The Surfer
Fading light and falling fortunes
There was a four-nation title in Sharjah under Adam Hollioake 11 years ago, and they made the final of the ICC Champions Trophy at home in 2004, but England’s failure to come to terms with the 100-over game is becoming a baffling reality of cricket’s
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
There was a four-nation title in Sharjah under Adam Hollioake 11 years ago, and they made the final of the ICC Champions Trophy at home in 2004, but England’s failure to come to terms with the 100-over game is becoming a baffling reality of cricket’s modern era, writes Kunal Pradhan in the Indian Express.
Full postKevin Pietersen has plenty to prove to detractors
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Kevin Pietersen is facing his first spell of criticism as England captain, with his side three down to India and only four one-day internationals to play, writes Michael Henderson in the Telegraph.
He [Pietersen] started well, and may yet surprise those people who are not entirely convinced by a manner that does its best to conceal doubt. But there are obvious fault lines, and they are becoming more apparent with each loss. The most important player in the side, Andrew Flintoff, has not always cared for his captain. Even the dogs in the street know that. That cannot help Pietersen because Flintoff enjoys the public acclaim that he lacks, for reasons that hardly require amplification. Flintoff, a match-winner in the heroic mould, is manifestly a team man, as was Ian Botham before him. He may enjoy the benefits that come with stardom, but those are incidental.
Cricket is becoming little more than showbiz
Cricket is in worse trouble than the financial markets and nothing seen at the Gabba is going to brighten its mood, says Peter Roebuck in the Age .
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Cricket is in worse trouble than the financial markets and nothing seen at the Gabba is going to brighten its mood, says Peter Roebuck in the Age.
Cricket yearns for a gripping struggle played to a high standard between well-matched teams. This Test has been accident-prone and mostly second-rate.
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As every month passes, the position deteriorates. Test matches are rearranged to accommodate dubious 20-over shenanigans, bound to attract as much interest among bookmakers as supporters. Players grizzle about their load and then accept lucrative offers to play an extra month. Matches are staged between uneven sides supposedly in the name of spreading the game but actually to create the illusion of competition. And the show will go on. Cricket is becoming little more than showbiz. With so many snouts in the trough it can hardly stop. A game needs to be loved, not raped.
Is Australia's iron grip over?
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The Indians started it; New Zealand's performance on day one at the Gabba reinforced it. There are clear signs the era of Australia's iron grip on test cricket is over, writes David Leggat in the New Zealand Herald.
Consider the numbers.
Ponting can learn from AB
Ricky Ponting is not happy with Allan Border's comments on his captaincy in Nagpur, but Robert Craddock writes in the Herald Sun that by the time Ponting retires he will surely be worshipping at Border's altar.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Ricky Ponting is not happy with Allan Border's comments on his captaincy in Nagpur, but Robert Craddock writes in the Herald Sun that by the time Ponting retires he will surely be worshipping at Border's altar.
With every passing day in charge of Australia's new generation team Ponting is finding out what it is like to be Border. The tense selection issues. The insecurity of under-performing players. The glee of other nations at extending the once invincible champions. The media inquisitions.
The more you see Ponting scrapping along as the captain of a team struggling to match its former glories, the more you wonder at how on earth Border handled such stress - and much more - during his tenure as skipper. Mark Taylor said five years was the sensible limit for a Test captain. Border did it for 10.
In the Daily Telegraph, Jon Pierik defends the under-fire wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Full postHayden's done it his way
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Matthew Hayden looks back at the bests and worsts with Robert Craddock in the Daily Telegraph. The Gabba Test was Hayden's 99th and he is set to become the tenth Australian to 100 Tests in the second Test in Adelaide. A few excerpts:
WORST ROOMMATE: "Tim Zoehrer. He was a massive smoker for a start. Things happened when I roomed with him. I remember we were staying at the Westbury Hotel in England and a bloke invaded my room late at night and tried to kick me out of the room.
A true test of ticker
The Australian series should help resolve important points about this New Zealand team
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
The Australian series should help resolve important points about this New Zealand team. There's no doubt hard questions will be asked of Dan Vettori's men. How New Zealand respond could provide an insight into what lies ahead later in the summer," writes David Leggat in the New Zealand Herald.
Does the middle order have a future?
On the face of it, the quartet of Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Daniel Flynn at Nos 3, 4, 5 and 6 has two things going for it - age and entertainment value ...
The case of Tim Southee.
Full postMorkel advice overflow
On Supercricket , Neil Manthorp writes that the number of people offering Morne Morkel advice on how to improve his bowling form is an indication of how important he is to the South African team.
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
On Supercricket, Neil Manthorp writes that the number of people offering Morne Morkel advice on how to improve his bowling form is an indication of how important he is to the South African team.
But the problem with the concern (panic?) amongst the wise and not-so-wise onlookers is that Morkel is clearly feeling it, and the tension in his body is palpable. Before any advice can used constructively, he needs to relax. Oh great, yet another piece of useless advice from yet another person who doesn't know what it feels like to bowl a cricket ball at 140 kilometres per hour. Just relax. That's as helpful as telling a struggling batsman to 'time the ball', or a long distance runner to 'breath'. It's not the 'what' which is the problem for Morkel, it's the 'how'.
Indian riches may only go to Pietersen
Despite Lalit Modi's encouraging talk, in reality the IPL franchises are likely to bid for a select few of the England team, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian .
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Despite Lalit Modi's encouraging talk, in reality the IPL franchises are likely to bid for a select few of the England team, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
What I find most rib-tickling is the notion that, when or if the all-clear is given, England's finest will be pouring through the door and off down the road to riches. Perhaps in this they, or once again their agents, have been paying too much attention to what Modi has been saying, for he too plays games.
Only a few weeks ago he said he would love to have the English players. On the back of this we hear through Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, that many of the England team have received approaches from IPL franchises. At this point I prefer to suspend belief. On what basis would a franchise owner put in a bid for all but a very select few of the England team? Net fodder? Were I a franchiser and I wanted reinforcements, I would make a start in the Caribbean. Instead, for the idea of multiple approaches look no further than the same agents, whose interest on behalf of their clients is to shout their availability from the roof tops.
The current boom in cricket pricing is the result of the seemingly unending enthusiasm of the Indian consumer, the relative, and often willing lack of competition from other Indian sport and the heady economic situation here, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.
Full postA lack of common sense
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
A reshuffled England fought hard but were again found wanting, their frustration heightened by a farcical finale, writes David Hopps in the Guardian.
The match was delayed by 45 minutes for morning mist, but nonsensically the overs were reduced only by one over per side to 49. By 4.30pm, the light was predictably fading, and even though England's spinners were bowling, umpires Russell Tiffin and Amiesh Saheba offered India bad light and victory by the dreaded Duckworth-Lewis calculations.