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The likes of Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener will all attest to how Ford ironed out problems in their techniques and set them on the path to being international stars

Ken Borland05-Jun-2007

‘The likes of Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener will all attest to how Graham Ford ironed out problems in their techniques and set them on the path to being international stars’ © Getty Images
Graham Ford may seem an unlikely frontrunner for the post of Indian coach, but the former South African mentor’s mild-mannered personality and reputation as a technical facilitator may be just what is needed to calm the stormy seas around Rahul Dravid’s team.Ford’s impressive CV includes working as the late Bob Woolmer’s assistant at the 1999 World Cup and then taking over the reins to lead South Africa for three years in which he improved their winning ratio in Test matches and won 63% of their ODIs.But Ford’s retiring nature meant he left the credit for the players and, when Australia, at the peak of their powers, blasted South Africa home and away in 2002, he was made the scapegoat. The 46-year-old subsequently joined Kent in 2004 and has earned tremendous respect for his coaching ability and, importantly, impressing several members of the Indian team who play county cricket.It is acknowledged that the Indian players are backing Ford to succeed Australian Greg Chappell; which is no surprise given that he is very much a “players’ coach”. Ford’s modus operandi is to work in the background, using his keen technical eye to help the players and he has always been willing to spend the morning throwing hundreds of balls at a struggling batsman in the nets.The likes of Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener will all attest to how he ironed out problems in their techniques and set them on the path to being international stars. Ford’s coaching career began at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, where he was employed as a Sports Union officer. Having played first-class cricket for Natal B as a top-order batsman, he became the university cricket club’s player/coach and would spend much of his day devising tactics and field placings – not just for the first XI but all the varsity teams.Natal University were able to call on a host of players with first-class experience in the early 1990s, including Rhodes, and Ford was the logical choice to coach the Natal Colts team, before the province came calling with the offer of taking over the senior side.Ford took Natal to the four-day first-class title in 1994-95 and the domestic double in 1996-97, although he will always point out he was fortunate to have the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Clive Rice and outstanding youngsters in Pollock, Rhodes and Klusener to lean on. For Ford, the chance to coach the most high-profile team in world cricket would be the ultimate. He has a passion for the game that is not unlike that found in India and the chance to work with some of the greatest batsmen the game has seen may just be the clincher His reward was to take an SA Under-24 team to Sri Lanka in 1998 and he was soon being touted as Woolmer’s successor, as the former England batsman battled to get his contract renewed by the United Cricket Board of South Africa.Ford went with Woolmer and the South African team to New Zealand in early 1999 and, after the dramatic World Cup semi-final exit at Edgbaston, he succeeded Woolmer. Although there are few more easy-going, likeable coaches around than Ford, controversy would soon become his unwanted shadow. He was bitterly disappointed when his captain, Hansie Cronje, betrayed him with his involvement in match-fixing, with Pollock taking over.Ford and Cronje had worked well together; the coach keeping in the background and Cronje the public face of the team. But Pollock and Ford are cut from similar cloth and, with national team selections increasingly being influenced by politics, the cracks began to form as both men battled to accept the limelight.South Africa went to Australia in 2001-02 with injury problems and key players out of form, and their opponents at their most ruthless. An already fraught tour was made worse when Percy Sonn, then the president of the UCB, charged into Australia in the days leading up to the Sydney New Year’s Test and changed the team on the first morning, inserting Justin Ontong for Jacques Rudolph.South Africa were beaten 3-0 in Australia and then lost the return series at home 2-1 and Sonn made statements in the press blaming Ford. It was no surprise that he did not survive but it just added to Ford’s experience of the political intrigue that unfortunately seems to go hand-in-hand with cricket. He returned for second and third spells with Natal, where the political infighting and backstabbing was even worse.So the backroom shenanigans of Indian cricket will be nothing new. But with the backing of a strong, respected captain in Dravid, Ford should be able to just get on with the job he does best – honing the techniques and mental strength of his charges.One possible obstacle to him taking the job could be family considerations. His wife, Liz, a Natal tennis champion just like him, has struggled with cancer in the past and he has two school-going children, one of whom has also had health problems before.But for Ford, the chance to coach the most high-profile team in world cricket would be the ultimate. He has a passion for the game that is not unlike that found in India and the chance to work with some of the greatest batsmen the game has seen may just be the clincher.

Munaf Patel recently said that he was not bothered with speed, but to bowl at 130kph you either need to be a McGrath or a Pollock or the batsmen need to club-class

Nagraj Gollapudi in Ahmedabad26-Oct-2007

Munaf Patel has not managed to substitue his lack of pace with accuracy © Cricinfo Ltd
His first ball was a leg-side wide; his first over cost 15 runs; he had to bowl in four spurts to finish his spell and his figures read 10-0-81-1. Like a rabbit caught in the headlights, Munaf Patel was a rattled soul during India Green’s Challenger Trophy match against India Red at Motera.Just a few weeks ago, Munaf was one of the chief architects of Rest of India’s Irani Trophy victory against Mumbai. But his reliability had still come into question as the second innings five-wicket haul had been preceded by a listless first-innings performance.Munaf is quite like Indian domestic flights which always promise that they will be ‘on time’ but end up making you wait frustratingly long. He recently said that he was not bothered with speed, but to bowl at 130 km/hr you either need to be a McGrath or a Pollock or the batsmen need to be club-class. True, the surface at Motera was slow because of the moisture in a pitch that had been over-watered ahead of the tournament. But Pankaj Singh, the tall and broad-shouldered Rajasthan youngster, was getting the ball to move at a good speed, in comparison to Munaf’s rudderless act.At the start of the match, Parthiv Patel, the India Green captain, must have had high hopes from his senior-most fast bowler, but half-way through it he was busy shuffling around the bowling as the Reds batsmen piled on runs due to Munaf’s lack of pace, movement and control. Patel, though disappointed with the bowling performance and the 88-run loss, came out in support of his senior bowler. He said: “It was not his day today and hopefully he will bounce back tomorrow.”When Munaf entered international cricket, he was considered exceptional because of his pace. Today, his value has plummeted simply due to a lack of it. For a fast bowler, pace is mandatory. If today, Sreesanth is allowed an extended run, it’s only because he has not given up on pace even when it proves expensive.There are voices now gathering force that in the interest of Indian fast bowling and of Munaf, the selectors should only pick him for Tests. In one-day cricket, the need to come up with variations is paramount. Speaking to a Sunday paper recently, Patel had said “All I think of these days is about whom I am, where I have come from, and where I need to go. That’s all.” Munaf’s choices aren’t too many: either he must reinvent himself or go back to where he started.Perhaps it’s too harsh an opinion based on one performance, but his limited-overs graph has been in freefall for a while now. Inconsistency won’t improve his case for selection.

The county season and spluttered and shivered into life, but amongst the rain (and occasional snow) there has been some fascinating cricket. Cricinfo hands out its first batch of monthly awards to those who impressed during April

Andrew McGlashan05-May-2008
Strike man: Shane Bond made an immediate impact for Hampshire with seven wickets against Sussex © Getty Images
Team of the month – Nottinghamshire
“Go and prove them wrong,” was basically Nottinghamshire coach Mick Newell’s message when people tipped his team to be relegation candidates the year after coming back up to Division One. His charges listened and romped to a 10-wicket victory in their opening Championship match against Kent, taking advantage of a small window in the wet weather as well. Darren Pattinson made an immediate mark with eight wickets on debut and, with an eye to much of the season, it was a victory achieved with Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad. Throw in a comfortable win against Ireland in a potentially tricky Friends Provident outing and it’s been a decent start for Chris Read as captain.Batsman of the month – Ravi Bopara
Most young players go through a period where their temperament is tested and questions asked. Ravi Bopara suffered a tough winter; three consecutive ducks against Sri Lanka before being dropped during the one-day series against New Zealand. With Andrew Flintoff nearing a return the other allrounders will have to queue up and Bopara has put himself at the front of the line after a barnstorming start with Essex. He passed fifty in all his innings, making 150 and 137 in the Championship and 99 in the Friends Provident Trophy for good measure. Throw in a few wickets and he’s making a strong case to the England selectors.Innings of the month – Andrew Strauss 163 v Surrey, FP Trophy
The 177 Andrew Strauss made in Napier came in the nick of time to extend his Test career, but he began the season still needing runs to keep the critics quiet. Two relatively low scores in the opening Championship match – coupled with runs for Owais Shah, Bopara and Robert Key among others – reopened the debate. Strauss knew an opportunity when it presented itself, a flat pitch at The Oval and a short boundary. He proceeded to make his highest one-day score in a destructive display with 23 fours and four sixes off 130 balls. One-day form doesn’t always translate to the longer game, but Strauss’ game looked in good order.Bowler of the month – Matthew Hoggard
Another player to return from his winter duties with a point to prove after he was dropped following the Test defeat in Hamilton. Plenty of people, including the former England coach Duncan Fletcher, were saying he’d lost his nip, but instead of joining a public debate Hoggard just continued to ‘wang it down’. And with some effect. Against Hampshire he took 6 for 57 in the first innings with a typically probing spell of swing bowling in typical Headingley conditions. Two more scalps followed in the second innings before another useful run out against Nottinghamshire. Admitted he was “scared of the white ball” and won’t play much one-day cricket for Yorkshire, but he doesn’t appear finished with the red one.Bowling performance – Shane Bond, 7 for 66 v Sussex
After all the hype over Bond’s will-he, won’t-he move to Hampshire there was a sense of anticipation when it was finally confirmed he would take up his place. With most of the world’s leading bowlers employed in the IPL here was a chance to watch an outstanding performer. He didn’t disappoint against defending county champions Sussex at The Rose Bowl. He got on the scorecard early, with the wicket of Carl Hopkinson, but the real excitement came in his spell with the second new ball as he tore through the lower order and finished with career-best figures. You could hear the groans from New Zealand grow louder with every wicket.Youngster of the month – Chris Jordan
Picking young players to watch at the start of a season a notoriously difficult task, but there was a general consensus from all corners that Chris Jordan had something special. The early sightings of him supported those lofty expectations. He bowled briskly against Lancashire on a docile Oval surface then went up to Chester-le-Street where he clonked Neil Killeen on the head and mopped up the tail. As Jordan told Cricinfo, he hasn’t made up his mind whether his future lies with West Indies or England. “When the bridge comes for me to cross it, I will have to make the correct decision. I have to take things day by day.” Decision time may not be far away.Injury of the month – Simon Jones
If only this wasn’t so predictable. Simon Jones had done everything asked of him after moving from Glamorgan to Worcestershire over the winter. He was fit and came through pre-season unscathed. Finally, he returned to Championship action and at the end of the first day against Warwickshire had already claimed a wicket in a short burst. He will have slept well that night, and maybe too well. He woke with a cricked neck and wasn’t able to resume. The problem was put down to a blow he took from Neil Carter, causing a whiplash injury, but he even struggled after a cortisone injection. Surely, his luck must turn sometime.

The IPL wasn’t timed perfectly for those who were in the national Australian team, but despite that handicap, the Australians made their presence felt quite amply in the 2008 tournament

S Rajesh16-Apr-2009The IPL wasn’t timed perfectly for those who were in the national Australian team, but despite that handicap, the Australians made their presence felt quite amply in the 2008 tournament. The leading run-scorer came from that country, as did the second-highest wicket-taker and the best allrounder.Even those who were around very briefly made their presence felt, with Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Simon Katich all scoring plenty of runs in the few games they played. Ricky Ponting didn’t achieve the same kind of success, but overall the Australian success was especially pronounced with the bat: the 20 players who batted managed a combined average of 37.48 runs per dismissal, at a strike-rate of 8.15 runs per over. Both were better than the tournament average, with the runs per wicket being considerably better than the IPL mean of 25.97.

Australians with the bat in IPL 2008- overall

Total runs*AverageRuns per overAus runs*AverageRuns per overIPL season 200816,80825.977.73318637.488.15While the firepower of Marsh, Watson, Pommersbach, Gilchrist, and several others ensured that the batting stats for Australia were well above par, it wasn’t quite the same with their bowlers. There were three outstanding names in that list, with Watson, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath being among the best bowlers in the tournament, but there were others who pulled the overall averages down: Andrew Symonds was the worst of the lot, leaking 101 in 41 deliveries without taking a wicket for the Deccan Chargers, while Brett Geeves (91 runs in 48 balls for one wicket) and James Hopes (276 runs in 168 balls for seven wickets) were among those who felt the heat. Cameron White had an ‘economy’ rate of 24 runs per over, but thankfully, he only bowled one over for Bangalore Royal Challengers, conceding two fours and two sixes in six deliveries.

Australians with the ball in IPL 2008 – overall

Total wickets*AverageEcon rateAus wickets*AverageEcon rateIPL season 200860428.958.106629.668.02(* Includes only bowler wickets)The team that benefited most from the Australian batsmen in the 2008 IPL was Kings XI Punjab. Apart from Marsh, who scored 616 runs in the tournament, they also had Pommersbach (152 runs in five innings), Hopes (221 in 11) and Katich (96 in two). In fact, the top three for the team, in terms of averages, were all Australians.The Australian contribution for Punjab was almost twice the next best team, the Deccan Chargers. The side finished at the bottom of the pile, but in terms of averages Symonds, who scored 161 from 105 balls in his three innings – and Gilchrist finished among the top four, with Gilchrist aggregating 436 from 14 innings. Rajasthan Royals were next in terms of Australian contribution, thanks almost entirely to Watson, who scored 472 runs at an average of 47.20 and a strike rate of 151.76.If Punjab were at the top of the table, their northern neighbours Delhi brought up the rear in terms of Australian contribution with the bat. Their only Australian representatives were McGrath and Geeves, neither of whom is a powerhouse with the bat. Geeves didn’t bat at all in the tournament, while McGrath scored a grand total of four runs in his three innings.

Australians with the bat in IPL 2008 – team-wise

TeamTotal runsAverageRuns per overAus runsAverageRuns per overKings XI Punjab234031.628.33110247.918.58Deccan Chargers211723.527.8059739.808.46Rajasthan Royals242430.308.0756035.008.65Kolkata Knight Riders180121.447.1937023.126.74Chennai Super Kings236431.107.8735789.259.27Bangalore Royal Challengers186519.036.9712320.506.58Mumbai Indians189725.987.547318.255.15Delhi Daredevils200027.777.9844.004.80With Warne and Watson in splendid form with the ball, the Australians contributed plenty to Rajasthan’s bowling success. Though Sohail Tanvir was the leading wicket-taker with 22, Warne (19) and Watson (17) contributed 36 wickets at an average of less than 22. Delhi were next, thanks largely to McGrath, who finished the tournament with an outstanding economy rate of 6.61. Punjab had a reasonable amount of Australian contribution as well, but the teams from the southern parts of the country had minimal Australian bowling presence. Chennai didn’t have any, Ashley Noffke and White did little for Bangalore, while Symonds was a disaster with the ball for Hyderabad.

Australians with the ball in IPL 2008 – team-wise

TeamTotal wicketsAverageEcon rateAus wicketsAverageEcon rateRajasthan Royals9624.577.743621.867.41Delhi Daredevils8226.518.151334.467.22Kings XI Punjab8328.498.351135.278.81Mumbai Indians8324.667.86313.335.71Kolkata Knight Riders6127.167.76265.0010.00Bangalore Royal Challengers5638.238.18164.0012.80Deccan Chargers6037.408.480-14.78Chennai Super Kings8330.108.190–(* Includes only bowler wickets)Most of the Australian frontline batsmen were huge assets, scoring more runs, and at a quicker rate, than the team average. Apart from the obvious stars of the tournament, Marsh and Watson, the others did well too, with Gilchrist top-scoring for his team, and Hayden, Symonds, Katich and Hussey being among the runs as well. The one disappointment was Ponting, who scored only 39 runs in three innings, at a rate well under a run a ball.

Australian batsmen in IPL 2008(Qual: at least 50 balls faced)

BatsmanRunsAverageRuns per overTeam averageTeam RPOShaun Marsh61668.448.3831.628.33Shane Watson47252.449.1030.308.07Adam Gilchrist43633.538.2223.527.80David Hussey31929.007.3821.447.19James Hopes22120.098.9531.628.33Matthew Hayden18963.008.6531.107.87Michael Hussey16884.0010.0831.107.87Andrew Symonds16180.509.2023.527.80Luke Pommersbach152152.009.2131.628.33Cameron White11422.806.7019.036.97Simon Katich9696.008.3431.628.33Shane Warne7014.007.1130.308.07Dominic Thornely3919.504.4125.987.54Ricky Ponting3913.004.4121.447.19Watson and Warne took the bowling honours,but McGrath wasn’t far behind: though his average of 29.75 was higher than the team average, his economy-rate was the second-best in the entire tournament, among bowlers who sent down at least 50 overs.Move down the table, though, and the numbers aren’t as impressive, with Symonds the bowler undoing much of the good work done by Symonds the batsman.

Australian bowlers in IPL 2008 (Qual: at least 40 balls bowled)

BowlerWicketsAverageRuns per overTeam averageTeam RPOShane Warne1921.267.7624.577.74Shane Watson1722.527.0724.577.74Glenn McGrath1229.756.6126.518.15James Hopes739.429.8528.498.35Brett Lee428.007.0028.498.35Dominic Thornely313.335.7124.667.86David Hussey265.0010.0027.167.76Brett Geeves191.0011.3726.518.15Andrew Symonds0-14.7837.408.48

When on song, there are few batsmen in the modern era who can match Yuvraj Singh for power and placement and the assault in Rajkot was a reminder of his potential

Jamie Alter14-Nov-2008
Yuvraj Singh scored 100 of his 138 runs in boundaries © Cricinfo Ltd
On days like this, you realise what a waste of talent Yuvraj Singh can be. He performs below par for months at a time but, when on song, there are few batsmen in the modern era who can match him for power and placement. England are no strangers to Yuvraj’s big hitting – just ask Stuart Broad – and today’s breathtaking assault in Rajkot, a mix of strength, finesse and improvisation, was a reminder of his potential.Yuvraj on a roll usually translates to India on a roll – India have won 34 of the 46 matches in which he’s gone past 50 – and this incandescent innings had the same result. No bowler was spared as he hit an unbeaten 138 from just 78 balls, with 16 fours and six sixes. His smoothness was astounding; each six struck was more effortless than the last and he pulled off his favoured across-the-line, pick-up shot over midwicket with such delicate touch that you almost forgot the 127-run opening stand forged by India’s gung-ho openers.After a not-so-purple patch, this was the type of game that rusty players so desperately yearn for. “It’s been a hard couple of bad months. I didn’t have a good last ODI series and I wasn’t in the Test side,” Yuvraj said. “So I sat down and got back to what I do best. I’m very happy with my effort. I think it’s one of the best knocks I’ve played. The rate I scored at, and that I was able to continue, was satisfying.”Yuvraj has often grumbled about not getting enough overs to bat in ODIs. Despite some patchy form, he was sent in at No. 4 – a spot he has pretty much occupied since late 2007 – and made it count. The characteristic booming drives to the off didn’t flow today, as he was hampered by a back injury, and he took time to find his rhythm. The first signs of that rhythm came when Steve Harmison tested him with two bouncers, which Yuvraj, though he took his eyes off them, pulled for consecutive boundaries.Once strapped into a back brace, though, he started playing an interesting and ultimately devastatingly successful pick-up, half-arc shot that required minimal twists of the bat and relied purely on timing and wristwork. In layman’s parlance, it resembled a souped-up golfer’s chip shot.Yuvraj’s innings really took off once he got Gautam Gambhir as a runner, for it gave him license to just hit. Some of his shots were outrageous. Aided by powerful wrists, Yuvraj always possessed the ability to flick – or scoop, lap and disdainfully brush, as Broad will attest to – anything on the pads or marginally straight.Yuvraj can start off in style, but he’s also proven he can build an innings. His greatest asset has been his ability to force the pace during the middle overs. In that context, his handling of the third Powerplay – which he entered on 30 from 33 balls – was excellent and gave him the confidence to launch a massive total.The Powerplay, taken after 34 overs, saw Andrew Flintoff return and Yuvraj welcomed him with a lofted six down the ground. With that shot the fluency was back, the floodgates opened. The boundaries followed, one fiercely cut through point, another heaved over long-on. Harmison – who, with Flintoff bore the brunt of the assault – tried a slower ball and Yuvraj backed away to drive sumptuously down the ground, raising fifty from 38 balls.By now he had no problems sighting the ball early. Three sixes formed 18 of the 34 runs taken from 18 Flintoff deliveries, while Harmison was taken for 48 from 26. No doubt he had a runner, but seldom has Yuvraj been so prolific. His first fifty took 42 balls, the second 22, and the last 37 required 13. “When he bats like that, there’s nothing much the opposition can do,” noted Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yuvraj in doubt for second ODIIt is still not clear if Yuvraj Singh will play the second ODI in Indore after he batted through a back injury to score a match-winning century in Rajkot. Yuvraj said he will not play unless he was fully fit. “I felt some problem only while pulling the ball,” Yuvraj said. “The team physiotherapist [Nitin Patel] will let you know of my progress.” Yuvraj said he felt a twitch in his back while turning for a run in his innings. “It was an injury that happened when I batted and I had not carried it into the match.”Kevin Pietersen, the England captain, who had the prerogative to allow Yuvraj a runner said he trusted the batsman’s word regarding the injury. “It can happen to any of us,” Pietersen said. “He got injured and would not have otherwise called for a runner.”The problem with Yuvraj, of course, is that it’s a big When. Ever since he sliced and diced his way to a glorious 84 against Steve Waugh’s all-conquering Australia in 2000 his career has been marked by inconsistency. It took him 16 matches to cross fifty again, and for every dazzling innings at Lord’s, Colombo, Karachi and Sydney, there were periods of scratchy indisposition to fuel his critics. His maiden century came against Bangladesh in April 2003, his next in January 2004. More than a year and a half separated that gem, against Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie in early 2004, from a century against West Indies in August 2005. There were only four fifties in between.This innings came on the back of one such trough. It had been over a year since his last one-day international hundred. When he was stroking handsome runs against Sri Lanka, South Africa, Pakistan and England in 2005-06, it appeared his batting against spin bowling had improved. Then he went to Australia and looked clueless against Brad Hogg.In and out of the team and dogged by a persistent knee injury, Yuvraj had only managed three half-centuries this year. He slumped miserably during the one-day series against Sri Lanka, and stumbled through five matches, scoring just 72 runs with a best of 23. His footwork was indecisive; his bat thrust forward like a dangling carrot, and Ajantha Mendis had his number thrice. This innings came as welcome relief, not least for the man himself.

An eccentric and hugely enjoyable cricket concept album by Duckworth and Lewis (well, not Duckworth and Lewis)

Andrew Hall01-Aug-2009 As the ad campaign goes, it can only be an Ashes summer when cricket in England momentarily takes centre stage and even permeates pop culture. One of the most pleasurable – and unlikely -ways this has happened in the summer of 2009 is via The Duckworth Lewis Method – a cricket-themed concept album. The result is eccentric, extremely listenable, and all in all rather wonderful.The album is an unashamed tribute to cricket, its institutions, history and influence on our lives. Messrs Duckworth and Lewis live in a romanticised and nostalgic world where the sun always shines, every shot gets a polite ripple of applause and the sandwiches are always cut into neat triangles. The album starts with “The Coin Toss” and ends when the umpire calls over. In between is a rich tapestry of cricket pop that simply eclipses all previous attempts at the fusion of cricket and pop music.Some songs are about cricket itself, from the international zeitgeist of “The Age of Revolution” to the autobiographical “Flatten the Hay”; others – such as “The Nightwatchman” and “The Sweet Spot” – simply use cricket’s glossary as their inspiration. The new single, “Meeting Mr Miandad”, almost defies description but somehow works as a Pythonesque audio road-movie.Duckworth and Lewis wear their musical influences on their finely pressed sleeves. “Gentlemen and Players” could be the missing track from the Kinks’ ; if Flanders and Swann were to pen a cricket song, it would sound something like “Jiggery Pokery”; ELO would be proud of “The End of the Over”, and even the Beatles wouldn’t mind lending them the final note from “A Day in the Life”.The laugh-out-loud “Jiggery Pokery” is written from the perspective of Mike Gatting facing the Ball of the CenturyTM. The story unfolds at Old Trafford after the departure of “poor Athers”, and concludes with the words “I hate Shane Warne.” Even Gatt’s self-deprecating “cheese roll” anecdote gets a lyrical outing.This extraordinary album is the work of Neil Hannon – better known as the man behind The Divine Comedy – and Thomas Walsh of unknown Dublin band Pugwash. Fans of The Divine Comedy certainly won’t be disappointed – “Test Match Special” is up there with “National Express” and “Something for the Weekend” as one of his finest pop nuggets.The fact that an album like this can actually exist at all is something to celebrate, and Duckworth and Lewis cannot fail to raise a smile by the time the umpire calls over.The Duckworth Lewis Method
by The Duckworth Lewis Method
£8.98

Stats highlights from the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Rajkot

S Rajesh15-Dec-2009Zaheer Khan gave away 88 runs in his ten overs, the most by any Indian bowler in an ODI•Associated Press India’s total of 414 is the fifth-highest ODI total, and a run more than their previous best, against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup. Sri Lanka’s 411 comes in seventh place, but it’s only the second instance of a team batting second scoring more than 350. The 400-barrier has been surpassed eight times in ODIs, with India, Sri Lanka and South Africa doing it twice each, while Australia and New Zealand have done it once. It was a day of batting partnerships. The first two wickets for India each added more than 150 runs, the first time it’s happened in ODIs. The opening wicket for Sri Lanka added more than 150 too, making it the first time openers from both teams have achieved this feat in the same match. There were three 150-plus and four 100-plus partnerships in the match, both of which are firsts in ODIs. There were two centuries and four half-centuries in the game, making it six 50-plus scores. In matches in which there have been two hundreds, only in one match – one in Johannesburg – were there more 50-plus scores. It was also the first match in which the top three batsmen from both teams made at least a half-century. There were 80 fours struck in the game – 43 by India and 37 by Sri Lanka – which is the second-highest in the single match (and no prizes for guessing which match is on top). In terms of sixes, though, this match, with 24, comes in fourth place – the New Zealand-India ODI in Christchurch earlier this year saw 31 sixes. Both Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan notched up their highest ODI scores – it was the third hundred of the year for both, and it continued a remarkably successful, and similar, run for both of them in 2009: Sehwag averages 50.13 at a strike rate of 136.47 from 16 matches, while Dilshan has an average of 57.64 and a strike rate of 103.46 from 15 games. Kumar Sangakkara’s outstanding 90 came off a mere 43 balls, making it the third-fastest 50-plus score by a Sri Lankan in ODIs. Sanath Jayasuriya leads the way with his 28-ball 76 – a strike rate of 271.42 – against Pakistan in Singapore in 1996, while Arjuna Ranatunga’s 27-ball 58 against India in 1990 is next. The top 13 such innings are all by left-handers, with Jayasuriya contributing nine of them. Despite bowling superbly in his last few overs, Zaheer Khan still ended up setting the record for most runs conceded by an Indian bowler in ODIs. He went for 88, one more than what Javagal Srinath had conceded in the 2003 World Cup final against Australia. Ashish Nehra went for 81, which puts him in sixth place in the list.

The India coach is in a territory he’s often stayed out of since he took charge. He’s in the limelight, and his familiarity with South Africa has a lot to do with it

Sidharth Monga in Centurion13-Dec-2010Gary Kirsten’s shoulder has played a major role in India’s rise as a team during the almost three years that he has spent with them. He is supremely fit for a man his age, for someone who last played international cricket six-and-a-half years ago, fitter probably than some of his wards. No one has kept a count on the number of balls he throws down to the Indian batsmen in the nets, but here is an estimation guide: in every nets session he gives each batsman about 40 throwdowns. And there is at least one nets session before every international match to go with the training camps and pre-tour preparations where he goes absolutely berserk working at the batsmen’s techniques. Just count the number of games India play, and the number of batsmen they have, and do the math.And these are not half-hearted throwdowns from the middle of the pitch. These come at full pace, from across the whole 22 yards. And he is no bowling machine. He adjusts according to batsmen’s weaknesses, the conditions and the opposition bowlers’ strengths. He scuffs up the balls to swing them at times, and sometimes he uses soft balls and serves them with a tennis racquet to either get prodigious swing or the disconcerting bounce. After almost every shot he gives the batsmen feedback on their position, their bat swing, their feet movement. He puts an arm around Gautam Gambhir’s shoulder and talks, he keeps joking with Virender Sehwag, and he has long earnest discussions with Sachin Tendulkar, who incidentally is the biggest fan of Kirsten’s throwdowns and always keeps asking for more.When somebody plays a good shot, he shouts “shot” followed by the batsman’s full name; when somebody doesn’t he comes up close and tries to understand why he might not be playing good shots.On one of the most important tours his team is on, one that he says could be the “defining moment”, he has been pulled out of his comfort zone. His comfort zone has been to stay away from the limelight, to let his team express itself, and in the process give him expression. His comfort zone has been to try and put the team in a happy place, to allow it to make optimum use of the talent he knows it has. Suddenly, though, with his being a South African, everybody is talking of the effect Kirsten’s knowledge of the local conditions and the psyche of the South African players might have on the outcome of the series.There was also a small matter of having convinced the BCCI to do something unprecedented, to make them pull out many of the star players from a home ODI series, a big commercial draw, and send them to South Africa early so they could get acclimatised with the conditions, so they could get into a happy place. Down here in South Africa he has had the team train at his academy for about a week. For a change Kirsten is drawing all the attention.Out of his comfort zone, Kirsten has shortened the lengths of his throwdowns, and is also running in a bit so that the balls are coming quicker at the batsmen. And he is getting them to bounce head high on the practice pitches at the Supersport Park in Centurion, where two days of drizzle and cold weather finally gave way to a sunny Monday afternoon and a three-hour-long workout for the team. There is a lot of precision involved: the difference between the lengths of deliveries that Suresh Raina should sway away from and the ones he should duck under is less than a foot. And Kirsten keeps hitting those lengths. Raina sways out of the line of most, staying outside their line, and ducks under a few. Suddenly a full one arrives without warning, and Raina’s weight is not back and he drives handsomely. “Shot Suresh Raina.”When Tendulkar gets to face Kirsten, he requests for more even when his time is over and he is supposed to switch to the other net. Kirsten will be happy he has been shouting out full names often today. Especially Sehwag’s. He has an eye over at the adjoining nets too where Tendulkar – bowling with pads and the full batting gear save the helmet on – has caused a racket by bowling Gambhir around his legs. He joins in the laugh for a few seconds, and then gets back to his throwdowns.Kirsten is happy that the team is happy, looking prepared for their biggest challenge since their ascent to No. 1 started. And the team is happy with him. “Apart from having good players in the side, he was the one thing – you can say the best thing that happened to Indian cricket,” MS Dhoni says. He also adds that having Kirsten is a huge advantage coming to South Africa. “It is not only about the conditions, he also knows about the mindset of the players that are part of their side. Of course it is a good asset.”Over the next two days, Kirsten will do his utmost to prepare the team in the best possible way, for the conditions he knows and the opposition whose mindset he knows. But come 10 am on Thursday, when Dhoni walks out for the toss, he will disappear into the background again. His comfort zone.

The onus was on Prasanna Jayawardene to justify his position at No. 6 coming into this match, and his calm hundred did just that

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2011Prasanna Jayawardene was perhaps the Sri Lankan with the most to worry about ahead of the England Tests, but those concerns were put to rest with a crisp century in Cardiff on the more illustrious Jayawardene’s birthday.The specialist batting slots in the side are set in stone, while the bowling has a revolving-door feel, which allows players an opportunity to return even if they botch it in a match or two. The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman position, though, has four candidates in the squad, including a former captain and two young up-and-comers.With the team needing to play five specialist bowlers in the absence of the batsman-confounding genius of Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, and Kumar Sangakkara having given up the captaincy, some argued Sangakkara should take up the gloves in the interest of the team balance, allowing another specialist batsman to be selected at No. 6.On first sight Prasanna seems to have made a compelling case for batting that high in the order: he is widely considered the best gloveman in the country, and he amassed 736 runs to lead his domestic side Bloomfield to the title in the first-class tournament. The trouble for the 31-year-old Prasanna is that two of the other contenders, Dinesh Chandimal and Kaushal Silva, both at least six years younger than him, scored even more. Chandimal, in particular, has been talked up as a star in the making for at least a year now.Prasanna Jayawardene justified his place in the middle order with a battling hundred at Cardiff•AFPAdd to that, three single-digit scores in the two warm-up matches, and he surely must have felt insecure about his place coming into the series. Not so, he says. “I love handling pressure, I don’t why everybody says I’m under pressure because I have proved myself every time I have had a chance in Test matches.” And he has too – averaging an astonishing 53.70 over his past ten Tests, certainly enough to qualify for that No. 6 place.”This is a new challenge I’ve had, I normally bat at No. 7,” he said. “This time for team balance I have to play at No. 6, all the team management trusted me, I think I proved myself.”Still, when he walked in at 159 for 4 on a sunny Cardiff day, the wisdom of playing five full-time bowlers was getting tested for the first time. Mahela Jayawardene failing to continue his series-opening centuries in England had left the home side relishing the prospect of getting into the long Lankan tail early on the second day.The first signs that may not come to pass were when Prasanna scored his first runs through a classy punch between the bowler and mid-on. A couple of streaky fours followed – outside edges to the third man boundary which increased Stuart Broad’s frustration – before a lazy fielding attempt from Kevin Pietersen gave him four more.That pushed him along to 20, and with Graeme Swann and Jonathan Trott operating either side of lunch, he had time to settle in before facing the challenge of the second new ball. Though he scored at a brisk pace, it wasn’t an innings studded with eye-catching strokes, barring some emphatic sweeps against Swann, and a powerful pull off Trott . It was more about nurdling the ball around into the gaps, the placement allowing him to pick up plenty of twos and threes.It was one of those threes that brought up his century, only the second Sri Lankan wicketkeeper to post a hundred in the United Kingdom, after Amal Silva more than two decades ago. The normally undemonstrative Prasanna cherished the milestone, not content with just the wave of the bat to the crowd but following it up by facing the dressing room and repeatedly pumping his fist on his chest. “I have toured England before, but I never got a chance to play a Test,” he said. “This was my first time, and I’m really happy to get a hundred in my first innings.”Dilshan had said after winning the toss that Sri Lanka would be satisfied with a total in the range of 350-400. By the time Prasanna was dismissed, Sri Lanka had moved along to 397 and the series of doughty partnerships that he had put together had thwarted the home side for most of the day. Broad bravely talked about reprising what Australia did in the only other Test in Cardiff (“bat once and bat big”) but Sri Lanka are the happier side two days into the series. And the most content of them will be Prasanna.

Their first two games since returning to Tests have revealed a weakness in fielding and adapting to different conditions, and Zimbabwe need to progress before they meet stiffer opposition

Firdose Moonda in Bulawayo06-Sep-2011There was a time during Zimbabwe’s one-off Test against Pakistan – when they had lost five wickets in their second innings and had not yet erased the deficit – when it looked as though the new darlings of international cricket would fall back into ignominy. Much of the justification for their Test return that the win against Bangladesh in Harare had provided was being wiped away.Facing Pakistan meant they had to climb one or perhaps two rungs higher on the ladder and even that step-up was exposing their instabilities and causing them to wobble. The ladder could easily come crashing down if they came up against Australia or England in the next few months. Luckily, Zimbabwe do not have to crane their necks that far skyward just yet.Zimbabwe’s return to the longest form of the game has been staggered, so that for the first two years they will play either against Bangladesh, who are on the same level as them, or teams that are just above them, like Pakistan (those who argue with that can simply be reminded Pakistan had not won consecutive Tests in six years till Bulawayo), New Zealand and West Indies. They are being pushed one step further or sideward each time and even though they will only play one-off Tests or two-Test series against each country, it will give them a yardstick for which to measure their progression, or lack thereof.Zimbabwe did not lose in too embarrassing a fashion against Pakistan. Tatenda Taibu saved their blushes with his fighting half-century and their three quick wickets in Pakistan’s second innings saw them lose by a smaller margin than the one Pakistan last defeated them by – 10 wickets in 2002. At the end, they were able to take as many positives as negatives out of the game. Some of the problems that were exposed against Bangladesh recurred, some were rectified and some new, and expected, areas of concern were brought to the fore – all of them can only serve to make Zimbabwean cricket stronger.The obvious, and most talked about, issue was Zimbabwe’s fielding. It had shown signs of lethargy against Bangladesh, when a couple of catches were put down and there was a general sloppiness in saving singles, something that Zimbabwe players have prided themselves on. Against Pakistan, the ability to hold on to the ball was simply appalling, and, as their coach Alan Butcher said, cost them the chance of being competitive. There was no excuse: fielders had enough time, the chances were straightforward and execution should have been simple. Instead, Zimbabwe spilled and spilled; return catches, routine chances to the slips and gifts for the outfielders were all squandered.It’s said that some of the less powerful sides in world cricket, like South Africa were at one stage, zoned in on fielding because it is a skill that can be created, not a talent that one has to have inherently. Zimbabwe understood this too and, before their cricket started going into decline, were renowned for cutting off runs and taking even the tough chances.With the Bangladesh Test showing that there is now enough talent in Zimbabwe’s team, particularly in the bowling department, which has rarely had such a strong seam attack, perhaps they have let themselves slip on the fielding skills side. It’s something they will have to work on carefully, because even a strong attack needs to be complimented by committed fielders.Even when things were going awry in the field, Brendan Taylor can be complimented for his attacking captaincy, which saw him continue to put men around the bat rather than spread the field in defence. Taylor is a young captain, in only his second Test in charge, and is managing an inexperienced side, but he has shown that he will lead with a fearless attitude and take risks were he thinks there can be reward.In Pakistan’s second innings, with Zimbabwe defending just 87 runs, Taylor used Ray Price to open the bowling, because he knew he would be able to take advantage of the rough. Of course, it was to no avail; even though Price snaffled two wickets, Zimbabwe needed more runs, but it showed positive intent from Taylor. He could have let Brian Vitori continue to be bashed around on a pitch that offered him nothing and Pakistan would probably have romped to the win inside 15 overs. Taylor has the attitude of a fighter and he will need to keep that up, even when things get more difficult.Zimbabwe’s fielders let their bowlers down in Bulawayo•AFPMindset is proving to be an important factor for the Zimbabwe team, whose batsmen’s temperament can be commended for their first-innings effort and then criticised for their second-innings meltdown. Tino Mawoyo showed incredible staying power in his undefeated 163, battling against Saeed Ajmal’s doosras, even when he had no idea what he was facing, and seeing off a feisty Pakistan fielding effort, with more words flying out of Adnan Akmal’s mouth than those that came from the entire Bangladesh team.Mawoyo is a young man who has matured greatly in recent times and could form a formidable opening partnership with Vusi Sibanda in the future. Sibanda has also wisened over the years but his insistence on pulling, irrespective of length, has to be dealt with quickly. He has acknowledged that his strength can also be his weakness and that he has to select when to play the shot better. Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor both disappointed in this match but are known commodities while Craig Ervine showed glimpses of his ability in his first-innings 49.The entire batting line-up was guilty of spooking themselves out in the second innings. They were expecting the pitch to spin like a crazed record when it was, in fact, moving more like a ferris wheel – turning, but doing it gently. Collapses are part of cricket but learning to avoid them is vital. The commotion in Bulawayo was not pretty but it could be forgiven, especially because it came from a team that is still learning and one that already has three centurions in four innings since returning to Test cricket.What the slide highlighted was that Zimbabwe may have to concentrate on adapting to different conditions quicker. Even though they were playing at home they were unable to adjust to a slower pitch to the one they had played their last Test on. The Harare pitch had more bounce and carry, and became better for batting as the match went on. Bulawayo was the opposite: it got slower and lower and deteriorated. Taylor even suggested that it was a surface Pakistan were more comfortable on, calling it “subcontinental.”The reality is that Vitori and company will bowl on many subcontinent wickets in the future and the batsmen will have to learn to negotiate a crumbling pitch with more fluency and less exasperation. It is a skill that will be learned through experience, something Zimbabwe will gain in time.They will soon discover that time is not endless and although they are the sweethearts of world cricket now, that status will soon fade if the results don’t keep coming. It’s an uneasy sort of pressure that befalls Zimbabwe now, as they go into a tricky one-day and Twenty20 series and then host New Zealand. No-one expects them to win all the time, but those same people don’t want to see Zimbabwe fight and lose more often than not.