The Surfer

Sangakkara says he then had no intention of playing cricket for a living: he was working for a hi-tech firm in Colombo before starting his legal career. But one day in the Nondescripts dressing room everyone was asked about his ambition in cricket, and Sangakkara declared he wanted to bat for Sri Lanka. "There was a bit of laughter in the dressing room when I said that," he recalled.

The difficulty comes when players are spread around the world playing all forms. It's vital Mike Hesson and the temporary batting coach quickly set up simulated practice in the West Indies that doesn't dumb down to easy hitting.

An example was countering the bounce in the West Indies [in 1985]. We simulated practice so the ball was bouncing around our shoulders, throat and chest to a point where we got hurt at times. Likewise if you're going to India, find a pitch which turns square, or in England, practise with movement off the pitch and in the air. That's what a batting coach's job is: help players rise to the challenge before the game.

Throwdowns are fine to warm-up for five minutes but while middling full tosses and half volleys might make batsmen feel in form, they dumb down the preparation for taking on the world's best bowlers.

With the amazing technologies in the game and the large size of the support staff some coaches now pay too much attention to the gathering of information, analysis and diagnosis, but too little attention to solutions and execution. Many of today's players have become too reliant on their coaches and have difficulty thinking for themselves. Consequently they run into trouble in the heat of the battle on the field when they have to stand on their own feet and make their own decisions.

Even today, much wiser and aware of the dodgy ways of the world, I recoil in dismay and horror at the experience I had that day at Mumbai's Cricket Club of India. Chandrachud was not interested in knowing anything about the veracity of my encounter with the bookie. Instead, he was keener on talking in generalities and looking at the game through the prism of the romantic British elite worldview, where cricket meant fair play and high moral values! When I did make an attempt to tell him about my encounter with the bookie, he just uttered "leave it" to signal the conclusion of our meeting.

His first reaction was anger and his comment at the time that he had not been given a "fair crack of the whip" upset the overly sensitive England hierarchy. "It was just the emotion of the time. I obviously just wanted to play for England but the comments did not go down very well, there is no doubt about that. I know you have to get your head down and score runs and let the selectors do their job which is a tough one." A trek to Peru's lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu, was a chance for reflection and calmed the anger. He has started this season feeling more relaxed than ever and determined to explode the image of the intense batsmen consumed by self-doubt.

The Gentlemen were too good for the Germans and won all three games comfortably. But what went on off the pitch was more remarkable. The team arrived in Berlin as the city was celebrating its 700th anniversary in an event manufactured by Nazi propagandists as another excuse to show off military might in a series of parades. The Gents were asked to give the Nazi salute before their first match. As dutiful guests, they obliged. "I think they were just being polite" says Waddell, who tracked down diaries and scrapbooks handed down by the players to their relatives. "They would have hated to have been seen to be impolite, or snubbing their hosts."

"It wasn't until 1976 that Lord's let us have a televised match there, and when we first went there I don't think they were going to allow a woman in the scorebox," she says.

"All the players gave excuses. They said they couldn't train, they had jobs … I requested them to give three months to me, and after that, if they chose, they could leave," says Aaqib, his eyes smiling. "In three months, two of the fat guys had lost 25 kilos each and the others had also lost weight. They complained, but they were buying new clothes. When you train hard, you get mentally tough also. You are willing to work hard. They were feeling good."

* The ability to strike a professional relationship with Mike Hesson and the management team.

Yuzvendra, who was part of the Mumbai Indians set up until last year and played in only one IPL match besides six Champions League matches for them, has cemented his place in the RCB line-up, at least for now. Haryana Ranji Trophy coach Ashwani Kumar said that Yuzvendra is more suited for limited-overs cricket. "He has a bowling action with lower trajectory. He bowls faster and keeps around the middle stump-off stump line, forcing the batsmen to play across. Unlike Amit Mishra, who turns the ball big, or Anil Kumble, who has height and gets bounce, Chahal is different. It becomes difficult to cut or pull against him. Though he may not pick up wickets aplenty, he is economical."