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Emilio Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance

ECB Reporters Network26-Apr-2024Northamptonshire 337 for 6 (Gay 88, Bartlett 71*, Procter 64) vs LeicestershireHalf-centuries from Emilio Gay, George Bartlett and skipper Luke Procter enabled Northamptonshire to shade the opening day of their Vitality County Championship match against Leicestershire, where they finished on 337 for 6.Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance but Bartlett’s unbeaten 71 and Procter’s 64 from 164 had much to commend them for grittiness as the home side’s bowlers, while expensive in the morning, did eventually make them work hard for their gains.Scott Currie and Tom Scriven finished with two wickets each but on-loan seamer Ben Green was unlucky not to have any success, while England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, returning to county duty for his second appearance of the season, was impressively difficult to score against.Gay was the dominant figure in a morning session in which Northamptonshire were the clear winners. Leicestershire, who also recalled Matt Salisbury for the injured Ben Mike, made only one breakthrough after skipper Lewis Hill had won the toss.The home attack struggled with length and line at times and both Gay and opening partner Ricardo Vasconcelos, both of whom have started the season well, hungrily took advantage. If there was something for the bowlers in a green-tinged pitch it largely proved elusive. Northamptonshire were 60 without loss inside the first hour.By lunch they had 128 on the board but had surrendered one wicket, Vasconcelos losing his off stump to an inswinging ball from Scriven but Gay, though a little streaky on two or three occasions, particularly against Scriven, had looked in serious trouble only when Currie backed up a brilliant stop at third slip with a shy at the stumps that would have run him out for 41 had it hit.The 24-year-old left-hander cashed in two matches ago with a career-best 261 against a Middlesex attack struggling with the Kookaburra. He reached 52 from 61 balls and looked good for a sixth career hundred here. However, after increasing his boundary count to 16, he fell on 88 soon after lunch when Currie pushed one through with some extra pace and bowled him off an inside edge.The visitors suffered another blow when their Indian Test batter Karun Nair, who also has a double-hundred under his belt this season, was dismissed for 18, Salisbury finding a thin outside edge to have him caught at first slip, via the gloves of ‘keeper Ben Cox.Leicestershire bowled with better control in the middle session than they had before lunch, with Currie in particular bowling some impressive spells that deserved more success. Yet they found themselves up against two solid adversaries in Procter and winter signing Bartlett, who had added 66 in a little under 20 overs when tea arrived at 242 for 3, Procter having posted his fourth fifty-plus score in five innings.With Ahmed growing to his task as a foil, giving little away from the pavilion end, and Currie continuing to bend his back at the Bennett End, pressure continued to build on the fourth-wicket pair after tea and it was Ahmed who eventually split them, bowling Procter with a ball the left-hander shaped to cut but did not sit up for the shot.Leicestershire made the visitors work hard for their runs but not once in the day did a breakthrough prompt a flurry of quick wickets. Bartlett now had James Sales for company, and another 46 runs were chipped out before the new ball brought a second wicket for Scriven, who found the edge with a beauty, Louis Kimber taking a good, low catch at first slip. Bartlett, meanwhile, had completed his first half-century for his new county from 114 balls, but Northamptonshire lost Saif Zaib before the close, well taken by Cox off Currie.

Bangladesh’s stunning defeat of Australia will probably go down as the biggest one-day upset of all time. Here we pick the top ten

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan18-Jun-2005

Mohammad Ashraful engineered Bangladesh’s historic triumph at Cardiff © Getty Images
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The day the team with the worst ODI record – by some distance – upstaged themightiest XI in world cricket. Before the match, Bangladesh had won only nine of their 107 one-dayers – including just two against teams outside Zimbabwe and non-Test playing nations – but they made hay under the Cardiff sun thanks mainly to a sensational century fromMohammad Ashraful. Still smarting from a heavy defeat from England in the first game, they restricted the power-packed Australian line-up to 249 before executing their run-chase to perfection.2
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When Kenya took on West Indies in the league stage of the World Cup in 1996, nobody even expected a contest. It wasn’t. Kenya shocked the world with a thumping 73-run win as West Indies collapsed for a paltry 93. The unheralded Rajab Ali opened the floodgates with an accurate opening spell, including the crucial wicket of Brian Lara, before Maurice Odumbe, their captain, choked the middle order with his nagging offspin. Only two West Indian batsmen managed double figures in what was then termed the greatest upset in history.3
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India, with just 17 wins in their first nine years in one-dayers, were considered fortunate to just be at a World Cup final. And there was surely no way they could even stand up to the mighty West Indies – eviscerating bowling line-up and all. At the halfway stage, when Indiawere bundled out for 183, it was all going to script. But a combination of canny seam bowling, electric fielding, acrobatic catching and a complacent West Indian batting effort meant that India overcame gargantuan odds and stood atop the world.4
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If there is one man in England who might understand what the Bangladeshis felt after their heady triumph at Cardiff it might be Duncan Fletcher, the English coach. Twenty two years back, Fletcher and his band of Zimbabwean debutants – it was their first-ever ODI game – stunned Australia in the World Cup opener at Trent Bridge in 1983. Fletcher entered when the innings was on the verge of collapse, spanked 69 in quick time and guided them to a fighting total. Australia were cruising along at 61 for no loss in reply, but Fletcher returned,snapped up four vital Australian top-order wickets that set up the historic triumph.

Maurice Odumbe: orchestrator of a few Kenyan upsets © Getty Images
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This one might have started out as a meaningless World Cup encounter when Bangladesh faced another Goliathian opponent, but turned out to be a bolt from the blue. Bangladesh had never beaten a Test-playing nation: in fact, they had rarely looked like putting up a fight, but they put up a brave front against an awesome bowling line-up – Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq – and mustered a competitive 223. Soon they had Pakistan on the rack at 45 for 5, and the Khaled Mahmud-led bowling attack summoned all the discipline and accuracy to pull off a sensational victory.6
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The day Kenya dazed Sri Lanka with a taste of their own medicine – they set a competitive total, got a few early breakthroughs through the medium-pacers and then asphyxiated the opposition with the spinners bowling an irritating length on a wearing pitch. Kennedy Otieno anchored the innings with a patient 80 as Kenya reached 210. Martin Suji removed Sanath Jayasuriya early and then Collins Obuya, the legspinner, turned national icon in an instant with his 5 for 24. The Sri Lankan batsmen were flummoxed by his prodigious turn and, with the other spinners restricting the run-flow at the other end, they fell way short of the mark.7
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Another World Cup and another league game that mattered little – but nobody had told a Zimbabwean chicken farmer. Eddo Brandes’s impersonation of Bob Massie at Albury, when he swung the ball viciously, masterminded an English collapse in the face of a measly target of 134. Brandes ended with 4 for 21 and, despite the lower-order resistance, England fell nine runs short in what was the biggest reversal of the World Cup.8
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The Dhaka skies sparkled in celebratory mood as Bangladesh upstaged India and pulled off their first-ever home victory. After years of agony, including embarrassing defeats to Canada and Kenya in the 2003 World Cup, Bangladesh dealt India the sucker punch on Boxing Day at Dhaka. Aftab Ahmed held the innings together with a well-paced 67 before Mashrafe Mortaza rocked the high-voltage Indian top order with some cut and swing. Sridharan Sriram and Mohammad Kaif appeared to have things in control but some scintillating Bangladesh fielding kept up the pressure before India were undone in the nervy final moments.9
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Bangladesh, a Test-playing nation, were humbled by a plumber from Canada as they crashed to an ignominious defeat in the World Cup encounter at Durban. Canada, composed of amateurs, were returning to the international fold after a gap of 24 years but stormed past Bangladesh in their opening game by successfully defending 180. Bangladesh couldn’t even get close as Austin Codrington exploited the seaming conditions and ended with a memorable five-wicket haul.10
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Kenya’s astonishing victory over West Indies was a distant memory and all that was expected of them in this game was to shrivel up in the sauna of Gwalior against India. But Ravindu Shah, who kickstarted the innings with a blazing 70, Maurice Odumbe, who blasted the spinners out of sight, and Hitesh Modi, who hussled a rapid fifty, all had other ideas and Kenya amassed 265. Their bowlers kept a tight leash, despite having to endure a scorching temperature of nearly 45 degrees centigrade, and India wilted under pressure in a stunning reversal.

Dileep Premachandran reviews the Plays of the Day on day two of the first Test between England and India at Lord’s

Dileep Premachandran20-Jul-2007

Start up the chainsaw, I’m ready for a massacre © Getty Images
The Kerala Chainsaw strikes: After taking his time to get used tothe Lord’s slope on Thursday, Sreesanth was quickly into his groove withthe second new ball. Pitching the ball up and swinging it late, he got allthree wickets leg before. The celebrations after each were similar to aman trying to start a lawnmower. But since those aren’t really to be foundin Kerala, we’ll assume that it was a good old chainsaw at work.Out, In Like Flynn and Out Again: There have been some bizarredismissals down the years, but few batsmen could have been given out twicein three balls in the same innings. It happened to Kevin Pietersen in theafternoon, with Simon Taufel declaring him out even though Mahendra SinghDhoni had dived and taken the edge on the bounce. The Indians were miffedwhen Pietersen was allowed to return to the crease, after his trudge tothe pavilion ended with team-mates alerting him from the balcony. ZaheerKhan wouldn’t be denied though, and a beautiful delivery slanting awayfrom the batsman sent him back minutes later. This time, there were nocomebacks.Ball of the day – Jimmy’s time: James Anderson was identified asthe future of English pace bowling five years ago, but since then, othershave left him several rungs behind on the ladder of success. WithEngland’s first-choice pace trio all missing through injury, this was hischance, and he seized it with impeccable swing bowling. The best moment?The nearly unplayable delivery that pitched on middle stump and shapedaway to graze the edge of Rahul Dravid’s bat.Did the Earth move?: The game was meandering in the late-eveningsunshine, with batsmen strokeless and bowlers content to keep it tightwhen Chris Tremlett got one to rear sharply at Wasim Jaffer. When the balllobbed back in his direction, Tremlett, a young man built like a rugbyNo.8 threw himself forward to take the ball at full stretch an inch fromthe ground. For India, it was a seismic blow.These drops are contagious: It was a wicketkeeper, Dinesh Karthik, fielding atpoint that dropped a clanger yesterday. On Friday, it wasMatt Prior’s turn, diving across in front of slip to palm the ball awayafter Jaffer had edged one from Ryan Sidebottom. Jaffer was yet to scoreat the time.A touch of class: Lord’s may not have the atmosphere of the MCG orEden Gardens, but the punters that come through the turnstiles areusually discerning ones. When Sachin Tendulkar walked out, in what willsurely be his last Test appearance at this venue, a large number of fanswho had braved the morning showers rose as one to applaud him. There aretimes that call for partisanship, but this was a moment to fail theTebbitt Test and acknowledge one of the game’s all-time greats.

Showbiz, stardom, sixes – they are all here. A little over a year ago Kevin Pietersen etched his name into English cricket history with his Ashes-sealing 158 at The Oval

Andrew McGlashan17-Sep-2006

Kevin Pietersen: Crossing the Boundary by Kevin Pietersen (Ebury Press) £18.99

Showbiz, stardom, sixes – they are all here. A little over a year ago Kevin Pietersen etched his name into English cricket history with his Ashes-sealing 158 at The Oval. It was inevitable the book would follow and the only surprise is that it has taken him a year to join the likes of Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff on the shelves.There wouldn’t be a book if it wasn’t for the events of last year but it isn’t just about his Ashes – although he could surely have managed it – and that is a saving grace. There are only so many times you can read Test accounts from the eyes of the players. All the ‘togetherness’, ‘bonding’ and ‘mateship’ can become too much.In the past year Pietersen has talked so much about the Ashes that there isn’t an awful lot of new information he adds about the dramatic events of Edgbaston, Old Trafford and the rest. There are some nice touches, such as when he acted as Geoff Boycott’s taxi driver in Edgbaston and admitted: “Boy, I was willing that journey to come to an end…” but there is a forced feeling with some of added statistics. Much of the book does sound like Pietersen – brash, bold, and cocky – but a line such as “In fact, the only other England side to go unchanged throughout a whole Ashes series was Arthur Shrewsbury’s side in 1884-85…” is probably not one of his most common chat-up lines.The whole Pietersen story is about risk taking. Nowadays it is all about risks with the bat – thumping Brett Lee baseball-style down the ground, or reverse-sweeping Muttiah Muralitharan for six – but his England career may never have happened if he hadn’t taken the risk of leaving South Africa. The tales of his early life, from schools cricket to provincial cricket, are eye-opening and make you wonder how South Africa can afford to lose a talent such as Pietersen; he won’t be the last.Sections of this book have already made the news, especially his less-than complementary remarks about Graeme Smith and Pietersen certainly doesn’t hold back. He has plenty to say about his acrimonious departure from Nottinghamshire and his decision to play on despite losing respect for the captain, Jason Gallian, and coach, Mick Newell. It is another example of Pietersen’s single-minded determination to get where he knew he belonged.Each chapter is finished by someone writing about Pietersen, from Stuart MacGill to Ashley Giles and even a brief offering from Duncan Fletcher. Some are depressingly matey (Ian Botham) but others seem slightly odd (Shahid Afridi on his Faisalabad pitch twirl). They are overdone – a few dotted throughout the book would have been fine, and basically all confirm how wonderful he is – even Boycott doesn’t go beyond a veiled criticism.Whereas the Ashes, and to a lesser extent the tours of India and Pakistan, were about ‘Team England’, the cricketing focus turns back to Pietersen himself for the start of the 2006 season. Slightly unfortunately the final series in the book is the draw against Sri Lanka and he is left to consider his own efforts rather than England’s failure to nail the opposition.For a person with such a macho image, Pietersen opens up his tender side when talking about Jessica Taylor – his popstar fiancée, who is only marginally higher up the ladder of celebrity anonymity – and much of the final chapter is devoted to how she has ‘completed’ him.Whatever Pietersen does will appeal to the general public and there is a decent blend of lifestyle and cricket within the pages to keep a wide audience happy, although if you’re looking for humility that isn’t part of the KP package. For those who can’t get enough of him he signs off with ‘the best is yet to come’. That’ll be for the second book, then the third, then the film deal.

All dash and flash, Victor Trumper exemplified the freedoms of a more romantic age

Mark Ray22-Jan-2008

Victor Trumper: the face of Australian cricket in the early 20th century © PA Photos
Allan Border’s 1989 Ashes tour was my first major assignment as a journalist. On the first day of the fifth Test at Trent Bridge, as Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh were batting out the whole day on the way to an opening stand of 329, a colleague and I, with our deadlines passed, decided to have a well-earned pint. As we chatted in the Members’ pavilion, I looked up at the row of old bats screwed onto the panelling above the bar. There, in the centre, was a dark brown one with a metal plaque under it which said it was Victor Trumper’s bat from his legendary 1902 tour to England.On that tour Trumper made 11 first-class centuries, one of them in a session in the Old Trafford Test. Admittedly the rest were made against the counties but, as ever with Trumper, it was the style of those innings that became part of the legend. Trumper entertained the English crowds and, as he always did, he won their hearts. He scored quickly and with great flair, prompting to describe him as the best batsman in the world.I’d always been intrigued by the legend of the tall, dashing batsman who played with carefree grace. In the history books I read as a boy that he was described as Australia’s greatest batsman before Don Bradman. But it was legend of the man himself that made him special. Bradman’s legend was based on unbelievably phenomenal statistics. He was the run machine par excellence. Trumper was the artist, the genius who cared more for his team-mates and his fans than for his place in the record books. Trumper’s status could easily be missed by a look through the statistics, but to read a biography was, and still is, to be entranced by a man as charming off the field as he was on it.Trumper was generous to a fault, casual in his dress, kind to children, and greatly loved by opponents and team-mates. Truly, a romantic figure. Trumper ran a sports store in Sydney but was no great success as a businessman. He was not hard enough, giving free equipment or discounts to people short of funds. During his career, there was a stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground called the Penny Stand – because it cost a penny to get in. Legend has it that Trumper would always arrive early enough, and with pockets full of enough loose change, to walk over to the side of the ground opposite the dressing rooms to hand out pennies to poor boys hoping to get in. They came to expect Vic to give them a day at the famous ground to see their heroes in action.Steve Waugh’s love of his battered old baggy green cap was inspired by Trumper’s attitude to his Australian skull cap. He cherished it and never wanted a new one. To him, the first was so precious that a replacement would not do. He was also celebrated for his casual approach to his playing clothes. Not for him the adage that if you can’t be a cricketer you should at least look like one. After a day’s play Trumper would roll up his cream trousers and drop them in his kitbag. The next morning he would simply unfurl them, put them on and head out for the day’s play. He was obviously interested in substance rather than appearance, and I loved him for it.There was a stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground called the Penny Stand – because it cost a penny to get in. Legend has it that Trumper would always arrive early enough, and with pockets full of enough loose change, to hand out pennies to poor boys hoping to get in. They came to expect Vic to give them a day at the famous ground to see their heroes in action One of the reasons Trumper’s Test average ended below 40 was that he never sought easy runs. If the weather was fine and the pitch flat he usually threw his wicket away to give his team-mates a chance to make runs. But when the pitch was wet and treacherous, Trumper, as the senior batsman, would take full responsibility. This was not merely a whim. It is said that at New South Wales’ practice sessions he would slip the groundsman a shilling or two to prepare one wet wicket at the far end of the table. After a net on a good pitch, he would go up to the end and practise on a sticky. I remember going to the same nets for a state squad practice session and looking up to the far end and wondering if that was the strip the great Trumper used for his wet-weather practice.Years earlier I was a teenager playing lower grades in Sydney club cricket. One day we played at Redfern Oval, a summer dustbowl of a ground ravaged by a winter of rugby league. Before play, as we inspected the unwelcoming pitch, a team-mate pointed out to me a window on the second storey of a building across the road, behind the sightscreen. He said it was the window Trumper broke with a straight drive about 60 years before. It was a big, big hit. The window had been left broken for years, in tribute to the great batsman. It had been repaired by the time I saw it. I think the building is sill there but the state government has major plans to develop the area and who knows what fate awaits it.I once saw some action footage of Trumper batting. He’s wearing a large white hat, looks tall and elegant – more the shape of Rahul Dravid than Sachin Tendulkar. He’s facing a fast bowler and late-cuts him with aplomb, a classy, clever shot and exactly what you’d expect from a batsman said to have had three shots for every ball. The only other footage I’ve seen of Trumper is that of his funeral at Waverley cemetery in the eastern suburb of Sydney in 1915. Like so many romantic heroes, Trumper died young, at 37, after a few years of sad, public decline. It was a hero’s funeral, the horse-drawn hearse followed by dignitaries and the parade watched by thousands of the fans who loved their Vic more than any other player.If the mature Bradman stands for the ruthless pursuit of success that typifies modern Australian cricket, Trumper stands for the spirit of an earlier age, for a more carefree approach that put style and entertainment above results.And yes, my colleague and I had a ritual pint under that bat every afternoon of that Test back in 1989.

Somehow, England still have a chance of winning at Old Trafford and that is thanks to Monty Panesar

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford25-May-2008
Monty Panesar had plenty to celebrate as he picked up a career-best haul and his 100th Test wicket © Getty Images
When England squeezed past the follow-on with their last pair together the Barmy Army trumpeter burst into a rendition of The Great Escape. At the time it sounded like a forlorn attempt to bring some levity to England’s performance but, a few hours later, somehow, the home team had a chance of salvation after New Zealand produced a batting collapse to match England’s morning demise.In the modern game orthodox finger spin isn’t meant to be cool enough. Every team wants a legspinner, or an offspinner that can turn the ball both ways. It is perhaps fitting that at Old Trafford, a ground that many have said has failed to keep up with the times, two left-arm spinners went head-to-head to set up the fascinating finale to an enthralling match. Firstly it was Daniel Vettori making England’s middle look average (and that’s not a 40-run average) then, facing a deficit of 179, it was Monty Panesar’s turn with a career-best 6 for 37.”We knew we had to bowl them out them today if we were going to be in this game,” Panesar said. “We have set ourselves a good platform and hopefully we can build on that. It is a tough pitch to bat on, but with the line-up we have hopefully we can knock these runs off. Daniel Vettori will have a big impact, but if we can play him well then hopefully we can win this Test.”Vettori seems to have been playing international cricket forever. He is not yet 30, but is already in his 11th year with New Zealand. Partly due to the team’s lack of sustained success at Test level, and partly because he has played in an era with some truly great spinners, Vettori’s contributions have often not received the deserved acclaim. By comparison, Panesar is a youngster at the top level, only in his third home season, but it’s a mark of his rise that he passed 100 wickets in his 28th Test. “A few of the guys mentioned it at the time. I wasn’t too aware of it but for me it’s a nice moment,” said Panesar. As a comparison Muttiah Muralitharan took 27 matches and Vettori 29.Panesar was a disappointment in the first innings, conceding more than four-and-a-half an over as New Zealand’s run rate ran away. He then had to watch Vettori spin a web against England’s batsmen, claiming his second five-wicket haul in two innings, with a masterful display of cunning and control. Panesar explained that the wind made it tough work first time round. “In the first innings I struggled to control my line, it kept going towards leg stump. I couldn’t really find my rhythm. It felt like the wind was trying to take me off the pitch every time. So I changed ends and that helped me get more control.”It clicked when he trapped Jamie How lbw, a mode of dismissal that brought him three further wickets including his 100th when he removed Ross Taylor. Replays showed it was clipping off stump, but Panesar had closer shouts turned down at Lord’s. When the momentum is with a spinner, it’s best to grasp it.”I tried to enjoy the bowling rather than apply more pressure to myself and get more tense,” he said. “I did get excited so I can’t lie about that. I enjoyed seeing the ball spit out of the rough and a few jumping quite high. I just went out and to express myself like I normally do. That helped me to get into my rhythm and relax. It was good to see the way he [Vettori] bowled. It gave me confidence that the pitch is there if I bowl well.”The Panesar-Vettori comparison has been bubbling for the last few months, since the pair began that battle in Hamilton. Panesar ended the New Zealand contest with his nose in front after playing an important role in the Napier victory, but the early spoils this series had gone clearly to Vettori.
Daniel Vettori tied England in knots then burst through their middle order to give New Zealand a lead of 179 © Getty Images
It was clear when Vettori made his debut at 18, against England in Wellington, looking every inch like someone who’d just skipped maths class, that he would enjoy a long and fruitful career. He is at the top of his game, and as captain is leading by example. His control and variation have been outstanding. The dismissals of Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood at Lord’s and Old Trafford have shown a craftsman at work. Both batsmen tried to counter their errors from last week, but were still undone and that’s the mark of a high calibre bowler.Vettori is no Murali or Shane Warne, but he has shown that it doesn’t have to be the doosra to make England seize up against spin. His arm ball has been a key weapon, trapping Pietersen (and Tim Ambrose) at Lord’s, and here nailing the floundering Collingwood. He also found plenty of outside edges as he gave the ball a rip on a responsive surface. There is a school of thought that Vettori doesn’t turn the ball much, but with favourable conditions he extracted plenty of bite. The key was, though, his control. It’s what Panesar lacked in the first innings, although regained second time around. The England batsmen were suffocated by a lack of scoring options – they were also passive in the extreme – so the pressure was never released.As a captain Vettori is growing into his role and has often outmanoeuvred Michael Vaughan. He is showing keen tactical awareness, and is not afraid to play to New Zealand’s strengths of containment, rather than be drawn into over-attacking. Vettori’s hold over the England batsmen is so great, however, that at some points he was able to have five men around the bat.”We aren’t blessed with the stars of other sides,” was one of Vettori’s remarks before the series began, but two matches into the contest he is one two New Zealanders – the other being Brendon McCullum – who would have a strong chance of feature in a current World XI. Then again, Vettori has never been one to pump up his – or his own team’s – values. That isn’t really the New Zealand way.Vettori got his team together for a huddle after they’d wrapped England up for 202, he knew the chance that was within their grasp. However, he will have known that his direct challenger posed the major threat to New Zealand’s dominance and so it proved. At the second change of innings for the day, Vettori was straight onto the outfield to warm up. He’d already been the hero once, and know had to prepare to do it all over again. By the close Alastair Cook had become his sixth wicket of the match. It’s in the captain’s hands as to whether New Zealand secure a famous win, or have it wrestled away from them.

For all the strides Indian cricket has made, every now and then they seem they can’t move over from the past

Sidharth Monga14-Oct-2008
Who has more to worry about? © Getty Images
For all the strides Indian cricket has made, part of it still cannot break free from the past. When they get a chance to beat England 2-0 away, as they did last year, they forsake it in the fear of losing the opportunity of winning their first series in England for 21 years. That fear marked their reluctance to push for a win against Pakistan in the Bangalore Test last year: they don’t want to risk a 1-0 lead for a mere Test win.When India, favourites at the start of the series against Australia, go into the last day of the Bangalore Test needing a big effort to earn a draw, the thoughts of the collapse in Sydney in January, and other such failed efforts, are very much with them. In the end the draw in Bangalore, managed against a side without a quality spinner and carrying an injured seamer, is celebrated as a heroic one.For the moment it is worth celebrating, because some of the leading Indian batsmen, feared opponents all, have had to live with the blemish that they can’t save Tests in the fourth innings. However, it can only be hoped that the main lesson here is not lost, asit was after the Sydney Test. There, controversies notwithstanding, India failed to bat out 71 overs on a far-from-terrifying pitch, losing three wickets in 11 balls to Michael Clarke. In Bangalore, all through the game they played catch-up with one of the weakest Australian teams to visit India.As much as the stodgy batting on the fifth day on a tricky pitch is worth acclaiming, it is worth acknowledging what Australia have managed to do. They arrived with an unsettled batting order, still coming to terms with life without Adam Gilchrist, and freshly jolted by the Andrew Symonds blow. For all practical purposes they didn’t have a spinner; none of their fast bowlers had bowled in a Test in India before. Still, at the outset, they set the pace. They exploited India’s old legs and tired minds. They threatened to inflict a follow-on. In the second innings, they recovered from a poor start to score enough to make a sporting declaration. Australia were clearly the better batting side in the first Test.The bigger worry for India was that their spinners managed only three wickets. In fact, Harbhajan Singh took all three; but he, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag conceded 370 runs between them. In contrast, the Australian spinners picked up three for 166.
Harbhajan Singh was the only Indian spinner to take wickets in Bangalore © Getty Images
Australia can take many positives from this match. Ricky Ponting, the captain, has won a personal battle, the kind Sourav Ganguly won in Brisbane in 2003-04. Ponting’s achievement, perhaps, was more significant: Ganguly wasn’t called upon to lead the batting line-up, nor had he been as hopeless in Australia as Ponting had been in India.It took two freak deliveries – a big reverse-swinger and a topspinner that hit a crack and turned in – to remove the immovable object, Michael Hussey, who ran India ragged in the first innings and threatened to do so in the second as well.Twice in the last five years India have played exciting series in Australia; in both instances they have struggled in the series openers. Ganguly’s brilliance and the weather earned them a draw in one, while they were mauled in the other. It is in stark contrast to how Australia have started this tour.If India have come out scar-free from the first Test, it’s thanks mainly to the batting of Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan. Zaheer and Ishant Sharma are the only Indian players to have come out of the match with credit; also Harbhajan to some extent, because of his batting.Zaheer fired a cheeky salvo after the match: saying that Australia were more defensive than they have ever been. Indeed, they defensive. Perhaps Australia know their own limitations well. Perhaps it was the slow pitch that made them play the way they did. At any rate, the comment came from a member of a side that is not the most aggressive, physically or mentally. Zaheer and Kumble both talked about the toss and the kind of difference bowling last here would have made. But at no point did India inspire confidence that they could run through Australia, on the first day or the last.A close draw is a beautiful result. Both teams look at it as a moral victory: the side that pushes for a victory and the one that plays for time. The two possible moral defeats inherent in such Tests are that the aggressors can start to doubt themselves for not having crushed the opposition when they were down, and the defenders can feel exhausted by the effort of having to keep up for five days. Then, theoretically, they start the next game as equals.With three days between the first two Tests, India have little time to celebrate a ghost that has been exorcised. If, come Mohali, they are to start as equals after the draw in Bangalore, they need to exorcise the cause of the strife.

The quietest of the Chappells talks about growing up with Ian and Greg, his new coaching assignment, and of course, underarm delivery

Interview by Jason Dasey24-Aug-2009Trevor, what’s it like to be approaching your late fifties and still making a living out of cricket, as coach of Singapore?
I’m very happy with that. What else would I rather be doing than be in Singapore for seven weeks, enjoying the warmth and getting away from the cooler temperatures in Australia this time of year? It’s just fantastic to still be involved in a game that I’ve played since I was five or six years of age.What are your impressions of the quality of the Singapore team and how are you trying to help them?
Some of the Singapore squad have played first-class cricket in countries like Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, so there are some good players here, particularly batting-wise. The bowling is a bit on the softer side. Trying to lift their intensity for a big tournament is the task at hand, plus helping on the fielding and running between wickets.It’s been more than 25 years since you and your brothers left international cricket as players, but how much does the Chappell name still open doors in cricket circles around the world?
Most people who know anything about cricket know my name for one delivery back in 1981. I’m not sure if the family name opens doors, but it’s certainly recognised. It makes things a lot easier because people accept you more quickly than someone they’ve never heard of before.You scored a century in the World Cup, you’ve played in the Ashes and won the Sheffield Shield, yet why do most people associate you only with the underarm delivery from 1981?
I’m a bit sick of hearing about it. It’s just become something that’s always there and it’s showing no signs of going away. Some years ago I came to the conclusion that I’m better off just to go along with it rather than get upset by it. So I might as well jump on the bandwagon and have a bit of a laugh about it.How did it affect you – inwardly and emotionally – immediately after it happened?
I don’t remember it affecting me overly. Early on, most of the focus was on Greg, certainly at the time and a little while after that. It wasn’t until some time later that the focus was more on me.How long did it take you to forgive Greg for instructing you to bowl the underarm as your Australia captain?
Actually I thought it was a pretty good idea at the time. Obviously it wasn’t in the spirit of the game. It seemed like it was going to be fairly hard for [Brian McKechnie] to hit six off an underarm delivery. So I never really held a grudge against Greg.Let’s say you could go back in time and have that moment over again. What would you do?
I’ve often said that if it was in the laws, I’d do it again. But that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense as I’ve also said it wasn’t in the spirit of the game. I’d perhaps try to talk Greg out of it. I wasn’t looking at him as my brother. It was more that he was the captain of the team, and that’s what the captain wanted me to do.

“Greg always said that when he got to Test cricket they couldn’t say or do anything to him there that he hadn’t already copped in the backyard from Ian”

How often do people ask you about the underarm delivery?
Not too many days go by without someone or other coming up to me. When I was first with the Sri Lankan team in England for the 1999 World Cup, I’d been with them about a month without anyone saying anything. Our first game was down in Taunton and when we were in the dressing room, Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] came up to me asked me about the underarm. As I started to tell him, all the other players gathered around. They were obviously itching for someone to bring it up to find out what happened.How do New Zealanders treat you?
I’ve never had any problem in New Zealand or with New Zealanders. It’s in Australia where people seem to make a bigger deal of the underarm. We’ve had some reunions for the various anniversaries with Greg and Brian McKechnie. For one of the reunions, my namesake Trevor Chappell, [who’s an ABC radio reporter and host] had me, himself and the actor who played my part in the New Zealand stage play on the same radio show.What was it like growing up in Adelaide with Ian and Greg as your elder brothers?
All we did was play cricket in the summer, baseball in the winter and a bit of Aussie Rules. Our backyard was mainly a cricket pitch, but with all the nets we had around the place it was also good for throwing baseballs around and all that sort of thing. Greg always said that when he got to Test cricket they couldn’t say or do anything to him there that he hadn’t already copped in the backyard from Ian.How much did you fight with your brothers?
I remember one day with Greg when something went desperately wrong as we were playing cricket in our backyard. He said: “You can bat,” but when I was putting the pads on, he was watering the wicket. I noticed a wet patch when I came in to bat and I asked him, “Did you water the wicket?” He said: “Oh, it’s only a small patch… it won’t do anything.” But then he’s zipping the ball around the place off the wet patch. So I spat the dummy and as I walked off to go back inside I noticed on the water tank stand that there was a tomahawk. I thought, “This is a better way to sort this out.” So I picked it up and chased Greg around the backyard a few times. Greg darted in and out of the fruit and almond trees, and then he high-jumped the side gate as I dug the tomahawk into the gate behind him. If only I’d taken the pads off first I could have caught him. And then he never could have got me to bowl that underarm.How would you sum up the various personality traits of the Chappell brothers, including yourself?
I think we’re all fairly similar in a lot of ways. Maybe not outwardly but we think alike. Of course, Ian is probably the most outspoken. You’re never in doubt about how Ian thinks about something. He doesn’t beat around the bush – straight, upfront. Greg probably thinks similarly, but doesn’t necessarily say it in the same way. He’s more diplomatic, perhaps. I’ve probably always been the quieter of the three, perhaps because I couldn’t get a word in! But we certainly think similarly, certainly about cricket. That’s probably because of the influence of our father and our other main coach growing up, Lynn Fuller. We still all get on pretty well together.”I’m going to be well and truly dead before I stop hearing about the underarm delivery”•Wisden Cricket MonthlyWould it be accurate to say that you’re the most modest of the Chappell brothers?
Modest? Oh, I don’t know. I think Greg and Ian are pretty modest too. They’re very confident, but they don’t blow their own trumpets.You played three Tests and 20 one-day internationals, but how much do you think living in the shadow of your older brothers stopped you from fulfilling your potential as an international cricketer?
By the time I was 16 or 17, Ian was in his late twenties and well established in the Australian team and Greg had just played his first Test. So a lot of the other kids said to me, “I guess when you leave school, you’re going to play for South Australia and Australia.” But I was thinking, “Well, it’s not quite as simple as all that.” I developed a negative attitude towards playing high-level cricket, which took quite a while to overcome, and maybe I never did. I wasn’t as confident in my own ability as a cricketer as Ian and Greg were.What’s your take on Greg’s falling out with Sourav Ganguly when Greg was coach of India?
I think it was more about Greg having a coaching role and looking at what was best for the Indian team and not seeing that Sourav had a great role to play going into the future. It’s different to what you see in Australia. Senior players in Australia see that they have to keep working harder and harder to maintain their position, whereas in India it seems to me that once you get to a senior level that’s the time to ease back a bit. That’s not the sort of attitude that Greg would have tolerated. Sourav was apparently happy just to cruise along and Greg wasn’t happy to have him cruise along. The reason he’s employed as the coach is to get the best out of the team, and if as coach you think some of the players are not giving their best then you try to do something about it.When do you think you’ll eventually live down that underarm delivery?
I don’t think that’s going to happen at all. I’m going to be well and truly dead before I stop hearing about that. No, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Cricinfo takes a look at the records Sachin Tendulkar has set in his still thriving career

Siddhartha Talya15-Nov-2009The most notable milestone: Sachin Tendulkar celebrates going past Brian Lara•AFP12773The most runs in Test cricket. Tendulkar overtook Brian Lara’s tally of 11953 when he reached 15 in his 152nd Test (and 247th innings), against Australia in Mohali in October 2008. However, he hasn’t scored the most runs by a batsman against any individual Test-playing nation. A greater share of his runs have come against Australia. He’s scored 2748 runs against them at 56.08, and next in line are England, who’ve been taken for 2150 at 61.42.Tendulkar has batted at No.4 for the bulk of his career, and is the top run-getter in that position, with 10681 runs at 56.51.17178The most runs in ODIs. Tendulkar has held the record for over nine years. In October 2000, against New Zealand in the ICC Knockout final in Nairobi, he went past his former team-mate Mohammad Azharuddin’s 9378 runs to become the highest run-getter in the format. Tendulkar was playing his 253rd ODI (and 246th innings). Unlike in Tests, Tendulkar has also scored the most runs against Australia (3005 at 46.23), Sri Lanka (2749 at 44.33) and Zimbabwe (1377 at 49.17). Against the teams he’s played ten or more ODIs, Tendulkar averages above 40 against everyone but South Africa (31.82 in 52 games) and Pakistan (39.16 in 67 games).Tendulkar is also the most prolific opener in ODIs. He’s scored 14062 runs in the opening slot at 48.15, with 41 centuries and 70 fifties. Asked to open for the first time in his 70th ODI, against New Zealand in Auckland in March 1994, Tendulkar blitzed 82 in 49 balls and the made the position his own. In addition, he is the top run-scorer in World Cups, with 1796 at 57.93. He scored the most runs in the tournament in 1996 and 2003.42The most centuries in Test cricket. Tendulkar notched up his first century, against England at Old Trafford in August 1990 in his ninth Test and 14th innings. He equalled the record for most Test centuries – 34, held by Sunil Gavaskar – 14 years later, against Bangladesh in Dhaka in December 2004, his 119th Test and 192nd innings. He made an unbeaten 248 then, his highest Test score till date. The record was broken a year later, against Sri Lanka in Delhi when he made 109; it was his 125th Test and 201st innings.Ten of Tendulkar’s centuries have come against Australia, only two behind Jack Hobbs, followed by seven against England and Sri Lanka. He’s made more centuries against Sri Lanka than anyone else. However, only 16 (38.09%) of Tendulkar’s 42 centuries have come in wins. Ricky Ponting leads the list of batsmen with most centuries in wins, with 27 out of 38 (a remarkable 71.05%).45The most centuries in ODIs. He took a while to reach his first century; he’d played international cricket for close to five years before getting to the milestone in his 79th ODI, against Australia in Colombo in 1994. He equalled Desmond Haynes’ record of 17 centuries less than four years later, in his 196th match and 189th innings, against Sri Lanka at the same venue, when he made 128. It took him just three more games to overtake Haynes, when he made an unbeaten 127 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.Australia, again, have borne the brunt of his assault, with nine centuries scored against them, the most by any player against a single team. Tendulkar tops the list against Kenya, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and is the joint-highest against Pakistan, South Africa and Namibia. 32 (71.11%) of Tendulkar’s 45 centuries have come in wins, the most for a batsman. However, Ponting and Sanath Jayasuriya, who are next in line, has a far superior success rate; 24 of their 28 ODI centuries (85.71%) have featured in wins. (Click here for Tendulkar’s ODI centuries summary.)95Most scores of 50 or above in Test cricket. Tendulkar went past Allan Border’s figure of 90, against Australia in Nagpur in November 2008 in his 154th Test and 252nd innings; he had equalled the record in the previous Test in Delhi. Border, however, holds the record for most half-centuries in Tests, and Tendulkar is currently third in the list, behind team-mate Rahul Dravid.It does suggest that Tendulkar has an excellent conversion rate. He scores a century 44.21% of the times he goes beyond 50, while Ponting, who has 86 scores of 50 and above, is not too far behind with 44.18%. Again, in terms of success rates, Ponting is way ahead. 60 out of his 86 such scores (69.77%) have come in wins, while Tendulkar is significantly lower with 32 (33.28%). Also, against no Test-playing nation does he rank highest in the number of scores of above 50. He’s passed 50 on 21 occasions against Australia (including ten centuries) and 17 against England.136The most scores of 50 or above in ODIs (45 hundreds, 91 fifties). Tendulkar went past Haynes, who had held the record with 74 (57 half-centuries and 17 centuries), against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in October 2000; it was his 257th ODI and 250th innings. Tendulkar achieved his first 50-plus score, against the same opposition ten years prior, in his ninth ODI, when he made 53. Both Tendulkar and Vivian Richards have cashed in against Australia, with 23 50-plus scores, the joint-highest; Richards has more half-centuries. Tendulkar heads the list against Sri Lanka (he’s also scored 15 half-centuries against them) and West Indies, and is joint-highest against Zimbabwe.Tendulkar also holds the record for most half-centuries in the ODI format with 91. Inzamam-ul-Haq was the owner of the record before him with 83; Tendulkar surpassed him in his 399th ODI (and 389th innings), when he made 79 against Australia in Chandigarh.He has a conversion rate of 33.08% in ODIs, better than any player with over 80 scores of 50 or above. The figure would have been significantly higher had Tendulkar been better at handling the nineties; he’s been out on 17 occasions between the scores of 90 to 99, far more than anyone else.Tendulkar has surged past the rest in the ODI format and will remain untouched for a while to come•Getty ImagesBut again, Ponting outdoes him by a distance when it comes to success rates; 63.23% (86 out of 136) of Tendulkar’s 50-plus scores have come in wins, while the figure for Ponting is a staggering 83.16% (84 out of 101). Jayasuriya, Inzamam and Jacques Kallis, too, are ahead on the list in terms of percentages. (Click here for Tendulkar’s 50-plus scores summary.)60The most Man-of-the-Match Awards in ODIs. Tendulkar is followed by Jayasuriya with 48. Tendulkar’s first such award came a year into his international career, when he grabbed two wickets and made 53 against Sri Lanka in Pune in 1990. Two among the 60 awards have been a result of his bowling; he took 4 for 34 against West Indies in Sharjah in 1991, and 5 for 32, his maiden five-for, against Australia in Kochi in 1998. (Click here for the match list.)He’s also won 14 Man-of-the-Series Awards, the most for any player; he was the Player-of-the-Tournament in the 2003 World Cup, where he was the highest run-getter (Click here for the series list). In Tests, Tendulkar is No.10 on the list, with Kallis taking the top honours for matches and Muttiah Muralitharan for series.331The highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs. Tendulkar hammered a career-best 186 not out, the highest score by an Indian in ODIs, to crush New Zealand along with Dravid, who contributed 153, in Hyderabad in 1999. The stand was for the second wicket and it surpassed the previous best of 318, set by Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the World Cup the same year, against Sri Lanka.Tendulkar formed a hugely successful combination with Ganguly in the limited-overs format. The two have added the most runs together in ODIs – 8227 runs at 47.55 with 26 centuries and 29 fifties between them. They’re also the most productive opening duo, with 6609 runs at 49.32.In Tests, he’s added 5507 runs with Dravid, the most for an Indian pair and third in the all-time list; they are the most successful third-wicket pair in the longer version, while Tendulkar and Ganguly top the charts for the fourth wicket.64Amid the severe plunder he’s inflicted on bowlers, Tendulkar has been bowled on more occasions than anyone else in ODIs. Among players currently active in the international circuit, Dravid is next in line with 56 and he was left out of the ODI series against Australia. Like many of his other records, Tendulkar is likely to hold on to this one for the long haul. (Click for Tendulkar’s dismissal summary in ODIs and Tests.)154The number of innings Tendulkar took to reach 8000 Test runs, which is the fastest; Tendulkar achieved the feat in his 96th Test, against West Indies in Kingston in 2002.In ODIs, he was the fastest to reach 10000 runs, against Australia in Indore in 2001 (his 266th ODI). He’s been quickest to get to every subsequent 1000-run milestone.3548The most fours hit in Tests and ODIs. Tendulkar has struck at least 1676 fours in Tests, an average of around seven for each innings. In ODIs, he’s smashed 1872, an average of 4.40.

The pressure will be squarely on Makhaya Ntini during the third day in Durban with questions growing about his future

Andrew McGlashan in Durban27-Dec-2009The pressure will be squarely on Makhaya Ntini during the third day in Durban with questions growing about his future following another below-par display with the ball. His opening three-over spell was dispatched for 25 runs, largely by a rampant Andrew Strauss, and he wasn’t called on again by Graeme Smith before bad light and rain ended play.The debut performance of Friedel de Wet in the first Test, when he took 4 for 55 in the second innings to bowl South Africa to the brink of victory on the final day, has added to the increasing talk about Ntini’s place in the line-up. De Wet was dropped for this match with a fit-again Dale Steyn back in the fold, but his full-length approach would have been ideal in the swinging and seaming conditions on offer, instead of Ntini’s hit-the-deck style.Given his tremendous Test record of 390 wickets at 28.53, Ntini understandably has the backing of Smith and coach Mickey Arthur, but at some stage in the very near future he is going to have to reward that faith with performance. Of course, there is also the blurred line between cricketing and political reasoning which comes with Ntini’s position, and that has the potential to cloud the issue.Ntini managed just two wickets in the opening Test, which marked his 100th appearance amid an emotional atmosphere, and he was unable to claim the final wicket when entrusted with the last over of the match, ahead of de Wet. During his short opening spell on the second afternoon in Durban he was taken for three boundaries in four balls by Strauss, a pull, a drive and a cut, as he struggled to find the correct line. Bowling to left-handers has historically been Ntini’s strength, but the concerns are growing that he has lost the edge needed for Test cricket, although his team-mates don’t believe that.”He wasn’t in the best form of his life today but that’s part of being a sportsman, you don’t always play very well,” said AB de Villiers. “He’ll definitely be back tomorrow the way I know him, hitting the good areas and hopefully picking up some wickets. He’s still fine, he’s a strong individual.”Ntini’s role in this match has taken on increasing importance because Steyn is returning from nearly a month without bowling following his hamstring injury. Jacques Kallis is also still only operating off a shortened run-up following his rib problem, and was comfortably dealt with during a two-over spell. Morne Morkel is currently South Africa’s most dangerous option, closely followed by the unlikely threat of Paul Harris’s left-arm spin.However, none of the home attack escaped the wrath of Arthur after a slipshod opening effort allowed England to race out of the blocks in their first innings. South Africa had wrestled the advantage after Steyn’s 47 from No. 10, which formed a final-wicket stand of 58 with Ntini, but a succession of loose deliveries allowed Strauss to launch England’s reply at five-an-over.”Mickey did come pretty hard and said we aren’t really executing the basics very well,” said de Villiers. “We were a little too short and will certainly try to go fuller tomorrow. I won’t go into details but there were a few harsh words in that short [rain] break.”Our bowlers were very slow to adapt. We bowled a lot better in the final half-an-hour, Morkel is in good form and it’s good to have Dale back, but we were definitely slow to adapt. We were very poor in the first ten overs and the plan tomorrow will be to get the run-rate down.”South Africa’s batsmen haven’t been shy of criticising their bowlers when they feel they have let the side down, with Jacques Kallis offering a similarly stinging view after the second day at Centurion when England eased to 88 for 1. The home side’s response was impressive on that occasion as they secured a useful first-innings lead. Right now, they are expected to produce a similar turnaround.