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.

The story of Haryana’s determined effort to excel in Super League

Sriram Veera21-Dec-2010Haryana might never have been a strong team, but they gave us one of the most enduring Ranji Trophy images of all time. In 1991, their year of glory under Kapil Dev, Mumbai’s Dilip Vengsarkar left the field in tears in an intensely fought final. It captured the fierce desire of Mumbai for Ranji success, and also reflected a wonderful moment of rare success for an unfancied team. Haryana have never entered another final again.For years now, they have been wallowing in the middle rung in the domestic circuit. The 2000s decade twice dragged them down to the Plate League, but they re-entered the Super League last year, and have reached the quarter-finals this year. Hope floats.Ashwini Kumar, the coach, is understandably cautious, and modestly ambitious. “We need to stay in the Super League for 3-4 years continuously, gain experience, mature as players and go from strength to strength. Bigger goals can wait. If you keep improving yourself each season, the results will take care of themselves.”Ashwini looks back at the early part of the decade as a rebuilding phase. “Chetan Sharma, Ajay Jadeja, Amarjeet Kaypee all had quit, the experience was thin and a new team was being built.” Haryana were Under-19 champions around 2000. Camps were held across districts, talent hunts were done and the feeder system was beginning to slowly churn out the players.Meanwhile, at the Ranji level, the team was slipping. Amit Mishra, their current captain, sees it as an absence of confidence due of a lack of talent and big players. “It was bound to show on field but we started to turn around things in the last three years. The talent came in, and it was a great feeling last year to get out of the Plate League.”The motivation to remain in the Super League is obvious enough; your performances here are noted. As Mishra says, “Plate (There is not much weightage given to Plate performances). The boys know the importance of staying and doing well in Super”.This season, as witnessed in matches held in North India, the seamers, led by Joginder Sharma, have propelled Haryana. Joginder, fated to be remembered forever for a solitary ball of fame that won India the Twenty20 World Cup, has been on a comeback trail since his shoulder surgery in 2007-08 put him out of action in the next season. “I was struggling for the last two years but I felt fully fit at the start of this season. When I came to the pre-season camp, I was inspired by the hard work put in by the young team-mates and told myself that I have to lead from the front this year.” With 29 wickets, Joginder is the joint-third highest wicket-taker this Ranji season across all teams. The seniors have done well in the past as well: Haryana have three bowlers who have taken hat-tricks – Joginder Sharma, Amit Mishra, and Dhruv Singh – and possess one triple centurion in Sunny Singh.At 27, Joginder finds himself, along with Hemang Badani and Mishra, one of the seniors in this young team. “I am desperate to do well and bring back the name of Haryana. It’s not about winning the Ranji Trophy but being a part of growth. We seniors told the boys that Super League is not something to be fearful about. The skills are the same here. Don’t worry about the reputation of the opposition player; just do your thing. The results are there as you can see.” It’s a sentiment that seems to be prevalent in the think-tank. The coach, the captain and the seniors share that thought and the younger players have responded.Badani came in as a professional this year and has led from the front with 374 runs, just 11 runs short of the top-scorer Nitin Saini. He top-scored on difficult tracks against Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka and proved his worth. ” I came in with an open mind. It was a chance to come back to first-class cricket after playing in ICL. It was a nice opportunity to play with a side with young guys and try to qualify for knockouts; it’s very heartening that we have done that. Coming from Chennai, it was a different experience playing in these seaming tracks here, We have a great bunch of guys who are keen to do well; it has been a very refreshing experience.” According to Joginder, the young batsmen have learnt a lot from Badani.The first challenge came against Himachal Pradesh when they were asked to bat on a pitch that had something for the seamers. Haryana responded by scoring 316, led by Badani’s 65, before bowling out Himachal for a handsome lead. Ashwini sees it as a sign of his batsmen getting better against seamers because of the practice against their own bowlers on such pitches. They turned up the heat against the stronger teams like Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh as well. UP chose to bat but folded for 167 and Haryana gained a 105-run lead before Joginder grabbed a six-for to steamroll UP for 174 in the second. Mishra looks at that win as a great confidence booster. “That game made everyone feel that they not only belong here at this level but that they can excel.”A semi-final spot beckons if they can go past Tamil Nadu, and even if they don’t, their future in the Super League looks secure. Ashwini, as ever, likes to keep it simple. “It will all depend on how hard the boys continue to work.” It might seem a cliché but in the end, everything does depend on that. Haryana don’t want to look at the stars; they just want to walk on the ground. It seems a sensible move. Perhaps, one day not in the distant future, they might provide us with another memorable Ranji moment.

Justin Langer may have oozed security as an Australian opener but off the pitch it was a different story

Tanya Aldred27-Feb-2011This is an honest and earnest book. Unfortunately it is not up to date enough to detail Langer’s work as Australia’s batting coach. But, in the spirit of goodwill, we will ignore Boxing Day at the MCG.Langer was the grafter of those amazing Australian sides, the roast parsnip among the blazing Christmas puddings. He was also astute and observant and hypercritical. No Australian has scored more first-class runs.The interest here lies in the meticulous detail, some about what went on inside his own head, some about his opponents, team-mates and life in the baggy green. He, or his ghost, Robert Wainwright, can write. The descriptions are vivid. Diary entries most of us would have burnt and emotional behaviour most of us would rather forget make it into print.A few more pictures, fewer words and an index would have made it an easier read but Langer has never chosen the simple route in life. Failure on the pitch meant soul-searching off it, which led to heavier weights, longer swims and yet more self-help books.He conjures up a selection of delightful vignettes: Matthew Hayden taking a coffee machine, toasted sandwich maker, bread maker, camp cooking stove, saucepans, frying pan, tongs and Marks and Spencer’s pasta on a tour of India; an eating competition with Mike Gatting involving treacle sponge and hot custard; a hubristic defiling of an England dressing room. He does not much care what people think: how many professional sportsmen have started a chapter with the words, “I love roses”?There are a few asides by Langer’s wife Sue, who seems a lovely woman with a fortitude that enables her to bring up four babies almost single-handedly. Against that an unremitting macho-ness is completely alien, at least to me. Thoughtful pen portraits of team-mates are peppered with lines about fighting: (Ricky Ponting) “There must have been a dozen times after Test match victories when we wrestled like kids in the schoolyard, tearing each other’s shirts, kidney punching and pinching the other’s triceps muscles until they bled”; (Simon Katich) “I wouldn’t like to fight Kato. He is tough as nails”; (Andrew Symonds) “Another one I wouldn’t like to fight.”And what is it about sportsmen and nakedness? Among other adventures we read about a late-night singalong at the SCG in nothing but jockstraps and baggy greens and Hayden draped only in the Australian flag on the roof of the cable car as it travelled down Cape Town’s Table Mountain.The intensity and self-doubt that Langer felt about everything, and which almost crippled his ability to play, marked him out as the ideal leader of the song the Australians sing after each Test victory, “Under the Southern Cross I Stand”. Langer adored this role above any other and interviews with each of the six other songmasters punctuate the book. He even introduces the concept to Somerset when he becomes captain (the players chose “The Blackbird” by The Wurzels).It is difficult to imagine what Rodney Marsh would have made of that but Langer is happy to run with it. His belief in the power of song is inextinguishable. Perhaps the hurdy-gurdy is something the current Australian side might consider.Keeping My Head: A Life in Cricket
by Justin Langer
Allen & Unwin, hb
349pp, £19.99

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.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the IPL game between Pune Warriors and Deccan Chargers in Mumbai

Firdose Moonda16-May-2011The anti-climax
The crowd waited in anticipation for Sourav Ganguly to turn out for the home side and when he came to bat at No.3, he was greeted with the usual, massive cheer. After seeing off four dot balls from Daniel Christian, the pressure was building for Ganguly to make an impact, but he did the exact opposite. He limply hung his bat out to drive to the covers and made just enough contact with the ball to send it straight to a fielder. Pragyan Ojha took a simple catch and the great was out for a duck.The towel that caused trouble
Yuvraj Singh seemed fairly distracted through his innings, and rightly so with the number of wickets falling at the other end. As Dale Steyn was about to run in to bowl his second ball to Yuvraj, the batsman pulled away and indicated something was bothering him. He waved at the sightscreen, sending Steyn on a fact-finding mission and the fast bowler ran all the way only to see that a cameraman was causing all the trouble. Steyn asked him to move out of the way and even as he shuffled to the left, Yuvraj made gestures that all was not well.Steyn eventually figured out that it wasn’t the cameraman himself, but a white towel that was resting on top of his camera that was giving Yuvraj problems and it was duly removed. That it wasn’t really in Yuvraj’s line of sight is another matter.The captain’s final act
Kumar Sangakkara lived up to his reputation of being classy and gentlemanlike when he walked after being caught behind by Robin Uthappa off the bowling of Rahul Sharma. The former Sri Lanka captain got an under edge, quite a thick one. While Uthappa was appealing vociferously, Sangakkara had already tucked his bat under his arm and was leaving the crease. Sharma saluted him on his way off. Sangakkara was playing in his last match of this IPL season and signed off in style, and with a win.The South African battle
Wayne Parnell won the contest with JP Duminy after he denied his South African team-mate the chance to finish off the match for Deccan. Parnell was tasked with bowling the final two overs and was determined to show his skills at the death. He kept it wicket to wicket and quick and in the process sent Duminy on his way. He fired in the fourth ball, too straight for Duminy to play properly, especially since he took his eye off it at the last moment. He played a nothing shot and the leg stump was pegged back. Parnell gave him an exuberant send off, knowing that the game was beyond Pune’s reach.

After sparse crowds marred India’s home ODI series against England and the first two Tests against West Indies, the fourth day at the Wankhede is a sell-out

N Hunter24-Nov-2011″ (what a nice sound of ball hitting bat),” remarked a teenager standing in the uppermost tier of the North Stand. The afternoon sun was on the wane now, the daylight had softened and the shadows were lengthening on the field. VVS Laxman had turned his wrists to slap Darren Sammy between the man at short midwicket and the one at midwicket, who stood in awe as the ball slipped past him like a butterfly, quietly, for a four. It was a high-quality stroke and Laxman received hearty appreciation from the 20,200-strong crowd that had been in their seats from early in the morning.The teenager’s comment was one usually muttered by coaches and students during training. The quality of the noise signifies the richness of a stroke. Finer points these. And so, to hear the youngster utter those words made it clear that the cricket fan – a breed feared to be endangered based on thin crowds seen at Test matches around the world – is still healthy and, critically, young. That might just ensure Test cricket has a future.The spectator-numbers at the Test match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have been impressive, and with Sachin Tendulkar 38 runs short of becoming the first batsman to score 100 international centuries, the best turnout is expected tomorrow.On the first day the turnout was 12,300, with 8000 daily tickets sold. On Wednesday, as the West Indies batsmen batted out a second straight day, the number dipped to 11,000, out of which 7300 were daily tickets. But today, as India came out to bat, the number had risen to 12,000 daily tickets sold.The clamour for tickets became so intense by noon that the Mumbai police had to resort to a mild lathi charge to disperse the fast-increasing crowd. So how did Test cricket suddenly become a box-office hit? The obvious and primary reason for the huge numbers was Tendulkar. But he was also playing in the first two Tests of this series, in Delhi and Kolkata, and the crowd in both cities had been sparse.At Feroz Shah Kotla, a complicated sales-system of tickets sent fans back home disgruntled. Prices were reasonable: the cheapest daily ticket was priced at Rs 100, while a five-day ticket for the best seat in the ground, in the South Club House at the ITC End, was Rs 4000. But on the first day, the ticket-office at the Kotla was closed without explanation and only 11,000 fans were in a stadium that has a capacity to seat around 45,000. Things appeared even more confusing on the second day, with chaotic scenes at the point of sale: the branch of a nationalised bank located on a nearby road. Still, only an estimated 14,000 fans turned up.At Eden Gardens, tickets were available at windows around the ground with five-day ones priced at Rs 500, Rs 1000 and Rs 1500, and daily tickets at Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 150. Yet Rahul Dravid, Laxman and MS Dhoni made centuries and raised bats to a virtually empty stadium.

Daily tickets for the Test were priced as low as Rs 50 (East Stand) and season tickets for vantage viewing points like the North Stand (behind the bowler’s arm) and the Vithal Divecha Pavilion (midwicket) were slashed to Rs 500 and Rs 600 respectively

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) had made an announcement in advance offering large discounts to the fans. Daily tickets for the Test were priced as low as Rs 50 (East Stand) and season tickets for vantage viewing points like the North Stand (behind the bowler’s arm) and the Vithal Divecha Pavilion (midwicket) were slashed to Rs 500 and Rs 600 respectively. The ticket windows were near the ground, making it easier for fans to purchase them. There are a lot of colleges around the ground, and the dirt-cheap price of a daily ticket drew large groups of students. The MCA had learned its lesson after only 13,000 fans filled the 33,000-seater stadium during the one-day match against England in October, for which tickets were steeply priced.The ticketing strategy was successful. North Stand, the most popular avenue to watch cricket at the Wankhede, was full to the brim, and played the drummer’s role as fans beat the hand-railings with empty water bottles to drive away the afternoon reverie. Though they were not as loud, the full-houses at the Vijay Merchant and Sunil Gavaskar pavilions (on either side of the square) chanted the India batsmen’s names with religious fervour. Only the Garware Pavilion was dressed scantily, with barely a few hundred people scattered around. Apparently, the Garware Club, which owns the stand, has been involved in a dispute with the MCA, and hence its members decided to opt out. A shame really, considering nearly 4000 tickets could have been put on public sale.Luckily, those who were present showed how much time they had for good cricket. A young boy of seven, wearing the India blue, stood for long periods holding a banner that read: “We want 3-0, India.”In Mumbai, at Tendulkar’s home ground, with cricket’s most-famous player on the cusp of an unprecedented feat, the youngster decided to raise support for a whitewash, a phenomenon that occurs as rarely in Test cricket as the opportunity to shake Tendulkar’s hand. What was also interesting was that the fans did not just cheer Tendulkar. VVS Laxman’s initials formed a perfect rhythm when chanted, as he walked to the centre to delirious chants of “VVS, VVS, VVS.” When Rahul Dravid lunged to punch a perfect cover drive to reach 13,000 Test runs, the shouts of “Dravid, Dravid” were as loud as those of “Sachin, Sachin” had been.Test matches do not just require endurance from the players but from fans as well. Day in, day out, their emotions, their fervour, their noise, at times, spills out onto the ground, acting as a shot in the arm for the home team’s players or a painful blow for the visitors. The history of cricket is full of pages where a dormant session has been brought to life by the vibrancy of the crowd. Today, you could sense Darren Sammy, a leader who wears his heart on his sleeve, hungry to have a face-off with the vociferous Mumbai crowd. He looked up for the challenge but each time his bowlers and fielders faltered, which was quite frequently, the crowd’s noise only grew louder. That only made Sammy more desperate.Was today’s big turnout an aberration? We can only answer that when Mumbai hosts its next Test. For the moment, the crowds are marching toward the Wankhede. And Friday is already sold out.

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.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the second day of the second Test between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi26-Jan-2012Moment of the day

Jonathan Trott had just 22 and his partnership with Alastair Cook was worth 44, when Saeed Ajmal spun an off-break sharply and caught the batsmen in the crease. The lbw appeal was turned down and, after a quick chat, Pakistan decided not to use one of their reviews. Had they done so, Trott would have been out. To rub salt in the wound, Pakistan later wasted two reviews – also against Trott – for further lbw appeals that were declined. Trott and Cook went on to add 139.Decision of the day

It is not often the most impressive moment of an innings comes in the moment of dismissal. In Cook’s 94, perhaps it did. Make no mistake, Cook was rightly adjudged lbw. But there are many international batsmen – one or two who share the same dressing room – who would have struggled to show the restraint demonstrated by Cook and would have insisted on calling – and wasting – a review. To show such selflessness six short of a century speaks volumes for Cook’s character.Strike of the day

Resuming on 256 for 7, Pakistan still had the opportunity to stretch their first innings score past 300. As it was their last three wickets lasted 16 balls. The key wicket was Misbah-ul-Haq. After his innings the previous day, Misbah was only half forward to another fine delivery from Stuart Broad that nipped back off the seam and would have gone on to hit middle stump. It was the 13th time since his recall to the side that Misbah had passed 50. Only once has he gone on to register a century.Near miss of the day

The first ball Saeed Ajmal bowled to Trott was a perfect
doosra: it spun away sharply and left the batsman groping at fresh air. Put simply it was too good to edge. Perhaps had Ajmal bowled the same delivery in Dubai, where there was less turn and his doosra seemed to skid on, he would have found the edge.Ball of the day

The partnership between Trott and Cook added 139 runs in 50.4 overs in increasing comfort when Abdur Rehman produced a beautiful delivery that drifted into Trott, pitched on middle and turned to clip the top of the off stump. Perhaps Trott might have negated the spin had he played further forward but it was a tremendous ball from an underrated bowler.

Stats highlights from an extraordinary day’s play when Zimbabwe were bowled out twice

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan28-Jan-2012Chris Martin ran through Zimbawe picking up his best figures of 6 for 26•Getty ImagesZimbabwe, in response to New Zealand’s 495, were bowled out for just 51. This is their lowest total in Tests. Their previous lowest total was 54 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2005 when they lost by an innings inside two days. Overall, Zimbabwe have now been bowled out for totals less than 100 on eight occasions. Six of those eight totals have come in away Tests and the only two occasions Zimbabwe have been bowled out less than 100 in home Tests have come against New Zealand. Zimbabwe also suffered the ignominy of being bowled out twice in a day. Zimbabwe and India are the only teams to suffer the fate previously. However, they managed to go past their lowest aggregate in a match (158) which came against New Zealand in 2005. Zimbabwe, who faced only 28.5 overs, beat their previous record for the fewest overs faced in a completed innings.Zimbabwe’s 51 is now the lowest total by any team in Tests against New Zealand. The previous lowest mark was also set by Zimbabwe in 2005 (59). Overall, teams have been bowled out for sub-100 totals 15 times against New Zealand. This is also the first time that a team has been bowled out for less than 100 in an innings in Napier. New Zealand, by bowling out Zimbabwe for 51, gained a lead of 444 at the end of the first innings. This is the first time that New Zealand have gained a first-innings lead over 400 in Tests. Their previous highest lead (393) also came against Zimbabwe in 2005 in Harare when they bowled Zimbabwe out for 59. Click here for a list of matches when New Zealand have batted first and here for a list of matches when they have batted second.The first five wickets fell for 19 in Zimbabwe’s first innings and for 12 in their second innings. The match aggregate of 31 for the top five partnerships is the lowest ever for Zimbabwe in Tests. Their previous lowest was 84 against England at Lord’s in 2000. This is Zimbabwe’s highest defeat margin (in terms of runs) in Tests. Their previous highest was by an innings and 294 runs against New Zealand in Harare in 2005. The innings-and-301-run victory margin is also New Zealand’s largest ever in Tests. New Zealand’s total of 495 is their highest against Zimbabwe surpassing their previous best of 487 in Wellington in 2000. Their total of 495 is the third-highest in Napier.Chris Martin picked up his tenth five-wicket haul in Tests. His figures of 6 for 26 are his best bowling figures and the best for a New Zealand bowler against Zimbabwe. Martin’s match haul of 8 for 31 is the second-best against Zimbabwe for a New Zealand bowler after Shane Bond’s 10 for 99 in Bulawayo in 2005.BJ Watling scored his maiden Test century in his seventh Test. He now has one century and one fifty and averages 34.70.

Dread, romance and cricket come together in this novel set in the time of the Taliban

Sharda Ugra16-Jun-2012The Afghanistan cricket team – yippee, we will be seeing them again in the World T20 in Sri Lanka – brings to a somewhat tired global community the fresh, bracing air of the mountains. The names Stanikzai, Mangal, Zadran, Hotak represent an unfamiliar part of the cricket world. Every man has a careering life story – taking to the game in refugee camps, learning from tolerant mates, teachers, coaches.is not kind of an Afghan cricket story. Its dominant mood is dread and gloom – which press down on the reader through to its final chapter. Its characters are trapped in a Kabul living under the heavy fist of the Taliban, from 1996 to 2000.Well before its story begins, two factors draw the reader into the book. The title, of course: cricket was the only sport approved of by the Taliban. In the book, Zorak Wahidi, the minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (aka Mr Bad Guy) explains that it occupies wads of time and “is modest in its clothing”. The real Taliban’s religious police did actually operate under the title of the Ministry for the Propogation of Virtue and the Suppression of Vice. Afghanistan applied for ICC membership in 2000, which was granted in 2001, after the Talibs had been driven out of Kabul.The second lure of the book has to be its beautiful cover photograph, of two women in the famous billowing blue “shuttlecock” burqas striding away from the camera, with them a girl of no more than ten, head uncovered, glancing over her shoulder. ‘s story is driven by its female protagonist Rukhsana, enduring a regime that believes women belong to “the home and the grave”.Rukhsana learnt to play cricket when living in Delhi. If she can teach her brothers and cousins the rudiments of the game in less than a month, they will have tickets to freedom: the team that wins Afghanistan’s first cricket competition will go to Pakistan with the Taliban’s blessings. A proposal of marriage from fifty-something Wahidi and Rukhsana knows she will have to make a run for it herself. In order to step outside and teach cricket, she disguises herself with a false beard (and some useful protective gear).Timeri Murari, a Chennai-based writer, spent some time in Kabul talking to those who lived under the Taliban, and through Rukhsana he details the wounded, up-ended lives of women and men. In an atmosphere of fear, cricket becomes a bastion of utter fairness, a standpoint for democracy and a romantic idyll.The threat of Wahidi and his cronies, particularly his menacing brother Droon, is on every page. Rukhsana’s lingering love interest from her years in Delhi makes a sudden, mawkish appearance to play in the life-or-death cricket match. (No more spoilers here.)Much of the cricket is all Victorian nobility, with an ICC observer called Markwick turning up in his MCC hat and tie. When Droon threatens to pulp Rukhsana’s brother, Markwick acts in character. “We’re playing cricket,” he said, in the stern voice of a schoolmaster…” we are told. “We must start the game. It’s half-past two.” is more about the Taliban than cricket. Its main characters are not layered, and the language can turn clunky, with “searing love” and “simple meals”, but Talib-ruled Kabul is sketched in careful and terrifying detail and the story moves along quickly. You find yourself willing the Taliban CC on to escape en masse. Besides, it will make a hell of a movie.The Taliban Cricket Club
by Timeri N Murari
Aleph Book Company
pp336, Rs 595