The Surfer

Lalit Modi, the IPL boss, seems to have a philosophy of walking quietly, but carrying a big stick. He'll tell you one thing, then turn round and bang you on the head. That said, once the egos have been put aside, there's no reason why the two competitions can't live together harmoniously.
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(Shane) Bond is making about $1.5 million a year for four months' work at a standard where, if he's at 80 per cent of his peak, he's doing a really good job for his team. It's reasonably low stress from a performance perspective, he's making heaps of money, and can play with his kids eight months a year. Why would you not want to do that?

... Milind would often call up to say how "Tendlya" had smashed this bowler and how he had toyed with the other. And if he was batting somewhere close by, he would ask me to join him and enjoy his batting. We would then chortle as retired cricketers do seeing "Tendlya" taking apart an attack like he was having a net. It wasn't long before he was picked for India, and we had to reluctantly share our "Tendlya" not just with India but with the rest of the cricketing world...

In his debut Test series, on the West Indies tour last May and June, Australia's new wicketkeeper broke a finger on the morning of the first Test yet played all three Tests and the first one-day international before being forced home.

Chances are that India will play the same eleven at Mohali in the second Test (unless Kumble's injuries force him out), thus giving everyone another chance to fail. Sentiment may be a good guide for choosing books to read or persons to date, but it is not recommended for picking cricket teams. Here, balance ought to be the key.

Tendulkar has uplifted lives. He has not railed against colonialism and has instead inspired his countrymen by deed alone. Supporters cherish his introductory masterpieces — daring and almost cheeky — his hundreds scored in adversity, notably in Birmingham and Melbourne, and his later more restrained efforts.

In April what chance that New Zealand fans will be reflecting on the summer which moved Ross Taylor from a hugely promising talent to a genuine international star?

At the age of 33 (34 in December) Ponting is 20 months younger than Tendulkar and so far his body, unlike that of the "Master Blaster from Mumbai", has shown few signs of rebelling against the constant demands put on it. Nobody ever can become the new Don Bradman – the man scored a century on every 2.75 visits to the Test crease, for goodness sake – but another Australian is building a sound case for being the Best Since Bradman. And as a captain Ponting is creating a record of similar magnitude. Under him, Australia have won 73.3 per cent of their matches, greater than anybody who has led in more than 10 matches: better than Bradman, and better than Ponting's immediate predecessor, Steve Waugh.

So, too, is the England and Wales Cricket Board hemmed in that little bit tighter. For which country's cricketers will be content to accept second billing in an English summer when they can see their names up in the razzle-dazzling Indian Premier League lights? The ECB also gets its comeuppance for decades of neglect: Sri Lanka, in their quarter century as a Test nation, have been granted only 10 Tests in England ...

There is a particular image to be carried from England's last tour of Sri Lanka and it is this: Monty Panesar is bowling to Mahela Jayawardene, off-stumpish and good length. Jayawardene plonks his left leg forward and waits until the ball is under his nose, at which point his left hand rotates the bat blade clockwise an eighth of a turn, his right deftly imparts a little energy and the ball slides away through point in the direction of a distant fielder. The batsmen stroll a single and the scoreboard clicks round. It happened time after time after time ...