The Surfer

You've developed a slower version of your arm ball which has been getting you good rewards...
Yes, it is basically one of my biggest weapons now. I have to keep varying my pace, otherwise batsmen will get used to my bowling. I don't have too many major variations from the back-of-the-hand or fingers. I realised that you cannot experiment too much. I am a very simple bowler and person. Most of the great left-arm spinners, my heroes, were all simple left-arm spinners. If you see Bishanpa (Bedi)... he told me one day that the main things for a left-arm spinner are perseverance and accuracy. If you have these two things, only then you can try and bring in variations and do other things. I want to learn more about great left-arm spinners.

The inclusion of Philander and Tahir marked the first time that a Proteas Test team has featured two debutants since Wayne Parnell and Ryan McLaren cracked the nod in the fourth Test against England at the Wanderers in Johannesburg last January, which was 11 Tests ago.

Dupont executive Bharat Sharma and his techie wife clicked pictures on their mobile phone cameras leaning over our third floor balcony, trying to catch the slightly disheartened Sachin, trudging back with bat held usual style, shoulders not slumped but not exactly exuding the familiar confident swagger. 'Saali ..expletive deleted' ball ko abhi neeche rehna thaa, (did that ball have to stay low now), couldn't it have been Laxman,' said a bearded kurta pajama from another corner, loudly, spitting paan.

You see, Misbah's real misfortune is that his rise to captain has coincided with the age of Shahid Afridi, a vibrant, expressive media-savvy charmer and a man of such colour it blinds you to what is really inside. Afridi has also led successfully in this time and he remains a people's captain, the anti-establishment rouser to Misbah's system lackey. Much of Pakistan embraces Afridi's irrationality without understanding what he is, and more after each ball bite, each pitch-spiking, each retirement and subsequent unretirement, each public spat.

Misbah, by contrast, is pheeka, or bland. To triumph or defeat, to boundary or dismissal, he gives no reaction and how can you love no emotion, no jazba (passion)? The one revealing image I recall is his sunken head, on his knees leaning against his bat, just after the shot that ended the 2007 World Twenty20 final. You cannot even see his face. So when Afridi agitated against Younis Khan's captaincy, people got over it. But when Misbah was part of a similar movement? Not forgotten.

The West Indies team members started calling Richards Smokin' Joe after the batting great "stood up for Frazier at most times" during "arguments" while on tour. Richards said: "We (in the West Indies team) used to speak often about our favourite boxers. I always admired Ali. He was the greatest really, but I just loved the attitude of the smaller man, Frazier. He wasn't as physically tall as some of the boxers who were six feet, four or six feet, five. Joe was about five feet, 10 or 11. His tenacity stood out - he moved forward and never took a step back. He was like a raging bull."

Players on both teams averaged around 23 years, born around the time Crowe already had a reputation as one of the most elegant batsmen in test cricket history. Yet the age differences didn't seem to bother Crowe. He chatted to his keeper and second slip throughout the game, but was relatively quiet, even unanimated.

Crowe was blessed with an intuitive sense of PR as cameras were thrust in his direction, adding a surreal element to the reserve grade XI contest. Crowe donned his gear and a traditional bandana and warmed-up with a few practice shots. The cameras lapped it up as he showed the maker's name, a Gunn and Moore "Flare" to be specific. There must be a cheque in the mail for such golden publicity.

So what is the best way forward? The ICC must have the courage to support its current anti-corruption infrastructure. More resources may be necessary to monitor the growing volume of matches and tournaments. The ICC must insist and ensure that every national board, team management and tournament organiser has accredited measures to prevent and detect malpractice.

At the nets, Ponting is indefatigable, spending longer there than any other Australian player. As long as there is one ball left to hit, throw or catch, he will. He is whippet-fit. It is not desperation, just Ponting's way and always has been. He still loves cricket, and still hopes it might give up one last secret to him, if only he is patient. It is admirable, but now could become a complication. Ponting is toiling as hard as always, but always is not forever.

The first ball goes pass my left ear before I can even react. I had that feeling you get when you just wake up after you made the mistake of turning your alarm off when you thought you pressed snooze. I had a look around the field and the placement of the fielders suggested that he seemed more interested in knocking my head off than getting me out. I thought "this kid is not just a great talent but a mind reader as well". The overs that followed were full of aggression and intimidation and I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned for my health and safety. The inevitable eventually happened, a fierce blow to the head. Thankfully the helmet took the impact and I was left just a little shaken.

In sports-mad South Africa, Cronje's good looks, excellent play as batsman and captain, and apparent decency and honesty, made him an ideal icon for the country as for advertisers. But he it was who stooped to serial dishonesty, even seducing the most junior players in his team to be his cronies. Cronje was a fascinating example of the splits that occur in so many people. On the outside, and in many of the contexts of his life, he was a decent, loving, honest, honourable man. But scratch the surface and you found this other self, this shadow self, corrupt, dishonest, devious, which he himself may have been puzzled by.

For such reasons, those guilty deserve penalties with a deterrent element. I support the calls for strong action against people engaged in such corruption.