The Surfer

Sri Lanka A team coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, who was Murali’s first captain at the Tamil Union cricket club way back in the early 90s and a close friend till date, was instrumental in the bowler frequently changing his run-up route from the conservative ‘over the wicket’ a few years back. And with the referral system coming into play, the coach is delighted that the new path will get Murali more dividends

The noticeable thing about this season's competition is that it is now a game for clever cricketers. Not flash ones - though as the first semi-final between Kent and Essex wound to its conclusion on Saturday evening the cameras showed Middlesex's batsmen practising reverse sweeps and shovel shots before their match against Durham - but those who use their brain, play the right shot for the right occasion and, above all, master the basics, are the most successful.

Looked at dispassionately, the arguments were in the PCB’s favour. The successful holding of the Asia Cup in June-July this year showed that Pakistan was fully equipped to do the job. All the teams that participated in that competition went away thoroughly satisfied and had no apprehensions of any sort.

His selection is as uninspiring as his recent record in international cricket and his attitude and, surely, it is a return that sends a terrible message: that it does not matter if, time and again, you underperform; that it does not matter if, time and again, you do not so much cherish and nurture your talent as abuse it; and that it does not matter if, time and again, you turn up unprepared, there will always be another chance. Nor does his record against South Africa (18 wickets at 59.55) or his record at Edgbaston (five wickets at 68.20) inspire confidence.

Tyron Henderson, 34 this week, cottoned on to what it takes to be a Twenty20 specialist before anyone else. No one has taken more Twenty20 wickets than Henderson, but it was as a batsman that he excelled yesterday, thrashing the Durham bowlers to defeat and then giving similar treatment to the men of Kent, with whom he played a couple of years ago with modest success. His philosophy is uncomplicated: 'If I can see it, I hit it.' Despite his years, he saw it pretty well. It doesn't matter much that Tyron cannot run very fast, either. For fairly obvious reasons he answers to 'The Blacksmith'.

The disciples of Twenty20 believe there is also a hitherto untapped potential of women and children spectators. A none-too-scientific survey suggested that the crowd here were mostly men, attending an event that was male-orientated. Beer was being consumed copiously behind the stands, not too far distant from where women queued for too long for the toilets. An all-blonde posse of npower (one of the sponsors) girls, in clinging outfits, parading in front of the stands was, at best, a little passé.

The logic in this is not just cock-eyed in a funny, ha-ha sort of way, but unacceptably exploitative. The BCCI has sought to override common sense — and even common legality — with a mix of threat and emotional blackmail. Few players will obviously immediately dare take the BCCI to task for this, but even fewer will be happy at being choked in this manner, which means a confrontation could be building up in the near future.

It’s funny that Packer, a businessman who we now celebrate as a visionary, got money, clout and recognition for threatening to split world cricket. But Chandra, another businessmen whose idea will end up having as deep an impact as Packer’s, is getting nothing. Even his players are now kicking themselves for putting their professional careers in jeopardy.

It was apparently fine that New Zealand arrived in England for this year's winter tour at a time when terrorist attacks were deemed by the Home Office to be "highly likely"; just as it was when Australia continued to play in London as the bombs were going off in 2005.

Cricket has brought Zimbabwe to the New Zealand public's attention - it created a window through which we could watch and debate the topic, and make it relevant for us. It gave us a chance to take cameras and reporters, and with that the eyes of the world, into a place that's pretty well cut off in terms of scrutiny.

Bindra was staying in his London flat, next to Regent's Park, until last Wednesday. He wears western-style suits – after giving up the last vestige of Sikhism, his turban, in the early Nineties – and with his urbanity and fluent English he has always given English administrators the feeling that he is One of Us; unlike Jagmohan Dalmiya of Calcutta, the first Indian to become ICC president, who was always One of Them. But there is an Indian nationalist beneath the surface. When the Australians tried to find off-spinner Harbhajan Singh guilty of racism last winter, Bindra threatened to call off India's tour.

In an instance, Laxman’s languid strokeplay was forgotten as he was made to look ugly. After beating Laxman repeatedly outside the off-stump with the away-going ball, Mendis bowled a loopy googly. As the ball sailed between the bat and pad of the confident-looking batsman, there was a new debate about the ‘ball of the match.’ The house was divided over which one was better: the leg-spinner that did Rahul Dravid in on Friday or the one that castled Laxman.

Umpires who feel pressurized not to raise their fingers with notable batsmen at the crease and succumb to the stress of appeals by top-rung aggressive bowlers will find life easier. There could, however, be a flip side to the story. The review system might tempt on-field umpires to keep their fingers in their pockets. Because they will be aware that the fielding team has the technological option of getting to the truth by themselves.

If a string of suicide bomb attacks in the past 12 months had killed more than 1000 people in a country scheduled imminently to host soccer's World Cup or the Olympics, the event would undoubtedly be shifted to a safer venue. The international purview of such occasions would guarantee as much. So why has the International Cricket Council decided to keep its Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan?The answer lies in the financial power of its Asian members.