Kieron Pollard’s stunning 94 was the innings which allowed West Indies to take their two points against a spirited Ireland team

S Rajesh11-Mar-2011Kieron Pollard saved West Indies’ blushes after Ireland pushed them all the way with another whole-hearted performance in Mohali. In 31 previous ODI innings, Pollard had a highest score of 62 – which was one of only two half-centuries in this format – and his average stay at the crease was a mere 20 deliveries per innings.From West Indies’ point of view, Pollard could not have chosen a better time to get his highest in ODIs. His 94 from only 55 balls was the difference between the two teams. Leave aside his contribution, and West Indies’ run-rate for the innings was 4.43; Ireland’s innings run-rate was 4.71.For much of the run-chase, Ireland were ahead of West Indies’ total at the same stage. After 35 overs, Ireland were 157 for 3, compared to West Indies’ 142 for 3 – 15 runs to the good, same number of wickets in hand.From there, things took a sudden turn as Pollard turned it up a couple of gears, while Ireland lost a couple of key wickets – including Gary Wilson’s to a shocking umpiring decision by Asoka de Silva – and completely lost their momentum. After the 35th, West Indies had seven overs when they scored ten or more runs; Ireland only had one such over.The way the two teams used the batting Powerplay was also key: West Indies’s sequence from those overs was 12, 12, 10, 12, 9. Ireland, on the other hand, took their Powerplay when they’d already lost nine wickets, and most runs they managed from one of those five overs was nine.

West Indies’ and Ireland’s innings

First 35 oversLast 15 oversWest Indies score142 for 3133 for 7Ireland score157 for 374 for 7West Indies 4s/ 6s12/ 112/ 5Ireland 4s/ 6s16/ 18/ 0

West Indies and Ireland in the batting Powerplay

Score4s/ 6sDot ballsWest Indies55 for 06/ 27Ireland28 for 24/ 014More stats from the match Pollard’s knock is the second-fastest among innings in this World Cup which have lasted at least 50 balls. Pollard’s strike rate for his innings was 170.90, which is marginally behind Kevin O’Brien’s 179.36 for his 63-ball 113. Devon Smith’s 107 is his maiden ODI hundred, and it continues an impressive recent run: in his last 12 innings, he averages 39.66, with one century and three fifties. His overall ODI average is only 27.59. Two bowlers took four wickets in the game, but Kevin O’Brien’s was a fairly expensive effort – it cost him 71 runs in nine overs. His economy rate of 7.88 is the second-highest for bowlers who’ve taken four wickets in a World Cup game, next only to Chris Mpofu’s 4 for 62 in seven overs against Sri Lanka yesterday. Three of the four most expensive efforts have come in this World Cup. West Indies managed only 28 runs in the first ten overs, which equals the lowest for one of the Full Member teams in this World Cup. Australia had scored 28 after ten overs in their first game against Zimbabwe.

Plays of the Day from the IPL game betwen Deccan Chargers and Pune Warriors in Hyderabad

Siddhartha Talya10-May-2011The roar
It was almost as if the match was being played out at Eden Gardens. At the toss, when Yuvraj Singh let everybody know that Sourav Ganguly was playing, the half-full stadium in Hyderabad let out a thunderous roar, welcoming back one of Indian cricket’s most influential players with much affection even though he was part of the opposing side.The oops moment
The start to the tournament wasn’t a particularly good one for Ganguly, who was the cynosure of all eyes this game. He had stayed out of the limelight on the field for a majority of the Deccan Chargers innings but experienced an embarrassing moment when Bharat Chipli drove one at him in the 16th over. The shot was a firm one and Ganguly failed to get his body behind it at extra cover to concede four runs, much to the crowd’s disappointment. He was to make up for it later with the bat, though.An eventful over
The penultimate over of the Deccan innings, bowled by Mitchell Marsh, was action-packed, to say the least. JP Duminy holed out first ball, Bharat Chipli edged one to the third-man boundary the next, had a return catch dropped immediately after before Sunny Sohal was caught behind by Robin Uthappa, who clasped it one-handed. Amit Mishra fell the next ball, offering a catch to mid-off but the over ended in a bit of an anti-climax, as Dale Steyn rather comfortably survived the hat-trick delivery.The brothers-in-arms moment
Yuvraj Singh and Daniel Christian burst into spontaneous laughter after Christian tripped due to a collision between the two in the 12th over. Yuvraj tried to field a ball off his own bowling and ran into Christian at the non-striker’s end, though it was all in good fun after contact. The oozing camaraderie was put to a stop when Yuvraj trapped him in front in the next over.The dispiriting moment
Deccan had been restricted to a modest score and needed an encouraging start with the ball but what transpired was the opposite. A steaming Dale Steyn was tamed by Jesse Ryder, who punched him through the covers, then smote him next ball for a massive six into the second tier before crunching him for another four to steal 15 in the first over. It set the tone for the chase, which ended in a comfortable win for Pune Warriors.The gift
JP Duminy, in an act of generosity towards the visitors, doled out freebies to Manish Pandey in the eighth over. Three absolute long hops, each treated with disdain. Two pulled over midwicket for four and one sent into the crowd. So much for the hospitable treatment.The trademark shot
Five months of absence but it seemed not much was lost in Ganguly when he made room to Ishant Sharma and slapped him over extra cover for his first boundary. It was fitting that his first forceful shot upon his return was one that defined him during his international career.The intrusion
Watching fans run onto the field to celebrate their cricketers’ success was a common sight once in Indian cricket, but not anymore. However, one fan just couldn’t control his emotions while watching Ganguly bat. Not only did he run onto the field for his 15 seconds of fame (not captured on TV), but fell at his idol’s feet as devotees blinded by faith do. Who wouldn’t want to be a cricketer in India?The recovery
A moment the TV did capture, that of Christian throwing up during the 13th over. Possibly a bad stomach, possibly dehydration but he recovered quickly. Not only did he finish the over, but in the process dismissed Robin Uthappa with a good bouncer, though was fortunate to get that wicket as Uthappa was given caught-behind after being hit on the shoulder. There was more, when he got rid of Yuvraj Singh not long after.

A fan takes in the sights, sounds and sandwiches at Lord’s

Scott Collen05-Jun-2011The sun beat the brim of my battered wide-brim hat as I emerged from the St John’s Wood tube. “Tickets buying selling, tickets, buying, selling” accosted me. I had learned from last year waiting for my Dad by the touts could cause a small, accidental turf war.Searches at the North Gate discovered I had not packed anything I intended to. Sharp implements, excessive amounts of alcohol or a flag.Years of Lord’s-going dictated the routine. Programme, piss, pie, pint. Once all had been achieved with the minimum fuss – apart from the programme because I had to stop to get Tuffers to sign it – we moved up to our seats. Upper Compton, row Q.The northern boys seated behind gave us ‘”southerners” a thorough grounding on why it was good to shout “Gilbert” at Steven Finn and “put it on his half of the stick” to Stuart Broad.The Fat Lad in front commanded two seats with only one ticket and one rump. His friend routinely napped beside him, intermittently going to the bar to buy Pimms. Fat Lad, while geographically challenging the surface area of the chair, was himself geographically challenged. Trying to locate a curry house, he outlined his map of London on the clear blue sky and correctly placed Lord’s and Wembley on it. He went on to struggle with whether Brick Lane was south London and whether or not Waterloo was within walking distance. Apparently it was. Good luck guys – it’s not.An elderly couple to my left had come to the Test as a special treat for the husband who had had a stroke. This did not stop him giving billyo to the Sri Lankans and a sterling “cricket was better in my day” speech to a group of nonplussed children in front of him.While England batted, the crowd was taking its coffee, mulling over whether, like a kid on a school trip, to eat the sandwiches straightaway.By 12:30, most had decided to eat the scotch eggs and save the sarnies. Champagne corks had popped to mark the start of acceptable cricket drinking hours.Dad, a 30-year-veteran of Lord’s, attempted to broach the subject that I might like to go to some Twenty20. This is his way of saying, “I want to go to Twenty20 but your mother won’t let me spend the money unless you come”. I put my foot down. Twenty20 is frivolous, instant gratification which will only lead to the Americanisation of cricket. Not on my agenda to promote that. If the Yanks want in, learn to play properly, like a good former colony should.Praise for the players only extends to the batsmen, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who on a batting track did what he should do: score runs, though not as quickly as the crowd would have liked. Paranavitana or Piranha-vitananana (courtesy witty northerners behind) was the man guilty of lulling a 25,000-strong cricket audience into submission. The leave is not a shot. Nor is it fun to watch – unless someone cocks it up, which he did, but not badly enough to be dismissed.A special mention should go to Matthew Prior, who, in approaching his hundred, hit some of the ropiest and luckiest we saw; including several shots from the “if you’re going to flash, flash hard” school of thought, as he edged, tickled and flashed his way past a century.The afternoon session dragged as Piranha van (those northerners again) ignored everything that wasn’t going to hit his stumps. The England pacers didn’t help matters by agreeing with his plan and bowling outside off stump, although a fair few times it was outside leg stump too.As I realised I’d burnt the tops of my knees from a day in the sun, the only thing I felt had been missing was the chance to watch kwik cricket on the outfield. All batsmen have one shot at that age, and last year one little girl only had the reverse-sweep in her locker. It was brilliant to watch.

Despite coming with lofty credentials, and sacrificing opportunities to shine in domestic cricket, South Africa’s young brigade did not get a fair chance to make an impact in the IPL

Firdose Moonda08-Jun-2011Colin Ingram, Rusty Theron and Faf du Plessis would easily make the starting XI of most franchise teams. Rilee Rossouw, Robbie Frylinck and Jonathan Vandiar would come close too. These six men are among the most talented and best performing on the South African domestic scene, skills that won them IPL contracts, giving them a massive stage to show off their cricketing gifts. But, the curtain fell on that stage before it even opened.Theron, du Plessis, Rossouw, Frylinck and Vandiar did not a play single match and Ingram featured in only three of Delhi Daredevils’ 14 matches. His highest score was an unbeaten 13, and his stint did not provide IPL watchers a glimpse of the real Ingram, a classy batsman with a wonderful balance between force and flair, a big hitter who topped the run charts in both the twenty- and forty-over formats in the 2009-10 South African domestic season.All six players were rewarded with varyingly handsome sums of money, with du Plessis the highest earning bench-warmer, pocketing US$120,000 over three seasons, while Ingram was bought for US$100,000. It’s cash that can hardly be scoffed at, but even the heartiest of pay-outs can do little to stem the disappointment that comes with spending two months watching cricket when one would rather be playing. “I did feel a little left out and had to try and remind myself to stay sharp so that I would be ready when my time came,” Ingram told ESPNcricinfo. “There were times when it was frustrating.”Communication at the Delhi franchise did little to help and it was one of the areas that Ingram identified as an issue of concern during the IPL. “It wasn’t really spoken about; why certain people didn’t play, and it was something that became a bit of a problem. We [players and management] did discuss the communication and it was decided that that is an area that will be improved upon next season.”Delhi finished at the bottom of the table, something that would have further demoralised players, but Ingram was upbeat about the future of the franchise. “It was very encouraging to see how well the group of guys got on. There were a few dark days and when Viru [Virender Sehwag] was ruled out injured we lost a lot of momentum, but this is a young team with a lot of talent and I think we will do better next time.”Despite the tepid start to his three-year tenure in the glamorous competition, Ingram enjoyed the experience of being part of the tournament. A relative newcomer to international cricket – he has played 12 ODIs and five Twenty20s for South Africa – Ingram said the most important thing he took away from the tournament was “learning to deal with people from different countries”.Unlike some of the other foreign players, he travelled with the team to all their matches and said that he “tried to get involved wherever I could, whether it was to be 12th man or carry drinks”. Through that, he saw many different parts of India and “enjoyed learning about Indian culture”.Ingram says the season allowed him develop strong bonds with some of his team-mates, like Prashant Naik, Yogesh Nagar, Aavishkar Salvi and Varun Aaron. “Some of the time we would have our own training sessions and share with each other. I taught them a few techniques in dealing with short balls and they helped me work on my reverse sweep.”Ingram also used the time in India to gather information to transfer to his home franchise, the Warriors, who will play in the Champions League in India later in the year. “I wanted to learn as much as I could so that I could bring those skills back when I return with the Warriors.” The franchise finished last season’s Champions League as runners-up to the Chennai Super Kings and will be anxious to show that their success was not merely a fluke, especially because the tournament was played in South Africa last year.Ingram was luckier than the rest of the young South African contingent, which did not get a single opportunity in the IPL. Rossouw, a formidable batsman from the Free State, said his experience was a little less anxious than Ingram’s because he did not expect to be in the starting XI. “I was told that my chances of playing are slim and then we had a few injuries, I thought maybe I would get a game. But I had decided before the competition that even if I don’t get game time, it’s all about the learning experience.”Bangalore’s fortunes changed with the arrival of Chris Gayle, four matches into the competition. He single-handedly lifted them all the way to the final, and Rossouw enjoyed being in his presence. “The whole atmosphere changed when he arrived. We started winning. I spoke to him a little about how he prepares for games and I learnt a thing or two.”Rossouw only travelled to a handful of Bangalore’s away games and spend the bulk of his time training at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He found the intensity and focus similar to what he experiences in South Africa, although there was a heightened emphasis on fielding, “always a bit of a hype with Ray Jennings”.Rossouw is looking forward to returning to the next edition of the competition and is hopeful that he will get a chance next year if he does will in the domestic season. Players like Faf du Plessis, who didn’t take the field for Chennai and Davy Jacobs, who was injured midway through Mumbai’s campaign may be thinking the same thing.The IPL was different for South Africans this time around because unlike in second edition, when Yusuf Abdulla was uncovered, or 2010 when Rusty Theron was contracted and even given games after a successful domestic season, only the players with a fair amount of international experience got regular game time. Big names like Albie Morkel, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis were able to prove their worth, but fringe players who are either on the brink of international cricket, like Rossouw, or trying to establish themselves, like Ingram and du Plessis, were consigned to carrying drinks.In a worrying sign for South African cricket, they also missed the last round of first-class fixtures to participate in the IPL. It meant that the likes of Ingram were hidden away in a dugout in India, when they could have instead been showcasing their talent back home. Ingram may have become richer in the process, but what he lost in game time, is worth far more.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the second day of the first Test between West Indies and India

Sriram Veera at Sabina Park21-Jun-2011The misfortune of the day
After waiting for long to get a chance to play Test cricket, Praveen Kumar nearly hit the jackpot in his first game. He grabbed three wickets to go through the West Indian middle order and a five-for on debut beckoned when his feet crushed his dream. He ran three times onto the danger area and that was it. No more bowling in the first innings. He stood there, almost dazed by the events. MS Dhoni who walked across to keep from the other end had to wave him away to his fielding spot. It wasn’t long before Praveen disappeared into the dressing room.The fire-and-ice moment of the day
Ishant Sharma was stirred by the sight of Fidel Edwards coming out with the bat. He glared hard, Edwards looked back and at one point Ishant fired across a bouncer. Edwards ducked and by the time he looked up Ishant was staring down at him. The next ball was a full delivery and though it was the oldest set up in the world, Edwards couldn’t hold himself back. He had a wild swing and the ball rushed past the stumps. Ishant held his head in agony.The clanger of the day
Sammy leads West Indies in Jamaica while the island’s biggest draw, Chris Gayle, remains out of the team. Under normal circumstances Sammy would probably not get too many dinner offers at Kingston, and things turned dire when he dropped Rahul Dravid. It came straight at him at second slip but he grassed a sitter. The sparse crowd stomped their feet in anger.The soft dismissal of the day
VVS Laxman failed in the first innings, but today he failed to even open his account. He leaned forward to a seemingly harmless length delivery and hit it straight back to the bowler Sammy, who couldn’t stop smiling. As ever, Laxman stood there for a while before he broke out of his reverie and walked back.

A one-time Australia team manager, who travelled with the side to Sri Lanka, India and South Africa, looks back at the days when board members were in charge of teams on tour

Cam Battersby06-Oct-2011 This is an extract from an article first published in the Queensland Cricket newsletter in 2006Cam “The Ger” Battersby•Getty ImagesOne morning in 1990, with a roomful of waiting patients, I was surprised by a phone call from David Richards, the chief executive of the Australian Cricket Board, offering me the managership of the team going to New Zealand. In those days all teams were managed by a board member, which was very good for relationships with the players, provided that the manager was competent.The manager liaised with the local authorities, spoke at luncheons, handled the press when captain or coach were unavailable or unwilling, arranged player interviews, chaired most team meetings, looked after the finances, paid the players via the local association, organised the transport, and made and handled complaints where necessary – the whole bit. I told David I’d ring him back next day, but 10 minutes later I accepted.At first I was a bit overawed, but I was forced to learn quickly. The team, and especially the captain, Allan Border, had a quirky sense of humour, especially at the expense of a new “Ger”, a bit wet behind the ears. I asked AB what was team dress for internal flights, and was told “jeans and team shirt”. When I arrived at the airport, they were all in blazers and ties! For years afterwards, Peter Taylor would ask me when we met how the crease in my jeans was.It rained torrentially for three days before the Wellington Test, but fined up on the day. The wicket seemed underprepared, but AB won the toss and batted. We were all out in a couple of sessions, and after stumps we were all sitting disconsolately in the room when there was a noise outside the door, something like the baying of wolves. Clearly the press was hungry for comment.Bob Simpson was back in Sydney, as his mother had died, and the captain did not speak to the press during the match. I knew exactly what they would ask, and asked the V-C, next to me, why we had batted. He replied in biological terms that he had no idea, but that I would be most unwise to inquire. So out I went, to mutter some inconsequential comment about batting if you weren’t sure what to do, and tomorrow being another day. I was saved from further embarrassment by Don Cameron, the doyen of Kiwi cricket writers, who was chairing the conference.Simpson transformed Australian cricket in the mid-1980s. He was the power broker in the team. He did a late-night round of the likely spots, so he knew exactly what was happening and who might have had a big night. Such an indiscretion would mean 50 up-and-under catches next morning, all just out of reach. He was tough but usually he was right. Simmo was a great believer in getting the basics right, especially in the field.In 1991, I took an Academy side to Sri Lanka. This included Michael Slater, Stuart MacGill, Greg Blewett and Justin Langer. Damien Martyn had already begun his career with WA, and Shane Warne was in disgrace after an indiscretion on a tour of the Northern Territories. Justin’s work ethic was obvious. He was a crickaholic, but in those days not a good captain because he regarded a team failure as his personal responsibility.Richards told me that I could inform the Sri Lankan authorities that we would support their full membership of the ICC, and would tour there next year – which we did, and I was again manager. I was on radio when we got our first look at Muttiah Muralitharan in Kandy. AB just could not pick him, but his action looked unusual. At the end of the over, my Sri Lankan co-commentator asked me what I thought of their new spinner. I knew exactly where he was coming from, so all I said was, “He turns the ball a lot.” Back in the dressing room Simmo remarked, “You should have said he has a very unusual action”.That was the tour when Dean Jones informed me of the offer of money for comment about the pitch, weather and team. I advised him to have nothing to do with it, though it may be totally innocent, as he would not look good if it came out and he had failed with the bat.I told the coach and the captain of the incident, and later when I returned, Graham Halbish (CEO of the board), but I did not put it in my formal report. For this I was castigated by Rob O’Regan, who led an inquiry into match-fixing and illegal betting activity; he felt revealing details may have nipped matters in the bud. It is easy to be wise after an event, but the bald fact was that we had no inkling of the magnitude the problem would attain.Sri Lanka could have won this series, but seemed initially to lack belief. We were outplayed for four and a half days in the first Test, in Colombo. Sri Lanka had about 180 to get in about 60 overs to win, and were 127 for 2 when Aravinda De Silva played an injudicious shot and was caught by a sprawling Border in the deep. Wickets then fell steadily, but they only had about 30-odd to get, with three wickets in hand, when the skipper brought back Shane Warne, who had been expensive earlier.The dressing room was electric. Nobody moved. Out of the corner of my mouth I said to Simmo: “Courageous”. He did not reply. In 10 balls or so, Warnie took 3 for 0, and the match was ours. In retrospect, Aravinda was probably just impatient. The hosts made some unusual decisions, like dropping their best opener to the tail, and then not trying to give him the strike.In 1994 we went to South Africa, which was a pivotal moment for me because I had worked in Cape Town in 1972 and had returned frequently. It was a tough tour, and nothing was tougher than the first Test, in Johannesburg. I still think the ACB was wrong in coming in over the top of the referee and team management in inflicting further penalties on Warne and Merv Hughes, but I have to admit that our on-field behaviour improved for a while as a result.

I asked AB what was team dress for internal flights, and was told “jeans and team shirt”. When I arrived at the airport, they were all in blazers and ties!

Big Merv was particularly unfortunate. You had to be there to understand the circumstances. South African crowds are particularly partisan, as our rugby players had found a couple of years earlier. The players’ path to the field was through an open hill, known aptly as the “Bull Pit”. Late in the afternoon this hill became particularly restless and unruly as the alcohol began to take effect. A thunderstorm was brewing and Merv was trying to save the match, as Fanie de Villiers and Alan Donald thundered in with a new ball. During a temporary break in play, he was coming up the hill when a drunken spectator made a derogatory comment about his mother. He hit the siding near the spectator with his bat, and a Channel 7 cameraman got it on tape. It was played ad nauseam back in Oz, though it attracted little attention in SA. The ACB felt forced to act.I outlined what had happened at a subsequent team meeting. Dean Jones best summed up their reaction. “The Ger and Simmo have done their best. We’ve just got to forget it now and get on with the rest of the tour”. It didn’t quite happen that way, but we did come from well behind to draw both series. Ali Bacher offered to make a public apology for the crowd behaviour but I declined. That would only have exacerbated matters.We asked the groundsman at Kingsmead, in Durban, how he thought the wicket would play. He replied, “I haven’t asked Kepler what he wants yet.” Ask a stupid question…South Africa could have won this Test series, but they seemed disinclined to take any risks at all.In 1996 I went to Sri Lanka again, and there were a few problems because not long before that we had pulled out of the Sri Lanka leg of the World Cup on very specific security advice. I tried to handle the first press conference in Colombo by declining questions on the World Cup, preferring to concentrate on our new captain and coach – Ian Healy and Geoff Marsh. To the credit of the press corps, they accepted this graciously. In fact, they were probably as tired of the topic as we were.On playing days, two buses would wait outside the Oberoi Hotel with shutters drawn. The players would go in one and the gear in the other. Each had a different route to the ground and the routes were changed daily. The security was intense. As Steve Waugh remarked, it was not a good way to start a day at the cricket.We came home for a few weeks, and then returned to India under the captaincy of Mark Taylor. We were underprepared, and failed to win a game on tour. I stood behind Mark at numerous press conferences, trying to give him moral support as he struggled to explain why we were playing so poorly and what we needed to do to improve. There is only so much you can do from a position of weakness.In 1997, Malcolm Speed decided there was a good case for a full-time manager year-round. I argued hard at a board meeting in Hobart that this would sever for all time the close relationship board members could build up with players from states other than their own. Denis Rogers told me later that this was the hardest meeting he ever had to chair. But the deed was done, and Steve Bernard got the job.He did an outstanding and largely unnoticed job, which says something in itself. But my initial reservations remain. The strength of the board-player relationships in that era revolved around the fact that we had been there, done that, and experienced it together. I was sent to India in 1998 as a board “observer”, as Steve had never been to India before. It soon became apparent that he was fully in control of the situation, and I stopped observing.

The fifth bowler continues to be a problem for Trinidad and Tobago

Siddarth Ravindran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium27-Sep-2011For the second game in a row at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it went down to the last ball. For the second game in a row, it was two needed off the final delivery. For the second game in a row, the fielding captain chose to keep the field spread out, and the chasing side won.On Friday, Wayne Parnell broke Royal Challengers Bangalore’s hearts with a scuffed two to long-on. In that game, the defensive field for the final ball could have been explained by the high scores in the match and the fact that Parnell, a player with international experience and one accustomed to high-pressure situations, was at the crease and had just muscled his first ball for a boundary.On Monday, in a game where both T&T and Mumbai Indians found run-scoring exceedingly difficult, the final ball was to be faced by Yuzvendra Chahal, who at 21 has little exposure on the big stage and shown modest batting capability. Even as late as three deliveries into the last over, the No.11 Chahal wouldn’t have expected to be needed in the middle, only forced to stride out after run-outs on the fourth and fifth ball of the over.The T&T captain, Daren Ganga, had attacked with helmeted close-in fielders for significant parts of the innings, but decided to keep a deep-set field for the last delivery to be bowled by his brother, the offspinner Sherwin. On the leg side, only short fine leg was in the circle, with three men patrolling the boundary. On the off side, there were three fielders in the ring, and a sweeper and long-off deep.Perhaps the decision to not crowd the in-field and push for a win was a result of a lack of confidence in Sherwin Ganga. The fifth bowler has proved problematic for T&T so far in the tournament, with Ganga and Lendl Simmons going at nearly 12 an over in the two matches in the qualifying phase.The strategy nearly paid off as well, despite Ganga sending down a poor final delivery. It was a low full toss that was flailed toward midwicket. Adrian Barath had to come in from deep midwicket nearly all the way to the circle, but even as he collected the ball the batsmen had just taken off for the second. Even though Barath’s throw was several yards off the mark, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin had the time to effect the run-out that would have prompted the super over T&T aimed for, but his underarm throw missed the stumps.Most of the T&T fielders sank to their knees in despair, and the others barely moved, still digesting the fact that their valiant attempts to defend the seemingly indefensible total of 98 had left them with nothing to show on the points table. Only Daren Ganga shuffled around, patting his team-mates on the back and lauding their efforts.After the match, Daren Ganga explained why he went for the tactic. “Whenever a team has got two runs to win, you first and foremost ensure that you at least get a draw,” he said. “Judging from the way we were bowling and the way we were fielding, it was very difficult for us to defend one run, we tried to have another bite at the cherry, so to speak, and play the super over.”There should be little criticism of Daren Ganga for the strategy, though T&T lost a match that Harbhajan Singh said Mumbai didn’t deserve to win. Given the fiendish difficulty in stopping the single even with the field brought in, the safety-first approach was probably the sensible option. It would have been fun, though, to see if Chahal would have batted for the super over if all the fielders were positioned in the circle or if he would have gone for glory by hitting over the top.

Bangladesh have chased down India and Sri Lanka in the space of a few days, proving that they are an evolving team

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur21-Mar-2012There is a lot of love in Bangladesh right now. From the Shere Bangla National Stadium, the scene of Tuesday’s historic victory over Sri Lanka, to the smaller towns spread across the country, people are smiling, shaking hands, hugging complete strangers and jumping in joy. The whole country has come together to share happiness. It doesn’t happen all the time, as many of us know; this unity comes and goes. When it comes to cricket, however, Bangladesh sits together in front of a television set and watches its favourite sons.As Bangladesh crept towards the revised target of 212 runs on Tuesday, neighbourhood boys were found huddling over their televisions; girls at home made sure no one changed the channel as they watched the “boys” play. From every Dhaka by-lane one could sense the final preparations of a rally, also known as , as Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah Riyad closed in on Sri Lanka’s total. It has happened a few times in the past: after they beat New Zealand 4-0, during the 2011 World Cup; it will happen again when they beat a top side on a big day, maybe on Thursday.The celebrations haven’t changed, the expression of pure ecstasy felt by the people of the country remains as it was in those heady days of April 1997 when Akram Khan and Gordon Greenidge led Bangladesh into the big, bad world of international cricket. They were given a rousing reception in Manik Mia Avenue, the widest boulevard in Dhaka, with almost half-a-million people showering flower-petals on what was also the first day of the Bengali year.The fans haven’t changed since then. Everyone loves the Bangladesh cricket team, despite the constant heartache it provides in Test cricket and the occasional flutter in the limited-overs game. Almost the entire country is still in thrall with the country’s cricketing fortunes.But the cricketers of Bangladesh have been an evolving breed, rapidly so in the case of the past week. They came close against Pakistan, then chased down India and Sri Lanka. In the space of five days, Bangladesh have finally put together a string of performances where the entire team has had its say, not just one player.Over the last three years, Bangladesh have improved from having one match-winner to two regular big-match players, but this Asia Cup has thrown up something entirely different. As it was evident in the game against Sri Lanka, there is life after Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.Shakib and Tamim still set the tone though, with their performances and attitude. During a passage of play when Shakib hit three consecutive boundaries off Suranga Lakmal, he showed how much he has learned. After hammering the fourth ball of the over through the covers, Shakib saw Lakmal putting a sweeper-cover in place. So the next delivery he closed the face of the bat to take the ball away from the deep fielder while still playing it wide of the fielder inside the circle. Lakmal was out of ideas and when he bowled it short and wide, Shakib’s whiplash cut had the ball speeding to the third-man boundary.After Shakib’s departure, Nasir and Riyad batted like they were not leaving Mirpur without a win. As Shakib said later, Riyad was due for runs and this small but vital contribution will make him more comfortable in the dressing-room. Nasir on the other hand has bettered himself in every game of this tournament and is now a reliable cog.As the hours tick by towards the biggest day in Bangladesh cricket, the scale of this moment is evident by comparing it to how Bangladesh have done in Asia Cups over the past 26 years. Their best contribution before this year’s tournament was the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s ability to fit in the 2000 Asia Cup during the early monsoon season.Bangladesh are going to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on Thursday. The statement itself gives one goosebumps.

While India cannot possibly visualise an escape in Sydney as yet, Gautam Gambhir has the opportunity to fight his way out of a tight corner

Sidharth Monga at the SCG05-Jan-2012Gautam Gambhir wasn’t merely in jail – nor, for that matter, were India. They were in solitary confinement in the deepest, darkest corner of the jail. Now, for Gambhir more than India, there is a sliver of light, a hole in one of the four walls. Over the next two days, he will hope for – not think of or visualise – an escape.It began with his first forceful, horizontal-bat shot of the series. Until then there had been no respite. The Australian bowlers were bowling short of a length, around off, and he was poking at them. Not used to leaving off a length, not sure of the line because of the doubt caused by Ben Hilfenhaus’ swing back into him. Duncan Fletcher said two days ago that leaving those deliveries alone was not going to be the solution, that Gambhir needed to bat in his natural, positive way. He said when Gambhir is feeling good about his game, he scores off the same deliveries.Gambhir hasn’t felt good about his game on this tour. He has been nervous, pushing at balls in the hope they hit the middle of the bat. It is easier to say that being positive is the solution, though, than actually pulling off the transformation. How do you go about being positive when you don’t know where the next run is coming from?At such times, perhaps the best thing to happen is for you to feel that you have nothing to lose. Or very little. In the three previous innings, Gambhir had much more to lose. Today, not much. Yes, technically the Test can still be saved, but these journeys can’t be made with the destination in sight. Gambhir became a bit adventurous today. The second ball he faced was not too different from the ones he has been edging so far. He upper-cut it. Over gully it went, for four. He went at the next ball too. Again, it went for four.There was clarity of thought after that. He began to leave better. When he played at those testing deliveries, he drove. The number of those previously troublesome deliveries reduced. You could see he was feeling better. For a change, the sound of an Indian bat resonated at the SCG for a little while. It was the reflex of a man trying to save his name. Thinking of saving his career might be too drastic a thought, trying to save the match, too far away.As Rahul Dravid said, India were not thinking of drawing the match as of now. “We need to go out there and show some fight,” he said. “And bat as long as we can. Who knows what can happen? We have got quality batsmen who can bat long periods. It’s hard to think about two days from now right away. I am sure the guys will go out and fight and do the best they can. And we will take it from there.”Gambhir, Dravid said, just batted. If the ball was up there to be driven, he played the natural drive. When he saw the spinner, he stepped out and went inside-out with the turn, and picked up two boundaries off the last two balls before tea. He raced away to 59 off 65. We were getting into Gambhir territory now. He has shown he is more adept than a regular modern batsman when it comes to just batting, batting even when the runs aren’t coming and when there is no win in sight. Just the road.The road was revealed to him towards the end of day’s play. Australia set in-out fields to cut out the boundaries, and bowled outside off to see if he would continue pushing. Gambhir wouldn’t. He went 34 deliveries without scoring a run. Hilfenhaus, India’s nemesis, remained. One of Gambhir’s two false shots came off his bowling. Today, though, the edge wouldn’t carry. When it would carry, off James Pattinson, Brad Haddin would drop him. You need luck at times. Dravid said India would need every ounce they could conjure.”Part of the challenge is mental,” Dravid said. “Part of it is physical and technical. Physically you have to bat long period of times. Technically they have a good attack that is bowling well, so you have to counter them technically too. It’s a combination. If we are going to save the game from here, we need everything to work for us.”He sees hope in Gambhir, but nothing more than hope. “Happy for Gautam,” he said. “He has worked very hard. He’s been under pressure obviously. He wants to score runs. He is very keen to do well. It was nice to see him come out and play some shots, play positively and get going. Later on, towards the end of the day, when things were tough, he gritted it out and hung in there. Hopefully he can convert [the start] into a big one. We know he enjoys batting long periods of time.”One hundred and twenty-four balls is not a long period of time. Gambhir hasn’t scored a century in nearly two years. India have crossed 300 only once in their last 17 away attempts. Gambhir, though, might have taken the first few baby steps out of the rut he finds himself in.

After a tough time over the winter Eoin Morgan returned to form and played the type of innings that no other England batsman could have produced

George Dobell at Lord's29-Jun-2012When people talk of the great moments of limited-overs cricket, this match will not warrant a mention. There were no echoes of Sir Viv’s 1984 Old Trafford century here; none of the drama of Allan Donald dropping his bat as he did at Edgbaston in 1999; no comparison with Sachin reaching a double-century or of Gilchrist thrashing a century to win the 2007 World Cup. Nor is there an urn for the winners of this series. In the grand scheme of things, it really does not amount to very much. But, in the years and months ahead, it might just be that we reflect on this game as the day when England started to believe they could win the 2015 World Cup.If that sounds excessive, it is worth reflecting for a moment on the context of this match: England had not beaten Australia at Lord’s since 1997; Australia are the No. 1 ranked ODI side in the world; England, inserted in testing conditions, overcame a disadvantage worth perhaps 20 to 25 runs to win.Make no mistake, this result could, so easily, have gone the other way. Had Brett Lee or Clint McKay taken the edge of the bat rather than beating it regularly in their testing first spells; had Michael Clarke not called Matthew Wade for an improbable single; had the Decision Review System (DRS) not reprieved Ian Bell when he had just three and, most pertinently, had Eoin Morgan not produced a fine innings, Australia could well have won.There are many more hurdles to clear before England can be considered a consistently good ODI side and rumours of their resurgence will be met, in some quarters, with guffaws of laughter until they prove themselves in Asia. But this series is not all about results. It is about building for the future. And, with that in mind, this was a highly encouraging performance from England. For not only did they win, but they demonstrated once again that they have now chanced upon – and the sudden departure of Kevin Pietersen really does mean they chanced upon it – a well-balanced side that is well-suited to the challenges posed by two new white balls, good bowling and testing conditions.Morgan will gain the plaudits, just as tourists only photograph the top of the Chrysler Building. But without the foundations provided by England’s top three, he might not have had the platform to play his wonderful innings.Some might criticise England for a slow start. After all, they scored just 27 in their first nine overs and, after 36 overs, had scored only 151. But, without the defensive ability of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, England could easily have found themselves 40 for 5 after an hour and out of the game. Instead they remained calm, reasoned that 270 was a competitive total and played, Morgan apart, sensible, percentage cricket. It is what they do best.There are some issues with their method. For one thing, it leaves them overly reliant on Morgan for their acceleration (while Bell, Cook and Trott are all capable of changing gear, none of them can make the destructive contribution Morgan showed here), while they also have to show they can win on pitches where a total of 330 is par.But one step at a time. This is a side that looked worryingly mediocre in India only seven or eight months ago. Who were hit by the “retirement” of their best played only weeks ago. They are not the finished article, but they are heading in the right direction.The return to form of Morgan was particularly pleasing. After an awful tour of the UAE – in three Tests, three ODIs and a T20 in the UAE, he failed to pass 25 runs in an innings – there were concerns about his long-term future. But whatever his struggles in Test cricket, Morgan remains a key component in England’s limited-overs side. The way he changed gear here, scoring 12 from his first 21 deliveries and 77 from his next 42 was immensely impressive. At one stage he struck three successive sixes, punishing Brett Lee’s marginal failure to deliver a yorker with a stunning heave over wide long-on. Pietersen apart, it is hard to think of another England batsman that could have played such an innings.Morgan put his revival down to some technical work he undertook after the tour of the UAE. “It’s no fun when you’re not getting any runs or contributing to the team,” Morgan said. “Today was a big step for my summer. When I got back from Dubai, I had two weeks off on holiday and then I came back and reflected on what I had done poorly in the UAE and made some technical changes. One of them was the balance of my head and the other was my hands moving. It was very basic stuff.”Cook agreed that Morgan’s innings was the difference between the sides, but also provided a reminder of the importance of England’s top three. “To score at a strike-rate of 130-140 was incredible and it took us to a really competitive total,” Cook said. “It was hard work to start with and you saw the ball nipping around. But what was pleasing that we didn’t panic as a batting order. We kept wickets in hands and we all know that at Lord’s and in English conditions you can make up time, particularly when you have people like Eoin down the order.”The start might have seemed a bit slow, but we laid the groundwork for Morgan. I don’t think we could have played much differently in the first 20 overs. It was hard work at the top of the order.”Cook also praised his bowling attack. While Tim Bresnan, still struggling to rediscover the nip he had before his elbow operation in December, had one disappointing spell and James Anderson, hampered by a groin strain, struggled towards the end, there still appeared no weak link in the England attack. Steven Finn, bowling with pace and hostility and skill, was quite magnificent.”It’s very nice to have five experienced bowlers,” Cook continued. “They might bowl the odd bad over, but they don’t bowl many bad spells. We thought 270 was a par score: defendable, but if someone had played out of their skin we probably couldn’t have defended it. But we kept nipping out wickets. It wasn’t a perfect performance in the field – or even close to it – so it’s encouraging to have won.”