Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas, with their mature, tempered approach to Delhi’s chase, added a refreshing touch to a game designed for big hits

Jamie Alter at the PCA Stadium in Mohali13-Mar-2010This is delicate business, the kind of old-school art that usually gets crushed under the boots of the trendy. While the IPL thrives on swaggering studs with jackhammer forehands that can pull and whack a cricket ball, it is easy to overlook the more subtle but no-less-significant batsmen who have the ability to score briskly while stabilising an innings. Such were the valuable contributions of Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas under pressure that allowed the Delhi Daredevils to pull off what turned out to be a challenging chase of a not-too-stiff target.On a surface not suited to the feverish approach of the Yuvrajs, Sehwags and Dilshans, Gambhir was forced to take the initiative once Delhi had lost early wickets. With the ball occasionally stopping, and the odd one staying low, it was evident that steady accumulation rather than hell-for-leather was the right way to go. Ravi Bopara had succeeded in much the same manner in the first innings, when some of his team-mates perished to frenetic shots.By the time Gambhir took guard to face his third delivery, Delhi were 10 for 2 with Sehwag and Dilshan gone. Gambhir did very well to rein in his game, keeping the ball along the ground until the 19th over, and took control as Delhi began to get out of a hole. Crucially, there were plenty of scurried singles and hurried twos. There was the odd clip off the toes and the inside-out drive, but by and large Gambhir gathered his runs with straight-bat strokes that the pitch and situation demanded.There were no slogs, the running was calculated, and the majority of runs came through the arc behind point with delicate placement; the late cut, nay dab, was Gambhir’s preferred weapon of attack. In a format which fans throng to for audacious hits, and on a day in which Yusuf Pathan’s amazing 37-ball 100 sent temperatures soaring in Mumbai, Gambhir’s toned-down innings stood out like a beacon.When Gambhir and Manhas – they go back a ways playing for their state in the various domestic competitions – punched gloves upon linking up in the middle, Delhi’s chase was in some trouble at 79 for 4 in the 13th over. Delhi’s middle order had been known for its fallibility over the past two seasons of the IPL and Gambhir and Manhas were left needing to get 64 runs in 46 balls.The last time these two teams played each other at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, it was Punjab who won chasing with four wickets and three deliveries remaining. On that occasion Gambhir, with Delhi batting first, had become the visitors’ third early casualty with a needless rush of blood to the head that resulted in a tame chip to Yuvraj Singh at mid-off. Then, Gambhir walked away shaking his bowed head. Tonight he ensured no such mistake.Gambhir added 34 in 29 balls with Dinesh Karthik to keep the crowd anxious, and, combining with Manhas, then hit 61 from just 42 – including 15 runs off five balls from Ramesh Powar – to help Delhi home with one ball to spare. Karthik’s 20 contained three boundaries, two gracefully executed and one brutally slogged, but an ambitious hoick left the game teasingly poised.However, instead of letting the situation get to him, Manhas buckled down and played the sort of cool innings that low-key Indian domestic players the league over need to sit up and take notice of. His strokeplay was controlled, displaying risk-free batting until one miscue was dropped at long-on by Irfan Pathan. He replied by whacking two crucial boundaries, the second of which sealed the match off the penultimate delivery.Manhas today played the kind of innings Delhi needed from their middle order in the past. In 2008, they lost four games on the trot as the middle order fumbled, and in 2009, when the tournament moved to South Africa and Gambhir and Sehwag failed to repeat their 2008 feats, Delhi were again let down by those who followed.Delhi, after choking twice at the semi-final stage in the last two IPLs, are nearing the point where precedes their aspirations, or a is attached to the suggestion that they can win the league. With more such contributions under pressure, and in the same cool and uncomplicated manner they scored their runs tonight, the likes of Gambhir and Manhas could prove guiding forces for a side more accustomed to velocity than Velcro.

Months after successfully hosting the football World Cup, South Africa is set to become the first country to hold each of cricket’s major multi-team tournaments

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2010When the first ball of the match between the Highveld Lions and the Mumbai Indians is bowled on Friday, Cricket South Africa (CSA) will become the only international cricketing body to have hosted every major, multi-team tournament the sport has to offer. They’ve achieved that feat in just eight years, starting with the World Cup in 2003, the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, the IPL and ICC Champions Trophy last year and now, the Champions League Twenty20.Gerald Majola, chief executive officer of CSA, has led the organisation since 2001 (when it was still called the United Cricket Board) and has been at the helm for all the major events. Despite recently courting controversy surrounding bonus payments, Majola is in good spirits ahead of the big event. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be the only CEO in world cricket to have hosted all major events,” he said. “In fact, in my cricket playing days I never even thought I would be a CEO. I am very proud.”He certainly can be, as in the last 18 months, South Africa have been the darlings of two major sports, cricket and football. The buzz has been centered around the latter, with many locals harbouring fond memories of how their country became the world’s capital two months ago during the football World Cup. The Champions League can hardly measure up that scale but there is still plenty of interest around it.Three weeks ago, the Champions League was launched with a glitzy event at a Johannesburg nightclub called Taboo. Enrique Iglesias, the headline act and the man who song is the theme of the event, is hosting a sold-out concert on Thursday night at the Botanical Gardens. For the moment, the cricket itself is taking a backseat and there are still tickets available for the opening match and final but South Africans are known for picking up the hype after kick off.Perhaps some are still recovering from the footballing showpiece and haven’t had time to take in the fact that the country is, once again, the stage for an international show. “There are three main reasons that South Africa is awarded big events,” explained Majola. “The spirit in which our people embrace sport is unmatched, we have good facilities and we receive a lot of government support to host sporting events.”The last of those three reasons may surprise locals, particularly because the government is often criticised for slow service delivery, corruption and has just come out of a crippling three-week public servants’ strike. However, Majola insists on “giving accolades where they are due” and cited an example to back up his claims. “The government provides us with police services for free during tournaments like these, which a lot of people don’t know.”Besides the resident police, local firm Nicholls, Steyn and Associates, who provide security for many sporting and other events and the ICC’s anti-corruption unit will all be in operation through the tournament. Preparations at the four venues are complete and with all of them being well versed in hosting major competitions, there’s no need to question if any of the facilities are ready, they always are.For one of them, the Gauteng Cricket Board at the Wanderers, there is something different about their status in this tournament. On Monday, they ushered in a new CEO, Cassim Docrat, to end months of infighting and a CSA commission led by a former Chief Justice, Pius Langa, to look into the affairs of their board.While the union has battled through a management crisis, the team has fared little better and has been in decline since winning the 2006-07 Standard Bank Pro20. They surprised most by reaching the final of the competition last season and are considered the competition’s biggest underdogs. Docrat said that tag will be their advantage. “The Lions may not have many big stars but we are a balanced team where everybody contributes,” said Docrat. “We have two top coaches in Dave Nosworthy and Kepler Wessels and on home ground, we hope to do well.”Majola also hopes the Lions will be the “surprise package” of the event but is putting far more pressure on the Warriors, who hail from the same province he does, the Eastern Cape. “I’ll be surprised if the Warriors don’t at least make the semi-finals especially after they won both the twenty- and forty-over competitions in the last domestic season,” he told ESPNcricinfo.Johan Botha agrees, admitting that the final four is his team’s goal. “We had initially targeted 2011 as the year that we wanted to compete against the world’s best and it’s come a bit earlier than that, but we’ve worked very hard for this,” said Botha. “We know that the other teams, who are away from home may be more up for it because they are away, but for us, it will also help to have a home crowd behind us.”They won’t have all the advantages though as the Warriors, like the other southern hemisphere teams, are coming out of the off season and have not played together for almost four months. Despite that, Botha is confident the Warriors have prepared sufficiently. “We’ve done the hard work. It’s a short tournament, so we have to start well and we know we have to win at least two group stage matches to progress so that’s our first focus.”Botha also said the incentives on offer will provide some inspiration. “The exposure the guys will get from this is invaluable and a lot of players will be hoping to get a look-in for next year’s IPL auction.” Earning a lucrative contract in the sport’s richest league may be on the mind of some but the new South African Twenty20 captain may also be interested to hear what Majola’s post-tournament goal is as motivation. Majola was asked what CSA will target next. “Now we need not just to host major events successfully, but to win a major trophy.”

Given the lack of experience, swing, and discipline, India have it all stacked up against them on the bowling front

Sidharth Monga in Galle17-Jul-2010Sometimes some places inspire people. On their last Test tour, when India came to Galle, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma were two such inspired men. The batting had been destroyed in Colombo and, apart from Virender Sehwag, it had failed again in Galle. Harbhajan then produced perhaps his bowling effort of recent times, and Ishant followed it up with a match-winning burst in the sapping heat on the final afternoon.Back to playing in front of the magnificent Galle Fort, India will need nothing less than similar inspiration from both men if they are to harbour any thoughts of winning this match, or any other in the series. There will be no Zaheer Khan here to guide Ishant, no Anil Kumble to block the other end for Harbhajan. On top of that, they will have to contend with a reinvented Tillakaratne Dilshan and a more stable Sri Lankan batting line-up.Apart from Harbhajan, who will be hoping he doesn’t get another bout of fever overnight, the rest of the Indian attack has played only 26 Tests. Out of them, Abhimanyu Mithun, a favourite right now ahead of Munaf Patel, will be making his debut, and Pragyan Ojha, ahead of Amit Mishra who had a horrible tour game, has played only one Test.Not since the Kanpur Test in April 2008 against South Africa, when Ishant, Sreesanth, Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla were the bowlers, have India played such an inexperienced bowling attack. And this is no one-off Test: there will be no reinforcements during the series. And this is no bowlers’ heaven like Kanpur was. And in Sri Lanka’s humidity, this is as much a physical test as it is of skill.Apart from that lack of experience, at the heart of India’s problems is the lack of swing bowlers. Both Zaheer and Sreesanth swing the ball; neither of Ishant, Mithun and Munaf is a specialist swing bowler. They are not bad bowlers, but Sri Lanka is not the ideal place for their hit-the-deck style. In the tour game, Chanaka Welegedara, the most impressive of fast bowlers on either side, got the ball to swing and removed Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, and almost got Gautam Gambhir in one spell.”It’s not that our bowlers are not swing bowlers,” MS Dhoni said. “[But] their strength is bowling back of a length on the off stump. But it depends on the conditions. If you’re a good Test bowler, you have to vary your length. And Ishant has done that in the past. Depending on whether we are playing in India or Australia, he has varied his length, so a lot depends on what kind of wicket you get and what time of the day you’re bowling.”There is also the small issue of the physical weakness Harbhajan will experience after the flu that kept him out of action almost throughout the tour. Dhoni, though, sounded confident of the part Harbhajan would play in the game. “He’s a bit weak, and that’s what happens when you come out of the flu,” Dhoni said. “He spent some time bowling today, and he is batting right now as we speak in the press conference, so we are hoping that he will be 100% fit for the game.”Dhoni may have sounded positive about other aspects, but he was not at all pleased with the 36 no-balls that the Indians bowled in the tour game in Colombo. “That’s definitely a big worry because if you get a wicket in Test matches, especially on flat tracks, and that’s a no-ball, you have only yourself to blame,” he said. “Hopefully we can reduce the number. If we can get it down to zero, that’s the best we can do, but the amount of no-balls we bowled were quite a few. And surprisingly even the spinners bowled a lot of no-balls.” The chief culprit, Mishra, who overstepped 17 times, is not likely to play in Galle.Given the lack of experience, swing, and discipline (going by how they went in the tour game), India have it all stacked against them on the bowling front. Needless to say, it will also put extra pressure on the batsmen. Playing at home, the beast called Sri Lankan cricket preys on such weaknesses. At the end of three back-to-back Tests, India will have done really well to survive this test.

Pakistan have been utterly dominant in World Cup clashes against New Zealand, but their fickle form in recent times raises the prospect of a close contest

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan07-Mar-2011Pakistan dominate World Cup clashes
New Zealand have been one of the most consistent sides in global competitions. While their solitary title came in the 2000 Champions Trophy, they have made the semi-finals of the 1992, 1999 and 2007 World Cups and the finals of the Champions Trophy in 2009. Yet, New Zealand have always struggled to perform against Pakistan in World Cups. Their only World Cup win against Pakistan came in their first ever meeting in 1983. Since then, Pakistan have won all six matches, including a comprehensive nine-wicket win in the 1999 semi-final. The story is a little different when it comes to clashes in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand have won all three of their meetings including the most recent one in the 2009 edition.Pakistan boast the better record in head-to-head matches and have also dominated the matches played in the subcontinent since 2000. However, Pakistan’s recent problems and unpredictability have meant that New Zealand have been the slightly better team in matches played in the last three years, winning five games to Pakistan’s four. After their win in the Champions Trophy game, New Zealand also won the three-match series in Abu Dhabi 2-1. Pakistan, though, can take confidence from their 3-2 win in the ODI series played in New Zealand in 2010.

Clash of two inconsistent sides
Both teams have been among the more inconsistent sides in the last two years. New Zealand, after an excellent show in the Champions Trophy in 2009, lost their way in 2010, going down 4-0 to Bangladesh and 5-0 to India. Pakistan lost 5-0 to Australia in early 2010, but since then, recovered to contest two close series against England and South Africa, which they lost 3-2. The 3-2 series win in New Zealand in early 2011 has been followed by three excellent matches in the World Cup, including the 11-run win over Sri Lanka. New Zealand, on the other hand, have looked inconsistent in the tournament so far. They have had two very comfortable wins over Kenya and Zimbabwe, but suffered a heavy loss to Australia.Both Pakistan and New Zealand have been among the poorer ODI teams over the last three years. While South Africa are on top, with an average difference of 12.1 and run-rate difference of 0.54, Pakistan and New Zealand rank well below with extremely low average and run-rate differences. Pakistan have been the slightly better batting side, but New Zealand have a slightly better bowling average and economy rate.Pakistan’s top six has been more consistent in matches played since 2008. They average nearly 37 with 22 century stands and 69 fifty partnerships. New Zealand’s top order has been less inspiring and average less than 32, which is only higher than Bangladesh’s. Their rate of converting half-century stands into hundreds partnerships is also poor (nearly 1:5) compared to the top teams (less than 1:3).

Comparing the batting
Despite having an ordinary time in away matches in the last year, Ross Taylor has clearly been the best New Zealand batsman since the start of 2008. Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill batted themselves into form in the ten-wicket win over Zimbabwe and that could be an advantage against a far more potent Pakistan bowling attack. Scott Styris, who has been one of the more successful batsmen against Pakistan, had a poor outing against Australia, but his overall record in World Cups is pretty good.Pakistan will be buoyed by the form of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, who were responsible for setting up Pakistan’s match-winning total of 277 against Sri Lanka. The powerful lower-middle order of Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq is extremely dangerous in subcontinent conditions and could be a huge factor in close matches. Afridi, despite becoming a bigger contributor with the ball, has scored two centuries in recent matches, including a stunning 109 off 76 balls in a defeat against Sri Lanka.

Afridi’s bowling the key
Afridi has been in excellent bowling form in the tournament so far, picking up 14 wickets in three games at a stunning average of 5.20. He’ll probably again be the key bowler in Sri Lankan conditions which generally aid spin. Shoaib Akhtar, who destroyed New Zealand in the 1999 semi-final, has been consistent in the matches so far.As usual, New Zealand will rely on the economical and consistent Daniel Vettori to deliver. Kyle Mills, who has been one of New Zealand’s best bowlers in the last few years, missed the first two games of the World Cup. He returned a fine performance of 2 for 29 against Zimbabwe and will be an important bowler against Pakistan.Pakistan’s lower-order firepower
Overall, when compared to most top teams, the performance of Pakistan and New Zealand in the first 15 overs has been poor. However, New Zealand, despite averaging slightly lesser, have a better run-rate difference than Pakistan in this phase of the innings. Pakistan dominate the performance in the middle overs, with a higher average and run-rate difference. In the last ten overs, Pakistan’s high run-rate clearly points to the firepower in their lower middle order. On the bowling front though, there is very little to separate both teams.

Afridi v Vettori
Afridi, in the course of a dream start to the World Cup, picked up his 300th wicket in ODIs, making him only the fourth spinner to reach the mark. Prior to 2004, he had 131 wickets at an average over 39 with just one five-wicket haul. But since then, he has picked up 175 wickets at an average of 30.08 with three four-wicket hauls and four five wicket-hauls.Vettori, who has 281 wickets, has been one of the most economical bowlers in ODIs. Afridi has clearly been the more successful wicket taker in matches played since 2008. Vettori, despite not picking up a lot of wickets, has been more difficult to score off. While Afridi’s record against right-handers is superb, he has struggled to dismiss left-handers, who average more than 61 and score at 5.23 runs per over off his bowling. Vettori, though, has been better than Afridi against left-handers and averages just over 36, while conceding under five runs per over.

He was hailed as the next big thing, and persisted with through thick and thin, and now the faith invested has begun to reap results big time. Watch for Watson to be crucial at the World Cup

Brydon Coverdale12-Feb-2011Four years ago on a cruise ship docked in Grenada, Merv Hughes, part-time selector and part-time travel guide, was taking questions from his World Cup tour group when an older gentleman piped up.”Is that hugely overrated Shane Watson playing today?” the man asked in frustration.”I believe,” Merv replied, “and the other selectors believe, and Ricky Ponting believes, that Shane Watson will become Australia’s most important player within the next few years.”The answer was greeted with scepticism. Watson-bashing was a popular pastime among Australian supporters, who had seen the young allrounder spend seven years in and out of the national team – mostly out. Many Australian fans felt the selectors were so blinded by the 2005 Ashes that they wanted an Andrew Flintoff of their own, and that Watson was a poor man’s Freddie at best.Others saw him as a delicate flower, his emotions all too public. Surely anyone who cried, or a man who thought he was having a heart attack when some food disagreed with him in India, would never be hard enough for international cricket? Some liked him and wished he would live up to his promise, but were resigned to his career being cut short by injury.Whatever the fans on that cruise liner thought of Watson, few agreed with Merv’s prediction. Fast-forward to the 2011 World Cup and Hughes, now an ex-selector, has been proven right.Watson enters the tournament as the winner of the past two Allan Border Medals, the one-day team’s leading scorer of the past two years and their second-highest wicket taker in the same period.And, without question, as the team’s most important player. Among the major contenders, perhaps only Jacques Kallis is as critical to his side’s all-round success at this tournament as Watson is for Australia.His most vital role is as an opening batsman, alongside Brad Haddin. In 2007, Australia had Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist to set the tone and they did the job so well that the middle order was rarely under serious pressure. Haddin is a powerful striker but his form is moderate, and Watson is the one who should really impose himself.That’s especially significant in the current Australian outfit, where the No. 3, Ricky Ponting, is returning from injury, the No. 4, Michael Clarke, can build but won’t blast, and the reliable finisher Michael Hussey is at home in Perth nursing a tender hamstring. The situation is clear – for Australia to win their fourth consecutive World Cup, Watson have a big tournament.He’ll enjoy the slower pitches on the subcontinent, where he will have extra time for his front-foot pulls and drives, and as the Player of the Tournament in the first IPL, he is a proven performer in the conditions. He’s also shown himself to be a man for big moments: what better pedigree for a potential World Cup hero than back-to-back hundreds in a Champions Trophy semi-final and final, as Watson achieved in 2009?And his bowling in this tournament shouldn’t be underestimated. In an attack that will rely heavily on the sheer pace of Shaun Tait, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, Ponting will look to Watson for variation, reliability and reverse swing, as he is one of the few in the attack who can claim to have it mastered.

He’ll enjoy the slower pitches on the subcontinent, where he will have extra time for his front-foot pulls and drives, and as the Player of the Tournament in the first IPL, he is a proven performer in the conditions

It is to Watson’s great credit that he did not give up bowling a few years ago, when every time he ran in to deliver the ball his team-mates held their breath and hoped a muscle wouldn’t snap. He broke down 12 times in six years, and it turned out that he was brawny. With help from the sports physio Victor Popov, Watson worked out that the gym was not the answer and that other fitness options like pilates were needed to help him become more flexible.He has transformed not only his body but also his role in the game, becoming a reliable Test opener, whose major flaw is forgivable – he makes too many fifties and not enough hundreds. That hasn’t been the case in one-day cricket, and his unbeaten 161 in the series opener against England in January will go down as one of the all-time great Australian limited-overs innings.It makes for a formidable all-round package and it seems remarkable, in hindsight, that Hughes and his fellow selectors didn’t have more supporters when they persisted with Watson, year after year, injury after injury. Watson knows he didn’t help himself with some of his behaviour. Even as recently as late 2009 fans tut-tutted at his obnoxious celebration when he bowled Chris Gayle in the Perth Test, which also brought a fine from the match referee.But finally, at 29, Watson is starting to win the Australian cricket public over. The admiration has come through a maturing approach, and more importantly, piles of runs and wickets.”It was something that I really craved, with the issues that I had with my injuries and also some of the ways I carried on in the field as well really didn’t help me out as much,” Watson said this week. “Probably one of the most satisfying things that has happened over the last couple of years has been to see people really appreciate what I’m able to do.”That respect will keep growing if Watson turns it on at the World Cup. Oh, and that match in Grenada four years ago? Merv’s words were still ringing in the ears of the Australian fans as Watson belted 65 off 32 against New Zealand.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kochi Tuskers at Eden Gardens

George Binoy20-Apr-2011The predicton
What’s a good score in a Twenty20 game? Some captains might say 160-170, others will say they don’t know, and Ian Chappell will say one more than what the opposition gets. So Mahela Jayawardene, the Kochi captain, surprised a few people when he pegged a defendable total at Eden Gardens as low as 130-140. He had seen slowness in the pitch and included Muttiah Muralitharan in the XI for that reason. Gautam Gambhir, Mahela’s counterpart, later said Kolkata should have chased the target easily. They had fallen six short. Kochi had made 132.The manipulation
Jayawardene would glide towards leg against the left-arm spinners as they darted the ball into him from round the wicket, making room to cut, sometimes from middle stump. He did so against Shakib Al Hasan, and it looked dangerous. When Shakib darted the next ball in, however, anticipating another move to leg, Jayawardene nimbly moved towards the off, got down on one knee inside the line, and swept to the fine-leg boundary. He toyed with Iqbal Abdulla in the same manner as well.The ripper
Off the final ball of the tenth over of Kolkata’s chase, Murali gave evidence of just why he had been played on this pitch. From round the wicket, he tossed the offbreak into Eoin Morgan. The ball gripped the slow surface, bounced sharply and spun away from the left-hand batsman. Morgan had begun to push at the delivery but then stopped, unsure of what to do, and left his bat hanging outside off. The ball seemed to hit the edge and fly past between the wicketkeeper and short third man. It had deviated that much. The umpire, however, signaled byes.How to, and not to field
During Kochi’s innings, Vinay Kumar flicked Abdulla off his pads towards deep midwicket. Laxmi Ratan Shukla, the substitute, ran to his left but instead of trying to stop the ball with his hands, he slid feet first, as if he were pulling off a studs-up football tackle. The ball bounced into his legs and over the ropes, and Gambhir reacted with a tea-pot pose. While Kochi were fielding, Raiphi Gomez showed how it should be done. Yusuf Pathan had slammed a wide ball from Ramesh Powar towards the cover boundary. Gomez sprinted to his right, as the ball was swerving away from him, and threw himself full length, hands first, and latched on to the ball.

An Indian fan watches Tendulkar and Co. down their neighbouring rivals

Rahul Bhasin31-Mar-2011Choice of game
India v Pakistan in a World Cup semi-final. I don’t think I need to give a reason why I went for this match. Just the fact that I was able to get my hands on tickets was a miracle in itself.Team supported
“India! India! India! India!” (Forgive me for the chants, but mentally I’m still in the stadium).World Cup prediction
I’m going to go with India as the winner, partly because I am an Indian, but also because they are a very, very formidable side right now. Sri Lanka are very strong, no doubt, but I just get this feeling that this Cup is destined to go to India.Key performer
Sachin Tendulkar. The minute he went, the match could have gone either way.One thing I’d have changed
Security. It was understandable why it was tight, but it was a problem that could have been taken care of if preparations were better.Accessories
I wore the Indian jersey along with a tri-coloured jester’s hat with bells on it. I also carried a big flag and a whistle.Face-off I relished
Sehwag v Gul was a sight to behold. Those five fours in an over were worth paying the price of entry once again. Absolutely brutal.Wow moment
Tendulkar’s two third-umpire referrals. The first was a leg-before decision overturned on review. And the other was a stumping chance, which we thought was out till we saw the replay. In fact, both had seemed out when seen with the naked eye, and getting the referral in his favour twice was just something else.Shot of the day
Umar Akmal’s six off Yuvraj Singh in the 32nd over. It seemed like a match-turning shot, and it went over the bowler’s head. Fortunately for India, his innings didn’t last long.Crowd meter
The stands were beyond packed. It was more than a full house. I think there were more people inside the stadium than the actual capacity. The Indian team had huge support, but the crowd also applauded the Pakistan players when they deserved it. However there weren’t that many Pakistani supporters in my stand.Besides the usual “Sachin! Sachin!” and “!” (India will win!), there was one particular chant that went on for a while, which I really liked: “Pakistan !” (Rough translation: Pakistan try harder, we support you! You’re our children, we’re your daddy.)Fancy-dress index
I’d say nearly every spectator had his or her face painted and was wearing an India jersey. Besides that, I didn’t see anything fancy. There was a man in a Santa Claus outfit; hats off to him for wearing that for 100 overs in the Mohali heat.Banner of the day
“I wasn’t born in 83. Do it for me!” Maybe because I feel the same way.ODI v Twenty20
No comparison. A well-played ODI is better than a Twenty20 anytime. This is my third World Cup game, after the West Indies v South Africa game and India v South Africa. I remember every detail from these matches. I also went to two IPL matches in 2010. I remember what teams were playing but I just can’t recall the results or any of the individual performances.Marks out of 10
10. Absolutely brilliant. Amazing atmosphere. Great game of cricket. What more can you ask for in a semi-final?

The Affiliates have to work the hardest, for the least amount of money, to keep the game alive in their countries. Their stories are also the most heartwarming

Sharda Ugra01-Aug-2011At the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong in June, the skies were always grey and rumours rumbled on. Cold vibes seeped out through closed doors, and plenty of gritted teeth were seen after changes in rules and formats. But one afternoon there came a story that floated up and above past everything – the soaring glass frontage of the W hotel, the driving rain outside over Kowloon, the bickering, the egos and power struggles, past jadedness and cynicism.It came from a patch of land in a suburb called Kicukiro on the outskirts of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.Seventeen years ago the Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO) was a place of refuge during Rwanda’s 100 days of genocide in 1994. For a few months the ETO, the country’s lone technical college, sheltered thousands, watched over by UN peacekeeping soldiers. Until the day the Belgian peacekeepers pulled out after 10 of their own were killed in Kigali. A militia mob, wielding swords, clubs and machetes, stormed the campus. More than 5000 people gathered in the ETO compound were killed, either on the premises or after being moved to a neighbouring location.Kicukiro joined a long list of places – Jalianwala Bagh, My Lai, Tiananmen Square, Srebrenica – whose names carry the smell of death. Except now, the ETO has been renamed the College of Technology; one part of its killing fields has been cleaned, swept, smoothed and turned into a cricket ground. It is the only one in Rwanda, given to Rwanda Cricket as its headquarters. Play began there in 2002 and in January this year, there was much to celebrate, when Rwanda won its first trophy, the Africa Premier League T20 tournament held in Ghana.Rwanda Cricket has just marked the tenth year and it is one of the ICC’s 59 Affiliate Members, countries on the bottom of cricket’s food chain. Their resources and manpower are limited, their circumstances far from ideal. But like the best stories about cricket everywhere, they stir the heart.The ICC’s Affiliates are diverse and distant nations where cricket is played, pushed and promoted with evangelical enthusiasm. They are all clubbed together well behind the teams the elite of the game consider the “minnows”, who themselves are only worthy of sniggering and debate after their bad days at a World Cup.To the Affiliates, Ireland, Kenya, UAE, Namibia, Scotland, Canada are at dizzy heights in cricket’s hierarchy, with greater powers in the ICC (one vote per nation, as against five Affiliate nations mustering a single vote) and greater access to the ICC’s cash. The Affiliates are far removed from the multi-million dollar ecosystem but understand the worth of every dollar; they know it is the commercial ecosystem that sustains the ICC’s development programmes that reach them.It is worth realising that the smallest teams can be reminders of the game’s simplest beauties, as well as of the beautiful simplicity of what may seem a complicated pursuit.The story about Rwanda came from Dipankar Sengupta, a representative of Africa’s 13 Affiliate nations and the CEO of the Mozambique Cricket Association. Four other such representatives attend the ICC’s annual conferences on behalf of the other zones – Europe, South America, Asia and East Asia-Pacific (EAP).The Affiliates must promote the game in what are cricket’s new territories: usually countries without traditions belonging to a British colonial past. Their representatives must fight the good fight: sell a culturally alien sport that is far from simple to teach, with few coaches, fewer grounds, and participants who need to be kept interested and regularly egged on and rewarded.What matters most are the intent and capabilities of the hands that rest on the tiller. Many are British and South Asian expatriates, while on the Pacific rim, Polynesians, who took to cricket in either neighbouring New Zealand or in Australia, have been drawn to spreading their gospel.East Asia-Pacific Affiliate representative, the Samoan Sebastian Kohlhase, played club cricket in New Zealand and represented Auckland and Northern Districts in the 1960s. His own country plays an open-ended 20-a-side-social sport called Kirikiti, a derivative of the sport missionaries tried to teach the islanders. The formal version was seen as too costly and took too long. Men like Kohlhase are in effect starting over.The Andes mountains provide a backdrop for a cricket match•International Cricket CouncilFor the Affiliates genuinely trying to take cricket across mystified lands, the involvement of the local populations is vital to give cricket breathing space beyond expatriate cliques. Of the 800 players registered in Oman’s national league, says Asia representative Pankaj Khimji, there are 100 ethnic players. Club teams are required to have at least one Omani player in the playing XI (at least three per squad), who must not bat lower than No. 5 in the side. Clubs are required by regulation to go out into the local population to open up the sport and spread it as widely as they can.One hundred years ago British missionaries and soldiers taught the game to various tracts of their Empire. It is why cricket can still be sighted on the island of Corfu, just off Greece. It is how the game began in South Asia. It is the template the ICC is now using to push the mantra of genuine globalisation. It moves beyond merely handing out ODI and Twenty20 status: globalisation in cricket, men like Sengupta and Kolhase will say, is very hard but satisfying work. It begins, they know, with children. And Twenty20, which at the Affiliate level is where everything begins.Kohlhase says playing numbers in Samoa have tripled over the last year; in the EAP region South Korea had their first international victory when they beat Indonesia; the Philippines team reached the final at the East Asia-Pacific Division regional competition. The fastest-growing cricket-playing population in pure numbers in EAP, is Indonesia’s, approximately 186,000, he says. Cricket in Jakarta may sound like fiction, but it is happening.In Samoa the primary schools development project involves boys and girls, and Kohlhase’s mission is to seek out not the top athletes in the 12-14 age group, but those who, he says, “will stick with cricket”. Cricket cannot compete with rugby in Polynesia, he says, but can expand the population of its loyal supporters. Samoans, he says, can watch international cricket on TV, with the government giving the country’s majority farming population free ESPN. His eyes sparkling, Kolhase says, “A Samoan [Ross Taylor] is now captain of New Zealand – we did good development work,” and laughs.The region’s biggest drawback is the absence of turf wickets, a mandatory requirement to move up to Associate status. Cricket in the EAP is played mostly on matting. “We cannot afford turf, it costs more to put a turf pitch than the whole development programme,” Kohlhase says. The EAP’s struggle is: “We can develop, but we can’t sustain.”What keeps the work meaningful, he says, is the camaraderie he sees cricket generate among those who compete.Surely there’s sledging? Indonesians having a go at Filipinos or Samoans at Cook Islanders? Not much, he says, but the ripple effect of television can be felt. Besides, he laughs, “All wicketkeepers sledge, always, everywhere.”

The Affiliates must promote the game in countries without traditions belonging to a British colonial past. Their representatives must fight the good fight: sell a culturally alien sport that is far from simple to teach, with few coaches, fewer grounds, and participants who need to be kept interested and regularly egged on and rewarded

In Africa cricket is being pushed in schools, much like schools in the developing world push education itself. Some of the 13 African Affiliates send cricket officials to government schools to invite Under-13 kids into training. They offer three extras other sports do not: bus fare to the training ground, free medicines in case of illness or injury, and an egg sandwich every day after training. In countries where income is less than US$2 a day, that’s enough for parents to pack kids off to cricket. As they progress. the training programme holds out greater incentives: shoes and t-shirts.Sengupta’s experience with Mozambique has made him a passionate and outspoken advocate for the Affiliates. Africa’s stories are some of the game’s most moving: Sierra Leone’s team in the 2006 World Cricket League African regional competition held in South Africa featured two rebel fighters from its bloody 11-year civil war. South African officials understood the situation, ensured that the boys were issued visas and could travel across borders to play their cricket. They still do and their identities are still secret.Morocco scouts its cricketers from those athletes who fall through the gaps of the country’s elite middle-distance running cadres. Mozambique began its cricket with expats asking for backing from the ministry of education in exchange for supplying equipment and organisation. When the programme began, a number of bats and stumps were turned into firewood before it was decided that the playing equipment had better be left in the school.Eight of the 13 African affiliates have access to cricket on community television, on video, or seen live. When children see big men in yellow, blue, red, green, play the game they play, cheered on by thousands, it widens their eyes and their worlds, and can lift their ambitions.That is why, Sengupta says, he pushed for Mozambique’s U-15s to go to their first international event in Namibia in 2005, even though his colleagues worried about their results. Sengupta believed the experience itself would be the result. Fifteen boys, accompanied by two teachers, pulled on Mozambique’s national colours, and for the first time in their lives travelled by air, lived in swanky hotels and played the game they had just started learning.They won one of 11 matches, but when they returned, Sengupta says, they walked in their neighbourhoods like kings. “We didn’t look back from that day. Those boys are our best advertisements.” The U-15s have grown up into senior cricketers now, and their parents still drop by to invite the Mozambique cricket people to family celebrations and festivals.Central to the Affiliates’ health, apart from the energy and drive of men like Sengupta and Kohlhase is the ICC’s funding. Direct cash grants between $15,000 and $70,000 are available every year. How much is directly dependant on performance and results.Should an Affiliate nation, like Afghanistan did a year ago, enjoy a breakthrough performance, they are given High Performance Programme Status and access to additional funding of between $350,000 and $650,000.The ICC’s development programme also involves central and regional support to Affiliates, helping them conduct tournaments, education courses for coaches and administrators, and support of equipment and facilities.In Europe, while there are charming French and German translations of cricket terms, (Frenchmen who may play the sport call the googly a Bosanquet, and the German for lbw is a very logical “” or “standing in front” and an over is “wechsel” or “change”), the Affiliates’ struggles go beyond vocabulary.In Finland, laughs Affiliates representative Andrew Armitage, cricket is a curiosity. The natives ask: how could it possibly be a sport – “they never sweat”. Over 50% of Finland’s cricketers, says Armitage, are local Finns; the other half belong to the expatriate communities of 18 countries that play in Finland’s 20-club 40-over two-division tournament and an eight-team Twenty20 tournament. The country’s first permanent cricket ground, with grass outfield and artificial turf wicket, has just been set up in Kerava.Brazil women play a Twenty20 against Argentina•International Cricket CouncilThe Affiliates ought to inspire a David Attenborough-style documentary, with the narrator travelling to their outposts, and saying ever so often, “And even here…” slight pause, “there is cricket.”That holds for Brazil, in its own version, the Taco or the Lato or Betes – a street sport that has set of three short stumps marked with a circle around them. The players stand facing each other at a distance of 15 yards. The bowling is underarm, and batsmen must tap their bats as they cross each other. It is believed that the game is a leftover from the English, who built the railway lines or owned mines in Brazil.The Americas Affiliate representative, Matt Featherstone, from the almost antithetical-sounding Cricket Brazil (Associacao Brasileira de Cricket), says the major difficulty in the region is “not a lack of enthusiasm for cricket but rather, staffing”. Finding and training personnel who can teach cricket, and finding those from the local population, as opposed to expatriates, who when they up and leave, “the whole system breaks down in that area”. At the moment there are two native Brazilians who can teach cricket, a man and a woman. The player numbers, though, have risen. As late as 2006, there were only two native Brazilians in the national squad; today it is 11 out of 14. In an international South American women’s affiliate tournament, no player was an expat.”Twenty20 has been great for us – people see what it looks like on television through videos we show them, and they like the razzmatazz, the carnival-style supporters.” The pitches in Brazil are either of coconut matting or artificial astro-turf surfaces. There are two turf wickets in the country. Cricket Brazil aims to fill in the gaps in school sport where children usually have only two options: football or volleyball. Six hundred Brazilian children between the ages of 7 and 14 are being exposed to cricket. Brazil Cricket has even roped in a sponsor, an Indian sugar company called Renuka.The next step, according to Featherstone, is the push for beach cricket to follow on from a social six-a-side event that takes place at the Vina Del Mar in Chile every year. What about international teams coming in for some pre-season training in Peru? After all, Featherstone has just said there’s a turf wicket in Lima and “it doesn’t rain in Peru”. He laughs at the very idea.At the ICC conference, officials from Australia, South Africa, India, England met and talked in tight, closed groups. As appreciative and grateful as he was to the ICC for its support to the Affiliates, Featherstone observed, “They live in one world and we live in another one.”The Affiliates’ world is far from glamorous or lucrative. For anyone involved in cricket, however, it is a place of discovery, humility, and of the pure happiness of possibility.

A review of the performance of the Australian players during the home Test series against New Zealand

Brydon Coverdale13-Dec-20119
James Pattinson
In South Africa, Australia discovered Pat Cummins and in this series James Pattinson was their breakout fast bowler. The prospect of the two young men sharing the new ball in the Test team when Cummins regains fitness is an enticing one. Pattinson swung the ball away from the right-hand batsmen and bowled full and straight enough to force the batsmen to play. He picked up Brendon McCullum’s wicket three times, twice with near unplayable deliveries. Pattinson was the leading wicket-taker from either side, with 14 at an average of 14, and was the best thing Australia could take from the series.8
Nathan Lyon
Lyon was second only to Pattinson on the wickets tally with 10 at 12.60 apiece. His efforts were all the more remarkable because both venues favoured the fast men. Lyon continued to toss the ball up and entice mistakes, and in both Tests he ran through the New Zealand tail. His gutsy work with the bat in Hobart also nearly delivered Australia victory as he accompanied David Warner. The lasting image of the Test will be of the New Zealanders huddling to celebrate while a distraught Lyon was crouched on the pitch having just been bowled. But the loss came in spite of, not because of, Nathan Lyon.7.5
David Warner
Selected in Brisbane because of the injury to Shane Watson, Warner had a slightly nervy entry when he gloved behind trying not to play the ball in the first innings. By the end of the series, he had carried his bat for a maiden Test century and nearly saved Australia from defeat in Hobart. It was as much the shots that he neglected as the ones he played that impressed viewers. Rarely did he hit the ball in the air and his patience was impeccable. Warner deserves to hold his spot for Boxing Day.Peter Siddle
The leader of an inexperienced attack, Siddle did not take more than three wickets in an innings but his consistent hard work was a key reason Australia’s attack was so potent. In Hobart, he reached 150kph and appeared to have mastered his outswinger. It was an admirable performance over the two Tests from Siddle, who entered the series needing to show that Australia’s fast-bowling future did not lie entirely with the younger men like Cummins and Pattinson. He achieved that goal with nine wickets at 23.22.7
Michael Clarke
The captain remains Australia’s most in-form batsman, but he needs support in the middle order. A century in the first innings at the Gabba set the tone for Australia’s strong victory, but in Hobart he failed and so did his team. As leader he rotated his bowlers well and his canny, occasional use of the part-timer Michael Hussey helped cover the gap left by the absence of Watson.6.5
Brad Haddin
While Clarke scored a hundred at the Gabba, the vice-captain Haddin also made a valuable contribution with a composed 80 that helped set up Australia’s win. His glove work was generally reliable, and a leg-side stumping off the medium-pace of Hussey was breathtakingly good. But he continued to prove a frustration: in both innings in Hobart he was out to irresponsible strokes when Australia needed to show more fight. He had done the same in Cape Town last month. To some degree, that is just the way Haddin plays, but it is not unreasonable to expect more of such a senior player.5
Ricky Ponting
A half-century in Johannesburg and one in Brisbane eased some of the immediate pressure on Ponting but, by the end of the New Zealand series, questions were again being asked about his future. His 78 at the Gabba was encouraging but both his dismissals at Bellerive Oval looked wretched. He was lbw in the first innings when he appeared to be in two minds about whether to play or leave, and his loopy lob in the air when trying to play a strong drive through the off side in the second innings was awfully ugly. There is only so long Ponting can remain in the team on the promise of a big score to come.Mitchell Starc
An encouraging start to his Test career in the first innings in Brisbane gave way to a less consistent performance throughout the rest of the series. Starc showed an ability to swing the ball but also sprayed it, reminiscent of his fellow left-armer, Mitchell Johnson. He finished the series with four wickets at an average of 50, and when Ryan Harris returns to fitness, Starc should be the man to go from the attack.4.5
Usman Khawaja
Australia’s new No.3 continued to show promising signs but was still searching for that big score to confirm his place in the side. It could have been on the way at the Gabba, when on 38 Khawaja was unlucky to be run out when Ponting called him through for a tight single. He concentrated for 78 minutes in the first innings in Hobart for 7, before edging behind, and fell to an uncharacteristically rash drive in the second innings. Should retain his place for Boxing Day if Shaun Marsh does not return from injury, but could miss out when Marsh does come back.2.5
Michael Hussey
Mr Cricket will hope to quickly forget this series, the lowest-scoring one of his career. He made 15, 8 and a golden duck and, following on from another poor series in South Africa, it has put him under the spotlight heading in to the India series. However, Hussey was Man of the Match in all three Tests in Sri Lanka, so has some credits in the selection bank. He squeezed ahead of Hughes in the rankings because his gentle outswing brought Australia two important wickets.2
Phillip Hughes
Caught Guptill, bowled Martin. What more is there to say? Hughes cannot be picked against India, and it could take years for him to regain the faith of the selectors.

The two-hour bus trip from Colombo to Galle may not be long enough to accommodate all that Michael Clarke must ponder – particularly the Khawaja v Marsh selection tussle, and his own batting form

Daniel Brettig in Colombo28-Aug-2011As he sat back in the team bus from Colombo to Galle, the Australian captain Michael Clarke had plenty of selection questions to contemplate. The shape of his bowling attack will likely be defined by the state of the pitch for the first Test, but it is a little more difficult to weigh up the merits of his two candidates for No. 6 batsman.On the strength of a strikingly composed 101 retired in the Colombo tour match, Usman Khawaja has made arguably the more convincing case. Though he opened the batting, Khawaja stayed long enough to see the wicket wear and the spinners wheel away, showing he had developed a more convincing method against spin than the one that saw him defeated by Graeme Swann on debut in the fifth Ashes Test at the SCG in January.Yet Shaun Marsh’s hold on the No. 6 berth has appeared much the stronger in the weeks leading up to the match. He was not taken on the Australia A tour of Zimbabwe, where Khawaja failed to make a score of note in four innings, because he was deemed almost an automatic selection for the tour of Sri Lanka. Marsh has also seen far more of the Sri Lankan Test attack than Khawaja, and has the game to dominate an attack, whereas Khawaja is more likely to accumulate with a game best suited for the top four. Should the merit of one silken innings in a tour match overrule earlier conclusions?”I don’t know, I’m not sure. [Khawaja is] another one who grabbed a hold of his opportunity and that’s all you can do,” Clarke said. “Obviously he hasn’t made too many runs leading into this three-day game in the Australia A set-up, in county cricket and the back-end of NSW.”He’s another one who has put his hand up and said `give me a chance’. I also thought SOS [Marsh] did well in that first one-dayer he played, when he made 70 and creamed them. He played the spin really well. We’ve got to have a real good think about the position.”Usman’s opened the batting here and he played his Test at number three for Punter [Ricky Ponting], but in saying that what more can you do? It doesn’t matter where you bat, you get an opportunity and try and make a big score and that’s exactly what he’s done. It’s going to be an interesting couple of days.”Once he has finished thinking that over, Clarke can devote a unit of time to his own batting, which has appeared nicely grooved so far on tour. That groove is a new one, for it is 10 Test matches and more than a year since Clarke last passed three-figures for his country. It is a streak that has coincided with his move from No. 5 to No. 4 in the batting order, a change that is minor in number but major in intent.At No. 5 Clarke was reacting to the agenda set by either his top order colleagues or the opposition’s bowlers. A place further up and he is setting that agenda himself. It is a task he is yet to adapt to.”My preparation’s been good. I’m hitting the ball well,” Clarke said. “It means nothing to be honest going into the first Test apart from getting the confidence in my mind that I know I’m batting well. Starting your innings in these conditions is as hard as anywhere in the world.”Generally batting four I’d imagine I’ll be coming in facing spin early with a couple of bat pads, a slip and things like that so I’ve got to stick to my plan. That’s what I’ve tried to do in the one-dayers and this game here – back the way I’ve been training, back the way I feel I play my best against spin and it’s worked so far. Things could change for the first Test.”I really want my momentum to go on and I’m really keen to make sure I’m building it. I couldn’t ask for better preparation but it doesn’t guarantee you too much unfortunately, I wish it did.”As for the barren run of Tests without a century, Clarke is concerned less with numbers than he is with making sure that his batting has the presence required of an Australian captain. His predecessor Ricky Ponting stood as a most outstanding example of that presence, until the burdens of captaincy dragged his batting down.”I don’t really think too much about that. I know I haven’t really performed as well as I’d like to. I had a poor summer against England,” Clarke said. “I know I need to be leading from the front, put it that way, especially now that I’m captain.”My form hasn’t been as good as I would like in Test cricket. I’ve always said Test cricket is the ultimate to me, the pinnacle, and I want to be at my best. I couldn’t ask for better preparation but now I’ve got to do it when it counts.”The bus trip from Colombo to Galle takes around two hours. It may not be a long enough journey to accommodate all that Clarke must ponder.