The Surfer

As much can be discerned from the identity of the teams that entered the semifinals. Have not Shane Warne, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Dhoni and Virender Sehwag been the most impressive skippers? Sachin Tendulkar’s name could be added ...

All I can say is that I did not interfere in the team selection. I never took him out and put in Charl Langeveldt. Whoever spread that story must take responsibility. It is absolute lies.

But yes, it has been disappointing that Charl made himself unavailable, and also his turning down of a contract offered by CSA. The irony is that he would have been an automatic choice for England, and the further irony is that Andre Nel has benefited from his non-availability.

"It isn't the same," Gravy said. "I do miss the old ground." Sitting outside his street stall on Kentish Road, where shelves are crammed with batteries, cigarette lighters and dusty old beer bottles, Gravy's celebrity status is clear. All day, locals and Australians have asked for his thoughts on the Frank Worrell Trophy series, and more importantly, whether he will attend the inaugural Test match at the new stadium.

While Cricket Australia opted not to attack the Indian Premier League yesterday, its silence is a bit like ignoring the elephant in the room. Australia's decision to send Hayden home from the West Indies has raised eyebrows in the game. Not because there's any doubt about the legitimacy of the injury. Hayden is - or was - a cricketing ironman, and has played at times more on will than fitness.

But a town bereft of possibilities - Ikhar in Gujarat - has bred in him a desperate hunger to succeed, as well as a self-defeating vaule system based on living by one's will - as was apparent when he "fled" home to seek mental comfort before a Ranji Trophy game before informing anyone.

Rajasthan, at $67million the cheapest franchise, the one that angered Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, for underspending on players in the first auction, are top of the league and looking forward to the semi-finals. The most expensive franchises, Mumbai Indians ($111.9million) and Bangalore Royal Challengers ($111.6million), are out. Bangalore, in particular, have had a miserable time; the whipping boys, more chumps than challengers.

Since 2005, Emerging Media holds the managing rights of Leicestershire Cricket Club — semifinalists in the 2003 T20 Cup in England, and winners in 2004. They brought with them key members from Leicester who now form the support squad — such as psychologist Jeremy Snape, who as a player had hit the winning boundary for the Leicestershire Foxes in the 2004 final against Surrey. Rajasthan’s choice of players at the auctions also had its roots in what they beleived would be a successful formula in the IPL.

People seem to think that every time the bloke walks out he's guaranteed a century. Even Ramps can't do it every time. Following him around expecting the big one is placing an undue burden on him.

Bats should have some standardisation beyond simply the width. Everything else does. There is no heavy ball for bowlers. And other artificial elements that are creeping in require monitoring.

Monica Attard: If you had been a player now would you have gone [to Pakistan]?

In the nineties, an era when the England cricket team generally had very little to feel jolly about, Gough put a smile back on the face of the national teams supporters with his wholehearted effort and his joy of life.