All posts by h716a5.icu

Being cricket’s leading prima donna turned workaday-superstar is no teddy bear’s picnic

Osman Samiuddin24-Jun-2006

Shoaib Akhtar: a disruptive prima donna to some, a sheer genius to others © AFP
Last October, I wrote about Shoaib Akhtar. He had turned 30 in August and the previous 18 months had been rocky. In April 2004, after the India series, he appeared before a medical commission, accused (by his captain and others) of lying about an injury. A new coach came, and issues soon did too. He went to Australia, lit up half the Test series, ignored the other half, and came back hamstrung, at odds with the establishment, and in a huff. He hadn’t played for Pakistan since the turn of the year, missing two tours, one with an injury and one because he wasn’t fit – wasn’t committed, if you were Inzamam-ul-Haq. There was no kissing but Shoaib and Inzamam did make up during the Afro-Asian Cup (it served some purpose).But Shoaib was about to be dissed as a disruptive prima donna mercenary by John Elliot, the Worcestershire chairman. He was about to be informed by Imran Khan that it was make-or-break time, he was about to be two days late for a training camp for the England series, Bob Woolmer was about to say of him, “If he wants to do it his way… he has to understand he might not get selected.” So yes, a piece was needed, a contemplative one, asking where Shoaib stood and where he went from where he was. Nothing clear emerged.Subsequently, he produced his most influential performance, against England, prompting Michael Vaughan to cite him as the difference between the two sides. I interviewed him soon after, at the start of the India series, a broader feature expanding on the original: Shoaib Akhtar at 30 – has he matured? He didn’t do much against India – the pitches didn’t help – but by series end he was stuck in another maelstrom of chucking. And he was injured again.Play this 21-month period on endless loop, varying only the duration of highs and lows, over the 111 months since his debut. Injuries, suspensions, ball-tampering, lawsuits, dalliances in the woods of Lolly and Bolly, chucking, brash statements, saving Australian kids, extraordinary sporting feats: on repeat, in no order. Forget Kevin Pietersen, Shoaib is cricket’s true rock star; how the f***, I asked myself, do you begin to comprehend him and his place?You’d think meeting him might help, but I left with more questions than I arrived with – never a promising sign for a journalist. After his England triumph, critics answered, he might justifiably have felt vindicated, enough to gloat even. Instead, he was prickly, brooding though not rude, and on the back foot. I asked him about his injuries at one point and before I finished, he interrupted, Punjabi twang via Bradford and Australia, “Who didn’t have injuries? Why am I always picked? I ask you – my answer is a question – who didn’t have? Imran sat out injured, Wasim had groin troubles, Waqar, Mohammad Zahid, Mohammad Akram, Lee, Gillespie, McGrath, everyone. Why people are picking me?”Injuries became commitment. “Eighty wickets in 14 Tests [77 in 17, actually] so I don’t know what people are talking about. What type of commitment do they want? You want me to get 100 wickets in 10 Tests, is that what you want me to do? Those who question should go through their records. How many Tests have they won? Ab mein kya karoon agar log bolte hain? (What do I do if people talk?)”I asked him about the obsession he had with speed in his early years and after he chided me for being loud (I was nervous), he interrupted again. “What do you mean? It’s what I do.””But there’s more…””Like what?””Slower balls, bouncers, new-ball outswing. You are more than just pace,” I defended him.”It’s not an obsession I have,” he half-laughed, half-sighed. “It’s a talent what I have. I don’t know why people want me to slow down. Cut your run-up, do this, do that – that’s the problem. I respect that people have an opinion and I don’t disagree, but this is my life and I like to do what I like to do and sort it out. What I think, that is just for me.” Chucking didn’t even get a look in; “as if,” he said with his eyebrows.Okay. But he was probably born on the defensive, I figure. He was born with flat feet, so he couldn’t walk till he was four. And since he began playing cricket, at 16, he has defended constantly; his action, his commitment, his attitude, his run-up (in June 1997, Peter Deeley wrote that Shoaib would learn the futility of a long run-up; eight years later, people still suggest as much), his fitness, his social life (in court for appearing at a fashion show), his statements (in court for saying Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were past it in 2003 – which they were), perceived slurs against his honour (An ESPN-Star presenter had compared him to a dog’s tail – impossible to straighten), inquiries, commissions.I brought up what I thought would be, in this mood, a touchy issue – his 30th. He had only 36 Tests by that age, having missed almost half the Tests – 71 – Pakistan had played since his debut. Of the 21 series he played in, he completed only seven. At 30, he had an undercooked career, I suggested. Yet instead of defending his record, he introspected about his role. “It’s a heavy age, man. You wonder about yourself, life, what should be done, what shouldn’t, what should’ve been done, what shouldn’t have. It’s heavy. It’s not a life – people have better lives than this. They go through less pain than this.”He moved, unprompted, to responsibility, wistfully explaining his emergence as the Jason Gillespie of Pakistan’s lower order (85 crucial runs against England over 298 even more crucial minutes; 92 runs against India, including an innings-saving 106-minute 45 at Karachi). “I never took batting seriously before. The last Test against England was really difficult. I got hit, took bruises, and obviously it’s not my kind of job, but I wanted to set examples for youngsters – if I can do it then others can.”That transformation, albeit guarded, from maverick to role model of sorts, was the most significant aspect of his comeback; he was now one of the seniors, he was on the inner. His celebratory, winged run was into a team huddle rather than away from it. He cheered from long leg, he patted backs and offered tips. Rumour had it that he was praying with the team; he spoke publicly of how forgiving and united the side were; he refused to speak to the media. He described it like Morgan Freeman might, benevolent and wizened: “I can suggest; I can offer opinions; I can advise. If someone needs help, I am there – even without asking, I will help. I back up people going through bad phases. Ultimately you are the one who has to improve and prove yourself at the end of the day.”It may have been a rehearsed, clichéd introspection or it may have been spontaneous but in either case it caught me off guard and only illustrated how little we understand of Shoaib. This is not entirely our doing. Before I met him, I reasoned that either he hadn’t been able to articulate himself or that he had never felt compelled to. I’m still not sure which.We spoke of the turbulence before the England series, and of whether he needed to prove anything when he returned. Al Capone-style, he blurted, “I have nothing to prove to no one, apart from myself.” A few minutes later, still on the topic, he u-turned, “I just had to sort my fitness – I had nothing to prove to anyone, not even myself.”

I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and I blow you away… © AFP
Perhaps he doesn’t care if people get him. When I asked him, straight up, whether he was misunderstood and why, he regretted: “I am, I always have been. I don’t care what people say or think. It’s their life and this is mine. I’m not bothered and have never been. I don’t take advice or listen to people – I only listen to Imran or other senior players.” Is the reader getting a clear picture? No? Neither did I.At a stretch, Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s troubled hunk, heart-on-sleeve, good-and-bad-all-bared-for-public rogue evokes a compelling parallel to Shoaib’s popular persona. Besides the body-building, both claim they are misunderstood. Both are abhorrent to certain, haughtily discerning tastes (“Oh, he’s so cheap, just look at him”). The great unwashed, though, as Shoaib proves at stadiums and Salman at cinema halls, love them, warts and all. Their tragedies are lately synchronised (Salman’s jail sentence came soon after the latest Shoaib chucking-injury imbroglio).And following Shoaib’s career-life, I find, often arouses emotions similar to those that Mike Tyson did. In hindsight, Tyson’s melodramatic tale was destined for a sombre, tragic conclusion. People were hooked to the barbaric brilliance, the rapes, the assaults, the women, the championships. Watching Shoaib is similarly compelling, if only to see what drama he lurches into next, whether or not he emerges from it, whether or not he ever will.Certainly, few personalities in cricket fragment opinion as sharply – maybe only Sourav Ganguly recently. Like with Ganguly, Shoaib’s on-field career doesn’t yet provide the protection afforded to yet another “difficult” man, Shane Warne. As a cricketer, any assessment, passing or final, will be coloured by doubts about his action – with Warne there is no such doubt. Shoaib has been publicly reported thrice – and cleared – but questioned privately many times more. Greg Chappell sparked the most recent inquisition, calling his action “seriously different”, a coy comment for a supposedly straight-talking man. Michael Holding was less shy, suggesting that hyperextension was little more than babble that allowed the ICC to let big names like Shoaib get away with chucking.Innuendo clouds the situation. Umpires are unwilling to call Shoaib (though one expressed his concern privately during the Faisalabad Test against India recently – incidentally, just before Chappell’s comments). Batsmen are allegedly concerned about the danger of his faster – read chucked – deliveries, Indian reporters revealed, though only after Shoaib had bullied Sachin Tendulkar at Faisalabad. Also allegedly, the ICC sent a videotape to the Pakistan board after the India series, highlighting one passage in which they felt his action raised worries. “Get it fixed,” was their message supposedly, “before we call him.” Shoaib missed the ODIs against India, and the tour of Sri Lanka, ostensibly so that he could tend to his injuries. Many Pakistani journalists winked that he was getting his action fixed.The only problem is, of course, that all this is officially denied and nothing can be confirmed, which leaves Shoaib dangling between villain and hero, cheat and champ. A worse situation you cannot imagine and frustratingly – or admirably – he refuses to say anything. He does have a freakish elbow that bends both ways and he is officially, if ambiguously, cleared. Whether or not he is a chucker is, as ever with Shoaib (and the issue itself), not so simple to answer. Some combination of biomechanics, doctors and the ICC might do one day, but it will tar him forever. For those who can – or care to – look beyond it, he is a special bowler, one who only conforms to Gideon Haigh’s description of “pantomime fast bowler” in the drama he can impart to any match situation. His career is startlingly thin – only 42 Tests over near nine years. He doesn’t have 200 Test wickets, which makes assessments a little rushed and incomplete. But his own analysis – that he has become more rounded and dangerous over the last three or four years – is key. “I look through more videos of my bowling, to see how I bowl best and how to bowl to certain batsmen. I make mistakes and not every ball is going to be right but I know my plans to batsmen, I know the pitch, how batsmen play. I’ve developed more in the last three years.”Matthew Hayden, whose happiness he messed with on Pakistan’s 2004-05 tour, before Flintoff and gang did likewise, will testify to this. Ditto Marcus Trescothick and the rest of his team, all outwitted. The slower ball? More misunderstanding, mate: “People don’t know me. They’re saying it’s new but I’ve bowled it for years; it’s just loopier now.” Alec Stewart, duped leg-before by a 30mph change in pace at Lord’s in 2001, says aye.Wickets weren’t forthcoming against India, but Shoaib lurked in their heads throughout, bouncing the great and good, intelligently picking up wickets at Karachi. By then, he had played two full consecutive Test series – a first. Despite “not playing for records”, he isn’t slow to point out an impressive one since 2001. It’s only 27 Tests, but he has taken 120 wickets, at under 22, with fabulous strike-rates (under 39). He’s done it against everyone – save India – and everywhere. Over his career, he has taken wickets every 45.3 balls, the 12th best ever – among those who have bowled 2000 balls or more. Of the 11 above and six below him, only Waqar Younis maintained it over more Tests.Ultimately he upholds what is the most challenging standard to bear in Pakistan – fast bowling. It can’t be, and hasn’t been, a stroll. We demand more from our fast men, for as a tradition it has been as much the preserve of Pakistan as of Australia and West Indies. To be the latest face of that brings its own pressures. Whatever he is or has done, his uniqueness warrants appreciation. He’s not Imran, Wasim or Waqar. He doesn’t do reverse swing quite so readily, and with his slingy action you wonder whether he chooses not to use such historically trademarked weapons. Maybe he can’t do it on demand; it’s hardly the most controlled science. Different methods have produced different results but, operating in his own time and space, Shoaib has scripted magnificence, turned matches; the 1999 World Cup, Colombo against Australia 2002-03, Kolkata and the big two in 1998-99, Wellington 2003-04, England 2005-06. There’s more and it’s not a poor tale to tell from 42 Tests.

Shoaib, in any capacity, always attracts the shutterbugs © AFP
Hero, misunderstood, freak, villain, loudmouth, , chucker, crowd-puller, match-winner; Shoaib is, and will be, many different things to many different people (and sometimes all of them to one person). All of it and none of it is true. For what it’s worth, above all the bullshit that it is my duty to record, I will remember him at Iqbal Stadium against England last winter. I tried hard to remain a journalist, an observer, but he sucked me – and others – in over a five-over spell, after lunch on the third day. The match, and 18,000 spectators with it, was dozing when he started. Instantly, the ambience switched. Suddenly, it became raw; people stirred as he bowled a spell where every ball demanded the utmost attention. He began with an old ball, 90-plus mph, and as he took the new ball, his run-up became a naked, burly sprint. He upped the pace, and the crowd their noise, with every step of his run.Two wickets were felled, and what wickets they were: last year’s most exciting player, Kevin Pietersen, hooked a six to reach his century but was beaten by a quicker bouncer next. Freddie “the world’s best player” Flintoff, had his bat cracked and then his stumps by one at 91mph. I thought then, and still do now, that that was Shoaib as originally conceived, scalping players big enough to matter to him, joking with the captain and players, rousing and jostling the crowd, chirping at batsmen, sending them off, all eyes only on him, at the centre of the celebrations, the stadium, and all attention. A brief glimpse, I think, of him in his element.

Occasional brilliance has failed to mask that Bangladesh have a long way to go before they can consistently challenge bigger teams in Tests, like they have started to in the one-dayers

Sidharth Monga in Dhaka28-May-2007

The opening pair of Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik are still evolving, but it might be India’s best option when they go to England © Getty Images
Occasional brilliance has failed to mask that Bangladesh have a long way to go before they can consistently challenge bigger teams in Tests, like they have started to in the one-dayers. They looked every bit a side that had last played Test cricket 13 months ago, and to make matters worse, played 38 one-dayers over the same period.On what became the final day of the second and final Test, Mohammad Ashraful epitomised what was wrong. For 46 minutes, he completely dominated every bowler in sight, and scored 67 runs in that time, when he had nothing to lose. And then, when he had pushed the field back, when he had got the opposition on the defensive, he played one shot too many. Dav Whatmore, the outgoing coach, has time and again said that Bangladesh manage to “scare” oppositions for a while, but seldom go beyond it. It will be one of Whatmore’s biggest regrets that batsmen like Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed did not develop into more mature players during his tenure.Mashrafe Mortaza was the only batsman who applied himself and showed what could be done if the better batsmen, too, had put their heads down. His strike-rate in both his half-centuries wouldn’t suggest so, but he played proper Test innings, especially with tailenders at the other end. He didn’t look to hit shots off every ball and manoeuvred the strike well. And when he saw the ball was there to be hit, he didn’t take half measures.The Bangladeshi bowlers, helped by the experience of Mohammad Rafique, have improved more than the batsmen. That also could explain what looked like a defensive move to field first on a flat pitch in the second Test.With their coach gone, and their captain struggling for every single run, Bangladesh are entering a transitionary phase. It’s for them to decide now whether they still need the experience of Habibul Bashar, who has resigned from one-day captaincy but has shown his intention to still serve Bangladesh as Test captain and an ODI player. Bashar has been criticised for being too defensive, but all-out attack every time may not be the right way to go either. Bigger challenges await both the teams after this series – Bangladesh go to Sri Lanka and India to England. They will both go with a knowledge that they could have done better in this series. For India, the Test series was expected to be easier than the one-dayers. They tried every bit to force a result in the rain-curtailed first Test, but were let down by their inability to polish off tails – accentuated by the absence of Anil Kumble due to fever – and their batsmen’s failure to just go out and get quick runs in stop-start situations. In the second Test, they carried out a proper demolition job. After having batted Bangladesh out with centuries from their top four, they bowled Bangladesh out twice in a matter of 94.5 overs; in fact, It could have been much earlier, if the fielders had held on to the catches on the final day.The biggest positive for India would be a second 100-run opening partnership between Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik in three Tests. More significantly, it resulted from perseverance from Jaffer who made a pair in the first Test. The partnership is still evolving, but it might be India’s best option when they go to England. They do not have a Test match before that, but Rahul Dravid said that he has derived enough confidence from what he has seen and he will get to see more in the side games. Dravid should be happy with his own form, especially in the first Test when he walked out at 0 for 1 and scored an aggressive half-century.The batting, over all, looked efficient but not dominating. The spell of domination came in the second Test when Jaffer had crossed his century and Dravid was approaching his. Apart from that, the batsmen suggested they might show discomfort against better opposition on tougher tracks.Bigger challenges await both the teams after this series – Bangladesh go to Sri Lanka and India to England. They will both go with a knowledge that they could have done better in this series.

AB de Villiers timed his first Test double-century perfectly as he put the hosts to the sword to set up his team for a 1-0 lead

Jamie Alter at Motera 04-Apr-2008
AB de Villiers handled the spinners with aplomb © Getty Images
AB de Villiers timed his first Test double-century perfectly as he put India to the sword to set South Africa up for a 1-0 lead. Having shot India out for 76 on day one, the visitors built on that emphatically on Friday as de Villiers, the dominant partner in a 256-run partnership with Jacques Kallis, ground India into submission.South Africa have toured the subcontinent plenty of times recently, and those visits have given them invaluable exposure to the conditions here, helping their batsmen improve against spin. As he had in Chennai during a purposeful 44, de Villiers adjusted to the weather and the pitch, and wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty. The reward was the best score by a South African against India.All day he remained intent on mowing down India, without totally eschewing his natural instincts. India’s rather peculiar decision to begin the day with Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan, under overcast conditions ideal for Sreesanth, allowed de Villiers leverage. Though Harbhajan began tightly, tossing the ball up as a true offspinner should, India’s flat fielding and Anil Kumble’s rather unimaginative captaincy helped de Villiers bat at his own pace.The ball moved more than on the manic first morning and there was some uneven bounce, but nothing fazed de Villiers. Cuts past point and nudges off the pads further added to an already significant lead; Harbhajan’s repeated cries of despair at a fumble at gully or a single converted to two thanks to a sluggish outfielder were a feature of the first session.Sreesanth, who bowled a spirited spell after lunch, beat the bat and shot off his mouth but de Villiers responded in the best fashion – with a flick off his pads. Sreesanth bounced, de Villiers swayed comfortably; Sreesanth swung it, de Villiers covered off stump and left; Sreesanth slacked, de Villiers punched past mid-off, with the faintest of looks back to the bowler, who proceeded to appeal to the umpire about dissent.
He punctuated the moment with a skip and punch of the fists, fully aware of how important this innings was for his team and their quest to take the series © Getty Images
“The key to batting in the subcontinent is to have a good technique against spinners,” said de Villiers after rain curtailed play with 12.4 overs to go. “The last few months I have worked hard on my technique and it is great to see the result. I just stuck to my basics. Jacques kept on motivating me with useful tips from the other hand.”Unlike Kallis, de Villiers played plenty of shots away from the body but never was he flirting with danger; even when he went for his preferred slap through the arc between point and gully he was always in control, especially against spin. Harbhajan’s variations were picked with ease; a faster one was cut past slip and another steered superbly beyond the same position.And then there was the shot to raise three figures, a cheeky walk across the stumps and paddle from outside off to fine leg for four. A raise of the bat – sweat dripping down his forearm – followed, eyes lifted to the skies, then the gesture to his team-mates, and finally a bear hug from Kallis, the best man to have at the other end given South Africa’s motive.As South Africa’s lead neared 400 de Villiers opened his shoulders. The shot of the day was his one-legged six to deposit Harbhajan onto the roof, and a drive through extra cover got him his double. He punctuated the moment with a skip and punch of the fists, fully aware of how important this innings was for his team and their quest to take the series.de Villiers remained modest despite his achievement. “This innings is close to my best. But the 97 that I scored against New Zealand at Centurion came under difficult conditions and I still consider that as my best. However, getting a double-century away from home will certainly be one of my favourites.”South Africa came here fully prepared and ready for anything the Indians threw at them. They had a plan, and de Villiers executed it almost flawlessly. The runs that de Villiers scored has put his team on the path to victory in this match; the manner in which he scored those runs is an ominous sign for the next Test as well.

A look at the important numbers from the run-fest in Christchurch, where 726 runs were scored from 95.1 overs

S Rajesh08-Mar-2009
Tim Southee: only the third bowler to concede more than 100 in an ODI © AFP
The match aggregate of 726 is the second-highest ever in ODIs, next only to that unforgettable game in Johannesburg almost exactly three years ago, when Australia and South Africa combined to score 872 in a day. India’s total of 392 for 4 is their 11th 350-plus score, and their second-highest in ODIs, after the 413 for 5 they scored against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup. It’s also the highest by any team in New Zealand. In fact, of the 16 highest scores in the country, 15 have come since 2005, an indication of just how good conditions have become for batting in New Zealand over the last four years. Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 163 is his 43rd ODI century, but his first in New Zealand. As he remarked after the game, Tendulkar hasn’t played in that country so often – out of 415 innings, only 22 have been in New Zealand, where he averages a respectable 39.09. It was his 31st hundred in a win – he has been involved in 213 ODI wins, in which he averages a superb 56.96, at a strike rate of almost 90. The innings also gave him his 58th Man-of-the-Match award, which is easily the highest, and 12 clear of the second-placed Sanath Jayasuriya. New Zealand ended up on the wrong end of the result, but their opening partnership gave them plenty to cheer: the 166-run stand is their fourth-highest for the first wicket, and Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder have been involved in two of the top five first-wicket stands. In only 13 innings, McCullum and Ryder have already put together 757 runs for the first wicket at an average of 63.08. (Click here for New Zealand’s top opening pairs.) There were 31 sixes struck in the match, which is a record – the next best is 26. India contributed 18 of those, which equals the mark for an innings. It’s also the second time they’ve struck so many in an innings. Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh added 138 in 100 balls, a run rate of 8.38 runs per over. Among century partnerships in New Zealand, this one ranks in fifth place in terms of run rate. In fact, three out of the top eight quickest hundred stands in all ODIs in New Zealand have come in this series, with the 166-run opening wicket partnership between Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder in eighth place. There was little to cheer for any of the bowlers, but none had it as bad as Tim Southee, who became only the third bowler – and the second from New Zealand – to concede more than 100 runs in an ODI. The only other New Zealander was Martin Snedden, though he bowled 12 overs to concede 105 against England in the 1983 World Cup.

Cricinfo picks out the highlights of the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2009-10

Sidharth Monga14-Nov-2009The action
The BCCI has become rather strict with suspect actions, empowering the on-field umpires to call bowlers – who are already on suspect actions’ list – for chucking. Live time. No warning. Just to simplify the procedure: the match referee and the umpires meet the captains before the start of the match, and just remind the captain if his team features one of the 32 bowlers with suspect actions. After that, no more warnings. It’s the naked eye versus the action. Right intention, wrong way, feel the coaches and the players. At least before the first match, the situation was not so clear, and the associations were caught unawares. And the same bowlers had bowled in the domestic Twenty20s. Baroda’s Salim Veragi was called twice, his team-mate Rajesh Pawar once, after he had bowled 20 overs on the first day. Baroda acted after the first match, pulling out the duo from their next match. “We need to get rid of suspect actions,” says Paras Mhambrey, Baroda’s coach, “But we need a bit more clarity in the process.”Cricket returns to the valley
Belatedly. And fleetingly. First the Services team, controlled by the defence ministry, refused to travel to Srinagar for their first-round match against Jammu & Kashmir. Apparently players themselves still don’t know the reasons. The BCCI acted swiftly, banning Services for the rest of the season, taking away all the monetary benefits that come with being a BCCI-affiliated association. Caught in the crossfire are Services players, who lose out on all their match fees and chances to make it to zonal sides. But cricket did return to Srinagar, in the next round when Haryana made the trip. The weather, though, allowed just 133.2 overs’ play, during which time Haryana did enough to take a first-innings lead and three points.The debut
Karnataka’s right-arm medium-pacer, Abhimanyu Mithun, took 11 wickets in his first first-class match, including a second-innings hat-trick, against Uttar Pradesh in Meerut. The last Karnataka bowler to take a hat-trick on debut was Javagal Srinath.And just for his name, Sachin Baby, from Kerela. He was born to Thodupuzha’s PC Baby on December 17, 1989 – a day before Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut 20 years ago. What a visionary PC Baby was, to name his son after Tendulkar, whom he had barely seen play. Can the selectors please learn something?The triple
Haryana’s Sunny Singh bettered his previous best of 137 and went on and on against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, hitting 44 fours and seven sixes in a 333-ball 312. At a strike-rate of 93.69, it has to be one of the quickest Ranji innings of such magnitude. We don’t have exact details of some of the earlier ones, but Vijay Hazare’s 316 in 387 and BB Nimbalkar’s 443 not out in 494 minutes might just be quicker. Anyway, Sunny’s innings is the sixth triple-century of what seems to have become a deluge since 2006-07, when SS Das’ 300 not out against J&K broke a seven-year drought of triple-hundreds in the Ranji Trophy.Angry young men
What is it about Eden Gardens and flared tempers? After the third day of Baroda’s second-round match against Bengal, Irfan Pathan – as reported by – was so peeved with the curator that he “rushed menacingly towards him”. The elder Pathan (Yusuf) was around, and he prevented physical contact. Interestingly the curator and the bowler were not fighting over the grass or lack of it on the Eden surface, but Prabir Mukherjee objected to Irfan doing an interview with a television channel inside the ground.Elsewhere Dinesh Karthik earned himself a one-match ban for excessive appealing on the final day of Tamil Nadu’s second-round match in Ahmedabad. That too when the match was headed for a draw. Tamil Nadu will now lose out on three main batsmen in the third round, with M Vijay and S Badrinath will be away on national duty.The record, and the shadower
For about 15 seasons, he embodied Mumbai cricket, watching his mates go on and achieve greater goals at the international level, and not letting bitterness come in the way of his love for cricket and Mumbai cricket. But as he approached the record for the most Ranji runs, Amol Muzumdar was playing for Assam at the obscure North-East Frontier Railway Stadium in Guwahati. He crossed Amarjit Kaypee’s mark of 7623 runs, and later told : “How many players achieve things they wish for? I find myself as one of the unluckiest ones not to get the Indian cap, but it’s okay. At least now I can tell my daughter that her father is the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy.”Pankaj Dharmani, another man who can consider himself unlucky for not winning a Test cap, is hot on Muzumdar’s trail. In his match against Hyderabad, the wicketkeeper became the seventh batsman to cross the 7000-run mark.Variable light, bad light
Ever heard of light varying in the same city? Last week, at the the Karnail Singh Stadium in the heart of New Delhi, bad light didn’t allow enough play for Railways and Himachal Pradesh to even resolve their game on the basis of first innings. At the Roshanara Club Ground in the same city, the Karnataka and Delhi match was blessed with good light for three days, and a close finish on the fourth was spoiled by, er, bad light. On the final day, when the match was curtailed, Karnataka needed another 23 runs in a stipulated 19 more overs.Quotehanger
“I am not just angry, I want to tear them into pieces.”
The president of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association, Farooq Abdullah vents his anger after Services’ pullout

A combination of bold captaincy and intelligent bowling won Deccan the game against Chennai

Kanishkaa Balachandran at the MA Chidambaram Stadium15-Mar-2010One delivery summed up Deccan Chargers’ terrific bowling performance. Pragyan Ojha had just been dumped over long-off for six by Justin Kemp. Two balls later, the left-arm spinner had his man. Ojha wasn’t afraid to flight it again, slower this time. Kemp sashayed down the track, attempting another tee-off, but was deceived by the change of pace and the length, which wasn’t right to loft or drive. The ball turned, beat the edge and landed safely in Adam Gilchrist’s gloves for an easy stumping, a classic orthodox left-arm spinner’s trap.A combination of bold captaincy and intelligent bowling won Deccan the game. Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs gave them 190 to defend but Chennai boasted a formidable batting line-up. When Deccan began their defence, two experienced hands, one retired the other on the verge of it, combined to deal body blows to Chennai’s chase.Chaminda Vaas has proved a surprise package despite his experience in international cricket. He had underperformed in seven games during the first two IPL seasons. Not in this one though. A double-wicket maiden in the opening over against Kolkata Knight Riders was followed by figures of 3 for 21 tonight, including the wicket of the dangerous Matthew Hayden. Whether his future with Sri Lanka undergoes similar revival remains to be seen, but Vaas is enjoying this game as much as his captain, the retired Gilchrist, whose intensity and involvement helped Deccan earn their first points.Gilchrist’s captaincy was different today: he used unconventional fields, made bold bowling changes, and gesticulated urgently to keep his fielders alert. The performances of Chennai offspinners, R Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan, convinced Gilchrist that spin was the way to go and he deployed it as early as possible. His decision to give T Suman the 18th over against Kolkata – where he leaked 16 runs – was one of the factors that had cost Deccan the match, but Gilchrist wasn’t afraid to experiment again. He tossed the ball to the part-timer Rohit Sharma and not the specialist Ojha in the second over. Hayden biffed the first three deliveries straight to fielders and the fifth for six, but Rohit would have settled for four dot balls.Gilchrist made four bowling changes in the first nine overs and didn’t allow Chennai’s batsmen to settle, forcing them to review their plans. His field placements during the Powerplay trumped those of Dhoni’s. Realising the futility of a slip, Gilchrist used a short cover instead to plug the off side. As batsmen tried to jab the ball past the infield, the fielder was agile enough to slide and save runs.His tactics were backed up by Vaas, who made hitting through the line difficult and took three important wickets. A frustrated M Vijay was beaten by movement and lost leg stump after a failed charge. Suresh Raina gifted his wicket with a rash shot but the crucial blow was Hayden’s dismissal.Gilchrist’s field placing was significant. Standing up to the stumps to prevent Hayden from striding down the track, he pushed first slip deep. The next ball from Vaas was full outside the off stump, and Hayden attempted something different – paddle scooping into RP Singh’s hands at short fine leg. The packed off side field had made Hayden look for gaps on the leg and his execution failed him. Vaas then sent down five successive dot balls and completed his second wicket maiden of the tournament.Following Hayden’s exit for 17, an impatient S Badrinath made room against Ojha and picked out the fielder at deep extra cover, an effective position for a batsman trying to loft a left-arm spinner with the turn. Gilchrist’s tactics were spot on and Deccan had already snatched four wickets within the first six overs.Four overs later, Kemp too was on his way. Deccan had let Kolkata off the hook, after they had them in strife at 31 for 4, and ensured they didn’t repeat mistake tonight. They also exposed a chink in the Chennai batting. The backup for Hayden and Raina – should they fail – isn’t as stable as it looks on paper. And Dhoni can only do so much on his own.

Cricket has taken a back seat for Pakistan in England

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Sep-2010Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Fawad Alam and a few other players were getting ready to offer the [prayers] before taking supper. They were in one of the inner corridors of the team hotel in suburban Taunton.A few yards away a face stared at them from behind the glass doors. Salman Butt, the captain, was there on his own, getting ready to leave for London on Wednesday to appear before the Pakistan High Commissioner and the Metropolitan Police. The contrast couldn’t have been starker.The next few days will be the most difficult in the lives of Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif as the pressure to drop them from the remainder of the England series mounts. Though they were reportedly seen at dinner on Monday evening and then at breakfast on Tuesday morning, they were confined to their rooms.They did not join the rest of the squad which trained for a few hours at Somerset’s ground in the afternoon. Practice occurred behind locked gates to avoid any attention from both the media and fans. The county authorities said the request came from Pakistan. Yawar Saeed, Pakistan’s manager, disagreed. “We haven’t told them anything,” Saeed told Cricinfo. “We are just going to have our regular training session.”It did not matter much because cricket has taken a back seat for Pakistan. Though the rest of the squad milled around, putting on a bold face, the players’ eyes were wandering, and they were tense.In the hotel the corridors were thick with an air of mystery. The security was watertight. The media were allowed in the hotel lobby and the TV camera crews were camped outside till late in the evening, but the hotel authorities had alerted everybody that if they were caught talking to the players they would be asked to leave. Every movement was monitored, like being back at school.When a fan jumped in front of Yousuf and Shoaib to get a picture as the duo were entering the hotel lobby from the in-house leisure club, the Pakistan security officer got fidgety as the man was posing for longer than desired. The players were told not to entertain such requests.In the days to come things will become even tighter, even though it is already bordering on suffocation. The freedom of the most talented yet mercurial breed in cricket is being restrained. It remains to be seen if Pakistan can stay resilient and patient before the rebuilding begins.

While the ODI series has not matched the three Tests in terms of quality of cricket, the fact that it has gone down to a decider provides a fitting end to a closely-contested tour

Sidharth Monga in Centurion22-Jan-2011Can somebody separate these two teams please? The Test series went into its final day with all three results possible, and ended level. The same scenario awaits the finale of the ODI series, for the forecast for rain on Sunday, which follows a week full of rainy days in Centurion, makes a drawn series a probable result too. To determine a winner, we go back to where it all started what seems like an eternity ago – in reality it has only been a month and a week since the tour began – the stunningly beautiful SuperSport Park.The weather back then was similar too, with rain in the air, the pitch under the covers, and India got off to a typically slow start to the tour, on a damp surface. They have surprised many with the fight they have shown since, especially in the one-dayers, in which they have fielded a side with much less experience than the Test one.MS Dhoni is eager to get back to Centurion. “I don’t mind a damp wicket again,” he said. “I don’t think it will really happen. And I am hopeful there won’t be any Duckworth-Lewis involved in the match.”It doesn’t get any better than this: the best teams in the world playing against each other, and once again the series has gone down to the last match. That’s an ideal set-up for the end of the tour. I am just hoping it will be a perfect day for cricket, and may the best team win.”In terms of skill-levels and the quality of cricket on display, the one-dayers haven’t quite lived up to the lofty standards that the Test series set, but it is not exactly a bad thing for the Tests to maintain that primacy, not in some corporate talk from the administrators but out on the field.The series has left South Africa captain Graeme Smith drained. “I am looking forward to the two weeks off,” he said. “With two top teams playing, it’s competitive, and there was also the matter of selecting the World Cup squad. So it can be quite heavy on players, and especially captains. We’d love to finish the series strong on Sunday and freshen up for the World Cup, during which we have to be at our best for six whole weeks.”The tour has, indeed, taken its toll on minds and bodies. India had to send three players home after the Test series – Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir – while South Africa lost Jacques Kallis, who is always considered more than just one player because he contributes with both bat and ball.Tempers have flared, respect has been earned, records have been broken, we have celebrated the presence of people of Indian origin in South Africa, we have seen a South African support team help India excel, and going into the last day of a tour that has lasted close to two months, we don’t have a winner.After having seen fortunes swing this way and that over the tour, Smith, who will be captaining South Africa for the last time in a home ODI, is not even thinking of making brave statements going into the decider. “At the moment no one holds the advantage,” he said. “It’s about who performs better on the day. Obviously sitting here, I would love to say that I back us to do well, but you have got to be realistic. You have to go out on Sunday and do the same things well, keep staying positive about the way we play, sum up the conditions there and just perform. Centurion normally has a slightly better batting wicket than we have played on in the series so far. So we may need to adapt to that.”For one final day, before the cricketers from these two teams go spend time with their families and then go into their respective World Cup camps, they will put in one big effort to keep the level of competitiveness and quality up to the standards that have been maintained through the entire tour. For one final day, it will be about this tour, and not about the No. 1 ranking or the World Cup. And as Dhoni said, may the best team win.

Abhinav Mukund has no illusions about replacing Virender Sehwag’s brilliance, but is aware that India will expect him to imbibe the most crucial ingredient in their rise up the world rankings – the ability to rebound

Sharda Ugra at Trent Bridge27-Jul-2011As MS Dhoni and his not so merrie men made their way on to the field at Trent Bridge, all comments about India’s pathologically slow start to overseas tours was being given symbolic affirmation. The white wooden frame of the visitors’ dressing room was being painted to ensure that Nottingham’s beautiful, cumulus cloud of a cricket ground would actually be ready in time for Friday’s storm and fury.India must find a way to be ready too, and only the wettest of blankets will believe the series is already over. Just like ‘mental disintegration’ was part of the Australian template, the ability to absorb and respond to shock or setback is India’s. It has become a part of their DNA in the last decade, fundamental to their climb up the Test rankings and their particularly good performances in the last two tours of England.Nine years ago, India had lost the first Test at Lord’s and Sourav Ganguly, their unperturbed captain at the time, met Indians on the street who mournfully told him they were going to be returning home. “Why so soon? Stick on, we’re going to level the series.” A draw was eked out in the second Test at Trent Bridge, and victory arrived in Headingley. India batted first in bad-tempered weather, on a green wicket and piled up a big score to set up the win. In 2007, India were rescued by the rain at Lord’s but came to Nottingham and found both jelly beans and Zaheer Khan’s swing. The match and the series was eventually won.Status quo on Zaheer fitness front

According to the India team manager Anirudh Chaudhary, there has been “a considerable improvement” in Zaheer’s recovery from the hamstring injury he picked on the first afternoon at Lord’s. Zaheer was expected to bowl in the second innings, at least according to the update sent by Chaudhary on the second day, but was only spotted walking in and out of the gymnasium.
At Trent Bridge today, Zaheer did not join the rest of the squad at their complete nets but instead underwent a light training in the company of the team physio Ashish Kaushik. Initially both men walked around the ground, followed by a steady jog. Kaushik then put Zaheer through the paces while he timed him. Zaheer then did some stretching in the gymnasium.
After the Lord’s defeat, MS Dhoni had stated that he would not rush his premier fast bowler if he was not 100% fit. Chaudhary indicated that the chances of Zaheer returning for the second Test were positive. The lines continued to be blurred.

Lord’s 2011 is now lost, England are rampant and India are left with their totem Zaheer trying to race back into the contest. If the state of a team’s best players is ever meant to imply a squad’s comfort zone, India are well out of it. They must deal with a set of circumstances that may sound like the partnership of doom and gloom. They must find a way to transform it into the spark plugs that can turn their engine on.The last decade in England constantly offers them patterns. The success of the opening combination in 2007 was marked down as one of the central pillars of India’s first series win in England since 1986. It was not the result of India’s most settled opening pair – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Sehwag had been dropped from the team following a train-wreck of a 2007 World Cup and Gambhir was not yet a gleam in the selectors’ eyes. India opened with Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik, who averaged 53.67 per stand in 2007 and produced the first century opening stand for India in England since 1979. In 2002, it was opener-allrounder Sanjay Bangar’s survival with Rahul Dravid in Headingley that set up the first Test win in England in 16 years.So when rookie opener Abhinav Mukund turns up to bat in India’s first innings, it will not be surprising if he carries neither baggage nor reservations. His view from the inside could be construed as just the circulation of PR spin; it is more a pointer to how the Indians choose to handle what is on their plate. India will regroup after Lord’s, Abhinav said with complete composure, because of what it had taken them to become World No. 1. “We have conquered a lot of challenges on the way here,” he said. “A lot of the players are experienced enough and have played in these conditions. We have come here to take up the challenges and will definitely give it a good fight.”Abhinav Mukund and Gautam Gambhir can derive inspiration from the Trent Bridge air: here’s where Virender Sehwag struck his first Test century as an opener•Getty ImagesWhen Abhinav and his partner Gautam Gambhir set off in Nottingham’s most English of conditions, they would do well to think less of what the wicket holds than of what one man made of it. Sehwag’s absence for the first two Tests is seen as one of India’s biggest woes, but the two left-hand openers should keep in mind that this is where he scored his first Test century as a makeshift opener before going on to become a great of the modern game.Abhinav answered a question about being a replacement for Sehwag by speaking slowly and clearly. “First of all, if you are looking at me as one of the persons to replace someone like Sehwag … it’s going to be big boots to fill … I don’t want to replace Sehwag or play like he does, because it’s not possible. I just want to go out there and play like I know and if it comes off, it’s good for the team. Any team requires a start from their openers, I don’t think it’s anything new.”Zaheer’s possible absence from this Test as well would not, Abhinav said, mean a toothless bowling line-up. “It’s not that we have a depleted attack, but when you lose a fast bowler in the game, it’s a completely different scenario.” India’s quick bowling options on offer, he believed, were more than adequate, “Zaheer has been our strike bowler for a long time, but I think Ishant Sharma has being bowling really well too. He was Man of the Series in the West Indies, Praveen Kumar has taken five wickets and Sreesanth is waiting in the wings.”Sreesanth’s arrival on the field of play could immediately signal the advent of another tussle between his bowling skill and his love for performance art. However, if he and his more reasoned team-mates live up to their reputation for bouncing back, Nottingham could once again become the venue where the slow start gives way to series-turning momentum.Rahul Dravid, well-schooled in the art of the turnaround, was given a break from the nets this afternoon. The Indians finished their practice with Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh having a bat, their shots heading towards the painters on the scaffolding. One of the workmen called out to the other wondering whether they were ever going to get their job completed. The men going to occupy the balcony they were painting would have told them not to worry and that the ‘well begun is half done’ philosophy is over-rated. All that matters at the end is the finished product. Abhinav said, “Obviously we were all disappointed. We do not want to look back. We’ll take the positives and move on… It is a four-match series.”

After a drastic fall from their heyday between 1998 and 2001, Zimbabwe will look to draw inspiration from their record in Harare and performances against Bangladesh

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan03-Aug-2011Zimbabwe’s best is behind them
Zimbabwe, who last figured in a Test nearly six years back in September 2005, will be more than glad to get back to regular participation in Tests. However, the loss of several key players during their years in exile has significantly affected their chances of staying competitive. The drastic decline in form was clearly reflected in their last ten Tests before the ban as Zimbabwe lost seven times by an innings and once by ten wickets. Between December 2001 and 2005, they won just one and lost 21 matches including 13 by an innings. The results were in sharp contrast to their performances in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The period between October 1998 and November 2001 can perhaps be considered Zimbabwe’s golden period in Tests. They won six Tests in this period including two wins over India and a triumph against Pakistan in Peshawar.Following their impressive Test debut against India in 1992, ZImbabwe went into a form slump losing four of their next five Tests. However, they salvaged some pride by drawing the final Test in Pakistan and the three home Tests against Sri Lanka. Grant Flower’s double century and Heath Streak’s nine-wicket haul stunned Pakistan by an innings and 64 runs in Harare in January 1995. Zimbabwe, however, went on to lose the series 2-1. Between 1995 and September 1998, they did not manage any more wins but achieved some highly creditable draws including the Bulawayo Test against England in 1996 which ended with the scores level. Zimbabwe proved to be a strong side in home conditions as they registered consecutive Test wins over Pakistan and India in 1998. After three crushing defeats against Australia and South Africa, they squandered a wonderful opportunity to win a Test in the West Indies when they were bowled out for just 63 chasing a target of 99. Between April and June 2001, Zimbabwe won three out of four Tests including a four-wicket win over India at Harare to square the series 1-1. However, Zimbabwe’s successful run came to an end soon as the premature retirements of Andy Flower, Alistair Campbell and Henry Olonga left them with a highly-depleted squad.

Zimbabwe’s Test record

PeriodPlayedWonLostDrawW/L ratioOverall83849260.161992-1994100460.001995 – September 19982011180.09October 1998 – November 20012861390.46December 2001 onwards2512130.04Improvement followed by decline
Through their 15 years in Tests, Zimbabwe regularly proved to be a challenging opponent in home conditions. In their debut Test in Harare, Dave Houghton’s century set up a score of 456 and only Sanjay Manjrekar’s patient century helped India get away with a draw. Zimbabwe were not really up for away contests though and were exposed thoroughly on their first tours of India and Pakistan. The high average difference in the period between 1992-1994 clearly indicates ZImbabwe’s struggles on both the batting and bowling fronts in away Tests. In the subsequent period (1995 – September 1998), Zimbabwe were far more competitive at home than before. Their average difference of -0.11 is their lowest across all phases. Their away record showed no improvement in this period and batsmen failed to create any impact scoring only four centuries in ten away matches. In the period between October 1998 and November 2001, Zimbabwe won six Tests including two away from home. One of the biggest reasons the average difference dropped to -4.67 in away Tests was the fact that their batsmen scored 11 centuries in the period. Both the home and away performances fell way rapidly after 2001 and the poor average differences at home (-15.71) and away (-30.79) are significant reflectors of their woes in last few years before their exile. In the same period, apart from a solitary win over Bangladesh in 2004, Zimbabwe tasted no success and lost 12 of their 13 away Tests.

Batting and bowling stats for Zimbabwe in home and away Tests

PeriodVenuewin/loss/drawBatting averageBowling averageAverage difference100/505WI/10WM1992-1994home0/1/536.5339.08-2.554/101/01992-1994away0/3/123.1038.85-15.751/112/01995- September 1998home1/4/530.2330.34-0.1110/166/11995- September 1998away0/7/324.0742.18-18.114/242/0October 1998 – November 2001home4/8/427.8338.37-10.547/406/1October 1998 – November 2001away2/5/530.6235.29-4.6711/203/0December 2001 onwardshome1/9/224.4340.14-15.713/305/1December 2001 onwardsaway0/12/122.0652.85-30.792/284/0Overallhome6/22/1628.2236.67-8.4524/9618/3Overallaway2/27/1024.8342.56-17.7318/8311/0Andy Flower’s brilliant run
Andy Flower, who scored 12 centuries and 27 fifties in his career, finished with an average of 51.54 from 63 Tests. Among wicketkeepers who scored over 3000 runs, Flower had the best average of 53.70. He had an oustanding run of form between October 1998 and November 2001 which coincided with Zimbabwe’s most successful Test phase. Flower amassed 2530 runs with seven centuries at an average of 76.66 in this period. While his brother Grant Flower was not all that successful, Murray Goodwin and Guy Whittall were among the consistent performers for Zimbabwe during that period. Andy Flower did even better in away Tests averaging 88.61 in 12 Tests with four centuries. His run tally in away Tests was nearly 23% of Zimbabwe’s total aggregate in the period. He scored 540 runs in four innings at an average of 270 in India in 2000-01 confirming that he was Zimbabwe’s finest player of spin. Flower, who scored nearly 900 runs at an average of 97.66 in the 2000-01 season, made 142 and 199 in a nine-wicket defeat to South Africa in Harare in September 2001. His match aggregate of 341 runs in a Test defeat is second only to Brian Lara’s 351 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2001.

Zimbabwe’s top batsmen between October 1998 and November 2001

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverage100/50Andy Flower26253076.667/13Guy Whittall26112634.122/6Alistair Campbell26108124.022/5Grant Flower2694721.041/4Murray Goodwin1380836.722/3Taibu’s experience crucial
Following the retirements of several top players, Zimbabwe have found it extremely hard to compete with bat and ball. Tatenda Taibu has been their best batsman since December 2001. While Hamilton Masakadza and Brendon Taylor have performed fairly well in ODIs, it remains to be seen if they can extrend the consistency to Tests. A huge gulf in class exists between the likes of the Flower brothers and the batsmen in the present squad and the inexperienced players in Zimbabwe will do well to derive inspiration from their team’s excellent display in the 1998-2001 period.

Zimbabwe’s top batsmen since December 2001 (members of Test squad only)

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverage100/50Tatenda Taibu22124431.891/9Hamilton Masakadza1250421.000/2Brendon Taylor1042221.100/3Elton Chigumbura618715.580/1Zimbabwe’s spin-heavy attack
ZImbabwe fielded a pace-dominated bowling attack in their best years (1998-2001) with Streak and Henry Olonga being the most successful bowlers. Streak, Zimbabwe’s highest wicket-taker, picked up 73 wickets at an average of 26.92 between October 1998 and November 2001, but lost his form after 2001 and averaged nearly 36.26 in his last 19 Tests. In the period after 2001, Ray Price has been the most successful bowler with 53 wickets at an average of 31.11. Although the fast-bowling front wears a weak look, the presence of Craig Ervine and Prosper Utseya in the squad further strengthens the spin department.Zimbabwe, who go into the match as underdogs, can take heart from the fact that four of their eight Test wins have come against Bangladesh. They have also won five matches in Harare making it their most successful Test venue. Bangladesh, who have managed to win only two away Tests against a second-string West Indian team, have demonstrated significant improvement in recent years and the one-off Test provides the best chance for them to register their second away-series win.