Five cameos that resulted in unlikely victories in IPL 2012

Devashish Fuloria30-May-2012AB de Villiers v Deccan Chargers

With 39 needed off three overs, two of which had to come from Dale Steyn, de Villiers had no choice but to go after the fast bowler. Steyn’s first ball was short and it was nonchalantly flat batted for a six to deep midwicket; next, a slower ball was mowed to cow corner but the best of them all was a 146 kph near-yorker smashed over extra cover for a huge six. The adrenalin took over for de Villiers and he didn’t even need the final over, finishing the game in the 19th with more big-hitting. No doubt this was the cameo of the season.Albie Morkel v Royal Challengers Bangalore

When MS Dhoni got out on the last ball of the 18th over chasing a mammoth total, 43 runs were still needed. Enter Albie Morkel. Facing Virat Kohli, Morkel edged the first ball for four, drawing an expression of exasperation from the bowler. He stoically lifted the next ball over the long-on boundary and then edged to the third-man rope. Two more sixes followed in an over that fetched Chennai Super Kings 28 runs. Kohli went numb. Super Kings romped home after Morkel had changed the game in six balls.AB de Villiers v Pune Warriors

Pune Warriors entrusted Ashish Nehra, the experienced fast bowler, with the job of defending 21 runs in the final over. But Royal Challengers’ de Villiers, who was admittedly struggling with his timing, decided to use Nehra’s pace as he scooped the bowler for a six and a four. In between, he powerfully hit a full toss for another six. Dizzy with de Villiers’ onslaught, a shocked Nehra was hit for another six off the last ball, this time by Saurabh Tiwary, to seal Royal Challengers’ win.Dwayne Smith v Chennai Super Kings

“Take a single. I shall do the rest,” Smith told RP Singh at the striker’s end when 15 runs were required off four balls. RP Singh managed to do his job to leave Smith with an uncomplicated task – hitting every ball to the boundary and more. Smith did just that – 6, 4, 4 – and became an instant hero in his first game for Mumbai Indians.Gurkeerat Singh v Deccan Chargers

Kings XI Punjab were looking up to David Hussey in the last two overs to push them over the line after they had lost most of their senior batsmen. One of those overs was from Dale Steyn, and little-known Gurkeerat Singh more than survived as he squeezed Steyn’s last ball to the point boundary. In the last over, Hussey got stuck at the non-striker’s end when 13 were required of four balls only to see Gurkeerat smash a six and two boundaries to complete a last-ball win.

Neil McKenzie and Quinton de Kock strung together a perfectly-paced chase against Mumbai Indians, but the senior batsman was not constantly at his young partner’s ear; Lions are making sure they don’t smother de Kock in expectation

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers15-Oct-2012The oldest and the youngest members of the Lions squad, who went to the same school – King Edward VII – combined to cap off South Africa’s successful weekend of Champions League fixtures.Neil McKenzie and Quinton de Kock both scored half-centuries as Lions paced their chase of 158 perfectly to record a second successive win over Mumbai Indians (albeit in the space of two years) and ensure both South African franchises won in their opening matches of the tournament.Matters did not ever get completely away from Lions, who reined in Mumbai Indians from 45 for 1 after five overs to a par score. Even though the required run-rate climbed for 14 overs of the Lions reply, they reached the target with seven balls to spare thanks to a delicate innings from McKenzie, who barely played a shot in anger and also ushered the 19-year-old de Kock through to the end.”We just batted according to plan,” McKenzie said. “We’ve all got our different roles in the side. Once we get to a certain number, we open up and go from there.” The freeing of the arms came after Malinga had bowled his third over, having conceded only eight runs in 18 deliveries, and with Lions needing to score almost 11 runs an over. McKenzie, who was on 26 at the time, hit Pollard for back to back fours and the pressure began easing.From that moment, Lions took control away from Mumbai Indians but it was the passages of play before then that had them battling for the upper hand. The Mumbai Indians spinners tied them down, sometimes for five consecutive balls, as Pragyan Ojha did in the eighth over, and each time Lions had to muscle their way out.The power-hitting came from de Kock, who secured relief at crucial times. “Just as we got bogged down a little, he would clear the rope,” McKenzie said. “At the Wanderers, you get value for shots. You just have to beat point or midwicket and it’s four.”While it looked as though McKenzie was the one issuing instructions to de Kock, he said it was a more case of them operating as a partnership. “He gave me a couple of balls to get in. I had 10 runs from nine balls before I really got going but we ran well between the wickets as well.”De Kock has already been spoken about as a future talent, especially since he is also a capable wicketkeeper, who could be a long-term successor to Mark Boucher. Lions are managing him carefully to ensure they continue to get the best out of him instead of smothering him in expectation. “I don’t mentor him; I just give him some advice but whether he takes it [or not], you will have to ask him,” McKenzie joked.It is Alviro Petersen, the captain, and Geoffrey Toyana, the coach, who guide de Kock, although even that is only a little. “We just want to let him be for now,” Petersen said. “In big games, it’s the senior players who must be counted. I don’t want to put pressure him at this stage.”Just as pressure will not be overloaded on de Kock, neither will praise, and Petersen was measured in his assessment of the innings. “He hasn’t been around for too long but he has got a good head on him and he had Neil there as well,” Petersen said. “There was no real slogging from Neil, even his boundaries were good cricket strokes.”He singled out another member of the squad though. Aaron Phangiso was responsible for the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar and for stemming the flow of runs in a miserly spell of 1 for 17 in four overs. “I was not happy with the way we bowled in the first five overs and then Aaron came on and just got us the momentum back. He never gets the credit he deserves, but he bowled exceptionally for us.”Mitchell Johnson was sent in at No. 4 by Mumbai Indians for the purpose of trying to take Phangiso on and he admitted it was a ploy that did not work: “I was looking to have a go at their spinner but I found it really difficult. I just couldn’t get bat on ball.”Johnson also had praise for McKenzie and de Kock’s 121-run stand. “Those two worked well together. Quinton would have worked off Neil, and he kept a cool head and played his own game. Neil knows this ground and he knew where to hit the ball. They batted really well and deserved the win.”

Shane Watson and those around him are finding out that you can’t always get what you want

Daniel Brettig19-Nov-2012Shane Watson wants to play in Adelaide as a batsman. He also wants to be an allrounder, a vice-captain, and a full-time participant in Test matches, ODIs and Twenty20s. He wants to “stay around the group”, only to be rested from duty when he’s played so much cricket that he feels mentally exhausted. Most of all, Watson wants to be fit to play.Michael Clarke wants Watson to be an enforcer in the top three and a smart bowler of critical spells, some of them lengthy. Clarke also wants Watson to prepare himself as fastidiously as Australia’s captain does for Test combat, perhaps even by indulging in week-long boot camps. Watson’s coach Mickey Arthur wants Watson to be a consistent scorer of Test hundreds, declaring earlier this season that he will have failed as a coach if Watson’s ratio of fifties to centuries does not improve significantly.Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard and the national selectors want Watson to contribute more to the national side than he takes out, by batting, bowling, fielding and running between the wickets with skill and intelligence. They want him to be more durable, more reliable, less prone to mishap and injury. They want him to be fit and firing for the most important series Australia plays, even if it means keeping him rested from others in between.The marketeers at CA want Watson as a Test match player but also a muscular billboard for T20, particularly its club competitions. They want Watson to take part in the first round of this summer’s BBL between home Test series for the Brisbane Heat. The Sydney Sixers wanted Watson to be available for the entire Champions League, an ambition denied them by CA in an attempt to have him ready for the Test against South Africa.Watson’s management want Watson to be a superstar, commanding top dollar for his appearances for Australia, Brisbane Heat and the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. They want him to be the face of innumerable brands in addition to contracts he already holds with Asics, Gunn and Moore, Brut, Body Science, MJ Bale and Tag Heuer. They also want him to become Australia’s T20 captain.Cricket New South Wales want to hear from Watson more regularly, communicating with their medical and team performance staff whenever he is recovering from injury to know how they can help. They want to see him playing club cricket occasionally, providing his skill and experience at the grassroots level of the game, and affording them another way of feeling that the hours that go into trying to keep Watson fit will not be wasted.Former players want Watson to rouse himself from a pattern of injuries and absences they feel has been caused as much by an age of over-complication and micro-management as by any underlying physical flaws in his body. They want to see him emulating the feats of a proud line of Australian allrounders since the second world war including Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson, Gary Gilmour and even Steve Waugh. They perhaps also want him to ease off the hair gel.Writers and pundits covering the game want to interview Watson regularly, because his frank comments and willingness to speak expansively make for entertaining stories in newspapers, on websites, in radio and television news bulletins and on cricket broadcasts. They want to write less of Watson’s injuries and more of his on-field exploits, less of his brain fades with the bat or between the wickets and more of his capability for brilliant contributions with the ball and the bat, as he memorably showed in Test matches in Melbourne, Leeds, Chandigarh and Galle from 2009 to 2011.Australian cricket fans want Watson to be playing for their team, scoring runs with his customary power or taking wickets with the craftiness he has developed over a decade in and around international cricket. They want him to show the raw power of his batting and bowling at the World T20, the brutality of his hitting in an ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2011. Overseas cricket watchers also want Watson to be playing, for the game is seldom dull when he is involved, even if it means his capacity to change a match inside a session is turned on the teams they follow.You can’t always get what you want.

Qualification scenarios for teams in Ranji Trophy Group C

S Rajesh28-Dec-2012Group A
: Punjab are the only team from the group to have played all eight, and are sitting pretty on 32 points. However, most of the other teams are bunched together, with eight points separating the second-placed Gujarat (21) from the seventh-ranked Bengal (13). Click here for more details.Group B
: Uttar Pradesh are on top with 27, while Baroda, the only team to have played all eight matches, are second on 22. However, only six points separates the third-placed Vidarbha from the eighth-ranked Haryana. Click here for more details.Group C
: Services have a five-point lead over the second-placed Andhra Pradesh (26 points to 21). However, only eight points separate Andhra from the eighth-ranked Goa (13). Also, only two teams will qualify for the quarter-finals from this group.Services –
Services have a five-point lead going into the last round, but aren’t completely safe, given that two teams are one win away from catching up, if Services don’t get more than one point in their last match. If, for instance, Andhra and Assam win their last matches and Services lose, then Services will slip to third position. Even if Services get one point, they may still slip to third place if Assam win with a bonus point, and if Andhra win and achieve a higher quotient. If Services get at least three points from their last game, then they are safe regardless of other results.Andhra Pradesh – 21 points in 7 matches; last match v Kerala
Andhra are five points behind the leaders, and have three teams which are within three points of their 21. With only two spots available from this group, Andhra still have plenty to do. A win will put them in an excellent position, but if they manage only a first-innings lead, they’ll need other results to go their way. If Assam beat Goa, for instance, then three points won’t be enough for Andhra.Assam –
Assam are just one point behind Andhra, which means their situation is pretty similar, except that Assam’s last match is against a weaker Goa (compared to Andhra’s last game against Kerala). On the one hand, even a win may not be enough if Services and Andhra win their games; on the other, even a draw with first-innings lead might suffice if other results go their way.Kerala –
Given that Kerala are playing their last game against Andhra, who’re already three points ahead of them, they need a win to ensure Andhra don’t add to their tally of 21. Even if Kerala win their match, they’ll progress only if Assam don’t beat Goa in their final match.Jharkhand –
Like Kerala, Jharkhand are on 18 points, but their last game is against current table-toppers Services, in Delhi. A win will push them up to at least 24 points, but even then they’ll depend on other results – especially in matches involving Andhra and Assam – going their way. However, three points will not suffice, as one of Andhra or Kerala will go beyond 21 points.The other four teams – Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Goa and Tripura – have no chance of making the cut. Jammu & Kashmir could theoretically go up to 21 points if they beat Tripura with a bonus, but Andhra are already on 21 and will go past them if they get one point in their final match. If they lose, then Kerala, their opponents who are currently on 18, will go up to at least 24.

Australia, who have dominated Sri Lanka completely both home and away in the last decade, start clear favourites in the Test series beginning in Hobart

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan13-Dec-2012Such has been Australia’s record in head-to-head contests that it is virtually impossible to expect Sri Lanka to pose a serious challenge in the three-Test series beginning in Hobart. Although Sri Lanka lost both Tests on their last tour of Australia in 2007-08, they put up a serious fight in the second Test before going down by 96 runs. Australia have been the only team to regularly win in Sri Lanka too – in their last two series in Sri Lanka, Australia won 3-0 and 1-0. Following the retirement of top players, Australia have had to work much harder for their success but are still a force to reckon with at home, Since 2007, they have lost three home series (twice to South Africa and once against England) but have a 11-1 record at home against major subcontinent teams (excludes Bangladesh).Sri Lanka have struggled both home and away in the last two years following Muttiah Muralitharan’s exit. Since 2010, Sri Lanka have lost one and drawn four home series with their only triumph coming against Pakistan earlier this year. Sri Lanka, who are yet to win a single Test in two countries (Australia and India), will draw confidence from their performance in last year’s Boxing Day Test in Durban when they went on to register their first win in South Africa.In the SSC Test in 1992, Australia completed a remarkable turnaround after conceding a 291-run lead in the first innings. Ever since that win, Australia have gone on to lose only a single Test in Sri Lanka (in 1999). The matches played in Australia have virtually been a no-contest. Sri Lanka have managed to draw only one Test (Cairns in 2004) and have gone on to lose six. While most non subcontinent teams have had problems dealing with the conditions in Sri Lanka, Australia have had no such issues. In their last two series in Sri Lanka (2004 and 2011), Australia have gone on to win four Tests and draw two. Perhaps, Australia’s most remarkable achievement came in the 2004 series when they won each of the three Tests despite conceding the lead on all occasions. Their win-loss ratio of 11.00 (Tests since 1990) against Sri Lanka is the best among all head-to-head contests (excluding Bangladesh games).

Sri Lanka’s Test record against Australia (since 1990)

PlayedWinsLossesDrawsW/L ratioIn Australia70610.00In Sri Lanka121560.20Since 2000 (in Sri Lanka)60420.00Since 2000 (in Australia)40310.00Overall (since 1990)1911170.09In the 2004 series, which was dominated by Shane Warne’s successful return to cricket following his ban, Australia conceded leads of 161 and 91 runs in the first two Tests in Galle and Kandy but managed to turn the matches around with impressive batting displays in the second innings. Sri Lanka, who lost the series 3-0, averaged 28.75 while the visitors averaged 35.68. The average difference (difference between batting averages of Australia and Sri Lanka) was higher in the subsequent series in Australia. In the 2004 series in Australia, the hosts dominated the contests and scored four more centuries than Sri Lanka. However, the average difference (89.28) was the highest by far in the 2007 series in Australia which the hosts won 2-0. Apart from Kumar Sangakkara, who played an outstanding innings of 192 in Hobart, no other Sri Lankan batsman looked comfortable in the conditions in Australia. The 2011 series in Sri Lanka was also dominated by Australia, who won 1-0. The visitors won a low-scoring first Test in Galle by 125 runs and dominated the drawn second Test in Pallekele where Michael Hussey and Shaun Marsh scored centuries. Not only did Australia score more centuries in the 2011 series, they also ended with a much higher batting average than the hosts (average difference 7.23).

Stats of two teams in series since 2000

SeriesResultAustralia (bat avg)Sri Lanka (bat avg)Avg diffAus (100/50)Sri Lanka (100/50)2004 (in Sri Lanka)3-0 (Australia)35.6828.756.933/61/32004 (in Australia)1-0 (Australia)31.2023.607.607/43/62007 (in Australia)2-0 (Australia)118.4529.1789.285/72/42011 (in Sri Lanka)1-0 (Australia)36.1228.897.235/42/8Hussey was outstanding in the last series played between the two teams in 2011 scoring 95 in the first Test and centuries in the second and third Tests. He has been virtually untroubled by both Sri Lankan pace bowlers and spinners averaging 121 and 99.75 against them respectively while scoring at a fair clip. Michael Clarke, who became the first player to score four double-centuries in a calendar year, averages 62.33 and 81 against the fast bowlers and spinners. Phillip Hughes, who is likely to play at No.3 following Ricky Ponting’s retirement, has been comfortable against pace (average 57.00) but has struggled against spinners (average 29.33 with three dismissals).Sangakkara, the top run-getter in Sri Lanka’s previous series in Australia, has an average of 45 against both fast bowlers and spinners. However, he has managed a much higher scoring rate (3.89) against the slower bowlers and has been dismissed four fewer times. Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, has found the going tough against Australian pace bowlers falling 14 times (average 24.71). In contrast, he has looked very comfortable against spinners averaging 102 (three dismissals). Tillakaratne Dilshan, who averages just 29.28 in eight Tests against Australia, has fallen nine times to fast bowlers (average 26.44) and five times to spinners (31.00).

Batsmen against pace/spin in Australia-Sri Lanka Tests (since 2004)

BatsmanPace (Average/ dismissals)Pace (scoring rate/balls per dismissal)Pace (Average/dismissals)Spin (scoring rate/balls per dismissal)Michael Hussey121.00/33.95/183.699.75/43.23/185.0Michael Clarke62.33/33.22/116.081.00/33.92/123.6Phillip Hughes57.00/23.45/99.029.33/32.37/74.0Kumar Sangakkara45.00/102.69/100.245.00/63.89/69.3Mahela Jayawardene24.71/142.19/67.5102.00/33.03/201.3Tillakaratne Dilshan26.44/93.05/51.831.00/54.02/46.2Australia shockingly lost the Hobart Test against New Zealand on a surface designed to suit the pace bowlers. The batting average in Hobart is highest in the first innings(41.21) but falls to 27.22 in the second innings. The corresponding numbers in the third and fourth innings are 36.62 and 29.90. In Melbourne, the averages in each of the four innings are below 35 with the lowest coming in the fourth innings (23.75). Sydney, the venue for the third Test, has been an excellent batting wicket in the second innings (average 48.25). However, the average falls to 33.57 and 26.88 in the third and fourth innings. Spinners have been quite effective in Hobart picking up 34 wickets (average 36.26) while pace bowlers have picked up 90 wickets at 33.00. While fast bowlers have completely dominated the stats at the MCG picking up 177 wickets at 27.74, spinners have managed just 50 wickets at 41.44. Spinners have picked up a significant percentage of the wickets in Sydney but have a higher average (39.12) as compared to the pace bowlers (34.77).

Venue stats for the Test series (since 2005)

Venue1st inns/2nd inns3rd inns/4th innsPace (wkts, avg)Spin (wkts, avg)Hobart41.21/27.2236.62/29.9090, 33.0034, 36.26Melbourne32.86/34.7529.55/23.04177, 27.7450, 41.44Sydney32.55/48.2533.57/26.88187, 34.7793, 39.12

Tamim Iqbal is using his innings in domestic cricket to help him bat for longer periods in Tests

Mohammad Isam10-Nov-2012Tamim Iqbal has not scored an international hundred for two years and four months. During that time, he’s made fourteen half-centuries in all formats. Now, a plan is in motion to help Tamim convert his starts into centuries, and it’s already given him a spectacular start to the 2012-13 season, with three consecutive hundreds in the National Cricket league.Chittagong Division haven’t seen much of their most celebrated cricketer, with Tamim missing five years of first-class cricket since his Test debut in 2007. However, after months of travelling the world playing Twenty20 cricket, the first-class circuit is ideal preparation for a season of Tests. Bangladesh are likely to play seven Tests this season, and their first series is against West Indies, whose attack is sharper than the one Tamim faced last year. Moreover, because of the wet weather, the pitches at Shere Bangla Stadium haven’t had the chance to dry, as was evident in the two NCL matches.Against West Indies’ varied attack on a pitch that is likely be spicy, Tamim’s plan is to add more discipline to his batting. He believes it will take him to a higher level. He’s been seeking this improvement for the last two years – a frustrating period in which Bangladesh played only five Tests.”My only goal in this series is to bat in a disciplined way, the same way that I have batted in domestic cricket this season. Nothing more,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “In most sessions in a Test match, it is the bowlers who will be on top. A batsman has to bide his time to capitalise. If I can do well in bowling-friendly conditions, I can take myself to the next level.”Test cricket is to test yourself; if you are less disciplined in Twenty20s, you can get away with it, but not in Test cricket. The bowlers test you mentally.”For Bangladeshi batsmen, the gap between domestic and international cricket is large and only a few have been able to make the transition. Tamim rose quickly in international cricket but was almost at the end of his tether in less than a year. It was Jamie Siddons, the former Bangladesh coach, who instilled a sense of responsibility into Tamim’s batting and helped him open up his game on the leg side, setting him up for the next four years.In those four years, Tamim mostly learned on the job against international bowling attacks, without going back to domestic cricket to work on technical issues. It is mostly scheduling that caused this, but maybe there was a lack of confidence in the NCL. His comeback for Chittagong last month wouldn’t have allayed those doubts but domestic cricket, in most parts of the world, can’t promise the same level of competitiveness for international batsmen, unless they are prepared to be proactive.Tamim decided to challenge himself and add purpose to the exercise. He hardly wasted a minute on the first day, remaining not out on 176 against Dhaka Metropolis. “I wanted to bat long in first-class cricket. There was a target I wanted to achieve, that was to bat all day. I didn’t know how to go about it because I have never done it before.”Domestic cricket was a good place to start, so I thought I should try and do something that I have to do sometime in the future. I personally believe that if we play any cricket, it shouldn’t be done without a purpose. Otherwise it is just a waste of time. So I was disciplined in all three innings for Chittagong, followed the same routines, and I was successful.”The three hundreds for Chittagong – 192, 113* and 185 – were also an exercise for Tamim to show restraint when nearing a milestone. He wants to slow down now, unlike occasions in the past when he tried to rush. He threw it away in an ODI against Zimbabwe, and crucially against West Indies last year, which cost Bangladesh heavily.”I know how to score a century, but somehow I wasn’t doing it. This time I have tried to change tact when I am in the 80s and 90s,” Tamim said. “I tried to hit out of it, but now I want to wait for the perfect ball to hit.”I think this is a reason why I missed so many hundreds after making 70s and 80s, I tried to play big shots. It happened here in a Test match. These are small things but I want to rectify them and the rest is up to the Almighty.”His next step is to bat with the same purpose against West Indies. Tamim wants to be fully prepared, mentally and technically, so that a failure doesn’t hurt his confidence.
“The bowling attack will definitely be better [than in domestic cricket], wickets will be better,” he said. “But I won’t be disappointed if I have done my part right and failed. I can tell myself I did everything possible. I’m preparing myself with the same game plan and discipline as I had shown for Chittagong.”Tamim’s recent international form should encourage him; the four half-centuries in the Asia Cup are evidence of his growing stature as an opener. Those four innings, however, also underline what he thinks is missing from his repertoire. The Twenty20s have taken him places, but it will be his performances in Test cricket that will define the year for Tamim.

Exciting update: Andy’s audio preview is here .

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013Exciting update: Andy’s audio preview is here.In less than three weeks’ time, we will know once and for all which country is currently the greatest nation in the world. Admittedly, this conclusion is dependent on whether your sole criterion for adjudicating the greatness of nations is their ability to win Twenty20 tournaments (and, also admittedly, this is not currently on the United Nations’ official list of ratified country-quality measures).Nevertheless, the excitement is building ahead of what should be an exciting and enjoyable tournament, even for those who, like myself, are not particularly enthusiastic devotees of the short-form game. The tournament has the kind of intense schedule that enhances tension, rather than the elongated monotony of partial action that has scarred recent world cups. The grounds will be full, the teams have identity, most of the world’s best players will be playing, new heroes will carve their names into immortality with valuable 25-run cameos or match-turning spells of 1 for 16, and, in this melodramatic brand of cricket, upsets are almost guaranteed.A case can be made for any one of the twelve teams to win – and I will make those cases in the first Zaltzman Report, my weekly World Twenty20 audio show (which should be available late on Thursday or early on Friday). Suffice it to write for now that Ireland will buoyed by the incontrovertible truth that the World Twenty20 has always previously been won by a team beginning with the letter I.So, will the World Twenty20 capture the broader British public’s easily distractable imagination? Possibly. It feels like the cricketing summer is finally about to begin – those who complained that there should be no international cricket in May effectively got their wish, such was the irredeemable pointlessness of the West Indian ‘tour’.At the very least, it will give the nation something to take its mind off whether members of parliament have submitted an expenses claim for a rogue £1.99 for a novelty Queen Mother pencil sharpener when it is well documented that they only ever write with their lucky Henry VIII commemorative ball-pen.However, without live free-to-air television coverage, the home team will need to put up an uncharacteristically competent challenge, in defiance of recent history and an overall Twenty20 record that might charitably be described as “easily improvable”.At most recent international tournaments, they have played with the confidence and know-how of a sausage in a crocodile pit. In all sporting competitions, there can be a danger of peaking too early – at least, since their 1992 World Cup near miss, England’s cricketers have become indisputable grand masters at avoiding this particular pitfall. Arguably, they have taken their devotion to not peaking too early some way beyond what is desirable or effective.However, England should begin with confidence high after a succession of wins in all forms of the game. They concluded their preparations with another convincing win against West Indies on Wednesday, although, on their opponents’ current form, managing to contrive anything other than a convincing win against them would have taken a superhuman effort of targeted ineptitude.Whether this confidence sustains them through the tougher tests in this tournament and the Ashes beyond remains to be seen – there must have been plenty of gladiators in ancient Roman times who discovered that having successfully swatted ten flies in a row counted for little when they came up against a peckish lion.England will again have to cope without Flintoff, and whilst they would be significantly better with him, he has not played enough of late for them actually to miss him. From an Ashes perspective, his absence is unquestionably good news for England fans, as his current injury significantly reduces the amount of cricket in which he can injure himself before the Test series begins.On a personal note, the last time there was an international tournament on these shores – the mendaciously-named ICC Champions Trophy of 2004 – England accidentally reached the final, and I deliberately got married on the middle Saturday of the tournament.The former is marginally more likely to recur than the latter. If England’s success is to be repeated, they will need to overcome the joint force of their recent record and relative lack of experience at this form of the game. If my personal success is to be repeated, I will have to (a) work fast and with devastatingly alluring charm; (b) break the law; and (c) thoroughly annoy my current wife of nearly 5 years. Since I have no desire to do either (b) or (c), my historic inability to do (a) is rendered thankfully irrelevant.The Official Confectionery Stall Tournament Predicted Winner: India. Or Scotland.Too close to call. Probably Scotland though. The stormy exit of John Blain is exactly the kind of ruction that often pulls squads together and propels them towards their ultimate triumph before being made into a blockbusting Hollywood movie with some contrived love interest – probably Reece Witherspoon as a female umpire, who after triggering the Scottish captain (Keanu Reeves as Gavin Hamilton) with a terrible lbw decision in a group-stage match ends up giving the same player not out bowled off the penultimate ball of the final before Reeves/Hamilton belts a tournament-winning walk-off home-run off the final pitch, and the happy couple lift the trophy together on the Lord’s balcony before flying off in a helicopter to a secret meeting at ICC headquarters in Los Angeles. Also starring Will Smith as ex-ICC chief Malcolm Speed, and Al Pacino as Billy Bowden. Based on a true story.

Ajit Agarkar and Wasim Jaffer did not have the best performances in 2011-12. They bounced back this season to form the cornerstones of Mumbai’s 40th Ranji title

Siddarth Ravindran in Mumbai28-Jan-2013A jubilant Mumbai team revelling after another title, a few fans shouting one of the most common chants in Mumbai, ”, and others yelling perhaps the most common chant in Indian cricket, ‘Sachin, Sachin’. The scenes after the Ranji Trophy final were familiar ones.It was a far cry from the despondent end to their previous campaign. For most teams, making the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy is an achievement, as it was for Punjab this season. Not for Mumbai, though, for whom anything less than a title is not good enough. Not only did they lose in the semi-finals, but there was also a major difference of opinion between the coach and the captain.Sulakshan Kulkarni, the coach, had termed the captain Wasim Jaffer’s failures in the knockouts as one of the biggest reasons for Mumbai’s exit, and he had also criticised Jaffer’s leadership, calling him a “defensive captain with defensive approach”. Jaffer, who had led the side for four seasons and had guided them to the title twice, stepped down.To add to that, another senior player, Ajit Agarkar, was sulking after feeling ‘humiliated’ at being dropped from the XI on the eve of a match. That led to one more stalwart, Zaheer Khan, lambasting the chairman of selectors and the coach, saying that “they are actually pulling Mumbai cricket back.” Agarkar had flown home from Cuttack after he was axed, and withdrew from the squad for the entire season.This year, not only was Agarkar welcomed back, he was made captain as well, for the first time in his 17-season career. And with Ajinkya Rahane away on national duties most of the time, Jaffer was reunited with his favourite opening spot. Both veterans duly delivered.Agarkar served up a match-turning 145 in the semi-final against Services, where hail, rain and a wet pitch in Palam could have taken the game to the toss of a coin. In the final, he was instrumental in Saurashtra’s second-innings collapse, ripping through the top order with the new ball.Sachin Tendulkar singled out Agarkar for praise after the victory. “I feel especially happy for Ajit Agarkar, who had a rough season last year,” he said. “It was fairly difficult for him, all the more reason to be excited. He has led from the front, and led beautifully, performed when it mattered.”The acting MCA president Ravi Sawant also highlighted Agarkar’s role. “Even when he was injured and not able to play (due to a calf injury early in the season) he travelled with the team,” Sawant said.Agarkar had spoken about the honour of leading Mumbai in a Ranji final, saying he was well aware of the illustrious players who had captained the side in the past. “I’m very, very happy, won a few before, to win as captain is even more special,” he said, soon after title No. 40 was wrapped up.”Especially after not reaching the final for two years, the guys were very keen to do well this season,” he said. “We didn’t have a smooth sailing in the league stage, but come the knockouts I think we’ve shown that we know how to play knockouts well. (This is) right up there, winning Ranji Trophy is not easy and, as the years have gone, it has become tougher because other teams have improved.”Jaffer, on his part, tapped into the rich run-scoring vein that has made him such a feared opponent on the Ranji circuit. In seven matches, he racked up four half-centuries and three hundreds, claiming the prestigious Ranji records for most runs and most tons, before capping it off with the 132 that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award in the final.He shrugged off last season’s disappointment. “Over a period of 16-17 years, you will perform in a few games, you won’t perform in a few games, whatever happened last year doesn’t matter,” he had said, before re-training his sights on what he does best. “As long as I play for Mumbai, or wherever, I just want to score runs.”Agarkar was quick to praise Jaffer’s achievements this season. “Exceptional, he has been doing it for us every game year after year, that’s been his strength, to play an innings of that kind on this pitch under pressure is special, that’s why he’s got the amount of runs that he has and the records he has.”
The two stalwarts have been key to Mumbai’s continued pre-eminence on the domestic scene over the past two decades. This was Jaffer’s eighth Ranji title, and Agarkar’s seventh. Both have at least as many trophies as the next most successful team, Delhi, and aren’t showing any signs of stopping yet.

Conditions around the world vary, and pitches are prepared to suit the home team on a regular basis. But there’s nothing wrong with that as the game would lose its greatest challenges if pitches are homogenised

Douglas Sloan25-Feb-2013During England’s recent series in India, nothing occupied column inches or filled air time quite like the state of the pitches. Whether it was the non-spinning practice tracks, the slow Ahmedabad surface, or the pace and bounce on show at later venues, the pitches were never far from the news. Even MS Dhoni was compelled to comment. The subtext, rarely explicitly stated but regularly implied, concerned fairness. Was it in the spirit of cricket, really, to prepare such ‘biased’ tracks?Leaving aside the fact that bias is of course subjective, it should be noted that this is not a question posed only to India. Conditions around the world vary, and pitches are prepared to suit the home team on a regular basis. Can English fans look at the green, seaming tracks of Trent Bridge or Headingley and claim the pitch conditions are inconsequential? Can Australians in Brisbane, or West Indians at Sabina Park? Such ‘home bias’ is not rare in international cricket, and it often comes in for a slating. It is derided as insular, as short-sighted, as regressive. The game is seen as fragmenting, as the skill sets required to succeed in each scenario drift further and further apart.This fragmentation is accused of obscuring the true ability of each team – if each of the top teams wins at home, who can be said to be best? There is some truth to this accusation: India’s recent loss was their first at home since 2004, South Africa have only lost twice at home since 2005, Australia have lost three times after 1993, and England went undefeated for 11 home series in the middle of the last decade. I would challenge, however, whether this is such a great price to pay. There is some value to a slightly blurry ranking system; where would pub chatter be if we knew, without a doubt, which was the best team or who the greatest player was? Cricket is a sport obsessed with statistics, and it is in these fuzzy, unknowable, and inherently subjective considerations that its heart lies.In the same vein, the diversity of the game as it is played across the world is a strength, not a weakness. It would be boring indeed if every pitch were similar and identical techniques succeeded everywhere. Not only would such a world stifle innovation (can anyone imagine the doosra or the carom ball being invented in English conditions?) but it would lose a certain vitality. There is something exotic about the regal, wristy play of maestros from the subcontinent; something visceral about the lean, southern-hemisphere quick charging in from fifty paces.Most of all, the game would lose its greatest challenges. As Dhoni commented, “You want to face challenges in Test cricket. These are the kinds of wickets that push you.” What is a tour to the subcontinent, or to Australia, if the conditions are negated? Half the challenge is gone. Home bias allows the game its greatest stories: its heroic series and its magisterial innings. Without it, cricket would be all the poorer.

ESPNcricinfo picks five of the best innings from the 2013 IPL

Siddhartha Talya27-May-2013Chris Gayle, 175* v Pune Warriors
The most brutal Twenty20 innings was an exhibition of utter disdain for a hapless bowling attack. If ever there was an instance of a complete one-man demolition of a side, this was it. Gayle tore into anything that came his way, clubbing sixes at will, having made his mind up fairly early into his 66-ball unbeaten knock that he would dominate the bowling. Ishwar Pandey and Ali Murtaza, playing their first game of the season, were left scarred, captain Aaron Finch was clueless in his only over that went for 29 as he constantly changed angles, and Mitchell Marsh was thrashed for 56 in three overs. It helped Gayle that he was fed with a generous dose of length deliveries, an epidemic this IPL not exclusive to Pune Warriors. The knock also broke a series of records, the fastest century in the format and and most sixes in a T20 innings among them.David Miller, 101* v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Not to take credit away from Gayle’s effort, but it came under easier circumstances with his side batting first. Miller, in an important game for Kings XI Punjab, who were struggling to remain in contention for the play-offs and reduced to 61 for 4 in 9.5 overs chasing 191, played perhaps the best innings of the competition. He had to first tread carefully to set a platform before taking off. He was 27 off 18 at one stage, then dropped on 41 by Virat Kohli at extra cover, receiving a blow on his mouth as he let it slip through his fingers. Royal Challengers’ bowlers were left staring beyond the ropes, as Miller singled out the straight boundary for his assault. He made 74 runs off his last 20 deliveries, Kings XI won with two overs to spare in a 180-degree turnaround executed in a matter of minutes.Kieron Pollard, 60* v Chennai Super Kings, IPL final
Mumbai Indians’ gamechanger played a valuable innings in the tournament’s most important game, with Chennai Super Kings having had the better of the first 10 overs. Pollard came in at 52 for 4 and began with a beautifully-timed off drive past mid-off, received good support from Ambati Rayudu, then Harbhajan Singh, but his presence at the crease was felt most in the last over of the innings. He was kept off strike for the first four deliveries of the over, and disappointment was writ large on his face when he saw Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga dismissed in the first three. Left facing the final two balls, he ensured he did the most damage, smacking Dwayne Bravo for two sixes.Kieron Pollard, 66* v Sunrisers Hyderabad
Pollard and Rohit Sharma have been among the cleanest hitters this IPL and their unbeaten 85-run stand included 10 sixes, eight of them from the bat of Pollard. Mumbai Indians needed 64 to win off the last four overs, but there was a look of resignation on the faces of some of the Sunrisers players at the end of the 17th over. Thisara Perera undid the good work by Dale Steyn in the previous over, bowling two long-hops and three length balls to be smashed for 29. That over featured three of Pollard’s six sixes in seven balls, three more reserved for Amit Mishra in the next. Perera was drilled for two more in the final over to finish things off, Pollard middling the ball better than he had all tournament, with each of his sixes clearing the ropes by a fair distance.Ravindra Jadeja, 36* v Kolkata Knight Riders
Jadeja stood out on a pitch that wasn’t made for scoring big and scoring quick. After Knight Riders limped to 119, Michael Hussey scored what was the slowest 40 in all IPLs, off 51 balls. Chennai Super Kings were behind in the chase, at 89 for 6 in 16.5 overs but Jadeja stepped up in a 14-ball innings that clinched victory in the final over. He launched Sunil Narine over long-on, then struck Jacques Kallis for two straight boundaries, one of them, on 24, should have been caught by Yusuf Pathan at deep square leg. At the end of the over, Super Kings needed 2 off 6 and Jadeja ended the game by sending Yusuf over long-on.Honourable mentions
Brad Hodge, 54* v Sunrisers Hyderabad, Eliminator
David Miller, 80* v Pune Warriors
Shane Watson, 70 v Chennai Super Kings
AB de Villiers, 50* v Pune Warriors