Players / ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2009 / Hemin Desai

• Sensational Afridi seals final berth
• Harris bowls Australia to last-gasp win
• Abdur Rehman barred for three illegal full-tosses
• 'We tell Afridi, give yourself 20-25 balls' - Misbah
• Pakistan nearly through, India nearly out

Afridi: a Pakistani sort of hero

Enlightenment and order take a walk when he delivers the rare performance that brings the country together like nothing else can

The boy giant who stood up to legends

Graeme Smith was South Africa's youngest captain, a brash boy who wasn't afraid of older men, and he grew up under the harsh glare of international captaincy. He succeeded

Leg-before for 266, and a dozen left-handers

Also, most consecutive ODIs, 40-year-old Test players, five-fors in tandem, and most wins by an Asian

Demented and orgasmic gesticulations

Viv Richards' over-the-top celebrations and a commentary row blighted the fourth Test of 1990 in Bridgetown

'I never wanted to be a cricketer'

Dirk Nannes likes messing about in the snow, can't speak Japanese or Dutch, and once saw Brad Hodge throw a shoe to delay a game