The Surfer
A one-man show
Cricinfo's All Today's Yesterday reminds us that this day, seven years ago, Brian Charles Lara played the innings of his life.
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Cricinfo's All Today's Yesterday reminds us that this day, seven years ago, Brian Charles Lara played the innings of his life.
Surpassing a 501, a 375, a 277 or a 213 takes some doing, but this humble 153 not out against Australia in Barbados was the stuff of genius. At one point West Indies had been 98 for 6 in the first innings, still 392 behind Australia, but Lara's performance - nobody else on either side made 40 in the second innings - led them to 311 for 9 and an unforgettable one-wicket victory.
Click here to listen to the audio commentary of the great match. Listen to an extremely excited Fazeer Mohammad as he takes us through the final tense minutes. An eight-minute audio and worth every second of it. As Sambit Bal wrote once - But for light and song, for bliss and glory and for lifting the soul, who else but Brian Lara?
Full post Kamikaze England plummet to defeat
Few teams do kamikaze as well as England when the mood is upon them
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Few teams do kamikaze as well as England when the mood is upon them. Yesterday was a lesson in how to lose a game when the opposition had all but given up hope, writes Simon Briggs in the Daily Telegraph.
Angus Fraser, in the Independent, believes England self-destructed .
Lawrence Booth dwells on the same theme: Ill-judged sweeping by England helps India to clean up, screams the Guardian headline.
Full post England go in search of one-day inspiration
Angus Fraser in the Independent believes that one of the biggest influences on the England one-day side is the nation's attitude towards limited-over cricket .
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Angus Fraser in the Independent believes that one of the biggest influences on the England one-day side is the nation's attitude towards limited-over cricket.
In the Hindu,Geoff Boycott, former England opening batsman, reckons that ODIs offer a great chance for youngsters to come good if they can take charge in tough situations while Kris Srikkanth, former opening batsman writing on deccan.com, thinks its time for Indian seniors to own up responsibility.
David Gower, former England captain, told the India Express that he feels ODIs will be a much stiffer test for England.
Full postBest Australian bat since Bradman?
Could Ricky Ponting be the best Australian batsman since Sir Donald Bradman
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Could Ricky Ponting be the best Australian batsman since Sir Donald Bradman? While there may never be a definitive answer to such a subjective question, Ponting is mounting a strong case for consideration, argues Alex Brown at The Sydney Morning Herald.
Peter Roebuck reckons Ponting's men were smart enough to bide their time rather than be flashes in the pan. Also, click here to read Roebuck's ode to Ponting.
Groundsman Wilson Ngobese caused the major stir on day four by attempting to repair a damaged area of the pitch by hammering a dry pice of bulli (clay) into a small hole that had appeared in an area comfortably outside the line bowled to either right or left handers. Click here to read Neil Manthorp's take on it.
Full postPonting's puzzling change of plan
Peter Roebuck is bit puzzled with Ricky Ponting's captaincy , especially how he used Brett Lee and Stuart Clark.
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck is bit puzzled with Ricky Ponting's captaincy, especially how he used Brett Lee and Stuart Clark.
Jacques Kallis was unhappy with the timing of his own dismissal.
"It would have been nice if I could have carried on. It was an important period when that second new ball came around but unfortunately we collapsed," said Kallis. "We didn’t bat as well as we could have today and we’ve put our bowlers under pressure."
Meanwhile, Brett Lee, who grabbed his 200th Test wicket, paid homage to his idol - Jeff Thomson.
Full postThey walked the line for Freddie
As the key player he was fantastic, but as the figurehead Flintoff was awesome , writes Stephen Brenkley in The Independent
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
As the key player he was fantastic, but as the figurehead Flintoff was awesome, writes Stephen Brenkley in The Independent
Nasser Hussain chose to hand over the job to Michael Vaughan, it might be time for Vaughan to step aside for the outstanding Flintoff, argues Kevin Mitchell.
Seven years ago the ECB appointed Duncan Fletcher to guide the England team out of the doldrums. Victory in Mumbai last week is proof of amazing progress says Vic Marks.
Full postSreesanth, the compulsive dreamer
When he's not in the field, Sreesanth pens poems - just one among his various talents
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
When he's not in the field, Sreesanth pens poems - just one among his various talents. In an interview to Vijay Lokapally of The Hindu, Sreesanth explains his philosophy in life and what inspires him the most.
Full post"Heads on shoulders. Feet on earth." A simple reminder from his mother and mentor keeps cricketer, poet and a compulsive dreamer, S. Sreesanth, focussed on the next assignment.
Mark Richardson: Whoever opens, don't be like me
Mark Richardson, former dour New Zealand opener, says the present lot of openers - Jamie How, Hamish Marshall, Michael Papps, Lou Vincent and Matthew Sinclair, have the potential to dominate good attacks from ball one
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Mark Richardson, former dour New Zealand opener, says the present lot of openers - Jamie How, Hamish Marshall, Michael Papps, Lou Vincent and Matthew Sinclair, have the potential to dominate good attacks from ball one
Full postA tale of two friends
There's a raging debate going on in Sri Lanka, one about who should captain
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
There's a raging debate going on in Sri Lanka, one about who should captain? Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara have inadvertently entangled themselves in a convoluted scuffle, writes Ganeesha David.
Full postFreddie makes Waugh book look out of date
England's bullish triumph at Mumbai - under an inspiring Andrew Flintoff - has whetted the appetite well before the national side travels to Australia later this year
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
England's bullish triumph at Mumbai - under an inspiring Andrew Flintoff - has whetted the appetite well before the national side travels to Australia later this year. Australia are creaking, Flintoff can do no wrong, and this winter might just be a little warmer, points out Kevin Mitchell in The Observer
Full post