Using swing, movement, pace and precision, Zaheer Khan destroyed Sri Lanka’s batting

Sidharth Monga in Margao14-Feb-2007

Running in full steam, with the knowledge that things are going for him, and a worked-up crowd to boot, is a scary sight © GNNphoto
Eleven minutes before the start of play today, Zaheer Khan walked out of the dressing room, tape in hand, and Greg King, the team trainer, alongside him. They spent a considerable while marking Zaheer’s run-up at both ends with the help of the tape, measuring it to perfection; a couple of hours later, the result was for all to see. Zaheer’s 10 overs of pace, precision, movement and swing gave him figures of 5 for 42 and his burst at the start of Sri Lanka’s innings – 2.2-0-3-3 – decided the course of the match.It was his first ODI five-wicket haul and he was naturally pleased with himself at the post-match press conference. “I hit the length early”, he said, explaining his phenomenal bowling. “In the subcontinent, the ball does something for the bowlers in the first half an hour. So if you bowl in the right areas, you definitely get the rewards.”Easier said than done, of course, as is his continued dominance of left-handed batsmen. Having recently tormented Graeme Smith and Sourav Ganguly, he took out the top three Sri Lankan left-hand batsmen today. First was Sanath Jayasuriya – still dangerous at 37 – who could not free his arms to pull an accurate bouncer. Upul Tharanga got a mean in-cutter and played late from the back foot. Kumar Sangakkara, who scored a century in the last match, was also found late on an incoming delivery and played it on to the base of the stumps.”I think I’m able to bowl both my deliveries to left-handers”, he said, explaining his edge. “The one that comes in and the one that goes away.”Later in the innings, when Sri Lanka had semi-recovered from his early strikes, Zaheer returned to thwart any chances of a late surge. At the death he bowled with imagination, accuracy and, most importantly, with success. The last three overs cost him 11 runs and brought him two wickets to complete his five-for and bag him him the man-of-the-match award too.He is one of two high-profile players making a comeback return in the past few months and his return has been overshadowed by that of Sourav Ganguly, yet Zaheer has quietly and surely made the most difference to India’s performance. The comeback has not come without hard work; he put in the hard yards in county and domestic cricket to earn his call-up. “It’s been a long season for me,” Zaheer said, before pointing out the positives in that. “I have been able to hit the length consistently because I have bowled so many overs. I have been able to keep up the match fitness and practice. I have kept the rhythm going because I haven’t taken any break for the last one year now.”Zaheer is an impact bowler. Bowling a tight line and length just to stifle the batsmen probably bores him; long spells to tie the batsmen down is not his forte. The way he announced himself at the international stage with yorker to Steve Waugh at the ICC Knockout in 2000 testifies to his liking for the big occasion. Running in full steam, with the knowledge that things are going for him, and a worked-up crowd to boot, is a scary sight. The way he looks at the batsmen from the corner of his eye just before the big leap, the way he demands – not seeks – lbw decisions by just running off after trapping a batsman, with one hand facing the umpire, only looking back as an afterthought or a formality, adds to the intimidating effect.Yet only a few months ago, his attitude was being questioned. Four years ago, in the final of the last World Cup, he choked in that first over. And if he was indeed out of the team, as speculated, for attitude problems, he has shown through simple practices – like coming out well before the match to mark his run-up – to show he is a changed man. He now has a second bite at the cherry; you can bet he’ll make it last.

Though West Indies hold a 52-38 overall advantage in Tests, England have won ten of the last 12

S Rajesh17-May-2007

West Indies still hold a 52-38 advantage in Tests against England, but since 2000 they’ve seen their lead whittled away quite alarmingly: in the last 12 Tests between the two teams, England have won ten, while two have been drawn. West Indies’ last victory was in June 2000, when they thrashed England by
by an innings and 93 runs at Edgbaston. (Click here for a summary of all England-West Indies Test series.)England will go into the series as favourites, and they won’t mind beginning the series at Lord’s either. The venue used to be an unlucky one for them: they lost 11 Tests and won four from 1984 to 1999, but the tide has turned in the new decade – they’ve won eight of their last 14 Tests here. (Click here for England’s results in all Lord’s Tests.) Lord’s has been a good venue for them against West Indies too – there was a period from 1963 to 1991 when England didn’t win a single Test against them at Lord’s, but since then they’ve won three in a row, including the last time in 2004 by a whopping 210 runs.Thanks to their pre-eminence in the decades gone by, though, West Indies hold most of the records in Tests between the two teams: the six top run-scorers and the seven top wicket-takers are all West Indians. Garry Sobers leads the run-getters’ chart with an aggregate of 3214 at an average of over 60, while Curtly Ambrose is on top of the bowlers’ ladder with 164 wickets at 18.79. (In fact Ambrose is the only non-Australian bowler to take more than 150 wickets against a specific opposition team; three Australians – Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Dennis Lillee – have achieved it, all against England.)Fortunately for England, the current crop of West Indians won’t evoke such fear. Ramnaresh Sarwan leads a team whose credentials aren’t exactly top-drawer – to start with, he himself hasn’t flourished in English conditions, averaging only 35.83 in 14 Test innings in England. The two other regulars in the West Indian batting line-up who have experience of playing in England before are Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle, and both have done much better, though: Chanderpaul averages 58.54 in 14 Test innings in England, but less than 35 against them at home; similarly, Gayle averages 44 in England, and only 26 against them in the West Indies.Gayle’s opening partner, Daren Ganga, hasn’t played a Test in England yet, but their combination at the top of the order has been pretty successful: they are the second-most successful opening pair for West Indies, in terms of partnership runs in Tests. They’ve put together 1627 runs at an average of 42.81, and are second only to the Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes combination, which scored 6482 runs in Tests at an average of 47.31.England’s players are coming off a poor World Cup and a 5-0 drubbing in the Ashes, but they can heart from their recent domination of West Indies. Like England, Andrew Flintoff, their talismanic figure, has been in awful form too, but if his past record is anything to go by, he too should relish the opportunity to face West Indies – Flintoff averages 51.25 with the bat and 24.69 with the ball against them.The two other fast bowlers in the England attack will have fond memories of playing against West Indies too – Steve Harmison had a wretched Ashes series, but he’s back in form, as is evident from his 27 wickets in four first-class matches this season, and West Indies better beware: in eight Tests against them, Harmison has nabbed 40 wickets at 21.10 apiece, almost ten runs better than his career average. Matthew Hoggard hasn’t done badly either, his 29 wickets against West Indies coming at an average of 29.89. Among the three experienced West Indian batsmen batsmen, only Gayle has a good overall record against Harmison, Hoggard and Flinoff.

The West Indian pace attack pale in comparison. Among the frontline fast bowlers, Corey Collymore and Fidel Edwards are the only ones to have played Tests against England, and both have struggled: Collymore has managed nine wickets in seven Tests at an average of 63, while Edwards’s 13 wickets have come at more than 50 apiece. A bigger threat might be Dwayne Bravo, whose 16 wickets in four Tests have come at an impressive average of 26.

We’ve seen plenty of pendulum swings over the last three days but that’s only because when you expect a team to take the bull by the horns, they wave the red rag instead.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Delhi24-Nov-2007

Several years from now, when memories fade and mainly highlights packages remain, this match will probably be recounted as a classic. In terms of gripping the spectator it could, by the end, sit alongside the 1999 Chennai classic. Just when there was talk about India v Pakistan lacking the usual spice, we have a potential humdinger.What is different, though, is the nature of the contest. Several factors go into making a Test match exciting and the one big reason why this game has been allowed to veer into thrilling territory is this: both sides have given up the advantage far too often, far too easily.The pitch hasn’t thrown up a single demon – its lethargic nature continues to confound. The bowling attacks have been hardworking but not menacing enough to merit scores of 231, 276 and 212 for 5. The pendulum has swung wildly over the last three days but that’s only because a team positioned to take the bull by the horns waves the red rag instead.India’s batting approach this morning summed it up. They began the day three runs behind Pakistan and soon saw their position firm up. VVS Laxman swished his wrists, batting with no sign of discomfort, and Anil Kumble provided support. They overcame the early threat, saw the overcast conditions clear, and got themselves into a solid position. Shoaib Akhtar’s grunts were getting louder, Sohail Tanvir was trying slower balls, Danish Kaneria was regularly looking up to the heavens, and Shoaib Malik spent time between overs chewing his finger-nails. Only one team was ahead and it had the chance to drive home that advantage.

That was precisely when India dropped the baton. It’s difficult to fault anyone at this point – Kumble got a fine legbreak that kicked from a length – but what happened after was recklessness. The last year has shown India’s tailenders can be relied on – Laxman and Zaheer
Khan added 70 at the Wanderers, Laxman and Sreesanth added 52 at Durban, and the tail played a big part in drawing the Lord’s Test in June.Today’s effort, though, was tragic-comic in comparison. Harbhajan Singh moved across and left his leg stump exposed and Zaheer slashed wildly at a ball after depositing Kaneria for a six. Laxman faced just six balls after Kumble fell and Munaf didn’t last longer than one.Somewhere along the line one must wonder if Laxman is a misfit at No. 6. Unlike Misbah-ul-Haq, he isn’t an improviser, unlike Andrew Symonds he isn’t a big hitter, and, unlike Chamara Silva, isn’t a hare between wickets. Neither does he farm the strike. He seems to belong to Steve Waugh’s trust-your-partner school of tail-end batting and doesn’t seem to
change his game according to who is at the other end. It would be harsh to blame him here, especially after playing a potentially match-winning knock, but India need to ponder this question. Is he being kept for too late? Can Sourav Ganguly, a more aggressive batsman who’s left-handedness can work well with the right-handed tail, work better there?Pakistan played their part later in the day, letting slip the advantage provided by a solid opening stand, but India were to have the last word. It’s 161 for 5, Pakistan effectively 116 ahead, and India have their chance to pick up their sixth wicket. Misbah has
been foxed by a Kumble faster one, poking tentatively to short leg, offering India a chance to wrap it all up.But sorry. India can’t be bad hosts. Wasim Jaffer muffs up the catch, sees the ball rebound off his chest and muffs it up again. It’s not the first time India’s close-in fielding has let them down recently and is unlikely to be the last. It set up an exciting Test for the neutral but squandered a golden position for India.

Sixteen-year-old Adil Raza has stepped up to the responsibility of being Pakistan’s pace spearhead at the Under-19 World Cup

George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur25-Feb-2008
Adil Raza has been the pick of the Pakistan bowlers © Getty Images
Pakistan’s lavishly talented new-ball attacks have set the Under-19 WorldCup alight in recent tournaments: Riaz Afridi finished near the top of the wickets table in 2004, and the trio of Anwar Ali, Jamshed Ahmed and Akhtar Ayub sensationally dismissed India for 71 while defending 109 to retain the trophy in 2006. Inevitably, their squad for 2008 had a potent pairing as well,formed by Mohammad Aamer and Adil Raza.However, that partnership has been on view only once in the World Cup,when Pakistan destroyed Malaysia for 75 with Raza taking 6 for 29 andAamer 3 for 12. Since then, Aamer has been hospitalised with a denguevirus and will not play any further part in the World Cup. His absence hasadded to Raza’s responsibility and, encouragingly for Pakistan, he hasstepped up and delivered. Raza is only 16 and is the thirdhighest wicket-taker in the tournament so far with 11 at 8 runsapiece. His first-over dismissals of both the Australian openers for ducksplayed a significant role in Pakistan qualifying for the semi-finals.The quarter-final against Australia was Pakistan’s first game at theKinrara Oval, and the conditions were different from those in Johor, where theyplayed their group matches. Imad Wasim, the Pakistan captain, said thatthe pitches in Johor were wet and Raza agreed that there was far moreassistance for the fast bowlers there.”There was more moisture in the pitches in Johor for about 20 overs so theball moves a lot,” Raza said. “Here there is moisture for about 5-7 overs and after that it’s a flat wicket.”My plan was to first check what the conditions are like, get an idea ofhow much the ball is swinging and bowl accordingly. If the ball was moving[off the pitch] too much then I try to make the batsmen come on the frontfoot, and if it doesn’t move much I try to keep the batsmen in thecrease.”Evidently he did not take long to understand the conditions at the Kinrara, forhe induced an edge from the left-handed Phillip Hughes with his third ball and trappedMarcus Stoinis lbw with his sixth. Both deliveries were sharp offcutters, which Raza calls his “main ball”, one that he learnt from Mohammad Asif during a three-month stint at the National Cricket Academy in Pakistan.Demonstrating his technique for the delivery, Raza says that the secret ofthe incutter is getting the wrist position right, and one can’t help butnotice the ring finger on his right hand is oddly shaped. The portionafter the DIP joint (the joint closest to the fingertip) is almost at aright-angle to the rest of the finger.”I injured my finger when I was four,” Raza said. “It got jammed in a doorbut I can grip the ball well because of this finger. It helps support theseam position.”While several U-19 cricketers in this tournament have said that theymade their first forays into the game at the ages of nine and ten, Raza,who is from Gujranwala, started relatively late. It’s been only threeyears since he began playing seriously.”When India came to Pakistan after the previous U-19 World Cup, Raza justcame for the trials and was selected because he was the best among the lot,”Mansoor Rana, the Pakistan U-19 coach, said. “He had not played anydistrict or regional cricket before that. Raza was one of the finds of theyear but he got injured and didn’t play against India.”Raza made his U-19 limited-overs debut in the last of five one-dayersagainst Australia in October 2007 and scalped 4 for 36. He remembered thathe had bowled Kumar Sarna, who opened for Australia in that match and fell to Raza intoday’s quarter-final as well. Since then he has gone on to represent Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. “I played four matches this season and took 18 wickets which included Faisal Iqbal and Wajatullah Wasti.”Ironically, Raza said that he began as a batsman and batted at No. 6 or7 in the line-up. “When I was a batsman nobody used to play me in theteam. There was a senior called Adnan Farooq who made me understand that Ibowl well and that’s when I started working on my bowling. Then peoplestarted taking an interest in me.”Several Pakistan bowlers have turned heads at the Under-19 World Cup butfew have gone on to establish themselves in the national team. Afridi, astar in 2004, made his Test debut that same year but hasn’t played since.Ali, Ahmed and Ayub from the class of 2006 are active on the first-classcircuit but haven’t taken the next step yet.”There’s a big gap,” Mansoor said. “Apart from exceptions such as WasimAkram, Javed Miandad and Salim Malik, who played right after U-19,cricketers need to play two to four years of first-class cricket to mature.” Razahas at least one more opportunity to perform in front of a world-wide televisionaudience before he slips back into the rigours of domestic cricket.

An expertly compiled collection of Allen’s letters home from the Ashes tour of 1936-37 does nothing to enhance his reputation

Stephen Fay06-Apr-2008


The letters ‘have lasted rather longer than Allen’s reputation’ © The Cricketer International
Gubby Allen, the autocrat of the Lord’s Long Room, was known as “Gubby” because his initials were GOB. His family knew him as “Obie”;that is how he signed letters to his mother and father written when he was England captain during the Ashes tour of 1936-37.That series was won by Australia after they had lost the first two Tests, and it is probably best known for Allen’s response when Walter Robins dropped Don Bradman: “It has probably cost us the rubber, but don’t give it a thought,” he said. If the catch had been dropped in the third Test, Allen’s cruel jibe might have been true, but Brian Rendell tells us that the exchange took place in the second Test, which means it had no decisive bearing on the outcome of the series.But the remark is authentic Allen. Rendell’s slim and revealing volume shows Allen as a master of self-pity, quick to complain about having to make too many speeches and not being free to attend parties given by his Australian relations and their posh friends. He was a control freak who insisted that he chose and ran the team and then moaned when they lost. “I think we were a rotten side,” he concluded. He seems to have been happiest when he left the team behind and partied with film actors in Hollywood at the end of the tour.Rendell tells the story of a fascinating and frustrating tour plainly and well, letting details from the letters bolster the narrative. This leads to some duplication but the full text of the letters does Allen’s posthumous standing no good. He describes the aboriginals at station stops on the Nullarbor Plain: “They really are a ghastly sight and the sooner they die out the better.” They have lasted rather longer than Allen’s reputation.

Andrew Symonds has got all the breaks and, although they haven’t, West Indies have every right to complain

Tony Cozier13-Jun-2008

Rod Stewart would have had something entirely different in mind when writing the lyrics to one of his several hits but they are equally applicable to cricket, especially in the present series. The chorus line went:

“Some guys have all the luck
Some guys have all the pain
Some guys get all the breaks
Some guys do nothing but complain”.

From the second day of the first Test at Sabina Park to the first day of the third at Kensington Oval yesterday, Andrew Symonds has been the guy with all the luck, the West Indies bowlers those with all the pain. The dreadlocked Australian has got all the breaks and, although they haven’t, West Indies have every right to complain. Three times, the umpires have been involved. Occasionally, fielders have given him the chance. And so it was again yesterday. Symonds has always been good enough to take advantage and to change the course of an innings that was in danger of imploding.In the first innings at Sabina, Australia had slid from the first-day security of 301 for 4 to 372 for 7 at lunch. First ball on resumption, Fidel Edwards bent a late inswinger into Symonds’ pads and only umpire Russell Tiffin could not detect that the ball was zeroing in on middle and leg stumps. Symonds was on 18 at the time. He proceeded to carry Australia to 431, unbeaten on 70 when the last wicket fell.In the second innings in Antigua, unconvinced umpire Mark Benson ruled him not out on his leg-side catch off the glove to Denesh Ramdin off Dwayne Bravo when still in single figures. He finished unbeaten on 43.On Thursday, Chris Gayle’s catch off Simon Katich’s swirling top-edged hook off Edwards left Australia lurching at 111 for 5 in the fifth over after lunch. As Symonds entered the arena, arms swinging in preparation for battle, West Indies might have had troubling memories of recent escapes. Their fears were quickly realised.He was on seven when he cut fiercely at Bravo. The bounce from a sprightlier surface than Sabina and the graveyard in Antigua sent the ball flying off the top edge and through the right hand of the flying Xavier Marshall at second slip.From the start, West Indies had identified Symonds’ weakness as an uncontrolled glide off his hip. To exploit it, Chris Gayle posted a fielder at leg-slip. Bravo soon sprung the trap, inducing a deflection from the glove, just as he had done in Antigua. The outcome was the same, Benson again failing to be convinced of the claim for Denesh Ramdin’s catch. Symonds was on 14, Australia 133 for 5.One reprieve was as crucial as the other. On previous evidence, West Indies would have known what would follow. Symonds, undeterred by the booing of the few West Indians scattered among the hundreds of touring Australian supporters, took control in a partnership of 87 with Brad Haddin that shifted the direction of the innings.Eventually, Symonds drove loosely at the persevering Bravo and Sewnarine Chattergoon pouched the catch at extra cover. The damage was not as major as it might have been but it made the difference between the end of play total and an all-out 170 or so.
Yes, some guys have all the luck and others have all the pain.

Most of India’s Test regulars are likely to be the picked in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy match against Delhi, the reigning Ranji Trophy champions

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Sep-2008
This season’s Rest of India squad will be very different from the one that played in the last, given that most of India’s Test regulars are likely to feature © Cricinfo Ltd
Most of India’s Test regulars are likely to be picked in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy match against Delhi, the reigning Ranji Trophy champions. With India not playing any international cricket till the Australia Test series next month, the selectors will probably choose the best XIV for the domestic season opener from September 24-28.Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain, is likely to lead a strong squad; the last time most Test players featured in the Irani Trophy was in 2003-04, when the Sourav Ganguly-led Rest of India beat a Mumbai side led by Sachin Tendulkar. Usually, the selectors use the Irani Trophy as a platform for upcoming talent to display their prowess, but this time they are averse to including new faces since the match will be the ideal warm-up for India’s players before the first Test against Australia, which begins in Bangalore on October 9. In all probability, they will retain the Test side, with replacements for the players from Delhi – Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma.The players representing India A in the ongoing series against Australia A are unlikely to be considered, since they’ll have more opportunities to play for the A side: besides the three-day games against Australia A, they will also be involved in a tri-series against the A teams from Australia and New Zealand. The one exception could be Robin Uthappa, who is in the A team but could make it to the Rest of India squad in the absence of Test openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik are the other contenders for the openers’ slots. If he makes the cut, Jaffer can count himself lucky since he was dropped from the Test team after a dismal run which fetched him just 175 runs in his last 11 innings.Rest of India (probable)Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma.Karthik, who’s also the team’s second-choice wicketkeeper after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, had cemented his Test place as a regular opener after showing patience and character in challenging conditions during the England tour last year. However, two poor Tests in the subsequent series against Pakistan cost him his place at the top of the order. Karthik got another opportunity – as a wicketkeeper-batsman at No. 7 – when Dhoni opted out of the recent Test series in Sri Lanka. However, after just 36 runs in two Tests, he was dropped in favour of Parthiv Patel for the third and final Test. A good performance here could help one of the openers seal their place in the Test squad as a back-up for Sehwag and Gambhir.The rest of the batting order will probably see no changes. Sachin Tendulkar has declared himself fit for the match, and is likely to play in the middle order alongside Rahul Dravid, Ganguly and VVS Laxman. The likes of Mohammad Kaif, S Badrinath and Yuvraj Singh will have to wait for another chance.The bowling line-up, too, is set to remain unchanged with the exception of Ishant Sharma, who was declared fit by the NCA physio, and now can play for Delhi. Zaheer Khan will most likely share the new ball with Munaf Patel, and RP Singh will be picked as the the third seamer. Pragyan Ojha will be the third spinner along with Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.The selectors, who will meet in Mumbai on Monday, will also pick the India A squad for the tri-series against the A sides from Australia and New Zealand.

Twenty20 is guaranteed its place in this money-obsessed age, but cricket can ill-afford to have Test cricket, the purest form, on the back burner

Mike King 14-Oct-2008

Twenty20 cricket, with its huge financial enticement, is coming to the West Indies in a few weeks’ time.The date is set for November 1 and the location for the drives and pulls is Antigua. But who are going to be the real stars for this blockbuster cricket match which is offering a prize purse of US$20 million? What is this Stanford 20/20 winner-take-all bonanza really about?There can be no player development in a three-hour exhibition match. This is really about entertainment, enlarging the bank balance of a few players and promoting the image of the sponsor.Sir Allen Stanford, the imposing Texan billionaire with a truckload of spare cash to invest in cricket, thinks the shorter format, and not the Test version, will help popularise and increase revenues for the game. He believes Twenty20 can generate revenue through television in a way that will allow cricketers to be rewarded as well as other professionals.He has got one thing right. Cricket needs more people coming through the turnstiles and Twenty20 has brought out the fans in droves.However, Sir Allen, first and foremost, is a businessman whose priority is promoting himself and his companies. The traditionalists among us know fully well that Test cricket is still the greatest form of the game, and the plan should be to make it more attractive to the public through having more sporting pitches and evenly-matched teams.The truth is, some Test cricket is boring and lacking in genuine quality. We can bite the bullet and introduce innovations such as day-night Tests. There is nothing new in the concept of floodlit Tests – Kerry Packer tried them out with limited success during his World Series Cricket revolution – but could it bring another dimension to the game where it seems only the Ashes series is still afforded five matches?At the end of the day, though, the game needs quality and bonafide stars more so than experiments.Twenty20 is guaranteed its place in this money-obsessed age, but cricket can ill-afford to have Test cricket, the purest form, on the back burner.Whether we refer to them as the Stanford Superstars or the West Indies, if they win next month’s millionaire stakes, all we will have when the script is written is a cast of cricketers with deep pockets and large egos but still short in quality and still ranked eighth in the world. No amount of millions will change that overnight.

Stats highlights from the first day’s play between India and Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad

Siddhartha Talya16-Nov-2009 India’s 385 for 6 on the first day in Ahmedabad is their second-highest total in a single day of a Test. They fell one short of the 386 against South Africa, which they achieved on the third day of the Chennai Test in 2008. On a flat deck, they reached 468 for 1 at stumps after beginning the day on 82 without loss. Earlier this year, India managed 375 for 9 on the opening day of the third Test against New Zealand in Wellington, their second-highest overseas total in a day, behind the 378 against England on the third day of the Oval Test in 1936. (They began the day on 156 for 3, were bowled out for 222 and made 312 during the follow-on).Rahul Dravid’s 27th Test century was only his second against Sri Lanka in 15 Tests. He’s edged ahead of Mahela Jayawardene and Garry Sobers – who have 26 Test centuries to their name – in the list of players with most hundreds in Test cricket.Dravid, upon getting to 177, reached 11,000 runs in Test cricket, the fifth batsman, and the second Indian, to do so. He is now fourth on the list of highest run-getters in all cricket (Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals) with 21,765.Dravid also reached a personal best of most runs scored in a single day of a Test. He went past the 156 (43 to 199) he scored against Australia on the third day of the Adelaide Test in 2003 during his epic 233.Dravid was involved in two century stands today, with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, which took his Test tally to 78 and stretched his lead against Ricky Ponting (who has 75) by three. Ponting reached 75 by being involved in five century-stands this year; Dravid, too, has five to his name in 2009, but in fewer Tests – four, as opposed to Ponting’s nine. Sachin Tendulkar is third on the list of batsmen with most century-stands, 71, followed by Steve Waugh (64).The 224-run sixth wicket stand with Dhoni was Dravid’s 12th in excess of 200. It ranks No.3 in the highest sixth-wicket stands for India, overtaking Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin’s 222 against South Africa in Cape Town in 1997.Dhoni’s 159-ball 110 was only his second century in 38 Tests, and his first in more than three years. Among Indian batsmen who have played 40 or fewer Tests with more than 2000 runs, only two other batsmen have done worse: Chetan Chauhan and Ajit Wadekar. However, Dhoni’s career is still ongoing unlike most others in the list.Dravid was his most aggressive against the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, Chanaka Welegedara, scoring 44 off 40 balls. He took Muttiah Muralitharan for 45 off 61, and was most watchful against Angelo Mathews, who conceded 26 off 45. Dhoni was harsh on Dammika Prasad, scoring 26 off 24, but was eventually dismissed by him. He took the two frontline spinners, Murali and Rangana Herath, for 66 in 106.

Picking cricket’s 100 all-time greats might be an excruciating business, but it is also a lot of fun

Stephen Fay08-Aug-2009Christopher Martin-Jenkins’ introduction to the latest list of the top 100 cricketers is apologetic. He names all 129 candidates he has left out and observes that being a selector is an invitation to be ridiculed, a bit like being a politician or going out to face Dennis Lillee (ranked 19th) on a drying pitch in Melbourne in 1977. On the contrary. Cricket’s list-makers are blessed because they give us a game to play when it is raining and on winter nights when it seems as if summer will never come.Each selection is accompanied by a 500-word essay and these are best when CMJ injects a personal note, as with Maurice Tate. (The author’s PE teacher came into the school dormitory after bedtime to speak in hushed tones about the great man after he died.)The list gives us a snapshot of the rise and fall of the historical reputations of cricketers, and the good news is that five of CMJ’s top 15 have played in the 21st century. Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan are still active. The other three were members of the great Australian steamroller – Shane Warne, highest placed at No. 4, Adam Gilchrist (10) and Glenn McGrath (13).Compare that with the similar list compiled in 1998 by CMJ’s predecessor as cricket correspondent of the , John
Woodcock, who elected only two active players into the top 15 – Warne, even then, at No. 13, and Ian Botham, still a vivid memory, at No. 9. Sir Ian drops to 18 in CMJ’s book, the same position he occupies in a list drawn up in 2006 by the Australian sportswriter Geoff Armstrong, and well down from No. 6 in the 1999 effort by Nick Brownlee.Woodcock, aka the Sage of Longparish, was particularly sageist in his selection of a 19th-century stalwart, Alfred Mynn, as high as fourth, along with Hambledon cricketers such as Billy Beldham and John Small. CMJ’s earliest entries are Australian fast
bowlers: the Demon Spofforth and CTB Turner. Within his 100 are 24 Australians, 33 English players and 15 West Indians. A third of his selections captained their country.The Sage is the only one of the four selectors to place WG Grace above Don Bradman at No.1. I long for the list that finally tests to destruction the assumption of Grace’s superiority over, say, Arthur Shrewsbury. Grace averaged 32.29 in Tests compared with 35.47 for Shrewsbury. But are not Jack Hobbs (CMJ’s No. 5) and Wally Hammond (8) better cricketers than Grace? And why, apart from the lingering power of the Victorian publicity machine, does CB Fry appear in these lists at all (80 for CMJ, 54 for the Sage and 45 for Brownlee; though Armstrong ignores him)?Only two of CMJ’s top 10 are bowlers, but his list reflects a fascination with fast bowlers, particularly when they come in pairs. We have Walsh (92) and Ambrose (51), Statham (89) and Trueman (22), Holding (85) and Marshall (11), Waqar (36) and
Wasim (34), Lindwall (31) and Miller (16). No Lillee and Thomson, however, because CMJ has no room for Thommo. No Thommo. No Alan Davidson or Mike Procter, or Joel Garner and Andy Roberts. Christopher, how could you?He confesses that he has had to leave out his own favourites, Tom Graveney, Derek Randall and Lindsay Hassett. But what the hell. It’s only a game.The Top 100 Cricketers of All Time
by Christopher Martin-Jenkins
Corinthian Books, hb, 304pp, £14.99