaping study in the beauty and grace of the human form, all it needed was a catwalk; to half the human race it was a mating call. Visually it was as unrecognisable from his natural action as the Michael Jackson of 2008 was from the Michael Jackson of 1978. It came about after much consultation with greybeards and contemporaries and defiance of others, but above everything, from an inner voice that told him he could be far more than what he was.His bowling itself underwent several recalibrations of pace, length, attitude and modes. When he began, he couldn’t control big, booming inswingers of modest pace. But when cricket was gripped by a prolonged vogue of bouncers from the mid-70s on, Imran unthinkingly jumped in. When the run-up and rhythm were right, he was sharp, and he targeted heads with commendable indiscrimination.But by the early 80s, a scholarship in Kerry Packer’s World Series with the world’s best to the good, and quicker still, he was hitting fuller lengths and ignoring the surface. He was swinging the new ball but more radically, the old; 40 wickets in the 1982-83 series against India in Pakistan was a mind-altering moment in fast bowling.Then, post shin-injury, another face. The pace came down but the mind remained sharp; nearing 35 he took over 20 wickets in leading Pakistan to their first series win in England; a year later he took 23 in a three-Test series in the Caribbean; even at 37 he bowled a remarkable, long-forgotten two-wicket maiden last over of an ODI in Sydney, which Pakistan won by two runs.Through this immense journey were the imprints of a few minds. Mike Procter and John Snow, Garth le Roux, the Kiwi John Parker, Sarfraz Nawaz, all chipped in, but overseeing it all at each step was Imran himself, pushing himself to whichever point and in whichever direction would bring him success.

Just imagine cricket’s landscape in Pakistan without him. For sure the country would’ve been one of spinners and medium-pacers, no Wasim, Waqar, Zahid, Shoaib and Amir in sight

Nowhere more than in his batting did he inflict – and that really is the word – upon himself such stark transformation. The epiphany came in his very first Test as captain, until when he had been a free, reckless spirit in the lower order. A careless hook off Bob Willis ended a careless innings, and immediately he resolved to become more responsible; there was no harsher critic of Imran than Imran, not even slighted ex-players from Karachi. It didn’t require the structural re-jigging of his bowling, for his batting was built on sounder, correct principles. In his head he had always been a batsman, even if in his blood he felt the flow of manlier pursuits. All it needed was for his mind to win. Obviously it did.A solid 65, batting mostly with the tail in the second innings, was, in his words, a “watershed”. The conclusion cannot be doubted; in his last 50 Tests after that, he averaged twice – nearly 52 – what he did before. He quintupled his century haul and quadrupled his fifties. More immeasurably, by career’s end he was the calmest, most versatile influence on a batting line-up forever a wicket or two from panic.Strictly speaking, these were all personal, isolated transformations. Even off the field he was chameleonesque, unrecognisable from the homesick 18-year-old who first went to England in 1971. A shy, introspective mama’s boy, he became cricket’s James Bond, as smooth on the field as away from it, as easy in whites with 10 sweats gathering round as in a tux with 10 royals, celebrities and the world’s beauties. Some transformations cannot be matched: turning a productive day in the field with Javed Miandad, for example, into a heady evening with Mick Jagger.But it was when he went from being a rebellion-happy superstar to captain that he initiated a process of change vastly bigger and beyond his own person.Cricket in Pakistan probably would’ve become the most popular game anyway – and by the late 70s, hockey was a formidable match – but there was no bigger propellant than Imran’s emergence. He had been at the very centre of Sydney 1976-77 – a triumph as significant as the Oval one of 1954 – in which was conceived modern-day Pakistan: a delicate, easily disturbed balance between fractiousness, indiscipline and supremely gifted athletes, between hostile fast bowlers and erratic batsmen. Thereafter, as the sport burst out of urban Pakistan, pouring out a hurl of talent, he remained at the centre, driving his side forth and, by default, shaping the game as it grew.Imran’s run-up: a mating call to half the world•PA PhotosIf that sounds too much, just imagine cricket’s landscape in Pakistan without him. Might not hockey be the national sport in name and spirit? For sure the country would have been one of spinners and medium-pacers, no Wasim, Waqar, Zahid, Shoaib and Amir in sight. There probably wouldn’t be the modern attacking mores of their play, the gung-ho shot-making, the wicket-taking lengths and stump-hitting lines that were Imran commandments, developed as an antidote to the ennui he felt was drowning him on the English county circuit.Without him they might still be the meek inheritors of nothing that they were in the 60s and early 70s. He was lucky to lead in a time of demographic change, so that for his players, partition and colonialisation were mere words in history books they hadn’t read. But how well he harnessed these players into a new brave, defiant and unbowed visage, much of it still glimpsed today, even though it has since developed a schizoid moue. And almost certainly he was the difference between a mediocre, underperforming cricket nation and an excitable, winning one. Without Imran, Pakistan would not be as we know and love them.This is what made him, to this writer at least, much more than his great all-round contemporaries. Maybe his peak as batsman and bowler didn’t quite coincide to produce the starburst of Ian Botham early on (Imran did, by the way, average more than 50 with bat and less than 20 with ball in the last decade of his career). There wasn’t the early precocity of Kapil Dev. Neither was he as calculatingly brilliant with ball as Richard Hadlee. But to be, at once, the best player in the side, the best leader of the side, and also the man to transform the entire sport in a country, that is some trump.Now awaits the final, logical transformation. This is trickier, philanthropist to politician not being as straightforward a switch as it might appear. Perhaps he is better off sorting out the game first, for upon his own departure in 1992, just as he once wrote had happened on the retirement of AH Kardar, it was thrown to the wolves.

For two days, Mike Horn, high altitude climber and Arctic explorer, offered the Indians some unique insights into the do-or-die mindset

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Feb-2011What do you do when a team of eleven men are about to face the toughest challenge of their career and a mountain of expectation? If you are the Indian coaching brain trust of Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton, you get help from an unusual expert. For two days, Mike Horn, high altitude climber and Arctic explorer, offered the Indians some unique insights into the do-or-die mindset.Harbhajan Singh’s first question for Horn: just how does a man scale a mountain 8000 metres high without additional oxygen and come back alive?Last July, Horn, an extreme athlete, climbed Broad Peak (8047 metres above sea level, on the border of China and Pakistan) on a Himalayan expedition. “[I wondered] how he could cope with such extremities,” Harbhajan says, pausing midway into his dinner. “Horn recalled how over 8000 metres the oxygen was minimal and he struggled to breathe. It took him 35 hours to climb up, but 56 to climb down, all without eating or drinking. He says when atop the mountain your mind doesn’t work as the brain cells are hardly functioning due to the lack of oxygen. He knew he couldn’t sit down or even stop because if he did, he would have frozen to death.”These kinds of stories are mind boggling,” Harbhajan says, shaking his head.Horn dropped in at Bangalore for a two-day consultation with the Indian team during their World Cup preparatory camp last week. Despite being dressed in the same red-coloured t-shirt as the team’s coaching staff, he stood out in his denims and moccasins, with a wiry physique and skin that looks more weather-beaten than tanned – a testament to the different terrains the 45-year-old had traversed in his years as an adventurer-cum-explorer. As the players went through various drills, Horn kept his distance, observing the Indians keenly while enthusiastically fetching the balls hit to various corners. That was on the first day. On the second day, he sat on the ice-boxes and had some private words with various players individually. It had not taken him much time to become one of them.This was the second time that Horn, who studied with Upton, India’s mental conditioning coach, in South Africa, had come down to share his experiences with the team. In 2010, two days before India faced South Africa at Eden Gardens, having already lost the first Test, Horn arrived into Kolkata sailing from Port Blair in the Andamans, where he was involved in an environmental project. Upton took advantage of his proximity and invited him to speak to the team. “He arrived at 5pm and spoke to the guys at 7pm,” one of the team members says. It was just a two-hour chat in which Horn shared his personal stories of various expeditions, every one of which may seem impossible to a normal human.In one of his first major forays, in 1997, he navigated the 7000 km of the Amazon river using a hydrospeed (human floatation device), hunting for food to survive and resting along the dangerous riverbanks at night. Two years later, he circumnavigated the globe around the equator by foot, bicycle and canoe, a journey that included scaling the Andes mountains and crossing the Pacific and Indian oceans. On his final leg, he walked through the drug zones in Congo and Gabon before returning to his starting point, one that he called Latitude Zero, after an 18-month journey.In 2002, using a boat, kayak, ski-kite and later on foot he became the first human to traverse the Arctic Circle without the use of motorised transport. In 2006, Horn, along with Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland, walked, pulled sleds, and swam in the freezing Arctic ccean to become the first men to travel to the North Pole unaided by dogs or motorised transport.Days after Mike Horn’s first session with the Indian team, Harbhajan Singh’s five-for handed India a tense win against South Africa in Kolkata•AFPClearly this is a man who has triumphed in the face of some of the greatest challenges to human endurance. In Kolkata, the Indian players were stunned to hear Horn tell them how he had accomplished some of those remarkable feats. Five days later, a resurgent India had bounced back to snatch a back-to-the-wall victory to level the series. Horn, however, feels he did not do anything special to spur the Indians and states that it was Gary Kirsten and the players who actually worked hard to achieve success. “What can I really do? I might be able to give them a small taste of my thought process in critical moments.”Horn has also shared his insights with the South African rugby team, some European soccer teams, the French sailing team and was invited by the ICC’s umpires’ and referees’ manager Vince van der Bijl, to speak to the umpires as part of a motivational exercise. To everyone, his message is simple: “I cannot afford to lose. There is no second innings for me in my job. Patience is not one of my greatest strengths, but when in the mountains it is important to stick to the rules otherwise Nature will not reward us with this magnificent victory.”On both occasions on which Horn spoke to the Indian team, he was not paid. What matters to him is that his message is understood. “That passion that drives you to go beyond what you know to be able to progress as a human, to start when all others stop. My role is to be an example to myself and others.”It is easy to see that for a crucial tournament like the World Cup, both Kirsten and Upton wanted to remove any lingering doubts from the minds of the Indian players. According to the players, Horn’s biggest strength is his will. It is the strength of the will that at times makes an athlete achieve incredible things and Horn was the right man to deliver that message. “The fear to lose,” Horn says, is the single biggest fear sportsmen have. “How can you win if you afraid of losing? It is only when your will to win is bigger than your fear to lose that you can win. This is the most important aspect that differentiates sport stars. Some play to win and some play because they are afraid of losing. This is no different to what people fear in their daily life.”According to Horn, a player cannot rely on outside opinion to make himself feel strong and confident. “If people think you are strong and confident, and you are not, there is a big problem. To be honest to yourself and your preparation is the key to success.”It is easy to see how people are drawn to him. Yuvraj Singh, who was not there in Kolkata, was wondering who Horn was when the South African wandered around the dressing room on the first day of training in Bangalore. Hours later, Yuvraj, having heard Horn, was affected by his “impossible” feats. “He makes the impossible things look possible,” says another senior Indian team member.

How can you win if you afraid of losing? It is only when your will to win is bigger than your fear to lose that you can win. This is the most important aspect that differentiates sport stars. Some play to win and some play because they are afraid of losing

Harbhajan, for one, is completely in awe of Horn, who he says is a “real-life hero”. He says there was a lot to learn from Horn’s feat of climbing the Broad Peak. “He says most of the people who go to those places don’t come back. Once you reach a peak, dying is very easy but not to give up is really difficult. A lot of people reach the top and feel this is what I wanted to achieve. But most don’t know how to come back once you reach the top,” Harbhajan says while asking for for dessert. “When you hear something like that, then whatever you think in your mind can be achieved. No one can stop you, no one can do anything if you are fresh in the mind and your thinking is clear and if you are only thinking of only success and not even thinking failure.”When asked how he could translate Horn’s stories to the cricket field, Harbhajan says, “You have to prepare yourself. That was the message Horn was passing. You can’t just hold a ball when you are not even there mentally and instead are getting worried about the results. He says it was important to remove the excess baggage. (This and that), expectations, crowds, pressure are excess baggage we carry on our shoulders.”During his chats in Bangalore, Horn pointed out an important fact to the players. He says, “I saw all of you in the nets. You were enjoying practising, but what happens suddenly in a match situation: people get tight, people feel nervous, people feel pressure. Why? Because your mind is thinking too many things.””Actually he is right,” Harbhajan says. “The mind is thinking . Rather than concentrating on what you are going to bowl we think what if this happens, what if….we are thinking the result before you ever deliver the ball.”Horn does not want to talk about what he says to individual players, but agrees to Harbhajan’s point about preparation. “That could be one thing that he got out of the couple of talks we had. But knowing how to mix the ingredients to bake the cake of success is what he knows now.”Horn has little doubt that India are in pole position to win the tournament: “Gary and his team did an amazing job preparing the individual players and the team. India has never been so well prepared, since the last time I spoke to them in Kolkata to today there is a day and night difference to the better in all aspects.”So can India win it? “That question I will answer not if India wins the World Cup, but when they win the 2011 World Cup.”