The Surfer

KP takes centrestage

On the eve of his first Test as captain, Kevin Pietersen get some advice from his former coach Duncan Fletcher, who writes in the Guardian that Pietersen should "be himself" and not change his style of batting because of the added responsibility

Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
On the eve of his first Test as captain, Kevin Pietersen get some advice from his former coach Duncan Fletcher, who writes in the Guardian that Pietersen should "be himself" and not change his style of batting because of the added responsibility of being the team's leader.
It's the greatest challenge for any captain: how do you remain the same batsman you were before? The danger, of course, is that the responsibility of the new job will make Pietersen exaggerate whatever approach he wants to take. If he wants to be positive, that can easily spill over into excessive aggression. If he wants to bat with caution, he must not retreat too far into his shell. Captaincy plays with your mind in funny ways - you think you're not making allowances, but then you find yourself batting out of character because of the pressure.
In the same paper, Mike Selvey analyses the England team composition ahead of the final Test.
The Independent's Stephen Brenkley writes that among recent England captains, Kevin Pietersen is most likely to resemble Nasser Hussain.
Meanwhile, over in the Telegraph, Rod Gilmour uses Hawk-Eye to dissect Paul Collingwood's career-saving century in the previous Test and finds that Collingwood's cause was helped by the liberal servings of short and wide deliveries from the South African bowling.
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India's middle-order blues

The Indian middle order has had an ordinary series so far with just one half-century in the first two Tests

Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
In the second Test, where he made five and 31, especially in the second innings, Tendulkar looked ominously good before giving his wicket away. What this points to is that there isn’t a particular chink in technique or blind spot that the bowlers are exploiting. Usually this means that it’s only a matter of time before a batsman comes good.
The Deccan Herald's R Kaushik feels the middle order has to find the right balance between defence and aggression to the runs start to flow again.
Meanwhile, in the Guardian, Dileep Premchandran ponders whether Virender Sehwag has done enough to be considered an all-time great.
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Olympics would be awesome - Ponting

Ricky Ponting has achieved many things even A-list cricketers can only dream of, but he joins the Olympic buzz by saying he cannot think of anything better than his sport being part of the Games

Peter English
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
I know my time will be well and truly past if it was to happen. It's probably a couple of generations of players away. But the fact that teams from Australia or India or China or the US could be playing cricket in the Olympic Games is an awesome thought.
If you’re interested in seeing Ponting’s new baby Emmy, head to the Daily Telegraph.
Steve Waugh will be at the Olympics as a mentor for the Australian team and he talks to Wayne Smith about gamesmanship, body language, athletes’ fears and beating England.
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Debating Kevin Pietersen

In the Guardian , former captains Kim Hughes and Bob Willis debate whether Kevin Pietersen is the right man to help England regain the Ashes after their 5-0 humiliation in Australia

In the Guardian, former captains Kim Hughes and Bob Willis debate whether Kevin Pietersen is the right man to help England regain the Ashes after their 5-0 humiliation in Australia. While Hughes believes KP has it in him to upset the world champions, Willis begs to differ. He feels England that no matter how good a captain Pietersen is, the bottomline is that he doesn't have the firepower in the bowling to script victories consistently.
Here's Hughes' take:
Kevin was always going to be the No 1 challenge to Australia; he is confident, cocky, the things every good player is. He will captain as he bats: with supreme confidence and leaving his opponents constantly guessing at what he is going to do next. He is a gambler and to be honest I think that's going to be good for English cricket, not evidence of a lack of responsibility. He will be enthusiastic and aggressive but the most important thing is that he doesn't try to change his exuberant style because he has to remain England's match winner.
And Willis:
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'I felt sad for him'

Nasser Hussain catches up with the man who not only got rid of him (in 2003), but also Michael Vaughan

Nasser Hussain catches up with the man who not only got rid of him (in 2003), but also Michael Vaughan. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Graeme Smith shares his views on Vaughan, and his reaction to Kevin Pietersen's elevation as captain.
He was always a very calm guy, always in control, difficult to break down. I used to think, 'when is he going to snap?' But in this series he was a lot more combative, had a lot of one-on-ones with people and that seemed unusual for him. It was something I hadn't seen before. He always used to make me feel that he was one step ahead of me but in this series he was different.
He also talks of his love-hate relationship with Pietersen.
Look, we don't really know each other that well. It started with the comments he made about South Africa and naturally, as national captain, I would walk into a press conference and his comments would be thrown at me.
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Olympic flame may douse player drain

The lure of an Olympic medal could help Australia avoid losing teenage cricketers to the football codes, Jamie Pandaram writes in the Sydney Morning Herald .

Peter English
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Adam Gilchrist, who floated the idea of Twenty20 at the 2020 Games, was mobbed by school children during an appearance in Sydney on Tuesday, the Daily Telegraph reports.
"I thought this kind of stuff only happens in India," Gilchrist said as he signed caps and shirts. "I haven't been out of the game that long, but it's nice to think I haven't been forgotten."
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Ramps v Hick

Mark Ramprakash has joined the elite list of players with hundred hundreds and Simon Hattenstone, in the Guardian , compares and contrasts Ramprakash's records with Graeme Hick

Mark Ramprakash has joined the elite list of players with hundred hundreds and Simon Hattenstone, in the Guardian, compares and contrasts Ramprakash's records with Graeme Hick. Here's the statistical story of two England underachievers, despite being domestic giants.
What makes Ramprakash and Hick different is that despite their outrageous success, they both failed at the highest level. Amazingly, they made their England debut in the same Test, against West Indies at Headingley in 1991. Sure enough, both blew it. Ramprakash scored 27 in both innings, and maybe my memory is playing tricks but he seemed to score 27 in virtually every Test innings he played. After 52 Tests he finished with an average of, yes, 27. Hick had an even worse time of it on debut, with a pair of sixes. He went on to average 31 in 65 Tests. Of their 235 centuries, only eight were for England.
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Why pay for the BBC?

Stephen Pollard in the Spectator is not too pleased with the BBC's decision not to bid for the TV rights put on sale by the ECB

Stephen Pollard in the Spectator is not too pleased with the BBC's decision not to bid for the TV rights put on sale by the ECB. He says:
The ECB made it clear to the BBC that it wanted to have Test cricket on the BBC and would find a way to accomodate it within the overall rights package. Yet there was no bid of any sort from the BBC, not for one Test a year, not for two, and not for a highlights package. Cricket, as far as the BBC is now concerned, is not worth a penny.
That should lead to further questions about just what we pay our licence fee for, if it is not in part for the BBC to televise the national summer sport.
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When predictions go wrong

Amrit Mathur, in the Hindustan Times , criticises those who write off cricketers only to be proved wrong soon enough.

Amrit Mathur, in the Hindustan Times, criticises those who write off cricketers only to be proved wrong soon enough.
When we know cricket is fundamentally uncertain, like the weather, why do people still put their front foot out and make bold predictions?
So called experts freely express an opinion, only for cricket to bite back and prove them horribly wrong. If sport teaches humility and modesty, because a slump inevitably accompanies success, cricket is a crash course in keeping one’s mouth shut. Not many, though, show restraint, and the temptation to swing their bat or shoot in the dark is too strong to resist.
He picks out Geoff Boycott for special mention.
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