All posts by h716a5.icu

How a stepped-on sandwich sparked a permanent adoration for D’Oliveira

Steven Lynch28-Dec-2006I imagine that for most cricket lovers the favourite player is the one who catches the eye at an early age, when the game is just taking hold. Later on you can relish the thought of going to watch Brian Lara, or Shane Warne, or Andrew Flintoff, but you can never quite recapture the breathless excitement of the moment you got hooked.
I had noticed cricket on the television, watched some of it, asked my parents what was going on. But things changed when I was nine, in the summer of 1966. England were struggling against West Indies. They were messing about with selection. They chose three captains (bettered only by 1988, when they had four). But one of the new caps was a bit different: Basil Lewis D’Oliveira.”Dolly” was a romantic figure – tall, dark and handsome, but with an air of mystery. This stemmed from his past: I knew he had come over from South Africa because he wasn’t allowed to play there. My mother tried to explain why not, but it didn’t sink in. But what I did notice was probably my first technical observation (apart from wondering why Jim Parks used to crouch down to keep wicket with his arms outside his pads, unlike all the other keepers I’d seen): D’Oliveira had almost no back-lift.I was a martyr to tonsillitis at the time, which I suspect got worse when Tests were on, so I was able to follow D’Oliveira’s first series closely. He scored 27 at Lord’s before suffering a freakish run-out. But the shot that cemented Dolly’s place in the pantheon came in the fourth Test, when he smashed Wes Hall – the fastest bowler in the world at the time – straight back over his head for six.Much later I learned about the pressure D’Oliveira must have felt, representing millions of coloured South Africans. He had a few secrets. Unbeknown to the selectors, he could hardly throw the ball in the field after having smashed his arm in a car accident the previous winter. And then there was his age.Ah, yes, his age. When I found out about that, Dolly went up even higher in my youthful estimation. When he joined Worcestershire, he said he was born in 1934, which meant the England selectors thought he was a reasonably youthful 31 when they called him up. It was some time before he owned up. He had felt, probably rightly, that England would not have blooded someone approaching 35. Even that is not quite the end of the story. In his autobiography D’Oliveira wrote: “I can assure you I’m a little older than my birth certificate states… If you told me I was nearer 40 than 35 when I first played for England, I wouldn’t sue you for slander.” I always thought the Playfair Cricket Annual went a little too far in 1979, though, when it gave his year of birth as 1031.Dolly remained a fixture in the Test team for six years, until he was 41 (or 38, or 46, or possibly 941). For all that time he was the only player I really wanted to succeed. I was rewarded in 1970 when he made the first century I ever saw live (105 for Worcestershire against Surrey at the Oval, since you ask).Two years before that, he made another mark in cricket history by becoming the first Test player to speak to me. Nestled on the grass behind the boundary boards at the Oval on my first day of Test cricket in 1968 – sadly, a couple of days after D’Oliveira’s famous 158 at the ground – I was at first delighted, then rather alarmed, as Dolly lumbered towards me, chasing a ball to the boundary. He just failed to stop it, overran the ball, and carried on into the crowd, his boot spiking a neat hole in one of my lunchtime sandwiches as he did so. “Sorry, son,” he said as he returned to the field, leaving me even more in awe than before. I kept the evidence for ages, until my Mum threw away the star exhibit of my burgeoning cricket museum, saying it was turning green.Batting like D’Oliveira was never very likely, so for a while I tried to bowl like him: both arms swooping upwards just before delivery, then a rhythmical, circular sweep of the bowling arm. When he did it, it kept the runs down and broke partnerships at vital moments of Ashes series. My efforts were rather less spectacular, but they lasted longer than later attempts to bowl like Jeff Thomson.If things had been different, Dolly might have been pulverising bowlers for South Africa in the 1950s rather than doing wonders for England in the sixties. I began to have some idea of the hurdles he overcame just to play club cricket in England, never mind county or Test cricket. Throughout he seems to have remained the smiling, modest bloke who apologised when he stepped on my sandwiches. I do know now that off the field he liked a drink, sometimes got a bit loud, and that he didn’t cover himself with glory on his first tour with England, to the West Indies in 1968.But I don’t care. D’Oliveira’s place in history is secure: he was the man who, inadvertently, made the sporting world at large aware of what was wrong with apartheid. And he cemented one small boy’s love of cricket.

Stats highlights from the final day’s play between India and Pakistan in Kolkata

Cricinfo staff04-Dec-2007

Younis Khan has been prolific in the fourth innings of a Test in 2007 © AFP
During his knock of 46, Sourav Ganguly became the seventh Indian batsman to score 6000 runs in Test cricket. Ganguly has 6016 runs from 98 Tests, at an average of 41.48, the lowest among the Indian batsmen with over 6000 runs. The match aggregate of 1470 runs is the second-highest in Tests at Eden Gardens, and the third-highest in India-Pakistan Tests. With the wicket of Salman Butt, Anil Kumble completed 50 wickets against Pakistan in home Tests. Kumble has also taken 50 Test wickets in India against Australia and England. Dennis Lillee, Fred Trueman, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne are the other bowlers to have 50 home wickets against at least three opposition teams, with Murali having taken it against four. Younis Khan’s unbeaten 107 was his 15th Test century and his fifth against India. Younis continues his remarkable run against India, with an average of over 90 against them. Younis scored his third consecutive hundred in the fourth innings of a Test. He averages 61.09 in the fourth innings of a Test, with three hundreds and a fifty in four final innings of Tests this year. Younis’ three hundreds in the fourth innings is also the best for a Pakistan batsman in Tests. Ijaz Ahmed and Javed Miandad have scored two. Younis’ hundred was also the sixth in the match, the first time that six centuries have been scored in a Test at Eden Gardens. The previous best was five, scored in India-South Africa Test in 1996-97 and the India-West Indies match in 2002-03. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis completed 3000 runs while batting together in Tests during their unbroken 136-run stand that ensured the match finished in a draw. The duo are five runs behind the best Pakistan pair in Tests: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf had scored 3013 runs in 57 innings. In 39 innings, Younis and Yousuf have 3008 runs at an average of 81.29. They fare better against India, averaging 185.71, with six century stands in nine innings.

A graphical analysis of Virender Sehwag’s unbeaten 309

28-Mar-2008

More than half of Sehwag’s runs came on the off side, perhaps an indication that the South African bowlers generally stuck to a line around the off stump. They did stray in their length though – 83 of Sehwag’s 185 runs on the off side came behind square.

Sehwag was at ease against all the bowlers, with only Morne Morkel and Paul Harris conceding less than a run-a-ball against him. He was particularly harsh on Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis. He scored exactly an 100 against the left-arm spin of Paul Harris, against whom he pulled off quite a few reverse-sweeps.

Sehwag dominated India’s batting, outscoring his partners by a 2:1 ratio in the two double-century stands. Opening with Jaffer, Sehwag made 134 out of 213, while Jaffer managed 73. Rahul Dravid and Sehwag were surely in different gears; Dravid could only score 65 off 181 deliveries while Sehwag plundered 175 off 140. The only measure in which Dravid matched Sehwag was in terms of dot balls – Dravid didn’t score off 145 deliveries, the same for Sehwag was 152. Jaffer wasn’t far behind, with 127 dot balls.

Sehwag’s strike-rate, shown here in 25-run slots, had ups and downs. His first hundred came off 116 deliveries, and his innings took off after the 125-run mark, and he rushed from 175 to 200 in just eight balls, a strike-rate of over 300. He motored at a strike-rate of 150 from 200 to 250, and even at the end, after a full day in the Chennai heat, he managed nearly a run a ball.

South Africa’s batsmen struggled through one of the more ferocious spells of the summer as Peter Siddle finished the day with 3 for 24 from 13 overs

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG27-Dec-2008
Peter Siddle: “Today I wanted to get out there and show them I could bowl quick and bowl tight lines and work hard” © AFP (file photo)
Peter Siddle’s nickname is Vicious and judging by his post-tea spell at the MCG it’s an appropriate description. The moniker didn’t come from his attitude but from the great Australian tradition of nicknames evolving unpredictably – Siddle, Sid, Sid Vicious, Vicious. None of that mattered to South Africa’s batsmen, who struggled through one of the more ferocious spells of the summer as he finished the day with 3 for 24 from 13 overs.A week ago Siddle looked as likely to revitalise Australia’s series as the battling Dale Steyn did to recapture his best form. Both men came good in Melbourne and Siddle can draw inspiration from Steyn, who also took a few games to hit his straps at the start of his Test career.Siddle was poor in Perth, where he alternated between bowling too short and too full, and he was lucky to keep his place in the side. Ben Hilfenhaus came into the squad and it was not until 24 hours before the match that the selectors decided to give Siddle anotherchance. They hoped he would be boosted by playing his first international at his home ground the MCG, where the drop-in pitch suits his style of hitting the wicket hard.”There were a lot of players that could have missed out [after the WACA loss],” Siddle said. “You always doubt when you’re the new kid on the block and I’d [had] a disappointing effort out there in Perth so I didn’t know it was going to happen. I found out Christmas morning and it was a good thrill, a good Chrissy present.”Playing at home did lift him, as did the faith shown by Ricky Ponting in entrusting Siddle with the second over. Immediately the energy and belief that were lacking at the WACA were evident. His first ball was 145kph, he rattled Neil McKenzie with a short one and took his off stump with the fifth ball of the over. A spontaneous roar erupted forthe local man, who was desperate to perform in front of friends and family.His first spell of 1 for 11 from six overs was impressive, especially while Brett Lee struggled at the other end. The show really started when Siddle returned after tea. Again he struck in the first over of his spell, enticing Graeme Smith to drive a wide ball that was edged behind. Smith had 62 and the jubilant leaping and wide smiles from Siddle’s team-mates proved how important the breakthrough was.With every ball that beat the bat or cramped the batsman the noise from the crowd increased, as did Siddle’s confidence. Advertising hoardings were drummed as he ran in, as if he was on a hat-trick every delivery. A day that had threatened to meander had become irresistible viewing.”The crowd was good,” he said. “It always gives you a bit of confidence when they’re cheering you on and you get that wicket early on. It was an amazing feeling just hearing them cheer, it was excellent.”Siddle continually nudged the 150kph mark – while Lee headed southinto the low 140s – hit a good length and attacked the stumps. Theywere traits that were missing from his game in Perth, as was a tightpartner at the other end – here Nathan Hauritz leaked less than anewly fixed tap.”I was a bit disappointed [in Perth], I probably didn’t bowl asaggressive as I would have liked and with not as much pace,” Siddlesaid. “Today I wanted to get out there and show them I could bowlquick and bowl tight lines and work hard.”He tended too short later in the spell but his work was done. Heproved to Ponting that in an attack where Lee continued to struggle -his lines were wrong and he bled 68 runs from 13 overs – Johnson isnot the only man who can be turned to for an impact spell. It’s auseful thing for a captain to have.Over the past year Graeme Smith has had that with Steyn. UnlikeSiddle, who is in his third Test and is still learning, Steyn cameinto this series weighed down by the reputation of being the leadingwicket-taker in Tests in 2008. It is not a bad burden to carry but itaffected Steyn in Perth, where, like Siddle, he battled to find theright length.
Like Peter Siddle, Dale Steyn made the batsmen play at his deliveries © AFP
At the MCG Steyn resembled the man who has terrorised batsmen theworld over in the past 12 months. The strongest winds at the PerthTest in a couple of decades had affected his power there but here hewas energetic and constantly thinking.Against the left-handers Simon Katich and Michael Hussey, on the firstday, he had come around the wicket and picked them off by using theangle. He did the same to Johnson today, darting a quick ball in thatwas edged onto the stumps. Against the right-handers he found someoutswing and added Lee and Hauritz to his tally before lunch to finishwith 5 for 87.Most importantly he made the batsmen play, as did Siddle. Energy andaccuracy are hard to beat as key fast-bowling traits. Siddle needsonly to look to Steyn, who also has swing in his armoury, to discoverwhat a young fast man can achieve in a short space of time.

England are now guaranteed their slot in the Super Eights, thanks to a net run-rate that will keep them afloat whatever the result of Tuesday’s clash between Netherlands and Pakistan

Andrew Miller at The Oval07-Jun-2009Crisis, what crisis? The hosts’ tournament is up and running, and in quite some style too. England’s crushing victory over Pakistan at The Oval hasn’t quite expunged the embarrassment of their defeat against Netherlands on Friday, but it has turned the tables in the most literal sense. Having faced an early exit on account of their opening-day defeat, England are now guaranteed their slot in the Super Eights, thanks to a net run-rate that will keep them afloat whatever the result of Tuesday’s clash between Netherlands and Pakistan.”It was exactly what we needed,” said a relieved captain, Paul Collingwood. “I think we showed a lot of character. Friday night was a massive blow for us, and we were under a lot of pressure to put in a good performance. But we showed how much we wanted it, and put them under pressure from ball one. A lot of people put their hands up and all 11 men can be very proud of themselves.”Credit goes where credit is due, and England’s response to adversity was unequivocal. In a frank admission of their tactical shortcomings at Lord’s, they made three notable team changes, with Kevin Pietersen and Dimitri Mascarenhas adding some much-needed oomph to the middle-order, and Graeme Swann providing seniority and confidence to the bowling attack.Collingwood admitted that it was only after witnessing the success of Johan Botha and Majid Haq during South Africa’s afternoon clash with Scotland on the same strip that England decided to include the second spinner. Adil Rashid came in in place of Ryan Sidebottom, but in a team performance as effective as Friday’s had been abject, every move that England made proved to be a winning one.”It was do or die, and we delivered,” said Collingwood. “We got it 100% right. I’m still convinced that Friday night was just meant to happen, because it’s not easy to identify the reasons for it, but what we did what we had to do today, and though we’re not going to get too carried away with ourselves, we’ve proved to ourselves how good we can be.”Now, however, the note of caution. In front of a frenzied crowd that sensed the needs of the hour and lauded their team’s efforts to the roof-tops, it would have been genuinely easy to get carried away by England’s supremacy. And yet, as well as they played, they were up against a Pakistan team that, in the shoulder-shrugging estimation of their captain, Younis Khan, gave away 20-25 runs in shoddy fielding alone. If England were off the boil on Friday, Pakistan were off the Kelvin scale tonight. And peculiarly, their captain didn’t seem to care.”It won’t be a disaster even if we exit before the Super Eights,” said Younis. “It would be sad if we don’t make it, but I have never attached too much importance to Twenty20 cricket, as it is fun cricket. I mean it is more for entertainment, even if it is international cricket. It is all for the crowd. Twenty20 is all about fun. Everybody expects players to come out and entertain.”If that seemed a remarkably sanguine response to failure, it could be argued that Younis was merely preparing his players for an almighty fall on Tuesday. Pakistan have to beat Netherlands by at least 25 runs, and that will be no easy task. When asked which was the best team he had faced so far in the competition, Collingwood chuckled loudly and struggled for the diplomatic answer. The delay in responding told us everything we needed to know.Younis’s attitude might also be taken as a self-righteous response to the hype of the IPL, from which Pakistan’s players were of course barred this year due to their country’s deteriorating relationship with India. Whatever the reasons for going against the global trend of taking Twenty20 deadly seriously, England would do well to take heed of Pakistan’s irreverence. By an accident of scheduling, they have still to come up against a major cricketing nation that actually cares about their performance this summer.As West Indies demonstrated in their trouncing of Australia on Saturday, giving a monkey’s is an important ingredient for success in international cricket. And strangely enough, that’s what England gave tonight as well. Out of their humiliation came a powerful motivation, but against South Africa later this week, they’ll need more than just a righteous fury to progress against the first clinical opponents they’ll have faced all year.

India scaled the peaks in the few Tests they played, but it wasn’t all sunny in limited-overs cricket

Sidharth Monga31-Dec-2009This year the space-time India inhabited was anything but the year 2009. Their batsmen challenged norms, redefined audacity, and went at a pace that wouldn’t be out of place in 2019. Their fielding – and for the major part their bowling – slipped into an era gone by: in the limited-overs game, they would have been put to shame by some sides from 1999. In a period of three weeks India beat their record for highest Test score in a day, then beat it again, conceded more runs in a day than they had ever before, and a higher total in India than ever before. In ODIs they led the way both in scoring 300-plus totals (10 times) and conceding them (nine times).What India sowed in 2008, they reaped in 2009, becoming the No. 1 side in ODIs for a brief while, and ending the year as the No. 1 Test side, despite having played only six Tests. Three of those were away matches against seventh-ranked New Zealand, and the others were home games against Sri Lanka, who had never previously won in India. In a frenzied year of extremes – unbelievable batting performances, first win in New Zealand in 40 years, fielding bordering on the ridiculous, first-round exits from two world events, and then the eventual rise to top of Test rankings – they found time to show character and save two Tests from losing positions.In a crunched calendar they also found time to provide some comic relief through the leaked sex dossier and the parading of team unity in a press conference. Around those two trivial events lurked a serious doubt regarding the techniques of the new batting stars and the sudden bare look that the fast-bowling cupboard wore.The first ones to panic after the bouncers exposed some of the younger batsmen at the World Twenty20 were the selectors. Back came Rahul Dravid, out went the youngsters. The Champions Trophy on bouncy pitches in South Africa negotiated, out went Dravid and back came the youngsters. The message sent to both parties could not have been worse: Dravid was left with reason to be feel slighted; the Rohit Sharmas and the Suresh Rainas were effectively told that they could not be trusted.The next ones to panic were the BCCI, who summarily sacked without reason and without notice Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, and Robin Singh, the fielding coach, a day before Diwali. Towards the end of the year, when the bowlers were struggling to defend 414 in an ODI and the fielders were dropping catches like hot bricks, Prasad and Robin would have spared themselves a smile. As the last match of the year, the Delhi ODI, proved, the board still had more sacking to do.If the youngsters were still finding their feet, it was reassuring how Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and VVS Laxman – part of the infamous voluntary-retirement scheme last year – looked good to last beyond 2011, the year of the devil, the year of the World Cup. Twice Tendulkar, now 20 years old in international cricket, threatened to score a double-century in an ODI; Dravid finally got rid of his temporary habit of fluffing good starts; and although Laxman scored just one century, not many can find fault with an average of 67.28.The positives of 2009, though, can best be summed up by the contributions of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni. Sehwag represented ambition, creativity and disrespect for decorum. His two ODI centuries in fewer than 70 balls, his 284 runs in one Test day, his admission that he felt sorry for the bowlers he dismantled, the way he played around with the definition of a bad ball, were pure joy.Gambhir: five Tests, four hundreds•Getty ImagesGambhir embodied ruthlessness and toughness, batting in the Dravid mould, drawing the Napier Test by playing out of his skin, overseeing the Ahmedabad draw, scoring four centuries in nine Test innings, and twice getting 150 in the ODIs.Dhoni, safe, inconspicuous and still an unbeaten captain in Tests, was the rock around which the ODI team flourished. He let the flashier batsmen play their natural games, yet finished as the world’s joint-highest run-getter for the year and reinforced his reputation as the best ODI batsman in the world.The year, which ended as it began, with ODI series wins against Sri Lanka, seemed too long. When India were failing in the limited-overs formats, their impressive showing in New Zealand was forgotten. When their last Test of the year took them to No. 1, the BCCI started to try and squeeze more Tests into the programme, to defend the ranking. Suddenly it was as if the World Twenty20, the Champions Trophy, the loss to a second-string Australia, hadn’t happened. Yes, there was no time in 2009 to pause and reflect. Yes, we don’t know which year India actually inhabited.High point
Getting to No. 1 was reward for hard work over the decade, not just this year. It had been a long journey towards the top, which started perhaps from the time India won the Kolkata Test of 2001. There were many obstacles they had to clear along the way: start fighting outside the subcontinent, find suitable openers, find genuine fast bowlers, finish games, salvage draws from impossible situations. It took them 10 years to get there, and obviously it was going to be a special moment when they finally did, through their win in the Brabourne Test, marked by a Sehwag special.Low point
Since Dhoni has become captain, India have enjoyed a proud record in bilateral series. They were not hot in the world events, though. They hardly put up a defence of their World Twenty20 crown, and fizzled out of the Champions Trophy without a fight. Is it the knockout atmosphere that is getting to them? They will want to prove otherwise.What 2010 holds
Thankfully there seems to be an acknowledgment that being No. 1 in ICC rankings and being the best are not synonymous. To become the best, India need to beat South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka away. That journey will start towards the end of 2010, with India travelling to South Africa. Apart from that, the board will have to find time to arrange more Test matches for an aspiring side: six is not nearly enough.Limited-overs cricket will keep putting pressure on the bowlers and fielders. They will get a go at the World Twenty20 again, before the road to the 2011 World Cup begins.

Sri Lanka persisted with their strategy of boring Virender Sehwag into a mistake but, at the P Sara Oval, he found a way to overcome the boredom, and still score freely

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval04-Aug-2010Virender Sehwag is bored of Kumar Sangakkara’s tactics. And boredom seems to be the only way Sri Lanka can get Sehwag out. That has been the case since Kanpur last year. They bored him in Galle, and Sehwag obliged by chasing a short and wide delivery. They bored him at the SSC, he resisted and resisted, and then got out to the first sight of a new spinner. It was hardly surprising then that as early as the eighth over at the P Sara Oval we had a square third man, a deep point, and a sweeper-cover, and Chanaka Welegedara bowling short and wide outside off.It is an obvious plan, but because it is Sehwag, it makes for fascinating viewing. Defensive tactics, run-less periods, eat at his soul. It is as if the basic purpose of his cricket is being defeated. He goes out of his way then. He says he will keep playing the same shot too. Except he doesn’t play it for he is no fool. Still he needs to keep scoring runs. He needs to find a way. Find a way he did today.First, though, he showed Sangakkara and Welegedara that they were wasting their time. He left the ball in a dismissive manner. The bat didn’t even go up. The feet didn’t try to cover the off stump. There was no “just in case”. He knew what was going on. But that was not enough, runs needed to be scored. This is a man who has scored 4478 of his first 7000 Test runs in boundaries.By the time Sri Lanka resorted to bowling wide outside off with deep off-side fields, Sehwag had already scored 21 off 21, including four boundaries off Welegedara. The “plan” now was well and truly on. The first ball Sehwag left alone, the second he pulled deliberately through midwicket. Sri Lanka saw impatience, and continued with the same attack. Sehwag opened the face, played the next ball all along the ground. Single. 29 off 27.The first ball of the next over from Welegedara was left alone disdainfully. The next ball Sehwag hit fiercely. Down the ground, between mid-off and extra cover. I can still hit fours, he seemed to say. And then he left alone five more deliveries in that over, one of them a wide.He left alone the first ball of the next over. He shaped to cut the next, but left that too. And then he moved across the stumps, got in line, and pulled it to square-leg. Four more. Two balls later he hit a forehand between the bowler and mid-off. 46 off 41. If SSC was bad for Sri Lanka, this was worse. At SSC Sehwag just waited for them to bowl at his stumps. Here, not only was he telling Sri Lanka he won’t be getting out wide outside off, he was telling them he would score boundaries too.There were two big differences between Galle and here. In Galle the shot that got him out had every chance of landing in the deep fielder’s lap even if Sehwag had connected as opposed to toe-ending it. Here his shots were intended for vacant areas.The bigger and more important difference was what runs meant here. In Galle, or in SSC for that matter, quick runs wouldn’t have won India the match. Taking risks then was a no-win situation. Here, with a more manageable 425 on the board, quick runs hurt Sri Lanka. Galle and SSC were up Sri Lanka’s alley, this was up Sehwag’s.On a day that Sehwag became the second-quickest man to 7000 runs – in terms of innings and joint-fastest in terms of Tests played – other than that defensive-attacking strategy, there wasn’t much to bother him. Lasith Malinga he kept out well. No undue risks, no undue caution. The only other threat to Sehwag would have been the first sighting of spinners. He can’t control himself against those creatures. Ajantha Mendis’ first delivery he safely glided behind square leg. Suraj Randiv’s first he swept away for four. Some things never change.Sehwag will start the third day on 97, and Sri Lanka should throw spinners at him right away. SSC was not the first time he missed a milestone looking to hit a spinner for six. He might go for it again. He might not. Either way it will make for more fascinating viewing.

His ability down the order and the presence of too many offspinners in the squad may have prompted selectors to pick Piyush Chawla

Sidharth Monga17-Jan-2011So the 15 to represent India in their home World Cup have been chosen, and barring the odd spot there is not much to complain about. Thirteen of the 15 players picked themselves, and it can’t be too bad a place to be at. The last two positions, which went to R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla, were always going to be the ones that would be debated.On skill and form alone, there is no doubting Ashwin is the second-best limited-overs spinner in the country, but because of the presence of many offspinners – full-time and part-time – the team management is believed to have preferred Piyush Chawla. Still, Chawla had competition from Pragyan Ojha as the bowler who takes the ball away from right-hand batsmen, and someone who has performed decently in whatever opportunities he has got. Chawla, on the other hand, last featured in an ODI in July 2008, and has never played an ODI in India, where his team will be playing all its matches bar one.MS Dhoni, not speaking directly about the selections, gave an insight into why Chawla might have been preferred. “It’s good to have him in the side when it comes to the variety in the spin department, and of course he is one guy who can bat a bit,” Dhoni said. “I am not saying he is a specialist batsman, but you know when he went to county cricket he scored a fair amount of runs, which means he can bat at No. 7 for us if we feel the five-bowler tactic needs to be employed.”That being the case, the selectors went for another slow bowler who could play as a lead spinner in case Harbhajan Singh gets injured. That put paid to Rohit Sharma’s hopes of making it to the World Cup, who didn’t do himself any favours by struggling in the ODIs in South Africa. Some might argue that the squad might be one batsman short, but you can’t have everything unless you have a genuine allrounder in the side.The reserve wicketkeeper is not a big issue because India will be playing all their matches after the World Cup opener at home, and if Dhoni does get injured, a replacement can be brought in at a short notice without any visa troubles. They could also keep one reserve keeper on notice, and have him travel to the match venues in case he is needed.Only fitness could have kept the other 13 out, but obviously the selectors would have made sure that none of the injuries or niggles is serious enough to last till the start of the event. Munaf Patel, thanks to a good comeback to the ODI side, and Ashish Nehra, despite two bad games in South Africa, have kept Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth out. It would have been unfair to drop Nehra after these two off days because ever since his comeback he has been Dhoni’s go-to man, especially during the batting Powerplay. Ishant’s form anyway doesn’t recommend him.Yusuf Pathan’s century against New Zealand in Bangalore, his good domestic season and Ravindra Jadeja’s continuous failures at No. 7 made that decision easy too.In the batting line-up, Yuvraj Singh has shown positive signs, making Dhoni breathe easier. Virat Kohli is as good a 12th man as any, if he doesn’t force his way into the first XI, that is.Overall, with the constraints India have – no allrounder, not too many options – the selectors have picked a fairly balanced team. The odd grumble-worthy issue might not even come into the picture because it revolves around the 15th player in the squad.

Michael Clarke began his Australian captaincy in much the same manner Ricky Ponting ended his

Daniel Brettig in Mirpur09-Apr-2011Two matches, two captains and two centuries. Continuity is one of leadership’s more useful allies, and Michael Clarke took up where his predecessor left off by crafting a century of high quality to mirror Ricky Ponting’s hundred against India in his final match as Australian captain.That day in Ahmedabad, Ponting had driven himself to a first century in more than a year after Clarke threw his wicket away with an unsightly heave. In Mirpur, it was Clarke who held the innings together once Ponting had unsteadied it by contriving with Shane Watson to end an innings of 34 that was brimming with promise. For both men the change of office appeared to have done plenty of good. Ponting was relaxed, focused and timing the ball better than he had in months, Clarke sensitive to the rhythms of the innings yet powerful enough to strike a last-over six to crest three figures. In this way Ponting’s visage at the crease was as significant as that of Clarke, though there was no question which man’s picture would adorn the sports pages in Australia on Sunday.Thus far, Clarke and Ponting, the two central characters in a captaincy episode of the sort seldom seen in Australian cricket, have played their roles more or less as billed. Clarke has shown himself to be an energetic and empathic leader, doing his best to speak to each player and spending plenty of time with his vice-captain Watson discussing tactics, strategy and the general well-being of the team. On the eve of the first match Clarke and Watson were often in conversation, and the captain could still be seen in his tracksuit, pacing around the team’s Dhaka hotel, long after the rest of the players had retired to civilian clothes, or to bed.Inhibited and indecisive at times while he has waited to take on the captaincy, here Clarke the batsman was emboldened by the responsibility. He turned a nifty half-century typical of his contributions for Australia down the years into a spinal innings that defined the success of his team on a pitch offering occasional help to the bowlers. The question of Clarke’s dire recent Test batting remains, and it will until the Test matches in Sri Lanka in August, but lifting himself to guide his men out of potential peril against Bangladesh was promising for the future.Batting with Cameron White and Michael Hussey, Clarke was a beacon of authority. White’s struggles have gone on for a full season now, his lack of regular singles and twos now exacerbated by an apparent loss of the powerful blows he once used to catch up. Hussey too was forced to scrap, particularly against the parsimony of Shakib Al Hasan. Though he did not greatly outpace his partners, Clarke’s was an innings of calm modulation, sprinkled with just enough boundaries to remind the bowlers who was in charge.By apt contrast, Ponting kept to his corner, appreciating the solitude that had seldom been available when leading the Australian team overseas. He stepped out once to film a congratulatory video addressed to James Faulkner, the Ricky Ponting medallist at home in his native Tasmania, but otherwise remained monastically committed to his batting and his body, trying to enclose himself in the bubble of concentration so brilliantly utilised by Sachin Tendulkar over the past 18 months. He made a coruscating start when arriving at the crease at the fall of Brad Haddin’s wicket, cracking five boundaries and one six when sauntering regally down the pitch to deposit Suhrawadi Shuvo beyond long-on. There were all the signs that Ponting would be freed up as a mere batsman, confidently reducing the bowler’s zone of comfort to something the size of a postage stamp and pushing Australia to 79 for 1 in only 11 overs.Clearly Ponting had been able to leave much behind with the captaincy, but an unhappy knack of getting run out is, it seems, still in his baggage. While Watson was arguably at fault for calling a third run, Ponting’s sluggish response left him unable to beat a relayed throw, once again ending an innings that was entering its prime. Ponting lingered at the boundary’s edge as the decision was clarified by replays, momentarily preventing Clarke’s entry to the fray. Those few seconds represented the leadership change in microcosm – Ponting not leaving until it was absolutely necessary, Clarke driven by respect and convention to let him do so.

Our correspondent spends the final leg of India’s tour of England guzzling wine, ogling the fashion-crazy, musing in parks, and relishing the countryside

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Sep-2011September 2
Pity Me is the name of a place in Durham county. The cabbie is not surprised. “A mate of mine comes from No Place. Now he has been caught a few times for speed driving. Each time the cop asks him, ‘Where you from?’ this guy says, ‘No Place’. The cop repeats the question. ‘No Place’ is the answer,” the cabbie, who is from Sunderland, says in his north-east England accent.September 4
You know London is getting ready for the 2012 Olympics when you see big train stations like Waterloo, St Pancras International, and Euston adorned with Olympic rings. You can take a trip to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford on a bicycle along the canal for about a couple of miles. The main stadium does not turn heads in its unfinished state, so comparisons with the other European cities which have hosted the global event will have to wait. The Olympic mascot is Wenlock, inspired by Much Wenlock, a tiny place in Shropshire, where Baron Pierre de Coubertin got the idea of the modern Olympics after watching the Much Wenlock Games, which were inspired by the Olympic Games of ancient Greece.September 7
, a magnificent quarterly magazine (a bi-monthly going forward) on culture and food, has an engaging cover story on which city is the global capital of the world. For the moment let’s stick to London. Food is an important yardstick if you are aspiring for the crown of “global capital”, and London has an amazing palette of foods from all over the world. But it still is difficult for regular folk to find a good place to drink wine in a city where there is virtually a pub for every 10 people. So to find an exclusive wine bar in this sea of ale is a revelation. Gordon’s Wine Bar – at the foot of Embankment bridge – is said to be one of the oldest of its kind in the city. If you like your red, ask for the St Emilion, 2005.September 6
In England the counties take pride in decorating their legends. Statues, murals, stands, paintings and benches honour those who brought fame to the team. But Hampshire takes the cake, literally. At tea during the second ODI there is a cake decorated with the image of an all-time Hampshire dressing room. To the right sit Andy Roberts and Gordon Greenidge, looking at Malcolm Marshall and Shane Warne in conversation. In the background, to the left, are Robin Smith and Barry Richards. But who is the gent in whites at the extreme left?Mannequins or people with too much time on their hands?•ESPNcricinfo LtdSeptember 8
Vogue Fashion Week’s final evening is an annual pilgrimage for fashionistas and the hordes of people who queue up for hours outside the famous fashion labels on the lane that connects Green Park to Bond Street. They enjoy free flutes of champagne and wine, but the reason they flock in their thousands is the large discounts on offer on the clothes and accessories. An enduring image is that of real-life men and women posing as mannequins in the window of DAKS.September 9
Kapil Dev is commentating on , India’s oldest and biggest national radio broadcaster. Till the 1990s, when cable television invaded households, Indians followed cricket in India and around the globe via AIR. Like they did their house keys, millions carried transistor radios around with them to listen to cricket commentary. Sadly, despite having the widest reach, AIR has lost its appeal. But Kapil has a solution. “Get important voices from every state as guests on the radio channel. That is one good way to attract more audience.”September 10
Londoners like to spend time in parks, museums and galleries. So to the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, in Hyde Park, where Peter Zumthor, a famous Swiss architect has constructed a “garden within a garden”, otherwise known as “hortus conclusus”, also the name of the exhibit. It’s bewildering at first but once you sit inside, in front of the rectangular enclosed garden of wild flowers, and observe people around you lost in their conversations, you begin to understand why Zumthor says the garden is a sanctuary. The roof is left open yet you are cut off from the outside.September 12
Alan Davidson is inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Mark Nicholas asks if it is an honour. The fact that the ICC has inducted quite a few players who are no more is not lost on Davidson. “Better than getting it posthumously.”September 14
The final day of the inaugural World Cricket Business Forum, hosted by the ICC, designed for “providing strategies for growing the global game”. An insightful comment comes from one of the top businessmen who avidly followed the two-day event. “Let us get this clear – most of the people are not here for development. They are all here for money.The picturesque Ross-on-Wye•ESPNcricinfo LtdSeptember 15
Lancashire are celebrating their County Championship triumph. For a county famous for its tough industrial background, it’s something of a surprise to see pictures of players in tearful joy. Have you ever seen Sir Viv Richards cry? No way, you may shout. But he did. Exactly 18 summers ago, after leading Glamorgan to Sunday League victory against Kent.September 16
A strange cricket tour has come to an end. The mind is numb with all that has happened in the last two months. What a relief, then, to travel by road through Wales into the English countryside. It is a beautiful time of year too, with autumn in full bloom. Trees of all colours – burgundy, purple, golden, red, yellow – offer stark contrast to the greener plains they stand upon. In the distance is a rainbow. It feels surreal. The countryside is a delight on a good day, and today is definitely one as we pass Ross-on-Wye. Goodbye, then.