Cracks have been forming all over the place during this series. For twoTests the brittleness was Australia’s, but in Sydney the fault lines havebeen shaking South Africa

Peter English at the SCG05-Jan-2009
Peter Siddle: “It [pitch] has deteriorated pretty quickly and the cracks have opened up a fair bit. It’s going to get a little bit worse over the next couple of days” © PA Photos
Cracks have been forming all over the place during this series. For twoTests the brittleness was Australia’s, but in Sydney the fault lines havebeen shaking South Africa. A fractured hand for the captain Graeme Smithwas followed by a broken helmet for Morne Morkel and a total of 327 on apitch that is breaking up ahead of schedule. Batting is not much fun andwill become more fraught over the next two days, with South Africa havingthe tougher task after facing a deficit of 151 at stumps.Two squiggly lines run up the length of the pitch, but the crack holdingthe most danger sits just outside off stump for the right-handers battingat the Paddington End and the lefties facing at the Randwick End. Theywill continue to widen and smaller ones will appear, giving the bowlersother targets to aim for. And when the ball is old and soft it often stayslower on the flatter sections of the pitch, adding to theunpredictability.”It’s up there with the top three toughest wickets I’ve ever had to baton, on day three,” Mark Boucher said after registering a committed 89.”It’s not nice staring down the wicket and making sure you’re running downthe side of it so you don’t fall down.”The batsmen had to convince themselves to play forward and wait for theball to move in, out, down or up, depending on the angle of entry into thegap. Finding rhythm was as impossible as feeling in control. South Africaearned 202 runs on a day when the most courageous batting came fromBoucher and Morkel. South Africa were effectively 6 for 193 when they cametogether – Smith won’t bat – and they weathered and wore the Australianattack for 115.Ponting alternated the left-handers Johnson and Doug Bollinger at thePaddington End for almost five hours. When those fast men were sprintingin there was no respite for any of the batsmen. Australia were holding thestring as South Africa struggled and then scrapped through theBoucher-Morkel recovery, but the advantage did not turn into easy wicketsuntil Siddle charged through late in the day to finish with 5 for 59.Siddle, Andrew McDonald and Nathan Hauritz were used mostly at theRandwick End, where there was less impact and only one wicket. When Siddlewas switched in the final session he captured 4 for 7 in 22 balls,succeeding by aiming for the stumps instead of the gaps in the surface.Morkel, Boucher and Dale Steyn were bowled and Paul Harris was lbw in thesudden shift of tempo.”Coming from that end, and being a right-hander, the crack wasn’t on myside,” Siddle said. “I was just aiming for the stumps, getting a bit ofreverse-swing and trying to attack the stumps. I got a few uneven bounces,some kept low, some got up, and kept the batter thinking.”Bollinger deserved to agree on at least one lbw with Billy Bowden and didwell to remain cool. His flustered reactions were limited to head shakes,hands on hips and a few mutterings. Minor cracking, but no breaking.Johnson accounted for Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy and all the quicks hadthick edges but not many slips.The batsmen were most at ease when the ball left them off the marks, butwhen it came back there was flinching and fending. A delivery from Johnsonre-directed off a crack for four wides down the legside and Boucher wasfloored by one that appeared to brush his shoulder. Another from Bollingerrose to dint Morkel’s helmet.On the second afternoon Johnson’s crack-assisted off-cutter hit Smith’sleft hand and sent him to hospital. He was in Melbourne having treatmenton his elbow while his team-mates jumped, hopped and hoped. Boucher triedto play back as much as possible, looking awkward at times but in as muchcomfort as any of the batsmen since Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnsonthe previous day. More grit will be required over the rest of the matchfor anyone with a bat.The pitch was in such a dry condition due to the groundsman Tom Parkerexpecting showers in the lead-up to the game. He reduced the amount ofwater he put on the surface, but the rain didn’t come and there were lineson it before the toss.”It has deteriorated pretty quickly and the cracks have opened up a fairbit,” Siddle said. “It’s going to get a little bit worse over the nextcouple of days.”Batting will become even more treacherous during the second innings, butit will be less of a bother for Ricky Ponting’s order. Australia will needto spend only a few hours on it on Tuesday before letting the under-mannedSouth Africa test their bravery again in their bid to save the game. Therewill be no miracle chase in this match, but if the visitors hold on for adraw it will improve their already high standing on this incrediblysuccessful tour.

Lawsuits, resignations, sackings and more, in our look back at the third quarter of the year

Judhajit Basu and Kanishkaa Balachandran29-Dec-2008

July

1 New Zealand totally outclass a threadbare Ireland by a record ODI margin of 290 runs.3 The ICC changes the result of the controversial Oval Test between England and Pakistan in 2006 from an England win to a draw, following pressure from the PCB. Two days later, Michael Holding resigns from the ICC cricket committee, citing the change of the result as the reason.Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, is appointed the new chairman of the ICC cricket committee, following Sunil Gavaskar’s resignation. Samir Inamdar, the chairman of Cricket Kenya, is elected chairman of the Associate and Affiliate members of the ICC, and Marlon Samuels’ two-year ban is upheld among other decisions.6 Ajantha Mendis bamboozles India to finish with astonishing figures of 6 for 13 and help Sri Lanka win the Asia Cup final in Karachi by 100 runs.Australia complete a 5-0 whitewash in the ODI series against West Indies, winning the fifth ODI in St Kitts by 169 runs.7 Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, is appointed president of the Asian Cricket Council.8 Mahendra Singh Dhoni pulls out of the Test leg of India’s tour of Sri Lanka, citing exhaustion after a non-stop season.The ICC announces an investment of US$300 million over the next seven years for the development of the game outside the 10 Full Member countries.10 Sri Lanka Cricket decides to allow its cricketers to play in the second season of the IPL, though the league clashes with Sri Lanka’s tour of England. The board also agrees to back-date the players’ contract payments from March 1, 2008.The ICC takes the first significant step towards resolving the contentious issue of unauthorised cricket by setting up a high-powered committee.13 A sample taken during random testing at the inaugural IPL tests positive. The player in question later turns out to be Mohammad Asif, whom the PCB subsequently suspends.16 The ECB unveils its plans for an English Premier League starting 2010.Future Test series between South Africa and England are granted “icon” status by Cricket South Africa and the ECB with the support of the ICC.17 The BCCI cranks up the pressure on English counties that have employed players linked with the Indian Cricket League, “advising” its own players to not sign up with such teams. Consequently Piyush Chawla doesn’t sign for Hampshire, or VVS Laxman for Nottinghamshire.23 Joubert Strydom ends his term as the South African chairman of selectors to pursue business interests.26 The New Zealand Emerging Players, aided by Neil Broom’s 62, clinch the Emerging Players Tournament by defeating the Australian Institute of Sports by three wickets at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.29 Jagmohan Dalmiya is elected president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, a position from which he was unseated in December 2006.The BCCI rejects an offer from the ECB to join England’s version of the Champions League.

August

1 Ashok Mankad, the former India batsman, passes away in Mumbai.2 Hong Kong beat defending champions UAE by three wickets to win the ACC Elite Trophy in a rain-shortened final in Kuala Lumpur.David “Butch” White, the former England and Hampshire quick bowler, dies aged 73.Diteko Modise, the former financial manager of the South African board, is sentenced to 76 years in jail for fraud.Graeme Smith’s unbeaten 154 guides South Africa to a five-wicket win against England at Edgbaston in the third Test, ensuring a series victory for South Africa, their first in England since 1965.Michael Vaughan resigns as England captain. Paul Collingwood also calls it quits as England’s one-day captain.4 Kevin Pietersen is appointed England’s Test and one-day captain.Ireland and Netherlands share the World Twenty20 Qualifiers trophy after the final of the tournament is washed out in Belfast.5 The chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, Donald Peters returns to work after being sent on leave in July following a dispute with Julian Hunte, the board president.7 Robin Brown is fired from his position as national coach by Zimbabwe Cricket. Andy Pycroft, the Zimbabwe A team coach, is also shown the door.9 Bob Cunis, the former New Zealand medium-pacer, passes away, aged 67.11 Sri Lanka make their way to a comprehensive 2-1 Test series win, their first over India since 2001, winning the third Test by eight wickets.Chris Gayle withdraws his letter of resignation as West Indies captain, written at the end of July, and says he is set to continue leading the side.16 Walter Chawaguta, the former Zimbabwe Under-19 coach, takes charge of the national team.18 Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB, resigns from his post on the same day that the patron of the board, Pervez Musharraf, resigns as president of Pakistan.Rain washes out the fifth and final women’s ODI between England and South Africa at Chesterfield, handing the hosts a 4-0 series win.19 Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif’s B sample from the IPL tests positive for nandrolone.20 Zimbabwe confirms they will not take part in the ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009, following meetings with the ICC in Dubai.Steve Harmison comes out of ODI retirement to strengthen England’s bowling against South Africa in the five-match series.22Darrell Hair, the Australian umpire, tenders his resignation with the ICC in order to take up a coaching role.Xavier Marshall hits the most sixes in a one-day international innings, 12, as he demolishes Canada’s bowlers in a tri-series match in King City.23 The BCCI working committee proposes to pay an annual sum of Rs 25 lakh to each national selector, making the job a fully paid one instead of the existing honorary system.24 The ICC postpones the Champions Trophy, due to begin in Pakistan from September 12. The decision to defer it to October 2009 is taken at a teleconference among board members the next day.25 Marcus Trescothick admits in his autobiography to using mints to help shine the ball during England’s 2-1 Ashes victory in 2005.26 The Stanford 20/20 for 20 match between the Stanford Super Stars and England comes under threat when West Indies team sponsor Digicel brings an injunction against the WICB in the High Court in London.27 India seal their maiden bilateral ODI series triumph in Sri Lanka with a 46-run win in the replayed fourth ODI at the Premadasa Stadium; they take an unbeatable 3-1 lead.Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan legspinner, announces his retirement from county cricket due to persistent knee trouble.29 Samit Patel’s all-round performance at The Oval helps England win the ODI series against South Africa, taking an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.30 The BCCI technical committee says state associations will now be permitted to include four “guest players” (from areas outside their jurisdiction) in their squads from the 2008-09 season onwards, up from three previously.Andrew Symonds is banished from the Australia squad to take on Bangladesh in the first ODI in Darwin after he goes fishing and misses a team meeting.

1 On the 40th anniversary of Garry Sobers hitting six sixes in an over, Floyd Reifer , the former West Indies batsman, emulates the feat in a match in the Barbados Cricket Association’s Twenty20 league.2 Graeme Hick, the former England captain, announces his retirement from first-class cricket at the age of 42.3 England thrash South Africa 4-0 in the one-day series at home. The fifth and final ODI in Cardiff is washed out.4 The ICC announces ODI Player rankings for women, set for an October launch.5 The three founding members of the Champions League announce that the second edition of the tournament will be held between September 25 and October 10, 2009, and will feature 12 teams.Col Egar, the former Test umpire and Australian cricket administrator, dies in Adelaide at the age of 80.6 Australia sweep the one-day series against Bangladesh 3-0 in Darwin. Bangladesh collapsed to 125 all out, chasing 199.7 South Africa reject a proposal to host a tri-series featuring South Africa and Sri Lanka after their leading players say they aren’t interested in playing after a hectic tour of England.9 England Women beat India Women 4-0 in the home one-dayers. The fifth and final ODI in Hove was washed out.10 Shivnarine Chanderpaul is named the 2008 ICC Cricketer of the Year at the annual ICC Awards in Dubai. For the full list of awards click here.11 The 10-year commercial rights to the Champions League are sold to ESPN-Star Sports for US$900 million.13 West Indies pull out of the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada in October after their request to postpone it by two weeks is turned down.14 Murray Goodwin secures the Pro40 title for Sussex by hitting the final ball of a gripping winner-takes-all clash against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge for six.Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, announces he will be standing down at the end of the season following 11 years in charge. The allrounder Michael Yardy takes over in his place.Six Bangladesh players inform the BCB that they intend to retire from international and domestic cricket. There’s speculation all are set to join the ICL, which is confirmed the next day when the ICL unveils the Dhaka Warriors team. Habibul Bashar is named captain.Cricket Australia confirm Australia’s tour of India will go ahead, despite increased fears over security following a series of bomb blasts in New Delhi.17 Norman Arendse quits his post as Cricket South Africa’s president, saying he never enjoyed the full trust and confidence of Gerald Majola, the CEO, and all 11 affiliates.The Bangladesh Cricket Board announces a ten-year ban for all 13 of its players who joined the ICL.18 Xavier Marshall and Tonito Willett, from Leewards Islands, test positive in drug tests conducted during a two-week camp in Antigua in August.SNGPL become the first Pakistan team to win the Mohammad Nissar Trophy after the game against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla ends in a draw. SNGPL take the title based on their first-innings lead.19 Sri Lanka Cricket lifts the ban on five cricketers and an umpire who in 2007 signed up for the ICL; all are allowed to participate in domestic cricket.20 Stanford organisers reject Digicel’s compromise offer to the WICB regarding branding for the Stanford 20/20 for 20.22 Darren Gough bows out of first-class cricket after being omitted from Yorkshire’s squad for their match against Sussex at Hove. Gough played in 58 Tests and 159 ODIs, taking 229 and 234 wickets respectively.24 Sri Lanka Cricket revises its stance on ICL cricketers playing domestic cricket after a meeting with the sports minister Gamini Lokuge, saying the players were only allowed to play the upcoming Premier League Cricket Tournament 2008.25 The ICC gives the ICL the opportunity to present its case for official sanction, and Subhash Chandra, the owner of the league, agrees to meet ICC president David Morgan in London in the October.Warwickshire secure the Division Two title in the County Championship by claiming bonus points against Glamorgan at Edgbaston .26 Kris Srikkanth heads India’s first-ever paid national selection committee. The committee also comprises Yashpal Sharma (North), Narendra Hirwani (Central), Surendra Bhave (West) and Raja Venkat (East).Moin Khan sues the Pakistan board over its claims that he was involved in recruiting Mohammad Yousuf for the ICL. He demands 100 million Pakistan rupees (approximately US$1.3 million) as compensation for damage to his reputation.27 Durham claim their first-ever County Championship title after beating Kent by an innings and 71 runs at Canterbury.The PCB replies strongly to Moin Khan’s legal notice and asks him to pay Rs 250 million rupees (approx US$3,210,891) in damages.28 Khaled Mashud, the former Bangladesh captain and wicketkeeper, announces his retirement from all forms of international cricket.30 Derek Underwood, the former England spinner, begins his one-year tenure as president of the MCC, taking over from Mike Brearley.Martin van Jaarsveld, the former South Africa batsman, is named the Professional Cricketers’ Association Player of the Year.The ICC amends the Powerplay rule, allowing the batting team to decide when to use the third Powerplay. The rule is to come into effect from October 1.

In a way M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund have been to Tamil Nadu what Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been to India. They are a right-hand-left-hand combination who score fast and run well between the wickets

Sidharth Monga in Nagpur05-Jan-2009
Abhinav Mukund: “Vijay and I get along really well, we point out each other’s shortcomings, we encourage each other a lot, we run really well” © Cricinfo Ltd
There is no doubt as to who is currently the best opening combination in Ranji Trophy. In a way M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund have been to Tamil Nadu what Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been to India. They are a right-hand-left-hand combination who score fast and run well between the wickets. They have the numbers to prove their success as a combination: the ongoing semi-final is their eighth match as an opening pair and they already have four 100-run partnerships (including 256 the first time they came together and 462 in the first match this season), and an 84-run stand in a potentially tricky chase of 227 in the quarter-final this season.Last season, when they batted together for the first time, they were the fourth different combination in four different matches. Tamil Nadu’s poor run of form until then could be attributed to the failure of their batsmen.”If a side has to do well in the Ranji Trophy, it has to put runs on the board,” WV Raman, their coach, said. “Whenever the runs have been put on the board, we have been thereabouts – if not titles, at least semis or finals. That’s what has been harped on in the last two or three years.” It’s no coincidence that Tamil Nadu have succeeded when Vijay and Abhinav have. Their 168-run partnership has put them in with a good chance to play the final this year.Dinesh Karthik can’t thank the two enough. “I think they are the best openers in the country, as a pair they are the best opening partnership, and whenever we have required they have given us big partnerships,” Karthik said. “This eases off the pressure on the middle order.”Abhinav – called “baby” by his team-mates – turns 19 on Tuesday and, for the second year running, Raman will be there with him on the day. “I was there with him last year, too, on the Under-19 tour to South Africa.” It was an eventful year for Abhinav, who went with the team to Malaysia for the U-19 World Cup but saw India win it from the bench. He came back to churn out a phenomenal domestic season.A fluent left-hand batsman through the off side who gets cramped when bowled to on his pads, Abhinav tended to either score really big or get out early. The same has been the case with his partnerships with Vijay: 256 was followed by 5 and 17, including ducks for both players; 127 was followed by 19. Abhinav said it was a good sign he scored big when he got in, just as with their partnerships.Ask him of the 462-run partnership, which included a triple-century from him, and he grins. “We batted the whole day, adding 377 without being separated,” he said. “That was the best partnership I have ever had.”At that time we weren’t aware that we were near the record. We came to know only at the end of the day.” They missed it by two runs. But there was good news by the end of the day: Vijay had been selected to replace Gautam Gambhir in the Test against Australia and had to leave the match mid-way.Vijay is the big boy of the team. Over the last year, he has done better than Abhinav. With a day’s notice he turned up for India, and looked as comfortable in Test whites as he did in first-class flannels. His natural batting style has a lot to do with it: he goes for his shots and is a flamboyant character. So how does it work out between two batsmen who are quick scorers? “We don’t get into a contest,” Abhinav said. “Just that whoever gets going that day, the other plays second fiddle. I was 94 when he got out [on 69].”Abhinav explained how their partnership worked: “Vijay and I get along really well, we point out each other’s shortcomings, we encourage each other a lot, we run really well. I enjoy batting with him, he is a good partner to bat with. We clicked from the start.”In today’s innings [day one of the semi-final] we looked to leave the balls initially, then we got a good start, got boundaries, and after that we didn’t talk much because we were batting really well.”Communication is the key, Karthik said. “They are able to judge periods of play when the bowlers are giving them a tough spell, and they have to slow down the scoring, and periods when they can capitalise and lift the scoring rate.”Vijay wanted to cash in on the good times. “He [Abhinav] is in great form, I am also doing well… so we just want to keep the partnership. It is a great feeling to get good starts for your team, so we feed off it. We are enjoying each other’s success.”

Few surprises in this collection of tributes to one of India’s greats by a star-studded line-up

Suresh Menon15-Aug-2009This is a superbly produced coffee-table book of tributes published on the occasion of the 60th birthday of a great sportsman. In that one sentence is contained everything you need to know about it. Gushing praise rather than reasoned analysis is the theme, but there are enough personal anecdotes from players, officials, mediamen and family to keep the reader interested. The photographs – some of them quite unusual – add to the quality.Sunil Gavaskar is that rare individual, a great performer who is also a great communicator, a sportsman who understood his sport better than most, and a sharp thinker who, like a chess grandmaster, consistently thought half a dozen moves ahead. He is also fun-loving, a mimic, accessible, and wears the crown of greatness lightly.Debasish Datta’s attempt to capture the man through the stories of those close to him – which, in one sense, is about a billion people, but the book has its limitations – succeeds when the writing is from the heart and falters at other times, especially when the statistics and clichés are repeated. That is why the pieces by his parents, and by close friends such as Milind Rege, stand out.Both Mike Brearley and Ian Botham point out an interesting aspect (beyond the concentration, dedication, fitness, attitude to practice that others fill their stories with). “He could be very erratic at the start of the innings,” says Brearley, adding, “occasionally, after having got his hundred, he would tend to play very loosely too”. Botham is more specific: “There were moments when he appeared to be suffering from self-doubt, a premonition of failure.”These are interesting tidbits in the midst of the tired comparisons, well-known stories and all round eulogy.In a balanced assessment, Ramachandra Guha says, “Gavaskar also understood that there was money to be made outside the field. He lent his name to shirts and socks, to columns and books, and to company balance sheets… This is a man who chooses his words as carefully as he once chose his strokes. He is self-interested as almost all of us are, but so single-minded has been his pursuit of success that he has occasionally been accused of selfishness…”To understand the true greatness of a sportsman, one has to acknowledge this selfishness, this will to power.Datta deserves praise for lining up a team of writers from Garfield Sobers to Lata Mangeshkar, from Prakash Padukone to Manna Dey. We may not learn anything new or significant, but what is already known and admired is laid out in an attractive package.Sunil Gavaskar: Cricket’s Little Master
edited by Debasish Datta
Niyogi Books, hb, 300pp, Rs 995

A Dutch supporter and former player loses his orange coat, but his team makes up for it with their biggest win ever

Ben Goedegebuur06-Jun-2009Why I picked this match
It’s the first World Twenty20 game. It’s Holland v England. It’s played at Lord’s. It’s on a Friday evening. It’s David v Goliath. It’s a dream fixture. And it’s a pretty good excuse to visit London with my Dutch friends.If there’s any format in which the Dutch can cause an upset, it’s Twenty20. Like the advertising campaign says: “Twenty20. It’s anybody’s game”. I really like to believe that! And I’m in advertising! And guess what? WE’VE JUST WITNESSED THE BIGGEST DAY IN DUTCH CRICKET!Key performer
I think the Dutch batsmen were really positive from the word go, and in particular Tom de Grooth wasn’t shy of playing his shots on such a big occasion.One thing you’d have changed about the match
Well, I wouldn’t want to change anything except for the drizzling weather. Maybe I would like to have given Darron Reekers a second life. He was looking very good from the start.Face-off you relished
It was nice to see Dirk Nannes bowl for the Dutch team. He definitely brings some fire into the attack. And some off the English batsmen took a couple of blows.Wow moment
The way Peter Borren got off the mark, with a clean-sweep boundary through midwicket off Adil Rashid, was typical of the positive way the Dutch team played the game.And of course, that final over was nail-biting stuff. And after Edgar Schiferli hit the winning runs, the biggest wow moment of all: Holland writing cricket history at Lord’s.Player watch
Every ball that was fielded by the Dutch was encouraged loudly by the Orange Supporters from the Mound Stand. The Dutch crowd was on Daan van Bunge’s case a bit when he misfielded one, but he took it pretty well.Shot of the day
de Grooth charging in on Stuart Broad and hitting him into the Members stand.David pips Goliath•Clive Rose/Getty ImagesCrowd meter
I thought the stands were pretty empty, but the Orange Army made up for that. It’s pretty funny to sing chants you normally would only hear during an international football match. The Mound Stand was buzzing with Dutch support, and after the game the Dutch players came up to us to celebrate the win.Fancy dress index
Well, I was attending the game with 14 friends and we were supposed to wear orange umpire jackets. But the bag with the outfits never made it to England and was reported missing at Heathrow airport. Well, you win some, you lose some, I guess. So I have to give credit to one gentleman I saw dressed in an orange suit. Real class.Entertainment
Word on the street was that the Rolling Stones were going to perform during the opening ceremony. I didn’t see Mick Jagger or any other form of entertainment. But that was soon to be forgotten thanks to a fantastic display off Twenty20 cricket.Banner of the day
“HOEKSEOUWE!” (which roughly translates to ‘Hook ’em boy’)Marks out of 10
10+

For all the pulsating, crowd-pleasing action they generate, fluctations in Test matches are beyond one-innings matches that remain limited in more than just the number of overs available

Tony Cozier10-Jan-2010It’s a strange but significant phenomenon that Test cricket chooses the time when its obituaries are being certainly prepared to confirm the values that have kept it going for 133 years. It was said to be suffering from a serious bout of slow play and boredom at the end of the 1960s. Its future seemed in jeopardy. Then along came two exhilarating series, both involving the West Indies, to shake it back to life – in Australia, with its tied Test, in 1960-61 and in England in 1963.When Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket introduced night cricket, coloured gear and white balls at the end of the next decade, its chief executive, one Lynton Taylor, predicted Test cricket would be dead within 10 years, killed off by the popular one-day version.As crowds flocked to 50-50 matches under lights, it was a theme given credence in Australia for some time. Now the traditional game is again under threat from the arrival of an even shorter, trendier and more lucrative byproduct. Even many of those to whom it remains paramount fear that, this time, Tests won’t survive.Two matches on opposite sides of the Indian Ocean last week tempered the pessimism, They typified what sets Test cricket apart, as others have done in the past year, in the Caribbean and in England.In Sydney, Australia transformed a first-innings deficit of 204 and a seemingly hopeless second-innings position into remarkable victory, or more to the point, Pakistan did by buckling to the gradually mounting pressure. In Cape Town, an England last man nicknamed ‘Bunny’ held on for 11 balls to deny South Africa a victory that would have been theirs had they taken a wicket off the last 2.5 overs.The images of assorted faces in the crowd, from wizened old men to pretty young things, revealed an extended tension not possible in the razzmatazz of the other genres of the game. It was an identical replay of what the same No.11, Graham Onions, had done in the first Test in South Africa a few weeks earlier, of how last pair James Anderson and Monty Panesar defied Australia in Cardiff in July and what another ‘bunny: Fidel Edwards twice did to England in the Caribbean last March, with help first from Daren Powell, then Denesh Ramdin.For all the pulsating, crowd-pleasing action they generate, such fluctations are beyond one-innings matches that remain limited in more than just the number of overs available.Sydney and Cape Town were examples of what has sustained Test cricket in its original form for so long. In both matches, there was no winner, except the game itself.

To say Zaheer Khan was all over Bangladesh would be an understatement – he owned them today

Sriram Veera in Mirpur27-Jan-2010Zaheer Khan’s follow-through says everything about his state of mind these days. There is almost no follow-through. Bowlers usually wind down to a halt with a jog; he walks up to the batsman almost immediately after release, even as the batsman is reacting to the delivery, almost telling him, ‘I will be in your face ball after ball, over after over, spell after spell’. It appears that personal.There was almost no follow-through today, a day on which he wasn’t merely all over Bangladesh, he owned them. His final spell read: Nine deliveries, four wickets, no run. It was a brief spell whose menace wasn’t in the velocity of the deliveries but in the way he caught Bangladesh off guard with the claustrophobic accuracy of his reverse swing. Bangladesh weren’t in a frame of mind to handle that kind of heat. He swung it in and out, bowling from wide of the crease and from close to the stumps. And always, he operated from round the stumps.”It was reverse swinging, the wicket was slow and I thought it would be better to bowl round the stumps,” Zaheer explained. Raqibul Hasan chose to shoulder arms and invited disaster in, Mahmudullah was taken out by the one that left him, and by the time Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain came out to bat, it didn’t matter what he bowled; you felt a wicket was just a ball away.It was a very good spell but the batting didn’t match the quality. In fact, Zaheer’s bowling late last evening was even better. His battle with the well-set and immensely focused Tamim Iqbal was fascinating. He searched for a weakness from over and round the stumps, from changes in length, from changes in trajectory and pace, but Tamim stood firm. However, Zaheer persisted with his aggressive patience and eventually cracked Tamim’s resolve with a delivery that veered away late.”Lot of things come with experience,” Zaheer said while talking about his ability to reverse swing. “The time away from international cricket helped me to work on things. The injuries then worked in my favour.”The journey has been long and arduous. He always had the verbals and the stare but he wasn’t walking the talk then. People remember the hammering he took from Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting in the 2003 World Cup final when the boy was taught a few lessons in life from grown-up men. His transformation to a complete thinking bowler has been a well-documented event, from his 2006 life-changing stint in county cricket to his performances against England and Australia.This performance in Dhaka against Bangladesh might not mean much but it’s a little big moment in his career timeline, his first ten-wicket haul in his tenth year in international cricket. It has taken a while in coming and obviously Zaheer was pleased: “This was my first. It feels very good.”In comparison, Kapil Dev had two ten-wicket hauls and 23 five-fors, Javagal Srinath ten five-wicket grabs and one ten-for. Zaheer currently has nine five-wicket hauls. The journey ahead will depend on his fitness. “I am working hard on it with my trainer. That’s my focus, to get fitter. With my injury it was important for me to get back into rhythm as soon as possible.”He achieved that today with a fine effort. Things initially didn’t seem to go in his favour when Shahadat Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful were batting but then in a blink, everything changed.”Once it started to reverse I knew …” He didn’t finish the thought; he didn’t have to. You knew he had started his meditation. “It’s the same way a batsman feels. You kind of go into a zone and relax. You are in control of mind and body. My mind and body gets in complete sync in those moments.” And he starts walk, almost a swagger, towards the batsman.

The visitors had choked the Indian top-order by denying the singles, but Harbhajan’s onslaught left them demoralised

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2010The New Zealand outfit that trudged off the field was unrecognisable from the one that had competed fiercely for the majority of the third day.One moment captured the spirit that had kept them on par with India for two-and-a-half sessions. In the 71st over Kane Williamson, the weakest link in New Zealand’s attack, had delivered a full toss on middle and leg stump. VVS Laxman leaned forward, and with a snap of his gifted wrists, whipped the ball with precision towards the midwicket boundary. Brendon McCullum, who moves on a cricket ground like Carlos Tevez does on a football field, sprinted to his right in the in-field and dived full stretch to intercept the speeding ball with one hand. The seven other New Zealanders in the inner ring cheered.As Brent Arnel ran in to deliver the first ball of the 125th over, however, the cries of encouragement from his team-mates were faint. Apart from the wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins, the rest of New Zealand’s fielders were weary on the edge of the boundary, bracing for another free-spirited swing from Harbhajan Singh. As Arnel approached his delivery stride, Harbhajan prepared to punch New Zealand in the gut. Despite the challenge of nine boundary riders, he stepped out of his crease, cleared his front foot and smashed the ball where Daniel Vettori couldn’t place any of his men – straight over the bowler’s head. The visitors were at their lowest ebb and had been turned inside out during the last hour of play.Had Vettori aborted the strategies that brought New Zealand success against India’s top-order too soon when Harbhajan began his momentum-wresting innings? For much of the morning session, Vettori had only one slip, a gully and a short leg catching for the fast bowlers but he had five other fielders saving singles at point, cover, mid-off, mid-on, and midwicket. The man at long leg was the solitary boundary rider. The Indian batsmen had to pierce small gaps, or hit over the top for their runs. The tactics were in contrast to India’s: Dhoni had several catchers but sprinkled most of the others around the boundary.Unlike the Indian spinners, Vettori kept mid-off and mid-on up when he bowled and denied Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid the singles batsmen crave to get settled on a new day. Tendulkar perished while trying to break free by clearing the in-field. Dravid and Laxman were more patient but had to contend with rigorously disciplined lines and lengths backed up by tenacious fielding.Chris Martin and Tim Southee bowled dead straight with the old ball, aiming to swing it into the batsman’s pads. Three men – a short leg, a short midwicket, and a short square leg stationed deeper and in-between the other two – waited for the uppish flick from Dravid. For Laxman the short square leg dropped to a more conventional position. While they were given no catches, the fielders flung themselves to cut off well-timed flicks and drives.Leading the effort, at cover, was McCullum. The ball had to be hit over or extremely wide of him to get past. India managed more than two runs in only three of the first 20 overs. They scored 59 in 30 overs during the first session. Dravid, who watched many a drive, flick or cut stopped by a diving New Zealander, spoke of the effect it had on the innings.”What stood out today was their fielding,” Dravid said. “Their ground fielding was exceptional, they stopped so many runs. When Laxman and I were batting, we were trying to pierce the gap. Their fielding really helped create a lot of pressure.”Vettori opted for more conventional fields – two slips and a gully – when he gave the second new ball to his fast bowlers immediately after lunch but persisted with men saving singles. The field spread slightly when Laxman began to threaten along with Raina, but never did New Zealand fall into defensive mode. Their approach paid off and India began to lose wickets steadily as they approached New Zealand’s first-innings score of 350.

Their ground fielding was exceptional, they stopped so many runs. When Laxman and I were batting, we were trying to pierce the gap. Their fielding really helped create a lot of pressureRahul Dravid

The match began to turn shortly after Harbhjan walked in following Laxman’s dismissal, with the score on 326 for 6. He took on Vettori, who had operated with McGrath-like accuracy until then, and clouted him over mid-on before sweeping to the fine-leg boundary. For the first time in the day, perhaps prompted by the fact that India were drawing level, Vettori pushed his mid-on deep. Harbhajan attacked Martin as well and collected his first two boundaries off the fast bowler with an edge over the keeper and an unorthodox, awkward shot straight down the ground. Soon the in-field that had kept India’s top-order in check was sparsely populated.”It [the spread fields] happened pretty early, I think,” Ross Taylor said after play. “He [Harbhjan] hit Dan Vettori for a couple of fours early on and showed his intentions. The momentum shift with him coming in happened fairly quickly.”New Zealand had given up actively trying to get him out, and Harbhjan hurt them by choosing his moments and clearing the boundary riders several times. “It’s a tricky one, and I’ve been in that position myself,” Dravid said. “I think they [New Zealand] were trying to get him out initially but he started hitting a lot of shots. Even with men on the boundary line, Harbhajan was still taking them on and he was clearing the ropes. There’s not much you can do. So the tendency is to push people back and try and get the No. 11 out.”That No. 11 was Sreesanth, who survived 47 balls and watched as Harbhajan manipulated strike and ruined in one hour the advantage New Zealand had created over five.

Ominously for Pakistan this Test is following the same trend as the Sydney match in the first week of the year

Nagraj Gollapudi at Headingley22-Jul-2010Ominously for Pakistan this Test is following the same trend as the Sydney match in the first week of the year. Australia have once again bounced back in this classic contest at Headingley, but Pakistan can claim equal ownership of this game thanks to the two Mohammads – Asif and Aamer – who continue to play with the batsmen like marionettes.Sadly, their own run-makers have shown the spine of wafers. For the second week in a row Pakistan walked into the second day of a Test in a dominant position before letting the Australians kick their way through the door. The cold air persisted through the morning, but the overnight pair of Umar Akmal and Umar Amin should have gained confidence from the waywardness of the fast-bowling trio of Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger.It should not have resulted in a bungee jump straight away, yet that is what the younger Akmal did. Umar flashed a thick outside edge that bounced a yard in front of Michael Hussey at gully. Then came a horrible shot as Umar went for a wild slog which landed in the hands of Simon Katich at mid-off on the final delivery of the first over of the morning. Terribly for Johnson, it was a no ball.But Umar, who had hit Steve Smith for a huge six in the final over the previous evening, had not learnt from this reprieve or his mistake in the second innings at Lord’s, where he had gone for a similar rash shot at the stroke of lunch. A couple of overs later Johnson got his man as Umar wafted lamely at a delivery that straightened on its way to Tim Paine.It was not just inexperienced batsmen who lost their heads. Kamran Akmal poked at a delivery from Shane Watson that was shaping away. There was nothing shocking in that, but it was the penultimate delivery of the first over after lunch and could have been left alone. It did not help that Aamer offered no shot the very next ball and was trapped plumb.Shoaib Malik, returning to Test cricket for the first time after the Australian tour, played some sumptuous drives but failed to assert himself. At one point he even took a single exposing new man Danish Kaneria to the strike. A desperate attempt to play an expansive shot brought his demise and the curtains down on any further Pakistan fightback.The key question is do the Pakistan batsmen have the temperament to play according to the situation in a Test match for longer periods? A member of the team management admitted to me earlier on this tour that the young cricketers do not possess the patience. Mohammad Yousuf said something to the same effect a while ago. Days after his sudden and shocking retirement last week, Shahid Afridi has now asked certain players in the Pakistan squad, who do not have their hearts in Test cricket, to get their priorities correct.Regardless of his abrupt exit, Afridi was brave enough to reveal his weakness. Waqar Younis and Salman Butt need to be more honest and blunt with their batsmen. There is no point in citing inexperience as a reason for the fall. Bad habits need to be uprooted before they grow.Though Pakistan’s lead seemed strong in the morning, it was never going to be enough against Australia, for whom the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel shines eternally. Waqar admitted later the absence of any good partnerships, barring the first two wickets, hurt Pakistan.”We didn’t really get enough runs,” he said. “We didn’t really get the partnership going apart from the top partnership and then the odd one in the middle. We didn’t really get the partnerships of 70 or 80 runs. It’s been lacking and it’s just because we have got pretty young players in the middle order. If you look at numbers three, four and even five they’re very new in this arena so I think we’ve got to give them a little bit of margin.”It would be more helpful to tell his batsmen how they lost the strong overnight advantage after a rousing start last evening. And how, and why, the situation after two days is now level. He did have a word of caution for his team. “The Australians, you know, they’re very, very tough when it comes to these sorts of situations,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that we come [out] on top and try to make sure that we are tougher than them.”There is a lot Pakistan’s young men can learn from the unbeaten Ricky Ponting, who has been harried and hurried up by the three fast men. Ponting might have crossed the 12,000-run mark in this game but he still remains nervous each time he starts his innings. Once he gets his eye in he never throws it away.Despite the batting setbacks, Pakistan still have a good footing in this Test. The overhead conditions favour the fast bowlers and going by their form a compelling finish looms. But Australia already have detected the weakness in their opponent’s batting and will not be shy to keep pressing that spot. “They are aggressive with the way they play,” Watson, who got his second five-for in successive weeks, said. “They can’t really live without scoring for too long.”There is no doubt Pakistan will aim for redemption for the Sydney defeat. They have a second chance, but if they fail again they will have nowhere to hide.

Australia’s vice-captain made a tough start to the Ashes series, but dug deep when his team really needed it only to fall with the job half done

Peter English at Adelaide06-Dec-2010Michael Clarke passed his latest audition to be Australia’s next Test captain, but he couldn’t turn his return to form into a match-saving vigil. After Ricky Ponting failed again, taking his series tally to 70 runs in four innings, Clarke steadied the side with an 80 that mixed bouts of flair with determined defence and risk.But just as he was preparing for stumps he was given a final assignment of overcoming six balls from Kevin Pietersen. He glanced the second straight to short leg and Alastair Cook, a regular target throughout his innings. There was no walking and the replay showed he had struck it clearly, forcing him to depart with many of the hopes of his team.The edge provided another trying episode in a difficult year for Clarke, who has been groomed for the A-list and the Australian leadership since he first emerged as a precocious teen. He has already proven himself as a very good batsman at five-day level, but on the verge of becoming a great he has stumbled. The past two series against Pakistan and India were uncharacteristically lean and this one started the same way with 9 in Brisbane and 2 in the first innings here.Questions were starting to alter from “Is Clarke the next captain?” to “Is Clarke’s spot in danger?” Clarke will be the next Test leader, a title he could assume as early as the conclusion of this series. Unless Ponting can avoid a third Ashes defeat, Clarke will be the man to build the next generation around.His run drought was always a temporary trough, but the issue was compounded by a persistent back injury that flared in the lead-up to the opening Test. With every low score and uncertain step, in the nets or in the middle, Clarke’s batting wobbles were highlighted.So it was crucial that when he entered after Ponting’s edge he showed he was the man to steer through a crisis. With the team in its current state, there are likely to be many setbacks to deal with when he takes over full-time. Australia began their second innings 375 behind and had to survive on a pitch providing significant turn as well as conditions that were encouraging for reverse swing.Simon Katich had edged Graeme Swann behind and Ponting’s bright start burned when he was tricked by one not spinning as much as he had calculated. Australia were 2 for 98 and England were closing in like the storm to the north of the city.Clarke’s first ball, from Swann, was glanced for a confident single, and he followed up with a fierce straight drive on the up for four off Stuart Broad. When he hit a three through cover for his next effort there was a fear he was following the same shooting-star path as his captain. Having gained the early confidence an out-of-form player craves, he settled back to get himself in.England think he has a weakness against the short ball so he was required to deal with that threat at one end. At the other he danced forward or leaned back to Swann. A Broad short ball was pulled, almost off the front foot in his usual style, but the next danger was a 136kph bouncer that was ducked in awkward fashion.One of the reasons Mitchell Johnson was dropped was because he couldn’t fix his technique in the middle, but for a batsman the remedy has to arrive with real runs. Shortly before the rain break after tea, Clarke was in good enough touch to cut James Anderson through two men at gully.To the spin his feet are light, and his first instinct is to skip down the wicket. This gives him a chance to drive full-tosses or half-volleys, while taking the catching men almost out of play. In India in October, his judgment to the slow men disappeared, so starting against Swann was a severe challenge, especially with four close-in fielders pegged around him.The suffocating attention didn’t stir him and when necessary he was content to wait on Swann to get off strike. He played one crisp cover drive to the boundary but was more mouse than cat. That scene was reversed after he spent almost an hour off the ground while the storm passed.Clarke returned with slightly too much energy, gliding Anderson for a boundary to bring up his half-century and then pulling the next delivery for four. Swann was taken for seven in two attempts in a repeat of Clarke’s initial burst, but this ride was scarier. He survived one referral after being given out caught-behind on 67, and quickly swept one hard into the back of Cook.Late in the day Cook was hit on the knee on the full from another swipe, although it was too mean to call it a chance. The locals were now wishing their man to survive until stumps, but he couldn’t quite get there. His dismissal changed the nature of the contest in the moments it took to confirm his dismissal.Despite Clarke’s status as a highly accomplished Test run-maker, he is derided as an upstart who has forgotten his roots and drowns himself in bling and tattoos. He’s also the one with the poor Twenty20 strike-rate. The relationship with the public is so delicate that he apologised on twitter as soon as he was allowed to use his phone. Even in Clarke’s preferred format people don’t remember his fine 136 in the second innings at Lord’s, which delayed the first loss in the 2009 Ashes, as much as his double failure at The Oval in the decider.Saving such a critical home Test would have elevated Clarke’s status significantly as a batsman and a future leader, but he left with his mission half-finished. What he has done is give Australia a chance. What happens next depends as much on the weather as the remaining batsmen.