All posts by n8rngtd.top

Openers are a neglected breed on the country’s domestic circuit, and that’s been a key reason for the team’s failures in Tests in recent times

Sidharth Monga09-Jul-2009This is not a post-mortem. One frame on TV during the Galle Test, though, summed up a bulk of Pakistan’s problems. The screen was split in two, each one showing the stances of Salman Butt and Khurram Manzoor, the former’s weight too far forward and the latter’s back. Those who follow Pakistan cricket will say, “What’s new?” Those who follow Pakistan cricket will know there haven’t been solid Test-match openers since Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail, and very few before. Even Anwar was a naturalised opener: he used to play in the middle order in domestic cricket.There is no better feeling in a small chase than the knowledge of having reliable openers, especially when the bowlers have finished their stupendous work in the final session, with an edgy period to follow. In the first innings in Galle, Pakistan lost Butt and Manzoor before the half hour was out on the first day; in the second they lost Manzoor in the evening and Butt first thing in the morning. There is no way the openers should solely be blamed for the dramatic loss, but
No’s 1 and 2 have always been a lottery since Sohail and Anwar opened together for the last time in March 2000.Nineteen different openers have been tried since that period – and 37 combinations – including Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi. That even by Pakistan’s standards is a fairly big number: 56 players opened in their 48 years of Test cricket before that.Younis Khan’s response to the issue tells a story. “If you see, this has been the story for the last four-five years,” he said moments after the defeat. “Sometimes they do well, sometimes they do badly. That’s not a big issue – anybody who’s played there. It keeps going up and down like this.” In the land of reverse-swing, masterful spinners and great middle-order batsmen, opening the innings has been a neglected art, perhaps non-glamorous. Heroes do play a big part, and
Pakistan simply haven’t had enough heroes opening the batting.Ramiz Raja, himself a fairly successful naturalised opener, wants an emergency declared on the opening front. He has seen over the years that in all levels of cricket in Pakistan the opener is the most neglected entity. “It has never been given importance by captains,” Ramiz told Cricinfo. “It was thought that on docile subcontinental pitches, where you played almost 70-80% of your cricket, specialist openers were really not required. That has been the thinking of most Pakistan captains, but it doesn’t help.”The approach perhaps comes right from the domestic circuit, where more such pitches mean the openers are hardly tested, and anybody does the job. The business, as is the case in Indian domestic cricket, starts in the middle order. Sohail, one of the more traditional openers, has an interesting theory.”Ultimately reverse-swing hasn’t helped Pakistan cricket at all,” Sohail told Cricinfo last year. “How many new-ball bowlers have you seen who are very good? Reverse-swing has helped Pakistan achieve things temporarily, but when you look at it in the long term, it has actually hampered Pakistan cricket. You are not getting good new-ball bowlers. If you are not getting good new-ball bowlers in your first-class structure or club cricket or at the top level, how do you actually think of getting good openers?”

“You need a special temperament for the job. Different levels of energy for different situations and times. There isn’t enough emphasis on that at the domestic level, or at the academy level. Openers are not made at Test level.”Ramiz Raja

But if that be the case, why aren’t there openers scoring thousands of runs in domestic cricket and putting pressure on Butt, who can’t complain of not having been given a full run? “I have no plausible reasoning,” Ramiz says. “The players in the seventies, even in the
eighties, had a chance to hone their skill in county cricket, so that helped Pakistan batsmen to rise to a certain level. When it got stopped, our domestic set-up was not of a certain standard that provided a strong base for openers to grow.”It’s just that we have got to develop openers,” Ramiz said. “There is not enough importance given to that aspect. When I say that, I mean both technically and temperamentally. You have to leave a lot of balls, you have to be technically correct, you have to see off tough
situations like batting in the last half an hour of the day. You need a special temperament for that job. Different levels of energy for different situations and times. There isn’t enough emphasis on that at the domestic level, or at the academy level. Openers are not made at Test level.”Times changed, foreign coaches came and went, but the callous attitude towards openers didn’t. In the 2005-06 series against England, under Bob Woolmer and Inzamam, Pakistan went with Butt as the only specialist in the squad of 16, with Akmal, Malik and Afridi as options.Butt, who’s enjoyed the longest run in the post Sohail-Anwar era, had the promise, but needed a better opener to learn from. Openers grow together. They are a team within a team. They are often good friends, they often sit and discuss their batting and the bowlers even after
the cricket. They are honest enough to ask the other to farm the strike against a particular bowler who’s troubling one of them. They point out to each other the mistakes they are prone to making. They are almost a couple, and Butt has been pretty polygamous there, though not by his choosing.There is an interesting story about how Sohail chose to become an opener. When he was fairly young, Wasim Raja, his captain at Lahore, told him if he wanted to play for Pakistan he needed to start opening the innings. Sohail hesitated. Raja said, “Do it. Pakistan won’t be needing middle-order batsmen in the next four or five years. There is Saleem Malik, there is Javed Miandad; it will be hard for you to get in. Start opening the innings, you will play for Pakistan.”By that logic, chances of a 16-17-year-old starting to open the innings look bleak. From the current middle order, Yousuf and Younis are nearer to the end than the start. Pakistan better start doing something about it, as Ramiz said, at the school level, club level, academy level and first-class level.

Tendulkar turned it on, but the Australians stuck to their plans

Ramesh Soundararajan06-Nov-2009Favourite player from the two sides
It has to be Sachin Tendulkar. His remains the only name from those of a billion-plus to be chanted with pride by tens of thousands of Indians in unison.Key performer
Shane Watson. He started off steadily before hammering three sixes and a few boundaries. He set up the platform with Shaun Marsh. Watson faced the first ball, from Praveen Kumar, and 99 overs later, bowled the last over to him. His three wickets were critical too – especially Yuvraj and the breakthrough one of Suresh Raina. While this will be remembered as Tendulkar’s match, Watson ended up on the winning side.Biggest absence
Never since the days of Imran Khan calling additional players on a whim to Sharjah have we seen a floating side like Australia. What is essentially an Australia B team is leading India 3-2. They might field Dennis Lillee in the last ODI, but they are not really missing anyone.Any reason, Pragyan Ojha has been sidelined? He would at least have tried like a genuine spinner to get wickets.One thing I’d have changed about the match
Praveen Kumar got Ricky Ponting bowled and Watson got Harbhajan Singh caught behind. Other than these, every single wicket fell to the batsmen’s indiscretion or over-ambition. One does not want to see wickets like the one at the Kotla, but this one was overloaded in favour of batsmen. Make the pitch a little tougher to bat on. And can we erase Tendulkar’s Misbah moment?Face-off I relished
I was looking forward to Hyderabad versus its reputation and Asoka de Silva versus Indian batsmen. Bless the man, he was tempted but stood firm. And Hyderabad continues to be a nemesis for the home team.Bright young thing
Raina looks a compact player. Good balance, shots round the wicket, and has the big shots too. He could be a good No. 3 if someone can sort out his issues with short-pitched bowling.Marsh continues to impress in India. And it was tough to believe Clint McKay was on his international debut. He was the best bowler on show.Graham Manou was quite impressive as well.Wow moment
MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj all dropped catches. Off the last ball of the innings, Cameron White swung hard. A familiar figure ran in from the cover boundary and got his dive just right to take the catch. It was the first positive moment for the home fans in three hours, and Tendulkar kept the mood buoyant for the next three.Player watch
Ball goes to his left, Ashish Nehra runs around and gives two. Ball goes right, Nehra still gives two. The ball is hit in the air to him. A diving catch, maybe? No, Nehra times it well enough to concede two. The crowd really gets after him and starts booing. Is Mark Twain his favorite author?Shot of the day
White’s six over extra cover was extraordinary, but the match was like 20 years of Tendulkar consolidated into 175 runs. The front-foot pull, straight drive, step out and loft, and paddle sweep were all brought out. The best four were a couple of cover drives along the ground, a late glance to fine leg, and a late cut. All of them went in the vicinity of fielders, but they too were part of the audience for these shots.

The match was like 20 years of Tendulkar consolidated into 175 runs. The front-foot pull, straight drive, step out and loft, and paddle sweep were all brought out. The best four were a couple of cover drives along the ground, a late glance to fine leg, and a late cut

Crowd meter
It was likely the biggest crowd for a cricket match in Hyderabad. The noise was deafening when Tendulkar and Raina were on song. Lots of national flags, and faces painted with the tricolour. There was a noisy DJ as well, asking the crowd to do Mexican waves and chant. Harbhajan seems to have gotten more popular, going by the ovation he got on arriving at the crease. Much more than Gautam Gambhir, India’s top-ranked player. It was also good to see a crowd of about 200 people on the hill abutting the ground.Entertainment
The DJ played music in Hindi and in Telugu.There was also a deal – if you sent an SMS to a certain number, the message would be displayed on the big screen. Nothing sensational there, though. Big cheers greeted the trumpet tune from the IPL in South Africa.Hardship factor
The stadium as you see it on TV is very good, but the innards are dirty. It almost feels as if they painted the stadium and ran out of cash for the rest. Rs 1000 will get you a buffet in a five-star hotel with personal attention. Here it makes you feel you’ve gone to a first-day show of a blockbuster film without a reserved ticket. Too much pushing and shoving, and the entrances are badly designed. Every edible item was overpriced by 300%. I like it better in Bangalore. Maybe the authorities did not envisage the turnout.ODI v Twenty20?
The consolidation phase of the Australian innings was very boring. Don’t get me wrong but muscular batting is not easy on the eye. I thought Tendulkar had a point in suggesting ODIs have two innings. But that would be manufacturing excitement, like with a lot of Twenty20 cricket. Good cricket is all about exciting match-ups and great performances. Twenty-overs cricket limits that scope and so does not have a hook to engage the viewer, most times. When you think of ODIs, you would think Sachin; but you are most likely to think of an administrator when you think Twenty20. Go figure.Marks out of 10
8.5. The final margin was just three runs, thanks to one of Tendulkar’s top ODI knocks. (This will be the sad 175, to go with Kapil Dev’s happy 175). Australia seemed to have a plan for each Indian batsman and stuck to it. Barring a few fielding glitches, they were professional. The Indian approach was disjointed from the time Watson hit his second six. If in Indian conditions, this is the best we can do, the 2011 World Cup could be a lot tougher than anticipated.

The Australian dressing room is the last place many expected to see Craig McDermott.

Daniel Brettig17-May-2011Thirteen years ago, Tim May wrote , a “true-ish” story of the Australian cricket team on tour. Names, dates and places were changed to protect the innocent and the guilty, but one character emerged more sharply drawn than most. “Alistair Barterman” read as a thinly-veiled depiction of Craig McDermott, who is portrayed across the tale as a pathologically meticulous fast bowler with a long history of injuries both major and minor. He is ultimately withdrawn from the team when a scorpion bite causes his head to swell to twice its usual size.Flattering it wasn’t, yet May’s portrait carried the essence of truth. McDermott both meticulous and ambitious, carving out a personal sponsorship deal with Bartercard before many players were looking that far ahead. He also launched into a property investment business, Maxen Developments, that became his major focus after he played his last match for Australia in 1996. Within the Australian team he was his own man, respected for his bowling but never quite loved in the way others like Damien Fleming or Jason Gillespie would be. His best friend in the team was Merv Hughes, but then Hughes was everyone’s friend. For such an obviously ambitious character as McDermott, the comparatively basic pursuit of cricket coaching looked about as likely a career path as relationship counselling would be for Shane Warne. Retirement was swiftly followed by riches and real estate.So how exactly did Alistair Barterman evolve into Craig McDermott the bowling coach? Hard times were a catalyst, certainly, causing him to call on the knowledge gained as a cricketer but neglected as a former player. The maturing medium fast of his son, Alister, might also have played a part, as the advice handed down to offspring stirred the thought in McDermott that others might also benefit from his advice. Now he is Australia’s bowling coach at a time when the national selectors are fumbling around in the dark to find a new pace spearhead, not quite sure of where to go exactly for the first time since, well, McDermott’s uncertain early days in the Australian Test team. His return to the fold involved some searching lessons in humility.First, there was an extortion attempt that resulted in embarrassing personal details being aired in the courts. Later a Queensland property bust saw much of McDermott’s interests go up in smoke. He was embroiled in the collapse of his property business at a cost of millions to creditors and declared bankruptcy, selling his home. At the nadir of his business troubles, McDermott was paraded as a financial disaster by Australian tabloid television on Channel Nine, the same network that had once, via PBL, used him as a face of its cricket promotion. In the report he was last sighted ducking questions and escaping an underground car-park in his 4WD, seemingly destined for ignominy and obscurity.At the time his name was becoming a byword for failed investments, McDermott had already begun to chart his rehabilitation. Given a chance by the man who first selected him for Australia, the Centre of Excellence coach Greg Chappell, McDermott was hired on a part-time basis in late 2009. It was something of a probationary post, and a tentative step towards a second chance in cricket after he had kept away for more than a decade since injuries forced his retirement.Gradually, McDermott won the trust and respect of those he worked under at the CoE, including Chappell (since replaced by Cooley) and the manager Belinda Clark. His role grew from occasional to near full-time, albeit at modest rates of pay. The fact McDermott had worked alongside so many of the young bowlers expected to file into the national team over the next few summers gave him a head-start to the senior job that none of the other candidates, Allan Donald included, could offer. Bowlers under McDermott’s tutelage have included Josh Hazlewood, Peter George, James Pattinson, Luke Feldman, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc and Ben Cutting. Alister McDermott has been a part-time scholar, forging a path into the Queensland state squad.Of particular use to them will be McDermott’s experience as the Australian attack was re-built in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unsurprisingly, life before Warne rather resembled life after him. Before he arrived the Australians had lacked the once-in-a-lifetime talents they are unable to conjure now, but managed to shape a bowling unit capable of running through all but the very best of batting line-ups. McDermott, Hughes and Bruce Reid (when fit) offered an ideal balance of skills, heights and temperaments. Hughes and Reid acted as foils for McDermott at various times, all moving the ball in various ways and from different angles, whirring down short balls or pitching it up in the expectation of swing. On the 1991 West Indies tour a succession of flights and the recurrence of back gremlins severely affected Reid’s performances, but McDermott stood up in Caribbean climes to be the outstanding fast man on either side.

The fact McDermott had worked alongside so many of the young bowlers expected to file into the national team over the next few summers gave him a head-start to the senior job that none of the other candidates, Allan Donald included, could offer.

Apart from technical knowledge befitting a bowler who possessed one of the more classical actions of the past 20 years, McDermott’s tactical acumen, particularly the ability to judge the right method for the prevailing conditions, is sharp. The final phase of his playing career was speckled with admirable efforts on wickets that were less than helpful – Allan Border’s last Test on a dead Durban pitch in 1994 featured a particularly meritorious spell – and McDermott was also adept at gaining swift and repeated breakthroughs when turf and atmosphere were in his favour. He gleaned 42 wickets at 27.66 from eight Tests at Adelaide Oval, perhaps cricket’s best example of an occasionally helpful but more often punishing surface for a pace bowler.Worthwhile too, of course, are the battle scars of McDermott’s life outside cricket. In the “real world” he aimed to become a big deal, and for a time managed to do so. The subsequent collapse of McDermott’s business means he has plenty of sobering thoughts to offer a generation that now counts dollar signs and Twenty20 contracts almost as readily as baggy green caps. Fellow coach Justin Langer emphasised McDermott’s life outside of the game as a strength, rather than a weakness.”I think he’ll also bring quite a worldliness to the group, because he obviously went away from the cricket scene for some time and had varying degrees of fortune in his business life,” Langer said. “Often young professionals now, they gain this change-room existence where they come in and they become professional cricketers and all they really get to know is the change-room and their team-mates. I think any outside sources or influences who can talk to them about life after cricket and about being a good person off the field, or the different challenges that come with being a professional cricketer and the rewards that come with that, will be valuable.”Over the next 12 months, McDermott faces a task almost as vexing as the saving of a business. The Australian attack ended the Ashes looking so innocuous it might have struggled to bowl out anyone. Mitchell Johnson may be the most explosive of Australia’s bowlers but he is also among the least consistently reliable, while there is no stand-out new ball pair given that Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus have succumbed to injuries and indifferent form. McDermott says he is intent on looking forward – “it is part of my charter” – but also has ideas about how to remedy what he saw against England. Most of those will be grounded in hard work and sound planning, to master the many skills of fast bowling and then ensure they are repeatable under the fiercest of pressure.Given the widely held view that bowlers decide Test matches, it is possible to conclude that McDermott walked out of the Australian dressing room as Alistair Barterman and returned as the holder of the most vital coaching job going. Australia sorely needs a return on its investment in him.

Cricket at Lord’s is some experience, even with overzealous stewards, pedantic umps and lots of rain

Nick Campion22-Jul-2011Choice of game
I picked this game last winter as soon as the tickets went on sale. I wanted to see a Lord’s Test and see some of the best players in the world come together in a potentially explosive and series-shaping day of cricket. But that wasn’t quite how it turned out.Team supported
England.Key performer
The rain, unfortunately. After a very steady 49 overs, it felt like things were about to happen. A jumpy Kevin Pietersen was battling his desire to launch Harbhajan Singh into the stands, while the run-machine Jonathan Trott was picking up the pace. Ian Bell was due next, with his silky smooth strokes, and Eoin Morgan was practising his reverse-sweeps in the changing rooms. Alas, the rain struck before the story unfolded.One thing I’d have changed
Waitress service. Not just to save ourselves trips for beer, food and ice-cream, but so everyone else on our row could do the same, and therefore not keep having to ask us to stand up to let them past. It was more like an exercise class than a cricket match sometimes.Interplay I enjoyed
Between the spectators and stewards. Although unfailingly friendly and polite, the stewards seemed to have developed an obsessive-compulsive ticket-checking disorder. Being on the top tier of a stand, we had to pop downstairs if we wanted to get anything to eat or to use the toilet etc. When we returned five minutes later, the steward we’d just passed asked to see our ticket. Then when we got to the top of the stairs, another one had to see it again! What did they think happened between the bottom of the stairs and the top? The worst was when people were balancing their beer carriers while trying to find their tickets – one man lost all four pints when they slipped from his grasp while he tried to get the ticket out of his pocket. Oh how he laughed as £18 worth of beer ran down the drain. At least he had his hands free to show his ticket to the steward at the top of the stairs.Filling the gaps
During the lunch break we watched the kids play Kwik Cricket, and witnessed the first and only sixes of the day. We also saw some very dubious bowling actions that were clearly more than 15 degrees of bend in the elbow – about 75 degrees more.At lunch I made my choice of food purely by length of queue than taste. The system worked well, as within 15 minutes I had pie, chips, peas and gravy of no little quality.While on the subject, I can confirm that despite stiff global competition, the snack of choice for the nation’s Test match spectators remains the humble, yet great, British pork pie.Wow moment
When the umpires walked onto the field, we finally knew we had beaten the forecasts and were going to see some cricket. Either that or my first mouthful of steak-and-ale pie.Crowd meter
Lord’s just has a different crowd to any other Test match venue in the UK. Blazers and ties sit next to t-shirts and shorts, panama hats next to baseball hats, champagne flutes next to cans of lager – all bonded by the love for the game.The wine and beer were out of the coolboxes before the covers were off, and the next few hours were punctuated by the reassuring pop of champagne corks. One gentleman misjudged his champagne a little, spilling some all over the floor. Another spectator mopped it up with his copy of the .Lord’s is to be commended for treating grown-ups like grown-ups and allowing spectators to take in a reasonable amount of alcohol, unlike other Test grounds. This indulgence is rewarded by spectators enjoying their drinks and having their fun but never letting anything become unsavoury.Entertainment
The best entertainment during the rain break was a group of young lads playing cricket under the stands and using an umbrella as a bat. You had to admire their ingenuity but wonder if their parents would be so pleased next time it rains.Regulation irritation
The authorities seem to be trying harder than before to keep spectators happy, but still they drive us mad sometimes. There was no reason to delay the start until 11.30am today. It should have been 11.15 at the latest. Then, after three hours waiting, we were all geared up for a resumption for an hour at 6.30pm but three small drops of rain fell at 6.26, so the covers went back on and because the restart hadn’t happened by 6.30pm the day’s play was called off. That’s the regulations, you see. Never mind the fact that they could have started at 6.35pm and played for 55 minutes. I think the 10,000-15,000 spectators who had waited three hours in the rain would have appreciated that.Overall
The cricket was absorbing but we were robbed of half the day and a potentially fascinating passage of play. Being there, though, was a pleasure – to experience the ebb and flow of play, the warm embrace of Lord’s, even the rhythm of each delivery: the hum as the bowler walks back, the rising “Wooaaahh…” of anticipation as he runs in, a crescendo followed silence as he delivers, and an “Ooohhh” as it passes the outside edge. Then the hum begins again.Marks out of 10
7. Damn you, rain.

ESPNcricinfo looks at the Plays of the Day for the third day between West Indies and India

S Aga16-Nov-2011Shuffle shuffle
Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the key to West Indies avoiding the follow-on, but he had barely got his eye in after the early-morning start when R Ashwin pushed through a straighter one. Chanderpaul shuffled right across his stumps and tried to work it to leg. As soon as he missed, the Indians knew they had their man.The joy of pace
Umesh Yadav has improved with every innings in this series, but it won’t be often that he bowls a delivery as good as that which sent back Marlon Samuels. Pitching on middle, it shaped away to take out off and middle stumps. The speed gun timed it at 143.3 km/h.Six and out
When a spinner gets walloped for a straight six, the natural instinct might be to bowl a flatter one. Pragyan Ojha did nothing of the sort. He tossed one up outside off stump that turned and bounced more than expected. Darren Sammy’s cut went off the top edge into MS Dhoni’s gloves. The perfect riposte.Putting the boot in
When Carlton Baugh smacked one straight back at him, Ojha was a little slow to respond. He couldn’t get his hands to it, but the ball deflected off his boot on to the stumps. Kemar Roach, who had backed up too far, didn’t stand a chance.Unsettled by tea
Adrian Barath had batted superbly for 62 before tea, but four balls after the interval, he went for an expansive drive at an Ishant Sharma delivery that was well outside off stump. The ball flew off the edge, and VVS Laxman took a smart chance to his left. Another batsman undone by a break in play.Shades of the master
They may be battling to save the game, but Darren Bravo isn’t going to withdraw into a shell. When Ojha pitched one well up soon after he had arrived at the crease, a fluid swing and flourish sent the ball soaring over long-on. It was a shot Brian Lara used to play particularly well.

New Zealand had South Africa reeling at 88 for 6 but their bowlers were unable to deliver the fatal blow, allowing South Africa to steal a first-innings lead

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton16-Mar-2012New Zealand’s bowlers do not deserve the blame for their team’s current position. To stub out a South African line-up that boasts of Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, plus a lower-order that has the ability to stick around, for just over 250 is an effort most attacks would be proud of.But having reduced South Africa to 88 for 6, they would have had hopes of doing much better. Instead, they conceded at least 68 runs too many, underlining the difference between a merciless attack, like South Africa showed in the first innings, and one that can sometimes veer on the side of pedestrian.Chris Martin made use of some early inswing while Doug Bracewell immediately found a good length, but they did not create any real wicket-taking opportunities. What they did create was pressure, giving away only 35 runs in 22 overs, but they lacked the cutting edge South Africa displayed on day one.Fortunately for New Zealand, Mark Gillespie found that extra gear on his return to Test cricket. His four wickets in four overs was not quite as spectacular as South Africa’s five wickets for no run on the first day, but it did almost the same job. He bowled at good pace, reaching the 140s consistently and was able to extract movement away from the right-hander. His bad balls – and there were some – were more than counterbalanced by wicket-taking ones. The short ball that Kallis top-edged for six didn’t matter when Gillespie had him caught two balls later, neither did the full one on the pads to Alviro Petersen that was flicked for four, because he was out lbw four balls later.It was at this stage that New Zealand should have been looking for ways to apply more pressure. Having taken four wickets in four successive overs, Gillespie could have had a third slip in place, which might have yielded a fifth. Only after AB de Villiers edged in the vacant third-man region was a man put there and no edges went his way. It was the sort of situation that called for the balance between attack and defence to be shifted, something John Wright his team is still learning about.After Gillespie’s burst, Ross Taylor seemed to have a fairly good plan. He used Daniel Vettori to plug up one end and alternated between Doug Bracewell and Chris Martin on the other. What failed then was that neither of his strike bowlers, struck. Bracewell’s pendulum swung from too full to too short and Martin was accurate but not incisive. What may have had them on the back foot was AB de Villiers’ positive approach. He came forward to Vettori and played his shots despite the situation to blunt New Zealand’s intent.New Zealand also allowed the tail to wag once Gillespie removed Mark Boucher. Their lack of consistency in hitting the right areas, particularly from Brent Arnel but occasionally from every other bowler as well, cost them. They seemed to have forgotten that the pitch was still good for batting and that de Villiers was a top order batsmen. When Bracewell strayed on the pads or banged one in too short, de Villiers knew that if he got it through the inner ring, on a quick outfield, he’d collect four.Philander and Morkel stayed with him for long enough to give South Africa the lead. Occasionally it was lack of thoughtful enough field placings as Taylor insisted on bringing his men in when the tail ender man was facing and spreading them when de Villiers was on strike. Against a competent lower order, the result was unnecessary runs, mostly in the form of boundaries, as South Africa went at almost six runs to the over at one stage.At other times, it was lack of thought from the bowlers, such as when Gillespie opted for the short ball instead of the yorker when he was brought back on to bowl at Morne Morkel. He did the same against Imran Tahir, perhaps letting ego get in the way of action towards the end. Philander and Steyn can sometimes be guilty of the same. The difference is that their egos have been built on results that New Zealand’s attack still has a long way to go to match.

Plays of the Day from the final day of the Wellington Test

Firdose Moonda in Wellington27-Mar-2012Audacious shot of the day
AB de Villiers occasionally gets so daring with the bat, it’s hard to tell whether he thinks he is playing a Test match or a club game. He unleashed one of his manic spells as South Africa looked for quick runs to give themselves enough time to bowl New Zealand out. de Villiers was puncturing the leg-side with boundaries but then improvised to reach his fifty with a bold move on the off-side. Mark Gillespie sent down a good length ball, de Villiers had backed away to his left and reverse paddled the ball over both gullies for four. It was so good, it may become known as the “AB scoop” in future.Drops of the day
South Africa were not up to their usual standard in the field in this match. Duminy put down three chances on the fourth day and another four were grassed today. Kane Williamson was let off by Alviro Petersen at gully when he was on 10. He was given a second life when de Villiers put him down on 22 at second slip. Dean Brownlie survived a chance when Graeme Smith had his body in an awkward position at first slip and could not hold on. By tea, fielding was obviously South Africa’s main concern and because the break was spent practicing slip catches, but by the wrong people. Gary Kirsten was doing the catching while assistant coach Russell Domingo offered the chances. Perhaps de Villiers should have been taking catches because he dropped Doug Bracewell on 8 at second slip as the day drew to a close.Words of the day
Vernon Philander usually does his talking with the ball but when he was at risk of finishing the innings without a wicket, he gave vent to his frustration. Kruger van Wyk was on the receiving end. Two balls after van Wyk got a thick outside edge over the slips off Philander, the fast bowler walked towards the batsman, stared him down and had a few words. The next ball was short and van Wyk defended. More words from Philander. Then, he had the ball to back up the words. A good length delivery that nipped away and beat the outside edge had van Wyk in no doubt about who had won the war of words. Philander did not have to say anything more. The battle was over as soon as the match was, though. Philander and van Wyk hugged and shared a joke as the players shook hands.Incomplete over of the day
South Africa took the new ball to bowl the last over of the match. They had to take four wickets with it and Philander was tasked with the job. Off the second delivery he had an appeal for lbw against Bracewell that was clearly going down leg. And after the third and fourth balls were defended, Graeme Smith pulled the plug on the series and the draw was called. The small Basin Reserve crowd had become more vocal as the day wore on and New Zealand hung on, and they were on their feet at the end – applauding both their batsmen and South Africa bowlers with the same gusto.Visitors of the day
Entry was free at the Basin today but the ground was not very full – an indication of what the hard-working people of Wellington were up to instead of being at the cricket. There was at least one notable figure in attendance though. American rugby player, Eric Fry, who represented the USA at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, was at the ground. Fry is a prop forward and is currently training with the Hurricanes franchise, who are based in Wellington. The other unexpected, but welcome, visitor came in the form of traditional caramel Anzac biscuits, provided to the journalists by one of the local reporter’s wives.

Our correspondent experiences the moods of victory and defeat, courtesy the captains’ press conferences

Abhishek Purohit09-Oct-2012October 1
“School time.” The tuk-tuk driver explains away the heavy early-afternoon traffic. Vans and mini-buses transporting children have choked the road leading to the Colts Cricket Club in Colombo, where Gary Kirsten, South Africa’s coach, is going to hold a press conference ahead of his side’s game against his former side, India. The Indian media still look upon Kirsten as one of their own, in a way. He makes them wait. Even the South Africa team bus has to wade through the same school-time traffic. Kirsten is asked about his opinion on MS Dhoni leaving Virender Sehwag out against Australia. “I am not going to comment on that,” Kirsten says, even before the question is over.Dirk Nannes, from Australia, one of the BBC’s experts for the tournament, arrives carrying a Royal Challengers Bangalore bag to bowl to the South Africa batsmen in the nets. Cricket is truly globalised.October 2

Pakistan are through to the semi-finals. India have been knocked out. You can’t make out anything from Dhoni’s blank face at the press conference. The catch in his voice gives his hurt away, though. Call him defensive, call him whatever, but he is a proud and successful man as well, and tonight he is sorely disappointed. The calls for removing him as captain have already begun back home. Funnily they were not remotely as strident when India were thrashed in eight consecutive overseas Tests in 2011-12.Hungry. It is after midnight. Stop at the luxurious Cinnamon Grand, one of the team hotels, for a bite. I ask for a vegetable sandwich. It takes an age to arrive, and I get two slices of bread with a quarter of a sliced tomato between them. It is the lot of us poor vegetarians.October 3
Have slept for two hours. Can’t be late to record the show with Ian Chappell, Harsha Bhogle and our UK editor, David Hopps. Chappelli is not around. “You are the producer, you are young, though not necessarily fitter. Go find him,” Hopps orders and sledges at the same time. Thankfully Chappelli is not hard to find. And, of course, an absolute riot as he rubbishes modern methods of training, such as playing football.It is boiling hot and humid today in Colombo. Fortunately, an air-conditioned taxi is available. It is a Tata Nano, the famous low-cost Indian small car. Does not take long to get cooled. It’s a breeze to the Premadasa, at a slightly pricier rate than the tuk-tuks. Who needs them? Today, at least.October 4
Farooq and his friend are sitting glumly, heads on hands, elbows on knees, on the grass near the pavement close to the Cinnamon Grand. Farooq has come all the way from Toronto to watch Pakistan play. “We could not even make 140,” he says of Pakistan’s defeat to Sri Lanka in the semi-final. We discuss the frailty of Pakistan’s batting and India’s bowling. “You had Praveen Kumar lead your bowling in England [in 2011]. How on earth did you expect to win?” Farooq admonishes me. He respects Virat Kohli immensely but says it is difficult to like the man. “I want to, but I am unable to,” he says, and repeats Kohli’s choicest Hindi abuse words. We spot Mitchell Starc walk past. Farooq and his friend momentarily forget their disappointment to have snaps clicked with the fast bowler.October 5

Wait at the Cinnamon Grand again, well past midnight, for the teams to arrive after the second semi-final. Miss West Indies. Australia arrive close to 1am. A group of half-drunk Australian fans is waiting, Australia flags and bottles of beer in hand. They cheer every player loudly. Most of them walk past with nods of acknowledgment, some with disappointed faces. Brad Hogg, 41 years young, walks up and high-fives each of the fans. They go inside the hotel, speak to him, have photographs taken. Their night is made. Hogg is still grinning broadly. The man is full of life.”Come join our party”•ICC/GettyMahela Jayawardene walks casually to the entrance of the hotel. Nobody scurries up to him. Nobody clamours for autographs or pictures. Nobody thrusts a mike in his face. There are just quiet glances. Sri Lanka, unlike the rest of the subcontinent, knows how to respect and admire their heroes and not smother them at the same time.October 6
Final round of pre-match press conferences, before the finals. Jodie Fields, the Australia women’s captain, has this endearing half-hopeful, half-worried expression most of the time. Charlotte Edwards, the England captain, is statesman-like in her demeanour. Jayawardene is inevitably asked about the three successive world-event finals Sri Lanka have lost. Darren Sammy talks about getting a motivational message from Clive Lloyd, the only West Indies captain to win a World Cup.Birthday today. Perfect evening to sit in the open-air restaurant of the Galle Face Hotel. Sea Spray, it is called. Aptly named, for it begins right where the waves of the Indian Ocean end. Dark rum and ocean spray. Some combination. There is even an old stone staircase that takes you a few steps down to the waves.October 7
Even after winning the World Twenty20, Fields has the same half-hopeful, half-worried expression at the press conference. Edwards looks spent.Rush to the balcony on the third level of the media building in time for the national anthems. A packed Premadasa stands absolutely still and “Sri Lanka Matha”. Memorable moment.A stunned-looking Jayawardene, articulate always, has no words to explain why Sri Lanka keep losing finals of world events. “It hurts a lot, it really does,” he says in a low voice. Got to feel for the man. “One more thing, guys,” he says at the end of the press conference, and you are reminded of the way Sourav Ganguly announced his international retirement in Nagpur in 2008. Thankfully, Jayawardene only announces he is quitting the T20 captaincy.Sammy looks spent as well, from West Indies’ celebrations. Clutches the trophy proudly. Points to the West Indies crest on his shirt.A decent crowd waits for both teams to arrive at the Cinnamon Grand. They arrive almost simultaneously. Lots of cheering for both. The Sri Lankans walk past quietly. Phillip Spooner, the West Indies media manager, is jumping in the team bus, trophy in hand. He continues in this manner to the hotel. The players are largely subdued. Sunil Narine has a glow on his face. After the wild celebrations at the ground, Chris Gayle has found his expressionless face again. Journalist after television journalist accosts him. He answers everything patiently. Sammy comes along, and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Gayle. “They must already be drunk,” Sammy says of fans back home. Gayle breaks into a wide smile. “Come join our party,” Sammy tells a journalist. West Indies, this party has been long overdue.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from Uva v Yorkshire in the opening Champions League T20 match

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers09-Oct-2012Body blow of the day
Yorkshire’s chase was setting up for a thrilling climax when their chief hope, batsman David Miller had to leave the field with an injury. Miller was attempting a pull off an Umar Gul short ball in the 13th over but edged it into his face, between the grille and peak and immediately went down. The Uva players were at his side, Gul with his arm around Miller, who was bleeding from the nose. He received treatment but had to leave the field with Yorkshire needing 60 to win from 46 balls. Miller sat with an icepack on his face while Dan Hodgson partnered Adil Rashid to take Yorkshire to the brink. Miller returned in the penultimate over to blast Yorkshire to victory with three superb boundary.Head count of the day
It may have been too much to expect South Africans to turn up at the Wanderers to watch a match between an English and a Sri Lankan team on a Tuesday afternoon. Work, school and cricketing fatigue were all contributing factors. But the turn-out was still hugely disappointing. As the teams stepped onto the field, there were more dancers than spectators and it remained that way for most of the afternoon.Surprise tactic of the day
Even though both teams were likely to know very little about each other, Yorkshire decided to throw up an additional curveball as soon as the match started. After choosing to field on a hard, green surface, they handed the ball to Joe Root to open their campaign. Root has been used regularly to bowl Yorkshire’s first T20 over but with little success – an economy of nine-an-over and only two wickets. Bowling on a non-turning surface to accomplished players of spin also did not prove too successful as Bhanuka Rajapaksa drove him through the covers for four. Root did not bowl again.The perfect response
Rajapaksa’s treatment of the Yorkshire bowlers did not end there. He greeted Adil Rashid’s long-hop with a glorious pull over the midwicket boundary which was hit so hard that the ball was found to be out of shape. Rashid responded with a flat, straight delivery that Rajapaksa backed away to hit to the off side but moved too far found his leg stump pegged back.Namesake of the day
This year’s CLT20 is one of the few 20-over competitions which does not feature Chris Gayle. Although he is not here, the qualifying teams still found a way to conjure up his reputation. Andrew Gale had comments about his name circling the press box (which was also fuller than the stands) and the enthusiasm grew when he hit Jacob Oram for back-to-back fours. But unlike Gayle-with-a-“y”, he did not last much longer and was stumped after charging Sachita Senanayake in the next over.

Plays of the day from the fifth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at P Sara Oval

Andrew Fernando at the P Sara Oval29-Nov-2012The mix-up
Sri Lanka’s overnight pair had negotiated the early overs without much worry, but they concocted trouble of their own to see the downfall of one of their most experienced batsman. Thilan Samaraweera pushed a Doug Bracewell delivery to cover and set off immediately for a quick single. Perhaps not expecting to scamper runs at this stage in the game, Angelo Mathews was slow to respond at the other end, and as he saw Jeetan Patel swooping in on the ball, he decided to send Samaraweera back. By that stage though, his partner was too far down the track, and his cause was not helped by an extremely slow stop-and-turn that resembled the Titanic trying to avoid the iceberg. Samaraweera was run out by a good two metres.The eager cricketers
Knowing conditions were unlikely to allow them to bowl all the scheduled overs in the day, New Zealand’s cricketers were extra eager to resume their hunt for wickets after lunch, and took the field minutes before the scheduled restart. They had even assumed their fielding positions before the umpires arrived. Sri Lanka’s batsmen were predictably last to come to the middle, two minutes late.The delivery
When Mathews was batting alongside Prasanna Jayawardene, it seemed as though only the new ball would be able to part them. New Zealand’s seamers struggled to get much out of the aging ball on a wearing pitch, and the spinners didn’t get much help from the surface either. But almost out of the blue, debutant Todd Astle produced the ball of the day to dismiss Jayawardene, when he drifted one in then got it to leap off the pitch, turning away. Jayawardene presented a firm defence, but as the ball had bounced more than he had anticipated, it took the edge, high up on the bat, and broke the partnership.The double dive
So keyed up were New Zealand to complete the win that when no. 11 Rangana Herath gloved a short ball from Trent Boult into the off side, two fielders came in and leapt forward, despite the fact that neither of them had a hope of getting there. Brendon McCullum ran forward from third slip and Tim Southee from backward point and the pair performed a futile synchronised dive almost side-by-side, before getting up and smiling it off.