Captain Fantastic and foot in the mouth

Ricky Ponting batted Australia to a series win © Getty Images

Captain Fantastic

At the moment, there's Ricky Ponting, daylight and then other batsmen. Following on from a superb Boxing Day century, Ponting proved to be double jeopardy for South Africa at Sydney. The first hundred kept Australia in the game and the second - an imperious unbeaten 158-ball 143 made a target of 288 seem trifling. After the criticism of his captaincy at Perth, there can have been no better riposte. And his rate of progress - he now has 28 centuries - is such that Sachin Tendulkar may well start looking anxiously over his shoulder.

Tendulkar himself warmed up for the Pakistan challenge with an accomplished little cameo in the sylvan settings of the Bagh-e-Jinnah. His 74 was the highlight of a powerful Indian batting display in the warm-up game against Pakistan A, and 16 years on from dipping his toe in international cricket waters, the hunger for runs continues to be insatiable. Mohammad Irshad may not yet be in the Shoaib Akhtar class, but the manner in which Tendulkar took on a more than decent bowling line-up suggested that the marquee match-up against Shoaib may yet be a mouth-watering one.

Wherever Sourav Ganguly goes, controversy follows. On Friday, with Ganguly still in India, it was Raj Singh Dungarpur's turn to stir up trouble. Having been appointed team manager, Raj Singh was perhaps unaware that his responsibilities and loyalty extend to all members of the squad. In a bizarre diatribe that was caught on camera by an Indian TV channel, the former BCCI chief proceeded to sledge Ganguly better than any Pakistani has. Caught napping, the BCCI promptly announced that it was a dated clip, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. As for Raj Singh himself, he spoke of "irresponsible journalism" and "off the record". Nothing about silence being golden then.

Just when you think Zimbabwe cricket couldn't be any more of a joke, the powers-that-be continue to surprise you. First, we hear that Robert Mugabe's benevolent government will "cleanse" the board - fit in a few more political goons presumably - and then the news leaks that the Zimbabwe players, most of whom are either seeking gainful employment elsewhere or hiding from said thugs, are prepared to return. All we know is that it will all end in tears, including from those unfortunate enough to have to watch a wretched team play.

If you go by the criticism heaped on Graeme Smith for his generous declaration at the SCG, you'd think that the poor man actually had other options. Having batted so tardily in both innings even with a first-innings lead of 96, and with rain intervening on day four, Smith could do little more than hope for a Fanie de Villiers-like performance from his bowlers on the final day. Had he left Australia just 60 overs, he would have been labelled an unimaginative coward, but by going for an improbable win he found himself ridiculed. As Smith pertinently pointed out, defeat is defeat, whether it's 1-0 or 2-0. Sometimes, you just can't win.

I have tremendous respect for Sourav Ganguly - Raj Singh Dungarpur. And we still believe in the tooth fairy.