The Surfer
Adams too good to be excluded
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
"Andre Adams is the dominant force in first-class cricket at the moment and, with Shane Bond injured, the best seamer in the country [New Zealand]," writes Dylan Cleaver in the Herald on Sunday.
"It is fair enough to express disappointment and concern from the last few months' proceedings but it is unfair to judge them [New Zealand] solely on the past couple of months," says Mark Richardson in the Herald on Sunday.
Full postTendulkar: the heroes' hero
Sachin Tendulkar attracts attention wherever he goes and in the Courier-Mail Robert Craddock analyses just what it is about Tendulkar that makes him so fascinating.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Sachin Tendulkar attracts attention wherever he goes and in the Courier-Mail Robert Craddock analyses just what it is about Tendulkar that makes him so fascinating.
Former India coach John Wright says newcomers to the Indian dressing room take two or three games to feel comfortable "because they spend the first few games watching Sachin and learning how to interact with him as a teammate". No group of Australian cricketers admired Tendulkar more than the luckless bunch who saw him peel off 446 runs in three Tests against them on the subcontinent in 1998. They became so infatuated by him that most even bought copies of his famously heavy Vampire bat and brought them back to Australia so they could test them and give a copy to their own batmakers just to see whether they were, in fact, cricket's version of a magic wand.
Another great of the game, Shane Warne, called his former coach John Buchanan "a goose" during the week. But according to Malcolm Conn in the Weekend Australian Warne might end up coaching alongside Buchanan if Cricket Australia confirms it has got its man.
In the Daily Telegraph Nik Walshaw looks back on some famous Boxing Day moments, while Greg Baum chats to the former Australian batsman Colin McDonald in the Age.
Full post England fans deserve better
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
"I saw that one of the banners this morning said: "Hang your heads in shame England." The fans feel fed up with the way this tour has gone. And the problem goes beyond cricket," writes Geoffrey Boycott in the Daily Telegraph.
Nobody's saying the players should be dropped. At least, I'm not. These are our best cricketers. It's about getting them to understand how to win Test matches in foreign conditions. One of them has to score a hundred in every Test, for a start. And when they get an opportunity, as they did at Kandy after bowling Sri Lanka out for 188, they must make sure they drive it home by making a lead of 250 and putting the opposition out of the game. I didn't see Sri Lanka letting anyone off the hook.
Firm, forthright and ready to lead from front
The decision to appoint him captain hasn't been a hit at all, and there's not a whole lot to smile about if you're a New Zealand cricketer, but Daniel Vettori says he has enjoyed his role on the field
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The decision to appoint him captain hasn't been a hit at all, and there's not a whole lot to smile about if you're a New Zealand cricketer, but Daniel Vettori says he has enjoyed his role on the field. Talking to the New Zealand Herald's David Leggat, Vettori puts team before individual and hopes to savour some better days in cricket.
Full postReview of English cricket in 2007
The Guardian's Mike Selvey talks to the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Giles Clarke, Sky commentator and former England cricketer and coach, David Lloyd, and BBC cricket correspondent and former England cricketer, Jonathan
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
The Guardian's Mike Selvey talks to the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Giles Clarke, Sky commentator and former England cricketer and coach, David Lloyd, and BBC cricket correspondent and former England cricketer, Jonathan Agnew, and gets their views on the hot topics in English cricket in 2007, including the Schofield report, Kolpaks and the new coaching regime in England.
(David Lloyd on Kolpaks) It is a complete and utter nonsense for English cricket. They give nothing, absolutely nothing. They are not great players, they have a burning ambition to earn money. If you want to further your career, son, go to Sri Lanka where it's hot and it's spinning
They also pick out their "Man of the year" and "Moment of the year".
Full post Pitches in India will keep killing cricket
The India - Pakistan Tests fell short on entertainment value due to the lifeless pitches for the second and third Tests which weren't result-oriented
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The India - Pakistan Tests fell short on entertainment value due to the lifeless pitches for the second and third Tests which weren't result-oriented. Makarand Waingankar in the Hindu talks about the pressing issue of the standard of pitches in India, something which has been felt in the domestic game as well.
Full postIt is high time the work of the members of the Pitches and Grounds Committee was monitored. What is the point of having them tour the zones if the associations continue to doctor pitches? The problem of doctoring the pitches would be solved if there was a penalty of one point for bad pitches.
Shoddy scheduling
In the Indian Express , Harsha Bhogle criticises the BCCI for its scheduling which hardly allows any time for the Indians to acclimatise in Australia, and hence making the formidable task of beating Australia on their home turf even harder.
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
In the Indian Express, Harsha Bhogle criticises the BCCI for its scheduling which hardly allows any time for the Indians to acclimatise in Australia, and hence making the formidable task of beating Australia on their home turf even harder.
These (the Indian cricketers) are not artists from the circus for whom life inside the big tent doesn’t change much from Melbourne to Delhi. Or baseball or basketball players or Formula One drivers for that matter. These are players who have to make significant adjustments to their game; more like a driver shifting from concrete to gravel.
Bhogle also questions the need to rejig much of the batting order to accomodate Yuvraj Singh at No. 6. He is also hopeful that Virender Sehwag will open the innings, leaving the rest of the middle-order undisturbed.
Full post"Pathetic" and "spineless"
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
After a dismal performance by England on the third day at Galle, where they were bowled out for 81, the players won’t want to read the British newspapers.
Described as "pathetic" and "spineless", England were blasted in Friday morning's editions with Paul Newman in the Daily Mail "as someone once famously put it, England had only three problems: they could not bat, bowl or field".
Full postWarne: Buchanan is a goose
Shane Warne's fractious relationship with his former coach John Buchanan is no secret, and in the Daily Telegraph Warne calls Buchanan "a goose" who epitomises an arrogant Australian mindset.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Shane Warne's fractious relationship with his former coach John Buchanan is no secret, and in the Daily Telegraph Warne calls Buchanan "a goose" who epitomises an arrogant Australian mindset.
I disagree with John Buchanan all the time. I don't think he has made one good point in a long time, actually. Everything that I have read that he says, he is living in pixieland. It just shows what us players had to put up with John Buchanan. We had to listen to his verbal diarrhoea all the time. He is just a goose and has no idea and lacks common sense, and you can put all that in there (the interview).
In the same paper Warne says Australia cannot write off Sachin Tendulkar and must use different tactics against him than under Buchanan. He also declares that 50-over cricket is finished and says the senior players in Australia's setup have a responsibility to know when to retire.
In a busy day for Australian legspinners, nobody in New South Wales Cricket can find Stuart MacGill, who had surgery on his wrist two weeks ago.
Full postDouble standards of resting players
Allan Border, a Cricket Australia director, has spoken out about the resting of players after Adam Gilchrist’s decision to miss the final game of the Chappell-Hadlee Series, reports Jon Pierik in the Herald Sun
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Allan Border, a Cricket Australia director, has spoken out about the resting of players after Adam Gilchrist’s decision to miss the final game of the Chappell-Hadlee Series, reports Jon Pierik in the Herald Sun
"We have guys signing up for Twenty20 cricket in the Indian Premier League," Border said. "I know it's big money and they are professional cricketers, but they won't be rotated out of that, will they?"
Stuart Clark tells the Courier-Mail of his disappointment at being dropped from the one-day team.
AAP reports Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, is not satisfied with the performances of Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey, the South Australia spinners, since they were handed national contracts in May.
Full postMost Read
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