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Praveen Amre never won the Ranji Trophy as a player, but in his three years as Mumbai’s coach he has won the Ranji title twice. He shares Mumbai’s journey to their 38th Ranji crown

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jan-2009

Two years ago when you won for the first time, you said you should be judged down the line, and not over one season. You must be a proud man now?
This was something special, especially after last year’s disappointment. We knew Mumbai is a champion side, but I still had a role to play: preparing advance training modules, keeping the dressing-room atmosphere positive, picking a balanced team every game, taking bold decisions.The journey was terrific. It is great to see that happiness on each and every face. The icing on the cake was sharing the moment with Sachin [Tendulkar] and Zaheer [Khan], and they also enjoyed the victory. Last evening we had a team dinner. Sachin congratulated each and ever member of the team for working hard and playing a part in winning the title. He said, ‘Zaheer and I only joined in the semi-finals, but you were the guys who made us win the title.’ He thanked me for putting in the hard work behind the scenes, and Wasim [Jaffer] for leading from the front.What were the mistakes from last year that you eliminated?
I had spoken to John Buchanan few years ago. He was in a similar position as me – everyone in Australia wants the team to be champions always. Since Buchanan’s team had a lot of star players I checked with him how he handled them in particular. The first thing Buchanan told me was I needed to keep my ego in the back pocket. That has helped me a lot in handling the Mumbai team. Without disturbing the egos of the star players, I had to get the best out of them. That was the most difficult thing.What were the challenges before the season had commenced?
The first challenge was to get a proper composition: whether to go with six batsmen or with five bowlers. Last year we fell short by a bowler so we added one this time, and probably that helped us to bowl out the opposition twice maximum times.Thanks to Dilip Vengsarkar we travelled to Anantapur to play practice games against Andhra as it was raining in Mumbai. Even if we lost three out of the four games it was a very important to get into the rhythm after the off-season. Then we lost to Saurashtra in Buchi Babu, and the critics started to pan us. But it did not matter to me. In those pre-season matches I was working out the individual strengths. At the same time the management decided that we would continue with only those who performed in Anantapur first and then in Buchi Babu. We wanted performers to help us get outright victories. Another key thing was I wanted Wasim to get a feel of his players as we had decided to appoint him the captain for the new season.That appointment might have raised a few eyebrows especially as Amol Muzumdar was a Ranji-winning captain two years ago, and the side’s highest run-getter last year. So what was the idea behind replacing him with Jaffer?
Firstly I must give credit to Wasim for staying with Mumbai. Before the season began Maharashtra had given him an offer and were willing to pay him any amount of money, but he opted to stay with Mumbai. That was the wisest decision he took as he would have ended up playing only league games there. Now he has won the Ranji Trophy, and also topped the run charts. Personally I felt Wasim, too, was going through a lean phase as he had failed at the international level, but he still had it in him to play for the country and needed to prove himself once again on the domestic circuit. He is a quality opening batsman, and we felt that the additional responsibility would motivate him further. So we dragged him out of the comfort zone to become more responsible for himself and the team.Was there a vision plan after last year’s exit?
I knew we had talented players who could go to the next level. If you look properly we have had the same team mostly – the only difference has been we started more intelligently this season. I got TA Sekar to screen a pool of 25 fast bowlers and categorise them as ‘potential’, ‘raw’, ‘developing’, or ‘flawed’. As a coach I shared my work with him, and that part was very important. For the first time the management knew there were back-up bowlers, which encouraged a healthy competition.

Travel was going to be another impediment if not handled properly. If we played 10 games counting the final that would mean a total of 41 playing days, about 65 including the travel. That was a tough itinerary as, at times, there was only a two-day gap between matches. That meant the bowlers would not get enough time for recovery, so we had to shuffle them.Was there any form of team-building exercise you worked on?
Every player voted after every game for a Man of the Match, and I would declare the name so the player would know he had his colleagues’ support. Then I decided that if any player was late, not only him but the entire team would play the fine because I wanted them to think it was their team and everyone needed to be responsible.Around the halfway mark in the league stage you were forced to follow on against Saurashtra, and you just about managed to avoid defeat. Was there any complacency after two outright victories?

That was the toughest game although we saved it in the end. But whatever happened was good, and I told the boys that we were much better than the result showed. And when your last pair can bat for a long time like Usman [Malvi] and Dhawal [Kulkarni] did in the first innings, and then Ramesh [Powar] played an uncharacteristic 171-ball 23 in the final innings, I knew my team was back on the track.The presence of Tendulkar in the dressing room must have been a welcome change for you?
Once he was there my job was that of the caretaker. He should communicate with the players more as he has tremendous passion for Mumbai and its cricket, and is always concerned about its welfare. Even after the Saurashtra game he was there in the nets to boost our morale. So with him around. I could be relieved and didn’t need to cover every point. His presence was important.Apparently Tendulkar had an honest chat with the entire squad after the semi-final against Saurashta. What was his message before the final?
We had scored 647, but still struggled to bowl out Saurashtra. We were lucky to escape as the rain arrived just half hour after play was called off on the final afternoon otherwise we would have missed out. Sachin’s message was that if we had to be real champions the attitude and approach had to be important. For that we needed to be more fearless. At times in the semis, he pointed out, players were going through motions but a champion side always dictates the events.Last year you pointed fingers at the batsmen for playing the wrong shots. How did you work on that?
I made my own plans on how each batsman would contribute. The way they got out never helped the team. There were not many hundreds, and only Amol got 500-plus runs. This year you have two batsmen – Wasim and Ajinkya [Rahane] – who crossed 1000 after eight games. I pointed to each batsman which areas they were getting out in, which strokes they were more susceptible to playing around a particular score in their innings, and how they could nullify the mistakes to get to the target of hundred. We also decided that four batsmen should score at lease 800 each in the season. But more importantly we put a challenge to them by letting them know they would get four innings to grab the opportunity, do well for himself, and do well for the team.

As for the bowlers the target for the seniors was to achieve a minimum count of 25 victims, but I knew this would be difficult. The other area, where we found ourselves really weak, was in the fielding, so we worked hard on that, especially on our slip catching. We had high-intensity sessions of at least 50 catches each, which helped us a lot.Was dropping Amol – the first time ever in his career that he has been benched after being named in the 15 – was the most difficult decision of your coaching career?
That was very, very tough. It was also emotional as we had won the Ranji title under him two years ago. That was my first year as coach and it was a very, very special moment for me, too, because I had never won the title during my playing days. But this time around we had to take the decision for nothing else but winning the tournament. There were only two other names apart from Amol’s – Abhishek [Nayar] and Sairaj [Bahutule]. Abhishek had been batting well, and was giving us that extra balance. The main reason behind finally opting for Sai was because this was the first time in two years that we were playing a five-day game. We thought we might need a second spinner, and did not want to take a chance. Also Sachin was batting at No. 4, Amol’s position.It was a tricky thing, conveying the message to him. The timing was important so as to not break his confidence. In the end it went fine. Both me and Wasim went to his room on the eve of the game, and told him. Obviously he was disappointed, but agreed his was not an extraordinary season but he could still play a part. But if the seniors felt they needed to drop him, he would take that on the chin.Is it true that Jaffer initially opposed the idea of opening with Samant?
Forget him, if I had proposed it to any other senior he would have first made sure I was actually serious. But I was, so I asked Wasim to think about it. In end it worked out. Didn’t it?What does the victory mean for you?
It just means Mumbai cricket has not gone down. If we had lost, our cricket would have gone back by three years. I vouched that each and every member worked hard. There were no shortcuts.

Spinners have had a huge role to play in IPL 2009, but one bowler hasn’t quite made the impact you’d have expected in conditions in which many other, lesser bowlers have done extremely well

S Rajesh18-May-2009Spinners have had a huge role to play in IPL 2009, but one bowler hasn’t quite made the impact you’d have expected in conditions in which many other, lesser bowlers have done extremely well. Shane Warne has been an inspirational captain, no doubt, for Rajasthan Royals, plotting brilliantly with limited resources, and coaxing the best out of his young and inexperienced players. As a spinner, though, he has been overshadowed by others, many of whom have none of his experience or class.With 14 wickets from 12 matches, only four bowlers have taken more in this competition, but Warne’s wickets have been relatively expensive, at a relatively high economy rate, especially in the context of a tournament which have seen several low scores and several matchwinning performances by spinners.Among spinners who have taken at least eight wickets, Warne’s average is worse than all but two other bowlers, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla, while his economy rate of 7.41 is poorer than everyone else in the list. Some of that is also a function of how he bowls, tossing it up and inviting the batsmen to have a go, but on these slow pitches bowlers who’ve adopted a more defensive approach have had plenty of success as well. Rohit Sharma’s 11 wickets have come at an average of 11.45 and an economy rate of 6.63, both of which are outstanding by Twenty20 standards. His bowling index (average multiplied by economy rate) is better than anyone else’s among those in the list below.Next in the list is Shadab Jakati, Chennai Super King’s left-arm spinner who has taken 103 wickets in 41 first-class matches at an average of 36.38. Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan are in the top five, but so is Pragyan Ojha, a bowler who has played only nine ODIs for India.

Warne has hardly bowled during the Powerplay overs in this IPL, keeping himself mostly for the eight middle overs. He hasn’t taken too many wickets during this period, but that’s also because most batsmen would prefer to play him off and look to take more risks against other bowlers. In the last six he has gone at nine an over, but has also taken more wickets.

As you’d expect, Warne has had more problems keeping the left-handers in check than the right-handers. With the stock ball coming in to them, the left-hand batsmen have had it much easier against Warne, getting him away for 136 runs from 96 deliveries and losing their wickets to him only five times. Against right-handers, on the other hand, Warne has kept it much tighter, and struck more often as well.

The table below further illustrates the point: among the six batsmen who’ve played ten or more deliveries from him in this IPL and scored at eight or more per over, five are left-handers. Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden, Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara have all been pretty successful against Warne, while Andrew Symonds is the only right-hander who has dominated Warne. On the other hand, S Badrinath and Virat Kohli have utterly struggled against him. Sachin Tendulkar had a memorable battle against him, but Warne clearly won that won, conceding eight runs from as many balls and dismissing him once.

Symonds makes his markA few Australians have joined the IPL after their series against Pakistan, but the one who has undoubtedly shone brighter than the others is Symonds. In four innings he has scored 174 runs at an impressive average and an outstanding strike rate. Symonds is quickly moving up the run-getters’ chart, and his strike rate means his batting factor (average x strike rate) has been bettered only by four batsmen (among those with at least 150 runs). In the top 15 there are four Australians, which is a pretty healthy percentage. Only India have as many players, while South Africa have three.

An Englishman who made an art out of obduracy

Gideon Haigh21-Mar-2010Some years ago I adjourned with a friend to a nearby schoolyard net for a recreational hit. On the way, we exchanged philosophies of cricket, and a few personal partialities. What, my friend asked, did I consider my favourite shot? “Easy,” I replied ingenuously. “Back-foot defensive stroke.”My friend did a double take and demanded a serious response. When I informed him he’d had one, he scoffed: “You’ll be telling me that Chris Tavaré’s your favourite player next.” My guilty hesitation gave me away. “You Poms!” he protested. “You all stick together!”Nearly 30 years since his only tour of Australia, mention of Tavaré still occasions winces and groans. Despite its continental lilt, his name translates into Australian as a very British brand of obduracy, that Trevor Baileyesque quality of making every ditch a last one. He’s an unconventional adoption as a favourite cricketer, I’ll admit – yet all the more reason to make him a personal choice.Tavaré played 30 Tests for England between 1980 and 1984, adding a final cap five years later. He filled for much of that period the role of opening batsman, even though the bulk of his first-class career was spent at Nos. 3 and 4. He was, in that sense, a typical selection in a period of chronic English indecision and improvisation, filling a hole rather than commanding a place. But he tried – how he tried. Ranji once spoke of players who “went grey in the service of the game”; Tavaré, slim, round-shouldered, with a feint moustache, looked careworn and world-weary from the moment he graduated to international cricket.

His name translates into Australian as a very British brand of obduracy, that Trevor Baileyesque quality of making every ditch a last one

In his second Test he existed almost five hours for 42; in his third, his 69 and 78 spanned nearly 12 hours. At the other end for not quite an hour-and-a-half of the last was Ian Botham, who ransacked 118 while Tavaré pickpocketed 28. As an ersatz opening batsman, Tavaré did not so much score runs as smuggle them out by stealth. In the Madras Test at the start of 1981-82, he eked out 35 in nearly a day; in the Perth Test at the end of 1982, he endured almost eight hours for 89. At one stage of the latter innings, he did not score for more than an hour. Watching on my television in the east of Australia, I was simultaneously aching for his next run and spellbound by Tavaré’s trance-like absorption in his task. First came his pad, gingerly, hesitantly; then came the bat, laid alongside it, almost as furtively; with the completion of each prod would commence a circular perambulation to leg to marshal his thoughts and his strength for the next challenge.That tour, I learned later, had been a peculiarly tough one for Tavaré. An uxorious man, he had brought to Australia his wife Vanessa, despite her phobia about flying. Bob Willis, his captain, wrote in his diary: “He clearly lives every moment with her on a plane and comes off the flight exhausted. Add to that the fact that he finds Test cricket a great mental strain and his state of mind can be readily imagined.” You didn’t have to imagine it; you could watch him bat it out of his system.Tavaré could probably have done with a psychiatrist that summer; so could have I. Our parallels were obvious in a cricket sense: I was a dour opening batsman, willing enough, but who also thought longingly of the freedoms available down the list. But I – born in England, growing up in Australia, and destined to not feel quite at home in either place – also felt a curious personal kinship. I saw us both as aliens – maligned, misunderstood – doing our best in a harsh and sometimes hostile environment. The disdain my peers expressed for “the boring Pommie” only toughened my allegiance; it hardened to unbreakability after his 89 in Melbourne.Batting, for once, in his accustomed slot at No. 3, Tavaré took his usual session to get settled, but after lunch opened out boldly. He manhandled Bruce Yardley, who’d hitherto bowled his offbreaks with impunity. He coolly asserted himself against the pace bowlers, who’d elsewhere given him such hurry. I’ve often hoped on behalf of cricketers, though never with such intensity as on that day, and never afterwards have I felt so validated. Even his failure to reach a hundred was somehow right: life, I was learning, never quite delivered all the goods. But occasionally – just occasionally – it offered something to keep you interested.

In the last innings of the Bangalore Test, a 22-year-old walked out instead of Rahul Dravid – and made sure he gave those watching plenty to talk about

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Oct-2010For one poignant moment Cheteshwar Pujara was a fan again. Looking over the shoulders of his team-mates at the post-match presentation following his audacious innings on the final day of the second Test against Australia in Bangalore, Pujara did not want to miss out on anything Sachin Tendulkar was saying. When Tendulkar finally mentioned his name, Pujara’s face lit up.It was not that he was feeling empty without an acknowledgement from his senior team-mates. His 72 runs in the final innings had shut Australia out of the contest. He had no doubt he belonged among the elite. He just wanted to hear his name, savour the moment, soak in the happiness.A week later he still is pinching himself in delight. “I am still recovering a little bit,” he says. “It is a great feeling, no doubt.” But he is not getting carried away. “There are many things to achieve in life. It is a very good start but it is in the past now, and as a cricketer I would like to be in the present.”Only Pujara and his father-mentor-coach-comforter Arvind know how hard it was for him to claim the honour of being India’s 266th Test cricketer. Rajkot is no backward town, but in terms of cricketing infrastructure it is the outback. Pujara trained on concrete wickets, with sparse kit, against average bowling, and grew hungry as time ticked by.At 22, he has not waited all that long to earn a Test berth. It just seems that way, though, since he seems to have been scoring big in domestic cricket forever. In the last four first-class seasons Pujara has averaged at least 50: in 2006-07 he logged 595 runs at 59.50 (two centuries and three fifties); in 2007-08, 807 at 73.36 (three centuries and three fifties); 2008-09, 906 runs at 82.36 (four centuries); and last season he had 554 at 79.14 (one hundred and four fifties).His desperation possibly had something to do with the fact that contemporaries like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli seemed to be gaining mileage in the media based on brilliance they had shown in the shorter versions. Pujara did not panic and try and transform his game, though. He suppressed his impatience and kept his focus clear. And when in Bangalore he was told he was in, an hour before the toss, he knew he was ready. He walked in as if he belonged.On the eve of the Test Gary Kirsten told him to be prepared and that he might get a chance. VVS Laxman was to have a fitness test for back spasms on the morning of the match. Pujara went to bed thinking Laxman would probably make it.During the morning warm-up, Laxman walked up to Pujara to tell him he wasn’t feeling okay and that he might not play. “He also said sorry to keep me hanging in the balance,” Pujara says. “Because I was making my debut he understood that if I was playing and got the news 45 minutes or an hour before the match, it was not good. But he couldn’t do anything about it and I told him that.”When he walked in to bat on the third day, he couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Tendulkar was already in the zone, inching towards his double-century.”Sachin told me, ‘You will feel some pressure initially because it is your debut match. You will feel some nerves and stiffness in the body. But just enjoy it, don’t put pressure on yourself. It will go away after 10-15 minutes.’

“When I went in I did not feel anything. But as soon as I reached the crease I saw my name followed by the word ‘debutant’. Everyone started screaming. Then I felt, ‘Oh, this is the moment I have always wanted to be in'”

“When I went in I did not feel anything. But as soon as I reached the crease I saw my name, followed by the word ‘debutant’. Everyone started screaming. Then I felt, ‘Oh, this is the moment I have always wanted to be in.’ It was different from a Ranji game.”Having watched Tendulkar and M Vijay dominate the Australian bowling for many hours on an easy pitch, Pujara was looking forward to batting himself. He lasted only three balls, though, and was defeated by a fast, angled, ankle-height Mitchell Johnson delivery from round the stumps. Tendulkar and other team-mates consoled Pujara later, pointing out it was not his fault.”I was really disappointed and it was really difficult to sleep,” he says. “The wicket seemed very batting-friendly. So I thought things would be easy for me, especially as the bowlers were tired. And I was feeling well when I entered. The second ball I hit a four but somehow I got out.”He did not let the disappointment affect his fielding on the fourth day, impressing with his agility at silly point and short leg, giving India’s spinners confidence and putting pressure on the Australians.Pujara’s hour of reckoning would arrive on the fifth morning, when he was told during the warm-ups that he would have to bat at one-down. “I said, ‘It is perfect,'” he says. He agreed with the team management’s strategy behind the move, which was that they did not want an inexperienced player down the order with India chasing in the fourth innings. “Raina and myself are good players but we are still inexperienced in Test cricket.”The confidence MS Dhoni showed in him despite it being only his second international innings was important to him. “The opportunity I got of batting at No. 3 was one of the best moments. It was a bit difficult – a challenging task,” Pujara says. “As a debutant you want to score some runs in the first innings, to prove you are capable enough to play at the international level. And when you get out for a low score your confidence does go down. I told myself that I did not do anything wrong, so let me be positive. I have done enough hard work and I’m capable enough to play at international level. And when I got to play at three, that was my best chance.”On the fourth evening he read a spiritual book in Gujarati. One sentence made an impression: “If you have worked enough and if you trust God, then why do you worry about the result?” The book is one Pujara has had since he was 12 or 13. It was introduced to the family by his mother, Reena. “She did not force us to read it, she just left it there. One day I picked it up and started to read it. I get life-changing thoughts reading such stuff, as I believe in God,” he says.The second time he went in to bat, that sentence came to mind. “I said I wouldn’t worry about the result. I have worked hard enough. I will try and be in the present. I will just bat,” he says.”The Bangalore innings is in the past now, and as a cricketer I would like to be in the present”•AFPWhen Virender Sehwag got out on the fifth morning the crowd went mute for a minute, then sighed, seeing Pujara and not Rahul Dravid, the local hero, walk in. Did Pujara sense the disappointment of the fans? He begs to differ.”I sensed they wanted me to score runs. They wanted India to win,” he says. But he admits the first ball was difficult. The first-innings dismissal was playing on his mind. “I was a bit more nervous.”He took a risky single and was lucky Ricky Ponting missed hitting the stumps at the end to which Vijay was rushing. The next over, Pujara hit Johnson for a boundary, but the momentum only swung his way when Nathan Hauritz came on to bowl his first over of the day. Pujara charged him second ball to hit an off-drive that went straight, past the right of mid-off, to the boundary – his favourite shot from the innings. Eleven came off that over. “I thought then that I could dominate the bowlers,” he says.The fields set for Hauritz were easy for Pujara to manipulate. He had watched the offspinner closely in the first innings. “I had seen him bowl to the same fields during the first innings from round the wicket to Sachin and Vijay. I don’t want to say if it was the right field or wrong field, but I knew what field he was going to bowl to me,” he says. By lunch Pujara was on 26, including four boundaries.Pujara made his Test debut on October 9 – the day, in 2005, that his mother passed away, succumbing to cancer. “She was one of the most inspiring persons in my life and the one whom I loved the most,” he says. “So I did not want to do anything sad. Wherever she is now, she would be happy.”For Pujara to play for India has not been a dream for him alone. It has been a family dream, one achieved through collective efforts. If there is one person happier than Pujara, it is his father.”He is a modest person,” Pujara says. “People are not aware of how much he has done for me. His contribution to me is tremendous. The satisfaction is, I have met his dream.”

If ever there was a performance that laid bare a visiting team’s intentions, it was the one that Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook produced on the most one-sided day of the series so far

Andrew Miller at the Gabba28-Nov-2010Just as it was far too early to write off England’s prospects during their long hard slog on the third day at the Gabba, likewise it is too soon to declare that Australia’s Ashes have been reduced to cinders on the fourth. But if ever there was a performance that laid bare a visiting team’s intentions, it was the one that Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook produced on the most one-sided day of the series so far.In the course of their 188-run stand, England’s captain and vice-captain happened to surpass Hobbs and Sutcliffe as the most prolific opening pair in their country’s Test history – a quirky statistic maybe, but one that underlined the vast experience they bring to the top of the order. Both men played and struggled here four years ago, with Cook’s Perth century their only innings of note in 20 attempts, and both men returned with a burning desire to make amends. The series is still young, and the Sydney finale isn’t even close to the horizon. But two critical components of England’s squad have risen to their first big challenge.Strauss, it has to be said, came within inches of remembering this match for all the wrong reasons. The primal scream that he emitted in the 55th over, as he dabbed Xavier Doherty through third man for four to bring up his fourth Ashes century and his first in Australia, was as raw and passion-fuelled as the one with which Michael Hussey had deafened his team-mate, Brad Haddin, during the Aussies’ triple-century alliance on Saturday. And like Hussey’s, it was in part a recognition of the fine lines between success and failure on which matches, and series, can teeter.For it was the same scream that had stuck in Strauss’s throat in the very first over of the match, when his anxious attempt to get England’s Ashes campaign up and running resulted in a cramped cut straight to gully, and a long, slow, agonised walk back for a duck. And had Ben Hilfenhaus’s first-ball inswinger in the second innings struck him any lower on the pad, he would quite conceivably have marked his return to Australia with the most ignominious pair of his career.”The third ball of the game was pretty much close to as bad as I’ve felt on a cricket pitch,” said Strauss. “Getting out in the first over of such an important Test match wasn’t the start I was looking for. Then the first ball in the second innings, I thought was a very good leave! My heart was definitely in my mouth. I did think it was a bit high – I was clinging to that hope anyway. Thankfully, it was the bit of luck sometimes you need. It wouldn’t have been a particularly pleasant match if that one had been out.”Almost from the moment England had walked off the field at The Oval last summer with the Ashes in their grasp, Strauss had been rehearsing his contest, and those moments, over and over in his head, knowing full well the fate that had awaited England in Australia the last time they had gone down there to defend a hard-fought victory, and recognising that, as captain, the influence he exerted this time around would be paramount to the cause.Australian teams always target the captain of any team that visits their shores. It is a fact of international cricket that Strauss has tried to play down as the product of too much talk in the media, but nevertheless, there is no escaping the extent to which tours become synonymous with their leaders. Jardine, Hutton, Illingworth, Brearley and Gatting trip off the tongue with greater ease than the dates of their triumphant campaigns, just as Flintoff’s 5-0 remains an indelible fact on his CV.And it’s not just English captains to whom such epithets apply. In 2003, on the last occasion a visiting side avoided defeat in the Gabbatoir, it was India’s captain, Sourav Ganguly, who produced the defining innings of the Test and arguably his life, a brilliantly doughty 144 that overcame his much-trumpeted weakness against the short ball and instilled in his team-mates the belief that they could face down the Aussies as equals. Sure enough, they won a sizzling contest at Adelaide and departed with a 1-1 draw – making them only the third side in 18 series to avoid defeat Down Under.To call Strauss’s innings on Saturday the most important of his life would be premature, and moreover it would also do a disservice to his other three Ashes hundreds – most especially his first-innings 129 in the decisive Oval Test of 2005, a performance of such ice-cool temperament in the midst of almost unparalleled pressure, it goes virtually unnoticed when the frantic final stages of that contest are recalled.But not since Ian Botham clobbered his 14th and final Test hundred on this very ground in 1986-87 has an England gun player, to use the colloquial term, travelled to Australia and produced the performance of which he is capable at the first time of asking. Strauss needed his luck, as most centurions do, and when Mitchell Johnson spilled a scuffed smear at mid-off with Strauss on 69 and England still the best part of 100 runs in arrears, it took over from Hussey’s referred lbw as the most critical flashpoint of the match.”It was important I took my opportunity, and showed the way,” he said. “That is one of your duties as captain. Any time you have an opportunity to score a hundred in an Ashes Test match, it is a very special thing.” Only the manner of his departure let him down, as he gave the charge to the spinner Marcus North and was stumped for 110. “It was not the sort of dismissal that we were looking for quite frankly,” he said. “It was not the sort of dismissal I was looking for as both a batsman and a captain. I picked the wrong ball to go down to and paid the price.”Nevertheless, as he walked back to the dressing-room with England’s arrears reduced to a handful of runs, he took with him a share of a partnership statistic that is of far greater relevance than the topping of Hobbs and Sutcliffe. No visiting team has ever produced a higher first-wicket stand at the Gabba, and the previous record of 135 was set by Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge in 1988-89, in the last Test match that Australia lost at the venue, and one of only two five-Test series that they’ve lost at home in 22 years.The former prospect is slim in the extreme – and it was a notion that neither Cook nor Strauss was keen to address at the close, mindful as they possibly are of how quickly the circumstances can change in Australia. After all, in Adelaide on the 2006-07 tour, England led by 97 runs going into the final day with nine wickets still intact, and no-one needs reminding of what transpired from there.Without Warne, McGrath and a string of game-changing Aussie greats to contend with, however, the latter goal feels more tangible than ever before.

Richie Benaud pays tribute to Gerry Alexander, the West Indian captain who died over the weekend in Jamaica

Richie Benaud18-Apr-2011Gerry Alexander, who passed away this week, was one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsmen I have ever seen. He had another great attribute in that he was ‘a good bloke,’ liked around the cricket world for his skills but just as much for his communication and camaraderie.He was a very good cricketer. During the tied-Test series he was the man we feared with the bat in the bottom half of the order. In all five Tests he did something, whether it was first innings or second. Scores of 60, 72, 108, 63*, 87* and 73 are those of a genuine batsman and, when you add to that his athletic keeping, it makes for an outstanding cricketer.Additionally, as noted, he was a gentleman and a fine conversationalist; and a wonderful lieutenant to Frank Worrell, who was the first black player to be permitted to lead a West Indian team on tour. Frank was the best captain I played against; I know he never berated his players for mistakes but gently made it clear that they should heed the lesson.Gerry Alexander has always been etched in my mind for the run out of Wally Grout in the tied Test on the final day. Conrad Hunte was the fielder chasing the ball struck by Ian Meckiff almost to the midwicket boundary.The throw from Hunte was superb, but it was flat and fast and Alexander was looking into the sun as he prepared to try for the run-out of Wally Grout. He gathered the ball and hurled himself into the stumps to achieve the dismissal, part of an extraordinary piece of cricket. A splendid cricketer Gerry Alexander, and I shall be raising a glass to him in Sydney tonight.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the first Test between New Zealand and South Africa, in Dunedin

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin10-Mar-2012Strategic change of gloves
Forty minutes after lunch, South Africa showed the first signs of intent to increase the scoring-rate in their innings and push for an early declaration. Jacques Rudolph asked for a change of inner gloves but it seemed like he received a quick message from twelfth man Marchant de Lange too. Rudolph clubbed the first ball of the next over, a short and wide gift from Tim Southee, through point. He went on to score boundaries off each of the next four overs, reaching a century and allowing South Africa to declare 16 overs after lunch. ‘Who’s that?’ moment of the day
South African fans have already been annoyed about the broadcast of the first Test in Dunedin because they have found the almost all-New Zealand commentary team to be biased towards the home side. Now, they face further agitation. Barry Richards, the only South African commentator on tour, was on air when a shot of the South Africa team-manager Mohammed Moosajee was shown. He did not recognise Moosajee and called him an anti-corruption officer, causing a fresh fracas to erupt on social networks and within CSA’s management, which has taken the matter up with the broadcasters.Baptism of fire
New Zealand’s batsmen would have been ready for some hostile bowling in the fourth innings, and it was Test debutant Rob Nicol that took most of the early blows. He was hit on the thigh by Vernon Philander, on the shoulder by a Morne Morkel short ball that did not bounce as much as expected, and suffered his most painful blow when Morkel caught him on the gloves, with another short ball. At first, Nicol tried to just shake off the pain with a disinterested look on his face but by the end of the over he needed help, and a member of the medical staff had to bring out the magic spray.Gift of the day
After having hung in there through the body blows, being beaten umpteen times and short balls, Nicol ended up throwing his wicket away to an innocuous delivery. The first ball of Imran Tahir’s second over was a full-toss that he should have smacked over the covers. Instead, he spooned a lollipop shot to Graeme Smith at mid-off and was dismissed. It was a tame end not befitting the struggle before it.Wasted review of the day
Jacques Kallis has said having two reviews allows teams to try their luck on marginal calls, but South Africa used their first review of the fourth innings poorly. Morne Morkel was scaring New Zealand’s batsmen with the short ball and Brendon McCullum was on the receiving end of one that moved back in sharply. It struck him on the shoulder and lobbed to AB de Villiers at third slip who signalled that he thought it was out as soon as he caught it. After a brief huddle, Graeme Smith decided to review the not-out decision but it only needed one look – in real time – to confirm it had not hit the bat or gloves.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Clint McKay may be one of Australia’s less-heralded bowlers but his success reflects that of his fellow Victorian with England

Daniel Brettig05-Jul-2012Q: What do the best performing bowlers in England’s ODI series against Australia have in common? A: They all count David Saker as a major influence.Alongside Steven Finn, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the Australia seamer Clint McKay is a long-time student of Saker’s, having spent many a session with him when the former swing bowler was employed by Victoria. McKay said Saker had been a tremendous help to him and was clearly doing great things with England’s pacemen, stopping short of wishing for his return home only as it would be impolite to the interim bowling coach, Ali de Winter, to do so.”I’ve known David Saker for a long time, he’s been fantastic for my career. Being a Victorian, he worked with us for a long period of time and he’s fantastic,” McKay said. “No wonder the England bowlers are bowling so well at the moment and [have] so many opening bowlers around.”They’re bowling a fuller length, you can see the ball swing, and that’s one of his big strengths. He’s great at summing up batters and the knowledge of the game, which he seems to have passed on to the English bowlers, and there’s no doubt they’ve gone on in leaps and bounds since he’s been involved in the setup.”But in saying that too we’ve got a couple of good bowling coaches in Australia, we’ve got Ali de Winter on this tour, we had Craig McDermott before that and Troy Cooley before him.”While hardly the most fashionable member of the touring ODI squad, McKay has been their most effective by a distance this year, collecting 24 wickets at 24.54 in 15 matches, while conceding 4.65 runs per over. No one other than Shane Watson has conceded fewer runs per over, with Brett Lee and Xavier Doherty the next most frequent wicket-takers at significantly greater cost.McKay has done all this while bowling at the most difficult times, generally called upon by his captain, Michael Clarke, during the Powerplay overs and also at the close of an innings when batsmen flail most urgently. The public perception is that he is probably the last man picked for Australia in ODIs – the statistical evidence suggests he must be one of the first.”I love it, it’s the best way to be – the less headlines the better,” McKay said of his low profile. “You just float, get through, keep doing your job week in, week out and that’s what your team needs you to do. I don’t worry about the fanfare and all that sort of thing, the young kids can have it. Young James Pattinson loves the limelight and we’ll push him forward as much as we can.”I’m not sure about being comfortable in my spot, as soon as you get into a comfortable position, that’s when you can get yourself into trouble. So not only myself but the whole playing group are trying to work hard and get better as individuals and a group to stay No. 1 in the world. That’s a big thing for us and we’ve got to make sure we keep improving, getting better and better so we stay there.”Clint McKay has benefited from the advice of England bowling coach David Saker in the past•AFPA little less than two years ago, McKay had been Australia’s most accomplished limited-overs bowler, in a home series against Sri Lanka, and seemed destined for a critical role at the 2011 World Cup. However a stress fracture of the foot, sustained while playing a Twenty20 match, kept him out for almost a year, and had surgery gone awry there was the chance of it being the end for him. McKay said he reminded himself of his good fortune to be playing at all when he missed out on a Cricket Australia contract last month.”I knew it was going to be touch and go,” he said. “But looking back at where I was 18 months ago I thought I wasn’t going to play cricket ever again, let alone play international cricket. I had a bad injury, broke my foot and the surgeon said that if the the bone graft doesn’t take then I’d only be able to walk or run in five or six years’ time.”So to be out playing international cricket you take every day as it comes. You take the setbacks, but you bounce back and I try to play as much cricket as I can.”While the likes of Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc jostle for chances to establish themselves, McKay provides a steady counterpoint. He knows he can only keep them out for a little while, but will do his best to help them develop along the way, offering them much of the advice passed down to him by Saker.”If the young kids jump me then it’s great for them and great for Australian cricket,” he said. “There’s some very exciting names coming through that are going to be superstars, but hopefully I can keep going for a while. Anything I can pass on to them to get to where they need to get to as quick as possible, I’m happy to do that. They’re going to be some great players.”

Mahela Jayawardene made sure he achieved that elusive Test series win for Sri Lanka, but critics will always argue that the hosts should have finished better

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Pallekele12-Jul-2012When Kumar Sangakkara and Misbah-ul-Haq shook hands with just under an hour left on the fifth day in Pallekele, the disbelief was palpable. Sri Lanka were sitting safe on a 1-0 series lead and needed 76 off a minimum of nine overs to make a mockery of Misbah’s declaration. It wasn’t unattainable by any means. The hosts had six wickets in hand, with a well-set Sangakkara on 74, and were batting on a track that had flattened out considerably after the first day. Then everyone, unexpectedly, had an early evening off. The finality to it all didn’t seem right. ESPNcricinfo’s commentary feedback was flooded with mails after the game, which questioned Sri Lanka’s reluctance to push for a win. Criticism might come in from all corners, but it can’t be denied that Sri Lanka attained what they set out to do at the start of the series. They were starved of a Test series win, home and away, with the last one coming in August 2009. The wait finally ended.There were murmurs, prior to this win, that the hangover of Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement had not ended. The facts supported that. After Murali called it a day two years ago, Sri Lanka went winless over the next six Test series. In that period, the captaincy changed hands from Sangakkara, to Tillakaratne Dilshan and then to Mahela Jayawardene for a second stint. Sangakkara gave it up after the 2011 World Cup, Dilshan had to take over the leadership because, seemingly, nobody else wanted it. After he gave it up, Jayawardene was the only logical choice. Former captains and commentators rate him among the most astute captains in current cricket. Taking over after the South Africa tour last year, Jayawardene failed to register a win against England, Sri Lanka drawing the home series 1-1 in March. Now, he made sure he achieved that elusive win against Pakistan, but critics will always argue that his team should have finished better.Sri Lanka’s decision to not go after the win was similar to MS Dhoni’s perplexing move last year in the Dominica Test against West Indies, when play was called off with India needing 86 off 90 balls with seven wickets in hand to seal a 2-0 series win. That flat ending took the gloss away from India’s 1-0 win.That even Pakistan captain Misbah was caught off guard by early finish in this Test was telling. “Chasing 270 in 71 overs is not an easy task, but after the start [Sri Lanka got] and being 150 for 2, and when you need less than four an over, that was the time they could have taken the game away from us,” Misbah said. “I was really surprised they put the shutters down and never tried to go for the runs. I don’t know what happened … the way the wicket was behaving, scoring was really easy on it, they could have gone for the target.”Jayawardene, though, didn’t look back at the scoreline of 1-0 with any regrets. “I think it’s fair to say that the attitude was to win,” Jayawardene said. “I think we cruised until the last hour and half. But when I got out, we said ‘no, we’ll close shop’. We said that it’s probably not worth it, because they had a very negative field set, cramming our guys. [We said] let’s not take too many risks at the end because we’re one up in the series.”He said chasing 270 in 71 overs was always going to be tricky, even on a batting track. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t pick up early wickets this morning. It would have been much easier for us chasing 220; 270 is always going to be tough but I thought the boys batted really well,” he said. “They came on the fourth innings against a quality attack and they put us in a position to win a Test.”Not for the first time, Jayawardene brought up a question asked at the start of the tour, in May, about Sri Lanka going into the series as “underdogs”. “Even in the one-dayers, no one gave us a chance. I remember in the first press conference someone asked about a 4-1 win for Pakistan,” Jayawardene said. “But to come out winning the one-dayers and Test series, a lot of credit should go to the boys.”It may have felt good to put it across on the field, but Sri Lanka will know their biggest challenge ahead is maintaining a level of consistency at home. For now, they can savour this win against an opposition which, on the contrary, hadn’t experienced a Test series defeat in close to two years.

Neil McKenzie and Quinton de Kock strung together a perfectly-paced chase against Mumbai Indians, but the senior batsman was not constantly at his young partner’s ear; Lions are making sure they don’t smother de Kock in expectation

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers15-Oct-2012The oldest and the youngest members of the Lions squad, who went to the same school – King Edward VII – combined to cap off South Africa’s successful weekend of Champions League fixtures.Neil McKenzie and Quinton de Kock both scored half-centuries as Lions paced their chase of 158 perfectly to record a second successive win over Mumbai Indians (albeit in the space of two years) and ensure both South African franchises won in their opening matches of the tournament.Matters did not ever get completely away from Lions, who reined in Mumbai Indians from 45 for 1 after five overs to a par score. Even though the required run-rate climbed for 14 overs of the Lions reply, they reached the target with seven balls to spare thanks to a delicate innings from McKenzie, who barely played a shot in anger and also ushered the 19-year-old de Kock through to the end.”We just batted according to plan,” McKenzie said. “We’ve all got our different roles in the side. Once we get to a certain number, we open up and go from there.” The freeing of the arms came after Malinga had bowled his third over, having conceded only eight runs in 18 deliveries, and with Lions needing to score almost 11 runs an over. McKenzie, who was on 26 at the time, hit Pollard for back to back fours and the pressure began easing.From that moment, Lions took control away from Mumbai Indians but it was the passages of play before then that had them battling for the upper hand. The Mumbai Indians spinners tied them down, sometimes for five consecutive balls, as Pragyan Ojha did in the eighth over, and each time Lions had to muscle their way out.The power-hitting came from de Kock, who secured relief at crucial times. “Just as we got bogged down a little, he would clear the rope,” McKenzie said. “At the Wanderers, you get value for shots. You just have to beat point or midwicket and it’s four.”While it looked as though McKenzie was the one issuing instructions to de Kock, he said it was a more case of them operating as a partnership. “He gave me a couple of balls to get in. I had 10 runs from nine balls before I really got going but we ran well between the wickets as well.”De Kock has already been spoken about as a future talent, especially since he is also a capable wicketkeeper, who could be a long-term successor to Mark Boucher. Lions are managing him carefully to ensure they continue to get the best out of him instead of smothering him in expectation. “I don’t mentor him; I just give him some advice but whether he takes it [or not], you will have to ask him,” McKenzie joked.It is Alviro Petersen, the captain, and Geoffrey Toyana, the coach, who guide de Kock, although even that is only a little. “We just want to let him be for now,” Petersen said. “In big games, it’s the senior players who must be counted. I don’t want to put pressure him at this stage.”Just as pressure will not be overloaded on de Kock, neither will praise, and Petersen was measured in his assessment of the innings. “He hasn’t been around for too long but he has got a good head on him and he had Neil there as well,” Petersen said. “There was no real slogging from Neil, even his boundaries were good cricket strokes.”He singled out another member of the squad though. Aaron Phangiso was responsible for the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar and for stemming the flow of runs in a miserly spell of 1 for 17 in four overs. “I was not happy with the way we bowled in the first five overs and then Aaron came on and just got us the momentum back. He never gets the credit he deserves, but he bowled exceptionally for us.”Mitchell Johnson was sent in at No. 4 by Mumbai Indians for the purpose of trying to take Phangiso on and he admitted it was a ploy that did not work: “I was looking to have a go at their spinner but I found it really difficult. I just couldn’t get bat on ball.”Johnson also had praise for McKenzie and de Kock’s 121-run stand. “Those two worked well together. Quinton would have worked off Neil, and he kept a cool head and played his own game. Neil knows this ground and he knew where to hit the ball. They batted really well and deserved the win.”