The Surfer
Bryan Hirsch, in the Business Day, draws an analogy between the length of batsmen's innings and the power of compound interest.
Neil Manthorp bemoans the fact that Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje will not be touring India for the forthcoming ODI series:
A certain section of South African society remains obsessed with its own superiority complex and, even more sadly, convinced that most foreigners outside Europe are lawless, untrustworthy savages. Do they really believe that the Indian police are not governed by law? Apparently so.
As West Indies and Australia begin their 100th Test, Tony Cozier celebrates the glorious rivalry over the years.
Christopher Martin-Jenkins writes on how Michael Vaughan may have been saved from a repetition of the most infamous cricketing row between England and Pakistan.
Australia should learn from mistakes in the Caribbean, warns Peter Roebuck :
Australia must take every step needed to avoid the calamity suffered by their current opponents. The West Indies did not merely fall from a pedestal, they tumbled into the pits. Now and then glimpses of recovery have been detected, but they have been false dawns.
In the continuing debate over whether the increased use of technology is good for cricket....or not, Brendan McArdle feels that the TV monitor is creating more problems than it is solving .
Our perspective on the game is being distorted. Ricky Ponting's run-out was supposedly the result of England cheating with its 12th man; Shane Warne was robbed of a maiden Test century years ago in Perth because Daniel Vettori's no ball was not called, not because of a moment of madness on 99 by our champion leg spinner.
Scyld Berry finds that the itinerary outlined by the Indian board for England's tour in March has "confirmed the widespread view of cricket's most eccentric organisation".
Main venues where large crowds would be guaranteed and thousands of England supporters could be accommodated - like Madras, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata - are conspicuously absent from the schedule of three Tests and seven one-day internationals.
Both are renowned for not being on the tourist route, and have only one hotel each that approaches international standard ... the board justified the venues by saying that they had a policy of rotation and that various associations take it in turns to stage home Test matches. The reality is that the board are overwhelmed by political squabbles and lawsuits.
Reverse swing, mints, Freddie, KP, dodgy substitute fielders
Without the fizz of Chris Cairns, New Zealand lack the fear factor, says Dylan Cleaver in the New Zealand Herald .
Was Sourav Ganguly's exclusion a right thing to do
Yes, he overstayed his welcome. Yes, his form was horrendous for the most part of the last two seasons. Yes, his skills as a batsmen are hardly comparable to the gifts possessed by Sachin Tendulkar or Dravid ... But, NO, Ganguly doesn't deserve to be despised. Internet hate campaigns directed at the former captain point to the darkness in their authors' soul rather than diminish anything that Ganguly has accomplished, either as leader of men or as a batsman.
