The Surfer

In Brisbane, the key to taking 20 wickets is to get the batsmen on the front foot. Too often visiting teams bowl too short. They see it seaming and bouncing and get carried away. But the secret is to risk being driven through the covers and down the ground so you can get the nick. Around 75-80 per cent of the wickets in Brisbane are catches to the keeper or slips. David Saker, the England bowling coach, was very successful in Brisbane as a bowler so the England quicks must listen to his advice. He was a swing bowler like James Anderson, so he can pass on invaluable knowledge to England's main man.

Strauss has many fine attributes as captain; he concentrates, he treats the players with respect, he is tough, consistent, and can play the longer game. From what I've seen, I'd back him ahead of Ricky Ponting. Both seem to be well-respected by their players, but neither is, to my mind, tactically inventive. As is the modern habit, they tend to be defensive in field-placing. I should like England to be more willing to attack in the field, especially when the ball swings (the new ball has even more significance in Australia than in England, since it loses its shine and bounce much more quickly), and when key batsmen are new at the crease.

A strong debut seems to lead to a shinier career. Every additional ten runs scored in a debut series adds an extra five runs to a player’s career average. The effects of initial success are similar for bowlers. One possibility is that a good start builds confidence and experience that boosts future performance. A bad start, in contrast, is not easily forgiven: selectors appear to discard potentially high-ability players who had the misfortune to debut abroad.

Lara is a hero in Zimbabwe almost as much as he is in his haven of Trinidad and Tobago. Even young Zimbabweans more inclined towards soccer know exactly who he is and are drawn to him. Cricket bosses believe he could seriously shape the future of the game in the country, which is why they are considering paying him what many would consider an obscene amount of money to formalise a three-year relationship. But if Lara upholds his side of the deal it really could be worth it in the long run.

It would be putting it fairly mildly to say that Amla is not a great self-publicist and certainly does not pay court to the local and international media. Sometimes it’s hard to pin him down for an interview unless it’s strictly about cricket within a structured media environment.

I asked him why. “Look, the media notice things, good and bad and of course they write them up. I’m always hesitant to talk too much about things when they’re going well, because you know that cricket is a game of swings and roundabouts. You’re either going up or down. In that sense it keeps you honest all the time.”

When it was mooted that Brendon McCullum should go to the top of the test batting order at the same time as giving up the keeping gloves in five-day cricket, it's fair to say the plan wasn't greeted with universal support from the cricket public.

The England bowling coach, David Saker, says: "History shows that taller bowlers are usually the better ones, especially in Australian conditions." And as he speaks, he is mindful that in his care are Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett, both 6ft 8in, as tall as Curtly Ambrose or Joel Garner, the tower blocks that generally come to mind when the height of bowlers is discussed, and Stuart Broad, who is 6ft 5in. No taller group has represented England. No Australian can top that and it is a factor that has not gone unnoticed in Australia. "It is England's beanpole bowlers versus Australia's pygmy slingers" opined Tasmania's Mercury newspaper on Tuesday, "and it's advantage England."

To the unreconstructed Australian sports fan, Watson is thus something of an anomaly - and it helps explain the paradox that he does not meet with universal approval in his own country. The Australian blogger Jarrod Kimber really sticks the boot in, writing recently: "It takes real talent to be hated when you are pathetic and just as despised when you are good. Even those who have the talent to get to this level of hatred could never do it as well as Shane Watson. When not in front of the mirror, he seems to be able to move 95% of cricket fans into a frenzy of hate, pure detestation, clear revulsion, and a general uneasy sickness of rage."

Daniel Vettori is too much of a gentleman to savour somebody else’s misfortune, but the mental sigh of relief as the announcement was made in his presence that Zaheer would miss the Nagpur game with a groin strain wasn’t hard to imagine. More than Harbhajan and Ojha, Zaheer has loomed as the Kiwis’ biggest threat this series; now, the Kiwis will quietly fancy their chances of a remarkable and unlikely coup at the VCA stadium in Jamtha stemming from the knowledge that their principal tormentor won’t be around.

Every batsman experiences a wobble or two during their career but Pietersen’s quivering uncertainty when faced by left-arm spinners has been a real David and Goliath leveller for England’s most talented batsman. Whether the underlying doubts came before or after the lefties exposed him is the chicken-and-egg question Pietersen and England need to crack if he is to become a match-changer again.

There would be no tail-enders, no rubbish bowlers. There would be no selection of an XI – only batting, bowling and fielding line-ups that could be switched at any time. Players could be substituted at any time though no more than 11 players could bat or be in the field at any time and the over restrictions on bowlers could remain. You could pick your best wicketkeeper without worrying how many runs he’ll get you. You might have a keeper who’s great standing back and one who’s a whizz up to the stumps. They’ll both be in your squad and they will both get on the field.