All posts by h716a5.icu

Our cricket will remain in the dark if we continue with this cloak of secrecy that alienates the public

Mike King29-Sep-2008
People will second guess every player who has not been chosen in a Test or one-day squad over the past three or four years © Eddie Norfolk
West Indies cricket seems to operate in a world of its own. We hosted a World Cup that had more guidelines and rules than any other; we allowed a captain to change his mind after tendering his resignation and then re-appointed him; and we keep a secret for players who fail drug tests.Two weeks ago news broke that two players who were participating in a camp for the Stanford Superstars in Antigua had failed a drugs test in August. Authorites have yet to confirm their names but speculation has been rife over the identity of the two players.Disappointingly, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive Donald Peters, has become a modern day Pontius Pilate, side-stepping the issue with his now infamous quote: “They were part of the Stanford 20/20 camp so that is not our matter to deal with.”What is disturbing is that there have been positive tests in previous years and they have been kept secret. Had it not been for chairman of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO), Dr Adrian Lorde, we would still be in the dark. Speaking on Voice of Barbados’ Sports Everywhere programme recently, Lorde mentioned there were positive drug tests in the Caribbean before and “justice has been done to those persons”.In other spheres of sporting activity, drug cheats are exposed, but why is it supposedly different in West Indies cricket. Athletes who use dope are like criminals and sports authorities must make fighting the problem a priority.Keeping the names secret just leads to speculation and rumour. What happens now is that people will second guess every player who has not been chosen in a Test or one-day squad over the past three or four years.The problem of doping won’t disappear overnight and pretending that it does not exist will not help the cause. It is shocking that we already know the names of those who failed drug tests at the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, China, but right in our backyard there is no disclosure when there are positive tests in a sport we hold so dearly. But why should I be surprised? Those who govern our cricket have a track record of failing to embrace both the players and the public. Shamefully, that has been par for the course.Our cricket will remain in the dark if we continue with this cloak of secrecy that alienates the public. Let there be light.

Centuries as opener at North Sound and Bridgetown kept him in the squad for India, but till Friday, his series had been a tale of squandered starts

Cricinfo staff07-Nov-2008
Simon Katich has played 12 of his 30 Tests against India and aggregated 952 runs at 56 © Getty Images
Given that he once crossed the width of a continent to enhance his prospects of wearing the baggy green, it’s perhaps no surprise that Simon Katich has had an itinerant career. Once one of the brightest batting prospects in the land, he didn’t establish himself in the side till he was 28, but soon after his 30th birthday, he was shunted to the sidelines.Pura Cup bowlers bore the brunt of his frustration for a couple of seasons, and but for an injury that ruled Matthew Hayden out of the Caribbean tour earlier this year, the recall might never have come.Breaking into the Australian batting line-up has been as difficult as breaching Fort Knox in recent seasons. Back in 2001, Justin Langer, who had batted mostly at No.3, replaced Michael Slater as opener at The Oval. With the series won, it really wasn’t a gamble, but what it did was pave the way for the greatest opening combination of the modern era,statistically superior even to Greenidge and Haynes.Katich earned his spurs as a middle-order bat with Western Australia and New South Wales. But with Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke unlikely to yield a vacancy in the middle, Katich knew he had to seize his Caribbean moment to revive a career that had never lived up to the rich promise he showed while saving Steve Waugh’s farewell Test with sparkling innings of 125 and 77 not out.Centuries as opener at North Sound and Bridgetown kept him in the squad for India, but till Friday, his series had been a tale of squandered starts. A solid 66 in Bangalore was followed by a tortuous second-innings 34, and there was then a bizarre dismissal on the stroke of tea as Australia sought to save the game in Mohali. In Delhi, he batted beautifully for 64 before being beaten by a prodigious leg break from Amit Mishra. There were signs there though that he was once again playing with the freedom and aggressive intent that had made him an integral part ofAustralia’s series triumph in 2004.At the old ground in Nagpur where the series was clinched four years ago, Katich had walked in at No. 3 in the second innings and batted with a fluency that rattled the Indians. Few have ever played Anil Kumble as decisively or as well, and his 99 spanned just 157 deliveries. It was a gorgeous innings, marred only by a sudden attack of nerves and the resulting leg-before dismissal.The new venue might be miles removed from the old one, but cricket in India’s geographical heartland is clearly to Katich’s liking. When he came out to bat shortly before tea, there was no element of diffidence despite the stunning collapse that Jason Krejza’s off breaks had engineered minutes earlier. Even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened the bowling with Harbhajan Singh at one end, Australia’s openers trusted their instincts and got the rollicking start that’s so essentially against the new ball.Katich got going with a wonderful drive through mid-off, and even the scuffed-up and soft older ball didn’t halt his momentum in a final session that had more than its share of lovely strokes. His footwork to the spinners was exceptional, and he drove and worked the ball off his pads with immaculate timing. Being a left-hander clearly helped, with theoffspinners unable to make use of the rough that would have been so dangerous for a right-hander.Katich never flagged though, and India were looking bereft of ideas by the time he and Michael Hussey exchanged pats on the back before walking off. For such a serene innings, the rate at which he scored was astonishing. His first 60 runs encompassed just 66 balls, Sehwag pace, and a note of circumspection crept in only as stumps drew near. Sehwag, the standout spinner in Delhi, once again posed the trickiest questions, but Australia would have been encouraged by the relative ease with which Katich tackled both Harbhajan and Mishra.He has played 12 of his 30 Tests against India and aggregated 952 runs at 56. A soft-spoken man prone to the sudden outburst, he probably won’t go so far as to ask: “Can I play you every week?”, but India will most certainly be aware that one more session of sweetly timed strokes could do serious harm to their ambitions of reversing the result of four years ago. After the sort of convoluted journey that another left-hander, Sourav Ganguly, could relate to, the wanderer now has a fixed address. Top man.

No bombs but plenty of explosions courtesy Bangalore’s own Kiwi, some ordinary fielding, and a monster at arm’s length

Chandrachud Basavaraj18-Oct-2009Choice of game
I knew I would be home in Bangalore for Diwali, and as soon as the Royal Challengers qualified for the league phase, I booked tickets for this match. To be honest, I did not know then who the opponents would be or that the match could be a dead rubber for Bangalore.Team supported
True Bangalorean that I am, I supported the Royal Challengers all the way, even if it meant the last IPL team would get knocked out. But it was hard not to want Virender Sehwag to score a few, or feel sorry for Amit Mishra later on. With Bangalore out, I’ll be cheering for Trinidad & Tobago and maybe Brett Lee and Co. in New South Wales for the rest of the tournament.Key performer
While Ross Taylor undoubtedly was the man who reduced the match to a no-contest, my key performer would be the man who let him off at a crucial stage, Ashish Nehra. It was comical to watch Nehra at his awkward best, first parrying the ball over the fence for six, and then conceding an extra run in the same over.One thing I’d have changed about the match
The match was great fun but if Bangalore had still been alive and fighting for a semi-final berth, that would have added a level of tension to the proceedings. We could also have done without the bomb scare before the match. There was a constant reminder of that threat in the form of a security guy patrolling the boundary bearing a fancy gadget with an antenna.Face-off I relished
Taylor v Glenn McGrath was a potentially interesting contest but Taylor settled it pretty early with lofted fours in McGrath’s first over. Watching Dirk Nannes bowl short and fast against the Bangalore top order was a treat. He hit 150kph quite consistently.Wow moment
Roelef van der Merwe’s fielding off his own bowling was eye-catching. He was bowling without a midwicket inside the circle, and thrice in the same over, he chased down the ball, put in the sliding dive, and prevented the second run. The moment of the match, though, was the crowd cheering for Taylor when he walked in to bat – it was as if Sachin Tendulkar himself had walked in.Player watch
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the debutant, fielding at the boundary near us put in a neat performance in front of a big crowd, and he held his nerve while bowling against Sehwag as well. Virat Kohli’s show on the field ranged from a special dive, pick-up-and-direct-hit at backward point, to an ordinary misfield for four against Kumble at deep midwicket.Shot of the day
Taylor’s big hits into the second tier made for brilliant watching and Kohli looked very skilful against Mishra with a square-driven four and a couple of late cuts. But my shot of the day would have to be Rahul Dravid’s six to finish the match off on a perfect note.Crowd meter
Since the unforgettable 1996 World Cup game against Pakistan, few crowds in India could have provided a better atmosphere for a cricket match. Only a couple of empty sections were visible in the stadium. The DJ played his part, getting the crowd to start chants of “Jumbo, Jumbo”, “Hodiyappa, Uthappa” chants, and Mexican waves from time to time.Fancy-dress index
One guy seated just behind us sported long, wild hair, wore a hideous mask, and cheered shrilly even when nothing was happening on the field. We were quite happy when he moved away towards the fence to dance with his mates.Bomb detectors are becoming a common sight in cricket now•Getty ImagesEntertainment
Most of the music was of the sort I don’t carry on my iPod – loud and noisy – but it got the crowd going all right. I quite liked the Champions League theme music that was aired from time to time. The music got better when Bangalore batted, with repeated airings of “”, but cosmopolitan as Bangalore may be, the Kannada film numbers were the ones that really got the entire stadium grooving – “”, and “”. The cheerleaders closest to my seat were three Mischief Gals, who were quite a treat to watch. The crowd and the girls fed off each other, and at one stage as Taylor blazed away, they were performing backward flips and other gymnastics tricks.IPL v Champions League?
The Champions League tickets were more affordable than those at the IPL 2008, but the stadium décor was definitely poorer. This match was effectively an IPL match and the crowd knew each player: from van der Merwe to Nannes. Most of us got to see some of the Cobras v Bushrangers match as well. While the names there were not as well known, or the match as engaging, that didn’t stop the crowd from calling out the names of the boundary riders, or generally being at their raucous best.Star spotting
The only non-player to make it to the big screen was Jacques Kallis’ girlfriend. That apart, the crowd in my stand went into a tizzy towards the end of the first match, when the Challengers and Daredevils made their entry into the stadium through an adjacent entrance. The RCB players also took a victory lap at the end of the match, and the likes of Dale Steyn, van der Merwe, and Taylor tossed their red caps into the crowd, sparking mini fights amongst the fans.Marks out of 10
9. Some of the fielding and catching was ordinary, and I suppose we could have had a closer contest, but Kumble and Dravid fired, Taylor exploded, and overall the crowd got more than their money’s worth on a super Diwali night at the Chinnaswamy.Think you could do a good job of a Fan Following report for the Champions League final? Send a brief note (no more than 100 words) about yourself to [email protected]. NOTE: This offer is open only if you’re going to be watching live in the stadium in Hyderabad.

One of the main men behind the tournament talks about why it is not going to inspire players to go freelance, as has been claimed

Interview by Ajay S Shankar23-Oct-2009Kino (left): “Your best chance of playing in the Champions League is to play for your domestic team because there are no restrictions on playing for your domestic team”•Global Cricket Ventures-BCCIFrom the organisers’ point of view, how has the tournament been?
The tournament’s gone wonderfully well to date. From a pure cricket perspective, the standard of cricket and the standard of matches has been superb. But most pleasingly, the contributions that we most wanted Champions League Twenty20 to make to cricket have occurred.For example, the impact it has had in the Caribbean has been spectacular. It has given West Indians the chance to see the true strength of West Indian cricket once again. I think what this is going to achieve is to inspire the next generation of cricketers in the West Indies with new and greater opportunities, and certainly more opportunities than those offered by one national team across numerous countries.And those opportunities are numerous; apart from the obvious financial ones, this competition has given players opportunities to showcase their talent and capacity for international cricket, as well as opportunities to play for other domestic teams when their schedules allow, whether that occurs in India, Australia, South Africa or elsewhere.There are already a number of players who have performed well during the Champions League who have been approached to play in the coming months in various domestic competitions, and for many players, this competition has been their first opportunity to play with and against the best cricketers around the world. That will improve their cricket and help them become more accomplished cricketers, and it would be surprising if a large number of domestic players participating in this competition without previous international experience weren’t selected for their international teams in the near future.What has also been pleasing is the competitiveness of all teams. There was a lot of confidence expressed about IPL teams being favourites, but as you can see the tournament has shown that there is a great deal of strength among all domestic teams throughout the world. The performances of Cape Cobras, Victoria and New South Wales have been a terrific example of just how strong domestic cricket is around the world, and just how overdue it has been to stage this type of event.Are you happy with the crowd turnout for the tournament because it has been obvious that the numbers have not been able to match those of the two IPLs, even the one held in South Africa?
The crowds have been more than acceptable, particularly for IPL-team matches, certain non-IPL team matches, and all matches at the later stages of the tournament. For instance, the local support at Hyderabad for the Trinidad and Tobago team has been extremely pleasing. But yes, if we know anything about Indian crowds, it’s their preference for watching Indian teams and internationally acclaimed Indian cricketers. So we knew from the start that crowds for non-Indian domestic teams or those without Indian international players were going to be down, particularly given the inevitable unfamiliarity of Indian crowds with new teams, new players and a new competition. But the crowds we have got have more or less exceeded our expectations.

“I suspect you will see changes in many domestic competitions in the coming years to bolster performances with a view of qualifying for the Champions League”

Again, this is the first year of a new competition and we are hopeful that in future years the Indian crowds, whenever the tournament is played in India, will become used to the competition and will develop allegiances to teams and start supporting them in much larger numbers. If we are to stage the event in India, I think it’s important that we get more support from Indian crowds for non-Indian matches.So are there any ideas or suggestions being worked on regarding increasing the Indian presence in the Champions League?
There are no solid plans right now for any wholesale changes to the structure of the tournament, but we are continually looking at ways to promote the event to increase response levels in India. But in terms of increased participation of Indian players, that’s up to each individual national board and each individual participating team, as to the limits, if any, on recruitment of overseas players and which players those teams want to recruit for their competitions.I would imagine that a lot of countries may follow in the footsteps of what Cricket Australia has done for the KFC Big Bash [Australia’s domestic competition, which is the qualifier for the Champions League]. Cricket Australia has increased the number of overseas players per team from one to two, so you will find teams recruiting more international players, such as Dwayne Bravo, who has been recruited by the Victoria Bushrangers. Now whether the recruits are mostly Indian players or non-Indian players is a matter for individual teams, but I suspect you will see changes in many domestic competitions in the coming years to bolster performances with a view of qualifying for the Champions League. That really is a matter for each individual board.There are fears in international cricket that the Champions League will encourage players to go freelance. You could see players opting to play for Twenty20 domestic leagues around the world to enhance their chances of playing in the Champions League. What is your opinion?
I think the concerns are misguided. On the contrary, the tournament will breed cricketers who are encouraged to remain in their national system and progress through that system. The Champions League will incentivise cricketers to play domestic cricket. It will give them a chance to shine at both the domestic and international level. It will provide them with great opportunities without necessitating them leaving their domestic club. I also don’t think it is going to take cricketers away from international cricket; on the contrary, it will incentivise them to stay in the system because they now have additional revenue opportunities by doing so.Also, bear in mind that there is a limit on the number of overseas players who can play in each team – a Champions League team can’t play more than four foreign players in the XI. This certainly limits the playing opportunities for freelancers, as does the transfer fee payable to home teams in the event of players qualifying for multiple teams. For instance, if you look at this year’s competition, there were approximately eight players who could have played for an IPL team after qualifying for their home team, but only one of them went across [Dirk Nannes opted for Delhi Daredevils instead of the Victoria Bushrangers, his home team]. So what this is saying to the world is, “Yes, there is an opportunity to play for multiple domestic teams but at the end of the day your best chance of playing in the Champions League is to play for your domestic team because there are no restrictions on playing for your domestic team.” So my view is the Champions League will not create freelance cricketers, and if anything, it’s going to strengthen domestic and international cricket.How have the TV ratings been? Do you have the numbers?
I don’t have the figures, but based on the feedback we are getting from the various official broadcasters, the local ratings for the preliminary matches – those involving Royal Challengers in Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils in Delhi and Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad – were excellent. The ratings for Indian matches across have been generally good, though the ratings in India for non-Indian matches have been a tad disappointing. But the ratings for non-Indian matches in countries whose teams are involved have been excellent. For example, in the West Indies, ratings have been excellent. The feedback I got from Trinidad and Tobago is that from 5am [their time], when they played their last game, people throughout the Caribbean were watching the game and then celebrating the great victory, so that gives you an idea of what the ratings are going to be like over there.Trinidad and Tobago: rocking the ratings back home, apparently•Global Cricket Ventures-BCCIIt has not been made very clear to the outside viewer what exactly the governing structure for the league is. It is known that BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa are the founding partners, but who owns how much?
The founding members of the tournament are the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa and, as you know, its Governing Council is constituted on a 3:2:1 basis [Lalit Modi, Niranjan Shah and N Srinivasan from India, James Sutherland and Kino from Australia, and Gerald Majola from South Africa].How are the three boards sharing the revenue from the tournament? What is the model?
That is a matter purely for internal consumption.What are the lessons that you have learnt from the first tournament? What can you do better next time?
Well, we haven’t got to a stage where we are having a review meeting yet. That will likely occur in early December. That is also when we are going to look at which is the most appropriate country to host the event next year, what are the best ways of promoting the tournament, and so on. But we are constantly reviewing the tournament operations.For example, we are of the view that for this year event promotion started too late, and that’s one area where we are probably going to review and look at a more appropriate timeline. We also need to review venues and locations and the logistical issues faced at each of this year’s venues.As far as structure is concerned, we are happy right now with the number of teams and the location of the teams. Basically, we are very pleased with everything related to the cricket, the players, the teams and the rules, though we will continually assess potential changes.Where will the tournament be held next year?
The Governing Council will decide on that late this year or early next year, but it’s fair to say that there is always one factor that we need to take into account when evaluating prospective host countries, and that is time zones. Ideally, it should be held in a location where it can be broadcast into prime-time Indian television, which is the most valuable market from a broadcast and sponsor perspective. That brings into the picture countries such as South Africa, England and the UAE. Obviously, the Indian ratings are very important for the competition. Again, it might be played in India as well. We are going to look at various options with that constraint in mind.

Makhaya Ntini led South Africa onto the field with his son alongside him, and the standing ovation he received had barely abated when he bowled his first ball

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion17-Dec-2009It’s easy to forget, having been fed a diet of one-day cricket, that Test matches are capable of surviving on the slow burn for lengthy periods. After more than two sessions of slumber, the Centurion Test sparked into life on the second evening.Makhaya Ntini led South Africa onto the field with his son alongside him, and the standing ovation he received had barely abated when he bowled his first ball. He had already been cheered to the rafters on two prior occasions – first when he came out to bat, and again when he got off the mark with a boundary to third man. Coupled with the emotion generated by Ntini’s 100th Test appearance was the fact that England’s openers, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, had to switch into batting mode after 153 overs in the field over two blisteringly hot days. Something was going to happen.With the fourth ball of the innings Cook sparred outside off stump and AB de Villiers, possibly the best fielder in the world, spilled a head-high catch at third slip. It was travelling at some speed, but the gasp that went round the ground reflected the feeling that this was a rare aberration.Not only did the error deny Ntini an emotional wicket, but it also meant every punter in the ground aged over 18 (sadly considerably less than on the opening day) had to wait a little longer to claim their free pint of lager that is on offer for whenever Ntini does open his account. Those who aren’t returning tomorrow have missed their chance.Maybe, though, all the fanfare surrounding Ntini didn’t help the South Africans as they allowed England to score quicker than at any stage during the first two days. “I thought we did well to get to 420,” Jacques Kallis said. “But then we were very disappointing this evening with the way we bowled. We gave away too many freebies and the guys were very disappointed with that. We bowled nowhere near how we should have done.”England scoring at four-an-over was because we bowled really poorly rather than them being aggressive. If get our lines and lengths right I think you’ll see scoring will be tough again.”Still, it was a passage of play where England’s day could have gone very wrong. South Africa’s tail-end resistance had not only added valuable runs, it also left the openers with a tough period to negotiate through to the close. Suddenly, with a new ball and fresh bowlers, the pitch started to play tricks on the mind. When Cook’s off-stump technique was exposed once again, it was danger time for the visitors.”I think that could have quite easily been a tricky session towards the end,” Graham Onions said. “With those overs to face, we could have been four-down. But we batted really well and we’ve got a great opportunity to bat the whole day tomorrow.Looking at the days’ numbers – taking 6 for 156 and replying with 88 for 1 – the case can be made to suggest the honours went England’s way. It took the bowlers a lot of sweat and toil to work through South Africa, but at no stage did the scoring rate run away from them. Actually, it slowed to a crawl during the afternoon session and it meant the final total was not out of reach, considering the volume of overs faced.”Perhaps we could have been a little bit more consistent [with the ball], but I don’t think we bowled badly at all,” Onions added. “They were only going at 2.9 an over and we’re going at 3.9 now. Wickets usually get a little bit worse as Test matches go on, and there’s no reason why we can’t bat really well tomorrow and get ourselves in a really strong position.”The mental resilience of Strauss is leading the way for England and continues to be mighty impressive. If this Test goes wrong he will face plenty of criticism for a combination of team selection and his decision to bowl, and watching South Africa reach 418 has left him with ground to make up. But the way he timed the ball during the final session showed a man focussed on the task in hand.”He’s a quality player and good players come through,” Kallis said. “He had a fantastic tour last time [656 runs in 2004-05] but we had some plans that we didn’t execute this evening which was disappointing. They have a lot of quality players in their side and certainly weren’t going to lie down and not fight. We’ve got to be on top of our game if we want to come out on top in this series.”

Gardens, golf courses, lakes – there’s plenty of nature to savour in Kandy

Kumar Sangakkara15-Nov-2010The Temple of the Tooth
No visit to Kandy is complete without visiting the Dalada Maligawa, also known as the Temple of the Tooth, which dates back to the 16th century. The sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha is enshrined here. The best time to visit is when a pooja (religious service) is being held, at dawn, mid-day, or in the evening. In August each year the town dazzles with the sights and sounds of the Kandy Perera, a spectacular street procession where the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha is paraded on an elephant through the streets.Golfing
While I am not a regular golfer, I do love playing at the spectacular Victoria Golf & Country Club. If you like golf, you have to go. The undulating 18-hole course is beautiful with its views over the reservoir and the surrounding hills. You might want to take a fair number of balls along, though as there is plenty of rough for amateurs like me. The course is also well-positioned for those wanting to watch the cricket at Pallekelle, the new stadium on the outskirts of the city. You can stay in chalets or hire a villa on the estate.The Kandy lake
Kandy is built around a lake and it is fun and relaxing to wander around it in the shade of the enormous trees. Best to do this early in the morning or late in the afternoon.Good also to visit the Kandy National Museum, situated behind the Temple of the Tooth. Gives you an interesting glimpse into the heyday of the Kandyan kingdom in the 17th and 18th centuries.The Royal Botanical Gardens
Another must-do excursion in Kandy is a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Built as a Queen’s pleasure garden in the 14th century, they also housed a Kandyan prince’s residence in the 18th century. The garden is famous for its rare orchids, and it is maintained beautifully. Great place to wander around, even for those that don’t have green fingers.If you do like nature then you might also like to visit Udawattakelle Sanctuary to the north of Kandy Lake, a mini rainforest that has some good walking paths.Eating
If you are looking for some good food, seek out authentic Kandyan restaurants for , a popular sour fish curry. If you want something posh, consider Theva or Kandy House, both small boutique hotels. The big hotels like Chaaya Citadel, Earl’s Regency and Mahaweli Reach all have big buffet spreads for those with a big appetite. There is a nice, small vegetarian South Indian restaurant called Rams and also a Chinese restaurant specialising in Sri Lankan-style Chinese called Flower Song (expect lots of chilli). For a quick snack, the Bake House and Delight Bakers offer pastries and short eats on the main high street.

The batting Powerplay seems to have been more advantageous to the bowlers in the World Cup, and though Pakistan’s numbers in it read well, they are quite inflexible in deciding when to take it

Osman Samiuddin in Pallekele13-Mar-2011Pakistan have not quite yet mastered the batting Powerplay, though their numbers in this World Cup make for impressive reading. They have only lost three wickets in batting Powerplay overs across four games, the least for any side who has taken it more than twice, and their average run-rate of 9.81 through those overs is second only to South Africa. Yet something about their usage of it hasn’t looked that impressive, though in fairness, they are not the only side of whom that can be said.That is proof enough that the ICC has got the innovation right. On evidence so far, in fact, it is difficult to know whether it is the batsmen or bowlers who have benefitted more from the batting Powerplay in this tournament.England’s stutter against India and India’s own implosion against South Africa counter the Irish boost in their chase against England and AB de Villiers’ canny use to spark South Africa’s chase against India on Saturday.For Pakistan it poses a unique conundrum. The very idea of it muddles the long-held and preferred batting ideology of steady, safe accumulation until the last ten overs whereupon arrives a great burst of scoring. Their current batting order, with Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq at Nos. 6, 7 and 8 is configured precisely for that purpose: Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan to build and those below them, power-hitters all, to blast. In their defence, over the years, it has worked more often than not.There is no one ideal time to take the Powerplay, of course. It is a situational strategic tool and there is no definitive moment when it is best employed; in this World Cup only twice have sides taken it before 30 overs; twelve times it has been taken between overs 31 and 40, and the vast majority of occasions – 29 times – it has come after the 40th.Often, two set batsmen at the crease choose not to take it early because the runs are coming anyway. Sometimes, the batsmen at the crease are not best equipped to exploit it. Often, as seen in the New Zealand-Pakistan game, the runs are not as important as is the need to see a good death bowler bowled out, as happened with Umar Gul. With Gul gone, New Zealand pillaged the last five overs.Pakistan have chosen to, as best they can, render it insignificant, trying simply to slipstream it into their own strategy. In four World Cup games so far, on three occasions they’ve waited till after 42 overs to take it.Against Kenya they took it from the 43rd over onwards; at the Premadasa against Sri Lanka from the 44th over; against Canada at the same venue from the 43rd over. The one occasion it has come before was in the loss to New Zealand, when it was taken in the 34th over.Only against Kenya can the strategy be said to have really worked; Misbah and Umar were at the crease and well-set when they took it and they proceeded to take 71 from those five overs, losing only one wicket. Against Sri Lanka, Pakistan probably waited too long; Misbah and Younis were well-set in a match-defining partnership but chose not to take it. Only when Younis fell in the 41st over and after Umar had faced a few balls did they take it, but momentum was lost. Umar holed out and only 36 runs came from it.The game against Canada was most revealing of Pakistan’s attitude towards the Powerplay. After a top-order collapse, Misbah and Umar had rebuilt the innings with a 73-run stand. They came together in the 16th over and batted through to the 35th, yet still didn’t feel comfortable in taking it. Once Umar was gone, the bottom fell out of the batting; when Afridi and Razzaq were briefly at the crease, they chose not to take it even then.Eventually, it was left to Gul and Saeed Ajmal to take it in the 43rd and the innings ended in the same over. Against New Zealand, Razzaq and Gul were at the crease and the game was as good as gone by the time they took 48 runs from it.Before the 40-over mark it seems Pakistan do not consider the Powerplay in any condition, even if Afridi talks publicly of it depending on the mood of the game at that moment. “I think the situation really counts for a lot,” he said. “If you have wickets in hand in the 40th or 41st over then you can take a Powerplay. If the scoreboard is going well you don’t need to take it early.” In other words, do as you have done since the time of Imran Khan.But more than Pakistan’s power trio, Misbah is probably the key man for it, given the position he comes in at and his ability to gather momentum and then unleash it. At his best, in form, he is an intelligent limited-overs player, confident enough to play the big shots for the slog overs and smart enough to fully exploit the field with his running through the middle overs.”We haven’t used it appropriately,” he said before the game against New Zealand. “But it plays a vital role, if you look at the results of some of the matches. The team who uses the Powerplay well generally wins, whether the batsmen or even the bowlers. We need to have a plan for that.”

There is no still clarity on when Zaheer Khan will be fit to play, but after the way he had England’s batsmen on a string on the first morning at Lord’s, India cannot afford to lose him

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's21-Jul-2011Zaheer Khan has suffered a hamstring strain, but the status of his availability for the rest of the first Test and the series remains unclear. Zaheer underwent an MRI scan and is unlikely to bowl in the remainder of England’s first innings, though he has not yet been ruled out of the entire Test, according to the Indian team management.It is understood that Zaheer was cramping in the dressing room after he limped off midway into the third over of his third spell. He was attended to by the Indian team physio, but team manager Anirudh Chaudhary did not confirm if Zaheer left the ground to undergo any scans. Meanwhile, Duncan Fletcher, the India coach, was also non-committal on how long Zaheer would be out for. “It was quite a loss for us at that stage as he could have got us that third wicket and even more the way he was bowling,” he said.Fletcher would have loved for that to happen as it would have been a nice way to celebrate his hundredth Test as coach of an international side. But he did not want to be drawn in by the media concern over Zaheer’s injury and its possible impact on the match and the rest of the series. He would only say it would be wise to wait till tomorrow before talking about the future.The injury was an unfortunate incident that is bound to affect the predictions for the series because till he went back to the dressing room Zaheer was simply unplayable. Everyone had anointed him India’s lynchpin and his contests with Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen were the ones the full-house at Lord’s sat quietly in anticipation of.Zaheer did not disappoint. He came into the match on the back of going wicketless in a practice game against Somerset, followed by light training – stretching and conditioning mostly – sessions in the two days leading up to the Test match.Zaheer Khan went off the field midway through the third over of his third spell•Getty ImagesIt would not be an overstatement to say Zaheer is currently the most complete seam bowler in the world. Dale Steyn might be at the top of the ICC’s Test bowling rankings but he relies on uncompromising pace and away movement to trap his victims. Zaheer’s skills are more varied: he can swing the new ball both ways, also cut the old ball both ways, and then cup the ball when it is roughed up on one side to reverse swing it. He does all that while using the crease and bowling from both over and around the wicket. The batsman never knows what Zaheer is thinking.Just like bowlers stay away from engaging men like Sachin Tendulkar in verbal jousts, batsmen do not like engaging themselves in a duel with Zaheer. England would know that better than anybody after Zaheer flattened them at Trent Bridge on India’s last tour in 2007, picking up nine wickets after being riled up by the jelly beans incident. Back then he had been England’s bugbear, bowling unplayable lines from around the wicket to overwhelm them.In his first spell of this tour he had both England’s left-hand opening batsmen on a string. Cook had already been left guessing by Praveen Kumar, who started off with two exquisite deliveries that moved away from the left-hander. Zaheer’s ploy was more complex: he drew Cook out by bowling outswingers and then suddenly darted one into him. He then caught Cook off guard with a delivery that straightened on leg stump.Strauss was far from comfortable at the other end. Zaheer had understood that the surface was slow and he had to pitch the ball a little fuller. He teased Strauss with varied lengths, keeping the England captain vigilant. Interestingly, Zaheer kept a deep square leg in for Strauss throughout, but bowled only two bouncers. Strauss is usually very good at picking the right delivery to go after. But Zaheer’s steepling bouncer in his second spell surprised him and he hurried into his pull, and was gone after having spent nearly two hours at the crease for just 22 runs.With the last ball of the same over Zaheer nearly got Jonathan Trott to edge a delivery that shaped away from him. Zaheer appealed though he knew there was no contact. He just wanted to make sure Trott, who has been freakishly consistent since making his debut for England two years ago, was aware who was calling the shots on the day.After lunch, Zaheer kept England under intense pressure; he bowled 5.3 overs without a run being scored off the bat. Trott and Kevin Pietersen had to endure tight lines and teasing lengths, and had to be careful they did not play too early or too late.In his third spell Zaheer charged in from around the wicket, hiding the ball in his palm as he ran in. The first ball was bowled fuller, at Pietersen’s toes. The next delivery he went wide of the crease and got good away movement. Pietersen chased and was lucky not to edge. For the last ball Zaheer changed to over the wicket. Pietersen did not move his feet and played a fuller, angled delivery from his crease. It was clear Zaheer had Pietersen worried.Testing the batsman’s patience is good but one of the most important virtues Zaheer possesses – one that is key to success in Test cricket – is patience. As Mike Atherton observed from the commentary box, Zaheer is never in a rush to get his men. He works them out in spells. He is willing to play the waiting game. Perhaps, he gets some sadistic pleasure out of playing with his catch, having already hooked the bait.Fletcher can remain stone-faced, act unworried, but underneath even he knows that if India have to maintain their No. 1 Test ranking they need a fit Zaheer back.

Plays of the Day from the 5th day of the 2nd Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s

Andrew Miller at Lord's07-Jun-2011Scandal of the day
A fit of pique, an etiquette breach, a trivial injury, a spurious explanation, a dash of “misinformation”, and the sound of ECB shovels sploshing all the way down to the water table. This was cricket’s best storm in a teacup since Jellybeangate in 2007 – and once again, it was Matt Prior at the centre of the (non-) events. In short, Prior was run out second-ball as England faffed over their declaration. He stomped back to the dressing room, where he threw his glove or placed his bat, depending on which ECB explanation you believe, and inadvertently caused the dressing-room window to cave in and shower glass all over the spectators below – one of whom, a lady on her first day as an Associate MCC member, suffered a cut to her ankle. Prior apologised before going out to field, and there the story almost certainly will not end.Surprise of the day
After missing out on a century in England’s first innings, Alastair Cook made amends at the first opportunity by grinding along to a 231-ball 106, his 18th hundred in 67 Tests, and his sixth in the past 12 innings. That, however, was not the surprising part. The shock was the manner of his dismissal, as he danced down the track to Rangana Herath, and was stumped by a split-frame as he tried to regain his ground. In eight years of first-class cricket, and 150 previous games, he had never once got out in such a manner – which says a lot about his style.Ball of the day
Maybe this is the secret to Kevin Pietersen’s phobia. For the 20th time in his past 65 Test innings, he fell to a left-arm spinner, but just for once, it would be cruel to dwell on that fact. The ball that bagged him was an absolute rip-snorter – pitching outside leg, hitting the top of off, not dissimilar to Ashley Giles’s collector’s item against Damien Martyn in the 2005 Ashes. Up until that point, Pietersen had looked to be regaining his fluency, as he dispensed with all the dancing at the crease and concentrated on reaching his first hundred in a home Test since The Oval in 2008. He missed out, but at least he’s been reminded that some balls just have your name on them. Maybe he’ll now be able to treat the rest with the contempt of old.Fail of the day
For a batsman of the highest class, Kumar Sangakkara’s Test record in England is unbecoming. In eight Tests since 2002, he has mustered just 399 runs at 26.60, with just a pair of half-centuries – 65 and 66 – at Lord’s and Trent Bridge on his second visit five years ago. At the age of 33, this was conceivably his final chance to etch his name onto the honour’s board at Lord’s, and in the absence of Tillakaratne Dilshan, he was promoted to open alongside Tharanga Paranavitana. Sadly for him, on 12, Chris Tremlett banged in a long-hop, well outside off stump, and in a moment of confusion, Sangakkara slapped a cut straight to Eoin Morgan at point.

The decision review system is not perfect. That’s why it was right to reprieve Tharanga Paranavitana on the second afternoon in Colombo

Brydon Coverdale17-Sep-2011How much can Hawk-Eye’s lbw predictions be trusted? One-hundred percent? Not at all? If the answer is somewhere in between, then it makes sense for the ICC to apply the technology with a margin of error. And if there is a margin of error, there must be a line at which doubt disappears. And if there is a line, decisions will occasionally come down to millimetres.Enter Tharanga Paranavitana and Trent Copeland. On the second afternoon at the SSC, Paranavitana was saved by an imaginary vertical line down the middle of the off stump. Had Hawk-Eye predicted that the centre of the ball was hitting that line or inside it, Aleem Dar’s on-field not-out decision would have been overturned.Instead, a fraction less than half the ball was within that ‘out’ zone and Copeland was denied despite viewers at home seeing the graphic of a ball smashing into off stump. “That’s ridiculous. That can’t be the umpire’s call,” Tony Greig said on the TV commentary. Twitter lit up with denunciations of the DRS. It was an infinitesimal margin.But millimetres have always mattered in cricket. Why should this line be any different?Pitch the ball a whisker outside leg stump and lbw is out of the question. Fail to plant a sliver of your heel behind the crease and you’ve bowled a no-ball. Slide in the outfield and kiss the boundary rope with body or clothing and you give away a four. These lines provide players, umpires and viewers with certainty.So does the imaginary thread that bisects each of the outside stumps. A player knows that when he makes the ‘T’ signal that unless there is overwhelming evidence that the on-field umpire got it wrong, his review will be wasted. Ball-tracking is not intended as an omnipotent umpire-killer. The review system is based on the tenet that the on-field umpire is correct unless comprehensively proven otherwise.”It’s not necessarily about benefit of the doubt to the batsman,” one of the world’s leading umpires, Simon Taufel said earlier in this series, “but that the benefit of doubt goes with the original decision, and that’s sometimes hard for people, and sometimes umpires, to get their head around.”To remove that premise is to turn umpires into no more than middlemen between computers and players. Retaining some of the human element in a game that has relied on it for 150 years cannot be a bad thing.The answer is not to throw out the predictions made by ball-tracking entirely. A bowler should be able to have a not-out decision overturned if the ball is clearly hitting the middle of middle stump. But neither should ball-tracking be trusted implicitly on something so tenuous as clipping the top outside corner of the bail.Significant faith in the technology would also be required if the imaginary line was to be moved to the outside of the stump instead of the middle. Is the science that good? Why not err on the side of caution?Nor should the TV official tell his colleague what percentage of the ball is hitting and allow the on-field umpire to make the call. Some umpires would overturn if 1% of the ball was hitting and others would refuse to do so even if 49% was striking the stumps. Players deserve to know where they stand before requesting a review.Under the current system, the rules are rigid and transparent. Perhaps a team could be allowed to keep its review if an lbw is shown to be an “umpire’s call” according to the system. If it’s that close, why penalise players for asking the question?But unless ball-tracking is thrown out entirely or trusted completely, there must be a line. Wherever that imaginary border is placed, there will be line-ball decisions. And there’s nothing wrong with that.