All posts by h716a5.icu

It was a day when the common man felt he was part of something special. A day when cherished dreams were realised

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Wankhede Stadium03-Apr-2011Sachin Tendulkar walked out of the changing room and gestured to Sudhir Gautam to come up. Gautam is the thin man with the shaven head – for the past few weeks adorned with a replica of the World Cup – and body covered in the Indian tri-colour. For at least half a decade now, Gautam has been Tendulkar’s biggest fan, waving the Indian flag and blowing his conch shell at every venue Tendulkar plays. Today, Tendulkar decided to repay Gautam for his devotion.No sooner had he realised that Tendulkar was calling, than Gautam jumped the electronic advertising hoarding and skipped up the 30-odd stairs on to the corridor of the Indian changing room. All through his short journey he screamed in delight. Tendulkar shook hands with him, then embraced him and finally asked one of his team-mates to get the World Cup trophy. Zaheer Khan brought the cup outside with utmost care and held it tight. Gautam almost snatched it out of his hands but Zaheer held on. Eventually Zaheer let go and Gautam lifted the Cup with both hands, screaming “India”. Tendulkar could not help but smile; he started clapping and was joined by a few of his team-mates. The sweat on Tendulkar’s face glistened under the floodlights, enhancing his joy of winning the World Cup .It was a day when the common man felt he was part of something special, when the gap between fan and superstar was bridged, with Gautam becoming the envy of fellow fans as he freely slipped in and out of the most sought after place in India, the team’s dressing room.It was also a time for private moments. Dhoni held his wife Sakshi close to him; Virender Sehwag hugged his wife Aarti and son Aryavir; Ashish Nehra’s wife wore a replica of his team shirt as she moved in and out of the dressing room. Gary Kirsten’s wife Deborah joined the rest later. Yuvraj Singh, returning from the media conference, started dancing as he entered the dressing room. On his way inside, he had let out a scream of jubilation.The tempo in the dressing room had remained positive through the day and by the time MS Dhoni hit his spectacular six over long on against Nuwan Kulasekara, it had become a well of joy. As soon as Tendulkar found a private moment with his wife, Anjali, he embraced her tightly. It was a poignant moment. He knew how much she had sacrificed to support him in his endeavours. On the field, during the victory celebrations, he had hugged Yuvraj Singh, the man of the World Cup. Yuvraj had already declared he had dedicated the victory to Tendulkar. Virat Kohli had delivered the line of the evening when he said that for 21 years Tendulkar had shouldered the dreams of a billion Indians. Today youngsters such as Kohli and Suresh Raina carried Tendulkar over their shoulders during the lap of honour. Tears came easily to Tendulkar then.On their way to the team bus, the players got a loud round of applause from hundreds of cops, who turned themselves into fans for a few minutes by taking pictures. Some looked in awe at Tendulkar, who sat in the front seat with his wife sitting next to him. Both their kids sat on their laps. Some of the security people played with Sehwag’s son, tapping on the window shield. When Yuvraj walked into the team bus with the trophy in hand, all the administrators and cops let him know how much they enjoyed his performances during the tournament. Gautam blowed his conch shell marking the departure of the bus. The cops yelled ” (long live India)”.The streets of Mumbai were flooded with ecstatic fans•Associated PressUnfortunately, there was no victory ride back to the team hotel unlike in 2007, when Dhoni had led India to victory in the World Twenty20. Also, disappointingly, the team hotel was out of bounds to the public. Barricades were put in place at all entry points leading up to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in South Mumbai. The players had planned to celebrate the whole night and the Taj security did not want to take the chance of letting people inside.It did not matter to the fans. Marine Drive, one of the city’s most scenic spots, became party central. Fans celebrated by blowing horns, trumpets, whistling, screaming into megaphones, peeping out of open-air cars, sometimes even standing by holding on to the window doors, climbing atop water tankers while waving the flag and dancing. It was a complete carnival atmosphere and the traffic came to a standstill as fireworks lit up the sky for more than two hours. For the first two hours after the match ended, it was hard to find public transport. Even Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager, was forced to leave the Wankhede on foot, walking along with thousands of othersIn the Trident hotel, there were many Indian fans, who had come from the UK and were enjoying their beer while chanting stuff like “Ala la la. Ala la la. Let’s all do some bhangra.” The hotel’s coffee shop, normally pretty vacant, was full. The fans were not disappointed. They continued singing India’s praises when they spotted Sourav Ganguly. “Sourav, Sourav” gave way to “Ganguly, Ganguly.”It was the Taj Mahal Palace and the Trident that were part of the terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008. Today, they wore a happy look, as did the people of Mumbai. Both were dressed to party; Saturday night fever had taken over.

They arrived as the world No. 1 team but will end the series embarrassed and, in all likelihood, whitewashed

Andrew Miller at The Oval20-Aug-2011Shortly after the close of play at The Oval, a drunken punter in a furry penguin outfit attempted to run out to the middle of the pitch. He fell flat on his face after five steps, was pounced on by six security guards, and was hauled off to face the consequences of his actions. With the possible exception of Suresh Raina’s 29-ball duck, it was the most pitiful sight on another extraordinary day of cricket, but at least we can be sure that he won’t be allowed back in for more.Alas for India’s cricketers, they won’t have the same get-out. On Sunday England will set about administering the last rites of a sorry series, and to judge by the manner in which they shed five prime wickets in 31 overs in the fading evening light, India seem more than capable of shrugging off their remaining 15 in 98. Mentally they have already turned their backs on a contest in which only the absent Praveen Kumar and the unfailingly admirable Rahul Dravid have come close to maintaining their reputations, let alone enhancing them.Dravid remained steadfast to the bitter end, magnificent in his defiance of all circumstance – including the concussion suffered by Gautam Gambhir that obliged him to step up as an emergency opener for the fourth time out of seven innings in this series (or sixth out of seven if you take into account Virender Sehwag’s king pair at Edgbaston). His presence, experience and example shine out as a beacon of everything that India have squandered on this trip – technical proficiency, guts and reputation chief among them.Something dramatic has come to pass in the course of the past four fixtures, and though the BCCI can ignore if it chooses, it would be foolish to do so. Indian cricket has become the laughing stock of the world game, and while that might not seem to matter to a board that generates 70% of the sport’s global income and has in its locker-room the World Cup trophy, no less, ridicule tends to be a corrosive disease.For all its undeniable flaws, international cricket remains, for now, the benchmark by which the sport is judged, and India’s success in international cricket has been the very reason why their spin-off products are so marketable. It’s easy to forget how sniffy the BCCI was about their new favourite form of the game, Twenty20, until India’s global triumph in 2007 opened their eyes to its potential. Ever since then, the hype of the IPL – while thrilling, lucrative, and epoch-defining – has been underpinned by the solid knowledge that Indian cricket really is the best in show.Thanks to India’s sheer demographics, it could yet be that the tipping point has been reached already – that it will no longer matter if their blue-riband product degenerates into a World Wrestling Federation-style circus, so long as enough of the game’s key players subscribe, for want of a better phrase, to the Hayden Way. But India is committed to the Future Tours Programme until 2020, so there’s no ducking the sanctity of Test cricket just yet. Besides, given how far they have travelled in the decade just gone, there’s plenty of scope for regression if they don’t mend their ways.In the past few years, instead of using their wealth to form the structures required for self-perpetuation, the farce of this current tour has demonstrated how the BCCI has relied on the brilliance of its top players for too long. A golden generation of batsmen is hurtling towards the end of the line, the team’s key bowlers are unfit, and as the struggles of Raina, Abhinav Mukund and even Yuvraj Singh have demonstrated, the next generation lack the all-round proficiency to fill such massive voids.That latter point is precisely the reason why Duncan Fletcher was hired as India’s coach. Almost to a man, the England batsmen who are shattering new records every day, will swear by his wisdom and expertise, particularly in analysing and ironing out technical flaws. During his seven years with England, he set the team up for as-then unparalleled success, and though he’s now in danger of being remembered for two of the most humbling whitewashes of all time, this latter failure is in no way his fault.That much was clear in a fractious end-of-day press conference, when India’s bowling coach Eric Simons was served up to protest his team’s commitment to the cause. “There’s no doubt this Test can be saved, but there’s no doubt who are favourites,” he said, with the sort of wearied clichés that Andrew Flintoff fell back on during that Ashes whitewash of 2006-07. “We know Rahul Dravid can bat long periods of time, MS [Dhoni] is coming into his own and Gautam [Gambhir] will be back tomorrow. We need someone to bed in for a long period of time.”It’s not fair to mock Simons for his hopeless optimism. He is a diligent professional with a decade of experience in an international coaching set-up, but the futility of his role within India’s lumbering unit, and by extension Fletcher’s, is just one of many facets that has been ripped asunder in this series. For the bulk of his 15 minutes in front of the media, Simons fielded a range of frenzied questions including one monologue from an Indian journalist, the gist of which was: “When will the BCCI realise Zaheer Khan is not Superman?”The answer, however, is not in Simons’ remit, as Anirudh Chaudhary, India’s team manager, made abundantly clear with his regular interjections. “Eric would not know about that,” he stated on one occasion, after an enquiry about India’s request for an extra practice match on this winter’s tour of Australia.Why would a senior member of India’s coaching staff not be in the loop about such an issue, especially given that the seeds of their downfall on this trip were sown during their undercooked display down at Taunton in July? The question is rhetorical, because the answer is plain to see. But that’s not to say that it should be allowed to remain that way.India are not the first team to be humiliated in a Test series and they will not be the last, but rarely has such a shocking result been inflicted on a side with such pre-series expectations. Australia’s 4-0 battering in South Africa in 1969-70, or England’s Ashes disaster in 1958-59 are among the most notable parallels.But every now again, such jolts to the system can only be A Good Thing. While it was ghastly to endure at the time, England’s own whitewash five years ago was in many ways the best thing that could have happened to the team at the time. The result obliged a malfunctioning outfit to conduct a root-and-branch reassessment of their game, and while the resultant Schofield Report was criticised in places for its vapidity, it made some key recommendations which set out to protect the sanctity of the national team.First among those was the introduction of a managing director of the England team. Hugh Morris’s new position was soon tested to the limits by the Pietersen-Moores debacle of early 2009, but having survived that acid test, it came into its own in the exhaustive planning for the Ashes campaign of 2010-11. The presence of a conduit capable of reaching into the heart of the ECB, and delivering on virtually every one of Andy Flower’s requests, guaranteed that that campaign would triumph where every other trip of the previous 24 years had failed.It’s no coincidence that Cricket Australia has aped many of England’s methods in their newly unveiled Argus Report. Australia have a burning desire to return from whence they fell, and resume their long-held status as the best international team in the world. Do the BCCI have the same desire? For the sake of the sport, we have to hope so. But for the time being, they need to be mocked. It’s the best incentive going.

Auckland’s batsmen had hoped to take advantage of some pace in their chase, but floundered against an army of slower bowlers

Abhishek Purohit20-Sep-2011From the moment Martin Guptill was run out first ball, there was asense of foreboding to Auckland’s chase. The asking rate was never goingto be an issue, at least not till the very end. Auckland like pace on the ball; the pitch didn’t have much and Kolkata weren’t going to provide it. Apart from Lou Vincent’s meaty blows – whichmostly came off Jaidev Unadkat’s helpful medium pace – Auckland werestifled by Kolkata’s army of two contrasting left-arm spinners, anoffspinner and a bowler who deals in slower ones and wobblycutters.At one stage it seemed that Vincent would force an early finish as he torein to Unadkat, leaving Auckland with 80 to get off 90 deliveries. But thenext over from Yusuf Pathan provided a peek in to what lay in store forAuckland. Vincent missed an attempted reverse sweep, top-edged aconventional sweep over short fine leg and barely escaped when he exposedhis stumps to have a swish at a full delivery. The required rate was justabove five an over, but the lack of pace was forcing Vincent to try and create opportunities to score.Rajat Bhatia came on from the other end to cause more problems forAuckland. He usually arrives with a bagful of offcutters, legcutters andslower ones and it was no different today. If anything, he bowled withgreater control.Not that the pitch made Yusuf and Bhatia unplayable, but the flow reduced to atrickle soon after Vincent scored runs in a torrent. Auckland had managed only three off Bhatia’s second over whenVincent ran himself out trying to create a run.Auckland had staged a recovery from the first-ball setback butrepeating the feat became increasingly improbable as batsman afterbatsman dug a hole for himself. Rob Quiney followed James Adamsand three had gone for one run in four balls. The crowd roaredalong with Yusuf as he went on his knees, arms spread wide, to celebrateQuiney’s fall.Yusuf and Bhatia bowled out soon but Kolkata had reinforcements ready.Iqbal Abdulla and Shakib Al Hasan came on to bowl four overs that cost 18,14 of them in hard-earned singles.Still, getting nine an over to win in the last three is something thatis seen quite often in Twenty20s. But rarely when two of those overs arebowled by Brett Lee. Auckland had been hemmed in by the lack of pace allalong. Now with the pressure mounting, they were battered with Lee’sspeed and complete control. Missile after missile crashed in tothe blockhole to be met by inadequate inside-edges. Auckland were only onebig hit away from victory in the last over but it never looked likecoming. They had hoped to ride on the center of pace; they were done in by its left and right.

David Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of cricket, talks about the impact of the review system, and the tests currently being conducted to analyse the effectiveness of ball-tracking technology

Interview by George Dobell14-Feb-2012 Tell us about the testing of the DRS system currently going on at Cambridge University.
Well, it’s a company called Computer Vision Consulting Limited, staffed by post-grads from Cambridge University with expertise in the supply of research and performance assessment services, particularly within the computer vision and broadcasting technology industries. We’ve asked them to review the level of accuracy and reliability of the two ball-tracking companies – Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye – that have been accredited for international cricket. In terms of accuracy we want to know whether their virtual depictions of where the ball has pitched and where the ball has impacted the batsman accord with the reality, and whether their predictions as to where the ball would have hit the stumps are correct.The reliability issue is slightly different. We want to know the percentage of times they can deliver an accurate tracking. If, in a Test, there are 60 lbw appeals and the ball-tracking technology is only able to deliver an accurate tracking on, for example, 50 of those occasions, then they would not be regarded as very reliable. On the other hand, if they were getting it right on 97 out of 100 occasions, we would probably regard that as being acceptable.Presumably there was testing of the DRS before implementation?
Yes, we did some manual testing, but it was pretty basic. We asked the MCC to assist us with these tests to provide some level of independence. We were satisfied that the systems were accurate enough for us to have enough confidence to implement them for DRS. Certainly the initial testing led us to believe that the systems would be far more accurate than the human eye could ever be.This is a far more detailed review by a completely independent party. Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye both tell us how accurate they are, but this will verify those claims..So is it also a test to see which of Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye works better?
It may allow us to draw some comparisons, yes.Who is paying for it and how much is it costing?
The ICC is paying. I do not have the exact figure, but it’s not too expensive. Certainly it is worth the cost.The testers have to develop appropriate software first. Their expertise is analysing video footage. Their skills and technology are incredibly sophisticated. For example, if you can tell them the time, the date and the place at which the delivery has taken place, they can even work out from the shadow of the ball how high it is off the ground at a particular point. This helps them verify the accuracy of the ball tracking. At the risk of over-simplifying the method, they will be using actual video footage of a particular delivery from different angles and, by synchronising the footage, creating a 3D picture which can be used to verify the accuracy of the ball tracking.Presumably part of the role of the tests is to convince everyone – including India – that the DRS works and that it should be accepted as a positive development?
Exactly. Whether it will help to change their minds on DRS, even assuming the report comes back positive, or whether they have other reasons for not wanting DRS, we will have to see.

“You see a replay on TV and say, “That looks as if it was hitting leg stump.” But then Hawk-Eye shows it just missing. What people don’t realise is that the camera for the slow-motion replay might not have been behind the bowler’s arm”

What is the time scale for the testing?
They are hoping to have something ready for us by our next ICC Cricket Committee meeting, in May 2012.How do you respond to the accusation that you should have arranged independent testing before implementation?
We were satisfied with the testing we did. We tested the accuracy as far as we could, and to an extent it showed that the technology was at least accurate and reliable enough for it to be used in the manner that we have used it.A lot of people have misgivings about DRS because they are misled by what they see on TV or from their particular angle of sight. People see a replay on TV and say, “That looks as if it was hitting leg stump.” But then Hawk-Eye shows it just missing and you say to yourself, “That just cannot be.” But what people don’t realise is that the camera for the slow-motion replay might not have been behind the bowler’s arm. There are three cameras in a row and the one used for slow-motion replays is one of the ones on the side. So, often the picture you see on your TV screen is slightly misleading. The Hawk-Eye cameras are set-up and calibrated perfectly to ensure they provide accurate results. We need to provide the evidence to prove that [people] should trust the evidence provided by the ball-tracking technology, not what they might see on television.There are concerns that the third umpire is not always using the best technology or seeing the best pictures from the best angles. Is that all part of the learning process of using DRS?
Yes, it has been part of the learning process. But nowadays we have a technical expert who sits with the third umpire in every match where DRS is used. His job is to ensure everything is set up correctly. He monitors that the third umpire has the best available television, with the best screen definition and picture clarity. All that is checked. But it’s not always possible to ensure that high definition is available – that is dependent on the cabling at the venue, I believe.Presumably the broadcasters have a responsibility too?
There are minimum specification requirements for the third umpire TV room, some of which are applicable to the broadcasters. Some broadcasters exceed what is required but all have no problem in meeting the minimum requirement. But we’re taking a pragmatic approach. We believe that having a TV that is not high definition is better than not having one at all.There was a dismissal in the third Test in the UAE when Simon Taufel, the on-field umpire, gave Mohammad Hafeez not out but the third umpire, Shavir Tarapore, overruled him despite the fact that Hot Spot seemed to show a thin edge. Are these the inevitable teething problems of implementing such a system? Will we have more knowledge in five years?
We’ll have more experience. The umpires will know to look out for a tiny fleck of white. The umpires will learn by experience. So, yes, that is the case. Technology itself will also improve with time.Richardson on Hot Spot: “The priority is the sensitivity of the camera, as opposed to clearly defined pictures which look nice but do not provide the required level of sensitivity to pick up the faint edges”•HotSpotThe DRS seemed to have a huge impact on the series in the UAE. Was that a surprise or a concern?
It’s too early to say. Prior to the use of DRS there was a trend that spin bowlers were [beginning to get] more lbws. Even though we weren’t using DRS, the umpires were being assessed by it. They might be giving a batsman not out if the ball hit them on the front foot, as they could not be sure that it would have gone on to hit the stumps. Then they would go and watch the replay, see what Hawk-Eye said and realise the ball was hitting halfway up middle. The TV commentators would be saying, “Why hasn’t he given it out?”That changed umpiring. Umpires realised they could give more decisions out if the ball was heading towards leg stump. They also realised that in subcontinent conditions the ball was rarely going to bounce over the top of the stumps, so they started giving more front foot lbws, too.So the trend had started before DRS came in. It may be, though, the use of DRS has amplified things. Umpires may have realised that if they give someone out and DRS shows it was not out, then their decision can be rectified. So they might, I suppose, have the courage of their convictions a bit more and take a less conservative approach to giving the batsman out.I think if we’re totally honest, DRS has affected the game slightly more than we thought it would. In the Pakistan-England series in particular. The pitches in the UAE have been relatively low, especially for the spinners. Because of the lower bounce there has been an increase in the number of lbws.It seems to be creating a better balance between bat and ball, but is there a concern that Tests might not last five days?
I wouldn’t be too hasty in saying that. I agree that the Pakistan-England series may have suggested that, but maybe a few batsmen were out of form and the bowlers of both sides were very good. There was a bit more in the pitches than most expected too. It’s too early to draw too many conclusions.One positive aspect of the DRS should be that it encourages batsmen to use their bats more.
Yes, it is going to bring about a change of technique. And that will improve things for everybody.That point you made – about the balance between bat and ball – that is key. A year ago, every Tom, Dick and Harry was averaging more than 50 in Test cricket. The balance between bat and ball had got out of kilter and experts were complaining. I think that using DRS may help redress that balance.

“A year ago, every Tom, Dick and Harry was averaging more than 50 in Test cricket. The balance between bat and ball had got out of kilter and experts were complaining. I think that using DRS may help redress that balance”

Are the umpires on side?
The majority are. None of them like making mistakes, and sometimes they might feel that the DRS makes their mistakes more embarrassing. But credit to them, the DRS – more often than not – shows what a good job they do. The stats are unbelievable. Umpires are proved right after reviews 75% of the time. Umpires do not like their decisions having to be overturned but the fact is that at the end of a series where DRS is used, the umpires are normally congratulated for a job well done and people are amazed as to how many decisions they actually get right. In non-DRS series, even where the umpires might have made fewer mistakes, they are inevitably criticised for those that they do make.It wasn’t too long ago that there were just two umpires – local umpires, at that – and none of this technology or manpower. Can the game afford the investment?
You’re right, it is expensive. It costs as least $10,000 a day to have Hot Spot and ball-tracking. In my view, cricket will pick up the cost – of using technology for umpiring purposes, if not in the short term then in the long term – because eventually the broadcasters will include it in their budgeting and consequent negotiations with the member boards in determining broadcast rights fees. They’ll pay X amount less in broadcast rights each time in order to pay for the technology that is required for DRS. We’d like to have Hot Spot and ball-tracking at every Test. And, if we did, we might be able to do a deal with the companies to provide it at a better price.Is it worth the cost? Well, if we use DRS, the percentage of correct decisions increases by approximately four to five percentage points, from 93% to 98%. I think it is worth it. Technology is here to stay. If the broadcasters are going to continue to use it, we have to use it.Are similar tests planned on Hot Spot?
No. Hot Spot is real. It’s not a virtual picture. What they will be working upon is making their cameras even more sensitive, so that the smallest of touches will be visible. They’re learning about the best way to position and set their cameras. Experience has shown that the priority is the sensitivity of the camera, i.e. its ability to generate a visible heat mark as opposed to clearly defined pictures which look nice but do not provide the required level of sensitivity to pick up the faint edges. Whilst Hot Spot cameras may not be able to pick up the very faint touches, they will never show a mark where there is no touch and they are also very useful in distinguishing between whether the ball has touched the bat or gloves, as opposed to, for example, the thigh guard, arm guard, shoulder or helmet.And Snicko: will you test that?
Not yet, no. Snicko is just a visual depiction of the sound from the stump microphone. At this stage the third umpire does not use it. The third umpire gets the sound from the stump microphone.They don’t just use Hot Spot; they can use what the on-field umpire uses. They can use what they see what they hear. Even if there is no Hot Spot but they hear a noise, assuming there is no evidence that the noise was caused by something other than the ball hitting bat or glove, they are quite entitled to advise the on-field umpire that the batsman must have got a faint edge. Viewers might not understand that this is the protocol, I know, but hopefully they will understand how it works in time. In time, we’d like the communication between the on-field and third umpire to be heard by the TV viewers. Hopefully, when the umpires are so confident in the system and so well versed in using it, we will be able to do that. That’s the aim.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai

Siddhartha Talya at the Wankhede Stadium17-May-2012Howler of the day
Ironically, it was a Bengali who gave Mumbai Indians their first breakthrough and the capacity home crowd its first celebration. Brendon McCullum was at least two paces down the track when he was struck on the pads by an RP Singh delivery. But Subroto Das, the umpire, didn’t waste time raising his finger. To make matters worse, replays then showed the ball to have pitched outside leg stump. As McCullum walked back, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir, watching from the other end, made it a point to have a quiet word with the umpire.Dud of the day
The strategic time-out. During the strategic breaks in the Knight Riders innings, performers at the stage close to the North Stand did their best to entertain with some acrobatic street-dancing but it was a shame they weren’t shown on the big screen. Instead what played out was a timer for two-and-a-half minutes, setting up for that mundane, tasteless ten-second countdown before play resumed.Delivery of the day
Sunil Narine’s wild turner to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar is a contender but RP’s beauty to send back Jacques Kallis first ball takes the prize. The ball landed on middle and off, was angling away and then straightened to clean up Kallis through the gate and uproot the off stump. A few mischievous giggles did the rounds when McCullum fell, but the sight of one of the most technically sound batsmen left clueless by a fast bowler was pure delight.Drop of the day
Debabrata Das did his bit when he failed to back up an overthrow and conceded four, and then dropped a catch in the deep to palm it over the ropes for six. But the biggest reaction from the crowd was reserved for Tendulkar, who dropped Gambhir at third man, only for the ball to land over the boundary. The reaction, predominantly, was one of surprise but among some of those born in the noughties, disbelief.Welcome of the day
Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard are crowd favourites among Mumbai Indians’ foreign players, both cheered on vociferously by fans when they bowl and bat respectively. Malinga almost answered their call when he beat Manoj Tiwary with two away-going deliveries in his first over. Pollard, driven by the expectation of steering his team out of trouble, began on the right note as well, with a four hammered over midwicket first ball after walking in to a huge ovation. But unfortunately for the crowd, he didn’t last long.Catch of the day
McCullum did an excellent job to dismiss Rohit Sharma when the ball lobbed up in front of the batsman, and he ran forward and dived full length to snap it inches from the ground. But Dinesh Karthik did something better with the gloves in the first innings, as he ran a long distance in the direction of short fine leg to dive to his left and catch a skier from Rajat Bhatia. The catch was better, because he wasn’t distracted by RP Singh running in from the deep and just about managed to avert a collision.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from Sydney Sixers v Yorkshire

Liam Brickhill at Newlands16-Oct-2012The case of the missing ‘Y’
Left-hand openers named Gale are usually associated with whirlwind starts in Twenty20 cricket, but in this case a missing ‘y’ made all the difference, for this was Andrew, from Dewsbury, not Christopher, from Kingston, at the crease. Gale scratched his way to 8 from 17 deliveries before he attempted a desperate shuffle and had his leg stump spinning by Josh Hazlewood.A change of Ends
Mitchell Starc leaked 13 runs in his first over, from the Kelvin Grove End, but a change to the Wynberg End for his second spell in the seventh over brought immediate rewards. His second delivery found the top edge of Phil Jaques’ pull shot, Dominic Thornely pouching a simple catch at deep square leg. Starc, who had begun to find significant movement back into the right-hander since the change of ends, completed a wicket maiden by snaking one in through the air and past Joe Root’s driving bat.Yorkshire dig In
Gale wasn’t the only Yorkshire batsman who found the going tough against Sydney’s quicks, and the first six of the innings arrived as late as the final delivery of the 12th over, bowled by Shane Watson. The shot came off Root’s bat, but instead of prompting a rise in the run-rate, it precipitated a calamitous charge from Yorkshire. The boundary was found just two more times, and Yorkshire struggled to a paltry 96 for 9.The Watson trap
There was a sense of inevitability to the proceedings when Watson rocked onto the back foot to launch the third ball he faced onto the grass bank beyond wide long-on in characteristically brutal style. Watson has been so utterly dominant with the bat in Twenty20 cricket in recent times that there was a possibility he could chase down Yorkshire’s total all on his own. It was not to be, however, and the one thing that went right for Yorkshire all afternoon was Ryan Sidebottom’s short-ball trap which had the opener well caught at deep square leg.Haddin’s riposte
Yorkshire’s rally after Watson’s dismissal lasted all of one delivery, which was left alone by Brad Haddin outside off, before the wicketkeeping captain launched his side’s riposte with a flood of boundaries. Haddin singled Sidebottom out for particular punishment, and after his sixth boundary off the left-arm quick in the fourth over, Sydney were halfway to their target. A demolition beckoned, and so it proved to be.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the first day of the second Test in Mumbai

George Dobell in Mumbai23-Nov-2012Milestone of the day
Virender Sehwag’s selection rendered him the 54th man – and the ninth Indian – to reach 100 Test caps. That an opening batsmen could have a strike-rate above 80 for such a long career would have seemed incredible 30 years ago; that he can do so while averaging more than 50 underlines Sehwag’s remarkable success and impact upon the game. He features five times in the top-ten list of the fastest Test double-centuries (in terms of balls received), twice in the top three of the fastest triple-centuries and only two men have struck more sixes and seven men more fours in their Test careers. He must be judged a great batsman by any standards.Gamble of the day
Both teams took significant gambles with their team selection. India went into the game with three specialist spinners and just one seamer, suggesting they would have opened the bowling with a spinner had they lost the toss, while England selected Stuart Broad despite him missing training due to illness the day before the game. India’s tactics were in marked contrast to the words of their captain the day before the game. MS Dhoni has said India were “looking at a 2-2 combination” as “you don’t know whether you would bat or bowl first. Harbhajan Singh will have to wait for his chance as Ashwin and Ojha are bowling well.” Gamble indeed.Ball of the day
Perhaps he is not the force he was in the past, but it was Sachin Tendulkar’s misfortune to be on the receiving end of an excellent ball from Monty Panesar. Delivered from round the wicket, drifting towards leg stump, but then pitching and turning sharply, it clipped the top of off as a groping Tendulkar was bowled for the fourth time in his last five Test innings. You have to go back to 2002, when he was bowled five times in six innings, to find a comparable period in his career. The harsh may criticise him for playing slightly across the line, but perhaps the concern should be more that, for the second innings in succession, he mis-read the flight. Maybe it is a sign of age; maybe it is a sign of low confidence but, in his last six Tests and nine innings, Tendulkar is now averaging just 16.11 with a highest score of 27. The silence that greeted his dismissal amply expressed the disappointment and, perhaps, the concern of his home crowd.Drop of the day
Cheteshwar Pujara was on 60 when he was drawn forward by Panesar and, beaten by the turn, edged to second slip. James Anderson, who is rarely seen in the slips these days after some uncharacteristic mistakes in recent months, dived to his left but could only parry the ball down to third man. It was a tough chance and perhaps suggests that Anderson was slightly out of position: it appeared the ball may also have evaded Jonathan Trott at first slip. It was a tough chance but, bearing in mind that England had failed to dismiss Pujara in either innings in Ahmedabad and that he has only offered the toughest of chances to date in this series, it was the sort of moment that could define a relatively low-scoring game.Near miss of the day
It looked as if Pujara had fallen just short of a second Test century in as many matches when he pulled a delivery from Graeme Swann only to see the ball bounce off the foot of Alastair Cook at short-leg and into the hands of midwicket. But replays suggested the ball had hit the ground as it hit Cook’s foot so Pujara was reprieved and Swann, who thought he had just taken his 200th Test wicket, was forced to wait a little longer.Ominous moment of the day
England would have been understandably delighted at reducing India to 119 for 5 on the first day. But they could be forgiven for wrestling with some unsettling thoughts even as they did so. As early as the first delivery of the 41st over, a delivery from Panesar exploded off the surface, caught the shoulder of Pujara’s bat and looped towards point. The ball dropped safely to ground but, bearing in mind England’s record against spin bowling and the anticipated deterioration of the pitch, and it might have been a moment that also caused some anxiety for the tourists.

At 32, Henry Davids is on the verge of fulfilling his father’s dream for him to play for South Africa

Firdose Moonda20-Dec-2012Henry Davids Snr was playing cricket for Coronation Cricket Club in the small town of Pniel, best known for its proximity to the wine estate Boschendal, when his wife went into labour. By the time news from the hospital reached the ground, it was too late.”My dad actually missed my birth because he was on the cricket field. That was probably a sign in a way,” Henry Davids tells ESPNcricinfo. An indicator that Davids would take in interest in the game? Perhaps. But an omen that he would go on to become an international cricketer? Few in his family or community would have believed that.For the 2500 people who live in Pniel, life could sometimes be small. “Everybody was very work-oriented,” Davids says. Everybody that was an adult, that was. Young children played sport at schools that were not in the same league as the establishment heavyweights, whose pupils were sometimes chosen for representative honours on reputation alone. “Sometimes at the bigger sporting schools their players would get higher honours,” he says. Still, the small-town kids played as hard as they could and enjoyed every minute of it.Rugby was the big sport in Pniel but cricket was not too far behind. Davids started playing when he was six years old. He took part in primary school and then at Stellenbosch High, where he was selected for the Under-17 provincial trials. There Davids was picked for the Country Districts team and could take sport a little more seriously.He also had someone to look up to. Henry Williams (before the match-fixing scandal of 2000) was a popular, successful member of the community and a good friend of Davids’ father. “Him and my dad used to do a bit of pigeon racing together and he used to try and guide me with my cricket. It was at that time of growing up when I was stubborn and didn’t want to listen to people because I thought I knew everything.”At some point Davids paid attention, though, and he spent a few seasons playing for the provincial team, Boland. But he never quite made it. Three years ago, when contract negotiations broke down, he decided he needed a change.”I just thought it was time for a new challenge. I had a few offers but I chose to go to the Titans because of the sporting history they have there, and I also knew a couple of the guys. I thought it would be the best place to become a better cricketer” he said. With the Titans being the most successful franchise in the current system, that was not something many would argue with. Davids left his family behind in Pniel and moved.He bubbled under in his first summer up north but got noticed the next season when a new coach took over. Matthew Maynard has been credited with the success of Faf du Plessis in first-class cricket, some of Morne Morkel’s new-found control, and now Davids’ batting. “Matthew really helped my game. I think it was because he understands me as a person. He is also very calm, which works well for me because I’m a pretty chilled person.”The most important lesson for Davids was patience, which Maynard, in his relaxed way, teaches well. “In the past, I thought my role was to go out there and to have a 150 or 200 strike rate, so that’s where inconsistency came from” he said. “Last season I decided to work with the coach to take a little bit of time instead. I know that, with the way I bat, I can catch up in the middle, so I concentrated on just hitting my areas. If I knew this five years ago, maybe my career would have been different, but I am happy with where I am at the moment.”

“My dad pushed me a lot. It was his dream for me to play for South Africa. He took me all over, to schools matches, cricket weeks and all of that. So I hope he is looking down on me”

When the season began, Davids was announced as the new Titans captain, to take over in first-class matches after the Champions League Twenty20. Maynard said he saw leadership potential in Davids and the maturity he had shown over the past summer was evidence of that. First there was a major tournament to consider, and Davids repaid Maynard’s faith in him by making himself one of the batsmen to watch.He scored 162 runs in the five matches he played, which included two half-centuries. The first came in the opener, against the Perth Scorchers, and was worth noting despite being almost overshadowed by Jacques Rudolph’s 83. Davids gave himself time to settle in before bringing out the shimmy down the pitch, the drive through the covers and the flamboyant flick.He followed up with a strong showing in the domestic one-day cup, where he ended as the third-highest run-scorer, with 450 runs at an average of 40.90, which included a massive 166 against the Knights. It was an innings of panache and power and it helped Davids leapfrog his way up the South Africa pecking order. “I made a bit of a mental change and I am more in control of my game now,” he says.By the time South Africa were due to name their new-look T20 squad, it seemed obvious Davids would be in it. Sheer weight of runs had forced him there. He got the phone call on his mobile while he was talking to his mother on the landline and she heard the news as it was told to him. “Five minutes later all my friends from home were sending me messages. My mom told the person next door and it spread like a veld fire.”It was very overwhelming and a great honour. It was also very humbling when people tell me they are proud of me and what I have achieved.”He will probably open the batting with Richard Levi for the three-match T20 series against New Zealand. At 32, Davids will be one of the older debutants but he believes the best years lie ahead and hopes to have half a decade of cricket left in him. His week with the national side so far has told him where he wants to spend most of that time. “I am not putting any pressure on myself but I really want to be involved with the national team.”That will require a strong showing in this series. Davids is hopeful the format will give him the opportunity to display his talent, especially because he thinks he has now adjusted to its requirements properly. “When T20 first started, the guys went from ball one and there were either very big scores or very low scores. Now guys have adapted very well. They have a look and then play accordingly,” he says. “It also makes it a little bit easier to give yourself a couple of balls to get your eye in.”The time has come for Davids to put that into practice and he will have one person on his mind when he does. His father passed away last year, before Davids had earned his call-up. “My mom was crying when that phone call came. She said he would have been so happy and so proud. He always pushed me because he knew what I was capable of. My dad pushed me a lot. It was his dream for me to play for South Africa. He took me all over, to schools matches, cricket weeks and all of that. So I hope he is looking down on me.”

A player whose raw talent is matched only by his naivety and indiscipline, Luke Pomersbach appears to have grabbed a lifeline in Queensland

Alex Malcolm in Melbourne15-Jan-2013Paul Wilson would be forgiven if his mind wandered throughout Luke Pomersbach’s innings. The former Australia fast bowler was standing as an on-field umpire in the first BBL semi-final but as he watched Pomersbach pulverise the Renegades on his way to a stunning century, Wilson would have been reminded of his playing days.In October 2003, Wilson was beginning his final season as a professional in Western Australia. Playing Grade cricket for Melville at the picturesque Tompkins Park, on the banks of the Swan River, Wilson terrorised his opponents, Gosnells, claiming 5 for 40 in a comprehensive routing. The eight extras conceded by Melville were Gosnells’ third-highest contributor to their 148-run total.One of Wilson’s victims that day was Pomersbach. Barely six days after his 19th birthday, the powerful left-hand batsman made 75 in a defiant, but ultimately fruitless, rearguard attack. However, Wilson had left his mark on the youngster, having verbally abused him throughout the innings.The story goes that Pomersbach was the eighth man out, with the score at just 104. He sat down next to his team-mates and asked, “Who’s this meathead that’s abusing us?”His team-mates, after picking their jaws up from the concrete concourse, quietly informed Pomersbach that Wilson had played Test and one-day international cricket for Australia and was an integral member of WA’s fast-bowling unit. Pomersbach’s response was something akin to “Who? This bloke? He bowls .”It summed up Luke Pomersbach: naive, and gifted.At 28, he is one of the most talented players in Australia. His first-class record does not leap off the page. He averages a tick over 40 with four hundreds in 30 matches for Western Australia but that does not include his two centuries against touring Test teams. Pomersbach clubbed 145 against Graeme Smith’s South Africans in 2005-06. Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Charl Langeveldt, and Andre Nel all targeted the plain, navy blue club helmet he was wearing and got punished for it. The following season he scored an unbeaten 101 against Andrew Flintoff’s touring England side. Pomersbach had hundreds against Test-match attacks from England and South Africa before he had made his first-class debut for WA.That debut finally came against Tasmania in Hobart, where he made 74 and 63 in a three-wicket win for WA over the eventual Pura Cup Champions that season.Twelve months later, Pomersbach made the most astounding international debut, pulled from the WACA crowd where he was a spectator, to play in place of the injured Brad Hodge in a Twenty20 against New Zealand. In March 2008, Pomersbach was named Bradman Young Cricketer of Year, having made 743 runs at 61.91 in the domestic first-class season.But Pomersbach’s talent on the field was offset by his naivety and indiscipline off it. He was plagued by incidents involving alcohol throughout his time in the WA squad. He was suspended four times by the WACA and escaped a jail sentence in 2009 after assaulting a police officer following a drink-driving arrest. Pomersbach felt at the time it was the wake-up call he needed.

“That Lehmann would take a chance on Pomersbach is unsurprising – he can relate to a player of rare natural talent. So too can Kim Hughes, who did some batting work with Pomersbach before his arrival in Brisbane”

“Hopefully, I can look back in a few years and say what happened in 2009 has made me a stronger person and a better cricketer. Everyone makes mistakes, but they haven’t really hit home like this one has,” he told the in 2009. “This has made me realise that I could have lost cricket for one, but I could have killed myself and lost my career there, or killed someone else. I don’t mind saying that I needed something like this to open my eyes.”But he didn’t turn over a new leaf. His last suspension from the WACA came two years later and led Pomersbach to stand down from professional cricket, only to return to the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2012, a trip that was marred by another bizarre assault charge that ended in an out-of-court settlement.Darren Lehmann took a chance on Pomersbach, signing him to the Queensland and Brisbane Heat contract list. It was one last lifeline to a cricketer whose potential had never been fully reached. Pomersbach has been made to earn his place through Grade cricket in Brisbane, and one Futures League fixture in Perth against his old state. He played one unsuccessful Ryobi Cup match for Queensland prior to the Big Bash League. Ironically, given his power and stroke-making ability, Pomersbach has found the limited-overs formats far more difficult to master.But Lehmann’s gamble has paid big dividends for the Brisbane Heat this season. He is now the leading scorer in the BBL and his last two innings of 82 and 112 not out have helped his side to qualify for the Champions League in remarkable circumstances.That Lehmann would take a chance on Pomersbach is unsurprising. He can relate to a player of rare natural talent. So too can Kim Hughes. The former Australia captain did some batting work with Pomersbach between his return from the IPL and his arrival in Brisbane.Both men would recognise Pomersbach’s gifts. And they know, too, his raw talent is both his strength and his weakness. His naivety has helped him hurt Wilson, the South Africans, the English, and now Muttiah Muralitharan. To Pomersbach, reputations stand for nothing, not because he believes he’s better, but simply because he is not aware of them. Yet the same quality has led him astray in life, and he has been unaware of the consequences of certain decisions he’s made.The consequences of his return to the professional game are self-evident. His talent is undeniable. If he can continue on his road from perdition, he may, like the fast bowler he faced a decade ago, represent Australia in more than one format.

From Ryon S

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013
There is always hope•Associated PressI am a West Indian.I have grown up with stories of some of the best men to ever play the game of cricket, embellishments doing no justice to the real thing. I have heard and read of the famous victories and series of years gone by. I have spent many an hour online reliving some of those moments through streaming video.I have watched Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose make the best batsmen in the world look like schoolboys. I have seen Brian Lara make fielding captains chew their nails down to nothing. I have seen Shivnarine Chanderpaul frustrate bowlers into the ground.I have also been through contract disputes. I have suffered through several humiliating losses to lower-ranked teams. I have been witness to some of the most spectacular batting collapses in cricketing history from undefeatable positions.But I am still, a West Indian.And I am not one to live in the past. Yet its legacy, especially that of recent times, forces me to jump for joy at any victory, even if it is one with the series long decided. One match matters little to the opposition, but it means the world to be. Such is the life of one who wishes for the glory days once again. I am drowning and snatching at straws, some might say.But what reason is there for any other reaction? There has never been a time in recent memory when the players and the board agree on anything. It goes back to the old Cable and Wireless days and the relationship has hardly been satisfactory. The current state is as such, with Chris Gayle’s future seemingly heading towards freelance T20 work. I fear that he might not be the last such player from the region with such an outlook. Jerome Taylor may yet go in that direction. Yet the team, my team, seems to be playing good cricket, at least more consistently than years gone by.The Indian ODI series may be over, but there were flashes and patches of brilliance, as always. Players caught the imagination and good performances were there to behold. Andre Russell’s blistering 92, Darren Bravo’s shift from first into fourth gear, Anthony Martin’s accurate bowling and livewire fielding. There may be a lot of complaints about Darren Sammy as captain, but the fact is that the team has played good basic cricket with him at the head and there has been some success recently.I must be crazy to say that. Two lost ODI series and a less-than-spectacular exit from the World Cup is hardly what anyone would call success. They make the interspersed victories almost null and void. Still, if the straw is there, I will hang onto it. Because for the first time in what seems like forever, there are a lot of positives in the way this team goes about things.The team is, apart from a few players, very inexperienced. But the potential is present. Very few will deny that Devendra Bishoo is one of the most promising players to have made his debut this season. Or that Ravi Rampaul and Lendl Simmons’ re-entry into the international game finds them in better form both physically and mentally. Even Marlon Samuels and Carlton Baugh seem to be getting better with time spent in the middle. And for the first time in ages, there actually seems to be competition for a spot in the team. This is a necessary thing for any team aspiring to be at the top of the rankings. Only those with the best form, and the best potential, should be selected.But that potential must also be realised in order to build a strong team. It is not built on constant bickering between the WIPA and the WICB. They are two halves of the same whole, and until they realise this, West Indies cricket suffers. And so do the fans. Cricket has always been huge in the region, but the fighting, the contract disputes, the second-string teams, the persistence with out-of-form players…it must end. Then, perhaps, I will consider paying a sky-high price to watch the team, my team, at the Queen’s Park Oval. And perhaps I will not be alone in my consideration.I am a West Indian. And I am not alone.I grew up on stories of legends. I observed, in my lifetime, the downfall. I look to the future now. For the time being at least, the future of West Indies cricket is shining brightly. But for that future to come to pass, someone, anyone must first fix the present.