India needed to show some initiative towards building a big lead, declare their intent and go for a win; Virender Sehwag went early and the rest paled in comparison when it came to setting the agenda

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Chennai 29-Mar-2008
With Virender Sehwag gone early after a magnificent 319, India proceeded to lose momentum © AFP
A score of 159 for 9 in 49.1 overs sounds exciting. Fast bowlers running in hard on the fourth day, extracting bounce and rattling stumps, ought to be entertaining. Batsmen looking to score, bowlers trying to restrict from one end and attack from the other, fielders charged up, a hundred, some gorgeous strokeplay … all points to an exciting day’s cricket. What a near-capacity stadium witnessed, though, was far duller. A game which had sprung to life yesterday was put to bed once again.India needed to show some initiative towards building a big lead, declare their intent and go for a win. Virender Sehwag didn’t last too long but the rest paled in comparison when it came to setting the agenda. Rahul Dravid preferred to continue his guarded approach, Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn’t summon his dashing side and VVS Laxman, stuck with the tail, scratched around towards the end.South Africa bowled much better today – no doubt about it – but India must ensure against an over-reliance on Sehwag, a trap they fell into regularly four years back. There was a time, around 2004, when Sehwag used to stand out from the rest of the batting order. Against Australia in 2003-2004 and Pakistan in early 2005, a few games changed complexion the moment he was dismissed. The Bangalore Test against Pakistan was a classic example. As long as Sehwag was in, India harboured hopes of winning; once he left, the rest couldn’t even bat out two sessions.Several opposition bowlers pointed out to how tough it was to bowl to Sehwag compared to the others. The common refrain was: Sehwag rattled your plans, the rest at least scored more predictably. Mohammad Asif even went to the extent of saying it was comparatively easy to bowl to Dravid because he rarely tried anything different.The happenings today was some sort of a throwback to the days of Sehwag-dominated shows. As long as he was around, India could dream of 700 in quick time. Once he left, the rest couldn’t summon the unconventional methods to counter the bowling. South Africa did bowl well but they were probably made to look a little better by batsmen adopting the straightforward approach.Nobody, though, will doubt the intensity levels. Makhaya Ntini, who’s not been that potent a force in the subcontinent, nipped out two early wickets in six balls before Dale Steyn put together the spell of the match that read: 8-1-15-4. It was his sixth spell and was delivered in the demanding mid-afternoon session and came with reverse-swing of high quality. He cranked up speeds around 145kph and kept it dart straight.The ball to dismiss Dhoni was particularly fearsome, making the batsmen look rather silly for trying to walk down the track. “I didn’t really see him charging,” said Steyn. “I had always made up mind that we would two bouncers with the new ball that we had just got. So he is a big wicket for the way that he plays he can take the game away from anybody on his day. He wanted to score quickly so that was a key wicket to get.”There was some deadly reverse-swing as well, giving the tailenders no chance. Once it was straight and swinging, Steyn was always going to win the day. It was the sort of spell that set up their win in Pakistan last year and he showed he could let rip in tough conditions. “These balls are different to the balls that we play with, the Kookaburra balls,” he said. “The key is to find out what works. Reverse-swing is a big factor in the subcontinent. We were lucky to get a ball change and the new ball that we got was reversing from ball one basically. I think now what we have to do is to come up with a good plan on how to get the ball to do that.”It also helped that India were going for the runs. “The fact that we were trying to push it along probably cost us a few wickets,” said Dravid. “The idea was to push it along, in the end Steyn came and bowled a good spell of reverse swing. We couldn’t accelerate with wickets falling.”All of which meant that the match is back to square one. India need someone to do a Sehwag with the ball if they aim to win this one. South Africa need something even more special if they are to even get close. Expect a good crowd on Sunday but, unless you’re going for broke in a lottery, don’t expect a result.

John Barclay was a nearly man as a player, but absolutely makes it as a writer of memoirs

Paul Coupar31-Jan-2009

John Barclay’s was a career of almosts. As an offspinning allrounder he fell just short of Test class. As a talented, unorthodox captain of Sussex he ended 1981 a fingernail short of their first Championship. As manager of England tours in the late 1990s he left just before the Duncan Fletcher renaissance. But there is no “almost” about this memoir.The closest he came to Test cricket was in that bittersweet summer of 1981, when he captained the Test and County Cricket Board XI (TCCB XI), in effect a national 2nd team. Addressing the squad in front of Alec Bedser, the chairman of selectors, Barclay took his speech to its rousing climax. With the words still hanging in the air, he turned to his left, opened the door to toss up – and walked directly into an airing cupboard. The dressing room fell about, Bedser looked startled, Barclay never played for England.For many cricketers those near-misses would have produced a bitter, score-settling sort of memoir. But these moving reflections on cricket and life glow with a winning, almost Hobbsian, generosity of spirit, soaring above petty rivalries to approach, at times, the level of spiritual meditation.Barclay the cricketer presents himself as a kind of offspinning Bertie Wooster, bumbling through a career of occasional lucky successes and many routine failures. These included the key role his captaincy played in bringing Sri Lanka to the public’s attention and catapulting them into Test cricket, when a ploy to let the opposing batsman set the field went wrong for the TCCB XI.However, as well as laughter, we find a moving human story of quiet courage in the face of an enemy more formidable than anything he met on the field. From his first days as an outstanding public-school batsman he knew “the fear and insecurity that accompanies talent”. The airing cupboard of the title was his refuge, into which he disappeared to calm himself before games. Nerves became crippling anxiety and depression. Though he smiled in front of his team, he secretly took anti-depressants for most of his career. Trying to come off them he ended up spending a long period in a hospital for the bewildered, a place of dressing gowns and shuffling silence from which he periodically tried to escape. For years he played on, disguising his illness as “glandular fever”. It is a moving story, the more so for its lack of showy self-dramatisation.The book comprises 30 episodes, each carefully evoked. This eliminates dreary stretches of routine reportage – a format other publishers could fruitfully investigate. What emerges is a rounded portrait of a quietly remarkable man. The last scene is a contented portrait of his garden, with a lawn for football and cricket, and rabbits for the Jack Russell to chase. Perhaps that is the real secret of Barclay’s lack of rancour: a man who, against the odds, has learnt to tolerate himself perhaps finds it easier to tolerate everyone else too.Life Beyond the Airing Cupboard
by John Barclay
Fairfield Books £15

Cricinfo asked former and current women players for their lasting memories from each of the eight World Cups so far. Janette Brittin, the former England batsman, remembers an eminently forgettable game from the fourth tournament

08-Mar-2009
Brittin, not in crawl mode © Getty Images
1988, Australia
JanetteBrittin
My memories aren’t very happy ones because it was not one of England’s besttournaments, and it certainly wasn’t for me personally. England may have reached thefinal, but unfortunately we didn’t make much of a game of it. It was quitea painful experience.I remember standing in the dressing room at the MCG andlooking out into the vast stadium and thinking, “Wow, this place is just massive.” Theground was wall-to-wall seating with no one sitting in them, which didn’t lenditself to a big-match atmosphere. We won the toss and elected to bat on a slow, lowtrack. Lyn Fullston, or Lefty as the Aussies called her, did all the damage withher unorthodox slow left-arm spin, and she was ably assisted by Lyn Larsen, theAustralian captain and legspinner.It was like watching paint dry and then playingin glue when you got out there (or so it seemed). Struggling to break through thering and get the scoring ticking over was just awful. We crawled to a paltrytotal of 127. Then to our dismay the Australians came out and appeared to blasttheir way to our total. I remember the ground seemed a very large and a very lonelyplace during those overs.

The man widely acknowledged as the best pure wicketkeeper in the world talks about his struggles, his skills and his influences

Interview by Jamie Alter12-Nov-2009People know so little about Prasanna Jayawardene. When did you first take up the game?
I was bitten by the bug at a young age, and knew I wanted to play for my country. I used to knock the ball around in our small house or outside in the garden with siblings and cousins, but the focus was always on wicketkeeping. It came to me when I was very young. It was just something that felt right. I think I was a natural [keeper].Who were your early heroes?
Watching the 1996 World Cup was very special, and seeing Romesh Kaluwitharana bat and keep wicket was inspiring. Then of course there was Ian Healy, who was my main hero.Did you ever meet him?
I love Healy. I used to watch him any chance I got on television. I spoke to him in Australia in 2007, and he gave me some good tips. We discussed feet movement and keeping to legends like Warne and Murali, as well as his experiences of playing all around the world. He said I had excellent anticipation and footwork. I was very happy that day.The 1998 Under-19 World Cup was your big ticket to the top…
Yes, I was selected as Sri Lanka’s Under-19 captain for the World Cup in South Africa. I was awarded best wicketkeeper, after which the national selectors called me up for the England tour in 1998-99. I was the second wicketkeeper to Romesh Kaluwitharana, who taught me many things – most importantly anticipation and ball collection. I only got about two to three first-class matches on tour. I was batting too low. [In each innings he batted at No. 8, and he made a pair against Glamorgan.]It seemed like you were fast-tracked into the Sri Lankan team after touring England with the Under-19 side in 1998, but you stepped back after Kumar Sangakkara’s arrival in 2000. Then there was the return of Kaluwitharana. Like Adam Gilchrist and Brad Haddin, you have had to wait on the sidelines.
It was an extremely difficult time. You know how good you are, but you watch guys come ahead of you. At that time the selectors told me to focus on my batting, so I went back to the domestic circuit and worked hard. I made my Test debut in 2000 in Kandy and I didn’t do anything in that game, but after that I didn’t get a chance. A week after my Test debut I was dropped.In 2002 I got another chance, but for a couple of games only, and then in 2004 a couple more, and so on. It was very frustrating. Wicketkeeping is a tough job. It requires a daily routine and you’ll only improve when you play at the highest level. If you get a match or two every couple of years, it just won’t do.How much of this constant in and out was due to your inconsistent batting?
In hindsight, probably a lot. My wicketkeeping was fine, I’d like to think. Earlier in my career my coaches told me I had problems with my footwork… that I was too early into the shot with my front foot – basically that I was bringing my front foot too early. I worked on that. I was told by my coaches that there was little wrong with my technique but that I had to start scoring runs.You made your first-class debut after the World Cup, with Nondescripts Cricket Club. Then you changed clubs four times and struggled to find a permanent batting spot at any of them.
At NCC there was lots of talent. My role was mostly behind the stumps. I did not score a lot of runs, but kept my place because of my wicketkeeping. There were limited batting opportunities, so that allowed me to concentrate on my keeping. But then my batting suffered. I lost my place and moved to Sebastianites, where I could bat at No. 3. I then moved to Sinhalese Sports Club. I was there for one season and then moved to Colombo Cricket Club to see if I could cement a permanent place. That didn’t happen and I went back to NCC and spoke to Sangakkara. With him away on national duty I got plenty of time to keep wicket, but at No. 8 my batting suffered. Then I moved to Bloomfield, where I liked the environment – and it showed as I began to score runs. I scored runs with Sri Lanka A as well, and that put me back on the map. I haven’t left Bloomfield since.

“You have to watch the ball very closely and properly, and make sure never to go for it early. It’s about patience, but there’s hardly any time to reach. You have to look at the line and length, and then wait for the ball to come to you. But then when you do go collect it, you’ve got to be very fast in doing the next part, especially down the leg side”

What is your relationship with Sangakkara like?
Sangakkara is a real gentleman. He’s been very kind to me, and he’s the one who gave me this chance. I’d have probably never got it without him.You made a mark in the home series against England in 2007. Your technique, reflexes and energy were really on view. There was a brilliant stumping of Matthew Hoggard down the leg side…
That was an important series, more so because I scored runs. We also had some tense periods in the field and Murali bowled a lot of overs. It gave me a lot of confidence – especially because we won.India’s tour in 2008 was a key one for you. You were keeping against Ajantha Mendis in his first series and had Murali bowling too, and you did very well. Your stumping of Gautam Gambhir at the SSC stands out in the memory. You also scored runs in tough situations. Was that a confidence-boosting series?
Murali is a legend and keeping to him has always been special, and in that series suddenly Mendis arrived. But because I’d worked so hard at my wicketkeeping over those rough years I didn’t find keeping to them so hard. I did the basics well. I watched the ball and I waited. And I didn’t have much problem reading Mendis. He hardly bowled a bad ball, which obviously helped me. I’m good at judgment, and I’ve worked a lot with Murali. You pick up small cues and you make sure you remember them. I did not drop a single catch off the two of them. It was a good series, personally.Many former and current international players, including Healy, say you are the best when it comes to standing up and keeping to spinners, because you are so light on the feet and soft with the hands.
Keeping to spin is the most difficult, but it is also extremely satisfying if you do it well. I have to do the basics well against every spinner, be it Murali or a club bowler. That is how I have always gone about it. I cannot afford any mistakes. Especially with Murali and Mendis in Tests, I have to keep focused. I cannot relax.Healy says wicketkeeping is a lot about powerful sideways movement. You are very light on your feet, especially against spin. Do you move on the heels or on the balls of your feet?
I try to stay low, to rise with the ball. I move on the balls of my feet. If you move on the toes it can upset your rhythm. I also try to just watch the ball, purely the ball. From the hand, where it pitches, what it does off the pitch. You have to forget about the batsman in front of you. It’s tough.How much of wicketkeeping is about anticipation?
Wicketkeeping is about being late and fast. You have to watch the ball very closely and properly, and make sure never to go for it early. It’s about patience, but there’s hardly any time to react. You have to look at the line and length, and then wait for the ball to come to you. But then, when you do go collect it, you’ve got to be very fast in doing the next part, especially down the leg side.I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go for a catch one-handed.
A one-handed attempt is not safe. You must try to go for the ball with two hands. Wicketkeeping is about safety.Do you count your drops?
I want to take every chance, even at the club level. If I drop one I feel very guilty and I remember it for long after the match. It adds pressure.Do you sledge?
No I don’t. I just focus on wicketkeeping. It has happened that I am appealing too much and the batsman has come after me, saying various things. It does get me aggressive and a little bit talkative. But I try to keep my cool and focus.PJ at his best•AFPA wicketkeeper is the side’s motivator. Watching you on television and live, we’ve not much seen you in discussion with the bowlers or the captain. In fact Ranjit Fernando, a former wicketkeeper, says this is one area where you lack.
I am fully involved in the game. I do have chats with the captain and the bowler, but generally our bowlers have done the right things so I haven’t had to suggest what to do. Earlier my confidence may have been affected, somewhere deep inside, because of the few matches I had played.Coming to your batting, we’ve seen on a few occasions that you have come to the crease and taken pressure off the senior partner by rotating the strike and playing your shots. I remember seeing you do this against South Africa in 2006, England in 2007 and against India last year.
The last few series I got runs in difficult situations, and I think I scored them at a good rate. But there also hasn’t been a lot of pressure because in most cases by the time we are five or six down we have at least 500 on the board. So that way I don’t get a chance to do much. If we are 90 for 4 or 100 for 5 and I walk in, then I have to do something. When such situations have happened, I have done well.Mahes Goonatilleke, who is widely regarded as the finest wicketkeeper produced by Sri Lanka, says you are a sharp listener and learner, and has no doubts that you are the best wicketkeeper in the world. He also told me it is a misconception that you are not a very good batsman.
I spent some time with him and he gave some useful tips. We worked on ball collection, anticipation, reflexes and such. It’s an honour to be compared with greats from the past, both Sri Lankan and international.See, as I said before, having to bat so low in my club level, initially my batting suffered. But the hard work has paid off. I admit I went though a phase of scoring 30s and 40s in Tests, but I think the maiden Test century, against Bangladesh, showed I could deliver. My batting against England was also decent. In the past I’ve been accused of not scoring enough runs as a wicketkeeper. I have a ways to go, but I am confident of where I am at.

He was perhaps the best wicketkeeper Sri Lanka produced; but five Tests was all he played

Jamie Alter05-Sep-2009″Today’s wicketkeepers dive too much. It shows a lack of foot movement and speed. There’s too much of it. I hardly dived, and neither did my wicketkeeping peers. It makes your clothes dirty.” The voice on the line is soft yet commanding. It still cares for Sri Lanka cricket, despite a bitter history with its authorities.Mahes Goonatilleke is regarded by many in the country as the finest Test wicketkeeper produced by Sri Lanka. But few outside the country will have heard of him, because his international career was over before it could take off, and a nation was robbed of a great talent.Goonatilleke kept wicket in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test match, against England at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo, but only played four more Tests and six one-day internationals before a decision to tour South Africa in 1982-83 ended his career overnight. He played just 26 first-class matches.Now 57, he lives and works in Kurunegala, a town about 90 kilometres outside Colombo and about 40 from Kandy. He wants to clarify that he is not a rebel with a grouse.”I was looking for an opportunity to leave, to see a new country, and to earn more money,” he says of the decision to join Bandula Warnapura, Sri Lanka’s first Test captain, to play in South Africa. The players were not “rebels”, he says.”Finance was a major reason to go on that tour. I am a simple man from outside the city. I led, and still lead, a simple life. It was hard to travel back and forth for practice and matches, and we hardly played a Test back then. I needed money to support my family. Yes, there was some politics involved, but it wasn’t so bad in my case, personally. Others, like Bandula, had it bad and felt much wronged.”Yes, we sold our talent, but that’s not against the law. We received our punishment. Today such situations are called IPL and ICL, but only one gets chastised. Such are the times.”While in South Africa, he interacted with some great names in that country’s cricket, most of whose careers coincided with the years of sporting isolation. Vintcent van der Bijl, one of the best bowlers not to play Test cricket; Garth le Roux; Barry Richards; Jimmy Cook; Graeme Pollock and Clive Rice were just a few of those Goonatilleke got to watch and speak to. “They were all tremendous players, and a real treat to watch, even if they did well against us. They were a fantastic side. Witnessing apartheid was something alien to us.”The Sri Lankan players were slapped with a life ban on return by the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, as it was then, and many found it difficult to revive their domestic cricket careers or to get employment. Some, like Anura Ranasinghe, found the repercussions too heavy and turned to alcohol to cope with depression. But Goonatilleke, a university graduate, had no trouble finding a job, and settled into one in a garment factory near Kurunegala.”The decision to go to South Africa was not liked by many in Sri Lanka, but we were not hassled at the airport,” he recalls. “There was no contact from the government or the sports ministry; no one came to speak to us. There was a feeling on return that we had let some people down, but the response from the government and the cricket authorities was too harsh. I just came back and picked myself up.”Goonatilleke will never forget Wednesday, February 17, 1982, the day Sri Lanka became cricket’s eighth Test-playing country. “Needless to say, it was a proud day for all of us. We took the field with immense pride and determination. Seeing the England team on the field and standing alongside them was very symbolic,” he says. “We lost the match but we didn’t see it as defeat. We were an inexperienced side but I believe we showed in our first Test that we deserved to be there.”

“Yes, we sold our talent, but that’s not against the law. We received our punishment. Today such situations are called IPL and ICL, but only one gets chastised. Such are the times”

In 1967, just a rookie compared to the other big names at St Anthony’s College, Goonatilleke had 27 dismissals. He went on to lead the side in 1971, and though they only won one match, against St Sylvester’s, Goonatilleke’s reputation as a brilliant wicketkeeper and team man was enhanced. Those are years he remembers with fondness.”Oh it was good fun, some of the best years. I played with so many good cricketers, and forged some good friendships. I had the basics of wicketkeeper from the start. I think it was inborn. I loved it. It’s bloody hard work, let me just say, but it was enjoyable. I put in a lot of effort.”Among his breed, Goonatilleke was most impressed by Alan Knott, the Englishman he would be compared to in later years. But it was while trying to emulate Knott’s brilliance that Goonatilleke learned a lesson he still tries to pass on. “One thing I try and point out to wicketkeepers is – and I firmly believe in this – do not copy anyone. Be yourself. I tried copying Knott once – I can’t recall the season – and I didn’t do well that year. I realised what I had done wrong. I had copied someone. Never do that. Be yourself.”Goonatilleke admits he was kept under pressure by Russel Harmer, the schoolboy prodigy wicketkeeper-batsman of the late 60s and 70s – “really a great talent” – and thought Sri Lankan wicketkeeping was in good health when he saw Guy de Alwis, his junior, keep wicket on the first-class scene. Goonatilleke’s South Africa misdemeanour allowed de Alwis to make his debut on the 1982-83 tour to New Zealand. In later years, Goonatilleke was involved in developing talent for the future. He was invited by Warnapura, during his eight-year tenure as Sri Lanka Cricket’s director of operations, to hold clinics in Colombo, where he worked with the likes of Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Sangakkara, and Prasanna Jayawardene, who in his opinion is the best wicketkeeper Sri Lanka have had for some time.”When I was on the national selection panel I pushed Prasanna’s case, but for some reason he was overlooked. It’s a misconception that he’s not a very good batsman,” he says. “I had many of them practise with rubber balls, which were bounced off the walls. It can be hard to read the ball off the ground and I’ve found that this method works. It improves your anticipation, reflexes, footwork and even your batting.”I counsel cricketers who come to me for tips but I don’t take any money. I have my garment business, I am content. I just pass on my knowledge.”

26-Apr-2010
The beginning
In January 2008, WSG India bought the worldwide telecast rights of the IPL for ten years (2008 to 2017) at a cost of over $1 billion with MSM as its partner broadcaster. MSM secured the rights to broadcast in India for five years (2008 to 2012) and entered into an agreement for the same with the BCCI. MSM had the option of securing rights to broadcast in India for the remaining period (2013-2017) by paying WSG an option fee of $25 million latest by the end of the third year of contract. If that option was availed of, MSM would have to pay WSG, who would in turn pay the BCCI, $35 million at the end of the fifth year as a potential rating incentive.The termination
In March 2009, shortly before the second season, the BCCI had, according to a release from MSM, “unilaterally terminated” the agreement with MSM. The Indian board cited a breach of contract on MSM’s part as reason for the termination, the fallout of a deal with Big TV, and the quality of the television broadcast. The BCCI terminated MSM’s contract on a Saturday night and signed a new deal for broadcasting rights in India for nine years (2009-2017) with WSG (Mauritius) at 3 am on Sunday.Court hearings and negotiations
MSM filed an injunction in the Bombay High Court to stay the termination and talks between MSM and the IPL failed to reach an out-of-court settlement because MSM wanted a non-terminable contract. The court issued a freeze on the IPL-WSG (Mauritius) deal until it determined that the IPL’s decision to terminate MSM’s contract was legitimate. However, the IPL maintained the new deal with WSG was valid as it was signed before they received the court’s freeze order. The court later cleared the way for the BCCI to seek a new broadcast deal, which had already been done. WSG (Mauritius) was now searching for new broadcast partners and MSM was keen on re-negotiating a new deal.The new deal
In a release, MSM said their goals during the negotiations were two-fold. They wanted to secure the rights that had been terminated for the nine-year period (2009-2017) and pay the same amount to the BCCI as in the WSG (Mauritius) contract. They also wanted a direct contract with the BCCI, rather than a sub-license from rights-holder WSG (Mauritius). The result was that MSM now reached a renegotiated agreement for the IPL telecast rights with the BCCI, for the same price and duration as WSG Mauritius, in lieu of WSG Mauritius relinquishing its rights. The nine-year deal was worth Rs 8200 crores.The facilitation fee
Because WSG Mauritius stepped aside and gave up its telecast rights for the Indian subcontinent, paving the way for a direct contract between MSM and the BCCI, MSM agreed to pay WSG Mauritius a facilitation fee. MSM specified the facilitation fee of Rs 425 crores was for: the option fee of $25 million (Rs 115 crores approximately) to extend the rights from 2013 to 2017, an additional fee of Rs. 310 crores payable over the nine years of the contract compensating WSG Mauritius for returning the rights it acquired from the BCCI. The $35 million potential rating incentive, payable at the end of the fifth year under the original agreement, was eliminated.MSM said it had paid WSG Mauritius Rs. 125 crores to date and would pay the balance Rs 310 crores in eight installments over the next seven years of the contract. One of the allegations was that no tax was levied on the transaction but MSM said the “payments made to BCCI and WSG Mauritius have been in accordance with applicable laws and as per established international cross border banking norms and procedures. MSM received tax advice from external tax experts that the transaction with WSG Mauritius did not attract India taxes and MSM has accordingly not withheld any Indian tax.”What the BCCI said after suspending Modi
“There is an allegation that a facilitation fee was paid,” BCCI chief Shashank Manohar said. “But the board does not have the document. Now this deal happened between MSM Singapore and WSG Mauritius. So there is no reason why this document would be present with the board. So since I don’t have this document with me, I don’t see any reason why we should be aware of this.”

After his success at the top of the order in the West Indies, Mahela Jayawardene talks of the prospect of playing in that position in the 2011 World Cup

Sa'adi Thawfeeq09-May-2010Mahela Jayawardene’s outstanding form at the top of the order, in the World Twenty20 and on a few occasions in ODIs, gives Sri Lanka the option to play him as an opener in the 2011 World Cup. He has got his runs at a fast pace and given his side strong chances to win.The indifferent form of the rest of the line-up has forced Jayawardene to take charge of Sri Lanka’s run-scoring in the West Indies. He hit 81 off 51 balls in Sri Lanka’s 135 against New Zealand which they lost narrowly by two wickets. Then, against Zimbabwe, he laid the foundation for a total of 173 with his first hundred in Twenty20s. Sri Lanka won that rain-affected contest to qualify for the Super Eights, where they took on West Indies last week. Once again Jayawardene caressed his way to a substantial score, hitting an undefeated 98 to edge Sri Lanka towards a semi-final berth.The shift to the top of the order began during the Sri Lankan Inter-Provincial Twenty20 tournament, where he opened the batting for Wayamba in their third consecutive title-holding season, Jayawardene revealed.”The provincial tournament in Colombo is where I got the confidence, and I got into a groove and took control of things,” he said. “That’s when I realised that in Twenty20s it would be a good cushion, as well as the few times I opened in one-day cricket. I felt really comfortable in getting those big scores and winning matches.”In the IPL we didn’t have any middle-order batsmen in our [Kings XI Punjab’s] set-up. A couple of the guys were injured and three of the overseas players we had were all openers. The last two seasons of the IPL I’ve batted in the middle order and done the job for them. But when the opportunity came I said ‘Let me have a go at it.’ I had the confidence and I was backing myself to go out and do it. I was left out of the Kolkata Knight Riders game because they were playing a different combination. Then Marshy [Shaun Marsh] got injured in the warm-up. I said ‘Let me open’, since Ravi Bopara was going to bat at No. 5 anyway. It worked for me.”When somebody has to step in, in these kinds of opportunities, I always put my hand up because I like that kind of challenge. Rather than wait for things to happen, you try and create your own destiny. You go with a very free mind and take that challenge and enjoy it.”Jayawardene didn’t open the batting back when he was playing for Nalanda College, where he learnt the rudiments of the game.”I batted at No. 3 at school, but you have to fit into the team wherever possible. When I came into the national team I was quite happy to bat anywhere as long as I was playing for Sri Lanka. Then I got cemented in one position.”I was probably one of the lucky ones where you get a slot and you get to keep it, whereas other players in their careers have been shifted around most of the places. I’ve been shifted around for a little while but I got a permanent place and that is always a good thing. I settled to it probably but I didn’t fulfill what I wanted to do until now.”The two times he scored a century as an opener in ODI cricket were when Sanath Jayasuriya was indisposed in Dambulla against Pakistan, and when Tillakaratne Dilshan suffered an injury in Bangladesh.”Opening the batting, I can control and express myself a little better. You can’t harp on what you’ve done – you just need to keep challenging yourself and be as consistent as possible. The ultimate challenge for any cricketer is to be consistent. If I can do that, it will be great.”Jayawardene said he would sit with Kumar Sangakkara and the team management after the tournament to discuss opening options in next year’s World Cup.”There are guys who have done well as openers in the ODIs and it’s not fair to take them out if they cannot bat in the middle order,” Jayawardene said. “While thinking about that you’ve also got to make sure that the middle order is settled and we have the right guys batting in the right positions. We need to think of all that rather than be selfish and think of wanting to open.”I am hitting the ball well and it’s a different role. I probably have got into a zone where I know how to go about it, but nothing is guaranteed. As long as I am batting well and doing well, I just want to continue and keep challenging myself to try and get better and better in that position. It’s a good challenge for me at this time of my career.

“Batting in the middle order, and being the senior player, I had to take on a lot of responsibility and control things. But batting up the order, there is not much pressure at one end, in the sense that you haven’t lost any wickets, so you just go out there and start fresh”

“Batting in the middle order, and being the senior player, I had to take on a lot of responsibility, and you needed to control things. But batting up the order, there is not much pressure at one end in the sense that we haven’t lost any wickets, so you just go out there and start fresh. The freedom is there, but at the same time you still have the responsibility of taking that burden and making sure you control things.”This is what I have always wanted to do in my expectations. It is probably who I am, in the sense that this is the way I batted when I was playing for school – very free, playing quite a few shots and at the same time I make mistakes. But you back yourself because you know you could win a game. It’s very difficult to do that when you are batting at four.”Situations are such you need to adjust, which was a great challenge as well, which I enjoyed. Now it’s a different challenge and I’m doing it in a bit of a different way as long as the team is benefitting.”There is a big difference batting in the middle order and opening. That doesn’t mean that I can just go and throw my wicket away. I know I have to bat and once I get a start, apply myself and get to the next stage and finish matches off. Just walking in, you need a mindset of being positive, and try and take control of things, which is different but it has suited my game.”Batting at four, maybe I was in two minds about whether to go after the bowling and be aggressive or whether to be cautious and control things. But sometimes when you go in with a bit of a negative mind-frame, saying ‘I shouldn’t get out. I have to make sure I bat to that situation’, then you tend to make mistakes and get out.”Jayawardene said he was fortunate to have got the right breaks. “I am very blessed. I’ve always appreciated the opportunities I have got to play for my team since when I was 20. That was also because a couple of guys got injured and I was given an opportunity and I grabbed hold of that. Those kinds of opportunities don’t come to everybody all the time. I am very lucky to be part of that kind of a group initially, for I learnt a lot from their experience. Every time things happen for a reason and I am sure opening the batting happened for another reason as well.”

Gautam Gambhir has several strengths as a batsman but diving into his crease to try and protect his wicket isn’t one of them

Jamie Alter at the Feroz Shah Kotla11-Apr-2010″What we’ve got here is [a] failure to communicate.” The words immortalised by the sadistic, taciturn jailor in the classic were apt for the manner in which Gautam Gambhir and David Warner were dismissed. Warner’s run-out, three deliveries after he left Gambhir stranded, was down to poor calling but at least he put in a valiant dive. Gambhir turned around and barely made an attempt to get back, despite having clear view of the fielder’s bad throw to Kumar Sangakkara. It’s a weakness in Gambhir’s terrific game and one that’s becoming a recurring feature.This was Gambhir’s third successive run-out and the second one that proved a turning point in Delhi’s defeat. He had bolted like a runaway caboose, scoring 26 from 11 balls, without hitting one in the air. His 12th was short and wide and he placed the ball to Juan Theron at short third man but responded to Warner’s call. Then Warner stopped. Gambhir had no chance of getting back as Kumar Sangakkara collected a poor throw and flicked the ball back onto the stumps. He was furious with Warner for sending him back but he had made no effort to reach his crease.Gambhir does most things right when running between the wickets. He carries the bat in the correct hand for easy turning; he accelerates from the crease, gets low at the other end, and makes sure the bat crosses over. But while he is an aggressive runner, Gambhir rarely dives. He is among the better runners but unlike others – JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, for instance – he’s often unable to recover from a bad call because he’s not keen to dive.An emotional cricketer and one prone to getting carried away – just ask Shane Watson or Shahid Afridi – Gambhir is always up for a contest. That can translate into frenetic running, which can be both good and bad. Good when it puts pressure on fielders, bad when Gambhir’s natural ability doesn’t back that belligerence up.Gambhir has been run out seven times in ODIs, twice in Tests and once in a Twenty20 international. Perhaps the most glaring example of his poor running was in India’s defeat to Pakistan in Centurion during the ICC Champions Trophy. Chasing a stiff target, Gambhir had given India a rousing start but his first blunder, a lazy bit of running, swung the match Pakistan’s way. He was left stranded mid-pitch and gave up hope too early, giving Younis Khan plenty of time to take aim and throw down the stumps. Replays showed a dive might have saved his wicket. All the way back Gambhir kept admonishing himself.Playing for India is more important than the IPL, yet these two dismissals will irritate Gambhir. This aspect of his game is a chink in an otherwise solid wall, but one that’s costing his team. One upshot of playing continuously is that setbacks are quickly forgotten for there is always something around the corner – victory or defeat – to get exercised over. For Delhi’s sake, here’s hoping Gambhir puts in a valiant dive soon.

Stats highlights from Bangladesh’s emphatic win in Chittagong

Cricinfo staff03-Nov-2009Kyle Jarvis falls during another embarrassing Zimbabwe batting collapse•Bangladesh Cricket Board

• Zimbabwe crawled at the rate of 1.77 runs per over during their innings, using up 24.5 overs to score 44. The run-rate is the third-lowest in the history of ODIs, among innings which have lasted 60 or more balls. Canada’s rate of 1.11 (45 all out in 40.3 overs) against England in the 1979 World Cup is the least, followed by Pakistan’s 1.68 against West Indies in a Benson and Hedges World Series game in Sydney in 1992.
• Thanks to that run-rate, while the score is the fifth-lowest in ODIs, in terms of overs faced, Zimbabwe’s effort ranks only 26th (in innings where teams have been bowled out). Zimbabwe themselves have been bowled out in fewer overs on five occasions. This is also the second time they’ve been bundled out in 24.5 overs – the last time it happened, though – against England in Bristol in 2003 – they scored 92, more than twice the number of runs they did today.
• Bangladesh won the match with 229 balls to spare, which is their most comprehensive ODI win in terms of balls remaining, and the 11th most comprehensive overall. (Click here for the full list.) The most comprehensive is 277 balls, by England against Canada in the 1979 World Cup, but that was a 60-over game. In a 50-over mismatch, the most lopsided was Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket win against Zimbabwe in Colombo in 2001, when they knocked off the 39 needed for victory in 4.2 overs. Bangladesh’s previous best had been against Kenya in 2006, when they won with 157 balls to spare.
• There were six ducks in the match – four by Zimbabwe and two by Bangladesh. There have only been eight ODIs with more zeroes.
• With this victory, Bangladesh have improved their overall record against Zimbabwe to 24 wins and 22 losses, with their home record against them improving to 13-10.

Though Zimbabwe could not extend their successful run into their home final, there are signs that cricket in the country is moving in the right direction

Liam Brickhill10-Jun-2010Zimbabwe’s fairytale run to their first final in a tri-series involving only Test-playing nations since the NatWest Series in 2000 ultimately ended in a nine-wicket thrashing, but the hosts emerged from the tournament a different team. As in their six-wicket loss to England at Lord’s a decade ago, the Zimbabweans appeared overawed by the situation. The difference is that the team is now much better placed to build on its successes of the last 10 days.How has this transformation come about? A lot of the changes in Zimbabwe and in Zimbabwean cricket until the about-turn of the last few months have been for the worse, but one major positive in recent times is the make-over of the cricketing infrastructure that had gone to seed cricket like the country around it. Another – which has been reflected in the newfound robustness of that domestic cricket framework – has been that cricket has become, culturally, a national sport rather than a white sport per se. On this foundation cricket is going to grow inevitably, provided things remains stable in Zimbabwe and continue to move in a positive direction.Things being as they are, one could even argue that the cricket system in the country is somewhat ahead of South Africa, where Makhaya Ntini has bemoaned the lack of black advancement in cricket. Nowhere is this clearer than in the person of Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe’s captain, and the humble background he shares with a large portion of the team and with most cricketers in the country.A particularly heartening story came out of Zimbabwe cricket’s programme to unearth fast-bowling talent. When the trials moved to Masvingo, people travelled from all over the province to audition, but none from further away than four young cricketers who journeyed more than 200km from Chiredzi to have an opportunity to fulfill their cricketing dreams. Through their sheer determination and a display of raw talent at the trials, two of the boys were selected to progress to the final selection. They now have the chance to try and forge a potentially life-changing career in cricket. If the system makes it possible for their story to have a happy ending, then it is surely working.Another pleasant development, somewhat less sentimental but more reflective of Zimbabwe today, is apparent in the crowds that have attended the recent games. Though undoubtedly a mixed and vocal audience, most of the spectators have been black school children, generally from poorer townships. The grounds have not been packed to capacity, but it hasn’t helped that many of the games have been during the working week: most Zimbabweans still can’t afford to take a day off work to go and watch cricket.Still, more people have come to watch than have done in several years, and a great many that haven’t been able to make it to a match have followed the series on television. What’s more, Harare Sports Club today is a world away from the 1990s, when cricket was an almost entirely white occupation, and a black Zimbabwean at the cricket was likely to be either a security guard or a seller of biltong and sweeties. Or Peter Chingoka.And yet, despite the positive signs, it would be premature to suggest that Zimbabwe have moved completely beyond their frailties – a month ago they collapsed against New Zealand, losing nine wickets for 26 runs to be out for their lowest Twenty20 score, and in two of their three games against Sri Lanka in this series their batting or their bowling – or both – failed. Zimbabwe cricket is still fragile, and the team still has some distance to go in order to become consistent.

Harare Sports Club today is a world away from the 1990s, when cricket was an almost entirely white occupation, and a black Zimbabwean at the cricket was likely to be either a security guard or a seller of biltong and sweeties. Or Peter Chingoka

The collapse of cricket in Zimbabwe was tied to the severe problems in the country as a whole, and likewise cricket has been able to rejuvenate because of the relative stability at the moment. In this sense, Zimbabwe’s cricket acts as a rudimentary gauge of the state of the country; in both areas there hasn’t been the wholesale change that many people were hoping for, but it seems that things are heading in a more positive direction now. For better or worse, cricket there is tied to the uncertain future of the nation.Where will the current team be in five years? Not so long ago, they were a hastily-assembled bunch of teenagers, completely out of their depth in international cricket. Six years have passed since the rebel player crisis – seven since the black armband protest that foretold its coming – and the enthusiastic but unprepared adolescents have grown into young men, and are gaining in experience and confidence. Chigumbura and Brendan Taylor, who debuted in the same game against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo in 2004, are both only 24 – young in cricket terms – but have played over 100 ODIs now, as have Tatenda Taibu (who, at 27, has played 118 games and is the most experienced member of the present squad), and Prosper Utseya, who also got his first taste of international cricket on that disastrous Sri Lankan tour. Hamilton Masakadza, who made a historic international debut at 17, is not far behind with 94 appearances.One result of of the current squad’s traumatic beginnings is that Zimbabwe have been handed thrashings, at one time or another, by every major team they have played in the interim – including Bangladesh. Another is that they are now in the process of developing into a more hardened unit of young cricketers approaching their prime with a wealth of experience in their ranks. In a few years the current core of the side will be nearing 30, peaking, and will have played almost as many ODIs as the Flower brothers had when they retired in their mid-30s.But, ultimately, it is Tests that matter, and Zimbabwe aren’t quite ready yet. Too often in the last few years, Zimbabwe’s failures have come as a result of the frustrating, but far from unfamiliar, inability of the team – and especially the batsmen – to apply themselves when even a modicum of pressure is placed upon them. The weakness was a mental one, as batsmen who had been repeatedly brutalised by being thrust onto the international stage before their time had their confidence fractured, and the spectacular collapse became a default setting rather than an aberration.The serenity, and confidence, of their successful run-chases against India and Sri Lanka, suggest that they are beginning to overcome this problem. Their task must now be to build on the renewed sense of self-belief, and enhance their mental toughness.More often than not, the middle order has looked solid. Greg Lamb, though he appears pedestrian by the standards of modern cricket, is at least developing the ability to occupy the crease, hold off the collapse, and build partnerships. Craig Ervine has made a promising start to his career, and belief is not a problem for Charles Coventry, Chigumbura or Taibu.The opening pair also look a decent combination. Indeed, Masakadza’s evolution as a one-day batsman over the years has been remarkable. Taylor was already a known talent in high school and though he’s had his problems with the cricket authorities over the years, he seems to be blossoming under the new coaching set-up, headed by Alan Butcher.Butcher, rightly, has given him positive criticism over his fitness, and Taylor has admitted that the current environment is the most professional he’s ever worked in. Now, he is working hard, getting fit, and beginning to reap the rewards. Taylor has 2,870 ODI runs for Zimbabwe – fifth on the all-time list – and needs just 31 more to move ahead of Heath Streak. With at least ten years of international cricket potentially ahead of him, he is definitely a bright prospect.The recent upsurge of the team has been expressed in their style of play. There has often been a certain inventiveness to their game-plans, such as keeping a slip in play for large portions of the game, and pioneering the use of four spinners in tandem – which is an aggressive, rather than run-saving, tactic. From their joyously creative celebrations when wickets have fallen – such as Masakadza’s ‘Just Married’ t-shirt, Chris Mpofu and Taibu’s Bebeto-inspired shuffle, or Ray Price and Mpofu’s synchronised happy feet – one can see that the team is having fun.What can one read, finally, in the result of this tri-series? Certainly, it suggests the return of competitive cricket to the Zimbabwe national side after a seven-year absence, and another step in the recovery from the collapse that was heralded by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga’s heroic stand at the 2003 World Cup. With more exposure to top-quality opposition, this will be a competitive side and is moving back towards Zimbabwe cricket’s traditional mantra: “If you take us lightly, we will beat you.”