The Surfer

There's something about the expectancy of an in-form opener entering the Test scene. It can be fuelled by the individual's run-scoring ability, his hunger for big scores in pressure situations. It can be because of an aging veteran's impending retirement, and the interest around whether the selectors will give him the chop. It can be the promise of fresh talent, of watching a batsman with much potential being given the biggest opportunity of his career.

When my colleague Rob Smyth is really tickled by something he tends to gurgle in amused satisfaction. I, on the other hand, squawk like a strangled parrot. Many of the happiest moments of my cricket-watching life have, oddly enough, come while I've been sitting next to Rob, the two of us gurgling, giggling and squawking as we write over-by-over commentary. We are, as you can imagine, a popular pair with our workmates, who are all trying to get on with the business of producing a newspaper. I'm not sure anything we've seen has ever given Rob and I more delight than the sight of MS Dhoni pacing out his run-up so he could fill in Zaheer Khan's missing overs during the Lord's Test. It epitomised the gulf between the two teams, and presaged the shape of the series to come. But better yet was that it showed, again, the sheer moxie of the man: if something needs doing, best do it yourself.

At the very first meeting he attended of the International Cricket Conference (as the ICC was then) as head of the Pakistan board, Nur Khan told those around him he was ashamed to be sitting with them.

"I've been involved in other sports and they solved issues by building a proper institution, not a private body like the MCC," he later remembered. "I said aren't you ashamed after so many years that hockey and other sports have 80-90 members? Squash had many countries and here you are only six or seven after so many years?"

What is it with Laxman? Show him a baggy green cap, and he comes alive. From cumbersome, he becomes commanding. Not since Ian Botham has there been a tormentor of Australians. In 25 Tests against Australia, Laxman has scored 2279 runs at an average of 55.58, with six centuries. In Australia, he has 1080 runs at 54.05 with four centuries. Those are staggering numbers, considering the chunk of those runs came against what was the best team in Test cricket.

I think more players out of the sub-continent will be attracted to India because of the money. The responsibility of playing for the country could become a problem. In addition, I am very happy that the seniors and the best players of the world earn lot of money. What I have seen is that a lot of young players and inexperienced players are earning good money and I don’t think it’s good for their future development.

When I first came into the Australian team everyone said we had a weakness against spin bowling and we did a lot of work on that. That's what we're doing now against the swinging and seaming ball. We're practising as much as we can. It will take time for us to improve and we will keep working on it. So, I think the pre-Test batting camp is a positive initiative.

[India's] their bowling lacks experience and they're dealing with injuries as well. They'll have concerns there. Zaheer Khan is a big player for them. I think it's going to be a really good contest between youth and enthusiasm versus some old wise heads in the Indian team ... I am 100 per cent confident there'll be no repeat of the unpleasantness the last time Australia played India in a Test series at home.

According to a mortgage deed filed by Nimbus, it anticipated earnings of Rs 2761 crore from the rights. The source of this confidence is unclear: the deed states that Nimbus expected to earn Rs 1213 crore in advertising revenues from cricket between 2010-14. However, the ad revenue from all its sports for the previous four financial years was only Rs 360.1 crore. In plainspeak: Nimbus expected a 400% rise in ad revenues.

Neo Cricket, pretty much a one-product entity, was cutting costs at each step, trying to squeeze out every second's worth of advertising revenue. In spite of all its efforts, however, the money being generated was only a fraction of what was anticipated when it first signed the deal, brokered by the BCCI's former financial whizkid, Lalit Modi.

I had mates of mine texting from all over the world Monday saying: "Are you watching this?". I went out for a drink with Dion Nash on Wednesday and all the guys we bumped into that night were just blown away by that last day and were telling the same stories we were.

The truncated format has always had its detractors, most things that are new and popular come with naysayers. The venom is more pointed this time, aimed at national boards who have succumbed to its commercial appeal at the cost of the more traditional forms of the sport.

Back in the 70s, and even beyond that, there was a firm belief, certainly in England, that you did not need to tinker with the two international formats when it came to selecting teams. There were practical reasons, of a kind, in that it did not seem worth trying to develop a separate side for the few games that were played, sideshow as they were to the main event, and financial resources were a whole lot different. But although there was the occasional exception, usually down to an injury, overriding all this was the maxim that the best players, which for purposes at the time meant Test cricketers, would prove the most adept at cricket played over 60 overs.

Brendon is no ordinary individual and no ordinary coach. Cricket oozes out of every part of his body. A New Zealand international at the age of 18, 77 first class games amidst a series of injuries, and most recently running independent academies for 15 years, he virtually swims in a pool of cricket every day. Just as importantly, the cricket skills he develops in the youngsters through his academy are the life skills he installs. Nicknamed the "Get Hard Academy" by many of his former pupils, Bracewell went about developing independent and strong thinkers, preparing them to be decisive and clear decision makers on the field.