The Surfer

What this incident does is vitiate the atmosphere in the dressing-room. Just how much faith will RP have in (Dhoni), if he could not sway the selectors? Just how much confidence will Irfan have, if he believes the report that his captain threatened to quit when the selectors picked him in place of RP? And you can imagine the sledging when Irfan takes the field.

The 33-year-old's success as a late bloomer follows that of Matthew Hayden, dropped in 1997, recalled in 2000, Damien Martyn, dropped in 1994, returned in 2000. And Justin Langer axed in 1993, recalled in 1998. Some of their brightest batting stars of the past five years were deemed to have failed at their first attempt.

I don't care if Jesse Ryder is seen as being five pick handles across the backside. Jesse is a flag bearer. He gives hope to pears. He has proven that should clipboard-wielding nerds be forced to measure your skin folds with barbeque tongs then that's okay! Runs and wickets should be the only measuring stick, not callipers.

After Jesse put his hand through a glass window at 4am in February, he had to endure a spell on the sidelines. Anyone can put their hand through a glass window at that time. It's normally pretty dark.

Over half a century, cricket relations between the two countries have waxed and waned — from extreme hostility to unexpected and astonishing bonhomie. Much of that (often misplaced) passion has been sublimated over the past decade and an India-Pakistan match (for various reasons) is not something which can bring the cricket world to a standstill any more. More likely, that would be an India-Australia contest, which of course, is a different story altogether.

Do you ever sit at home and watch the Proteas feeling that you are missing out?

Nothing Katich does at the crease catches the eye. He shuffles around like a minister without a portfolio. He has the grace of a bulldog. His bottom hand features strongly in all his shots. His batting is full of punches, clubs, clouts and carves. But there is a reassuring practicality about his work - and it is work, not play. He is built for reliability not speed, comfort not flash. The whole is greater than the parts.

I have my own theory: maybe he is indeed on a slow comedown from some lofty career heights, but that certainly doesn’t mean he is a spent force. And there may be a good reason why he hasn’t made major runs this year: he hasn’t had to. So satisfyingly consistent has been the form of Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla and [Ashwell] Prince that Kallis has not had to drop anchor in the manner he knows best. You can bet that come Australia, there may be times when South Africa totter a bit in the top-order; it may well be a signal for normal Kallis “restorative” service to resume.

However, it would be unwise to look too far ahead. South Africa cannot win unless they raise their game on and off the field, and Smith himself has a big part to play in that. Previously he arrived down under as some sort of chest-thumping provocateur intent with every word on making his own life harder and the prospects of his team grimmer. It was a mistake born of immaturity and bad advice. If Smith has learnt his lesson then his team have a chance. Otherwise the cause is lost.

If the Indians refuse to come, the prospects of any Test side other than Bangladesh and maybe Sri Lanka visiting Pakistan in the foreseeable future may be classified as remote; one of the almost certain fallouts of it would be the cancellation of the Champions Trophy to be held in September-October 2009 and, unless the law and order situation improves noticeably over the next couple of years, the future of the Pakistan leg of the World Cup could also have a serious question mark hanging over it. One has every sympathy for the position in which the Pakistan Cricket Board finds itself, for this is not a situation of its making, but one with which it has nevertheless to try and come to terms with although the means of rectifying it are also not in its control either.

There's nothing wrong with the pitch. Indeed, you can mount a strong argument that these sort of pitches should be encouraged. They keep the game moving. When the sun comes out, the Gabba is invariably a treat to bat on, but on the first day, or if there's a bit of rain about, and the green tinges come through, the seam bowlers lick their lips. It has had consistent bounce and while it has certainly been challenging to bat on, it has not been dangerous or physically threatening.

At the Under-19 World Cup, [Tim] Southee was the player of the tournament, taking 17 wickets at a remarkable 6.64 runs apiece. Not far behind him was Northern Districts left-armer Trent Boult, with 11 wickets at 10.9. Boult was one of five other members of that squad playing in the State Championship's first full round this week, and he made an immediate impact on his State Championship debut, grabbing five for 58 against Otago.