The Surfer

“I know I’m not going to get picked or dropped because of how many runs I score or don’t score in this tournament. I’m not trying to make any statements, I just want to play. I tried to get into Buchi Babu and the Tamil Nadu league but there were no invitational teams allowed for those tournaments. You had to be a registered player with the state. So, I called Mr IS Bindra and asked about this tournament, and he arranged places for me and Ranadeb Bose in a team."

Hick says he was not ruthless enough, which those many bowlers who have been on the receiving end may find an odd thing, but I think he means that the fire did not rage as it might. He is just too nice a fellow. Maybe there was something just a little too mechanical or formulaic in his approach to an innings, one blurring into another. Few hundreds were memorable in the sense that the mind can distinguish between them. I didn't see his 178 in India — his maiden Test hundred and one of his favourites — but another, 141 at Centurion, I did. Yet apart from a vague recollection of a thunderous pull shot, I can't recall a further thing about it.

It is common knowledge that a batsman should stick to the basic principles of cricket coaching of a side-on stance, head still and straight back-lift to be most effective.

However, the West Indian has not adhered to any of this - he has an open stance, shuffles from leg to middle as the bowler runs in, and his back-lift emerges somewhere from thirdman.

'I went to watch the one-dayer at Lord’s a few weeks ago. It was the first game of international cricket I’d ever watched and although it felt a bit strange, I didn’t say to myself “I’ve got to be back doing this”. I enjoyed England while it lasted but I’ve moved on now.’

Many fear that embracing change will cripple Cricket as we now know it. I fear not embracing change will take all options away from us. By changing today we can control the flow of the game, by letting it gush around, we will invite change upon us. Indeed, we are seeing change everywhere. Climate is getting out of control (last winter, Mumbai was cold and we didn’t even know what that meant!) and as the crash in the financial markets tells us, even pillars can crumble, history is forced to bow to the present if we are not careful. Why, people are getting obsolete along with technology and those hugely gifted with traditional skills are finding life difficult in the commercial world. There is a lesson there.

With Gilchrist now part of Australian cricket folklore, it was Symonds who inherited the mantle of middle-order enforcer. It is a task he has warmed to, averaging a stunning 72.07 from 12 Tests since coming back into the side during the last Ashes. India have been his favourite opponents. In the hullabaloo over what was said or not said at the SCG last season, it was forgotten that Symonds' 162, with a little help from snoozing umpires, changed the game and series. It was also forgotten that his 410 runs and nine wickets (at 27.44, far better than the mouthy Harbhajan) made him the standout performer over the four Tests. Only once did he fail to cross 30.

Look at the shambolic state of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Surrey and Warwickshire, all of whom are failing to exploit their power and the weakness of others. These are the counties with the most financial muscle, the greatest traditions and the biggest pools of talent to draw from, yet they are failing to deliver silverware and locally produced players in sufficient numbers, surely the twin aims of any self-respecting county.

At the end of the day, here is a guy called Irfan Pathan who has taken nearly 250 international wickets at the age of 23. Once I finish my career I won't be answerable. Initially some said that I will go on to take 300 wickets but after few failures they said I will never make it to the big league. Slowly, I am reaching 150 wickets in ODIs and I have already 100 Test scalps in my kitty. I have scored over 1000 runs in both forms of the game. I have achieved pretty much