The Surfer

By reinstating Pietersen, which was always likely the moment the former No1-ranked Test team hit the skids against the fiercely talented — and unified — South Africans and became a no-brainer with the abject separation from their World Twenty20 title, the ECB regain possession of a major and still unspent batting talent.

But then at what cost is Pietersen permitted to smooth away his devastating attack on the concept of a team in a few minutes of cheery reworking of the past.

I am 39 and I don't think I have plenty of cricket left in me. But it depends on my frame of mind and my physical ability to deliver. When I feel that I am not delivering what is needed, and then I will re-look at the scheme of things. I am already 39 and no one expects me to go on playing forever. I will go with what my heart says.

When Brian Lara broke Sir Garfield Sobers record of 365 not out; I worked harder at perfecting my batting, imagining one day I might play for the Windies. I even adopted the name Brenda Lara.

Today the region stands ready to commit to memory another great West Indian cricket team and even another great cricketing era as the women’s cricket team battles the Australian team in the semi-final of the prestigious ICC World T20 Tournament in Sri Lanka.

Some pointed questions are now being raised about Dhoni's leadership credentials in T20s and Tests. Sri Lanka was just the latest instance when India hasn't looked the part. Critics say that over the past year or so, some of Dhoni's bowling changes, field placements and choice of playing XI have defied logic.

Throughout the tournament there were some strange selections, and it wasn't until the final match that South Africa arrived on their best combination. Richard Levi's blitz in New Zealand earlier this year was indeed impressive, but by the time he arrived in Sri Lanka it was clear that he was struggling to repeat that performance on pitches that didn't have the same pace, and to clear boundaries of proper length. Even a pressure-free fifty against Zimbabwe couldn't hide the string of single-digit scores in England, yet he continued to be preferred to the adaptable Faf du Plessis.

I hope he realises what is at stake. If he knuckles down and plays for another three years he could walk away with records unmatched by any other England player. He could win five Ashes series, a Twenty20 World Cup, score 10,000 Test runs and retire with an average of 50 in all formats. What a brilliant career. He would be the best England batsman who has ever lived.

The penny may have dropped over the last couple of weeks. He will have realised in Sri Lanka how much it hurts not playing in a major tournament for England when you are fit and healthy.

The alliance of that focus and a divine natural talent makes Kohli quite the package. He could – should – be the next superstar of world cricket. While modern cricket has a number of young box-office stars, most focus on the shorter form of the game. Kohli, by contrast, still believes in the primacy of Test cricket. "People asked me which hundred is most special to you and I said the hundred in Adelaide against Australia. I didn't have that feeling ever in my life, before or after – and I felt it today again," he said after making his second Test hundred. "I think that is the most satisfying, when you're being tested and your patience is being tested, your technique is tested and you manage to score a hundred – it always pleases a batsman."

The hurt of not being able to play for his country cannot be concealed. According to him, he came close to an India cap twice. “In 1964, I was staying as a paying guest near Harkisandas Hospital (near Charni Road, Mumbai). I received a phone call from my ‘godfather’ Vinoo Mankad, who said that I would be called to play the series against Mike Smith’s English team, so ‘be ready’. I waited for the call the whole of next day, but the only call I received was from Vinoobhai, who said, ‘sorry Vijay, I couldn’t help you, but a selector told me that you stood a good chance,’ ” said Bhosale.

Against Pakistan, off-spinner Nathan McCullum was the preferred candidate to bowl the second over of the match. Only between the warm-up and the second ball of the game, captain Ross Taylor felt that the breeze had started blowing differently.

Wistful reminiscing about Alec Bedser, Brian Statham and Fred Trueman ploughing through thousands of overs in county cricket without repercussion has been replaced by a surfeit of stories detailing the travails of the latest fast bowler unable to complete a match or series due to injury. Such a trend intriguingly defies the standard perception that the human body is more advanced physically than it has ever been.

Nowhere is this trend more evident than in New Zealand, who have developed a reputation as the injury capital of world cricket. Shane Bond, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Hamish Bennett, Brent Arnel, Doug Bracewell, Andy McKay and Kyle Mills are just some of the casualties in recent times on the international scene, with countless more domestic bowlers also struck down. The obvious question on everyone's minds is: Why?