All posts by h716a5.icu

The Plays of the day of the Twenty20 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and South Australia Redbacks in Durban

Sriram Veera in Durban17-Sep-2010Catch that wasn’t
It made you remember Dean Jones who used to fly around the boundary. Dillon du Preez slog swept Aaron O’Brien to deep midwicket where Daniel Harris rushed to his right and flew through the air. He pouched it mid-air and, even more incredibly, held on to it even after he landed on earth. The ball didn’t pop out of his palms but the boundary ropes proved claustrophobic. He released the ball as he slid across but his elbow touched the ropes. His team-mate who had rushed for back-up fired an accurate throw to affect a run out but the third umpire confirmed that it was indeed a four.Worst slower one
Even Ashok Dinda who telegraphs his slower ones has bowled better slower ones that this. Gary Putland attempted to bowl a legbreak but everything went awry; the change in action was easily discernible, the ball slipped out of the hand and ended up a full toss. Ross Taylor whacked it into the midwicket stands.Captaincy move of the day
Ross Taylor was playing a gem to propel Bangalore towards a big total when Klinger brought on Shaun Tait. It was the 9th over and Tait had already bowled two overs. Off the fourth ball, Tait induced a nick from Taylor. The nature of the game changed completely thereafter.Stat of the day
Klinger hit only four run-scoring shots to the leg side. Everything else was on the off side. Time and again, he stood beside the line and blasted through the off side.

As England piled on the runs with a Kevin Pietersen double hundred, the local supporters were grateful for other attractions at the Adelaide Oval

Peter English at Adelaide05-Dec-2010Adelaide is the best ground in the world for not watching cricket. Barbados and Antigua have their pools, and Perth has its neighbouring race track, but at Adelaide Oval there is lawn and marquees. Which is just as well, because this is a game Australian fans don’t want to see.But if you’ve bought a ticket or a membership, it’s rude not to turn up. So while the Barmy Army was magnetised to every ball aimed at the pads of Kevin Pietersen, thousands of the South Australian members were out the back of their new stand, pretending they were at the races instead of a demolition derby masquerading as a Test match.”Bring back Warney,” one unhappy local said as he sought relief from the torture. Warney was actually in the nets at the time, but he was there batting in a tea-break hitting contest, largely content in retirement. No amount of sponsorship or hair plugs could entice him back to bowl at an enemy that is no longer submissive.Four summers ago England scored 551 in their first innings and it wasn’t enough. This time they have 4 for 551 and already it is plenty, thanks to Australia’s inadequate first-innings of 245 and a diligent but ineffective attack. The bowlers ran in, the England batsmen waved them away, and the drinkers in the bars tried to talk about something else.”Four for 500-and-***ing-20,” another disbelieving home supporter slurred. England weren’t even close to being finished and only summer rain, with drops the weight of champagne corks, was able to stop the day’s carnage. When the weather closed in it was possible to smell the dust which Australia have been ground into over the past three days, or six, if you count Brisbane.The lawns out the back of the members’ area are not as lush as the Nursery End at Lord’s, especially after the weekend of heat and trampling, and the crowd is not as genteel. But the bars serve Pimm’s, an ideal drink for a regatta, or a wedding, or discussion of anything but cricket. In other tents the sippers enjoyed bottles of Knappstein followed by a nap. Seen one KP boundary, seen them all.Mitchell Johnson was working in the nets after lunch with his failing bowling coach Troy Cooley. He was disappointed to be dropped, but has been saved another week of punishment. Johnson was used as a fielder, fulfilling his 12th man duties, but even if Australia were allowed another bowler it would not have helped.Even England supporters who have been through the Down Under disasters of the past two decades were showing restraint. Just like the Australians on the trips over there, I’m sure, in ’89, ’93, ’97 and ’01. Mostly it was better to talk about the weather, or the exchange rate, or the oysters, or the match here four years ago, which was being replayed during the rain. Anything but this game, Australia’s fast-bowling problems, or Xavier Doherty’s inaccuracy.Have you heard the music out the back? Or visited the beautiful gardens behind the Chappell Stands? What about the new statue of Jason Gillespie, which already has a cup of beer in his left hand? Or have you hidden under an umbrella to escape the heat – and a Pietersen double-century.At the back of the Western Stand, a big television screen sits on the tray of a truck offering the members a chance to watch if they want to. When Pietersen ran his single to mid-off to bring up his double-century, there was a smattering of applause from those around the tents. They are a knowledgeable lot, the South Australian members, and that’s without including the former Test players, such as Greg Blewett, who were in their ranks.Still, it’s possible for them to go a whole day without watching a ball live. On days like this it’s hard to blame them. As the Eagles almost sang in Hotel California, “Some drink to remember, some drink to forget”. On the grass under the hill, the Barmy Army fans were setting their photographic memories, but out the back in the marquees it was easier to be blind.

Lord’s operates on the same characteristics that have defined Rahul Dravid’s career: discipline, order, balance, elegance, simplicity and respect

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's19-Jul-2011Rahul Dravid may as well confess he feels at home at Lord’s. The ground operates on the same characteristics that have defined Dravid’s career: discipline, order, balance, elegance, simplicity and respect.He is an honorary MCC member and part of the MCC’s world cricket committee and has been making an annual visit to NW8 since 2008. He intimately knows the walls and the portraits in the pavilion that houses the committee room and the famous Long Room.So when Dravid says Lord’s is a “very special” place for him, believe it. The respect is mutual. Dravid, who will become the first active member of the world cricket committee to play a Test at Lord’s on Thursday, was even allowed today to enter the inner sanctum of the pavilion in the Indian team’s bright blue tracksuit.In the past, this would have been an unpardonable act at the 224-year-old MCC, long known for its insular and closed attitude; a place where you cannot enter without wearing a jacket and tie. It was an exceptional allowance granted to Dravid.”It always brings back some special memories. I think this place is personally very special for me,” Dravid said, when asked about his relationship with Lord’s, the ground of his debut. The ground where he fell five runs short of a maiden century in his very first innings. He has only made 215 runs in the three matches he has played there but the hunger that was evident on June 20, 1996 hasn’t diminished one bit. The appetite for runs is still the same.”To start your Test career, at this venue 15 years ago was indeed very special for me. And coming back here, in some strange way you always feel at home. You feel that this is the place for cricket. This is the place that truly understands cricket, and history and tradition of the game,” said Dravid, who along with Sachin Tendulkar, is the only member of the current team to play at Lord’s in the 1990s.Rahul Dravid made 95 on his Test debut at Lord’s 15 years ago•Getty ImagesOur first experience at anything, regardless of the outcome, invariably becomes the inerasable reference point of our lives. For Dravid, the third day of the second Test 15 years ago is that point. “It meant a lot to me. I had played five years of first-class cricket to break into the Indian team. I’d scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket and got an opportunity to come on the tour of England.””At the start to series I wouldn’t have given myself very good odds to even play with the kind of team that we had,” he said. “There were a few injuries and I was lucky to get the opportunity and I knew that probably it would be the only one. Otherwise I would have to go back to domestic cricket and start the cycle all over again, scoring runs. But in India everyone scores a lot of runs in domestic cricket and sometimes it is very tough to break in. I had waited five years so I knew the significance and importance of it. So I was lucky. It was great for me, it meant so much. I never expected it to lead to anything. I never expected to be here 15 years later talking about it. Absolutely not.”Usually a reticent gent, and a bit stiff in front of the media, it was interesting to see Dravid open up about his insecurity as a youngster. But it is a nice example for today’s youth like Abhinav Mukund and Suresh Raina in this squad and Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay back in India. Most of them are on the same wobbling platform that Dravid stood on in 1996.”I remember when I was 50 not out at the end of the day and I was walking back to the hotel with [Javagal] Srinath and I knew somehow that this was probably a very significant innings. I knew I had some more breathing space, I got a few more Test matches at least. It gave me a lot of confidence scoring 95 here and 80 at Trent Bridge. It gave me a lot of confidence for me as a player and as a person, too.”

Kolkata Knight Riders overcame their biggest weakness this tournament to keep their qualification hopes alive

Siddarth Ravindran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium02-Oct-2011To secure the win that Kolkata Knight Riders needed to retain at least an outside chance of progressing in the Champions League Twenty20, they had to overcome one of their biggest weaknesses in the main draw of the tournament – bowling at the death.Against South Australia, they turned in an efficient bowling performance for the first 14 overs, keeping the Redbacks to 94 for 3 before a complete meltdown in the final six let Callum Ferguson and Dan Christian double the score. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore, they were initially outstanding with the ball, reducing them to 102 for 6 after 15 overs, before leaking 67 in the final five to Daniel Vettori and the Royal Challengers’ tail.The Knight Riders saved their best for a rainy day. The faithful few who had turned up at the Chinnaswamy Stadium had to wait five hours after the first toss of the day to see some action as persistent showers wiped out the early match and delayed the second. When the cricket finally got underway, they were treated to nearly an hour of muscular hitting from Colin Ingram and JJ Smuts. After 15 overs, the table-topping Warriors were at a rosy 116 for 2 and looking to finish off with five overs of mayhem. The Knight Riders, though, kept things calm with some disciplined bowling.Brett Lee and Jacques Kallis generally kept it fast and full, not allowing the set Ingram and the experienced Mark Boucher a chance to get under the ball. Lee went for only nine in his two overs at the end while Kallis allowed a satisfactory 17 in his two, despite a couple of impudent clips for four by Boucher. Even L Balaji recovered from a horror start to the final over of the innings – gifting nine off one legal delivery – to limit the Warriors to four runs from the final five deliveries and keep them to 155. Only 39 runs were scored in the final five, despite a shedload of wickets remaining in the last quarter of the innings.Ingram was deemed Man of the Match for his 61, but the Warriors would have been better served if he had managed to push the tempo in the second half of his innings. When he pulled the last ball of the 11th over behind square leg for four, he had motored to 40 off 25, but he couldn’t sustain that pace, taking up 22 deliveries for his final 21 runs.Warriors captain Johan Botha defended the team’s batting at the end of the innings, praising Knight Riders’ bowling instead. “We batted really well, that’s what I thought,” he said. “After 15 overs we were exactly where we wanted to be, we had two guys in at the crease, but they bowled really well. In slippery conditions with a wet ball, they were spot-on. We probably ended up with 15 less than we would have liked.”Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir, who has repeatedly talked of the need for his team to improve the bowling at the end of the innings, was pleased with today’s effort. “Pretty happy with the overall performance,” he said. “When the opposition has wickets in hand, in the last five-six overs they can accelerate and get 60-70 runs and that is what has been happening in the last three games. The way our bowlers bowled, especially in the last five overs, was tremendous, and restricting them to 155 was a great effort. “The problem for the Knight Riders is that the improvement might have come too late to keep them in the competition.

ESPNCricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the first day in Mirpur

Abhishek Purohit17-Dec-2011The shock of the day
Bangladesh opener Nazimuddin chose to shoulder arms to an Aizaz Cheema delivery that, to his horror, nipped back in sharply to strike him high on the pad. Cheema turned around towards umpire Shavir Tarapore and started to shout but realizing that the height would probably save Nazimuddin, aborted his appeal. He instead grimaced in the manner of a bowler who knows how close he had come to getting the batsman out. To his visible surprise, umpire Tarapore raised his finger even as Nazimuddin and Tamim Iqbal, the non-striker, stared in disbelief. The Pakistan slip cordon, who had also resigned themselves to a not-out verdict, smiled broadly as they rushed towards Cheema.The acrobatic move of the day
Adnan Akmal is not far behind his more illustrious brother, Kamran, when it comes to creating a ruckus behind the stumps. There were several long-drawn screams today even when the bowler and the slip cordon were unmoved. As the day became more and more unproductive for Pakistan with the big stand between Shakib Al Hasan and Shahriar Nafees, Adnan resorted to another way to keep himself and the fielders entertained. He lay down on the ground, and in WWE fashion, sprang into the air to end up standing upright. He seemed pleased that he had managed to perform the move, with pads and gloves on.The blow of the day
Shakib not only defied Pakistan with his second Test century, he also caused some physical damage early in his innings. Abdur Rehman came on in the 24th over with Azhar Ali standing at forward short leg. With Rehman getting some turn straight away, Shakib decided that the best way to tackle him was to sweep. He connected off the middle of the bat on his first attempt. The ball flew straight into Azhar, who in the words of the commentator Ramiz Raja, tried to “make himself small”, but the ball smacked him so hard on the hand that he had to leave the field. The Mirpur crowd, who hadn’t had much to cheer in the morning session, applauded with gusto.The letdown of the day
Shakib and Nafees gave plenty of cheer to the crowd as they approached their centuries. Shakib brought the crowd to its feet when he moved from 89 to 100 in the 63rd over. In the next over, Nafees drove Saeed Ajmal to the extra cover boundary to move to 97. Given the recent troubles of their batsmen, two centuries in a day was more than the crowd would have hoped for and they started clapping as soon as Nafees was on strike again. But Umar Gul surprised him with a nasty bouncer that he could only glove to the wicketkeeper, and the crowd was shocked into silence.

Penalising players is not enough; it’s time to pull up and rein in the franchises

Sharda Ugra17-May-2012On Wednesday night, Lalit Modi complained about how the TV channel that showed the sting operation and put certain information “in the public domain” was “totally misleading”. He felt for the viewers, the fans and the sporting fraternity, he said, because the sting had no proof.Quite the contrary. What “Operation IPL” proved beyond doubt was that India’s young domestic cricketers, those who drift away from centrestage, are quite happy to pocket any extra cash that the delusional or foolish may want to shell out.If caught they will either be reprimanded – like Ravindra Jadeja or Manish Pandey – or be consigned to the some outer darkness like the suspended five players will possibly be. And that will be that.What the programme did not prove on camera was that any of the players stung on tape had either willingly accepted cash on camera and then bowled a no-ball, or “spot-fixed” as promised. That is not to say that does not happen – it just didn’t show up on tape.The IPL, set up to imitate the franchise model of American sport, is actually a very cosy family business. The owners are, for the majority, in this largely for individual and corporate mileage. They owe their original loyalty to the BCCI, which continues to play patriarch. It is why they are protected and if players are caught being invited to break rules, they are the ones who get punished. This is not to say that players are poor lambs being seduced by cash but everyone knows the difference between being the guy receiving the pay cheque and the guy actually signing it.In leagues where rules matter, teams are punished – however powerful they may be. In 2006, Juventus of Turin, historically one of the richest and most powerful football clubs in Europe, were found guilty of rigging games with four other teams and stripped of back-to-back Serie A titles, relegated to Serie B, booted out of the UEFA Champions League and forced to play three home matches without any fans.The National Rugby League in Australia has fined four teams more than US$165,000 for breaching the salary cap in 2012. A fifth team has just lost an appeal over a US$185,000 salary cap fine from 2010.Sometimes it’s not what the club itself does; earlier this month, football clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan had to pay 20,000 euros and 10,000 euros for insulting banners seen among their fans during a local derby as well as one that racially abused a player.During a 2011 NFL lockout, three teams including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers received six figure fines – $250,000 was found to be the Buccaneers’ fine – for breaking the rule that no players could be contacted during the lockout period. By this yardstick, Mumbai Indians should have been fined along with Jadeja but weren’t. Over the last few years the players get flung the rule-books and the franchises offering extra frills are treated with respect.If Ravi Sawani discovers that the black money being talked of casually by the suspended five was actually paid out, will any of the teams be punished? A sports law expert, Vidushpat Singhania, has said that for any code or investigation to actually matter, it had to be completely spelt out and it needed to have teeth. That is how the partnership between the ICC and Interpol is said to work. It is how the US anti-doping agency was able to ensure that Balco went to court and Marion Jones went to jail. If the BCCI is serious about its anti-corruption code, it must have the government, the cops and the courts on its side. The first problem with this, though, is that the BCCI has long avoided public scrutiny.Modi, in that interview, spoke warmly of his “close”, “great” and “best friends” who had “supported” his league in its early days, buying up franchises, and with whom he said was always “impartial”.Everyone involved with the league knows there are some franchises who can be a bit bendy with the rules because they are allowed to be, and there is another that is not required to bend rules because it cannot be argued with.

Rules have been changed as the IPL has gone along: without warning, the retention clause was brought in, as opposed to all players going back into a public auction

It is why the addition of two teams in 2010 became so problematic – the new entrants came from outside the circle of friends and the flexibility of the IPL’s rules was not about to be explained to them.Rules have been changed as the IPL has gone along: without warning, the retention clause was brought in, as opposed to all players going back into a public auction. This helped some of the key “icons” stay with teams that could offer them rich pickings.Then came the “secret” bid to help solve dead-heat tie-breaks during an auction. The most public secret of that new rule was the fact that whoever had the most cash would get the player they wanted and anything beyond $2m would remain unmentioned and be given to the BCCI as a bit of a sweetener.Franchises will always talk about what it actually costs to get the best domestic talent into their side. There are many stories about offers that players couldn’t refuse: extra cash or “jobs” as euphemistic extras, cars, owners criss-crossing the country in chartered planes to speak to the most desirable domestic players …The Rs 30 lakh salary cap for non-India players began with noble intentions. It was the BCCI’s attempt to try to keep domestic cricketers interested in playing all formats, to ensure that Twenty20 cricket does not become what it has – the one form of cricket that every kid wants to play – and the IPL contract the one legal but still flexible document everyone wants to grab.Now Rs 30 lakhs in India is a more than decent income in itself – and more so for someone in his 20s. It puts the player in the top 1% of the Indian salary bracket, alongside the Ambani brothers, Sonia Gandhi and Shah Rukh Khan. According to the National Council of Applied Economic Research, any household earning an annual income of Rs 12.5 lakh (1% or less than 1% of the population) are India’s “affluent or rich.”Yet the figure is a victim of its environment – and of the messages cricketers get. Some franchises are willing to offer more to ensure that they have at least four half-good domestic players once they have filled their quota of four foreigners and local “stars” in the playing XI.The IPL’s ecosystem grumbles that ‘market forces’ should come into play over salary caps. It will imply that market forces will put in more cash with the overseas buys and less with the Indian players, which would be fine if this were not an event that required teams have seven Indians in their playing XI.The sting operation will end up being misleading only if the IPL allows it to be. What the sting operation has revealed again is that some of the IPL’s most influential stakeholders are willing to go the extra mile to get players they believe they need. The players, who cannot understand what the word ‘enough’ means, are just willing to bargain long and hard.If the franchises are not pulled up or reined in, another sting operation in a few years’ time will just offer up another round of suspensions.

The first day of the Sri Lankan Premier League was damp, but featured plenty of action from Dilshan

Sachit Talagala12-Aug-2012Choice of game
Opening night of the Sri Lanka Premier League. After a false start last year, and so many obstacles, it was nice to see the tournament get underway. I was curious to see how Sri Lankan fans would react to the new tournament. The prospect of seeing Kandurata, with their dangerous line-up, take on Tillakaratne Dilshan’s Basnahira team, featuring some top-class bowlers, was exciting.Team supported
All the teams have some good players in their ranks, but since I was born and raised in the Basnahira (Western) province, I rooted for Basnahira Cricket Dundee, in spite of their really awkward name.Key performer
Dilshan wasn’t in the best of form during the recent ODI and Twenty20 series against India, but the opening night of the SLPL certainly belonged to him. His explosive innings lifted Basnahira to a daunting score, after which he came back to pick up two wickets, take a catch and inflict a run-out. It seemed as if he had a point to prove, and was intense and pumped up through the game.One thing I’d have changed
Cricket in Sri Lanka is normally associated with rain. No exception at the SLPL. It was frustrating to wait in the stands for the game to commence, and when it did, it was unsurprising to find out that it was curtailed. It was a bit one-sided since Kandurata crawled for the first two to three overs. In such short game, a side cannot recover from a slow start.Face-off I relished
Thisara Perera v his Sri Lankan team mates: Having seen Perera bat really well, especially against Pakistan in recent times, I was curious to see how he would handle his own national team-mates. He looked at ease against both Dilshan and Rangana Herath, striking two fours and a six off Dilshan and a boundary off Herath.Dilshan v Sohail Tanvir: Tanvir bowled well against Dilshan during the recent ODI series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Unfortunately, tonight Dilshan faced only five balls from Tanvir, and scored one run.Wow moment
Tanvir’s first over was wayward but he managed to swing the ball prodigiously and succeeded in dismissing Daniel Smith, who looked out of depth. Tanvir’s first spell looked threatening but he went for 18 runs in his last over.Close encounter
Before the start of the game, the Kandurata players warmed up and played football just below our tier. Some guys were shouting for Perera, and being the nice guy he is, he obliged by waving to them.Shot of the day
The second six Dilshan hit off Dilhara Lokuhettige was big, powerful and sweet-sounding.Crowd meter
The crowd was sparse, but considering the obstacles that the SLPL faced – the cancelled 2011 season and a lot of negative remarks by many factions – the turnout was decent. There was the usual Papare music and a cheerful atmosphere. The spectators did enjoy themselves.Biggest cheer of the day
Lasith Malinga, Perera and Dishan all received loud cheers whenever they batted or bowled. Shahid Afridi too seemed to be a huge favourite with the crowd. But the biggest cheer of the day was for Kumar Sangakkara, when he was shown on the giant screen.Twenty20s v ODIs
This is a difficult one for me. I grew up on a diet of Test and ODI cricket, and I still love those formats, but I also like T20s. I don’t agree with people who say T20 does not require skill, and to be honest, I haven’t had the time to watch an entire day’s play of a Test or a full ODI for a very long time. T20 is a more practical format, without a doubt.Entertainment
Contemporary hits were played along with a few popular local tracks. The cheerleaders, nowadays compulsory for T20 cricket, were there as well. I felt sorry for a couple of them when they did somersaults on the soggy outfield during the rain delay. The absence of the ear-splitting vuvuzelas was very welcome.Overall
Dilshan thrilled the crowd with some audacious strokeplay, and later on Brad Hodge joined in the fun. It was great to see well-known international players like Scott Styris, Hodge and Charl Langeveldt rub shoulders with upcoming local players like Dimuth Karunarathna. The rain was a spoiler, and Kandurata’s approach was mediocre. A bigger crowd would have been better, but I guess Sri Lankan fans are a bit sceptical at the moment. Given some time, I think, the fans will slowly get used to a high-level domestic league.Marks out of 10
6. Rain, a dour batting display by Kandurata, and a sparse crowd probably took away quite a bit of the shine.

Alex Doolan’s silky century against the No. 1 team in the world at the SCG has only strengthened his case for Test selection

Daniel Brettig at the SCG03-Nov-2012Alex Doolan has always looked like a Test batsman. Possessing an attractive, languid technique that is nonetheless simple and compact enough to keep out high-quality bowling, Doolan has caused many observers to wonder how well he might perform if the Tasmania badge on his green batting helmet were to become the Australian coat of arms.Until recently Doolan had not been stacking up the kinds of numbers that might have been expected of a player with his purity of method, as a tally of three first-class centuries in four summers entering this season can attest to. This season, however, Doolan is pushing his name ever closer to the front of an admittedly thin batting queue, and a polished, unbeaten 161 for Australia A against the South Africans at the SCG may be hard to argue with if the selectors find themselves having to cover for injuries to Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson.At 26, Doolan is the right age to be graduating from first-class to international ranks, and in making 491 runs at 122.75 in four long-form appearances so far this season he is putting together the sort of hot streak that catapulted his Tasmanian team-mate, Ed Cowan, into the Test side last summer. Following his innings at the SCG, Doolan cautiously hoped he would be noticed.”I certainly hope it’s talked about,” he said. “There are plenty of quality players in that dressing room at the moment. There’s Phil Hughes who has got 19 first-class centuries and three Test centuries, two against South Africa, so I think he’d be right in the firing line as far as next man in, but who knows. Hopefully it puts my name up there and hopefully people are starting to talk.”Coming to terms with the fact we were playing the world’s best team was my biggest battle, and overcoming some nerves to a certain extent, but as far as reaching my highest score it was just a matter of batting and continuing to play in partnership with Tim Paine at the time.”I feel confident, I still feel there’s a bit of work to be done before that chance [to play for Australia] may arise, but I certainly feel confident enough to hold my own out there.”Doolan has been highly regarded in Tasmania for some time, taking possession of the state team’s No. 3 batting spot over the past several seasons. When batting with Ponting against a full-strength Victorian attack at the MCG last week, his captain George Bailey noted that Doolan lost little by comparison with the man who has 13,346 Test runs.

“When those two were going together he didn’t look outclassed; when I was batting with Ricky it felt like we were playing two different sports, but Dools and he were just on another level.”Tasmania captain George Bailey on Alex Doolan batting with Ricky Ponting

“When those two were going together he didn’t look outclassed; when I was batting with Ricky it felt like we were playing two different sports, but Dools and he were just on another level,” Bailey said. “Dools is a bit of a cricket nuffy and the first couple of times Ricky did come back [to the state side] Dools was the unfortunate one who made way. The fact now he has had the chance to play a couple of games with him has been great for him.”He made beautiful 20s and 30s and 40s last year, the year before he made a couple of hundreds. It’s turning those starts into big scores, particularly at No. 3, that’s going to make him of real interest to the selectors. In terms of his game and how classically, technically correct he is, I see he has just got so much time, and that’s something the selectors would be excited to see.”As for why he had found such a rich batting vein to mine this time around, Doolan said he had grown more relaxed and confident about his place with Tasmania, and now tended to worry less about his innings’ before he actually had the chance to play them. This in turn made him fresher in mind and body when he did go out to bat.”Maybe just another year in the system and another year of feeling more comfortable at the crease has helped,” Doolan said. “As far as mental preparation goes, it’s just about trying to stay relaxed; if you worry too much before you get out there you’re exhausted by the time you take your spot at the crease. I don’t think I’m doing anything too differently to last year, but it’s certainly working this year.”It is working so well, in fact, that if he keeps his form up Doolan may soon go from looking like a Test batsman to actually becoming one.

It was an innings against South Africa that helped Kane Williamson kick on as a Test player and he is now central New Zealand’s batting hopes

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town01-Jan-2013When it was Kane Williamson’s turn to bat against South Africa in the second innings of the Wellington Test in March, nothing was expected of him. New Zealand were 1 for 2, chasing an improbable 389 and facing likely defeat.He was on 7 when his time at the crease seemed to have run its course. He slashed Dale Steyn to point but the umpires could not determine whether the catch was cleanly taken. He survived.He was still on 7 when he edged Steyn to first slip and it fell short. He survived again but looked every much the child his boyish face makes him out to be.He had moved to 9 Steyn when struck him where it hurts, cracked his box and drew tears from his eyes. Bravely, he survived a third time.Williamson was dropped twice more before he found the confidence to reel out his high-elbow drive. But once the first one flowed off his bat with a silken touch he was a different player.By the end of match, Williamson could truly say he had become a man. His unbeaten 102 saved the Test and some face for New Zealand. It also helped him take the next step in his career.Before that, Williamson was just a talented youngster who had debuted with a century and faded slightly. After it, Williamson had shown he had something none of New Zealand’s other batsmen could muster properly – guts. They are going to need all of his on their tour of South Africa.New Zealand have only one senior batsman in their top six – Brendon McCullum – and he carries the additional responsibility of captaining the Test side for the first time and opening the batting. While Martin Guptill and Dean Brownlie are exciting in their own regard, they have failed to consistently inspire the kind of confidence that makes bowlers nervous.Williamson might, especially as he seems to have made some progress since the last time he faced South Africa. Does he think he has grown? “Do you mean in height,” he joked. Of course not. He knows that. “It’s always good to make improvement and learn as you go along,” is all he would really say about it but his numbers suggest slightly differently.His highest score to date was achieved just over a month ago during New Zealand’s victory in Colombo. Williamson’s 135 was a major factor in that game and showed he has what it takes to play a role when it matters. McCullum hopes that will continue.”We’re really hopeful he is going to have a big series,” McCullum said. “We know that he stood tall for us in that last match back home when he scored that match-saving hundred against South Africa and we are hopeful that he will continue to grow in this series as well.”For a young man, that may add a significant amount of pressure but Williamson is taking it in his stride. “It is always great to play a fierce opposition,” he said during preparations in the three-day match in Paarl where he scored 59. On a flat pitch there, Williamson looked assured but said he won’t read too much into his score because he expects different conditions and a much more hostile attack in the Tests.”There’s really not much in this surface and we should get more bounce and carry in the Tests so it may take a little longer to adjust to that,” he said. Patience is one of his obvious character traits, as is quiet confidence and he knows he will need both against South Africa. “Their attack is definitely the best I have ever come up against and it’s going to need a step up in level but hopefully the experience that I’ve gained can help me push onwards.Williamson also does not think he will have to do it alone even though New Zealand’s batting appears thin and there are few obvious candidates to help him defy South Africa. “It’s going to be important for each batsmen to contribute heavily,” he said in response to whether the feels he will need to do more in the middle order in the absence of Ross Taylor.Maybe he would simply prefer to keep his thoughts on the additional responsibility he will be given to himself, as he grapples with how he is going to approach it. The raw truth is that Williamson is just going to have to get used to being relied on more and even if he does not want to talk about it, he will have to accept it.After this tour, New Zealand have home and away series against England where they will again need a batting line-up that can withstand a high-quality attack. And after that doubtless there will be another challenge. Having even captained New Zealand in a one-day series, Williamson must know he has been earmarked as a future leader, with and without bat in hand.McCullum confirmed the standing Williamson has. “Hopefully he will occupy that No.3 spot so for another decade or so,” he said. “He has got a lot of cricket intelligence for a young guy, he is popular member amongst the squad and he works hard on his game. He ticks a lot of boxes and he has clearly got some skills as well.” In the next two Tests, South Africa will see some of it.

Pietersen is a wonderfully talented batsman who puts bums on seats, but what he has not done consistently is carry the England team on his back and win games

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Getty ImagesAustralia rejoices and England frets as Kevin Pietersen, statistically the best batsman in the England side, undergoes Achilles surgery and misses the rest of the Ashes. However, is he really that important to England’s prospects? Perhaps not, especially if we use the criteria of Test hundreds and the circumstances they were made in.To my mind, Pietersen has played only one truly great innings – his 158 versus Australia at the Oval in 2005. There, under extreme pressure, with England’s grip on the Ashes marginal, he took the Australian’s apart like no other Englishman since Ian Botham in 1986-87.Since then, there have been two innings against Sri Lanka in 2006, which were big and full of exciting and innovative shots, but only his 142 at Birmingham could be justified as being ‘special’ to one degree or another. His runs against Pakistan, Australia, and the West Indies in subsequent series were made on either on flat pitches or against poor attacks.His hundreds against India were good, but unrewarded. However, Pietersen did nothing against Sri Lanka. Twice he came to England’s rescue home and away against New Zealand, but again while these were crucial innings given the state of the matches, both were made against woefully inadequate attacks.Since then, there have been three centuries against very good attacks (South Africa and India) and one against an average attack while waiting for a declaration. The record in those three games where he hit a century – one England win. That makes 16 hundreds. The win/draw/loss ratio for those hundreds is seven wins, eight draws and one loss.There are four nineties, but of those, only two are noteworthy – 97 versus West Indies at Jamaica earlier this year and a 94 against South Africa at Birmingham in August 2008. They are noteworthy because they both ended with his wicket being given away to mediocre spinners and England losing the Test. England have lost three of the games where he scored nineties.Therefore I would argue, Pietersen is a wonderfully talented batsman who puts bums on seats, he can take any attack apart given favourable conditions and circumstances, he has a great average and an exceptional conversion ratio. However, what he has not done consistently is carry the England team on his back and win games. Sleep easy England.