All posts by h716a5.icu

When others experience problems and he finds a point to prove, Kevin Pietersen flourishes

George Dobell in Mumbai25-Nov-2012There may have been more reliable batsmen, there may have been more responsible batsmen and there may have been more consistent batsmen. But there have been very few batsmen to have been so destructive, so often, as Kevin Pietersen.Certainly it is hard to think of another England batsman of recent vintage who could have played the innings Pietersen played. On a pitch offering substantial assistance to the spinners and on which other batsmen have struggled for fluency, Pietersen created the illusion that he was operating on a batting paradise. Only when others, some of whom are considered experts in such conditions, prodded and struggled were the true nature of the conditions exposed.This was an innings that many thought could never be played. When Pietersen was dropped from the England team in August, bridges were smouldering and, so deep were the divisions between him and his colleagues, that it looked for a while that there could be no return. It is surely for the best that a rapprochement was achieved. At a time when Test cricket is fighting for relevance and room, talents like Pietersen are to be savoured by anyone from any nation. His return is an asset not just to England, but to the game. Players like this do not come around very often.Pietersen is often at his best with a point to prove. It was after a poor tour of the UAE earlier this year that he produced the innings of 151 in Colombo; as the chasm between him and his teammates grew that he produced the innings of 149 in Leeds and as he sought to restate his worth after “reintegration” that he produced this innings. Most players are at their best when they feel comfortable; Pietersen is at his best when he feels doubted.Each great innings has been produced as his colleagues have struggled. Here, apart from the excellent Alastair Cook, no other England batsman could manage more than 29. At Leeds, Matt Prior, with 68, was the only other man to get out of the 30s and, even in Colombo, where England started well, Pietersen’s departure saw England lose their last five wickets for 49 runs. He has produced three match-shaping centuries in his last eight Tests. No-one in the world has scored more runs in first-class cricket this year, either. He is a great batsman at the peak of his powers. His worth to the team is immense.We should not be surprised. After all, before Pietersen, England had never won a global trophy. Before Pietersen, England had not won the Ashes in nearly two decades. Before Pietersen, England could barely dream of reaching No.1 in the ODI, Test or T20 rankings. It is largely through him that all those hurdles were cleared. He was, remember, the man of the tournament when England won the World T20 in the Caribbean in 2010 and it was his century at The Oval that clinched the 2005 Ashes.

It was masterful innings containing a medley of Pietersen’s greatest hits. But what made it all possible was the fact that he was prepared to wait for the opportunity to play them.

Yet, despite it all, some will never take to Pietersen. They doubt his motives, his commitment and his loyalty. It is a state of affairs that perhaps says more about the doubters than the doubted. Pietersen, like everyone else who has ever played the game, will be a mixture of virtue and vice and it is often unwise to judge a sportsman on anything other than their performance. Whatever Pietersen’s qualities off the pitch – and the truth is that most with an opinion are basing it on presumption rather than evidence – as a batsman it is hard to dispute his greatness.His technique may, at times, look idiosyncratic, but there is thought and logic behind it. At his best, his eyes, his hands and his feet work in harmony consistent with most great players. It is just that, such is Pietersen’s reach, his strength and his range of stroke, that he has more options than most. There will be occasions when he over-reaches or when his ego – so often a power of good in his batting – seduces him into danger. But that’s the price you pay for the wild genius. Viv Richards was not so different.So dominant was Pietersen in the opening session of the third day that he took a game in the balance and stole the initiative for England. He read R Ashwin’s variation and, having done so, was confident enough to use his feet to hit the ball into the gaps and produced strong evidence to scotch the theory that he struggles against left-arm spin: at one staging thrashing Pragyan Ojha for two fours and three sixes in a 17-ball spell.It was masterful stuff containing a medley of Pietersen’s greatest hits: the slog-sweep, the reverse sweep, the scoop, the cover drive, the cut and the lofted drive. But what made it all possible was the fact that he was prepared to wait for the opportunity to play them. There was none of the premeditation we saw in Ahmedabad, as Pietersen demonstrated the patience and the technique to block the good balls and wait for the bad ones. And when you have the arsenal of scoring options of Pietersen, you never have to wait too long.Cook is a different creature but must also be defined as great. Like Pietersen, Cook now has 22 Test centuries – no England player has scored more – and both should have plenty to come. Critics often judge a player’s merit or talent not on effectiveness, but on aesthetics. While it is true that Cook may not time the ball with the sweetness of Ian Bell, the more apt criteria for judgement should be who you would rather bat in your team. Cook, by such a benchmark, scores well. His mental strength and determination may not create the pleasing elegance of Bell, but they will win more matches.The excellence of Pietersen and Cook helped England to a first innings lead of 86 and, just as relevant in the long-term, a score of 400 for two innings in succession. On surfaces designed to exploit their weaknesses, that is an encouraging statistic.It may be mis-leading, however. Cook and Pietersen apart, England’s batsmen continued to struggle against spin. Jonny Bairstow showed some understandable naivety in playing across the left-arm spinner and Samit Patel has yet to justify his reputation against spin. England still look overly reliant for their runs on a couple of individuals.The success of their spinners was a major boost, though. To lose the toss on a wicket tailor-made for the opposition and beat them at their own game would be a remarkable achievement. It may also provide India with some food for thought going into the rest of the series.But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Bearing in mind England’s struggles against spin this year, and the ghost of Abu Dhabi hanging over them, a target of as little as 120 may still provoke discomfort. This beguiling game may offer us another twist or two yet.

From Sreekar Tanuku, India Captain of India in its worst ever World Cup performance, controversy leading to his resignation as captain (after leading India to its first series win on English soil after more than 25 years), flak for being the

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Sreekar Tanuku, India
Captain of India in its worst ever World Cup performance, controversy leading to his resignation as captain (after leading India to its first series win on English soil after more than 25 years), flak for being the leader of a non-performing city based 20-20 side (despite being the only performer), struggling for his best form in Test matches, then made to open in Australia when he is desperately out of form to accommodate Yuvraj (when the ideal thing would have been to allow him to bat at 6), an average of about 25 in SL series, just 2 hundreds in over 2 years (one against a lowly Bangladesh) , averaging 32 in last 2 years, career batting average dropping from a Bradmanesque 59.38 (best in the world then) two years back to a mere 53.3 now, an average of 23 in the ongoing series, and now being out of Top 20 test batsmen for the first time in 11 years, Can anything go this disastrously wrong for any player?Well, it can, as it is proven here. And so who’s next to quit? Rather, who next for the media to target? Well, this is not even a 1 dollar question and the answer is obvious. ‘The Wall’ cracking brick by brick, ‘The Wall’ crumbling, feeling the pinch, the only one of Fab 4 who has not fired, and so on. A lot is written about him, a lot is being discussed about him, and I am pretty sure a LOT is going through his mind. Otherwise, you don’t see him miss a straight ball and get castled (2nd innings, Delhi).As experts say, it is tough to score when you’re not in a relaxed frame of mind. So, will he be back in runs in a new stadium, a new pitch, and significantly in his wife’s city where he averages 65+? I don’t know. But, all I can say is he is one big innings away from finding his touch. When I say ‘BIG’, I mean a 100+ score.The upcoming Nagpur test will be remembered for events like Dada’s last test, Laxman’s 100th test, Dhoni’s first as official captain, India regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Harbhajan’s 300th test wicket (on 299 now), the Fab Four playing together for one last time and Kumble being with the team for the last time (maybe to lift the trophy). But, this could also be a last for the man I am talking about it. Will he call it quits if he fails twice in the next test? Should he? Does he still have something to offer to Indian cricket?

Jahurul Islam might have come in for some criticism for throwing his wicket away at the wrong moment in the Colombo Test, but that has not left him unnecessarily unsettled

Mohammad Isam in Colombo20-Mar-2013Bangladesh’s new Test opener Jahurul Islam should have been lauded for his patience in the Colombo Test and for bringing that aspect of batsmanship back into the team. Instead, his untimely dismissal in the second innings in Colombo has cast him in a negative light.With less than an hour left to play on the third day and Bangladesh seemingly heading towards safety in the second Test, Jahurul tried to loft Rangana Herath straight down the ground. But the ball gripped, spun and beat the batsman who was stranded well short of the crease. It opened up the game for the hosts, allowing them to jam their foot in the door and they did it too. Mahmudullah was dismissed next ball, and Bangladesh were never in the game on the fourth day as Herath ran through the batting order, picking up seven wickets.However, Jahurul’s team-mates appreciated his work, and his intent to bat long has not been shaken: “Everybody is supportive because I tried to bat with patience. As long as I keep batting there will be someone else at the other end and if we can build a partnership, the opponent will always feel the pressure and runs will come. We are not Australia, that we need to score at four runs an over. We must kill time and runs will come automatically.””I was at the wicket for a long time, faced every one of their bowlers, which gave me confidence. Test cricket tells you to work hard to build your innings. Then it gets easier. I was out in that easy period.”The dismissal was crucial because it gave Sri Lanka the breathing space they were looking for all through Jahurul’s partnerships with Tamim Iqbal and then Mominul Haque. He could be blamed, but he couldn’t have directly prevented the others from getting out. Jahurul’s nearly four-hour stay at the crease was impressive given that this was his comeback into the Test team after almost three years. He has improved greatly as an opener in recent times, scoring heavily in domestic cricket at that position. What has also caught the eye is his ability to change his approach to meet the needs of the game, a point that often goes unnoticed.These attributes make him a potential candidate to finally solve one of Bangladesh’s big issues: Tamim Iqbal has been without a regular opening partner in Test cricket after Imrul Kayes lost his place due to poor form. Nazimuddin and Junaed Siddique have been given chances but failed miserably. While this is the first time he has opened the innings in international cricket, Jahurul has been an opener for Rajshahi Division in first-class cricket.He missed out on a maiden international batting milestone when he fell to Herath for 48. He hopes to convert such starts into a big innings soon, not just because that will give him a cushion in terms of his place in the side, but also since that would free up his mind. “You need some big innings, which I haven’t had in my career so far. I got out after scoring 40-odd in many innings, though I have scored big in domestic cricket. This is why I won’t say I am mentally settled like someone like Nasir [Hossain].”He scored a hundred against Pakistan and got his place cemented. I won’t say there is a big gap between his and my ability. But he achieved something and found belief in international cricket. I am yet to achieve anything significant. Once I get it, I will be settled.”

Usually, anything less than a clean sweep against Bangladesh would have invited criticism, but not when Sri Lanka are trying out their next generation

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Apr-2013As Sri Lanka’s mixed tour arrived at a happy close in Pallekele, Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal’s words after the game suggested an encouraging future, just as Angelo Mathews’ comments had done after a loss, three nights earlier. Amid a flood of praise for Kusal Perera’s bat speed and brutality, Chandimal explained how he would spend the imminent two-month break from international cricket, instead of travelling to India for the IPL.”Over the next two months, I’ll be doing a lot of training,” he said. “I still have a few issues with my technique that need to be sorted out, so I will be working very hard with the national coaches to correct those issues, looking forward to a busy season.”It was heartening, honest, realism from a young captain, desperate to improve himself after having embarked on a season of sudden responsibility. Captaincy aside, he is now the Test side’s wicketkeeper, as well as vice-captain and a key batsman in all three formats. Four months ago, he did not find a place in any of Sri Lanka’s preferred XIs.Mathews had also been candid and introspective after the loss in the third ODI. A wet ball played its role in the result, as did a shortened chase that tilted the match slightly in the visitors’ favour, but Mathews refused to find fault anywhere but in Sri Lanka’s own performance. It has been a difficult tour for him, with his side having achieved worse-than-anticipated results in the Tests and ODIs. But although he could have justifiably called for patience as an inexperienced captain leading a regenerating side, he apportioned blame where it was deserved and emphasised a commitment to correcting specific shortcomings.Though as a side, Sri Lanka will be disappointed at not having whitewashed Bangladesh in all formats, as they have done in every home series before, their two young leaders have displayed an awareness of the bigger game that is afoot; that of preparing for a future without Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene or Tillakaratne Dilshan. It appears that Kusal Perera is likely to become a mainstay – particularly as he could relieve Chandimal of the gloves, if they are deemed too big a burden. Lahiru Thirimanne has also begun producing high-quality innings in earnest, despite not having a settled place in the top order. And Chandimal’s own batting has already made major strides towards fortitude and consistency.Mathews’ captaincy betrayed his inexperience at times, particularly as he rifled through bowlers in the Tests, as quickly as most captains would in an ODI. But he hardly allowed the game to meander either, as Dilshan did during his unsuccessful stint at the helm. Under Chandimal’s effervescent leadership, the side was electric in the field, and flourished as a collective. He will regret having given part-timer Angelo Perera an over, when plenty remained from his frontline bowlers, but there was much encouragement as well. In all three formats, Chandimal and Mathews were in constant, often animated discussion, before fields were set and bowling changes made.In the future, it is conceivable the pair might exchange leadership between formats. Chandimal is patently unready for Test captaincy, but his talents and temperament – immature though both still are – seem better suited to the longest format, where he has been most impressive for Sri Lanka. Mathews’ all-round ability, meanwhile, is a better fit for limited-overs cricket, where he rarely allows a game to pass in which he has not contributed in either discipline. Sri Lanka’s selectors have felt it wise not to overload either captain with all three formats for now, but even as they develop, Chandimal and Mathews appear to have a relationship that might empower a successful split captaincy in years to come.At any other time, as unconvincing a series as this against Bangladesh would constitute a substantial failing for Sri Lanka. A firm focus on youth during this tour has given the side a grace period, in which poor results will be easily forgiven and forgotten. But if Sri Lanka are to become a major force in cricket once more, Chandimal and Mathews must ensure the improvements they have spoken of come swiftly, and emphatically.

The cancellation of the Sri Lanka Premier League serves as a strong warning to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which risks suffering huge losses if the Bangladesh Premier League franchisees continue to miss payment deadlines

Mohammad Isam20-Jul-2013The cancellation of this year’s Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) has served as a strong warning to those running the two-season-old Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The contracts of five out of the seven BPL franchisees had been conditionally terminated by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) last month after they missed the deadline for the third installment of the 2013 season’s player payments; the BCB could suffer huge losses if the franchises continue to miss payment deadlines, but they have kept the door open as a “last chance” for the franchisees to complete payments.If the organisers plan to keep the tournament afloat, though, they think the only way out is to completely overhaul the BPL’s business model, which could take another nine months.The SLC barred the franchises from taking part in the players’ draft after they missed two deadlines to provide bank guarantees for player payments. The BCB, on the other hand, became the players’ payment guarantor after the franchises missed payment deadlines during and after the first season in 2012. As a result, the board has had to pay on behalf of the franchises that haven’t made these payments. Only two of the franchises have reportedly cleared 50% of the players’ dues. In addition, six of the franchises still haven’t paid the annual $250,000 ownership fees.BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick said that the board has sent out half the players’ payments, and is on target to complete all payments within the next few months. He was also confident that despite legally terminating the franchisees’ contracts, the league can still get them to complete all their payments and continue to play in the league.”We have paid 50% of the players’ dues,” Mallick said. “We have terminated contracts for five franchisees, but we are still open to discussion. We have only begun talking to some of them, so I am hopeful that they will come up with the money to cover the players’ payment.”With regards to the unpaid franchise fees, Mallick is particularly concerned about Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna and Barisal clearing the payment. Rangpur has already paid 40% of its Tk 2 crore ($250,000) annual fee, while 2013 finalists Dhaka and Chittagong are supposed to receive prize money, which will be adjusted with their franchise fees. While the franchises themselves will remain alive, according to Mallick, he did not rule out a change in ownership if the dues are not cleared.”Rangpur has paid Tk 80 lakh ($100,000) and has committed to pay the rest. Dhaka and Chittagong’s prize money will be adjusted accordingly. We are only focused on the four other franchises in this case. If any of the franchises fail to pay up, and we do expect one or two to not do so, the ownership will transfer hands, though the franchise will remain alive.”He also pointed to the BPL’s earnings from Game On Sports, the tournament’s event management company, which could help mend their monetary hole somewhat. “They [Game On Sports] have given us a bank guarantee of Tk 10 crore ($1.25 million), and we should get another Tk 18 crore from them. This will help us, but we are still hopeful of getting fully paid by the franchises.”Mallick was appointed the BPL governing council’s secretary alongside new chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha a few months ahead of the 2013 tournament, and their first act was to clear player payments from the first season. But he has been critical of the BPL’s business model, and has little confidence that franchisees would thrive after incurring such large losses.”The third edition of the BPL will take place. We will have to change the business structure drastically, because we can’t expect the owners to incur losses close to Tk 10 crore [$1.25 million] per year,” Mallick said. “We have to consider the sort of market they operate in. The Bangladesh economy may not be strong enough to support them commercially. I think the initial structure wasn’t sound, so we have to look into this before we decide anything.”Since the BPL governing council is still confident of receiving all dues, it is a little hard to estimate how much the BCB stand to lose ultimately. But if its effort to hold one more round of talks with the franchisees falls through, there will be a severe hole in its coffers no doubt. The first edition had reportedly earned BCB some money, but its own expenses far outweighed the earnings.The story was similar this year too, with the BPL once again taking financial blows, as well as having its image devalued with Mohammad Ashraful confessing his involvement in fixing. The BCB expects the ACSU report on the alleged BPL corruption next month, and they could have done without the financial trouble at this stage. But having been too hasty in launching the venture last year, without proper paperwork and contracts in place, strict governance remains elusive for the BPL organisers as the franchisees have dictated terms mostly.The financial blow resulting from a lack of cooperation from the franchisees could be so big for the BCB, that despite Mallick’s insistence of holding the tournament “either in December or after World Twenty20s”, the third edition may be a bridge too far to cross.

As the cricketing world goes into a farewell frenzy, the city’s humble and school playgrounds that moulded Sachin Tendulkar into the cricketer he is today remain as simple and unpretentious as ever

Sidharth Monga and Amol Karhadkar13-Nov-2013They’re naming gymkhanas after him, they’re minting gold coins with his face on it, politicians are falling over each other to honour him, jealous administrators are trying to pull the rug out from under each other’s feet, but thankfully they have left alone the places that made Sachin Tendulkar, some of which were made by Tendulkar. More than any other cricketer of his era, Tendulkar has been about his fans. How nice it would have been had the politicians, businessmen and administrators running Indian cricket sent some of them to visit these places in the weeks leading up to his farewell.The unkempt maidans (fields), the unassuming school, the residential buildings, they all have something genuine to say about Tendulkar. Mumbai cricket even. Mumbai even. They don’t stand out or lose their simplicity just because Tendulkar was there. In the week in which Tendulkar will end his international career, it is business as usual in the places where Tendulkar has spent most of his life outside international cricket.Shivaji Park in Dadar has kids playing even at 11am because the Diwali holidays are on. Different clubs, teams and individuals own plots here, as on other maidans, where they hold their nets sessions, training and games. Some parts of the ground are bald, some have long, untended grass, and some are well taken care of. There is no boundary rope, and no white-paint markings anywhere, though. The young Tendulkar’s coach, Ramakant Achrekar, used to teach at the Kamat pitch. Not all the players here can point to it. It is not a patch of great interest.The Kamat pitch is close to the centre of the ground, leaning towards the northeast. Next to it, a serious match of cricket is on. The whites worn by the kids – no older than 15 – are immaculate, there is no sightscreen, the umpire moves to the other end at the end of the over, and the keeper wears a helmet. The field is pretty attacking, but there is no boundary here either. That’s the Mumbai way: you don’t think of hitting boundaries, you just bat. You have to run your runs, and are not allowed to hit in the air. “Hawet maaraycha nahee.” These kids have picked up a lot of mannerisms from televised cricket, but the coaches here are making sure they play proper cricket, at least in their formative years. The Bombay school of batsmanship lives on, at least for the time being. There is something peaceful about Shivaji Park despite its being bang in the middle of busy mid-town Dadar. You get to watch innocent cricket, sit in the shade of the many trees, eat (peanuts) and wonder what others whiling away their time here are up to. Some of them are fast asleep on the benches.Shardashram school teacher Ragini Desai flanked by a young Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar•ESPNcricinfo LtdAbout three kilometres to the southeast is Shardashram, Tendulkar’s school since 1984. Except you can’t spot it without having gone past it two or three times. The Shardashram residential society opposite the school is more prominent. The school doesn’t have a single photo of Tendulkar. The only signs that he – and others like Chandrakant Pandit, Pravin Amre, Vinod Kambli, Ajit Agarkar and more than 100 Ranji cricketers – studied here are the trophies in the cabinet in the principal’s office. The board outside is small, the front of the building is rented out to a bank and a gym, and its simple colour scheme makes it look every bit like a school meant for, as principal Krishna Shirsat puts it, the “lower-middle and middle class”.Shirsat used to teach maths and chemistry when Achrekar brought Tendulkar here in 1984. Cricket was the sole reason for his move from a school in his suburb, Bandra. Shardashram would even move its internal exams when they clashed with the cricket. And cricket was all Tendulkar did.”We used to win everything,” says Shirsat. “Harris Shield, Giles Shield, Vinoo Mankad, Matunga Shield… And because we won everything, there would be a first round, second round, third round, and so on. So as soon as the cricket season started in July, you would rarely see Sachin in school.” Shisrat would always be available to help Tendulkar, should he need help with maths and chemistry after school hours. When he was selected for Mumbai in 1988-89, the match clashed with a practical board exam, and Shirsat tried to use all his influence to make a special allowance for Tendulkar so he could take the exam after the match.About two years after Tendulkar enrolled, along came Ragini Desai, a physical training and Hindi teacher, a jovial woman with an expressive face and constantly moving eyes. Achrekar was Shardashram’s cricket coach, she was the team’s manager. She was present when Achrekar blasted Tendulkar and Kambli for batting on and on and putting on a 664-run partnership against a weak team. She knows of all the (a street food) escapades of the two friends, and she has a valuable notebook titled “Cricket”.When she went to matches with the team, Desai recorded brief scores in this notebook. She added clippings from newspapers next to the scores as the kids became more and more famous. She has preserved that notebook, and would love to show it to Tendulkar, but she hasn’t ever had the opportunity to meet him after he left school. She hasn’t tried to do so either. She would love to go to the Wankhede Stadium for Tendulkar’s last match, but she is not complaining about how the chances of getting a ticket are minimal.A view from the corridors of Shardashram Vidyamandir•ESPNcricinfo LtdThis school-playground duo is complemented by the tag team of Sahitya Sahawas and MIG cricket club, further north, in Bandra East. Along the way you pass two other influences on Tendulkar’s life: the Siddhivinayak temple where he sneaks in to pray late in the night, and St Michael’s church in Mahim, where his wife, Anjali, lights a candle for him every week.Sahitya Sahawas literally translates to “literature living together”. A building in Worli where Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ajit Wadekar lived is named Sportsfield. Sahitya Sahawas is the Sportsfield of Marathi literature. It is where Tendulkar lived as a child. The Tendulkars have neither sold their house here nor rented it out. The guard – stern but not rude – says it will take an application to the secretary of the building a day in advance for him to even point to the window of the Tendulkars.A stone’s throw away, MIG is more open to intruders. A huge Tendulkar mural has come up only a couple of days ago on its main wall. So close to his childhood home, in a city with houses with no outdoor spaces to play sport in, MIG has been Tendulkar’s personal laboratory. Over the years – 25 to be precise – MIG has fulfilled his odd wishes, says Aashish Patnakar, the club’s secretary.Before going to Australia, Tendulkar would practise on half-pitches with rubber balls; he got that here. Before going to England he wanted to bat against wet balls on moist, grassy pitches; he got that here. When he was recuperating from a back injury, he wanted to jog here, but not during the day; they would open up for him at 4.30am. During the busy season when all grounds are occupied, Tendulkar can come to MIG and expect to get a proper facility during the lunch break, which is extended to one hour for his benefit.The Sahitya Sahawas colony, where Sachin Tendulkar lived as a child•ESPNcricinfo LtdIt is here that Tendulkar and his friend Atul Ranade used to do what technology has just started doing: simulate different bowling actions and release points on a bowling machine. Ranade was a master at doing impressions, and he would run in imitating different bowlers and help Tendulkar prepare for different actions. Even when Tendulkar moved to Bandra West – closer to the sea, posher – he would come here to practise.In Bandra West, Shirsat went to meet Tendulkar about five years ago at his residence in his new building, La Mer. “I told his PA I wanted to meet Sachin,” Shirsat says. “His PA said I would have to wait for 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, he came and told me Sachin was too busy. I got angry, and asked the PA to tell Sachin that Shirsat sir has come, does he want to meet him?”And Sachin came running like a four-five-year-old kid comes running to his parents. And then we spoke for 15 minutes with him looking down. Even in school he would look down after saying something “Tendulkar has now given up that apartment for a bungalow of his own, not too far away, in the same suburb. A police van outside the bungalow is a permanent presence nowadays. He is also a member of parliament, although the other day he drove himself far into the north of the city, to the suburb of Kandivli, for a Mumbai Cricket Association function. The bungalow now looks like a fortress.When he was desperate to move in here, he got the workers to do double shifts. The noise in the night obviously disturbed the neighbours. The neighbours were each given a handwritten letter from Tendulkar, asking for their co-operation with the Tendulkars who needed to shift there as soon as possible. No one complained after that.It’s back in south Mumbai that the boy became a man in the world of cricket, playing Kanga League matches in senior sides on wet pitches at Oval Maidan, Cross Maidan and Azad Maidan. His debut as an 11-year-old came for a side housed at Azad Maidan, which is equally well known for being a venue for strikes and agitations. Two days before Tendulkar starts his final Test, about three kilometres from here, fasts until death are being observed for 100% subsidy by the higher-secondary school committee, for railway admissions under notification 1/2007; and an indefinite protest – among others – for an 8% reservation for a particular community. Big photos of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Che Guevara abound.Many such protests would have been on when Tendulkar went into the tent of John Bright Club in 1984. These maidans are all heritage sites, so no club can build permanent structures here. The notices outside clearly ban any kind of commercialisation in the form of posters, banners or advertisements on the fences of the maidans; cooking, hawking, peddling et cetera are outlawed; water connections can only be used by proper authorities for “in general, only cricketing activities”.Tendulkar’s next club, SF Sassanian, is like John Bright in betraying no signs that Tendulkar was first seen by the cricketing world while playing in the Kanga League for them. All it has for a dressing room is six ramshackle benches and a few cupboards.All this, Tendulkar’s world before he scored a century on first-class debut, hasn’t changed much over the years. Everywhere you go, Shivaji Park, Oval Maidan, Azad Maidan, Cross Maidan, you can imagine that curly-haired boy squeaking away – he was quiet only while teachers were around, every teacher of his says – from net to net, from to riding pillion on Achrekar’s scooter, having fun with not a bother in the world, eating , going to school once in a while.You can find a bit of Tendulkar all over Mumbai. And you don’t need plaques, commemorative coins or extravagant felicitations to establish that bond.

Sri Lanka have the ingredients of a fine Test team but a little all-round dynamism might make the end product more appetising

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dubai10-Jan-2014As Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan measured out another expert association, Sri Lanka’s advance was halted in Dubai. Having lost the first two days comfortably Pakistan mustered more spirit on day three, and in doing so, exposed a small, but not insignificant gap in Sri Lanka’s ranks.The batting and bowling appear much healthier than they did two weeks ago, but in the margins, limitations persist, and there appear to be no ready fixes yet.There are four wicketkeepers in Sri Lanka’s top seven. Of the three others, Dimuth Karunaratne and Mahela Jayawardene almost bowl, in the nets or in domestic cricket. Angelo Mathews once had ambitions of becoming a genuine allrounder, but as an average of 71.66 after 279 Test overs makes plain, his mix of steady seam-up, cutters and slower balls are only a serious penetrative threat in limited-overs cricket. Between captaining the side and continuing his own development as a batsman, he must avoid stretching himself, in any case.There appears to be no viable short-term solutions for Sri Lanka. One option is for Prasanna Jayawardene to make way for an allrounder, but the objections to such a move are threefold. First, he is clearly the best gloveman in the country, and robbing the attack of their best catching asset appears counterproductive to the bowlers’ development.Prasanna does not own a glimmering batting record, but he regularly plays valuable support innings and is versatile enough to marshal the tail. Perhaps most pertinently, there are no pre-eminent allrounders to replace him. Thisara Perera is the most obvious candidate, but lately he has had trouble proving he does enough work to hold a place in the limited-overs sides.Elsewhere on the fringe, the slip cordon is in poor shape. The present first-choice phalanx features Kumar Sangakkara at first slip, Mahela Jayawardene at second, and Mathews at third. Neither Mathews nor Sangakkara have proved natural slip-fielders, which is perhaps why the two Jayewardenes are split evenly between them. Mathews dropped a catch early in the first innings, before Karunaratne spilt a sitter at second slip after Mahela left the field with injury. Apart from Kaushal Silva’s sharp work in the infield, Sri Lanka’s fielding has been shabby throughout the series.Sri Lanka may have also begun day three with hopes of extending their lead beyond 300, or at least until such time as the pitch began to take significant turn, but they were easily thwarted by a regenerated Pakistan. Their last six wickets fell for 70, and though Mathews, and the two Jayawardenes would have hoped for more runs themselves, the Sri Lanka tail is hardly well-placed to offer sustained resistance.Perhaps on this front there is some hope, because it is thought Shaminda Eranga has not reached his batting potential. But like elsewhere in a young team the development of his first skill is more vital to Sri Lanka’s success, and his coaches will be wary of diluting his focus there.

A spotless effort in the field and more fire from the tail might have grown Sri Lanka’s lead by 40 runs.

As coach Graham Ford suggested at the close of play, the cricketers that plug shortcomings in the team must be bred at home. Until the inexperienced players in the present XI become more secure in Tests, only minor improvements may be possible within the team itself.”It’s been a concern certainly since I’ve been involved,” Ford said. “We haven’t quite had the allrounder, or maybe two allrounders, that give a real balance to the side. We’ve had the specialist batters and the specialist bowlers and that’s pretty much what we’ve worked with. That’s for the system to look into. They’re out there working hard at home to try and produce some allrounders.”In the past they’ve had Sanath Jayasuriya who could do a good job with the ball and who was an outstanding batsman. They also had Chaminda Vaas who could do a really good job with the bat but his main job was to be a strike bowlers. That helped with the balance of the side. We don’t really have that at the moment so the batsmen have to get out and make the runs and the bowlers have to take wickets.”In a series that has unveiled unsuspected skill from young men, these are miniscule contentions, particularly given the absence of a clear alternative. But if the team wishes to become a consistent force against the top four teams, gains around the edges will matter.A spotless effort in the field and more fire from the tail might have grown Sri Lanka’s lead by 40 runs. Overs from a competent second spinner in the third session may have allowed the quicks to return fresher on the fourth morning. Mathews’s reluctance to bowl due to a niggle enhanced the deficiency in personnel, but given the history of his ailments, Sri Lanka cannot always bank on overs from him.Sri Lanka have hinted they possess the ingredients of a fine, future-proof Test team, but a little all-round dynamism might make the end product more appetising.

Bowling to left-handers has long been a struggle for Bangladesh’s spinners. Bowling to Kumar Sangakkara has become a nightmare

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong05-Feb-2014’We have to bat with cool heads’ – Nasir

Bangladesh batsman Nasir Hossain feels Bangladesh is not too far behind in the game but would have to bat well to stay in contention. “We are not too much in the back foot,” Nasir said. “If we can bat all day, we will be in a good position. I will try to cut out the risks since this is Test cricket. We have to bat with cool heads. Personally I feel that we usually play too many shots, which we should not do in Test cricket. We will try to play straight, stay at the wicket.”
As they ended the day on 86 for 1, there were some close calls, particularly when Nuwan Pradeep dropped Imrul Kayes on 31 and the normally safe Mahela Jayawardene missed Shamsur Rahman’s edge at slip off Dilruwan Perera on 36. Tamim was dismissed earlier in the first over when he missed a Suranga Lakmal delivery that kept a shade low.
“I really don’t know why Imrul tried to play that shot. The ball that got Tamim kept low, which was the case for all the leg-before decisions,” Nasir said.

Tamim Iqbal, stand-in captain for the day, watched from deep fine-leg as Shakib Al Hasan bowled the last ball of the 146th over. All nine outfielders were just a few meters inside the rope as Kumar Sangakkara tapped the ball past point to retain the strike and move to 285. There was every reason for Tamim to pull all the fielders in, but on that instance, like many times in the past, Bangladesh were possessed. It has happened several times when playing against Sri Lanka since 2007.Sangakkara has the most runs and hundreds in Tests against Bangladesh, and the force of such run-scoring has turned him into a mental brick wall for the bowlers. In a way, it has altered the way Bangladesh’s bowlers think of bowling at left-handers, and how left-arm spinners and orthodox offspinners have been selected and used over the years.Bangladesh’s left-arm spinners have always had a general weakness against left-handed batsmen. Out of Shakib’s 121 Test wickets, for instance, only 23 are left-handers. Of Mohammad Rafique’s 100 wickets, only 31 were left-handers.What has never worked for them is the angle. They have never quite mastered the technique of finding the gap between bat and pad, using turn to beat the bat, or bowling a widish line to bring the slips and the off-side field into play.The same was true for Shakib over the last two days, as he bowled either short or on a middle-stump line. Often, he failed to string dot balls together, something the Bangladesh bowlers had been planning to do for two weeks. Sangakkara struck him for five sixes and eight boundaries as he completely dominated the team’s best bowler, scoring 100 runs off him in just 121 balls.He also took full advantage of Bangladesh’s selection, easily milking Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain. Sohag Gazi has taken Sangakkara’s wicket twice in four innings previously but this time he had no chance, giving away 96 off 150 balls. Sangakkara avoided using the sweep, giving Gazi even less of a chance to beat the bat.Gazi is by far Bangladesh’s best offspinner and has so far been successful against left-handers. But he has taken just three wickets in this series at an average of 103.66, bowling flatter and more often than not slipping down the leg side after building up some pressure.What has also become a negative trend in the Bangladesh mindset is the theory of only employing offspinners when a left-handed batsman comes to the crease, and using them heavily until two right-handers come in. Even on the second morning, Tamim used Gazi, Mahmudullah and Nasir instead of Shakib in the first hour. Nasir took the wicket of Kithuruwan Vithanage but Shakib must be good enough to take on left-handers. This theory, which in itself shows a lack of confidence in a bowler’s quality, has caused Shakib to pick up fewer left-handers’ wickets.Sangakkara used every angle and option possible in the field to milk the Bangladesh spinners, and by the team he approached his triple-century, there was nothing left for the bowlers to try but watch the inevitable.While he moved from 286 to 302 in the most wonderful style, the fielders remained aimless, some of them glancing towards the pavilion building. The bowlers were at their wits’ end, and when Nasir took his wicket, he raised his arms, screamed in delight, and kept at it for 20 seconds. Getting Sangakkara out early has always been tantamount to thinking Bangladesh have a big advantage over against Sri Lanka, only for him to quash their confidence the next time.Nasir’s reaction showed precisely how ecstatic and relieved Bangladesh have felt each time they have been able to get him out, no matter how much he’s scored.

Plays of the day for the match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-May-2014The last-minute change
Sometime during the half hour between the toss and the start of play, Praveen Kumar was injured. Mumbai Indians had named him in their XI, and, with moments to go for the match to begin, they wanted to name a replacement. They wanted to bring Pragyan Ojha in, and they hadn’t even named Ojha as one of their four designated reserves for the game.Cue a long discussion – involving the umpires, the match referee, the IPL COO Sundar Raman, and Delhi Daredevils’ captain and coach, Kevin Pietersen and Gary Kirsten – and a long wait for Mumbai’s opening batsmen, Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons, helmeted and ready to bat. If Pietersen had said no, Mumbai would have had to play with Praveen in their XI, but he agreed to let them change their team and so Mumbai brought in Ojha.The statue
Mumbai Indians had lost two wickets in the previous over, but were still going at close to 10 an over. Fourth ball of the 16th over, bowled by Shahbaz Nadeem, Ambati Rayudu didn’t really have to try and clear long-off. But he did just that, didn’t really get hold of the shot, and ended up hitting it straight to the fielder, who didn’t have to move an inch to take the catch.The man at long-off was M Vijay – a man who puts a whole lot of effort into looking effortless – and he literally didn’t move an inch as the ball came to him. He stood absolutely still before taking the catch, and only moved his hands into position at the last moment, when the ball was a foot or so from him.The distracted umpire
Wayne Parnell dug it in short, and the ball bounced way over Jasprit Bumrah’s head, giving him no chance of connecting as he flapped at it with his bat. S Ravi, the square-leg umpire, promptly turned towards his colleague at the bowler’s end to indicate that it was a wide. In doing so, however, he missed all the action at his end.The batsmen had tried to sneak a bye, in an effort to get Shreyas Gopal – who had looked in good touch in scoring 11 – on strike for the last couple of balls of Mumbai’s innings. It was a risky bye, with the batsmen punting on the wicketkeeper missing the stumps with his throw, but Dinesh Karthik did no such thing. Gopal gave up halfway down the pitch, and was nowhere near the crease when the ball hit the stumps, but umpire Ravi hadn’t seen any of this, and signaled for the third umpire.The switch-miss
In Twenty20, it’s hard to tell if the wicket you just saw was the result of a calculated risk not quite coming off or of a genuinely bad shot. Watching this match, though, you could easily tell that a lot of dismissals came about from brain-fades and unnecessarily risky shots. Mumbai’s innings was full of these, but it was a Daredevils wicket that summed up the trend.Harbhajan Singh was barely into his delivery stride when Kevin Pietersen jumped around in his stance, switched his hands around on his handle, and assumed the position of a left-handed batsman with only one thing on his mind – clouting the ball over what had now become cow corner. Harbhajan, though, had all the time in the world to make it difficult for Pietersen to achieve his aim. He tossed it up extra slow, and a completely unbalanced Pietersen was bowled as he swung across the line.

Stats highlights from the fourth day of the third Test between India and Australia in Melbourne

Bishen Jeswant29-Dec-20140 Fifties scored by Shaun Marsh in nine Test innings in Australia prior to his unbeaten 62 on day four of this Test. He had two hundreds and a fifty from nine innings in away Tests.7 Shane Watson’s dismissals by Ishant Sharma in Tests. Only James Anderson has dismissed him more often, eight times. Alastair Cook is the only batsman Ishant has dismissed more often, also eight times.301 International wickets taken by Ishant. He started the innings on 299 wickets, and became the eighth Indian bowler to take 300 or more international wickets.4 Australian openers who have made four consecutive 50-plus scores in the last ten years. Chris Rogers has made back-to-back scores of 55, 55, 57 and 69 in this series. The other Australian openers to do this are David Warner, Simon Katich and Phil Jacques.57 The opening partnership between Warner and Rogers. It was Australia’s sixth 50-plus opening stand in 2014. The only team with more 50-plus opening partnerships this year are West Indies, who have had eight such stands.56 Runs scored for the fall of India’s last seven wickets. India were 409 for 3 before being bowled out for 465. This is the fifth consecutive innings in this series in which India have lost five or more wickets for less than 100 runs.8 Dismissals effected by MS Dhoni in this Test, the most by an Indian keeper. Dhoni himself has done this three times before, while Nayan Mongia has done it twice. If Dhoni effects two more dismissals this innings, he will become the first Indian and fifth keeper overall to effect five dismissals in both innings of a Test.3.5 Australia’s run rate during the second innings, their lowest in six innings in this series. Their run rates in the first five innings of this series were 4.3, 4.2, 4.6, 5.6 and 3.7.4 Indian bowlers who picked up a wicket during the second innings. This was the first time in this series when each bowler used by India picked up at least a wicket.