The Surfer
Adaptable Sri Lanka show way forward
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Refreshing openness as Peter Moores brings back trio from international graveyard, writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent on Sunday.
Moores and the selectors seem to have rescued the international careers of at least three players: Ryan Sidebottom, Owais Shah and Graeme Swann.
Stirring a sleeping kangaroo
Australia will not be subdued by sound or fury, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu :
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Australia will not be subdued by sound or fury, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu:
Sreesanth and Harbhajan need to think again about how to handle success and how to play against the Australians, and could start by observing the widespread affection shown down under towards proven champions like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. Has any of them ever displayed anything except unshakeable resolve?
Meanwhile Rohit Brijnath writes in BBC Sport on the perils of aggression:
Full postVaughan keeps in the swing
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
As England's one-day side moves between an endless cycle of matches, it feels a long time since they have played in whites. The man who leads them in Tests, Michael Vaughan, is enjoying a rare break from cricket and this week has been bringing out strokes of a different kind in the Dunhill Links Championship. Mick Dickson, from the Daily Mail, caught up with him after his round and talked about a range of issues from Paul Collingwood's captaincy, Twenty20, and Andrew Flintoff's ankle.
He understands the kind of turmoil Andrew Flintoff is going through as he grapples with the ankle problem that has required three operations.
Windies' coach should be one of us
In the Jamaica Gleaner Tony Becca feels that the West Indies need a home-grown coach:
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
In the Jamaica Gleaner Tony Becca feels that the West Indies need a home-grown coach:
West Indies cricket and West Indies cricketers need a local coach, it is as simple as that, and whether it be Gus Logie or Roger Harper again, David Williams or Phil Simmons, Eldine Baptiste or Otis Gibson, James Adams or whoever, until that happens, until West Indies players are assisted by their own, West Indies cricket will never return to or even near to its former glory.
In the same paper Anthony Foster disagrees with the appointment of Chris Gayle as Jamaica's captain, saying Tamar Lambert would have been a better choice.
Also check out Vaneisa Baksh's piece in Caribbeancricket.com. She rewinds to 1932 when a ship carrying Learie Constantine returned to the West Indies.
Full postNCA, a finishing school
Cricketers struggling with form must have a door to knock on, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Cricketers struggling with form must have a door to knock on, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express
If the BCCI can create franchises for its Twenty20 competition, why can’t it do the same with the Ranji Trophy teams? A market driven operation, more often than not, creates a meritocracy; the good get rewarded better and they are not at the mercy of insensitive associations that do not need to be good to be rich. There are terrible stories of players being promised one thing and delivered another floating around.
Meanwhile Dileep Premachandran writes in the Guardian that the breeding-grounds of Indian cricket have moved from the cities to the country, where power-hitting is put before technique.
Full postFarewell to Inzy
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
The retirement of Inzamam-ul-Haq marks the end of an era and the game will miss his larger-than-life character, writes Lawrence Booth in the Guardian.
He gave new meaning to the phrase "economy of movement", mainly because he wasn't fussed about using his foot, either at the crease or between the wickets ... His attitude to practice would have driven Duncan Fletcher to distraction. His press conferences were tedious (Vic Marks called them "much Urdu about nothing"). Yet few could match him. He was the lumbering antithesis of modern sport's obsession with bleep tests, energising drinks and fat-free diets. Perhaps he encouraged us to think we had a chance too.
Also read Osman Samiuddin's tribute in Cricinfo.
Full postRangers, machine guns, and Zed's dinner
Neil Manthorp, in Karachi for the Pakistan-South Africa Test and writing for the Supercricket website , finds the people friendly, but also notices the security officers with their machine guns lurking everywhere
S Rajesh
25-Feb-2013
Neil Manthorp, in Karachi for the Pakistan-South Africa Test and writing for the Supercricket website, finds the people friendly, but also notices the security officers with their machine guns lurking everywhere.
On the roof there were two snipers with extremely powerful weapons and telescopic sights, one permanently trained on the road leading to the main gate and the other towards the field of play. There were 10 more Rangers with them on the roof and they were not slacking. All were armed. Reality kicked in once again.
A more pleasant aspect of the stay in Karachi was a dinner party hosted by former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas.
Full postZaheer Abbas and his wonderful, equally gracious wife Samina ("call me Sam, everyone does") live in a house so elegant, so cleverly designed to beat the heat, and so stylishly decorated that one could rightly call it a small palace. He is revered in Pakistan, and rightly so.
‘I am a child’ – Sreesanth
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Alex Brown, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, looks at the contradictions of India’s Sreesanth.
Eccentric, forthright and always unpredictable, a conversation with India's newest fast bowling star is every bit as interesting as a match in which he is playing. Incite on the field. Insight off it.
Knowing when to push the magic button
Nirmal Shekar, writing in the Hindu , terms Sreesanth's behaviour in the ODIs against Australia as "boorish and boring"
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Nirmal Shekar, writing in the Hindu, terms Sreesanth's behaviour in the ODIs against Australia as "boorish and boring". He feels that unlike Sreesanth, champions such as Roger Federer and Pete Sampras knew it was not possible to be charged up during an entire match and knew exactly when to psych themselves up.
Akshay Sawai of the Hindustan Times advises Sreesanth to calm down and wants him to realise that he is a role model for impressionable youngsters.
Full postSimplify simplify
Ottis Gibson, England's new bowling coach, can help the bowlers keep things simple and focus on the basics, says Mike Selvey in the Guardian
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Ottis Gibson, England's new bowling coach, can help the bowlers keep things simple and focus on the basics, says Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
In the second innings, Gibson recalled, he [Malcolm Marshall] came and stood at mid-off. "What are you going to do?" Marshall queried after Gibson had bowled a rare dot-ball at the start of an over. Gibson remembered his response. "'I'm going to bounce him' I said, and Malcolm would just say 'Why don't you just do what you did again?' And I did and it was another dot-ball. 'Now what are you going to do?' 'I'm going to york him.' 'No, do the same thing again'. And so he talked me through the first maiden over I bowled in first-class cricket. He taught me to construct an over."
There you have it then, in a nutshell: the simple art of bowling
Full post