The Surfer
Captain who saw his success as reason for team's failure
Justin Langer's positive move at Somerset may echo through county championship in 2008, writes Jon Henderson in the Observer .
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Justin Langer's positive move at Somerset may echo through county championship in 2008, writes Jon Henderson in the Observer.
He says he is certain the change in Somerset's fortunes in 2007 was the result of his visit to the committee after a second drawn match at Taunton dominated by batsmen, this one against Derbyshire. Langer wanted grassier pitches to make it a more equal contest between bat and ball. 'I got 300 in that first game and, OK, I received the accolades for doing it, but I don't want to play any game of cricket in those conditions,' he says, referring to the shorn strips that were being rolled out at the County Ground. 'They break the heart of the bowlers and they break the heart of everyone playing the game - except perhaps the batsmen who cash in. I want to play in games that are competitive, always going forward.'
A life less ordinary for Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan has always been in the shadow of his younger brother, Irfan
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Yusuf Pathan has always been in the shadow of his younger brother, Irfan. But life has changed after he made his debut in India's triumph over Pakistan in the final of the World Twenty20. The Hindu’s KC Vijaya Kumar caught up with Yusuf in Baroda.
“Before I was known only here,” Yusuf said and pointed out to the fans and officials assembled at the Reliance Cricket Stadium, his home ground, here on Friday. “And now everyone knows me, yes in that sense things have changed forever.”
Jack the goalie
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
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Jack Russell, the endearingly eccentric former England wicketkeeper, is turning his immense talents to football. Russell is coaching the goalkeepers of his local side, Forest Green Rovers, and has found the buzz to be every bit as intoxicating as Test match cricket.
"Gary Owers, who played in the FA Cup final for Sunderland in 1992 and for Bristol City before he became Forest Green manager, lived round the corner and popped in to see me one day," recalls Russell.
"He had heard me on the radio, comparing a wicketkeeper standing back to pace bowlers with goalkeepers trying to save penalties and he thought the two arts probably shared many coaching principles.
Full postNo reason to be grumpy
Even if the maths had been kind to the South Africans, writes Tom Eaton in the Mail & Guardian Online , they were simply not quick-witted enough to compete at the Twenty20 event
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Even if the maths had been kind to the South Africans, writes Tom Eaton in the Mail & Guardian Online, they were simply not quick-witted enough to compete at the Twenty20 event.
Full postPut a bowling machine 22 yards away and South Africans will hit it as far -- perhaps further -- than anyone in the world. But put a brain and will behind that ball and, well ...
The psychological impact of a batting onslaught
Stuart Broad recently joined the list of bowlers who were hit for six sixes in an over when he was taken apart by Yuvraj Singh in the Super Eights stage of the ICC World Twenty20
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Stuart Broad recently joined the list of bowlers who were hit for six sixes in an over when he was taken apart by Yuvraj Singh in the Super Eights stage of the ICC World Twenty20. The Times of India’s Avijit Ghosh analyses the psychological impact of being on the receiving end of such an onslaught.
London-based sports psychologist Victor Thompson explains. "The main risk is that the bowler will interpret the sixes as evidence that he has failed as a bowler," he says. According to the sports psychologist, a bowler should focus on the challenge and not the threat of the situation to prevent from crumbling psychologically.
"He should analyse his delivery and look for ways to test and beat the batsman. He must keep his body language confident and positive: upright, purposeful, chest high. He should also recall similar situations before where he has had success and shown grit against a challenging batsman. Other techniques can also help but these can give most bowlers a boost," Thompson says in an email interview.
Full postPapps ready for South African fast bowlers
Recalled New Zealand Test opener Michael Papps reckons he has no lasting hang-ups about being hit by fast bowlers, writes Tim Dunbar in The Press .
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Recalled New Zealand Test opener Michael Papps reckons he has no lasting hang-ups about being hit by fast bowlers, writes Tim Dunbar in The Press.
The gritty Papps says he is comfortable with the likelihood the South African pacemen will be trying to rattle his helmet with bouncers in the upcoming two-test series. "Oh, fine with it. It's just one of those things that happens in cricket. I've been pinned before, mate, and I'm sure I will be pinned again."
Meanwhile Craig Cumming, Papps's fellow opener, has secured a spot as a second opener. He finds a place ahead of Jamie How for the two-test cricket series in South Africa in November. Jonathan Millmow reports in The Dominion Post.
Interested in Chris Martin's plans for the forthcoming season? Click here.
Full postPonting and Ganguly speak
Lokendra Pratap Sahi interviews Ricky Ponting on the upcoming one-dayers against India and talks to Sourav Ganguly on India's Twenty20 win in the Kolkata-based Telegraph .
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Lokendra Pratap Sahi interviews Ricky Ponting on the upcoming one-dayers against India and talks to Sourav Ganguly on India's Twenty20 win in the Kolkata-based Telegraph.
And Hindustan Times' Kamal Siddiqi finds out what the sentiments are in Pakistan after the team's loss to India in the World Twenty20 final.
Full postThe value of Twenty20
Twenty20 attracts to a point because it is not supposed to be taken too seriously, writes Rohit Brijnath in the Sportstar .
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Twenty20 attracts to a point because it is not supposed to be taken too seriously, writes Rohit Brijnath in the Sportstar.
Twenty20 was invented by someone who grew up with ‘Rollerball’ posters in his room, and whose idea of understatement is Clint Eastwood with a six-gun and a scowl.
It’s a game that is the remarkable mix of many stolen parts: it has borrowed the idea that plot is irrelevant from Van Damme movies, it’s scrounged the concept of “music at changeovers” from the U.S. Open tennis, it’s spawned its own version of basketball’s dancing girls, it’s crude version of football’s penalty shoot-out, it’s got a hockey-style on-ground bench, and bears a resemblance to golf with its bizarre rules (what in God’s name is the free hit, some might well ask?). All that’s left is for Twenty20 to become a contact sport.
Full postDhoni - as tough as he looks
The first leg with captaincy has been more or less smooth for Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
The first leg with captaincy has been more or less smooth for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But how when things are not as rosy, how will he manage defeat, criticism and dressing-room grumbles, asks Rohit Brijnath in the Hindu.
Dhoni has earned his million love letters, and a period where India should suspend judgement and let him grow. He had better be as tough as he looks for the BCCI’s job is simply to make his harder. Giving one crore to Yuvraj Singh for hitting six shots, however beautiful, is not just vulgar in a poor country, it is a celebration of individualism when Indian captains are valiantly trying to sell the idea of ‘team’.
In the Hindustan Times Pradeep Magazine celebrates the arrival of youth and a new fearless India.
Full postSmall towns, big dreams
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's remark: “A lot of players are coming up from small towns and they are mentally and physically tougher than those from cities" got Mid-Day 's Anand Naik thinking if it was indeed true that players emerging from smaller
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's remark: “A lot of players are coming up from small towns and they are mentally and physically tougher than those from cities" got Mid-Day's Anand Naik thinking if it was indeed true that players emerging from smaller towns had the ability to face adversity better than those from cities. He spoke to psychologists, coaches and BCC Talent Research officials for answers.
“In cities, there are a lot of options," said Dr BP Bam, a renowned sports psychologist. "So if one meets with a problem, he has an option to do something else. But in a small town, one will have to fight the problem because of lack of options. During this process, he becomes much more stronger and realises that he can achieve a lot by not giving up,” Bam added.
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