The Surfer
The making of Suresh Raina
From being beaten with hockey sticks in a sports hostel to becoming a limited-overs match-winner for India, Suresh Raina has come a long way
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Mar-2016
The Indian Express chronicles the journey of how Suresh Raina overcame extreme bullying in sports hostels and became one of India's finest limited-overs match-winners.
There wasn't much money. "I would get 200 rupees in money order from papa -- we used to eat samosa, Parle G biscuit. I got tougher in those times." He also began to be noticed. People wanted him in their teams when they went to villages to play cricket. "I would get Rs 200 - for hitting 4-5 sixes. I would buy spike shoes with that money." Meanwhile, UP cricket continued to lurch in politics. "A call will come to selectors about some boy or other. Tondu phondu bache hote tey, very average in cricket but these guys will say, 'You play well, you will be selected'. Kal naam aayega Dainik Jagran mey (Your name will appear in the newspaper).
A call came from Mumbai to play cricket for Air India -- an event that he credits as life-changing. "UP mey rehta toh bas khatam ho jaata, chote mote games khelte hue." At Air India, Pravin Amre encouraged him a lot and things began to flow. In 1999, Raina got a scholarship with Air India that paid him Rs 10,000. "I would send 8,000 to my family. A STD call to home would cost four rupees, and as soon as two minutes would end, I would keep the phone down. All that taught me the value of money."
Full post'Greatness is bestowed only upon a few'
Richard Hadlee pays a powerful tribute to his friend Martin Crowe, who he describes as "one of our best ever"
04-Mar-2016
In an emotional video tribute to the late Martin Crowe, Richard Hadlee thanks his former friend and team-mate. Narrating a Blackcaps.co.nz highlight video of Crowe's greatest moments with the bat, Hadlee says, "I am proud to call you a friend. You were a great player, simply one of our best ever. On behalf of us all, New Zealand cricket, world cricket, friends, family and fans, thank you for your magnificent contribution to this great game known as cricket."
Full postNew Zealand's belated love for Crowe
Martin Crowe, diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012, was embraced by his country only as he approached his death
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Mar-2016
Mark Reason, writing for stuff.co.nz, looks back at some of the best moments from Martin Crowe's 13-year international career and discusses New Zealand's increasing love for him as he neared the end.
Not only did Crowe succeed in his aesthetic aim as a batsman, he also succeeded in later life as a man, something he undoubtedly regarded as a greater achievement.
It was only as he approached death that New Zealand learned to love Crowe. That was partly because Crowe wanted to make peace, but also because we knew how much we were about to lose. Crowe was not just New Zealand's greatest batsman, he should have been one of its great sporting leaders.
Full postA J&K cricketer who battles enormous odds
Amir Hossain Lone, captain of Jammu & Kashmir's para-cricket team, did not allow a tragic accident to hamper his dream of playing the game
ESPNcricinfo staff
02-Mar-2016
In 1997, Amir Hossain Lone lost his arms in an accident at his father's sawmill. That, however, did not deter him pursuing his major passion, cricket. At the age of 26, Amir is currently the captain of Jammu & Kashmir's para-cricket team.
In an interview with barcroft.tv, Amir talks about the hardships he had to overcome after his accident and displays his batting, bowling and fielding skills using his legs.
"When I tried to play cricket for the first time after the accident, people used to make fun of me. Now they are very supportive," he said.
"My grandmother encouraged me to go to school, I wasn't ready but she convinced me. A teacher even told me that this school was not meant for [disadvantaged] children like me."
Full postWarne's flipper trap
Shane Warne recounts how he mastered the flipper and picks out his favourite dismissals using the delivery
ESPNcricinfo staff
29-Feb-2016
In an interview with cricket.com.au, Shane Warne talks about how he mastered the art of bowling the flipper, how he planned his variations through a spell and picks out his two most memorable dismissals using the flipper.
"I had a mixture (of people showing me how to bowl it) - Jack Potter was the first to show me it, Jim Higgs, Richie Benaud, even a gentleman by the name of Bob Paulsen. Terry Jenner. So there were these guys showing me sliders, flippers, and I remember trying to bowl (the flipper) and I kept bowling it over the net, double bounces, I couldn't get it right," Warne said. "It took me a good couple of years to perfect it.
"One of the things I learned over time was, the what, when and why: what delivery am I bowling, when am I bowling it, and why am I bowling it?" Warne said. "Rather than, 'I haven't bowled a wrong'un or a flipper for a couple of overs, I'll bowl one'. "There's a real strategy, plan and art to (getting the batsman with the flipper) - I used to love setting a batsman up for it.
"None better than Richie Richardson at the MCG in 1992, and Alec Stewart at the Gabba in 1994 - they were two of my favourite ones that I bowled; they didn't pick them and I set them up beautifully for it. Especially Alec Stewart," he said
Full postA batsman's world
The Mankading incident in the Under-19 World Cup and the controversy over the incorrect no-ball call in Wellington have only served to show that batsmen are cricket's privileged class, says Greg Baum
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Feb-2016
The Mankading incident in the recent Under-19 World Cup and the erroneous no-ball call that gave Adam Voges a reprieve in Wellington only highlight, according to Greg Baum, how heavily the odds in modern cricket are stacked in favour of the batsmen. In his column for the Sydney Morning Herald, Baum writes that in the first incident, the "principle was deemed unfair" to the batsman, while in the second it was the solution of rescinding an incorrect no-ball call. He further states arguments in favour of changing protocol to allow a third umpire to cancel incorrect no-ball calls.
All that is needed is a change of protocol and perspective. The protocol simply is to allow the third umpire to cancel no-ball calls if they plainly are wrong. The perspective is the way a batsman looks at a no-ball call. Instead of seeing it as a free hit, which he rarely has time or mind to take anyway, he ought to see it as guarantee against dismissal if it is right, and a run to his side. That would be justice enough. If it is wrong, the bowler deserves his justice, up to and including a wicket if he takes one.
The Mankad case, seen through the bowler's prism, also looks different. He is expected to tolerate a batsman creeping many centimetres out of his crease, potentially making part of a run before the ball even is delivered, restricting himself lamely to a warning in the first instance. Yet if the bowler was to stray even a millimetre over the popping crease in his delivery stride, he would be penalised immediately, without warning. He might even be penalised in retrospect.
The difference, it is pleaded, is that the bowler gives up merely one run, the Mankaded batsman loses his wicket. But for all anyone knows in the instant the no-ball is called, the bowler might be costing himself a wicket. It happens often enough. In Wellington, it happened even to a bowler who had not no-balled..
Full post'Shiv, one hell of a player'
Windiescricket's Philip Spooner talks to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who announced his retirement on Saturday, and his team-mates on an illustrious career, which spanned over two decades
ESPNcricinfo staff
26-Jan-2016
Windiescricket's Philip Spooner talks to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who announced his retirement on Saturday, and his team-mates on an illustrious career, which spanned over two decades
That was one of my greatest days. I couldn't believe when my name was announced in the team," Chanderpaul recalls. "I was like 'really? Me? Am I really going to play?' All the hair on head was frozen and the hair on my hand was standing up. I had to calm myself and say 'wait am I really going to play a Test match, today? Am I actually in this team? I honestly thought I was there to be just in the squad to learn, but to hear my name in the team was amazing. Then I composed myself and said 'listen. . . this is your opportunity, go out there and grab it!
BBL changes the game
As a hugely successful edition of the Big Bash draws to a close with the finals its success is being noticed around the world
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Jan-2016
As a hugely successful edition of the Big Bash draws to a close with the finals its success is being noticed around the world. Writing for Forbes, Jason Belzer looks at how the competition has grow rapidly by knowing early on what it wanted to achieve.
The immense success of the Big Bash teaches sports leagues around the world a valuable lesson - you can't attempt to create and sustain revenue-producing business opportunities in sports without evolving. The BBL has constantly focused on being innovative and has purposely strived to take as many risks as possible, while making sure to stand for something and create long lasting memories for its fans.
The Maxwell match analysis
Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell offers a behind-the-scenes look at his match-winning 96 against India at the MCG
19-Jan-2016
Besides a duck/ramp, a textbook cover drive and a nick that no one spotted, the latest video blog from Glenn Maxwell for the Cricket Australia website offers a clue about his evolution as a batsman.
Full post'Sometimes I can't believe I have hit a good shot'
England allrounder Ben Stokes on being a nervous cricketer, the man who yawns in team meetings and how he's turned things around since the World Cup snub
19-Jan-2016
You wouldn't think Ben Stokes goes through nervous breakdowns the way he can muscle the ball out of the ground or get it to zip over the batsman's ears. But the 24-year old England allrounder says otherwise in a wide-ranging interview with Michael Vaughan in the Telegraph. With some dressing room secrets, missing out on World Cup selection and old war stories about his father Ged's time as a cricketer in New Zealand, Stokes charts the story of his career so far.
"As I have gone up in levels I have always thought I'm not good enough. I remember my first game for Durham I was petrified. My first game for Cumbria I was sick after lunch because of the nerves.
"Sometimes I can't believe I have hit a good shot. In Joburg I hit Morkel over his head for four. It just happened. I was in an attacking mindset. I played the shot and then thought 'oh God, how did that happen?. Did I do that?'. I did not mean to take it on. I was just throwing my hands at everything."
Full postMost Read
Writers