From Satchit Bhogle, India

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013

So, the IPL rolls on again, ready, as every year, to be hailed and derided in equal measure. I must confess I am a huge fan of the IPL for creating a league system where we are given the freedom to choose the team we support based on the style of cricket we enjoy, and am quite surprised to see so many condemning it with such alarming ferocity.I find little reason to denounce either the IPL or the people involved in it. What the IPL has done is give us more choice in our loyalties. Earlier, there was only India, and though I am young, and have seen strong Indian sides play, for decades on end, India dragged its feet through one loss after another, and cricket fans in India had to support them with pessimism and reluctance.Now, we have eight teams (soon to be ten) and one has a range of teams to pick from, to pin one’s loyalties to. Unlike in the past, we can pick teams we can identify with, whose style of cricket we enjoy (and to be sure, in two short years, each of the eight teams has evolved its distinct identity), and not face the guilt of betraying one’s country.Of course, people from Mumbai are more likely to support their home team, as I do, but they suffer no censure for supporting Bangalore (some mock supporters of Kolkata for being in either the “Dada cult” or the “Shah Rukh cult”).The IPL also provides an invaluable platform for youngsters to showcase their talent. Earlier, players would scratch away in second-tier Ranji teams, ignored by even the proverbial three men and a dog (and most importantly, the selectors, who would sit with a languorous eye hovering between Mumbai and Delhi), in the hopes of being a part of the lucky eleven to live a comfortable life playing the game they love.It was harder than any competitive exam [11 “seats” for more than a million aspirants? Can the Indian Institute of Technology entrance exam even compare?], and yet we now begrudge these players for receiving “obscene” sums of money, now that their value has been recognised. It is a trifling sum compared to the salaries of film stars and bigshot corporate honchos, and yet no one criticises them on such a regular basis.The truth is, we are overwhelmed by our desire for wealth and fame, and so despise anyone achieving them, like the proverbial crabs in a bucket. Desire resides in every breast, yet, hypocritically, its acknowledgment is taboo. Let he who sinneth most cast the first stone. Thus, in our frenzy to denounce, we heap abuse on players and commentators, on those who believe what they are saying and on those who don’t indiscriminately.The commentator too is possessed by desire; two desires, in fact. One is the desire for purity, the other for the assurance of his job, and different commentators possess these in different measure. Thus, each tries to circumvent the system; avoid saying cringe-worthy terms like “DLF Maximum” and “Citi Moment of Success”, while resigned in the knowledge that he has to, sooner or later. Don’t we all make small allowances in our jobs for tasks we find distasteful?As an aside, I don’t know how much this branding of cricket terms is actually benefiting companies; there exists such a vehement and unanimous dislike for it that I imagine it can do only harm to their public perception. Or is there no such thing as bad publicity? We all hate this commercialisation of cricket, to lesser or greater degree, but it is not a perfect world. One wishes one could do away with ads constantly blaring at us, but we cannot, and without the ads, cricket cannot run at the high standards we have come to expect from it.For a cricket tournament to be successful, it has to be popular and reach out to a wide audience. But, a TV channel will not feature it unless it is popular, or has potential, and it will not be popular unless it is broadcast and promoted well. This is a vicious cycle, and can only be broken with money being produced by one or the other side. We, as viewers, are not loth to part with our money if we are receiving quality entertainment, but this entertainment’s quality is supported by its sponsorship by XYZ. As long as certain basics are maintained, like not sacrificing the precious first ball of an over on the altar of the commercial break, commercialisation can be tolerated.

Stats highlights from India’s convincing win in the second Test of the four-match series

S Rajesh05-Mar-2013

• India’s victory by an innings and 135 runs is their sixth-largest in Tests, and their second-best against Australia – they’d won by an innings and 219 in Kolkata in 1998. All of those six wins have come in the subcontinent – four in India and two in Bangladesh.
• MS Dhoni has won 22 of his 45 Tests, the most by an Indian – Sourav Ganguly had won 21 out of 49. Seventeen of Dhoni’s 22 wins have been in home Tests, where he has a 17-3 win-loss record in 26 matches. Mohammad Azharuddin is the next-best at home, with a 13-4 record. In away Tests, though, Dhoni’s won only five out of 19 Tests, which is joint-second with Rahul Dravid (five out of 17). Ganguly won 11 out of 28 overseas.
• Australia have lost at least two Tests in five of their last six series in India. During this period, South Africa, England and Pakistan all have better win-loss records in Tests in India.
• This is the 11th instance of a team losing a Test after declaring in its first innings, but the first in which the team declaring has lost by an innings. The only other such instance for Australia was in the famous Headingley Test of 1981, when they declared at 401 for 9 in their first innings, and eventually ended up losing by 18 runs.
• After an opening partnership of 56, Australia’s next nine wickets put together only 75, their second-lowest ever against India (in innings in which they’ve been bowled out). Their only poorer effort was in the MCG Test of 1981, which they lost by 59 runs. In the fourth innings of that Test, Australia’s last nine wickets put together 72.
• Leaving aside the openers, the highest score by the other nine Australian batsmen in their second innings was Michael Clarke’s 16. Only twice against India have Australia’s nine batsmen from No.3 to No.11 had a lower top-score, in an innings in which they’ve been bowled out. In Mumbai in 2004, and in Delhi in 1969, the top-score by the non-openers was a run lesser.
• Australia’s batting average of 25.35 so far is their lowest in a series against India in which they’ve played at least two Tests.
• R Ashwin’s 5 for 63 in Australia’s second innings is his eighth five-for, in his 14th Test. Only nine Indian bowlers have taken more five-fors. Among Indian bowlers who’ve taken at least eight five-fors, Ashwin’s rate of 1.75 Tests per five-wicket haul is easily the best; the next-best is Subhash Gupte’s 12 in 36 matches, a rate of one every three Tests.

Watching two young Indian batsmen bat out a whole day was heart-warming. Shame on those who thought otherwise

Atul Bhogle04-Mar-2013Choice of game
With the Test starting on a Saturday, it was a golden opportunity to watch the first two days without giving the office a miss. Having watched the Aussies crumble against Indian seam and spin on the first day, I was eager to find out if the Indian batting could build upon the good work done by the bowlers.Key performer
It was Cheteshwar Pujara’s show. He played the role of the sheet anchor to perfection, thwarting the twin threats of James Pattinson and Peter Siddle in the first session and opening up beautifully in the third session to make it India’s day. Vijay, him of the six-hitting reputation in the IPL, played the perfect foil, curbing his natural instincts to play as per the team’s requirements.One thing I’d have changed
I would have liked to see the Aussie spinners challenge the batsmen more. Though Xavier Doherty, like Ravindra Jadeja on day one, was extracting good turn and bounce from the pavilion end, neither him nor Glenn Maxwell seemed to have a stock ball they could rely on. It was cannon fodder for the Indian batsmen. Nathan Lyon, with a bit more Test experience, would have been a far better choice in the circumstances.The missed silence
The two teams lined up at the start of play to observe a two-minute silence in memory of the victims of the recent bomb blast in Hyderabad. However, the announcement was not clearly audible in few of the stands. It led to the bizarre spectacle of half the stadium and the two teams standing silently while the other half went on cheering. Noble intentions thus came to a nought, all due to a faulty public address system.Interplay I enjoyed
Pattinson was steaming in with intent in the first hour and caused some nervous moments to both Vijay and Pujara. There were a couple of plays and misses and Vijay was lucky to get away with an edge early on. Pattinson’s pace was fantastic to watch from behind his arm.Filling the gaps
The Indian reserves were doing their fielding drills during the lunch break. Shikhar Dhawan looked fittest of the lot and took some very acrobatic catches that were cheered by the crowd.VVS Laxman came out during the tea break again and was welcomed with a cheer that reverberated through the stands. He would have approved of the way Pujara and Vijay batted today.Shot of the day
Pujara had shown against New Zealand that he was a compulsive hooker. However, having been dismissed hooking in Bangalore, he had shelved it completely. The shot came out today in the last session, and what a moment he chose to bring it on! The new ball was taken and it was the last chance Australia had of salvaging something from the day’s play. Pujara’s response was a cracking hook off a bouncer from Pattinson – it soared over fine leg and brought up his 150. The day couldn’t have gone more wrong for Australia.Crowd meter
The Hyderabad crowd deserves a special note of appreciation for coming out in full force and braving the hot sun to cheer India. The western stands were the loudest and when they triggered the Mexican wave, it went round the stadium in seven seconds flat. At one moment there were two waves doing the rounds, something I have never seen. The spectators were also very appreciative of the Aussie fielding efforts, which was a welcome break from the trend in Indian grounds – the likes of Chennai and Eden Gardens excluded.Food
We had learnt our lesson yesterday and had a (very) heavy breakfast before coming into the ground, so as to not be dependent on the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s whims and fancies when it came to catering arrangements. Sure enough, there was no packed rice box available today and the crowd had to be content with six-inch pizzas being sold at exorbitant prices. At least there were more water dispensers, which was a bit of a relief.Tests v limited-overs
I feel watching a Test is always a more rewarding experience for the spectator. It has a certain ebb and flow that is harder to find in limited-overs cricket, and is certainly nonexistent in Twenty20s. The likes of the IPL also have so much noise and sundry entertainment going on that it is hard to focus on the cricket, which in itself is not always interesting.Each hour in a day’s play in a Test might not generate non-stop action, but as they say, good things happen to those who wait – which is exactly what happened today.The fans were out in full force despite the blazing heat•BCCIUnreasonable demand of the day
Pujara and Vijay were biding their time in the first session, which meant only 49 runs were scored. The crowd, eager to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat, started a “We want Sachin” chant and joined in with the Australians for each appeal, even cheering for an “Out” when a run-out decision was referred to the third umpire.The demand didn’t subside even in the last session, which was a pity. Surely an almost Dravid-VVS like partnership deserved a better reaction? When Pujara brought up his 150 with the aforementioned hook, an elderly gentleman, peeved by the crowd’s demand for Tendulkar, retorted: “Do you dare to ask for Sachin even now?”Marks out of 10
10. As an Indian fan, I was chuffed. The sight of two youngsters batting out the day was very heart-warming.

South Africa have a poor record in knockout games in ICC tournaments, and their last group game against West Indies is an elimination match

Firdose Moonda in Cardiff12-Jun-2013Remember when the Champions Trophy used to be really harsh? When it had no room for error? Remember 1998 – it was called the ICC Knockout then – when teams had only one chance to advance? South Africa made it through three such matches. They won a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final in what remains their most successful streak in elimination encounters.These days, say they word knockout to them and their eyes widen, their voices crack and the panic in their demeanour is obvious. They know they are not good at sudden-death situations.South Africa have lost seven out of 12 knockout games in 50-over ICC tournaments and tied one. Their four wins came more than a decade ago, which means nobody in the current squad has tasted success in an elimination.With that record, they enter a must-win game against West Indies in Cardiff on Friday. The match is as good as a quarter-final but South Africa are being careful not to think of it that way. Russell Domingo, their assistant coach who will take over from Gary Kirsten as head coach at the end of this tournament, resolutely referred to it by as many other terms as he could think of, and said the real pressure will kick in only once South Africa reach the real knock-out stage.South Africa’s 50-over ICC tournament record

1992 World Cup – Lost semi-final to England
1996 World Cup – Lost quarter-final to West Indies
1998 Champions Trophy – Won quarters, semis and final
1999 World Cup – Tied semi-final against Australia
2000 Champions Trophy – Lost semi-final to India
2002 Champions Trophy – Lost semi-final to India
2003 World Cup – Eliminated in first round
2004 Champions Trophy – Eliminated in first round
2006 Champions Trophy – Lost semi-final to West Indies
2007 World Cup – Lost semi-final to Australia
2009 Champions Trophy – Eliminated in first round
2011 World Cup – Lost quarter-final to New Zealand

“This is a knockout game but not a knockout game, if you know what I mean. It’s not a semi-final or a final,” he said. “We can’t look too far ahead but if we can get over the semi-final, then we’ll be there and thereabouts, but it’s this game first. The semi-final will be seen as a massive step for us, that’s the monkey on the back.”Domingo’s disguise of the final group match as simply a big game is not too far off the mark. If South Africa lose and return home on Saturday, there will be disappointment but not disgust. But if they make it to the final four they will have enormous pressure to go all the way. For now, all they can do is narrow the focus and aim to beat West Indies, a side they have had the better of in recent years.South Africa have won 18 of their last 20 ODIs against West Indies, a record Domingo declared “very good.” He will be alarmed to learn that the only two matches they lost, in 2004 and 2006, were in a Champions Trophy and both results put South Africa out of the competition.That statistic sums up the difference between the two teams. West Indies have been lacking overall but can rise to the big occasion, while South Africa are otherwise consistent but fold under pressure. Domingo knows that means their dominance over West Indies could count for little on Friday. “They’ve got 11 game-breakers,” he said. “We know that we are going to have our hands full.”The most dangerous of those marquee men is Chris Gayle. His century led to South Africa’s exit in Jaipur seven years ago but he has been lying low in this competition so far. Gayle’s two innings have yielded 60 runs and he has been kept mostly quiet. South Africa will want to ensure he doesn’t wake up against them, something they were successful at during the 2011 World Cup.In a surprise move in Delhi, Johan Botha opened the bowling and had Gayle caught at first slip. South Africa’s only right-arm offspinner on this tour is JP Duminy and they may turn to him to work early magic against Gayle. “A lot will depend on the conditions. If it’s overcast, maybe opening with a spinner will not be necessary but if it’s dry, then we might,” Domingo said. “We know if we can get him out early, it’s a big blot for the West Indies morale.”Rain is forecast for Friday so there’s every chance South Africa will adopt a more conventional approach to the match. Whatever they decide, Domingo said the emphasis will be on small things rather than major tactical innovations. “It is really important to do your basic disciplines well: limiting extra balls, someone batting through to the 44th over, those are crucially important.”South Africa also hope for a more welcoming reception than they had at their previous two matches. In front of highly partisan subcontinental crowds, Domingo said he could count “about nine South Africans,” but the lack of noise around the team has not been too much of a bad thing.”We know crowd support can go two ways. It can be a massive source of inspiration or it can be a massive source of pressure, so we are very much under the radar,” he said. Not anymore. Whether they want to acknowledge it or not, South Africa will play a knockout match on Friday. The pressure is on.

A scrappy series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will be an important indicator of the health of Test cricket

Mohammad Isam10-Apr-2013In a year of storied rivalries, one contest that is unlikely to turn too many heads will begin shortly. Bangladesh versus Zimbabwe is a bottom-of-the-table scrap, an unglamorous match-up that is unlikely to be remembered for too long. The nine previous Tests have thrown up some uneven battles but the eagerness to gain bragging rights in Zimbabwean conditions and Bangladesh’s recent form will make it an even contest.Since their 130-run loss to Zimbabwe in Harare more than two years ago, Bangladesh have drawn two out of eight Tests. It is a marked improvement, and a better record than Zimbabwe, who lost all five Tests during the same period, including two against West Indies last month. Around the same time as Zimbabwe’s West Indies tour, Bangladesh were making Sri Lanka sweat in their backyard.Shakib Al Hasan’s return is a major boost for the visitors, too. The allrounder will probably play as a batsman in the first Test, but it is unlikely that he can be kept out of action as a bowler for long. Tamim Iqbal could also recover in time for the first Test, while the competition for the other opening batsman’s position will help Bangladesh. A settled middle-order and some good spinners are their other strong areas.But Zimbabwe have a chance to hit back through Bangladesh’s weakness – pace bowling. Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Robiul Islam and Sajidul Islam are not automatic choices and in Harare, where the surface is hard and offers true bounce, the home side could start well against a weak new-ball attack. They already have a 3-0 record in three Test matches against Bangladesh at the venue, where both Tests will be played.In previous Tests, Bangladesh have struggled to handle the Zimbabwe pace bowlers and even newcomers like Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis have used pace and seam movement to good effect. Over the last two years, however, the perception about them being poor players of pace has changed. By failing and succeeding against pace bowlers from West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, although in sub-continental conditions, they have learned much to take to Harare.The visitors will be eager to live up to their competitive reputation. With the advances in their stature, especially those who have become regulars in various domestic Twenty20 leagues, the expectations from some high-profile Bangladeshi cricketers will be sky-high. The fans back home understand that the team has improved since their last series against Zimbabwe, and will expect a series win.For the average Bangladesh fan, the disappointment of a loss to Zimbabwe is as acute as that of an India or Pakistan fan when the two arch-rivals play. While there is no cultural or historical reference to the contest between the two countries, there is plenty of competition. The grainy YouTube video where Mahmudullah and Brendan Taylor are in a sledging battle looks tame but their last encounter will lend some context to the off-field battle. The Zimbabwe pace bowlers were slighted when Tamim had branded Jarvis “ordinary” and reacted gleefully after the victory.While the stakes will not be as high as the Ashes or the other summit battles, the series provides cricket with another dimension of sporting rivalry, which doesn’t need the best of conditions, or the best players. A scrappy, less-than-perfect competition between two less-than-perfect teams will be an indication of how healthy cricket is around the edges.

Ranjib Biswal was a solid first-class allrounder, one of India’s youngest members of parliament, a newspaper editor, and now has a tough new challenge

Sidharth Monga29-Sep-2013The IPL’s new chairman, Ranjib Biswal, is known to be an N Srinivasan loyalist, but there is more to him. He has captained Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Vinod Kambli and Ajay Jadeja. He led that team to the Asia Youth Cup triumph in Dhaka in 1989. He scored five first-class centuries and took 153 wickets when he played for Orissa and East Zone. He didn’t get to play for India, but he has managed teams that have won the World Cup, the Champions Trophy, the Asia Cup, and the one that drew a Test series in South Africa. At 43, he isn’t much older than some of the players he has managed on tour; there are 42-year-olds playing the IPL.A year before he retired from playing, Biswal was the third-highest on the wicket-takers’ list in Ranji Trophy, the highest from his zone. Soon after that season, at the age of 25, he told his father he was going to contest the parliamentary election. His father laughed.The father was supposed to know these things better. Basant Biswal himself was a former deputy chief-minister of Orissa. He was nicknamed “Super CM” when he was JB Patnaik’s assistant in the early 80s. Ranjib, though, went on to win the election from Jagatsinghpur. This was no mean feat: he hadn’t entered the parliament through Rajya Sabha where you can go through just a nomination; he had won a general election. The parliament at that time recorded him to be a “sportsman” and an “executive” in Steel Authority of India. He is one of the youngest MPs India has ever had.Biswal kept playing cricket, but soon he seemed to realise domestic cricket wasn’t big enough for his ambition. “I had done exceedingly well in domestic cricket, and was the highest wicket-taker for the two consecutive years,” he told the Kolkata-based . “However, I was not selected for the national team. My cricket was not taking me anywhere, so I called it quits.”Not that all his cricket had been about “getting somewhere”. Pravin Amre, another of his team-mates at Under-19 level, remembers a helpful and fun colleague. “He was a very useful allrounder,” Amre says. “A very good person. Very helpful nature. A balanced individual. “I remember when we went to Australia in 1988, we didn’t get hotels and all. We stayed with an Australian family, the two of us, and he took very good care of me when I fell sick for more than four days.”When Biswal first won the Lok Sabha election, the parliament noted he had travelled to Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand and the UK. On these travels, he began to collect stamps. Now he has about 3.5 lakh of them, a significant proportion of which are cricket ones even though India doesn’t do stamps for its cricketers.”It’s organised country-wise in albums, which take up a huge space at home; nearly an entire cupboard,” Biswal once told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve got Bradman, Frank Worrell, Garry Sobers … [In] India we don’t have stamps on the cricketers, basically the stamps are from England, West Indies, Australia, who come out with commemorative stamps.”Biswal stayed in touch with cricket administration even as he dabbled between politics and editing an Oriya daily, . In 2005, he was back in active cricket when made a member of the national selection committee. His two years there were tumultuous as one of his U-19 team-mates, Ganguly, and coach Greg Chappell had a drawn-out public spat. He began accompanying the team on tours soon after his term as selector ended.Forget the “lucky manager” tag, when the team and the board were going through a bad crisis after the spot-fixing controversy, when the players were vulnerable and susceptible to saying unwanted things, the BCCI went to the manager that had the record of putting players at most ease. As a manager, Biswal brought the authority to not blindly follow the BCCI directive. Even during gag orders, for example, he could allow players to do the odd interview if he was assured nothing sensitive would be discussed. The players respected him in return.However, he had loftier goals than being team manager, although he loves to travel and keeps a count on the number of countries he has visited. Around the last AGM, Biswal was all set to be named the BCCI secretary before losing out to a bolter, Sanjay Jagdale. Reportedly it was his fellow Congressmen in the board who didn’t want to see him progress so much so soon.Biswal was then given the National Cricket Academy job, which now has gone to Kerala’s TC Mathew. Now Biswal has a job that is coveted and high-profile at the best of times, but he has his task cut out here. The image of the IPL needs repairing after what went down last year, and also the next IPL will clash with what Biswal kind of excelled at: the general elections. Then there are rules that need to be drawn up for the mega-auction in 2014. The next year is a good time for Biswal to show he is not there just because he is a Srinivasan loyalist.

Whatever is he asked, Joe Root has shown the awareness, confidence, range and selflessness to do it.

George Dobell at Lord's20-Jul-2013It must be disconcerting to have a Test match taken away from you by Joe Root. Like being mugged by a toddler, the face seems too fresh and boyish to resist the brutality of fast bowling or cope with the pressure and intensity of a full house at Lord’s.But Root can cope. No career comes with guarantees and Root will, no doubt, experience some lows amid the highs. But this century, the youngest by an English batsman in an Ashes Test at Lord’s, cemented Root’s position at the top of the order for the next decade or more. When Alastair Cook and Andy Flower and Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen are all pursuing careers as coaches or television pundits, Root will calmly, smoothly, tidily be winnings games for his country.Root’s maturity belies his choirboy face. He is only 22 and this is only his seventh first-class match of the summer but when he reached 70 he became the first man to reach 1,000 first-class runs in the 2013 English domestic season. By the close, he was within an ace of taking his season’s average above 100. As befits his status as a saviour of English cricket, it was surely fitting that, when he was attacked by David Warner in that Birmingham bar, he simply turned the other cheek.We knew Root could bat, of course. Since the moment he took guard on Test debut in Nagpur he has displayed the technique and the temperament to prosper at this level. He has the calm demeanour of a bomb disposal expert and a defence that can keep out the rain.He can play some shots, too. His wagon wheel for this innings shows a man with a wide array of scoring opportunities; a man who is excellent off front and back foot, plays delightfully straight, admirably late and can change gear when required. Have England produced a more technically adept player in the last 20 years? Or might such praise be premature?After all, Root should have been dismissed on 8 when he edged between Brad Haddin, who is quietly enduring a modest series with the gloves, and Michael Clarke. Had the catch been taken, Root would have failed to pass 50 in six innings as an England opening batsman (four in this series and two in the warm-up match against Essex) and speculation about his position would have grown.But the England management would have taken no notice. They like what they see with Root and, unlike the talents of the past such as Graeme Hick or Mark Ramprakash, are determined that his ability should not be wasted. They were committed to him in the long-term come what may, though this innings will make the journey a little more comfortable.This innings provided Root with an opportunity to showcase his range of skills. At first, both on the second evening and the third morning, he was challenged to survive. He was obliged to display the compact defensive technique, the judgement over which balls to leave and the concentration that will become legendary.Later, as he settled and it became clear that this seam attack, for all its honesty and persistence, lacked the skills to threaten him, he began to pick off the poor ball with more confidence. He stretched forward to ease slightly over-pitched deliveries through cover and he rocked back to drive anything short the same way. Whereas he used to play in the air through midwicket, now his improved balance allows him to drive down the ground and turn the ball off his legs with less danger. A couple of the straight drives had Lord’s purring with pleasure.Then, as the bowlers tired, he had an opportunity to attack: long-hops were pulled for sixes, sweeps were improvised and, while his first fifty occupied 122 balls and his second 125, his third took only 64. If there is a fourth, and there may well be, it will be quicker still.Joe Root pulls during his unbeaten 178 at Lord’s•Getty ImagesRoot’s greatest strength may be his ability to tailor his game to the match situation. Whether he has been required to block for a draw, as was the case in Nagpur, or accelerate towards a declaration, as at Headingley, he has shown the awareness, the confidence, the range and the selflessness to do it.There was nothing soft about this innings. The Australian seamers, fine bowlers let down by their batting colleagues, probed around his off stump at good pace and, by tea, the pitch appeared to be deteriorating surprisingly quickly and offering turn and uneven bounce; a sight that must have provoked something close to despair in the Australian dressing room.Even when the bowlers sledged him, Root looked up and laughed. And if there is one thing that irritates a fast bowler more than batting through a day against them, it is laughing in their face. He rarely pulled and Australia might have tested him with the second new ball, but the sense was of a mature batsman playing within his limitations who, by that stage, would have coped just fine with whatever Australia could throw at him.Root later joked that his brother Billy, 12th man in this game, was “probably nastier than Shane Watson” during his regular trips to the middle. “He abused me all day while bringing drinks out,” Root senior said. “He was just being his cheeky self, winding me up. He was telling me how slowly I was batting and how he would have smacked it to all parts.”There was no need to try to “smack it to all parts”. This was only the third day, after all. There are different ways to be ruthless; this is England’s way. Those suggesting England should have taken a more urgent approach on day three are missing the bigger picture. This innings was not just about extending the lead beyond the horizon and it was not just about giving the pitch another day to wear and deteriorate. Nor was it just about providing more time for England’s bowlers to rest.It was also about breaking the spirit of the Australian team. It was about forcing their seamers into fourth and fifth spells; about forcing them into another round of warm-ups and warm-downs; forcing them to pull their boots over tired, swollen feet and force aching joints into action again and again. It was about grinding them into the dust of this Lord’s pitch and ruining them for encounters to come. After all, there are another three Tests in this series and five more to come down under. Mental disintegration they used to call it.To Australia’s immense credit, they kept at it admirably. There were beaten, certainly, but not broken. Not until Root and Bell were well into their partnership did runs start to flow. Not until Michael Clarke decided to protect his seamers for battles to come was the paucity of the spin attack exposed.But batting in a hopeless situation will test that Australian resolve. There has been little about their batting in the first three innings of this series that suggests they are about to resist for five-and-a-half sessions. And they will know that, if they go two-nil down, it will take a miracle to salvage anything from this series.

A reporter on tour at the 2003 World Cup remembers seeing the great man up close

Sharda Ugra06-Dec-2013Writing about other World Cups, Sanjay Manjrekar said that Indian cricketers lived and moved in tunnels; in the 2003 World Cup, so did everyone attached to the tournament. Outside life filtered in like sunshine when least expected.It happened very early and very quietly in the World Cup, and everyone who was there could hold on to it later when things got rough or intolerable. It was the figure of Nelson Mandela in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in Strand Street, Cape Town, arriving to meet the South Africa team on the morning of the first match of the World Cup.It is said he takes a back seat in public life or else President Thabo Mbeki will forever come off looking like second fiddle. At the opening ceremony the night before, he was seen on the giant screen as one of the seated guests, a blurred, distant figure. When he waved and smiled, it set the crowd off, much as when Mandoza’s “Nkalakatha” played over the speakers as South Africa’s team walked into the stadium after all the rest at the formal march past.I wondered whether Mandela would be doing any events around the World Cup and whether we would be told. It would always be a story.The front desk at the media centre has no information of that kind. Pity. No story, no chance of seeing Mandela at work, close up.Before I leave the venue, a local reporter I had got to know comes over and says, “Madiba’s going to meet the South African team tomorrow at their hotel. In the morning. Not an event, no statements, a private meeting. Very quiet. If you want to see him, go.” Jermaine Craig, I will always be grateful.The next morning, the hotel lobby is humdrum, a few scatterings of people, a tinkling piano, buffet breakfast. No stirrings of anything about to happen. The hotel security frowns at the sight of the bright yellow media World Cup accreditation hanging from my neck. The best you can do is raise your palms, like people do to police to show they are not armed. “And?” the guard asks. Only looking. From a distance. Nothing else. “Nothing else,” he says. No names are being taken but something happening. A lurking Reuters photographer smiles good morning. Yes. Only looking. Nothing else.A car drives up to the porch, followed by another, not giant government automobiles screaming bulletproof importance, just regular. Then an ambulance follows. That’s it. He’s here.Mandela gets out of the car, escorted by his staff. He is wearing a South African team t-shirt. He is tall but looks frail and walks with the help of a stick, slowly and haltingly. Slowly also because he is ready to say hello and shake the hand of everyone in the lobby who is reaching out to him. The frail old man becomes the public figure, not of authority but stature, not the weight of history but of a larger humanity.The pianist in the lobby changes his tune from something Richard Clayderman-esque to the South African national anthem. The German tourists waffling down their waffles, retired hotel executives who have been roped in to help during the World Cup, bell boys, receptionists, all melt into a state of charmed babyhood as the man with “Madiba” on the back of his shirt greets them like he knew them from earlier. Excitement here becomes a hush. No one is talking. The only voice that can be heard is Mandela’s.Only after he has gone from sight to do what he has come to do, meet the South African team, do people turn to each other and speak. After a short while, Mandela returns with his party grown larger. He is on the arm of Shaun Pollock, who is red in the face and wears a four-year-old’s grin. Gerald Majola is on the other side. Mandela is shaking everyone’s hand. The Reuters photographer is taking pictures. South Africa’s cricket World Cup 2003 can now begin.

Bangladesh have moved on from a one-man show to a team that has a new performer on a daily basis. That they won yet another home series without Shakib Al Hasan shows their progress

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur31-Oct-2013Bangladesh won another home ODI series against a higher-ranked team by believing in their abilities. They batted first after winning the toss in Mirpur where, in late October, dew is already a major factor, particularly for the finger spinners. They used four of those in their chosen conditions, the most effective of whom opened the bowling at one end. Their injury prone fast bowler also came through. They won the second match with unconventional, yet useful methods.Mushfiqur Rahim showed a lot of confidence in his main spinners, Sohag Gazi and Abdur Razzak, in deciding to bat first. Both bowled accurately, didn’t let the wet ball be too much of a distraction and ensured they remained calm after every big hit. The wicket of Ross Taylor was a good example of how much Gazi has progressed as an international cricketer, and how quickly he learns.Taylor had smashed him for a six, and like the first game on Tuesday, it would have been easy for Gazi to continue firing them in as a defensive ploy, hoping to restrict the batsman to ground strokes. This time he tossed it up outside the off stump, and Taylor chipped it down long-on’s throat. He was lucky to pick up James Neesham’s wicket with a short ball, but it was the build-up that often gets bowlers wickets. He also ended Anton Devcich’s misery (he scored 19 off 44 balls) with an easy caught and bowled chance and a few words.Razzak dismissed Grant Elliott, the highest-scorer from the first match, with a flattish delivery that went straight, the batsman caught plumb in front. Razzak may have contributed only one wicket, but his discipline and leadership skills have been recently praised by the Bangladesh management.Mushfiqur’s gamble with Mominul Haque also paid off, his two wickets a bonus for the team. These series wins are important for Bangladesh’s growth as they have done it without their main allrounder, Shakib Al Hasan. He was also out of the squad with injury when they won 3-2 last year against West Indies in the ODI series.The team should be most pleased with Mashrafe Mortaza’s performance over the two games. He is known for missing more international matches than playing during his 12-year career but this latest comeback has begun very well.He was the quiet performer in the first game, making sure his transition from injury to rehabilitation to match fitness was smooth. His three-wicket haul on Thursday was his first since April 2011, and his best bowling figures since July 2010. His first spell kept the two left-handed New Zealand openers on tenterhooks, and he soon accounted for the miserably out of form Hamish Rutherford. He continued to be accurate, but when he gave width to Corey Anderson in his second spell, the edge was snapped up by a diving Mushfiqur.When you have a player with a history of major injuries and one who has to resettle almost every year, exiting suddenly after a comeback, it has two different effects in a team. Mortaza and his team-mates have experienced both, like when he felt unwelcome more three years ago when he made a comeback. But Mushfiqur’s catch said that the team wanted to do something for their rickety warrior.Bangladesh have their concerns too. Like their counterparts, the Bangladesh batsmen struggled to convert good starts into big scores, were poor in the batting Powerplay and didn’t have the flourish in the end overs. They took a chance by handing Shamsur Rahman a debut in such a crucial match. The right-handed batsman didn’t have the best of starts but it was progressive thinking to break a winning combination, knowing fully well how the public and media would react if Shamsur failed like Anamul Haque.Mominul, Tamim Iqbal and the rest of the batsmen all flattered to deceive, as they didn’t bat for long or put together a big stand. Even during their problematic phase, at 173 for 6 in the 39th over, two batsmen stood up. Gazi and Mahmudullah added 48 precious runs that got them past the 200-run mark.Bangladesh have moved on from a one-man show to a team that has a new performer on a daily basis. Someone or the other stands up. Mominul and Gazi did so in the Chittagong Test while in Mirpur, Tamim batted out of his comfort zone to guide his team to safety. Rubel Hossain did it on Tuesday with his best performance in international cricket. Today it was Mortaza, Gazi, Tamim and Mominul.There was a lap of honour at the end of the game, with the players’ families converging in the field, and a majority of the crowd that stayed back. The word out was that the Bangladesh players don’t celebrate in the dressing-room as much these days. But one can imagine that the players nowadays toast each other’s success, rather than one man’s.

The sustained excellence of Australia’s bowling attack – never bettered according to a past great, Glenn McGrath, has brought deep satisfaction to their mentor Craig McDermott

Daniel Brettig04-Jan-20140:00

I’ve another Ashes series left in me – Harris

Pressed a few days ago to recall the moment when Australia’s bowlers delivered their finest spell for this Ashes series, their mentor Craig McDermott was momentarily short of an answer. After a pause, he remarked that it was actually easier to think of the odd occasions on which they had dipped below that level, such was the sustained excellence provided by Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon.Watching from his familiar perch at the boundary’s edge on day two of the final Test in Sydney, McDermott would only have added a few minutes at most to his aggregate of shifts for the series.For most of England’s innings, including a brief but close to terrifying six overs on the first evening, the standard maintained by the bowlers was unimpeachably lofty. Against batsmen well and truly broken by their weight of failure and now longing for home, it quickly became an embarrassingly lopsided spectacle.At the moment of Ian Bell’s dismissal by Siddle the SCG scoreboard read 5 for 23. What it might have quantified, had Shane Watson held a garden-variety slips catch from Bell’s first ball from Harris, can only be imagined.Either way, McDermott had further reason to be proud of his men’s efforts, even more so for the fact they have kept charging in with remarkable hunger and energy despite going unchanged throughout the series. Whatever aches and pains harboured by Harris they were unnoticeable. The only wounds on display were psychological, and exclusive to the England batsmen.No more was this evident than in the exit of Cook, who will leave these shores as perhaps the most harried captain since the West Indian Jimmy Adams limped home in possession of an 0-5 Frank Worrell Trophy series ledger in 2000-01, and was soon relieved not only of the captaincy but also his place in the team.

Harris sets 2015 Ashes goal

Ryan Harris has revealed his desire to push his battered body on to the 2015 Ashes series in England after another display of surgical fast bowling in the final Test of the summer at the SCG. Harris claimed the wickets of Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Scott Borthwick – he also had Ian Bell dropped first ball – as Australia set themselves on the path towards a 5-0 sweep.
Harris said he had not previously set the goal of playing in 2015, but was now eager to go on having sought the advice of the caoch Darren Lehmann and the captain Michael Clarke. Knee cleanout surgery is scheduled for the end of the South Africa tour to aid his progress.
“I’m a chance, simple as that. I’ve got I think 11 Tests before I get there,” Harris said. “I’ve got a bit of stuff floating around in my knee that I’m going to get cleaned up after Africa, that could give me another year or two, who knows.
It wasn’t too long ago, I was just hoping to get through this series and re-assess. Let’s get through this Test and then South Africa and go from there. But I’d love one more chance to go to England and try to defend the Ashes.”

Cook scrapped heartily to reach stumps on day one in a period of dull light at the ground and roaring speed from Johnson, but on the second morning lost his equilibrium more swiftly than a jetlagged Englishman catching a cab straight from Sydney airport to the SCG.Harris’ precision against Cook has been a wonder to behold through both series, playing tricks of perception and balance that have made some straight balls appear to move, while other deliveries curling in the air or seaming off the pitch have met the England leader’s bat at an angle of the bowler’s choosing.Sometimes the battles have been protracted, but this time it took only two balls. The first was defended stoutly, but the second swung fractionally back from a line Cook was inclined to leave and struck him palpably in front. The moment Cook was pinned, he looked around in a moment of panic, realising too late where his pad and stumps had been. Among Australia’s slips cordon there was no surprise, only jubilation.Ian Bell’s promotion to No. 3 had been called for by many throughout the series, but was delayed by an England hierarchy reluctant to move him from the middle order post from which he had warded off so many Australian attacks in the northern summer.His supremacy in the earlier series was unquestioned, but on faster pitches Bell has had less time to use his cultured hands to make late adjustments to high quality pace bowling. The cumulative result has been edges of the kind he offered up first ball on day two, bat straight but feet on the crease.”One of the main goals for us was to cut Ian Bell out and I think we’ve done that beautifully,” Harris said. “It’s been good. You don’t get many opportunities at all to play 10 Tests against the same players. The main thing has been to execute and we’ve done that, we started it in England and topped it off here.”We know we’ve bowled well to them: there’s no coincidence they haven’t made runs – it’s because of how we’ve bowled. It’s just the pressure we’ve put on the whole series that has not allowed them to play their own games and play the way they want to.”Craig McDermott, right, has observed Australia’s sustained excellence with the ball with satisfaction•Getty ImagesA first-ball reprieve for Bell in England would have caused much gnashing of teeth, but in Sydney when Shane Watson put down a simple opportunity the Australians simply continued to pursue the lines and lengths that would suffocate their quarry. Watson was on hand to claim a catch for Harris when Kevin Pietersen edged an uncertain push forward, before Bell replayed his first ball with a thinner edge from Siddle that Brad Haddin held neatly.The crowd were rapturous, the Australian players beaming broad smiles. Among those watching was Glenn McGrath, who had generously labelled Australia’s bowling in this series the best he had ever seen. But little triumphalism emanated from Harris or the other bowlers, their modest commitment to the trade being as much a key to their success as the speed and accuracy of their bowling and the unity of their purpose.”Glenn’s come out and said those nice words but we don’t see it that way, we’ve got to go out and do our job and do it to the best of our ability,” Harris said. “At the moment it’s working, and hopefully we’ll be able to maintain that for another two years … I’m getting old so we’ll wait and see but we want to make sure we keep putting pressure on whoever we’re playing. If we do that, teams won’t make many runs.”The respect Harris speaks of now extends well beyond the small group who assembled at McDermott’s Brisbane home for a fast bowlers’ barbeque before the series began. Much as McDermott had done, there is barely a soul who has witnessed these Tests who would easily be able to choose a moment of brilliance from Australia’s bowling attack to outshine the rest of their work in the Ashes summer of 2013-14. That’s because, to borrow a phrase beloved of Harris, “It’s all good.”