Rohit Sharma has always been acknowledged as a man with enormous potential. Can his success as a leader give him confidence as a batsman?

Abhishek Purohit28-May-2013It is hard to believe that Rohit Sharma made his international debut as many as six years ago. When he flies with India’s Champions Trophy squad to England on May 29, he’ll still be doing so as a batsman with enormous potential, the best of which the world is supposedly yet to see. When Rohit made his India debut, there was no IPL. There is one now, and Rohit led his franchise Mumbai Indians to their maiden title on May 26.When Gautam Gambhir captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL trophy in 2012, there were suggestions he was a possible replacement for the struggling MS Dhoni, under whom India had suffered eight successive defeats in overseas Tests. No such outlandish claim can conceivably be made about Rohit’s India captaincy abilities at the moment, given that even his place in the side is constantly under scrutiny. What one can talk about however, is the effect of Rohit, the successful IPL captain, on Rohit, the underachieving India batsman.Talent often does not realise its own worth until it is too late. Virat Kohli, after a few hiccups, has started coaxing consistent performances out of his gifts. Some realisation has dawned on Rohit, too. It was missing a spot in the 2011 World Cup squad that stirred him into a punishing fitness regime. He was so gutted he did not go to the Wankhede Stadium in his hometown Mumbai to watch India play the final. Series-winning performances followed against West Indies, but he slipped into a rut again on tours to Australia and Sri Lanka. Every failure weighed him down further and further, till he seemed to stop enjoying even a casual game of football during practice.As special as a player might be, he cannot excel until he accepts and starts believing how good he actually is, to the point that the rest of the world, and self-doubt, cease to matter. Virender Sehwag became Virender Sehwag because he batted like only Virender Sehwag could, the world be damned. With Kohli, you can see he’s developed a staunch faith in batting like only he can. For all the elegance, you sense Rohit is still too vulnerable to doubt at the international level. He may bat like a dream, but a few failures and the shoulders will slouch even more, and the hangdog expression will reappear.This IPL, he was in charge of a side comprising almost entirely of internationals, and men such as Sachin Tendulkar. Admittedly, he had an army of legends for a think-tank. While that means he would have never been short of ideas and suggestions, it could also have been detrimental, if he were overawed and hesitant to take his own decisions. Rohit is understood to have listened to everyone, and then gone by his gut feeling.”I like to keep things simple and trust my instinct,” Rohit has said. “We have so many guys who have led their teams in international cricket and they’re always there for me with advice and support. I get inputs from all of them but the final decisions are left to me.”‘I batted as Rohit Sharma can. I heard Ponting and Tendulkar and Kumble and Wright, and I, Rohit Sharma, took the calls on the field,’ he may have thought. Holding your own among such institutions, and having a trophy to show for it, has to be a significant confidence booster for a young man.He was the face of the team, in the middle and in media interactions. This wasn’t just him and his batting he had to talk about, he was responsible for an entire squad. And while doing all that, he also had his best IPL season with the bat. Ideally, Rohit should be full of confidence going into the Champions Trophy. He’s succeeded as leader of some of the best men to ever play international cricket.”His preparation is of a different level,” Rohit said of Ponting. “He told me once that until he faces 100-200 balls in the nets and takes 100-200 catches, he doesn’t get proper sleep in the night. Though I’m inspired, I can never be a Ponting.” Hopefully, while understanding he can never be someone else, he’s also developed enough belief in being Rohit Sharma, and can finally start batting like Rohit Sharma can, without the fear of failure. It took six seasons for Mumbai Indians to drop the tag of underachievers. Maybe Rohit can do the same in his sixth year in international cricket.

As Lord’s basked in a heatwave and spectators sought shade, the ground became a foreign country

Rob Smyth at Lord's19-Jul-2013This was the kind of day Lord’s rarely experiences: the sort of day when spectators, never mind players, needed to be weighed before and after play; when clothes transmogrified into wetsuits by midday. By the close of play, hotspots were visible on flame-grilled spectators all around the ground. There are even unconfirmed reports that for the first time in his life Alastair Cook produced a bead of sweat.”I’ve been coming here since god knows when and it’s the hottest I can remember,” one member exclusively told ESPNcricinfo. “Bloody insufferable,” barked another. The MCC Library does not keep a record of the hottest Lord’s Tests – and it’s one of the few things you cannot search on Statsguru – but 2013 must be right up there. On Friday, temperatures again pushed 30 degrees. The ground needed a Nivea Tent.The demand for sunscreen was such that Lord’s could probably have operated a reverse honesty box, choosing the particular price each customer paid. They settled for a blanket fee of £9, the same price as a large glass of Pimm’s. Alcohol, even more than usual, was the Gatorade of the fans. It is often lamented that beer at sporting events tastes a little watery; here that would have been a virtue, such was the threat of dehydration. A lonely pasty salesperson – or, rather, a lonely person who was selling pasties – reinforced the shift in spectator priorities.It was certainly not the day to get stuck in a tiny lift for over half an hour, as happened to a group that included Michael Vaughan just after tea. For those working at the ground – if not, surprisingly, for the bowlers on both sides – this was a day of seriously hard yakka.Catering staff had reason to lament that their uniform shirt is black rather than white. Police officers were permitted to remove their body armour “because of the nature of the sport” but stewards had to sweat under heavy bibs all day. Some were not so unhappy. “I was born in Kenya, so I’m used to the heat,” said one. “I’m loving it. I’m getting paid and I’m getting the sun as well.”The heat was such that, even more than usual, Lord’s felt as much a social gathering as a cricket match: not so much the Lord’s Test as the Lord’s Festival. Even with 16 wickets falling, the on-field action sometimes felt an ambient backdrop to a huge picnic. Even Australia’s pitiful collapse could not shift many spectators who preferred shade to schadenfreude. Lord’s was a foreign country for the day, and the attitude of many mirrored the attitude sometimes expressed after a holiday in unfamiliar country: I loved it, but I never want to do it again.Cricket’s peculiar demographic meant that back-to-front baseball caps sat alongside panamas and flip-flops alongside blindingly shiny brogues. Not that they always coexisted contentedly: when one member caught sight of a topless man whose Levi’s pants were showing above pink-and-white pinstriped shorts, he attempted to discern once and for all whether looks could kill.The Pavilion was the usual extreme-fashion contest, with egg-and-bacon blazers and lurid trousers taking pride of place on this septuagenarian catwalk. The usual Pavilion dress code was relaxed slightly: whenever temperatures reach 85 degrees, a series of notices inform members that they are allowed to remove their jackets. Many members kept their jackets on even when they left the pavilion, as if to do otherwise would invite eternal damnation. There is less flexibility on top buttons and ties – at least officially – so many members went back to their schooldays by using their tie to hide an undone top button.”If I hadn’t got so fat I’d be able to loosen my top button,” said a steward with a similar dilemma. “But it’s fine; we have lots of water and we get regular breaks. It’s just another day really. I’m a sunaholic, so I like it. Mind you, the supervisors get a bit funny about wearing sunglasses – we have to look prim and proper. It’s like the Henley Regatta. It’s Lord’s, isn’t it?”

Lancashire bet their house on a redevelopment that would return Test cricket to Old Trafford; with the arrival of Australia, that dream has been realised

Paul Edwards29-Jul-2013In sport, as in life, some events are freighted with so much significance that the moments in which they occur seem barely capable of holding the weight.For Lancashire’s officials and supporters, just such an event will take place at 11am on Thursday when, Manchester’s weather permitting, the first ball will be bowled in the Third Investec Test between England and Australia.An Ashes Test is always something to be savoured, of course, but this contest will be uniquely special for Mancunians because in the eight years since the last such game, Old Trafford has been redeveloped – some might say reborn – to the extent that spectators at the 2005 match might initially struggle to recognise the new stadium if they had seen no cricket at the ground in the intervening period.Gone are the broadcasting boxes at the Stretford End; gone is the massive stand opposite the pavilion; gone are the seated areas to the right of that twin-towered pavilion, which itself has been virtually gutted and rebuilt with only the façade and the towers remaining. Lancashire have even realigned the square on a north-south rather than east-west axis. If some have problems getting their bearings on Thursday, that is partly because those bearings have changed.In place of the old structures, which were, truth be told, a rather ramshackle collection of buildings badly in need of refurbishment, Lancashire have built a stadium with all the shock and awe that size often evokes.There are new player dressing rooms and a media centre at the Statham End, both of which seem to have the “wow” factor; there is a huge temporary stand of 9,500 tiered seats at the old Stretford End, all of them in the distinctive scarlet livery used elsewhere in the new arena; and there is a massive hospitality and function suite, The Point, which overhangs the ground like a symbol of the modernity its architecture exemplifies. If the familiar intimacy of the old ground has been lost, the new Old Trafford possesses a confident swagger befitting a stadium in Manchester, a world city to which many businesses and organisations, not least major departments of the BBC, are relocating. The new place may have only a third of the capacity of the other Old Trafford across the way, but it no longer looks like its poor relation.Yet the moment when the first ball is bowled on Thursday will be charged with even more emotional power because of what Lancashire risked in order to create their new home. The £44m redevelopment was financed, in part, by a four-way agreement between Lancashire, Ask Developments, Tesco and Trafford Council. As part of this agreement Tesco were given the go ahead to build a huge new superstore in Trafford. A rival developer, Albert Gubay of Derwent Holdings, objected to this permission being granted and took his case to the courts.Indeed, Gubay took his legal proceedings so far that he imperilled not only Old Trafford’s redevelopment but also the very future of the county club. Reviewing what he agrees was the most fraught time of his entire professional life, Lancashire’s chief executive at the time, Jim Cumbes, makes no attempt to hide the stakes for which Lancashire were playing. Given legal costs and the possibility of losing vital grants, Old Trafford officials had bet their beloved house on winning the case.

“If we’d lost, there was really no Plan B. The club might have just disappeared or we would have downsized and become a county ground”Former Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes on the legal battle to redevelop Old Trafford

“In that two- or three-year period there were times when you’d wake up at 3.30 in the morning and argue with yourself,” Cumbes says. “Outwardly I was confident and optimistic and I always thought we’d win, but I didn’t know when or how much it would cost.”It was hard because we were getting into financial difficulties. We were spending money on legal cases and as soon as we got over one hurdle, another appeared before us. All the staff were nervous but we ploughed on. Nobody got a rise in salary for three years but we told them there’d be no redundancies. We kept that promise and the curious thing was that we won the Championship in the year in which we’d had to clip the financial wings of Mike Watkinson and Peter Moores, as regards player recruitment.”And all the time that Cumbes was being reassured by the club’s QC Robert Griffiths that he was very confident of winning in court, he was also mindful of the barrister’s “but”: you never know what happens on the day.”If we’d lost, there was really no Plan B,” Cumbes says. “The club might have just disappeared or we would have downsized and become a county ground like Taunton, Northampton or Leicester. We wondered about the wisdom of going ahead with our plans but ultimately we thought we owed it to our members, to Manchester and to the people of the northwest to try to build a ground fit to stage an Ashes Test.”That Old Trafford was no longer fit to stage an Australia Test had been made abundantly clear by the ECB in 2006 when Cardiff, well-funded and soon to be well-presented, had got the nod in preference to Manchester for a game in the 2009 series.”We were going ahead with redevelopment before we heard the bad news in 2006,” Cumbes points out. “But we were all former sportsmen and being told that we had lost the Ashes made us all that much sharper and competitive. That was in our nature and when it went to court we were all saying, ‘We’ve got to win this bloody case.'”All the same, being reminded that hosting a Test was a granted privilege, not an inalienable right, was good for Lancashire officials who quietly accept that they had become a little complacent. So whatever emotions are felt by Old Trafford’s present hierarchy on Thursday morning, complacency is unlikely to be among them. On the contrary, Lancashire are now keen to present the best case they can for their new ground staging as many Test and one-day international matches as possible. Thus, there was manifest concern and urgency when a brief but embarrassing power cut occurred in part of the ground during last week’s FLt20 game against Yorkshire.The ground has changed significantly, more than half a century on from Jim Laker’s famous Old Trafford Test•PA PhotosDoes the new stadium have as much character as the old ground? Of course not. Or, at least, not yet. This is partly because experience often endows a place with character and only when spectators associate the new Old Trafford with games to cherish in the memory will they really think fondly of the place. What’s more, massive banks of tiered seats can be found in most Test venues now and not everywhere can be Trent Bridge. That said, while the old ground was an eccentric and endearing collection of bits and pieces, it was also a pain if you were queuing for almost anything.Ultimately, though, the story of Old Trafford’s rebirth illustrates the granite truth that heritage counts for diddly-squat in the brutal business of international cricket. When the Old Trafford hierarchy were fighting for Lancashire’s very future three or four years ago, they knew that little consideration would be given to black-and-white footage of Jim Laker modestly hitching up his flannels after taking 19 wickets against Australia in the 1956 Manchester Test, and even less to the epic battles of 1896 and 1902, both won by Australia.More recent memories of comparable richness – Benaud bowling May behind his legs in 1961; Botham’s hundred in 1981; Warne to Gatting and Gooch being given out handled ball in 1993, both watched by this journalist, who wondered if it was too late to make an honest woman of cricket writing – helped to make Old Trafford a much-loved home. If the match beginning on Thursday can produce one innings, one spell, or even one moment of comparable stature, Jim Cumbes may permit himself a quiet inward smile of satisfaction. The epic battle will have been worth it, after all.

Alex Tudor, the former England fast bowler, talks about his foray into coaching, 99 not out, and why he jumped at the chance to visit India

Kanishkaa Balachandran24-Dec-2013The opening day of the Saurashtra-Baroda match in Khandheri, on the outskirts of Rajkot, had an unlikely visitor. At the foot of the pavilion steps, several kids wearing identical uniforms clustered around the distinctive 6ft 4in figure of Alex Tudor, the former England fast bowler. A few other trigger-happy spectators, who had braved the cold Sunday morning, took out their camera phones, scrambling to get the best shot. Tudor is in the country for ten days on a coaching assignment with G Force, a cricket academy based in Dubai, and the 29 teenagers under his tutelage are in Saurashtra to play against local teams and experience Indian conditions.Tudor, who played ten Tests for England between 1998 and 2002, went off the radar in the late 2000s, when he was released by Surrey. He has since then taken up coaching full time and admits he finds the experience of being around youngsters stimulating.”I just seem to have a good relationship with kids, wherever I go,” Tudor says with a laugh. “Maybe it’s because I’m tall. I suppose I behave like them at times, I’m quite young at heart. I just enjoy seeing them with smiles on their faces, playing the game I love. If they go away learning something new from something I’ve taught, that gives me more fulfilment than a five-wicket haul or any runs I’ve got.”Tudor’s international career was only restricted to games in England and Australia. On pitches with bounce, he was a handful. When the opportunity came to tick off a box and visit India, albeit as a coach, Tudor wasn’t going to pass it up. A mutual friend introduced Tudor to Gopal Jasapara, who runs the academy and Tudor was on board.”As soon as he spoke of the opportunity to work in India I was sold,” Tudor says. “I had never been to India before. I told my wife about it and she was very accommodating.”I’ve always wanted to sample India, to see the kids looking happy, though not having the facilities that some of our kids have back at home and still enjoying the game, not moaning about the state of the outfields etc. I’m just really happy to be here and hopefully it won’t be my last visit.”‘Thorpey, what the hell have you done?’

Though a fast bowler, Alex Tudor is probably best remembered for an incredible Test innings – a freakish unbeaten 99 to help England win a Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1999, on a pitch that had earlier seen 21 wickets falling in a single day. Tudor’s run riot as a nightwatchman took him within inches of a century, but Graham Thorpe was jeered for not giving him enough of the strike. What do the two men feel about that moment 14 years on?
“When Thorpey talks about it now he still says it’s one of his regrets. But he was in a single-minded mentality from the pressure of not qualifying for the World Cup. He wanted to come out and score some runs. There wasn’t a lot of runs left for me to score a century. But if I look back 15 years, it’s just one run! I was over the moon initially because I had just won a game for England. I remember Phil Tuffnell looking at Thorpe and saying, “Thorpey, what the hell have you done?”
As you would imagine, it all was a bit crazy for me and everyone wanted a piece of me. It was only a few weeks later when I realised that my dad and his friends were just not happy at all. Even now. I tell them, ‘look, it was 15 years ago. Leave it!’ I say to Thorpey that he shouldn’t drive at Wandsworth, because there will be people looking for him!

In the short time he has been here, Tudor has already noted a few aspects his students can learn from, particularly on the fitness side. “Our guys played a game yesterday and I was very impressed with the locals, with their fielding and attitude. I told my guys to take a cue from these kids. Twenty years ago, the fitness levels would have been different. The guys now are fit and I think the intervention of the IPL has helped because you can’t hide in the field any more.”Saurashtra has traditionally been a graveyard for fast bowlers, with pitches in Rajkot producing stale draws. Bowlers have had to go the extra mile, beyond their levels of patience, to fetch wickets. Tudor says that on flat tracks, a defensive line and length tactic will not work. The key, he says, is to induce mistakes by getting the batsmen to drive.”You need to bowl fuller, mix your pace up because it skids on. Keep close catchers and set straighter fields. You shouldn’t be cut and pulled on these wickets. Sometimes set silly fields, like my captain Adam Hollioake used to do at Surrey. He wasn’t a tactical genius but he would never let the game dwindle and be boring,” he says.”I find bowlers nowadays want to do too much. The art of bowling six balls on the same place is also a skill. But I think bowlers should look to bowl top of off stump repeatedly and bowl maidens. I don’t see too much of that.”While passing by the Baroda dressing room, Tudor had a quick chat with Irfan Pathan, who is playing only his second Ranji game of the season after returning from a rib injury. Irfan’s return is being monitored, and he is playing purely as a batsman for the time being. When asked about the injury-management tips he would pass on youngsters, Tudor says that fitness training should be non-negotiable. Tudor’s career was ravaged by injuries at various points and he said there were lessons learnt from his own experiences.”Prevention is paramount. Some people don’t like doing fitness training but if you want a long career, it has to be done. It’s not about looking like Hercules. You have to be supple, have good tummy muscles so that will help the back. You don’t have to go a gym for everything. Just do some running. Dennis Lillee would say that if you had 15 minutes in a day, just do sit-ups.”As for those who aspire to be allrounders, particularly of the seam-bowling kind, Tudor says players have to give every part of their skill the same amount of respect. Tudor was not a genuine allrounder but was still a handy lower-order batsman, scoring an unbeaten 99 in a Test and two first-class centuries.”For me, an allrounder is someone who is good enough to play as a batsman if he can’t bowl and vice-versa,” he says. “He isn’t someone who can just score 30. That doesn’t pay the bills.”

The best performances in the Champions League came from teenagers, from established Indian stars, and from forty-somethings

Siddarth Ravindran07-Oct-2013

MS Dhoni

63* off 19 v Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Dhoni rampage that included an over Thisara Perera will be desperately trying to forget. At the start, a typically brutal Dhoni hit over long-on was sandwiched by two wides. The over ended with four consecutive sixes – over square leg, over point, over long-on and over third man and ended up costing 34 runs. Perera will be ruing Ishant Sharma’s misfield off the second legitimate ball of the over, which allowed Dhoni to hurry back for the second and regain the strike. Dhoni went on to his half-century in 16 balls, the quickest in the Champions League – and eighth fastest in all T20 – as Chennai Super Kings accelerated past 200 and out of Sunrisers’ reach.

Sunil Narine

4 for 9 v Sunrisers Hyderabad

Narine is a dead cert to be a millionaire at next year’s IPL auction. He’s had two outstanding IPL seasons and his mystery hasn’t faded in the CLT20 either. The success over the past two years means his reputation now precedes him, and teams are happy to play out his four overs and target the other bowlers. His teams turn to him at every crucial juncture. Defending 160 against Sunrisers, T&T brought him on in the 5th over to rein in a strong start and he delivered with a first-ball wicket. There was another in a two-over spell in the middle of the innings, before he signed off with wickets off his final two deliveries in the 18th over. The only runs he conceded were nine singles.

Sanju Samson

60 off 33 v Mumbai Indians
Once Mumbai ran up a total in excess of 200 in the final, most people thought the game was as good as over. Not 18-year-old Sanju Samson though. Walking in after the first wicket fell in the first over, a fearless array of strokes kept Royals in the chase as the asking-rate of 10 was matched for more than half the innings. It began with an effortless straight hit for six off Harbhajan Singh and he peppered the arc between long-on and midwicket as Royals reached 117 for 1 in the 12th over, but even with heavy-hitters like Shane Watson to follow, they couldn’t complete the victory.

Harbhajan Singh

4 for 32 v Rajasthan Royals

Harbhajan Singh may no longer be among India’s first-choice spinners but he reminded the selectors once more of his big-match temperament, in the final. After Samson’s onslaught had helped Royals keep pace, Watson had begun with a monstrous hit for six. Harbhajan removed the dangerman though with a straighter one that Watson top-edged towards wide long-on. Then came the over that completely transformed the game: the well-set Ajinkya Rahane and two big hitters in Stuart Binny and Kevon Cooper were all packed off and for the second time in three years a single Harbhajan over had put the title within Mumbai’s grasp.

Neil Broom

117* off 56 v Perth Scorchers
Before the match against Perth Scorchers, Broom’s Twenty20 career stats were middling: 65 matches, average 21.23, strike-rate 112.08. So when Hamish Rutherford (career strike-rate 143.89) and star batsman Brendon McCullum were dismissed cheaply, Perth were a satisfied lot. No way could they have expected what came next. Broom played the T20 innings of his life with nine fours and eight sixes flowing as he ran up 117 off a mere 56 deliveries. Hard to pick a highlight from that smash-a-thon but the three successive sixes in the 19th over to bring up his century and reach the highest score over five seasons of the CLT20 will be up there. No wonder he has such a devoted fan club back home.

Pravin Tambe

3 for 10 v Chennai Super Kings

Pravin Tambe’s rise provided one of the most heart-warming cricketing stories in recent years. For a retirement-age cricketer to get his chance to play alongside the all-time greats is a dream, leave alone ending up as the bowler of the tournament. With his skiddy legbreaks and accuracy, Tambe proved difficult for most batsmen. Thoughts that his bowling would fall apart under the pressure of a big match were brushed aside as he turned in 3 for 10 against the mighty Super Kings in the semi-final. It included the prized wicket of Suresh Raina and two other vial cogs, S Badrinath and Dwayne Bravo. He was Man of the Match as Royals pulled off a giant-killing act and marched into the final.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second ODI

David Hopps02-Mar-2014Blow of the day
The days of lightning-fast Caribbean pitches appear to be behind us but, although a fairly docile surface in Antigua, there was still some encouragement for a bowler prepared to bend his back. Stuart Broad did just that at the start of Dwayne Bravo’s innings with a sharp bumper which Bravo turned his head from and received a nasty smack in the back of the neck, the helmet only partially taking the impact. It shook Bravo up and he was down for a while and needed treatment from the physio.Error of the day
There was general agreement that Jos Buttler’s attempting stumping of Dwayne Bravo was inconclusive. Even Buttler’s sheepish expression seemed to give the game away. The decision by TV umpire Marais Erasmus took the wind out of West Indies’ sails as they entered the Powerplay with a new batsman at the crease. There again, you could wonder what Bravo was doing charging down the pitch to James Tredwell in the first place.Catch of the day
James Tredwell does not immediately strike the onlooker as a slick fielder, but his slip catching has long been held in respect by those most au fait with his game. His quick catch to remove Kirk Edwards was further evidence of his ability: a lightning-fast dart with the right hand to hold a thick edge that came to him very quicklyBefuddlement of the day
Luke Wright’s understated gesture to Michael Lumb at the non-striker’s end told it all: he cannot pick Sunil Narine. Narine bowled him three legspinners in an over, he did not connect with any of them and the third smacked into his offstump. Narine is a special talent, but it all encouraged the belief that, whatever Wright’s qualities in T20, he does not warrant a place in England’s ODI side.Walk of the day
Ben Stokes walked when he tickled Nikita Miller down the legside, oblivious to the fact that the umpire, Joel Wilson, was shaking his head to reject the appeal. It was not immediately apparent whether he would have been given out on review. If it is unfair to castigate the likes of Stuart Broad for following the majority attitude by not walking, it would be shameful if Stokes was lectured within the dressing room for his honesty.

After a 2013 where Steven Finn’s stock fell considerably, he thinks he is finding his way back to becoming the fearsome fast bowler he has hinted at being

George Dobell20-Dec-20130:00

‘England were broken’

When Steven Finn became the youngest Englishman to claim 50 Test wickets – he was 22 years and 63 days old at the time – it appeared England had unearthed a fast bowler that would serve them for much of the next decade.But that was 2011. Somewhere in the intervening years, Finn has lost his way to the point where he has not played a Test since July – the first match of the Ashes series in England – and has been overlooked for the role of third seamer by bowlers such as Chris Woakes, Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett.There have been times on this tour when Finn has cut a disconsolate figure. Struggling for rhythm, pace and confidence, he has hardly pressed for selection and has done little more than carry drinks for his colleagues and act as a net bowler. It wasn’t meant to be this way.The oft-repeated explanation for Finn’s troubles suggests they started once he was required to alter his action after his relatively frequent collisions with the stumps as he ran in to deliver the ball. Partially due to Finn’s habit, the ICC changed the playing regulations in April so that any delivery bowled after the bowler had collided with the stumps would be called no-ball.There is more than a grain of truth in such suggestions, too. But Finn was already struggling to hold down a place in the Test side, at least, as his economy rate – uncomfortably close to four an over – was deemed profligate by England’s standards.The end result has been that a man with a strike-rate (48.3) markedly better than James Anderson (59.3) or Stuart Broad (58.4) has been unable to find a place in the side. And despite – or some might say because of – the work of the ECB’s bowling coaches, Kevin Shine and David Saker, Finn’s form and confidence have continued to ebb. At times on this trip, he has looked unrecognisable from the fast bowler that he showed glimpses of becoming a couple of years ago.”It’s been very frustrating,” Finn admitted as the players enjoyed a rare day off on Friday, entertained by their sponsors, Jaguar, racing sports cars around a test track. “It’s quite obvious that the bowling hasn’t quite gone as I would have liked it to. I’ve been working as hard as I possibly can and bowling as many overs as I possibly can in practice in the nets, trying to get it right. But it hasn’t happened yet. I feel I’m moving in the right direction and I feel I’m getting there, but it hasn’t been right up to this point and that’s why I haven’t played.”Steven Finn has endured a difficult 2013•PA PhotosThere is a theory that Finn was confused by conflicting advice from his coaches at England and his coaches at Middlesex. While England recommended experimenting with a short run-up, Middlesex favoured a longer one. And while England recommended an improved wrist and seam position, Middlesex favoured him running in and simply trying to hit a probing length.”A lot of what I’ve heard about that is rubbish,” Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve heard that we were trying to turn him into an outswing bowler. And I’ve heard people in the media suggest there is disagreement between us and England. It’s just not true. The fact is that England are his employers and he spends about 46 weeks a year with them and about six weeks a year with us. We are all working for the common good and that is seeing Steven fulfil his outstanding potential.”It is frustrating for everyone that he has not been going in the right direction, but these guys are not robots. Progression doesn’t go in a straight line. But he still has an excellent physique and huge promise. It took James Anderson a while to fulfil his talent, too.”Fraser does admit that there have been moments when the England and Middlesex coaches have disagreed, but insists it was “no big issue”.”We suggest things,” he explained. “We might say ‘try this’ and England might say something else. Yes, I felt he was better with a longer run-up, but in the end it is all up to him and there is a very good understanding between us and England.”Finn agrees. While he admits he has not suffered for a lack of advice, he insists the responsibility to “filter” such information much remain with him.”One of the advantages of modern cricket structures is that you have lots of people who are able to give you good information and valid points,” he said. “And, as a player, you are able to filter those points and do as you see fit with them. I’m very grateful for all the advice I get. Maybe I haven’t filtered the info as well as I possibly could have done over the last 12 months, but it feels as if I’m in a better position to do so now than I have been before.

“I’m very grateful for all the advice I get. Maybe I haven’t filtered the info as well as I possibly could have done over the last 12 months.”

“I’m moving back towards my best. There are glimpses of it in spells in games or in the nets, but it hasn’t been as consistent as I’d want it to be. That’s synonymous with the changes I’ve made which everyone knows about in the last 12 months. And I don’t feel as if I’m far away from being at my best if not better. I’m just keeping going with the hard work I’ve been doing to get there.”Fraser’s theory is that Finn might have been overthinking things. While one of the worries of the England camp is that if Finn is unable to control the seam position then he could damage the ball and prevent James Anderson and Stuart Broad gaining swing, conventional or reverse. But Fraser thinks that, if Finn is taking wickets with such a good strike-rate, that is a price worth paying.”The more he has been out of the side, the more the temptation is to tinker with things,” he explained. “And when you bowl with someone as talented as Anderson, with that perfect seam position, it is all too easy to start reaching for perfection.
But what Anderson does is unrealistic for most bowlers. All Steven really needs to do is go back to doing what he did was he was 21. The seam was like a windscreen wiper when I bowled, I didn’t have much of a slower ball and my yorker was pretty ordinary, too. But I hit a pretty good length and Steven could be the same.”Finn agreed: “Yes, there is a chance that I’ve over-complicated things in the last 12 months. At the end of the day bowling is very simple and usually whatever comes naturally to you is the thing that serves you best. But I’ve a very simple goal that I’m working towards and hopefully it comes round sooner rather than later.”My body has developed over the last 12 to 18 months and maybe I’ve grooved bad habits at times. But I’m working towards eradicating those. You get confidence from bowling well. You get confidence from the feeling off the end of your fingertips. I’ve had that in patches, but not on a consistent basis on this trip. It’s just about working towards getting that on a consistent basis.”Such consistency has come too late for this Ashes series. But if Finn is able to return to somewhere near his best for the 2015 edition, England will surely be all the stronger for it.

A superb innings by Katich, a sharp run-out by Mitch Marsh, and a near-full house at the WACA

Scott Hazebroek04-Jan-2014Choice of game
This was the game that could end the season for the Sydney Thunder and keep the Perth Scorchers’ season alive. I expected it to be a close match, as the Thunder would be aiming to end their losing streak, while the Scorchers would be hoping they could keep their chances of making the semi-finals.Team supported
As always I was hoping the Scorchers would come away with the win.Key performer
Simon Katich was the difference between the two teams. He was the only batsman who converted a start into a big score and he guided the Scorchers’ run chase very well. His experience proved to be vital.One thing I’d have changed
As a Western Australian I would have loved it if Michael Hussey was still playing for the Scorchers. As it is, he chose to move to the Thunder and in doing so joined a team without a lot of recent success. He got the odd boo but didn’t cop too much sledging from the WACA crowd. The revenge was his team losing!Face-off I relished
It was interesting watching Brad Hogg bowling to Eoin Morgan: two world-class players battling it out. Morgan attempted a couple of reverse sweeps, one of which went for four, however, he didn’t really look comfortable against Hogg. Unfortunately Morgan got run out, in rather strange circumstances, between Hogg’s second and third overs, preventing any more face-offs between the pair.Wow moment
The run-out of Morgan by Mitch Marsh. The ball on which it occurred was a free-hit. Marsh bowled a yorker that Morgan just managed to squeeze out. Not realising the ball had bounced straight down the pitch to Marsh, Morgan left his crease. Marsh flicked the ball at the stumps, and Morgan dived back. The ball hit the stumps but Morgan appeared to be comfortably in. There was a half-shout from the Scorchers, so the third umpire decided to go upstairs just to be sure. The Scorchers were not too confident. They all returned to their positions in readiness for the next ball. There were a couple of replays played on the big screen which seemed to confirm Morgan had made his ground, and then it cut to shots of the crowd. A minute later more replays were shown, and the crowd soon realised that Morgan might just be out. Hogg ran in from the boundary at deep midwicket to congratulate Marsh, and the rest of the team soon followed. The verdict was delivered soon after and the crowd cheered.Close encounter
Craig Simmons fielded in front of me during the Thunder innings and took a great diving catch to dismiss Michael Hussey. Dirk Nannes was there when the Scorchers were batting. He fumbled once to allow an extra run and got a cheer from the crowd. A couple of balls later when he fielded one cleanly, he got an even louder cheer and he doffed his cap to the crowd.Shot of the day
Katich’s six over cover off the bowling of Tillakaratne Dilshan was a marvellous shot, timed beautifully and easily clearing the fence.Crowd meter
There was barely a spare seat anywhere. The crowd was enthusiastic and cheered the Scorchers loudly. There were lots of beach balls being thrown around, and whenever a security guard took it upon himself to pop one he got a huge boo. There were also a fair number of Mexican Waves towards the end of the match.Fancy-dress index
There wasn’t a whole lot of fancy dress at this game, just lots of orange everywhere. There were orange wigs, face-paint, hairspray, and anything else you could think of.Entertainment
There were the usual fire and fireworks when the Scorchers entered the field. Under the Inverarity Stand there were three people playing big drums with drumsticks with fire on the end of them. There was also a dance group dressed in orange that performed during the innings break.Overall
It was an exciting game of cricket with plenty of runs and wickets and a fairly close result. The crowd was good as always, so overall it was another great experience.Marks out of 10
8.5.

Over the past two decades, Jacques Kallis’ world-class batting and energetic bowling allowed South Africa enviable depth in both departments

Firdose Moonda25-Dec-2013Nobody even noticed Jacques Kallis earlier today. He walked down the stairs at the back of the change-rooms at Kingsmead, as he may have done 18 years ago, with casual indifference. He had a sandwich in one hand, an energy drink in the other, a jaunt in his step and a faraway look in his eyes. If he was hiding any nerves, reservations or second thoughts, you would never have known.An hour later his plan to retire from Test cricket within a week was made public.It was announced with no fuss, frills or fanfare but via a prepared statement. Graeme Smith’s twitter message confirmed it was a decision that was made a few days ago. No doubt Kallis would have spent much longer thinking about exactly when, where and how he wanted to leave Test cricket. He could choose that because he picked his moment correctly.Timing has been the hallmark of Kallis’ career – from his cover drives to the way he paces an innings to the fact that at the age of 38, he can still bowl above 140kph. His is not a headline-poaching style of play but a patient, persistent one that appeals to those who prefer fine dining to fast food.That was evident as early as his seventh Test, when he scored a match-saving century at the MCG. His innings then displayed as much about his ability to occupy the crease and wear an attack down – he spent three minutes short of six hours and faced 279 balls for his 101 – as it did about his strength of mind. When Australia couldn’t bowl Kallis out, they tried to sledge him out but he was resolute in ignoring their verbals. In frustration, they resorted to asking him if he was deaf.Kallis looked a run machine starting up that day and he hasn’t slowed down for 18 years. In that time, he never went more than 13 Tests without scoring a hundred with the biggest gap between his 29th and 30th ton. Twice in his career, Kallis scored five centuries in successive Tests, the first time in the summer of 2003-4 with four against West Indies and one in New Zealand and the second in 2007 with three in Pakistan, including two in the same match, and two against New Zealand.He racked up centuries everywhere except Sri Lanka. As the runs piled up, and the reputation for being for a silent genius grew, one milestone remained elusive. It took Kallis 143 Tests before he reached a double-hundred, a duration of time which he said never really bothered him but had obviously become a sticking point for some supporters.Kallis was eventually promised lifetime membership to the Leopard Creek golf estate by businessman Johann Rupert if he achieved a double hundred. Kallis needed no further motivation. With golf being his second love and Mark Boucher egging him on, he celebrated joining the two-ton club against India in Centurion with a golf swing.His friendship with Boucher is the most human side to Kallis outsiders have seen because everyone understands what it’s like to have a best mate. Their shared love for the outdoors and golf and their business in a wine label has made them both more accessible to the average cricket fan. Boucher remains the more approachable one, Kallis the more aloof but when they are together, Kallis’ personality sometimes peeps through.The perception of Kallis as distant may have been driven by necessity. An outlandishly outstanding player, it may simply have been his way of coping with his success. Kallis is not simply a batsman. He is a cricketer in every sense of the word.His bowling is one of the less talked about but more celebrated parts of his game. He stands eight wickets away from 300 and performances with the ball have illustrated his worth as a team man. A Kallis bouncer is often a partnership breaker. He has accounted for some of the best batsmen in the world, including Adam Gilchrist, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ricky Ponting six times each.Kallis had the measure of Ponting as recently as Adelaide last year. He felled the former Australian captain with a delivery Ponting said left him “embarrassed” and prompted his retirement. Ironically, a year later, Kallis has been left looking out of sorts by playing late to deliveries that swing into him and being caught on the pad.Even though his reaction time may have slowed, he still reaches speeds most would he envious of. He bowls much less now than he used to but still provides an extra bowling option which, coaches have said, makes them feel they are playing with 12 men instead of 11.Jacques Kallis gobbled up everything that came his way at slips, and is now one short of 200 Test catches•Getty ImagesHis slip catching is an asset too. With 199 grabs, there is very little that evades Kallis’ bucket-like hands. It is also a testament to his concentration. Mike Young, the former fielding consultant, marvelled at Kallis and Smith’s ability to stand in the slips, sometimes all day with nothing coming their way, and then instinctively pouch the only chance they get.The only thing Kallis hasn’t done for any great length of time is captain. He led South Africa only twice in Tests, both times against Australia. In March 2006, he was asked to do it in his 99th Test, when he stood in for an injured Smith. Then, Mickey Arthur admitted it was only a stop-gap because South Africa did not want to overburden their best player with additional responsibility like other teams sometimes do.On the second occasion, Kallis stepped in again. Smith was injured again but Ashwell Prince was due to lead but refused because he was not permitted to bat in his preferred position. Kallis took over and scored one of three centuries in a match South Africa won by an innings and 20 runs.The match also was, especially in the early stages of Kallis’ career, a rare victory over the all-conquering Australians. In the latter phases, Kallis was involved in series wins across the cricketing world, including back-to-back triumphs in England and Australia. He regards those, particularly the most recent, as being part of the two most special years of his career.In that time, South Africa have gone to No.1 in the world with Kallis playing an important role. His all-round ability and AB de Villiers’ wicket-keeping allowed South Africa to lengthen their line-up to seven batsmen and field four bowlers, with Kallis acting as the fifth. It was also in that time that the signs Kallis would not be around forever started to sound.Wear and tear peeped through in New Zealand in March last year. Kallis had to be left out of the Wellington Test after suffering a stiff neck. That was also where South Africa had their first taste of what missing him would mean. Rather than simply replace him, they had to alter the composition of their XI to cover for both his batting and bowling absence. JP Duminy and Marchant de Lange were brought in, forcing South Africa to sacrifice a specialist spinner.After that series, Kallis was injured in three of the next four series South Africa played. In England last year, a sore lower back immobilised him for a day at Leeds. He could not bowl and spent time off the field as a result but was still able to bat in position. Later in the year, in Australia, he suffered a hamstring injury which left him unable to bowl after 3.3 overs and he was forced to bat at No. 7. He recovered in time for the next match.He played both home matches against New Zealand injury free but had to sit out of the third Test against Pakistan at Centurion because of a calf injury picked up at an optional training session. Kyle Abbott featured in his place but again, South Africa had to confront reality without him. Faf du Plessis was moved into Kallis’ position at No. 4 and will likely slot into there in future.What became clear that day was that the luxury of a two-in-one player would not always be there. With few seam-bowling all-rounders around, South Africa may have to rethink their strategy next year. Kallis will not be around then.Many have asked why Kallis did not stay on to play Australia at home – a series that has all the makings of a classic – and retire at his home ground, which is also the venue of the final Test, Newlands. Only Kallis knows the answer to that. Chances are he could feel he would not be able to contribute to the standard he expects of himself in that contest. Kallis is stern on himself and demands peak performance. That he could step away when he knew his body could no longer cope with Test cricket, is the greatest testament to his commitment to South African cricket.He also knows he may not make it to the 2015 World Cup and if the look in his eyes at Kingsmead on Christmas Day could reveal anything, it would be that he is at peace with that too.Kallis knows he will be just fine. He has his scholarship foundation, a wonderful initiative to educate promising cricketers at top institutions, to keep him busy and golf to keep his sporting skills sharp. He said once that on retirement he would also be able to digest all the numbers that have been thrown at him over the years and enjoy them, including the debate on whether or not he is a better allrounder than Sobers.South African cricket will be fine too, because of the 18 years of service Kallis gave. On his back was built much of the current success and through his inspiration the next generation can be expected to thrive.

ESPNcricinfo picks five of Sri Lanka’s most brutal performances against lesser oppositions in limited-overs cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Mar-2014
ScorecardSri Lanka had been minnows themselves not long before the 1996 World Cup, but as if to illustrate how quickly they had progressed since, their batsmen laid a record total of 398 on Kenya, in Kandy. Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana achieved one of the rapid starts that would make Sri Lanka’s campaign famous, but it was Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga that took the total from imposing to momumental. De Silva hit 145 from 115 balls – incidentally Sri Lanka’s first ever World Cup ton – and Ranatunga struck the fastest fifty in World Cup cricket at the time, off 29 balls. Kenya managed 254 for 7 in their 50 overs, but in truth, were never in the game.
ScorecardZimbabwe have suffered the ignominy of recording the lowest ever ODI total at Sri Lanka’s hands, but another atrociously one-sided encounter is even more memorable, thanks to a world-record haul for Chaminda Vaas. Having asked Zimbabwe to bat in Colombo, Vaas began his plunder first ball, and he would account for eight Zimbabwe batsmen in a brutal spell of swing bowling. Just as it appeared Vaas would become the first bowler to take all 10 wickets in an ODI, captain Sanath Jayasuriya brought Muttiah Muralitharan into the attack, and he dismissed no.10 and 11 in the first four balls of his spell. Zimbabwe had sunk to 38 all out and Sri Lanka chased the target in 4.2 overs.
ScorecardNo Canada batsman would make double figures, and five would record ducks in this 2003 World Cup match, as Vaas, Prabath Nissanka and Dilhara Fernando steamrolled them for 36 all out – the second lowest ODI total. They were all out in 18.4 overs, and Sri Lanka would need only 4.4 to knock the runs off. Marvan Atapattu top-scored, finishing with a surprisingly brisk strike-rate of 171.
ScorecardFewer than four months after South Africa and Australia had played out the Johannesburg classic that tore the highest-ODI total record from Sri Lanka, they wrenched it back again in a mauling in Amstelveen. Typically, Jayasuriya was lead-butcher with the bat, walloping 157 runs from 104 balls. Almost 65% of his runs came in boundaries, as Sri Lanka collectively struck 56 fours and three sixes. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 117 from 78 balls brought the innings to a furious close at 443 for 9, before Netherlands were dismissed for 248.
ScorecardHaving achieved the highest Test and ODI totals against India and Netherlands respectively, Sri Lanka completed the set against Kenya, at the inaugural World Twenty20. As with the other two records, Jayasuriya top-scored. His 88 off 44 set the innings off apace, and it would only grow more frenzied as Mahela Jayawardene mauled a 27-ball 65 and Jehan Mubarak slammed 46 not out from 13. Sri Lanka finished on 260 for 6 and Kenya were blasted out for 88.