The Surfer

This is a huge scam and even the governing body of the PCB, which is supposed to bring some sort of transparency in the working of the board, has so far failed to make their presence felt. The few voices of dissent from a couple of members from time to time in the meetings did little but not enough to go past the deaf ears of the PCB chairman who could have done the game some service had he not so far resorted to arbitrary decisions.

When I say all this I mean it as a compliment to his talent and a criticism of his under achievement. I firmly believe that for a batsman of Sachin's talent, he should have made 10 Test double hundreds, a 300 and at least one 400. In the same breath, I would say that I would ideally have liked to see him go from 30 to 50 in three overs and to go from 50 to 80 on any pitch, against any bowling in 5 overs. He may use up another 5 overs to get to 95 and then safely get his century. Here is a man who can hit sixes at ease than anyone else in world cricket but after 50, he usually takes 5 overs to get to 55.

It does not convince those who believe that the young are being deprived of the chance to watch cricket on television and thereby become fascinated by the game’s beguiling charm. Since it entered most houses in the 1950s, television has been the main means of creating cricket lovers for life. The 2005 series, arguably the best Anglo-Australian series ever, was, a national event and, regularly, front-page news.

Of course, Sir Viv, who famously never wore a helmet himself, has got more right to speak than almost anyone else alive about the matter. But it must have made batting a bit easier, knowing that you had Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner et al on your side - not just because you didn't have to face them - but because you knew that they could return with interest any punishment that their Windies batting colleagues received. Maybe if he'd had to play for England in the 1980s against the West Indies he might have considered, even for a second, the merits of the lid.

Today Kallis plays his 10th Twenty20 match for South Africa. It is a form of the game that many would have spurned to preserve their careers elsewhere. In his case T20 might not only have prolonged his career but embellished it. He has become a different type of cricketer, particularly as a batsman, though he has added new tricks to his muscular seam bowling to confound what is said about old dogs.

Swann, England's first-choice spinner, offers far more to the team than the best banter on the bus. While his contributions to this summer's series – 14 wickets and 249 runs – may not sound the stuff of legend, his performances came at crucial times; when the Australian batsmen were threatening to take a game away from England, his appearance in the attack, skipping through his delivery stride with his wraparound sunglasses clinging to his head like Robocop, was a comforting sight. Swann's irrepressible batting was also vital in a series where the lower order did much of the best work on both sides; and he took eight wickets in the deciding Test at the Oval, including the final one to win the Ashes. Forget 2005, says Swann, for him, this was the best Ashes series ever. "It still gives me goosebumps..."

McCullum deputised in the Twenty20s but by all accounts the Kiwis were lucky to scrape together 11 fit players. Is McCullum now the man to captain the Test team? And how, with Vettori doing all the jobs that matter, is leadership being encouraged within that dressing room? Do we look down the list, arrive at someone such as Ross Taylor and throw the dice? Or do we hand the captaincy back to McCullum, beg forgiveness and ask him to please treat it with respect?