The Surfer

The celebration of a milestone is precisely the moment to hit out at critics and send messages to the world. Ramdin, being an innovative, tenacious type, articulated that message using pen and paper. And where is the harm? Sir Viv, who never wore a helmet when batting, can cope with a public rebuke. Then some argue this is a slippery slope: if we allow players to get away with waving paper, soon they'll be mooning at fans. Like all slippery-slope reasoning, this is playground philosophy.

Unfortunately, his public posturing on the pitch will be remembered by everyone who witnessed it, both at the ground and live on television, and it will put Mr Ramdin under more pressure the next time he comes to the wicket.

"I was very surprised. I know in 2009 when he made that 166 (against England at Kensington Oval) he did pull a note out and it was thanking people for the support. When I saw it (piece of paper) come out of his pocket (on Sunday), I thought it was the same thing. But when I read it, I said: 'No Denesh, no.' That's taking it a little bit overboard," Williams said.

Pietersen reminds me of a Muhammad Ali. Folks came to see Ali get beaten because he had said one or two things that had upset people, but at the end of the day they just marvelled at what he achieved. Some people love him and some people hate him but Kevin Pietersen puts bums on seats - he is that talented. If he is firing well, he can take any attack apart and that is what great batsmanship is about. If he can do that against South Africa, England are in with a great chance.

I would rather look back at what KP has done for us. He's been magnificent. There's no point in saying you have to play, if his heart isn't in it. This will give an opportunity to someone else. KP has gone, so now is the chance for a new KP. Players like that don't come along every day. But he feels the time is right - so be it.

His disgraceful and disrespectful display on Sunday deserved a severe penalty as well as a strong reprimand. It was unsportsmanlike behaviour which tainted a rare moment of glory for the team. If he cannot accept constructive criticism from one of the greatest cricketers ever to come out of the West Indies, how can he be expected to learn and develop as a sportsman?

Have they seen England’s international schedule? It is more crammed than a sporting student’s exam revision. England are the 19th and by far the busiest county. They are too busy. They have to play Scotland in a one-day international on Aug 12 when two full teams might be unavailable in between Tests against South Africa and A Tests against Australia A. Flower probably wants to criticise the schedule, but he cannot. That would upset his employers. It was right to rest Anderson and Broad. Just as it was right to rest Andrew Strauss for the Bangladesh tour in 2010. The Ashes later that year was the long-term vision then. We won them if you remember.

The pitches for this series were too slow. I know the weather has not helped but this England attack needs pace in the pitch. Against South Africa if you go in with slow wickets their batting line up will eat you up and make big scores. Against India last year we saw pace in the pitch and England blew them away.

Most top bowlers can seek and control swing; to Sami it comes and goes as randomly as the moods of a child. There has been no smoothening of edges, no sharpening of skills, no real development of repertoire.

But what has always seemed the most reasonable assessment is that though he may be a fast bowler by profession, he isn't one by spirit. Frank Tyson once wrote that "To bowl quick is to revel in the glad animal action; to thrill in physical prowess and to enjoy a certain sneaking feeling of superiority over the other mortals who play the game."

Don Bradman’s last-inning duck got many more headlines than the man who dismissed him – Eric Hollies. Although Hollies played 13 Tests, it is as a bowler for Warwickshire that he is better remembered. He once claimed all ten wickets in an innings against Nottinghamshire, remarkably without the aid of a fielder; seven were bowled and three leg before. That was in 1946, when as Warwickshire struggled, he emerged as the leading wicket taker. It was not good enough to find him a place in the team for the Ashes tour, a decision England had cause to regret. In all, Hollies finished with 2323 wickets, and as befit one of the leading rabbits in the game, a total of 1673 runs at an average of 5.28.

"All of our great players have had exposure in English cricket, whether it is league or county, where the ball swings and swerves," Gibbs said. “They put their games together in foreign conditions and became successful. These young players have never had that. In English conditions, anybody could pick up a ball and make something happen with it and our players need to learn how to deal with that."

The one thing he has to be a bit careful about is the fact that he’s now drawn attention to himself and away from the hundred. Had he not had a pop at Viv, we’d all have been praising the century and left it at that. But people will now look out for Ramdin in the future: can he live up to this gesture?

This is a man who has struggled with the bat for a long time and has not kept wicket well during this series. When a cricketer such as Richards observes that he hasn't produced the goods over years, Ramdin should take note. In many ways, by making a hundred, he proved Viv's point that he hasn't been producing what he is capable of. To go to the lengths of having a note in his pocket and displaying it is a very disrespectful, silly thing to do. If he can't take constructive criticism from one of the greatest players of all time, he is not very grown up.