Thinking on your feet, knowing what the other person has to do, trusting your gut – Australia’s new T20 captain talks about the challenges of the format

Interview by Brydon Coverdale31-Jan-2012As a new captain, did you have any input into the squad chosen for these two games?
John [Inverarity] got in touch, asking me to submit a squad. I did so and it was pretty similar to his and it went from there. Perhaps not official input but it was in keeping with the recommendations of the Argus report – that’s part and parcel of all the teams that are being picked now. It would have been interesting if I’d plucked 11 names from out of nowhere. But I think it’s quite obvious that all those guys deserve to be where they are.Do you see this squad forming the core of the group that will go to the World T20 in September?
I would think so. There’s a hell of a lot of water to pass under the bridge until that time and this was just a first step. The hard thing for the T20 team is, we don’t get the chance to spend the time together that the one-day and Test teams do. I guess part of starting to talk about the World Cup and get people thinking about it is that at least gives us an endpoint to work towards as a group.You may have as few as four matches together before the World T20 – is that enough?
It will have to be. But that’s not the only cricket that guys will be playing. I don’t think you’re playing one-day cricket and Test cricket and not necessarily working on your T20 skills. Or IPL cricket for that matter. I certainly don’t think we’ll get to the World Cup and complain of not having played enough.Given you haven’t been one of the leading scorers in the BBL, how much pressure is there for you to perform with the bat to justify your position?
I don’t think it’s any different to anytime I step out as captain for any other team. You are captain, but first and foremost you’re in there to perform. That dictates a hell of a lot of the respect that you have. Part of my performance will be my captaincy but the majority of it will be with the bat. I have to perform. I certainly would have liked a few more runs in the Big Bash, but since Twenty20 started being played I think my record stands up against anyone, particularly for someone who has batted for the majority in the middle order.Is it hard to read much into statistics for middle-order batsmen in Twenty20?
It’s not only for middle-order batsmen. I think there are a lot of facets of Twenty20 cricket, and we’re still working out how we measure whether someone has been successful. Part of naming a squad and starting to work out who’s going to fit into the jigsaw puzzle of September is exactly that – [getting] a group that harmonises well together. You could pick the top six or seven run scorers from the Big Bash and the top five leading wicket-takers, but in terms of getting a team together it’s about melding those skills and putting all of those things together into a team. We’re getting closer and closer and we have more data on T20 cricket but certainly batting in the middle order, it’s always going to be a challenge, compared to a Test cricketer, where you get to the end of your career and you say, well, you averaged this. I think in T20 you look at whether people are contributing in partnerships, or what stage they come in, or when they hit their boundaries and their sixes, to be an effective cricketer.Are you expecting to bat around No. 5 in the Australia side?
I think that’s where I’m best suited in this form of the game, particularly with the squad we’ve picked. We’ve got a great balance of guys who have had great success at the top of the order. The role of the Dave Husseys, the Mitch Marshes, the Dan Christians, the Matthew Wades and myself, the guys through the middle of the order, is to then capitalise on the starts and then finish the innings.Michael Clarke was viewed as a good T20 captain but someone whose batting wouldn’t have earned him a place in the side. If there are concerns about your batting as well, how do you put those out of your mind?
It’s not something I’ll be feeling in the group. I’ll just be playing a game of cricket my way and the pressure is on your results because you want to be performing, because you don’t want to be letting down the ten guys that are playing and the two or three guys that are unlucky enough to not be playing, and all those guys who haven’t been selected – you don’t want to be letting them down. Cricketers are aware that we play in a performance-based game and the pressure sometimes of what other people are thinking, that’s often built up in the media. Once you’re out there performing, you’re just out there doing your job to the best of your ability.Cameron White was your Melbourne Stars captain and he’s the man you’ve taken over from as Australia’s captain. How supportive has he been?
He certainly has been good to me. I know he’s bitterly disappointed, as you would be if you’ve been told you’re not required at the present time in your dream job. I certainly understand his disappointment. But in terms of his chats with me he’s been more than helpful. I haven’t masterminded anything to undermine him, so I don’t think there was ever going to be too many issues between Cam and I. I’ve really enjoyed working with him over the last six weeks and I’ve learnt a hell of a lot watching him captain, and trying to help him as much as I can, and seeing how he goes about things. No doubt there will be things I would have learnt off him in the last few weeks that will come through in those two games.

“I like to think that I’m pretty approachable and pretty inclusive in that if someone in the team has a good idea, let’s run with it. It’s certainly not my job to be making all the decisions”

What are the challenges of captaining in T20, compared to the longer formats?
I think the time constraint is the biggest pressure. You have to keep the game moving, and things do happen so quickly. Quite often you sit down and you have plans A and B, and then you’re out in the middle and you find yourself suddenly having to look at plans C and D. There’s very rarely time when you can get your vice-captain or your best bowler and stand there and have that conversation. Quite often it’s in the middle of an over and a bowler has been hit for a couple of sixes and you’re trying to think of how you get out of the over for 16 as opposed to 26. A lot of it is about thinking on your feet, a lot of it is working with your bowlers and your fielding group and trusting that gut instinct. But the biggest thing in T20 is knowing your role and knowing everyone in your team’s role around you, so if I know what I’m going to do and you know what I’m going to do, it’s much easier to predict how you’ll behave as well. It just gets back to the harmony within the team. That’s why the balance of the XI is so important.Is it harder to captain than four-day cricket?
No, they’re just so different. When you’re captaining and you’re in the field and it’s 3 for 350, that’s a pretty tough time to captain too. I just think they’re very different. Both challenging and very much rewarding.Which captains have had the most influence on how you go about the role?
Dan Marsh is someone that has had a profound influence on my cricket. I will forever be trying to emulate how he thought about the game and how he analysed it, and I think I’ll fail dismally. But he was someone who I always enjoyed talking with about cricket. He made people feel very comfortable about the cricketer they were, understood the game to the nth degree. He was very level-headed and never got ahead of himself, never got too up when we were winning or too down when we lost – all pretty great characteristics.What are your strengths as captain?
I like to think that I’m pretty approachable and pretty inclusive in that if someone in the team has a good idea, let’s run with it. It’s certainly not my job to be making all the decisions. You can always be getting better at your communication. That was one of the things Dan told me. He said it doesn’t matter how good you are on your first day, I guarantee you’ll get better and better at it the more you do, because you’ll just understand people’s reactions better and you’ll understand the game of cricket more and more.Australia made the final of the 2010 World T20 but have struggled since then. As an outsider looking on, can you pinpoint why that has been the case?
I can’t, really. I appreciate that we’re ranked sixth, and I don’t know how the rankings necessarily work. But I also know that at the end of this Big Bash we have a winner who could go out the next day and play the Melbourne Renegades, who finished on the bottom, and it would be a 50-50 game. That’s the nature of T20. I find it hard to say that we’re necessarily the sixth-best team or the tenth-best team or the best team in the world. The rankings to me don’t matter. What matters is that the pinnacle of it is the World Cup, and come that time, it’s a bit like the Olympics in that anything can happen in the lead-up, but come that little period of time you’ve just got to be at your best. That will be our litmus test. Our challenge as a group is to become as consistent as possible. That’s probably the greatest trait a T20 team can have. We’ve got an outstanding array of match-winners from top to bottom in that team. The key is now to get us all going in the one direction so those match-winners are performing as regularly as possible.The selection of Brad Hogg at 40 was in many ways surprising. How would you describe it?
Exciting. All those older players that played in the BBL showed why they were still wanted by teams. Their skills were outstanding. I guess where Hoggy differentiated was with his energy and his enthusiasm and his fitness in the field and the way he can still move. He showed he was able to go to that level. Your preparation needs to be meticulous in T20 but once you’re out there you want to be having a lot of fun and [being] energetic and feeling great about what you’re doing. Hoggy is someone who will provide that on top of his outstanding skills with the ball.Bailey: Hogg differentiated with his enthusiasm, energy and fitness in the field•Getty ImagesHogg is being viewed as someone who can be important for Australia in the World T20 in Sri Lanka. How big a role will spin play in those conditions?
Spin is really important here because we tend to play on bigger grounds and the challenge is to be trying to clear the pickets, and you’ve got to make sure you hit the ball as cleanly as you can to do that. The challenge in Sri Lanka will be that the ball will turn more, there will be more spin. So guys will be aware of that. But it’s a long way away and being aware of that and working on that will be part of the process, but more importantly we worry about the spinners India will play on Wednesday and Friday.You’ve been on the Australian Cricketers’ Association executive for nearly five years. What have you learnt from that role?
That’s a really rewarding one. I think I’ve learnt more about the issues that we face as cricketers and I’m really fascinated by that sort of stuff. The biggest things I’ve learnt there are how important cricket is to Australians – those who are playing and those who are coming along to watch and those who are growing up wanting to play it. People love the game in Australia and people want to see it continue to prosper long after we’re gone and to have it be a better game long after we leave it. I think the strength of the playing group when they get behind an issue is great to see.As part of an ACA programme you had a work placement at the Carlton Football Club last year.
It was a great eye-opener for me. It was a completely different feeling in a footy change room to a cricket change room. I envied the fact that they are so structured in the way they can prepare. They play on a Saturday, they recover, they debrief, they turn their attention to the next game and then they play the next Saturday.I think the challenges at state level of being able to do that when you’re swapping from one-day cricket to Shield cricket, back to one-day cricket, and then suddenly you’ve got six weeks of T20, are really challenging. I was also fascinated by the way they communicate and the differences between communicating to a Chris Judd type, who is a legend of the game and so highly respected and you know is going to do the right thing every time, to a kid who has just come in and is still learning.What sort of things could you take from that experience and apply to cricket?
I found it fascinating the way the coach, Brett Ratten, has changed his focus from having his best 22 to having a real squad mentality and knowing that if you are going to have success then you’ve got to know that your 35th, 36th best player, if he gets an opportunity, is going to be able to perform, and what buttons you have to press to get him to perform. I think cricket is heading down that path. You’re starting to see rotation policies and turnover in squads, and the experience that I’ve had in domestic cricket with the cramped schedule, guys who have been injured for little periods or sitting out because they’re starting to fatigue – it’s the same thing. You just don’t get teams winning Sheffield Shields and one-day titles now if they’ve only got 11 good players. You’ve got to have such good depth and know that when your best two or three are playing for Australia or your best player is injured, someone can come in and you can still perform as a team.

Apart from wondering why the series did not begin at the friendly Adelaide Oval, there will be much more running through Indian minds as they try to avoid a second straight overseas whitewash

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide23-Jan-2012The Adelaide Oval is by a long distance the friendliest venue for visiting sides to Australia. The MCG can be intimidating with that crowd, the SCG is always a big occasion and can be a bit of a distraction, the WACA is harsh on even the slightest error with bat or with ball, but the Adelaide Oval is part charming, part benign.It’s not just the pitch, it’s the general air around. Nobody stops you from entering the ground here, or walking around. You can walk into the Bradman Museum, no questions asked. You can watch rare footage, read stuff, bat like he did with a golf ball hit against a water tank. The replica tank, the stump, and the ball are all there. It is friendly for the spectators too. The many grass banks, the stands with canopies for cover, St Peter’s Cathedral in the background, and the absence of big stands make for nice viewing.Then there is the pitch, almost benevolent if you are coming straight from the WACA. Bat the first hour of the Test out, and then you can pitch a tent here. There are the short square boundaries, and the near desert heat to beat the bowlers down. All in all, just the tease you don’t need when you are 3-0 down. A ground made to make you feel why the hell you didn’t start the series here.Apart from that thought, there will be much more running through Indian minds as they try to avoid a second straight overseas whitewash. How to get a score of 400 with the match still alive, is one of them. It seems they have been undone by a simple plan. It’s so blatant it’s subtle. Just don’t give them boundaries, bowl a tight line, extract some movement, and the batting line-up with tens of thousands of runs between them will edge the ball.”I think they are bowling in good areas,” Virender Sehwag, the stand-in captain, said of the batting struggles over the last seven overseas Tests. “They are not giving easy balls to hit boundaries and they are playing with your patience, you know, so I think this is the best bowling attack I’ve ever seen. Against Australia, generally when I played in the past, you know, I’d get couple of balls in early overs to hit the boundary, but [against] this attack, I hardly get a ball to be hit, so I think it’s one of the best bowling attacks.”Some others already have their minds back in India. “We’ll see how they fare in India, on our pitches,” they seem to be thinking. It is natural for these thoughts to cross your mind towards the end of a long unsuccessful tour, but not only are these comments poorly timed, the idea that they might be dominating their minds is not a sign of a side that is desperate to come back and do well here.Sehwag suggested the same, but with more tact. “I think if you look at it other way round, whoever comes to India they also lose Test matches,” he said. “Australia came to India and they lost two series, two-nil and two-nil. Yes, I felt bad because we’ve done well overseas in the last ten years, and suddenly in the last two tours we are not doing well so we are not living up to expectations. But we are working hard, we are trying hard, we are doing everything we can do, and we are practising hard. Sometimes these things are not in your control and you just go and try to give your best and sometimes it clicks and sometimes it doesn’t. This is a part of life, part of the game.”There are others who will be going through a completely different set of emotions. Those who had worked hard for ten years to give India the reputation of a fighting team away from home, too, will be wondering where it all went wrong. Sachin Tendulkar, in particular, and Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have walked out to big ovations at every ground. For sure this will be the last time in Australia for Dravid and Laxman. For Laxman, this might be the last time ever. Tendulkar you never know. Nobody will be telling Dravid and Laxman the endearing Aussie farewell, “Seeyalayter”.Outside the XI, Rohit Sharma will be asking himself if he is so bad that he can’t get into a side that has lost seven away Tests on the bounce. MS Dhoni, the captain banned for slow over-rates, will be wondering where those times have gone when he could do no wrong.India have only ever clean-swept two Test series longer than two matches in the history of their cricket. Now they are fighting to avoid a second whitewash within months of each other, that too as the No. 1 and No. 2 side in the world respectively. Even at a venue best suited to their batsmen, avoiding this whitewash will be as big a mental and emotional challenge as it will be technical.

For only the fifth time in Test history, a team won a match losing only two wickets

S Rajesh23-Jul-2012The most stunning aspect of South Africa’s win at The Oval is that they won a Test match against arguably the best bowling attack in the world losing just two wickets. Last season, this attack had decimated India’s much-hyped batting line-up, averaging 25.55 runs per wicket over four matches. Against South Africa in this game, they took two wickets for 637 runs, an average of 318.50 runs per wicket. England’s batsmen, on the other hand, averaged 31.25 in the match. The difference of 287.25 is the highest in a Test which has produced a result, which makes this the most comprehensive win ever.In fact, for South Africa, this is sweet revenge for the humiliation they had suffered at Lord’s in 1924 in a Test match with similar numbers: England racked up 531 for 2, and dismissed South Africa cheaply on either side of their batting effort. In that game, South Africa had averaged 25.65 runs per wicket compared to England’s 265.50; the difference between the two averages was 239.85, which was the previous record for the highest difference between averages in a decisive Test.

Biggest difference in runs per wkt between winning and losing teams

Winning teamRuns per wktLosing teamRuns per wktDifferenceVenue, yearSouth Africa318.50England31.25287.25The Oval, 2012England265.50South Africa25.65239.85Lord’s 1924West Indies263.33Pakistan34.22229.11Kingston, 1958Sri Lanka237.67Zimbabwe22.95214.72Bulawayo, 2004South Africa235.00Bangladesh20.50214.50Chittagong, 2003England229.50India19.05210.45Edgbaston, 1974This is only the fifth time in a Test that a team has won a Test losing two wickets. For South Africa, this was the second such instance – they’d beaten Bangladesh in a similar manner in 2003 – but the last time any team had inflicted this humiliation on an opposition not named Bangladesh was in 1974, when England thrashed India by an innings and 78 runs at Edgbaston, scoring 459 for 2 in their only innings. In fact, England and South Africa are the only teams to win Tests losing two wickets: England achieved these results against South Africa (1924) and New Zealand (1958). South Africa, though, are the only side to achieve this overseas – all three of England’s wins have come at home.

Winning a Test match for the loss of two wickets

TeamOppositionResult marginVenue, yearSouth AfricaEnglandInnings and 12 runsThe Oval, 2012South AfricaBangladeshInnings and 60 runsChittagong, 2003EnglandIndiaInnings and 78 runsEdgbaston, 1974EnglandNew ZealandInnings and 71 runsHeadingley, 1958EnglandSouth AfricaInnings and 18 runsLord’s 1924More stats Dale Steyn’s second-innings haul of 5 for 56 is his first five-for in a Test in England. It improves his career record against England to 38 wickets in nine Tests at an average of 32.05. Of his 18 five-wicket hauls, 14 have led to victories, while three have come in draws and one in a defeat. (Click here for Steyn’s Test career summary.) South Africa’s win is their 12th in England, but their first at The Oval in 14 attempts. It’s also their sixth by an innings against England, and the second such result in that country. Hashim Amla won his fourth Man-of-the-Match award, and his first against England. His previous three had been against Pakistan and India (twice). This was the first taste of a Test defeat for Tim Bresnan, after 13 wins and a draw in his 14 previous Tests.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test in Colombo

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo03-Apr-2012Milestone (or not) of the day
When Sri Lanka moved to 38, with a square cut by Mahela Jayawardene, it brought up the two millionth run in Test cricket. Not everyone, though, will agree. All Test statistics, and this was a problem when the 2000th Test was celebrated at Lord’s last year, included the Australia verses World XI match at Sydney in 2005. Many feel that it should not be included in records because it wasn’t between two Full Member teams. They have a point, too.Juggle of the day
When Kumar Sangakkara edged his first ball from James Anderson towards first slip it looked a fairly regulation catch for Andrew Strauss. But it burst out of his hands and was a fraction of a millisecond away from hitting the turf to add to the pressure on Strauss’ shoulders. This wasn’t the day for the England captain to drop catches so Strauss clutched the ball at the second attempt and was mobbed by his team-mates. It was a second golden duck in three innings for Sangakkara.Review of the day
With the partnership between Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera building England were desperate for a breakthrough. Steven Finn made one climb towards Samaraweera’s ribs, no mean feat on this pitch, and it ballooned out to Alastair Cook at short leg. England appeared confident and when umpire Asad Rauf said not out they asked for the DRS. It was a lengthy process by TV umpire Rod Tucker who could hear a noise but without Hot Spot it was impossible say if glove was involved. Andy Flower wasn’t impressed and made a visit to the third umpire’s room.Blow of the day
Once the hardness had disappeared from the new ball this became a tough pitch for the fast bowlers. So it was a notable effort by Steven Finn to strike Samaraweera on the helmet with a short delivery. In truth, it was not very well played by Samaraweera who turned his head away from the ball which looped rather than leapt from the surface. He appeared a little dazed after the blow but following a few moments to compose himself was soon back behind the line.Near-miss of the day

Anderson was in the midst of a superb post-tea spell of reverse swing when he found the edge of Jayawardene’s bat with him on 79. The edge flew low to the left of Strauss who, by now, was stood at a lone wide first slip rather than the conventional position. Strauss flung his left hand out but didn’t get anything on the ball as it raced to the boundary.Double-edged sword of the day

You could understand England’s celebrations at finally removing Jayawardene late in the day but closer inspection of the dismissal suggested it was not all good news for the visitors. The delivery from round the wicket by Graeme Swann spun sharply from off stump and would have hit leg. Swann is a big spinner of the ball but this was also the pitch helping. And it was only the first day.

The Plays of the Day from the third day of the second Test between West Indies and New Zealand in Jamaica

Subash Jayaraman in Jamaica04-Aug-2012Break of the day
The last scheduled drinks break of the day was advanced by seven minutes to allow the fans in the ground to watch the Women’s 100m final at the London Olympics, with two Jamaicans, Veronica Campbell Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce expected to medal. The players and the officials took a comfortable position on the side of the pitch facing the big screen, showing the final. As the runners got off the blocks, a huge roar went around the ground, cheering the locals through. As Fraser-Pryce crossed the finishing line first, jubilant Jamaicans in the stands and the dressing room were seen jumping and hollering. Jamaica finished 1 and 3 in the race.Wasted reviews of the day

Through this Test series, Darren Sammy’s relationship with the DRS challenges has been that of a compulsive gambler and his money – easily parted. He has shown the quick trigger and the tendency to be easily convinced by his bowler. Within the space of seven overs of the morning session, West Indies burned both their challenges. The first was an lbw appeal off Tino Best where the ball seemed to be comfortably missing the leg stump. The second was more egregious, when Narsingh Deonarine hit Kane Williamson on the pads, replay showing the ball missing the stumps by a foot. All of Sammy’s six challenges in this series have been struck down. About time he realises DRS isn’t necessarily a wicket-taking tool, but one to rectify bad umpiring mistakes.Celebration of the day – I
Tino Best was already pumped – it doesn’t take much, really – having taken the wicket of Neil Wagner with a short ball from around the wicket. He welcomed Ross Taylor to the wicket with a short delivery, which he fielded on his follow-through and threatened to throw back at the stumps. Add to it a few words and a persistent glare. Next delivery, he had Taylor playing a shot away from the body to a shortish delivery, edging it to Denesh Ramdin. And Best took off. He wouldn’t stop till he got to the sponsor sign near the boundary, banging his chest and screaming, well within Taylor’s earshot. His team-mates eventually caught up to him and more celebrations followed.Celebration of the day – II
As the players walked back to the pavilion for lunch, the PA system started playing the Jamaica National Anthem, and the crowd came to a stand still. In celebration of Jamaica’s 50th Independence Day, all current and former first-class cricketers from Jamaica were felicitated. Some of them made their entry from the George Headley stand and walked along the boundary, waving to the crowd, all the way around Sabina Park.Shot of the day
Marlon Samuels walked in with West Indies dangling at 20 for 2 but the shots he unfurled clearly indicated that he was in a different zone as a batsman than anybody else in this Test. He had just dismissed a wide ball from Trent Boult in the ninth over through cover point. The bowler adjusted the width and decided to bowl closer to the stumps. Samuels made his adjustment too, moving his feet only slightly to get closer to the line and executed a cover drive so sweet, loaded with impeccable timing, the deep point fielder didn’t even bother to move. He held the pose and admired his shot as the ball raced to the boundary.Drop of the day
Doug Bracewell ran in to bowl the last over before tea. After going for 12 runs in his first over, Bracewell had come back well, bowling tight and even swinging the ball away from the right-hander. If New Zealand were to have any chance, they needed to get Samuels. Bracewell induced an outside edge from Samuels, but BJ Watling spilled a straightforward chance at gully. Following their insipid batting performance, the drop didn’t do much to their self belief.Misfield of the day
In the 11th over, Samuels drove Neil Wagner through point and looked to pick up a couple of runs. Bracewell ran in from the third man boundary, but overran the ball and let it go through. What should have been a tight two, went for four. The New Zealanders in the press box went, “yep, that pretty much sums it up.”

Plays of the Day for the Super Eights game between India and Pakistan in Colombo

Andrew Fernando at the R Premadasa Stadium30-Sep-2012The drop
The match was already slipping away from Pakistan in the 10th over, but had Umar Akmal held a thick edge from Virat Kohli on 42, there might have been a chance for a fightback. Akmal threw himself to his left, and caught it with both feet off the ground, but could not hold the catch when his elbows hit the turf. The bowler Yasir Arafat did not initially see the ball pop out, and had to stop himself mid celebration when Akmal got up and the ball was still on the ground.The statement
Shahid Afridi has been in poor form with the bat, and maybe as a result, even more manic at the crease than usual. Against South Africa he slogged his first ball and was caught at long-off, so it was surprising that he was sent out at first drop in the next match.If anyone had hoped the promotion would inspire a more measured approach from Afridi, they would have been disappointed from the very first ball. Pathan overpitched, and Afridi swung wildly again, but this time managed to hit it harder and flatter, past mid-on for four.The statement II
Virender Sehwag has also had much made of his form, but allayed those fears in the fourth over when he blasted his first four past point in the fourth over. It wasn’t all that bad a delivery, if a little wide, but after that one signature stroke, it was hard to believe he was still struggling.The shot
Pakistan would have had an inkling it was going to be Virat Kohli’s night when he advanced to hoist Afridi into the stands over long-off in the seventh over. What was remarkable about the stroke was not Kohli’s power or timing, but that Afridi actually beat him in the flight and Kohli still hit him for six. Given the ball was a googly turning away from Kohli’s bat, it had all the makings of a stumping chance. But although he couldn’t get to the pitch of the ball, Kohli was good enough to have read the direction and degree of turn and adjusted his shot to send the ball over the ropes.The walk
Kamran Akmal’s edge to the keeper off Yuvraj Singh was thin enough that the umpire might not have noticed it, but though he wore the expression of a man who wanted to stand his ground to try his luck, his balance stepped in for his conscience and he stumbled backwards towards the dressing room. When he steadied himself, he again hesitated to depart – but the India players were all well into their celebration, and the moment to make a stand was gone.

New Zealand seem the ideal opposition for youngsters like Angelo Mathews to take charge of the team, before the sterner challenge in Australia

Andrew Fernando28-Oct-2012When Angelo Mathews strode to the crease in the World Twenty20 final, the Premadasa still believed. There were plenty of runs yet to make, and the required run rate was beginning to wrap its tendrils around the innings, but something about the new man in the middle inspired confidence. Mathews had scythed Sri Lanka out of thornier tangles before.But this time it was his anxious dismissal that ushered in the panic that asphyxiated the middle order. When Darren Sammy brought fine leg in after bowling three consecutive dot balls to Mathews, the batsman should have become aware of the trickery that was afoot. Instead, he dove into the trap. Having goaded Mathews into playing the scoop, Sammy bowled an off cutter, and ball gripped on the dry surface, evaded Mathews’ stroke, and clattered onto the stumps. Fifteen balls later, Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis had also lost their wickets, mindlessly. It was a dispiriting display from a middle order that forms the core of Sri Lanka’s future.Mathews is now officially a captain, perhaps in all formats from February, and he and Thisara Perera are now too experienced to claim youth as justification for their failures. Both men, and others like Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have proved capable and have built encouraging reputations, but they haven’t yet taken full ownership of a team that will soon be theirs. They are not yet thinking, planning or performing on the level their seniors operate on. A home tour against New Zealand is their chance to show how much they have grown, and crucially, that they are ready to shape the team they play in, rather than simply being shaped by it.In many ways, New Zealand is an appropriate foe against whom Sri Lanka’s youngsters can test themselves against. The visitors are not so soft that any battle scars earned will be of no value but they are also not so brilliant that every minor flaw in developing techniques will be exposed and exploited.New Zealand have no bowlers that will frighten Sri Lanka’s youngsters, but the hosts can be assured that on this tour, they will be worked over, analysed and plotted against. Tim Southee bowled one of the spells of the World Twenty20 to force a tie against Sri Lanka in their match in Pallekele and Jacob Oram has also had success in Sri Lanka recently. Adam Milne has pace, though his talent may be too raw to be classified as a major menace, and Doug Bracewell and Trent Boult will provide a robust challenge in the Tests. New Zealand’s batsmen aren’t flawless either, but they are good enough to scourge poor bowling, and Kane Williamson is one of the better players of spin from outside the subcontinent.The stakes are slightly higher because the tour is played at home, and there are no ready excuses should Sri Lanka’s younger crop fail. There is pressure to succeed, and familiar pitches and venues at which to perform. The stage is almost perfectly set for them to take the baton from the seniors and bring Sri Lanka’s post-Murali transition phase to a close.The youngsters are also better placed to help the team overcome the disappointment of another major-finals loss. Watching another team lift the trophy in Colombo would have hurt more than any of the other runners-up medals, and the loss would have been hardest on Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan, who for all their success, know that they are fast running out of chances to win a world title. When Sri Lanka lost their last final in 2011, the team couldn’t shake their funk for eight months, when they seemed rudderless and listless in all three disciplines. Mathews and company can harbour better hopes for their own futures, and it may be upto them to provide the positivity and energy that will help Sri Lanka focus on a new challenge.Beyond New Zealand, an Australian summer beckons. It is perhaps Sri Lanka’s biggest tour in years given the enthusiasm most Sri Lankans have for seeing their side get the better of Australia, and the fact that they will play their first Boxing Day Test since 1995 – when Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled by Darrell Hair. Some of the seniors may not have enjoyed previous tours there, but Mathews, Chandimal and Perera have already shown they are not daunted by a little extra pace and bounce. If they can emerge from the New Zealand tour with form behind them, Sri Lanka’s hopes of a maiden Test win in Australia will be boosted significantly.Before then though, there is plenty to achieve. Jayawardene and Sangakkara have shown no signs of slowing down yet, but they have repeatedly shown a desire to unburden themselves of leadership to focus on giving whatever they have left with the bat. Sri Lanka’s youngsters must come into their own, before the reins are upon them.

Hashim Amla has scored several different centuries this year. His latest at the WACA was compiled in one-day mode

Firdose Moonda at the WACA02-Dec-2012Hashim Amla may not like it but he is quickly becoming the Madonna of cricket, because of his ability to reinvent himself with every hundred he scores.There have been four of them in Tests this year. There was the epic 311 at The Oval. South Africa’s best Test score. There was the century at Lord’s, to ensure Amla left his mark on the mace. There was the 104 in Brisbane, which was more about risk than rhythm. Now, there’s the 196 at the WACA, where Amla brought his one-day game to Test cricket.The 50-over game is played in vastly different conditions and to implement short-form batting strategy in long-form cricket can be, in the words of one journalist, “unsettling.” Amla and Graeme Smith did just that.Amla arrived at the crease in South Africa’s second innings when Australia’s bowlers had begun to relax. He was offered width and he saw no point in wasting it. Both Amla and Smith walked a long way across their stumps to play into the on-side, which Australia had left unprotected because they did not expect such tactics.”They were a few loose balls that we managed to get away and that gave us bit of momentum,” Amla said. “We managed to manipulate the field a little bit, wherever there are gaps to try and hit the ball, so that’s why there were a few one-day shots coming in. If the team is in a good position, it gives you the freedom to look for those shots because if you do make a mistake, it’s not a train smash.”As the top-ranked ODI batsman, Amla’s limited-overs game is no longer a target of inquisition. His ability to pace an innings without looking rushed has become his most admired trait and, in a Test, it’s all in his placement and angles.Amla played the ball to fine leg or third man acutely enough to beat any fielder, and regularly eluded point and cover. He appeared in total control, deciding whether to go left or right of the fielder and usually managing to avoid them. Amla’s timing is a less obvious asset because some of his shots don’t make the final cut of a highlights package. It’s the nifty cover drive to run three, the flick to fine leg for a couple and the tuck for a single.He also has no problem with changing pace and mindset, as he did three times in this innings. On the second day, with Smith, the scoring-rate was close to seven runs an over and that dropped considerably later on. With Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, the rate was 4.1 in both partnerships but the runs came in a different fashion. The adjustment was easy each time because of the “unique chemistry” with each of his partners.”With Jacques, because of his hamstring problem, we had to be a bit careful with running. We tried to pick up a quick three and he pulled up short so I kind of got the message,” Amla said. “When AB comes to the crease, it’s a lot more intense. We are always looking for quick ones. Jacques and I bat at a similar tempo and we like to walk our singles if we hit the sweepers.”With Amla at his side, Kallis has scored almost double the number of centuries he had before there was a stable No.3 in South Africa’s line-up. De Villiers has been able to bat in situations where a platform has already been laid. He began four of his last five centuries before today with South Africa already having scored 250, and he has been able to build on that.Amla has fed off Kallis’ experience and de Villiers’ exuberance. As a result, his innings have covered the spectrum, and even though he will probably end the year with fewer runs than Michael Clarke, Amla is probably the most in vogue batsman of 2012.

The Pakistan-born legspinner Fawad Ahmed has been granted asylum in Australia. That could be just the beginning of his cricketing journey

Firdose Moonda19-Nov-2012When this month began, Fawad Ahmed did not know how much longer he would be able to reside in Australia. As an asylum-seeker, he was waiting for a verdict while he worked in a warehouse and tried to make his way playing cricket.Now, 19 days into November, Ahmed is choosing between contracts from at least three different Big Bash League franchises, has been made a permanent resident and harbours hopes of representing Australia. If ever cricket has been the catalyst for changing for someone’s life, that person is Ahmed, who played ten first-class matches in Pakistan.Ironically, it could also have been responsible for causing him great harm too. When Ahmed lived in Pakistan’s northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he was a supporter of an NGO who worked for women’s rights, played cricket and coached children in the game, and admired the art of Shane Warne from afar. Those activities were considered dangerous enough to result in him being targeted and threatened by militants.”My life was in danger because they thought I was promoting Western values and culture and they warned me that if I continued doing that, I would be in trouble,” he told ESPNcricinfo.Fearing for his safety, Ahmed decided he would have to leave his mother, two brothers and sister behind and search for a new life. Choice did not play much of a role when he fled. Australia, rather than a place like the United Kingdom, was his destination because he had friends in the country who could help him get set up. Before leaving, Ahmed had been sponsored a short-stay visa from the Yoogali Cricket Association in New South Wales.Despite having a Masters degree in international relations and political science, he knew he would find it difficult to get a job with a temporary visa and concentrated on playing cricket and doing odd jobs while applying for asylum. He ended up in Melbourne because his initial documentation was delayed but it turned out to be a happy accident because he found it a “beautiful city” and was soon involved with a local club.Hoppers Crossing, a club in Victoria’s turf cricket association, was the first place his legspin was noticed in Australia. He dominated the league competition there before being sought by Melbourne University Cricket Club, a premier league club that has produced a number of Test cricketers in past years.”He was taking so many wickets and was becoming quite well known on the club circuit,” president Derek Bennett said. But there was much more to Ahmed than just his ability to be destructive with ball in hand and Bennett knew he would have tread delicately.”When we were talking to him about playing for us, it was obvious that he had come from a horrendous situation,” Bennett said. “I spoke to everyone at the club and told them that this guy had had a very complicated life. We knew if we wanted to get involved with him, we’d have to be in for everything that goes with it and we went in with our eyes wide open. But for a guy who turned up without much, he had a good network of friends and we knew he would make it.”Bennett was also confident that the University would be able to assist Ahmed because they had strictures in place for people seeking refugee status. While the administrative issues were taking their course, Ahmed made even more of a name for himself in Australian cricket circles.He became involved with Victoria’s Harmony in Cricket Programme, an initiative which saw him go out to “mostly Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan communities to promote cricket and help players register with clubs”.Having made a successful transition from outsider to accepted, Ahmed wants to be able to help others do the same. “I have been welcomed so well. Everyone respects me and I respect them,” he said. “People have been really warm to me and have helped me wholeheartedly.”One of those people was Australia’s Test opener Ed Cowan, who befriended Ahmed when he bowled to the team in the nets last year. Specifically, Cowan found that Ahmed had more in common with South Africa’s Pakistani-born legspinner, Imran Tahir, than just nationality and kept the information in the memory bank as he hoped Australia could use Ahmed in the lead-up to the current series.

“My life was in danger because they thought I was promoting Western values and culture and they warned me that if I continued doing that, I would be in trouble.”Fawad Ahmed

But in August all those plans came close to unravelling. Ahmed’s claim for asylum was rejected, which left ministerial intervention as his only recourse. Bennett helped him send documents directly to the federal immigration minister, which also contained supporting letters from some heavyweights in the game. Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland was among them.Sutherland has taken up the issue of diversity, or lack thereof, in Australian cricket seriously. At Cricket Australia’s recent chief executives’ conference, he spoke about the need to “be more inclusive”. While Australian cricket has fielded players from eastern European backgrounds such as Simon Katich and Michael Kasprowicz, they have in recent years had only had one player who has sub-continental lineage, Usman Khawaja, play for them, despite waves of immigrants from that part of the world. Ahmed has given them a way to change that.The news of his permanent residency status was received with much joy. Ahmed was called an “exceptionally talented cricketer with extraordinary resilience” by Bennett and a “skilful, compassionate young man” by Cowan. Sutherland said the Australian cricket community was “thrilled” by the decision. While touching, those words were not as significant as Cricket Australia’s actions.Immediately, CA waived the usual eligibility restrictions and announced that Ahmed would be able to play in the Big Bash this season. He was soon flooded with offers. One is understood to be from his local franchise the Melbourne Renegades, where he seems likely to end up.It also means that Ahmed, despite being over 30, is able to think of bigger things. Although he does not know the requirement to make him available for Australian selection he hopes to play for them, the same way Tahir has qualified in South Africa. Unlike Ahmed, Tahir relocated for love, not safety, but has since become a regular fixture in the Test team.Ahmed remembers playing against Tahir in Pakistan where “he played for Lahore and I played for Peshawar”. Seeing him again in Brisbane, where Ahmed was bowling to the Australians in the nets again, showed him what was possible. “It was good to see Imran in Brisbane, he is a nice guy and a very good player and to see where he is now is great.”With a bright future ahead it would be easy for Ahmed to forget about his home country altogether but he has not done that. He is an ardent supporter of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who he believes should be the next leader of Pakistan. “All hope rests with him, hopefully he can become the prime minister and if he does, he will run the country well.”One of the things Ahmed would like to see change in Pakistan is the continued absence of international cricket and he thinks with Imran in charge that could happen. He may go back too, although not to play, just to see his homeland and his family again.”I am really hopeful and think the day is not far when I will return home to see my family,” he said. “So far, they have been safe and hopefully they will remain that way. It was me that was being warned, not them. I hope to see them again soon.”

When in Kolkata, there’s plenty of advice from the stands for the cricketers on the field

Saurav Dey04-Jan-2013Choice of game
I had never watched an India-Pakistan game from the stands, having missed them every time Pakistan had visited India. So this time I planned in advance.I was confident India would win and level the series since I regarded them a better ODI outfit.Team supported
This was a must-win game for India, so I was desperately rooting for them.Key performer
Nasir Jamshed steered the ship for Pakistan, scoring at a brisk rate with Mohammed Hafeez, and continued on even after Hafeez’s dismissal. By the time Jamshed got out, he had scored half of Pakistan’s runs, thus ensuring they got a respectable total on the board. He got a standing ovation from the crowd after reaching his century since this was his third consecutive century against India (including the one at the Asia Cup in 2012).One thing I’d have changed

Eden Gardens was packed with more than 60,000 spectators hoping for a high-scoring thriller, but the game fizzled out the moment India lost their first wicket. I’d have liked to change the Indian collapse, because the last 40 overs of the game were the most boring display of cricket I’ve ever seen. India kept losing wickets at regular intervals and showed no intent to even go for the chase.Face-off I relished
Making full use of the new two-bouncer rule, the Pakistani bowlers were intent on banging it in short one after the other, making the audience groan and say, “We didn’t bowl bouncers at you”. Ashok Dinda did try a couple of bouncers but they were called wides. Mohammed Irfan was particularly intimidating with his height and the kind of bounce he was extracting.We expected a good contest between Irfan and Virat Kohli once the batsman was beaten and responded with a boundary off Irfan in the next ball. But Kohli disappointed everyone by getting out in the over after that.Wow moment
Jamshed’s wicket was the top moment of the game for me and the home crowd. Pakistan had raced to 150 for 2 in 27 overs and the only way they could be restricted was by triggering a collapse. That meant getting the wicket of Jamshed, who was refusing to budge. In the 42nd over, Jamshed skipped down the track to hit the ball but missed it. He was far out of the crease, giving Dhoni a chance to easily stump him. Dhoni fumbled but managed to drag the ball back to the stumps. The decision was referred to the third umpire and the crowd kept its fingers crossed. A cheer was first heard from somewhere near the corporate boxes, where spectators had access to television sets. Then we saw Kamran Akmal come down the pavilion. A roar went up when we finally saw the third umpirer’s decision on the big screen. A few cheeky fans waved at Jamshed and yelled, “Jamshed ji, ta ta”, which sounded something like the name of the legendary Indian industrialist.Close encounter
Gambhir, fielding at deep square leg, was called out by the crowd, ” Gautam da“. But the Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain didn’t turn, prompting disappointed fans to ask. “Will he be fined if he waves back?”, “Why can’t he even look at us?”Kohli was asked how many phone numbers he managed to get, alluding to a cellphone ad in which he tries to get a girl’s number. The ad was repeated on the giant screen all day long.Shoaib Malik got called “” (son-in-law), since he is married to Indian tennis player Sania Mirza.Shot of the day
Jamshed hit a couple of sixes off Dinda against the run of play. Dhoni’s six off Junaid Khan was also memorable.Crowd meter
Eden was packed to the brim. The crowd was in a good mood during the second half of the Pakistani innings and responded with some well-orchestrated Mexican waves, which also received applause. The fans at Eden are usually armchair critics who chirp non-stop: “Why is Dinda bowling short?”, “Why did the Indians miss so many half-chances?” “Why is Raina bowling and not Yuvi?”, “That throw to the wicketkeeper should have been three inches to the left”, “Why wasn’t Ishant’s quota completed in his third spell?”, “Why was Yuvi given the ball?” (after he conceded two boundaries), and so on.During the Indian innings, the eight runs conceded by Pakistan through overthrows were loudly applauded. India were constantly reminded that this wasn’t a Test, and had they anyway been good at Tests, they wouldn’t have lost to England. The IPL was also blamed for India’s poor show. The Pakistani bowlers were also praised for their splendid bowling.Many spectators had purchased tickets in the black market and were busy comparing the rates at which they got them.Entertainment
Since the Cricket Association of Bengal completed its 25th anniversary of India-Pakistan ODIs last year, (the first India-Pakistan ODI was held in 1987), several veteran Indian and Pakistani cricketers were felicitated in the ground during the interval. As the first round of cricketers rode around the ground on vehicles, people asked, “Where is Dada?” When Ganguly was finally spotted bringing up the rear of the second round, standing alone and waving at the crowd, there was a huge round of applause. But minutes later, whispers began, “Where is Sachin?”VVS Laxman also got a huge round of applause during the procession and chants.Banner of the day
Amid the gloom and doom, one poster stood out: “GOD should not have forgotten the Garden of Eden”. The crowd really missed Tendulkar.Sandeep Patil and Ramiz Raja being felicitated at the ground•BCCIView of the day
In the evening, a dozen kites hovered over the stadium, swooping down on the insects, bugs and small bats attracted to the floodlights. They were more attractive to watch than the Indian batting.Haircut of the day
The giant screen showed that Kohli had won an audience poll for the best haircut by a whopping 52%, beating Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant. At least an Indian won something.Marks out of 10
6.Overall
Terrific atmosphere from a passionate and knowledgeable crowd. If only the quality of cricket was better and there was something to look forward to. Sixty overs of the match were enjoyable. The last 40 were painful. When India batted, the wickets fell as if it was a Twenty20, and Dhoni made it look like a Test by farming the strike till the end. Every dot ball was applauded sarcastically, every ball defended got a “well played”, and the spectators laughed at the lack of intent shown by India, and overall, at their own misery.