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June 30, 2008
Posted on 06/30/2008 in English cricket
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Kevin Pietersen advises Stuart Broad during his first match as England captain
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Derek Pringle, in the Telegraph, says Kevin Pietersen's losing start as England's ODI captain may be good for him in the long-term.
Kevin Pietersen will probably not agree, but both he and England cricket could benefit from losing his first game as England captain. Players possessed of great natural gifts need to be reminded occasionally that the world does not always march to their beat, and losing to New Zealand on Saturday should prove a powerful mnemonic.
One game is not enough to judge a man's leadership qualities, but there were revealing moments to his captaincy at Lord's. Like Michael Vaughan, whom he described beforehand as an "absolute legend", Pietersen cuts a commanding figure in the field. This is partly due to his height (he is 6ft 4in), but there was also a briskness and authority to his decisions and field settings you simply don't notice with Paul Collingwood.
However, the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell is impressed with Pietersen's captaincy.
Cynics might have imagined that England's stand-in captain, Kevin Pietersen, who struggles to convince people he really is a team man, would be a dodgy conciliator. As it happens, there were no incidents to test his mettle the way Paul Collingwood had his equilibrium disturbed at the Oval. The job seemed to fit him like a glove. He was less showy than normal, thoroughly engaged and marshalled his side with military correctness from mid-off. He made some thoughtful field changes and hurried his men to their places between overs (his careless push to gully for six after 23 balls wasn't so clever).
Posted on 06/30/2008 in
It's something of a shock to the system to be pulling the whites on this week and playing a game that lasts for four days rather than three hours, writes Matthew Hoggard, who describes his Twenty20 Cup experience in the Times.
There was one real disappointment for me during the Twenty20 Cup, when a proud record of mine was wiped from the books. Until Graham Napier went berserk with the bat for Essex against Sussex last week, I had the distinction of holding the record for the most expensive analysis in the competition ... Now that we're back in the County Championship, Durham have turned up at Headingley with Paul Collingwood in their side. It was nice to see him again, but I did have to inquire as to whether he should really be playing while he's been banned from appearing for England. And when he bats, I'm wondering whether to shoulder barge him to the ground when he goes for a quick single, then ask him whether we should run him out or not. I'm sure Colly will see the funny side.
Posted on 06/30/2008 in ICC
What is the point of the ICC? The question will be answered this week when its annual conference takes place in Dubai, writes Mike Atherton in the Times.
Despite the pressure from England and South Africa, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to indicate that it favours action against Zimbabwe, and because a two-thirds majority is needed for any such action, it is inconceivable that anything could happen without its say-so. The BCCI said over the weekend that only a directive from the Indian Government would force the issue ... Zimbabwe will grab the headlines, but an equally important matter is how cricket moves forward after the Twenty20 revolution.
Posted on 06/30/2008 in Indian Cricket
India has been mourning the death of Field Marshall Manekshaw, the hero of the 1971 Bangladesh war. Writing in Mid-Day, Yajurvindra Singh, the former Indian batsman, remembers the day when members of the national side met him.
Bhagwat Chandrasekhar was one member of our team the Field Marshal was very keen to meet. He wanted to shake his hand to recognize his big-hearted feats for India. His hawk-like eyes instantly focused on Chandra and a quick march had him at hand-shaking distance.
At the heart of our game lies the contest between bat and ball and when that is imperiled, the game is imperiled, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express with regard to the Kevin Pietersen switch-hitting controversy.
June 29, 2008
Posted on 06/29/2008 in South African cricket
South Africa’s Neil McKenzie has ended his bizarre pre-game rituals and is ready to take on England, finds out Simon Wilde in the Sunday Times. Wilde questions McKenzie about his oddities, which range from taping bats to the ceiling to decreeing toilet seats be closed before he left the dressing room, and finds out that McKenzie is cured. There's also his views on South Africa's tour of England, which McKenzie feels "is going to be hard work".
In the Observer, Vic Marks says that for England's batsmen, the honeymoon is over. Because Dale Steyn and South Africa are in town. Marks traces Steyn's rise to stardom and finds a tearaway fast bowler just wanting to run in and bowl.
Steyn also chats to Stephen Brenkley in the Independent on Sunday.
Posted on 06/29/2008 in Commentary
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The Elliott-Sidebottom collision at The Oval
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With millions on offer, winning at all costs has become de rigour. Richard Boock, in the Sunday Star Times illustrates that point with the controversial run-out of Grant Elliott at The Oval, an incident where New Zealand were entitled to be furious. And we should prepare ourselves to witness more such ugly scenes.
Collingwood might have apologised for his antics in London last week but the mere fact he didn't immediately appreciate the correct course of action speaks volumes. Clearly, in his book, the end justifies the means. There is no such thing as honour, much less dignity.
The more money being ladled into the game, the less principled the contestants appear to become. The old saying about some people knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing has never seemed so accurate.
Posted on 06/29/2008 in English cricket
After Graham Napier's record-battering 152 not out for Essex against Sussex in a Twenty20 match, it's easy to forget his struggles at the start of the season, when he struggled to find a place in the championship side and had to try out for the second XI. James Root of the Observer caught up with Napier, who by now should have already caught the eye of the IPL scouts.
'I'm going to make sure that I'm on top of my game because it certainly was a low for me and I thought, "Right, what am I going to do? I need a plan here to get back in the side or to have something to fall back on if cricket doesn't go too well this summer." I had a few ideas, photography is one area that I would like to get into - I even sat down with some of the photographers at the ground to gain a bit of experience.
In the Sunday Times, David Walsh catches up with Darren Gough before his last county season. Gough talks about the dizzying heights of Strictly Come Dancing, the current England team, Twenty20 and his captaincy stint with Yorkshire, gushing with the pride of being a 'people's person.'
Difficulties in their personal lives, off-the-field problems and they have always said that at Yorkshire, there was nobody to talk to and they kept things bottled up. The last person they had here wouldn’t have listened. I listen, I let people go back to their country for a break, I let people stay at home with their family when they’ve been having problems and I let them know I’m there for them, through thick and thin. And I know they’re desperate to do well for me and that’s the only difference I’ve made. But the lads here knew what I was like, they wanted me to come, many of them rang, Anthony McGrath said, ‘If you come back, I stay; if you don’t, I’m leaving’.
Posted on 06/29/2008 in South African cricket
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Graeme Smith today is a mighty impressive man
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Steve James charts Graeme Smith's progress as South African captain since his last tour of England five years ago. He writes in the Telegraph:
On the occasion of his debut he had already irked the Australians by revealing the truth behind their tactics of so-called 'mental disintegration' - all manner of abuse, he said. But now Smith chose to indulge in some of it himself. By the time England visited South Africa in 2004/05 his puerility was becoming tiresome ... Not exactly Mr Popular then. But, talking to Smith at Taunton last Friday, none of this washed. To meet him for the first time was to meet a mightily impressive man. "I was quite impulsive before because a lot of people were challenging me, questioning whether I was good enough to do the job. Opposition teams were feeling I was a weakness and taking me on. You keep feeling you have to prove yourself or show you're strong. And you can get too strong and say the wrong thing. I'm much quieter in many ways now. I'm really enjoying the captaincy and enjoying being who I am."
Posted on 06/29/2008 in Indian Cricket
For 20 years, the MRF Pace Academy has been shaping uncut stones into fast bowling gems. But the future looks uncertain after the BCCI cut off all links with the home of fast bowling in India. The Indian Express' Sandeep Dwivedi travels to Chennai to find out how they’re dealing with the snub.
With or without the stars, it’s business as usual at the MRF Pace Foundation. There is certainly a feeling of hurt about the BCCI snub, but S Senthilnathan, who took over from Sekar, puts fears about the institution losing its relevance to rest. “This institution came into existence 20 years back with the intention of producing fast bowlers. And it will continue to do so. If we can train players who will make it to the Indian team, that’s all we want. That’s our only aim,” he says. It’s quite clear that his posture isn’t aggressive as he repeatedly refers to the BCCI as the parent body. “In case they want us to help them in the future, we will welcome the move with open arms,” says Senthil, with a grin this time.
June 28, 2008
Posted on 06/28/2008 in Zimbabwe cricket
In his Sunday Times column, David Gower has a clear message for the ICC and the Indian board.
[The ICC] is an organisation with a reputation for dodging the big issues, of preferring to rule by consensus and has done its best over the years to avoid confrontation.
India has been a supporter of Zimbabwe for years and has in return been assured at all times of Zimbabwe’s vote whenever needed. But surely this is no time to allow a blinkered view of world affairs to affect their judgment. It is one thing to claim politics and sport should not mix but the BCCI are past masters in the politics of sport and are world leaders when it comes to the business of sport. Their coffers are fuller than all others and if they wish to be a major power, they should assume the greater, wider responsibilities that come with that power.
It would be a scandal if that part of the world were to put its own interests first. India has the perfect opportunity to show it does care about more than just the money.
Posted on 06/28/2008 in Zimbabwe cricket
Commenting on the move to revoke Zimbabwe's Full Member status, Anand Vasu in the Hindustan Times asks why should the BCCI take a stand when other boards have followed government directives? He highlights two problems in case the Indian board and the ICC indeed do the right thing and strip Zimbabwe of its status.
Firstly, if the ICC was to go after Zimbabwe cricket for its political problems, then what will happen of their plans to take cricket to China and USA, one country with a woeful human rights record at home and another which holds hundreds indefinitely without any rights whatsoever at an off-shore detention centre?
Secondly, Morgan’s taking the moral high ground is a touch disingenuous, for the ECB has made its move only after receiving a letter from their Culture, Media and Sport secretary, thereby safeguarding them from the $2 million fine that the ICC could have levied had they unilaterally snapped ties with Zimbabwe.
Posted on 06/28/2008 in Australian cricket
Alex Brown of the Sydney Morning Herald catches up with the Hussey brothers, Michael and David, and reveals that they were competitive even as children.
The Husseys make no attempt to sugar-coat the situation. As children, adolescents and even young adults, the brothers didn't care much for each other. Acerbity and antagonism marked their relationship. The Bradys, they weren't.
"I just felt as a kid everything was competitive - in the backyard, playing cards , playing dice, whatever," Michael said. "I'd generally lose my temper, because he'd try to bend the rules a bit, and I'd try to drive him into the dirt. We weren't friends, definitely not. I just saw him as the enemy and had to win. And he was much the same coming from the other way."
Michael does not use the term "enemy" flippantly. The older and more naturally gifted of the brothers, Michael viewed David not so much a brother, but an opportunity to flex his athletic superiority. And for David, Michael represented a figure to be defeated by any means necessary, underhanded or otherwise.
Brown also meets Andrew Symonds, who talks about how he tries to deal with being a celebrity, as well as his cricketing prowess. Click here to read the article.
June 27, 2008
Posted on 06/27/2008 in English cricket
Geoffrey Boycott, in his column in the Telegraph, joins the chorus of those criticising Paul Collingwood for going ahead with the controversial run-out appeal against New Zealand’s Grant Elliott, and recalls an incident during his debut Test.
It was so obvious that Paul Collingwood should have called Grant Elliott back after the New Zealander had collided with Ryan Sidebottom after setting off for a quick single.He should have done it instantly. That's part of the spirit of cricket. It's all there, in the preamble to the Laws, written by the great Colin Cowdrey. And if Collingwood hasn't read it, as an England captain, that's a major oversight.
I remember a similar incident in my first Test, against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1964. Neil Hawke ran into Freddie Titmus and knocked him over. But when Hawke threw the ball to Wally Grout, the wicketkeeper, Grout threw it right back to him without breaking the stumps. That's an Australian team we're talking about, a team who do not give an inch to anyone.
Writing in The Times, Richard Hobson believes that Collingwood has suffered a stain to his reputation that will take some expunging.
By apologising immediately after the game he scores points for admitting a mistake. We should take him at his word and accept that it was meant sincerely rather than a public relations exercise. Yet the fact that, under pressure, he took such a flawed decision in the first place raises major questions about his ability to lead the side.
However, writing from the opposite side of the world, and the opposite point of view, David Leggat in the New Zealand Herald believes that Collingwood has been unfairly singled out in an era when the spirit of cricket has long since lost its meaning.
Had the positions been reversed, would Daniel Vettori have reached a different decision? New Zealand would be wise to keep their own counsel on any issues of spirit. They have a few skeletons rattling about in the cupboard down the years.
Certainly Vettori's predecessor, Stephen Fleming, was no shrinking violet when it came to playing hardball. Like it or not, this is the age where you make use of any advantage you can crib.
Elsewhere, the Guardian's Lawrence Booth seeks out the opinions of former cricketers on the controversial run out.
June 26, 2008
Posted on 06/26/2008 in Australian cricket
Alex Brown takes a drive around Grenada, which is hosting the second Australia-West Indies ODI on Friday, and writes in the Sydney Morning Herald of an island of struggle – “a land witness to many a hostile invader”.
At Carib's Leap, a sheer cliff face on the north coast, a memorial has been erected to the band of 40 Carib Indians who, having been cornered by French colonisers in 1651, jumped to their deaths rather than surrendered. Further south, Grenadians of an older vintage sit around the foreshore of Carneage Harbour and regale tourists with tales of the US invasion of 1983.
Still, there is a more obvious example of Grenada's struggles with an invasionary force, albeit a meteorlogical one. A stroll around the bustling capital of St George's reveals a city still recovering from Hurricane Ivan, which pulverised the island on September 7, 2004. Even now, almost four years on, buildings lie in rubble, churches remain gutted and rooves are in disrepair. The winds may have eased, but the battle remains ongoing for the locals.
Posted on 06/26/2008 in Pakistan cricket
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Shoaib Malik should be handed the captaincy on a series-by-series basis, insists Imran Khan
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While impressed with the 'young and fearless' Indian side under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, is not too pleased with the state of affairs across the border. He writes in the Hindustan Times:
The same optimism cannot be shown as far as Pakistan is concerned. Right from the moment Inzamam-ul Haq forfeited the Test match in England, Pakistan cricket has gone from one crises to another — World Cup exit, drug scandals, Shoaib Akhtar’s ban and now Mohammad Asif’s detention.
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At a time when talent is hard to find in Pakistan, Asif’s case has been a serious blow to the team. I am also not in favour of Shoaib Malik being given a two-year tenure as captain. Even when I was established as captain, I was always made captain only for the series ahead. Such long-term planning is another example of how high-handed and arbitrarily cricket is run in Pakistan.
Posted on 06/26/2008 in Zimbabwe cricket
The ECB has suspended all bilateral agreements with the Zimbabwe board and cancelled England's tour to Zimbabwe next summer and the Guardian's Andy Bull welcomes the decision for sport and politics are inseparable, so the government's stance on Zimbabwe is the least one should expect.
It is a damning indictment of the previous regime's handling of the issue that the letter from Andy Burnham to the ECB stating that England should not be playing cricket against Zimbabwe should seem to be so refreshingly direct an approach. That clarity of thought and action is the very least we should expect from a government which has been so keen to use sporting success for its own political advancement. Having been repeatedly shafted by the government's wavering over the years, it's childishly satisfying that one England player urinated in the garden of No10 Downing Street, while another called Blair a wally during their drunken post-Ashes party.
In the Times Mike Atherton criticises the ECB for taking the decision to suspend ties with Zimbabwe only after being assured there would be no financial penalties.
After receiving Burnham’s letter, the ECB released a statement stating its concern over the “lack of human rights in Zimbabwe”. Only now, after years of human rights abuses, has the ECB found the courage to speak. It appears that it is fine to be moral, as long as it does not cost you money.
Atherton has another piece in the same paper, this one about his embarrassment at a photo of him taken with Robert Mugabe:
Why should I be embarrassed about a 12-year-old photograph? Partly, I think, because of my slightly deferential body language. For someone who has never been impressed by status, power or money, it’s puzzling to see that I’m not quite bowing, but nearly.
Also read Sambit Bal's piece in cricinfo.com urging the ICC to end years of indifference by suspending Zimbabwe's Full-Member status.
Posted on 06/26/2008 in English cricket
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Paul Collingwood took the easy option
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The England-New Zealand ODI at The Oval was marred by controversy as Paul Collingwood decided not to recall Grant Elliot who had been run out after colliding mid-pitch with Ryan Sidebottom. Richard Hobson writes in the Times that Collingwood took the easy option:
England pride themselves on being a tough side, but there is a huge difference between making themselves hard to beat and messing with the spirit of the game. Collingwood sought victory at any price, little realising that its value would be diminished.
According to Mike Atherton, writing in the same paper, England lost the match, but, more important, a good deal of self-respect in that moment.
Imagine, though, if England had won. It is difficult to imagine how Collingwood could have apologised with a straight face; difficult, too, to envisage how the New Zealanders might have felt able to accept it. When Graeme Swann’s errant throw missed the stumps and evaded four England fielders, the cricketing gods rendered a judgment of their own.
Simon Hughes writes in the Telegraph that when a man as decent as Paul Collingwood gets drawn into temporarily seeking a win at all costs, it is just further confirmation that cricket has sacrificed any right to the moral high ground.
Meanwhile Mark Richardson, the former New Zealand opener, said the collision was "harmless". He said to stuff.co.nz:
Richardson said New Zealand should be careful about "throwing stones" and being hypocritical.
He said the incident was similar to when Sri Lanka's Muralitharan was run out during last year's tour to New Zealand. Muralitharan had walked down the pitch to celebrate his partner Sangakkara's century, while the ball was being returned to the wicketkeeper, and he was dismissed. "We were happy to take that decision," he said.
Paul Holden, the Sideline Slogger, feels there are differences in the two incidents.
I agree that it was a very aggressive move for New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming not to recall Murali, and was arguably a contravention of the spirit of cricket. However, let’s also remember that it was also pretty dumb. In this morning’s case, unlike Murali, Elliott was not at fault. He was not being stupid or naive, he was injured and had been flattened, and unlike the Sri Lankan he could not and unlike the Sri Lankan he could not be accused of failing to value his wicket sufficiently.
The New Zealand Herald has a collection of English press reactions from the incident.
Posted on 06/26/2008 in Australian cricket
Allan Border’s baggy green is being auctioned in Melbourne and it’s expected to fetch around AUS$20000. Phillip Derriman has the full story in the Sydney Morning Herald:
This would be a bit higher than the recent going rate for baggy greens, but, given that it is reportedly the first of Border's baggy greens to go on sale, the price may well be realised. When and how this status was achieved is the subject of an interesting new book, The Baggy Green, co-written by Michael Fahey and Mike Coward.
A table in the book listing baggy green sale prices year by year suggests that collectors have lately been attaching almost as much value to the baggy green as the players who wear it. Average prices have shot up in the past few years, although no recent sale has come close to matching the $425,000 paid five years ago for Don Bradman's 1948 baggy green.
June 25, 2008
Posted on 06/25/2008 in Zimbabwe cricket
Cricket South Africa should be applauded for suspending its bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe Cricket, a move that should finally force cricket's administrators to abandon their association with the country, writes Angus Fraser in the Independent.
It is about time a group of administrators took action in response to what has and continues to take place in Zimbabwe; it is only a shame that it was left to CSA, Zimbabwe's closest allies, to make the decision and not the British Government, ICC or ECB. Zimbabwe has been a maggot-infested open wound sitting on the face of cricket for quite some time, causing huge embarrassment to anyone who places the moral integrity of the game ahead of money, the commodity cricket cannot get enough of these days. One of the only non-Zimbabweans to have taken a moral stand in recent times is Nasser Hussain, the former England captain. Hussain refused to take his side to Zimbabwe at the 2003 World Cup, a brave and admirable move that ultimately ended England's chances of winning the tournament.
Next week the ICC executive will sit down and discuss the future of Zimbabwe. As their choices narrow, Cricinfo's Martin Williamson looks at the three options on the table.
Posted on 06/25/2008 in Commentary
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But what Saturday's match showed vividly was that the longer form of one-day cricket, although by nature restricted compared with Test cricket, still gives allowance for the true fluctuations of a real match
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Two contrasting limited-overs matches this week have caused me to rethink and wonder whether, in terms of the entertainment being offered (forget the dosh for a moment, if you can), Twenty20, cricket's zeitgeist, is being hyped beyond its unquestionable worth, and that by contrast 50-overs-per-side ODI cricket is being written off prematurely as a relatively unattractive option," writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
Then came Saturday's riveting international at Bristol. For a while, as the Black Caps scrabbled to get a grip on things, it looked like being a replica of the midweek domestic non-event. But they rallied, played with purpose, got a workable total, and in turn made England struggle, running out worthy winners. Some commentators, more attuned to biff, bang and wallop apparently, declared this a grinding bore. To me, it was a match of ebb and flow, in helpful bowling conditions for a change, and thoroughly absorbing, I would have thought, for anyone interested in cricket beyond a very superficial level. Certainly it didn't look as if the ground had emptied as Paul Collingwood dug deep to try and haul his side over the line.
Posted on 06/25/2008 in English cricket
Fuller Pilch, a Victorian cricketing hero who bamboozled opponents with a pioneering style of batting that became known as the “Pilch poke”, is proving as troublesome in death as he was in life, writes Jack Malvern in the Times.
Building work in the churchyard of St Gregory’s, in Canterbury, cannot proceed until his remains, along with the remains of about 200 others, have been disinterred and reburied away from the site of the proposed music centre. The trouble is, the planners have no idea where he actually is.
Posted on 06/25/2008 in Australian cricket
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Glenn McGrath with his children at his wife's memorial service
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Australia farewelled Jane McGrath in Sydney today, with Glenn McGrath wiping away tears and his children blowing bubbles, according to news.com.au. Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden were among the players to pay their respects.
To see the photos of what happened outside the service go here.
Posted on 06/25/2008 in Indian Cricket
It was 25 years ago that India won the World Cup at Lord's and the team of '83 has planned a get-together at the Long Room to celebrate the triumph. In the Hindustan Times Sunil Gavaskar recounts how the idea of a Long Room party came to him:
Last year at the ICC chief executives committee meeting, I was leaving the venue that is next to the Long Room and found a table-plan for that evening's charity dinner. Going through the list, I found there were some famous names who were to attend the dinner and as I checked the dates, it was, thankfully, in June, when India won the World Cup 24 years earlier. It struck me that it would be fantastic to celebrate the silver jubilee of that fantastic win with a dinner at the Long Room.
Kapil Dev relives some of his memories of that day in an interview with the Kolkata-based Telegraph.
I’d been somewhat upset on seeing a significant amount of grass on the Lord’s wicket... Out of disgust, I even told some of my teammates that the conditions just weren’t fair... The state of the wicket also put paid to all the planning we’d done the previous day. .. Soon enough, though, I realised that we had to make the best of the conditions... We didn’t have a choice... Then, with the ball swinging like nobody’s business, we felt we’d definitely be in with more than a shout that afternoon. We had a ball, as it turned out.
R Mohan writes of the rivalry that existed between Kapil and Gavaskar in the Asian Age.
More stuff in the Hindu. V. V. Subrahmanyam writes on the relationship between the two stars.
“Come on, Sunil, it’s time you score runs”. That’s exactly the then captain and India’s greatest all-rounder ever Kapil Dev did in the 1983 World Cup edition to Gavaskar. Then the retort: “Come on, maan, if you feel I am not good enough to play, drop me as you have done in the league matches.” A visibly startled Kapil was taken aback by the reaction but fortunately England captain Bob Willis slipped into the dressing room to invite Kapil to come out for toss to save further embarrassing moments for these two cricketing greats.
In 1983, Indians were not pleased with me at all, writes David Frith in DNA. I had written in Wisden Cricket Monthly that unless India knuckled down to the one-day game it might be better if they withdrew from future World Cups.
So I sat in the press-box at Lord’s, with a glass of red wine at hand, and devoured the offending words, risking poisoning by newsprint but glad nonetheless to cleanse my soul. I was actually genuinely delighted for India, and began to realise that probably my words had been penned in the hope that they would now take their task seriously. Why else would I have attempted to do a discreet banghra of my own in the hotel foyer? The pleasant tailpiece to all this came with a letter from my correspondent: he referred to me now as “a gentleman and a sportsman”. He had not even expected his first letter to be published. He even apologised for the intemperate tone of some of his words, and invited me to join him for a drink if ever I was in New York. I still hope that day may come. A decent drink is hopelessly spoiled when mixed with printed paper.
Also read Cricinfo's full coverage of the World Cup win.
June 24, 2008
Posted on 06/24/2008 in English cricket
I think he felt talent alone would be enough to get him to the top and it is only now he is realising that areas such as discipline, fitness and mental strength will play a pivotal role in moving him from promising youngster to top-class performer.
That is the assessment by Nick Knight of his former Warwickshire team-mate, Moeen Ali, the 21-year-old batsman who now plays for Worcestershire. Knight explores Ali's potential and future in The Guardian, where he says he still has the ability to play for England - and could become a "very successful and wealthy player".
June 23, 2008
Posted on 06/23/2008 in Commentary
From games of Twisti-Twosti to scraps of tarpaulin, Lawrence Booth lists six moments of invention that really changed the sport.
1) The googly
2) Bodyline
See the full list in the Guardian.
Posted on 06/23/2008 in Australian cricket
Writing in the Courier Mail, Robert Craddock shares his memories on the relationship between Glenn McGrath and his wife, Jane, who succumbed to cancer yesterday.
Once on a South African tour, Glenn made her heart melt when he told her how lonely he was and how much he was missing her. "And I've gone into the kitchen and put the kettle on and put the news on, and the sport was on," Jane said. "And there he is coming down this water chute in his swimmers with his arms in the air going 'wooohooohooo' and I could have absolutely killed him. "I rang him straight back and said: 'I'd hate to see you when you're happy if that's depressed'. He hasn't done that again."
... "I've decided to take up the piano and learn one song . . . for Jane," said McGrath, who later bought his own piano.The song was Richard Marx's heart-tugging melody Right Here Waiting For You.A cold, ruthless fast-bowling enforcer on the field, McGrath had a soft, romantic touch beyond the boundary when it came to his wife and family.
Also, have a look at a 2004 Enough Rope interview where Jane and Glenn McGrath spoke of how they met and dealt with the devastating news of her being diagnosed with cancer.
You met in 1995. When you first met, did the sparks fly?
Glenn McGrath: Yes. Sort of think back to a few years ago now. A nice little nightclub in Hong Kong called Joe Bananas. We've often thought about heading back there sometime, it was an interesting place to meet, to say the least. But, some good memories.
... Jane McGrath: ... We were walking through Cronulla, and people were shouting, "Hey, Glenn," and "Oooh, ah," and I thought, "God, he's a popular chap. He's got lots of mates." And that was the bit... I just thought he was a popular bloke, had a lot of friends, and then we went to a friend of his that were having a barbecue, and the girl said, "So, what's it like going out with Glenn McGrath?" And I said, "What's it like going out with your boyfriend?" And she goes, "Yeah, but Jane, Glenn's a superstar!" And I was just dumbstruck. I said, "What do you mean, a 'superstar'? I said, "Like Ryan Giggs?" He's a soccer player in the UK. And she's, "Jane, Glenn's as famous as Robert De Niro." Which he's never let me forget!
Posted on 06/23/2008 in New Zealand cricket
In the New Zealand Herald Dylan Cleaver lets rip against the recent New Zealand debacles.
New Zealand are now in the process of writing a grim tale: How to turn a sport from boom to bust in five easy steps.
1. Make the players look like money-hungry frauds
Whichever way you slice it up, the Indian Premier League ended up being an almost unprecedented PR disaster for New Zealand Cricket.
2. Have a coach who doesn't know when to talk or when to shut up
Posted on 06/23/2008 in West Indies cricket
Ezra Stuart of the Nation thinks the Barbados women's team being allowed to play in an Under-15 schools competition is a bad idea.
While the women may benefit from match play prior to the regional tournament in Jamaica, it could be detrimental to the boys in the long run.
Just imagine, hard-back women playing against little first and second form boys. Will the lads handle the taunts from their peers after being struck for a number of fours and sixes or being dismissed for a "duck" by a woman?
This could have adverse effects on these boys and such an unnecessary development is one which school principals and parents should address, especially since Rule 20 of the competition states: "Only schoolboys under the age of 15 years on September 1 in the current year are eligible to play"
Posted on 06/23/2008 in Indian Cricket
Harsha Bhogle, in his column in the Indian Express, writes about his memories of India's historic triumph in the 1983 World Cup.
And, as I read through an amateur analysis I had made for the Deccan Chronicle on the 4th of June, 1983, I discover that Kim Hughes had labelled India the dark horses. The fan in me had tried to make out a case for India to qualify for the semi-final and, the day after the article had appeared, an elderly man laughed at my youthful optimism. “Semi-final, ha!” he said as if I had suggested that the left might go along with the nuclear deal.
Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN catches up with the legends of that victory.
Sandeep Patil: When we started the tour and room partners were assigned, I was lucky but my room partner was so unlucky to have me as a room partner. Fortunately or unfortunately it was Sunil Gavaskar, who shared the room with me. That was the reason why Gavaskar did not score runs. I kept him awake, I kept him out and I don't know how and where he used to spend time. I clearly remember me bombarding him with questions. In fact, I asked him if would be able to even see the balls of West Indians. He asked me what do you mean by 'the balls of the West Indians?' I told him the cricket balls that will be bowled by Marshall. I had not faced West Indians then and Sunil told me that you have faced Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson; you will be able to see the balls. I saw the ball and I hit a six.
June 22, 2008
Posted on 06/22/2008 in Indian Cricket
Since stepping down from captaincy nine months ago, Rahul Dravid has lost his place in the one-day side, led the Bangalore Royal Challengers to second-last place in the IPL, had mud slung at him by franchise owner Vijay Mallya and reached the landmark of 10,000 Test runs. He talks to Hindustan Times' Anand Vasu about captaincy, IPL, being a father and possible retirement.
"I have played unbroken, missing only one game in my Test career. You have to be fit and scoring consistently, or you'll get dropped at some stage - the fact that I have been able to do that is important, not so much the number itself. But it is nice to be in the company of some players you really respect and admire."
Meanwhile in the Outlook Rohit Mahajan lists out the impact of India's World Cup win in 1983.
That win at Lord's redefined the country's aspirations and expectations; it imparted a new meaning to the term 'professional cricketer'; and it took cricket to the masses as never before. Some would even make bold to say India acquired the elements of 'soft power' in the summer of 1983, long before it even began to be counted among the emerging global powers.
Posted on 06/22/2008 in English cricket
England lost to New Zealand in the third ODI in Bristol by 22 runs and David Gower believes that for all his promise and ability, James Anderson still has not managed to master his own inconsistencies. By contrast his less experienced and supposedly junior colleague, Stuart Broad, has become one to rely on. He writes in the Sunday Times:
The way Broad bowled at Taylor was a lesson in how to build pressure on a batsman in a one-day match. Broad knows the way the Kiwi plays and he stopped him doing so by adhering to strict lines close to off stump. By the time he slipped him one of slightly fuller length, Taylor’s frustrations were there for all to see and his attempt to find a gap on the leg side merely opened another more crucial void, through which the ball found its way to the stumps.
In the Independent on Sunday, Stephen Fay notes that Chris Tremlett must step up if he wants to catch the selectors' eye ahead of the South Africa Tests.
Posted on 06/22/2008 in English cricket
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Kevin Pietersen plays the switch hit
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Kevin Pietersen's audacious switch-hitting during the first ODI against New Zealand had set off a debate on whether it is legal, after which the MCC stated that he can continue to play the shot. To start off with, the Guardian's Vic Marks thinks the reason given by the MCC for allowing the shot is faulty.
I agree with their decision, though not their logic. While seeking to rid us of the notion that all lawmakers are batsmen they point out that bowlers 'do not provide a warning of the type of delivery that they will bowl (an off-cutter or a slower ball, for example)'. So, they argue, a batsman should have the opportunity of executing a switch hit.
This is not the correct parallel. The right one would be that batsmen do not warn bowlers which stroke they intend to use (the off drive or the slog over midwicket, for example). Logically, if the bowler has to indicate whether he is going to deliver the ball right or left-handed, the batsman should say whether he intends to hit it right or left-handed and stick to his word.
Ian Chappell says as much in his latest Cricinfo column, but he does not want the shot to be allowed.
It is unfair to ask the bowlers to nominate beforehand the way they are going to operate (over or round, left or right arm) and then allow batsmen to change their mode of striking after the ball is in play.
The Sunday Telegraph's Steve James has no issues with the switch hit, and asks "why now?" Click here to read the article.
Meanwhile, Zaahier Adams, in the Cape Times, has sought out the opinions of former South African cricketers regarding the issue.
Posted on 06/22/2008 in Australian cricket
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Beau Casson claimed overall figures of 3 for 129 on his Test debut
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Steve James, writing in the Sunday Telegaph, thinks Beau Casson, Australia's latest spinner is not in the league of his fellow country who bowled left-arm chinamen before his arrival.
Much about Casson is ordinary. Take his character. He might appear to possess potential for the mad professor look when older, but he is certainly no eccentric like so many others to have plied his trade. Think of the dark, reclusive Michael Bevan, whom England coach Peter Moores struggled to deal with in his early years at Sussex, or the hyperactive Brad Hogg. Or even, from a bygone era, 'Chuck' Fleetwood-Smith, who ended up living under a bridge. By contrast Casson is what the Australians call 'a good kid'.
Sadly his bowling is also ordinary. As Australia's newest wrist spin bowler, the designated successor of recent retiree Stuart MacGill, Casson made his debut in the recently concluded final Test against the West Indies in Barbados. He was not particularly impressive. Dwayne Bravo took a particular fancy to him and match figures of 32-4-129-3 tell a humdrum story. That can only be good news for England ahead of next year's Ashes.
June 21, 2008
Posted on 06/21/2008 in Twenty20
One may glorify Twenty20 as the best version of reality television, but it'll never hit the heights of the climax of an Ashes series, writes David Mitchell in the Guardian. However, he says it is monumentally unfair that players are expected to show restraint, and prioritise Test cricket, when future financial security is being offered them on a plate, like Allen Stanford's investment of US$100 million in a series of Twenty20 matches over the next five years in Antigua.
Missing the Antigua game due to injury or making themselves unavailable for the IPL because of the start of the English season have huge long-term financial consequences for these men and, if they follow the money, I for one wouldn't blame them. Test cricket organisers need to be big enough to defend themselves, rather than relying on men in their 20s, with few prospects of employment beyond 35, to do the job for them.
Posted on 06/21/2008 in English cricket
"Had you been travelling near the village of Cranleigh, about 80km south of London, one Sunday earlier this year, you could have followed the signs to the cricket match and made the most extraordinary discovery," writes David Walsh in the Australian. "For sure, there was much that was familiar from any weekend match: the finely cut grass of the cricket pitch, families picnicking around the boundary, white flannels, the white canvas of the marquees, the ugliness of the ice-cream van. Startling, though, was the familiarity of the faces inside the boundary."
The tall guy with the gentlest batting stroke: wasn't that Mike Rutherford, the guitarist from the old rock band Genesis? And the one over there, standing in the outfield, who looked like he didn't want to age, that was surely Pink Floyd's Roger Waters. The same Waters who once filled us with fight - "We don't need no thought control/ No dark sarcasm in the classroom" - was now playing cricket on a Sunday afternoon with Guy Waller, the headmaster of smart Cranleigh School. In the middle of them all, directing the flow of banter around the wicket, stood Eric Clapton. An earnest cricketer, let us say. But it is the little guy in the gully who rivets you. Bill Wyman, the old Rolling Stone, in his 72nd year and still up for it.
June 20, 2008
Posted on 06/20/2008 in Twenty20
Alex Brown writes in the Sydney Morning Herald about the impact Twenty20 is having on the game.
It’s not just to domestic and international calendars but to the individuals, the players, who are tumbling down the rabbit hole with little idea as to where it will all end. Dwayne Bravo and Shaun Marsh would appear to have little in common.
Bravo, an all-rounder from the village of Santa Cruz in Trinidad, is diamond-encrusted, extroverted and counts the likes of top-selling reggae artist Beenie Man among his friends. Marsh is a quietly spoken batsman from Narrogin whose most obvious link to celebrity is his father, Geoff.
But it is these two players, perhaps more than any other outside India, who best represent the "Twenty20 effect" on the current generation. Afforded opportunities beyond anything their forebears could have expected, Bravo and Marsh, both 24, are the poster children for cricket's newest format and are reaping the benefits.
In the same paper Philip Derriman states the case for a stand at the SCG to be named after Richie Benaud.
In Supercricket, Neil Manthorp feels Dale Steyn's gaffe on his IPL experience didn't intend to hurt anyone, much like Lance Klusener's vain attempt to ease the pain after South Africa's painful 2003 World Cup exit.
It was Zulu's version of the famous Boris Becker quote when the German tennis star was eliminated from Wimbledon in the first round when he was defending champion and tournament favourite: "I lost a tennis match, I didn't kill anyone. Nobody died," Becker told a stunned room full journalists.
Posted on 06/20/2008 in Miscellaneous
Paul Holden, the Sideline Slogger, comes up with 10 topical questions on cricket, including ICC's new lunch rule following the abandoned match between England and New Zealand at Edgbaston. He provides answers as well:
Will the new lunch rule make a difference?
Under the new rules, even if Collingwood had played hardball and disagreed with Vettori over the need for another helping of Edgbaston macaroni cheese for his boys, the match referee would have been wheeled in to make a call.
Who was the original switch hitter?
One of the most boring batsmen alive in fact: no, not Geoff Allott, Shoaib Mohammed, Alastair Cook, Rahul Dravid, Trevor Franklin, Chris Tavare or Mike Brearley - none other than Jacques Kallis, who hit two unorthodox sixes in a match for Middlesex at Uxbridge during his stint as their overseas player in the nineties.
June 19, 2008
Posted on 06/19/2008 in English cricket
More on KP's switch-hitting. In the Times Mike Atherton wonders if Pietersen could transfer his talents to baseball if he ever got tired of cricket in England.
Switch-hitting is not unusual in baseball. It is a commonly held belief that right-handed hitters do better against left-handed pitchers and vice versa. The ambidextrous hitter, therefore, becomes a gem of a player and can take advantage of any idiosyncrasies in the size of the boundaries, while giving flexibility to the coach. All a switch-hitter has to do is take his place on one side of the plate or the other before the pitcher has stepped on to his mark. Once the pitcher has wound up, however, the hitter cannot switch.
John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, predicted some years ago (was this partly down to Young's influence?) that ambidextrous batting, baseball-style, would be the skill of the future ... Buchanan well knows, cricket will continue to evolve. During the 1985 Texaco Trophy series, after poorly executed reverse sweeps by Ian Botham and Mike Gatting, Peter May, the chairman of selectors at the time, was forced to issue an edict that England batsmen should not reverse sweep. Such puritanism seems fanciful now.
In the New Zealand Herald David Leggat adds that the switch-hit is a natural extension of a batsman making use of his footwork, terrific hand-eye co-ordination and being quick enough to recognise when pies are being delivered to take his chances.
June 18, 2008
Posted on 06/18/2008 in English cricket
"Pietersen's six over long-on, or long-off as it was before he 'switched', was phenomenal. We've seen him play it in the nets, but to catch it so sweetly after Scott Styris had spotted him coming and bowled a slower ball was something else. Up in the dressing-room, we were laughing in disbelief at the sheer audacity of it all," writes Alastair Cook in the Telegraph.
There has been a big debate about whether the shot should be outlawed, but that's daft. Pietersen's innings was a fantastic spectacle, and it's not as if everyone is going to start switch-hitting; it's too difficult. I can't hit the ball that far from my usual stance, let alone right-handed. Reverse-sweeps have been around for donkey's years. Suddenly everyone has started talking about them, just because one person has become so good at the shot that he has redefined the coaching manual. But I can't see a case for changing the rules. Why would you want to penalise excellence?
Posted on 06/18/2008 in English cricket
"Winning the first three Tests of a five-match series in India [as England did in 1976-77] remains a unique achievement, incidentally, and here's the thing: it came with the aid of what these days might be called a skeleton support staff, which consisted of three people: Ken Barrington, Bernard Thomas and Geoffrey Saulez," says Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
Forward this now to the height of the last Ashes series, when a rough headcount suggested that the ECB staff were just as numerous as the players. Is it too cheap a shot to mention that they lost the series 5-0? OK, it is ... I'm not so much knocking the rising numbers of support staff as pointing out that increasing coaching numbers is not necessarily a panacea. Indeed the sheer weight of numbers who surround the team could cause some conflict and ill-feeling over the next couple of months. I'm talking here of course about Sir Allen Stanford's Antiguan shoot-out (of which you may have heard).
Posted on 06/18/2008 in Indian Cricket
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The only ODI at Tunbridge Wells wasn't covered by a TV crew
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Twenty-five years since Kapil Dev's momentous innings at Tunbridge Wells, Ayaz Memon still reckons it as the best ODI knock he's ever seen. He writes in the DNA:
Time neither dulled its appeal or dimmed its impact. A whopping 940 ODI hundreds have been scored yet, many of them forgettable, only a few memorable, with this knock (at least in my reckoning) at the apex. It’s not that better batsmen than Kapil have not been seen, or some other innings were not better crafted, but I believe no other innings had had quite the same effect. Kapil was to redefine not only the destiny of the 1983 World Cup, but also Indian cricket. This was not just another batting exploit, it was a catharsis. The game would just not be the same again.
Amit Karmarkar looks back at the knock in the Times of India. Cricinfo's Jamie Alter visited the Nevill Ground, read more here.
June 17, 2008
Posted on 06/17/2008 in Miscellaneous
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Kevin Pietersen's stroke of genius
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It is a sign of genius that a player can make the laws of a game look foolish while not obviously cheating, says Michael Atherton in the Times on Kevin Pietersen's switch-hitting. He offers a solution to the conundrum that the lawmakers face.
So what can MCC do to not discourage such wondrous feats as Pietersen's on Sunday, but at the same time maintain the integrity of the game and intrinsic fairness to bowlers? Well, it could consider the following: that a fielding side should not be penalised once the batsman decides to switch-hit. That is to say, once a right-handed batsman has changed both grip and stance to become in effect a left-hander, the bowler ought to be allowed to bowl both sides of the wicket, without incurring a wide, and, taking that one stage further, he ought to be allowed to get leg-befores by pitching both sides of the wicket as well. At a stroke, the kind of genius we saw on Sunday would not be prevented, but would be discouraged by the subsequent advantage accruing to the bowler.
Blogging on the Guardian website, Richard Williams feels Twenty20 is the perfect stage for switch-hits.
My solution would be to take full advantage of the emergence of Twenty20 cricket, a form of cricket for which Pietersen himself has expressed an almost excessive enthusiasm. For Twenty20 only, improvised switch-hitting would be permitted. A batsman would be given out leg-before if, in the umpire's opinion, the ball would have hit the stumps, no matter where it pitched. A wide would be given for any ball pitching outside lines of longitude drawn six inches from the stumps on both sides of the wicket. And the fielding problem would be solved by making captains set symmetrically proportioned fields, with four men positioned on each side of the wicket and one "floater" to be deployed ad libitum. Oh, go on, try it.
Read what Michael Holding and Richard Hadlee think about it in the Telegraph. Also, don't forget to read the views of Cricinfo's panel of experts.
Posted on 06/17/2008 in Sri Lankan cricket
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All eyes are on Ajantha Mendis
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| Sandeep Dwivedi of the Indian Express catches up with a few Sri Lanka cricketers in Mumbai, and gets them to talk about their latest spin sensation, Ajantha Mendis.
In just over a week, Mendis will be in Pakistan for the Asia Cup playing international cricket for the first time in the sub-continent, though he did turn out in one game for the Kolkata Knight Riders against Kings XI Punjab after being signed at a late stage for the IPL. With the new ‘freak show’ coming soon to world cricket’s epicentre, it isn’t tough to guess where the spotlight is headed.
Ask [Mahela] Jayawardene about Mendis and he gets a twinkle in his eye that is the prerogative of someone hiding an ace up his sleeve. “It’s really exciting to have a spinner like him in the squad. In Sri Lanka, the anticipation is similar to the one that was during Murali’s [Muttiah Muralitharan’s] early days,” he says. And that’s saying a lot since the comparison happens to be with the highest wicket-taker in the world.
The man at the helm of affairs when Murali was taking his first step in international cricket, Arjuna Ranatunga, has one request that could ensure Mendis’s initiation in international cricket is smooth. “We never had a problem replacing our pacers but we had a tough time getting quality spinners. Finally, we have Mendis. Though it doesn’t seem like Murali will retire soon, it will be good if he sticks around for at least two years. It will be great if Murali is around to guide Mendis.”
June 16, 2008
Posted on 06/16/2008 in Australian cricket
The battle for the Frank Worrell Trophy has been one to savour, writes Alex Brown in the Age.
The timing of a contest between a West Indies side climbing off the pavement and an Australian side descending from its peak has proven ideal, providing three competitive Tests, each of which has progressed deep into the fifth day. For both sides, the events of the past month have provided cause for concern and optimism.
In the West Indies' case, the positivity that has surrounded each strong performance has been partially offset by the team's admitted over-reliance on Shivnarine Chanderpaul. And for the Australians, the success of the realigned batting line-up continues to be overshadowed by anxieties over the third seamer and spin-bowling positions.
Beau Casson’s first Test and maiden wicket are reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Posted on 06/16/2008 in English cricket
While Allen Stanford's Twenty20 for $20 million grabs all the headlines, Alan Lee heads to Godshill in Hampshire where they are gearing up for the St Mary Bourne in Regional Division Two (North West) of the Hampshire League. He writes in the Times:
Alan Cousins was shovelling cow dung from the outfield and scouring his back catalogue of last-resort players. Later, while Kevin Pietersen was holding court about the merits of becoming one-match dollar-millionaires thanks to the distorting largesse of a Texan financier, Cousins hit on his solution. A call to Devon and Ken Balfour was rerouted from his holiday.
True, Ken was 67 and still running in a new knee, but he hobbled back gamely to don his aged whites in the familiar wooden shack without lights or hot water.
As captain, groundsman, fixtures secretary, opening batsman and wicketkeeper, Cousins is a life member of that dwindling band of stalwarts keeping the village game alive against the increasing calls of garden centres, shopping malls, reality TV and sloth. “But I've given up being treasurer,” he said with a certain pride.
In the same paper, Simon Barnes says the Twenty20 match is about rich people getting richer. He's not going to get over-excited about Kevin Pietersen's chances of buying a second Porsche.
It's entertainment, but it's not sport. In sport, the process itself matters: the beauties, the subtleties, the long-term relationships, the tactical nuances, the opposition, the quest for perfect execution. In reality TV, we put someone on the griddle, put him to the ultimate test, and then forget him for ever while we pour ourselves a nice drink.
June 15, 2008
Posted on 06/15/2008 in Australian cricket
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In form and in danger: Simon Katich
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Simon Katich is in danger of making history by being dropped following consecutive Test centuries, Alex Brown writes in the Age.
Percy McDonnell, in the 1880s, is believed to be the only batsman to be demoted immediately after posting hundreds in consecutive Tests, and that was because of a contractual dispute. Katich, however, could join him if, as expected, Matthew Hayden recovers from his achilles injury and resumes his place atop the order for Australia's tour of India in October.
After his century in the same innings in Barbados, Phil Jaques talks in the Sydney Morning Herald about the success of laser eye surgery.
Posted on 06/15/2008 in Umpires
In Supercricket, Pommie Mbangwa feels the referrals system in umpiring has a few loopholes and is not safe to try it out yet. He also raises the issue of 'walking' and asks whether a batsman who stands his ground knowing he has no business to be there be labeled a cheat.
Some players walk and others do not. Does that mean that some are bad and others are good, is it cheating to stand? Of course this subject cannot be discussed without talking about how the umpires feel about it all and what part they play. There are some people who say that they are traditionalists and would like the umpire to continue to have a role to play in the game so would take the rough with the smooth as things even out over time. Others feel that human error has too much influence on Test matches.
Posted on 06/15/2008 in English cricket
In an impassioned piece for the Sunday Telegraph, Scyld Berry promotes the virtues of Test cricket and all its intricacies over the brief but glitzy Twenty20.
It is above all in duels within the team game - Warne v Flintoff, or McCullum v Panesar, ad infinitum - that a player's character is revealed, and Twenty20 has no time for duels: after a couple of bad overs, a batsman or bowler is out. Test cricket shapes and displays a player's essential self; in Twenty20, which is all action and no drama, he is little more than a robot. He has therefore to play in the former to be marketable in the latter. Sir Viv, one of the Stanford courtiers at Lord's, would never have done what he did for the identity of Afro-Caribbean people if he had played only Twenty20.
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