The nucleus of this England side is not going to change overnight, but some key players are now the wrong side of 30 and will leave tough holes to fill when the time comes

George Dobell22-Aug-2013Whatever else happens over the last three days of this match, England may reflect on the Oval Test of 2013 as having provided a disconcerting peek into their future.It is not just that their two debutants in this match – Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan – have endured tough baptisms into Test cricket. It is that, over the last four years, England have now brought 12 new players into their Test side without any of them making an incontrovertible case for long-term inclusion.You have to go back to 2009, when Jonathan Trott won his first Test cap, to find an England player who can be said to a have made an uncompromised success of his elevation.Since then a dozen men have been tried – Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, James Tredwell, Eoin Morgan, Ajmal Shahzad, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor, Nick Compton, Joe Root, Kerrigan and Woakes – and, while four or five (Taylor, Finn, Bairstow and Root in particular) may yet prove themselves worthy Test players, none have yet progressed to become long-term, automatic selections.As a result, England continue to rely on the same trusted characters. But the unsettling suspicion is that, scratch beneath the surface of this strong England side, and there are doubts about their bench strength.While England look relatively well stocked with top-order batsmen – the likes of Varun Chopra, Luke Wells and Sam Robson – and tall, fast bowlers – the likes of Jamie Overton, Boyd Rankin, Finn and Tremlett, who responded to be overlooked for this match by claiming five wickets for Surrey on Thursday – they are no closer to finding a replacement for the swing of James Anderson or the spin of Graeme Swann.Maybe that is not surprising. Anderson and Swann are two of the best bowlers England have possessed in decades. But they are both over 30, they are both required to shoulder heavy workloads and neither can be expected to do so indefinitely.While it had been presumed that Monty Panesar would inherit Swann’s role in this side – and there are whispers that this could, just could, be Swann’s final Test in England – recent revelations about Panesar have thrown some doubt over his long-term involvement. Suffice it to say, it would be naive to conclude that his bizarre behaviour in Brighton recently was simply an aberration.That would mean that Kerrigan could be England’s first choice spinner much earlier than had been anticipated. Aged only 24 and with an impressive first-class record, Kerrigan no doubt has a bright future. But on the evidence of this game, he is some way from being a Test cricketer.In some ways, the second day of this Test was even more depressing than the first for Kerrigan. There are caveats to the decision not to bowl him – it was a day truncated by poor weather and conditions favoured the seamers – but to see Trott called into the attack ahead of him hardly provided a ringing endorsement of his captain’s faith in his abilities. Perhaps a more sympathetic captain might have found a way to involve Kerrigan a little more.Any judgement on Woakes’ debut depends on how you perceive his role. He bowled tidily enough on a flat wicket and will surely never let England down. Whether that is enough to justify a Test career as a third seamer is highly debatable, though. And, while he may yet score match-defining runs from No. 6, what has become clear is that he cannot be viewed as a viable alternative as the incisive swing bowling replacement of Anderson. England don’t have one.

In some ways, the second day of this Test was even more depressing than the first for Kerrigan. There are caveats to the decision not to bowl him – it was a day truncated by poor weather and conditions favoured the seamers – but to see Trott called into the attack ahead of him hardly provided a ringing endorsement of his captain’s faith in his abilities

It may be too early to draw conclusions as to the reasons for the struggles of recent England debutants, but part of the problem may lie in the county game. Over the past few years, English county cricket has witnessed the removal of Kolpak registrations – a well-intentioned but not entirely positive move – an increasing difficulty in securing top-quality overseas players, an absence of the top England players on international or even Lions duty and the premature elevation of inexperienced cricketers due to young player incentives.Every change was well intentioned, but the combination has weakened the breeding ground of England’s Test team. There are too many weak young players who might never have made it into professional sport a decade ago competing against one another.Compare it to the side that took England to No. 1 in the Test rankings. It contained four men in the top seven (Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Trott and Matt Prior) who had scored centuries on Test debut, two more (Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen) who had scored half-centuries and a bowler (Anderson) who claimed a five-wicket haul.Every one of them had been developed in county cricket at a time when young players had to fight for inclusion among Kolpak registrations, experienced England players and some excellent overseas cricketers. County cricket prepared them much more thoroughly.There is a strong suspicion that the next few months will witness a changing of the guard in the management of this England side, too. Andy Flower, arguably the most positive influence on England cricket in a generation, may well step down from his day-to-day coaching role with the side after the tour of Australia this winter.While he is highly likely to remain involved in a role overseeing the England teams – a position similar to that undertaken by Hugh Morris at present – it is anticipated that Ashley Giles will assume day-to-day coaching responsibilities.Sooner or later England must embrace change. The next test for them will be to see whether the improvements of recent years are the result of a once in a lifetime collection of players – the likes of Pietersen and Cook and Anderson and Swann – or whether, with all the money invested in age-group teams, talent identification and coaching, the national centre of excellence and a dozen other schemes, the entire system has been transformed to ensure continuity of excellence and a constant conveyor belt of quality players.The evidence of this Test has not been especially encouraging.

Usman Khawaja was not the reason for Australia’s defeat in Chester-le-Street, but he hasn’t solved the team’s No. 3 problem either

Brydon Coverdale15-Aug-2013It has been 48 innings since an Australian has scored a Test century at No. 3. Never before has the team had a drought that long at first drop. Not when Harry Moses, Harry Trott and George Giffen were struggling on uncovered pitches in the 1880s. Not when Ian Redpath, Paul Sheahan and Bob Cowper were failing to convert starts in the late 1960s. Never. Every other team – Zimbabwe and Bangladesh included – have had Test hundreds from their No. 3 since Australia’s last.To watch Usman Khawaja over the past two Tests has been to witness a continuation of the first drop malaise. At times he has appeared elegant and classy in his strokes. But, there has also been a frailness, a sense that the bowlers had his measure. In Australia’s botched chase in Chester-le-Street, he played a typical Khawaja Test innings: plenty of style but little substance. His limp prod and lbw to Graeme Swann was the beginning of Australia’s end.No. 3 need not be the team’s best batsman, but he must be up for a battle. From Ian Chappell to David Boon, from Justin Langer to Ricky Ponting, Australia’s modern-day first drops have been fighters, men who have placed a high price on their wicket, regardless of natural ability. There are times when a No. 3 can bat more freely and build on a strong platform, but just as often his main job is to ensure that one for not many doesn’t become two for very few.Big innings matter at first drop, but small ones are equally significant. Since Shaun Marsh scored 141 on debut in Sri Lanka in 2011, not only have Australia not had a century at No. 3, they have also had 11 ducks there from 48 innings. No other position in the top, middle or tail comes close to that many zeros in the same period – the next highest is six ducks from the No.8 batsmen. Since Ponting moved down the order, Australia’s No. 3s have collectively averaged 25.62.And “collectively” is the word. Marsh was injured while batting in the 2011 Cape Town Test, Ponting stood in for him in the second innings, then Khawaja was tried and discarded, Marsh returned in woeful form, Shane Watson visited No. 3 on his stopping-at-all-stations trip down the order, Rob Quiney failed and was forgotten, Watson came back, Phillip Hughes had a turn, Michael Clarke tried it once in India, Ed Cowan’s tenure was brief, and now Khawaja is back.Cricket mythology will tell you that a team’s best batsman comes in at No. 3, but Len Hutton and Jack Hobbs were openers. So was Sunil Gavaskar. Allan Border floated from four to six. Sachin Tendulkar has avoided the job so fastidiously that he has played 327 Test innings and not a single one at first drop. Clarke is this team’s talisman but as Stuart Broad has shown, the swinging new ball is not his friend. There is no need for Clarke to move higher than No.4.But then, who gets the job? The production line is not the result of having too many options, but too few good ones. Australia have used No. 3 as a place to try fresh faces (Marsh, Khawaja, Quiney) or more familiar ones in search of a spot (Watson, Hughes, Cowan). It is little wonder, for that is largely how the state teams treat the first drop position. The lack of big scores at domestic level has been well documented, but the dearth of runs at No. 3 is especially alarming.Consider the following, a list of all the batsmen used at No.3 in the Sheffield Shield last summer, nightwatchmen aside: Khawaja, Hughes, Quiney, Ponting, Marsh, Watson, Alex Doolan, Michael Klinger, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Marcus North, Aaron Finch, Joe Burns, Peter Forrest, Cameron White, Nic Maddinson, Tom Cooper, Peter Nevill, Tim Cruickshank, Sam Whiteman, Luke Towers, Dom Michael, John Rogers, Michael Hill, Alex Carey, Steve Cazzulino, Sam Miller, Peter Handscomb, Daniel Hughes, Marcus Stonis and even the bowler Kane Richardson.That’s 31 men who batted at No. 3 last season; a mix of veterans, rookies and journeymen. And for all of that, only four centuries were made from first drop in the summer’s 31 Shield matches. Not surprisingly, Khawaja (138 v Tasmania) and Hughes (120 v Victoria) made one each, while the other centurions were Doolan (149 v South Australia) and Hill (144 v Queensland).Doolan might have sent a postcard from Victoria Falls on this year’s Australia A tour, but otherwise has had nothing to write home about, and it is difficult to argue against Khawaja and Hughes as being the best Test options. Perhaps Khawaja will be given another chance at The Oval and grasp it, but the signs have not been promising. He may one day stamp himself as a Test batsman, but right now Khawaja at No. 3 looks wrong.There is a strong argument that Hughes should get the job. Khawaja’s strokeplay appears more sophisticated, but Hughes has the fight. He showed that during the first innings at Trent Bridge, when from No. 6 he scored a patient and mature 81 not out as Ashton Agar stole the limelight at the other end. But three low scores followed and Hughes was cut.It is true that Hughes has issues against quality offspin, but Khawaja hasn’t looked comfortable against Swann either. What Hughes has is the ability to score big – 21 first-class hundreds to Khawaja’s 11 – and the proven capacity to make runs at Test level. He also has a reasonable record as a Test No.3 – 372 runs at 37.20 – but always seems the batsman most vulnerable to the axe, or to being shuffled around the order.Since the start of this year’s Indian tour, Hughes’ Test batting positions look like this: 343343346644. Including tour matches, he has batted in every spot from opening to No. 6 on this trip. Hughes conceded on Wednesday that “at times it can be [difficult] if you keep changing your position in the order, but it’s about getting your head around it, and if you do get consistent runs, you’ll hold a spot. It can be tricky but it’s a professional sport and it’s up to the captain and the selectors to give you a position”.It is time to give Hughes the No.3 position and leave him there. He enjoys the new ball, converts and fights. Yes, sometimes he looks ugly doing it. But he is much less pretty batting further down against spin. And when it all comes down to it, he has been Australia’s most effective No.3 since Ponting. He has contributed to the record century drought but he has come closer than anyone to breaking it. His last two innings at No.3 were 69 and 45 in trying conditions in India.If given the opportunity, it is of course up to Hughes to take it. But for now, perhaps the selectors should think about Hughes as first drop, not the first dropped.

Discarded and unfit, Zaheer Khan sighted an unceremonious end to his career. Then he decided to do something about it

Nagraj Gollapudi25-Nov-2013The change is striking. If you have not seen Zaheer Khan for a while and spot him in person, or on television, you might mistake him for an army cadet. Like a fresher at a defence academy, he is lean, lithe and sports a crew cut. Not the Zaheer with fat around the hips, whom Michael Holding called unfit after a cursory glance from a distance on the first morning of India’s Test series in England in 2011.Hips don’t lie. Today Zaheer’s are slimmer and more flexible as he turns to deliver the ball. Although the run-up is the same, he is now capable of accelerating without breaking sweat. The biggest change in Zaheer, who has been selected for India’s Test series in South Africa, is that he doesn’t have to worry about breaking down.Before his return against West Indies A in October, Zaheer had played no first-class cricket in 2013. He pulled a hamstring in a Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat in the last week of 2012. During the IPL, he achieved tournament-best figures of 4 for 17 in a victory against Chennai Super Kings, but he spent more time in the Royal Challengers Bangalore dugout than on the field.After numerous hours trying to rehabilitate at the frugally equipped National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore over the last couple of years, Zaheer began to get frustrated. His last Test for India had been against England in December 2012, and he desperately wanted to impose himself on batsmen again.Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh at Tim Exeter’s performance centre•Tim ExeterSometime in June this year, Ashish Kaushik, one of the trainers at the NCA, told Zaheer and Yuvraj Singh – who was also keen to get specialist attention on the fitness front – about Tim Exeter, an athletic and performance coach, who runs a centre in the small picturesque town of Brive-La-Gaillarde, between Bordeaux and Lyon in southern France. The place suited the pair’s desire to train in an environment where they could remain anonymous.This was the first time Exeter was working with cricketers. To him, though, the two were just athletes. “I could tell they were not as lean as they needed to be,” Exeter says. “Having not worked with the guys before, I was not familiar about where they should be. But one of Zak’s major goals was to get his body fat levels down and get stronger.”Originally from Scotland, Exeter, who describes himself as an athletic performance coach, moved to France five years ago along with his wife Helen and four children. He played rugby for Scotland at representative level, and once for the national team, before he broke his neck and moved on to coaching. He came to France with a couple of England rugby players – 2003 World Cup winners both – who were, like him, playing for Northampton at the time. Exeter had spent close to seven years with the club but decided to move because he was not happy with the inconsistencies in the coaching system.”I specialise in improving performance and reducing injury risks,” Exeter says. “Making athletes more robust so they don’t pick up silly injuries, or help them come back from injuries better. The areas of specialty, particularly, are speed and agility, and movement efficiency. It is not about making them fast in a straight line. It is about being able to change in all directions. It is three-dimensional.”If your movement is more efficient, you will use less energy, but you will also be more consistent, and that also allows you to generate more.”India might not have had a more skilled fast bowler, but niggles, recurring injures and inconsistent fitness habits were threatening to make Zaheer, who turned 35 this October, obsolete. He knew his chances in ODI cricket were slim, with the selectors set on the World Cup in 2015. The only way back was through Test cricket, which couldn’t have been easy given its fitness demands. Her needed to make a decision about where he wanted to go.

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The first thing Exeter worked out was a strict diet, and Zaheer bought into it without complaints. A combination of the right food and rigorous training became the routine during the six weeks he spent in France.”Where a lot of people go wrong is, they eat too much bread and pasta and a whole lot of stuff like that,” Exeter says. “But if you are not in an endurance sport like cycling or distance running, it is not good to have such food. There has been a fallacy that pasta is king, and you have got to smash carbohydrates down, but it can actually blow you up. So he reduced that a lot, and switched to more protein, like fish, and vegetables along with moderate amounts of fruit to help improve his body composition.”

“Zak said that he is not the fastest bowler in the world. That is not his intention. What he wants to be able to do is bowl at a good pace, do it consistently, and do it all day”Tim Exeter, athletic and performance coach

The message was simple: if your intake of calories is more than what you expend, then you are going to put on weight. An advantage for Exeter was Zaheer knew his body well. “He is like any good professional athlete I have worked with,” Exeter says. “I know what will work, but you always need the coach-athlete relationship to be working to tweak things. In that respect Zak is brilliant. He does know his body. He also knows what he wants. So we were able to develop some interesting stuff specific to him and it worked.”Other than the weight control, Exeter worked extensively on Zaheer’s running technique, which increased his efficiency as a bowler and made him quicker on the field while spending less energy. “Zak said that he is not the fastest bowler in the world,” Exeter says. “That is not his intention. What he wants to be able to do is bowl at a good pace, do it consistently, and do it all day. If he has bowled 120 balls a day, he wants to know that he can bowl the last one nearly as hard and fast as the first one.”According to Exeter, Zaheer has a highly demanding bowling action with a huge impact on his landing foot. “There is a massive force coming down on the leg he plants down before he delivers,” he says. “He has got to have the ability to decelerate, which has mainly to do with his right leg, which is the last part of his bowling action. As he jumps up in the last part of his bowling action, he comes down very hard on his right leg because he uses that as a pivot to generate speed on the ball. That was an area we focused a lot on. That is why you start with the core, the hip area.”Apart from putting the players through a strenuous outdoor training regime, which started at six in the morning on weekdays and focused more on movements and running technique, Exeter asked Zaheer to make waves with heavy ropes – the toughest exercise – in the gym. He also had him lift dead weights while squatting on the ground, and perform vertical jumps. The physical changes started to become visible after about a month. By then Zaheer had lost 5kg, and was more flexible in his movements.”It [the weight loss] just allows him to do better, and more often, and become consistent,” Exeter says. “We worked on flexibility through his hip region, mobility of his hips, which would transfer positively into his bowling and would take a load off his lower back as well. So getting him stronger through the central part of his body would not only protect his back but also allow him to produce more powerful rotations.”When Zaheer checked in, he had failed in the deadlift from the floor. “But by the end he had started to lift some reasonable weight – around 115kg – which he could not do at the start because he had not got the strength in the core and back,” Exeter says. “In that lift he is not only working his legs, he is working his glute, his hamstrings, his upper body, his core, his back, his forearms.”

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Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer’s former team-mate and a good friend, could not believe the physical change. He had met Zaheer in London before he left for France. “He looked determined,” Agarkar remembers. “He told me he was going to push himself to achieve the required fitness.” Injuries and constant niggles pushed Agarkar into retirement this October, so he understood what Zaheer was going through. “It is about bowling with that extra weight for 20-25 overs every day,” he says. “And that takes its toll.”Tim Exeter worked on Zaheer Khan’s bowling action to help him reduce pressure on his body•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhen Zaheer returned from France, Agarkar was amazed at the striking difference. “We could not believe how lean he had become,” he says.According to Sudhir Naik, Zaheer’s long-time coach, his biggest challenge before he trained with Exeter was to last a whole Test. “It was mental, where he would worry how long he could last,” Naik says. “He was always confident as a bowler. He was only worried about fitness. But so far, in the last two months, he has just built on the momentum. Especially in the three Ranji Trophy matches he has played, he has bowled extremely well, with full speed, including long eight-to-nine-over spells at a stretch.”Even though the selectors had ignored him for the home series against West Indies earlier this month, Zaheer’s aim was to get match-fit. Along the way he bowled influential spells that helped Mumbai snatch crucial points. Sulakshan Kulkarni, Mumbai’s coach, agrees with Naik. “In the five-odd matches he has played recently, he has bowled nearly 200 overs [147.3 in five matches] and not once did he come back to the dressing room [for a comfort break or treatment],” Kulkarni says. “You never needed to bother about his bowling. But now he looks the fittest cricketer in the team. So mentally, skill-wise, he was on top.”How can we be sure that Zaheer, who has had an injury-prone body, will last the distance, enough to take him over the last bend of his career? Training smart and focusing on the pre-season training are the key areas, Exeter says. “He told me he has played for 13 years solid. When you are younger, you can get away with murder, but as you get older it is wise to step back and have a preparation period through pre-season training. When you hit a certain age, you only need one injury, and then it just starts a chain of events, but you can definitely get it back when you are more robust. No question about that.”When Zaheer and Yuvraj arrived at Exeter’s centre in the middle of a vibrant European summer, they had excess baggage. “They arrived with four to five jackets, thinking it was going to be cold,” Exeter chuckles. While the summer took care of that, Exeter is satisfied he has played a part in getting rid of the excess body weight.

South Africa squashed their opponents at home last summer. This year’s visitors are expected to be tougher, and Graeme Smith wants his team to be as ruthless

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg17-Dec-20130:00

‘Hoping Tahir will make an impact’ – Smith

The summer of 2012 had some milestones for South African cricket.It was the first time Graeme Smith’s team played at home after winning the Test mace in England that August. It was also the first time since readmission that there was no Test in Durban: Kingsmead’s traditional Boxing Day fixture was cancelled in favour of a Twenty20 series. When the Tests began, South Africa won all of them in a home season for the first time in a decade. None of the matches lasted five days.That last point was the most notable of the lot. After becoming the top-ranked Test side and then winning a series in Australia, South Africa’s mission was to assert their authority over the rest. They were ruthless against New Zealand, who barely posed a challenge, and Pakistan, who worried them only on the first day in Johannesburg and when Saeed Ajmal took ten wickets in Cape Town.The summer of 2013 is expected to be trickier. South Africa are still No. 1, having ended a seven-month break from Tests with a drawn series against Pakistan in the UAE. It’s not mid-table teams they are up against at home, though, and they have to play in Durban, where they have not won a Test since January 2008. It is likely that matches will last longer than they did last summer.Tahir v Peterson

The Wanderers pitch promises to be seamer-friendly and as a result South Africa could have picked the holding left-arm spinner in Robin Peterson in the XI, instead of the attacking legspinner Imran Tahir. Graeme Smith and the coach Russell Domingo, however, selected the aggressive option.
“Imran has been bowling really well,” Smith said. “Even though we know the role of the spinner may be limited here, we felt that if an impact was needed, he could do it. We also felt our batting depth was good enough and Imran could really be effective against tailenders.”
Tahir was dropped for Peterson after conceding 0 for 260 in Adelaide in November 2012, but had an opportunity to make a comeback when Peterson was ineffective against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
Tahir took his chance, claiming eight wickets in Dubai to secure his spot. He is familiar with the Wanderers pitch because it is one of the home grounds for his domestic franchise, the Lions.

South Africa’s first opponents are the No. 2 ranked side. Though India’s rise in the rankings has been a result of victories at home, they have been competitive in South Africa in the past. There’s reason to believe they will be again, despite the transition they are going through after Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement.”Their line-up is hugely talented, although very different to the one I have become accustomed to playing against,” South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith said. Of the 27 Tests South Africa have played against India, only twice have they not come up against Tendulkar. In 2008, he missed the Kanpur and Ahmedabad matches with a groin injury.Tendulkar’s absence has got the South African bowlers excited. Morne Morkel said that without him and Rahul Dravid, India’s line-up lacked “guys who can bat time,” although he singled out Cheteshwar Pujara as being someone with the potential to do that. He expected the other batsmen to attack and said they may come unstuck if they adopt that approach.For Morkel, possibly South Africa’s gentlest soul, to issue such a stern warning shows the level of self-belief in this squad. They don’t think they can beat teams; they know they can.Smith said that was the major difference between this Test side and the one that could not beat India three seasons ago. “There’s confidence and composure now, and growth in terms of knowing that we can win from certain situations,” he said.Where South Africa have to be careful is in ensuring that their conviction does not become complacency. To guard against that, Smith has spoken about building a legacy – a term that is used to remind his team that every series is part of a bigger goal.”We play the game hard and there’s a big respect for the opposition. Hopefully we will be able to set standards,” Smith said. “If you look at the Ashes, it puts into perspective the type of performances we’ve been able to put in. It’s legacy and we need to have a care factor for that.”The Ashes winners, Australia, will tour South Africa later in the summer and that is expected to be a fiery affair. Smith does not want to look that far yet. “I don’t feel there is any hype around the dressing room for that. We need to overcome this first.”Smith’s focus is in the right place because South Africa have not won a series against India since 2006: the last three series were drawn. Their goal is crystal clear. Last summer, South Africa wanted to show they could win big. This year, they want to prove they can win hard.

While conservatism has worked for Sri Lanka in this series, their dour defensive play on day four in Sharjah neither decisively put defeat beyond them nor, it would appear, did much to revive the flagging interest in Test cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Sharjah19-Jan-2014A few days ago, in the Emirate just west of Sharjah, a group of cricket administrators unveiled a proposal that would put the Test-match future of Sri Lanka and Pakistan in serious doubt. On day four, in a series already ruled by attrition, the teams produced the least watchable cricket of the tour. The comatose third session, in which Sri Lanka progressed at 1.36 runs an over, was little more than a staring contest featuring 13 grown men. There are pharmaceutical ads that are more compelling.The few hundred fans that had come to the stadium stared too, only their eyes had long since glazed over. If any new followers of the sport tuned in, they might wonder why Tests between these sides deserve saving.Sri Lanka were almost certainly the more passive of the teams, and though the players will contend that abrasive battles are an inextricable part of Test cricket, they can hardly claim it is the type of play that will stir the flagging interest in the format at home. They will also hold that Sri Lanka’s first away series win since 2000 is much better reward for their fans than risky, aggressive cricket. If the sport is reduced to its scorelines, then perhaps that is correct. But cricket has always been about the journey, not just the destination, as laid out by the two best Tests of 2013, in Auckland and Johannesburg, both of which ended in draws.Before the Test, captain Angelo Mathews had said this: “We need to play positive cricket once again, because we will try to win it 2-0. We are certainly not going for a draw here, because it sends a negative message to the whole team.”To single Mathews out for hypocrisy here would be grossly unfair, primarily because press conferences with almost any athlete have become an exercise in professional pretense. Even the most dour batsman will speak of “being positive” – a ubiquitous cricketing phrase – because anything less conveys weakness. But the fact is, no one likes to lose. When you’re ahead in the series, why bother with winning the match? Sri Lanka have been in control at the close of almost every day since the middle of the first Test, and the prospect of finishing the series on even terms might appear madness to those in the dressing room.Moreover, an inexperienced Sri Lanka side have largely gained ground by playing conservatively and respecting the limits of their ability. The fast bowlers have not attempted magic balls, nor sought to blast oppositions out. The spinners have found safety in the quicker, flatter deliveries, hoping to build pressure with dot balls. In the Dubai Test that Sri Lanka won, they scored at less than three an over in both innings, effectively challenging Pakistan to change the tempo of the series, if they wish to level it.But on Sunday, Sri Lanka discovered the perils of treading too far down the conservative route. An uncompromising focus on defence with the bat allowed Pakistan’s bowlers the opportunity to settle happily into their work, even though the onus was on them to take quick wickets, having finished their first innings with an 87-run deficit and only five full sessions to play. Three of Sri Lanka’s five dismissed batsmen fell offering defensive shots, having earned poor dividends for their time at the crease. Kaushal Silva and Dinesh Chandimal fell to very good balls, but that is hardly unexpected at Test level; if batsmen are to receive unplayable deliveries, it would seem wise to score off the balls that are not so menacing.Mahela Jayawardene stalled for 15 deliveries on 46, allowing Saeed Ajmal to put men around the bat, as he constructed what was among his most threatening spells in the series. Flat pitches in India recently prompted MS Dhoni to compare bowlers to bowling machines, but to Ajmal, Jayawardene and Mathews – whose 38-run stand spanned 176 deliveries – might have seemed the batting equivalent. Predictably, he got one to turn a little more than Jayawardene anticipated, and ensured Pakistan’s slim hopes of winning the Test survived into the fifth day.It is excusable, perhaps even commendable, that Sri Lanka have taken stock of their personnel and embraced conservatism in the series, largely to good effect. Their gains in the series may even suggest it is a strategy that suits them until key men develop the ability to play attacking, intimidating cricket. But in defending to the point of alienating fans, they have also weakened their grip on the match.

Graeme Smith was the last of South Africa’s old guard. The roots of the new one need to grow deeper

Firdose Moonda06-Mar-2014In one summer, South African cricket has lost 30 years. The retirements of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis took away three decades of experience and ended an era. Not just any era. South Africa’s most successful era.Before the 2013-14 season began, South Africa’s Test side had lost only one series in eight years. That was to Australia at home. They had gone from Antigua to Auckland, and Birmingham to Brisbane, and did not lose for 14 series.That run isn’t as good as those of the great sides – Australia were unbeaten for 16 series between 2001 and 2005 and West Indies for 29 over 15 years – but it broke new ground for South Africa. It made them serious contenders to be considered among Test cricket’s legendary outfits. They might not have the longevity, but they do have the ingredients.Comparisons between Clive Lloyd’s West Indian attack and this South African one began when Vernon Philander’s rise completed a three-pronged pace battery. With Kallis as the fourth seamer, South Africa had the complete set, though they lacked a world-class spinner. But so did that West Indian team.Comparisons with Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting’s Australia for ruthlessness, however, could not be made with certainty. South Africa were known more for the art of not losing rather than the art of winning. They play hard but their aggression has not yet been sharpened to be as crafty or nuanced as Australia’s. Still, when they wiped the floor with last summer’s opponents – New Zealand and Pakistan – there were signs the killer instinct was awakening.The defining characteristic of this South African side was resilience. It was their greatness. They learned conditions around the world, sometimes better than they did the ones at home, and developed a style of play suited to every location. They learned how to get themselves off the ropes and put the opposition on them. The ability to counterpunch is no less a skill than the ability to land the first blow.Now, South Africa will have to stage their most difficult counterattack yet. This is the challenge Smith talked about 19 months ago, when his team wrested the Test mace from England. He said they would have to learn to stand firm when the wind came to blow them off the mountaintop. The South Easter has arrived.The great sides of West Indies and Australia had more than one wave of success, and that is why they became iconic. South Africa need a second wave, because the first has washed ashore.Not only are Smith and Kallis gone, the leader of the triad Mark Boucher went before them. Though South Africa rose to No. 1 without Boucher, who was forced into retirement before that England series by injury, they had been infused by his influence. Boucher remained best friends with Kallis and Smith and close to the rest of the squad. He joined them at training sessions and on team-building camps.The other person instrumental for South Africa’s successful team environment is also no longer a part of the set-up – their former coach Gary Kirsten. Like he did with India, Kirsten took a group of talented individuals and turned them into a winning team. He did that by allowing players the freedom they needed to become a family.The majority of that family is still around, and they will have to fill the gaps left by the absentees. Dale Steyn has already put his hand up to do that. On the team’s early morning flight to Port Elizabeth for the start of the Twenty20 series against Australia, following the Newlands Test defeat, he tweeted a picture with the captain: “Bouch, Kallis and now Biff gone! Officially the old man in the team looking after the new kids!” The photograph was of Steyn sitting next to Quinton de Kock. The young wicketkeeper was fast asleep.South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo spoke about his desire to see AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander use what they learned from Smith, Kallis and Boucher and become icon players themselves. De Villiers and Amla have already done that with their batting. Now they need to it through their leadership.De Villiers already does to some extent as captain of the ODI team, and Amla does it quietly through example. That has its own benefits because as much as South Africa need to find a new core of seniors, they also need to find suitable personnel. They have already seen how difficult that can be, in the quest to fill the Kallis-sized hole.Because there have been very few like Kallis in cricket, South Africa have had to try out different lower-order allrounders to find a replacement. It is too early to tell which of Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell and Kyle Abbott is the long-term solution, especially given Philander’s ability to do a similar job in the tail.Now South Africa have the additional task of finding an opening batsman, possibly two. Alviro Petersen is only just clinging on to his spot. Dean Elgar was fighting him for it, but now that Smith is gone Elgar has an easier vacancy to fill. The opening duo of Petersen and Elgar will not inspire the same confidence as Smith and Petersen, or Smith and Elgar, or Smith and anyone did.It’s that syndrome South Africa will have to get over. The only way to move on from losing Smith – and Kallis and Boucher – is to make a clean break. No comparisons, no longing for their return and no excuses. It needs to be balanced against making sure they get the appreciation and praise they deserve for their all they have given South African cricket.When last spring sprung, nobody would have said with certainty that both Kallis and Smith were about to join Boucher and Kirsten as men who had decided the autumn of their careers was over. Domingo has already endured one winter of discontent in his first assignment as national coach with the ODI side, in Sri Lanka last August. He will not want another when he takes the Test team there this July under a new captain. Should South Africa come through that unscathed they can look forward to a good home summer. A summer of new beginnings.

The lower profile of the India-Bangladesh series does not dilute the challenges ahead of Suresh Raina – trying to balance the demands of captaincy while reviving his ODI form

Alagappan Muthu in Dhaka13-Jun-20142:05

Muthu: A World Cup audition for senior players

Dhaka’s bustle is loud, vibrant and distracting. The city refuses to quieten down even on holiday but there is a semblance of calm inside the Shere Bangla Stadium. And even here, there isn’t much evidence that a one-day series between Bangladesh and India is on the horizon. Football has usurped the viewership.Every second bus pits Lionel Messi against Neymar, electronics shops proclaim World Cup-themed discounts and tea shops host animated arguments over which team will emerge the last one standing in Rio. The streets are awash with Brazil and Argentina flags, some as large as 15 feet across.Suresh Raina might well wonder about the visibility he could gain in his third stint as India captain. Interest among broadcasters has also been low, so much so that the series might not be on television in India. Perhaps the low profile might help him tackle the challenges ahead: a national comeback, as captain, in a three-match series where one off-day could trigger the walls to close in.India, however, are favourites. The hosts’ potential cannot be discounted, but recent history paints them in unflattering light. Since their 3-0 humiliation of New Zealand in 2013, Bangladesh’s only victories in any format have come against Afghanistan and Nepal in the World T20. In the last six months, their captain has questioned the commitment of his men, the side has been strapped with new team management and a battle against corruption is also visible on the periphery. So a series win – should it transpire – might not fetch as many gold stars for Raina. On the other hand, defeat could cripple his portfolio. The classic lose-lose situation.For the third-time running, Raina has been tasked to lead a depleted India side. Eight first-choice picks have been rested to gauge the pool available for the 2015 World Cup. One-fifth of the squad is uncapped – Kedar Jadhav, Akshar Patel and Parvez Rasool. Manoj Tiwary and international cricket will exchange pleasantries after two years’ silence. Cheteshwar Pujara has largely been untested in limited-overs surrounds. And the bowling has the potential to tempt another Indian captain to say he believed they could concede 10 runs an over. Everything from the batting order to team strategy will need a rehash.Patchy form kept Suresh Raina out of India’s last ODI assignment, the Asia Cup in March•ICCRaina has welcomed his responsibility as an honour. He has been part of a sound set-up for a good chunk of his ODI career and this series demands he harvest the knowledge gained. He will need to find a Virat Kohli among his batsmen to set up the game. Then he will need to find someone to fill in for MS Dhoni and finish the game. He need not look further than himself to bridge both roles at No.4. Raina has documented a thirst to bat up the order and display his skills at constructing an Indian victory. It is a desire that strikes every batsman dubbed a T20 specialist. His promise persuaded the team management to groom him as a replacement for Yuvraj Singh last year, but the venture failed.Raina was cast aside for the Asia Cup. A run of 24 innings with only one half-century meant the weakness against short-pitched bowling had crept into his one-day performance. His bustle was gone, his footwork was nervous and his mind cluttered. The situation had become so dire that Raina was struck with misgivings about his future. But rejuvenating talks with former India captain Sourav Ganguly quelled the negativity. A typically savvy run in the IPL, culminating in a standout innings in the second qualifier would have ushered his confidence to the other end of the spectrum.”He can develop into a good captain in the future,” Duncan Fletcher had said during India’s tour of West Indies in 2011. Raina lent weight to the assessment by guiding a young squad to triumph in the one-off T20 and the ensuing ODI series. It was a welcome balm against reminders of his debut as India captain – two crippling losses to Zimbabwe in 2010 and an early exit in a triangular one-day series.A happy time at the helm did not flow into his batting against West Indies, though. His strokeplay had bordered on rash, limiting his impact to 82 runs in five matches. Fletcher had touched on the difficulties of juggling captaincy along with the process of establishing oneself as a player. “As a young player you are trying to develop your game and trying to establish your game but at the same time you are looking after 10 to 14 other youngsters,” Fletcher said.Unlike those two series, this squad, while fresh, has an average age of 27, the same as Raina’s, which means the time spent cracking the domestic circuit would come in more than handy. The rest will also know the stakes. There are holes in the middle order that need to be filled before the 50-over World Cup. Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Raina himself will hope to use this series to stake their respective cases. The make-up of the fast-bowling attack is still in its experimental stages, which would invite Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma and Vinay Kumar to put their best foot forward.There is much to play for and Raina will hope his bowlers seek victims with the fierce gusto of the street vendors in Dhaka, his batsmen channel the city’s perennial activity while at the crease and, on the whole, spread some cricket fever as well.

A swashbuckling batsman or a ferociously quick bowler can win people over in an instant. Other players inveigle their way into your affections over time

Alex Bowden26-May-2014″I’d have no chance of getting into this team,” said Paul Collingwood, when asked whether he might be worth a place in England’s World T20 squad. Even before the side had lost to Netherlands, plenty of England fans disagreed with that statement.Collingwood’s argument that “it’s no longer a nudge-and-nurdler kind of game” rather undervalues his . He isn’t the first to make the mistake of focusing on more obvious hallmarks of quality, but it’s ironic that a man who spent a whole career slowly winning over the ordinary fan should seemingly have failed to win over himself.The older I get, the more I realise that very often the cricketers I end up appreciating the most, aren’t the ones with the most obvious attributes. I don’t think this is a personal thing, so much as a weird form of natural selection. If an ostensibly limited player is around for any length of time, it generally means that they are doing something subtle yet important far better than anyone else and often it takes a while to notice this.Whereas a swashbuckling batsman or a ferociously quick bowler can win people over in an instant, a player like Collingwood sort of inveigles his way into your affections over time. Like many things in life, instant appeal is often fleeting. In contrast, this kind of slow-build appreciation tends to possess solid, lasting foundations.So what was it that fuelled Paul Collingwood’s slow-burn appeal? It’s not that easy to put your finger on, but clues can be found in the way he was described by commentators and journalists. The one line that always cropped up was, “He makes the most of his talent.”This was the most backhanded of compliments and everyone knew it. The subtext was that Collingwood had to make the most of his talent because there was so little of it, and as soon as a proper batsman came along, England would be moving on.But let’s get something straight: batting is about scoring runs. If you score runs, you are a good batsman. History has brought us all manner of weak-willed stylists and technically correct teasers who have flattered to deceive, so quite why “making the most of your talent” should be undervalued is beyond me.Batting is about finding that balance between risk and reward; scoring runs while preserving your wicket. Whether you are able to play an inside-out lofted cover drive off a 95mph inswinging yorker or not, the task is essentially the same. You must work within your limitations – whatever they may be – and find a way to score runs.We have a saying in the north of England that is intended to cut short any talk of “what might have been” following a contentious on-field event. If someone’s complaining about a decision, we turn to them and say, “Look in t’ book”. The saying is intended to emphasise the irrelevance of anything which doesn’t affect the final score. In a way it seems just as appropriate when assessing a batsman’s worth.

We tend to perceive swagger and strut as being indicators, when often they are merely papering over cracks. True self-assurance doesn’t require an audience

Anyone trying to argue in favour of a stylish fifty over a gritty hundred should be instructed to look in t’ book. Style is not unimportant, but it is secondary.Paul Collingwood was making the most of his talent when he reached 94 in what had seemed destined to be his final Test innings against South Africa in 2008. At that point, having worked so hard to save his career, he hit a six. To a casual onlooker, a six is just a six, commonplace these days, but with so much riding on the outcome, this shot was brassy in the extreme. It betrayed rare courage, which is another quality you cannot appreciate in an instant.This is also true of self-confidence. We tend to perceive swagger and strut as being indicators, when often they are merely papering over cracks (or even chasms). True self-assurance doesn’t require an audience. It is self-contained and manifests itself in deeds, not peacocking.England fans squirm at any mention of Adelaide 2006, but this collective blindness conceals one of the more resilient, self-confident and admirable innings by an England batsman in recent years. Before the match, the Australian press was asking whether Collingwood was England’s worst-ever No. 4. Was he cowed by being publicly questioned and ridiculed, and was he then wracked with nerves after ending the first day on 98 not out?No. He came out on day two, reached three figures and then doubled his tally for good measure, because the real job – the job for the team rather than himself – wasn’t yet done. If his second-innings display is widely considered to have been a major cause of England’s fatal paralysis in that match, it should also be noted that he did at least finish as the not-out batsman.Collingwood was the complete antithesis of the spineless Pom who crumbles at the first “g’day”. For him, it was all about scoring runs; taking wickets and catches; and occasionally missing the ball often enough that your team salvaged a draw.Every England fan will be forever grateful for his four-hour 74 in Cardiff in the 2009 Ashes, and the even more gloriously lumpen twin innings in South Africa in 2009-10 that also led to nine-wickets-down draws. The 99-ball 26 in Centurion was one thing, but the leaving/missing case study at Newlands, when he made only 40 in more than four and a half hours was something else.His genuine lack of ego was easy to overlook when he spent tour after tour ferrying the drinks in his early days with the England squad, and it was also a quality that could later be observed – but perhaps still not fully appreciated – in his delight at winning the 2010-11 Ashes despite a lack of personal success.At Newlands, however, that same lack of ego came to the fore as a low-key strength afforded to very few. Beaten time and again, he looked nothing short of foolish. But after the match, knowing the contribution he had made, Paul Collingwood could point to the result and simply say: “Look in t’ book.”

The heat, the frenzy, and the broken chairs – all made you feel like you had gone back in time

Nandakumar Ganesh28-Apr-2014Choice of game
The temperature was rising towards 40 degrees, the humidity was 78%, and the traffic was literally stop-and-go. The parking area was strewn with dirt and throngs of people were huddled outside the rusty iron gate. But when I entered the ground, a whiff of nostalgia hit me as I remembered some of the greatest matches played here in this veteran host of ODIs. Welcome to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium for the battle between the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.Team supported
Chennai have hit a purple patch and there is no stopping them. The opening stand between Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith had already devastated three very renowned bowling attacks of Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, so Chennai entered the game as clear favourites.Key performer
A much-improved cricketer now, Smith played with gusto and common sense, giving the utmost respect to Dale Steyn’s bullets and whacking Amit Mishra’s over-pitched deliveries. He made never looked troubled for runs. The ferocity with which he hit the straight fours showed how he had picked up some of McCullum’s batting traits.Shots of the day
Hyderabad’s run-scoring was flagging after Aaron Finch was dismissed. Karn Sharma, an underrated batsman, rose to the occasion and dispatched a Ben Hilfenhaus short ball into orbit. The ball disappeared behind the canopy-shaped tents of the west stand, possibly landing in the traffic outside. The next delivery was pitched on outside off: Sharma used a high back-lift and shaped a wonderful six over deep extra cover.In Chennai’s innings, Smith straight-batted a six over Ishant Sharma’s head and followed through the picturesque shot with a stylish pose, something for the photographers.Crowd meter
Despite Sunday being a working day here in the UAE, spectators flocked in thousands; some even grouping up outside the stadium to watch from the big screens. In contrast to the one-odd Australian, South African or a West Indian in the Dubai Cricket Stadium, Sharjah was inundated with Indians. The seating also had ’90s feel to it – some of the chairs coming off their hinges, the north stand seats sporting no backrests, and the stairs being used as seats in some areas. But the fans were undeterred by all these inconveniences. They had come to get their fill of high-octane T20 action. And they did.Entertainment
The localisation of sound was not all that impressive in Sharjah, as it was in Dubai. The light show made up for this deficit though. Lasers from the east stand reached every nook and corner of the stadium and spot-lit the cheerleaders sporadically, when the chance came.Darren Sammy provided comic relief when he copied a couple of jigs from the cheerleaders while manning the boundary, sending the nearby spectators roaring with laughter.Marks out of ten
6.

England could not have produced a pitch more suiting India’s needs at Trent Bridge if they had gift wrapped it with a note of welcome

George Dobell at Trent Bridge09-Jul-2014The English can be wonderful hosts.While many nations would attempt to use home advantage to the benefit of their team, England appear to have accepted that home advantage should simply benefit their bank balance.Just like the pitches used for the series against Sri Lanka, the surface at Trent Bridge was low, slow and offered England’s seamers almost nothing. Instead, it offered the Nottinghamshire chief executive a fine opportunity to gain five days of gate receipts.Stuart Broad was not the only bowler to withstand a day of frustration•PA PhotosIn the short term, anyway. While Nottinghamshire, like Leeds and Lord’s, may congratulate themselves on a profitable week now, they may reflect in years to come that it was a catastrophic mistake to take for granted the support of the English public. They may put up with high prices for tickets and refreshments, but they may not be so patient with stultifying cricket. Trent Bridge was not full for the first day of this series.It was not so much that the pitch suited India’s batsmen or their bowlers. The lack of pace in this pitch will suit nobody. Not seamers, not spinners, not batsmen and certainly not spectators. Within a few overs, Matt Prior was taking the ball at ankle height.No, the delight in this pitch, from an Indian perspective, was that it did nothing to exploit their potential weaknesses. With only two of the team having previously played a Test in England, there was an opportunity for England to examine their techniques and temperament.But, whereas during the 2011 series, some India batsmen struggled to cope with lateral movement or bounce, this time they have had to contend with little of either.The disappointment from an England perspective was that there were moments which hinted that India’s old failings remain. Even with a ball 80 overs old, M Vijay was struck by a short ball from Liam Plunkett that suggested that, on a more lively surface, he would have to work harder for his runs. And even on a day when there was so little lateral movement, Virat Kohli was drawn into poking at one that he could have left and fell to a slip catch.But when Ajinkya Rahane attempted a loose drive before he had scored, the ball fell short of the slip cordon.And when, on 32, he was discomfited by a short ball from Plunkett that hit his bat handle, the ball dropped just short of Alastair Cook at silly-point.And when Vijay, on 102, was drawn into poking at one outside off stump from James Anderson, the ball again fell short of the slip cordon.It was hard to avoid the conclusion that, had Nottinghamshire gift wrapped this pitch and tied a bow around it, they could hardly have made it more inviting to India. And in doing so, they have done a disservice to the England team.

Groundsman hopes pitch may quicken

The Trent Bridge groundsman, Steve Birks, has admitted he was disappointed with his pitch after the first day of the Investec Test against India.
England took only four wickets on an attritional day as their seam bowlers struggled to gain any movement or bounce from a sluggish surface. But while Birks accepted that he might “have left a bit more grass on” the pitch, he urged spectators to hold off before judging the pitch as he felt it would quicken on the second and third days.
“We wanted to produce a pitch with pace, bounce and carry which hasn’t happened unfortunately,” Birks said. “There’s quite a lot of moisture underneath but it’s a hard surface on top which is why it’s lacking pace. The moisture readings taken earlier in the week were quite high and we haven’t seen enough of the sun to really bake it out.
“Our only instruction [from the ECB] is to produce a good cricket wicket and, with hindsight, we may have left a bit more grass on it but this is the first day of five-day Test and while I don’t expect spin to come into it, we hope it might quicken up a bit.”

In the circumstances, England performed admirably after a first session in which their disappointment for the surface was palpable.Nine of the 14 overs immediately after lunch were maidens and the seamers gained just enough reverse swing to apply some pressure on the batsmen.Cook utilised his bowlers in shorter spells and employed some unusual fields, too. Plunkett bowled with six men on the leg side at one stage, while Anderson picked up the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara after posting a straight, short mid-on and pursuing a strategy of bowling resolutely full and straight. It was one of the only tactics available to them in conditions offering so littleAnd Prior, moving ever closer to the stumps to combat the low bounce, enjoyed a good day in desperately tough conditions. After taking an excellent catch to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan, diving low to his left to take a chance that probably would not have carried to first slip, he managed to avoid conceding a bye throughout the day despite the ball bouncing in front of him on numerous occasions.It was not perfect, though. Moeen Ali was milked rather too comfortably, conceding 5.55 an over and being replaced in the attack, for a moment, by Joe Root. In mitigation, it might be remembered that Graeme Swann conceded 97 runs in 15 overs without taking a wicket in the corresponding Test here in 2011.In the longer-term, the ECB needs to grasp the pitch issue. The game is not so popular in the UK that it can afford to produce such pitches so often.It matters not if there is an exciting finish on the fourth or fifth day. Erosion may cause a dramatic rock fall, but it does not make the previous 10,000 years entertaining.Such pitches are no longer an occasional variation, they have become the norm. Groundsmen centrally contracted to the ECB might solve the issue of corporate pitches designed to please county chief executives, though they will do little to combat the drainage issues that appear to have dried out squares around the country.You might also wonder at the role of Paul Downton. While England’s new managing director has found time to sack England’s record run-scorer in international cricket, break the confidentiality agreement having done so and decided it is his place to sit-in on selection meetings, it seems he has not been able to intervene on one of the key areas of the game: the pitches.If it is his role to help create a winning England team, it is his role to ensure surfaces that benefit his team. He might do well to focus on such core responsibilities and leave the headline grabbing to the players.