Who, what, when and where: ESPNcricinfo’s dummy’s guide to the Champions League

10-Aug-2010What is the Champions League?
The Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) is an invitational tournament featuring some of the top domestic Twenty20 sides. The event – run by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa – was conceptualised in 2008 once the money-spinning capacity of the Twenty20 format became evident following the success of the Indian Premier League. The CLT20 was first held in India in 2009, with the second edition hosted by South Africa in September 2010. The third installment is set to be hosted in India in September-October 2011.How did the Champions League originate?
The idea of an international competition between domestic sides was first mooted in the mid-1990s but it took currency only with the advent of Twenty20 cricket. Following the success of the IPL and other domestic Twenty20 leagues, officials in England, India, Australia and South Africa entered into discussions in 2008 to create an international inter-club competition. It was a paradigm shift for the sport: international cricket, till that point, meant national teams competing against each other. The new concept took it to the level of clubs, states and counties as the organisers sought to replicate the popularity of club-based competitions in other sports, most notably football, which ultimately took precedence over international fixtures. Lalit Modi, who was the chairman and commissioner of the IPL, took over as the chairman for this event as well, and ran the show until his IPL ouster in 2010.Did the tournament face roadblocks of any kind?
The first edition of the tournament was to be held in India in December 2008 but was cancelled following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26. It was eventually held in September 2009, but the political situation ruled out the inclusion of a team from Pakistan. Yasir Arafat, representing Sussex, was the only player from Pakistan to feature in that event. No Pakistan player participated in the 2010 edition but allrounder Abdul Razzaq, representing Leicestershire, will feature in the 2011 tournament.Initially the ICC said the event was not a part of the Future Tours Program (FTP), making it difficult to find a window in the international calendar when all potential players would be available for the tournament. The repercussions were felt in 2010 with the event clashing with the end of the English domestic season due to which there was no representation from England for the year.The new FTP, however, has given the Champions League a window that doesn’t clash with any international cricket, immediately after the England domestic season. Two English teams will participate in the 2011 event.Which teams participate in the event?
The planned 2008 edition was to have eight teams, from the three host countries, England and Pakistan.The field was expanded from eight to 12 for the 2009 edition, despite the lack of Pakistani representation. The teams included:· The top three from the IPL (Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils)· The finalists of the Australian domestic Twenty20 (Victoria and New South Wales)· The finalists of South Africa’s Pro20 (Cape Cobras and Eagles)· The finalists of England’s Twenty20 Cup (Somerset and Sussex)· Winners of the Stanford 20/20 from West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago)· Winners of the HRV Cup from New Zealand (Otago)· Winners of the Inter-provincial Twenty20 tournament from Sri Lanka (Wayamba)The 2009 edition was won by New South Wales, who defeated Trinidad & Tobago in the final. The 2010 edition has 10 teams in the fray – the same as in 2009 but without the representatives from England.· Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore from India· Victoria and South Australia from Australia· Highveld Lions and Warriors from South Africa· Guyana from the West Indies· Central Districts Stags from New Zealand· Wayamba from Sri LankaChennai Super Kings won the second installment of the Champions League. One of the striking features of the 2010 edition was that the teams from Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies struggled to match up to the levels of the rest of the field. Hence, for the 2011 event, the organisers decided to conduct a preliminary qualifier round involving these teams, the top two county sides, and a fourth Indian team in an attempt to increase the commercial viability of the tournament. The teams participating in the qualifier round are:· Kolkata Knight Riders from India· Somerset and Leicestershire from England· Trinidad & Tobago from West Indies· Ruhuna from Sri Lanka· Auckland Aces from New ZealandThe top three teams from the qualifier round will compete in the main draw that will also include:· Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore from India· New South Wales and South Australia from Australia· Cape Cobras and Warriors from South AfricaChennai Super Kings won the 2010 edition of the Champions League•AFPWhat is the tournament format?
In 2009, the 12 teams were split into four groups of three each, with two from each group proceeding to a league stage. The eight qualifiers were split into two leagues from which the semi-finalists were identified. The 2010 event had the ten teams split into two groups of five each, with the top two from each group contesting the semi-finals. The 2011 main draw will feature the same format.What is the prize money involved?
Winning team – $2,500,000Losing finalist – $1,300,000Losing semifinalists – $500,000 eachTeams finishing fifth to 10th – $200,000 eachWho are the financial backers for the event?
Airtel, the Indian telecom company, snapped the title sponsorship of the tournament for a five-year period. They, however, ended their association with the tournament ahead of the 2011 event, after which Nokia became the title sponsors for a four-year period. ESPN-Star Sports have bagged the 10-year global broadcast rights for $975 million and will air the event live in the USA, the Middle East, South East Asia and other regions.Are there players who could represent more than one team and how are such overlaps handled?
Since the event features franchise-based clubs unconstrained by national boundaries, there are instances of a player having to choose between two or more sides. For the 2010 season, Ross Taylor had to choose between three sides – his home team Central Districts, his IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Victoria. Kieron Pollard (Mumbai, South Australia, Somerset) faced a similar dilemma ahead of the 2011 season, as did Suraj Randiv (Chennai, Ruhuna) , Doug Bollinger (Chennai, NSW), Aiden Blizzard (Mumbai, South Australia), Brett Lee (Kolkata, NSW), Brad Haddin (Kolkata, NSW) and Davy Jacobs (Mumbai, Warriors).If a player is selected to play for an ‘away’ team rather than his ‘home’ team (the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket), the ‘away’ team must pay $150,000 as release fee to the ‘home’ team. ‘Away’ teams are not eligible for compensation if a player chooses to play for his ‘home’ team.

Andy Flower is not a man for the limelight, but that should take nothing away from his enormous contribution to England’s first Ashes triumph in Australia in 24 years

Andrew Miller at the SCG07-Jan-2011One man was noticeable by his absence from the podium as England celebrated their feat of retaining the Ashes in Australia, but perhaps that’s because he was already plotting his next step towards world domination. “He’s a guy who prefers to lurk in the shadows a bit,” said the captain Andrew Strauss of his friend, ally and fellow strategist Andy Flower. “He’s not good at smiling for starters, so that would have been a bit of a hindrance.”Despite his preference for keeping a low profile, Flower is sure to be showered with plaudits in the coming weeks. There has been scarcely an aspect of England’s Ashes campaign that has been anything less than meticulously thought through – from the identity of the combatants to the preparations for each of the Test matches, which included sneak previews of three of the five venues during England’s warm-up period, as well as the decision to send the frontline bowlers to Brisbane a week early, to acclimatise for the most tropical venue of the tour.But now, as the satisfaction of another job well done sinks in, England’s thoughts are already drifting towards the second of their winter’s twin peaks – the World Cup in the subcontinent, where their stated aim of becoming the No. 1 side in the world will be tested with the sort of dramatic format switch that the great Australian sides of the 1990s and 2000s used to take in their formidable strides.As Strauss admitted in the immediate aftermath of victory, there’s little time to sit and take stock of one’s achievements in this game. He himself learnt that at first hand when part of his first great England team in 2005, which scaled one peak in regaining the Ashes in those emotional scenes at The Oval, only to tumble into the very first crevice on the subsequent tour to Pakistan.”In the 18 months leading up to 2005 we had had a similar situation where all 11 guys were contributing all the time and that doesn’t happen all that often, although you’d love it to,” said Strauss. “When it does happen you tend to think, well, we can keep doing this forever, and that is the one hint of caution for us: there are going to be tough times ahead, we are not going to win by an innings every time we play and we have to keep striving to get better because if we don’t other teams will pass us.”That is where Flower’s groundwork comes into play. It was noticeable on the morning of the final day at Sydney that the ECB media department was working overtime with a flood of press releases – firstly to confirm that the bowling coach David Saker, another key appointment, had signed a three-year contract extension; then to announce that England’s bowler of the series, James Anderson, had been awarded a ten-day break to spend time with his new-born daughter ahead of the rest of England’s winter.Such attention to detail may seem trivial, but when taken as a whole it is invaluable – and Strauss was quick to credit Flower for the meticulous nature of the tour. “The vast majority of the work he does is behind closed doors, both in planning, preparation, looking forward, getting practice right. He’s not a guy for the limelight.”The management team is always here an hour before we turn up, making sure practice is going to work as smoothly as possible,” added Strauss. “He’s not doing this job for accolades; he’s doing it because he desperately wants England to improve. When he finally does finish he can look back and say ‘I was part of something pretty special’.”Way back in the mists of time, when Kevin Pietersen instigated his infamous coup against Peter Moores, Flower was among the men whom he wished to throw out with the bathwater – precisely because Flower was not the sort of character to seek attention in his role, which at the time was to be loyal to Moores, the man who had appointed him, and quietly learn the coaching ropes after two decades as a top-level player. Pietersen overlooked his qualities, because he was not trying to make himself noticed.However, since Flower’s appointment as England’s No. 1 – which happened, to all intents and purposes, at the precise moment that the team crashed to 51 all out in Jamaica – his expertise and quiet authority has captured the attention of the squad. After all, this is a man whose final act in international cricket was to look a murderous dictator in the eye and challenge him to change. After that black-armband protest against Robert Mugabe at the 2003 World Cup, perspective is automatically leant to any sporting achievement.”He’s been immense. He’s been incredible,” said Strauss. “Andy Flower is a guy we all respect a lot for what he’s achieved and how he holds himself in the dressing room. Often you can’t describe what he brings to the side, because it’s just a multitude of little things. Little conversations he has with people, little thoughts he puts onto paper that he actually puts into practice. The way he works with the backroom staff is as good as I’ve seen in county and international cricket.”Flower took his undoubted ability as a batsman and wicketkeeper, and allied it to an unbreakable will to turn himself into the world’s No. 1-ranked batsman, which was no mean feat for a player whose daily duty in the Zimbabwe side was to steel himself for yet another defeat – 34 in 63 Tests all told, despite his own world-class average of 51.54. That quest for self-improvement is a hallmark of the England squad that he has helped to create, and one of the men who buys into that the most is none other than the captain, Strauss.”I think the more you do the job, the more you learn the way you interact with people off the pitch, because experience counts for a huge amount,” he said of his own captaincy career. “I have been doing the job for a couple of years now and hopefully there is a couple left as well. In that sense I am excited about what we can achieve going forward. For the bowlers to bowl like they did, day-in day-out over five Tests is an exceptional effort. We have good depth and we will need it as the schedule is tough and we are going to get injuries.”We’ve had an amazing two months since we got here but we’ve already said we want to improve, that’s one of our team ethoses,” said Alastair Cook, whose own partnership with Flower grew in stature during his spell as captain in Bangladesh, and whose tally of 766 runs was the outstanding performance of the Ashes.”He won’t let us have an easy time. He will demand that we get better and better. That will hold us in good stead,” Cook added. “Whether I can achieve again what I’ve achieved here, it would be amazing. I honestly cannot believe what I’ve just done, and the team as well. I think we’ll sit here and enjoy today then worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”Flower, however, will worry about tomorrow today. That’s what it takes to attain greatness.

The silence which has followed the removal of Don Lockerbie as USACA’s chief executive does not bode well for the game in the USA

Martin Williamson29-Nov-2010It has been over a week since Don Lockerbie was ousted as chief executive of the USA Cricket Association and still there has been no official explanation of why he was dismissed and what the process will be to replace him. The board to a man has shut up shop and declined to offer any insight to what happened.What has emerged is that Lockerbie appears to have been dismissed ahead of the board meeting in Florida last weekend, so it has the hallmarks of a coup organised by Gladstone Dainty, the man who presided over USACA’s slide into the complete dysfunctionality which led to it being twice suspended by the ICC. He seems to have resumed control; the wall of silence certainly is a hallmark of the way he operates.Lockerbie appears to have paid the price for his ambitious plans for US cricket failing to materialise. Speaking to him in July 2009, three months after he took office, there was a feeling that he believed he could make things happen tempered with a suspicion he had bitten off far more than he could chew. Promises of an IPL-style tournament in the USA in 2010 and a fully professional national team by 2012 were not supported by a sound financial model.He came to the USA with the advantage of being well connected within the ICC but the disadvantage of having been in charge of stadiums at the 2007 World Cup. And while happy to talk at length to the media when things were going well, as soon as the going got tough he clammed up, too often failing to return calls or answer the tougher questions.The turning point was the triangular Twenty20 tournament he organised in Florida in May. The idea was sound but it had to feature India, Pakistan or West Indies to succeed. Instead, he brought in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, two sides with limited box office appeal and small numbers of local expats. Excuses given for cancelled games bordered on the daft, attendances were small, and almost everyone seems to have been left out of pocket. Nobody has been willing to discuss the finances of the event, but sources close to the tournament indicate USACA sustained huge losses.Since then spending has continued despite increasing questions of how it was all being financed. He appeared to spend a lot of time courting relationships on the subcontinent without any of them producing tangible returns. Eventually it appears Lockerbie ran out of support and possible USACA of cash.The burning question now is what direction USACA will take. Dainty has far too much baggage to take charge again in anything other than a caretaker role, although don’t expect that to stop him trying.Internationally, Lockerbie has wasted up a lot of goodwill. Until a credible replacement is in place, nobody is likely to want to get involved.The ICC, meanwhile, which bent over backwards to help US cricket under Lockerbie, seems to have been as wrongfooted by his removal as anyone, and is just as in the dark. It is unlikely it will want to keep backing any board led by Dainty and is likely to sit back and wait to see what happens.So for now, US cricket is back in limbo. The worrying thing is with a board unaccountable to anyone, even its own stakeholders, that situation could rumble on for years.

On the occasion of Harbhajan Singh’s 400th Test wicket, a look back at five of his most memorable spells in the format

Nitin Sundar07-Jul-201113 for 196 v Australia, Kolkata, 2001Matthew Hayden was at his best in the 2001 series, but Harbhajan Singh’s 32 wickets helped India finish on top•AFPHarbhajan Singh chose one of the most gripping Test matches of all-time to announce himself to the world. Matthew Hayden’s robust 97 seemed set to give world-champions Australia full control on the first afternoon when Harbhajan intervened with his wicket, and followed it up with Mark Waugh’s. He then sliced through the middle order, dismissing the out of form Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne off successive balls – the first Test hat-trick by an Indian bowler. Despite his seven-wicket haul, India fell behind quickly and were forced to follow-on after a batting collapse. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid then produced an epic 376-run stand, including a close-to chanceless vigil through the entire fourth day, to set Australia 384 to win in a little over two sessions. The tea-time score of 161 for 3 suggested the game was headed for a stalemate, but Harbhajan’s bounce and loop combined lethally with Sachin Tendulkar’s irresistible turn in the final session. Gilchrist and Warne collected pairs, while Ponting added a duck to go with his scratchy first-innings 6 as Australia disintegrated on the dusty track in the dying light. Harbhajan trapped Glenn McGrath in front moments before stumps as India surged to an astonishing win to end Australia’s 16-match winning streak and level the series.15 for 217 v Australia, Chennai, 2001Australia, with the exception of Hayden, had clearly not managed to decode their nemesis in time for the decider in Chennai. Hayden again propelled Australia towards dominance on the first day before Harbhajan scythed through the middle order on the second morning. Steve Waugh’s freak dismissal, palming away a back-spinning ball after dead-batting it, gave India the opening and Harbhajan barged in rampantly. Gilchrist managed a single this time, while Ponting collected his second successive duck, and Warne his third as Australia lost their last seven wickets for 51, rendering Hayden’s magnificent double-hundred futile. Tendulkar’s measured century, ably supported by the rest of the top order, gave India a 110-run lead, allowing Harbhajan to bowl with attacking fields. Hayden and Michael Slater added an attacking 82 for the first wicket, but Gilchrist’s promotion to No. 3 ended in failure as he once again fell lbw to Harbhajan. The Waugh twins scrapped in the Chennai heat, but Harbhajan’s persistence and the devils in the pitch finally broke their resistance, before the tail surrendered. Chasing 155 on the fourth day, Laxman scattered the field with a sublime half-century as India sped to 101 for 2 before Jason Gillespie and Colin Miller dismantled the middle order. With two wickets remaining, and McGrath charging in with purpose, Man-of-the-Series Harbhajan squeezed the winning runs through the covers, completing one of the most remarkable comebacks in cricket’s history.10 for 153 v Sri Lanka, Galle, 2008Harbhajan’s best performance in Sri Lanka is mostly forgotten since it came in a series remembered for Ajantha Mendis’ grand arrival, and in a match remembered for a mind-boggling double-century from Virender Sehwag. Unmindful of his team-mates’ travails against Mendis, Sehwag battered an unbeaten 201 off 231 balls to steer India to 329. Malinda Warnapura, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene set up a strong response before Harbhajan, supported by Anil Kumble, began to chip away. Warnapura was enticed into slicing a loopy delivery to point, before Sangakkara scooped a leading edge back to the bowler. Thilan Samaraweera was pinned on the crease by a slider, and Tillakaratne Dilshan – still a middle-order batsman – jabbed at a rapidly dipping offbreak to be caught close-in. Sri Lanka finished 37 runs behind, before Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir ensured they would need more than 300 in the fourth innings. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer removed the top order cheaply even as Samaraweera resisted, while Harbhajan ran through the lower order in haste to finish with a ten-wicket match haul.8 for 123 v South Africa, Kolkata, 2010Harbhajan Singh celebrates after helping India retain their No. 1 ranking in the dying moments of the Eden Gardens Test in 2010•AFPIndia’s No. 1 ranking was at stake after Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla mauled them in the first Test in Nagpur, and Harbhajan copped his share of criticism for failing to pull his weight. The pattern seemed to be repeating at Eden Gardens as debutant Alviro Petersen and Amla slammed tons to push South Africa past 200 for the loss of only one wicket. Zaheer Khan broke the momentum by accounting for both batsmen in his afternoon spell, leaving the middle order prone to Harbhajan at his favourite venue. Jacques Kallis top-edged a topspinner before left-handers Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy were nailed by straighter ones from round the stumps as the visitors slumped from 218 for 1 to 296 all out. Sehwag, Laxman, MS Dhoni and Tendulkar replied with centuries as India piled on a lead of 347. Their push for a series-levelling win was interrupted by intermittent rain and poor light on the fourth day, though they managed to pick up three wickets. On the final day, Amla, in the form of his life, was determined to stone-wall India’s intent, forcing the hosts to concentrate their efforts on the other end. Harbhajan led the way with a mixture of drift and bounce that made him lethal from round the stumps. Prince’s defiance ended when he stabbed at an overspinner, before Duminy and Steyn were foxed by sliders. The tail hung in gamely as Amla threatened to save the game. No. 11 Morne Morkel survived for well over an hour and South Africa were minutes away from a draw when Harbhajan struck Morkel’s pads and took off as Eden Gardens roared.7 for 195 v South Africa, Cape Town, 2011The new year Test in Cape Town was lit up by a battle for the ages involving Tendulkar and Steyn, and by Kallis’ masterclasses in both innings. It also featured the best and worst of Harbhajan. He had gone wicketless in the first innings, as Kallis countered Sreesanth’s verve and zip to take South Africa to 362. Gambhir defied the new ball ably, but his and Laxman’s dismissals just before the advent of the second new ball exposed the lower order to Steyn’s fury. Tendulkar stood up to his menace with his 51st Test ton, while Harbhajan contributed a ballsy 40 to help India match South Africa’s effort even as the pitch wore away to resemble a subcontinental sandpit. Harbhajan got to work immediately in the second innings, making clever use of the uneven bounce to trap Graeme Smith, Petersen and Paul Harris in front. He then got Amla to miss a sweep as South Africa stuttered to 64 for 4. Kallis then produced his second classic of the match, defying a side strain and a brute of a wicket to tame Harbhajan at his best. He neutered the offspinner’s intent to use the rough outside the off stump by deploying a series of reverse-sweeps, and with each stroke managed to deflate Harbhajan’s confidence. Inevitably, Harbhajan slipped into a defensive mindset and the lack of support at the other end allowed Kallis to push South Africa ahead. He was immovable, but Harbhajan accounted for the tail to end South Africa’s resistance. It took a gritty Gambhir rearguard on the final day to earn India a draw.

A look at how Canada, one of the Associates in Group A, fared in the 2011 World Cup

Sriram Veera22-Mar-2011World Cup performanceAshish Bagai and John Davison, who announced his retirement at the end of the tournament, celebrate Canada’s victory over Kenya•Getty ImagesCanada viewed this World Cup as a major turning point in their cricketing journey. Self reliance appeared to be a mirage until this tournament, but according to board president Ranjit Sahni, sponsors are beginning to show up at their door. Plans are afoot to launch a five-team competition along the lines of the IPL in Canada, with the involvement of foreign players. They are striving to go beyond the handouts they get from the ICC and script their own destiny. Much depended on their young team stringing together a few good performances in this tournament and they have done that.They gave a real scare to England in the warm-up game but were pinned down near the line by Stuart Broad. Realistically, their goal was to beat Kenya, the other Associate team in their group, and maybe also beat Zimbabwe. They achieved a five-wicket win over Kenya but were thumped by Zimbabwe. Where they really sparkled, albeit in phases, was against some of the Full Members. Apart from that warm-up encounter against England, they bowled out Pakistan for 184 and reached 104 for 3 before collapsing for 138. Against Australia, they raced to 82 for 1 in just 11 overs, courtesy of a dazzling knock from Hiral Patel, and reached 150 for 2 in the 29th over before the inevitable collapse.HighsA win is priceless and so the defeat of Kenya stands out. To make the Australian captain lose his rag – a frustrated Ricky Ponting threw down the ball in anger, ostensibly due to a team-mate, but Canada’s blitz would have contributed to his overall sombre mood – was another mini-highlight. But the two performances against Pakistan and England will be treasured. They came close to beating both and if not for Broad and the wily Shahid Afridi, they might even have done it.LowsIt has to be their performance against Zimbabwe. Getting crushed by Sri Lanka is one thing but being thumped by Zimbabwe would have saddened them. Zimbabwe waltzed to 298 before Canada were shot out for 123.StrengthsThe youth provided hope, a couple of experienced players impressed, and the management seems keen on developing the game. Hiral Patel hit a 45-ball 54 that included a mind-blowing back-foot six over covers to a 158.5kph thunderbolt from Shaun Tait. Ashish Bagai was fabulous behind the stumps and very purposeful, and calm, in front of it with the bat. Balaji Rao treated your senses with his legspin when he dared to flight the ball. The seamer Harvir Baidwan picked up 13 wickets at 23.61 and Jimmy Hansra made over 200 runs with the bat.WeaknessesThe inability to maintain their hold for long. Whenever they had the game, if not in their grasp, at least on an even keel, they collapsed. The cause can’t be simply a lack of skill. It reflects a mental weakness as well, probably stemming from the lack of exposure to such competitive games. There was enough evidence there, though, that suggested that this team can improve with more games.ProspectsManagement visions can be dangerously illusionary. They talk of pumping in money, improving infrastructure, spreading the game to the grassroots but this, as we know, is not an easy task. What Canada seem to possess, though, is the desire and the will to do something. The first thing they plan to do is extend year-long contracts to players. They have formed a close alliance with the West Indies cricket board and are involved in exchange programs; they have already featured in the Caribbean domestic Twenty20. Bigger things are being planned in terms of a jazzy local competition in Canada and they are even thinking about setting up a winter base in India. A cricket village offshore where the boys can spend time improving their game and play the local teams is being planned. A scholarship program is being planned for young kids interested in the game which they hope will act as feeder system for the national team in due course.Ashish Bagai, the captain, said the game can get corporate and government support only if the locals get involved in the game. So far, it’s the expat community that is interested in the game. This will be the most arduous task for the administrators to pull off. Cricket Canada plan to produce and broadcast cricket from around the world, including the local game, on broadband internet in the country. Only time will tell whether that translates into viewership and kick starts interest in the Canadian kids. If they can learn from the mistakes made by Kenya and remain professional, Canada can only grow from here.

India, who must avoid a defeat to have a chance of retaining the No.1 ranking, face an uphill task at a venue where they haven’t won a Test

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan08-Aug-2011England’s stronghold
Crushing defeats in the first two Tests at Lord’s and Trent Bridge have left India with a mountain to climb if they are to defend their No.1 ranking. India are in danger of losing three Tests in a series for the first time since their 3-0 defeat in Australia in 1999-2000. Plagued by injuries to their lead bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, India were far from impressive in the warm-up match against Northamtponshire, and will need a remarkable turnaround in form if they are to challenge a supremely confident England who will assume the No.1 ranking if they win the third Test. England’s supremacy in the series can be gauged from the fact that despite being in tricky situations in both Tests, they not only fought back, but also took the game well and truly beyond India with strong batting performances in their second innings. For a detailed stats review of the first two Tests, click here.While India will be hoping for some change of fortune in the series, Edgbaston does not represent their most favoured venue to effect such a fightback. They have failed to win a single Test and have lost four matches at this venue. India, who have not played a Test at the venue in their last two visits, lost by eight wickets in their previous match in 1996 despite Sachin Tendulkar’s fighting century. England, though, will hardly have any complaints about the venue. Their win-loss ratio of 2.87 at Edgbaston is the best among home venues that have hosted at least 30 Tests. After a bad loss to West Indies in 2000, England have gone on to win five and lose two of the next ten Tests at Edgbaston. England, who scored 417 runs on the third day against a dispirited India at Trent Bridge, also aggregated over 400 runs in a day’s play against Australia at Edgbaston in 2005. On that occasion, they resisted Shane Warne’s all-round heroics and went on to win a thrilling Test match by two runs. England’s only defeat in the last five years at the venue came against South Africa when Graeme Smith successfully anchored a difficult chase of a 281-run target.

Challenging venue for batsmen
Edgbaston, like Trent Bridge and Headingley, has been a bowler-friendly venue in England. While batting has been challenging in the first innings of matches, the conditions tend to improve in the second innings. In the second innings of Tests played at the venue since 2000, batsmen have scored more centuries and fifties than they have managed in the first. The story is very different in the third innings though; both the average and run-rate fall well below the corresponding numbers in the first two innings. The pitch has had a tendency to flatten out towards the end and, as a result, the batting stats in the fourth innings look much better.Pace bowlers have dominated the wickets tally across all four innings at Edgbaston. Their average is the best in the first and third innings. While James Anderson has 18 wickets in five matches at an average of 29.44, the in-form Stuart Broad has played only two Tests picking up eight wickets.Spinners, who have struggled for impact in the series, are likely to enjoy bowling at Edgbaston. Since 2000, they average 18.63 in the third innings and 26.71 in the fourth innings of matches at the venue. However, while Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan have picked up a total of 33 wickets at an average of 16.06, the other spinners have managed 53 at an average of 33.73.

Opening worries for England
Before the start of the second Test, none of the England batsmen had strong performances at Trent Bridge. While the openers disappointed again, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell boosted their batting stats at the venue. Bell in particular, was outstanding during his second-innings knock of 159, and will similarly look to improve on an otherwise ordinary record at Edgbaston. Pietersen, on the other hand, has been the best England batsman at the venue with an average over 60. Jonathan Trott, who will miss the third Test with an injury, has scored half-centuries in both his innings at the venue. Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, England’s most prolific opening partnership, have aggregated just 110 runs at an average of 13. 75 in their last eight stands and have not figured together in a half-century opening stand since adding 98 in Sydney in January 2011.

Sehwag not a major threat outside Asia
India, who have been well below-par in the two matches so far, will look up to Virender Sehwag who is returning after an injury lay-off. Among batsmen with over 2000 runs in Tests, Sehwag’s strike-rate of 81.91 in Tests is second only to that of Adam Gilchrist. Sehwag, who has an outstanding average of 68.80 in the team first innings with 21 centuries, has been disappointing in the second innings where he averages just 30.63 with one century. In Tests since 2005, he has been brilliant in home Tests with a high strike-rate and boundary percentage against pace bowlers and spinners. However, in away Tests outside the subcontinent, the numbers are very different. Although his strike-rate falls to 77.50, he averages over 42 against pace bowlers who have accounted for 22 of his 30 dismissals in the period. The surprise, though, lies in his poor display against spinners outside Asia; he has averaged just 21 and been dismissed six times. In sharp contrast to his batting form in home wins (average 62.41 with four centuries), he has been ordinary in the five wins outside the subcontinent since 2005 (average 21.55 and no score over fifty).

Lasith Malinga was devastating for Sri Lanka in the ODI series but the hosts will have to find a way to cope without him in the Tests

Sa'adi Thawfeeq23-Aug-2011If there was any lingering doubt about Lasith Malinga’s value to Sri Lanka, his performance in the ODIs against Australia proved again why his absence from the upcoming Test series will be a big blow for the hosts. Australia won the ODI series 3-2, but the result may well have been different had Malinga been fit for the first match, which Sri Lanka lost. As it turned out, he was instrumental in both Sri Lankan wins.He topped the series bowling charts, taking the most wickets, 11, at the lowest average, 11.45, and for good measure became the first bowler to take three ODI hat-tricks.So it came as no surprise when Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, said he was thankful that his team would not have to cope with Malinga’s slinging action and pinpoint yorkers in the Tests. “He is an excellent bowler,” Clarke said. “He’s got an excellent yorker and an equally good slower ball. I am glad that he is not playing us in the Test series.”In the final one-dayer, Malinga ripped through Australia’s lower order to set up a consolation four-wicket win. Australia were in a good position at 210 for 5 in the 45th over when Malinga produced one of his special overs to send back Mitchell Johnson (bowled), John Hastings (lbw) and Xavier Doherty (bowled) to record his third ODI hat-trick.Malinga’s fiery burst led to Australia losing their last five wickets for just one run and Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, said that he was lucky to have the bowler in his side. “Malinga is a great asset. Everyone can’t do Malinga’s job. He is an experienced wicket-taking bowler. Every time you give him the ball he will take wickets for you not only today but in the last few years.”Unfortunately for Dilshan, his luck will be restricted to the ODIs as he will have to find a way to manage without his best bowler come the Tests. When Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, arguably Sri Lanka’s best bowlers ever, retired, Malinga was touted as their successor.But a knee injury which he picked up during the Australia tour in 2007 threatened to cut short his career. It was only thanks to the healing powers of Dr Eliyantha White, the personal physician of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, that Malinga recovered from the injury to return to international cricket in 2010. But after appearing in two Tests against India, he found the strain too much for his knee and did not play the final Test of that series.In April this year he made the surprise announcement that he was retiring from Tests to spare his knee further damage. “Some people thought that I took this decision for financial gains,” Malinga said. “But it was not so. I love the game so much that I want to play as long as I can. I know my knee won’t allow me a long career if I continued to play Test cricket.”I took the decision to concentrate on the shorter versions of the game because it gave me a lot of time to rest my knee between matches. I have no ambitions to return to Test cricket in the future. My future is in the one-day game and Twenty20 cricket. That way I can serve my country better and longer.”Today Malinga is among the best one-day bowlers in the game with his toe-crushing yorkers and slower balls but he was unaware of the historical significance of his latest feat. “I realised that I had become the first bowler to take three hat-tricks in ODI cricket only after the match,” he said. “I am extremely happy that I emulated the feat of two other fast bowlers whom I had seen and admired – Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas.”It is these kinds of performances that you are remembered after you have retired from the game. I was not expecting anything like this when I came onto bowl. My job is to take wickets and help the team to win.”That job, however, does not extend to Tests, and Sri Lanka will be hard pressed to find someone to fill his shoes.

Suresh Menon’s biography does justice to most aspects of one of cricket’s more legendary larger-than-life characters

Dileep Premachandran16-Oct-2011With public personalities, you seldom know where the truth ends and myth begins. That is especially so in the case of larger-than-life figures like Bishan Singh Bedi. Many people’s idea of the role model for a classical spinner, Bedi in his playing days was something of a rebel – a staunch traditionalist who could also be an iconoclast.It takes both wisdom and wit to make sense of such a man, and Suresh Menon addresses the challenge in front of him in the preface to this engaging biography. “It is rather like the blind men of Hindustan describing an elephant: everything depends on where you are standing and which of the personalities is turned towards you,” he says. “The personas overlap occasionally, but often remain so out of touch with one another that a group of people could spend an evening talking without realising that they are referring to the same person.”This is Bedi’s story, but in many ways it’s also a chronicle of the coming of age of Indian cricket. Before the spin quartet, of which he was such an integral part, came along, even home victories were a rare commodity. But over the two decades that the two offspinners (Prasanna and Venkatraghavan), one left-armer (Bedi) and the unorthodox leggie (Chandrasekhar) played, India became a side to be reckoned with, enjoying a particularly vivid purple patch between 1971 and 1973, when they beat West Indies away and England (twice).Bedi was the only man to play in Dunedin (1967-68), Trinidad (1970-71), The Oval (1971) and Melbourne (1977-78), as India won their first Test matches in those countries. The book goes into a fair bit of detail about those epochal tours, without getting bogged down in the minutiae.As with any good biography, its strength lies in its ability to make sense of the man behind the numbers and the quotable quotes. There is enough personal detail – his son, Angad, turned to acting partly because the father was such a hard taskmaster – without the book becoming a page-3 exercise in voyeurism. Best of all, any admiration of the subject is counterbalanced by a clear-eyed view of his shortcomings.”Like most men with a strong mind, he can be a staunch friend or a bitter enemy,” writes Menon. “It is part of his black-or-white philosophy. Long before George W Bush made it an anthem, Bedi was telling those around him, ‘You are either with me or against me.'”He was also a man who might have been better suited to playing in Victor Trumper’s day, when professionalism hadn’t become sport’s leitmotif. In Menon’s words: “Bedi ignored context, sometimes put beauty before mere efficiency, and retained his amateur spirit in a game that had no time for amateurs – this despite his stints as a county professional in Northamptonshire and a grade cricket pro in Australia.”The story starts back in Amritsar, in the decade after independence, with a young boy who wanted to bowl fast. Gurpal Singh, Bedi’s captain at Khalsa College, dissuaded him. “The first ball Bedi the spinner bowled to me was a full toss,” he recalls. Though he reckons he was “nature’s own child”, Bedi practised seven or eight hours a day, inspired by both Sir Garfield Sobers and Tony Lock.”Few understood better than Bedi the separate roles played by the fingers, the palm, the arm, the shoulder, the hip, the legs and the toes,” writes Menon. “He could alter the position of one of them at the top of the bowling mark and change the delivery.” In Sobers’ pithy words, “he took the weight off the ball nicely”.One of the strong suits of this book is the fact that the biographer knows his cricket. Apart from the facts and anecdotes that pepper the narrative, there’s informed description and analysis of Bedi’s strengths as a bowler, from friends and opponents alike.During the years that Bedi spent as part of a trio or quartet, the individual was often secondary to the collective. Between them, they took 853 wickets, 18 more than Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft managed for West Indies during their years of terrorising the world’s batsmen.

This is Bedi’s story, but in many ways it’s also a chronicle of the coming of age of Indian cricket

Bedi was also generous with his advice, both during and after his playing days. In 1972-73, when Dennis Amiss struggled in India, Bedi bowled to him in the nets to help him sort out technical shortcomings. Nearly a decade after his retirement, he told Iqbal Qasim in Bangalore: “On a turner, the most dangerous ball is the one that goes through straight.” Pakistan won the decisive Test by 16 runs.In the two years of glory under Ajit Wadekar – far less popular as a captain with the spinners than his predecessor, the Nawab of Pataudi, was – Bedi took 51 wickets in 13 Tests. But by the time the team went to England in 1974, the relationship had deteriorated. After what became known as the Summer of 42 (India were skittled for that total at Lord’s), Wadekar remarked: “Bedi doesn’t always bowl to instructions.”By then he had also, unfairly, been marked out as something of a troublemaker. In an era when players were treated like indentured labour, Bedi asked uncomfortable questions. One of them concerned the fees for that tour of England. “The increased allowance would have given the players, who received £2 per day, an additional 50p,” writes Menon of a situation that’s scarcely imaginable in the gilded world that is modern-day Indian cricket.Bedi captained India to victory in six Tests, though his reign is perhaps best remembered for declaring the innings closed at Sabina Park in 1976, after a bouncer barrage sent several of his side to hospital. He also took 434 wickets for Northamptonshire, though his six-year stint ended with the recriminations that followed the John Lever-Vaseline affair. As Menon chronicles the pettiness and vindictiveness of those times, you realise that the BCCI’s bullying tactics are merely an imitation of MCC behaviour back in the day.Bedi’s on-field story ended at the age of 33, with 266 wickets from 67 Tests, and his stint as an administrator with Delhi produced no lasting impact. Few remember that he was one of the selectors who picked the World Cup-winning squad of 1983.The post-retirement years were dominated by trenchant remarks on various subjects. “With an open-chested action like that, you can’t possibly be round-arm,” he said of Muttiah Muralitharan. “He is a fine athlete; perhaps he would have made a good javelin thrower at the Asian Games.”This is an erudite yet easy-to-read portrait, one that manages to focus on the many intriguing facets of an individual who was far more than just a skilful bowler. Bedi’s passion for the game – as player and coach – shines through, as does his commitment to its traditions. “He might have taken more wickets if he had come off his lofty perch and begun believing that wicket-taking alone meant success,” says Menon. But had he done so, there would have been no story to tell, just the mundane instead of the magical.Bishan: Portrait of a Cricketer
Suresh Menon
Penguin, 2011
Rs 299, 236pp

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second one-day international in Port Elizabeth

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth23-Oct-2011Micro-battle of the day
When Mitchell Johnson met Graeme Smith in 2009, the result was a broken hand. The Australian left-armer did not get a chance to square off against Smith in the first ODI at Centurion and although Johnson said he did not mind missing out then, he relished it at St George’s Park. Smith looked a more fluent player than he has all series, which made the encounter even more challenging. He started tentatively but built confidence as his innings went on and when Johnson got in the way of him completing his 29th run, Smith had a few words and even wagged his finger. Two balls later, Johnson had the opportunity to run Smith out after the former South Africa captain was late off the blocks. The throw was horribly wayward and Smith had enough time to make his ground.Injury of the day
Shane Watson’s hip injury had healed sufficiently by the day before this match and Michael Clarke was confident that he would make a return. The importance of ensuring he is fit for the Test series has been on Australia’s mind but they were also keen to get him back in the starting XI and to get him playing as an all-rounder again, after he did not bowl in the Champions League for New South Wales. He bowled three overs and four balls without incident but with the fifth ball dragged his arm through his follow through and pulled up, clutching his left side. He had to leave the field and looked in severe pain as he limped off. Some quick treatment ensured he came out to bat lower down the order which was a positive sign for his future participation.Denial of the day
It is not often the umpire has a milestone to reach but Shaun George, standing in his first ODI, did. When Xavier Doherty appealed for lbw against David Miller in his last over and George lifted the finger, he had given his first international dismissal. And then, it turned out that he hadn’t. Miller asked for the decision to be reviewed and HotSpot showed that he got an inside edge, albeit a faint one. The small white mark on the game’s most expensive technology meant that George had to u-turn on his pronouncement and Miller was allowed to bat on. He ended up reaching his highest ODI score with a quick half-century.Six of the day
With South Africa in a brutal mood, the ball was getting comfortable being on the other side of the rope. However, it probably didn’t expect to be launched onto the roof of the President’s suite pavilion. Cummins got a lesson in the problems with bowling length on a flat pitch when JP Duminy launched him over his head and onto the tin roof. The media box is just below that and members of the press could hear the ball rolling along and saw it drop off the other side.Captain’s calamity of the day
The South African leadership appears a poisoned chalice and it seems that when one of the captain’s gets something, another one cannot. It was Hashim Amla’s day to have a hard time and the pain started when he was out for a duck off the first ball of the innings. But things got much worse when Amla dropped a sitter while fielding at mid-on. David Warner fed a slower ball straight to him and Amla had his fingers around it before the ball spilt out of his hands. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who had bowled well up to that point and already had a wicket to his name, was distressed at not being able to add a second but had to bite his tongue to avoid cursing his captain. Song of the day
Port Elizabeth’s steel band makes it one of the most unique venues to watch cricket. Every season, they seem to have an adaptation of a modern song. This time it was Pitbull’s , which was played a good few times. They also had their usual hits which include the national anthem, the traditional tune and South African favourite . But on Sunday, they had a special song to play. It was , which they belted out for Brad Haddin in celebration of his 34th year. They followed it up with , which Haddin must have heard, but did not acknowledge.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the second ODI between South Africa and Sri Lanka, in East London

Firdose Moonda at Buffalo Park14-Jan-2012Banner of the day
International cricket rarely comes to East London, so when it does the fans go all out. Despite the gloomy weather, Buffalo Park was a sell-out and people packed the grass embankments with umbrellas, picnic baskets and signs of support for the team. One fan thought he was at a rugby match, and had a “Go Bokke” poster, a reference to the Springboks, the South African rugby team. A second sign said: “Mom send money, beer is expensive.” But the banner of the day went to this beauty about Hashim Amla: “Some say that Hashim’s beard holds special powers. Its street value is higher than Rhino horn. We know him as Hashim the boundarinator Amla.”Catch of the day
Dale Steyn does not have a typical fast bowler’s physique. He is not particularly tall or gangly; he is more of a stocky quick with fitness that cannot be matched. He has already pulled off some breathtaking moves in the field against Sri Lanka, but his catch to dismiss Mahela Jayawardene topped them. Jayawardene has struggled for runs but looked in better form at Buffalo Park. He smashed Morne Morkel down the ground for four and then moved swiftly inside the line of the next delivery to glance it down the leg side. The scoop went in the air towards Steyn, who moved to his left, timed his jump and snatched the ball from the sky.Shot of the day
Hashim Amla has found sublime form in the 50-over format in the last two years and got South Africa off to a dream start. While Graeme Smith searched for areas to score runs and ways not to get out, Amla played some of the shots of the match. Off the 13th ball he faced, he stepped out to a length ball from Nuwan Kulasekara and drove him inside-out over extra cover for six. No watchmaker could time a shot sweeter, and there was an element of brutality about it that you would not expect from a man nicknamed the Monk.Hiccup of the day
In the last 12 months, South Africa have stumbled in run-chases that should have been strolls three times: against India in Johannesburg, England in Chennai and then New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-final in Dhaka. Surely, there would not be another crumble. When AB de Villiers was run out, after dabbing the ball to short third man, whispers of the dreaded c-word began. South Africa needed 44 runs to win off 56 balls, with six wickets in hand. This time, they got home.Lost chance of the day
Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, has flattered to deceive throughout this tour, with the only sign of his capabilities being a 79-ball 78 in the third Test. In East London, he wasted another opportunity when he got overanxious after nine run-less balls at the start of Sri Lanka’s innings. Dilshan pushed the ball to cover point and hesitated in setting off for a run. By the time he decided to go through with the run, Faf du Plessis had pounced on the ball and thrown down the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Dilshan was only just short of the crease, but it meant he had gone through two ODIs of the series without scoring a run.Bluff of the day
Runs had started to come more easily for Sri Lanka when Dinesh Chandimal decided to get adventurous. He tried to pull a Dale Steyn short ball but edged it past the stumps. Morne Morkel at fine leg gave chase, as did AB de Villiers from behind the stumps. It was always going to be Morkel who reached the ball first, but when de Villiers got halfway to it he turned and affected a mock throw to keep the Sri Lanka batsmen on their toes. The stunt fooled no-one but was a sign of de Villiers’ keenness to constantly stay ahead of the game.