The board has chosen to leave some veterans out of the side for reasons best known to them, thereby hurting the side’s chances

Faraz Sarwat03-Jan-2011The dust has yet to settle on John Davison’s startling announcement that he would be withdrawing from Canada’s World Cup squad unless team-mates Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff are provided clear explanations for their non-selection. Cricket Canada is relentlessly subjected to all manner of criticism, some of which can be ill-informed or unfair. Against that backdrop, the issue with Davison is an own goal of the worst kind. It is no longer political opponents with vested interests alleging incompetence – it is Canada’s best-ever player. It is time to take notice.While Cricket Canada has been making positive noises about qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals, those outside the board have no such expectations. The gulf between Test-playing nations and a team like Canada is immense, if not unbridgeable. In such circumstances all that is reasonably hoped for is that the team compete as well as they can. To do so, the best players must be chosen, including Billcliff, Barnett, and for that matter the mysteriously unlamented Sunil Dhaniram.Billcliff is a 38-year-old, battle-hardened batsman who has not just scored runs for Canada but gritty runs, match-saving runs; and that Canadian rarity, match-winning runs. Barnett is Canada’s most versatile batsman. He can open the innings or come in at the fall of the first wicket. Capable of scoring briskly as well as buckling down, Barnett, like Billcliff, gives the batting some spine. At 26 it is absurd that he stands on the precipice of cricket oblivion.Barnett has not been provided with an official explanation for his non-selection, though correspondence seen by ESPNcricinfo between Cricket Canada and Barnett suggests they have taken exception to how Barnett chooses to express his frustration with the board.For Davison, it is important that the board have the man-management skills to handle different personalities. “Let’s face it, young sportsmen can be brash and sometimes difficult to deal with off the field, but it is often these characteristics that help them to be successful on it. One’s ability to be able to deal with an individual who challenges your capabilities is no reason to shatter an athlete’s hopes and dreams.”The system, however, currently lacks the maturity to look beyond personal slights. If a player happens to rub someone in the administration the wrong way, he can forget about representing Canada for a while, if not forever. This type of thing may happen in Test-playing countries too, but at least those teams have the luxury of any number of first-class cricketers waiting to break down the door. In Canada, player resources simply don’t allow for administrators to go on a power trip at a cricketer’s expense.

The system currently lacks the maturity to look beyond personal slights. If a player happens to rub someone in the administration the wrong way, he can forget about representing Canada for a while, if not forever

Billcliff has ostensibly been left out because he was unavailable for matches that Cricket Canada deemed he needed to have played in order to be considered for selection – the same matches that both Davison and Barnett were advised that they did not need to play after initially being told, like Billcliff, that they were mandatory. Confused? So are the players. Billcliff’s age does count against him, but for someone who was instrumental in Canada qualifying for the World Cup in the first place, and who does not have a ready replacement in the team, he deserves better.After every World Cup, whether a team has had a good tournament or not, there is always an element of renewal. Some players call time and bow out gracefully, others go kicking and screaming. Teams change direction, they rebuild, they move batsmen up and down the order, they capitalise on what they did right at the World Cup and correct what they did wrong. But for the World Cup itself every team in the world strives to put its best foot forward, selecting its best players. And here is where Cricket Canada has let itself, its players and it fledgling fan base down. They have simply not selected the best team possible.The time has come for all who profess to care about Canadian cricket to put their egos aside and do what they can to ensure the team gives a good account of itself at the World Cup. In a country like Canada, where there are so few cricketers with meaningful international or first-class experience, Davison’s views need to be treated with deference and respect. Davison’s stand is a courageous one. How many players in the world would put their own World Cup dreams on the line to stand by team-mates who have been hard done by? That Davison has done so speaks volumes.It is a moment of truth for the board. Will they get their backs up and do away with Davison too, or will they fulfill their moral and professional obligation to put Canada’s best team in the World Cup? The players and the fans wait.

The euphoria at the fall of the final wicket against West Indies answered all lingering doubts about England’s hunger

Andrew Miller19-Mar-2011Leading into their do-or-die encounter in Chennai, there was a school of thought that England simply did not want to be in the World Cup anymore. Subconsciously, there was perhaps an element of truth at play, as a long, hard and emotional winter chugged towards its first realistic end-point. The plane was on the tarmac, fully fuelled-up and ready to go, and if anyone in the squad truly believed they were ready to duck the challenge, they could be back home in England right at this minute, like the blissfully indifferent Kevin Pietersen, freed from international duty for the first time since October.If that seems a ridiculous notion in such a high-stakes tournament, then consider the logic – or lack thereof – that has governed England’s campaign in recent days. When the team was on its knees, crying out for one last dose of heroism to spare them from the humiliation of a first-round exit, the management decreed that enough was already enough. Nothing more could be expected of such obvious go-to men such as James Anderson, whose mastery of swing and seam had delivered the Ashes on a plate in the first half of the winter, or Paul Collingwood, whose tank finally ran dry around the time of the Perth Test in December, and whose career has been gliding to a standstill on the hard shoulder ever since.Instead England put their faith in fresh legs and clear minds, and turned the stage over to the likes of James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Chris Tremlett and Ravi Bopara – two of whom had not originally been selected in the World Cup squad, and two who had, but must have doubted if they’d ever be trusted to feature. And now, with Ajmal Shahzad’s hamstring strain demanding a fourth change of personnel in the 15-man party, Andy Flower has followed a similar policy in opting for the inexperience of Jade Dernbach over older, wiser and, dare one say it, more cynical heads. If England string together three victories in their next three matches, they will have won the World Cup. Unless they get as excited about the coming days as Dernbach is sure to be, there will have been little point in pulling out all those stops in Chennai on Thursday night.The gamble that they took against West Indies had the makings of a quiz question in years to come – (“who were the bowlers when England bombed out…”) – but it was one that paid off handsomely in the crunch moments of the contest. Tremlett admittedly proved too hittable on a sit-up-and-beg surface, but his stooping catch at mid-off to dismiss Kemar Roach epitomised the difference in England’s mindset when the game was on the line. Anderson in Ashes form would have gobbled that opportunity, no question, but what about the man who stopped and stared at Pietersen in Nagpur back in February, when Ryan ten Doeschate unleashed the skier that first exposed the frailties in a previously faultless fielding unit?When the contest had been on a similar knife-edge against Bangladesh in Chittagong, the question had been put to the hollow-eyed Anderson: “How much do you really want this?” and the answer that echoed back was “not enough”, as he served up a glut of leg-side wides to tear chunks out of the tail-end requirement. When Tredwell and the admirably combative Swann turned the West Indies match on its head, however, the euphoria at the fall of the final wicket answered all lingering doubts about England’s hunger. They’ve done what they had to do to get out of a group that had been designed to guard against upsets, and having spent the past 48 hours sitting in Delhi wondering which flight they’d be boarding next, a trip to Colombo now looks the likeliest scenario.It would be wrong to pin the blame for England’s failings on fatigue and nothing else, not least because many other teams have had itineraries of similar ferocity. The Aussies, as England well know, haven’t exactly had an easy time of it this winter, while India and South Africa spent the festive season hammering several bells out of one other in a memorable Test and ODI campaign, and none of those teams have made anything like as much of a meal of their qualification bids.But in fairness to England, no-one else has had to process quite such a range of emotions to reach this point in time. For the first time in a long time, it’s not ineptitude that has exposed their shortcomings, but disorientation. In short, England aren’t used to being contenders – in any form of the game, let alone all three at once – and they are still working out what it takes to keep their standards topped up.When the legendary Australian side of the 2000s was faced with the regular challenge of the Ashes and the World Cup in the same winter, they overcame the problem by winning absolutely everything in sight – except, lest it be forgotten, the CB Series in 2006-07, when England punctuated a winter of whitewashes and pedalos with the most third-rate bauble on offer. It was and remains an inexplicable heist from a team in free-fall whose captain had turned to the bottle, but it provided proof, however fleeting, that even the all-time greats end up lowering their standards once in a while – let alone teams such as this current England side who have yet to master the basics of consistency.England got everything spot-on in the Ashes, but then, in their attempt to traverse between the two biggest peaks in their game, they lost their footing on the downward slope and went tumbling. The standards they set for themselves in that series, both on the field and in their David Saker-honed bowling strategies, were nowhere to be seen during a slack-witted one-day campaign in Australia, and they could not be rescued in time for the start of the World Cup. In hindsight, it is understandable how a team that had been performing at fever pitch for three months found it hard to replicate the same intensity against the likes of Netherlands, Ireland and Bangladesh, even if the full extent of their struggles still beggar belief.England have been in this position before, itinerary-wise, and they do not intend going through it all again. By 2015, the Ashes and the World Cup will have been split into separate winters, and for the first time since 1992 – when, coincidentally, Graham Gooch’s men performed as well as any side can without claiming the spoils – the game’s most prestigious one-day trophy will not be contested on the back of a bone-jarring five-Test series against a Southern Hemisphere giant.Three jet-lagged days at home and a ridiculous photo-call against the backdrop of Heathrow’s perimeter fence was all the chance that Andrew Strauss and his team were given to process the magnitude of their triumph in Australia. But give it two more weeks, and they could have the chance for the homecoming to end all homecomings. After the tenacity they’ve shown just to stay alive, who would dare to discount them?

R Ashwin, India’s offspinner, is making a name for himself by taking on responsibility when the stakes are high

Sriram Veera05-Jun-2011On a chilly, drizzly night in Port Elizabeth, Chennai Super Kings were locked in a Super-Over battle against Victoria in the 2010 Champions League Twenty20. Stephen Fleming, Chennai’s coach, wanted to bowl Doug Bollinger, but R Ashwin went up to his captain MS Dhoni and asked for the responsibility. Dhoni, who later said he admires Ashwin for taking up a challenge, threw the ball to him. Ashwin conceded 23, Chennai lost the game.That failure could have broken his spirit. Instead, in the next game, Ashwin wrote his redemption song. Warriors needed 32 off 18 balls to eliminate Chennai from the competition but Ashwin dismissed the in-form Mark Boucher and Justin Kreusch, in an over that cost only seven, to win the game for his team.”That over, with those two wickets, is the most memorable moment on a cricket field for me,” Ashwin told ESPNcricinfo before the World Cup. “I am grateful to Dhoni for giving me the opportunity to bowl the Super Over. It didn’t go well but I learnt the most important lesson that night: never panic again.”And he has never panicked since. Now Ashwin is at another crossroad, after finally being anointed India’s second ODI spinner, behind Harbhajan Singh. His fans are more ambitious. They reckon Ashwin can even push out Harbhajan, if India play on pitches that merit only one spinner. He isn’t there just yet, but this tour of the West Indies and the immediate beyond is a pivotal moment in Ashwin’s life. He knows it, too.”Harbhajan is one of my childhood heroes, if the captain thinks I am good enough to partner him, I would grab it,” Ashwin says. “It’s just a stereotype, a pre-conceived notion that two offspinners can’t play. We are different type of bowlers and I guess it will also come down to the opponents and the pitch that we play.”They are different. Ashwin has refused to conform to the offspinner tag, constantly evolving his art. He even cannibalises the men he initially apes. It was Ajantha Mendis who inspired Ashwin to develop the carom ball. He remembers the day, three and a half years ago.”I saw Mendis bowl at Chepauk. This was before he went on to play for Sri Lanka. I went home that day and told my father that I saw someone who was flicking the leather ball with his fingers like how we do in tennis-ball cricket.” The carom ball is called the ball in Chennai’s gully cricket. Inspired, Ashwin set about trying to replicate it. “Nothing went right. It would land short and I was thrashed in the nets.”WV Raman, his Tamil Nadu coach at the time, showed him the path. “I told him you can’t give up easily,” Raman said. “You need to devote entire sessions to hone the skill. Have one stump and keep bowling at it.”Raman believes Ashwin is an ambitious individual who has constantly improved in every season. “He made a paradigm shift early in his career from an opening batsman at junior level to a bowler. He is a guy who looks forward to challenges and someone who doesn’t like to be in a comfort zone. Mentally he is pretty much up there. He has the qualities to become a good leader.”Ashwin appropriated elements of Mendis that he wanted, made them his own and honed his own style. His carom balls now have more venom than those of Mendis: they break away more. The cannibalisation was complete. He then looked for more variations and recently added legbreaks to his arsenal.Raman pointed out potential pitfalls and areas of improvement. “He used to be impatient in the early years. He thought he can get wickets with every other ball. He has since realised that he can’t be trying to get wickets quickly always, as it affected his consistency. He would either give too many runs or start trying too many things in an effort to bowl the wicket-taking ball.”It took him two-three years to mature and develop good control over his stock delivery. He has learnt to vary his length; that’s why people are finding it difficult to go after him. I still think he still needs to keep reminding himself that a hallmark of a good bowler is to bowl a good line and length consistently for the entire duration of the game.”There is a perception, accentuated by his stellar new-ball spells in the IPL, that Ashwin isn’t as good in the middle overs. He doesn’t agree. “I am as good as any other spinner in the middle overs. I bowl two or three dot balls, build pressure and get a couple of wickets. I enjoy bowling in Powerplays because I am confident about the challenge. Something is going to happen every other ball. And I am probably more ready to get hit than anybody else.”He then adds, summarising his mindset best, “unless you lose some, you don’t win most.”In his last three IPL games, Ashwin took on the rampaging Chris Gayle in the Powerplay. He gave only 16 in four overs in the first, trapped Gayle lbw in the next, and had him caught behind in the final. It’s stunning that in his brief career – let’s not forget that he is just a novice – Ashwin has already made a name as a bowler who thrives under pressure and against tough opposition.He now has five ODIs to bowl alongside Harbhajan and sees himself as an attacking option. “I probably will settle for giving 5.5 runs [an over] or 6 in ODIs and taking three wickets. Since I am going to bowl in Powerplays, I will go for the odd boundary, but I will pick up wickets. It’s a combination of guts and bowling skill which makes you feel you want to give it all in pressure situations, and do well.”When I started to bowl with the new ball in IPL, people said ‘he is a new-ball specialist and doesn’t do as well in middle overs.’ When I bowled well in middle overs, they then said, ‘he doesn’t bowl in death.’ I know that these are part and parcel of a cricketer’s life. I just have to focus on consistently honing my art.”The desire to keep improving is burning inside Ashwin. The one area of his cricket that disappoints him is his batting. “I cannot deny the fact that I have under achieved as a batsman. I would love to turn it around. If I am not an asset to the team, I would rather not be in the team.”

Few captains have enjoyed an apprenticeship as lengthy as Michael Clarke’s, and the coming months will reveal whether the apprenticeship has been as thorough as it has been longwinded

Daniel Brettig29-Mar-2011Having waited so long to hear his path to the Australian captaincy was no longer blocked by the seemingly ageless Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke was caught off-guard by the moment. Clarke’s first reaction to Ponting’s morning phone call was to say that he wished he had known of the senior man’s intentions a little earlier, so better to help with his leader’s final days at the World Cup on the subcontinent.There were portents of good about this, for it conveyed Clarke’s innate desire to help his team and teammates, an attitude enjoyed by the players who have sampled Clarke’s captaincy in Twenty20 and one day matches.But there was also the sobering realisation that from this day forward, Clarke cannot afford to be caught off-guard – anytime, anywhere.Few captains have enjoyed, or endured, an apprenticeship as lengthy as Clarke’s. Ponting himself was never completely sure of becoming Test skipper until the moment it was announced, as first Shane Warne, and then Adam Gilchrist, also had persuasive claims. Instead of worrying about something that was out of his hands and perhaps never going to land in them, Clarke has trained, played and toured with the ever-present knowledge that he was highly likely to be next. At the start of the Ashes summer, chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch stated flatly to the Cricket Australia board that there was no-one near Clarke in the race to become the next leader, and no-one likely to be. Vacating the position, Ponting offered an endorsement every bit as conclusive as that of Hilditch.Clarke has long shown a natural flair for the captaincy, and an ability to elicit strong responses from those players placed under him. Revered by younger teammates if not always loved by older ones, Clarke has boundless energy and plenty of tactical ideas, plus an affinity for spin bowling that Ponting was never able to grasp. There is curiosity in the fact that widespread popular affection has eluded Clarke so far, but it is a truism of leadership that the best do not overly concern themselves with opinion polls. He will need to be far more preoccupied by the task of extracting the very most from the players under him. They are not the copiously talented and supremely confident bunch that Ponting inherited in 2004, having rather more in common with the struggling souls Allan Border took command of, in the wake of a tearful Kim Hughes, 20 years ago.One problem with Clarke’s long wait for the job is that, unlike Border, there is some suspicion his batting may have begun to wither on the vice-captain’s vine. Clarke’s Ashes series was every bit as wretched as Ponting’s, and before that he floundered in two Tests in India, previously known as the scene of an ebullient century on his 2004 debut. Even now, the weight that can be ascribed to Clarke’s apparent batting resurgence in limited overs matches in 2011, is questionable next to a lack of recent Test match runs. Apart from his earlier days when vibrant strokes were offset by inconsistency, Clarke is not a batsman with the sort of presence often seen among Australian captains. In paring back his strokeplay to pursue a steadier runs return, Clarke lost some of his earlier verve, and chronic back problems have also conspired against him at times across his career.Counterbalancing this is the fact that Ponting’s exit has been timed with the maximum consideration for Clarke, allowing him to ease himself towards leadership with a three-match limited overs series in Bangladesh and then a four-month spell at home to grasp the complexities of the job. Clarke will need every second of this, because his captaincy skills are to be tested most severely by back-to-back tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa. On his team’s return home they will face a New Zealand side no doubt hoping to capitalise on tour fatigue, before there is the small matter of a four-match Test series against current world No. 1 India, followed by a trip to the Caribbean. This calendar will be either the making or the breaking of Clarke, and the ultimate measure of whether his apprenticeship has been as thorough as it has been longwinded.

ESPNcricinfo presents six of Shoaib Akhtar’s best bowling performances

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-20114 for 71 v India, Asian Test Championship, Kolkata, 1999
Two balls that silenced 100,000 spectators. Indian fans weren’t too familiar with Shoaib Akhtar but he introduced himself in a manner that left a packed Eden Gardens shell-shocked in a minute. He broke through Rahul Dravid’s defences with a fiery inswinging yorker that uprooted leg stump but what followed was unfathomable to the crowd then. India’s best batsman strolled to the crease to wild cheers and walked back to the pavilion to stunned silence. Facing Shoaib for the first time, Sachin Tendulkar was at the receiving end of another inswinging yorker, which he failed to keep out and which sent the middle stump cartwheeling towards the wicketkeeper. Shoaib had well and truly arrived. He bagged eight wickets in a match-winning performance.3 for 55 v New Zealand, World Cup semi-final, Manchester, 1999
Shoaib lit up the World Cup semi-final in Manchester in front of a partisan crowd to give his favourite opposition their first taste of what would be a regular diet from him. He hit 90 mph consistently and, though he went for a few, he aimed correctly and just at the right time to prevent New Zealand from posting a challenging score in what turned out to be a one-sided knockout. Shoaib bowled three spells, and dislodged a batsman in each. Nathan Astle was his first victim. Stephen Fleming had just slashed him to third man when Shoaib returned from round the wicket to fire in a 92mph yorker that cleaned up leg stump. And, in his final spell, pace gave way to subtlety as Chris Harris was undone by a superbly disguised slower ball. New Zealand were kept to 241 for 7, and Pakistan chased that down with no difficulty.6 for 11 v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lahore, 2002
New Zealand were steamrolled with both bat and ball in Lahore and Shoaib joined in the hammering. New Zealand were up against it after Pakistan had piled up 643 in the first innings, and Shoaib’s spell shut them completely out of contention. His six victims were all either bowled or lbw as his fiery pace and toe-crushing lengths simply proved too hot to handle. In a spell of fifty deliveries, Shoaib bagged 6 for 11 and skittled out New Zealand for 73, towards a massive defeat.5 for 21 v Australia, 1st Test, Colombo, 2002
Australia’s pre-eminence had rarely been challenged in the late nineties and the early noughties, but one Shoaib spell threatened to cause a major upset against a young Pakistan team. Pakistan were looking to limit the damage after conceding a lead of 188 in the first innings but Shoaib sprung the Colombo Test back to life in a spell that made a nonsense of an unfavourable pitch with searing pace. Called on to bowl for a second spell after Australia had been well-placed at 71 for 1, Shoaib fired in a series of inswinging thunderbolts that crippled a powerful line-up. Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh were sent back in a matter of five deliveries and Adam Gilchrist was knocked off with a missile from round the wicket. Australia lost nine wickets for 53, of which Shoaib nipped out five, to collapse to 127 all out. The Pakistan batsmen, for their part, suffered a collapse of their own to lose by 41 runs.5 for 25 v Australia, 3rd ODI, Brisbane, 2002

Shoaib starred in another significant win for Pakistan, this time helping them seal an ODI series in Australia. He had the cushion of a competitive score and derailed an Australian line-up that struggled to put up a challenge. Ponting fell to pace, Darren Lehmann was bowled round his legs, Michael Bevan was caught behind while the tail offered little resistance. Shoaib followed up three wickets in three overs with a couple more down the order to finish with 5 for 25 and catch Australia short by 91 runs.6 for 30 v New Zealand, 2nd Test, Wellington, 2003
Shoaib’s love affair with New Zealand’s batting continued in Wellington, the hosts caving in to a devastating spell to set up a memorable victory for Pakistan. His pace acquired greater potency with the movement and swing in a windy Wellington and the New Zealand batsmen failed to measure up to that. Shoaib had picked up a five-for in the first innings but his batsmen had let that effort down, conceding a lead of 170. New Zealand looked good to put it beyond the visitors in the second innings before Shoaib struck. He removed a stodgy Mark Richardson and Scott Styris off successive deliveries, and combined with seamer Shabbir Ahmed to clean up the tail. New Zealand lost seven wickets for eight runs in 10.4 overs and Pakistan’s batsmen stepped up in the second innings to chase down 274.

Twenty-three wickets in all, Australia’s ludicrous scoreline of 21/9 and a selection of other exotic ingredients went into producing one of the most exhilarating days of Test cricket

Siddarth Ravindran10-Nov-2011Australia’s lowest score in a century:
You’ve just rolled over the opposition in a little over two hours and taken a substantial first-innings lead. Time to return and pummel the dispirited opponents into the ground. Like the Australia of old. Nope. The visitors imploded to 47 all out, their tiniest total since 1902.The run-rate:
When the bowlers are dominating to the extent they did today, it would be natural for the batsmen to decide to shut shop and bide their time. Instead this was a day in which nearly 300 runs were scored in less than 80 overs, at the decidedly brisk Test run-rate of 3.7.The last-wicket pair doubling the score:
Australia did tumble to an embarrassingly miniscule total, but it could have been infinitely worse were it not for the tail-enders Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon. At 21 for 9, Australia were staring at the ignominy of subsiding for the lowest score in Test history. The final wicket pair were the only ones to get into double-digits – Siddle’s unbeaten 12 was enough to briefly make him one of the world’s most discussed topics on Twitter, while No.11 Lyon’s 14 was the top score of the innings.Watson’s five-for:
Lyon’s topping the batting chart complemented the fact that the man at the top of the batting order grabbed the most wickets for Australia. It had been a fairly anonymous day till lunch – Australia’s tail hung on gamely for a while after which South Africa put on 49 for 1. Shane Watson was given the ball to kick off the second session, prompting an astonishing South African collapse. In a 21-ball stretch he waylaid the batting, completing one of the quickest five-wicket hauls in Test history.An unlikely destroyer:
Coming into this Test, discussions of South Africa’s bowling threat centred on the fast-bowling pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. The legspinner Imran Tahir was less known, but seen as a new breed of South African slow bowler, one who attacks instead of being content with containment. The third seamer was generally pointed to as the weak link, but it was the man filling that role, debutant Vernon Philander, who ripped through the heart of Australia’s batting, finishing with 5 for 15 in seven overs – not as dramatically rapid as Watson, but impressive nonetheless.All four innings in a day:
This Test joined select company when both teams batted twice in a day, a feat that has occurred only twice in the previous 2015 Tests. The only other occasions were when India and New Zealand played out a thriller in rainy Hamilton in 2002, and when West Indies were blown away for 54 by England in 2000.The DRS dramas:
An extraordinary nine decisions were reviewed on the day, prompting one television commentator to quip that he hoped the TV umpire was paid as much as the on-field officials. Those nine included an Australian hot streak of successive successful referrals which accounted for the big three of South Africa’s batting – Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers – leaving the innings in shambles at 77 for 6.The drops:
In a match featuring two of the best fielding sides in the world, on a day with 23 wickets went down, you’d expect every chance to have been gobbled up. Instead, three regulation chances were grassed, including a potentially pivotal one from Hashim Amla off the final ball before stumps.Rudolph’s return:
Like the old cliche about London buses, Jacques Rudolph waited a long time for a Test innings, only to have two turn up one after the other . With a bucketload of runs behind him in domestic cricket, Rudolph walked out in the morning for his first Test innings since August 2006. He was dismissed for 18 before lunch but got another opportunity to showcase his Test batting skills after tea, this time making 14. “It must be some sort of record. I’ve finished my batting and my fielding within two days – and we had rain yesterday,” Rudolph later joked.Mr Cricket’s flop:
Michael Hussey came into this match on the back of three consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards in the Sri Lankan Test series, during which he stacked 463 runs in five innings, took blinders in the field and even made breakthroughs with his dibbly-dobbly bowling. Today, he picked up a duck to go with Wednesday’s 1, and also shelled a straightforward chance from Amla at slip.Kallis’ duck:
Another of the game’s most reliable batsmen also flopped. Since December 2007, Kallis has put together a stretch of 56 Test innings without a duck, a run that finally came to an end today at his home ground, where he has a particularly formidable record.

Virender Sehwag said the Test against West Indies was evenly balanced, despite India collapsing to 209 and conceding a first-innings lead of 95 on the second day

Sharda Ugra at the Feroz Shah Kotla07-Nov-2011Unlike India’s innings, which went around in dizzying circles, Virender Sehwag’s explanation for the failure did not. What transpired on the second day against West Indies at the Kotla looked, on scoreline alone, a repeat of what kept happening on the tour of England. This time on supposedly friendlier and more welcoming territory.In their previous 15 innings India have scored more than 300 only once. During the collapses in England, only one at Trent Bridge was shorter than the 52.5 overs India’s batsmen faced at the Kotla. In Delhi, they got to 100 in the 16th over and then lost 9 for 109.For the first hour it looked like normal service was restored: Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir took their chances, flayed the bowling, and the crowd at the Kotla kept building. In the two-and-a-half hours following Gambhir’s departure it was as though the England tour was being relived, but without dangerous swing or chest-high inquiry from an attack capable of aggression and control. The pitch played slow and got lower, and while West Indies’ bowlers were energised, they were far from their lethal forefathers of a few decades ago. It is why 109 for 9 is a reflection on India’s batsmen, and not the wicket they batted on.Sehwag, India’s top-scorer, tossed aside all crutches of comfort about the performance. “The wicket was good. Nobody got out because of the wicket. A lot of the dismissals can be called soft dismissals. It’s a good wicket to bat on, keeping a bit low, but it’s still a good wicket to bat on.”Praise be for Sehwag’s plain speaking. He may have said it to stay confident about batting last, but a reality check never hurt anyone. India had begun before lunch as though the pitch was one of the many toll roads being built in Delhi’s National Capital Region, scoring at just under eight an over, lashing boundaries and splitting fields. Sehwag, who only just fully recovered from his shoulder surgery, warmed up well for the season and, with Gambhir, turned over the strike and the scoreboard. “We were not forcing ourselves to play quickly, it just happened,” Sehwag said. “They were bowling on our legs and sometimes outside off-stump, we were just hitting normal shots.”Gambhir’s dismissal, run out while backing up too far, was unfortunate but everything that followed, as Sehwag said, was just soft. “It happens in Test cricket. Suddenly Gautam got run out and then I got out, and then Tendulkar and Laxman. All are soft dismissals. When one wicket falls, you sometimes lose concentration and you get out, and then it is not easy for the middle order. They don’t know what’s happening, how much bounce there is in the wicket. There was a little bit of reverse-swing. So it will take time.” Collapses, he said repeatedly, happen, except India must prove that this repeated occurrence is not a 1990s rut they have fallen into.Playing crowd-pleasing shots at the Kotla, Sehwag said, was difficult once the ball got softer. “In India, you will get wickets like that. We are not complaining about anything. We have to be patient. Wait for the bad ball and put it away for four.” The India batsmen made that rudimentary instruction appear like rocket science all afternoon.Any criticism of the pitch must be tempered with the fact that West Indies, with inexperienced batsmen in opposition conditions, hung around for 108.2 overs to scratch their way to 304. India’s batsmen, however, did not hunker down long enough to wear out the bowlers, barring, of course, the habitual redeemer Rahul Dravid, who along with Sehwag and Gambhir, was the only other India batsman past 25. As partner after partner arrived and departed, no one would have blamed Dravid for closing his eyes and dreaming of England.This Test is India’s chance to renew its bouncebackability, which was flattened in England this summer. Just over a year ago, that quality was India’s fingerprint in Test cricket. The last time they won a Test at home after trailing in the first innings and batting fourth was against Australia in Mohali. Eight men from that team are still around and cricketers never forget their best jailbreaks.India are not in jail yet, but are not completely free from their shackles either. “We will have to be careful in the second innings, and we will not repeat the same mistakes, and chase whatever target they give us,” Sehwag saidWhen Sehwag was told West Indies wanted to set 400, he said with scarcely disguised disdain: “We thought we would make 1000 runs in the first innings. But to say and to do are two different things. Anyone can say what they want.”India would want to dismiss West Indies for fewer than 150 to set up a chase of around 250. “I think the match is evenly balanced,” Sehwag said. “It’s not as if the wicket is very bad for batting. Even now it is a good track but to score runs is not very easy, when the ball is reversing a bit or keeping low. Therefore the batsman’s thinking becomes a bit defensive because the ball doesn’t come off the wicket as well as he would expect it to. If tomorrow we can get them out quickly, then I will say we perhaps have the upper hand.”India must now bridge the gap between saying and doing. There is time and there is capability. At home, they always have belief. What they need is a result to reinforce it.

Sri Lanka’s historic win in Durban, their injury woes ahead of the decider, and his own sketchy form have no effect of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s approach to the task at hand

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town02-Jan-2012If Tillakaratne Dilshan were as consistent with the bat as he is in press conferences, he would likely score a century every other innings and have a Bradmanesque Test average. From the first time he addressed the media, in Benoni before the tour match, to the most recent before the third Test, nothing has changed.He walks in with the same casual swagger, he sits down with the same look of indifference, he surveys the room with the same half-curiosity, he nods his head with the same rhythm and most of the words he says are repeated .Most questions start with the same answer: Definitely. At the beginning: Do Sri Lanka believe they will be able to adequately challenge South Africa in the series? Definitely. Will Sri Lanka be able to regroup from a year of disappointment and underachievement in the Test arena? Definitely. In the middle: Have Sri Lanka learned anything from their disappointment in Centurion? Definitely. Is the Durban win one of the most significant for Sri Lanka? Definitely. And now, at the end: Does Dilshan himself want to put in a performance of importance as the series enters its sunset stage? Definitely.”We need a good start in every Test match and I want to finish strongly,” Dilshan said. “I am just going to play my own game. I have had success over the last six or seven years and I’d like to finish well.”After a showing in the first Test that suggested he was not worthy of the leadership, Dilshan came back better in the second. He scored 47 in the first innings before he slogged a full toss to fine leg, a stroke he admitted was poor, and then edged behind to be caught for four in the second dig, when Sri Lanka were setting out to build a substantial lead.Every time a question is asked of Dilshan’s batting and whether his somewhat careless, reckless, attitude could be costing the team, the answer is the same. “That’s how he plays his cricket,” says everyone from Geoff Marsh to Kumar Sangakkara, and no one appears to be bothered by it. They can’t be, because when it pays off, it does so handsomely, as his 193 at Lord’s in July last year proved. When it doesn’t, a string of scores such as the ones he cobbled up during the first two Tests of the Pakistan series will appear: 19, 9, 7 and 3.One thing we know about Dilshan is that usually those lean patches do not last long. Since moving up to the opening slot, the longest Dilshan has ever gone without a Test half-century is five innings. All the statistics indicate that the captain is due a big knock. He seems to want it badly himself, along with the chance to make history, again.A first series win beckons for Dilshan, who only won his first Test as captain four days ago. Sri Lanka stand on the brink of beating South Africa at home, something that no other sub-continental team has done. The possibilities could easily be overwhelming but with Dilshan at the helm, there is little chance of him allowing it to become that way. One thing he has shown, with his hit-and-miss style of batting, is that nothing needs to be over-analysed, not even something as important as what lies before Sri Lanka now.”We are not thinking too much,” Dilshan said. “We just want to try and finish well. Before we came here, people said we were underdogs and we couldn’t win here but we proved what we can do. If we can win the series, it will be a great achievement as a team.”Great is a massive understatement, but Dilshan only talks in those. Winning the series would require Sri Lanka to invade a fortress where South Africa have only ever lost to Australia since readmission.Injury concerns, which have become the norm for Sri Lanka of late, stand in their way again. Dinesh Chandimal was struck on the elbow during training, and the seamer Dilhara Fernando is suffering from knee pain. If he is unable to play, Dhammika Prasad will step in. As expected, Dilshan did not seem too perturbed by the combinations he will have to work with. He simply shrugged at the prospect of not having a first-choice player, and said, “It will be another opportunity for another guy.”

Stats highlights from another thoroughly dominant performance by Australia, as they swept to a series win and subjected India to their fifth innings defeat in the last 13 months

S Rajesh15-Jan-2012

• The result is the 12th innings win for a team in 39 Tests in Perth, and the seventh such result in the last 17. It’s the first one, though, since 2003.
• Australia have averaged 47.08 per wicket so far in this series; India have averaged 22.90. The stats aren’t dissimilar to those in England in 2011, when India averaged 25.55 to the home team’s 59.76.
• There have been nine 50-plus scores in the series for each team. Australia’s four best scores, though, are 329*, 180, 150* and 134. India’s top four scores are 83, 80, 75, and 73.
• Australia’s fast bowlers continue to rampage through the Indian line-up. In this series they’ve taken 57 wickets at 19.75, which is their fourth-best bowling average in a series since 2000.
• In the last 13 months, India have lost five Tests by an innings: one in South Africa, and two each in England and Australia. Their previous five innings defeats spanned almost ten years, from March 2000 to February 2010. Between October 2001 and March 2008 India didn’t lose a single Test by an innings.
• It’s the tenth time in 27 innings that India were bowled out for less than 250. During this period they’ve averaged 26.51 runs per wicket overseas; at home they’ve averaged 44.87.
• In three Tests in this series, Ben Hilfenhaus has taken 23 wickets at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 35.1. In his previous six Tests he had taken 13 wickets at 52, and a strike rate of 110.6.
• In 39 Tests in the subcontinent, MS Dhoni averages 45.40, with five hundreds and 14 fifties; in 28 Tests outside the subcontinent he averages 29.25, with ten fifties and no centuries.
• Rahul Dravid was bowled for the 54th time, which is a record in Test cricket, going past Allan Border’s previous record of 53. (Click here for the list of bowlers who’ve got him out bowled.)

Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between England and West Indies at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge25-May-2012Selection of the day
The selection of offspinner Shane Shillingford was widely anticipated. Not only did West Indies miss the variation of a specialist spinner at Lord’s, but there was a concern that the burden on Kemar Roach was growing too heavy. Conditions in Nottingham may prove tough for Shillingford, though. Going into this game, Graeme Swann had not taken a Test wicket on the ground (he has played two Tests at Trent Bridge before this one) and since 2008 spin bowlers have taken just four wickets here for a cost of 561 runs. That is an average of 140.25 per wicket. Even if wickets prove hard to come by, however, Shillingford should at least help Darren Sammy retain a measure of control in the field: he is slightly more economical than Swann and, in his last game, claimed ten wickets against Australia.Review of the day
West Indies were 64 for 4 when Asad Rauf adjudged Marlon Samuels, who had made only a single, lbw to Tim Bresnan. The review subsequently showed that the ball would have passed well over the top of the stumps and a reprieved Samuel went on to play perhaps the finest and important innings of his career. It was an out-of-character error from the normally excellent Rauf, who did not enjoy the best of days. But for the DRS, West Indies would have been 64 for 5 and Samuels would have endured a miserable – and unfortunate – day.Wicket of the day
Bearing in mind that Shivnarine Chanderpaul is rated as the No. 1 Test batsman and that, until that moment, he had resisted for 510 deliveries and scored 224 runs for only one dismissal in the series, his wicket was automatically crucial. But on this occasion it was relevant for two more factors. For a start it was the second time in the day that a decision by Rauf had been overturned upon review and it was also Swann’s first Test wicket at Trent Bridge. It was a fine delivery, too, drawing Chanderpaul forward and then turning past his bat.Shot of the day
There are several candidates, most of them provided by Samuels. An apparently effortless on-drive off the bowling of Stuart Broad, a delightful stroke that raced back past the stumps for four, was hard to beat, but the shot of the day was the one that brought Samuels his second half-century of the series. The ball from Bresnan was neither particularly wide nor particularly short, but Samuels forced through cover off the back foot to reach 50 for the 17th time in his Test career. While Samuels endured a turbulent start to this innings, he later provided a reminder as to why he once seen as the future of West Indies’ batting.Quote of the day No. 1
Asked how hard it was to have endured a prolonged period out of the West Indies side, Marlon Samuels replied with a phlegmatic shrug: “I wouldn’t tell you it was difficult … I got to spend quality time with my family and go to the beach.”Heated moment of the day
Frustrated after a day that included a couple of dropped chances, James Anderson’s temper came close to boiling point after an lbw appeal – a very long lbw appeal – against Darren Sammy, on 79, was turned down by Aleem Dar. A few moments later, Anderson threw away the pieces of his broken sunglasses and Dar asked him to pick them up. In the end Swann picked them up, put them back together and placed them around Dar’s sunhat. Combined with Anderson’s ‘talkative’ approach to Samuels and the England fast bowler may well be called to see Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee, at the end of the Test. “Things can get a little bit out of hand,” Anderson admitted afterwards. “He just told me to be careful. He said if the cameras caught me I could get a punishment, but it all seemed quite friendly at the time. My sunglasses broke. In frustration, I tossed them away.”Quote of the day No. 2
Asked about Anderson’s commentary on his batting – a feature of the day – Samuels replied: “James Anderson should know I am batting for the team. A lot of balls that could’ve been hit for the boundary I left them alone. But when I get a double [century] tomorrow, I would like James Anderson to say something to me.”