The Surfer
Ponting needs to end Twenty20 vision
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Ricky Ponting’s walk out of the World Twenty20 convinced the Courier-Mail’s Robert Craddock that it’s time for the captain to stand down from the game's shortest format.
It's got nothing to do with his ability - it's just a mindset thing. Strangely enough, as soon as I looked down from the television I noticed a copy of John Buchanan's new book, The Future of Cricket, and one of the first pages I flicked to contained the following sentence. "I believe that for the likes of Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Ponting this T20 format has arrived too late in their careers. There is no doubt they can play this game but I have my doubts they can play it at the pace the game demands."
Mendis: more than a nice little turner
The mavericks of Sri Lanka are putting a unique stamp on Twenty20 with their endless capacity for reinvention, writes John Stern in the Sunday Times
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The mavericks of Sri Lanka are putting a unique stamp on Twenty20 with their endless capacity for reinvention, writes John Stern in the Sunday Times. Sri Lankan cricket seems to encourage invention and innovation to a point where it is almost unconventional to be conventional.
Full postAjantha Mendis' stats are frightening: 34 Test wickets at 23; 64 one-day wickets at 13; 16 Twenty20 international wickets at seven and 155 first-class wickets at 16. Strike-rates and economy-rates are all more than acceptable. In the age of the batsman, these are throwback numbers, the sort of figures one would expect from the days of uncovered pitches.
The highs and lows of Pakistan by Geoff Lawson
The former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is currently in England as a commentator for BBC and Saj Sadiq of PakPassion.net caught up with him for a chat on his coaching stint and two cents on the more colourful characters in the side
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is currently in England as a commentator for BBC and Saj Sadiq of PakPassion.net caught up with him for a chat on his coaching stint and two cents on the more colourful characters in the side. Lawson wasn't very forgiving of Shoaib Akhtar.
Full post"Akhtar was totally unprofessional as a cricketer, he trained when he felt like it, didn't contribute to the team, I couldnt think of a more unprofessional player, which is a pity as he is such a talented player". "Akhtar is using 5% of his natural talent and was being disruptive to the other members of the team".
Yuvraj tempers England's hopes against India
India may have faltered against the West Indies, but Yuvraj Singh poses a grave threat to England's World Twenty20 hopes, says Steve James in the Daily Telegraph
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
India may have faltered against the West Indies, but Yuvraj Singh poses a grave threat to England's World Twenty20 hopes, says Steve James in the Daily Telegraph. In defeat on Friday night Yuvraj was sublime, and he rather likes England. There were those famous six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad in South Africa in 2007, England’s sole Twenty20 encounter with India.
Vic Marks writes in the Observer that England will be relying on Kevin Pietersen for runs against India, but the bowlers will also need to do their bit for victory.
Full postMedia outburst at Sehwag a sign of the times
The fiasco surrounding Virender Sehwag's injury and his absence from the World Twenty20, as embarassing as it proved for the Indian team, was further intensified by the manner in which it was dealt by sections of the Indian media, writes Pradeep
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
The fiasco surrounding Virender Sehwag's injury and his absence from the World Twenty20, as embarassing as it proved for the Indian team, was further intensified by the manner in which it was dealt by sections of the Indian media, writes Pradeep Magazine in the Hindustan Times.
To lend the whole drama a theatrical touch has been Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s holier than thou attitude, where he parades the entire team and even the support staff in front of the media to prove that all is well with his world. He even has a skirmish with a TV reporter but such is his clout, power and popularity that no one dares to criticise him.
In the end, Sehwag has to not just contend with the fact that he may not be able to play cricket for a few months, but also deal with a very hostile media.
Full postJohnson takes over as Australia's spearhead
Australia have been wounded by their early exit from the ICC World Twenty20, but they are certain to come back fighting in the Ashes, led by the best bowler on the planet: the fast left-armer Mitchell Johnson
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Australia have been wounded by their early exit from the ICC World Twenty20, but they are certain to come back fighting in the Ashes, led by the best bowler on the planet: the fast left-armer Mitchell Johnson. In the Daily Telegraph, Scyld Berry looks at Johnson's rise and just how big a threat he is going to be with the Duke ball this summer.
Full postDeliveries do not come more difficult than one from a left-hander over the wicket which swings in at over 90mph: if it is straight and full, the right-handed batsman has two choices, to be bowled or leg-before. England have to thank Troy Cooley, the Tasmanian who was their own bowling coach in the 2005 series, for teaching this trick to Johnson on the tour of South Africa earlier this year. He made Johnson stand taller in delivery and get his wrist behind the ball; and the result was several new-ball spells that were unplayable.
No red Leicester for cheesed off Australians
They didn’t want to go to Leicester, but life there hasn’t been all bad for the Australians, Chloe Saltau writes in the Age .
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
They didn’t want to go to Leicester, but life there hasn’t been all bad for the Australians, Chloe Saltau writes in the Age.
Ricky Ponting was less than enthusiastic about the prospect of an unplanned stopover in Leicester if the Australians were knocked out of the Twenty20 world championship in the group stage, but rather than hold a grudge when Ponting's worst fears eventuated, the locals have gone out of their way to help the Australians. Everyone from Leicestershire's county side to the Loughborough Town Cricket Club have offered them a game, perhaps fancying themselves in a casual hit against the vanquished Australians.
Back in Australia, the Sun-Herald’s David Sygall goes to Phillip Hughes’ last training session before he heads to England.
Full postWomen on equal footing
Women cricketers compete against men on the field to improve their skills and to handle pressure better
Ashwin Achal
25-Feb-2013
Women cricketers compete against men on the field to improve their skills and to handle pressure better. But is there a case where they can compete with men in off-field activities? In the IOL website, Rodney Hartman looks at the changing face of Women’s cricket.
It's not often that men's and women's cricket teams play one another but this seems to be gaining in popularity and value. There is even talk in England of top women players being drafted into traditional all-male sides to play on the regular first-class circuit. It is being said that those best likely to qualify would be wicketkeepers or spin bowlers.
'I like a tough life, you know' - Afridi
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The Pakistan management haven’t always known what to do with their maverick entertainer Shahid Afridi over the years. If the men who mattered had given him a chance in Tests when he started instead of stamping him as a one-day players, things might have been a lot different, Afridi tells cricket magazine Spin in a rare and free-wheeling interview. Apart from his career, Afridi talks about his philosophy of batting, the history of bust-ups in the Pakistan dressing-room and his love of guns. Excerpts:
Have you had captains and coaches shout at you over getting out irresponsibly?
In the old days, two or three years ago. When I came off, and I was saying bad things to myself about how I’d got out and I was trying to take my pads off and the coach is standing over me going “What the f**k you doing, what kind of shot was that?”
You retired for a full fortnight back this April. What was that about?
When the India tour finished, I said I’m not playing anymore: you guys are playing too much cricket, you can’t expect me to perform in both times of cricket. It’s not like a sport now, it’s like a business. So I wanted a rest. And some time to spend with my kids. This is the right age to spend time with your kids – when they get older, they just keep themselves in their rooms!
Full postWhen the India tour finished, I said I’m not playing anymore: you guys are playing too much cricket, you can’t expect me to perform in both times of cricket. It’s not like a sport now, it’s like a business. So I wanted a rest. And some time to spend with my kids. This is the right age to spend time with your kids – when they get older, they just keep themselves in their rooms!
Too much of an effort
Andrew Flintoff is fighting hard to be fit in time for the Ashes, much like Rafael Nadal, who is struggling with an injury ahead of Wimbledon
Ashwin Achal
25-Feb-2013
Andrew Flintoff is fighting hard to be fit in time for the Ashes, much like Rafael Nadal, who is struggling with an injury ahead of Wimbledon. Both belong to the same breed of sportsmen, stars who give it their all when they play the game. In the Telegraph, Ed Smith takes a look at how trying too hard can bring its own problems.
Both injuries are structural rather than accidental: they are long-term, perhaps even inevitable injuries. No one, given Flintoff's muscular action, can slam down his leg on slabs of hardened mud, over after over, day after day, year after year, without putting immense pressure on his joints.