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Last year he made his India debut at Old Trafford. Today Ajinkya Rahane is hoping to catch the selectors’ attention once again. But setbacks don’t worry him, they spur him on

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Apr-2012The dark navy blue Indian blazer hangs on a stand by the bed. We are in Ajinkya Rahane’s room at the team hotel in Chennai on the day the Indian Test squad leaves for Australia, last December. Rahane, who had made his international debut only a few months ago in England, is happy that things are falling into place for him. He admits the prospect of playing in Australia – the pinnacle for every international cricketer – will keep him awake on the long flight to Melbourne.The previous afternoon Rahane had been beaten by the low bounce and the skiddy pace of Kemar Roach at Chepauk off the second ball of the fifth ODI against West Indies. It was the second duck of his short career, but being in the Indian dressing room had taught Rahane to remain positive.One of the most prolific batsmen on the domestic circuit, Rahane had been waiting for a call from the selectors. In only his second first-class season, in 2008-09, he made 1089 runs in the Ranji Trophy. The next year he was again one of the highest run-scorers, with 809 runs in Mumbai’s successful defence of their title. He hit hundreds against the Australians in the tour match in Chandigarh in 2010, and followed that a week later with 191 in the second innings in the Irani Trophy.In the summer of 2010, touring England with India A, Rahane made two centuries, but Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja got their India caps ahead of him. He grew desperate, waiting in the wings. But being in the company of domestic stalwarts and former India players Wasim Jaffer and Praveen Amre (the Mumbai coach), helped him realise the importance of patience.”The four years I played domestic cricket I got the experience of working hard, and I also know how much more I need to work,” Rahane says. “The dream has always been there to play for the Test team. I don’t mind waiting for my chances, no matter how much I have to wait. Till then I will need to do my job and get the runs. That is definitely in my hands.”Mentally he was ready for the step up, which finally arrived after he returned from the Emerging Players tournament in Australia, where he had hit two centuries in the three first-class matches. It was mid-August when, one afternoon, while at home chatting with his mother, Rahane received a call from the office of the BCCI president. He was told he was flying to England as a replacement for Virender Sehwag, who was unfit.The reality of it hit home only when people started phoning him. “I saw tears of happiness on my mom’s face,” Rahane recalls.”I come from a middle-class family. They reduced expenses on other household stuff to help me with my cricket. So they had to give up on a lot to bring me to this stage. They obviously are the pillars of my strength.”When the dream of wearing the India cap was close to becoming a reality, Rahane said he was nervous, even though he knew the conditions he would be up against in England because of the trip in 2010. “I was a little nervous when I was told I would be playing the Twenty20 in Manchester,” he says. But he found support from the senior players, including Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and his Mumbai team-mate Rohit Sharma.”When I walked in at Old Trafford the crowd’s noise did make me a little nervous. But I had walked in with the mindset that the full house was trying to support me. That eased me into the situation gradually.”Duncan Fletcher, the India coach, told him he belonged at the international level. “When someone like him [Fletcher] said such encouraging things, I started feeling better.”That day Rahane walked out to open with Dravid, one of his heroes. Incidentally both men were making their Twenty20 international debuts in the match. Rahane finished as the top scorer for India, with 61 in a narrow defeat.What did he learn on the tour? “The big difference was, I understood going forward I would need to work much harder. Because before my debut I was unknown but now the teams would study me more. So I would need to think a step ahead of the opposition and plan how I would tackle them.”Following his debut, Rahane played against England again at home, and he rates his 91 in Mohali as his best knock, a performance that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. “I was nervous before that match because in the previous two matches I had got out early. In Mohali, Dhoni called me and told me not to think too much. He asked me to express myself freely, just the way I did in England. So I went in with the idea of following my instincts.”

“I was thinking I could have been picked, but I would not let the non-selection affect me. I told myself I should only focus on playing domestic matches and perform in the important matches and come back into the reckoning. I took it as a challenge”Rahane on being overlooked for the CB Series

The quality of bowling and the mindset of international players, Rahane says, is the difference between the highest level and domestic cricket. A good example of that came in England, where, against quality fast bowlers like Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Steve Finn, he was constantly on the hop, tackling searing pace and bounce. “At that level if you can stay mentally strong and tough, it will be beneficial. Also, if you can handle every situation calmly, it matters a lot.”Rahane kept those lessons in mind when he landed in Australia. But things did not turn out the way he would have liked them to. In the two practice matches ahead of the Test series, in three innings, Rahane managed only 18 runs. “I was disappointed and was sitting in a corner in Canberra. The coach and some of the senior players came to me and said it was a matter of making adjustments. That and a matter of one good innings would help me get on the track.”As the Indian team got a hammering over the next two months, Rahane and the rest of the reserves awaited their turn. For Rahane there wasn’t one. He channelled his frustration by coming out early for training sessions or staying back late after them to hit balls along with Rohit.Rahane has a safety-first approach to life, a contrast to the vulnerability apparent in someone like Rohit, who is clearly the more talented. While Rohit likes driving cars and motorbikes, Rahane prefers sitting in his room and reading books on meditation. “That was one way I kept myself calm in Australia and retained my focus.”Senior players talked to Rahane about the difference in the bounce, even if the bowlers pitched lengths similar to those in India. “The biggest thing I learned is how to get used to the conditions in Australia. The shots to play on those wickets and the right kind of approach and how soon to get adjusted to those conditions – those were the things I tried learning in the two months I was there.”He was disappointed that he was not retained in the CB Series squad. “I was thinking I could have been picked, but I would not let it affect me. I told myself I should only focus on playing domestic matches and perform in the important matches and come back into the reckoning. I took it as a challenge.”According to Jaffer, Rahane needs to create more opportunities for himself to stay in the fray for a Test spot. “He needs to stay focused and grab his opportunity whenever he gets a chance,” Jaffer says. He believes it will be “very important” that Rahane performs in the IPL and on A tours to keep his name on top of the list.After Australia, Rahane has played as many matches as he could, including for his company, Indian Oil Corporation, and even local club matches in Mumbai. Though scratchy in the early stages of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored a vital half-century against Karnataka in the semi-final to help Mumbai make the final. He followed that with a match-winning century for West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy final.”I said, fine, I did not get opportunities on the Australian tour but I got to learn quite a few things. I learned to have a fighting attitude and retain my self-belief.” Virtues that are important for a player with an Indian blazer in his wardrobe.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the match between Sri Lanka and West Indies

David Hopps in Pallekele29-Sep-2012Taunt of the day 1Gangnam Style, a 2012 song by the Korean rapper PSY, which has turned into a global dance sensation, has been adopted by Chris Gayle when he does something special on the field. That had not escaped the Sri Lankan DJ at Pallakele who gave a quick burst of the track when he was dismissed.Taunt of the day 2Gangnam Style also figured when Jeevan Mendis (should that be Jiving Mendis?) took the wicket of Dwayne Bravo and broke into his own version of the dance. Gayle, sat in the West Indies dressing room with a towel over his shoulders, looked suitably amused.Taunt of the day 3It wasn’t a taunt really, it just felt like one. Darren Sammy bowled a full spell of military medium on a pitch that was dry and taking spin even at the start of the day. His spell completed, he then threw the ball to Gayle with only two runs needed. Gayle managed two uninterested balls before Sri Lanka achieved victory. He walked off to the sound of Gangnam Style, on the loudspeakers once more, but did not feel like dancing.Over of the dayKieron Pollard is one of the most potent hitters in world cricket and with only five overs left, and 90 scored, West Indies needed him to make an immediate impact. Ajantha Mendis bowled an excellent over at him, turning the ball both ways and then pushed the fifth ball through quicker as he came down the track and bowled him off his pads as he yorked himself.Bad comeback of the dayWest Indies rested Fidel Edwards against England so they could field a battery of spinners. He came back against Sri Lanka as planned but to little effect. His first three deliveries with the new ball were crashed to the boundary by Tillakaratne Dilshan. It was just the start that West Indies did not need.

Pakistan had been constantly reminded of the different conditions awaiting them, which is why their quick adjustment during the three one-dayers against Australia had been a huge boost leading into the World Cup

George Binoy in Townsville19-Aug-2012When the Pakistan team arrived at their service apartments in Townsville on Friday afternoon, having made the trip from Brisbane, there were five Indian cricketers sitting in the lobby. Had these been senior teams from the two countries, whose players are familiar with each other, there may have been an exchange of greetings. Not between the Under-19 cricketers. As the Pakistanis stood there in their green blazers, with their suitcases and kit bags, waiting to check in, they merely exchanged glances with the Indians. The quarterfinalists sizing each other up ahead of Monday’s contest at Tony Ireland Stadium.These sides have met before, at the Under-19 Asia Cup this year, in two tense contests. During the league phase of that tournament, Pakistan won a match they could have won more easily, by one run. In the final, India had to settle for a tie after dominating most of the chase. Both games were high-scoring contests in Kuala Lumpur; the conditions in Queensland are not as conducive to run-making.Pakistan came to Australia earlier than most teams, in late July for three one-dayers on the Gold Coast. They won that series against Australia 2-1, a commendable result considering it was their first time here. Their performance in those matches led Australia’s coach Stuart Law to remark that one could see Pakistan had been “playing together for quite a while.”This Pakistan Under-19 squad has been together since January, when they toured South Africa. They then played the Asia Cup and had a camp at the National Cricket Academy before coming to Australia. The captain Babar Azam and coach Sabih Azhar spoke of how the team had been constantly reminded of the different conditions awaiting them, which is why their quick adjustment during the three matches against Australia had been a huge boost for the players.”We are playing as a unit and we have created a friendly team atmosphere,” said Azhar. “Now they have developed the winning habit.”That winning habit has been on display during the warm-up matches of the World Cup and during the group games. Pakistan won everything, beating New Zealand, Afghanistan and Scotland to finish top of Group B.The adjustment, however, hasn’t been easy. After a long flight to Australia, Azam said most of the players slept for ages to rest and recuperate. When they awoke, they found unfamiliarity all around them. For starters, the adaptors for their mobile phones wouldn’t fit into the plug points. They sought out each other and the officials for help and eventually queued up outside an electric supplies shop to buy them.There’s more. The players are staying in service apartments in Australia, not in hotels, so they were told by the team management that they would have to cook their meals and clean up after themselves. “Cooking, I never do at home,” said Azam, speaking for most teenage boys on the subcontinent. “We’ve come here and we had to do it, so it’s been hard. Sometimes we eat out; sometimes we cook here. First five days we went to McDonalds all the time. We are washing clothes in the machine, washing crockery as well.”

After a long flight to Australia, Babar Azam said most of the players slept for ages to rest and recuperate. When they awoke, they found unfamiliarity all around them. For starters, the adaptors for their mobile phones wouldn’t fit into the plug points. They sought out each other and the officials for help and eventually queued up outside an electric supplies shop to buy them. There’s more. The players are staying in service apartments in Australia, not in hotels, so they were told by the team management that they would have to cook their meals and clean up after themselves.

Imam-ul-Haq, a top-order batsman and a nephew of Inzamam-ul-Haq, recounted how they set off fire alarms “three or four times” in their rooms. “The first one was his [Babar’s] fault, he was just cooking an omelette I think,” Imam said. “It was the first day, we were very hungry, Usman [Qadir], Babar and I. Suddenly the fire alarm went off; we thought we’d cause a panic. Usman said, ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic.’ We just held a towel near the fire alarm and opened the window. We were relieved and thought we will never cook food again.”But they have cooked; well, some have while the others have eaten. According to Imam, the fast bowlers Mir Hamza and Saad Ali, and vice-captain Umar Waheed are the chefs in the squad. “We just want to eat and they cook for us. When we visit their rooms, we clean their rooms after eating and we wash their crockery. So we help them,” says Imam. “We really enjoyed it because all of us were in one room and we cooked together. It’s a wonderful experience because we’ve been together for five or six months and we had never had this kind of experience.”How well an individual makes these adjustments affects how comfortable he feels in a foreign country and Imam knows it. “If you’re playing cricket and going out of the country, we have to face these difficulties and responsibilities,” he said. “If we have a problem in cooking, we can’t give that an excuse to our coach.”Their acclimatization issues lasted for about five days and Azam said helping each other get used to how life functions in Australia had helped the team bond. “It’s like family work,” he said. “First five days were very difficult, to adjust to all this and play in the World Cup, but our support staff have really helped us. Now all the players have adjusted very well.”Pakistan have been performing like an extremely well-adjusted team. They beat Afghanistan by 109 runs, Scotland by nine wickets and New Zealand by five wickets. Between Pakistan’s first and second victories, on August 12, India lost to West Indies in Townsville, and from then Azam’s team has been talking about this quarterfinal clash. They did not really doubt they would top their group and therefore play India, who were likely to finish second in theirs.”They are looking forward to it. That gives me confidence,” says Azhar. “They are talking about [Indian] players, talking about strategies.”Both Azhar and Azam believe the exposure their players got during the Asia Cup to the pressures of an India-Pakistan contest will help them handle Monday’s quarterfinal better. “The boys know the Indian players,” said Azam. “If we hadn’t played against India in the Asia Cup and now suddenly had to face them in the quarterfinal, there would have been more pressure. Not so much now.”Monday’s quarterfinal at the Tony Ireland Stadium will be the first time Pakistan are playing in Townsville. Like how they did when they first arrived in Australia, they’ll hope to settle in quickly.

The performance by Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann in Mumbai was one of the greatest slow-bowling double acts in England’s history

David Hopps26-Nov-2012There has arguably never been an England spin bowling partnership like it. Not in a single Test. Not where two England slow bowlers have shared the workload and worked together to pull off a famous victory.Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, in dismantling India at the Wankhede, and returning joint match figures of 19 for 323, have between them produced the greatest England spin double act of modern times. Perhaps of all time.This was only the fourth occasion that England spinners had combined to take 19 wickets or more wickets in a Test and the first time for 54 years since Jim Laker and Tony Lock teamed up to demolish New Zealand at Headingley.Thanks to Swann, as garrulous as ever, there is even a wonderful quote to mark the occasion when Panesar, with reference to the fact they had bowled in tandem in seven previous Tests without success, told his spin-bowling partner before the match: “Come on brother, let’s do it, let’s win one.”It was Panesar who attracted most acclaim with his match analysis of 11 for 210 but Swann is hardly overshadowed by his own return of 8 for 113. They hunted together as so few England spinners have been able to do in the past. They hunted, too, as a perfect complement to each other: one left arm and one right arm, one intense and the other free spirited.The English spin bowler is a put-upon soul, often forced to operate alone and, in England, in conditions alien to spin bowling: unresponsive pitches, chilly temperatures and captains who are always one ball away from losing faith and inviting another seam bowler on for a spell.It is therefore perhaps appropriate that one of England’s greatest spin bowling displays came from Tony Greig against West Indies in Port of Spain in 1973.It was appropriate because he only switched to offspin out of necessity during the tour because his medium pace was in danger of getting a battering. Greig took 13 wickets in the match and, even though three specialist spinners – Derek Underwood, Jack Birkenshaw and Pat Pocock – added five more, it essentially felt like a single-handed triumph. It was a great England victory, but nobody could fairly sell it as a double act.Talk of England spin combinations and attention rightly switches to Laker and Lock, the Surrey pair who along with Yorkshire’s Johnny Wardle provided the slow-bowling craft during England’s golden age of the 1950s, but it is possible to argue that when you consider the best by a pair of England spinners in tandem even they have been outdone by Swann and Panesar’s exploits in Mumbai.When Laker and Lock took all 20 against Australia in 1956, Laker had 19 of them. If that really counts as a double act, there is no doubt that Laker got all the good lines. When they shared 19 wickets more evenly against New Zealand two years later, they conceded only 108 runs, statistically far superior. But that was during a mismatch of a series. Swann and Panesar won a Test for England in India when the chips were down.The story of English spin bowling is a story of occasional triumph amid years of hardship. Swann, in the past few years, has challenged that perception. He now has a partner alongside him.Enjoy it while it lasts because history suggests it rarely lasts very long. Who knows, it could even be over by Christmas. Were it to prosper enough for England to win the series, it would be remembered as long as cricket survives.

Six great England spin double acts

India v England, Kanpur, 1952Malcolm Hilton drew attention to himself at 19 when playing for Lancashire in 1948 he dismissed Don Bradman twice in a match. But he struggled to justify his overnight fame until he was called up with his Lancashire colleagues Brian Statham and fellow spinners Bob Berry and Roy Tattersall for a 1951/2 tour of India.Kanpur was a dreamlike surface for a young left-arm spinner. Hilton, Tattersall and Jack Robertson, an occasional offbreak bowler for Middlesex, took 19 wickets in the match and Hilton and Tattersall, an offspinner, opened in the second innings while Statham had a rare day of inactivity. England won by eight wickets. A successful Test career beckoned but his control deserted him as the 1950s progressed and after he was chosen as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers Of The Year in 1957, his career faded.England v Australia, Old Trafford, 1956Jim Laker’s Ashes summer in 1956 has passed into cricketing folklore. His offspin was at its peak and he demoralised Australia, with 46 wickets in the series and 19 at Old Trafford, where he took all ten in the second innings with half an hour to spare on a rain-hit final day. Never have pictures of sawdust-laden squares looked so endearing.Few would present this as a double act but Tony Lock, Laker’s spin-bowling ally with Surrey and England, was exhausted enough to feel that it was. Lock bowled 69 overs in the match, a few more balls than Laker, and denied him all 20 by removing Jim Burke, who was as obdurate as they come, in Australia’s first innings. He also caught Burke off Laker second time around. Without Lock, things might have turned out differently.South Africa v England, Cape Town, 1956-57Johnny Wardle was unfortunate that for much of the 1950s. England preferred the more aggressive qualities of Lock alongside Laker, but Laker was quick to remark that Wardle bowled some of the finest spells he had ever seen.In a series where pedestrian batting was never far away, the charms of the Yorkshire spinner, purveyor of both left-arm orthodox and chinamen (the latter frowned upon at his county) were a blessed relief. Wardle dominated in Cape Town with 12 wickets in the match. Laker, though, played a part in history when Russell Endean, fending him off, became the first batsman to be dismissed Handled Ball.England v West Indies, The Oval, 1957Kennington Oval rarely felt more like home for Laker and Lock than in the 1957 Test against West Indies. It was over in three days and West Indies, bundled out for 89 and 86, were grateful to a 21-year-old on his first England tour who made 39 and 42. Even then it was apparent that Garry Sobers was going to become a helluva player.The West Indies had been awarded five-day Tests for the first time but, unlike 1950, they failed to shine. Their spin pairing of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine had little success and by the time of the final Test at The Oval, it was Lock, shirt billowing and bowling his left-arm spin at a fair lick, along with the more elegant Laker who held sway.England v New Zealand, Headingley, 1958England won by an innings and 21 runs in a match where New Zealand could barely get the ball of the square in their second innings, crawling to 129 in 101.2 overs (an excruciating run rate of 1.26).The weather was dreadful in 1958 and so was much of the cricket, as England won four of their five Tests at a canter, three of them by an innings. Lock had an unbelievable season, statistically, with 34 wickets at 7.47 runs each, but others found less pleasure in recollecting what was essentially a mismatch.Sri Lanka v England, Colombo, 1981-82When Keith Fletcher, England’s captain, expressed fears that the pitch for Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test had been excessively watered, , in a memorable misprint, said that Fletcher made his observation when England arrived “for early-morning bets”. These were more innocent times.Sri Lanka’s first innings had been rounded up by Derek Underwood’s brisk slow left-arm but they conceded only a five-run first-innings lead as England lost their last five wickets for 23 on the third morning. Bob Willis lambasted his colleagues as they complained about a succession of dubious umpiring decisions. His exhortations initially had little effect, but Sri Lanka lost their last seven wickets for eight runs, the parsimonious Middlesex offspinner John Emburey taking five in 33 deliveries, and England escaped embarrassment.And one that got away:Pakistan v England, Dhaka, 1961/2Lock and Allen shared 15 wickets, and all manner of bit-part spinners provided support, but England could not force victory in Dhaka. The main reason for that was the presence of Hanif Mohammad, one of the finest defensive batsmen in Test history, who made painstaking hundreds in both innings. Hanif is regarded by some as the originator of the reverse sweep but it is fair to say that in this Test he did not play it very often.

Cheteshwar Pujara on his approach to playing spin, on facing the England fast bowlers, and how his batting continues to evolve at domestic and international level

Interview by Abhishek Purohit10-Jan-2013Cheteshwar Pujara on playing the cut: “When you have time, you can free your arms. I am there at the right time. If you are late, then you can’t play it.”•Associated PressAgainst England, you were quick to use your feet against the spinners. Is that something you carry over from first-class cricket? How much have you worked on it?
I think it is because of all the first-class cricket I have played. I have tried doing it continuously at that level – coming down the wicket. It makes it difficult for the spinners. They try to flight the ball and hit the good-length area. When you step out, it is hard for them to adjust their line and length.There is a difference between charging or jumping out and stepping out. You seem to be in control when you come down the pitch. How do you keep yourself focused at that time?
It is about judging the right length. When you see the release of the ball, you get to know whether it is on a good length. If it is, you can step out and reach there. I try and look at the release of the ball when I am batting against spin.As far as technique against spin is concerned, very few batsmen are able to keep their wrists flexible when they push forward. When you come forward, it does not seem that your wrists are locked. You are able to guide the ball to say, third man. Have you always batted like that?
Yes, this has been my technique since my Under-19 days. It is easier to get singles when you have free wrists, you can play the ball either side of the wicket. I have been working on this in the nets since I was young – just try to see the gap and place the ball there.
During your innings, you always look to get singles. When I had to be successful at the first-class level initially, I knew that you should be able to rotate the strike. As a youngster four-five years ago, that was my plan – to be able to rotate the strike. If you want to do that, you have to be very wristy. (This way) when you don’t want to play shots and be in the defensive mode, you still end up getting the singles.Do flexible wrists also help you play with soft hands? You don’t jab at the ball a lot when you are looking to defend.
My defence is very strong. I would say that is my strength. I have worked on it, I have never quite focused on keeping the hands soft, but my father is very particular about me playing all balls correctly in the nets. So whenever I push at the ball or make some other mistake, he tells me, ‘this is not the way to go about it. You might give a catch to short leg,’ and so on. He believes it is about practising perfectly.You have spoken about the hands and the wrists. What about the body position? Many times, when you are beaten in the flight, you are still able to avoid silly point or short leg.
All that is natural. I have never paid any attention to it. It is again about practising perfectly, then all things come naturally. What I try and do is look at the ball till it hits the bat, so whenever there is a bit of turn or at times the ball goes straight, you can adjust.Does balance at the crease also come naturally to you?
It is because of the experience. The more matches you play, the more you learn about the game.Let’s talk about the cut. You don’t just play the cut, you give it a good old whack, and are in the air at times as you play it. Have you always played it so strongly?
I think it is natural. It is also about playing the shot over a period of time. I believe I have more time when I play off the back foot. That is the reason I can play it strongly. When you have time, you can free your arms. You know you are in the correct position. I am there at the right time. If you are late, then you can’t play it.

A single is important. A boundary is also important. It is about playing on the merit of the ball. If it is a half-volley, you have to hit it for four, no matter what the situation is. Even if the score is 50 for 6, the half-volley is a half-volley.

A lot of experts have spoken about your playing the hook shot. You have this reputation of being a very safe batsman but still you play the hook quite regularly.
It is instinctive. When I see a short ball, I know I can hit it. And when you have an opportunity to score a four, why not take it? I got out playing the hook against New Zealand, and I realised, it is not my strength. I can play the pull properly. So I started leaving balls which were above shoulder height and I was successful doing that in the Ahmedabad and Mumbai Tests against England.So from now on you will try to duck under the short ball?
Yeah, when you are not comfortable playing that shot… I am ready to leave the ball and if it is in my range, I’ll go for it.How has your batting developed against fast bowling? That is not something you must have faced a lot at first-class level.
Playing (James) Anderson and (Steven) Finn was a different experience. Finn played only the Kolkata Test, but he was quick, and accurate. Anderson is one of the best when it comes to reverse swing. Facing them has helped me a lot and given me confidence. Whenever I bat at first-class level, there is difference in the speeds. That is maybe the reason why I was able to hit Ishwar Pandey for five fours (in an over, against Madhya Pradesh).Would you say playing the short ball is your stronger suit compared to playing swing bowling?
I am very good at playing the short ball. Against New Zealand, I wasn’t leaving it. Whenever I got the opportunity, I started playing the pull. After that, I have practised playing the short one a lot. In 2010, when we toured South Africa, I knew the bounce was different compared to Indian wickets. I worked with Gary Kirsten on how to go about playing the short one. Gary helped me a lot.How do you develop your game against quality swing bowling?
If I continue playing at the first-class level, we have decent bowlers there. I don’t need to compare their speed with international bowlers but Indian bowlers are good at swinging the ball. So I don’t need to worry about swing bowling.But isn’t there a difference between someone swinging the ball from off to leg at 122 kph and someone doing it at 140 kph?
There is not a major difference, obviously there is a bit of difference, but that is how it goes. You have to learn to deal with it. Even in the nets, I try and find a ball that swings a bit more so that I can get good practice. It is about finding the right ways. Nobody gets the best bowling in the nets.Somehow, and a bit unfortunately, you have always been compared with Rahul Dravid from your early days. He had this tendency at times to go into a shell while batting. We have hardly seen that happen with you. How important is positivity to you as a batsman?
“For the past couple of years, I have improved a lot in the one-day format and have scored many runs. That has helped a lot.” Pujara averages 56.71 in the List A matches in the last two years.•FotocorpWhenever I go out to bat, what I decide is I have to play on the merit of the ball. If it is there to be hit, I am going to hit it. As far as the comparison is concerned, I don’t want to compare myself with someone who scored so many runs and is a legend of the game. I am just proving myself.Say the score is 20 for 3, or 20 for 4. What are you thinking in that situation? How important is the single to you?
A single is important. A boundary is also important. It is about playing on the merit of the ball. If it is a half-volley, you have to hit it for four, no matter what the situation is. Even if the score is 50 for 6, the half-volley is a half-volley. I know how to hit it, so why not play on the merit of the ball and get the runs if you can. If it is not there to be hit, I am going to defend it, as my defence is strong.Do you remember instances when you got bogged down and were searching where the next run will come from, or have you always been free-flowing?
I have always been free-flowing. If I stay at the crease, I have got enough shots. I have never struggled to score runs. So far I haven’t been in that situation. I always try and learn new shots. If you have the shots, you don’t need to get worried about getting bogged down. In Test cricket, you will always find the gaps.As a limited-overs batsman, when you compare yourself to being a Test batsman, where do you think you can improve? Or are you equally confident in both the formats?
At the moment, I am very confident (in both). For the past couple of years, I have improved a lot in the one-day format and have scored many runs. That has helped a lot. Once you start playing at the international level and get experience and talk to the coach and senior players, they can always guide you as to how to go about this format.I have done it at the domestic level. I believe I can also do it at the international level. It is about waiting for the right time, which will come. I am very confident about that. I don’t need to worry.How different is it playing first-class cricket now that you have faced some of the best Test attacks in the world?
Mentally there is no pressure for sure but at times you are not motivated enough. Even if you fail, you think it is ok, I have scored many hundreds at that level. But it does not go that way. I don’t like to get out. When I failed in two innings against Rajasthan and got out early in the first innings against Madhya Pradesh, something was telling me, this is not the way I play. I want to prove myself and whether it is first-class or whatever level, I should be doing my best for the team. Even against Rajasthan, I was confident but at times you become over-confident when you have faced good bowlers, and when you have average bowlers, you end up playing many shots and get out.You batted for five hours for Saurashtra during your double-century against Madhya Pradesh. It must have taken a lot of strength to hit all these boundaries. After a five-minute break, you were back on the field. Is that love for Saurashtra cricket? How do you keep going?
It is about being honest to the game. I think that is also where fitness comes into play. Since I had injuries on both my knees, I have worked hard on my fitness. That is the reason I could be back soon on the field after scoring a double-hundred. I am very happy that my fitness is shaping up well. It is going to help me play cricket for a long period of time.It is one thing to be fit, but this honesty that you talk about, has that always been you, that you are answerable to the game?
Yes. At times you don’t want to go on the field because you are tired, or you might be fooling around. But that does not happen all the time. I try and be honest most of the time. I would not say that I am 100% honest but I do try and keep myself as honest as possible.

An indisputable assertion from WG Grace kicks off this World Twenty20 special edition of the World Cricket Podcast

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013

Download the podcast here (right-click to save) | iTunesThe music in the podcast is by Kevin MacLeod

Hello, Planet Cricket, and welcome to the Andy Zaltzman’s World Cricket Podcast World Twenty 20 Preview Podcast Cricket World Special. I am Andy Zaltzman, no-time Kent and England opening batsman and non-inventor of the googly and reverse swing. When I was a baby I slept in a cot made of old . I osmosed statistics, and when I cried in the night, my infant wails spelt out Morse Code for Wally Hammond’s batting average.Later in this cricketcast, I will be revealing a statistic that will revolutionise the way international T20 is played. No kidding. This is going to shake cricket to its molten core like a rhinoceros turning up late at the wrong wedding. Things will never be the same again. Cricket might even be blown off its axis so hard that it becomes golf. And not just any golf. Crazy golf. I will also be exclusively revealing who will win the World Twenty20, and why. Amongst the things I will not be doing in this programme are:● Explaining why the ICC remain reluctant to allow a special new T20 Powerplay, in which the batting captain can control the fielding side for two overs.● Reading an epic poem waxing lyrical about the elemental timeless balletic beauty of Johan Botha’s bowling action.● Revealing why the downturn in England’s fortunes this year was down to Andy Flower accidentally sitting on the team’s lucky hamster, Florence, during a team-bonding game of musical chairs at the start of the UAE tour in January. Florence survived but has been cross ever since. A cloning programme is underway at ECB headquarters to ensure a continual supply of Florences for all time.● Explaining how Jacques Kallis’ continuing age-defying quality is down to him relying on a diet of nothing but pasta shaped like cricket bats and drizzled in linseed oil.● Revealing that the paparazzo photographer who took those pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge doing her Sourav Ganguly-at-Lord’s-in-2002 impression was, in fact, Kevin Pietersen. How can he get back in the England team now after this latest breach of trust?So, the cricket world has gathered in Sri Lanka for its biennial quick-fire international quick-fire slug-out. Two quick-fires in that sentence, which explains why the World Twenty20 has considerable appeal, even for those cricket fans, like me, who remain un-entranced by T20’s skittish charms and concerned about the brash grandson of Test cricket deciding to plonk its granddad in a nursing home and forget about it.It’s an intense and unpredictable three-week jamboree of slower balls, yorkers, hoicks, slaps, sploots, and the kind of skied catches that made me fear fielding practice at school more than going to see a sadistic dentist. Which I’m sure my cricket coach dreamed of being. Instead, he focused his efforts on demonstrating to small boys how hard ball plus physics equals “Ouch, that hurt my fingers.”And to kick off the show, looking ahead to the tournament and giving us the kind of insight only a cricketing legend can give, it’s a very special guest, an icon, a celebrity, a former England captain, all the way from beyond the grave, via ESPN’s Ouija-Link phone line to the other side, it’s the late, great WG Grace.AZ: WG, hello.WG: Hello, Andy. Thanks for having me on the show.AZ: The pleasure is all mine.WG: Can we keep this brief? I’ve got to do the Test Match Special podcast with Agnew in five minutes.AZ: Certainly, Doctor. So, WG, you, of course, never had the opportunity to play T20, as you sadly died in 1915, some 88 years before it was launched.WG: Yeah, rub it in, Inspector Insensitive.AZ: Sorry. How do you think you’d have fared as a T20 player?WG: I’d have been bloody amazing, Andy. Sensational. None of the franchises could have afforded me, and I’d have wanted full control of my image rights, but on the pitch I’d have been like Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga rolled into one.AZ: With a bit of Hashim Amla? On the face?WG: Yup. Fair play to the lad, he knows the importance of chin branding. Got to be recognisable. Do you think I’d have got my megabucks deal to advertise Colman’s Mustard without my massive beard?AZ: Of course not. And you have liked to play, say, the IPL?WG: Damn straight, I would. Sign me up. I reckon I could still do a job. I’m in good shape these days. Good news is, I didn’t stay as the fat old WG when I popped my clogs. I reverted to the buff young WG. I’m ripped, absolutely ripped. I could advertise anything. Apart from shaving foam – might be a bit of a stretch.AZ: I was thinking more about whether you’d enjoy the format of the game.WG: More money, less cricket. I’d have loved it. Four overs max? I bowled 125,000 balls in my first-class career. That’s the equivalent of 300 seasons of the IPL. I could have made billions. I could have bought MS Dhoni and made him spend 12 hours a day, crouching in my garden, wicketkeeping.AZ: Let’s move on to this World Twenty20. So, how do you see this tournament going?WG: Well, you’d have to say, looking at it, that the favourites are India. South Africa. Pakistan. West Indies. Sri Lanka. England. And Australia. And New Zealand. I reckon the winner will come from one of the them. Or one of the other teams.AZ: And what do you think the winning team will ultimately have to do?WG: Win the final, probably. And to do that, they’ll need to hit the ball lots, and try to stop the opposition hitting it as much. Those would be my tactics. The fundamentals of the game haven’t really changed since my day. But mostly hit the ball. India managed to win in 2007 with a bowling economy rate of 7.88, that was seventh-best of the Super 8 teams, of course, Andy, but they hit the ball hard and often enough that that didn’t matter. And that was their tactical masterstroke.AZ: Anything else?WG: Andy, the absolutely crucial thing to do if you want to win a World Twenty20, is start badly.AZ: Hit the ground stumbling?WG: That’s right. India had a no-result, a tie and a loss in their first three in 2007. Pakistan lost two of their first three in 2009, their one win being against Associate team Netherlands. We didn’t have the Netherlands in cricket when I was playing. In fact, in my day, the Netherlands was where you wanted to make sure you remembered to put your box when Charlie Kortright was bowling on a dodgy wicket. And England had a loss and a no-result in their two group matches in 2010. So, really, you want to try to time your run-in to the tournament so you are playing dreadfully from day one.AZ: Good point. In 2007, South Africa, perennial peaking-too-early specialists that they are, had four convincing wins to start, flunked one game in six disastrous overs of batting uselessness against India, and that was their goose baked for another tournament. In 2009, they began with five wins on the spin, then lost the semi-final to an Afridi-inspired Pakistan.WG: Yes. And Australia won six in a row in 2010 but lost the final, just as Sri Lanka had done the year before.AZ: You’ve clearly kept abreast of cricket stats whilst you’ve been dead.WG: Yeah, lots of time to kill. Stats are ideal for passing the time until the end of the universe once you’re dead. You wouldn’t want to waste your time on them when you’re alive, mind.AZ: What? What are you saying about what I’ve done with my life?WG: I digress. So, basically, teams that start rubbishly always win. So expect to see all the teams busting any available gut to be completely useless in the first couple of games, safe in the knowledge that hitting form early is a sure-fire route to failure. In that respect, World Twenty20 tournaments are like World Wars and marriages. You want to time your run late and finish with a bang.AZ: What else do you need?WG: Luck. Always helpful. And for your batsmen to collectively average between 26.5 and 27.3. All three tournaments have been won by teams doing that. Other teams have averaged more than that, but none of them has ever won it. So, bat well, but not too well.AZ: Do you think this will influence the way teams play?WG: Yes. They’ll keep an eagle eye on their team tournament average, and as soon as it starts creeping up towards 30, they’ll start deliberately smashing their stumps to pieces when their team tournament average starts creeping up towards 30.AZ: You cannot argue with statistics.WG: Well, you can, but you’ve probably got better things to do with your time, and statistics can be a rather annoying conversationalist when they’re drunk. Anyhow, better go, AZ, I’ve got Aggers on the other line, and I’ve got a date with Florence Nightingale later. Oh yeah. I love a woman in a nurse’s uniform.AZ: WG Grace, thank you for joining us.WG: Thanks for having me, big horse.Time for your questions now, submitted to my Twitter feed. And we will kick off with that stat I mentioned at the start of the broadcast that will revolutionise all T20 World Cups. Strap in, people. The cricket universe is about to change for ever.samg1231: Statistically, are team scores of an even number defended more often than those of an odd number?Good question, samg1231. Arguably, the greatest question ever asked. For too long, we cricket fans have obsessed on the total number of runs a team has scored. But in World Twenty20s, that is irrelevant. Far more important is whether the team batting first scores an odd or even number of runs. Excluding the one no-result and one tie there have been in World T20 games, teams scoring an odd number of runs batting first have won 19 of 43 completed games – 44%. Teams scoring an even number of runs in the first innings of World Twenty20 games have successfully defended in 24 out of 35 games: 69%. So, scientifically, you are better off scoring 56 than 249.But it gets even more intriguing. And by intriguing, I mean irrelevant. But intriguing. Teams losing an even number of wickets batting first – two, four, six, eight or ten – have won just nine of 34: 26%. Teams losing an odd number of wickets batting first, however, have ended up winning a staggering 34 out 44 matches: 77%. Is it better to lose nine wickets than two? Well, no one has ever only lost two wickets in the first innings of a World Twenty20 match, so we just don’t know. But probably. It is certainly true that teams who have been nine down after their innings batting first have won five out of eight (plus that solitary tie). Teams losing just eight wickets have won only one out of eight. When they have ended seven wickets down – ten wins, four losses. But six wickets down: three wins, eight losses. These numbers are blasting conventional cricketing wisdom into the stratosphere. And I’m not done yet.Teams scoring an odd number of runs for an even number of wickets in the first innings of World Twenty20 matches have won four, lost 18. A win percentage of 18. But teams scoring an even number of runs for an odd number of wickets have won a staggering, mathematics-defying 19 out of 23. Win percentage: 83. So, the unarguable mathematicoscientific conclusion: if you score even runs for odd wickets, you are four and a half times more likely to win than if you score odd runs for even wickets. So, batting first in a World Twenty20 match, 32 for 9 is a better score than 309 for 2. That is a stone cold fact.Tactically, this is a game-changer of massive proportions, equivalent to landmark watersheds in other sports, such as when they stopped doing fencing fights to the death, or stopped using a live chicken in badminton and started using a little fake one instead, or having Olympic javelin-throwing as one-against-one from opposite ends of the stadium. Those were the days. That was a real spectator sport.So the last over of the first innings is where these matches will be decided, as the teams frantically jockey for position – the batting teams blocking out to make sure they remain on a score divisible by two, and standing in the middle of the pitch waiting to be run out, or rugby tackling the wicketkeeper and then appealing in the accent of the opposing team to get themselves out obstructing the field, to make sure they even up one, three, five, seven or nine wickets down; whilst the bowling teams will be hurling down wides and no-balls, or kicking balls over the boundary rope, to try to make sure they concede an odd number of runs and give themselves at least a sliver of a chance.It turns out international T20 is not about skill, power, nerve under pressure, or being any good at cricket. It is simply about ending up on a multiple of two runs for a non-multiple of two wickets. Put that into your cybermetric laptops, all you professional performance-analysing cricket wonks out there. Some people might claim this is just a bizarre coincidence thrown up by a relatively small statistical sample of matches. And those people could be right. They are almost certainly right. But not absolutely certainly. And can the teams afford to take the risk that they might be wrong?GMK3000: Will Brian Close get a recall?Unlikely for Close to get a recall, particularly not into an England team that seems to have trouble accommodating abrasive characters, and at the age of 81, even his cat-like reflexes in the field must have dulled over the years. Plus, with the advent of helmets and body armour, the need to have a player who has the technique and temperament to knock the shine off the ball with his ribs and skull has somewhat departed from the game, and the shiny snooker-ball head which could distract a batsman by glinting baldly in the sun at short leg. In his day, though, he could have been a T20 legend, and there are moves afoot to back-date all cricketers’ pay according to how much they would have fetched at an IPL auction had the IPL existed in their day. So Garfield Sobers can be expecting a cheque for $85 million, and Geoff Boycott will be receiving a single rupee in the post next week.Here’s a question – if you could choose any cricketer from your nation’s past to parachute into your current T20 squad, who would it be? I suppose if you are Australian, Bradman would be high up your list. Alan Davidson would probably have been a tidy T20 allrounder too. India – maybe Vinoo Mankad if you wanted a tidy spin option who could chip in with some runs. Graeme Pollock, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Aravinda de Silva, and Viv Richards would all be contenders for their respective cricketing nations. And for England, well, it would have to be Kevin Pietersen.magicdarts: Can you see any new shots (like the Dil-Scoop) being invented this tournament? The “Morgan Thraggle” might work.Good question, magicdarts. The thraggle is a very good term for the ugly reverse hoick when a batsman stands facing the bowler and flonks it with an ungainly thwack into the off side. Morgan Thraggle, incidentally, the former US Secretary of State for Swearing in the Eisenhower administration.The new shots likely to feature in this tournament include:The Tweet Sweep: a highly technical shot, in which the batsman plays an orthodox sweep shot with one hand on the bat, whilst posting a message on Twitter with his other hand about how well he’s battingThe Kohli Hair Randomiser: India’s star young batsman, who has rapidly elevated himself into one of the world’s most influential cricketers, has no fear of hair-care products. And it is rumoured that, in the Indian training camp, he has been working feverishly on an updated version of the Dil-Scoop. Batting without a helmet, Kohli scoops the ball toward the top of his highly-kempt head, where the carefully gelled peaks will then deflect the ball in unpredictable directions, making setting a field even more difficult. The shot, of course, is fraught with risk, and Kohli has apparently had his high-value face insured for $500 million.The Saloon Bar Door Thwack: To counter the prevalence of slower balls in T20, batsmen will routinely swing their bats forward then back like a saloon bar door that’s just had Clint Eastwood burst through it in a cowboy movie. If the ball is of regular pace, they will thwack it straight down the ground on the forward swing, if it is a slower ball, they will catch it on the slam-shut backward swing, blasting it past a terrified wicketkeeper at high speed.So, I will now reveal, as promised, who will inevitably win this tournament.T20 is notoriously hard to predict when it comes to one-off games… since 2005, the year T20 was birthed messily onto the international scene, in matches between the big eight Test nations that have ended in a positive result, six of those eight teams have a win percentage between 44 and 56; in both Tests and ODIs, only three of the eight teams are close to the 50% break-even point in that 44-56% slot. So, in essence, in T20, anyone can beat anyone.Propping up that T20 table, New Zealand, who have still managed to win 39% of their T20 internationals against the rest of the big eight. West Indies, with the worst record in both Tests and ODIs in that time, have won just 16% of their Tests and 26% of the ODIs. As the betting suggests, all 12 teams in the tournament will probably lose it. Apart from one. Which could be almost anyone.So, instead, we need to look for a pattern from previous tournaments that has nothing to do with cricket, since cricket, it would seem, can offer few clues as to the eventual result. In terms of averages and performances by winning teams, no clear trends emerge, other than not being useless and hitting a streak of form at the right time. But, the odd numbered World Twenty20s, the first and third ones, have been won by teams beginning with vowels, whilst the one even-numbered competition, No. 2, was won by unmistakable consonant-commencer Pakistan. So you can count Australia, England, India, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe out of this fourth World T20 straight away. Is Z a vowel these days? I’m a bit out of the loop. Well, count Zimbabwe out anyway, probably safe to.Tournaments one and three were won by countries with odd number of letters in, but tournament No. 2 was claimed by eight-letter P-a-k-i-s-t-a-n. So this time, you can also count out 11-lettered South Africa. Furthermore, no team with two words in its name has ever won, so Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies might as well pack their bags and go home now, or, in Sri Lanka’s case, pack their bags and stay at home, but maybe go to a different part of home. And no team has ever won this trophy twice, so it’s goodbye Pakistan. I can therefore now formally reveal that the winner of the 2012 World Twenty20, according to historical precedent, will be Bangladesh. Strap in, folks, there’s going to be the grandmother of all street parties in Chittagong.History has spoken. Admittedly, history has a well-documented habit of speaking utter bilge, and not just about cricket, so just in case, here is my own personal official prediction for the 2012 World Twenty20 – South Africa to beat India in the final, chasing down 153 to win by four wickets with two balls to spare. Is that specific enough? Good. Because it will definitely happen. That has the Zaltzman guarantee. And if it does not happen, then you can download this podcast again for free.That’s all for the preview show. Thanks for your questions, and enjoy the cricket. And above all, enjoy the format of the tournament and wonder for a second or two how exciting the 50-over World Cup could be if it took roughly the same amount of time. Or at least, not more than twice the amount of time.Thanks to my special guest, WG Grace. I’ll be back next week with a mid-tournament update. Until then, may the cricket be with you. And start counting the number of times a commentator says “That was a proper cricket shot” when a short-arm cross-batted thwoick disappears into the stands at deep midwicket.Bye.

It wasn’t a big crowd at the PCA Stadium, but the lucky ones who turned up were treated to beats and a last-ball finish

Anmol Singh17-Apr-2013Choice of game
This game was on top of my must-watch list right from the time the IPL schedule was released. Firstly, it was an early-season game, so both teams were sure to still be in contention. Additionally, Kolkata were the defending champions, and the prospect of my team – Kings XI Punjab – beating them early in the season was too good to resist.Team supported
Kings XI Punjab all the way. Nothing is better than seeing your home team win, that too against top opposition. Punjab came into the game on the back of two successive losses, and another one could have derailed their campaign. This made their victory even more special.Key performer
After having a good opening IPL season which subsequently led to an India cap, Manpreet Gony lost form and was eventually lost in the crowd. He didn’t get too many chances for his new franchise, Punjab, in the lead-up to this game. When it came, it was upto him to seize the opportunity and he did it in style. He resurrected another faltering batting display from Punjab to set up a very competitive total. Punjab’s indifferent batting had silenced the crowd, but he changed that with some decisive hitting. Later, he came back to bowl an outstanding spell which turned the game Punjab’s way. It was fitting that the crowd chanted his name as he bowled the final two overs of his spell.One thing I’d have changed about the match
The game had everything I could have asked for. The weather was excellent, and the match was close. The one thing that wasn’t up to the mark was the crowd – there were a lot of empty seats across all the stands. Even the people who had turned up were quite subdued – there wasn’t a single attempt to get a Mexican wave going.Accessories
A large Kings XI flag, a zoozoo hat, and a couple of ‘6’ and ‘4’ charts was all we carried. We also had a vuvuzela and a blow horn, but they were confiscated by the police at the entrance.Wow moment
Sunil Narine’s hat-trick was easily the big moment of the day. Everybody was on their feet as the hat-trick ball was bowled and it turned out to be an absolute ripper. The crowd later clapped for his achievement even though he was from the away team, which was a nice gesture.Close encounter
Yusuf Pathan and Manpreet Gony were fielding close to our stand. There were shouts from some kids as Yusuf came near us, but he denied them the joy of an acknowledgement.Most memorable shot
There weren’t many sixes in the game but the few that were hit were huge. The last six hit by Kolkata’s Rajat Bhatia was special because it landed just two rows ahead of where we were sitting.Crowd meter
I have been a regular visitor to the PCA Stadium for the last couple of years, and this was the most sparse crowd I’ve seen here. There weren’t long lines for entry to the stadium and the passage was hassle-free, and the atmosphere inside wasn’t up to the mark. Given the team’s poor run, perhaps IPL fever hasn’t yet caught on in the city. The fact that it was a day game on a week day didn’t help matters. As things transpired, though, this was probably the best game I’ve been to. The atmosphere leading up to the final ball was unreal.Entertainment
The one thing I like about the IPL over international cricket is the amount of ‘side entertainment’ you get. The last time I was here, for an India v England match, there weren’t any announcers or music. This time though, the announcer kept the crowd busy with his innovative and catchy lines. The music was also exceptionally good and included some foot-tapping Punjabi numbers which enhanced the overall experience.Twenty20 v ODI
Yesterday, I would have probably said ODI, because it’s a more complete form of the game which adequately puts the abilities of players to test. But after this game I have changed my opinion. Though I have been to quite a few ODIs, I haven’t ever seen a game going this close. T20 is quick, fast, competitive and has great entertainment value. Having said that though, the longer version of the game is far from dead.Star spotting
There were a couple of celebrities watching the game, namely Bollywood stars Preity Zinta, who co-owns Kings XI Punjab, and Juhi Chawla, who has a stake in the KKR team. During the mid-innings break, Preity took a round of the stadium waving to the home crowd which got everyone excited.Overall
On the whole, the game was quite superb. It had all the twists and turns you expect from a T20 game, including the drama of a hat-trick. At one stage it seemed like Punjab weren’t going anywhere, but Gony powered them to a fighting score. Again, Gautam Gambhir and Eoin Morgan seemed to shut out Punjab, but Kolkata’s regular loss of wickets towards the end meant that the Kings picked up an unlikely win.Marks out of 10
I will go with a 9.5 rating for this one. The match experience was perfect, but the fact that the stands weren’t full makes me deduct half a mark.

On the first day of his first appearance at Lord’s, Bruce Martin span a web that helped give New Zealand control

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's16-May-2013On Monday, sitting below the visitors’ dressing room at the Pavilion End, Bruce Martin, the New Zealand left-arm spinner, crossed his fingers on both hands, wishing he could play at one of the most famous grounds in cricket. As he lived his dream on Thursday, Martin managed to remained focused and grounded while relentless with his line and length.This would probably have been the most difficult day for Martin. Until Wednesday evening, with the weather forecasts indicating overcast conditions, Martin might have had a good night sleep, only to wake up to a dry and sunny morning and the knowledge that his captain might turn to him. As Lord’s opened its gates to welcome a full-house crowd on a morning on golden sunshine, Martin would have been nervous.England in May is one of the most hostile months for a spinner to operate, what with the wet conditions and a stiff, cold breeze making it difficult to even grip the ball properly. Although he took nine wickets in his first series, at home against England, he could not bowl New Zealand to victory in Auckland. Now, having been used only to the Kookaburra, Martin’s challenge was to make the Dukes ball turn. In the warm-up match last week against the England Lions, he could manage just one wicket in damp conditions in Leicester.But Martin, who made his Test debut at the age of 32, has endured plenty of doubts in his career and remained undaunted for most of the day. Brought on from the Nursery End half an hour before lunch, he was bowling down the slope, which helped him take the ball away from the right-handers. He was perhaps fortunate to get Nick Compton, caught trying to hit over the top in his second over, and then nearly had Jonathan Trott in his next but fluffed a return catch in his follow-through, as the ball swerved on him. But the nerves were replaced by the steadily swelling of confidence. His spell so far is the second-most economical against England at Lord’s in the first innings.As England retreated further and further into a shell, Martin continued to probe with a persistent off-stump line. Martin understood quickly that it would be foolish to try too many variations. Bowling from wide off the crease, he pitched on a fuller length, without offering the space for the batsmen to cut or charge him.Due to the soggy conditions over the last two days the outfield was wet and Martin used it to his advantage. By bowling slowly, the onus was on the batsman to take him on. If England were waiting for the conditions to get better, Martin wanted to make their wait more frustrating. Such was his control that Ian Bell, one of England’s best players of spin, remained muted throughout. Off the 50 deliveries he faced from Martin, Bell could only take five runs as he remained rooted to the crease.In the final session Martin took advantage of the the footmarks to spin the ball further away from the bat and compound the batsmen’s uncertainties. By keeping it tight at one end, Martin allowed the seamers to attack from the opposite side.”He bowled pretty well,” Jonathan Trott, the England batsman, said. “He used the slope and sometimes spun the ball down the hill. But whenever there was a loose ball it stopped on the wicket and there was no real pace on the ball to get punished. I felt it was holding up a bit. Generally balls that run away for two or three were only going for one. I certainly missed out on a few cut shots and that is something we might have to work on.”As the Test grows old the pitch is likely to get softer and Martin’s influence on the match is bound to be crucial. He would also be aware of the fact that quality batsmen will wear on his patience. In last over, Martin was bowling at a much faster pace and dropping short, which Joe Root duly took advantage of. Perhaps it was exhaustion but the key to succeeding in Test cricket is to hang in there.

The nucleus of this England side is not going to change overnight, but some key players are now the wrong side of 30 and will leave tough holes to fill when the time comes

George Dobell22-Aug-2013Whatever else happens over the last three days of this match, England may reflect on the Oval Test of 2013 as having provided a disconcerting peek into their future.It is not just that their two debutants in this match – Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan – have endured tough baptisms into Test cricket. It is that, over the last four years, England have now brought 12 new players into their Test side without any of them making an incontrovertible case for long-term inclusion.You have to go back to 2009, when Jonathan Trott won his first Test cap, to find an England player who can be said to a have made an uncompromised success of his elevation.Since then a dozen men have been tried – Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, James Tredwell, Eoin Morgan, Ajmal Shahzad, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor, Nick Compton, Joe Root, Kerrigan and Woakes – and, while four or five (Taylor, Finn, Bairstow and Root in particular) may yet prove themselves worthy Test players, none have yet progressed to become long-term, automatic selections.As a result, England continue to rely on the same trusted characters. But the unsettling suspicion is that, scratch beneath the surface of this strong England side, and there are doubts about their bench strength.While England look relatively well stocked with top-order batsmen – the likes of Varun Chopra, Luke Wells and Sam Robson – and tall, fast bowlers – the likes of Jamie Overton, Boyd Rankin, Finn and Tremlett, who responded to be overlooked for this match by claiming five wickets for Surrey on Thursday – they are no closer to finding a replacement for the swing of James Anderson or the spin of Graeme Swann.Maybe that is not surprising. Anderson and Swann are two of the best bowlers England have possessed in decades. But they are both over 30, they are both required to shoulder heavy workloads and neither can be expected to do so indefinitely.While it had been presumed that Monty Panesar would inherit Swann’s role in this side – and there are whispers that this could, just could, be Swann’s final Test in England – recent revelations about Panesar have thrown some doubt over his long-term involvement. Suffice it to say, it would be naive to conclude that his bizarre behaviour in Brighton recently was simply an aberration.That would mean that Kerrigan could be England’s first choice spinner much earlier than had been anticipated. Aged only 24 and with an impressive first-class record, Kerrigan no doubt has a bright future. But on the evidence of this game, he is some way from being a Test cricketer.In some ways, the second day of this Test was even more depressing than the first for Kerrigan. There are caveats to the decision not to bowl him – it was a day truncated by poor weather and conditions favoured the seamers – but to see Trott called into the attack ahead of him hardly provided a ringing endorsement of his captain’s faith in his abilities. Perhaps a more sympathetic captain might have found a way to involve Kerrigan a little more.Any judgement on Woakes’ debut depends on how you perceive his role. He bowled tidily enough on a flat wicket and will surely never let England down. Whether that is enough to justify a Test career as a third seamer is highly debatable, though. And, while he may yet score match-defining runs from No. 6, what has become clear is that he cannot be viewed as a viable alternative as the incisive swing bowling replacement of Anderson. England don’t have one.

In some ways, the second day of this Test was even more depressing than the first for Kerrigan. There are caveats to the decision not to bowl him – it was a day truncated by poor weather and conditions favoured the seamers – but to see Trott called into the attack ahead of him hardly provided a ringing endorsement of his captain’s faith in his abilities

It may be too early to draw conclusions as to the reasons for the struggles of recent England debutants, but part of the problem may lie in the county game. Over the past few years, English county cricket has witnessed the removal of Kolpak registrations – a well-intentioned but not entirely positive move – an increasing difficulty in securing top-quality overseas players, an absence of the top England players on international or even Lions duty and the premature elevation of inexperienced cricketers due to young player incentives.Every change was well intentioned, but the combination has weakened the breeding ground of England’s Test team. There are too many weak young players who might never have made it into professional sport a decade ago competing against one another.Compare it to the side that took England to No. 1 in the Test rankings. It contained four men in the top seven (Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Trott and Matt Prior) who had scored centuries on Test debut, two more (Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen) who had scored half-centuries and a bowler (Anderson) who claimed a five-wicket haul.Every one of them had been developed in county cricket at a time when young players had to fight for inclusion among Kolpak registrations, experienced England players and some excellent overseas cricketers. County cricket prepared them much more thoroughly.There is a strong suspicion that the next few months will witness a changing of the guard in the management of this England side, too. Andy Flower, arguably the most positive influence on England cricket in a generation, may well step down from his day-to-day coaching role with the side after the tour of Australia this winter.While he is highly likely to remain involved in a role overseeing the England teams – a position similar to that undertaken by Hugh Morris at present – it is anticipated that Ashley Giles will assume day-to-day coaching responsibilities.Sooner or later England must embrace change. The next test for them will be to see whether the improvements of recent years are the result of a once in a lifetime collection of players – the likes of Pietersen and Cook and Anderson and Swann – or whether, with all the money invested in age-group teams, talent identification and coaching, the national centre of excellence and a dozen other schemes, the entire system has been transformed to ensure continuity of excellence and a constant conveyor belt of quality players.The evidence of this Test has not been especially encouraging.

Johnson has picked up his pace, and his bounce and late movement have got batsmen wary too

Aakash Chopra28-Oct-2013The bowler runs in hard, sends down a bouncer and makes the batsman hop and duck. With his feet in the air from the hop, and his head tucked into his chest from the attempt at ducking, he manages to stay away from the line of the ball. The wicketkeeper, standing close to the 30-yard circle, makes a futile attempt to get an outstretched hand to the ball, which thuds into the sightscreen after bouncing once inside the rope.The bowler is Mitchell Johnson and the batsman Sanju Samson during a Champions League match in Jaipur.The sight of a fast bowler making a batsman hop gets you to sit up and watch intently. And if the bowler makes some of the best batsmen in the world duck and sway on docile Indian pitches, you hold your breath in anticipation whenever that bowler runs in to bowl.It’s evident that Johnson has picked up his pace over the last year. And while the pace is visibly upsetting batsmen, the late inward movement into right-handers, and the bounce, are also playing havoc.In the ODI series against India, Johnson has troubled the Indian batsmen with that extra bounce and pace, on pitches where totals of 300-plus have been par for the course. It’s not that the Indians haven’t faced this kind of pace or bounce; on the contrary, they have played it with authority and even dominated it in the past. But Johnson is a slightly different proposition.He isn’t the typical left-arm fast bowler who bowls with a high-arm action and relies mostly on exploiting the natural angle lefties create while bowling to right-handers. His bowling arm is some distance away from his left ear, and that makes it difficult for batsmen to gauge the bounce he will generate after pitching.For bowlers with high-arm actions, the bounce off the surface is directly related to their point of release, which makes for a certain predictability. But with bowlers who have a slinging action, it’s relatively difficult to assess how much bounce they’ll get after pitching. Such bowlers skid the ball off the surface, unlike the ones with high-arm actions. When you bowl with a high-arm action the bounce you get is like that you get when a tennis ball bounces on a dry surface, and with a slingy action it’s a bit like the bounce of a plastic ball on a wet surface.Have you ever tried making a stone skip on water? The lower the arm while throwing, the more times the stone bounces off the surface of the water. Another key difference with regard to bounce is the trajectory of the ball after pitching – for bowlers with a high-arm action, the ball gains considerable height right after pitching, but for someone with a round-arm action, the path is more gradual, similar to an airplane taking off: it’s not easy to gauge when the ball has reached the peak of its bounce. (This is why even wicketkeepers don’t know how far back they should stand.)

A round-arm action puts severe pressure on the lower back and hips, which could lead to serious injuries. Mitchell Johnson’s impact comes with a disclaimer: try to imitate it at your own peril

Then there’s the small matter of whether the ball lands on the seam or on the shine. If it lands on the seam, it bounces considerably more than it would if it lands on the leather. When a bowler delivers with a round-arm action, even he can’t be 100% sure of making the ball land on the seam, so what chance does the poor batsman have?Johnson’s natural bowling action is designed to make the ball curve in to the right-hand batsman, and when he’s on top of his game (he has been there and thereabouts in this series), the ball comes in sharply. While the ball that moves laterally creates its own challenges – the batsman must not commit, must play close to the body and in the second line – in Johnson’s case the ones that don’t move create similar problems as well.Given his round-arm action, which makes the ball curve in mostly, batsmen tend to play inside the line most times, so the ones that hold their line and go across cause trouble. When the ball doesn’t come out right from Johnson’s hand, it doesn’t swing, and carries on across and away from the right-hander. Also, even when it comes out right, if Johnson has started a little too far outside off, the ball doesn’t swing, and carries on across the right-hander. There’s a thin line outside the right-hander’s off stump that the bowler must stay within to make the ball curve in effectively. Johnson inadvertently crosses that line from time to time, keeping the batsman guessing.Won’t rookies be tempted to start out bowling with a round-arm, slingy action, given the obvious benefits of doing so? My advice in this regard is that it’s important to know the flip side of such an action before taking the plunge. We only hear about the ones who have fought the odds and reached the top. It’s important to know the rules to break them. Many bowlers with similar actions have ended up with severe back problems. A round-arm action puts severe pressure on the lower back and hips, which could lead to serious injuries. Also, it’s not easy to be accurate regularly with such an action. Mitchell Johnson’s impact comes with a disclaimer: try to imitate it at your own peril.