They’d rather be playing Test cricket, but Edwards and Co have plenty of T20 to look forward to over the next few months

Tim Wigmore30-Jun-2012Anyone who berates the standard of women’s cricket should watch Lydia Greenway field. With her athleticism, catching ability and cricketing awareness she brings the same intoxicating thrill to any match as Jonty Rhodes used to do.In England’s two Twenty20 victories against India, Greenway took four outstanding catches, both at backward point and at deep midwicket, a position she patrols with vivacity. And she can do much more than just catch, as shown by her awareness to throw the ball back into play after she was about to carry it over the rope after a boundary catch. No wonder the captain, Charlotte Edwards, said the side is “completely in awe” of her fielding ability. Overall, England’s fielding oozed professionalism, and the contrast between theirs and India’s was perhaps the most obvious difference between the sides.But there is much more to admire in England’s team: they are simply a very fine cricket side. Their second win over India was their 13th consecutive victory in T20 internationals. Add to this their record of seven consecutive one-day international wins and their status as the best women’s international side is indisputable.Katherine Brunt’s new-ball bowling, with a steady action, pace in the mid-70s, consistent nip off the seam and a dangerous yorker, is formidable. Edwards is a model of calm – never flustered, and with a knack for canny bowling changes, as well as being a superb batsman in her own right. She has the most international one-day caps of any female cricketer. And then there is Sarah Taylor.The batting of her namesake Claire, most notably a wonderfully paced 76 not out against Australia in the World T20 semi-final in 2009, earned her the accolade of one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. Yet Sarah, no relation, increasingly looks an even better player.Taylor’s real strength lies in her exemplary technique. She is imperious driving down the ground, cuts with authority and skilfully uses her feet against spin; few would say there is a better female batsman in the world today. Taylor hit two serene 60s in England’s two T20 wins over India – earning the Player-of-the-Match award in both games – as well as 109 not out in England’s last ODI, against New Zealand. As if that wasn’t enough, she’s also a brilliant wicketkeeper whose poise and quick hands contributed to the five Indian run-outs England affected in Chelmsford.But those who want to see much of Taylor better have a stomach for T20 cricket: ten of England’s 15 internationals this summer are T20s. As Edwards says, “The game is so marketable in the T20 format.”One key reason for this is that it is perfect to be played before men’s games – as was the case for both T20s against India, which were hosted at Canterbury and Chelmsford and preceded domestic men’s T20s. Given the attractive proposition of free entry to the women’s international before the Essex-Hampshire T20, well over 1000 supporters were in place for the start of the women’s game. And many were attending out of more than curiosity, with England having an outstanding record there in recent years. As Taylor says, “Chelmsford’s perfect for us – the crowd keep wanting to see us play, which keeps bringing us back.”Taylor is an enthusiastic champion of the double-header format: “It’s definitely a bit more exciting when we play before the men.” Edwards emphasises: “The girls react really well to the TV and the crowds; it’s a huge boost for us.”Yet England’s women also play in some rather more obscure locations. Truro in deepest Cornwall, which has a population of 17,000, will host an England-India ODI on July 8. But Edwards is enthused about the prospect, saying, “We love playing at the outgrounds”, and is confident that after a concerted marketing campaign, the game could be watched by as many as 1500 people.While limited-overs games, especially T20, may attract the crowds, the great frustration for England’s women is that they seldom have the opportunity to showcase their skills in the longest form of the game. Indeed, their last Test was in Sydney in January 2011, when they failed to defend the Ashes. The lack of Tests does not owe to any absence of desire on behalf of the players. Edwards says it is frustrating: “We would love to play more Test cricket but we understand that’s not where the game’s going at the moment.”Still, there is much else to be occupied with. After five ODIs against India, the preparations continue for the World T20 in Sri Lanka in September and October, when England will aim to regain the title they lost in the Caribbean in 2010. Far from being worried about playing in different conditions, Taylor is confident the side will be able to adapt. “Out there it doesn’t really do much in terms of movement, so that’ll suit my game down to a tee if I’m hitting straight. A lot of our girls hit very well straight, so hopefully we’ll come good.”After the World T20 there is not long to wait until the next big challenge: the 50-over World Cup in India in March. While Edwards accepts that T20 is “probably” the priority of most players now, she thinks differently. “For me the 50-over cricket is what women’s cricket is judged on and the World Cup is the ultimate prize in the women’s game.”It is undeniably a great shame that England’s women play so little Test cricket. But happily they are not lacking for stages on which to show off their considerable talents.

The Indian team should be grateful to No. 8 Harmeet Singh and No. 11 Sandeep Sharma. Most of the India top-order batsmen should be watching videos of the duo’s approach. They owe them big time

George Binoy in Townsville20-Aug-2012On the eve of the quarterfinal against Pakistan, India’s coach Bharat Arun had said having left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, who had been ill for the last two group games, available for selection again was “a big boost and advantage.” He was talking about Harmeet the bowler of course. Arun could not have imagined that Harmeet the batsman would be mobbed by euphoric team-mates after completing a one-wicket victory, with No. 11 Sandeep Sharma for company, in a sensationally tense finish.”When I hit it [the winning shot], I knew it was two runs,” said Harmeet, still trembling with exhilaration half an hour after he had sent the spirited group of Indian fans at the Tony Ireland Stadium into raptures. “When I ran the first run, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t laugh. It was something in between. The emotion was tremendous.”One moment, Harmeet was sitting in the dugout with his pads on, watching the fluent Baba Aparajith steer India to within 17 runs of a spot in the semifinals. The next, he was walking past Aparajith, who had been caught at cover. India still had four wickets in hand, with the wicketkeeper Smit Patel batting, and Kamal Passi, who had blitzed 24 off five balls against Zimbabwe, to come.”I didn’t think I’d have to bat,” Harmeet said later. As it transpired, not only did Harmeet have to bat, he also had to play the lead. Smit tried to cut but edged one that bounced a bit more, and fast bowler Azizullah had Passi lbw and Ravikant Singh bowled for ducks. India had lost 3 for 4 in ten balls.The coterie of Indian fans that had out-waved, out-sung and out-shouted the smaller group of Pakistanis, ever since Sandeep had taken two wickets in the first over of the day, were winded as he walked out to join Harmeet. India needed 10 runs; Pakistan only one wicket. Nine overs remained.”No. Just 137 runs, our batting is strong, I thought they will score easily,” Sandeep said when asked if he’d imagined he’d be needed to bat. “When I went in there was lots of pressure. I was just thinking, I just have to play; Harmeet will score.”With all that had gone before, the manner in which 19 batsmen had been dismissed, it seemed a matter of time before either Sandeep or Harmeet would fall to a good ball, or while attempting a big shot. Or they might have a go and get lucky, and the 10 India needed would come off an edge or a slog. What came to pass was anything but.”I backed myself and I knew Sandy [Sandeep] could play. The ones who had got out, they could also play,” Harmeet said. “It was just about pressure, the balls they got out to were not that great. So it was just pressure that we got under.”Two balls after Sandeep came to the crease, Harmeet played the left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar on the leg side for a single. Nine to get. There were shouts from the dismissed Indian batsmen on the sidelines. Perhaps they were cheering the run, perhaps they were imploring Harmeet to farm strike. Sandeep, striding forward and defending, kept out the remaining four balls of the 42nd over,.In the tensest of situations, Harmeet was astute enough to read the game, and know that Azizullah, who had taken two wickets in his previous over, had only one left – the 43rd. “I decided that I’ll play that over,” Harmeet said. “After that there were only spinners, and there wasn’t much spin [in the pitch]. So that’s what I did, I just played that over and nudged around.”Off the fourth ball of that Azizullah over, with only nine to get, Harmeet refused a single to long-off. “That fast bowler took two wickets in his last over. I didn’t take a chance there and after that I knew Sandy could play all the spinners. I had confidence in Sandy. I knew he could stay there and not play a shot for maybe the whole day. I played with him in the Cooch Behar [Indian domestic Under-19 tournament]. He has got patience, that’s why I backed him and took singles again after the fast bowler had finished.”Harmeet’s faith was not misplaced. Despite every fielder coming in to the 30-yard circle to keep Sandeep on strike, he did not try and hit the ball over the top. He defended the whole of the 44th over from the other left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz.”I was just concentrating on the ball,” Sandeep said. “Harmeet was playing really well, he was telling me to ‘just play with a straight bat, the ball is doing nothing, so just play with a straight bat.’ I was just focussing on saving my wicket.”With so few runs to defend, and majority of the fielders saving the single, only a tremendously confident and mature spinner will slow down his pace and flight the ball to tempt the batsman into indiscretion. Gohar and Nawaz bowled defensively – quicker and flatter – and Harmeet, being a left-arm spinner, realised they were no threat if handled sensibly.India were in no hurry whatsoever. Harmeet took two off the first ball of the 45th over – seven needed – and blocked the rest. The Indian fans, who had fallen silent, found voices again, most of them hoarse by now. Sandeep had defended 12 balls with a calmness that would have reassured thumping hearts in the Indian camp before driving Nawaz to long-off for a single. He would finish on 2 off 22 deliveries.Drip by drip India crawled closer. With two runs needed, Harmeet decided the time was right and played his first airborne shot, chipping Nawaz over square leg to bring an end to the ordeal. The partnership was worth a match-winning 10; it had taken seven overs.The release of emotion after the winning hit was palpable, from the fans and from the players and support staff rushing to greet their saviours. And despite the hugs, the high-fives and the back-slaps, the over-riding feeling among those who watched from the bench should be one of gratitude.Sandeep and Harmeet had taken 3 for 24 and 1 for 20 to help dismiss Pakistan for 136. And yet their top-order batsmen, who have disappointed as a unit throughout the group stages, left the job undone once again.Harmeet, however, said he had made it a point to try and enjoy himself. “It’s great to be back like this,” he said. “For us, it’s been a bit of a struggle, but we’re still there. That’s what matters for us.”Most of the top-order batsmen should be watching videos of Harmeet and Sandeep’s approach. They owe them big time.

Yuvraj Singh once said he wished he had Virat Kohli’s work ethic when he was young and watching Kohli in practice shows why.

Abhishek Purohit in Kandy02-Aug-2012It is easy to talk about Virat Kohli’s attitude. He is young, successful and from Delhi, a city where brash is known to go with the former two attributes. He has everything a regular 23-year old would only dream of. He is India vice-captain, a World Cup winner, an IPL star and currently in the form of his life. And he makes sure you know all that the way he swaggers around with what can only be termed as the Don’t-touch-me-I’m-Virat look. All of this is easily seen and easily spoken about. What is not seen much, largely due to Kohli’s outward manifestations, is the way the man goes about his game. Yuvraj Singh has said he wished he had Kohli’s work ethic when he was young, and you can see during practice what made Yuvraj say that.If Gautam Gambhir’s eyes drip intensity and Rahul Dravid’s stance shows his determination, Kohli’s entire being exudes a rarely seen combination of precision and passion during practice.Kohli’s precision is not the mere cold calculation of doing exactly what is required to be done; it seems so natural it’s almost surreal. He bats with precision, he takes catches with precision, he does fitness drills with precision, he even gives throwdowns to team-mates with precision. And appears completely natural all the time.Kohli’s passion is not the uncontrollable childlike enthusiasm of a youngster. He will take several blinders at point during training and go down with a contorted face full of disappointment if he misses even one. There are many in this side who would not even go for such catches in the first place. Kohli gives the impression he wants to be here, doing what he is doing, playing cricket for India.He starts by thumping the spinners in the nets. There are a couple of local net bowlers and the three specialist India spinners – R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma. Kohli hardly differentiates between them. He charges out and carts them over the boundary. He lofts them into the stands. He crashes them off the back foot. Even from a distance of tens of metres, the sight is brutal. Not in the display of power, as MS Dhoni shows later, but in the relentlessness of it.He moves on to taking high catches on the boundary. He takes them all. He leaps and takes them inches from the rope. He runs several yards in front to take them. He drops none. At no point does he appear to be straining himself. Is this man for real?Now he takes those sharp ones at point. Virender Sehwag joins in for a few minutes, then walks away. Kohli continues to throw himself around. He goes with both hands, he goes with one hand. Suddenly, he drops one. And goes down as is he’s dropped it in a World Cup final. Say what you will about the man’s behaviour, but surely he can’t be overdoing this reaction.He now takes over the duty of hitting those high catches to his team-mates. And does it with gusto. Dhoni, who is among those taking the catches, asks for one close to the rope. The next ball promptly arrives where the captain wants it.You would think at least now he would show some sign, one sign, of being tired. But wait. Gambhir wants to practice some back-foot punches. Who to give him throwdowns but his young Delhi team-mate? Kohli keeps banging them earnestly into the pitch and Gambhir keeps punching them sweetly till he is satisfied with the stroke.Ah, he is done, finally. Surely, now he will show that he is tired. At least a deep breath? Not coming. The swagger is back in place as Kohli walks to the dressing room. He even poses for some photographs with a group of Sri Lankan fans. Did he smile broadly at the camera? Of course not. He’s Virat.

Victory at Lord’s came despite another poor England catching display

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's02-Sep-2012This theme will sound a bit like a broken record, but England’s catching malaise shows little sign of abating. At Lord’s the focus was back on the slips, a problem area all summer, and the fact England secured victory to take an unassailable 2-1 lead was despite, not because of, their fielding.If that feels like a downbeat note on which to reflect on another solid victory – which is a sign of the strength of character in this one-day side – it never hurts to look at how a team can improve after a win. One thing is for sure, Andy Flower will not be rubbing out the dropped catches from his notebook that gets studiously filled during each match.It is difficult to pinpoint when England last went through such a sustained period of weakness in the catching department. The Ashes tour in 1994-95 springs to mind, which came to a head when ten chances were put down in Perth, leading to Graham Thorpe booting the ball away at first slip after he grassed one. In 2006 England suffered a bad Test at Lord’s against Sri Lanka when a hatful of chances went down and the visitors saved the game, but by the next match standards had improved. While there are obviously other failures in between, too, the current issues have become a trend.This season, at least since the third Test against West Indies when Ian Bell dropped two at slip, there has been a consistency about the inconsistency. And it is not just one player, either, unlike previous occasions when the likes of Kevin Pietersen or Matt Prior have gone through periods of missing plenty. James Anderson, Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss missed them in the Test series, while Craig Kieswetter had an awful ODI in Southampton and at Lord’s it was James Tredwell’s turn to let two escape his grasp.The first, inevitably off Hashim Amla’s outside edge, flew at an awkward shoulder-height to Tredwell at second slip and he could not decide whether to go with his hands up or down. Still, it should have been swallowed. The second came when Tredwell was stood at a lone first slip and Graeme Smith edged the same bowler, Steven Finn. Kieswetter committed to the dive and his out-stretched left glove distracted Tredwell, who never got near catching it. It was credit to Tredwell that did not let the misses affect his bowling, where he responded with a beautifully controlled 3 for 35.However, the fact that Tredwell and Jonathan Trott were England’s two slips highlights the issues they are having. It is not that they are poor slippers – it bemuses many that Trott is not there more often and Tredwell does it for Kent – but there has been a huge amount of chopping and changing in recent months. That is unavoidable to a degree – players retire, others get injured, while Test and ODI teams are not the same – but like any role in sport players have to be able to settle in a position.Cook, who has fielded slip in Tests albeit with mixed results, and Anderson are not there to quick bowlers in ODIs (although Anderson stood there to the spinners at Lord’s). Fielding in the slips, while a very individual skill, also requires a sixth sense built up over time over who will go for what, especially between the keeper and first slip. Healy-Taylor, Gilchrist-Warne, Strauss-Prior (mostly) and Smith-Boucher are just a few contemporary examples of long-term associations.

In ODIs, Cook likes to field at mid-off to chat to his bowlers but first slip is ideal for a captain. Can he make himself safe in that position? It might also help him judge the use of DRS”

In terms of England’s catching as a whole they have not replaced Paul Collingwood, who spent his career at backward point in ODIs and third slip in Tests, or second when the likes of Andrew Flintoff or Graeme Swann were bowling. It was a natural stagger, everyone knew where they would be.Crucially, too, the first slip remained almost constant, certainly in Tests, whether it be Marcus Trescothick (who had to avoid Geraint Jones’ keenness to dive more than once) or Strauss. Now that will come into focus again in the Tests with Strauss departing with a record number of England catches. In ODIs, Cook likes to field at mid-off to chat to his bowlers but first slip is ideal for a captain. Can Cook make himself safe in that position? It might also help him judge the use of DRS; as in the second match at West End, where they wasted one on JP Duminy, here there was a silly review against Amla, who was then given not out to one that was taking leg stump.However, amid another reminder of how England’s fielding has lost its edge it should be mentioned how well Kieswetter responded under pressure, making five dismissals. It was a tough game for him in Southampton and he played a hand in Smith’s reprieve here, but soon set about evening the ledger. He held a sharp catch above his head off Smith’s top edge then became the first England wicketkeeper to complete three stumpings in an ODI.Two were comfortable but he was quick to spot AB de Villiers’ toe on the line, although he blotted his copy book when he chased a shot from Robin Peterson and produced a poor throw to Anderson at the stumps. It was not a wicketkeeping error, but just another little moment to add to a lengthy list from the team season. Peterson later showed that South Africa are far from infallible when he dropped Bell at mid-on to put a seal on a disappointing show from the visitors who, this time, could not make England pay for their mistakes. But that does not mean the problems can be ignored.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between West Indies and New Zealand in Jamaica

Subash Jayaraman in Jamaica03-Aug-2012Near no-ball of the day
Kemar Roach took a wicket off a no-ball in Antigua and he came mighty close to another one in his first spell of the day. On a pitch that had pace and bounce, Roach had BJ Watling poking one to Chris Gayle at first slip. As is the wont these days, umpire Erasmus asked for a second look to make sure Roach hadn’t overstepped. All and sundry believed that Roach had no part of his front foot behind the crease – except for the man upstairs, Richard Kettleborough, who matters. The call stood.Actual no-ball of the day
It looked like the no-ball problem wasn’t Roach’s alone. Sunil Narine bowled five of them in his 26 overs. It was as if Roach had passed it on during the break between the Tests. When West Indies appealed for a bat-pad catch off Doug Bracewell, umpire Paul Reiffel quickly acknowledged and the batsman was equally quick in asking for the review. The fact that Reiffel had made an egregious error became secondary when third umpire Kettleborough deemed Narine to have overstepped, even though the evidence did not appear conclusive. In DRS, all’s well that ends well?Watchful partner of the day
As Bracewell called for the review of the bat-pad catch decision, TV cameras also showed Kruger van Wyk paying attention to Narine’s front foot and asking for the review, even though he was the non-striker. Even if Bracewell hadn’t gone for it, the watchful eyes of van Wyk might have convinced him anyway.Best of the day
Tino Best was said to be “chomping at the bit” when he was warming the bench during the first Test. When an injury to Ravi Rampaul made room for his selection, the ever-excitable Best gave expression to his pent up feelings. His first ball of the day to Martin Guptill was a snorter and he regularly clocked in excess of 144kph and gained disconcerting bounce. Best had his hands in dismissals of three of New Zealand’s key men: he claimed the wickets of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor and completed a clean pick-up and direct hit to get rid of Guptill, who looked set for a century. It was fitting that Best would feature in the final New Zealand wicket to fall, as he took a top-edged steepler from Neil Wagner.Uncomfortable moment of the day
The fast bowlers’ union is long dead. The tail-enders get as good as they give. When Neil Wagner hit a boundary off Roach on the second ball of the 81st over, West Indies promptly took the new red cherry that was available to them. Roach clearly let Wagner know what he thought of his adventure from the previous delivery. He served up an 85.5mph delivery aimed for Wagner’s midriff, and an ungainly swat ballooned to fall short of the fine-leg fielder.Non-nightwatchman of the day
In Antigua, sent in as night-watchman in both the innings, Neil Wagner was dictated by the situation to play dour innings. Here in Jamaica, coming in at No.9, Wagner had the license to throw his bat around at anything he could reach, and so he did. As the eighth and ninth wickets fell, and with only Trent Boult for company, Wagner kicked up a notch. In the next four overs, Wagner hit five boundaries off Narine, Roach and Best, the most memorable one being a pull off Roach in the 83rd over. Four balls later, he fell trying to repeat the shot and gave Roach his four-for.

The Mumbai stadium’s maiden Twenty20 international was an affair to remember

Mihir Gosalia23-Dec-2012Choice of game
The Wankhede Stadium was hosting its first Twenty20 international which was also the first India match I was watching live at a ground.The series was set up nicely by India’s emphatic win in Pune the day before. If India were to win this match and the next two against Pakistan, they would have become the No. 1 T20 team. My prediction was an India victory since the team had been playing well in the shorter formats.Team supported
India.Key performer
England captain Eoin Morgan has already built a reputation for himself as a dangerous player in the limited-overs formats. He plays the sort of finishing role for England that Michael Bevan used to play for Australia, and now Michael Hussey.One thing I’d have changed
I wanted Eoin Morgan’s wicket – bowled, caught, run out – off the last ball of match, rather than have to watch him hit it for a six out of the ground. I would have also liked to have seen more of Virat Kohli, given the aggressiveness in his batting and the kind of boundary shots he played. It was a delight to watch him bat in full flow. I could see the attacking intent in his batting from his stance. He certainly looked determined to turn on the heat against England but the innings was unfortunately cut short.Face-off I relished
Since several stars were being rested, it was a chance for players like Ashok Dinda, Parwinder Awana and even Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped from the Test side, to cement their places in the side.Wow moment
Apart from Morgan’s last-ball six hit, Yuvraj’s three wickets were impressive in the match. When the English openers got going and India couldn’t break the stand, the crowd asked for Yuvraj to be given a chance. When he was finally given a bowl, he dismissed Michael Lumb off his second ball. The expectations increased when he came to bowl his second over, and once again he obliged by trapping Luke Wright plumb in front of the wicket. In his final over, he managed to get rid of the dangerous Alex Hales.Close encounter
Since my seat was in the North Stand near the sight screen, there was always a fielder present near the boundary rope. We got a close look at Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Wright, Stuart Meaker, Awana, Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma. Indian fans never miss a chance to call or heckle any fielder who comes to the boundary, and it was sporting of Dernbach and Wright to acknowledge the crowd with smiles. Ashwin gave us a thumbs-up after being welcomed him with “Vanakkam!” which is “hello” in Tamil. The crowd also told Awana that they’d forgive him for dropping a catch if he took a wicket.Shot of the day
The last-ball six hit by Morgan, which reminded me of the famous Javed Miandad hit in Sharjah in 1986, was the shot of the day. The entire stadium was standing, hoping for a win for India. My colleague was waiting to record the moment on his phone but all he captured was the six out of the park. Last-ball sixes have become a regular feature in cricket since the introduction of T20s. Who can forget Dwayne Smith hitting Ben Hilfenhaus for three sixes in the last over to seal a win for Mumbai Indians against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede earlier this year?Crowd meter
As the match progressed, the stadium slowly filled up. The only empty stands I saw were near the Vijay Merchant Pavilion side. There were three-to-four-year-old kids dressed in Indian jerseys with faces painted in the Indian tricolor. Their parents hoisted them up on their shoulders and made them cheer for the Indian team. The Mexican wave started early, from the second over the match, and gained momentum as the Indian innings progressed, particularly when Dhoni and Raina were batting in full flow.Fancy-dress index
There were the usual colourful Lasith Malinga wigs around, but the best one was from a spectator on the second level of the North Stand who wore the mask of a grumpy old man but was dancing and rejoicing when India were batting. He was cheered by the crowd in his stand and also caught the attention of those in other stands.Entertainment
Surprisingly there was no music or mid-innings entertainment, nor were there any cheerleaders, who could have boosted the spirits of the Indian bowlers. We got to see Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Navjot Sidhu, and Sourav Ganguly when they were walking back to their commentary box positions. They got cheers and duly acknowledged them.ODIs or Twenty20s
I prefer T20s because the fast-paced action and thrilling moments are packed into three hours like a Hollywood movie. There are enough ups and downs during the three hours to make the experience enjoyable, and like a movie, the match is conveniently played in the evenings.Banner of the day
“Unleash the Helicopter Shot”, “If Dhoni plays well, India sleeps well” and “England, here’s the way to the Airport”.Practice makes you perfect
I reached the stadium almost an hour and a half early, and saw England practising on the field. India came out after some time. I wish they had come out to practise earlier or at the same time as England. I saw a few Indian bowlers practise hitting one stump and wondered whether they could have hit that stump had Alastair Cook been standing in front of it with a bat.Marks out of ten
10 for the close finish. The better team won.

Plays of the Day from the second day of the fourth Test between India and England in Nagpur

George Dobell14-Dec-2012Stat of the day (taking Root)
By the time he was out, Joe Root had batted longer – in terms of balls
faced – than all but five players on their debut Test innings in England history. Root
faced 229 balls – 151 fewer than the Nawab of Pataudi senior on his
debut in the Ashes of 1932-33 – and became the sixth member of
England’s top seven to register a half-century or better on Test
debut, once again underlining the worth of the County Championship in
producing international players.Shot of the day
Progress has been desperately slow on this begrudging surface. The one
batsman, to date, who has defied the nature of the pitch to score freely
is Graeme Swann, who registered his fifth Test half-century and his
first since the Centurion Test against South Africa almost exactly
three years ago. Swann is also the only man to have struck a six so
far in this Test with the first of them, somewhat closer to a slog
than a slog-sweep, depositing the otherwise parsimonious Ravindra
Jadeja high over wide mid-on and providing one of the more
entertaining moments in an otherwise prosaic England first innings.Duck of the day
Virender Sehwag was seen as one of the few batsmen on either side – Kevin
Pietersen is the only other obvious example – with the ability to rise
above the conditions and play a match-defining innings. It was not to
be, however, as in the first over of India’s reply, Sehwag was beaten
on the outside edge by an inswinger from James Anderson that knocked
back the middle stump. It was a fine delivery, but Sehwag’s tentative
foot movement resulted in a feeble defensive shot. It was the seventh
duck of his Test career against England. Only four men have suffered
more, with Bishan Bedi (11 ducks) leading the way.Decision of the day
Such is Cheteshwar Pujara’s obvious class that he is rapidly
developing into the key wicket in this India team. So to lose him to
another umpiring error, this time caught off the arm at short-leg as
he played forward to Swann, was desperate misfortune for the
individual and the team. While the catch, Ian Bell diving to his right
to cling on to a sharp chance, was excellent, it is a shame that such
a high-profile game can be undermined so unnecessarily by the
continued refusal to utilise the DRS.Near miss of the day
After his involvement in two run-outs in Kolkata, it might have been
expected that Gautam Gambhir would have been at his most alert when
running. But, called for a sharp but perfectly reasonable single by
Cheteshwar Pujara, Gambhir, on 30, was found resting on his bat at the
non-strikers’ end and only survived due to a poor throw from Joe Root,
at square leg, and a desperate slide.Drop of the day
Gambhir was on 33 and India were 62 for 2 when Matt Prior was
unable to cling on to a tough chance off the pad from the bowling of
Swann. With the ball coming off the inside edge of Gambhir’s
bat and on to his pad, the double deflection made the chance tricky
and the ball bounced off the gloves and chest of Prior. The chance did
not prove too costly, though, with Prior accepting an easier chance
just a few minutes later off the bowling of Anderson.

The uncharacteristically flat track in Galle led to a snoozefest which denied Sri Lanka a chance of going 1-up at their most bankable venue

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle12-Mar-2013Small stretches of the Galle Fort’s walls are currently being restored, where wind, waves and time have weathered the original granite and coral construction. Builders have trucked in new rocks to replace the old, but they will hardly find a more hardy material to reinforce the fort than the pitch on which the first Test was played.It is usually said of Galle tracks that it already looks like a fourth-day surface on the second morning, but this time at close on day five, there was little observable change on the wicket to suggest more than two sessions had transpired. Sri Lanka declared their innings closed twice in pursuit of the unlikely, but in this Test, it seemed a travesty that bowlers can’t just choose to declare when they’ve had enough as well. It did not help that both umpires were reluctant to give batsmen out, not having the safety net of DRS, but perhaps even they cannot be blamed for dozing off.After the teams had agreed to call it a day an hour before the torture’s scheduled end, Angelo Mathews confirmed the exceptional batting conditions were at least partly due to a request made by the home team. “The management had a bit of chat with the curators, but they are professionals,” he said. “They have been doing this for the past so many years. We won’t poke our fingers, but we did have a chat.”Sri Lanka’s likely rationale for wanting a good pitch may have been to help ease an inexperienced batting order into Test cricket on a venue traditionally so bowler friendly that the previous four Tests didn’t go to the fifth day. They were not so much eased in, as sent flowers, soft toys and champagne by the ground staff. Sri Lanka will be encouraged that its top six batsman now all have hundreds to their name, but given the paucity of the challenge, most of their Test fifties will rate higher on their list of achievements.In requesting a good track for the young batsmen, Sri Lanka also seem to have forgotten that their attack has veered from modest to toothless in the past six months. Like a mechanic who inflates a flat tire but neglects the smoke pouring out of the engine, they have done their inexperienced bowlers a disservice and denied themselves the chance to taking a series lead at their most bankable venue. Even Rangana Herath, who averaged 20.30 in Galle before this match, and had two ten-wicket hauls in his last three matches there, was made to look no better than a part-timer, for all the turn he achieved.The placid conditions also add fuel to the wider question about whether home team advantage should extend to influence on pitch characteristics, especially when the cricket suffers. In December, India’s requests for turning pitches at home not only backfired in a 2-1 loss, but produced a dreary Test in Nagpur.”I wouldn’t say that it’s against the spirit of cricket to have a chat to the curators, because it’s home advantage after all,” Mathews said. “We would like to have wickets suitable for our team playing in Sri Lanka.”

The wicket was absolutely a road. The batsmen would have loved to bat next couple of days as wellAngelo Mathews

In 2011, the call to prepare an especially dry track for the visiting Australians, even by Galle’s standards, ended in the venue being officially warned by the ICC after the wicket had deteriorated drastically from the first day. Sri Lanka also lost that match, as the opposition fast bowlers exploited the extreme variables of bounce.Galle Tests have ordinarily been exciting, and the surface happily spin-friendly (as rich a contributor to the Test match landscape as Headingley, or the WACA ground), but meddling with its natural characteristics has now twice ended in disappointment for the hosts.”In a team perspective, we are very disappointed we couldn’t pull it off here, but I would say that it was tough. The wicket was absolutely a road. The batsmen would have loved to bat next couple of days as well. It didn’t spin at all, but the bowlers tried their best. It was just that the wicket didn’t give any sort of assistance. We batted one and half days and got 570 for 4. That says lot about the wicket.”With this year’s South Africa Tests having been postponed to 2015 and no home Test series until then, Galle will now take a two-year hiatus. For a venue that has brought bowlers so much joy, it is a shame its last match in a while had to be such a poor one.

The pressure of dots balls can be enormous in Twenty20 cricket. Hussey knows he can always fall back on three foundations of his Twenty20 batting: his running, the cover-drive and the shovel pull

Sidharth Monga08-May-2013It could be a complete coincidence, or perhaps not, but two of the best batsmen in Twenty20 cricket have faced the most maidens in the IPL. Chris Gayle has gone through four run-less overs. When Michael Hussey was done blocking out Dale Steyn in the first over of this match, he had faced his third maiden of the IPL.In a format that a couple of dot balls often result in stupid dismissals, here are batsmen playing out 5% of a team’s resources without scoring a run. That should put teams under immense pressure, right? Wrong. Of the seven times Hussey and Gayle have played out a maiden, their side has lost on only one occasion. Twice Gayle has scored a century after facing a maiden.Gayle has been well documented. He just bides his time, picks his bowlers, and then goes boom. Because he knows he can, because he knows fielders and boundaries don’t mean anything to him once he starts hitting.What of Hussey then? On the surface it might sound surprising that Hussey comes back from these slow starts often, but he is possibly the likelier of the two to do so. The number of times his team, Chennai Super Kings, have gone from around 60 in 10 overs to 160 in 20 suggests he has done so more consistently.It is perhaps logical that Hussey should do it as often as Gayle, if not more. He is a more complete batsman. Until he surprised everyone by suddenly giving up international cricket, he was one of the few batsmen in the world who was equally good at all three formats. However, whether it is Gayle or Hussey, the acceleration from slow starts is easier said than done.The pressure of dots balls can be enormous in Twenty20 cricket. You begin to owe your team that many balls as soon as you start playing those dots. If you fall mid-acceleration, for, say, 20 off 25, you end up doing your team a disservice. You leave yourself no other option but to play about 40 balls and make up for those starts. You have to be extremely sure of your game to be doing that often.Not many know their own game better than Hussey does. He knows he can always fall back on three foundations of his Twenty20 batting: his running, the cover-drive that he plays as well as anyone, and the shovel pull that he hardly ever fails at.It is not as if he deliberately plays out deliveries at the top. He minimises the risks while the pitch is a stranger. While most openers try to get the hitting out of the way, Hussey waits, as he did today. This was a ground where 130 had been the season’s highest score. Hussey was out there with an opening partner who has not been through the best of seasons. Super Kings were against bowlers who have kept their side in the competition without much help at all from their batsmen. And the leader of that pack, Steyn, was about to bowl outswingers at mid-140kmph and register the second-best IPL figures for a bowler in a score of 200 or more.Four defensive shots covering the swing, one leave outside off, and one hit on the inside half of the bat. All of a sudden it’s 19 overs v 20. Only two runs would come off the next Steyn over. Almost inconspicuously, though, Hussey followed the pattern: change gears, turn a single into a two here, nudge a four there, and while you are looking at Vijay’s three sixes off Ishant Sharma Hussey has quietly reached 14 from 11.Vijay fell, but Hussey kept on doing what he does: run hard, drive supremely, go deep in the crease and bend his knees to manufacture his own length and play the shovel pull. Along the way he reclaimed the Orange Cap. By the time he fell, having scored at a strike-rate of 160, you had even forgotten the game had begun with a maiden. Quite possibly because Hussey had played out that maiden.

Misbah-ul-Haq talks about his approach to the captaincy, the criticism he has copped for his defensive style, and the lessons from the drubbing in South Africa

Interview by Umar Farooq13-May-2013You are almost 40. As a cricketer, what does this mean for you?
My career has a lot of exceptions. I had a late debut in first-class and international cricket. Then the 2007 comeback, which was exceptional as it’s hard to come back at that age. So I don’t see age as a barrier in any way. I should be looking at how fit I am with regard to my endurance and performance. My body and mind are fully supporting me, and this is the reason I continue. It’s all about how comfortable a player is with his age.After the Sydney Test, you were almost done with your cricket career. Do you think you have been lucky?
It depends on how committed you are with yourself, and what you are willing to do for yourself. I was really disappointed that I wasn’t consistent with my performance, and was thinking of quitting. But it was tough to call it a day on such a poor note. I went back to domestic cricket, rediscovered myself, and realised that I still had the passion and the interest. So I decided to play and leave on a high note.There is a view that you deserve credit for bringing a much-needed calm to Pakistan cricket. How did you tackle the storm after the spot-fixing debacle in England?
Indeed [it was] a huge responsibility. It was a really difficult situation for Pakistan cricket. But it’s unfair for me to take the entire credit. Everyone played their role: the board, the coaching staff, and the new players. I was given a task to rebuild everything from scratch with a group that was new and inexperienced. But the results after all those debacles – in 2009 and 2010 – were incredible.The main driving force was the will to prove everyone wrong and regain credibility. Everyone was committed to moving on and starting afresh. As a captain it’s always important to be trusted. They not only trusted me but also played as a unit.Did captaincy transform you into a defensive player?
In 2007 my role in the team was a different one. As a No. 6 batsman, I was aggressive in the presence of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan – who were taking most of the responsibility to play out all the overs and keep rotating the strike. But with Yousuf being dropped, it was a huge gap to fill, and the responsibility came on me. I was given a role when I led the team after the spot-fixing fiasco: to stay in the middle till the end. And this is the reason for the phase when I held my shots and didn’t play to my strengths. When you play like this, you lose your confidence and can’t give your best. But now I have given this approach a rethink and have decided to return to my natural game.I was more concerned about positive results. Whether I was defensive or aggressive, what was important was to win. It was important to get results.You were heavily criticised by the Pakistan fans for your approach. Do you feel a sense of siege with so much public scrutiny?
I understand people in Pakistan are very concerned about their cricket stars. These days cricket is being discussed and players are being analysed by everyone, irrespective of whether they understand the game or not. But as national cricketers, we are used to it. One must have belief in oneself. I do assess the criticism but also evaluate if there is any hidden interest behind it. If it’s a logical and fair point, I do consider it and try to address it on the field.So did you step down from Pakistan’s T20 side because of some criticism that you felt had logic?
I left for one simple reason: I wanted to give a youngster a chance to fill my place. Pakistan cricket needs more players in their set-up for the future. Their development is also important, and T20 is a format where you can easily try out a youngster. Once you identify a future prospect, you can try him out in the T20 format and then decide to pick him for Tests or ODIs.

“Asad Shafiq is a sort of player who can give stability to the middle order. He has got a sound temperament and is technically good, someone who can replace a player like Younis or me in the team”

Was it easy for you to step down?
Leaving any format of the game isn’t easy. Especially for me, since T20 was the format that had a significant impact on my career. In 2007 I made a name for myself because of T20. So it was a tough call, but I had to take a decision for the benefit of the team and future of Pakistan cricket. I continue playing T20 for the regional team and leagues but have no intention of returning to the Pakistan T20 squad.Do you think people expect you to take a charismatic approach to the game? Like [Shahid] Afridi…
Every player is different. In a team of 11, each player has his role. Not every player can bat with a strike rate of 150. Afridi has his own strengths but also has negative points. That’s the case with every player, including me. As a player you need to understand your game. If you go beyond the limits of your role, you are actually not doing what is good for yourself and for the team. You can’t always win by being aggressive.There is a persistent view that you are actually a defensive captain.
Maintaining a balance is very important. You have to be sensible enough to see the requirement. It is pointless to show unnecessary aggression, to attack when it’s time to absorb pressure and stay on the back foot. It’s a strategic thing that you have to manipulate according to the situation. And ultimately it’s the results that matter. When you are winning, there is no point in showing off with unnecessary aggression.Who would you want to pick out as your successor as captain?
At the moment I don’t think anyone is ready. In Pakistan we need someone who has experience, and we need to develop a player’s captaincy skills before handing him the responsibility. [Mohammad] Hafeez, in the meantime, has a strong case because he has ample experience of captaining various sides at the domestic level.Which player can develop into the most assured one in the team?
Asad Shafiq. He is a sort of player who can give stability to the middle order. He has got a sound temperament and is technically good, someone who can replace a player like Younis or me in the team. What are your thoughts on the future of Pakistan cricket?
Over the last two years things have been going well but Pakistan cricket has to lift its domestic structure. We can’t rectify the limitations and shortfalls without mending the structure. The current set of youngsters, and those who are coming up, is seriously suffering with no international cricket being played on home soil.The current lot has surely got talent but they are raw and things are moving very slowly for them. We can’t get them to raise their quality without playing international cricket in Pakistan. But given the circumstances, things aren’t that bad. Sure it’s a bit inconsistent but we have the X factor, and we always have a chance of beating any team in the world. So I am optimistic about the future.”Teams visiting South Africa are always uncomfortable and we knew what to expect. We should have grabbed the opportunity to go 1-1″•Getty ImagesFor many years, selectors have constantly changed the look of squads. For a captain how difficult is to lead a side with so many new faces in every series?
In the last five or six years we have lost so many established players in unexpected ways. Some retired, some were banned for match-fixing, and some went out of contention for reasons unknown. It’s not easy to replace players like Inzamam, Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar.I agree that there have been changes in every series but we are in a transition and are trying out different players to get a good combination – which is obviously a drawback, as we can’t produce results consistently. There is a lot of fluctuation in our performances but it is natural. We played Tests with a mostly consistent line-up for two years and produced good results, but unfortunately we aren’t well settled at the moment. It takes time.How much longer do you expect to be with the Pakistan team?
I have not taken a final decision. I’m happy with my fitness, form, and most importantly, passion for the game. My body is responding to what I want it to do. Obviously I can’t be with the team all my life. But I haven’t thought of the long term. When I feel I am losing interest in cricket, I will think of parting ways.As a captain do you miss Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir? If they were in the side, would Pakistan be a better team than it is at the moment?
Indeed it was a blow. Amir and Asif were ruling while Butt was getting mature as a player. Replacing such players takes time. But in the end we have to rely on our available resources and plan for the future, hoping that they will give their best.Let’s not take away credit from those who rose in the time of despair and pessimism. We beat the world’s best team, England, and had a splendid winning record.What do you feel are the reasons for Pakistan’s chronic batting problems? You, as a captain have admitted often that the batsmen have made mistakes, and vowed to improve. But that never seems to have happened.
Behind the scenes you try hard to improve but at the same time you have to keep in mind the quality of batsmen we have. Most of the batsmen are young and haven’t played a lot of cricket. They lack experience. Of the six or seven regular batsmen, there are hardly one or two who have some experience. Even I haven’t played a lot of cricket. We don’t have star batsmen like most other teams. Nasir [Jamshed], Asad, Umar [Akmal] and many others are still young. They will gain experience with time.There is a view that you avoid personality clashes. Is this a reason for your success as captain?
I have always tried to avoid conflicts. After the [spot-fixing] fiasco, there was a need for stability and to avoid disputes at any level. Obviously every player has his own mindset and a captain needs to be flexible to deal with this. We needed solutions rather than leaving things unsolved and making them more complex.Pakistan was humbled in South Africa, losing the Test series 3-0. What do you have to say about this?
That was a really disappointing series. Teams visiting South Africa are always uncomfortable and we knew what to expect. We almost caught them by surprise in the second Test and that showed us that this side has the capability to turn things around. We should have grabbed the opportunity to go 1-1. We were flat and, no doubt, they were the better side playing at home.But in the end you learn a lot in defeats and I am sure this will help us in the Champions Trophy next month.Any regrets in your career so far?
A big no. I’ve always looked ahead and never tried to turn back. Sometimes things do get to you and you think about the past, but I have tried to make my future better rather than living in the past.