The Buzz
India's brief tryst with double-sided bats
The double-sided bat used by New South Wales batsman David Warner in a domestic match against South Australia was not the first experiment with such an innovation
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
The double-sided bat used by New South Wales batsman David Warner in a domestic match against South Australia was not the first experiment with such an innovation. Double-sided bats were trialled in India in 1982 to enable batsmen to play unconventional shots as forcefully as possible. The bat, first made in Meerut, was compressed from both sides, while its handle was built thin to provide balance.
“There was a lot of demand for special bats even later for Sixes tournaments. There was a craze for six-a-side tournaments held in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, and we made the bat specifically for those tournaments,” Rakesh Mahajan, the owner of bat-maker BDM told the Indian Express. “Before going for mass production, we gave away bats to players for practice. In fact, during the Singapore tournament, players like Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Joel Garner, Rumesh Ratnayake used those bats at the nets.”
However, the bats fell out of favour with players. “It wasn’t liked by players because they wanted something more conventional. There was very little scope for experimentation back then.
“These bats have one major drawback — there’s no meat on them. It’s good for players who prefer to time the ball, but this version of cricket [Twenty20] is all about force. In fact, these days players come to us with the demand of increasing the meat on the bat to 15 inches - which is not easy because the imported willow doesn’t have that much width.”
Full postDouble-sided bat to debut
Most reverse-sweeps still come off the front of the bat - Andrew Symonds' version of the stroke being an exception - but batsmen could soon have the option of using the back of their blade
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Most reverse-sweeps still come off the front of the bat - Andrew Symonds' version of the stroke being an exception - but batsmen could soon have the option of using the back of their blade. A double-sided bat will be trialled during two Australian domestic Twenty20 games this week.
David Warner, the New South Wales batsman who has just signed up for the IPL, will use the bat against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday and Victoria's Aiden Blizzard will test it against Western Australia at the MCG on Thursday. Warner had a hit with the new-style bat in the SCG nets on Sunday and he said he didn't think it would significantly change the game.
"Generally when I'm playing the reverse I'm swapping hands, and now I don't really have to so it's going to be better. It gives you a couple of extra seconds," Warner told the Age. "If people think it's going to be an advantage to batsmen, I have to disagree.
"The person who is using the timber is in control, so I just see it as another shot for other people to try as well. Everyone is trying it these days, especially in Twenty20, so why not have the back of the bat flat as well? It makes it easier, but it's not a real advantage. You've still got to play the shot."
Full postDhoni gets extortion letter
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been provided with extra security after reportedly receiving an extortion letter demanding Rs50 lakh (US$ 103,091)
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been provided with extra security after reportedly receiving an extortion letter demanding Rs50 lakh (US$ 103,091). News reports say his security has been upgraded to ‘Z’ category – the highest level in India - and he has a 45-strong team protecting him. Police officials said Dhoni's family received the extortion letter on Monday. Earlier this month, Dhoni travelled unescorted to the Ranchi airport after seemingly being unsatisfied with the level of security given to him. He also applied for a licence for a .9mm pistol.
Full postOldest surviving Test cricketer turns 98
He is the only genuine double All Black, representing New Zealand at Test level in both cricket and rugby
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
He is the only genuine double All Black, representing New Zealand at Test level in both cricket and rugby. One of Wellington's – and New Zealand's – most remarkable sportsmen, Eric Tindill, turned 98 last Thursday.
Tindill also umpired in Tests and was a Wellington and New Zealand selector. For the past four years, he has been the world's oldest surviving Test player and the second-oldest Test player ever, after Francis McKinnon, who played one game for England in 1879 and lived to be 98 years 324 days.
A left-hand opening batsman and wicketkeeper, Tindill toured England with Curly Page's team in 1937. On the way home he had the distinction of catching Don Bradman off Jack Cowie's bowling – the only time Bradman played against a New Zealand side. The match, between New Zealand and South Australia, was played in Adelaide to help cover debts incurred in England. Cowie and Tindill were delighted with their prized wicket, but others reckoned they cost New Zealand Cricket a fortune. Bradman was dismissed for 11 in the opening over on a Saturday morning and thousands of spectators, queuing for entry, simply turned around and left.
Full postYuvraj pretended it was an ODI
The secret of Yuvraj Singh’s success in India’s record chase in the first Test in Chennai could be that he ‘pretended’ it was a one-day game
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
The secret of Yuvraj Singh’s success in India’s record chase in the first Test in Chennai could be that he ‘pretended’ it was a one-day game. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has said Yuvraj was advised by the team management “to pretend he was playing a one day innings”.
Yuvraj scored an unbeaten 85 and added a match-winning 163 with Sachin Tendulkar on his return to the Test side after eight months, following a phenomenal run in the ODIs against England. "Yuvraj has felt the heat but you need just one innings to turn it around. We told him to pretend he was playing a one day innings, and to play positively," Kirsten told television channel Neo Cricket.
"England were on top but we still felt that we could win. Then it was up to England to make a plan. We went into the fifth day saying that we could do it. The players were nervous but when you have Tendulkar at the crease, playing as he did, the nervousness seems to disappear.”
Full postMohali won't be using floodlights
The Punjab Cricket Association has confirmed that floodlights will not be turned on at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in case bad light threatens to disrupt the second Test between India and England
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The Punjab Cricket Association has confirmed that floodlights will not be turned on at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in case bad light threatens to disrupt the second Test between India and England. The forecast in Mohali for the first three days of the Test is overcast and cloudy, with fog and bad light already a common feature at this time of the year in northern India.
MP Pandove, the PCA secretary, said that like in the recent ODI between India and England in Kanpur, the lights would not be used because of a prior agreement. "We sent a proposal to the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the use of floodlights in case of bad light," Pandove told PTI. "But both the teams have agreed to natural playing conditions."
Pandove said a proposal to start play 30 minutes earlier had also been rejected. "In winter months daylight fades quite quickly here. We had asked for the scheduled start of play to be advanced, but the teams have preferred to stick to the original time."
IS Bindra, the PCA president, was wary of the Test being limited. "Instead of having five days of cricket with 450 overs, we are going to short-change the public by about 75 overs," he said "And if there is rain — there is a 10% chance of rain on two of the days — the game is going to be further curtailed."
Full postEngland retain blind Ashes series
England's blind team have retained the Ashes, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with one match to play
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
England's blind team have retained the Ashes, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with one match to play. Nineteen-year-old Luke Sugg scored his maiden England hundred to seal an historic win, finishing on 112 not out, after the second ODI was lost to rain. The Ashes series for blind cricketers began in 2004 with a 3-2 win for England on home soil, and this is the first series to be played in Australia.
However, members of the Australian team claim they have been disadvantaged by a blind English allrounder who sees too well. The Australian Blind Cricket Council is expected to lodge a complaint about Nathan Foy with the World Blind Cricket Council.
Two Australian blind cricketers told the Australian they were gagged from commenting public. The players reportedly said the team was angry that Australian authorities had refused to lodge a protest against Foy. Because he is classified B1, the most serious of three gradings of visual impairment in blind cricket, Foy's score was doubled to 200, giving England a total of 324 and a 54-run win over Australia, reported the Australian.
Full postSweatshirts not jerseys
John Reid, the former New Zealand captain, has criticised the team’s new-look jerseys which have a single black band on the neck, arms and waist instead of the traditional three stripes
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
John Reid, the former New Zealand captain, has criticised the team’s new-look jerseys which have a single black band on the neck, arms and waist instead of the traditional three stripes. "They look more like sweatshirts that you can buy in the shops," Reid was quoted as saying in the Press, a Christchurch daily.
"I don't mind the jersey being redesigned and modified taking into account new fabric, but the fern leaf and three stripes should never be forsaken.” Reid said the jerseys were not the sort that could be treasured for a lifetime.
"It's all for the sake of marketing and I don't care if Adidas has any problem with the three stripes. They don't make jerseys and we were wearing them long beforehand." Reid also said he didn’t like the use of Black Caps in referring to the New Zealand team. "It is New Zealand against West Indies, not the Black Caps, as they often put on the scoreboard these days."
Full postBBC reporter stuck in the loo
There have been thousands of police and hundreds of commandos swarming all over Chennai during this Test, and India must have spent a fortune on security in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist strikes
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
There have been thousands of police and hundreds of commandos swarming all over Chennai during this Test, and India must have spent a fortune on security in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist strikes. But one journalist was rather grateful for all the snipers and army personnel while she was trying to spend a penny: the BBC's intrepid and unfailingly cheerful reporter, Alison Mitchell, managed to lock herself in the ladies' lavatory according to Peter Hayter's enjoyable piece at the Mail on Sunday.
All this protection is certainly worth the hassle if it can save a damsel in distress.
Full postCricket hero meets chess master
Viswanathan Anand, who recently retained the World Chess Championship after beating Russia's Vladimir Kramnik, was felicitated by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his achievement in Chennai
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Viswanathan Anand, who recently retained the World Chess Championship after beating Russia's Vladimir Kramnik, was felicitated by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his achievement in Chennai. "Every sport needs an icon, and I cannot think of a better person than Anand in Chess," Dhoni said. "If youngsters have a role model like him, there is no reason for them not to succeed."
Dhoni lauded Anand's feat as a great occasion for India and said he was "honoured to share the dais" with him. However, Dhoni claimed he was no pushover in chess either. "I'll beat him (Anand) at chess if he plays left-handed," he quipped.
Anand wished the Indian team success in the Chennai Test. "Good luck for the next four days, though I hope it gets over in three."
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