The Surfer
Tino Best: From the ridiculous to the sublime
On his return to Test cricket, Tino Best smashed 95 and has taken two wickets so far in England's first innings in the third Test at Edgbaston
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
On his return to Test cricket, Tino Best smashed 95 and has taken two wickets so far in England's first innings in the third Test at Edgbaston. Steve James, in The Telegraph writes that Best's 95 an was extraordinary innings, some return to Test cricket in his first match since 2009. It had been fun, frolicsome, and frustrating for England.
He is not really a No 11. This is his 15th Test, but only the second match in which he has been slated as the last man. He has actually batted at No 8 in five Tests, including four against England in the Caribbean in 2004.
Later that year at Lord’s, Andrew Flintoff memorably sledged Best, then batting at No 9. “Mind the windows, Tino,” he said. Best, irked, attempted a wild slog and was stumped.
On Sunday Best was doing all the chirping. And, goodness, he likes it. Shaven-headed and barrel-chested, he has the build of a boxer, and the pre-bout chat to go with it.
Wins more important than hundreds - Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain, would rather be a part of an overseas series winning India team than just be a batsman with 30 Test hundreds
Devashish Fuloria
25-Feb-2013
Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain, would rather be a part of an overseas series winning India team than just be a batsman with 30 Test hundreds. He speaks in the Indian Express about his style of captaincy, player retirements and his motivations as an international cricketer.
I will be very honest: since I am leading KKR, if I feel that if a youngster just wants to play IPL, he will never play for KKR. Never. I will make sure that he isn't picked for KKR because IPL is a platform where you express yourself and express your talent and that will help you play for India.
Coping with cricket’s commercialisation
An editorial in the Jamaica Observer on the effect of commercialisation on the game.
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
An editorial in the Jamaica Observer on the effect of commercialisation on the game.
It is largely recognised outside of the Caribbean that international cricketers are professionals who must be treated as such. That’s the reason, for example, that New Zealand Cricket has endeavoured to create a “window” for its top cricketers to be available for the extraordinarily lucrative IPL twenty/20 “money” league in India. That’s an example the WICB needs to find a way to follow so that it will be better able to field its strongest teams at all times.
First Larwood, now Anderson
The Declaration Game blog compares the decision to rest James Anderson to the decision to rest Harold Larwood three-quarters of a century ago.
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
The Declaration Game blog compares the decision to rest James Anderson to the decision to rest Harold Larwood three-quarters of a century ago.
The [England] selectors have to decide what to do about their premier fast bowler: play him in a dead rubber, and risk injury, or hold him back for a future challenge. That’s the issue that confronted England’s selectors prior to the third test at Edgbaston against the West Indies, with Jimmy Anderson the subject of their, and most cricket followers’, discussions. Seventy-five years ago a similar decision was called for. How did that situation compare with the one in 2012 and what were its consequences?
Sri Lanka's top-order gamble
The decision to promote Mahela Jayawardene as an opener has shoved Upul Tharanga, who has a decent one-day record, down the order
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The decision to promote Mahela Jayawardene as an opener has shoved Upul Tharanga, who has a decent one-day record, down the order. Jayawardene may have good reasons for the move, but the tactic is a gamble, especially against a quality bowling attack like Pakistan's, writes Rex Clementine in the Island.
An avid cricket follower compared the mentality of the top brass of the national cricket team to that of a village tennis ball cricket team where the captain gets to bat first followed by the other big boys, who have the lion’s share of the innings while the small ones are left with the leftovers. Tactically too it sounds weird for a young side needs a calm head to steady the ship.
Proud to be compared to Jim Laker - Graeme Swann
England’s offspinner Graeme Swann needs five wickets in the third Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston to equal former offspinner Jim Laker's milestone of 193 wickets
Carlyle Laurie
25-Feb-2013
England’s offspinner Graeme Swann needs five wickets in the third Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston to equal former offspinner Jim Laker's milestone of 193 wickets. Speaking to Rob Bagchi in the Guardian, Swann says he’s proud to be compared to Laker.
“He's one of the greatest of all-time so I'm in a very privileged position if I'm being compared to him. Someone told me I was near to him but I didn't realise I was that close,” Swann said. “Some players abide by them (milestones) and know their averages down to the tenth decimal point but I've never been like that. I keep a casual eye on them but since my fourth-year maths teacher put me off I've never been a fan of statistics.”
Cow Corner, writing for Eurosport, says that keeping in mind the schedule in the upcoming months, England’s player management system is completely justified.
We've heard it all over the last few days; but the fact is that cricket is ever evolving and the demands upon the players — and indeed coaches — need to be adapted to accordingly. As much as the spectators pay a premium to watch England's star players in action, there is an increasing awareness and acceptance of the fact that every cricketer cannot play in every match.
Remembering Hansie Cronje
Rohan Kallicharan, writing for All out cricket , recalls childhood memories of time spent with Hansie Cronje, ten years after the former South Africa captain’s death.
Carlyle Laurie
25-Feb-2013
Rohan Kallicharan, writing for All out cricket, recalls childhood memories of time spent with Hansie Cronje, ten years after the former South Africa captain’s death.
Even aged 18, he was an imposing figure – tall and lean – but I found him, like the rest of the family, to be cut from the finest cloth. Humble, personable and thoughtful. A truly nice guy. He was a shy but very friendly individual, different in some ways to the slightly more outgoing brother Frans.
Don’t Just Hit the Ball as Hard as You Can
Afghanistan’s new batting coach Umesh Patwal told India Real Time that his goal is to use the talent available in Afghanistan, to make the team compete with the best.
Carlyle Laurie
25-Feb-2013
Afghanistan’s new batting coach Umesh Patwal told India Real Time that his goal is to use the talent available in Afghanistan, to make the team compete with the best.
“We’d like to be called giant killers. It would nice to beat one of them,” Patwal said. “It’s like a win-win situation, nobody would give Afghanistan any chance. They have the skill of hitting the ball hard, but they have to learn to hit the ball in proper gaps. It’s sometimes about using the pace of the bowlers… it’s not all about hitting the ball hard all the time.”
What is this primacy of Test cricket?
Time to be honest about the place Test cricket occupies in today's scenario, says Dileep Premachandran, in Wisden India .
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
Time to be honest about the place Test cricket occupies in today's scenario, says Dileep Premachandran, in Wisden India.
In the current dispensation, this is what it is. It’s a traditional Boxing Day Test being scrapped in South Africa, so that a Twenty20 game can be played instead. It’s a series that will decide the world’s best Test team being downgraded to three matches so that the heart of the English summer can be given over to five One-Day Internationals. It’s players being allowed to skip a Test tour so that they can recover from their Indian Premier League exertions.
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