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Bishan Bedi’s talent was vast and he had the heart to match. The beauty of his action was bewitching and he had the cruelty to go with it

Suresh Menon23-Sep-2010Some years ago, while recuperating after surgery, I had a chance to put to the test HG Wells’ dictum that the mind is the natural habitat of man. I was in intensive care and there were no books or television. To relax I had to travel inwards. And the image that helped was the poetry of Bishan Bedi’s bowling.I could see in my mind’s eye the easy run-up, the fluid action, the follow-through, and the half-jump that confirmed to the batsman that he had been had. I marvelled at the contrast between the gentle curve of the ball in the air and its vicious pace off the wicket. The rainbow makes a beautiful arc, but it is predictable. Bedi’s arc was pleasing and as a bonus its effect was unpredictable.Bedi, the only Indian with over 1500 first-class wickets, claimed 266 wickets from 67 Tests. It is necessary to descend to figures when discussing an artiste like Bedi only because, in sport, beauty without cruelty is a silly notion favoured by those long in the tooth and short in memory. Every generation produces a great player who does not please the eye (Allan Border is a good example), but there is no great player who does not have the figures to show for it.I once saw Bedi leave a batsman stranded down the wicket when the ball went the wrong way after it had seemed set to come in with the arm. Bedi was 53 years old then, and made no secret of his enjoyment at having fooled the batsman. This enjoyment was a big part of his game. “I dismissed Ian Chappell on 99 in a Test with just such a delivery,” he recalled, demonstrating how he had held the ball in his palm and slid his wrist under it.

Like Wilfred Rhodes, he “dismissed the batsman even before the ball had pitched”, thanks to the ability to apparently yank it back at the last moment

Bedi had the full repertoire of the finger-spinner, and must rate as one of the two or three finest bowlers of his type the game has seen. Like Wilfred Rhodes, he “dismissed the batsman even before the ball had pitched” (Cardus’ words), thanks to the ability to apparently yank it back at the last moment. Unlike Hedley Verity and Derek Underwood, who both bowled much faster, Bedi didn’t rely on the pitch for his wickets.He was the most generous of bowlers and wore his stature lightly. This generosity extended to the opposition too. Bedi believes in the brotherhood of spinners, and all of them have access to his experience and wisdom. All they have to do is ask. On a turning track in Bangalore in 1986-87, a low-scoring match ended in Pakistan’s favour by 16 runs after left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim was handed this gem from Bedi: “On a turner the most dangerous ball is the one that goes through straight.”Against Tony Lewis’ Englishmen in 1972-73, Bedi claimed 25 wickets to BS Chandrasekhar’s 35, as the spinners harassed the batsmen. Bedi was often brought on in the third over, and had the batsmen in trouble from the start. It was a measure of both his confidence and his generosity that he found time to bowl to Dennis Amiss in the nets to help him sort out his problems.You have to go back nine decades or so, to Australian leggie Arthur Mailey, to find a kindred soul. Mailey took flak for helping out opponents. Extravagantly talented, both he and Bedi bowled with the lavishness of millionaires. Bedi’s credo was first spelt out by Mailey, who said, “I’d rather spin and see the ball hit for four than bowl a batsman out by a straight one.” On another occasion Mailey said: “If I ever bowl a maiden over, it’s not my fault but the batsman’s.” It is a sentiment Bedi would understand. Despite one-day cricket, he refused to bring his art down from the classical heights into the sphere of everyday utility. This refusal to compromise has been the hallmark of Bedi the player, the man, the administrator, coach and columnist.Most people are publicly modest but privately quite immodest about their achievements. In Bedi’s case, it is the reverse. In a letter to me, he wrote: “How I played my first Test is still an unsolved mystery. That I went on to captain the country is even more mind-boggling. Cricket is a funny game – always throwing up surprise packets.” Few graceful performers are that gracious.

Like fellow Associates Ireland, Netherlands play as a team and have belief, however, unlike Ireland, they do not have definite plans, as is evident from the number of dot balls they face while batting

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Feroz Shah Kotla09-Mar-2011Even Netherlands will wonder how they could have been so good while defending and so terrible while batting. The contrast between their attitude and play in the afternoon and evening was black and white. If they defended a small total sturdily, a complete meekness had enveloped their batsmen while setting up the target. All the pre-match talk of being brave got lost in the Delhi smog. In the end, Netherlands were left rubbing their eyes.Yet there was more clarity when it all began. As soon as Peter Borren called heads and opted to bat, it seemed Netherlands had a plan. There must have been a target too (Borren said in the end they fell short by 60 runs). But in the middle, Netherlands lacked direction, grew confused by the minute, and in the end even a late fightback from Borren was not enough to mount a challenging total.All three batsmen in the top order got starts but none progressed to take charge. There was a new opening pair in Eric Szwarczynski, who was playing his first match of the tournament, and Wesley Barresi after the original pair of Alexei Kervezee and Barresi had failed to raise a platform in the previous three matches. The Szwarczynski-Barresi combination showed intent and character to survive the initial spell from Zaheer Khan and India’s spinners, who were brought in immediately. Playing with utmost caution the pair had raised 58 runs in the first 15 overs. It was not an embarrassing thing, as even teams like South Africa had made slow starts on the same ground during the tournament. The key was to steadily multiply the gains from then on.That is when the inexperience kicked in. Both openers perished trying to force the issue. The middle order was no better. Not one batsman showed any urgency. Not one batsman could take charge. All batsmen comfortably forgot that rotating the strike was mandatory. As a consequence, the run-rate scarcely climbed to much over three runs an over, until the 40th over after which 55 runs were scored in 6.4 overs.Out of the 277 deliveries Netherlands faced, there were 181 dot balls. Eighty four of their 189 runs had been scored in boundaries and sixes. That pattern has been carried forward from their previous three matches.Essentially, the inability to adjust the gears hurt Netherlands badly. Here is where Ireland are heads and shoulders above the rest of the Associates. Of course, compared to the 9-to-5 bunch that makes up Netherlands’ squad, Ireland have more professionals in their ranks who ply their trade on the English county circuit; a stable support structure that supports the game helps too.One big reason Ireland put up a much stiffer fight against India was because they had a definite plan. They understood very well that runs would not come easy but they found a way out by pressurising India’s fielding, easily one of the worst in the tournament. Also, for Ireland, there is never only one man standing. Many hands have worked together to keep Ireland a competitive side. Of course, a freakish innings like Kevin O’Brien’s definitely helps, but Ireland now enter a contest with a hope that they spark off an upset. Opponents can no more ignore them.That is not saying that Netherlands don’t have any of those qualities. In fact, many were evident in their first match against England. Ryan ten Doeschate cracked a magnificent century, but he had many men behind him. Later, in the field, Netherlands showed the spirit of Ireland to give England a scare. Sadly, in the next two matches, they were annihilated by South Africa and West Indies.Pieter Seelaar now has Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen among his list of scalps•AFPUnfortunately for Netherlands, on Wednesday, their star player ten Doeschate perished to silly shot selection and later was targeted by India’s opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, going for 23 runs in his first two overs. Netherlands showed courage, and Pieter Seelaar, their young left-arm spinner, who had watched his Ireland counterpart George Dockrell bowl against India, was brave to challenge the India batsmen, and came out on top with the prize wickets of Sehwag, Tendulkar and Yusuf Pathan.”We were brave to come back with the bat from where we were,” Borren said after the match. “We were also brave to come back from where we were after Tendulkar and Sehwag’s onslaught. It was a little bit of a rollercoaster ride really throughout the match.”We started really well. We had a solid foundation. We lost our way pretty much completely in the middle of the innings but managed to make up a few runs at the backend of the (batting) Powerplay. Then, when India came out, Tendulkar and Sehwag got off to a flier. We dragged them back to 99 for 4 at which stage we backed ourselves of having a good chance. But Yuvraj [Singh] and [MS] Dhoni batted really well.”Borren said at no point were his side overwhelmed, even when India were in a delicate position at 99 for 4. “I don’t think we were overwhelmed by the occasion at 99 for 4. We did not lose our discipline. We lacked the firepower if anything. I am very proud of the way we came back after they were something like 65 for none after probably … one over,” he said, managing to keep his wit intact despite his team’s fourth straight loss in the tournament.Sitting next to him, Seelaar was all smiles when asked to pick his favourite dismissal. “Tendulkar, mate. Who else?” he burst out laughing. “It is very good to get their wickets. Usually I don’t bowl to that calibre of players. I thrive on it. It gets the best out of you.” Seelaar can add the three scalps to a list which includes Kevin Pietersen.But Netherlands need more performances like Seelaar’s in order to scratch off wasted opportunities like today.

Circumstances dictated that Michael Clarke began his public duties as Australian captain in the basement of the Bradman Stand at the SCG

Daniel Brettig30-Mar-2011Circumstances dictated that Michael Clarke would begin his public duties as Australian captain in the basement of the Bradman Stand at the SCG, rather than the more salubrious Members dining room where Ricky Ponting resigned his commission the day before.Rankings dictate that Clarke will begin from a similarly humble starting point among Test match nations, and it is years since an Australian leader has taken the reins of the team when it was positioned – either anecdotally or empirically – a lowly fifth in the world.Some early emotion was evident in Clarke’s mildly wavering voice as he spoke of the honour bestowed upon him and new vice-captain Shane Watson. But he straightened up when confronted by the reality of his task, which is to engineer the regeneration of a team that lurched all too low in Ponting’s latter days.”I think the guys in the team generally know the way I go about my work and what I expect of all of us as the Australian cricket team,” Clarke said, having previously led the side in one Test and a handful of one day matches. “Our goals are all exactly the same, we want to become the best team we can be, we want to become the No.1 ranked team in all forms, and that’s going to take a long time.”The key for me is that we go back to basics, old fashioned basics and make sure we’re getting out of bed every day and trying to get better at the three major basics in cricket – batting, bowling fielding.”That’s one thing I’ll be trying to push with coach Tim Nielsen that we can get stuck into. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel. We have a lot of talent in our group but we have a lot of inexperience too, so I think it’s a great start to improve those basics.”Clarke, of course, is hardly exempt, having taken on the captaincy in the absence of any real Test match batting form over the past 12 months. It is a tenuous foundation on which to build respect and success, something Clarke is acutely aware of and intends to remedy.”I hope it actually helps, in the games I’ve played where I’ve had the chance to captain Australia I think my form’s been pretty good or it’s made me step up,” he said. “That’s probably another thing Ricky has taught me, to be leading from the front on the field is so important.”My form has been a lot more consistent in one day cricket of late than Test cricket, but in saying that if I look back past the Ashes I think my Test cricket form was pretty good. No doubt I have a lot of work to do and a lot of improvement left in my game.”The necessity to improve was underlined by Clarke’s first Test as captain, an innings and 83-run hiding by a celebratory England at the SCG in January at the end of their victorious Ashes tour. Clarke marked the end of the match by retiring from Twenty20 cricket, and appeared drained by the job despite only having had it for five days.”It certainly gave me a taste of captaining in Test cricket for sure,” he said. “I think that was individually a very tough series as well, because I didn’t get the results I was after, and I’m hoping I can learn a lot from that as an individual player but also as a teammate as well. The whole team will look back on that series and take a lot out of that, both positive and negative but constructive.”Leading the team when we’re under pressure or when things aren’t going as well as we’d like is an important part of this team. There’s going to be some tough games and there’s going to be some great days.”Only the sunniest of optimists would predict the great days outnumbering the tough ones over the next 12 months at least, and Clarke said he would discover much about himself under the relentless glare to which Ponting was exposed.”I’m about to find out. I think it’s about consistency with everything we do as a team and for me as well, I think it’s about enjoying as a team the good days and then working hard together the bad days to try to improve,” Clarke said. “For me it’s no different as the captain of the team, there’s going to be some days much tougher than others and it’s about working with the people around me, using the support I have, to try to get better, to learn.”Watto [Shane Watson] and I have spoken a lot over the years and we know how important it is to have success in every game we play. We want to win every game we play, we know we have a lot of areas where we need to improve and get better, but I 100 per cent think we have a lot of talent in our squads … we’ve got the potential, we’ve got the talent, it’s just about getting the best out of ourselves every day.”

A look back at some of the finest individual efforts in the history of India-England Tests

Siddarth Ravindran21-Jul-2011Vinoo Mankad
8 for 55 and 4 for 53, Madras, 1952
India’s two-decade wait for a maiden Test win came to an end at Chepauk. Centuries from Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar were important, but the victory was crafted by Vinoo Mankad’s left-arm-spin. Introduced into the attack when England were 65 for 1 in the first innings on a flat pitch, Mankad ran through the line-up – bagging 8 for 55 in 38.5 nagging overs. noted in its report that “his performance has seldom been bettered in Test cricket.” He took four more wickets in the second innings, becoming the first Indian to take a ten-for in Tests. All this after India had been drubbed inside three days in the previous Test, and in the final match of a series where five changes were made to the XI in every game.Vinoo Mankad
72 and 184, 5 for 196, Lord’s, 1952
Months after his heroics in Madras, Mankad found himself out of the team and in the Lancashire League, missing India’s first Test in England, the infamous 0 for 4 match. Hectic negotiations ensured Mankad was drafted in for the second Test at Lord’s. It came to be known as Mankad’s match. On the first day, he top scored with a brisk 72 as India folded for 235. Then Mankad carried an inexperienced attack by bowling 73 overs, taking five wickets as England piled up the runs. Describing the spell, the cricket writer Sujit Mukherjee said, “Mankad seemed to have discovered the secret of perpetual motion.” Mankad’s best was yet to come though – a blistering 184 in the second innings when no one else made a half-century. It still wasn’t enough to prevent an eight-wicket defeat.Fred Trueman
8 for 31 and 1 for 9, Old Trafford, 1952
Fiery Fred’s journey to become the first bowler to 300 Test wickets began with a barnstorming performance in his debut series. He fired out 15 Indian batsmen in his first two Tests but the most destructive spell was in his third, when he ripped through a demoralised unit at Old Trafford. He needed only 8.4 overs of frightening pace to grab eight wickets. It remains the fewest overs needed for an eight-for. India keeled over for 58, equalling their lowest total. Trueman finished the series with 29 wickets at 13.22, and the world was introduced to an exciting new fast bowling talent.BS Chandrasekhar
2 for 76 and 6 for 38, The Oval, 1971
The wizardry of BS Chandrasekhar set up India’s first win in England, resulting in what is still regarded as their finest overseas series victory. England, the best side in the world, had gone 26 matches without defeat. After two draws, they had a 71-run lead in the first innings of the final Test. Instead of building on that advantage, however, they were bamboozled by Chandra for 101, their lowest score against India. Chandra was not the traditional legspinner, bowling quickly through the air and relying on the googly, his stock delivery. His accuracy was backed up by some top-class close catching and he ran through England in a spell rated by Wisden as the best Indian bowling performance of the century. The victory was sweeter for Chandra as it was his comeback series after more than three years out of the team.India savour their first Test win in England•Getty ImagesJohn Lever
53, 7 for 46 and 3 for 24, Delhi
Like Narendra Hirwani and Bob Massie, John Lever never replicated the brilliance of his debut Test. Not only did he begin with a ten-wicket haul, he also made his highest Test score, a bloody-minded 53 off 194 balls. He may recall the half-century more fondly than his ten-for, since he only reached fifty on two other occasions in 540 first-class attempts. Picked for the India tour as back up to the faster Bob Willis and Chris Old, a change of ball early in the Indian innings in Delhi made him the chief destroyer. Lever had the ball snaking around as India lost four wickets for eight runs in 16 deliveries. India were bowled out for 122, and in the second innings Lever took three late wickets to seal the win.Sunil Gavaskar
221, The Oval, 1979
Perhaps the greatest innings in a monumental career, Sunil Gavaskar’s masterclass nearly pulled off one of the most daring heists in Test history. Mike Brearley’s declaration, after England were dominant for more than three days, left India needing 438 in about 500 minutes. There was little indication that India were pursuing victory as Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan started sedately, reaching 76 for 0 at stumps. The tempo was different on the final day, though, as Gavaskar opened out, especially during a 153-run stand for the second wicket with Bombay team-mate Dilip Vengsarkar. At 366 for 1 and 12 overs remaining, India were favourites, before a slew of wickets in a gripping final hour – including Gavaskar’s tired shot to mid-off – resulted in India ending at 429 for 8. Gavaskar, inexplicably sacked as leader before the tour, was renamed captain as India took the flight home.Ian Botham
114, 6 for 58 and 7 for 48, Bombay, 1980
The one-off Test to mark the golden jubilee of the BCCI was all about one man’s performance. Botham was at his unstoppable best. On a grassy track and in overcast conditions, he sliced through India to finish with 6 for 58. The next day was a rest day, because of a total eclipse, and when the match resumed, England were reduced to 58 for 5, unable to cope with a moving ball. Enter Botham. In two hours and 26 minutes he smacked 114, adding 171 for the sixth wicket with Bob Taylor. He was still not done though. He bowled unchanged from just before lunch until the end of the third day, taking six more wickets. He capped the day with one of his legendary drinking sessions, before returning next morning to take a wicket in the first over. It was the first time anyone had done the double of ten wickets and a hundred in a match, and it resulted in India’s only home defeat in 31 Tests.Graham Gooch
333 and 123, Lord’s 1990
India had their moments during the Test – a dazzling century from Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev’s famous four successive sixes to avert the follow-on. Graham Gooch’s record-breaking run making, however, overshadowed both efforts. It was the high point of Gooch’s annus mirabilis. He thrived against a limp Indian attack, capitalised on being dropped by Kiran More on 36, and batted nearly two whole days to finish on 333, the highest score at Lord’s. In the second innings, Gooch bludgeoned a 113-ball 123 to set up a declaration which gave the bowlers enough time to force a win. The triple-hundred and century combination remains unmatched in first-class cricket, and his tally of 456 remains the most runs scored by a batsman in a Test.Graham Gooch made 333 and 123 in the 1990 Lord’s Test•Getty ImagesRahul Dravid
148, Headingley, 2002
Two of India’s illustrious middle-order batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – made centuries but they were eclipsed by Rahul Dravid’s virtuoso performance. Ganguly had boldly chosen to bat on a traditionally bowler-friendly Headingley track. The ball was swinging and there was plenty of bounce for England’s four-man pace attack of Matthew Hoggard, Andy Caddick, Andrew Flintoff and Alex Tudor. With Sanjay Bangar for company, Dravid weathered everything hurled at him. There was plenty of playing-and-missing, his fingers took a battering, and he said he never felt ‘I am in control here’ at any point. His 148 set the base for the plunder from those to follow, and for India’s biggest overseas victory.Zaheer Khan
4 for 59 and 5 for 75, Trent Bridge, 2007
India arrived in England just months after the calamitous first-round exit from the World Cup and were settling down to life after the tumultuous Greg Chappell era. Zaheer Khan had been off colour for a few years, and had come back leaner and fitter to show he could deliver on his prodigious talent. At Trent Bridge, a combination of swing and control brought him four wickets in the first innings. Then came the incident the match is remembered for – a couple of jelly babies were tossed on the pitch by England’s close-in fielders when Zaheer was batting. An insulted Zaheer brandished his bat at Pietersen at gully, and returned fired up for the second innings. A couple of early wickets was followed by a lull before he swung the match India’s way with the second new ball. It led to India’s first series win in England in 21 years.Virender Sehwag
83, Chennai, 2008
After Andrew Strauss’s twin centuries had kept them on the back foot for much of the Test, India were left chasing 387 in a little under four sessions. An exhilarating assault from Sehwag provided the start India needed; without him the chase would have been inconceivable. Inside the first five overs he had crashed seven fours and a six (upper-cut over third man), to send Kevin Pietersen hurrying through bowling changes. Sehwag went on to make the second-fastest Test half-century by an Indian, and helped his side race to 117 off 23 overs before he was dismissed. A Tendulkar century and a supporting act from Yuvraj Singh were enough to seal an emotional victory in the first Test in India since the terror attacks on Mumbai in November.

Sachin Tendulkar’s quest for his 100th century is a feat of Olympic proportions. He got excruciatingly close to the mark on Monday

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval22-Aug-20111425 hours. Monday. A moment Sachin Tendulkar may never forget. A moment of agony for his fans at The Oval and elsewhere. A moment when time stood still: Tim Bresnan reverse-swung the ball, drew an alert Tendulkar out of his crease, rapped him on the front pad, then appealed. A moment, probably the most important in the Indian second innings, that umpire Rod Tucker will never forget either. Forced to make up his mind quickly by a baying England team and a raucous crowd, he upheld the appeal.Tendulkar was out for 91. Nine excruciating runs short of what we have come to know as the infamous hundred. He stretched his stay by more than a couple of moments. Tendulkar appeared unruffled after missing the milestone, and more worried if Tucker had got it right, considering he had come so far out of his crease.The decision was right: replays showed the ball was clipping the top of leg stump. Tendulkar walked back slightly numb. He had played his best innings in eight outings on the tour. Yet, as he was escorted by security guards, as he climbed the 46 steps to the dressing room, listening to a second standing ovation in under 24 hours, Tendulkar will have been disappointed that he could not do enough to help India salvage a draw.Nothing went right for Tendulkar this series, nothing he tried worked. He began hitting throw-downs nearly two weeks before the series had started. He continued hitting them before and during the Tests at Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston and then The Oval. Before this innings, his highest score was the 56 at Trent Bridge. All through, Tendulkar wanted to make an impact. He took hits on the body, on the helmet, tried playing with soft hands, switched to hard hands. He kept failing.Today was the first day in the series where the voices of Indian fans were louder than those of the home fans. It was the first day India’s supporters outnumbered England’s. When the bell rang five minutes before the start of play, The Oval was two-thirds full. By mid-afternoon virtually all the seats were occupied. Some of the people streaming in had skipped office meetings, citing lunch as an excuse.The party atmosphere of the weekend was back. The England fans were happy to support Tendulkar’s century as long as India lost 4-0. The Indians wanted to celebrate Tendulkar’s century and a draw. The Oval was alive with banter, emotion. As Tendulkar neared his century, only 15 away, Matt Prior failed to hold onto a tight nick off Swann. The replay showed up on the big screen and a few voices, no doubt Indian, were heard over the collective gasp of the crowd. “Don’t catch,” they cried out, “don’t catch.”The crowd was desperate from the first ball Tendulkar faced. Every run – single, double, four – was cheered. They were trying to push him from the outside, towards the never achieved and possibly unattainable landmark of hundred international centuries.Tendulkar survived a handful of chances – on 34, 70, 79 and twice on 85 – and millions gasped each time, but when Tendulkar pulled Kevin Pietersen to move nine short of the century, The Oval chanted his name. Five minutes – an over later -Tendulkar was out and there was a release of emotion: elation from England’s fans, disbelief in the Indian contingent; in the media box, the journalists were aggrieved and there was disbelief at the decision more than the fact that Tendulkar missed his century.Tendulkar’s quest for his 100th century is a feat of Olympic proportions. Usain Bolt takes nine seconds to achieve the unthinkable. For Tendulkar, the pursuit is over days, weeks, years, decades. It tests mental application, skills and discipline as much as physical endurance.A senior Indian cricketer once pin-pointed what differentiated Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid from the rest. “They will murder you when they are on top of the game and score big hundreds with ease. But it is when they are down and things are not going well, even then they can last for three hours. The rest just wilt without a spine.” That is the difference.An hour after play ended today, as the spectators were being asked to leave, one of the stewards remarked: “India will be back. India will be back big-time. No doubt.” Tendulkar’s fans will be back too. Waiting for their moment.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day for the 2nd Twenty20 international between England and Pakistan in Dubai

George Dobell in Dubai25-Feb-2012Run-out of the day
Perhaps Samit Patel was just unlucky. Saeed Ajmal’s superb direct hit from deep backward square leg might well have beaten many of the England players attempting a quick second run. It is hardly unusual for a batsman to be run out in limited-overs cricket, after all. When Patel is involved, however, the issue of his weight and his fitness are always going to be brought into the equation. Might he have turned quicker, run faster or dived to reach his ground? Maybe. But in truth, Patel’s dismissal was probably more due to his lack of height – and consequently reach – than his girth.Struggle of the day
Make no mistake, Awais Zia’s six off Steven Finn was a marvellous shot: a full-blooded thump over long-on off the fastest bowler in the match. The problem was, that shot was the exception. By the time Zia slogged to mid-off, he had had scored 6 from 12 balls – meaning all his runs had come from one shot and he had swung and, generally, missed at 11 more. It was only Zia’s second innings in international cricket, so perhaps it is premature to draw too many conclusions. But it was hard to avoid the conclusion he has been horribly exposed at this level.Boundary of the day
After Jonny Bairstow’s struggles in the first match – he failed to find the boundary in 21 balls at the crease – it was telling that he produced a flowing drive over extra-cover from just his fourth delivery here that sped to the boundary. Invited to drive by a relatively flighted delivery from Shahid Afridi, Bairstow showed no signs of any lingering lack of confidence as he came down the pitch and drove over the infield. It was a well-placed and well-executed stroke that was to prove the preface to a substantially improved innings that played a huge part in England’s victory. Many players will struggle when confronted with such conditions and such bowlers for the first time: the fact that Bairstow appears to learn quickly bodes well for his – and England’s – future.Dismissal of the day
Might Jos Buttler be falling into the same sort of trap that once ensnared Mal Loye? Loye, a batsman with a full array of strokes, earned a reputation as an audacious slog-sweeper of even the quickest bowlers, but sometimes seemed so intent on playing the stroke that he missed out on opportunities to play far easier and, in many circumstances, more effective strokes. So it might be with Buttler’s paddle; the stroke where he steps across so he is outside the off stump and tries to guide the ball very fine down the leg side. It is a shot he has utilised with great success in domestic cricket, but against a bowler as skilful as Umar Gul, it is proving a high risk selection. This was the second time in the two T20Is Buttler has perished attempting it. Here Gul, starting a three-over spell in the 16th over to benefit from the reverse swing, found just enough movement in the air to unbalance Buttler and, with his penetrating full length, provide the batsmen with no margin for error.Contrast of the day
It was the contrast that was most marked. Having just watched his captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, struggle to hit the ball off the square and score one from four balls, Shahid Afridi immediately responded with an enormous six that carried into the second tier of the stadium. He bludgeoned two more fours later in the same over to underline Misbah’s struggle for fluency. It would have mattered little to most of those watching that Graeme Swann was bowling to Misbah and Patel to Afridi: for his adoring crowd, this was proof that Afridi was the hero Pakistan require.

Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and England in Colombo

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo06-Apr-2012Plan of the day
England were being frustrated by the efforts of nightwatchman Dhammika Prasad who had withstood whatever James Anderson or Graeme Swann threw at him. Then a change of plan worked perfectly. The field was set for a short delivery from Steven Finn – with two men out in the deep and a short leg – so Prasad knew what was coming but still obligingly hooked straight to deep square. Finn gave him a little clap as he walked off.Chirping of the day
There was a bit of needle out in the middle as England hunted early breakthroughs. Anderson had plenty to say to Prasad, and followed through towards the batsman on a couple of occasions, but they were not the only words exchanged. Tillakaratne Dilshan was far from happy when he thought Alastair Cook had walked across a good length in his spikes. Dilshan spoke to the umpires and a few of the England players chipped back at Dilshan, presumably about him wanting a nightwatchman. In the end, the umpires asked the captain, Andrew Strauss, to have a word before anyone stepped over the line.Debate of the day
When Dilshan was given out against Swann he immediately called for a review. He was convinced he had not hit the ball but the replays – without the aid of Hot Spot – were inconclusive so Bruce Oxenford’s on-field decision stood after a very lengthy wait as Rod Tucker studied the pictures. Dilshan was fuming as he trudged off, but it was not a shocking decision.Bowling change of the day
Regardless of the role of DRS in Dilshan’s dismissal, it provided immediate reward for Swann who had been surprisingly overlooked straight after lunch as Samit Patel was given a spell from the Press Box End. Patel was not expensive but neither was he a huge threat. Swann wasted no time in making his mark and provided a constant danger.Drop of the day
The perfect start for England after tea would have been a quick wicket and they came within fingertips of getting one. Mahela Jayawardene came down the pitch at Patel, again given an early-session bowl, and aimed a lofted drive over mid-on but it did not come out of the middle. It flew towards Tim Bresnan who had to backpedal – as Kevin Pietersen did successfully on the second morning to catch Suraj Randiv – but he could not get the required airtime to pull in the catch. It was not an easy chance, but in conditions like this everything needed to be taken.Late surge of the day
With two overs to go, Swann was brought back for one before the close. What a crucial decision it proved. He induced a bottom edge onto leg stump from Thilan Samaraweera then, two balls, ripped one through Suraj Randiv (the second nightwatchman of the innings). Each time Swann exploded in celebration; he found the energy from somewhere. It was just the finish England wanted.

You could marvel at VVS Laxman’s unorthodox style as long as you didn’t try it at home

Aakash Chopra21-Aug-2012As I look back to my first memories of VVS Laxman, a scene from a South Zone v North Zone Duleep Trophy game in January 2001 plays itself out vividly in my mind.There were about 15 international cricketers playing in that game, and clearly the quality of cricket was top-notch. Though heaps of runs were scored, it was Laxman’s love for refined cricket, which he played with the utmost subtlety and culture, and his supreme skill, that stood out in a way that it remains etched in my mind till this day. Such was his aura that a team-mate had to point out that instead of cheering for our bowlers and egging our team on, I was celebrating Laxman’s fine display. It’s hard to not be influenced and inspired by greatness.Laxman had been striking two or three boundaries every over without breaking a sweat, and it felt as if getting smacked all over the park was a small price to pay to witness something truly spectacular. That’s what Laxman did all his life to his team-mates and opposition – while his team-mates appreciated his craft, the opposition wished they could be on his side.Standing in that lonely slip position that day, I was made aware of the fact that a seemingly orthodox, unadventurous-seeming, rather reticent-looking man could play revolutionary cricket; that the belief that cricket is an extension of one’s personality wasn’t always true. Laxman had made his nonconformist style look like a chapter from the coaching manual – one that the guidebook had been forced to include.Working the angles
Most young batsmen are taught that the easiest way to bat is to play the ball back in the direction it came from, which basically means playing it with a straight bat. Once you grow as a batsman, you learn to play with the swing and spin, which is an extension of playing with the straight bat. You further learn to either play a little early or to delay the stroke to find gaps, but you’re always advised not to play across the line or against the spin or swing.Laxman turned these fundamentals on their head by not only showing that meeting the ball with an angled bat produces desirable results but also proving that playing with the spin and swing is overrated. Though his style of play made batting look ever so easy, if inspected in detail, it was nothing less than an engineering marvel, for he worked out the angles astutely.You’re advised not to play against the spin, especially when a bowler of Shane Warne’s quality is bowling into the rough, but Laxman showed that you can, with good results, if you close the face of the bat at precisely the time of impact (and not a fraction earlier, like more ordinary batsmen tend to do, resulting in return catches). By doing so, he created extraordinary angles, piercing the well-guarded on-side field. His ability to create these angles by, at times, bringing the bat down at a slight angle, or using his supple wrists, enabled him to find gaps where others found fielders. Muttiah Muralitharan, another champion bowler, said that Laxman could potentially play shots on either side of the wicket to any given ball, which made it impossible for a captain to set fields for him.Playing it late
Most batsmen who are extremely strong off the legs have a technical deficiency that forces their head to fall slightly towards the off side in the stance. The moment the head falls, the judgement of lines gets blurred. This results in hitting balls pitched on off-middle towards the on side. Essentially, these players’ affinity for the on side is a byproduct of a technical flaw.Laxman’s preference for the on-side, though, was by design, and he was equally fluent through the off side. His supple wrists and his ability to delay a shot till the last possible instant allowed him to hit balls pitched on middle stump to the right of the square-leg umpire. This is perhaps the most difficult shot to create, because if you don’t find the pinpoint precision necessary, you’re doomed. You not only have to delay the shot when attempting this stroke, you also need to close the bat face completely (almost showing the edge of the bat to the bowler), and yet hit the ball from the middle.This became a routine – just when the bowler thought the ball was going to elude Laxman, because he looked visibly late on it, the bat would come down. If Laxman had delayed his shots by even a fraction more than he did, the ball would have hit his body or the stumps. Such was his pristine timing.Economy of movement
As expansive as Laxman’s hand movements were, he was frugal when it came to moving his feet to reach the pitch of the ball, for he could make up for it with his hands. The lack of movement made him extremely still at the crease, which meant that he was rarely off balance. The lack of foot movement created room for his arms and hands to work freely, which made him a free-flowing batsman when in form. The flip side of reaching the ball with hands and not feet was that it didn’t look very compact when he was out of form, like in Australia last winter.Laxman’s cricket has been a paradox of a zen-like façade and a fighter’s instinct within. Perhaps that’s what makes him one of the most intriguing cricketers of our times. His batting has been a viewer’s delight, and many Laxman innings have been spectacular cricket extravaganzas. Some of his shots deserve a statutory warning: these stunts have been performed by an expert, please don’t try them at home!

Neither of Junaid Siddique or Shahriar Nafees have played genuine fast bowling regularly in the domestic circuit and that is why their struggles have come as soon as they faced the type again at the international stage

Mohammad Isam in Khulna20-Nov-2012Mahmudullah’s battle with Tino Best and his bouncers in the closing stages of the Mirpur Test was a forewarning to Bangladesh to expect more of the same from the West Indies fast bowlers in Khulna. Mahmudullah was hit thrice by Best’s short deliveries and backed away a few times towards the end of the Bangladesh second innings, but he did hit back by hooking Best for a six.It is a shot many in the Bangladesh line-up would take heart from. What would also help them is a simple piece of advice from a batting great in the opposition camp – keep your eyes on the ball, something that has often been ignored by Bangladeshi batsman who always struggle against fast, short-pitched bowling.”There aren’t many batsmen in world cricket who play the short ball very well, but at the same time batsmen work hard to overcome these problems,” Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh captain, said. “We do the same things too. [Mahmudullah] Riyad played very well in the first Test, and the guts he showed at the time was what we needed. It has inspired us. They won’t be bowling bouncers all the time, but we have to make sure we see off the tough period.”Junaid Siddique struggled against short deliveries in both innings in Mirpur while back-of-a-length deliveries and the extra bounce also accounted for Shahriar Nafees. Tamim Iqbal got out cutting a ball that rose at him in the second innings, but he is the best Bangladesh player of the short delivery alongside Shakib Al Hasan, who pulls it without much risk.Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson, the team’s manager on this tour and one who only used the helmet at the fag end of a career in which playing short bowling came as second nature, said that the key was to focus on the ball and let the natural instincts take over.”My belief was that if you keep your eyes on the ball, your natural reflexes will allow your head to evade,” Richardson told ESPNcricinfo. “That was my approach really, I was fearless. I didn’t think I would get hurt. I always backed myself 100 per cent.”That is not how Bangladeshi batsmen have approached anything directed at their body in the past decade. They resort to ducking, weaving and getting hit. Mahmudullah’s struggles brought to mind how Makhaya Ntini smacked Akram Khan on the chest, or when Khaled Mahmud’s inadequacy was laid bare by the England bowlers, or the time Al Sahariar held out a periscope only to have the ball hit the splice and pop to slip in South Africa. Both former captains were seen off in those Tests while Shahriar only lasted another year in international cricket.A similar fate won’t be in store for Mahmudullah yet, but he and many others in the line-up have to get the hang of encountering bouncers, as Mushfiqur pointed out. “It is one thing to do well in one innings or one match but to do it consistently is very important and the real challenge. It is not impossible, but very difficult,” Mushfiqur said.Top-order batsmen need to play short-pitched bowling regularly, and with authority. However, what has happened in the past in Bangladesh is continuing in the present. If the the docile pitches in domestic cricket don’t change, these problems will continue well into the future.Neither of Siddique or Nafees have played genuine fast bowling regularly in the domestic circuit in the last two years and that is why their struggles have come as soon as they faced the type again at the international stage.Flat pitches, tailor-made for batsmen and spinners, are rife in the country with very few fast bowlers given an extended spell even in a one-day game. In first-class cricket, the obsession with left-arm spinners has not only hampered the growth of legspin and offspin, it has also reduced fast bowlers to shine-removers and over-fillers.Such matters have to be addressed urgently but it is likely that the Bangladesh batsman will be left to his own devices in international cricket to figure out a way.

But in 2015, why don’t we have a set of World Cup qualifiers, which gives the non-Test teams a chance

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013

The World Cup, ideally, should be a shorter tournament with the top eight teams facing off in a round-robin stage© AFP
It had appeared the ICC had regained some sense. The gruelling 2007 World Cup was a veritable cricketing treadmill. Many of the matches were as filled with meaning as the grandstands were filled with people. And boy, were those seats empty. Two brilliantly organised World T20s, an excellent re-birth of the ICC Champions Trophy and we were all filled with optimism, that indeed the next World Cup could be just as succinctly run, with every match being consequential.And then, upon seeing the new schedule, I sigh. Sorry, does that say 14 teams in two groups of seven? There will be 42 matches required just to eliminate the minnows? And what does this one month long preamble lead to? The meat of the competition, the games that really matter. Alas, it is a pure knockout stage. I guess it is too late to change for the 2011 World Cup.But in 2015, why don’t we have a set of World Cup qualifiers, which gives the non-Test teams a chance. Just like in football. And then allow the eight teams that qualify to play each other in a round-robin tournament, with the first four going through to the semis. That would be 31 matches all up (11 less than 2011) and every single one of them would be important.