The Surfer

There is luck in the bounce, in the draw - we have expressions for both. There is luck in injury: severity, timing, avoidance. There is luck in selection. Ricky Ponting began his Test career midway through the third day of a Perth Test against amiable Sri Lanka, with Australia 3-422. Matthew Hayden began on a few hours' notice, with a broken thumb, against South Africa, Allan Donald et al, in Johannesburg. It made for misleading first impressions.

"We've not really had much opportunity to get out," Bresnan says. "There's been a few beers in the hotel bar, but only to celebrate hundreds and five-fors in the warm-up games. There haven't been many nights out at all." Of course, nobody is suggesting that England are 2-0 down in the series because they have been unable to find somewhere in Mohali that serves Jaegerbombs. But at the moment, they are a small team in a very big country, and performing accordingly.

"As far as the fans were concerned they were not very happy, but in games, defeat and victory go together, you lose and you win, that happens," said Rajeev Shukla. "England have been losing for the last 10 years, most of their teams, and at football also. So therefore we're absolutely happy because we want cricket to grow in England."

England, so sensationally competent throughout the summer of 2012, are suddenly devoid of savvy, and surly to boot. Any good side can lose two consecutive ODIs, but to be beaten so emphatically is alarming. Associate countries lose by these sorts of massive margins.

The Indian batsmen can clear the boundary all right, but on low-bouncing pitches they are not so obsessed by target hitting, which England now diligently practise on the eve of each match. England's batsmen keep bashing the ball out of the ground in training. On match days they have usually run out of wickets before having a chance to put that practice into action. The Indians play late; England just seem to want to hit hard.

A few yards in front of the England bowling coach at Ferozeshah Kotla’s practice nets, Scott Borthwick walked in purposefully towards the popping crease. The ball pitched outside the leg-stump, tore acutely across the willow, tied a bewildered Kevin Pietersen into ugly knots and had Ahmed spitting with praise and laughter. “Perfection Scotty, perfection,” the bubbly ‘Mr Mushy’ exclaimed, before adding, “Turned that one like the legend himself.”

... the presentation - from Kirk Perreira's evocative video compilation entitled "The Magic of Melbourne" to feature speaker Mike Coward's articulate and powerful testimony to the contribution of the late Sir Frank and his role as captain of the West Indies in the magical 1960/61 series in Australia - left many misty-eyed and wishing we could somehow be transported back to a time when, to almost all of us in attendance anyway, the game, and indeed life itself, seemed so much more enjoyable.

[But] One of the first things we yearners for an increasingly distant past must acknowledge is that there is more than a touch of arrogance to the assumption that we lived in a time of dignity and civility...and that it's been all downhill since. Droning on constantly about "in my day" as if all was sweet and light in the 1950s, 60s or 70s neither informs nor educates but provokes young people disinclined towards being constantly admonished to just switch off and wait for the old so-and-sos to finish their pointless diatribe.

Wright has coached New Zealand and India with considerable success. Wright handled India well and they rose steadily on his watch. Some regarded him as indulgent towards the older players but the strong don't need to bang a drum and, anyhow, sometimes it is wise to let the players get on with it. Like most openers worth their salt, Wright adjusts his game to meet varying conditions.