The Surfer

Tariq Mahmood was an offspinner who starred for Pakistan in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup before fading from the international spolight. His action was reminiscent of Muttiah Muralitharan's, and came under scrutiny, forcing Mahmood to modify it. Mahmood, who plays for Sialkot in the domestic ciruit, talks to PakPassion about his mentor Aaqib Javed, memories of the 2004 U-19 World Cup, meeting Murali, and the art of offspin.

When it comes to bowling actions you just have to remember two main things, you must at all times keep complete control over your wrist and your shoulder/arm. If you can control those two things then the ball always falls where it's supposed to and you keep a good line and length too. However if you cant control those two things then you can have the sharpest brain in the world and the most powerful shoulders and wrists but it won't do you any good.

The papers are falling over themselves to praise Andrew Flintoff after his fierce spell ended England's 75-year wait for an Ashes victory at Lord's, besides handing the home side a 1-0 lead in the series. Simon Barnes, a long-time fan of Flintoff, writes in the Times that Monday's show confirms Freddie's greatness, though the career numbers may not say so.

Flintoff’s may not go down in history as the greatest of great careers. But Flintoff can do greatness — genuine greatness — on a seasonal basis, as he did four years ago, and on a daily basis, as he did yesterday. His thundering spell of mesmeric hostility first snuffed out the candle flame of Australian hope and then plunged them into the darkness of defeat. He bowled for an hour and a half in excess of 90mph, and every ball was a drama. Not bad for a lame lad.

The West Indies is not a nation, it is a team which brings together many countries. Kevin O' Brien Chang, in the CaribbeanCricket website, talks of the sense of belonging that cricket brings among people of all the islands. He then goes on to talk of the player strike, highlighting that rows between player and board were present even in 1948 and 1953.

It’s a curious thing, ‘Westindianness’. When the Trinidad and Jamaica football teams face off, fans taunt each other and abuse opposing players. Put those same spectators together to watch the West Indies, and they hug each other with joy at each West Indian triumph, no matter if it was Yardies or Trinis or Bajans responsible.

In the Guardian, Vic Marks argues that a fancy declaration from Andrew Strauss has jeopardised England's chances of a victory.

Once the option of the follow-on had been rejected on Saturday, presumably on the basis that England could lose the Test by having to bat last, the logical step for Andrew Strauss was to allow his side to continue batting until the game was absolutely safe: to score so many runs that, even if the Australians, on an excellent surface, were still there at the close of play on Monday, they would not have enough runs to win, to leave them batting without hope of victory

Mike Brearley knows a thing or two about calling the shots on the field. Looking at Andrew Strauss captaining England on day three at Lord's, and not enforcing the follow-on, Brearley calls it a 'pusillanimous' decision. Fantasies of a quick win for England were dispelled by Australia's stubborn tail-end reaction and some puzzling tactics by the home side, he writes in the Observer.

I disagree with Andrew Strauss's decision. He has at his disposal four front-line quick bowlers, plus a spinner. By the end of Australia's innings, Andrew Fintoff had bowled only 12 overs, Graham Onions 11, and Graeme Swann one, so most of his bowlers should have been fresh. It was a pleasant day, not too hot or debilitating. The pitch was likely to be at its quickest yesterday. Batting again meant that, unless England unaccountably collapsed, they were bound to use up time that they might need later – as happened in Antigua last winter, when England failed to enforce the follow-on and West Indies' last pair survived. One would expect Australia to bat much better second time round, whether following on or not.

In the summer of 1977, Kevin McKenna formally became a Scottish aficionado of the England Test cricket team. Stories of the little urn and Geoffrey Boycott's blunt, cussed approach had their say on the writer's mind, but then reality kicked in and the inevitable question had to be asked: why are Scotland shite at cricket too? Read on in the Observer.

The Shoaib Akhtar saga continues with the fast bowler being overlooked for the one-day series in Sri Lanka. If he says he was fit and was denied the chance to make it to the ICC World Twenty20, one wonders if he is suffering from problems that are much more grave than just physical, wonders Humair Ishtiaq in the Pakistan daily Dawn.

Shoaib’s claim that he can play for another five years is another successful attempt to tickle the funny bone, as a look at his statistics shows that his career should have come to an end five years ago. It is his showmanship and the PCB tendency to blow hot and cold over such affairs that has kept him alive off the field.

Observing the behaviour of the West Indies Cricket Board and players in the last few years one might very well ask if there is a cancer in West Indies cricket. So says Rudi Webster, the Grenada-based psychologist, in the Trinidad Guardian.

Like the cancer, selfish and greedy motives have become their first important priorities. As a result, good performance and the growth and well-being of West Indies cricket have been displaced way down their list of important priorities. In adversarial situations, participants often believe that by proving their opponents wrong, they automatically prove themselves right.

Pakistan cricket is at a crossroads. Malik Arshed Gilani in the Pakistan daily Dawn says the PCB's approach, witnessed by its many statements, as one of the main partners in the next World Cup truly reflects the overall competence it has in the management of its affairs.

We have in with our normal brilliance turned this into a legal matter. Let us examine our actions from the beginning; we arrive at a meeting of the ICC totally unprepared to tackle a subject that should have been topmost in our minds.

Disturbed and traumatised at reports that he had slammed his childhood friend on a TV show, Vinod Kambli tells Mid-day's Clayton Murzello of Sachin Tendulkar's reaction and more. Excerpts:

Have you slept well? Yes (laughs). The first night was bad (after the news came out) because it was unexpected. I am never into any controversy and will certainly not get into anything like this.