The Surfer

Long Room celebrations

It was 25 years ago that India won the World Cup at Lord's and the team of '83 has planned a get-together at the Long Room to celebrate the triumph

Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Last year at the ICC chief executives committee meeting, I was leaving the venue that is next to the Long Room and found a table-plan for that evening's charity dinner. Going through the list, I found there were some famous names who were to attend the dinner and as I checked the dates, it was, thankfully, in June, when India won the World Cup 24 years earlier. It struck me that it would be fantastic to celebrate the silver jubilee of that fantastic win with a dinner at the Long Room.
Kapil Dev relives some of his memories of that day in an interview with the Kolkata-based Telegraph.
I’d been somewhat upset on seeing a significant amount of grass on the Lord’s wicket... Out of disgust, I even told some of my teammates that the conditions just weren’t fair... The state of the wicket also put paid to all the planning we’d done the previous day. .. Soon enough, though, I realised that we had to make the best of the conditions... We didn’t have a choice... Then, with the ball swinging like nobody’s business, we felt we’d definitely be in with more than a shout that afternoon. We had a ball, as it turned out.
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Boys vs Women

Ezra Stuart of the Nation thinks the Barbados women's team being allowed to play in an Under-15 schools competition is a bad idea.

Ezra Stuart of the Nation thinks the Barbados women's team being allowed to play in an Under-15 schools competition is a bad idea.

While the women may benefit from match play prior to the regional tournament in Jamaica, it could be detrimental to the boys in the long run.

Just imagine, hard-back women playing against little first and second form boys. Will the lads handle the taunts from their peers after being struck for a number of fours and sixes or being dismissed for a "duck" by a woman?
This could have adverse effects on these boys and such an unnecessary development is one which school principals and parents should address, especially since Rule 20 of the competition states: "Only schoolboys under the age of 15 years on September 1 in the current year are eligible to play"

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How John Bracewell threw away the script

In the New Zealand Herald Dylan Cleaver lets rip against the recent New Zealand debacles.

Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
In the New Zealand Herald Dylan Cleaver lets rip against the recent New Zealand debacles.

New Zealand are now in the process of writing a grim tale: How to turn a sport from boom to bust in five easy steps.

1. Make the players look like money-hungry frauds
Whichever way you slice it up, the Indian Premier League ended up being an almost unprecedented PR disaster for New Zealand Cricket.
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An English rose who inspired

Writing in the Courier Mail , Robert Craddock shares his memories on the relationship between Glenn McGrath and his wife, Jane, who succumbed to cancer yesterday

Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Writing in the Courier Mail, Robert Craddock shares his memories on the relationship between Glenn McGrath and his wife, Jane, who succumbed to cancer yesterday.

Once on a South African tour, Glenn made her heart melt when he told her how lonely he was and how much he was missing her. "And I've gone into the kitchen and put the kettle on and put the news on, and the sport was on," Jane said. "And there he is coming down this water chute in his swimmers with his arms in the air going 'wooohooohooo' and I could have absolutely killed him. "I rang him straight back and said: 'I'd hate to see you when you're happy if that's depressed'. He hasn't done that again."

... "I've decided to take up the piano and learn one song . . . for Jane," said McGrath, who later bought his own piano.The song was Richard Marx's heart-tugging melody Right Here Waiting For You.A cold, ruthless fast-bowling enforcer on the field, McGrath had a soft, romantic touch beyond the boundary when it came to his wife and family.

Also, have a look at a 2004 Enough Rope interview where Jane and Glenn McGrath spoke of how they met and dealt with the devastating news of her being diagnosed with cancer.

You met in 1995. When you first met, did the sparks fly?

Glenn McGrath: Yes. Sort of think back to a few years ago now. A nice little nightclub in Hong Kong called Joe Bananas. We've often thought about heading back there sometime, it was an interesting place to meet, to say the least. But, some good memories.
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Memories of '83

Harsha Bhogle, in his column in the Indian Express , writes about his memories of India's historic triumph in the 1983 World Cup.

Harsha Bhogle, in his column in the Indian Express, writes about his memories of India's historic triumph in the 1983 World Cup.

And, as I read through an amateur analysis I had made for the Deccan Chronicle on the 4th of June, 1983, I discover that Kim Hughes had labelled India the dark horses. The fan in me had tried to make out a case for India to qualify for the semi-final and, the day after the article had appeared, an elderly man laughed at my youthful optimism. “Semi-final, ha!” he said as if I had suggested that the left might go along with the nuclear deal.

Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN catches up with the legends of that victory.

Sandeep Patil: When we started the tour and room partners were assigned, I was lucky but my room partner was so unlucky to have me as a room partner. Fortunately or unfortunately it was Sunil Gavaskar, who shared the room with me. That was the reason why Gavaskar did not score runs. I kept him awake, I kept him out and I don't know how and where he used to spend time. I clearly remember me bombarding him with questions. In fact, I asked him if would be able to even see the balls of West Indians. He asked me what do you mean by 'the balls of the West Indians?' I told him the cricket balls that will be bowled by Marshall. I had not faced West Indians then and Sunil told me that you have faced Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson; you will be able to see the balls. I saw the ball and I hit a six.

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Broad is the man to rely on

England lost to New Zealand in the third ODI in Bristol by 22 runs and David Gower believes that for all his promise and ability, James Anderson still has not managed to master his own inconsistencies

Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
England lost to New Zealand in the third ODI in Bristol by 22 runs and David Gower believes that for all his promise and ability, James Anderson still has not managed to master his own inconsistencies. By contrast his less experienced and supposedly junior colleague, Stuart Broad, has become one to rely on. He writes in the Sunday Times:

The way Broad bowled at Taylor was a lesson in how to build pressure on a batsman in a one-day match. Broad knows the way the Kiwi plays and he stopped him doing so by adhering to strict lines close to off stump. By the time he slipped him one of slightly fuller length, Taylor’s frustrations were there for all to see and his attempt to find a gap on the leg side merely opened another more crucial void, through which the ball found its way to the stumps.

In the Independent on Sunday, Stephen Fay notes that Chris Tremlett must step up if he wants to catch the selectors' eye ahead of the South Africa Tests.
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His own man

Since stepping down from captaincy nine months ago, Rahul Dravid has lost his place in the one-day side, led the Bangalore Royal Challengers to second-last place in the IPL, had mud slung at him by franchise owner Vijay Mallya and reached the

Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013

"I have played unbroken, missing only one game in my Test career. You have to be fit and scoring consistently, or you'll get dropped at some stage - the fact that I have been able to do that is important, not so much the number itself. But it is nice to be in the company of some players you really respect and admire."

Meanwhile in the Outlook Rohit Mahajan lists out the impact of India's World Cup win in 1983.

That win at Lord's redefined the country's aspirations and expectations; it imparted a new meaning to the term 'professional cricketer'; and it took cricket to the masses as never before. Some would even make bold to say India acquired the elements of 'soft power' in the summer of 1983, long before it even began to be counted among the emerging global powers.

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