The Surfer
Technically out, but reason wrong
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Television replays on day two at Lord's showed there had been an umpiring error from Rudi Koertzen as Ricky Ponting's bat had jammed into his foot rather than going anywhere near the ball. Vic Marks in the Guardian says the episode did little to enhance confidence in Koertzen. He had three options in response to the appeal: not out, out lbw, out caught at slip. He chose the last, which the TV replays suggested was the least likely to be correct. A sort of justice had been reached but for all the wrong reasons.
It appears players are more inclined to believe television ahead of the umpires, writes Malcolm Conn in the Australian.
Full postTesting times for the longer game
There are still plenty of people to fight back and say Test cricket is a much better game than any of the shorter formats, but that is just a matter of opinion, says Simon Barnes in the Australian
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
There are still plenty of people to fight back and say Test cricket is a much better game than any of the shorter formats, but that is just a matter of opinion, says Simon Barnes in the Australian. There is no ducking the matter - Test cricket is under threat. Its decline has begun. Perhaps extinction is inevitable.
Full postLet's strive for a little objectivity. What does Test cricket have that the shorter forms don't? Tests last longer. A Test series is the stuff not of an afternoon but an entire summer. Its plot lines are longer and more intricate. The examination of character is more leisurely and more searching. Test cricket asks more questions. It brings us more duels.
Australians relieved at Harmison omission
Steve Harmison bowled a fiery spell against Australia in the practice game, but failed to find a place in the England team
Ashwin Achal
25-Feb-2013
Steve Harmison bowled a fiery spell against Australia in the practice game, but failed to find a place in the England team. Christopher Martin-Jenkins, in the Times, feels that Harmison would have been a better option than Stuart Broad, and that Broad only got the nod based on his better batting skills.
Harmison is a confidence player. When he is hot, he is very hot indeed and he is bowling with self-belief. Ask any batsman in professional cricket, whatever his nationality, and he will tell you that no one looks forward to facing him on song, even on pitches as comfortable as, predictably, this one at Lord’s was yesterday.
It was, before the end of day one at Lord's, not just the England team against Australia. It was Andrew Strauss's team. He was king before, but now he had been crowned following his with a brilliant hundred. Scyld Berry in the Daily Telegraph believes the rest of the series will be much easier for Strauss with his own game proven to be in good order.
The talk about England's time delaying strategy at Cardiff refuses to die, with Harry Pearson commenting in the Guardian that if you must bend the rules a bit, do it with some tact and guile.
Full postWhy maverick Mitch lost the plot
Something was not right with Mitchell Johnson on the first day at Lord's but Robert Craddock in his blog on the Daily Telegraph website, the Australian daily, says the fans need not despair and that the bowler will improve quickly when he gets
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Something was not right with Mitchell Johnson on the first day at Lord's but Robert Craddock in his blog on the Daily Telegraph website, the Australian daily, says the fans need not despair and that the bowler will improve quickly when he gets his head right. Craddock presents his top five reasons why Johnson is blowing hot and cold.
A Lord's Test tells of continuity and Andrew Flintoff's withdrawal indicates change is not merely on the way, it has come. Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald reasons why Flintoff's farewell to Tests is bad, and sad news for game's long form.
Scyld Berry, in the Daily Telegraph, writes about how Andrew Strauss seems to play better when given the responsibility of captaincy.
Full postCricket and Freud
Edward Marriott speaks to former England captain Mike Brearely, one of the country's senior-most psychoanalysts, about the inextricable bond between Test cricket and psychoanalysis and their relevance to a world which demands quick results
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
Edward Marriott speaks to former England captain Mike Brearely, one of the country's senior-most psychoanalysts, about the inextricable bond between Test cricket and psychoanalysis and their relevance to a world which demands quick results. Read the interview in the July issue of Prospect Magazine.
Today—at the start of a new Ashes series, arguably the most intense of all cricketing encounters—both long-form psychotherapy and long-form cricket seem in decline. In a quick-fix world there appears to be less tolerance for approaches—whether sporting or psychotherapeutic—that take time. In May, Chris Gayle, the West Indies’ captain, said that he “wouldn’t be so sad” if test cricket died out. Gayle, like many big stars, has made a fortune from the Indian Premier League, and clearly prefers the shorter Twenty20 game. The meagre 4,000 tickets sold for the opening day of the second test against the West Indies on 14th May seemed to indicate that English crowds, too, shared some of his feelings.
Feud puts Windies dignity on the line
The dispute between the West Indies board and the players' association shows no signs of ending, forcing the Caribbean selectors to pick a weakened side for the second Test in a row
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
The dispute between the West Indies board and the players' association shows no signs of ending, forcing the Caribbean selectors to pick a weakened side for the second Test in a row. An editorial in the Barbados Advocate says that both the feuding parties must introspect, and that their relationship should be re-configured to ensure the least friction.
Full postThis may entail the termination of the current employment relation and the creation in its place of a status whereby on selection to the team a player will adhere to the contract for that year agreed to in advance between the WIPA and the WICB under arbitration. Alternatively, a player may be contracted to the team for a term of years under conditions similarly agreed to by his agent with the WICB.
Second, both organisations must indulge in some serious introspection. The WICB, to its credit, has already done such, with the team led by Mr. P J Patterson. However, the resulting report’s most celebrated recommendation, that of reforming the WICB itself, has understandably not been acted upon. We are not aware that the WIPA has undertaken any such self-analysis. But, for the end of regional cricket, we would urge its soonest adoption.
Farewell Freddie
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Uncertainty seemed to be surrounding every match for which Andrew Flintoff was selected. But with the announcement of his impending retirement, the allrounder, his team-mates and the England management know precisely where they stand in the longer term. However, Mike Selvey in his blog on the Guardian website believes Flintoff would be determined to leave Test cricket as a wounded hero, not a spent force.
If once he was the hub of the side, he has long since been the cherry on top of the cake instead. He and his employers will have thought long and hard about whether such an early statement of intent will channel public interest away from the series and into a valedictory tour around the country. The sort of attention heaped on Steve Waugh when he played his last series is not the kind of diversion that this summer needs.
The need to feel positive
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Allan Border feels that Lord's has a special atmosphere, and that is why visiting teams have an advantage. The Australians regard it as their Mecca. It has that special, intangible quality which is difficult to put into words. In his column in the Courier Mail, he believes the visitors need to feel positive after the drawn first Ashes Test at Cardiff.
You might get one chance in your life to actually visit the place and play cricket there. It's a ground where, as a kid, you dream of playing.
Toast the success, Bangladesh
One can argue that Bangladesh should have whipped West Indies harder in St Vincent and not suffered a top-order wobble in the first innings, but nevertheless, the victory was satisfying, writes Bishwajit Roy in the Daily Star .
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
One can argue that Bangladesh should have whipped West Indies harder in St Vincent and not suffered a top-order wobble in the first innings, but nevertheless, the victory was satisfying, writes Bishwajit Roy in the Daily Star.
During his maiden Test hundred Tamim might have showed recklessness but his determination to achieve the magical three-figure mark eventually paid of. He smashed four fours of successive deliveries off Darren Sammy after completing his hundred. It was enterprising but it would have been wise of him to consider not trying to smash every ball for four. Had he been out there for another hour and attempted a couple of odd boundaries in an over, something the best batsman in the world could not have done after just coming into the crease, it would have greatly helped in accelerating the run rate.
The curious case of Abhishek Nayar
Abhishek Nayar featured in two one-day internationals, both against the West Indies recently, but is yet to register any relevant statistic against his name
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Abhishek Nayar featured in two one-day internationals, both against the West Indies recently, but is yet to register any relevant statistic against his name. He didn’t get to bat in either game, didn’t need to bowl, and wasn’t even involved in a catch or run-out while fielding. With the list of players to have made the Indian squad but not the playing XI being a long one, is Nayar's career heading the same way as that of RB Nimbalkar, Gopal Bose, Devaraj Govindaraj, Padmakar Shivalkar, SS Paul, Gagandeep Singh, Rajesh Powar, Ranadeb Bose, Pankaj Singh and the like? GS Vivek finds out in the Indian Express.
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