The Surfer
Antigua's epic finale a true test of cricket's real worth
During the Antigua Test, as the locals "were drawn to the rickety stadium like pilgrims", James Lawton says that the management was told to turn off the music and increase the volume of the television commentary.Writing in the Independent , Lawton
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
During the Antigua Test, as the locals "were drawn to the rickety stadium like pilgrims", James Lawton says that the management was told to turn off the music and increase the volume of the television commentary.Writing in the Independent, Lawton says it is a wonder that in 2009 the game in danger of death by skewered values and changed priorities should display, once again, such vital signs.
In the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain wonders who is in charge of the leaderless England that made a mess of winning call in Antigua.
It made absolutely no sense and although it may seem like a minor detail, it cost England time and that is just what they needed more of on Thursday evening. They were effectively 300-odd for one, but still Anderson was sent out to protect Owais Shah. There was no logical explanation for it. Why on earth were the team's most fluent batsmen, Shah and Kevin Pietersen, sitting in the dressing room watching Jimmy bat? He did his best to be positive, but he is a No 9 or 10 for a reason.
The Antigua Test was a classic, says Mike Selvey in the Guardian, but England need to remember how to finish teams off.
Writing in the Mirror, Ian Botham urges England to think positive, or else the Aussies will give them an Ashes roasting.
Full postBetter days lie ahead
With Stanford's fall and the appointment of David Collart as Zimbabwe's new sports minister, cricket may now legitimately hope that better days lie ahead, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu .
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
With Stanford's fall and the appointment of David Collart as Zimbabwe's new sports minister, cricket may now legitimately hope that better days lie ahead, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu.
A founder member of the opposition party in Zimbabwe (in other countries it’d be called “the duly elected government”), Coltart is a keen cricketer, lawyer and man of integrity. Under the agreement recently hammered out, the education and sports portfolio was assigned to his faction of the MDC. Coltart was duly sworn in. Education will be his highest priority but cricket, will not be neglected. Coltart will want to see the long suppressed report into the finances of Zimbabwe cricket finances conducted in 2007. He’s been around and knows where the skeletons are hidden.
Eight months later ...
This weeks’ cricket coverage has been dominated by stories about Sir Alan Stanford, often accompanied by pictures of his big day out at Lord’s last June when he and his new best friends at the ECB and WICB unveiled their brave new world
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
This weeks’ cricket coverage has been dominated by stories about Sir Alan Stanford, often accompanied by pictures of his big day out at Lord’s last June when he and his new best friends at the ECB and WICB unveiled their brave new world. Standing among them were two other knights, Sir Viv Richards and Sir Ian Botham.
Eight months on and it’s all ended in tears. The media has savaged the boards for their involvement with Stanford and not scratching under the dollar-plated surface of his financial empire. While Richards has been quiet, not so Sir Ian.
“The sorry Stanford debacle leaves English cricket with nothing but egg on its face,” he fumed in his column in the Mirror “It has been a disaster for the Antiguan people, a disaster for West Indian cricket and a disaster for English cricket - and you cannot just let something as massive as this be swept under the carpet. Someone has to be accountable. [Clarke] was the one telling everyone Stanford was the way to go - and it has been a huge mess.
Life without Richie is unthinkable
Richie Benaud has confirmed he will step down as a commentator in 2010 and Gideon Haigh writes in the Australian that the idea of cricket without him seems unthinkable.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Richie Benaud has confirmed he will step down as a commentator in 2010 and Gideon Haigh writes in the Australian that the idea of cricket without him seems unthinkable.
But so did the idea of cricket without Arlott or Alan McGilvray, and the game marched on. This way, too, Benaud gets in ahead of the questioners, of whom some had begun gathering. The pithy Rodney Hogg recently compared Benaud with a 1960s LP "that you can't play any more because it has a scratch on it".
Instead, there is time for the composition of suitably expansive tributes. When Benaud signed off in England for the last time, at The Oval in 2005, players and spectators turned as one towards the commentary position to give him a standing ovation. The Nine Network is normally a little more sentimental and bathetic, although for Benaud it might make an exception: he has been a centre of gravity rather than a centre of levity.
Benaud tells AAP he is surprised by all the fuss created after his decision while Steve Crawley, Channel Nine’s head of sport, opens up in the Daily Telegraph about the life of Richie.
Full postLast man standing
Peter Lalor, writing in the Australian , looks at the offspinner Nathan Hauritz, the Steven Bradbury of Australian cricket.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Peter Lalor, writing in the Australian, looks at the offspinner Nathan Hauritz, the Steven Bradbury of Australian cricket.
In 2004, he was twiddling his thumbs in the Australian tour party when Shane Warne broke a thumb and Stuart MacGill was too far away to make it for the Mumbai Test. Hauritz was ushered in for an unexpected debut.
When Warne resigned, Hauritz had only distant memories of the ball that got Sachin Tendulkar sweeping and the other that got VVS Laxman caught and bowled, not to mention the wicket of spinning guru Anil Kumble in his first over under a baggy green. The 27-year-old was a long, long way behind the pack of successors when selectors looked for a replacement.
Brad Haddin talks to Will Swanton in the Age about breaking his finger in his first Test while Peter Roebuck speaks to the coaching mentor of Michael Clarke and Phillip Hughes for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Full postIt's not too late for the CCI
There's still perhaps time for the Cricket Club of India (CCI) to negotiate a fair deal with IPL that will be in the best interests of their world-renowned club and the game of cricket, as well as Mumbai's cricket fanatics for whom there is no
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
There's still perhaps time for the Cricket Club of India (CCI) to negotiate a fair deal with IPL that will be in the best interests of their world-renowned club and the game of cricket, as well as Mumbai's cricket fanatics for whom there is no greater joy than witnessing a game at the delightful Brabourne Stadium. Khalid Ansari in his column in Mid-Day calls for the ego and arrogance to be cast aside, and wants the club to maintain its democratic view and usher in the younger generation.
Full postAllen Stanford debacle confirms sport is a whore
As the whole Sir Allen Stanford business goes up in smoke and he becomes the latest billionaire lurking behind an impenetrable thicket of alleged lies, let's not blame poor alleged Sir A for being a monumental power-drunk, publicity-crazed vulgarian
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
As the whole Sir Allen Stanford business goes up in smoke and he becomes the latest billionaire lurking behind an impenetrable thicket of alleged lies, let's not blame poor alleged Sir A for being a monumental power-drunk, publicity-crazed vulgarian who doesn't know a doosra from a nurdle, says Simon Barnes in the Times. That's just the way he is.
When a billionaire comes a-calling, sport doesn't waste its precious time by saying, “I'm not that kind of girl.” No, one whiff of the inside of a fat wallet and sport is flat on its back with it's legs in the air, shouting: “Come and get it.”
Andy Bull in his Guardian blog says the rise and fall of Stanford was full of bluster and shady dealings, and that warning signs showed his empire was built on 'threats and innuendos'.
Full postFragile Flintoff can only watch as firebrand Broad steps into his role
Although clearly in pain from his injured right hip, Andrew Flintoff bowled on a tense final day in Antigua, sending down two spells before leaving the field wicketless
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Although clearly in pain from his injured right hip, Andrew Flintoff bowled on a tense final day in Antigua, sending down two spells before leaving the field wicketless. Flintoff strained every sinew as England pushed for victory, but he was overshadowed by a much younger bowling team-mate. England's struggling allrounder knows that Stuart Broad is waiting to step into his shoes, says Vic Marks in the Telegraph.
In the Independent, Tony Cozier says that West Indies ended with their tails up after a dispiriting week, and that it took the composure of tailenders not reputed for such level-headedness to do so.
James Lawton, in the same paper, recalls his stormy altercation with Viv Richards nearly 18 years ago. In his own words, that bust-up with Sir Viv was bigger than World War III, and stole a certain Bush and Gorbachev's thunder.
April 14, 1990, the Recreation Ground in Antigua, bailiwick of King Vivian Richards, lord of the island, are a date and a place I was never likely to forget. But then nor was I quite prepared for the vividness of recall when the old Test battleground came back to fleeting life this week.
It was the shuddering anger, so perfectly preserved, of the great man that did it.
Full postThe time has come
The relative low success rate of teams travelling to New Zealand may have much to do with looking upon the assignment as just another tour
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
The relative low success rate of teams travelling to New Zealand may have much to do with looking upon the assignment as just another tour. There is little folklore about Indian teams visiting there in spite of the fact that India’s first series win overseas came in New Zealand.
However, with the bowling now available to make full use of the conditions in New Zealand, and the advantage of playing the ODIs first, Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express writes that this time around, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men can break the New Zealand jinx.
There is little of the excitement associated with going to England or Australia or Pakistan; or for that matter South Africa. Maybe it is because we do not see a lot of cricket from New Zealand, maybe the time difference is a factor or maybe, it is just not exciting enough. New Zealand, maybe, is a bit like a number six batsman who hangs in there, bats with the tail and returns 36 not out. Effective but not exciting.
Indian fielding coach Robin Singh feels the era of the specialist fielding positions is over and that in the age of Twenty20 cricket there is no choice, no preferred place. He also recognises that the campaign in New Zealand will be a challenging one and identified slip catching as a vital area for getting success. S Dinakar in the Hindu has more.
Full postKey must stop tour of Zimbabwe
An editorial in the New Zealand Herald says that the country's government should not allow the tour of Zimbabwe to go ahead.
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
An editorial in the New Zealand Herald says that the country's government should not allow the tour of Zimbabwe to go ahead.
John Key has given a clear indication that he is prepared to order the New Zealand cricket team not to tour Zimbabwe in July. There, it seems, the matter will rest while the game's governing body talks things over with the Government. That should not be the case. This is not a matter over which the Prime Minister need procrastinate. He does not want the tour, New Zealand Cricket does not want it and most New Zealanders do not want it. The cricketers should be told forthwith they are not going to Zimbabwe.