The Surfer
Forgotten heroes of Harris Shield
The Harris Shield is an inter-school cricket tournament, which has been held in Mumbai since 1897
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
The Harris Shield is an inter-school cricket tournament, which has been held in Mumbai since 1897. It is named after Lord Harris, former England captain and governor of Bombay, and is perhaps best known for the 664-run stand in 1988 that brought Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli into the limelight. On Wednesday, 12-year-old Sarfaraz Khan blasted 439, the highest individual score ever made in the tournament. The Indian Express' Devendra Pandey looks up others who made their name in the Harris Shield, before fading into obscurity.
Full postSelectors back youth, and good on 'em
The elevation of Burt Cockley to the Australian ODI squad after only four one-dayers for his state is not necessarily a mistake, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
The elevation of Burt Cockley to the Australian ODI squad after only four one-dayers for his state is not necessarily a mistake, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald. He believes that promoting fast bowlers and batsmen with youth on their side is a bold and positive move.
Of course, the idea has been imperfectly applied. It is hard to justify putting Moises Henriques in front of a player as energetic and effective as Andrew McDonald. Yet the approach has much to commend it. Dirk Nannes and Shane Harwood are splendid bowlers, but what is the point? Cockley has strong shoulders, plenty of pace and can improve. Admittedly, he was a bolter but speedsters were going down like sprayed mozzies. Moreover, the alternatives were either seasoned campaigners or complete novices. Right or wrong, if it is part of a return to youth and aggression, it has merit.
In the Daily Telegraph, Nick Walshaw looks at the rapid rise Cockley has enjoyed.
It's a flight that represents a remarkable rise for this Blues speedster who never played A-grade in the Newcastle competition until he was 18. Who only came to Sydney at 21. Who was even forced to withdraw with injury from that one Australia A match he was selected in last year.
Trott shows his true colours for England
Jonathan Trott has been in the news lately for reasons he will eagerly wish be doused by runs from his bat
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Jonathan Trott has been in the news lately for reasons he will eagerly wish be doused by runs from his bat. Trott's performances are what count for England, not his place of birth. But until he plays some more emphatic innings for England, says Simon Hughes in the Telegraph, Michael Vaughan's caustic observations will continue to ring in Trott's ears.
Full postTrott, reared in a suburb of Cape Town, grew up playing in the same Western Province team as Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince and will feel added motivation when he plays against them this month. The pinnacle of achievement for a professional sportsman is total respect from your peers. Trott, whose English father, Ian, is a cricket coach in Leatherhead, inherited his parent's passion for the game and always striven to be as good as he could be. That ambition often leads South Africans here. The money now in the county game is attractive. But what also drives them is the intensity and frequency of our cricket. It is a fast track to maturity.
New Zealand domestic teams at a glance
Ahead of the opening round of the Plunket Shield, Jonathan Millmow in the Dominion Post runs his eye over the six teams and speaks to the captains about the upcoming season as a whole.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Ahead of the opening round of the Plunket Shield, Jonathan Millmow in the Dominion Post runs his eye over the six teams and speaks to the captains about the upcoming season as a whole.
Craig Cumming, which competition would you most like to win?
"Obviously the Twenty20 has the greatest reward and we got to experience that in India last month so we'd love to win that again. Having said that the real focus at the start of the season is on the four-dayers, that's an area we haven't performed as well as we would've liked in and if we start well in that I think everything will flow from there."
Full postSave delays for a rainy day
Peter Roebuck writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that in a supposedly packed marketplace where cricket is trying to hold its own, it is doing itself a major disservice with unnecessary rain delays
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that in a supposedly packed marketplace where cricket is trying to hold its own, it is doing itself a major disservice with unnecessary rain delays. On Wednesday at the SCG, the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Western Australia didn't get started until 3.15pm.
To approach the stadium in the morning was to observe a few apologetic drops dripping from the skies and to notice that the light was a tad gloomy. Only the lamest soul or someone fresh from a coiffeur would have raised an umbrella. Windscreen wipers were not required. The previous day the temperature had soared to 37 degrees and the batsmen had dictated terms. Now the tussle might be more even. Changing conditions are part and parcel of the game.
Apparently the outfield was damp. Research indicated that beads of water could be detected on the tips of the grass. Poor souls, the bowlers might be handicapped with a slippery ball. Poor lads, the batsmen might have to peer into the gloom. Inevitably news broke that the start had been delayed. Not that the players were huddled in the rooms. Instead they were on the park, loosening their prodigious muscles, preparing for the contest. Some cheerfully hoofed a footy ball around, others practised close catches. No one seemed to find any irony in this exposure to the elements. As far as could be discerned none of them contracted pneumonia or fell flat on their face or cracked a bone.
Peter Lalor in the Australian points out that the very few fans who turned up were understandably unhappy.
Full postNo coach, no excuse
In the New Zealand Herald , Dylan Cleaver writes that New Zealand's dismal display against Pakistan wasn't due to their coaching situation.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
In the New Zealand Herald, Dylan Cleaver writes that New Zealand's dismal display against Pakistan wasn't due to their coaching situation.
No, the coaching debacle is too convenient a scapegoat. The real reason for the calamitous performance was that when the blowtorch was applied NZ's batsmen again melted - and again it started from the top.
Aaron Redmond's early becalming meant Brendon McCullum was forced to initiate desert storm, his brief sortie flaming out when he dragged on to his stumps. McCullum's effectiveness at the top of the order seems inextricably linked to the injured Jesse Ryder. They feed off each other's controlled aggression.
Full postEnd tax-free benefits for county cricketers
In the Guardian Mike Selvey tells the tale of James Seymour, a Kent cricketer of the early 20th century
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
In the Guardian Mike Selvey tells the tale of James Seymour, a Kent cricketer of the early 20th century. Though Seymour helped Kent to four Championships, his legacy is that through his (and his lawyer's) efforts money made through a benefit were deemed tax-free. Selvey argues that while the system made sense in Seymour's time, county cricketers are now well renumerated, and that the benefit system mostly helps England's international stars, who rarely make domestic appearances. He says better insurance and pension schemes are the way forward instead of benefits.
Full postNothing wrong with Trott and Co. playing for England
In the Guardian Andy Bull defends England's South African imports a week after Michael Vaughan questioned Cape Town-born Johnathan Trott's loyalty
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
In the Guardian Andy Bull defends England's South African imports a week after Michael Vaughan questioned Cape Town-born Johnathan Trott's loyalty. Bull argues that over 60 players born overseas have represented England and "the fact that selection is open to anyone who cares to qualify and merits a place ought to be a reason for celebration".
Full postSome of those 60-plus players came to England when they could barely use a bat – Strauss and Prior among them. Others, like Pietersen and Trott, came later. All of them earned their place on merit. There is no need to mark a dividing line between those who arrived as children and those who made the decision later in life, just as there is no need to draw distinctions between players who have moved from Test-playing nations and those who haven't. The point is that they decided to come at all. That is sufficient commitment in itself. Regardless of where you are born, misty-eyed patriotism is not a prerequisite for selection.
There are plenty of better criteria to judge a cricketer on than his place of birth or where he went to school. The runs he scores and wickets he takes are just two of them.
Two major questions still surround Proteas
South Africa will start as favourites for the Test series against England but they have two issues to address before the series begins
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
South Africa will start as favourites for the Test series against England but they have two issues to address before the series begins. They need to settle on an opening partner for Graeme Smith and a pace bowling partner for Dale Steyn, writes Patrick Compton in the Mercury.
There are also doubts about Steyn's regular pace partner, Morne Morkel. Morkel at his best is a huge asset but he lacks consistency, a failing that resulted in him being dropped for the final Test against Australia in 2008. The big man bowls some devastating deliveries but he doesn't hit the "right areas" nearly as often as he should.
In the Cape Times, Zaahier Adams writes that the South African crowd should have a go at Jonathan Trott because of his strong South African connections.
So when the South African fans, undoubtedly, have a go at KP this summer, they might just want to rein it in a bit for Trott who, but for the lure of the pound, possibly still wants to be sitting in the other dressing-room with his boyhood pals.
Following the runner controversy during the Champions Trophy, Smith will have a score to settle with Strauss, writes Paul Newman in the Daily Mail.
Full postThe end of the 100-Test cricketer
Anand Vasu writes in the Hindustan Times about how the IPL and the Twenty20 boom has changed the priorities of the upcoming generation of Indian cricketers
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Anand Vasu writes in the Hindustan Times about how the IPL and the Twenty20 boom has changed the priorities of the upcoming generation of Indian cricketers.
In two months, some of these teenagers will pick up more cash than the average middle-class professional makes in a career. What's more, with the contract in the bag, they won't have to worry about some cranky selector dropping them or a section of the media calling for a replacement. There will be all the good things in life without any of the pressure, perfect for the individual in the short-term, and a recipe for long-term disaster.
Before the IPL the sole intention of a cricketer's life was breaking into the Indian team. Once that was done, life was a constant struggle to stay in the eleven. In time, the peripherals too care of themselves. This is why Ganguly fought so hard to stay in the picture... It is the fight to stay in the top 1% that makes it worth it.
India's young brigade is drawing flak, but Dileep Premachandran writes in the Guardian that the criticism must be based on their performances, and not based on their flashy lifestyles.
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