Australia’s selectors are desperately hoping their squad will evolve into a team far greater than the current sum of its 17 parts

Daniel Brettig31-Jan-2013Michael Hussey was meant to be in this squad. So too Jon Holland, and Andrew McDonald. After Holland fell to injury, Michael Beer was the next left-arm spinner in line. Shane Watson was to be included as a batsman who could bowl. And one of Ben Hilfenhaus or Ryan Harris would certainly have been chosen had they been fit.Questions about the composition of Australia’s Test squad to tour India need to be made with all these absentees in mind, for the national selectors’ initial thoughts about the task of four Tests on the subcontinent had a far different tour party being chosen. Since that time, an unexpected retirement has created one major gap, injuries have opened up others, and the Big Bash League left John Inverarity’s panel with precious little relevant recent cricket from which to draw their conclusions.So in circumstances “less than ideal”, a favourite recent phrase of those in Cricket Australia’s team performance hierarchy, the 17 named for India provide the captain Michael Clarke with a vast array of options for the various scenarios that may lie ahead of him across the matches in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mohali and Delhi. Clarke wants those options because he is not entirely sure what is in store, nor how his players will respond to what they find.Hussey’s absence remains a hole the team will have enormous trouble covering. Looking at the two back-up batsmen chosen for the trip in Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith, Hussey’s value can be quantified by noting he was effectively a higher skilled amalgam of both players. There was Khawaja’s technique and comfort against the new ball, but also Smith’s middle order invention, athletic fielding and occasional bowling, albeit medium pace rather than spin. These attributes were wedded to vast experience and a team ethic unsullied by the onset of the Twenty20 age. The coach Mickey Arthur was not joking when he said every other member of the Test side will now have to get “15% better” to cover Hussey’s loss.The inclusion of Smith reflects the fact that the selection panel installed after the Argus review now have an opinion of him no lower than that held by those who sat in their positions before it. Over the past two home summers Smith has played plenty of first-class cricket, engendering respect among Sheffield Shield opponents for a batting method that has grown more mature and balanced. Only one century in that time is a cause for concern, but Smith has at least shown an ability to get started consistently, and it is starting an innings that is considered among the most vexing elements of batting in India.In preparing the squad, most careful thought has evidently been given to the mixture of allrounders and spin bowlers chosen. As England did on their recent subcontinental visits to Sri Lanka and India, Inverarity’s panel have attempted to allow room for subtle changes in balance depending on the nature of the pitch, the weather and the state of the series. Samit Patel was not the reason England won Test matches in Colombo, Mumbai and Kolkata, but handy innings prevented his team’s tail from subsiding in each match while his bowling offered a useful back-up when needed.

Australia’s absentees

• Michael Hussey (retired)

• Andrew McDonald (hamstring)

• Jon Holland (shoulder)

• Michael Beer (shoulder)

• Ben Hilfenhaus (side/rib)

• Ryan Harris (delayed recovery from shoulder surgery)

• Shane Watson (touring but not bowling)

It is this sort of role that is envisaged for Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques. In the words of Inverarity, the permutations are thus: “One of the options is to play two pace bowlers, our two leading spinners and then a medium-fast allrounder in Moises Henriques. Another alternative is to play three pace bowlers, our leading spinner whether that be Xavier Doherty or Nathan Lyon, and then have the backup of the allrounder with Glenn Maxwell. Of course we could go with four bowlers and no allrounder, but the thinking is we will need more than four bowlers, we will need four bowlers and some more, so Glenn Maxwell is to the fore there and also Moises Henriques.”There will be some pressure on Lyon to hold his spot, particularly if the desire is for two slow bowlers turning the ball in opposite directions. Doherty’s place is contentious when his first-class record, both overall and this summer, is lined up against that of the New South Wales captain Steve O’Keefe. But in the aforementioned absence of much Shield cricket due to the BBL’s encroachment, Doherty’s ODI returns and more consistent place in the national squad carried more weight than O’Keefe’s eight wickets for the Blues against Western Australia at Blacktown Oval.As has been the case for some time, Australia are served best of all in pace bowling, with the emergence of Jackson Bird adding another strong seam-up presence to the squad. Much is likely to be expected of Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson, who first toured India for Tests as far back as 2008, while Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson will resume the young bowlers’ rotation they engaged in during the home summer.In all, it is no great assumption to suggest that Australia’s selectors are desperately hoping their squad will evolve into a team far greater than the current sum of its 17 parts. The national team’s first squad since Hussey’s retirement was always going to require an element of speculation, and not for the first time the captain, coach and selectors must now hope like hell that a few of their gambles grow into sure things somewhere on their passage to India.

From Basab Majumdar, India Christmas and the light winter chill (unfortunately absent in still muggy Mumbai) brings back pleasant nostalgia of adolescence in Kolkatta

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Basab Majumdar, India
Christmas and the light winter chill (unfortunately absent in still muggy Mumbai) brings back pleasant nostalgia of adolescence in Kolkatta. Park Street resplendent by the festive illumination, cakes from Nahoum’s in New Market and egg nogs from Flury’s were special. But all these paled in comparison with the thrilling anticipation of the imminence of a Christmas/New Year’s Test match at Eden Gardens.The current rotation policy, another abomination designed by the BCCI in its relentless pursuit of profit, has put paid to the annual calender of Test matches in the traditional venues and a whole generation have been deprived of what was a high social occasion in Kolkatta. A day or two before the Test match my Dad would arrive with our Cricket Association of Bengal member tickets and that evening the planning would start. Several of his friends would arrive and over endless beer they would discuss logistics. One would assume from the level of detail that an invasion of Normandy was afoot but to the educated middle class Bengalee of the time, Test Matches were a serious affair. My father always positioned it to me as part of my education (as in by the time I was about 8 years old, I gathered that for my father and his close cronies, it was infinitely more essential that I understood the subtle difference between cover and extra cover and the angular difference between point and gully than knowing multiplication tables by heart). And if the Test match was on 1st January, then the discussions would be further complicated by the fact that the previous nights revelries would have to be calibrated suitably so that everyone was there in their seats by 8.20 am.For me, I cannot remember ever suffering from greater nervous anticipation than the night before the Test match. I rarely slept and waited for the clock to turn 6 am when I would get up with a spring and alacrity quite unbecoming of normal school days. No battles with breakfast that day which was consumed without complaint or delay. By 7.30 am I would have dressed and then would put on my new county cap ceremoniously in front of the mirror, imagining me leading out India as 80,000 would rise in unison to cheer. It was a routine every odd year, but what a delightful routine. There would be a party of usually 10-12 in a cavalcade of cars. Other from the locality would be leaving as well and the envious faces of those without the priceless tickets was a sight to behold. I along with another kid were the chosen two amongst the next generation by Dad and the usual suspects. (my obsession with obscure cricket statistics had obviously resulted in my passing muster in the civilisation Test). The lunch boxes would be readied by Mom with specific instructions (Rice and Chilli Chicken for lunch, oranges during drinks and cucumber sandwiches for tea). That itself was much part of the fun with the respective Moms competing to produce a more delectable lunch box than the other- the five days (if India lasted all five, that is!) were also a gastronomical delight with the smell of fresh food was billow as much across Eden as the sound of leather hitting willow.My greatest thrill would always be as we approached the ground as you gradually wound your way amongst the teeming millions. It was as if all humanity had descended on Red Road where the cars would be parked for the couple of kilometers walked to the ground. As you walked you met familiar faces – teachers from your school who had forewarned teachers about attending class int he first day of the Test match (one famous class teacher threatened to fail anyone in English if any unfortunate earnest soul would be present of the first day of the Test against Asif Iqbal’s Pakistan, fellow spectators whom you had met last during a Test Match and myriad others. The crowd was a mix from every social strata – from box wallahs in suits, and well heeled ladies in the latest chiffon, to the old clerk from writers building in their ubiquitous Dhoti – the lucky 100,000 on their annual pilgrimage to the greatest temple of cricket.As I would walk in I would hear the sound of bat hitting wall and a shiver would go up my spine at the realisation that the Gods were on the field at the nets. Remember this was a time before live television and this was the only chance to see the heroes int he flesh. And as I walked in to the stands I would turn around sometimes mesmerised in awe as I would see RGD Willis warming up, Bishen Bedi turning his arm a bit. IVA Richards swaggering around taking catches and women gasping as Imran Khan Niazi would stand at the pavilion doorstep about to walk into toss giving the plebeians a royal aristocratic wave. Right through childhood till early adulthood, Eden Gardens was my favourite place on earth, where for 5 days the problems of homeworks and board examinations seem a distant away. And a place where learning Physics was all about Kapil Dev using the breeze from the hooghly post 4 pm to produce a devastating old ball spell after tea. And the frenzied debate of whether Gavaskar should have added an extra slip which would have snapped David Gowers slash. And then the classic counterpoint- glad he didn’t, then how would we have seen Gower’s elegant cover drive of Doshi. Always respect and love for a great opponent.Post the toss the teams would be put up in the famous old score board (with Kolay biscuit advertising hoarding at the top). And then the Ranji block with the huge Boroline ad banner would erupt. This was the plebeian stand but very much the equivalent of the Sydney Hill. The crackers would start bursting and the conch shells would signal commencement of battle and then the good-natured barracking. Us from the members stand would be more reserved- not even a whisper during overs and necessary clapping for maiden overs and a well played forward defensive stroke! Fours through flowing drives were much appreciated. Sixes were sources of amusement but “tssk tssk…civilised batsmen (read Gavaskar and Vishwanath) did not hit balls over the ground”. I once shouted sixer when Gavaskar was batting, and I was told by my Dad and any such repeat would result in banishment from cricket grounds! I kept my silence and peace thereafter.I now shudder when I see the quality of the crowds at Eden or elsewhere. Test matches at non traditional centres are a disgrace and some real great matches off late has been played in front of empty stands (unlike in England and Australia where a great Test match brings in thousands through the turnstiles). The old faithful have all gone and opposition players are no longer applauded nor subtle nuances, like a great throw from the outfield applauded as much as a great straight drive. I still get goosebumps remembering the ovation Viv Richards received as he walked into bat in 1983. 90,000 rose to clap him fervently into the crease, a Roman salute to the greatest living gladiator in the planet. The King paused before taking guard, doffed his hat and raised his bat in acknowledgment, a brilliant cameo moment before rivalry was resumed. And the great Pakistani Asif Iqbal would remember his last test match with much joy – he mentioned later he would have taken Eden any day ahead of Lahore. He was run out in his last innings post which he was accorded a thunderous standing ovation with the members and the club house spectators all screaming in unison “three cheers Captain” as he walked up the stairs into the dressing room. This was the captain of Pakistan and in the midst of a seriously competitive series between the two traditional rivals.I have to say I had tears in my eyes that day.I have not seen Saurav Ganguly bat amongst the Eden faithful, but I’ve seen Gundappa Vishwanath, Eden’s favourite son throughout the 70’s and till Saurav arrived, there was no one whom Eden loved more than the diminutive Bangalorean. In the famous Yuletide week of 1974 when I fell in love with cricket, Eden and Alvin Kallicharran at the same time, Little Vishy (or “Bhishee” as the Eden faithful called him) charmed Kolkata off its feet. With the Test Match poised evenly on the 4th morning, Vishy unleased in his inimitable style a counter-attack on Roberts, Holder, Julien and Gibbs. In real life he looked like a villainous side kick from a South Indian film. But armed with a cricket willow he was transformed into a Michaelangelo. His square and late cuts and glances of his leg were delectable and that 31st December morning he was in his pomp. His 139 contained 24 fours and old Eden hands still talk of that as the greatest innings they ever say. Next morning, the tactical mastery of Tiger Pataudi in conjunction with the spin wizardry of Bedi and Chandra resulted in Kalli, Richards, Greenidge and Lloyd all succumbing and India earning a famous New Years day victory. It was a magical way to begin my association with Eden and till 1989 when I left Calcutta for education and job, I hadn’t missed a single ball bowled in that haloed ground. It was a privilege and pleasure that made my growing up years very special.

Whatever strides have been made for achieving thaws have been espoused by the love for cricket across the international border between India and Pakistan

Syed Ali Zia Jaffery25-Feb-2013Diplomacy is a vital cog in international relations; it is a process of amicably dissuading other states from doing something detrimental to a state’s interest. It also includes the abdication of some secondary interests in lieu of some favours. However, states do not find the middle ground on their vital interests, and are not reticent to go to war for their protection.Ever since, the inception of India and Pakistan, the region has witnessed, nothing but strained ties alternated with bouts of tranquillised milieus. There are various stumbling blocks, which continue to vitiate the relations between the two nemeses, but will not be delved upon in this piece.Both nations resorted to diplomacy to ameliorate ties with each other, but as yet have failed to achieve the desired results. However, whatever strides have been made for achieving thaws have been espoused by the love for cricket across the 1610km long international border. To say that cricket binds the two nations together is ludicrous, for both nations lock-horns.In order to look at the resumption of cricket ties in a broader spectrum, one needs to look at the past. The love for this dynamic game has been used as a tool of diplomacy. The fact that, Indo-Pak matches are or were in high demand, good relations were all the more imperative.Cricket between the two nations started in 1952; the acrimony was same like that in the war zones, but due to wars and conflicts, cricket trysts were intermittent, yet riveting. For instance, when Shoaib Akhtar was steaming in at National Stadium Karachi on March 13, 2004, it was after 1989 that India came to Pakistan for a bilateral series.The relation between cricket and diplomacy came to the forefront in 1987 with Operation Brasstacks, an Indian Army manoeuvre near its border with Pakistan that escalated tensions between the two countries. However, General Zia-ul-Haq was astute enough to visit India for ostensibly watching the Indo-Pak match, but it was a perfect example of cricket diplomacy; war was averted as Rajeev Gandhi and Zia sat together. Without doubt, cricket helped in avoiding disaster. The sheer euphoria of Indo-Pak encounters made the diplomacy possible. Again, due to strained relations both teams did not meet each other after June 3, 2000 till March 13, 2004, barring the World Cup 2003 encounter. This was mainly due to the aftermath of the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001. Again, operation “Parakram” brought both countries on the brink of war.While responding to me, Mani Shankar Aiyar termed Musharraf’s tenure as the golden epoch in Indo-Pak relations. True, the bilateral ties between the BCCI and the PCB resumed, with India’s tour to Pakistan in 2004. Relations were bettered due to strengthened cricket ties and vice versa. We all witnessed enthralling cricket from 2004 to 2007, both in India and Pakistan. Celebrities went across the border for the explicit purpose of cricket. Even General Musharraf went to watch the ODI in Delhi on April 17, 2006 and had fruitful discussions with Dr Manmohan Singh. Things were going smoothly; Pakistani players adorned the first edition of the Indian Premier League, with Sohail Tanvir receiving the Purple Cap.Soon, the ties were vitiated by the Mumbai attacks. War was imminent; cricket wilted under the virulence of terrorism. Since Pakistan’s tour to India in 2007, both teams have only played eight ODIs in multilateral events, including the World cup semi final in Mohali on March 30, 2011. This match ended in a debacle for the Afridi-led team, but since both prime ministers along with their entourage had lengthy discussions, it paved the way for future permutations.Since then we have seen a detente of some sorts. Off late, Sialkot Stallions, the champion of the domestic T20 tournament have been invited for the Champions League. Now, the BCCI has officially called Pakistan for a short tour in December. The tour will entail three ODIs and two T20Is.Is this significant? Indeed. It is not only a sigh of relief for cricket lovers across the globe, but also for aspirants of peaceful co-existence. Cricket will open up avenues for resolving issues, or at the least purvey opportunities to delve on all bones of contention. It will augment people to people contact.Having said that, cricket is not that potent a panacea for foisting peace. There are some grievous conflicts, which have jeopardised the region since the past so many years. Besides, these conundrums, skepticism and recriminations have left everyone in a huff. The only way out is to continuously embroil in a composite and certainly, cricket will kindle this process.

In which we find out what the England team have been reduced to

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013There was always a likelihood that the potentially fascinating England v South Africa Test series would be overshadowed by events off the pitch. Most assumed those events would have involved Olympian athletes running very fast, champion cyclists pedalling as frantically as a newspaper boy being chased by a rocket-propelled Alsatian, the British sport-watching public suddenly remembering about rowing for a few days, and the tragic reunion of the Spice Girls (the alleged musical act who temporarily escaped from captivity for the closing ceremony before being apprehended, tranquilised and returned to their secret underground vault). And indeed, the Olympics duly enraptured the nation’s sporting attention as they proved to be a magnificent success for Britain, on and off the track/lake/banked-track/ road/sea/pool/court/pitch/range/ pretend-mountain-river/mat/ring/horsiedrome.It would, therefore, have been preferable for the Test matches not to have been also overshadowed by the dispiriting bicker and counter-bicker of Kevin Pietersen’s ongoing battle with 21st-century communications technology, his employers, his team-mates and, above all, himself. It has been a game of squabble tennis that must have had the egg and bacon of the MCC members’ ties frying each other in annoyance, although it does make you wonder how differently Bodyline might have panned out if Don Bradman had had access to Twitter.Pietersen and his errant mobile will be absent from the Lord’s Test, which is, respectively, bad and good news for cricket fans. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, before excitedly ringing himself up to congratulate himself on his achievement, he cannot possibly have imagined that his well-meaning communications device would one day prove so damaging to English cricket. Hopefully the mysterious “advisors” who have apparently been directing Pietersen will take the opportunity of their man’s absence from the Test to read a book entitled .Somewhere in the midsts of all this, what had formerly been a long-awaited Test series is taking place, in which Pietersen has displayed the full extent of his cricketing talent to haul England back towards the parity that most had predicted before the series began. He had even started to resemble the useful offspinner that South Africa had once hoped he might prove to be.Perhaps the continuing after-grumble of this avoidable dispute will serve to unify the England team and spur them into an improved performance. If it does, they may win at Lord’s. Or they may still lose, or draw. South Africa will be desperate not to fumble a series lead for the fifth time this decade. They have not lost at Lord’s since 1960, and have been bowled out twice in only three of their last 14 Tests against England, but they have lost all four previous final Tests they have played in England since readmission.The home team’s task would have been easier with Pietersen, who, without ever finding a consistency of scoring, which may be impossible with his technique (and, perhaps, temperament), has played major, series-shaping innings four times in the last two years – double-centuries against Australia and India to facilitate England’s first victories of those ultimately triumphant series, an incendiary 151 in Galle to transform a slow match and a disastrous winter, and his recent Headingley masterpiece, which significantly shifted the momentum of the current contest.This is not to suggest that England should have picked him for Lord’s. Without knowing, or caring, about the specifics of this disappointing shebang, it seems that Pietersen has been, to put it charitably, behaviourally erratic. When a team voluntarily leaves out its most dangerous batsman, it is fair to assume they have good cause to do so (unless that team is West Indies, in which case it is fair to assume nothing) (or unless that team is not a cricket team, in which case it is probably a reasonable selectorial call).However, if Pietersen has unquestionably shot himself in the foot, his podiatrist will be removing a selection of different bullets fired from varying angles and from more than one gun. The episode is an embarrassment for the entire England set-up, about as edifying as a food-fight in a famine, and an individual and collective failure in an era that has been predominantly marked by individual and collective successes. Captain Strauss, who has conducted himself with characteristic care and dignity, has exuded the air of a parent trying to remain calmly focused on driving whilst his children are noisily smearing bananas in each other’s faces in the back seat of the car. That those children are in their 20s and 30s must add to his frustration. There will be some interesting chapters in autobiographies over the next few years.It is a hugely important match for England, and only partially because of the battle to retain their position at the top of the world rankings, which is of tangential relevance and dependent on the ICC’s chosen bits of mathematics as much as results. If the team that had such a rampant 2011 was to lose its second series of 2012, whilst in a state of infantile internecine conflict, it would suggest a team in significant decline. Or, at least, a team returning to the level it had occupied before its spectacular peak, but in a worse mood for having scaled the mountain, before inadvertently slipping over whilst plonking its flag on the summit, and sliding on its backside down to base camp before it had taken all the photographs it wanted to.England’s successes were founded on ceaselessly effective team bowling performances, but the squad of bowlers who had recorded such phenomenal statistics and earned fully merited praise from 2010 until this summer are now facing a defining match. Tim Bresnan, who had mixed reliability with insistent probing and regular wickets, has been unpenetrative and expensive against South Africa, and has had only one effective Test out of five this season. Stuart Broad has been inconsistent – 11 for 165 against West Indies at Lord’s at the start of the summer, 8 for 111 from the moment he dismissed AB de Villiers at Headingley, 3 for 311 in the two-and-a-bit Tests in between. Graeme Swann was dropped for the first time in his previously slump-free four-year Test career, after only six wickets in four Tests (Pietersen dismissed more top-order batsmen at Headingley than Swann had in the first four Tests of the summer).James Anderson, England’s most important bowler, who had taken at least two first-innings wickets in 18 consecutive Tests since the start of the 2010-11 Ashes, took only one very expensive one at the Oval, and picked up his second in the Leeds first innings only by dismissing the South African No. 11, Imran Tahir. He was not helped by some sub-shoddy catching, and maintained impressive control, but England need his new-ball penetration restored at Lord’s.Aside from those four core bowlers, Steven Finn has not played consecutive Tests since being dropped after the Perth Test in December 2010, and has dismissed only one top-order batsman in his two Tests this summer, and the injury-ravaged Chris Tremlett took 1 for 82 in his only Championship appearance of the year. It was an attack that showed almost no weakness for 18 months, even in defeat. Now, all of them are struggling for their best. They have all proved themselves previously. They must do so again. Against a batting line-up containing four of the top six batsmen in the current rankings. And a man who has just scored 182 in the preceding Test. Before its own batsmen, featuring two novices against three of the world’s top-seven-ranked seam bowlers, try to convert their wickets into victory. Strauss’ England are facing their greatest challenges, on and off the pitch/press-conference/dressing-room/ internet/mobile.These two teams will not meet again in Tests until the 2015-16 season, by which time they will have played three Tests against each other in almost six years, a scheduling blooper of significant proportions in an era crying out desperately for competitive Test cricket. That this rare and annoyingly brief encounter of sides containing several of the world’s foremost cricketers, who have generally produced closely fought and captivating series, has been scarred by a playground-level spat that has cost the climactic showdown its most compelling protagonist, is a source of considerable regret.Confectionery Stall prediction: South Africa to win.Player to watch: AB de Villiers. A pair of 40s at Leeds suggested that a major contribution could be imminent from a player who can make a cricket ball swoon and ask for his autograph in gratitude for having been hit so purely to the boundary.

During his time as captain, a number of fans have kicked and screamed, and he has been one of the most polarising figures in the region since ascending to the helm

Roger Sawh25-Feb-2013The West Indies captaincy has been described as a poisoned chalice because it is one of the most difficult jobs in the sporting world. For one, you are following in the footsteps of giants like Lloyd, Sobers, Richards, and Worrell. The weight of history on your shoulders is tremendous, from multiple World Cups to years of dominance to worldwide respect and admiration for teams of yore. Moreover, you are also seeking to diplomatically manoeuvre in a multinational dressing room. Jamaicans, Guyanese, Bajans, Trinidadians, St Lucians and others are all trying to coexist for the sake of cricket, but there is quite a lot that culturally separates them.Unlike England or Australia, with players from different states or regions playing with a united national conscience, the West Indies’ collection of nationalities makes team captaincy akin to being the Secretary General of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community). Over the past two decades, all of this has happened against the backdrop of a lot of losing, controversies with the administration, cries of nepotism, and too many stresses and strains to mention.The West Indies captaincy is definitely a hot seat to occupy. During the past two years, Darren Julius Garvey Sammy has been the one with his bum on the roast. To say that his tenure has been less than smooth would be an understatement, because ‘Smiling Sammy’ has, in fact, been one of the most polarising figures in the region since ascending to the helm.During his time as captain, a number of fans have kicked and screamed, saying that he isn’t the right man for the job, that he doesn’t deserve a permanent spot in the team, that he is keeping a more deserving bowler (usually) out of the playing XI, and that he is a bowler who only thrives in favourable conditions. More often than not, observers have been able to find an area of his performance to pick on, from ‘agricultural’ batting strokes to pedestrian pace bowling. While his captaincy hasn’t found as much disfavour, there have also been claims that he is a sentinel of coach Ottis Gibson, and that his place as captain is to enforce the ‘new culture’ of Gibson’s management.Though murmurs of discontent have continued, Sammy the cricketer has persisted, mixing steady but not devastating bowling with an uncompromising batting style to be a solid member of the team in all three formats.Now, approximately two years into his tenure as captain, the Sammy debate has arrived at a pivotal juncture. The first two one-day internationals that West Indies play against Zimbabwe are the first time that Sammy is not in a West Indies playing XI (regardless of the format) since becoming captain in 2010. For those who have been anti-Sammy, it’s a moment that has been long overdue. For those who supported Sammy from the beginning, it might be a tense situation. And for those that have recognised an improvement in the team as a whole and have given Sammy the go-ahead as long as the team is growing, this is a chance to see whether the team has developed thanks to the man from St Lucia, or in spite of him.Two matches aren’t much to judge by, especially against an opposition that isn’t among the most formidable on the world stage, but they are still a test in some respects. The Zimbabweans can play with a free spirit because they haven’t much to lose. West Indies, on the other hand, are coming off a 0-5 whitewash at the hands of Australia, and 2-3 loss at the hands of Bangladesh – they need to get back on track in the 50-overs format.Dwayne Bravo steps into the leadership role in Sammy’s absence, and if he enjoys significant success, Sammy may once again find the lights of inspection being focused on him. The inspiring World T20 triumph released a lot of pressure on Sammy as a leader. Supporters and cynics alike had to acknowledge the positive vibes that came from the West Indies team. He has, for better or for worse, made an impact on West Indies cricket, and the more you look at it, the better the influence seems to be.However, despite all that, some may argue that he has outlived his usefulness. There is a notion that Sammy’s time as leader was simply a necessary evil in accomplishing the greater goal of ‘fixing’ West Indies cricket – the captain needed to be a glue and not a divider, a disciple and not a rebel, and a loyalist and not a globetrotter in order for the team’s challenges to be overcome. There is little doubt that Sammy has helped to bind the team, preach a consistent and positive message, and show an unwavering commitment to Caribbean cricket. Under Sammy, the seeds of paradigmatic shift have been sewn, the tree of stability has grown to a decent height, and fruits of success have begun to bear. The lingering question, though, is whether or not the job is done.Considering the possibilities, winning or losing against Zimbabwe might not spark an immediate change in the status quo, but it may certainly affect the timeline. If the team can win emphatically, it may suggest that Sammy’s task of building a strong foundation is far enough along to no longer necessitate him as a bold leadership figure. On the other hand, unconvincing victory or even defeat could simply reaffirm Sammy’s importance, and show the Caribbean public (especially his detractors) that he is an essential part of the team machinery.There are, of course, peripheral factors that will be important – Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels are also not playing, and their absence diminishes the quality of the batting line-up significantly. Additionally, the continued policy of not choosing the evergreen Shivnarine Chanderpaul for ODIs leaves the team very short on experience. Be that as it may, Sammy’s absence will be a significant subplot throughout the matches. Metaphorically, in the absence of the captain, will the ship sail or sink? For now, the great Sammy debate stands at the crossroads.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here

Plays of the day from the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors in Ranchi

Sidharth Monga15-May-2013The six
This one was all along the ground. In the 11th over of the chase, Yusuf Pathan bunted one into the leg side, and Ishwar Pandey had to rush in from deep midwicket to try to keep the batsmen down to two. Not only did he fail to do so, he fired in a rocket throw wide of the bowler, wide of extra cover and wide of the diving deep cover.The field
When you have taken just two wickets in more than 13 overs, on what looks like a flat pitch, you don’t quite welcome the new batsman with a slip and a gully. Gautam Gambhir did just that for Yuvraj Singh. Sunil Narine bowled with the two catching men, and bowled five dots at the unsure Yuvraj. Even when Narine came back in the 17th over, he had one slip for Yuvraj. Only towards the end of the over did Gambhir take the slip off, and on cue Yuvraj edged. The ricochet off the wicketkeeper’s glove would have made a difficult but possible catch for the slip.The run-out
When at the non-striker’s end, Yuvraj doesn’t like to run on the grass. So he stands at the closest bare pitch he can find on the square, and sometimes he can end up taking a start at midwicket. Which is what he did, and when he ran for a bye in the final over of the Pune Warriors innings, Manish Pandey didn’t see him coming and responded late, thus losing his wicket.The wides
Robin Uthappa is not a specialist wicketkeeper, and with friends like the ones in his Warriors team he might end up reconsidering the role. In the first over of the second innings, Uthappa was asked to stand up to the stumps, only to see Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowl five wides way outside off. If that was not enough, Wayne Parnell gave away another set of five down the leg side. There was a time when 12 of Kolkata Knight Riders’ first 18 runs had come in extras.The hit
People talk a lot about switching off between deliveries, but in modern cricket it can be hazardous. At one point during the chase, Yusuf Pathan completed a comfortable single and had his back to the fielder at mid-on. He hadn’t reckoned for the modern habit of throwing every ball at the stumps or the keeper, and copped one smack in the middle of his back.

He has less than 100 runs in four Ashes innings – bringing to mind a number of England captains whose batting suffered when in charge

Rob Smyth29-Jul-2013For such a habitual success, Alastair Cook knows a fair bit about failure. Low scores are an inescapable fact of life for English openers and Cook has had plenty of leanish spells on his way to making 7607 Test runs and 25 hundreds. He is in one right now, with 83 runs in four Ashes innings. An average of 20.75 is slightly down on the 225 he was averaging after two Tests of the last Ashes.It would surprise nobody if Cook made a huge score in the next Test at Old Trafford. He had an even worse start to the summit series against India in 2011, with scores of 12, 1, 2 and 5 in the first two Tests. In the next match he hit 294 at Edgbaston.His Ashes mirabilis in 2010-11 followed the toughest summer of his career. However, the slightly absent-minded nature of a couple of his dismissals against Australia have induced the nagging and persuasive thought that Cook might just be starting to follow the pattern of England captains in the last 20 years: a spectacular start containing some of the best batting of their career – Cook was superhuman in India last year – followed by a slow decline as the incessant and varied demands of leadership take their toll.Cook’s overall average as captain is an outstanding 60.60. His average as full-time captain – since Andrew Strauss’ resignation – is 52.60, four above his career average, but in 2013 it is has dropped to 37.69. Perhaps the novelty is wearing off. Or perhaps it is just a common-or-garden lean spell. Cook does things differently to most batsmen, and he will feel a far more relevant precedent is that of his mentor Graham Gooch, the last Englishman to have extended success as a batsman-captain. Gooch’s improvement was extraordinary. When he took over in 1989-90, his Test average was 37.71. Over the next four years he averaged 58.72 before resigning the captaincy.Gooch was an exception, rule-proving or otherwise. For most batsmen, particularly in England in modern times, captaincy has been the grimmest reaper. Its all-consuming nature compromises a batsman’s relationship with his best friend: concentration. In , Graeme Smith – who has generally dealt extremely well with the twin demands – jokes he would like to lobby the ICC to extend the innings break from 10 to 15 minutes, such is the difficulty for captain-openers to leave the wider concerns at the pavilion gate. “You have so much eating away at you, so much still going on in your head.”

For most batsmen, particularly in England in modern times, captaincy has been the grimmest reaper. Its all-consuming nature compromises a batsman’s relationship with his best friend: concentration

Perhaps the best example of how the captaincy can affect a batsman came during the Ashes Test at Headingley in 2009. England’s build-up on the first day was frenzied. They had to stand outside their hotel for almost an hour in the early hours because of a fire alarm; Matt Prior suffered a back spasm during a game of football, which led to the toss being put back ten minutes; there was an ongoing discussion as to whether Andrew Flintoff would be fit; the masseur, Mark Saxby, was smacked on the head during Australia’s cricket practice. All this with the game due to start in less than half an hour. It was chaos, and Andrew Strauss could not focus on the smaller picture when he went out to bat. He should have been out lbw to the first ball of the match, and soon after, edged a loose drive to slip. The seam wasn’t the only thing scrambled that morning.That was an almost absurdly extreme example of how captaincy can impact, but it is always there. In , Steve Waugh wrote that captaincy “seemed to soak my spare time like a sponge”. In that sense it is almost an extreme form of sporting parenthood – extreme as you have effectively given birth to decuplets. A captain must look after his ten team-mates, with their myriad concerns.Then there are the toss, the media demands, the small talk with the mascots, the small talk with the Queen, the politics, the knowledge that your resting face and body language are being scrutinised at every moment, the angle of the man at fine leg. And that’s only about 0.1% of the demands. What starts as exciting and novel eventually becomes mundane and trying; it’s human nature. Changing your first nappy is one of the most memorable experiences of your life; changing the 2001st nappy is not. Then there is the pressure, the seeds of which are planted the day you take over and which grow over time.There is a school of thought the middle should be the safest place for a captain: his equivalent of a parent’s downtime, or a 22-yard sanctuary in which you can just bat, but it doesn’t always work like that. Cook is better at compartmentalising than most, and seems to be a master of clearing extraneous thoughts, but captaincy will challenge that in ways he could not have imagined. In modern sport everything is done to protect the body. It is much more difficult to take care of the mind; to keep it clear and sharp.That has been a recurring theme of England captains in the last 20 years. Most found the captaincy empowering rather than embattling at first. Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart and Strauss all had their most productive series leading the side in their first series as captain; Nasser Hussain’s average of 61.66 in his first full series was the best of his tenure. Even short-lived or stand-in captains such as Kevin Pietersen and Marcus Trescothick scored centuries in their first and second games as captain respectively, while Flintoff batted superbly in India in 2005-06.Most recent England captains, Andrew Strauss among them, have had productive times with the bat soon after taking charge, before the job began to take a toll•Getty ImagesThe exception is Michael Vaughan – but then he had no scope for improvement. When he assumed the captaincy he had scored seven hundreds in his last 12 Tests and had an average of 50.98. Vaughan was never the same player again; in 51 matches as captain he hit nine hundreds and averaged 36.02, a dreadfully unbecoming record for a man with a touch of genius. He resigned in tears, just like Hussain. It is inevitable that most captaincy careers will end in failure, and equally inevitable that most will struggle to maintain their output in the middle.”At the start of my captaincy, not being able to spend time on my own game was a benefit because it prevented me from being too insular,” wrote Atherton in . “Initially, also, the added responsibility and pressure were empowering and resulted in better personal performances. Eventually, however, as pressure increased over time, my ability to cope clearly decreased. Now, I needed extra time to put my game in order and the captaincy was a hindrance. I was not the only captain whose game suffered.”His mate Hussain’s certainly did. In his second year of captaincy Hussain could barely buy a run – he averaged 13.55 in a 12-Test period – and was increasingly obsessed with the idea that he was not worth his place. One night in Sri Lanka, when he could not sleep, he went to the hotel bar on his own at 1am.”The barman was just packing up,” he wrote in , “but I managed to persuade to him to hang on, ordered myself a rum and Coke, lit up a fag [even though I don’t smoke], and sat there, going through everything.” This is what the captaincy came to do a man. A century in the next Test changed Hussain’s life: he came to terms with it and had a second wind. Others were not so fortunate.The problem does seem to afflict England more than most. In the last 20 years, England captains batting in the top six average 39.98 – above only New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and 10 runs behind Australia.”I always said I would be the only England captain not to go bald, but after days like today, it might not help that,” joked Cook after the Trent Bridge Test. England need him to buck the trend of recent history. These are relatively insecure times for a batting line-up that was hitting 500 in its sleep only a couple of years ago. England cannot afford to lose their best batsman.

Clashes with the board over payments may have left the Test series in doubt, but it has also affected the morale of Zimbabwe players. With the absence of key performers like Kyle Jarvis, the two Tests against Pakistan will test the hosts’ bowling

Firdose Moonda01-Sep-2013Andy Waller must have more on his mind than the average coach ahead of Zimbabwe’s two-Test series against Pakistan. For a start, he will be wondering if the series will even go ahead.Zimbabwe’s newly-formed players’ union may yet boycott the matches, as they have been threatening to do since Pakistan arrived in the country more than two weeks’ ago, because of non-payment of salaries. The players have not received their July or August remuneration or the match fees they negotiated with ZC, despite being promised the monies would be transferred into their accounts last Thursday. They have given ZC until Monday to pay up or they will not take the field in whites on Tuesday.Earlier, the players had also said that they would not take part in the T20s or the third ODI, but they reached an agreement with ZC at the 11th hour. An insider believes this will not happen again. The source told ESPNcricinfo the players are likely to stop crying wolf and follow through with their ultimatum this time. Even Waller seems to think the payments issue will have an effect on the Tests.”I think the unhappiness over payments will spill into the series, unfortunately. I don’t think it has been solved yet,” he said. “I am not a 100% sure exactly, but I am under the impression that nothing’s definite yet.”Waller, like the rest of us, will have to wait to hear their final decision, but he will also contemplate how to get the best of a clearly disgruntled group if they opt to compete. Even though Zimbabwe found it in themselves to win the first ODI against Pakistan, they have not fared well recently and were defeated in all nine matches – five ODIs against India, two T20s and two ODIs against Pakistan – in which Waller has been in charge.He has not coached them in a Test yet, but has already seen enough to know what Zimbabwe’s biggest challenge will be.
“The main concern I have is probably on the bowling side: how are we going to get 20 wickets?,” he asked after the third ODI.
Zimbabwe have not bowled a team out once since Waller took over so to expect them to do it twice will be a tough ask. To ask them to do it twice without two of the most attacking bowlers may well be a bridge too far.”I am not saying our bowlers aren’t good but we’ve lost someone like Kyle Jarvis, who could bowl with a bit of pace and swing the ball, and Graeme Cremer, who’s a quality legspinner,” he said.Jarvis retired from international cricket on the eve of the Pakistan series, saying the cash-flow situation had made it impossible for him to continue playing for Zimbabwe, while Cremer made himself unavailable during the Bulawayo leg of the India tour. ESPNcricinfo understands Cremer does not want to be considered for Zimbabwe until he is paid monies owed to him and is assured of financial security going forward.That leaves the rest with a lot more responsibility and not a lot of experience to bank on. Brian Vitori, who partnered Jarvis and even outshone him on Zimbabwe’s Test comeback, will likely have to lead the attack as the one of the most experienced men, with just three caps. He has not played the longest form in 18 months since January last year. Despite a promising start to Test cricket, injuries and a lack of form have hampered his progress.Shingi Masakadza and Tinashe Panyangara have also played a trio of Tests each – Panyangara more than eight years ago in 2005 – but both have shown fairly good control in the lead-up. Much is expected from young Tendai Chatara, who impressed in West Indies earlier this year, and Zimbabwe will have to take a gamble on the kind of spinner they are going to use.Without Cremer, their attacking options will be between Natsai Mushangwe and Tinotenda Mutombodzi but they could go for the safety of a containing bowler instead. Prosper Utseya is their leading offspinner and has the experience of years and captaincy behind him to add solidity to an otherwise fragile attack.All Waller can do is be optimistic. “I still believe our bowlers can go out and do the job,” he said, although he confined that to doing it in the first match. “Bulawayo will be difficult because it’s a batting paradise down there and we know the quality of the Pakistan batting, so we are going to have to do something exceptional to beat them down there. If we are going to beat them, I think it’s going to have to be at Harare, on a wicket that will give us more of a chance.”Efforts have been made at Queens Club – where Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in 2011 – to ensure it is less flat and new clay has been laid on three of the pitches on the square . However, whether Zimbabwe will even get down to Bulawayo to play will depend on how quickly ZC can come up with cash and how seriously the players’ union wants to flex its muscles.

In less than two years, Ish Sodhi has gone from being a net bowler to a Test cricketer. He talks about his progress through the ranks and his surreal Test debut

Mohammad Isam06-Nov-2013If it wasn’t for Imran Tahir, Ish Sodhi wouldn’t have played Test cricket before his 21st birthday.Daniel Vettori was preparing for the home Tests against South Africa in early 2012 when the visiting team was declared. Tahir was picked, predictably, so Vettori needed to train against a legspinner. He found out about Sodhi and asked the gangly young man to bowl at him. Impressed by what he faced for hours in the nets, Vettori arranged for Sodhi to play for Northern Districts.”Dan has been quite instrumental for me,” Sodhi said. “We built up quite a good relationship, and I ended up playing for the same club as him, and played a couple of games with him too. He was one of my heroes growing up.”After taking 27 wickets from 14 first-class matches, Sodhi, who was born in Ludhiana in northern India and moved to New Zealand with his family in 2001, found himself making his debut against Bangladesh in the Chittagong Test last month.”It was something you dream of, growing up as a child. It is almost surreal when it does happen. Once you shake off the nerves, you are into it. It has been pretty awesome.”I started playing when I was nine years old. I started to enjoy it from the age-group levels, and progress further.”It is in my blood to love cricket. I mean I’m Indian. It was just waiting to come out and it did for me.”Sodhi, who played age-group cricket in Auckland, found it hard to break into his local first-class side. “They had a few good spinners,” he said. “I had to make the move to Northern Districts.”I played my first first-class game less than a year ago. I still feel I have a lot of experiencing to do at first-class level.”In less than a year, however, his fortunes changed. After some fine performances on New Zealand A’s tour of India and Sri Lanka, Sodhi was fast-tracked into the Test team, where he was picked as the second spinner behind Bruce Martin. With both spinners being picked, Sodhi’s young cricket career had a major upswing.”It happened quite quickly. I am lucky because you want it to happen at some point in your career. The first couple of days, it felt like I was in a cartoon. It took some time to shake off the nerves.”Once I got a wicket, I settled down and understood my role. I started to get into the fight a little bit more. As the Test series went on, I got better as I shook off the nerves of the hype of Test match cricket. I really enjoyed it,” he said.He took three wickets in the first Test but was expensive. It began with Nasir Hossain trying to pull a ball and popping a high catch to mid-on.

“It is in my blood to love cricket. I mean I’m Indian. It was just waiting to come out and it did for me.”

“Chittagong was tough, slow and low. The ball turned very slowly. The first wicket was a long time coming, and I had pictured my Test wicket in my mind a million times.”It didn’t look like how I got it, but you have to take them when they come. I was lucky to get that first wicket. To say I got six wickets is massive for me at this stage. I could never expect this to happen so soon.”Sodhi’s bowling did get better as the Test series went from Chittagong to Dhaka, and he became more threatening on a more bowler-friendly wicket. “The second Test was a little bit easier to settle in. It wasn’t too tough to get used to the conditions. I enjoyed bowling in Dhaka.”The wicket was offering me quite a bit in the first innings. There was quite a bit there on the second morning.”Sodhi has modelled himself on Anil Kumble, particularly because he is also tall. He knows that he can create an awkward angle for the batsmen, but understands it can be disconcerting for him on wickets that don’t offer much bounce. He hasn’t met Kumble yet, but during the India tour he did catch up with Rahul Sharma, another tall legspinner.Sodhi is back in New Zealand now, playing for Northern Districts alongside Vettori. He hopes to be picked for the New Zealand summer, when they play Tests against West Indies in December.So far it has been almost a privileged entry into Test cricket, but crucially Sodhi understands it is quite early and he still has work to do on his bowling. New Zealand doesn’t just have a talented legspinner, they have a man who is quite clear about what he needs to do to be a better bowler.

Becoming obsessed has been the Gambhir way of dealing with failure, and that has been evident in his attempts to make a national comeback

Sidharth Monga in Hubli08-Oct-2013Two days before the start of this match, the local organisers in Hubli call up the local press for a briefing. In an earnest tone, they say this is a “momentous occasion” for Hubli. You look outside, and kids have taken a day off from school, and are cashing in on the rare opportunity of taking autographs of the big stars. Volunteers around them are busy readying the ground. The scenes could be from a wedding in India with everyone running helter skelter for last-minute preparations.You wonder what Gautam Gambhir thinks of all that is going around. Of what this game means to the locals and what this means to him. For if you look further out, you see him batting in the nets. He has faced up to the quicks, he has seen the spinners, he has taken the throwdowns from fielding coach Abhay Sharma, but he is not done yet.Batting is all you have seen Gambhir do since he arrived in Shimoga for the previous four-day match against West Indies A. Batting is all you have seen Gambhir talk. With Sharma, with coach Lalchand Rajput, with Cheteshwar Pujara. With Sharma he seems to be working on the backlift and the position of the upper body as he prepares to face the delivery, with Rajput head position, and with Pujara the width of the stance and some more backlift.Sharma has been giving Gambhir throwdowns, with Rajput he just seems to be talking for long periods. Pujara seems to be telling him what he makes of different backlifts and different stances. It seems that in his head Gambhir has been batting even when it is not his turn. Even in the field in Shimoga he kept shadow-practising. He would also ask the opposition batsmen for their bat during a break, and practise the swing. After he was dismissed, he spent the next morning in the nets.There is something obsessive about what Gambhir has been doing. Knowing whatever we knew of him until the dip in the form over the last two years, it sounds about right. “I would love to go easy, because it [being hard on yourself] exhausts you,” he once told ESPNcricinfo. “You stop enjoying. You don’t play your natural game. You are only looking to score at any cost. But that’s the way I have been brought up. Can’t help it.”Gambhir has always been intense and hard on himself, an attribute that, at least in public discourse, had left him over the last two-three years. You can imagine the struggle inside his head now. Since being dropped, he has had a stint with a personal coach, WV Raman, he has had a county stint – he went back even after a personal tragedy brought him to India – and now in nondescript towns and strange grounds he is trying to make the most of a lucky break that has come his way.What makes it tougher is, Gambhir is almost rediscovering his game. In Shimoga, he had a bigger back lift in the match, and a smaller one in the nets. He seems to be experimenting with the stance in the nets. It is almost like a fast bowler bowling no-balls on his return from a long break from cricket.When Gambhir batted in the middle, he was tied down on a flat and slow pitch. You could sense he was telling himself to not drive away from the body or even play that dab to third man, but occasionally he did drive, once getting caught off a no-ball. Against spin he seemed to back himself, but that assuredness wasn’t all there. Invariably, when you are out of form, all it takes is a little hesitation or a little over-eagerness, and the mis-hit goes to hand.Then Gambhir walked back shaking his head all the way up the pavilion steps. So many hours in the nets, so far away from home, and off in 70 minutes. Around him he must see friend and former opening partner, Virender Sehwag, not being as hard on himself, playing with the crowds, even though he has been through just as rough a patch.Long ago, when Gambhir was making his comeback into the Indian side – there had been times before that when he didn’t want to play anymore – Sehwag had advice for him. In New Zealand, in 2008-09, Gambhir says Sehwag told him: try and think about god, try and take your mind off for a bit. It isn’t a lesson in theism; it is about relaxing so that you can play your natural game.You wonder if Gambhir thinks of that advice now. Even if he does, it is unlikely to work because becoming obsessed has been the Gambhir way of dealing with failure. Right now he is trying to get both his technique and his mind in order, but the consolation is that he has done it before.