The Surfer

Yuvraj's thinking, attitude and mental state will be critical in his recovery because they will enable him to tap into the enormous healing powers that already lie within him. For centuries yogis have been telling us about the powerful effects of the mind on the health and function of the body.

Yuvraj will change the path and trajectory of his recovery if he changes the limiting beliefs and values, and the negative thinking and mental pictures that are likely to hold him back. The values, thoughts and pictures that he puts in his mind today will determine what he becomes tomorrow.

Cook is resourceful where his opening partner, Kevin Pietersen, is inflexible. Cook takes an over or two to assess the conditions and the pitch. In spite of the compulsory attacking field at the start – therefore with enticing boundary opportunities – he plays himself in. He does not look to assault the opening bowler as an Adam Gilchrist or a Sanath Jayasuriya might. He shapes to nudge and nurdle for a couple of overs and keep his wicket intact. He quickly sizes up the percentage shots and the productive areas.

During Pakistan's series victory over England it felt as though there was hardly a single facet of Test match cricket that had not been changed, one way or another, by the DRS; batting technique, bowling technique, the balance between bat and ball, the decision-making processes of the umpires and the experience of the spectators in the ground, all had been altered.

On the first day of the third Test, for instance, as well as 16 wickets there were eight referrals, seven of them for LBW appeals. The nuanced rhythm of the day's play, which should allow for languorous contemplation as well as demanding rapt attention, was disrupted. The narrative was reduced to a series of DRS talking points.

When Nawroz Mangal led Afghanistan against Pakistan last week, it was the end of a long journey which started with his family's flight from Soviet troops, and continued when he picked up bat and ball as a young refugee ... "That period was difficult for all the family," the Afghan captain told AFP in an interview. "We were financially hit and living in refugee camps was very tough on us. The best part of those ugly days was that I learnt this beautiful game of cricket."

India's cricketers have been ridiculed in recent times for their abysmal showings in England and Australia. Reams have been written about the batsmen's inadequacies against fast bowling and especially short-pitched deliveries. In some cases, it is not just their techniques that have been questioned, but their toughness and appetite for the game. You rarely see such scathing criticism when England, Australia or South Africa fail in the subcontinent or the Middle East.

"As a person, I am quite reliable and dependable. So I felt it was my duty to be there at the end. I think the other reason was that my strategy was pretty good. I timed and paced chasing runs correctly. It gave me a chance to be there till the end."

Money has spun its vicious web, and all of us, so intent in praying to it, have forgotten that it has to come from somewhere – some scheme, some scam. It no longer comes from ticket sales – nothing as simple and human as that – it comes from air-conditioned rooms filled with sweet suits and plump faces and vampire thoughts. Cell phones spout forth numbers and figures – statistics not of bat and ball, but of balance and bank. Plots are hatched – not how to dismiss a batsman, but to capture viewers and create markets where they do not exist.

Central Districts were 225-8 chasing Auckland's 282-8. Mason's highest score in 96 List A matches for CD was 20 - yes 20. The man at the other end, Marty Kain, had scored a total of five runs in an eight-match career. Logic insisted Auckland would win, giving them a successive domestic limited-overs double. Centurion Neal Parlane would be the hero, the Asti Spumante had been delivered to the visitors' changing rooms and "Auckland" was in the process of being etched on to the trophy.

It’s not a sad story, it needn’t be a sad story, for it’s the story of a hero, and a hero must smile through pain as he does through pleasure. And hasn’t Yuvraj Singh had many reasons to smile? Didn’t April mark the pinnacle of his career? Written off when the World Cup started as ‘finished and over-the-hill’, Yuvraj became the Man of the Tournament, winning four Man of the Match awards. On March 24, 2011, as he guided India to a win over defending champions Australia, propelling them into the semi-finals, every young boy in the country wanted to grow up to be Yuvraj Singh.