All posts by h716a5.icu

An exciting new left-hander of Indian origin may just be the answer to South Africa’s opener crisis

Azad Essa18-Mar-2009Imraan Khan and Hashim Amla were the non-white blue-eyed boys of Durban High School, among South Africa’s premier cricketing institutions, from where the likes of Barry Richards, Richard Snell and Lance Klusener graduated. Together the two tormented bowlers from across the region and later the country.Imraan, a prolific, elegant left-hand batsman, appeared years ahead with his ability to spend hours at the crease, both caressing and bludgeoning his way to hundred after hundred each weekend. The little skinny lad was a quiet riot with bat in hand, and when he decided to turn his arm over one morning, bowling biting offspinners, with ball as well. He would often score a hundred and fetch up to five wickets per game.Immy, as he is affectionately known, is as elegantly murderous on the front foot today as he was as a young lad of 15; a sweet timer of the ball and prolific through the off side, drives and cuts are his weapons of choice. Like Amla, he is blessed with strong wrists that allow him to whip almost any delivery pitched up on the stumps through midwicket with impunity. His occasional tentativeness against short balls is offset by an ability to move inside the line and turn them gently round the corner. In many ways, Imraan’s leg-side prowess is the mirror image of Amla’s; only, his friends say, more stylish.Both boys waltzed through all levels of state cricket, breaking records and announcing themselves as the very future of South African cricket. So talented were these two, even transformation didn’t seem such a daunting prospect after all.Amla joined the KZN Dolphins by the time he completed high school, and thrived in the middle order there. He was soon appointed state captain and then given a fairytale entry into Test cricket in 2004, when he was selected as the first South African of Indian origin to represent the country in a Test match, against, aptly or ironically, India in the bullring of Eden Gardens.Where Amla’s run in first-class cricket was compelling, Imraan’s graduation from the elite youth teams to state level was anything but charming in comparison. As a youngster he had demonstrated immense powers of concentration to regularly bat for long periods of time, but at first-class level it seemed as if he had abandoned his formula and had geared up to merely dominate bowlers, striving for immediate success.Following Amla’s lead proved a little difficult. Since he made his first-class debut for the Dolphins in 2003-04 as an offspinner who could bat, Imraan’s success has been little more than a line of jagged stop-starts marked by unfulfilled promises.The lofted drive was almost always taken at mid-off, the buoyant push to the testing outswinger almost always went to second slip, and a few tight spells of bowling would invariably induce Imraan to self-destruct, wafting at a marginally wide one.While he tasted relative success in the four-day competition – averaging in the mid-thirties for most of the past five seasons – his enthusiasm to dominate often resulted in him looking out of his depth as a reliable opener. Worse still, his once much-lauded offspin, a plus for any South African cricketer, became an abandoned project.But it all changed in 2008.

Like Amla, Imraan is blessed with strong wrists that allow him to whip almost any delivery pitched up on the stumps through midwicket with impunity. His occasional tentativeness against short balls is offset by an ability to move inside the line and turn them gently round the corner

After being selected for the South African Emerging Players tour of Australia, where he top-scored, Imraan turned on the mettle.The 2008-09 first-class season has seen a more patient cricketer, more in touch with his ability and more willing to play within himself. Imraan is among the leading scorers this domestic season, with over 800 runs, an average of above 60, and a tally of five centuries for the season – just one short of the South African record, currently held by Barry Richards, Mike Procter and Peter Kirsten.Imraan says it was just a case of a few technical adjustments. “There is probably a lot more discipline in my game. I used to get a lot of starts and then throw it away, but I am trying really hard to not make those mistakes once I get in.”The Dolphins manager of playing affairs, Jay Naidoo, agrees that the new Imraan is a more mature, focused player: “I think he is older and understands his game better. At Supersport level he has done well previously, but he had this tendency of scoring of seventies and eighties and then getting out. This season it has been his ability to turn those numbers into three figures.”A batting average in the mid-thirties is a basic minimum for wicketkeepers today, not for openers. With South Africa in the midst of an opening-batsman crisis, Imraan knows that this surge in batting form couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. “There was no other opportunity, and it just so happens I’ve been scoring runs. Now is probably the right time,” he says.The Cape Cobras’ Andrew Puttick was an obvious alternative, with a far better career record, but Puttick’s form in the Supersport series this season has been patchy in comparison. The sheer weight of Imraan’s runs these last few months muscles him right to the top of the reckoning. The question remains: is one fantastic season reason enough to select a batsman?”The only thing a player can do is to make runs. And if the opportunities arise, like in this case, where the top order has been struggling, then if you take all the opening bats in the country, he has been in the top bracket,” argues Naidoo.What matters now is that this little Chanderpaul-like figure of a man, having made the runs and earned his call-up, can turn on the magic and grab hold of his destiny rather than seek to chase it. If he does, he stands a genuine chance of becoming Graeme Smith’s long-term partner.Imraan’s unorthodox opening style and yet elegant penchant to bludgeon the ball are exciting, fresh and worth a shot. Now it is up to him to decide how much he wants this chance.

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

Haydn Gill04-Jan-2009
Will more first-class games provide the much-needed boost to West Indies cricket? © The Nation
For the vast majority of the past 40 years, regional cricket has been blessed with a sponsor for the annual first-class competition. Yet, with the exception of two seasons, it was limited to an unsatisfactory handful of matches. Now that there is no sponsor, we have the reverse.The 2009 first-class competition, which bowls off on Friday, will feature “return” matches, will run for 14 successive weekends and will allow teams 12 matches in the season, the most in regional history.It is a welcome change. Every cricket expert – and there are thousands of them in the Caribbean – has long lamented that the short season is a major reason for the West Indies’ unacceptable performances at the international level.Yet those in charge hardly did anything to change it, with the expectation of the 1997 and 2005 seasons. For much of the past 15 years the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has been soundly criticised for its inefficiencies – with some justification in many cases.Today, however, we can salute the regional body for an initiative that is long overdue. The WICB could have simply used the excuse that with no sponsor on board, it could not afford at this time to undertake expenditure for a tournament that is likely to cost them more than US$2 million. Instead, the WICB will use its “own cricket development funds” to finance the tournament. Would it be logical to assume that some of the US$50 million profit from World Cup 2007 is being put to good use?Having also recently lost out on sponsorship of its limited-overs tournament and bearing in mind the current global economic crisis, the WICB will face a long-term challenge in ensuring its competitions are adequately funded. With the first-class season requiring 14 weekends to complete, the WICB has taken the unprecedented step of running the regional season alongside the international engagements, largely due to time constraints.The debate, however, still remains on the pros and cons of this move. The major benefit is that players outside the West Indies team will be kept active with a serious level of competition and would not be rusty if they were required for higher duties.The downside of it is that the regional competition could be put in the background. When Kensington Oval will be hosting the third Test between West Indies and England from February 26 to March 2, Barbados will be playing Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park.It is a distinct possibility the latter match will get little or no radio coverage and less than usual newspaper column inches. Could it be one of the reasons why a sponsor would not be attracted to the regional competition? After all, any sponsor wants maximum mileage from its investment and the current schedule would not have been beneficial to sponsors.Some observers often argue that the English county season doesn’t stop when England are playing Test matches at home, but it can be countered by saying that we in the Caribbean have a different culture. Traditionally, when international cricket is on in the West Indies, everything else takes a back seat.To have first-class cricket on at the same time is virtually reducing those matches to club games, although it must be pointed out that authorities have tried to diminish the effect by not scheduling regional matches in territories that will be hosting international matches at the time.While the WICB must be praised for going ahead with the extended season, it deserves some criticism for the late availability of fixtures. The itinerary for the 2009 competition was released on Wednesday, a mere ten days before the start of the season. For the recent regional limited-overs competition in Guyana, which started on November 13, the fixtures were made public on November 1.This has now become the norm and it often presents challenges to local associations in planning their domestic engagements. It also puts fans in the dark. In stark contrast, the England and Wales Cricket Board already has on its website itineraries for all of its 2009 competitions between April 9 and September 27.

Stats preview of the fifth and final Test between England and Australia at The Oval

Siddhartha Talya19-Aug-2009The venue for the first Test to be staged in England, in 1880, between the same two teams, will host the Ashes decider. There have been six previous occasions of these two teams coming in to a final Test at The Oval with the series tied, but this is the first such instance since 1953. On each of these occasions there’s been a decisive result, with England winning four of them and losing two.

Final-Test Ashes deciders at The Oval

YearWinnerSeries Result1896England2-11912England1-01926England1-01930Australia2-11934Australia2-11953England1-0England’s heavy defeat at Headingley means Australia only need a draw to retain the Ashes, and with almost 40% of Tests played at The Oval being drawn, England face a stiff task on what is likely to be a good batting pitch. Another discouraging fact for the hosts is that Surrey’s four home Division Two County Championship games this year at The Oval were all drawn.The teams, though, have contrasting records at the venue. England have largely been dominant; Australia have won six and lost 15. But three of the four Ashes Tests here since 1990 have been dead rubbers while the fourth, in 2005, was a draw which helped England regain the urn after 16 years.

England and Australia at The Oval

TeamTestsWonLostDrawnWin-loss RatioEngland (overall)913718362.05Australia (overall)34615130.40England (since 1990)199541.80Australia (since 1990)41210.50The Australian seamers made the most of favourable conditions at Headingley but are likely to face a more serious challenge at The Oval. The pitches at the venue, generally, have been the best for batting among the Test venues in England and teams, since 2000, have averaged more per wicket here – barring Cardiff which has hosted just one Test – than anywhere else in the country. Unlike Headingley, where many of England’s batsmen have below-par records, The Oval’s been highly productive.The highest batting average here among England’s current squad, though, belongs to Steve Harmison, who averages 119. Andrew Strauss would want to better his average of 37.55 but both Alastair Cook and Andrew Flintoff, who plays his last Test, average more than 50. Paul Collingwood’s done considerably better at The Oval, at 39.33, than he has at Headingley, though Ian Bell’s average is a disappointing 30.75. Mark Ramprakash’s name had been doing the rounds for a possible No.3 spot; he’s enjoyed a prolific county season where he’s averaged 100.75 in nine Championship games so far, but in Tests his returns at The Oval have been more modest – an average of 33 in seven matches. (Click here for England’s individual records at The Oval.)The relative ease with which batsmen have flourished at this ground is mirrored by the partnership stats for England: each of the first six wickets have averaged over 40 since 2000, with the opening stand topping the list with 59.12. There have also been 12 century-stands for the first five wickets for England in the same duration.

England batsmen at The Oval

BatsmanTestsRunsAverage100s/50sSteve Harmison5119119.000/0Alastair Cook333355.500/3Andrew Flintoff426753.400/3Paul Collingwood423639.330/2Andrew Strauss533837.551/2Ian Bell524630.750/3Only four Australians in the current squad have played a Test at The Oval. Ricky Ponting has scored just one half-century in four innings at the ground, averaging 39.25, while his deputy, Michael Clarke, made 25 in his only attempt here. Simon Katich made just 1 in the 2005 Test and Brett Lee, in the two games he’s played here, has bagged only two wickets at 127.50. (Click here for Australia’s individual records at The Oval.)Harmison leads the bowling honours at the ground too – he is the highest wicket-taker, with 22 in five Tests at an average of 26. In terms of averages, he is trumped by Stuart Broad, who took five wickets in his only Test at the venue at 20.80. Flintoff bagged 5 for 78 against Australia in 2005 while James Anderson has two four-fors. The track at The Oval takes more spin than other English grounds but Monty Panesar’s figures have been disappointing: he’s taken seven wickets here at 51.57.

England bowlers at The Oval

BowlerTestsWicketsAverageStrike-rateBest figuresStuart Broad1520.8036.45-104Steve Harmison52226.0047.46-46Paul Collingwood4327.0054.02-24James Anderson41831.7749.74-52Andrew Flintoff41133.1863.85-78Monty Panesar3751.5796.72-4Ryan Sidebottom1193.00192.01-93Like Panesar, spinners, for the most part, have had a tough time at The Oval despite the venue’s reputation. At grounds that have hosted more than five Tests in England since 2000, spinners have conceded more runs on average here, and at Headingley, than anywhere else. Shane Warne has taken three five-fors and two ten-wicket hauls in two Tests here, and his wickets make for more than a third of those taken by spinners since 2000. While Headingley redresses the balance by aiding seamers considerably, The Oval’s been the harshest – again, excluding Cardiff – on fast bowlers since 2000.

Pace and Spin at The Oval since 2000

Bowling typeOversWicketsAverage5w/10wPace2083.118736.834/0Spin836.16144.194/2In the last nine Tests at The Oval, the side winning the toss has batted on seven occasions, winning four of those games and drawing three. Teams are most productive in the first innings, where they average 45.17 per wicket, explaining the toss trends. The pitch has displayed a tendency to remain true throughout the match, and sides chasing have generally taken advantage, averaging 42.85 in the fourth innings. (Click here for the second and third innings stats.)

Everyone may have gotten used to Sri Lankan cricket without Vaas, but the bowler’s desire to play international cricket’s still bright

Sriram Veera20-Mar-2010Kumar Sangakkara must have seen it a thousand times yet when it came towards him on Friday it was of little help. Chaminda Vaas’ fingers cut across the ball at release, the ball swerved across, gripped the pitch and broke back in. Sangakkara pushed out like a novice, the bat was stabbed outside the line and the ball cut back in to take a fatal inside edge. Vaas’ slow offcutter had done it again.He last played an ODI in August 2008 and a Twenty20 game almost a year before that. And that lack of form showed in the last two editions of the IPL, when he was carted around the park. It was almost painful to watch him bowl. The pace had dropped considerably, the slower ones seemed more stock ball than variation, the swing was dying and he was repeatedly hit through the line and out of the attack. To the observer he rarely gave the impression he could get through his full spell of ten overs in any game. And when he was eventually axed from the national team – ironically, under Sangakkara’s captaincy – there weren’t many protests. Everyone, it seemed, had moved on and got used to Sri Lankan cricket without Vaas.Except Vaas himself, for whom the desire to play international cricket still burns bright. “I have retired from Test cricket [but] I am still available for Sri Lanka in ODIs and T20s. The World Cup is a big motivation,” he said last week. But he made actions speak louder than words during this IPL, actions that prompted the return of that shy smile, that familiar celebration with forefinger raised to the skies as he gently jogs towards the keeper.He didn’t take long to make his move: Off the first ball of the inaugural game, he got Manoj Tiwary flicking tamely to midwicket. It didn’t presage what was to come; it looked as if the batsman had contrived to get out to a harmless delivery. Two balls later, though, he made you sit up and watch. The ball curved away ever so late from Sourav Ganguly, who was lured into edging his square drive to slips. He did it again in the next game against Chennai Super Kings, picking up three wickets – Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina and M Vijay – with the new ball.The dismissals were indicative of the batsmen’s mindset – they seemed to be caught in Vaas’ repertoire, expecting length deliveries at gentle pace lacking venom and with minimum swing. And Vaas was canny enough to exploit the situation. Vijay charged out to heave but was done in by the inward movement, Raina went chasing a delivery well outside off stump and Hayden perished, unable to adjust his intended paddle-scoop to the lack of pace.Barring Sangakkara and Ganguly, nearly all his other victims have fallen to overconfidence, the bowler preying on their ego, lulling them into a false sense of security, allowing them to think he was there to be taken apart. Vaas is used to being treated that way. In his fag end of his successful career, when pace deserted him, he had thrived on the subtle changes in pace and movement. For quite some time now, the wicketkeeper would be standing up to the stumps for Vaas, as happened on Friday when Sangakkara was batting.With some bowlers, it could appear a sign of a weakness; with Vaas, you felt it was just an acceptance of reality. He even made it appear an accomplice in his plan to cramp and suffocate the batsmen. The length deliveries would either shape in or curve away on a probing line and dot balls would pile up to create pressure. The batsman would try to break free and would be either done in by a slower one or caught at short cover or short midwicket. However, as he lost even more pace and hence the bite from his swing, the batsmen started to whack him through the line.Things have changed this IPL, though it appears that Vaas is yet to re-learn how to bowl in the end overs. In the first game, when he came back at the death, he was even swept away and was taken off the attack. You will see Gilchrist try to make full use of Vaas with the new ball. What should be interesting is to see how he bowls once the batsmen start playing him with a little bit more respect for the new ball. He has already punished their eagerness to go after him; if they hold back and choose the deliveries to hit, can Vaas still strike as he has done in the last three games? Or will he slip away yet again to anonymity?

The stifling heat doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the local cricket lover and it won’t that of tourists either

Mike Coward17-Nov-2010Whether it was the extraordinary cricket, the spontaneity and warmth of the hospitality or simply the wondrous dosas, idlis and sambhars, my embrace of India intensified markedly when I reached Chennai ahead of the north-east monsoon in 1986.So much so that I have returned on many occasions and in 1989 lived south of the city, near the fishing village of Palavakkam, writing about the history and joys of Indo-Australian cricket. Kris Srikkanth would often toot and wave as he made his way to and from the city.As though to affirm my affection for and allegiance to the region, I am writing while wearing a watch designed to mark the 150th anniversary of the Madras Cricket Club in 1996, and gifted by dear friend and fellow scribe R Mohan.For many years now I have been firmly of the view that the thrilling rebirth of Australian cricket did not take place in England in 1989, as is generally thought, but in India in 1986 and 1987. There can be no doubt that at the direction of captain Allan Border and coach Bob Simpson, Australian cricket developed a new maturity, awareness and worldliness on these unforgettable visits. And the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, or Madras as the sprawling, welcoming city was then known, was the stage for two events that profoundly impacted on Australian cricket history.On September 22, 1986, the first Test of a three-match series produced just the second tie in 1052 Test matches since 1877, and Dean Jones was rightly feted for playing an innings for the ages. On October 9, 1987, Australia defeated reigning champions India by one run in their opening match of the 1987 World Cup, which so stirringly was played under a banner of “Cricket for Peace”. A month later at Eden Gardens, Australia defeated England to win the World Cup for the first time.These were heady, unforgettable moments for anyone associated with Australian cricket at the time.Chennai occupies a special place in the annals of Australian cricket and not simply because so many touring teams have been successful. (The first of only two defeats came in 1998, when Sachin Tendulkar ran amok.)Not all Australian legspinners have occupied a cultural backwater and professed a dependence on baked beans, and in 1979, Jim Higgs spotted an axiom painted on the wall of a fisherman’s foreshore tenement in Chennai. What’s more, he took a photograph of it for posterity: “To lose patience is to lose the battle”.The Chennai match was the first of six Tests in 1979-80 and while Kim Hughes’ tourists were defeated 2-0 by Sunil Gavaskar’s men, the dictum became a mantra for rest of the tour. And principally because of Border, who was vice-captain to Hughes, it has been well remembered and recalled. Subsequent teams, led by Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting, also unselfconsciously invoked the maxim, and it is indisputable that Australia’s record on the Indian subcontinent improved in this time.One fancies that Higgs spotted the tenement while taking the more scenic route to the ground along the Dr Radhakrishnan and South Beach roads, past the expansive Marina beach, where lovers stroll and children play on miniature merry-go-rounds and and bark for attention.Of course, he could have reached the ground down the broad Mount Road (Anna Salai), which boasts one of my favourite Indian road signs: “Please observe lane discipline.” And while traffic is certainly more ordered these days, one would hardly say it is disciplined or quieter – especially after stumps, when the shops and bazaars are doing a roaring trade.It is true that the Chidambaram Stadium offers a particular challenge to the visitor. The ground, a cement cauldron in the inner suburb of Chepauk, was built alongside the Buckingham Canal, once a watercourse for traders but now an open sewer after urban Chennai overflowed. If the breezes from the Bay of Bengal are strong enough to stir the ancient African baobab trees along the eastern side of the ground, where cowpats dry for fuel, rank smells can waft throughout the stadium. Together with enervating high humidity, this can be suffocating and nauseating, as Dean Jones, among many others, will attest.But at least to the spectator this is a mere bagatelle when one considers the joy of watching cricket with one of the most thoughtful and knowledgeable crowds in all of India at such a renowned venue. And if fortunate enough to receive an invitation to the Madras Cricket Club, one can reflect on the day’s play over a beer or fresh-lime soda sweet (no ice) beneath gently oscillating fans. Not even the constant squawking of the carrion crows will disturb the reverie.Head to Marina beach after the day’s cricket•Getty ImagesCertainly this scribe sought such sanctuary in 1986 and 1987, when newspaper reports were hammered out on noisy typewriters in an open press enclosure. Then, at the command of “Copy”, the words were conveyed by runners to telex operators working in a wire cage in the bowels of the stadium, adjacent to the players’ dressing rooms.Often the copy, typed on new-fangled thermal paper, was stained with sweat that had poured from the brow, as unhelpful Australian deadlines were gallantly met in such oppressive heat. These days there is a swish new air-conditioned press box, but more often than not you will hear the older scribes talk about their commitment when the going was hardest all those summers ago.What joy it will be to return to Chidambaram Stadium and after a memorable day’s play hail an auto-rickshaw for a leisurely journey along the foreshore at Marina beach, perhaps stopping for a dosa or an ice-cream as dusk falls over a still Bay of Bengal.

The silence which has followed the removal of Don Lockerbie as USACA’s chief executive does not bode well for the game in the USA

Martin Williamson29-Nov-2010It has been over a week since Don Lockerbie was ousted as chief executive of the USA Cricket Association and still there has been no official explanation of why he was dismissed and what the process will be to replace him. The board to a man has shut up shop and declined to offer any insight to what happened.What has emerged is that Lockerbie appears to have been dismissed ahead of the board meeting in Florida last weekend, so it has the hallmarks of a coup organised by Gladstone Dainty, the man who presided over USACA’s slide into the complete dysfunctionality which led to it being twice suspended by the ICC. He seems to have resumed control; the wall of silence certainly is a hallmark of the way he operates.Lockerbie appears to have paid the price for his ambitious plans for US cricket failing to materialise. Speaking to him in July 2009, three months after he took office, there was a feeling that he believed he could make things happen tempered with a suspicion he had bitten off far more than he could chew. Promises of an IPL-style tournament in the USA in 2010 and a fully professional national team by 2012 were not supported by a sound financial model.He came to the USA with the advantage of being well connected within the ICC but the disadvantage of having been in charge of stadiums at the 2007 World Cup. And while happy to talk at length to the media when things were going well, as soon as the going got tough he clammed up, too often failing to return calls or answer the tougher questions.The turning point was the triangular Twenty20 tournament he organised in Florida in May. The idea was sound but it had to feature India, Pakistan or West Indies to succeed. Instead, he brought in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, two sides with limited box office appeal and small numbers of local expats. Excuses given for cancelled games bordered on the daft, attendances were small, and almost everyone seems to have been left out of pocket. Nobody has been willing to discuss the finances of the event, but sources close to the tournament indicate USACA sustained huge losses.Since then spending has continued despite increasing questions of how it was all being financed. He appeared to spend a lot of time courting relationships on the subcontinent without any of them producing tangible returns. Eventually it appears Lockerbie ran out of support and possible USACA of cash.The burning question now is what direction USACA will take. Dainty has far too much baggage to take charge again in anything other than a caretaker role, although don’t expect that to stop him trying.Internationally, Lockerbie has wasted up a lot of goodwill. Until a credible replacement is in place, nobody is likely to want to get involved.The ICC, meanwhile, which bent over backwards to help US cricket under Lockerbie, seems to have been as wrongfooted by his removal as anyone, and is just as in the dark. It is unlikely it will want to keep backing any board led by Dainty and is likely to sit back and wait to see what happens.So for now, US cricket is back in limbo. The worrying thing is with a board unaccountable to anyone, even its own stakeholders, that situation could rumble on for years.

On a day when Canada made their highest score against a Test-playing nation, Ashish Bagai will disappointed at the rubbish fielding on display

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai13-Mar-2011Ashish Bagai showed grit, determination, patience and character trying to add respect to Canada’s pursuit of a massive target. Unfortunately cramps and a mounting asking rate took their toll on Canada’s captain. It was sad that Bagai missed out on a becoming the first centurion for Canada in this World Cup on a day they made their highest score against a Test-playing country. It was a sore miss. But looking at the broader picture, Bagai will be more disappointed at the rubbish fielding on display when New Zealand’s batsmen built their domination. All those qualities Bagai brought to his batting, Canada’s fielders neglected. It only cast them in poor light.The frustrating part was the errors were mostly to do with the basics of fielding: positioning, lining up, being pro-active, backing up to throws, holding catches with soft hands, improvising… the list of things Canada’s fielders failed in doing was longer than the longest boundary at the Wankhede. Take for example Henry Osinde, who was standing at short fine-leg when Brendon McCullum, on 71, swept Balaji Rao and tried going for a single. Osinde, a tall man no doubt, failed to cleanly collect the ball initially because he had failed to take a start. Then when McCullum was casual in returning to the crease, the Canadian failed to throw back the ball or worse go for a direct hit. Fielding coaches like Mike Young have always drilled this into a fielder: when the doubt exists whether or not to throw at the stumps, do so. It only builds an aggressive mindset.It was just not the ground fielding. Even straightforward catches like Zubin Sarkari, failing to latch on to a low catch from Jesse Ryder, John Davison shelling a return catch from Kane Williamson when the batsman was on 1 only dented the confidence of the bowlers. Williamson survived another chance when Harvir Baidwan managed to let one slither through his hands and between his feet. The New Zealander, playing his first match, finished unbeaten on 34. But the worst mistake came when Rizwan Cheema, standing at long-on, failed to improvise trying to hold on to the big hit from Ross Taylor. It was a difficult chance as Cheema, standing on the edges of boundary, had to intercept the ball’s flight while making sure he did not touch the rope or cross over. Teams now have customised training sessions for such catches and make sure fielders understand the right methods to carry out such catches in order to avoid any mishaps during a match.Ashish Bagai gave his all before cramp got the better of him. Pity his fielders can’t say the same thing•AFPOf all the three departments of cricket, fielding is one area where every team stands at par – there is absolutely no distinction in the quality between Test-playing countries and the Associates. Fielding is a discipline that can only be sharpened by working hard on it, by finding ways to exert pressure, by training specialist fielders for specific positions. You don’t need experience or exposure. What you need is a presence of mind, more than a little bit of agility, reflexes and to remain pro-active. The best fielders don’t react, they just put themselves in a spot where they can make a difference.Bagai was honest about admitting that Canada were terrible in the field. “It was very, very frustrating to me. I will be very honest. It was probably the worst effort we had in a very long time in the field,” Bagai said after the 100-run defeat. “The catches and the ground fielding were awful. That put us back and put is in a hole chasing 350. We did not put any pressure on them by letting couple of guys having singles and twos in the outfield. It was a collective poor fielding effort by the team.”Automatically if the fielders are alert sometimes even a bad ball can be offset. The biggest advantage is it puts pressure on the batsman, who is then forced to change his gameplans. Otherwise, as Canada found out today, batsmen can even sleepwalk and get away with the crime.

If he didn’t have a pretty good idea already, Alastair Cook now knows how quickly the emotions of an England one-day captain can shift

Andrew McGlashan at Headingley01-Jul-2011If he didn’t have a pretty good idea already, Alastair Cook now knows how quickly the emotions of an England one-day captain can shift in the matter of a few days. From a performance where everything went right at The Oval he was left pondering an insipid display at Headingley where, except for a couple of short spells, England weren’t at the races.They still had a chance at the mid-point of the match, especially as last year they chased 295 to beat Pakistan, but no one could anchor the innings. In that game last summer Andrew Strauss scored a superb hundred and it appeared Cook could do the same, but his innings ended limply went he lofted to deep cover for 48.”I think it was gettable but one of us needed to play a special innings,” he said. “I think they got a few too many and the last 10 overs went for 100. We didn’t get our skills right at the end. All of our top six got in but no one did a Mahela Jayawardene to get us close.”However, while admitting no one went on to make the telling contribution – Eoin Morgan’s electric 52 off 40 balls was the top score – Cook defended the approach of England’s top order. Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen were both caught on the boundary while Morgan was stumped off Suraj Randiv, but Cook said it’s part of the risk-and-reward strategy of the format”It’s part of one-day cricket, you have to take those risks to keep the scoreboard ticking and when you don’t execute it well it looks a poor shot. I thought a lot of our shots were the right choice, we just didn’t play them well enough.”Two matches into Cook’s full-time reign is far too early to be drawing any conclusions – this was his first defeat in five matches as ODI captain – but the start of this series has been another example of the lack of consistency that has so often been the major issue with England’s 50-over cricket. For every 110-run win there is a 69-run defeat just around the corner. Even when they win one-day series – as they did three times last summer against Australia, Bangladesh and Pakistan – it is not without a mid-series wobble (Bangladesh and Pakistan) or a late fade with the job done (Australia). It is why their ranking has stayed mid-table for so long.England’s performance in the field highlighted how their standards had slipped just three days on from their victory in London. Graeme Swann’s costly miss at slip to give Mahela Jaywardene a life on 7 was called “an 80-20″ chance by Cook, but England train hard to take those types of catches, while Swann spilled another at short fine-leg off the struggling Stuart Broad.”It was a very tough chance and you aren’t blaming them,” Cook said. “It wasn’t a game-turner but in our fielding we aim to take those chances and we work hard in practice. I’m not blaming Swanny for that one.”The other problem for Cook was a lack of control with the ball in an attack heavily based around four pacemen. Three of them went at seven or more per over which undid any pressure built up by probing spells from James Anderson and Graeme Swann. Broad’s problems continued with a wicketless 10 overs for 70, leaving him with no scalps since the Test series and just eight for the summer, while Tim Bresnan didn’t enjoy his home ground return.Jade Dernbach was the other bowler to have a rough day with his nine overs costing 63. That is no issue for a player in just his second game but he did get involved in a slightly hot-headed confrontation with Jayawardene in the 38th over which required words from umpire Billy Bowden. Jayawardene’s suggestion appeared to be that Dernbach altered his path to impede the batsman although Cook was quick to defend his fast bowler’s attitude.”I enjoyed it, I think that’s the passion you need to play cricket with,” Cook said. “You’ve got to have that passion and pride to play for England and it’s important not to take a backward step.”Tillakaratne Dilshan also insisted he had no issues with the exchange – “it happens on the cricket field,” he said – but perhaps what Cook should have done is told Dernbach to have a look at the scoreboard. Jayawardene was on 116 when the two exchanged views. It was a moment that summed up a poor day for England.

Greg Dyer, the players’ association president, on the sort of changes needed in the board – at the state and national level

Interview by Daniel Brettig04-Dec-2011What are the major problems inherent in CA’s current structure?
The problems are really two-fold. One is the qualifications of the individuals on the board, the skill set – and that is not to denigrate any one of them. There are some very high-quality people on that CA board, but they’re not pre-qualified, there’s no skills list and set that they’re asked to live up to. So they’re not necessarily well-qualified to be running a modern corporate structure, which is basically a marketing company in many respects.The second problem is the lack of independence. Cricket Australia has a very substantial job to do, but it has come out of this historical anomaly, where effectively CA was tasked with running the international aspects of the game on behalf of the states. You could understand why that was set up as a model, where the states had representation, and the board was effectively an accumulation of the states, and CA simply did the states’ work. Now CA is running the game, basically, domestically as well as internationally, and taking a huge hand in the way in which the strategy of Australian cricket works. So you’ve got constant conflict between what CA wants to achieve versus what the states need to get out of it. There’s an inherent conflict of interest, which I’m sure they manage in the best way they can, but it inevitably means there is no singular purpose about CA – it is a set of compromises from the states’ agenda.Dyer’s proposed model for CA

Company form
CA becomes an incorporated association in structure with a membership of constituent organisations.
It has a number of agreed objectives which cover the full extent of its activities and enable it to manage the business of Australian cricket.
The constitution should define the general powers of the association and the separately defined (subset) powers of the board of directors.
Membership structure
State Associations have senior membership status; ditto the Australian Cricketers’ Association.
ACT and NT, umpires etc have associate membership status.
Senior members have two delegates each to an AGM, associate members have one delegate.
Voting
Voting rights for each member could be pro rata, based on the number of affiliated local or other constituent associations each member has, or in line with some other indicator, such as registered player numbers. Alternatively, a simpler model would allocate 10 votes for senior members, five for associates, or similar.
The members appoint a president by vote at the AGM (three-year terms). They may also want to appoint a patron (a significant public person) for a longer term, if required. The role of patron is entirely ceremonial.
Meetings
AGMs would be held to consider accounts, elect officers (board and president), and consider any other business as appropriate and within CA’s general powers.
A minimum number of, say, 30 votes could requisition a general meeting at another time to consider and vote on any matter within the association’s powers, but not overriding the board’s defined powers.
Board
Could have up to nine members. For example, with three directors up for election each year on a three year rotation.
Board chairman would be elected each year, after the AGM, by the nine directors.
Director candidate nominations can be provided by any member association, but nominees should be subject to the scrutiny of a selection panel before being eligible for election.
Selection panel for the board
Could be three: one Australian Institute of Directors representative, one outgoing existing board member, and the president.
Panel is required to adhere to particular agreed selection criteria, and to ensure that the board has an appropriate spread of knowledge and background, given the specific powers it must exercise under the constitution.
Candidates reviewed for skills, background and fit with the ongoing six board members to ensure that an appropriately rounded board will be elected.
If there are more than three qualified and approved candidates, an election is then conducted at the AGM, with voting recorded from all member associations.
Powers
The board’s powers are defined by the constitution, but include all the usual powers, such as the appointment and remuneration of the CEO and the delegation of authorities to the executive.
Development, approval and execution of a strategic plan covering short and long term goals.
Agreeing on the CEO’s key performance indicators (in line with the strategic plan) and then their regular review.
Approval of annual budgets and monitoring of results.
Doing all things necessary to ensure that CA is properly organised, staffed and run so as to successfully implement the strategic plan.
Strategic plan
The draft updated strategic plan must be provided to all members annually for comment and input prior to its re-adoption by the board. Ultimately, however, the plan is the board’s responsibility.
The document should address all the main areas of CA’s objectives (as defined by the constitution).
Board meetings would then receive reports from the executive to cover the areas of its delegated authority and the achievement of the strategic plan’s goals and objectives.

Should the new structure be broader-based, in terms of the skills of directors – chosen for their ability to chart the path of the company rather than to protect the interests of their home state?
In the corporate world we seek to put together groups of people who have broad skills that run right across the gamut of the company’s operation. So you have the HR specialists, the legal guys, the marketing guys – people with the industry skill set and knowledge. You’ll have people who’ve played the game, because that is important too, but it is in a broad base of skills which matches what the organisation needs to achieve. So you’ve got this well-rounded group of individuals who are put together for the task at hand… that is basically my premise. We need to put together a group of people who have the right skills to do the job that is required, rather than a group representative of state associations, who have to do the bidding on behalf of their state to make sure they get their share.The state associations will pick their delegates, logically, if they have any common sense at all in the current system, to best represent their own interests on the national board. That’s their job, so that almost means they’re by definition the wrong person. You can’t blame the state associations, because they are entirely beholden to CA these days for their financial and developmental areas, and their result at the end of the year is basically dependent on CA largesse. There are inherent conflicts between what is good for CA and what is good for state A or state B.The handing down of the governance review is imminent. Do you expect the states to recognise the need for change, or will there be a drawn-out struggle to relieve them of their current power?
I really hope not. I hope the report from Colin Carter and David Crawford gets made completely public. I hope it gets laid on the table for everybody to read. I’m not sure they’ll come up with a model which looks exactly like mine, but I suspect it won’t look terribly different because that is the only logical way you can set an organisation up for success.Having put it on the table, then they have to talk about it, decide at CA level which recommendations they’re going to go forward with, and then it has to go back in to the states for a decision, because at the moment they’re the stakeholders, the guys who hold the power. It is such an amazing opportunity, and if they miss it, it’ll put cricket back another five years.Urgency about this issue seems to be evident at CA, but how confident are you that the view is shared widely enough for change to take place?
I haven’t spoken to all the participants, but I have spoken to some and they do recognise the need for change. All power to CA for bringing this on. James Sutherland is to be applauded for having the guts to do something like this, because it is pretty far-reaching. But I think the executive at CA are probably just as frustrated by the situation as anybody else. I think they don’t get the direction that they need. They’re constantly looking to play the politics of compromise between the states and CA’s objectives, and the model I’m talking about – and hopefully that is recommended – can give them much better clarity around their purpose and their objectives over the next five years or more. The executive, leaving aside the board and the state boards, is probably sitting there hoping they achieve some real change.Where do the players and their rights sit in this debate?
Historically there has been a sort of us-and-them mentality. Cricket administrators have known what’s best, if you like. But today the players are the administrators’ best asset, so they need to be working with them. They need to be trying to improve the quality and the value of those assets, and you only do that by working with them, rather than feeling like it is an us-versus-them kind of mentality. The whole structure needs to change in order to improve that relationship with the players.Change at board level would continue an important year of regeneration and even revolution around the national team.
There’s a mood for change, but in some respects it is back to the future – they’re doing some basic things again that they’d forgotten about, and it is great. A bloke like John Inverarity is old guard, old-school, almost by definition, and I think it is a really good thing they’re returning to some of those values and putting teams of people together who are likely to succeed.The ICC is also undergoing a governance review. Do you think that change in Australia could be a catalyst for similar movement on a global level?
I’m not sure that of itself change in Australia will produce change at the international level, but one thing is for sure, if we fail to take this opportunity in Australia, it is much less likely we’ll achieve change at the international level down the track. One of the objectives of CA should be to try to achieve change at the ICC level, but that won’t be achieved overnight. They’re going to have to work the politics and be a little less naïve in the way they do do that, than they’ve been in the past.

India still stand a chance of qualifying for the final but it’s not something MS Dhoni and his team were aware of before being told so at a press conference

Sidharth Monga27-Feb-2012India have a head coach, a fielding coach, a bowling coach, and other support staff that includes an analyst, a trainer, a physio, and a masseur. Then there are 17 cricketers. Between them not one had bothered to check the playing conditions and inform the captain that India were still alive in the tournament – only just, but alive. After their third straight defeat in the triangular series – and third while conceding a bonus point to Australia – India’s captain MS Dhoni said his side couldn’t make it to the finals now because the margin of their losses was too big to make up for in the net-run-rate column.This is not to jump at Dhoni’s throat, but a side desperate to make the finals would know every last backdoor entry and try to break it open. This is clearly a side looking forward to going home. At least that way they can catch a break of three to four days before being packed off for the Asia Cup and the IPL. Dhoni himself – perhaps the man who physically endures the most in this side – had the runs during yesterday’s game, and after it he hobbled out of the press conference.To add to it there is Irfan Pathan, who might or might not experience trouble from his collision with Suresh Raina in the field. Zaheer Khan is already out with a calf injury, R Vinay Kumar has done his hamstring. The batting has been so abysmal the captain himself conceded the bowlers will have to keep sides down to 200 if they were to win in this current form.Nobody likes losing, yet you can imagine the relief India must be feeling at the idea of home, away from the bouncing and seaming ball, away from the scrutiny, away from fans who line up at every training session expecting a better show, away from the pressure of that expectation even if for less than a week, away from the barracking, away from the losses, away from the same faces for close to three months, away from the media.And then Dhoni is told his side is not out yet. That if they beat Sri Lanka by a bonus point, and Australia then beat Sri Lanka, India will play the final week of the Australian summer. Oh, the torture. Coming to terms with failure is hard enough, realising you have done it too soon is worse. Dhoni was expectedly sheepish, but then he smiled. He said it was good to know this was the case. In a second he was crushed too, possibly thinking of how hard it will be to attain a bonus point when he is struggling to find four fit bowlers.”I am quite happy to hear that,” Dhoni said of the playing conditions. “Gives us another chance.”A moment later he said, “That would be saying I am very optimistic, seeing that we have not consistently done well with the bat, which means whatever the opposition scores we will have to score in 40 overs, which will be a very difficult task, but I am happy that at least there is a chance subject to some other game, but I would love to take it.”So it is down to one more evening now. An evening in the beautiful Hobart. The players can look at it as one last evening before riddance. Or they can look at it as one last evening where they can let themselves go, where they give it their all and hope for another week in Australia to show the country they are a better team than the one that turned up earlier. Arguably, though, to get themselves up for this last league game would have been much easier if they knew this was it, and there would be a break after the Australia tour. Here, on the other hand, if India make it to the final, they ensure they fly straight to Bangladesh.They will also be looking back with regret at the Adelaide game against Sri Lanka, which they had almost wrapped up but could only just tie because of some nervous, reckless batting. Had they won it, they would have only needed to win the upcoming game and wait for the other result as opposed to winning this with a bonus point and then sitting back to await the outcome of Australia v Sri Lanka.Some of the players will get one final chance to show why they should not be dropped from the squad that will be picked a day after the game. Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag and Ravindra Jadeja find themselves on thin ice.The bottom line won’t change, though. The much-acclaimed batting line-up, more a behemoth on this tour, will have to either put on a total their bowlers can defend 80% of or chase in 40 overs whatever the bowlers have allowed. This is being asked of a group that has been bowled out in four of the seven games, thrice for less than 200.India look every bit an ordinary side right now. It will take some extraordinariness to stay alive for three more days. It will be breathtaking if they manage to do it. A year or so ago, you wouldn’t write India off because they had that intangible fight in them; now not many will be holding their breath.