Aakash Chopra’s an avid reader and takes his writing seriously © Cricinfo Ltd

There’s no shortage of paper at Old Trafford. First there’s a notice circulated about the capacity at the ground (“When everyone is in the crowd will be 19,984”) then there’s one more about the parking (“The car park will close at 23:30). Wonder what happened to the good old days of announcements, when everyone immersed in their laptops were suddenly jolted up by a shrill tone. Finally an announcement did come: “Dinner only until 7:30 pm”. Surely Manchester had exhausted its foolscap resources.

**

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opener, is here. He’s recently been selected in the India A squad and you can read all about how happy he is here. But there’s more to Chopra. He’s an avid reader and takes his writing, some of which you can read on this website, very seriously.

Continue reading "The cricketer cum columnist"

	India could well do with a coach like Matt Busby, whose statue still remains at Old Trafford © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Down the road from the cricketing Old Trafford is the 'real' Old Trafford - the 'Theatre of Dreams'. Home to Manchester United, OT is an imposing, modern structure. The front view gives an impression of a gigantic mall – the shiny glass not really serving as an ideal backdrop to the legendary Matt Busby – but the awe-inspiring effect very much intact.

Busby's mission, as coach of the side from 1945 to 1969, would have involved building a world-beating side but little would he have imagined the marketing behemoth that the club has become. The souvenir shop is a vast sea of red, with every daily item morphed into Man U memorabilia. Notebooks, coffee mugs, towels, pens … you name it. The footballers no doubt keep the club going but the marketing men must come close behind.

**

India's fielding coach Robin Singh makes a spectacle of himself while speaking to the media. Hardly had anyone asked a provoking question when he flares up: "The media has been writing bad things about our fielding, not as if I read the reports but they are very negative." OK Robin, we're glad you are not affected by the media. But he doesn't stop there. "It's partly because of the media that the team is fielding badly. You put so much pressure on them."

Some people just love putting their foot in their mouth.

	How high and long can the ball hang in the air before reaching the batsmen? © Getty Images

It's an age where speed-guns are creaking, clocking bowling speeds at 80 and 90 mph with bowlers constantly trying to break the 100-mph barrier. What we need now, especially with Ramesh Powar involved, is a bowler who cracks the 30 mph mark. Powar delights with his ability to constantly slow the pace. At Edgbaston he began in the 50s before gradually, clinically settling in the mid 40s. Suddenly he lobbed in one at 42 mph and Ian Bell, mouth wide open, ran the risk of yawning before the ball arrived.

Batsmen talk about playing fast bowlers on instinct, not having the time to make up their minds in a split second. Here they're faced with the reverse dilemma: having too much time to decide which shot to pull out. The best part is Powar occasionally slips in the under-cutter, the straight one bowled at 55mph. You know it's slow but how slow makes the biggest difference. Batsmen talk of having trouble with increments. The difference between 75 and 80mph is supposed to be less than between 85 and 86. As you go higher the minimal increase matters. Surely one can use the reverse logic and apply it to Powar: the difference between 43 and 42, that one extra moment could ruin all well-thought out plans.

Now we know a bowler can get as fast as 100 mph but how slow can he go? What is the limiting point in international cricket? How high and long can the ball hang in the air before reaching the batsmen? Watch the speed gun closely. We could be entering uncharted territory.

	Percy Jeeves died at the age of 28 during the First World War © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Several illustrious names, including the peerless Brian Lara, have turned out for Warwickshire but one, a promising allrounder who couldn't fulfil his potential, requires most attention. Born in Yorkshire in 1888, Percy Jeeves couldn't attract much attention and decided to shift to these parts. He turned out for Warwickshire against the Australians and South Africans in 1912 and was tipped as a fine prospect by PF Warner, that shrewd judge of talent. He had a fine couple of seasons – in 1913 and 1914 – but his career, and life, came to a halt during the First World War.

He died in 1916 at the tender age of 28. He was immortalised the same year, though, when PG Woodhouse named his butler Jeeves, one of the most popular literary characters down the years. Jeeves the cricketer might have died young but his name happily lives on in public memory.

Continue reading "The inimitable Jeeves"

	Rashid Patel prides himself as the man who first spotted Zaheer Khan © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

The former Indian left-arm seamer Rashid Patel is here. Not many know him but some of you would have seen a photograph of an enraged Rashid, armed with a stump and running after Raman Lamba during a Duleep Trophy match at Jamshedpur in the 1990-91 season. Rashid played a solitary Test and another solitary one-dayer for India in 1988 after which a leg injury cut his career short.

“Forget about Lamba yaar but do you know who first spotted Zaheer Khan?” Sorry Rashid but it must have been some nurse in the hospital where he was born no? “Arrey bhai. I went to Madras in January 1999. India were playing Pakistan in that famous Test. I went to the MRF Pace Foundation and saw this young boy.

“He was so good that I went to the ground and told India’s then coach Aunshuman Gaekwad, ‘Watch this boy. He’s going to be great.’ Gaekwad then had a look a few days later and recommended him to play for Baroda. My career was almost over then. So there was a direct left-arm replacement for me.”

And in case you didn’t know, Rashid hails from Bharuch and was born in the village adjacent to Ikhar, Munaf Patel’s hometown. He currently plays club cricket in England and is happy that fast bowlers are better looked after these days. “When I played nobody knew how to handle fast bowlers. And we all suffered from so many injures that people didn’t know how to rectify. At least now there is proper medical guidance.”

Did he watch the Nottingham Test when Zaheer won India the match? “Opened them up yaar, what a spell.” Thanks Rashid. We owe you one.

****

Mahendra Singh Dhoni jokes about an Indian team filled with wicketkeepers. “Me and Karthik are just two. Rahul has kept before, Robin started off as a keeper. Viru can keep, Gambhir also keeps. Gradually my aim is to get a team filled with wicketkeepers. Each of us can take the gloves for 10 overs each then.”

	Hundred no.42 is proving elusive for Sachin Tendulkar © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar smiled. Now that's not a codeword for a nuclear explosion but it was how Tendulkar reacted to an umpiring decision when he was one short of his 42nd one-day hundred. What an injustice, cried millions of fans across the world. How can such a great batsman fall in the 90s in three out of five one-day innings? And how does one explain two 99s in two months?

Hang on. According to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. Surely two months isn't long enough for solving such a mighty problem. It shows that the step from 0 to 41 is surely demanding but the one from 41 to 42 is gigantic. It's a leap that our Sachin needs to take. Douglas Adams obviously saw it coming several decades earlier but when it does arrive, it deserves one heck of a celebration.

**

Rahul Dravid has made a few faux pas on this tour and continued his fine form in yesterday’s press conference as well. He's confused Anil Kumble for Harbhajan Singh and Tendulkar for Sourav Ganguly earlier but last evening he mixed up Southampton with Portsmouth. Portsmouth! Now where did that come from? It left the scribes a bit confused but one English journalist, from Portsmouth, forgave him instantly: "Dravid just doesn't stop rising in my estimation."

	Frank Duckworth, a retired mathematical physicist cum arm-chair cricket fan © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Frank Duckworth was first introduced to cricket as an eight-year old in 1948, when the Australian Invincibles toured this country. It was then that he learnt that ‘Australia’ was a dirty word and Don Bradman, in particular, was someone you needed to get out. A Gloucestershire local, Duckworth has been an “arm-chair cricket fan” ever since.

Duckworth, one half of the Duckworth-Lewis calculation that’s used to revise targets, is all jolly. Surely can’t be so happy with the skies so clear and the sun shining bright? Doesn’t he want rain, so that his calculation can come into play? “Floodlight failure, my lad,” he chuckles. “There have been 15 cases of the method coming into play because of floodlight failure and three cases due to crowd riots. In fact there have been three matches in Derbyshire when sun has stopped play. They rarely get the sun out there but when it does come out, it causes some sort of reflection while it’s setting and affects the batsmen.”

Duckworth likes to call himself a “retired mathematical physicist”. The World Cup semi-final of 1992, when South Africa first needed 22 off one ball, prompted him to devise a new method. Duckworth explains the origins of the system but moves on to talking about a few matches.

“The D/L method was first used on January 1 1997, in a one-dayer between Zimbabwe and England at Harare. Zimbabwe scored 200 and it rained in the interval. Eight overs needed to be deducted. If we’d just used the average run-rate method, 168 would have been the target. But D/L said 185 off 42. Eng started very well and collapsed, falling short by seven runs. The press actually blamed us for England losing. I just said, ‘England have discovered a new method to lose’.”

He vividly recalls the South Africa-Sri Lanka clash in the 2003 World Cup, a game when South Africa tied without knowing what exactly was needed. “Shaun Pollock hadn’t educated his people properly. They should have known exactly what was needed. Sri Lanka’s captain [Sanath] Jayasuriya knew it, very well indeed. There was a wonderful cartoon the next day - two disgruntled supporters holding a hangman noose with effigies of Duckworth and Lewis. I was on a flight from Australia at that time and landed to all these messages.”

But the one match where he was extremely nervous was the World Cup final of 2003, when India, for a brief while, seemed to have found an escape route. “Before 2003 the rule had a limitation when it came to high-scoring matches. It was only because all grounds didn’t have computers to run the complex program. Australia made 359 and after 23 overs there was a threat of rain. And if D/L had come in India were just four runs behind the par score. Rain then and India could have had a most undeserved win. I was listening to it on radio and was extremely nervous. It prompted us to tinker with the method and request the ICC to ensure computers at all games.”

**
Two spectators in Stand A (near the pavilion) argue about the merits of this ground. "You need to wait all day long for a beer," says one. "This ground should never be allowed to host a 50-over match. Maybe Twenty20 at the most." The other disagrees. "I've never sat at a ground with such a good view, so close to the action." Well ... at the ground for the cricket or for the beer? The elementary question. Answers on a postcard, please.

	The statue outside India's team hotel in Bristol © Cricinfo Ltd

So ancient and gothic are certain parts of Bristol that you're transported to another age. Whether it's the Bristol University or the Cathedral Church, formed as early as 1150, in the College Green area the historic touch is ever-present.

Just outside the Marriott Royal, the hotel where the team is staying, is a life-size statue of Raja Ram Mohun Roy (or Rajah Rammohun Roy to the British). Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, one of the first Indian socio-religious reform movements, died in Stapleton, a village at the north east of Bristol. The plaque at the bottom of the statue describes him thus: "Philosopher, reformer, patriot, scholar. A founding father of Indian renaissance."

**

WG Grace and Wally Hammond will no doubt go down as two of Gloucestershire's biggest legends but Jack Russell mustn't be forgotten. Not so much for his cricketing skills, of which he had plenty, but for his quirkiness. It's said he would survive entire tours on a diet of baked beans. He also insisted on eating Weetabix only when soaked in the milk for precisely 12 minutes.

**

Incidentally this is the first city where we're coming across so many lady taxi drivers.

**

When Sourav Ganguly decides to speak to the media, there's obviously a frenzy to get a byte here, a nibble there. One British television reporter, though, had other ideas. When the Indian media contingent were hovering over Ganguly, harrying him for a couple of minutes each, the journalist from BBC One stood a few feet away, told his camera-person to get the media-interest in the background and began: "Here's how popular Sourav Ganguly is in India." Works just fine.

At the start of play, most of the spectators took a while to enter the ground. They were packed in outside but “security measures” meant they all needed to be checked before getting in. At the start of the second innings, though, a group of highly-enthusiastic streakers ran amok in the West Stand and it took a while for the security men to drive them out. How inefficient they’d been. They took so long and couldn’t spot the streakers in the pack.

**

There are rumours that the first one-dayer at the Rose Bowl might get some coverage in the Indian papers tomorrow. The rest of the pages are set to be filled by developments related to the Indian Cricket League (ICL). England, though, appears largely unaware of all these earth-shattering events. One of the scribes saw the name Ali Murtaza in the list and said, ‘Some Bangladeshis signed up as well?’ Well, actually our dear Mashrafe hasn’t signed up – not as yet, at least – but Ali, the young Uttar Pradesh batsman. Such confusion.

**
Having gone missing all day, the sun came out at around 7:10 this evening. Immediately Gautam Gambhir nicked to the wicketkeeper. It was James Anderson’s 100th one-day wicket. The sun won’t be mentioned in the scorecard but it sure deserves credit.

	A caricature on Colin Milburn's debut © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

It’s the sort of spirit you see in Northamptonshire, once home to one of the heaviest weights in cricket, Colin Milburn. Wisden informs us that he normally “hovered around the 18 stone mark” and that he was the largest man to play first-class cricket in England since Warwick Armstrong in 1921. He was also, and this is the most important part, a wonderfully natural player who might have had a glorious international career if not for the fateful car-crash that allowed him only nine Tests.

Walk into the Colin Milburn room here in Northampton and you get pictures, caricatures and memorabilia celebrating one of their greatest batsmen. There’s a hilarious spoof on his Test debut, the Manchester Test against West Indies in 1966. Milburn made a duck on debut and the illustration, by Roy Ullyett in 1969, takes a lighter look at the sequence of events.

“Ah well, it was a fantastic day for Colin Cowdrey. He walked alongside Colin Milburn. And nobody in the crowd could see him.

Century-maker Hunte was dropped by Higgs when only 7. Higgs sportingly states Milburn did not blot the vision of the ball.

Mr Milburn then attempted to catch Hunte with a spectacular dive. Having witnessed this performance I trust Americans will forgive me if I’m not impressed by a mere spacecraft landing on the moon.”

So then it was most fitting that Ramesh Powar, rotund and happy, had a good day in the field. He even insisted on wearing his shades when the skies were overcast. He’s probably the largest international cricketer at the moment but he’s shown that there remains a place for the dying breed.

	"Majid Haq runs a takeaway shop. In fact during one of his games, his father was ill, his uncle wasn’t in town and the only other person who could man the shop was in jail. Welcome to Glasgow." © Getty Images

This is the greatest country in the world. Not because of the kilt, not because of the Glasgow Celtic Football Club, not because of King Bruce’s legacy but simply because they deep fry Mars bars. Chip shops around Glasgow fry the chocolate bar, using it as a batter for puddings, sausages and haggis, a typical Scottish delicacy. The recipe is quite simple. Chill, but do not freeze, the Mars bar by leaving it in a fridge, or freezer, for a short while. Mix the milk, flour and egg in a bowl. Whisk together to create a creamy batter. Heat the oil. Coat the Mars bar completely in batter. Lower into hot oil and fry until batter is golden brown. Serve. Remember, no crackles, no Kit-Kat, no Cadbury. Only Mars bars please.

In terms of priority, though, football is way higher than Mars bars. Last evening the city suddenly turned sleepy. No taxis in sight, hardly any traffic and rows and rows of cars parked on the sideways. After an hour of aimless wandering we are told that the city’s dead state is a weekly phenomenon. “Celtic are playin’ boy,” says what appears to be the only active taxi driver in Glasgow. “Come on, quick. They’re trailin’ by 1.’ We’re told we’re in luck. How on earth? “If Celtic wa playin’ Rangers, you’re goners’.

Celtic v Rangers, according to people of the greatest city, is the greatest rivalry in the greatest sport. So, if you haven’t guessed already, cricket doesn’t matter that much. Scotland’s captain, Ryan Watson, works as a business development officer for Caledonian Brewery. He arrived late for the pre-match press conference yesterday and light-heartedly said, “I was held up selling beer.”

Wicketkeeper Colin Smith is a policeman while Majid Haq, the offspinner, runs a family takeaway shop. In fact during one of his games, his father was ill, his uncle wasn’t in town and the only other person who could man the shop was in jail. Surely, this is the greatest city in the world.

**

Announcement of the day: the partnership between Kyle McCallum and Gavin Hamilton is the highest partnership on this ground since 1959.

Considering this is the first international match here, it was the highest partnership in any form of cricket. Records, as they always say, are meant to be broken.

**

A elderly English journalist spent a fair share of the morning trying to find out the temperature. First he approached the local media officer, then the scorer, then a few others. Nobody had a clue. Finally he logged on to the internet and learnt it was 15 degrees centigrade. “Before the internet age we’d say, ‘Fairly chilly, occasionally warm’. Now we need numbers’.”

Sunny skies and a soothing breeze welcome the Indians during their practice session at the Clydesdale Cricket Club © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

It's a bank holiday back home but the cricket team, currently in Glasgow, had a relaxed practice session in the picturesque Clydesdale Cricket Club. The rains that had come down over the last few days kept away and the team were greeted by sunny skies and a soothing breeze. There were Independence Day greetings all around, with Chandu Borde, the manager of the side and the only one here who actually witnessed the moment 60 years ago, leading the way. "How can I forget that day," he beamed when asked about India's tryst with destiny. "I was 13 years old and didn't understand what they were talking. We all felt we were independent as kids so it was confusing to hear that there was an Independence Day." A fatherly chuckle. "But yes, I carried an Indian flag all day and ran around the streets of Pune. I knew it was a big moment but didn't know why."

Borde has been the lucky charm for the Indian team over the years. "After my playing days I have been with the team in different capacities. But never have they lost. The luck continues."



**

Clydesdale is the oldest surviving sports club in Glasgow, formed as early as 1848. The ground was inaugurated in 1902, Mike Stanger, the chairman of the club, informs us. Nestled in a scenic part of Pollockshields, the club is estimated to hold around 2000 people and is one among several charming cricket venues one sees around the British Isles. More on this over the next couple of days.

**

	Back at The Oval...but as a spectator © Siddartha Vaidyanathan

Dean Headley, the former England fast bowler, was at The Oval today. He misses being there, but only like everyone else. "I don't think of it negatively, as in I wish I was still playing. I think of it positively, like anyone else in the ground and say, 'I wish I was still playing'.There's a fine difference, if you know what I'm saying." Yes, Dean, of course we understand.

* * *

A small round of applause went up around 4.45. It wasn't for a batsman, bowler or fielder. It wasn't even for a landmark. It was because the innings extras had just reached 50. 33 byes, 13 leg-byes, 2 wides and six no-balls. It was the seventh 50-plus score in the innings and The Oval crowd didn't miss clapping for it.

* * *

A trumpeter provided royal entertainment for the crowd towards the end of the Indian innings. Bugling numbers like "Escape to Victory" and "Rocky" he tried to inspire England for one last burst. It seemed to inspire India's last pair instead: Sreesanth cracking three fours in a row and Kumble reaching his hundred.

* * *

Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. Both quality legspinners but neither, until today, had a century. Warne went through 145 Tests without a hundred (his highest score was 99 at Perth). "Warnie came really close. That thought was definitely there when I was batting that I should not slog and get out on 99," said a cheery Kumble at the end of the day. Now he has 10 in a match and a hundred. Surely we can forgive him for not spinning the ball (actually he does that too...but anyway).

	'Who would have thought Shane Warne, the undoubted star for Australia, will drop the Ashes? I don’t think there’s been a stronger irony' © Getty Images

Talking cricket is sometimes as enjoyable as watching it. Nothing like doing both. This diary writer spent an hour or so next to David Frith, the veteran cricket historian, trying to take in bits of his encyclopaedic knowledge. Frith, whose cricket-watching career spans more than 60 years, is one for detail and his recounting of minor anecdotes makes for riveting discussion.

Memories of The Oval flood back. Not only has he seen several Tests at this venue, a scene for grand theatre down the years, but also spoken to legends who took part in many. There’s Gilbert Jessop’s Test in 1902 – “probably the greatest Test of all time” – Australia amassing 701 in 1934 – “Bradman and Ponsford, ouch” – Bradman’s last Test in 1948 and many, many more.

“I spoke to Wilfred Rhodes about 1902 and the whole story about him and George Hirst coming together with 15 needed,” he says, “Folklore has it that they said, ‘We’ll get ‘em in singles’. Rhodes says they said nothing of the sort. He also added with a wry smile, ‘We might have run a few of ‘em’.”

Continue reading "Oval moments with David Frith"

	Gordon Rorke's action led to a review of no-ball laws © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Walking out of the Oval station, on the northern line of the London Underground, one sees different cricketing paintings on the wall, representing batting styles, bowling actions and fielding postures. The bowling illustration is most interesting.

Gordon Rorke played just four Tests for Australia, all in 1959, but had an unmistakable action. Strangely he never played a Test in England, leave alone The Oval, but still finds his action portrayed on the wall of a famous station. In fact Rorke’s only Tests were in Australia and India, in a career which was dogged with controversy over chucking and ‘drag’.

Exploiting the laws at the time, he dragged his back foot so successfully that he could deliver the ball with his front foot several feet over the bowling crease. In fact his ability to do this so successfully led to a review of the no-ball laws. He had a fairly successful start to his career, bagging eight wickets in his first two games against England in 1958-59, before a barren couple of Tests in India cost him his place.

He left from India early, not coming to terms with the country and losing weight at an alarming rate. He was never the same bowler again. His action, though, won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

**

"Kevin Pietersen is unwell and will miss England's practice today." Andrew Walpole, England's media manager, preferred to be as economical with his information as possible at the start of the press conference today. Unwell with what? How serious? Was it an infection? Which part of the body was affected? Just a shrug of the shoulders. It later emerged that Pietersen had "mild temperature". This is England's best batsman we're talking about, the superstar of the future, the one whose actions the media cares about. And here is the England media manager underplaying it as if it was an afterthought. Surely a masterplan to put India off the hook.

**

	Mansoor Amjad (left) and Adnan Akmal, brother of Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal, are playing club cricket in England © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Both times Adnan simply materialised. No intimation, just a pleasant jolt. Following the bizarre introduction, I tried calling him a few times. Voicemail. Once I returned to India, I tried to keep in touch. Number not in use. You couldn't enter Adnan's life, he would choose when to waft into yours.

Continue reading "Don't call us, we'll call you"

As talk of Zaheer Khan and jelly-gate slowly dies down, one mustn't forget The Oval circa 1994. Thirteen years ago Devon Malcolm was struck on the helmet while batting against South Africa. His badge came off when he missed a Fanie de Villiers bouncer and, when the South Africans laughed, he shot back: "You guys are history". Enraged, he destroyed them with a spell of 9 for 57 and helped England level the series. India's bowlers beware. Don't anger Anderson, Tremlett or Sidebottom in this Test. Don't become history; create it.

It's an Asian carnival at Grace Road, what with Leicester having such a large population of both Indians and Sri Lankans. A number of fans carried along trumpets, creating one heck of a noise through the day. One journalist, irritated with the extent of the noise, shouted out: "This is not India or Sri Lanka, behave as if you're in England."

**

The fire-prevention authorities are here. Making the most of a packed house, they're giving out smoke detectors and pamphlets, stressing the importance of guarding against fire. The brochures are in three different languages – English, Urdu and Gujarati – and have been made specifically for Asian week. Around five feet away, a couple of young men light their cigarettes. Thankfully the alarms aren't on.

**

Sourav Ganguly, meanwhile, is calmly jogging around the ground warding off fans seeking autographs. One fan, speaking on her mobile phone, is keen that he speaks to someone at the other end of the line. Ganguly doesn't stop the first time but consents to answer the phone when requested again.

**

Some intensive wicketkeeping practice for Mahendra Singh Dhoni before the start of the game. Robin Singh, India's fielding coach, and Greg King, their fitness trainer, conduct drills to improve Dhoni's collection of throws. After a session lasting more than an hour, where he caught most and missed a few, Dhoni is knackered. Any guesses why he lasted just two balls while batting? Surely, no connection between the two.

	Sukhvir Singh has a bowl at his heroes © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

**

Sukhvir Singh, a promising pace bowler who recently won the Cricket Star reality show in India, is currently in Leicester. He's part of the second XI team at the county and bowled to the Indians at the nets today. Such distances people travel to bowl at their heroes!

**

Happened to pick up Richard Beard's How to beat the Australians, a hilarious travelogue cum sports biog on a journey through Australia. This one paragraph explains everything:

" … it's impossible for anyone interested in sport to ignore the way Australia's supremacy has crept well beyond the boundaries of cricket. The Australian Lleyton Hewitt is and will always be a Wimbledon champion, whereas Tim Henman will always have his family. Australia have triumphed in two Rugby World Cups, consecutive cricket World Cups [the book was written in 2006, so it missed their hat-trick of victories], and the Davis Cup. In 1990s, they were winners in twelve team and 21 individual sports, a period we in England spent waiting for the nation to be saved by Graeme Hick."