It’s too early to judge but Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer’s average of 88.50 is the best for an Indian pair who’ve opened at least five times in Tests

George Binoy28-Jul-2007

Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik survived James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom’s testing opening spells, and posted 147 for the opening wicket on the second day at Trent Bridge. It was a partnership that beat the odds, for India’s openers have had a horrendous record in England in the last three decades. The last time India had a first-wicket partnership of more than 100 in England was when Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan added 213 at The Oval in 1979. Since then, the openers had added more than 50 only five times in 29 innings with Kris Srikkanth and Gavaskar’s 64 at Leeds in 1986 being the highest.India have a history of makeshift opening pairs and Jaffer, the specialist, and Karthik, who averaged 56 in six innings as opener before Trent Bridge, are a relatively new combination. They began impressively, adding 153 against South Africa at Cape Town in January and since they’ve put on 0, 0, 175*, 18, 38 and 147. It’s too early to judge but Karthik and Jaffer’s average of 88.50 is the best for an Indian pair who’ve opened at least five times in Tests.You cannot fault an opening stand that produces 147 but Karthik and Jaffer had large doses of luck on the second day at Trent Bridge. England’s fast bowlers swung and seamed the new ball considerably and both openers played and missed regularly. In fact, Karthik and Jaffer had a higher in-control percentage – that is, they middled the ball more regularly – at Lord’s, where India lost their first wicket on 18 and 38 in the two innings.

Chris Tremlett has been England’s best fast bowler so far in the second Test. He bowled predominantly on a good length or just short of a length and got the ball to bounce sharply. India scored 109 runs off 29 overs between lunch and tea but the batsmen managed to score only 15 runs off Tremlett’s eight overs, while Anderson and Sidebottom’s economy-rates during this session were five and 4.60 respectively.Anderson and Sidebottom were England’s most effective bowlers at Lord’s but their swing has produced no wickets so far at Trent Bridge. In the first innings at Lord’s, Anderson not only took 5 for 42, but also built immense pressure with his economy rate of 1.72. The difference so far at Trent Bridge has been a positive approach from the Indians compared to Lord’s, and a little bit of luck.More stats from the second day

Gideon Haigh’s latest collection showcases a fine writer at the top of his game says Chandrahas Choudhury

<i>Haigh's latest collection showcases a fine writer at the top of his game. By <b>Chandrahas Choudhury</b></i>07-May-2007All Out: The Ashes 2006-07 by Gideon Haigh, Aus $26.95
Black Inc, 298 pp

Haigh’s book has a great sense of the ebb and flow of the game © Black Inc.
When at the WACA last December Ricky Ponting’s Australians overwhelmed Andrew Flintoff’s Englishmen for the third time in three games, the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in two decades had proved instead to be among the most one-sided ever. There seemed to be only two reasons for allowing a so obviously dead rubber to continue.One, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath announced they were hanging up their boots, which automatically gave the last two Tests a sepia-tinted, valedictory air. And two, Gideon Haigh had been working up a nice rhythm in his reports and dispatches from the games, and to interrupt him at the top of his game, as Mike Atherton once did Graeme Hick in an Ashes Test, would have been too cruel.Of all modern cricket writers, Haigh is the most versatile and companionable. In our post-post-Cardusian times, when television brings every detail of the great game into our living rooms, and in the breaks grey-haired pundits tell noodle-strapped women everything there is to know, it is still possible to watch a day’s cricket and then profitably read Haigh on it the next morning.He has a great sense of the ebb and flow of the game, an eye for the quirks of character of those who play it, a lovely prose style that throws off sparks of both erudition and sunny good humour, and a cat, Trumper, who was unfortunately left behind when Haigh went to cover the cricket. Most daily journalism has a short shelf life, but the reports and columns collected in All Out merely bring together between two covers and some sturdy binding pieces we were all collecting anyway.Insofar as the 2006-07 battle for the “sacred soot” was a contest – and England did have their moments – Haigh shows how it was one, and how the visitors gradually lost their way. The decisive moment of the series was at Adelaide, when England, after having controlled the game for four days, faltered inexplicably on the final morning and conceded a victory that surprised even their all-conquering opponents. That left England two games down, and from there they went steadily downhill.Could it have gone differently? Haigh argues that the itinerary did England no favours: not only did they have little match practice by way of warm-ups, but also the first two Tests were back to back, allowing them little time to regroup after defeat at Brisbane.A highlight of the series, as of the 2005 Ashes, was the bowling of Shane Warne. In turn, Haigh’s writing is never better than when on the subject of Warne. One of the reasons why All Out will prove to be an enduring book is that it enshrines the moods and moves of the greatest slow bowler cricket has seen, during his last few days on the big stage.Haigh remembers the time he first saw Warne’s art broken down on a super-slow-motion camera, “his fingers undulating like piano keys as they set the ball rotating”. He evokes Warne’s garrulous, hectoring presence: walking back to his mark between deliveries, Warne is always “searching for eye contact, eager for a chirp”; sledged while batting, he protests, “You’re making me concentrate!” The only opponent who gets under his skin is his Hampshire team-mate Kevin Pietersen; their simmering face-offs are contests that Warne “affects to enjoy, but which he could enjoy more”. Just to see Warne hand his cap over to the umpire was to know that the game was going to rise in pitch. Just as there can never be another Bradman, says Haigh, there can never be another Warne. On these pages, more than anywhere else, Warne will always remain not out..

Shaun Pollock suits the role of the pinch-hitter, technically competent enough to bat at various tempos and in different situations. With that in mind, it wasn’t such a surprise to see him coming in one down here

Osman Samiuddin in Multan26-Oct-2007

Why hasn’t Shaun Pollock batted up the order more often? © Getty Images
Mickey Arthur said before this match he had a plan to counter the middle-over tangle South Africa have found themselves in twice against Pakistan’s spinners. It turned out to be one of the oldest modern-day ODI tactics: call in the pinch-hitter.For intangible reasons, the use of the pinch-hitter – a lower-order batsman sent up the order – has faded in recent years. Maybe it was just a passing mid-90s fad, as opposed to a full-blown trend. Maybe the definition of a pinch-hitter has become more fluid: aren’t players nowadays expected to be multi-dimensional anyway? The game has quickened up, sides are loaded with big-hitting proper batsmen, and perhaps the pinch-hitter is now expected to be a proper batsman and not just some fluke chancer.Irfan Pathan was a recent, prolonged example of the tactic, though some might argue he has become a better batsman than bowler by the end of it. But in its time, for shock value, the promotion of a lower-order batsman to capitalise on a good start, or provide impetus to a faltering one, was often priceless. Who can forget Chetan Sharma’s only hundred, against England, or Bob Woolmer’s use of the sensational Lance Klusener up the order or little Romesh Kaluwitharana’s 1996 madness?Some players, allrounders particularly, are ideal for the job. Chris Cairns and Ian Harvey were good enough batsmen to occasionally pull it off. Even Abdul Razzaq did it well enough, but Pakistan’s traditional problems with opening often forced him, like Imran Khan during the 1992 World Cup, to become as much a pinch-blocker at as an aggressor.Shaun Pollock suits the role too, technically competent enough to bat at various tempos and in different situations. With that in mind, it wasn’t such a surprise to see him coming in one down here. To learn, however, that it was only the fourth time he had done it in his entire career was a considerably greater one. And the other three occasions were hardlyserious attempts to sway a match. Why he hasn’t been used in the role more often, especially based on the evidence of this innings, is difficult to fathom.South Africa’s starts have been good during this series but it is their middle order that has pottered about against Shahid Afridi and Abdur Rehman, not scoring enough runs and eventually losing their wickets. Pollock came in just as spin did, another good start already banked.”Today we made some decisions and I am very grateful they came off,” explained Graeme Smith later. “As captain you’re happy that those gambles come off. Shaun came in and played superbly. Earlier in the year he got a hundred, which was great to see, and he’s been craving the opportunity to get up the order, especially in these conditions. Today, with his experience, and Albie Morkel at the end of the innings, it allows us to do it. It was a superb knock.”That Pollock wasn’t going to go the way of his middle-order men became immediately clear, and the manner in which he did it – a delicious, late cut off the last ball of the over for a boundary – set up the blueprint for the rest of his innings. This was no slog, for Pollock is no slogger.Most of his subsequent strokeplay was composed of proper cricket shots; lofted drives straight down the ground, inside out drives over extra cover, solid pulls, and one near-perfect sweep. Among current batsmen Pollock’s bat-swing is perhaps the one that comes closest to Brian Lara’s in terms of beauty. At its top, before it swoops down for contact, it could be the swing of a golfer, coiled yet languid. His long arms also provide a useful, rubbery whip to his shots. The feet, and those long graceful strides in particular, were well employed to nullify the spin, not only reducing its threat, but turning it into a weakness for Pakistan. Perhaps only the bat swing of Brian Lara compares to Pollock’s in terms of beauty. At its top, before it swoops down for contact, it could be the swing of a golfer, coiled yet languid. His long arms also provide a useful rubbery whip to his shots Eighty-four balls were enough to make you wonder why he is so much more acclaimed as a bowler. Alternatively, it tells you just how good a bowler he actually is, as a fantastic opening spell earlier in the day also made perfectly clear. But a batting average of 26 in nearly 300 matches, only one hundred, and now 13 fifties, does scant justice to a rare gift. This was his highest ODI score in South African colours, his solitary hundred coming for the Africa XI earlier this year.”I enjoyed it today,” Pollock said. “Graeme and Herschelle [Gibbs] got us off to a flier and my aim was to take advantage of the Powerplays. I enjoyed it, but there are some fantastic cricketers up there who normally do the job.”Those lower down are no less fantastic.

Dammika Prasad justified Sri Lanka’s decision to hand him a debut by taking three big wickets – Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar – in the first session

Jamie Alter in Colombo08-Aug-2008
Dammika Prasad, on debut, rattled India’s top order before finishing with figures of 3 for 82 © AFP
On the day Dilhara Fernando was named in the squad for the ODI series against India and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, another raw fast bowler showed how much Sri Lanka have missed someone with his speed and aggression. Dammika Prasad was handed a debut to bolster Sri Lanka’s ineffective new-ball attack and, by taking three big wickets in the first session of this Test after India’s openers got off to a flier, he proved the decision was a smart one.To bowl India out for 249 on the first day on a flat track was something, and it was Prasad’s introduction to Test cricket that injected life into Sri Lanka. That’s something Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekera, who never went far beyond 125kph, failed to do in the first two Tests. Prasad was picked ahead of left-arm medium-pacer Thilan Thushara because he provided Sri Lanka with a right-left opening combination and for his 4 for 58 in India’s practice match before the series, where he got the ball to skid on.Prasad’s first spell in Tests was rather eventful. His first ball, 139kph, was whipped from leg stump for four by Gautam Gambhir. Two balls in that over clocked 140.02 and 143 kph but Virender Sehwag took him for further boundaries. After three overs, Prasad had leaked 25 runs. A fall to the floor, trying to stop a Sehwag straight drive, resulted in medical attention to his left wrist. And then came a moment of jubilationPrasad landed one on a length inches outside off stump and straightened it, only for Sehwag to feel for it loosely. The regulation nick was held and Prasad growled in satisfaction. “Sehwag was in very good form, and I was nervous just before I got him out,” a humble Prasad said. “My team-mates told me not to think of it as my first Test, don’t panic, just bowl.”The last five overs of his spell cost just five runs and from there on Prasad bowled intelligently. This was a pitch that demanded he keep it straight and he overcame his early nerves commendably. A bowler capable of bowling above 140kph in the subcontinent is crucial, and today Prasad played an important crucial hand, hitting the crease hard, maintaining decent channels and generating good pace.Throughout his morning spells, Prasad used the ball to achieve that extra bit of bounce that unsettled a few of the batsmen on this pitch. But he also tried hard to make sure that he didn’t get too predictable, varying his pace and length regularly. He was quick in his first three overs, but actually bowled better when he kept his speed in the mid-130s. That’s when he achieved a hint of swing to go with appreciable lift.After a change of ends, Prasad picked up Rahul Dravid with one that swung in late, and Sachin Tendulkar with inward movement. Between the two dismissals Vaas had two brief chats with Prasad, the second with his arm around his shoulder and a large smile on his face. When Tendulkar was adjudged out on a review – replays showed that about 40% of the ball was inside the mat at the point of impact and headed for middle and off – Vaas had his arms around Prasad again. The relief was perhaps palpable for Sri Lanka.A well-built bowler who relies on his shoulder strength, Prasad clearly thrives on intimidation but is capable of sensible movement as well. Sourav Ganguly was given a work-over with short-pitched stuff and, a couple deliveries later, Gambhir was beaten off the seam by a slow offcutter. He hit the deck hard and moved the ball off the seam. He doesn’t have Fernando’s height, but there is a similar rawness in the two, as well as a keenness to run in and hustle the batsman. Lasith Malinga remains Sri Lanka’s first-choice pacer when fit but Prasad, who has a decently disguised slower ball, can seriously boost his Test career if he learns the art of reverse-swing.Prasad’s success is also special because he is a workmanlike bowler; on the domestic circuit his is not a name spoken of with any great excitement. He doesn’t have any outstanding spells domestically, and locals don’t rate his 6 for 25 for Southern Province in 2004 very highly. But his success highlights the rewards for hard work and perseverance. Prasad’s maiden one-day appearance in early 2006 included two wickets in his first two balls, but a back injury kept him out of the game for six months. He recovered and represented Sri Lanka A in England in 2007, and has worked manfully, if unspectacularly, to force his way back.This wasn’t among the most lethal new-ball bursts by a Sri Lankan fast bowler in modern times, but it was the best they have had all series. Ajantha Mendis’s killer efficiency, bowling to the lower order, helped Sri Lanka dig deeper and complemented Prasad’s strikes. With Vaas again going wicketless and Muttiah Muralitharan nowhere near his best, Prasad and Mendis, rookies alike, helped give Sri Lanka the advantage on day one, with minimal fuss.

As the season begins to take shape, Cricinfo hands out monthly awards for May to those who have impressed with bat and ball

Andrew McGlashan03-Jun-2008

Team of the month – Somerset
Before the season, Justin Langer was happy to tell anyone within earshot that Somerset could win the Championship the season after being promoted. Their form over the last few weeks suggests that confidence wasn’t misplaced. Back-to-back wins against Kent – a nerve-jangling 20-run victory – and Surrey have propelled them top of the table, and all this without the services of Andrew Caddick. Marcus Trescothick has settled productively into county life, while Ian Blackwell is again producing the sort of form that makes everyone wonder why his international returns are so meagre. Coupled with Langer’s single-minded determination – not to mention his runs – and Somerset have become a formidable unit. Their one-day form was also strong enough to earn a Friends Provident quarter-final to leave an understandable feeling of optimism around the club.Batsman of the month – Matt Prior
It’s been an outstanding start to the season for Prior as he tries to convince the England selectors he is worth another chance. He’s making a pretty strong case. He has now made more than 700 first-class runs this season and registered two high-class centuries, both in tricky conditions, during May. One came at Trent Bridge, his 131 in the first innings (followed by 64 in the second) helping Sussex to a 73-run win. His second was in a losing cause against Durham, as he took the attack to a fired-up Steve Harmison with 133 off 138 balls. There was talk that he might be recalled to England’s one-day side, but Prior’s former team-mate Tim Ambrose got the opportunity instead. If Prior continues churning out the runs (and holding his catches), Ambrose will be looking over his shoulder quite nervously.Innings of the month – Michael Di Venuto, 184 v Yorkshire
Di Venuto is another of those Australian batsmen who grew up in the wrong generation for an international career. He was limited to nine one-day internationals, but has continued to churn out runs at first-class level. Durham have certainly made the most of his services. On the opening day against Yorkshire, faced with a decent attack including Darren Gough, Deon Kruis and Tim Bresnan, he hit 184 – more than half Durham’s runs for the day. He had one life, on 68, but was in command throughout with strong driving, cutting and pulling. Although he didn’t add to his score the next morning, the innings set Durham up for a massive 295-run victory. Others to catch the eye this month were David Sales’ 173 off 151 balls against Glamorgan, Joe Denly’s 149 which almost hauled Kent over the line against Somerset, and Mark Butcher’s 205 against Yorkshire.Bowler of the month – Simon Jones
It’s a slightly romantic chpice, but to see Jones racing in and bowling at 90mph has been one of the most enjoyable sights of the season so far. He has collected five-wicket hauls in the Championship and FP Trophy, but most encouragingly he is managing to string together a series of injury-free matches. His one appearance on TV, against Hampshire in the FP Trophy, set tongues wagging as he hit 91mph during his opening spell and reports from the Championship are that his pace has remained high. All this has inevitably led to the big question: how long until an England recall? Some suggestions have been the end of this summer against South Africa, but it would be wise for everyone not to get ahead of themselves. There is plenty of cricket in the winter, then a certain Ashes series next year. Now, wouldn’t that be a story?Bowling performance of the month – Darren Pattinson, 6 for 30 v Lancashire
It’s been an interesting start to county cricket for Pattinson. He took a six-wicket haul on debut and was then promptly dropped when Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad became available between international stints. When those two were needed by England, Pattinson was straight back in and responded by demolishing Lancashire with 6 for 30 on a lively Trent Bridge surface. His first spell left Lancashire on 16 for 4, then he returned to trap Stuart Law lbw, just as he was engineering a fightback. The last six wickets then fell for 12.Unlikely hero of the month – Chris Wright
It’s always nice to see a familiar face…except when he steals a victory against his former club. Wright moved from Middlesex to Essex over the winter and when the two sides met at Chelmsford, his new county looked down and out at 202 for 8 needing a further 97 to win. Up stepped Wright, who was signed more for his bustling seam bowling than batting prowess, but hit an unbeaten 71 out of a match-winning stand of 99 with James Middlebrook.Youngster of the month – Danny Evans
A tall Middlesex quick bowler has been causing a stir this season, but Steven Finn appears to have some competition in the up-and-coming bowler stakes at Lord’s. Evans, 20, is a rangy seamer who can generate decent pace with late swing. He took 6 for 34 against Essex at Chelmsford – a match Middlesex should have won – which has earned him an extended run in the side, at the expense of Finn. Competition for places can only be healthy.

Chanderpaul stood head and shoulders above his middling team, and the board bumbled it’s way all through

Vaneisa Baksh03-Jan-2009

When West Indies ended 2007 with a surprise victory in the first Test against South Africa, it invited salutary comments that Chris Gayle’s comradely leadership was suitably laidback so as to eke out the best efforts from his players. But tour results begged to differ, with South Africa winning the next two Tests and easily whitewashing the West Indies in the five one-day matches.It was merely a flutter after all, the kind that typified the year for West Indies. After his retirement, Brian Lara faded from sight, and almost entirely from cricket conversation. He surfaced in January with a century in the regional tournament, but fractured his arm and only flitted across the international scene when he announced he was not taking part in the Indian Cricket League on account of the “permanent problem” with his shoulder.Meanwhile Allen Stanford was overhauling his Antigua ground in preparation for the intoxicating US$20-million tournament that would provide year-round intrigue. Not to be outdone, the West Indies Cricket Board thoughtfully launched its giddy agenda by firing Ian Bishop, Desmond Haynes, Andy Roberts and Courtney Walsh from its cricket committee in February, leaving the four to wonder if their role as Stanford-contracted “Legends” had made them redundant. Frankly my dears, said WICB president Julian Hunte, you don’t fit into our strategic plan, but within a month they were reinstated.Marlon Samuels had his bowling action analysed after the final South Africa Test, but his real trouble came when he was found guilty of breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct regarding receiving monies disreputably. The WICB banned him for two years, but the CEO, Donald Peters, “offered him all the help needed to get his life in order”. Samuels’ lawyers asked for a judicial review instead, but the ICC was unmoved and upheld the ban.The West Indies captain, whose capacity to unite and inspire had been heralded, revealed the illusory nature of regional bonds during the Carib Beer Series. Complaining about poor umpiring “year in, year out”, Gayle fumed: “Jamaica always seem to have it tough, and decisions always seem to go against us.” The umpires’ association waited to see what the WICB would do, but they had other fish to fry… and according to incoming manager Omar Khan, “a new era” to begin.The WICB was kept twittering with the Indian Premier League schedule threatening to disrupt tours by Sri Lanka and Australia, the prospect of a two-tiered Test ranking system, and the looming Stanford Super Series tournament.Pedro Collins effectively retired when he chose Surrey over West Indies (against Sri Lanka) after two years on the sidelines.For the first time, Sri Lanka beat West Indies on home ground, provoking Ramnaresh Sarwan to complain that the pitch at Providence Stadium lacked pace and bounce, but the WICB made up for that by bouncing the Sri Lankans off their practice match with “flight problems”, and the pitch in Trinidad had enough pace to help the WI draw the two-Test series.Sarwan had starred in the second Test, and was called to replace his replacement as captain against Australia when Gayle’s groin injury flared. Amit Jaggernauth made his debut after heated Caribbean debate about the value of spinners on the team, and though he collected a wicket he was not picked again and the debate continued.Shivnarine Chanderpaul continued his working ways, shrugging off a knock out from a Brett Lee bouncer to score 118 in the first Test, and positioned himself so implacably as a dogged accumulator that he was named the ICC’s Player of the Year and topped the batsmen’s rankings at year-end.Australia won the series 2-0 and it was on to the ODIs, which ended with Gayle declaring his unhappiness with the selectors. By the end of July he sent the WICB a resignation letter, but after “discussions” had a change of heart. At the same time Peters was sent on leave by the WICB and its corporate services manager, Tony Deyal, was fired. Peters was returned to his post within days; Deyal would later give testimony against the WICB in London’s High Court.The matter arose out of Allen Stanford’s $20-million match between the Stanford Superstars and the England team. The sponsors, Digicel, contested the right of the WICB to sell to Stanford what it had in essence already sold to them regarding the West Indies players. The row had raged for months, and it ended in the courts, with the WICB losing and facing legal costs that would easily erase the profit made from staging the World Cup.The match went on as arranged, the Superstars beat England by ten wickets and kept the money, but no end of bacchanal over everyone’s behaviour and moral standings surrounded the event. In December, Stanford disbanded his board of Legends and announced that he would be revising his relationship with cricket in the future.Unfazed, the team went off to New Zealand, where both Tests were drawn, Chanderpaul scoring 126 and Gayle 197 in Napier. As with other matches, and with the consistent exception of Jerome Taylor, no one else ever seemed to do much more than flutter into sight fleetingly.

Off the field, the pace was as dizzying as usual, with no decision standing unchanged, no sign of a cohesive management plan and, with the Stanford funding riding abruptly off into the sunset, no sense that the shadows would ever lift.New kids on the block
Perhaps Sulieman Benn and Brendan Nash are worth watching, and if spinners ever get something like tenure in the West Indies, Jaggernauth may have a thing or two up his sleeve.Fading stars
Barring Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jerome Taylor and Xavier Marshall, the team seems to be a stagnant bunch inside a comfort zone, without the desire to fulfill the potential that got them thus far. Dwayne Bravo has been strung out on his injury, and while he still seems skittish, may be the only other who demonstrates zest for the game. Everyone else seems to be simply standing in the same place.High point
Shivnarine Chanderpaul deserved all the accolades of the year, proving the value of his stoic, unflappable determination to get on with the game. On the third day of the first Test against Australia, he was knocked flat out after a Brett Lee ball smashed into his helmet. He rose up and resumed his innings, scoring a hundred, and then in a spell of inspired bowling, his team-mates reduced Australia to 17 for 4. The Chanderpaul effect was clear, though they lost the match.Low point
The WICB sank even deeper into the culture of ineptitude, bumbling through the entire year until it finally hoisted itself on the petard of greed as the row with Digicel went to court and the board lost millions in the process; it lost Allen Stanford’s millions too. It was as disgraceful as watching the captain stand his ground after he was clearly out in one of the ODIs against Pakistan in November.What 2009 holds
England tours from February for four Tests and five ODIs before West Indies visit England in May for two Tests and three ODIs and the ICC World Twenty20. India will also play West Indies once venues are confirmed.

They all want a piece of the newest entry to India’s Test squad, but Dhawal Kulkarni’s feet are placed firmly on the ground

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Feb-2009

Restless, tired, Dhawal Kulkarni sits on a cement slab below a large banyan tree outside a temple in Chembur, suburban Mumbai. It is past four in the afternoon.Kulkarni arrived here nearly three hours ago, and has been doing numerous interviews, obliging various forms of the media, mostly television. He has an evening flight to catch, along with the rest of the Mumbai team, which is headed to Rajkot for the Ranji Trophy one-dayers.”I don’t want to pay the fine. It is Rs 500,” Kulkarni says of the penalty if he doesn’t reach the airport by 5.30pm. Praveen Amre, the Mumbai coach, has decided to impose a fine on every latecomer, and Kulkarni doesn’t want a dark spot on his big day – the one when he was picked for the first time for an India team.”I’m tired of being asked the same question, ‘How do you feel?'” Kulkarni says later, during a ride in his brand new Honda City, which he bought exactly a month ago. It is his first purchase with his own money. On the dashboard are several religious icons and a picture of his grandfather, whose dream it was that Kulkarni play alongside Sachin Tendulkar. That dream remained unfulfilled: Kulkarni’s grandfather passed away before the IPL last year.Kulkarni wants to dedicate today’s achievement to his family, who have been his biggest fans; but though the news came at noon, he hasn’t found the time for a private word with them.In the morning he left for practice as usual. Midway into his training he casually checked with the few reporters gathered at the ground if the squads being picked were for all three forms. When the news broke, he took it without too much excitement. His team-mates gathered around him, congratulated him, and that was that.From there he proceeded to the Swami Samarth Math in Chembur, where his father, Sunil, and his younger sister, Dhanashree, were waiting for him. His mother was absent: she wanted to stay away from the media. The family was unaware of the news till a friend of Dhanashree’s rang to inform them. “I was surfing the net, while my father was watching some TV channel. Suddenly my friend called up and told me that my brother had been selected,” Dhanashree, a gold-medal winner at junior-level shooting says. She used to tease her brother, comparing her achievements with his, but today she can’t hide her excitement. “We are so proud.”There is a healthy media presence in the compound of the little temple. Dressed in a black jumper, shorts, and beach thongs, Kulkarni enters to the sound of firecrackers. Next door is an apartment complex. A middle-aged woman peeps out of her balcony as she hangs clothes on the line. She looks as curious as some of the other bystanders.Kulkarni, without much fuss, repeats virtually the same lines in English, Hindi and Marathi, putting up an exhausted smile for the cameras. The photographers and TV crews want him, at times, to shake hands with his family, at others to put his arms around them. One desperate photographer enters the inner sanctum and requests that Kulkarni ring the two temple bells with both hands raised. Kulkarni looks a little annoyed, but the photographer assures him it will make the front page.Kulkarni is not too disturbed by the intrusions. He knows his life is changing fast, and he can’t complain much. He hopes some things won’t change. “I want to remain as I am. I should not change my attitude,” he says during the car ride. His eyes remain firmly on the traffic ahead.

The first thing Daniel Vettori did upon arriving at Seddon Park, two days before the first Test, was to have a look at the pitch. He inspected it for a good five to ten minutes and then chatted with the curator Karl Johnson

Sidharth Monga in Hamilton16-Mar-2009
Ishant Sharma is working on his inswing at Seddon Park © AFP
The first thing Daniel Vettori did upon arriving at Seddon Park, two days before the first Test, was to have a look at the pitch. He inspected it for a good five to ten minutes and then chatted with the curator Karl Johnson. The Indian batsmen did some shadow practice at the pitch before fielding practice and a net session.That, if people didn’t know already, was a clear indication that the Tests are about to begin for until now on the tour, no one has bothered to look at the pitch even a day before the match.In Wellington, the teams made their first visits to the venue two hours before the toss. Things have changed, the pitch is being talked about, long-term weather forecasts are being sought, and the anticipation is kicking in. Pyjamas to flannels is a bit of cliché – given the innovative whites teams wear nowadays – but the Test match mood has kicked in.The anticipation for the Tests showed not only in the interest around the pitch – which looks deliciously green now with the grass yet to be shaved off – but also in the increased intensity of the training sessions. Both teams spent about three hours each at Seddon Park and there seemed more purpose to the way they went about their business in the nets.So far batsmen played to imaginary one-day fields and looked to hit big, innovate, and played shots that would get them singles, while the bowlers tried to contain them. The Test intensity today was summed up by one exchange. Sachin Tendulkar padded up first for India, to face Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, L Balaji and a few local net bowlers.After facing two balls from Ishant, Tendulkar went up to the bowler and asked, “Are you trying to get it to move in?” The first two deliveries hadn’t actually moved in. Ishant replied in the affirmative and Tendulkar went on to tell him he was making it too obvious. “It seems you are trying too hard to move it in,” Tendulkar said, and went on to show him the release that was required – not a big jerk of the wrist, but a smooth push just before letting the ball go. “You might over-pitch for a while, but keep trying it. First get the release right, the rest will come automatically.”Ishant over-pitched for a while, slowly getting the inward movement going until he beat Tendulkar with one that nipped in sharply. “Ye achcha tha [This one was better],” came the acknowledgment. The exchange was as much as an acknowledgment of how well Tendulkar knows the game (he could see, while trying to focus on his batting, what was wrong with the bowler’s wrist at the time of release) as also the fact that containment was not the key here. Ishant was ready to bowl loose deliveries just to get back his No. 1 delivery.The next batsman in the same net was Virender Sehwag. The first ball he faced from Ishant jagged back in, got the inside edge, hit the thigh and took the leg stump. It’s good that the Tests are around.

Concentration is about living in the moment – which unfortunately isn’t as easy as it sounds

Aakash Chopra30-Jul-2009Ever since I started playing cricket I’ve been told about the importance of concentration and how it’s the key to batting for a long time and scoring a lot of runs. There has always been plenty of emphasis on this aspect of the game. I’d often hear a commentator say that a lapse in concentration cost the batsman his wicket, or a coach telling me to concentrate harder whenever I couldn’t put the bat to ball.Though I understood the importance of concentration fairly early in my career, I didn’t entirely understand the concept itself. And I wasn’t the only one.What exactly is concentration?
A few years ago I was selected to play in the Challenger Trophy (before I made my international debut). We had an interactive session with Geet Sethi, the billiards player, whose definition of concentration remains etched in my memory. He said that concentration is simply remaining in the present. The longer you can remain in the present, the greater your span of concentration. Sounds easy, right?Nearly two decades of playing cricket has taught me that it isn’t. The mind has the peculiar ability of wandering off at the first available moment, and it doesn’t need any permission. You might be in the middle of an important match, playing an important knock or bowling the most crucial over, but the mind has a mind of its own. Two places it likes to wander off to are the past and the future.I’d either start feeling bad or good about what had happened in the past – the ball before – and get disconnected from the present, or I would start worrying about or prematurely celebrating events in the future, getting away from the task at hand.Whatever happened in the past or might happen in the future does not have, or at least should not have, any bearing on the ball you’re going to bowl or play next. All that matters is what you do with that particular ball. Remaining in the present is the only way to concentrate.One needs to start concentrating once the bowler starts his run-up and the concentration has to be at its peak from the time of delivery till the ball hits the bat. (Of course, this changes for fielders, who need to be alert till one of them fields the ball.)How can you improve your concentration?
Most games of cricket go on for at least six hours at a time, with occasional breaks. Now concentrating for a few minutes at a time is quite difficult, let alone six hours. So the idea is to switch off after every delivery and then switch on before the next. Switching off means allowing the mind to wander away for a few seconds before getting it back on track. This is not restricted to only batting and bowling; fielders do it too. One needs to relax before starting to concentrate again.Batting or bowling in the nets can be instrumental in improving concentration, since one needs to concentrate ball after ball in that situation, with very little time in between (as there are usually about six or seven bowlers operating at all times).The trigger movement
Most players follow a set routine – adjusting the equipment, or something else – that acts as a trigger to snap them out of wander mode and back to the game. Greg Chappell would look at the crowd after playing every ball; MS Dhoni fiddles with his bat and gloves; I scratch the leg-stump mark on the pitch with my shoe; Jason Gillespie used to stop for a few seconds and take a deep breath at the top of his run-up.Staying in the game
While it’s important to switch off and allow your mind to wander, one still needs to ensure that it doesn’t drift too far away. For example, a captain has to still think about the field placements and plan his course of action, like bowling and fielding changes. A fielder is supposed to always be looking at the captain or bowler for instructions on any possible changes in the fielding position before starting to concentrate again. A batsman weighs his options of scoring runs off the next ball. I call this not-so-focused form of concentration “staying in the game”.The zone
Then there are some – we call them geniuses – who seemed to get into the zone at will: the state of mind where everything flows automatically. You don’t consciously switch on or off, your mind doesn’t wander into the past or the future, you’re constantly aware of your surroundings and almost always play the ball on its merit or bowl where you want to bowl. We all have times when we get into such states, but to do it on a consistent basis is an art that only a few have mastered. Sachin Tendulkar seemed to get into the zone more regularly than the rest.How can one attain that state at will?
Honestly, I don’t know for sure. I’ve gathered over the years that even the greatest minds can wander. Thoughts keep coming into your head regardless of whether you want them to. The best way to deal with them is to acknowledge their presence rather than trying to ignore them. Trying to push the thoughts away gets you involved and takes you away from the task at hand. When you leave them unattended, they disappear. Tendulkar’s innings in Sydney in 2004 is the perfect example of not paying heed to the thoughts that try to intrude. He didn’t play a cover-drive for most, if not all, of his innings of over 200, and I refuse to believe that the thought of playing the shot didn’t cross his mind, especially once he was set.

Sunil Gavaskar once told me that when you reach a milestone your mind takes you to the ones you love most. You feel an immediate connection to those close to you who are watching you achieve the feat and your heart goes out to them and with it your mind too, which results in a loss of concentration

When are we most vulnerable to losing concentration?
I used to think that staying in the present was important only at the beginning of the innings. After all, it’s only at the start, when we’re plagued with self-doubt, that we are most susceptible to failure; once we get that elusive start, everything falls in place. But I’ve learned that I was mistaken. A loss of concentration can occur at any point during an innings, and most often does when you’re feeling good, like after going past a milestone, when you drop your guard a bit.I once asked Sunil Gavaskar about it, and he said that when you reach a milestone, the mind takes you to the ones you love most. You feel an immediate connection to those close to you who are watching you achieve the feat and your heart goes out to them, and with it your mind too. You thank everyone on the ground by raising the bat, thank God for his blessings, and your family members in your heart. At such times the mind is anywhere but on the cricket field, and you often end up taking the long walk back before realising what’s happened. His advice to me was to recognise that emotional surge and allow yourself a little time to regroup; perhaps spending a few overs at the non-striker’s end at such times is a good idea.The external factors
Bowlers and fielders, especially the ones close to the bat, often try to talk the batsman into playing a poor stroke. Few batsmen succumb to the tactic and lose focus; the majority have their own ways of dealing with it.Sunny told me that the best way is to ignore the comments and even avoid eye contact with the talkers. On the contrary, someone like Matthew Hayden relishes a chat with the bowler and the fielders. Then there’s Brian Lara. The Indian team would decide before the start of a series against West Indies to leave him alone, because if you try to get under his skin he starts concentrating harder and then is almost impossible to dislodge.Even the crowd has a role to play. But contrary to popular belief, a hostile crowd doesn’t have as much of an impact as a cheering crowd.I remember getting hit on the helmet in Melbourne during the Boxing Day Test in 2003, and 70,000 people cheered Brett Lee and Co to do it again. But the only effect it had on my game plan was to make me more determined. On the other hand only 30,000 people egging me on to hit another four off Daniel Vettori in my debut Test, in Ahmedabad, was enough to lure me into a false stroke. I got ahead of myself and was dismissed.We now know that regardless of whether we know the definition of concentration or not, whether we play cricket – or any other sport or for that matter – remaining in the present is the essence to being successful. We all do it unconsciously, and perhaps that’s why we slip out of it without knowing, but if we manage to do it consciously, at will, keeping close tabs on our mind, we’ll be able to control it a lot better and produce better results.

Andrew Flintoff’s first spell of the day showed how he should have bowled much more of the time

Andrew Miller at Lord's19-Jul-2009Only Andrew Flintoff knows quite how close to the end he really is. His retirement announcement on the eve of the Lord’s Test invited criticism in some quarters, not least from Ricky Ponting, who accused him of reducing the Ashes to a farewell “circus”. But to watch the manner in which he has hurtled in all through this match, in spells of not more than seven overs from in front of the grand old Pavilion, there’s no question which role in the big top he has earmarked as his own.For seven bone-rattling overs at the start of the fourth day’s play, Flintoff was the ringmaster, in total command of all the action. The churlish will doubtless counter that the umpires were his clowns, but he found the edges that so often elude him, and by extracting the obdurate Simon Katich from the first (no-)ball he faced, as well as the skittish Phillip Hughes 19 balls later, it seemed he really was orchestrating his very own grandstand finish. What could be a more glorious send-off than to end Australia’s 75-year hegemony at Lord’s?By the end of the day, however, Flintoff’s figures wore a troublingly familiar look. In the course of his long and occasionally illustrious career, he has bowled 2424 overs over 133 innings, sent down 499 maidens, conceded 7183 runs and taken 222 wickets. His average analysis therefore works out at roughly 18-4-54-2. By the close of a day in which he was once again magnificent, but still worryingly unpenetrative, his figures were a spooky 17-3-49-2. To the bitter end, Flintoff is bowling with fabulous futility, it seems to defy logic that his career has gone so unrewarded.”I’m not out to sift through his career and say he should have got more five-fors,” said his team-mate, Graeme Swann. “He’s a magnificent bowler, he runs up and bowls so fast and so heavy, and no-one wants to face him with that new ball. It’s a massive boon for us that we’ve got him bowling for us, because I wouldn’t want to face him … ever again.”Everyone you ask in the world game has a similar response. Flintoff is a gargantuan, galumphing presence, a man who pours heart and soul into each delivery and puts the fear of God into even the most sturdy and talented men. “I thought he was outstanding today,” said Australia’s coach, Tim Nielsen. “He bowled aggressively, he bowled fast, and the biggest thing about great players – and [Ricky] Ponting’s got it I believe – is that when they’re playing well, they have that presence, and the game seems to revolve around them.”For that seven-over new-ball spell, the game certainly was all about Flintoff, and the key to his success was his length. He pitched it up a good half a yard at first, and gained instant reward when Katich sliced to gully at the start of his second over. Up on the balcony, Ottis Gibson the bowling coach received a point of approval, a clear indication that he’d been bowling to a pre-set plan, and the contentious Hughes catch also came from a ball that zipped off a full and hard-handed push.But after that, something didn’t quite click. Flintoff’s next seven overs, at the start of the Haddin-Clarke partnership, were a reversion to the role that he is all too attuned to performing. Mike Atherton in the Sky commentary box described his length with a 33-over ball as a “macho” length, as he bashed the turf with power that few can rival, and fizzed the ball past the splice and into Matt Prior’s gloves to sighs of anguish from the crowd. Flintoff is destined to be remembered as a magnificent but unlucky bowler, but that’s partly because he’s never perfected the role that could have made him great.In fact, Flintoff has been handed the new ball in only 24 of his 77 Tests, and of those matches, there’ve been only nine occasions when he’s taken it in both innings as part of a fully-fledged plan. One of those occasions, ironically, came in the Super Test against Australia in 2005-06, when he partnered Steve Harmison in the World XI attack, and bagged seven wickets in the match. Had Graeme Smith captained him more often, perhaps he’d have got his rewards.Whatever happens in this match and for the rest of the series, Flintoff will still go down in history as the man who bowled one of the greatest overs in the history of Test cricket. His seven-ball over at Edgbaston in 2005 contained two wickets, and crucially for England’s prospects on Monday, both came from a swinging, snarling full length – first a round-the-wicket battering ram that popped off a good length and bludgeoned through Justin Langer’s defences, and then a stunning outswinger that Ponting snicked to the keeper.In his three new-ball overs before the close on Sunday, Flintoff was still that awkward yard too short. Edges flashed high and flashed hard, and away through the slips for four. Tonight, however, he has a chance to refocus. Gibson’s words of encouragement should be short and to the point. Pitch it up, Freddie, and get the rewards you deserve.