The Surfer

No one doubts Shah’s natural talent, but then no one doubted the natural talent of Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick. Shah’s problem now is not simply that he looks like an accident waiting to happen, but that there will be collateral damage too.

Once upon a time when you became a fan of a cricket side on Facebook you were probably just on the site of some over-eager fanboy who treats his favourite side like a trekkie treats William Shatner’s hair. Now it is probably co-hosted by someone with the title of digital marketing consultant.

SEX: When young, successful celebrities travel the world, there's bound to be interest from the opposite sex. The subject is little talked about and the approach the article takes makes it perfect for young sportsmen.

It begins with a quote from Tim Noakes, a professor and sports scientist at the University of Cape Town, who said cheekily that sex was not a problem, but being up till 2am, probably having a few drinks at a bar while trying to pick someone up, on the eve of a game, almost always was. Excerpts from `Does sex increase performance?' (The first line incidentally, is "Yes it does, so go ahead and indulge") From a physiological (body) perspective, having sex increases testosterone levels, which causes an increase in strength, energy, aggression and competitiveness.

Moles is the coach but is in a system where the empowerment is with the captain, Daniel Vettori, and a group of people with backgrounds in other sports (Dave Currie, Don Tricker, Roger Mortimer). It is an unfortunate position but even so, progress since Moles stepped in 10 months ago has been non-existent.

Why should England, who have today refined their stance, and India, in particular, be so lukewarm to such proposals? These are the two cricketing nations who are capable of making serious money from the game and who have men with a fierce entrepreneurial spirit at the helm. Hence they are ardently in favour of de-regulation. They have come to see the ICC as a hindrance to their money-making plans, which is why there is the constant temptation to bypass the ICC's Future Tours Programme and go it alone.

England’s batsmen possess talent but appear to lack the guile required to apply it to the rapidly evolving situations you get in one-day cricket. In his book, Duncan Fletcher, England’s former coach, lamented his charges’ inability to think on their feet during matches. Test cricket’s less frenetic pace allows for a more methodical approach and has natural breaks where tactics can be rethought and re-jigged, which helps explain the marked disparity in England’s results over the short and long forms of the game.

Fashions in cricket come and go. Today's cool switch-hitting is tomorrow's reckless gamble. This week's doosra is next week's run-in with the beak for chucking. But one thing has remained constant: the Champions Trophy is a waste of time and effort, a meaningless tournament without context or tradition. In all its manifestations it has been a failure from its inception in Dacca in 1998 via Nairobi, Sri Lanka, England and India.

The Man of the Match a) Is happy for his team; after all, individual performances mean nothing (but I will hang on to the cheque, thank you) b) Will always carry memories of this match with him c)Realises the importance of winning at this historic ground d) Put the ball in the right places (if he is a bowler) or was grateful for the support of the other batsmen e) Knew from the start that his team was going to win, although there was that hiccup in the middle overs f) Accepts everything as part of something he calls the learning curve.

You'll be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen to have played the game, Ricky, but will you be remembered as a bad captain?

During the past year and a half his life has changed dramatically. He has always been a pretty relaxed character but due to an email from left field, he suddenly found himself front and centre in one of the hottest cauldrons going. His life has been pretty much lived in a fish bowl recently and due to his positioning he has belonged to everybody and is responsible for many. He has been public property and scrutinized from all angles as an outsider but has come up trumps so far. He has gained the trust of an exceptional bunch of individuals who themselves face a massive dose of intrusion on a daily basis.