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March 14, 2008
Posted on 03/14/2008 in Commentary
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Harsha Bhogle: 'Maybe it is the shape of things to come, maybe the new ‘V’ will be behind the wicket rather than in front of it'
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"Sachin Tendulkar throws up a couple of extremely valid points in his interview to The Hindu a couple of days ago. And, as he often does with the bat, surprises us with a third," writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.
He thought Australia went on the defensive very quickly and points out how a deep point appeared almost inevitably after an aggressive shot. There was a hint of that during the Ashes series as well and it raises an interesting issue about teams like Australia that win, if not all, at least most of the time. Just as teams that don’t win often enough find themselves lost when victory is sighted, teams that win all the time can find themselves searching for ideas when a relatively new situation presents itself. It has long been my view that Australia are awesome when they are front runners, a great and often elusive quality in itself, but get a bit confused when they fall behind.
March 13, 2008
Posted on 03/13/2008 in Commentary
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Testing times for David Morgan
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"Now, however, 99 years after patrician administrators from England, Australia and South Africa first established the Imperial Cricket Conference, it is legitimate to ask whether the ICC can maintain a relevant role in the game," writes Paul Kelso in the Guardian.
Next Monday the ICC board will gather in Dubai for a meeting that represents a genuine fork in the road. The formal agenda looks as sterile as the air-conditioned tower block from which cricket is now notionally ruled, but the issues could not be more incendiary. Zimbabwe, the future of the World Cup, the international calendar, the Indian Twenty20 leagues and the appointment of a new chief executive are all due to be discussed. After a decade of mismanagement, amid unprecedented commercial and political pressures and with its members increasingly placing narrow self-interest over the collective good, we are about to discover whether the ICC is still capable of governing the game.
December 23, 2007
Posted on 12/23/2007 in Commentary
"India have been assigned the task of rejuvenating an alarmingly forgettable cricket season. Nothing less than a stirring performance from the visitors can atone for the numerous setbacks the game has suffered as it lurches towards triviality," writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Despite their last-minute appearance and the recent rains, India could put up a fight. Certainly the team has sound leadership. Anil Kumble is a calm captain capable of commanding loyalty from his contemporaries and respect from the youngsters. Australia crushes the anonymous and fraudulent. But none of the Indians are burdened with a weak mind. Most of the team are larger than life and have proud records and high expectations. They will not be easily cut down to size or beaten before a ball has been bowled.
October 31, 2007
Posted on 10/31/2007 in Commentary
"Three key points of aggression in sport are: is it instinctive or conditioned? How closely related are instances of on-field aggression and crowd violence? And at what rate is aggression fed back into the system, with kids mimicking their heroes? These questions need to be addressed. They concern sport’s premise, they shape its future", writes S Ram Mahesh in the Sportstar.
October 17, 2007
Posted on 10/17/2007 in Commentary
Writing in cricketnext.com, Dr Narottam Puri laments the decline of radio cricket commentary in India and hopes private players would enter the market to shake things up.
The job of a commentator on radio is to transport the listener to the playing field. What is required is the ability to paint a picture, through your words, of the playing field, the weather, the crowd and above all of the play, so that the listener is transported to wherever the action is.
September 22, 2007
Posted on 09/22/2007 in Commentary
'Cricket and baseball, have inherited paths of development that has been entrenched in the political economies, where they have thrived," says Srinivasan Ramani in the Post.
Globalisation and the transfer of momentum into the emerging liberalised economies of the colonies is changing the nature of cricket now. From being a sport that was used to buttress nationalism, it is now taking the American professional route, a market-oriented one.
... Conversely, the re-emergence of nationalism in countries such as Japan has brought new trends in baseball. Japanese professional baseball players, many of whom are stars earning their bread in the MLB in America, were successful in winning the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006
August 28, 2007
Posted on 08/28/2007 in Commentary
The countdown has begun in the Times. There are two players who never played Test cricket and of course, the usual suspects.
July 6, 2007
Posted on 07/06/2007 in Commentary
Himalmag finds out.
Boria Mazumdar believes cricket has transformed India, as much as India has transformed the sport.
Cricket today provides India a feel-good space, where nearly all differences can be overcome. The assertion of an Indian ‘identity’, the expression of cultural nationalism or the feeling of a common emotion – these are no longer confined to the stadium and post-match activities. For instance, a poll conducted a few years back found that more than 50 percent of India’s youth would prefer to live in another country. However, as journalist Sandipan Deb has observed: “Even when they do go away to some other country, they have a live cricket scorecard open surreptitiously on their computer monitors throughout their working day, and they turn out in daunting numbers at the stadium whenever India’s playing in their adopted country.” The global Indian wants simultaneously to escape his country and to embrace it. Clearly, cricket is no longer a mere ‘national’ obsession.
Michael Roberts looks at the ceylonese origins of cricket in Sri Lanka.
Amber Rahim Shamsi writes on the journey of women's cricket in Pakistan.
June 15, 2007
Posted on 06/15/2007 in Commentary
Sport may be trivial, however it doesn't mean we have to trivialise people's names, be it Mudhsuden or Sonny, Femi or Muhammad, writes Fazeer Mohammed in The Trinidad Express.
As someone obsessed with maintaining an audience, the occasional appearance of this column on Cricinfo, the world's most popular cricket website, has served to further inflate an already disproportionately large ego.
I was taken aback, though, to see a minor alteration to Monday's piece which focused on the excellent rearguard by the West Indies batsmen on the fourth day of the third Test in Manchester. In highlighting the threat posed by England's specialist spinner, I deliberately referred to him by his proper name, Mudhsuden Panesar (it's actually Mudhsuden Singh Panesar), only for the web editor to replace that first name with the one that he is universally known by, "Monty".
May 27, 2007
Posted on 05/27/2007 in Commentary
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Where have all the fast bowlers gone?
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One of the alarming features in world cricket is the lack of cutting-edge bowlers. The current Test at Headingley is a prime example with West Indies' pacemen hovering around the 80-mph mark and being thrashed at four-an-over. England have had to trawl the county scene for fit bowlers while most of the world's best fast bowlers are suffering injuries due to the amount they play. In The Sunday Telegraph, Scyld Berry delves into the problem and says ICC must take note otherwise the game is in major trouble.
Bowlers around the world - and not just in the West Indies and Bangladesh - are endangered, and the feebleness of the West Indian batting yesterday did not invalidate the point. One look at the ICC Test rankings should have been sufficient to tell the CEO as much.
However, England's plucking of Ryan Sidebottom out of county cricket for his second Test has proved a wise move. Steve James says it was an outstanding performance six years after his debut.
Yes, he has been consistent in county cricket, with an exceptional economy rate, but the worry was that he still could not swing the ball into the right-hander, as the most dangerous left-arm seamers and swingers always do.
April 4, 2007
Posted on 04/04/2007 in Commentary
"I'm going to bet that Shane Watson hadn't learnt how to get down on one knee and scoop-heave a yorker-length ball over the fine leg boundary for a six in that young cricketer's technical bible, Don Bradman's The Art of Cricket," says Aakash Chopra in The Hindustan Times who feels that the increasingly unorthodox shots in one-day cricket are going to become the norm.
January 9, 2007
Posted on 01/09/2007 in Commentary
Worrying news for fans of BBC's Test Match Special, according to Michael Henderson in The Guardian. Apparently the BBC are looking to 'drag it into the 21st century', which could be bad news for Blowers and co. Sad tidings indeed.
November 12, 2006
Posted on 11/12/2006 in Commentary
Notwithstanding the somewhat surprising level of support that is being lent to the Pakistan Cricket Board, over its decision to ban Mohammad Asif for a year, it is a monumentally foolish act, one that reflects an alarming level of ineptitude, writes Kamal A Munir in the Dawn Magazine.
Mohammad Asif is not the exception. He is the rule in Pakistan. This is a country where every medicine is available without prescription. This is a country where it is routine to have medicines administered by your friends rather than a doctor. This is also a country ruled by a military dictator who has flouted every line of the country's constitution.
October 19, 2006
Posted on 10/19/2006 in Commentary
Over the past few decades, cricket has had its skirmishes with drug problems, but generally, when placed alongside the issue in many other sports, they have been small ripples, writes Mike Selvey in The Guardian.
The cases of Shoaib and Asif are different, with more serious implications as this is the first time players have produced positive tests for steroids, and in so doing it suggests a parable for our times. While on the one hand the ICC condemns drug use and encourages full cooperation by all its members with the demands of the World Anti-Doping Agency, it has made a rod for its back by increasing the physical and mental demands its schedules are placing on players.
October 6, 2006
Posted on 10/06/2006 in Commentary
Writing in supercricket.co.za Neil Manthorp feels that in its efforts to maximise the value of all its 'rights', the ICC may well be forgetting the most basic and important rights of all. Human rights.
ICC should be very careful how far they take the process of signing sponsors. They are currently in the process of renegotiating their rights deal with brokers GCC and I have heard talk that the last number, which was US$550 million, could be nearly doubled for the period between the 2007 World Cup and the one in 2015.
The deal will be the most 'inclusive' in sports history, which means that everything the players eat, drink and think will be sponsored or provided by an 'official supplier'. There was even talk, at one stage, of players being required to dress in 'official' casual clothing in their spare time between games during ICC tournaments. At what stage does a player belong to himself? Quite apart from the fact that he may have a personal endorsement with Levis, why should he be forced to wear another brand of jeans?
October 4, 2006
Posted on 10/04/2006 in Commentary
Thank goodness Inzamam has been properly called to account for his intemperate conduct at The Oval, writes Peter Roebuck in The Hindu. Admittedly his team, and he seemed to think his entire nation had fallen foul of an untimely accusation made by a headstrong umpire.
Thank goodness Dean Jones has been allowed back into the commentary box. Certainly he deserved to be censured for his silly gag, but there was no need to send him permanently into the long dark night. His employers were right to teach him a lesson and then call him back.
September 6, 2006
Posted on 09/06/2006 in Pakistan in England
While the spectre of ball-tampering briefly resurfaced at The Rose Bowl, it was Sky Sports’ coverage which came in for criticism in the media.
The BBC’s veteran Pat Murphy accused Sky of having “power without responsibility" for the way they presented and commented on the footage of Shoaib Akhtar working on the ball.
And Derek Pringle in The Daily Telegraph was equally critical:
“In a mischievous piece of commentary, Sky failed to draw their own conclusions, leaving it for viewers to email in their thoughts. Nasser Hussain's trenchant thoughts after England's innings — that Shoaib, was "very silly to do it in the current climate" as it would be "all over the morning paper" — was ironic given Sky's instigative role.”
Continue reading "Shoaib and Sky under the spotlight"
August 17, 2006
Posted on 08/17/2006 in Commentary
Forget the bomb, the perceived threat to security and the kith and kin concerned for their husbands, fathers and brothers. Elmo Rodrigopulle in The Daily News tells us why he thinks South Africa were unjustified in pulling out of the Untitech Cup and what he feels were the real reasons behind the departure.
One cannot understand the South Africans indecent hurry to skip the tournament, considering the fact the Interim Committee, even bent backwards to promise them the best of security.
Osman Samiuddin, Cricinfo's Pakistan editor, offers a different point of view.
Any criticism of South Africa's decision should also be tempered, to an extent, by the understanding that safety is a very personal concept. They are not used to such incidents on as regular a scale and thus likely to react differently.
July 13, 2006
Posted on 07/13/2006 in Commentary
Martin Crowe had much to say about ICC's '15-degree bend' and a lot more during the annual Cowdrey lecture. In The Guardian Mike Selvey didn't agree with some of the finer points of the discourse but tells of an intriguing conversation between Crowe and Rameez Raja about New Zealand's tour of Pakistan in 1990-91.
Crowe had a fine series personally but remembers, during his century in the second Test in Lahore, a game played on a green top with a lush outfield, picking up the ball and noticing chunks removed from one side. In that innings Waqar Younis took 7 for 86 and Wasim Akram, he said, was unplayable. "It was the first we really saw of reverse swing. They said it had roughed up on the outfield." Next Test, Crowe recounted, they decided that they too should have some of this. So they took bottle tops on to the field with them, the better to gouge the ball. Pakistan were blown away, bowled out for 102 by a medium-pacer called Chris Pringle, who took 7 for 52. A dozen wickets in the game for Waqar meant that the Kiwis lost that match, too, but at least they felt there had been some equality.
July 1, 2006
Posted on 07/01/2006 in Commentary
We seem to be living in an era of stalemates - no better example than the first three Tests in the West Indies. Peter Roebuck joins Brian Lara's plea for faster pitches to protect an endangered species known as fast bowlers. Watching an inept batsman against the moving ball doesn't seem to be the most ideal form of entertainment nowadays. Blame it on television. Read the full piece in The Hindu.
Alas an eagerly awaited confrontation in the Caribbean has been reduced to a standstill by the lifelessness of the pitches. Throughout they have been as dreary as a plate of meat and two vegetarian dishes served by an English cook.
June 27, 2006
Posted on 06/27/2006 in Commentary
If Bangladesh could do it, so can Afghanistan. Their heartening performances in England could hardly be termed an 'upset' and Nick Greenslade explains why they are here to stay. Read on in The Guardian
Unlike football, which was largely driven underground, cricket survived the rule of the Taliban, though it first had to be cleared by the Orwellian Vice and Virtue police, who suspected the game of American associations.
June 17, 2006
Posted on 06/17/2006 in Commentary
"Former England captain Nasser Hussain recently wrote that cricket is much more professional and multi-dimensional these days. If it indeed is, he would do well to answer the 17 questions raised here," writes Bob Simpson.
May 14, 2006
Posted on 05/14/2006 in Commentary
"I hope Dravid's men play wonderfully when they tour the Caribbean. But if Lara's West Indians play better and take the series, somewhere inside me, a boy's ghost might stir to grin and cheer as cricket's world turns right-side up again." Read Mukul Kesavan's stirring article in the The Hindu to find out why he feels that way about a team that captured the imagination and so much more.
May 11, 2006
Posted on 05/11/2006 in Commentary
Who would you rather watch? Muralitharan, with all his energy and mystery, or Ashley Giles - I love you too, Ashley - plugging away over the wicket? Read Angus Fraser's tribute to Murali in The Independent.
May 10, 2006
Posted on 05/10/2006 in Commentary
In the third Test against New Zealand at Johannesburg, Jacques Kallis joined Sir Garry Sobers in an exclusive two-member club of players to have scored 8000 Test runs and taken 200 wickets. Read Neil Manthorp's take on the similarities of two completely different cricketers.
May 7, 2006
Posted on 05/07/2006 in Commentary
The pitch at Newlands was a victim of modern society - an ever-increasing desire for instant gratification; in a cricketing sense, an increasing desire for fast-paced play; and in a test-cricket sense, an increasing need for a result. ... One of the great nuances of test cricket is that a win is something of such reasonable rarity that it is undeniably an occasion for celebration. It should take days of hard toil, or be due to a performance of exceptional quality and be accompanied by a feeling of real accomplishment. There is nothing wrong with a draw if both teams have played so well or so poorly as to arrive at stalemate.
Click here to read Mark Richardson's pitch for better wickets
Posted on 05/07/2006 in Commentary
Members of the Indian cricket communities around the cricketing world continue to press ahead, writes Peter Roebuck in the Witness.
May 5, 2006
Posted on 05/05/2006 in Commentary
Why the allocation of the 2019 World Cup to England and Wales should be a cause for back-slapping and declarations of how much it shows us to be in the vanguard of the global game beats me, writes Mike Selvey in The Guardian.
April 30, 2006
Posted on 04/30/2006 in Commentary
If you really want to get up Makhaya Ntini's nose, try talking to him about being a role model for his country's budding young athletes, writes Richard Boock in The Herald on Sunday.
"I just don't accept the responsibility of being a role model for black or coloured people.I accept the challenge of playing cricket for South Africa. I appreciate that people might admire what I'm doing but trying to be a role model for them isn't what I signed up for. It's a huge responsibility to buy into, and I just don't accept it. I accept the responsibility for being a role model for my son but not for everyone else's sons."
Posted on 04/30/2006 in Commentary
Burnout is fast becoming the hottest topic in cricket. Read Stephen Brenkley's discourse on it in The Independent.
Ian Botham echoed the thoughts of a nation by indicating that Andrew Flintoff had to be given proper rest, if not wrapped in cotton wool for most of the summer. Botham was rightly concerned about one player - anyone who saw Flintoff towards the end of the India tour was witnessing a body on the verge of rebellion - but he was fairly late to the general debate.
April 22, 2006
Posted on 04/22/2006 in Commentary
Peter Roebuck feels that the Centurion Test between South Africa and New Zealand showed what a pampered lot modern-day batsmen are.
.. The current mob glared at the pitch as might a contralto interrupted mid-innings by a loud cough in the fifth row. Truth to tell the top order batting of both sides was abysmal. Bats were hung out to dry like beef on a hook. Batsman fished at wide deliveries. Far from moving smartly into position, feet stumbled between decisions.
April 20, 2006
Posted on 04/20/2006 in Commentary
Here's what Sunil Gavaskar had to say on the player burn-out issue. "These players are turning out for their countries. It's an honour to represent your country. I would be willing to sweat 365 days in a year for India. Those who can't stand the heat should stay out."
Read Mike Selvey's response in The Guardian.
Those who cannot stand the heat should stay out indeed, unless they want to end up on saline drips in the dressing rooms of Indore and Jamshedpur. What Gavaskar fails or is unwilling to grasp is the idea that it is not the volume of cricket but rather the sheer intensity of it that creates the problems.
April 14, 2006
Posted on 04/14/2006 in Commentary
Ponting's genius fails to obscure cracks in batting, writes Chloe Saltau in the Age.
They might have escaped embarrassment in Dhaka, but the spluttering form of most of Australia's batsmen means the world's No. 1 team can no longer be backed with such certainty to dig itself out of trouble.
Continue reading "Cracks in batting"
April 13, 2006
Posted on 04/13/2006 in Commentary
Marcus Trescothick's mystery virus explanation was so ham-fisted you could have boiled it up, served it with mash and called it Eisbein, says Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
Trescothick's situation - however it may have been presented to the public - highlights cricket's apocalyptic vision. For great games you need great players, sharp of mind and body. Otherwise you have a sham,says John Stern.
April 10, 2006
Posted on 04/10/2006 in Commentary
As a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it could be argued that Lalit Modi is the most important cricket administrator in the world today, writes Michael Atherton in the Sunday Telegraph.
April 8, 2006
Posted on 04/08/2006 in Commentary
This day, 104 years ago, a six-hitter is born. Cricinfo's All Todays Yesterday informs that Arthur Wellard had a first-class average of only 19, but he cleared the boundary over 500 times during his career. He spent his final playing years playing for Gaieties CC, a club founded in 1937.
Click here to read a tribute to Wellard, penned by the Nobel laureate Harold Pinter.
March 31, 2006
Posted on 03/31/2006 in Commentary
Rabindra Mehta, a NASA scientist and a schoolmate of Imran Khan, had come up with a new theory, a new form of swing, what he termed as 'contrast' swing but was met with scoffs from certain quarters.
Harsha Bhogle jumps into the fray in support of the doctor.
Denial is usually in the swing of things when sportsmen confront science, but give him a fair hearing, writes Bhogle in the Indian Express.
March 30, 2006
Posted on 03/30/2006 in Commentary
Certain pressmen Down Under have hailed Australia's win in the first Test in South Africa as a sign that the team is back to its dynamic best. But this is far from the truth, writes a worried Bob Simpson, former Australia captain, in the Sportstar.
Posted on 03/30/2006 in Commentary
Warne likes to raise the stakes. He bowls better when he is in danger, writes Peter Roebuck in The Hindu.
Ricky Ponting is the leading batsman of his generation, asserts R Mohan in the Deccan Chronicle. He reckons that Sachin Tendulkar needs to derive inspiration from Sunil Gavaskar to get back to form.
March 14, 2006
Posted on 03/14/2006 in Commentary
This day, 25 years ago, Geoff Boycott was at the receiving end of perhaps the greatest over ever bowled. Cricinfo's All Today's Yesterday, records it thus: The six balls that Michael Holding bowled to Boycott at Bridgetown, only the second over of England's innings, were absolutely chilling in their ferocity and pace. So much for looseners: each ball was quicker than the last, until the sixth swung in and sent Boycott's off stump flying.
Click here to read Martin Williamson's piece on that dramatic episode.
Michael Parkinson wrote on that over.
In the folklore of cricket, those six balls have acquired the reputation of the most lethal over ever delivered. It is not something you can prove except to say that anyone who witnessed what happened, as I did, is bound to say they never saw anything quite like it.
Boycott admits he still has nightmares about that over. Holding smiles
at the memory and says 'If you believe Geoffrey, England would have
been six wickets down without scoring had he not been batting'.
However, one thing needs to be remembered. Boycott was 40 years old then, the great batsman's reflexes must have slowed down a bit. Here is Michael Holding, in an extract from Tony Francis's book Zen of Cricket, on Boycs.
"You were never worried about Boycott embarrassing you. I
only remember him hooking me once, but he wasn't easy to
intimidate. A lot of people said he didn't like the fast
stuff, didn't want to face Lillee and Thomson, but I never
saw him look as if he wanted to back off. Not once."
February 19, 2006
Posted on 02/19/2006 in Commentary
Mark Waugh believes the limited-overs game has increasingly become very predictable and lopsided and has suggested some changes to make them more interesting.
No leg byes. Batting teams should not be able to be rewarded with runs when the batsman is not good enough to make contact with bat on ball. This rule would obviously benefit the team with the more skilled batsmen.
Click here to read Waugh's proposals.
February 2, 2006
Posted on 02/02/2006 in Commentary
Peter Roebuck wonders about the plethora of left-hand batsmen around the world and suggests a change in lbw rule. Why are there so many more highly productive lefties around in cricket than in any other sport? Why so many more successful left-handed batsmen than can be found in the general population?
January 27, 2006
Posted on 01/27/2006 in Commentary
Against bowlers of pace you can play with controlled aggression, for their sheer pace means you don't have to go hard at the ball. Click here to attend the Bob Simpson coaching session.
Posted on 01/27/2006 in Commentary
Twenty-over cricket is here to stay. People enjoy it. Recently a child said he liked Twenty20 cricket "because they whack it every time." So there is no need to be snooty, writes Peter Roebuck
January 18, 2006
Posted on 01/18/2006 in Commentary
IS over-appealing leading to the spate of very poor umpiring decisions in international matches over the last 12 months? Bob Simpson answers the question in his column
There is no doubt that the players are less respectful to umpires than they once were. Perhaps this is because the changing world we live in is less respectful to authority in general. I wonder if bowlers who are verbally happy to chirp at umpires with such cracks as `Are you blind?', `How could you make that decision?', would enjoy it if umpires, after a bad ball, said things such as `Call yourself a Test bowler'? `Hell, my grandson is more accurate than you' or `What a lot of rubbish, how on earth did you get into the Test side?'
Rohit Brijnath agrees with Simpson and appeals for cricketing decorum, targeting Australia in particular.
Certainly a team must express itself, but neither must it believe that winning makes any behaviour acceptable. For a decade, Australia's team has personified cricketing excellence, their play a triumph of discipline, desire, talent and courage. But leadership in sport is more than swinging a bat and hurling a ball.
January 12, 2006
Posted on 01/12/2006 in Commentary
Bob Simpson, the former Australian player and coach, beleives South Africa would have to change their style of cricket if they hope to move up the ladder. My assessment was based on their negativity and the inability to alter their tactics based on the changing circumstances of a match.
December 22, 2005
Posted on 12/22/2005 in Commentary
Telford vice lets rip against Tony Grieg and Bill Lawry.
December 17, 2005
Posted on 12/17/2005 in Commentary
Andrew Ramsey feels that so frighteningly efficient is the modern-day cricket bat that greatest danger lurks for the bowler whose momentum and follow-through renders him a virtually defenceless target from a distance of less than 20metres.
Posted on 12/17/2005 in Commentary
The game's capacity for contradiction has been disturbingly on show recently, says Tim Lane
November 27, 2005
Posted on 11/27/2005 in Commentary
Bob Simpson uses a letter from the great Don Bradman to argue that Attractive cricket cannot be judged solely by the rate of run-getting — an orgy of which, against inferior bowling, can be the most boring thing of all. Attractive cricket comes from personality, character, style and a host of intangible things, associated with quality and with close competition
Posted on 11/27/2005 in Commentary
The argument that sportsmanship in cricket is dying out is nothing more than rose-tinted hogwash, argues Vic Marks.
November 12, 2005
Posted on 11/12/2005 in Commentary
Mike Selvey talks glowingly of Mark Nicholas, anchorman for Channel 4's Test coverage (which, sadly, ended this year):
I should declare an interest here. Nicholas has been a friend for a good many years since the days when, starting out in journalism, and covering a Hampshire match, I would sleep on the floor of his living room after drinking his wine and watching Bruce Springsteen videos with him into the small hours. He is a busy chap now and a great networker who has moved onwards and upwards, so we don't socialise much these days but, when we do, he is great company. With that out of the way now, dispassionately I find it incredible that a broadcaster of his skills has not already landed a plum television job in this country, not just in cricket but beyond, even into a shiny suit asking people to come on down or whatever...One day he will morph into Des Lynam.
November 5, 2005
Posted on 11/05/2005 in Commentary
India showed how they’ve perfected the art of playing the mindgame and endgame, writes Trevor Chesterfield in The Indian Express
Chess is the sort of mindgame where masters of the endgame use trusted tactics to outwit the opposition. And so far, in this series, India have cleverly employed the same tactics to outmanoeuvre Sri Lanka’s gameplan
September 15, 2005
Posted on 09/15/2005 in Commentary
Mike Haysman celebrates Richie Benaud's unique style behind the microphone - calm, warm and polite.
Also check out tributes by Ivo Tennant in The Times, Dan Nicholl in iafrica.com and Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph.
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