India has many many fine towns and cities but Nagpur is not one of them. A nondescript industrial sprawl 800 kilometres east of the coast at Mumbai, it's bang in the middle of the country but very far from the nation’s heart. The town is unremarkable, largely unloved and famous in cricketing circles for having produced the odd outrageous greentop. It is, in fact, the Derby of India. Which, a cynic would tell you, is exactly why Jagmohan Dalmiya chose it for the First Test – revenge for all those years of English slights, perceived and real.

Continue reading "The Last Flight to Nagpur"

Today Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton, in India on Sky TV duty, slipped almost unnoticed through a busy airport and out into Mumbai, a money-making city of muggy sunshine and honking horns. Which made you wonder: is it just a lazy cliché to say that cricket’s ‘like a religion on the subcontinent’. Then, just as I had that thought, my bubbly taxi driver excitedly pointed out Hussain, started a detailed and unprompted analysis of his captaincy, asked me about Alastair Cook, and reeled off the exact scores that Dravid and Laxman made in the Eden Gardens Aussie-bashing of 2000-01. Later, I checked the scorecard. He was dead right.

Continue reading "Send for Nasser"

This is the end and time to head back home with a bagful of memories. At this moment, events of the last 45 days remain a blur. So much has happened in so little time – we started the tour freezing at the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, ended up sweating at the National Stadium in Karachi - that it will take some time to soak in the experience.

Continue reading "A bagful of memories"

Sarfraz Ahmed slept with the World Cup last night and you can hardly blame him considering it looked to have slipped away from him yesterday. The Pakistan team savoured their victory today, as the Indians made a hasty retreat back home – although, to be fair, it was always their schedule to fly out of Colombo early this morning. However, I expect they are now fairly happy with that planning.

Continue reading "The end of the road"

What an extraordinary match; 180 runs, 20 wickets, 60 overs. They are the bare numbers but don’t do justice to the sheer drama of today. One minute Pakistan had been routed for 109 – World Cup over. Twenty minutes of chaos later India were 9 for 6. As they say, cricket’s a funny old game.

Continue reading "Final drama"

This evening was the closing dinner for the World Cup, an event attended by the two main finalists and the two teams who contested the Plate final – New Zealand and Nepal. There were the usual speeches which we can gloss over, the main fun came after the official part of proceedings had been done and dusted.

Continue reading "Dancing the night away"

Non-availability of tickets from Multan led one to undertake a two hour journey to Bahawalpur before boarding a Karachi bound flight. The Bahawalpur airport is so non descript that it could easily be a bus terminus.

Continue reading "Bahawalpur's quaint charm"

Was that the Aussies choking that I watched today? “The pressure got to us,” said Moises Henriques, their captain. The favoured outcome of today’s match was the powerfully consistent Australians (at least in this tournament) to out do the talented but inconsistent Pakistanis. But that depended on which Pakistan arrived. For 17 overs it seemed for all the world that it was the reckless version, but then an extraordinary turnaround occurred. When Pakistan were 80 for 5 we all feared another one-sided final, that’s what it was – but for the other side.

Continue reading "Pakistan passion"

It’s pretty surprising that a bunch of around 15 journalists, traveling on a bus this morning, actually got to the Multan Cricket Stadium. The city was on strike with policemen patrolling the streets and here we are, inside a rickety bus, with the driver pelting through the roads at a ferocious pace.

Continue reading "High on speed"

It wasn’t the worst of days for Sameera de Zoysa, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, against Zimbabwe. Called on as a replacement for Angelo Mathews he scored 63 and his side won to keep themselves in with a shout of winning the Super League play-off. So when Sri Lanka’s coach said: “I thought he struggled with some of his field settings, and that’s why we gave away a few too many runs,” he can probably consider himself a tad unlucky.

Continue reading "Meeting expectations"

What a way to go – 58 all out and in front of the TV cameras to boot. There was nowhere to hide for England. Over the last few years the senior side has largely eradicated those collapses that so typified the 1990s, and when a clump of wickets do crash together – as at Lord’s last summer when they slumped to 21 for 5 against the Aussies –someone, on that occasion Kevin Pietersen, is usually there to at least give a score some respectability.

Continue reading "Leaving in a rush"

Rickshaw drivers come in various types. I’ve been a bit intimidated by the Chennai auto-rickshaw drivers, at your face and aggressive. Those in Bangalore are more sober; the ones in Mumbai are mostly professional (put meter, take money, give exact change types); and Delhi throws up all sorts. A few Lahore drivers, though, never cease to amaze.

Continue reading "'Aap ki marzi'"

The crowds for this tournament have been non-existent, even for Sri Lanka’s matches, but at least the semi-finals and final should have a few more people taking notice of the action as the games are being beamed around the world. Today the Premadasa Stadium was getting the finishing touches as it prepares to host the first semi-final – England against India – a day/night match tomorrow. The ground certainly has a different feel than the others used in the tournament.

Continue reading "Smile for the cameras"

Mine will be a ‘Jayasuriya Triple Century’ please, and for him a ‘Border’s burger’. For the uninitiated that’s two chicken breasts with chips and a burger with all the trimmings (how Sri Lankan) at the Cricket Club Café in Colombo, an amazing place crammed full to bursting with memorabilia from every avenue of the sport. It, therefore, won’t surprise people when I say I have spent a few evenings down there since arriving in town.

Continue reading "Jayasuriya's triple century"

Strangely, and this maybe because I have watched most of Sachin Tendulkar’s career before I began covering cricket, I have rarely noticed him when he leaves the ball.

Continue reading "Watching Sachin leave"

Today was a ‘Poya Day’ in Sri Lanka - a Buddhist ritual which happens four times a month and equates to the four phases of the moon. This was a full-moon day, the most important of the phases and a monthly national holiday in Buddhist tradition. Yesterday there were lavish parades around the streets of Colombo, involving herds of dressed-up elephants, as the city prepared itself for a day of worship.

Continue reading "Time for reflection"

I was just imagining Rahul Dravid's life when one-dayers are on. Maybe it reads something like - travel, practice, press conference, team-meeting, gym, warm-up, game, press conference, travel ...

Continue reading "Running from pillar to post"

Nondescripts is an unassuming cricket ground, the only one of the five used for this tournament that hasn’t hosted a Test or ODI. But while it may not have held international matches, it certainly has an impressive production line of international players. Reading the honours board on the back wall of the pavilion is like a who’s who of Sri Lankan Cricket.

Continue reading "Certainly not nondescript"

You’ll have read the occasional passing reference to tuk-tuks in this diary already, but the three-wheeled vehicles have become such a part of my everyday life around Colombo that I felt they deserved an entry of their own. The question is really, where do I start? Is it the hair-raising cornering? The total disregard for the rules of the road? Or the confrontations with traffic many times bigger and stronger?

Continue reading "The only way to travel"

Taxilla. It's a name that evoked memories of one's history books, of King Ambhi, of education. It's an ancient city that rose to prominence as one of the eminent seats of learning in the sub-continent, before being ravaged by invaders from Central Asia.

Continue reading "Ruins in fantasy land"

Driving from Peshawar to Rawalpindi to Islamabad is like going from a rustic barber's shop to a run-of-the-mill hair-dresser to a posh hair-styling saloon. The contrast is far too stark to miss. One a city that still retains an old-world charm, another a rather crowded hub and the third a manicured, organised capital.

Islamabad is like an enlarged lego set - similar sized houses lining the well-planned colonies; wide several-laned roads infested with trendy automobiles; picturesque set of trees overlooking avenues; recreation parks straight out of suburbs in England. In many ways it's an enlarged Chandigarh, another of those cities planned like clockwork and one that looks the same whichever way you look at it.

It's no doubt impressive but somehow it felt too good, too artificial, too chocolaty. It was a sudden shift coming from pastoral Peshawar, a land that opened up infinite possibilities, one where old blended beautifully with new, one that had a distinct soul. Someday I would love to go back and soak in a bit more of its character.

Now to the posh hair-stylist.

After two matches at the SSC, Colombo’s second biggest ground following the Premadasa Stadium, it was time to take a look at another of the town’s multitude if venues. Like Antigua is said to have a beach for every day of the year, I’m sure this place can match that for cricket grounds. They are everywhere, of all shapes and sizes, and very conveniently three of them (and, as if by magic, three of four for this tournament) are within about 100 yards of each other.

Continue reading "Anyone seen the score?"

In many ways, the World Cup is bigger news in the lesser-known cricketing nations. This was well demonstrated today with two journalists from Nepal covering the clash against England, while there are also journalists from Uganda, Ireland and Scotland covering their countries. And they are only the ones I know about.

Continue reading "Nepal aim to climb their Everest"

It’s been exactly a month since I landed in Pakistan and only now do I get the feeling of being in a foreign country. For once, I am clueless about the language and for once, I look and dress totally differently from the locals.

Continue reading "A law unto itself"

In their current form there are not many sides that could outdo the full Australian side when it comes to a crushing one-day win. So, it comes as no surprise, that when it does happen it is another Australian team that manages it. While South Africa suffered a 57-run drubbing at Sydney, the Under-19 version were crushed by 175 runs in Colombo.

Continue reading "Younger team, bigger win"

In 1275, when Marco Polo visited the Peshawar area, he found a place where "people have peculiar language, worship idols and have an evil disposition". The first part isn't too far off the mark, the second, I haven't yet observed and the third, I really hope not.

Continue reading "Serious, dead serious"

Here, with my finest weather-presenting impression is the forecast for Colombo. It’s hot, and stays hot all day and all night, but when it rains, boy, does it rain. Yesterday evening I was sat in the Sri Lankan office of Cricinfo, putting together an entry for this blog, when I realised I could hear water cascading down the window panes. Funny time to wash the windows, I thought, before opening the door to see sheeting rain. Within minutes the road outside the office resembled a river and the dusty surface had turned to mud.

Continue reading "It never rains, but it pours"

Like an oasis in a desert, somewhere in Clifton Shopping Arcade in Karachi, is a small niche specialising in making, hold your breath, Masala Dosa. Coming from a region where the dish is almost a staple, I didn't need to sample this one. Yet, one couldn't resist the temptation.

Continue reading "Specialist: Masala Dosa"

A refreshing aspect to my early days in Colombo has been the attitude of the players and management that I have so far come across. It is fair to say that, at times, dealing with full international teams can be a frustrating and impersonal affair, as you are directed through one official channel then another before being told there is ‘no comment’. Nothing of the sort here, those I've met have been happy to talk and ensure the World Cup is shown in the best possible light.

Continue reading "The full experience"

It was so similar, yet it was so different. I've played street cricket in India, played under lights, played with rules restricting scoring to the straights, played it with a lot of fervour. I’ve played with tennis, rubber and cork balls but never tried out using a hard tennis ball wrapped in tape.

Continue reading "Tape it, rip it"

Who says England can’t win a match with spin? The probable threesome for the senior tour of India – Shaun Udal, Ian Blackwell and Monty Panesar – won’t be giving Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid nightmares, but the Under-19 side today showed the way, bowling England to a moral boosting warm-up win. To India’s Under-19 team Graeme White, Nick James and Moeen Ali will have sounded like a similar prospect to that facing the full squad next month. But they proved that with the backing of some thoughtful captaincy and the confidence to throw the ball up anything is possible. Food for thought as Vaughan and Co. prepare for their next challenge.

Continue reading "England in a positive spin"

Forgive me if some of my comments over the next few weeks seem slightly
clichéd or old-hat. This is my first trip to the subcontinent and it
doesn’t matter how much you hear from other people, there is nothing like first-hand experience.

My flight left Dubai in the early hours of Wednesday morning, meaning
there was very little sleep beforehand and, with the journey taking just four hours, very little sleep on board. So, it was with slightly bleary eyes that I stared out of the window as we descended into Colombo, the lush, green landscape appearing out of the haze. However, any feeling of weariness was soon cast aside as my senses were sent into overdrive on entering the bustling – and at first glance, chaotic - Colombo life.

Continue reading "Life in Colombo"

A battle of the hacks under floodlights at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium is no joking matter. Especially when you reslise that one of the opposition openers, a former hockey star with Olympic and World Cup medals, can smash sixes out of the ground.

Continue reading "An Olympian hammering"