The Surfer

In 1995-96 a small unit of Australian batsmen were selected to practice at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. During the same time, there was also a small spin-bowling camp that was going on under Bishen Singh Bedi and S Venkatraghavan. I wasn't picked for that. I rang the chairman of selectors and said, 'Look, if there's any way I can go on this tour, please consider me for selection.' As it turned out, Greg Blewett pulled out of the tour and I was called up.

That trip wasn't about batting in India. I don't even remember picking up my bat and having a net. I was more a witness to the subtleties of the strategy of spin - where those two gentlemen would set fields, what their bowling plans would be, how that will impact me as a batsman and how I can manipulate the field to score runs. It was more about understanding the captaincy moves and the mind of a spin bowler. It was then for me to take that information away and start to generate some scoring options, form an attacking game plan against spin and develop the ability to bat for a long period of time and sustain the pressure of spin bowling. It was an incredibly valuable experience, one that I really cherish and will never forget.

Of [his] 23 hundreds, as many as 18 have come in Asia. When people, including Rahul Dravid a day or so ago, question whether Sehwag should be opening for India in South Africa at the end of this year, they're not having a cheap shot when a man's down. It's a legitimate concern, based on more than a decade of wretched underachievement.

India's next three tours are to South Africa, New Zealand and England. In 19 Tests in those three countries, Sehwag has two hundreds - Bloemfontein and Trent Bridge 2002, a lifetime ago. He averages 27.8 in England, 20 in New Zealand and 25.46 in South Africa. If the selectors did pick him, it would be an extraordinary leap of faith.

It has to be understood that the objective of domestic first-class competitions is not to provide opportunities to maximum number of players; rather, it has to serve as a forum which can prepare competent, battle-hardened cricketers for the national team.

Equally, it also has to be a place where an out-of-form or out-of-favour international player can return in order to regain his confidence and sort out his shortcomings. For this to happen, the domestic cricket has got to be extremely competitive and this can only happen if only a limited number of high-quality players are allowed to participate at this level.

"I was thrilled to win the game but the next couple of days were pretty special; people were suddenly taking an interest in me and asking me for interviews. It was a nice feeling. The flipside was that my profile rose and people who didn't know too much about me started to pay a bit more attention to how I was playing for Yorkshire. That in turn brought more comment on what I was doing for the Lions as well. It's more noticeable when you make the step up to play internationally; I mean, this was all from one knock. In any instance you can suddenly be shunted into the spotlight."

Just as after Tom's death, so after the inquest the response received by the Maynard family has been overwhelming. "How people felt about him, in a way that we didn't initially understand or realise, has all come out afterwards," says Maynard. "All the letters we have had and the sentiments we have been receiving, whether it has been after the inquest, after the funeral or at the time of his passing, have been incredible. Not one person has said a bad word."

The role [of a coach] is highly misunderstood [in India] and the expectations are very high... When I took over, the expectations were such that nobody could have achieved what was expected. One must realise that, at times, you need to risk losing in order to set things up for the future.

Dravid showed courage because, for everyone else, it was we can't do this, for if we get beaten, the media would tear us apart... Dravid did a magnificent job, because he bought into the philosophy of taking risks, making changes and looking ahead. As I've said, you don't stand still in sport... We wanted to take risks because we wanted to get better as a team.

We do these players a massive disservice when we question their priorities. The fact that they're very rich young men insulated from many of life's harsher realities is neither here nor there. Cricketers of Ranatunga's generation were equally privileged. They may not have made as much money, but they enjoyed and continue to enjoy an exalted place in society.