The Surfer
Mohammad Aamer craves the next level
Mohammad Aamer is just 16 and has only played two first-class matches but he's not short of confidence
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Mohammad Aamer is just 16 and has only played two first-class matches but he's not short of confidence. In an in-depth interview with Pakpassion.net, he says he's ready for international cricket, talks about how he considers himself a fast bowler and not a swing bowler, though he can "swing it in both ways with the new ball and then reverse swing with the old ball too", and how Wasim Akram and Aaqib Javed are helping him.
Pakpassion.net: Who is the most difficult batsman you've ever faced.
Mohammad Aamer: I've never thought of any batsman as a difficult batsman to face, not to me. That's a negative way of thinking.
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PakPassion.Net: So you dont feel that you could do with some more time getting forged in domestic cricket? Maybe another year?
Mohammad Aamer: When you start playing at the first class level then you quickly mature as a cricketer, you learn far more at the International level than you can in domestic cricket. I feel that I'm ready to play for Pakistan.
Full postODIs can help Test batting
Limited-overs cricket can help a Test opener, according to Mark Richardson, who feels Tim McIntosh and Jamie How need to get some runs in the one-day format to keep their place in the Test side
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Limited-overs cricket can help a Test opener, according to Mark Richardson, who feels Tim McIntosh and Jamie How need to get some runs in the one-day format to keep their place in the Test side. He writes in the New Zealand Herald:
Both How and McIntosh will be aware that their scoring areas will differ between test and ODI play and the fear is that should McIntosh play State Shield it will affect his test technique. It will not, it will only help him. McIntosh needs to hold a place in the Aces State Shield team, something he has failed to do and his test status simply should not provide for special treatment. However, with Auckland struggling he may get a run and that will only help him.
In the same paper, Dylan Cleaver is not sure if How at No. 3 and Daniel Flynn at No. 5 do justice to the New Zealand one-day bating line-up? Apart from the fact they stand on different sides of the bat, their styles are too similar.
Full postA fine year for Tendulkar
As the new year begins, Dileep Premachandran hands out gongs for 2008 on his blog, the Doosra
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
As the new year begins, Dileep Premachandran hands out gongs for 2008 on his blog, the Doosra. Sachin Tendulkar dominates: his century in Chennai which helped chase down 387 against England is named the best Test innings, and the unbeaten 117 in the first CB series final is rated the best one-day innings.
Full postRevive the Duleep School of Cricket
Makarand Waingankar, in the Hindu writes about the Duleep School of Cricket in Porbandar, founded by Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji, and says the facilities are not being utilised to its fullest potential.
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Makarand Waingankar, in the Hindu writes about the Duleep School of Cricket in Porbandar, founded by Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji, and says the facilities are not being utilised to its fullest potential.
The Maharaja, who was the captain of the Indian team that toured England in 1932, had observed that the Indians needed proper practice facilities for fast bowling and playing fast bowling, for the players to excel in international cricket.
Some of the top Indian cricketers visited and benefited from the Duleep School and, going by the documents available, they were all grateful to the Maharaja for making some lovely cement pitches.
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Full postRichie's golden anniversary
As Australia prepare to do battle against South Africa, Richie Benaud celebrates the golden anniversary of his appointment to the Australia captaincy against Peter May's English in 1958-59
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
As Australia prepare to do battle against South Africa, Richie Benaud celebrates the golden anniversary of his appointment to the Australia captaincy against Peter May's English in 1958-59. The Australian has the full story.
All Benaud's minions are pretty well retired given they have long been entitled to a seniors card. But not the skipper, who is three months into his 79th year and with a little more than a year of his Channel Nine contract to run. Benaud remains an active broadcaster and writer (this is his 50th year with the News of the World in the UK) with a work and travel diary bound to daunt those decades younger
Competition heats up for Indian Test batting slots
Sanjib Guha, writing in DNA , looks at the new bunch of Indian batsman who are vying for a place in the Test side
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Sanjib Guha, writing in DNA, looks at the new bunch of Indian batsman who are vying for a place in the Test side.
Only a while back the names of Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, S Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa were thought of when any of the Fab Five were unavailable.
But in a recent development, another lot comprising Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay have pushed themselves into the limelight.
Full postCaptain-coach rift biggest concern for England
Patrick Kidd writes in the Times that the ECB would rather see a reconciliation than lose either captain or coach so close to the Ashes
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Patrick Kidd writes in the Times that the ECB would rather see a reconciliation than lose either captain or coach so close to the Ashes. Yet, he writes, there is no doubt that if Pietersen pushed the issue, England would be loath to lose the one batsman whom Australia fear.
Before the second Test against South Africa at Headingley last summer, Vaughan is believed to have wanted Simon Jones to be recalled, but Moores and the selectors plumped for the untried Darren Pattinson. It may well have been one of the reasons why Vaughan decided to stand down...
... some have felt that Moores is not suited to coaching an international side, particularly in handling the egos and demands of world-class players.
Simon Hughes, writing in the Daily Telegraph, feels Peter Moores' lack of sophistication is a possible reason for the rift with Kevin Pietersen.
Pietersen cut a forlorn figure as he cast around for alternatives in Madras. As an inexperienced captain, he needed more imaginative input from the coaching staff. Moores is a decent, enthusiastic, hard-working man, and he is certainly not timid, giving a strong lead in the departure of Michael Vaughan as captain. But, as a coach who has spent most of his time around county cricket, he perhaps lacks real sophistication at the highest level. This is probably the source of Pietersen’s lack of respect.
Bad times toughened Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir, the Indian batsman, tells the Times of India that the years spent on the fringes of the national team have increased his appetite for runs
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Gautam Gambhir, the Indian batsman, tells the Times of India that the years spent on the fringes of the national team have increased his appetite for runs. He also talks about his disappointment over Delhi's early exit from the Ranji Trophy, and demands more accountability from the selectors and officials concerned with the team.
Full postMy biggest low in 2008 was to miss the last Test against Australia in Nagpur. I was batting well in that series. It was horrible to see the match from the sideline. When your team is winning, you obviously want to be there with your team-mates.
It's not about systems, it's about people
Simon Barnes writes in the Times that Australia are looking vulnerable not because the system has failed but because two of the greatest cricketers, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, have retired
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Simon Barnes writes in the Times that Australia are looking vulnerable not because the system has failed but because two of the greatest cricketers, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, have retired. He argues that the greatness of a team is usually the story of a great man. "Warne, [Martin] Johnson, Maradona — they could hardly help but create great teams. They could hardly help but destroy them a little when they went."
Full post... in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne they had the difference between very good indeed and absolutely remarkable. That’s why the decline began with their retirement. For that matter, the turning point of the Ashes series of 2005 came when McGrath turned his ankle on a stray cricket ball while sodding about playing rugby before the second Test: for want of a man to do the tidying up, the series was lost.
Impact players of 2009
On the BBC website, Oliver Brett lists out six players to watch out for in 2009 - one player from each of the two teams touring England in the summer, three up-and-coming players on the county scene attempting to break into the national senior
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
On the BBC website, Oliver Brett lists out six players to watch out for in 2009 - one player from each of the two teams touring England in the summer, three up-and-coming players on the county scene attempting to break into the national senior side, and a member from the England women's team.
On sportinglife.com Myles Hodgson tips Yorkshire allrounder Tim Bresnan to make the major impact over the next year.
During his last incarnation as an England player during Fletcher's reign, Bresnan averaged just 17 with the bat from four innings and had an economy rate of 6.76 per over. Since then, however, Bresnan has turned to former England fast bowler Darren Gough, his county captain at Yorkshire for the last two years, and also took advice from Australian seamer Jason Gillespie during his time as overseas player at Headingley during 2006 and 2007.
England women's captain Charlotte Edwards looks back at a phenomenal year for her and her team and hopes to cap it off with a World Cup win in 2009. She speaks to the ECB website:
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