The Surfer
A spate of broadcaster spats
As negotiations continue between the broadcasters and the BCCI over access to facilities in India, the BBC's credibility has been called into question if they do not broadcast from the grounds
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
As negotiations continue between the broadcasters and the BCCI over access to facilities in India, the BBC's credibility has been called into question if they do not broadcast from the grounds and comparisons with "alternative cricket commentary" service Test Match Sofa, have been debated.
Firstly, in the Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins had some strong words for TMS #2 and tells tales of yore of the real TMS, of which he features as one of the first to describe action from all overseas tours.
I just hope that the BBC will not have to bend its principles too far to achieve the desired compromise. But the thought of having to listen to the predators who purport to be producing commentaries from sofa or armchair without paying a penny to the England and Wales Cricket Board for the rights, is too ghastly to contemplate. The sooner they are nailed and swept offline, the better.
Andy Bull uses the Spin blog on the Guardian website to similarly declare his love for TMS and provides an insight into the earliest days of cricket commentary, most of which appears to have been made up.
Full postSame routine for Sehwag
As Virender Sehwag prepares plays a Ranji Trophy match after five years when Delhi take on Uttar Pradesh on Friday, old memories are evoked
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
As Virender Sehwag prepares plays a Ranji Trophy match after five years when Delhi take on Uttar Pradesh on Friday, old memories are evoked. As he takes Ashish Nehra on his car to leave for training at the stadium, he shares with Vijay Lokpally in The Hindu the similar routine of travelling together when both were trying to make a mark.
"We would take Bus No.783. Or I would pick him up on my scooter (a Vespa) and we would be off to the Kotla. Same routine for years, and now again it is the same routine. Only the distance has reduced. Instead of the scooter, it is a car now."
"From scooter to car, but the driver remains the same."
ICC's approval to day-night Tests 'shocking'
As the ICC gave a green signal to day-night Tests on Monday, S Dinakar in The Hindu expresses disappointment with ICC's apparent lack of vision
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
As the ICC gave a green signal to day-night Tests on Monday, S Dinakar in The Hindu expresses disappointment with ICC's apparent lack of vision. He says introducing day-night Tests can "threaten the game's fabric", and if it has to be introduced, the colour of the ball must be specified, instead leaving it to the home and away boards to decide.
The International Cricket Council's (ICC) approval to day/night Test and the manner in which this has been done is nothing less than shocking.
Is the ICC allowing Test cricket to be diluted? Even if it is keen on day-night cricket, the ICC clearly needs to specify the colour of the ball. For instance, we could have New Zealand and Pakistan playing a day-night Test with a pink ball and in another part of the world, South Africa and the West Indies could be duelling it out with a blue ball.
Simple fellow is Jonny Bairstow
Having burst onto the international scene with a blazing innings for England against India in Cardiff, Jonathan Liew, writing in The Telegraph, finds a player that seems to play better the less he thinks about the game
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Having burst onto the international scene with a blazing innings for England against India in Cardiff, Jonathan Liew, writing in The Telegraph, finds a player that seems to play better the less he thinks about the game.
At the age of 23, and with just four Test matches to his name, Johnny Bairstow has not been on the treadmill of international cricket for long enough to have been sedated by its unique rhythms. In person, as at the crease, there is a youthful simplicity to him. Unlike other batsmen who like to analyse and deconstruct their game in minute detail, as soon as Bairstow leaves at the end of a day's play, cricket is the last thing from his mind.
Inverarity's selection principle effective
Gideon Haigh, writing in The Australian, judges the contrasting selection principles of former selector Andrew Hilditch and the present John Inverarity, concluding that Inverarity's straightforward approach is the better one.
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Gideon Haigh, writing in The Australian, judges the contrasting selection principles of former selector Andrew Hilditch and the present John Inverarity, concluding that Inverarity's straightforward approach is the better one.
Australia cricket may have not have advanced as far as it likes to think since the Argus review, but in selection terms it seems decidedly better off. Two years ago, Andrew Hilditch's part-time panel was cajoled by Cricket Australia's marketing mavens into showing its hand fully a fortnight before the First Test against England - a hand prosthetically extended to 17 names. The response was richly-deserved ridicule. Inverarity's panel, full time and professional, exude an authority brooking no such external influence.
BCCI's 'naked show of strength'
The BCCI refused to provide space and access to BBC and Sky commentators for England's tour of India, citing "overbearing costs" as the excuse
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The BCCI refused to provide space and access to BBC and Sky commentators for England's tour of India, citing "overbearing costs" as the excuse. This, reasons Osman Samiuddin in the The National, is BCCI's naked show of strength, which is money.
The BCCI has been making big money since 1996 and unimaginable amounts of it since 2008; $800,000 is the kind of change that is probably lost among their sofa cushions. This is actually about the BCCI making money to show that the ability to generate it endlessly also grants them the right to not just exercise, but to actively show off the power of that money: it is a naked show of strength.
This is how the BCCI now measures itself and its relations, through acts such as this.
IPL teams too blasé
An editorial in the Asian Age says that the IPL teams showed a lack of spirit in demanding conditions in South Africa and such attitude is leading to the erosion of a valuable property like the Champions League
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
An editorial in the Asian Age says that the IPL teams showed a lack of spirit in demanding conditions in South Africa and such attitude is leading to the erosion of a valuable property like the Champions League.
Full postMalinga is captaincy material
In his weekly column in Island Cricket, Russel Arnold suggests that Lasith Malinga, who has been named vice-captain of Sri Lanka's Twenty20 team, would have made a good captain as he is one who keeps a sharp eye on the game.
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
In his weekly column in Island Cricket, Russel Arnold suggests that Lasith Malinga, who has been named vice-captain of Sri Lanka's Twenty20 team, would have made a good captain as he is one who keeps a sharp eye on the game.
It is a good move (Malinga as vice-captain). Although he just seems to float around in his unassuming way, he does have a very good head on his shoulders and is always switched on. Lasith is a man of a few words, but he does come up with some great suggestions that have surprised many. At one time, when Dilshan stepped down and Mahela was reluctant to captain, I wondered why we did not go with Malinga as our captain for the shorter formats, as I felt Angelo was not ready.
Glad I gave up keeping - Starc
Mitchell Starc started playing cricket as a wicketkeeper, he reveals in an interview in CLT20.com, and it was much later that he realised that his height held him in good stead for a bowling role
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Mitchell Starc started playing cricket as a wicketkeeper, he reveals in an interview in CLT20.com, and it was much later that he realised that his height held him in good stead for a bowling role rather than behind the wickets.
"I have got height so I am little bit too tall for 'keeping. I think it was Under-16 when I started really focusing on bowling and trying to work out how I was going to go about my bowling and that sort of thing. I just try to keep everything natural and had a lot of help around me to get to where I am today. So that's a good change in the end; so I am glad I could glad I gave the gloves up."
Going to Australia as favourites exciting - Smith
South Africa is going to Australia with their recently earned No.1 Test ranking at stake and Graeme Smith knows that Australia is never an easy place to tour. He talks to Neil Manthorp in the Supersport
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
South Africa is going to Australia with their recently earned No. 1 Test ranking at stake and Graeme Smith knows that Australia is never an easy place to tour. He talks to Neil Manthorp in the Supersport.
"But for all the supposed 'decline' of Australian cricket, and their failure to dominate as they once did, they are still an imposing force. Their series win against India was imposing, to say the least, and their array of young fast bowlers was eye-catching, to say the least, so I am under no illusions about the challenge which lies ahead.
"To go to Australia for the first time with an expectation from home to do well, rather than just a hope, is something I am very proud of. It is something the whole team can be proud of."
