The Surfer

My impression is that Pietersen is not really technically deficient against left-arm spinners but he has become unnerved by them, something he would vehemently deny. On the very brief evidence of Sunday there is one shot that he declines to play against them now, and that is the forward defensive.

Mendis will have been scrutinised microscopically. From it will have come the realisation that in a form of the game where there is no imperative to force the pace, there is nothing so mysterious about Mendis at all. " Get forward," is the mantra, "and play him as an off-spin bowler." Simple and, if the statistics are to be believed, effective, for since that debut series, 13 matches have thus far brought him 36 more wickets at 41 runs apiece. The batsmen have got his measure now.

In Warne, we saw one of us. A knockabout bloke who got himself into trouble only when he wasn't true to himself. We can forgive the weather reports to subcontinental bookies, the banned diuretic and the even the way he pursued ordinary sorts with the same zest as good ones. What we couldn't stand for was the Nicorette deal (how can he have such white teeth while smoking so many durries?) or putting his name to a wine range. Shane Keith Warne is a joker, a smoker, a midnight toker - and he definitely gets his lovin' on the run.

As the cricket calendar gets ever more packed — and the BCCI is responsible for scheduling both the IPL and international series — players will be forced to take calls with more stark choices than the injured Gambhir has. And it’s not just about the money. Top sportspersons seek the best stages, those that are the most competitive, to establish their dominance. When in pursuit of longevity as competitors they pass some tournaments, the decision should be seen for its rationale — for an athlete’s choices define her greatness — and not as a pretext to pass judgment.

Since the start of the last edition of the IPL, Raina has been on the road constantly. He's boarded an estimated 72 flights in between featuring in 109 match days, including Tests, ODIs, T20 Internationals, IPL and the Champions League.

Fourteen-year-old Terry Jenner was leaning on the wall of our ancient wooden pavilion at Shearn Park in Mt Lawley, an inner suburb of Perth.

Collingwood probably dropped too many chances throughout the course of a long Test career to be mentioned in the same breath as South Africa's Jonty Rhodes when it comes to truly great fielders of the modern area. But he did hold any number of stupendous catches that left his team-mates open-mouthed in admiration.

Now, whether Collingwood would have held the two edges that flashed close to Alastair Cook - new filler of the third slip slot - is impossible to tell. Experience tells us, though, that he probably would have snaffled one of them, and quite possibly have reacted more quickly than Eoin Morgan did at point when a miscue landed fractionally short of him.

Cook and Trott have formed a bond as successful as it is unlikely. The latter is an anxious starter and twitchy stayer - scratching that trench on the popping crease, fiddling his way through an extended routine before every ball that he faces. Cook, by contrast, increasingly resembles a run-making robot, as unflustered on 99 as he is on nine.

The crowds have not been exceptional – although there were 10, 479 present on Saturday, by far the best of the three days – and in an instant the judgement has been that there is little or no appetite for Test cricket in Wales. Before the accusations of bias fly, I must stress that I too remain sceptical on that front, but it is far too soon to say categorically. And there is no going back now. Glamorgan simply cannot survive without Test cricket. As a venue this has to be granted time.

Having devoted a major part of his last 22 years to cricket scoring, Gharat now also conducts annual courses for those aiming to follow his path at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). And while insisting that he has never once committed an error during his illustrious scoring career even during the pre-laptop era, he can’t help but reiterate the comfort that technology has brought about in his area of expertise. “These days, even a mistake can be revoked by a single click,” he says.

The problem for Finn this week could be that Strauss's two remaining fast bowlers, Broad and Tremlett, are both tall, bang it in merchants, and a third of the same type would leave England with little in the way of variety. So what price a heart-warming return for Onions, whose style is much more "kiss the turf" and search for seam movement?

Andrew Strauss gave Broad the new ball, in partnership with Anderson, but saw England's newly appointed Twenty20 captain struggle to find the sort of consistency that was a hallmark of the team's success in Australia. There were some good deliveries, as one would expect on a pitch offering just a hint of assistance if no pace whatsoever during the first few overs. But there was too much loose stuff as well – meat and drink to Sri Lanka's in-form openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana.