Safi Thind
The worlds of Gooch and Gower
They revolved in two separate orbits before the Tiger Moth incident got them to collide into one another. The aftermath defined modern English cricket
Safi Thind
19-Apr-2013
When trying to describe the style and character of David Gower's batting, you use words such as "graceful", "elegant", "insouciant" to capture his ethereal majesty.
To describe Graham Gooch, the words that spring to my mind are: "hebetudinous", "sombre", "formaldehyde".
It's quite a contrast.
Full postWhen Inzamam confronted his bully
Inzamam-ul-Haq may have been portly and somewhat hapless but he also had a refined dignity and stateliness which will escape many others - and he showed his unique class when he took on his abuser in the crowd
Safi Thind
12-Apr-2013
Despite being one of the greatest batsmen ever, like many large men before him Inzamam-ul-Haq was relegated a comic role. He fulfilled this often, whether falling on his stumps or being run out walking down the wicket following through from a shot.
But behind the Wodehousian facade there was also something quite unique about Inzy. Not the fact that he won so many Tests for his team (over 60% of Inzamam's hundreds were in a match his team won, better than Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen).
Nor the fact that he had a dancer's quickness on the crease, a languorous quality to his batsmanship that gave him so much time and elegance on the ball. No, there is one incident which in my eyes elevated him to the pantheon of great sportsmen, that which showed his unique class - the time he went after a bully in the crowd.
Full postWhat do the numbers say about Tendulkar?
Has Tendulkar really declined as a match-winner over the last ten years? Looking through the ESPNcricinfo database and, like a bumbling detective in the mould of Inspector Clouseau, I offer my fact-based critique
Safi Thind
28-Mar-2013
After tackling Andrew Flintoff I've decided to go for a less emotional subject this time around: Sachin Tendulkar. Some of you may not know who he is but imagine the lovechild of Gandhi and Mother Teresa, then multiply by 100, double it, and you still wouldn't get halfway to the adoration meted out to this greatest of all cricketing names.
Tendulkar's twilight years have clearly not progressed as they should. Like an old bear trapped in a maze the Little Master has stumbled into a labyrinth of his own mind, scratching for an exit as he advances into old age. The signs haven't been good. No match-winning knocks or battling rearguards to grace that good name.
And so the media lets loose an orgasmic wave of schadenfreude, waiting for his final bow. Out come the familiar catcalls: Sachin is not a match-winner; he fails under pressure; he plays for himself.
Full postA giant on his knees
Why does it matter what Andrew Flintoff does with his life after cricket? I suppose it is because each time you see something great in decline it cuts away at the sense of marvel and worship that filled you as a youth
Safi Thind
09-Mar-2013
"What an immature, self-destructive, antiquated mischief is man!" said Evelyn Waugh when describing Andrew Flintoff. And how right he was.
The year is 2012. The slightly scraggly looking husk of a fat blonde man stands in a boxing ring wearing union jack pants with a mystified air. He doesn't look like he believes he doesn't belong here. His eyes, at least, look alive. But behind the eyes there is an air of solitude. The air of someone repeating to themselves a self-convincing mantra, in the words of Rocky Balboa - "I ain't no bum, Mick, I ain't no bum."
I don't know whether he wins or not. But I think I have seen this person before.
Full postCricket commentary still gets us talking
From the differing disciplines of radio and TV commentary to the rise of internet text coverage, the sport's commentators are uniquely loved
Safi Thind
26-Feb-2013
A few weeks ago, two of cricket's most-loved commentators died in quick succession. The column inches given to Christopher Martin-Jenkins and Tony Greig illustrate the dear place that cricket commentary holds in the hearts of fans and aficionados of the game. This article was written early last year and has some debate-provoking contributions from CMJ himself.
There's something faintly ridiculous and innocent about cricket commentary that defies the progress of modern professionalism. At times it can be bumbling and haphazard, yet it is uniquely loved. You need only to ask fans about the classic "leg over" incident, when Brian Johnston and Jonathan Agnew collapsed into uncontrollable fits of laughter on-air - voted the best commentary moment of all time by Radio 5 Live listeners in 2005 - for proof.
The names and voices in commentary - people like John Arlott, Brian Johnston, Aggers and Geoffrey Boycott - have become as much a part of cricket folklore as the players themselves. But what does it take to master the art of commentating? How do you keep spectators interested over five days of rain or when Shivnarine Chanderpaul is batting - surely the hardest slog in all sports?
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