The Surfer

On his return to international cricket there would be only 43 runs in 12 innings for England in various formats. His form was so dire that he could not be picked for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. And now this: a sublime display decorating a memorable Test victory. Stokes may mature. But it would be wrong to anticipate too much caginess from him as he gets older.

Then came Lord's, and Mark Wood's imaginary horse, Joe Root's mock-salute, and Ben Stokes's bravado, going at the short ball - not ducking under it - because it was a chance to score six. Even Cook's nurdle to leg assumed reassuring proportions, the world back on its axis.

New Zealand received a lot of well-earned praise for the way they have approached and played their cricket over the past two years, so it is only right to recognise the Lord's Test for what it was: an epic meltdown. But when McCullum says, "I thought we played our part in a tremendous Test match," someone in the touring party needs to be brave enough to say, "Yes, the wrong part."

Still Zimbabwe's arrival is a turning point, if not one of instant impact. The first step was always to find a full member team willing to tour. The second, more crucial, is to ensure the tour goes off safely. Only then will belief be instilled in other sides that Pakistan can be toured and it will be a long, slow and gradual process before normality resumes. For now, though, a moment that seemed inconceivably for years, is suddenly right here.

Strauss thinks a lot about leadership. How to build a team. How to bring people with you. How to think outside the box. Upon assuming the England captaincy, he read voraciously: Moneyball, the diaries of Winston Churchill, military history, books on politics and business. Along with Andy Flower, they applied the short, sharp, high-intensity ethos of American football training to English cricket. And he remains keen to borrow ideas from other sports. "For us to be doing everything through the prism of our experiences in the game of cricket is the wrong way to look at it," he says.

He was forced, however, to stop and pause at least a few times. One came early, at the age of 21, when he found out that he wasn't selected for the Tamil Nadu team because he had long hair. Or so he believes. "That's what my sources told me and I was shocked. It's a weird feeling: I didn't understand. What's hair got to do with cricket? What does it really say? How can you judge my attitude on that? If I do not supporting my teammates, or come late for training or make mistakes on the field, these things can be addressed. Not your hair or the way you speak, or smoke," he says.

The Hindu community had a long-standing social and business rivalry with the Parsis and were not going to let them be the only local group playing the British at their own sport. That the first Hindu club was called the Bombay Hindu Union Cricket Club, founded in 1866, was ironic, as the Hindus were anything but united. Clubs were usually restricted to people of a specific caste or from a particular region, as names such as the Gowd Saraswat Club, Kshatriya Cricket Club, Gujarati Union Cricket Club and Maratha Cricket Club suggest. In fact, even the Bombay Hindu Union Club was formed by and for members of the Prabhu caste.

De Villiers wasn't being immodest or arrogant when he said Sunday's innings wasn't his best. He understands the playing field was tilted his way. The fielding side can't put fielders where they want. The bowlers can't bowl the deliveries they want. But the batsman can do whatever he wants. He can stand outside leg, he move outside off. He can play right-handed and left-handed.

Praveen Kumar is talking about the Indian philosopher Chanakya and Hussain Zaidi, a raconteur of tantalising tales from the underworld. His ringtone is the gruffly voice of Amitabh Bachchan speaking a dialogue from a movie. He talks about how he loves the sound of guns and relishes target shooting. He swears "mummy kasam" that he has never physically hit anyone in his life, goes all sweet about his Labradors, and turns mush about his two-year old daughter Saaya. And talks ambitious about his new dream to become a bowling coach. "Ab PK English bolega," says the new PK in his old style.

Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised. Four of the five batsmen Hoggard dismissed the most - India's Virender Sehwag (six times), Australian Matthew Hayden (six), West Indies opener Chris Gayle (five) and India's Rahul Dravid (five) - were among the most influential batsmen of his era.

The family name brings added pressures, of course. Chris followed in his father's footsteps when captaining England for a single Test match in a truly dismal summer in 1988 and their uncle, Graham, was also part of the Kent furniture for 13 seasons from 1984-97. There are clear signs, though, that Fabian is comfortable with the levels of expectation that have followed him since he broke his grandfather's scoring records at Tonbridge as a schoolboy. "The only pressure [the name brings] really is the pressure that I've created myself," he says. "Pressure can build up in your head but it's all in your hands.