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Thilan Samaraweera showed what he was truly made of, and his chemistry with Ajantha Mendis at the crease came at a time when things were going horribly wrong

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval06-Aug-2010Get the erasers out and start removing the asterisk against Thilan Samaraweera’s record. Two days ago, his century in difficult conditions was being belittled by critics, who find him boring, a flat-track bully, or a fair-weather batsman, or all of them. He laughed at the suggestion that most of his centuries have come after the top order has scored heavily, and then disagreed.”I have got some hundreds at crucial moments,” Samaraweera had said after his first-innings century. “When the top order has not scored runs, against Pakistan we were 9 for 3 (in Faisalabad), I got a hundred, and against Bangladesh we were 20 for 4. I don’t think I have got (all the) runs when the top order has scored runs. I have scored runs when they were important for the team. But this is a special one because this is a real Test wicket. Your skills are tested here unlike in SSC. I am happy to get a hundred here.”His first-innings century didn’t come in a dire situation. Sri Lanka were 241 for 4 when Samaraweera came in to bat, and then he had a good partnership with Angelo Mathews too. Although not a crisis, it was a time when all could have gone wrong. Samaraweera didn’t let that happen.In the second innings, though, all had gone wrong. Sri Lanka were 87 for 7, leading by 76, the rest of the line-up had combusted, and the word going around was “now we will see what he (Samaraweera) is made of”. When he walked off for a smartly made 83, featuring partnerships of 38 and 118 with Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis respectively, he was greeted by an appreciative crowd.For company during a major part of his effort, Samaraweera had a familiar ally. In Mendis’ last three Test innings, he has had partnerships of 73 (19.3 overs), 35 (13.4 overs), and 118 (38.4 overs) for the ninth wicket with Samaraweera. All against India.Both of them must be doing something right, India must be doing something wrong too. Samaraweera, for starters, has been batting until the end despite the fall of wickets. He is also an under-rated tactician. He reads situations fast. He plays spin superbly, with quick feet and soft hands. He compensates for lack of power with cricketing acumen and graceful strokes.Samaraweera trusts Mendis, who has worked hard on his batting. He also knows which bowlers might trouble Mendis. He is not uniform with farming the strike. In the first innings, for example, he took singles in the first half of the over, except when facing the dangerous-looking Pragyan Ojha. In the second innings, even long after Mendis had started looking like a proper batsman, Samaraweera kept making impromptu decisions of turning down singles. He had the pitch and the bowling sussed out.

Samaraweera trusts Mendis, who has worked hard on his batting. He also knows which bowlers might trouble Mendis. He is not uniform with farming the strike

In between, Samaraweera struck opportunistic boundaries too, using his feet to upset the spinners’ rhythm. He first drove Amit Mishra through the covers, and then charged at Ojha and lofted him over mid-off. At that point the field was spread for him, something he perhaps relished. The late-cut was used for singles and the occasional four. He didn’t shy away from the powerful sweep, a shot he doesn’t normally employ.In the over that Samaraweera reached his fifty, he was at his best. First he swept Virender Sehwag and bisected the gap between deep square and deep midwicket. Then came the paddle sweep, fine enough to take two. Then a punch nicely placed between long-off and sweeper-cover for two. And then, off the last ball of the over, a better placed inside-out drive to let him take three and retain strike.Mendis responded to Samaraweera beautifully. He stayed alert for the calls for singles, he didn’t run away from bouncers, and also played a few smacking shots. For long has he been a thorn in India’s side. Today he did that with the bat. At times MS Dhoni placed three fielders at third man for Mendis, and asked his quicks to bowl bouncers from round the stumps. Mendis still survived. It was his batting that got the crowd involved. His family and his partner were there too. Percy Abeysekara, the famous Sri Lankan cheerleader, wanted to kiss him on the cheek.For the purists who miss proper tailenders who provide funny moments by backing away, playing with eyes closed, Mendis saved the best for until Samaraweera got out. The inside edge, the top edge, the lovely correct straight loft and the awkward defensive shot were all there. All through, he couldn’t stop grinning. India will remember that grin from two years ago.

The Ireland side are a better-prepared side this tournament because 2007 happened. They have been able to focus on cricket without having to bother about their other jobs, because 2007 happened. Now they will need to make 2011 happen

Sidharth Monga in Dhaka 23-Feb-2011Four years ago, a farmer, a painter, an electrician, a postman, a textiles salesman, and a couple of teachers joined their mates and set off to train for the World Cup of cricket. Two months later, they lived the best six weeks of their lives, tying a game with Zimbabwe and beating Pakistan and Bangladesh in a manner so delightful the world celebrated with them. The Irish cricketers were an instant hit with everyone: they were not only underdogs doing well, they were amateur underdogs doing well, they were journeymen underdogs doing well.Except for the talent and the hard work, they were like you and me, enjoying six weeks of top-flight cricket, fully prepared to going back to taking Physical Education classes or lambing or delivering letters. One of us fans, Paul Davey, was so inspired he left Australia and travelled with the Irish team, without much money, sharing players’ allowances, documenting Ireland’s journey on camera. turned out to be a heart-warming story, and Ireland cricketers now even had IMDB pages.It all changed a lot back home in Ireland. People in pubs, on streets, in offices talked cricket. The likes of Boyd Rankin, 6 foot 8 inches in height, started getting recognised on the street. Football and rugby, albeit for an odd day or two, were pushed off the back pages. Sponsors started getting attracted towards the game. Young players now, the likes of Paul Stirling and George Dockrell, who were 16 and 14 respectively then, call it as their best memory in cricket and an inspiration. This group of then-journeymen did an unimaginable amount for the game in their country.Still by the end of that year, Niall O’Brien, the wicketkeeper-batsman who scored 72 in the win against Pakistan, was headed towards the ICL, a possible end of international ambitions. Two years later, Trent Johnston was on the verge of retirement because he was getting too old to manage both cricket and his day job. The recession had hit, people were being laid off, a job had to be kept. The few who played county cricket couldn’t simply choose to play for Ireland whenever they got international fixtures. The counties were their primary employers. Cinderellas were well and truly back to mopping floors.That is the reality of Ireland cricket, of being an Ireland cricketer, despite there being much advertisement – not without merit – about the fact that 13 of their squad are full-time cricketers now; four years ago, 13 of them had day jobs. On July 4 in 2005, with Eoin Morgan gone for 4 and Ireland’s score 23 for 4, their dream of making it to the World Cup was slipping away. They were chasing UAE’s 229 at Civil Service Cricket Ground. Had they lost, they were gone. Out came Ed Joyce, scored a century, chased the target down, and kept the dream alive. He still rates that innings his best ever. However, he was not one of those who had the six weeks of their lives in the Caribbean. He, like every cricketer does, wanted to play Test cricket, and that took him to England. Ironically he faced his countrymen wearing the three-lioned jersey in the World Cup.Four years on, Joyce is back, seeing no future for himself as an England cricketer, but Morgan, who in alliance with Joyce and O’Brien would have turned Ireland’s into a middle order to contend with, is now an England Test cricketer. What do you do Jack?The players keep themselves under no illusions when it comes to the clash with county contracts or losing the best talent to England because nowhere else can they play Test cricket. “From my point of view, I am contracted to Northamptonshire and Cricket Ireland,” O’Brien says. “I don’t know financially what some of the guys are earning, but without the Northamptonshire contract, it wouldn’t be a viable option just to pay for Ireland.”Does he feel helpless when he has to represent Northamptonshire when Ireland are playing? “My main employers are Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, so I have to give them preference on many occasions. At the same time, I love to play for my country. I wear my green with absolute pride, and I want to play for Ireland as much as I can, but sometimes that choice is taken out of your hands. It is tough. Life is tough sometimes. You have just got to get on with it, and make the most of it.”Nor does the team begrudge the players who make a living in England. Johnston is one of the six who are employed only by Cricket Ireland. “It’s a sacrifice. I would be earning more money out working, but it’s given me an opportunity to be a professional cricket 24-7.””The county players that we have here, their major employers are the county sides. They can’t do much about that. We have a good relationship with the counties, we certainly don’t push them. There’s new rules that the ICC has brought in, that when we are playing ODIs, they have to be released. Even if it’s not a big game. [However] Simmo [Phil Simmons, the national coach] doesn’ go down that path every time.”If the county guys have a game, we don’t always force the issue. We know there are certain times when we do need them. Personally, even without the four-five guys we are good enough to beat the Associates, which we proved last year in Holland when we won the World Cricket League. County guys weren’t available for that. Disappointing, but on the other hand, those guys have come forward, with the facilities and the cricket and that sort of stuff. So, it’s a give-and-take situation I suppose.”Rankin, a farmer until he finally got to make a living playing cricket, was one of the brightest prospects from the 2007 World Cup. He grew up around Strabane in Northern Ireland, where cricket has always been big. Rankin is one of those who have always wanted to play cricket, and play cricket at the highest possible level. To play cricket at highest level, he has already done his time and qualified for England.”I have been involved with the ECB programmes over the last couple of years,” Rankin says. “And so it is an ambition of mine to play Test cricket, which is the highest level you can play at. At the minute you can’t do that for Ireland. The only option I do have is to play for England. That’s my thing, I just want to be able to play at the highest level. Quite a few guys have asked me the same question, but that’s my feeling. The fact that Ireland don’t play Test cricket at the moment. That’s my ambition. To play Test cricket.”I have been involved with the ECB’s fast-bowling programmes over the last few years, and I came to MRF [pace academy in Chennai] with the ECB. I am part of their plans I think, but at the moment I am trying to concentrate on playing with Ireland.”It is a good time to ask, now that he is still trying to do his best for Ireland, whether Rankin’s team-mates will feel let down or betrayed if or when he does get to play for England. “I would hope not,” says Rankin. “I would hope to think that the same way I saw Eoin first play for England, I was really happy for him. So were the rest of the guys. I don’t think any guy would hold it against me if I did go and play Tests for England. I feel everybody has the same ambition to play at the highest level. That will be quite tough, but just from my personal experience, hopefully it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”George Dockrell is a bright new talent who emerged after 2007•Getty ImagesGoing by the Morgan example, it indeed isn’t much of a problem. “We knew he was going to play for England from the age of 15 or 16, that’s how good a cricketer he was,” O’Brien says. “Since he has played for England, he has become even better. Ireland cricket probably took him as far as it could take him, which is probably a sad state of affairs.”Did O’Brien feel betrayed when Joyce turned up for England in the 2007 World Cup? It’s a natural question to ask, for Joyce’s experience and calm in the middle order could perhaps have taken them farther, who knows? “I wouldn’t say there’s any betrayal at all,” says O’Brien. “Ed wanted to play Test-match cricket, and everybody loves to play Tests. Can’t hold that against Joycey. Now he is back where I believe, and he believes, he belongs, and I know he is enjoying it thoroughly, and he is going to score a lot of runs because he is playing really well.”Depending on how you see it, it is both good and sad. It’s good that the really good players need not feel guilty if they join another nation; it’s sad that the really good players’ mates know their ultimate aim in life is not to just help their side win. Nor does Cricket Ireland have the finances right now to feel bad about the state of affairs.”We have the same problem with other sports too,” says Basil McNamee, Cricket Ireland’s president. “Our very, very good players have gone to play football, and even rugby in England. I don’t think that people in Irish cricket will blame the boys who are attempting to play well for England. We will be sad, and we will welcome them back with open arms, but we can’t do much about it right now.”On the contrary in fact. “If we have two boys playing Test cricket for England, that will give the game a big boost in Ireland,” McNamee says. “We will be getting more people playing the game, we will have a higher profile.”On paper, the easiest solution is the Test status, which will mean the players won’t even have the choice of playing for England. There has been a previous too, when Bangladesh got the Test status after only one upset in the World Cup, back in 1999. However, they are well aware of the pitfalls of a premature promotion.”Don’t think Bangladesh have it easy,” says O’Brien. “They are constantly up against the odds every series they play. [Moreover] it’s a different situation to us. They have got millions and millions of people playing cricket day in, day out. You only have to walk in the street to see kids play cricket in every corner.”McNamee knows Ireland are not ready. “We don’t want to go too far too quickly. We have a small playing base. You are talking about a thousand people. The player base in Bangladesh could be a hundred thousand. And they are having problems playing at this level. So it would be an enormous task for us. Secondly we are trying to promote a game that is very, very tiny part of Ireland sport.”There’s a TV next to where I am sitting and talking to Rankin. As he leaves, he sees it is showing highlights of an England game. He stops and watches, having spotted Morgan batting. That one moment says a lot about where Ireland cricket finds itself. And I thought of four years ago, and what the cricketers thought worked for them then. The unanimous answer was the unity, the bonding that can only happen among people who make sacrifices for a common goal, among people who work 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, fit in a few gym hours in the week, then drive hours to train on the weekend, and back to work 9am Monday morning. They say when they are down they think of those six weeks, trying to go through the same motions. On this World Cup tour, they are playing for the Snip Mooney Trophy, a routine of playing competitive touch rugby before their games and nets sessions that began during the 2007 World Cup.They are a better-prepared side this time because 2007 happened. If they make it to the next round this year, they won’t be calling school head masters to extend leaves, because 2007 happened. They have been able to focus on cricket without having to bother about their other jobs, because 2007 happened. To retain the talent in the country, to play the highest level of cricket for Ireland and not England, to not tear themselves up between country and county, they know they will need to make 2011 happen.

Not only was Shane Warne among the best bowlers, he was also one of the most successful and highly-regarded captains in the IPL

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan20-May-2011In addition to an exceptional Test and ODI career, Shane Warne can lay claim to having been among the most prolific wicket-takers and one of the most successful captains across the four seasons of the IPL. Right from the first season in 2007-08 when he led unfancied Rajasthan to the title, his consistent bowling performances have complemented his astute captaincy skills. Although his economy rate of 7.27 is not among the best, it is his accuracy combined with the ability to regularly pick up vital wickets that has set him apart.With 57 wickets across the four seasons, he is only the fourth spinner and ninth bowler overall to pick up 50 or more wickets in the IPL. Warne’s aggressive bowling, though, has also meant that batsmen have been able to score many boundaries. The 56 sixes conceded by him is second on the list of most sixes conceded by a bowler in the IPL. Among spinners, the 700 boundary runs conceded by Warne is second only to Piyush Chawla’s 742. The table below summarises the bowling stats of top spinners across the four seasons.

Top spinners across the four seasons of the IPL

BowlerMatchesWicketsAverageEconomy4WI/5WI4s/6sBoundary%Pragyan Ojha535922.087.110/088/4547.73Piyush Chawla545723.717.591/0100/5754.88Amit Mishra445720.076.960/169/5150.87Shane Warne545725.387.271/091/5648.37Harbhajan Singh424721.126.641/170/2845.11Anil Kumble424523.516.572/172/3547.06Muttiah Muralitharan454227.026.480/070/4246.87Apart from a poor 2010 season, Warne has been very consistent in the IPL. He picked up 19 wickets in 2008, his highest in a single season. His wickets though, came at an economy rate of 7.76, by far his highest in a season. In a fairly successful second season in 2009, his boundary-run percentage and dot-ball percentage improved over the corresponding numbers in the first season. The third season was his least productive and he picked up only 11 wickets at an average close to 35. His economy rate and boundary-run percentage were also high. Remarkably, in the fourth season, he has been at his best. Along with an excellent economy rate of 6.31, his boundary-run percentage and dot-ball percentage figures also improved considerably.

Shane Warne’s performance in each IPL season

SeasonInningsRuns concededBalls bowledEconomyWicketsAverageBoundary%Dot-ball%2008154043127.761921.2650.9935.892009133653007.301426.0747.1237.662010143813007.621134.6349.8633.002011122972826.311322.8444.4441.84Generally, Warne has done better in the second innings of matches. He has a better economy rate in the second innings in all seasons. His second-innings average is also better in the first three seasons when compared to the first-innings performance. His best performance has come in the first innings in 2011 where he has picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 6.62 and average of 19.27. His worst showing, however, was in the first innings in 10 when he picked up only three wickets at an economy rate of 8.47 and average of 59.33.

Warne’s performance in the first and second innings of matches

SeasonMatch inningsInningsEconomyWicketsAverage4s/6s2008197.941027.0012/162008267.44914.8811/32009187.32637.8313/92009257.26817.259/52010168.47359.3313/72010287.00825.3712/82011176.621119.2714/72011245.66242.507/1Warne has generally bowled in the middle overs of an innings. In the first six-over period, he has bowled only six overs and picked up one wicket at an economy rate of 9.66. In the middle overs (7-14), he has bowled more often and has been much more impressive. His 36 wickets have come at an economy of 6.71 and average just over 27. In the final six overs, he has conceded 8.54 runs per over and picked up 20 wickets at an average of 20.50.

Warne’s performance across various phases of an innings

Period of innings(overs)Runs concededBalls bowledEconomyWicketsAverage4s/6s1-658369.66158.007/27-149838706.773627.3059/3115-204062888.452020.3025/23Across the four seasons, quite a few batsmen have found it very difficult to handle Warne. While Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa have scored at a fast clip, they have been dismissed three times each. Virat Kohli and S Badrinath have struggled, though: they have scored at less than four runs per over. Albie Morkel has been the best batsman against Warne, scoring 89 runs off 37 balls with eight sixes. Sachin Tendulkar, who faced Shane Warne in his last game, has been dismissed once while scoring 44 runs off 36 balls.

Batsmen v Warne (min 20 balls faced)

BatsmanRuns scoredBalls facedDismissalsSR4s/6sSuresh Raina656136.395/1Robin Uthappa352339.135/1Rohit Sharma525236.001/1Virat Kohli162813.421/0S Badrinath142413.501/0Albie Morkel8937014.436/8Andrew Symonds6537010.573/4Yuvraj SIngh6940110.352/7Perhaps even more significant than his bowling performance has been Warne’s contribution as captain. In the first season, when Rajasthan were virtually given no chance against much stronger teams, he led them to victory. The success in the first season was built on a stunning home record. Rajasthan won all seven of their home matches, including five while chasing. In the inaugural season, along with Sohail Tanvir (best bowler in IPL 2008) and Shane Watson (player of the tournament in IPL 2008), Warne was among the top five wicket takers in IPL 2008.Overall, across the four seasons, Rajasthan’s chasing record at home has been very impressive with 11 wins and two losses. Their performance has, however, suffered in recent seasons because of a poor away record. Warne’s 30 wins as captain is second only to MS Dhoni’s record of 34 wins. The win-loss ratio of 2.50 at home is the best among all teams.

Most successful captains in IPL

CaptainMatchesWins/Losses (overall)Wins/Losses (Home)Wins/Losses(away)Wins/Losses(bat first)Wins/Losses(chasing)MS Dhoni5634/2217/717/1522/1512/7Shane Warne5530/2415/615/1810/1320/11Sachin Tendulkar4728/2012/516/1518/1110/9Adam Gilchrist5325/289/816/2014/1211/16Yuvraj Singh4221/218/613/157/1214/9Virender Sehwag3618/185/813/107/1211/6

In the toughest conditions of the series so far, he has come through as the toughest batsman on both sides

Sharda Ugra at Trent Bridge30-Jul-2011The grey skies at the start of the Nottingham Test had slotted first day into what English cricket folk call a “bowling day”; as the clouds parted on Saturday and sunlight flowed over Trent Bridge, naturally it was the advent of that other phenomenon: “batting day.”For this Test match, surely, they needn’t have bothered with the descriptives. In terms of batsmanship, the first two days of the Trent Bridge Test have both just been, quite simply, Dravid Days.The wicket at Trent Bridge is known for its propensity to swing. The theories behind that phenomenon include the Duke’s ball, the new stands built at the ground, the airflow around them, the neighbouring river Trent, the sky, the clouds, the weather, everything and nothing. Wherever the swing came from, Rahul Dravid’s response to it, and his second Test century of the tour, came from skill, memory and cussedness.In the toughest conditions of the series so far, Dravid has come through as the toughest batsman in either side. In passages of play when the bowling has been unrelenting and spells in which the ball has darted, jagged, leapt and thrown flying kisses at the bat’s edge, Dravid has been instinct and calculation in perfect sync.With this 34th century, he has now drawn level with Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara, to go with his No. 2 spot on the list of all-time Test run-scorers. If there ever was a poll conducted to identify the most hardy and considerate of international batsmen of this age, Dravid has a very good chance of topping it. In this series already, he has done whatever he is capable of: opened, batted at No. 3, kept wickets, fielded at slips – and he will say with his droll humour, also dropped a few. Asked a question about his ability to bowl after his century, he laughed and said, “If I bowl, my shoulder will come out off my back.”Rahul Dravid was dismissed after century No. 34, which draws him level with Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara•Getty ImagesOn this tour of England, it is a shoulder his team has leaned heavily upon. Of all the India batsmen, he has adjusted the quickest in England, looked the most composed and scored the most heavily. India still find themselves gasping because he has had very little company. He was out in an outrageously flashy manner, a wild, short-game cut off Tim Bresnan, as out of place in his innings as pink hot pants would be at an awards presentation. Given that his partners had been unpredictable in the last 10 minutes, and four wickets had fallen for six runs, it was hard to blame him for going for broke.It is worth remembering that his first-innings century at Lord’s had been rendered paltry because of a similar effort from the rest. So maybe, if Dravid is seen attempting reverse hits or Dilscoops at The Oval, we’ll know how the Indian batting has gone in the rest of the Test matches. After Harbhajan Singh was out, he said he wanted to go for the runs, the extra 20-25 runs that could all add up at the end. Essentially, Dravid wanted to borrow from Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann’s ninth-wicket approach on Friday. “I thought let me do what they did and the first one I tried went into third man’s hands … that’s just Test cricket, it happens.”Dravid’s second century of the tour had begun with a bruising hour of play on Friday evening. He was hit on his wrist, jammed in the fingers, worked out, worked over. He had kept batting through two more sessions, sometimes hobbling, sometimes cramping but always pushing forward. He was hit in the wrist again this morning, and after the initial spasm, his hand lost sensation for a few overs. What Dravid never lost was the purpose of what he had to do: bat one ball at a time.In his epic innings – and he’s one of the few who has produced regular epics as against memorable stanzas – Dravid can often bat like a clock that ticks over reliably. Tap. Single. Back again. Forward. Defend. Dot ball. Beaten. Dot ball. Forget. Off stump. Leave. Dot ball. Late. Nudge. Two. Soft hands. Kill. Dot ball. Width. Cut. Four. Ball after ball, over after over. The craftsmanship does not lie on the surface. Dravid’s batting is not the stylish face of the clock, it’s the moving parts inside. He called Nottingham one of his better hundreds because of the “hard-working, fighting” aspects of it that he said he “really enjoyed”. He said the conditions in Headingley back in 2002, when India batted first on a green track to put up a total that set up victory, were tougher, but the bowling in 2011 was far more demanding and precise.He emerged with VVS Laxman on a bright morning and within three overs they cracked four consecutive boundaries. Two each, off rare lapses from Anderson and Broad, that erased the dread that had built up last evening among the small but vociferous Indian fans at the ground.Dravid called the hundred one of his better ones, terming it a “hard-working, fighting” knock•Getty ImagesThe partnership hummed along like it always has, at varying paces. The two men farmed the attack cleverly, Dravid facing Broad and Laxman against Anderson, with few singles, several twos and the quick boundary at a juicy sighter. Laxman melted the conditions – driving, pulling and cutting savagely to score his second half-century of the series. At the other end, Dravid was in his own bubble of concentration, found often at the non-striker’s end shadow-practising the leave as much as he did the forward defence. Andrew Strauss’s team believes it’s all the leaving from Dravid that the England line-up should take a cue from when they bat on Sunday.Broad later said Dravid’s wicket, off Bresnan, had been his favourite in a day when they fell in a clatter and had included his stunning hat-trick. “He [Dravid] has been so hard to bowl at in this series.” Dravid’s game is based on technical classicism and attached to it is the awareness of how valuable a wicket can be. Unlike items on the English retail market right now, Dravid’s wicket in this series is not going to be on discount sale.In Nottingham, there was measured driving, his runs earned by tucking balls away off the pads, countering the swing by playing the ball late and easing them through to third man. Closer to his century, the new ball nearing, Dravid saw the slower bowlers and the sun come on, and decided to show off the rest of his repertoire of shots: a back-foot cover drive, a glide through slips, and Swann, in particular, was taken apart, going for 42 in 37 balls to Dravid.After more than six hours of batting against the swinging, darting ball, Dravid put all the acclaim in perspective. “I played and missed a lot in this game. I could have nicked the first one and people would have said he’s not leaving well. When you get beaten you have to fight back. You have to say, ‘As long as I’m here, I’m going to make it count,’ and not try to do something silly.”If Dravid’s batting this series was to be set to music, it could possibly be to Elgar, in both its pomp and circumstance. This is his last tour of England, a country where he has always enjoyed playing his cricket; he has scored five centuries (average 73.18) here and soaked in its best traditions. His grim, beautiful fights in these two Tests for India have also carried with them gratitude for the grounds he is playing on.In Nottingham as he tried to push his team ahead in the contest run by run, inch by inch, he was also giving the crowd his farewell masterpiece. Dismissed in an unDravid-esque manner, he walked back through stretching shadows and the golden light of a dipping sun. Having shaken off his own annoyance at his dismissal, he raised his bat to all sections of Trent Bridge as he neared the gate. Then he disappeared up the steps into a pavilion that is 125 years old, with an honours board that will have his name up a second time. When Rahul Dravid leaves Nottingham, he will leave a part of his best self here.

Why is it that pitches that produce three-day results are scrutinised but ones that lead to dull draws are not?

S Aga24-Nov-2011Whose game is it anyway? Three days of play at the Wankhede Stadium have seen just 13 wickets fall. For the bean counters that want to see five days of play, it’s the ideal scenario. For anyone who wants to see a semblance of a contest between bat and ball, it’s a reminder that Test matches in India these days usually don’t offer such indulgences.The same venue hosted a nail-biting Test match in 2004, when just over 200 overs of play saw India earn a 13-run victory over Australia. In Kanpur in 2008, another seesaw contest against South Africa saw India victorious in three days. Both pitches were severely criticised by match officials, despite producing results and exciting contests.Needless to say, concrete-like slabs in the Middle East and at venues like Motera – they could double up as mortuary tables for bowlers – escape such harsh scrutiny. If you extend such perverse logic to another sport, it’s like saying that a 12-round contest between two lumbering heavyweights who barely touch gloves is preferable to a hell-for-leather Hagler-Hearns fight that ends in four rounds.Bowlers from both sides, and MS Dhoni, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the surfaces that this series has been played on. When informed of that, Gautam Gambhir suggested that they should just get on with it, that batsmen have to cope with green tops from time to time.”You don’t get five wickets or a century easily in Test cricket,” he said.That cliché has been exposed often enough in recent times, with pitches getting more and more placid around the world. The lowest completed score from a top-order batsman in this game is Virender Sehwag’s 37. Everyone else has made at least 50.Darren Bravo batted beautifully for his 166, but if you were to compare it with Michael Clarke’s 151 in impossibly hard conditions at Newlands, you might think you were watching a different sport. Not one innings played so far is worthy of comparison with VVS Laxman’s marvellous 69 in that 2004 game. And it’s precisely because batsmen don’t get tested often enough that you see the collapses that routinely occur when there’s a hint of swing, seam movement or sharp turn.With Sehwag not batting long enough to make a result a strong possibility, there’s every likelihood this match will descend into nothing more than a statistical exercise. Something worthwhile will emerge from it only if the harsh sun succeeds in causing the pitch to crack and crumble a little over the final two days.Gambhir seemed to think that it might happen. “Things change very quickly in India, especially on red soil. If we can make 550, we have two quality spinners to put some pressure on them and get a result.”We can only hope that the soil listens. If not, this match will join an inglorious list of recent no-contests that act as nails in Test cricket’s coffin in this part of the world.

The SCG’s 100th Test featured a very convincing Australian side, led by a natural captain

Daniel Brettig at the SCG06-Jan-2012Domineering. There is no other word for it. Australia’s innings and 68-run victory over India at the SCG was the most comprehensive mauling meted out to an opponent of note in more than two years, and the hammer blow in a series that had begun with the visitors considered favourites. How strange and distant that seems now. Michael Clarke’s team are some distance from the finished article, but they will not remain so for long if performances of this completeness can be delivered on a regular basis against the teams sitting above them in the ICC’s Test rankings.Over the past year, Clarke’s men had shown themselves capable of dizzy heights and depressing lows, peaking in Galle, Johannesburg and Melbourne but slipping away alarmingly in Cape Town and Hobart. They entered the Sydney Test having not won more than one match in a Test series since early 2010, a firm marker of how inconsistent their displays had been. This was acknowledged clearly by Clarke, who is part of a leadership and management axis being marked closely on results by Pat Howard, the Argus review-installed team performance manager.But, as anyone who tried to play Shane Warne’s flipper more than once can attest, foreknowledge does not necessarily make the task any easier. Awareness must be followed up with strong planning and sustained performance, something so elusive either side of the captaincy handover from Ponting to Clarke. Some level of inconsistency was to be expected, but the extremes of Clarke’s first three Test series as captain could not be repeated, as that would undermine the foundations being put in place for a settled team to prosper over the remainder of the Australian summer and beyond.Knowing this, Clarke advocated and received an unchanged team for Sydney, starting 2012 on a note of stability and reassurance for the players under him. The bowlers especially have benefited from greater cohesion and understanding of their roles, under the vigilant bowling coach Craig McDermott. It was they who set the match up for the winning with speed, swing and bounce on the first day, perforating India’s batting with the full length of McDermott’s preference, then boring into the tail with short-pitched relish.So much has been said about Clarke’s innings, which towers over all other individual efforts in this match. But in the context of the Test it was less important than the fact it spanned two partnerships as sturdy as granite, 288 with Ponting then an unbeaten 334 with Michael Hussey. Like the combinations provided by the bowlers, it is the runs scored in such unions, so much more than a lone hand, that define a match. Clarke could not have flown so high without Ponting and Hussey, just as James Pattinson could not have have ripped out four of the top five visiting batsmen without Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus offering support on day one.The declaration arrived halfway through the scheduled five days, preventing Clarke from going on to greater personal glory but allowing maximum time for his team to bowl India out. Having stood in the field for more than a few long days against the twirling bats of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, Clarke knew he may need all of the two and a half days at his disposal. He was rewarded for his decision with two wickets on day three, a tally that could have been three with a safer pair of gloves from his lieutenant Brad Haddin.Still, Tendulkar and Laxman remained to be dislodged, and after Gautam Gambhir’s belligerent 83 they crafted the foundations of what may have become a significant union. Nathan Lyon created a few half-chances and had one loud lbw appeal turned down but, bowling down-breeze, he was unable to find a way past two batsmen who have clattered many a spinner over the years. So it was left to Clarke to have a go, and soon after lunch he made the crucial breakthrough, coaxing an edge from Tendulkar as he yet again became tentative on the outskirts of his 100th international century. Haddin’s gloves provided an accidental assist to help Hussey claim the catch, and the celebrations were in keeping with the significance of the moment as well as the golden touch of Clarke in this match. His field placements were adroit as ever, removing both Virender Sehwag and Gambhir with men neatly placed at point – a position so many international teams have taken to posting deep as a matter of course.Tendulkar’s wicket opened up one end to the second new ball, though it was not the new man Virat Kohli who fell first. Ben Hilfenhaus benefitted from his off-season efforts to use more of the crease, angling the ball subtly into Laxman then bending it away to flick the top of the stumps, a delivery every bit as good as the one that accounted for Rahul Dravid in the first over of day three at the MCG. Save for the resistance of R Ashwin, the rest followed meekly. It was a case of one team learning to impose itself by beating another that has seemingly become all too used to the motions of defeat.India’s present failings are wide-ranging, but their sequence of six consecutive away defeats have come against the best team in the world, England, and another that is starting to look like it might be in a position to challenge England by the time the 2013 Ashes roll by. At the head of that team, in all probability, will be Clarke, who has put his leadership beyond all doubt by completing one of the most outstanding Test matches from a leader.This is not to say Australia are without flaws. The top order lacks experience and rhythm, Haddin’s standing as a leader in the dressing-room is being weakened by flawed glovework and flighty batting, and Nathan Lyon took only one wicket for the match, albeit against gifted players of spin. Ahead lies Perth, where Ryan Harris will be a likely inclusion for a pace quartet that could do truly fearful damage to Indian minds already filled with self-doubt.Many members of this Australian team, both players and support staff, spoke of the Boxing Day Test as the best victory they had been a part of. Low-scoring and fluctuating, it provided the exhilaration and relief of a struggle won over a higher-ranked opponent in front of an enormous crowd. A week later and those same players may have to revise that declaration. The SCG’s 100th Test did not turn out to be the contest yearned for by purists, but there was plenty of satisfaction to be drawn from the sight of a domineering Australia, led by a natural captain. It has been a while.

Both Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ricky Ponting have superb records in Tests against each other in the West Indies, and also in Barbados, the venue for the first Test

S Rajesh06-Apr-2012In times gone by, a Test series between West Indies and Australia would have evinced plenty of interest. Now, thanks to the state of West Indies cricket, most experts and fans expect Australia to win the series comfortably, even though they had a tough time in the ODIs and the T20Is, only managing to share those series. The reason for the pessimism is clear: West Indies have been a poor Test side for a while now, and even their home record has taken a beating recently. Since they last played a home series against Australia, in 2008, West Indies have won only two out of 15 home Tests, and lost series against Bangladesh, India and South Africa. Apart from beating England in 2009, their one bright spark was winning a Test against Pakistan in a drawn series last year.Given these recent stats, and the unavailability of a few key players for West Indies, Australia will feel pretty confident of taking the series, especially after giving India a drubbing in their last Test series.The recent head-to-head record between these two teams is also overwhelmingly in favour of Australia – they have a 15-1 win-loss record against West Indies since 2000, and 5-1 in the West Indies during this period. This recent run has meant West Indies no longer have a winning record against Australia at home – it’s now slipped to 17-14 in favour of Australia.

Tests between West Indies and Australia

TestsAus wonWI wonDrawn/ TiedOverall108523223/ 1In West Indies45171414/ 0Since 2000181512/ 0In West Indies, since 20007511/ 0The batting and bowling averages since 2000 indicate how far ahead Australia have been in their head-to-head contests. They’ve averaged 43.58 runs per wicket with the bat in Tests against West Indies, and conceded less than 27 runs per wicket. In the West Indies, their bowling average has gone up to more than 31, but the batting average has also climbed to 46.28. Ricky Ponting has led the charge of the Australian batsmen during this period, scoring six hundreds in 17 Tests and averaging almost 65. He has done even better in the West Indies, averaging 84.60, with four centuries in six Tests.Among the West Indian batsmen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been the one batsman among the current lot who has shone consistently against Australia, and there will be plenty of responsibility on him this time around as well. In 12 Tests against Australia since 2000, Chanderpaul averages 47.95; in six home Tests against them during this period, his record matches that of Ponting’s: four centuries in six Tests, and an average of 77.67. Moreover, he also has a superb record in Barbados, the venue for the first Test: in 15 matches there, he averages 63.55, including three centuries. Meanwhile, Ponting hasn’t done badly here either, with two centuries in three Tests, and an average touching 60.West Indies’ fast bowling is probably their strongest suit, with Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach all in the mix. Roach created a pretty good impression in Australia in 2009, but in terms of stats, Edwards has the best numbers against Australia, especially in home conditions. In three Tests against them at home, he has taken 15 wickets at 25.13. That included a match haul of eight wickets in Kingston in the first Test in 2008 – the bowlers gave West Indies a fair chance of winning that Test, but faced with a fourth-innings target of 287, West Indies could only muster 191.

Bat and bowl averages in WI-Aus Tests since 2000

Overall – bat ave, 100s/ 50sWkts, Bowl aveIn WI – bat ave, 100s/ 50sWkts, Bowl aveAustralia43.58, 24/ 48344, 26.5646.28, 15/ 15129, 31.55West Indies25.16, 17/ 40221, 47.7729.62, 10/ 1892, 49.73There are many stats which indicate West Indies’ decline over the last few years, but perhaps the most remarkable one is their win-loss record in Barbados. There used to be a time when the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown was a virtual fortress for West Indies: between 1976 and May 2002, they won 17 out of 23 Tests, and lost only two. Since June 2002, though, that record has turned on its head: in their last nine Tests here, West Indies have lost six and won just one. During this period, Australia have won both their Tests here, after losing four of their previous five, including that unforgettable Brian Lara starrer in 1999. (Click here for Australia’s Test results in Barbados.)When West Indies had that dominant run in Barbados, the pitch was quick and bouncy, and that suited West Indies’ battery of fast bowlers perfectly. Perhaps the pitch isn’t quite as spicy, but it’s still better suited for fast bowling than for spin: in the last six Tests here, since the beginning of 2005, fast bowlers average 33.13, having taken 129 wickets. Spinners have only taken 53, at an average of 42.47. Australia’s batsmen have shown some vulnerability against slow bowling on the tour so far, but going by recent history at this ground, their batsmen should be fairly comfortable on this surface. With Australia relying mostly on quick bowling, they’ll be pretty pleased too if the surface and the conditions favour their bowlers.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils

Firdose Moonda at Centurion13-Oct-2012The near-dismissal
Brett Lee was convinced he had a wicket off his second ball, when he had Mahela Jayawardene in a tangle. He bowled one short of a length and Jayawardene was hit on the top of the hand and the ball bounced back – towards the stumps. Lee thought it had gone on to hit them but the bounce actually carried the ball over the stumps and Jayawardene was safe.The keeper’s challenge
Knight Riders’ wicketkeeper, Manvinder Bisla, seemed to be battling as much against Sunil Narine as an average batsman does. He dropped two chances off Narine’s bowling, both of them against Kevin Pietersen. The first was off the carom ball – Pietersen was on two and tried to cut and his thick edge hit Bisla on the wrist. The next chance came when Pietersen tried to scoop the ball over fine leg on 11. Bisla had the ball lodged between his arm and his hip, and collected it only to spill it while trying to throw it up in celebration.The comical fielding
Lee was giving Unmukt Chand and Ross Taylor a hard time and the pair had only managed to get singles off his final over. Off the final ball of his spell, Chand thought he had broken free. He tried to pull and skied the ball square on the leg side. Four fielders converged: Lee, the wicketkeeper and two from the deep. Manoj Tiwary eventually got there but misjudged the catch and took it on the shoulder instead of in his hands.Comical fielding II
Rajat Bhatia pulled off an interesting catch to dismiss Ross Taylor. Taylor pulled to deep-square and Bhatia lost the ball in the lights but held his hands up hoping the ball landed in them. The ball bounced off his hands onto his knee and popped back up for him to clasp. In the end, he completed the catch but could hardly believe it.Destroyer of the day
Morne Morkel has a habit of injuring future team-mates hands. In the final Test between South Africa and New Zealand in March, he broke Ross Taylor’s arm and Taylor could not make it to the start of the IPL, where he was due to play with Morkel for Delhi. In this match, Morkel was at it again. He hit South African team-mate Jacques Kallis on the glove, forcing Kallis to retire hurt without scoring. In three weeks’ time, South Africa will tour on Australia for three Tests to defend their world No.1 ranking. Kallis could not return to bat and was taken for X-rays shortly after the incident.

At 24, Matthew Wade is set to become Australia’s youngest first-choice Test wicketkeeper since Ian Healy

Brydon Coverdale28-Oct-2012Matthew Wade is expected to be installed as Australia’s full-time Test wicketkeeper on Monday when the selectors name the squad for the first Test against South Africa, which starts at the Gabba on November 9. The choice between Wade and Brad Haddin was the major decision for John Inverarity’s panel over the past few weeks, with the top six having been locked in since Australia’s last Test six months ago and the wider bowling group remaining settled.Ed Cowan will retain his position at the top of the order alongside David Warner, while the rest of the batting group – Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey – will also remain in place. The bowling unit will be led by Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus and the squad is expected to also feature James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, with Pat Cummins more likely to come into contention later in the series.Possible squad for first Test

David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

The choice between Haddin and Wade did not appear clear-cut when both men were given Cricket Australia contracts in June. But Wade is expected to win the battle and was told by Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris to rest from Sunday’s Ryobi Cup match at the MCG, after suffering a minor injury to his thumb during last week’s Sheffield Shield match, although he will play this week’s Shield game for Victoria.”I got a hit on my thumb during the week in the Shield game and spoke to the medical staff and I made myself available but they told me to have a rest,” Wade said on on Sunday. “I had a hit yesterday and everything felt fine, I just spoke to Alex Kountouris and they decided to give me a rest.”I’m pretty relaxed. I’ve done everything that I can do in Shield cricket. Fingers crossed I get that opportunity … Hadds is a terrific player and I’ve hopefully done enough to get that opportunity but we’ll know tomorrow.”Wade is the incumbent gloveman having been given a chance in April in the West Indies, where he played all three Tests and finished the series with a Man-of-the-Match performance in Dominica, where his first-innings 106 set up Australia’s series-winning victory. However, Wade only earned his baggy green after Haddin had flown home before the first Test in Barbados to be with his ill daughter Mia.Until that point, Haddin had been Australia’s incumbent Test keeper for four years, missing only five matches through injury in 2009 and 2010, when Graham Manou and Tim Paine filled in. But on virtually every criterion, Wade deserves to be given the gloves for the Gabba Test, the start of Australia’s battle with South Africa for the No.1 Test ranking.Haddin, 35, is nearing the end of his career while Wade, 24, has a long future ahead of him. Not since Ian Healy joined the side at 24 in 1988 have Australia had a full-time Test wicketkeeper so young, and Healy provided them with more than a decade of sturdiness behind the stumps. The time is right to give Wade an extended run in the side, while there remains an abundance of experience in the middle order. Wade and Warner will be the only two men aged under 30 in Australia’s top seven.But age is far from Wade’s only advantage. Over the past five years with Victoria, he has earned a reputation as the kind of man any team would like to walk to the crease in a crisis. His Test century in Dominica came after he joined Michael Hussey with Australia wobbling at 5 for 157, and he impressed Inverarity with 89 for Victoria earlier this month, after he walked out onto the Gabba at 4 for 39.”It shows what a very good batsman Matthew Wade is,” Inverarity said of the innings. “That innings, in the context of that game was the match-winner. They [Queensland] bowled very well in helpful conditions and that 89 was a very significant batting performance.”Notably, Wade’s record is best at the Gabba and Bellerive Oval – arguably the two toughest domestic pitches in Australia. His glovework is very good – it has improved enormously since he first appeared on the Sheffield Shield scene – and with 55 first-class matches and nearly 3000 runs to his name, lack of experience is not an issue.Wade’s case was strengthened because Haddin’s past year has been far from his best. His 114 for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield last month, before he headed to South Africa for the Champions League Twenty20, was impressive, but against India last summer he was disappointing with bat and gloves. And his reckless slash outside off in Cape Town last November, when Australia were 5 for 18, is hard to forget.That South African tour also provided Cummins with his first taste of Test cricket and he was Man of the Match on debut in Johannesburg. However, he has not played a first-class match since, last summer due to injury and this season because of his short-format duties with Australia and the Sydney Sixers. There is a chance he will be named in a 13-man squad for the Gabba, but he is unlikely to be a realistic Test option until he has some red-ball cricket behind him.Australia’s plans to rotate their young fast bowlers this summer will bring Cummins, 19, into contention later in the South African series. At the Gabba, Australia are likely to play Siddle and Hilfenhaus, with Pattinson, the leading wicket taker so far this Shield season, as the third fast man. Starc should only be considered if conditions are excessively favourable to the pace bowlers, while the injured Ryan Harris won’t be available until the series against Sri Lanka.Almost every year since the retirement of Shane Warne, there has been pre-match speculation that Australia will play an all-pace attack at the Gabba, which is always friendly to the seamers in Sheffield Shield matches. But Brisbane generally provides a better surface in Test cricket and last summer the offspinner Lyon took seven wickets in the Gabba Test, and he deserves to be part of the starting XI again.The first Test will also provide Cowan with an opportunity to make the opening position his own after he missed out on a central contract this year. However, should Cowan stumble early in the South African series he will come under pressure, most likely from the resurgent Phillip Hughes, who has tightened up his technique and is still viewed by the selectors as a Test player of the future.

The WACA gym setting for Ricky Ponting’s retirement announcement was far from pretty but somehow fitting

Brydon Coverdale29-Nov-2012Windowless and feeling like a basement, the WACA gym is not the most salubrious room in Australian cricket.It is tucked away on the ground floor of the Lillee-Marsh Stand, and during Test matches becomes a makeshift press conference venue, weights and machines pushed to the sides and chairs lined up in the middle of the room. During a press conference last year, a cameraman had to shift his lighting equipment to avoid damage from a leaky pipe that runs along the ceiling carrying goodness knows what.In these surrounds Ricky Ponting announced his decision to retire from Test cricket. Somehow, it felt appropriate. Ponting has spent more than two decades in rooms like this, working on his fitness, preparing for battle. Ponting’s career has not been about looking pretty, although his pulls and straight drives are among the finest sights in cricket. It has been about getting down to business, wherever, however required. From Harare to Peshawar, from Georgetown to Guwahati. From Perth in 1995 to Perth in 2012.So he got down to business here as well. Ponting walked into the gym holding the hand of his young daughter Emmy, followed by wife Rianna holding their younger daughter Matisse. His family filed off and sat down at the front of a packed room. Ponting’s team-mates were already present, standing at the back of the room behind the bank of television cameras, waiting to hear Ponting tell the world what he had told them before training.For nearly an hour before Ponting arrived, murmurs had been spreading. Ostensibly, the collection of journalists had gathered for captain Michael Clarke’s pre-match press conference. But one by one, the reporters started to make or take calls, sidling out of the room to confirm the rumour that was rapidly spreading. Twitter began to rumble as the news emerged. It was known that Ponting had been seriously considering his future after the Adelaide Test, but not that he had made a decision.After a matter-of-fact confirmation that the Perth Test would be his last, Ponting asked that he not be pressed to reflect on his career, his highs and lows, the great players he had played with and against. It was typical of Ponting that he wanted the focus to remain on the upcoming Test, inasmuch as that was possible. A battle for the No.1 Test ranking. A match that Ponting said he wanted to win more than any other game he has ever played.Ponting had been emotional when he told his team-mates of his decision earlier in the day; naturally, so were they. But during his public announcement, there were no tears. All his face betrayed was a disappointment that in his own mind he was no longer good enough to play Test cricket. “I know I’ve given cricket my all,” he said with a look of resignation. “It’s been life for 20 years. Not much more I can give.”The display of emotion was left to Clarke, who had the task of facing the press after Ponting had left the room with his family – or “my new team”, as he had described his wife and daughters – to a standing ovation from all who were present. Clarke was asked how the team had responded when Ponting had told them of his decision before training.”The boys are obviously hurting at the moment,” Clarke said. “He’s been an amazing player for a long time.”That was as much as Clarke could get out. His chin started to wobble, he fell silent and looked down at the desk in front of him. Ponting had been the one constant in the Australian team since Clarke debuted in 2004. Though they took different approaches to captaincy, there was no question Ponting had been a significant mentor to Clarke over the years. And now he was leaving. It was like a death in the family.The next question asked of Clarke related to Nathan Lyon’s chances of playing the Test. The focus had returned to the match at hand. Just as Ponting wanted.