The Surfer

P. Hughes prefers to be called Phillip rather than Phil in print. Originally this seemed a bizarre request given Hughes - unshaven, a fan of shorts and thongs, the son of a banana farmer, vertically challenged, and a country bumpkin to the bone - is about as prim and proper as a stubbie-holder.

If they suggest a postponement of the tournament, they might give the impression that they have allowed themselves to be intimidated by the terrorists. Such an impression could give added oxygen to the terrorists. If they go ahead with the tournament, despite its clashing with the general elections and despite the deterioration in the security situation, , they could be playing with the security of the lives and property of the citizens of this country.

I kept repeating that we knew we were a team in transition, that we had a plan and that while little things might go wrong in the short term, I knew if we did not do anything silly, we would be back on track very soon.

Why choose only Mike Hussey when you can get his brother David as a matching pair? Is Nathan Hauritz really the best spinner in the country? Who exactly are Ryan Harris and Moises Henriques? This season Australia have picked 10 players whose names start with H. Who could be behind such a policy? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I suggest the chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, and his offsider Merv Hughes. Even when Matthew Hayden's retirement left a big H-shaped hole at the top of the order, Phil Hughes filled it. If Brad Hodge makes the squad, we'll know why.

One morning I arrived at the office to be told that our man in Belfast had died suddenly and that I had been chosen to cover football in that city until a permanent replacement could be found. There had been threats to newspapermen in the city, two had been kidnapped when they wandered into forbidden territory and the hotel they all used had been blown up a number of times. I left the sports editor’s office full of joy, sure my family would understand this brief posting, glad to have a proper job instead of sitting round the office waiting for one of the big name writers to give way to me.

As I got back to my desk, my phone rang....

My guess is that he now has a greater variety of shots, especially on the leg side. He always flicked the ball well off his pads but could be kept quiet by the ball that bounced into his rib cage. Now he seems to have a couple of shots for balls in that area. First, the trademark straight jab through mid-wicket, a shot achieved through his incredible bat speed. But more important, when it gets higher, he has started pulling the short ball. And anything that comes off the middle of the bat and achieves decent elevation goes out of the ground in New Zealand anyway! I also suspect he is being given the space that every performer needs.

The pull stroke is a versatile, valuable weapon, and in cultivating the stroke, Sehwag hasn’t merely added a dimension — he has transformed forever his batting. As he said with typical economy of words, “They are bowling into my body and I’m playing my pull shot to get boundaries. There is no other way they can bowl to me.”

By stating that he "does not talk to FICA" he may just have bitten off more than he can chew. FICA's strongest member is the PCA of England, closely followed in strength by South Africa's SACA and Australia's ACA ... How can Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene seriously take the money on offer in season two of the IPL when the man in charge of the league rudely refuses to even speak to the men they have elected to be the guardians of their collective fate?

"I thought, 'Here we go, I'm getting dropped for the Sheffield Shield final ... It was a numbing feeling. I had maybe some slight hope in the back of my mind but there'd be a few jokes among the boys and you wouldn't think about it. This is totally unexpected."

Both have made names for themselves in South Africa, Hughes for his remarkable batting performances, Siddle for being such a confrontational and successful fast bowler. He's annoyed South African crowds to the point of distraction. The reason? They never knew he was this good.