The Surfer
The power of 19
Pakistan’s abject failure in Australia had left a vacuum in fans’ hearts, which the country's Under-19 side doing duty in the World Cup in nearby New Zealand stepped into with ease, writes Saad Shafqat in the Dawn
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Pakistan’s abject failure in Australia had left a vacuum in fans’ hearts, which the country's Under-19 side doing duty in the World Cup in nearby New Zealand stepped into with ease, writes Saad Shafqat in the Dawn.
Full postOn the eve of the India match, people were busy exchanging notes about the game and discussing prospects. Details of the TV coverage had spread like wildfire, and alarms had been duly set for 2:30 am. That the national team was meanwhile lurching from one disaster to another proved a great boon to the youth team.
Siddle will bounce back from fast bowler’s curse
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Australia's most promising fast bowler, Peter Siddle, is broken, writes Darren Berry in the Sunday Age.
It was sadly only a matter of time before the frame of the Morwell wood chopper could take no more. He has been hurting for some time, but has a big heart and refuses to yield to the pain barrier ...
2011 World Cup not beyond New Zealand
After observing New Zealand's strong showings in one-dayers in the past six months, including the run to the ICC Champions Trophy final and the series victory over Pakistan in the UAE, Mark Richardson makes the bold claim in the Herald on Sunday
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
After observing New Zealand's strong showings in one-dayers in the past six months, including the run to the ICC Champions Trophy final and the series victory over Pakistan in the UAE, Mark Richardson makes the bold claim in the Herald on Sunday that New Zealand have the goods to win the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent.
Ryder and Brendon McCullum are potentially a devastating combination but if Ingram can back up his top debut, there's cover at the top. The openers are backed up by Martin Guptill, who is proven now at ODI level, and Ross Taylor, who is approaching world class....
Factor in the return of Shane Bond and Kyle Mills, then there's competition for the last spot in Ian Butler, Daryl Tuffey, Tim Southee, Andy MacKay and Nathan McCullum. There's plenty of batting ability in that lot, too.
Mickey cools his heels
Having just quit as South Africa coach, Mickey Arthur has vowed to get up at 5.30 am and watch every ball when his country takes on India in Nagpur
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Having just quit as South Africa coach, Mickey Arthur has vowed to get up at 5.30 am and watch every ball when his country takes on India in Nagpur. In his column in the Hindustan Times, he says he is missing the buzz and excitement that a Test series always provides, but on the other he has realised how much his life has been consumed by the job.
For five years Graeme and I had a belief that if you started a Test stronger than the opposition, you had more chance of finishing it strongly. We always felt that the first hour set the tone for the match, we believed it was easier to win a Test by taking the lead early rather than having to come from behind.
Confusion in New Zealand
New Zealand Cricket seems confused
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
New Zealand Cricket seems confused. First came an announcement that Brendon McCullum was no longer vice-captain. Fair enough. And now a further announcement that Ross Taylor is also not vice-captain. Equally fair. Then came Mark Greatbatch's appointment as head coach. His stint with Warwickshire was volatile, but these tales are at odds with the character NZC led us to believe will work alongside Vettori, writes Jeremy Coney in the Dominion Post.
Yet instead of adapting to accommodate the county system and the Warwickshire ethos, Greatbatch began the new era by stamping his authority. He imposed himself aggressively. An uncompromising, "I'm the boss" and "we'll do it my way". It led to discontent. Morale plummeted. Barriers went up and players turned against him. Two departed and other senior members rebelled.
New format needed for U-19 tournament
The ICC's format for the world youth tournament needs to be changed, particularly with the knockout phase where one bad match is enough to undo all the hard work in getting there, writes Geoff Longley in the Press
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The ICC's format for the world youth tournament needs to be changed, particularly with the knockout phase where one bad match is enough to undo all the hard work in getting there, writes Geoff Longley in the Press. After the first-round pool matches teams went straight into the quarter-finals, semis and final while those knocked out were left to play off for the minor placings.
Full postA better system may have been to keep the four pools of four, but start playing them immediately the teams had arrived instead of having two full rounds of practice games. If teams want practice games, arrange them beforehand as most did.
Remember Muscles?
Venkatapathy Raju, part of India's spin trio in the early 1990s, reminisces his early days when he shared Irani chai and samosas with friends, caught two buses everyday to get from Ramanthapur to Gymkhana, his school days and watching the Mithun
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Venkatapathy Raju, part of India's spin trio in the early 1990s, reminisces his early days when he shared Irani chai and samosas with friends, caught two buses everyday to get from Ramanthapur to Gymkhana, his school days and watching the Mithun Chakraborty-starrer Disco Dancer 15 times. Neeraja Murthy of the Hindu catches up with the former left-arm spinner, nicknamed Muscles, now the Hyderabad coach.
Raju's teacher Anjaneya Sastry played a key role in shaping the cricketer in him. “Initially, the lure for us to play cricket was the announcements made in school assembly about the students who played well in inter-house matches. It was a high to receive the applause and appreciation. There was no pressure from my parents so it was easy to balance cricket and studies,” he smiles.
Cricket needs to stop thinking defensively
Cricket remains the most controversial of games
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Cricket remains the most controversial of games. At times it is hard to remember that it is only a game and supposed to be fun. The Afridi controversy, the pitch invasion at the WACA and the argument over John Howard as a candidate to serve as the ICC’s deputy president in 2010 can make the followers of the game despair. Cricket needs to stop thinking defensively and cast itself as breeding ground for diversity and toleration, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu.
But, then, cricket stopped being merely a recreation long ago and instead became both an industry and an expression of national pride. Once its leading nations became independent it was only a matter of time before they began asserting themselves.
Afridi offers food for thought
The resulting uproar over Shahid Afridi's snack has reignited the debate about ball tampering, and in the New Zealand Herald Adam Parore says Pakistan got away with it for 15 or 20 years because no one really knew what was going on
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The resulting uproar over Shahid Afridi's snack has reignited the debate about ball tampering, and in the New Zealand Herald Adam Parore says Pakistan got away with it for 15 or 20 years because no one really knew what was going on.
Clearly, with reverse swing still being apart of test cricket, minor doctoring of the ball is still going on. I don't believe it is possible to get reverse swing without some illegal work on the ball. But it is being done in a way that is actually good for the game, giving the bowlers more chance when batsmen could absolutely dominate.
Along the same lines, David Leggat wonders if Afridi would have opted to take a chomp at the ball had he known a healthy dose of the stuff you clean toilets with might find its way to his stomach.
Full postLaptop-designed plans no match for on-field education
England must improve their decision making and the best way they could do that is by playing, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
England must improve their decision making and the best way they could do that is by playing, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
Full postWe got an example of prescriptive thinking at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2006, when a member found on the floor a copy of England's bowling plans – their "dodgy dossier" – and stuck it in the public domain. It detailed how they intended to deal with each batsman, which plans, if executed properly, would mean that Australia would scarcely muster double figures between them. Of particular memory, apart from the worrying fact that "nick" was spelt with an additional "k", was the "bouncer essential" observation for Andrew Symonds. True as this may have been, it was mortifying to see, for five and a half hours, a man set deep on the hook for each of his 156 runs, during which time, despite many invitations to do so, he did not attempt the stroke once. The plans did not cater for that but there was no plan B.
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