The Surfer

The biggest (incentive) involves India's cricket board, the BCCI, the most powerful and wealthy in the game and intent on total world domination. Until now, they have never really had a team to match that, though the present one, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni following Anil Kumble's retirement, are getting close. What a coup for England, and by extension the England and Wales Cricket Board, were they to thwart those ambitions by beating them in front of their adoring fans, a result that would surely neutralise any sour taste left by the Stanford match.
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The chance to present one's credentials ahead of the Indian Premier League's auction in January will be overwhelming for Pietersen and Co. Wanting to impress the IPL's fixers and agents should suit England's immediate aims as well, though other motivations exist.

KP is the new Tony Greig. The obvious similarities were there before but his revoltingly condescending quotes about how Chris Gayle and his team needed the money more took him dangerously close to ‘grovel’ territory.

There are fascinating chapters on the formation of the NZ Cricket Players’ Association, the bomb in Karachi, his move to the non-establishment Indian Cricket League and the 2004 tour of England (the “nightmare on the road” - who knew!). He also offers some intriguing insights into the player contract process, and its weighting in favour of Test players. With the rise of Twenty20, and the increased lip service paid to the five-day game, one wonders how much longer this can continue to be the case.

Importantly, he can ‘play’ and ‘leave’; a vital attribute in an opener while coping with the new ball. Vijay’s balanced stance and an initial, but non-committal, trigger movement forward enhances his judgement in the corridor.

The first four years, I was opening the innings and after a couple of chances people would call me a non-regular opener and I would be dropped. To be honest, those early failures gave me a lot of insight into my character. It made me tough and it gave me the confidence to be able to bounce back from any setback.
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They've (Australia) been top class with their batting, bowling and fielding and for me it started with the under-19 series. They are very aggressive and they don't give you an inch. Their style of cricket brings out the best in me.

And some of the nonsense about the pitch and the floodlights made me cringe. If you don't like slow pitches, lads, don't bother going to India later this week - because you won't find many surfaces offering pace and bounce there.

As for the floodlights, what on earth is the problem? In England, we still play one-day internationals with a few light-bulbs hoisted on cranes in the car park, so we're hardly qualified to grumble.

Dravid’s loss of touch is strange because in cricket it’s generally believed that technically sound batsmen have a better chance of coming out of form slumps than those who rely on individual skill and flair. But Dravid’s blues have stretched a bit too far for his own comfort. But it clearly has more than just a technical facet to it. When Dravid relinquished captaincy, it was well understood that the decision was a direct fallout of the stress he was carrying. To add to his woes, this unseemly debate over the place of seniors in the team came at a very inopportune time for him, when he was fighting his own battles.

There was no moral ambivalence about taking the dosh among Chris Gayle's side, who were ecstatic in victory. The six-week long boot camp, with its curfews, drug tests and 12-hour training days, has shown them that hard work and discipline can have its rewards. Hopefully, the national side will follow suit and once more allow the region to strut its pride.

The Bangalorean leaves behind a unique legacy. He has bowled India to wins in Australia, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies, demolishing the myth that he was dangerous only at home. During the fractious tour of Australia, India gained from his clear-sighted leadership; in fact, he might be the best captain India almost never had. In the final analysis, Kumble leaves Indian cricket immeasurably better than he found it when he made his Test debut in 1990.

Kumble’s greatest achievement, however, could be the statesmanlike quality that he brought to the field during the last Indian series in Australia which was fraught with tensions between the two teams. As accusations flew through the air, Kumble rose above it and took his team with him
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But this is still an occasion that must be marked, and that is why the sporting world has stood up to salute Kumble. He represents the best of a sport that is often lauded for being a “gentleman’s game” — in spite of enough evidence to the contrary — because he is a gentleman. Now, the newer, brasher India takes over.

Eight months ago, sitting under a lovely afternoon sun outside Kreeda, his elegant Bangalore bungalow, Anil Kumble casually said he didn’t think he would last out the year, career wise. “I’m hoping to make it to the Australian series this October,” he added, equally casually, “but it depends on my body”. That Bangalore day, he grinned as wife Chethana disapprovingly commented, “He needs to think about himself”. “She’s being a wife,” he quipped, smiling at the woman he dubbed his “support system” and “partner in everything”.