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Alex Kervezee is a very rare breed indeed: a gifted, young Associates batsman – so talented, in fact, that Worcestershire swooped to secure him at a positively cherubic 16

Will Luke in Dublin10-Jul-2007

“The future’s bright. The future’s Orange,” so say the French Telecom
giant. The same cannot, as yet, be said for Netherlands – in spite of
their fluorescent uniform. Today they were bowled out for just
80 by a strong West Indies at a distinctly autumnal Dublin. Indeed,
for one of their young batsmen, the future’s not so much orange as
pear green – or possibly even blue.Alexei Kervezee is a very rare breed indeed: a gifted, young Associates
batsman – so talented, in fact, that Worcestershire swooped to secure
him at a positively cherubic 16. He’s playing for their Seconds these
days but, still so young – he turns 18 in September – he has plenty of
time on his hands. And like many of his peers among the Associates who have
opted to switch allegiance – Ed Joyce has played for England, and
hot on his heels is Eoin Morgan – does Kervezee have an eye on the
three lions?”Well,” he told Cricinfo, pausing, perhaps unsure of how to answer,
but a wry grin gives it away before a more emphatic “yes” answers the
question. “It is my goal to eventually play for England, yes. I’m
currently contracted to Holland. If I get the opportunity to play for
England, it’s something I will definitely consider.”Kervezee’s situation is tricky, but by no means unique. He is
contracted to Netherlands, but also to Worcestershire. Which of
the two take precedent when they each clamber for his services? “It’s
an arrangement with Worcestershire and the national team,” he
explains. “But if Worcestershire need me, I won’t be released. If
there are games that aren’t that important, they’ll release me.”It is a worrying sign for the Associate nations that county cricket holds more sway for a
young professional – professional being the operative word – but it’s a trend that won’t abate any time soon. Counties offer a future that the likes of the Netherlands cannot, and at the moment, the future is with the pears of Worcestershire and the lions of England.”Money can’t help that much,” Kervezee said of the problems facing
Netherlands cricket on the whole. “The problem is with the youngsters
[in the country]…it’s not a really well-known sport in Holland. If
you want to see kids going to the cricket, it’s purely by chance.”How did he get into the game then? “I was born in Namibia and lived in
South Africa for 11 years. When I was 12, or thereabouts, I moved to
Holland and played for a club.” He is almost certain that had he spent his
formative years in Holland as opposed to the sport-crazed South
Africa, he’d either be playing soccer or nothing at all. And when he
elaborates on the help and support Worcestershire have provided
him, the lure of a county contract for someone so young is plain to see.”They have been a great help to me so far,” he says. “Technically, but
also becoming a person too. Personality-wise, I used to be very quiet.
I wouldn’t say I’m a loud mouth now, but I talk to people more. I’ve
matured.”Just talking to the players, in general [has helped]. People like
Steve Rhodes, well, they’re your coach so inevitably you look up to
him. It’s more hanging out with people like Graeme Hick, Ben Smith –
and they help with anything. You ask them questions at the right time
and they’re very willing and accommodating.”Almost as soon as Kervezee stepped out to field, Chris Gayle and Devon Smith walloped the required 81 in just 15 overs. What exactly have he and his team-mates learned from this experience, other than they are some distance short of the required standard? The future may not be orange, but at least – for Kervezee – it’s bright.

After the misery of Sydney, Perth provided an enthralling and rewarding day of Test cricket when the focus returned to the contest between bat and ball

Sambit Bal at the WACA16-Jan-2008

It was in keeping with the script of the day that Rahul Dravid played an uncharacteristic swipe to effect his dismissal and tilt the momentum, in fine balance at that point, in Australia’s favour. After the misery of Sydney, Perth provided an enthralling and rewarding day of Test cricket when the focus returned to the contest between bat and ball.It didn’t quite pan out as expected, though. The build-up to the Test had been breathless with everyone from the curator to former players to newcomers talking up Perth’s restoration to its former fiery glory. The speed gun kept crossing 150 when Brett Lee had the new ball but, one hour into the second session, the field placements told the story.Mitchell Johnson had gone back to his run-denying line, a foot or two outside the off stump with a seven-two field; Shaun Tait returned to bowl with point on the fence; Ricky Ponting stood at short mid-on to Andrew Symonds’ gentle medium-pacers. By tea, Symonds and Michael Clarke were bowling spin at both ends. Even the breeze was blowing in the wrong direction, from south-east instead of south-west.But drama wasn’t lacking. Virender Sehwag announced his return to Tests with a series of swishes that got India off to an explosive start, Brett Lee then bowled an outstanding spell to bring Australia back, only for two batting masters, playing in contrasting manners, to take over.Rahul Dravid’s struggle in the earlier matches has been one of the most fascinating stories of the series. A man of lesser character would have wilted, but the manner in which Dravid has battled his way back, over by over, innings by innings, should be an inspiration to anyone struggling with form. He had the good fortune of being dropped early today but with the innings’ progression emerged the man who scored 619 runs in his previous series here.The manner of his dismissal will dominate the reports tomorrow and it will perhaps grate him the most but in the circumstances and in the context of the match, he played a splendid innings. As always, he was assured against the short ball, either swaying away or getting on the top of the ball and dropping it down, but the key to succeeding on bouncy pitches often lies in how a batsman responds to the full ball and Dravid’s driving through the covers and down the wicket was flawless. It would have been a century to cherish and perhaps the anxiety to get to it quickly induced that stroke.Of course he was indebted to Sachin Tendulkar, who is now batting as well as he ever has. His innings was constructed as much on skill as on cleverness. His greatness is based on balance and versatility and today he displayed both. The Australians had apparently spotted a weakness in his response to the short ball, and it was clear from the beginning not too many would be offered for him to drive. And so he devised his response.

A few of his early slashes would fool late-comers into thinking Sehwag was still at the crease but followers of Indian cricket would remember it was Tendulkar who showed the way at Bloemfontein in 2001, when Sehwag was a wide-eyed apprentice. Today, if the ball was short and outside off stump, it was evident that Tendulkar would try to hit over the slips for four. A couple of his slashes were edged but the ball was never in danger of being caught. The best of them, though, was manufactured almost after the ball had passed his nose. A short one from Lee followed him as Tendulkar looked to sway out of the way and when it got too close to him, he brought the bat below the ball and gently directed it over the cordon. It was inventive, deft and touched with genius.Not until he got to 64 did Tendulkar hit a four in front of square on the offside, and it was a glorious cover-drive played off Stuart Clark, front foot stretching forward, the upper body leaning in to give the stroke force, and the front shoulder rotating to give it direction. Sixteen years ago he had played a lone and glorious hand at this ground as his seniors crumbled around him; this Indian batting line-up is far more solid but, once again, Tendulkar was the guiding light on the day that could have gone horribly wrong for India. A rough decision and a brilliant over from Lee denied him his second successive hundred at the WACA but it wasn’t until Dravid’s dismissal that the wheel started turning in Australia’s favour.

Perhaps even the Australians had been misled about the pitch. To add to it, their big weapon, Shaun Tait, failed to fire. Either he was too eager, or too underdone, or perhaps both. He is yet to add variety to his bowling and once the Indians started going they picked him easily for runs. Lee was outstanding, bowling in the off-stump channel, the wind blowing across his right shoulder, generating a lovely away curve at good pace. He could have got Sehwag early, had a catch dropped off Dravid and he alone troubled Tendulkar. Responsibility now sits handsomely on his shoulders.His dismissal of Laxman in the dying moments of the day gave Australia the edge. At start of the innings, they would have expected to knock India out for under 300. After the experience of the first two sessions, they will take 350. For India, the challenge is to push towards 400.An excellent day was, however, marred by hopeless over-rates. The Sydney Test was blighted by all sorts of unsavoury incidents but one offence, committed by both teams in the series so far, is the speed at which the bowlers have gone about their job. When India last toured Australia Sourav Ganguly came close to a ban for failing to keep the over-rate up to speed but on this tour the matter hasn’t even come on the radar.A 90-over stipulation was put in place to rein in the West Indians, who, it was argued, were gaining an unfair advantage by bowling their battery of fast bowlers leisurely. The decision to play with four quick bowlers in Perth was Australia’s and so was the onus to keep it moving. They were found shockingly lacking. They bowled 12 overs in each of the first two hours, 13 in the third, 14 in the fourth, and the second new ball wasn’t due until after ten minutes of the scheduled close of play. That is an unacceptable breach of playing conditions.Something ought to be done. Fines have just not worked. Ian Chappell advocates banning the captain but there might be a even better deterrent. Hit them where it hurts the most by docking them for runs. See how no-balls have become scarce in Twenty20 after they introduced the free hit.

Stats highlights from the second day of the Ahmedabad Test

S Rajesh04-Apr-2008

Sehwag dissects his Cricinfo Award-winning 201 against Sri Lanka

Interview by Sanjay Manjrekar 05-Feb-2009

Sanjay Manjrekar Viru, you have been a fascinating batsman and a fascinating character in cricket. To begin with, let us start with this award that you have got. Where do you place this innings, 201 not out against Sri Lanka, among the other innings that you have played for India?Virender Sehwag I think it is the best innings I have ever played. I was unbeaten. And then I found out that it was a record. When I asked my colleagues what the record was, they told me that I had batted through the innings and that no one had done that [for India] before except Sunil Gavaskar. So I was proud of myself and thanked god that I batted the whole day.SM So you think this is the best innings of your career?VS Yes, because when I scored my triple centuries – first in Pakistan and the second one in Chennai – the wickets were very good and the opposition didn’t look like they could get me out. But in this game we were losing wickets and I was still at the other end, scoring runs at a good strike-rate.SM You’ve mentioned Gavaskar as the other player who carried his bat through the innings. But Gavaskar is the kind of player you would expect to bat through the innings and get a double-hundred or a triple-hundred – although he did not get a triple. You aren’t such a player, though. You go in, you look to just hit the ball, and still you’ve got such big scores. How do you strike this balance – big scores with your acceleration?VS I back myself to get big scores because when I’m going in to bat, my mind is working all the time. I keep thinking that I don’t want to waste balls or defend them or leave them. But there are times when you have to. In this particular innings, my colleagues kept falling at the other end, while I came out unbeaten.I don’t think I can do this very often, because I am not a Gavaskar who can bat through the innings. But I will try to score big runs, and when I get a hundred I think that this one is for me and now I have to play for my team. If I get another 50-60 runs my team will get into a good position and we can probably win the game from there.SM You have also got two triple-hundreds. When you have reached a hundred aggressively, do visions of a double-century come to your mind?VS No, I never think like that. When I scored 195 at Melbourne, somebody told me that I had missed a double-hundred by five runs. I told them that I was happy that I at least made 195. So I never think like that.

SM What was striking about your 201 in Galle was that while all the other batsmen – except Gautam Gambhir and you – struggled against Ajantha Mendis, you were most dominant against him. Why do think that happened?VS Because I picked Mendis from his hand. I realised which delivery he would bowl to me and I was ready for that. I was attacking him, not defending him. When you attack a bowler, there is a little doubt in his mind. He thinks, “If I bowl a bad ball, the batsman will hit me for a boundary; but even if I bowl a good ball he will hit me for a boundary.” I was doing that – he was bowling good balls and I was hitting him through cover and point for four runs. I was picking him very early and I was playing my shots against him. I especially picked his googly and offspin, and those are the balls that I can hit over long-on and deep midwicket.SM Very rarely does it happen in world cricket that there is a spinner like Muttiah Muralitharan at the other end and that Mendis is the feared bowler. Did you think that Murali was still the better bowler and Mendis only had a few difficult balls that were his novelty? Or was Mendis just bowling better balls than Murali?VS I was more worried about Murali, I didn’t really worry about Mendis. I got out to Mendis only once in seven or eight innings – in the Asia Cup final. But Murali I was worried about because I hardly picked his . So I was consciously playing Murali more carefully. But the field setting was so attacking that if I just defended the ball through covers I knew I would get a boundary or two runs. Even Murali was worried that if he gave me a little extra flight, I might hit him for a six or for a four. So he just kept bowling fast, and that is why I survived in that innings.SM There was a time in your career very recently when you were dropped from the Test squad. You were left out of the original squad to tour Australia, and I found that shocking. But has that changed you in any way? The way you bat or mentally?VS No, because if you look at my innings after I came back into the squad, I never changed my batting style. Yes, my mindset was different. I changed my mindset because I had to prove myself again. And the only way to prove yourself is by scoring big runs. I did exactly that in Adelaide. I still remember, in one session I batted without a boundary. I did change my mindset.I did a lot of yoga and a lot of meditation in that time, when I was not with the team. It hurts when you are watching on television and you are not part of the team.SM That is exactly what I was going to ask you about: the hurt. So when you went in to bat in Adelaide, that hurt was still there? Was it reminding you of what had happened recently and perhaps making you tougher?

VS Yes. My wife and I were sitting and watching India play and my wife said: “If you were in the team we would have been sitting in England and not in Najafgarh.” When you are with the team you tour a lot and if you are not with the team, you will be sitting at home. So it did hurt. After that I worked hard. I was training for almost six hours a day – three hours for my fitness and three hours for my batting. I did a couple of sessions of yoga. After that I was waiting for my chance to get into the side, and I knew if I got that chance I would grab my place again.SM When you are out of form, people are always trying to find out what the reason for that is. When you lost your place, people said the reason was your weight. After you came back, it seemed like you had got a lot more trim. Did you think that weight was perhaps a reason for your loss of form?VS I don’t think weight matters, because if you look at Inzamam-ul-Haq and Darren Lehman, they are the heaviest players…SM There also used to be a Jock Edwards of New Zealand – you would not have seen him – he was …VS Yes, I don’t think weight is a reason. But criticism is something you have to face when you are not scoring runs. The best way to react to it is by not watching television and not reading newspapers. You just need to work hard if you want to come back and play for the Indian team. So I worked hard and came back.Sambit Bal When you started your career, you played a lot of shots on the leg side. If you go back to the innings in South Africa – your debut Test – there were a lot of shots off the pads. Then in between you started hitting a lot of balls on the off side, while standing on leg. But after you’ve made a comeback, your leg-side shots are back. Is that a fair assessment?VS I was working hard on my batting stance and on keeping my head still so that I could watch the ball closely and waiting for the ball to come to me so I could hit the ball. So for me, that is the key factor.SB One of the things that I found striking in your knock of 201 was the way you hit Murali through the off side, against the spin. You don’t see people doing that to Murali very often – hitting him against the turn.VS I was not picking his and so every time I faced him I said, “This is a “, and I played it towards cover and got boundaries. Then I realised it was not a but offspin. But it doesn’t really matter, I was still getting the boundaries. I was pretty happy with that. So there is no secret!SM One of the toughest things for us is to suddenly see life without cricket. Indian cricket suddenly has a break after many years. It must be difficult to handle this break?VS It’s not difficult, it feels quite nice. Because this is a forced break – if our Pakistan tour was not cancelled, we would have been in Pakistan. I am enjoying it quite a lot, especially because I have got the opportunity to spend time with my wife and son. We go for movies, to eat out, and I spend lot of time at home. My son has started batting, holding the bat in both hands and I have to bowl. So I am enjoying this break.SM For the first time, India is in a position to reach the No. 1 spot in Test cricket. Do you think India is capable enough to stay at No. 1?

VS The first hurdle for us is to reach No. 1, because South Africa and Australia are still ahead of us. Once we reach there it’s a difficult task to stay there. We will try to win the Test series in New Zealand and then we have a chance to reach the No. 1 position. They say that it’s easy to climb a mountain, but it’s difficult to stay there at the top. Strong winds blow there and a man can fall anytime.SM When I saw the itinerary for the tour of New Zealand – it’s a one-and-a-half month tour, and it must be for the first time ever that there is no practice game on a tour of this sort, just international games – two Twenty20 games, then ODIs and then Test matches. I played in the 1980s and 90s and I find this itinerary shocking. What does a modern-day cricketer think of this itinerary?VS If you ask me, I don’t like practice games at all. Because instead of spending time in the practice games, I would like to spend more time on my battingSM In the nets?VS Yes, in the nets, or I would prefer resting. Because I know that if I score a hundred in the practice game then maybe my next innings will not be as good. So it’s better that the hundred that you score in the practice game, you score in Test cricket. This is what I think, but there are other players for whom practice games are important, and they play those games. You are playing international cricket for so many years, so you are used to it and you know what to do and what not to do.SM Final question that every cricket fan wants to ask, but I want to ask you genuinely. Give me the names of two or three bowlers who have troubled you, who you have a lot of respect for. It is important to know that from the batsman.VS It was my dream to play more against Glenn McGrath, but I played just one series against him, and they won that series. In that series I found McGrath the toughest bowler. I could not hit him for boundaries at will. It was very difficult against McGrath – his line and length were immaculate, so there was always the danger of getting out. The other bowler for me is Muttiah Muralitharan, against whom you cannot hit boundaries at will. You have to wait for him to bowl a bad ball or bowl the ball so you can hit it in a a place where there are no fielders, so even if you defend, it goes for a boundary

The multiple-captains saga has hung around the otherwise fragrant Kolkata Knight Riders like a bad smell

Victor Brown19-Apr-2009The multiple-captains saga has hung around the otherwise fragrant Kolkata Knight Riders like a bad smell ever since their coach, John Buchanan, mooted the theory at a press conference last month next while sitting next to a decidedly unimpressed Sourav Ganguly. Everyone had an opinion, which is why Shah Rukh Khan – a man never knowingly ruffled – suggested earlier this week that, contrary to speculation, he would be captain. After everything that had happened, you couldn’t rule it out.On Friday, the Kolkata PR machine – and it is the most impressive of the eight franchises out here – rolled into action, announcing that Brendon McCullum, the combative Kiwi, would be the one and only leader, but with “the full support of the team”. To prevent a complete strop from certain members of that team, a crucial rider in the press release added the words: “including the Knight Rider’s more senior members, such as Sourav Ganguly, Brad Hodge, Chris Gayle and Matthew Mott”. Today, as Kolkata embarked on their first game of this year’s IPL under the Newlands lights, breaths were duly held.The problem with issues flogged to within an inch of their relevance by a near-rabid media is that they quickly lose whatever sting they previously possessed once it becomes clear that the story may have been – how shall we put it? – blown out of all proportion. And while Kolkata were slipping to 101 all out (McCullum 1, Gayle 10, Ganguly 1) leaders appeared thin on the ground.But the real test would come when Kolkata were in the field. Buchanan had tried all along to point out that all he really wanted was for his senior players to share the responsibility. This, predictably enough, was seized upon as a slight to Ganguly, and there are few phenomena in cricket that produce such feverish reporting as a slight to Ganguly. In reality, it was nothing of the sort.And so McCullum, after a cursory huddle and pep-talk, did what any half-decent captain would do and arranged his field according to the assets available to him. Gayle, never the most talkative anyway, was positioned at slip, where he grazes nonchalantly for West Indies. The athletic Hodge was dispatched to the covers, while Ganguly – who has always regarded fielding as cricket at its most inconvenient – was kept out of harm’s way at mid-on.At one point Ganguly discussed a field placing with Ajit Agarkar. At another, the lesser-known Bengali Laxmi Shukla appeared to be offering advice to his captain. McCullum chivvied and chirped, as wicketkeepers do anyway, and waved Murali Kartik a touch squarer at short extra cover. No matter: Rohit Sharma went down the ground instead and lifted Agarkar for six. During the time-out, which the Deccan Chargers took at 69 for 2 – needing only 33 to win in 10 overs – the sermons were delivered by the assistant coach Mott and McCullum.But the truth is that captains only have a limited say in what happens in Twenty20 cricket. Richie Benaud’s old maxim about skippers needing 90% luck and 10% skill probably shift towards a 95-5 split in the game’s speediest format. What constitutes that 5% is, for the moment, most people’s guess. A bowling change here, perhaps a well-placed sledge there. Above all, the appearance of authority.Ganguly had a word with McCullum at the end, but by then it was far too late anyway. He may just as well have been pointing out that captaincy is over-rated in any case. As Kolkata slunk to an eight-wicket defeat with a whopping 41 balls to spare, it may have been the only piece of advice worth imparting.

The emergence of Virat Kohli and Suraj Randiv, and the comeback of Upul Tharanga, have been the highlights of an otherwise dull tournament

Sriram Veera at the Shere Bangla National Stadium10-Jan-2010Three youngsters have saved this tournament from becoming utterly forgettable. Virat Kohli, Upul Tharanga and Suraj Randiv have done their best to further their respective careers and, in the process, offered something to remember in an otherwise listless tournament.Kohli shone today with yet another assured knock, though admittedly, the odds weren’t stacked against him: Sri Lanka had long given up, the target wasn’t stiff, the pitch was flat and the dew was doing its bit to help the batsmen. Still, men seemingly more talented than him, like Rohit Sharma, have failed to grab their opportunities in similar conditions. To appreciate what Kohli has done, it is pertinent to see what Rohit didn’t do.In 41 ODIs, Rohit’s average is less than 25 and he hasn’t hit a hundred. Yet, on first sight, it was Rohit who stood out with his flashy skills; those gorgeous, caressed cover drives and the extra time he appeared to have to play his shots made you sit up and watch. And hope. However, he failed to grab his chances and allowed an opening for Kohli to stake a firm claim.When Sachin Tendulkar returns to the team, though, Kohli might have to give up his spot – he may have done enough to get ahead of Rohit but Suresh Raina is likely to edge him out at No.5 with his ability to play the bigger shots. But Raina, given Kohli’s recent form, will be aware of the competition.Like Kohli, Sri Lanka’s Randiv turned in yet another quietly confident show today. He doesn’t have the turn of Muttiah Muralitharan, the mystery of Ajantha Mendis or the traditional strengths of Rangana Herath. Yet he keeps churning out one tidy performance after another, much to the praise of his team management. Trevor Bayliss, the coach, reiterated today that Randiv was the best spinner in the last ODI series against India and, by bowling as well as he has in this tournament, has put immense pressure on the other spinners.”He just came in as a net bowler not long ago but he has
climbed the rungs really well,” Bayliss said. “He works very hard and is proving to be a very good bowler for us.” Just like Kohli versus Rohit, Randiv’s competition, Mendis, looked better than him. But it’s Randiv who is racing ahead by keeping things really simple: his release gives him the loop and the dip to keep the batsmen honest and he has, so far, bowled a full length while sticking to an off-stump line. And he didn’t harm his cause by scoring his first half-century today.Unlike Randiv, Tharanga didn’t have a great day today but he has been quietly making giant strides. It’s amazing how the man who threatens to displace Sanath Jayasuriya from the ODI opening slot has gone almost unnoticed. This is his second coming and he has almost made one forget the unsure, tentative Tharanga of old. His captain, coach and senior players have not spared an opportunity to talk him up for the World Cup. “What a strong comeback this has been,” Mahela Jayawardene said last night after sharing a big opening partnership with him. “I haven’t seen any youngster from Sri Lanka time the ball as sweetly as Tharanga is doing now in a long time. He always had the potential, had some good times before he hit a bit of a slump. He is back now and doing really well.”

Stats preview to the second semi-final of the World Twenty20 between Australia and Pakistan

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan13-May-2010Australia enter the semi-final against Pakistan as overwhelming favourites not just because of their superb performances in the tournament so far, but their astounding run in major tournaments over the last few years. They have triumphed in both the 50-over World Cups in the past decade and also in the last two editions of the ICC Champions Trophy. Their only blemish has been not winning the World Twenty20, but their run this year suggests they might just break that jinx.Pakistan have every reason to be overawed by their opponents. They have lost all the matches played across all three formats in the last year against them, including a convincing defeat in the group stages in this year’s tournament.The table below shows the overall batting and bowling performance of both the teams so far in this tournament. Shane Watson and David Warner have provided aggressive starts, while superb late-order hitting from Michael Hussey and Cameron White has boosted the Australian run rate. On the bowling front, their pace attack led by Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson has wrecked the top order of all opponents in every game played so far. Pakistan, on the other hand, have performed well below the level they managed in the previous edition of World Twenty20. The absence of Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul has seriously affected their wicket-taking ability in the first few overs and inconsistent batting has also not helped their cause so far.

Watson and Warner have had a fairly successful time at the top of the order in the tournament. Despite a couple of failures against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, they posted a century stand in quick time setting up the victory against India. Although the Powerplay batting stats for Australia are not the best, the match-winning capabilities of the openers is a constant threat to opponents. Pakistan’ batsmen have struggled in the Powerplay overs. Salman Butt has looked good on most occasions but has not received much support.

Michael Hussey and Cameron White have provided the fireworks in the final overs consistently. Hussey, especially, has been in terrific form throughout. He helped his team wriggle out of a hole against Bangladesh, and in the course of the century stand with White against Sri Lanka, the pair added nearly 70 runs off the last five overs to propel Australia to a match-winning score after a terrible start. Pakistan, meanwhile, have been inconsistent, with a good showing against South Africa being the only positive.

Australia’s fast bowlers have been exceptional in the beginning of the innings. Nannes is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament so far and Johnson and Tait are not far behind. The early wickets have allowed Australia to establish a stranglehold in all the games played. Pakistan haven’t taken as many wickets in the Powerplays, though they’ve done pretty well to keep the runs in check.

Australia have been so convincing that they have not had much bowling to do in the final overs of the innings. Their performance is still exceptional in the last overs with their pace attack doing most of the damage while the legspinner Steven Smith has also chipped in with a few wickets. Pakistan’s spinners have been ordinary in this tournament except in one game when they managed to curtail the scoring rate of a strangely subdued South Africa. Saeed Ajmal, though, has picked up ten wickets in the tournament so far and is the biggest threat.

The Australian fast bowlers have bowled the majority of the overs for the team and have been remarkably successful, going at just over six runs per over and picking up 32 wickets. Smith has led the way for the spin attack grabbing nine wickets and conceding less than seven runs per over. The combination seems to be working perfectly with the initial damage being done by the pace attack and the spinners further denting the opposition in the middle overs. Pakistan’s spinners have not been as impressive as they were in the previous edition of the tournament. Shahid Afridi has not been among the wickets this time. Even so, they have performed better than the fast bowlers who have hardly looked threatening.

Australia have played twice in St Lucia and won on both occasions, including the game against Pakistan. Pakistan have played three times at this venue and won two including a very good win against South Africa. Australia have batted first in four of the five games they have played and all four have been comfortable wins, the lowest margin being 27 runs. Pakistan did lose to England after batting first, but it seems to be their best bet as their inconsistent and brittle line-up might not match up in a tough chase against the best bowling side of the tournament.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day of the fourth day of the Centurion Test between South Africa and India

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park19-Dec-2010The referralThe UDRS is not being used in this series, but there was still a referral. Morne Morkel pitched the second delivery of the 52nd over full on middle stump, and Ishant Sharma got a leading edge back to him. Morkel took the catch but he ended up not being able to claim the wicket. Umpire Ian Gould asked for a replay to see if Morkel had overstepped, which he had. Karma repaid Sharma kindly for the time when he had Michael Clarke caught off a no-ball in Mohali in October earlier this year and Clarke almost walked off the ground before being called back.The cheersAfter Sachin Tendulkar smacked Paul Harris over mid-off for six to move to 97, a section of the crowd on the grandstand began a chant. “Go Tendulkar, Go Tendulkar” they sang. The chant lasted for every ball Tendulkar faced, 14 in total, before he brought up his 50th Test century. A cluster of Indian flags could be spotted amongst the singers. Indians have come out in their numbers to show their support.The nervesTendulkar was batting on 97 and had to face four deliveries from Morkel, but it seemed the bowler was the one with more nerves. Perhaps he was just scared he would get the great man out before he reached his milestone. He punctuated the over with short balls, the first of which was way down the leg side and raced away for five wides. Boucher dived to his left, but couldn’t get to it in time. The butterflies in Morkel’s stomach seemed to start flying faster and three balls later, he again strayed down leg and gave away four byes. Nine runs had come off the last four balls of the over but Tendulkar was still stuck on 97 at the end of it.The patienceWith Tendulkar on 97, MS Dhoni was keen to see him get to his 50th century. So keen that he ran halfway down the pitch after Tendulkar had dabbed a Paul Harris delivery only as far as AB de Villiers at backward short leg. Tendulkar sent him back and Dhoni only just made his ground at the non-striker’s end. Good things, the skipper will learn, only come to those who wait.The storm that stopped playThe doors of the suites near the media centre started banging shut, the sky darkened and the wind picked up. Lightning bolts went off all around the ground and one of the umpires’ hats sailed off his head. An umbrella from Castle corner was uprooted from its position on the grass embankment and flew towards the field. With that, the players ran off, holding on to their caps, hats and in Jacques Kallis’ case, his hair. The rain stayed away for 15 minutes but when it finally came down, it did so with a vengeance.

Hashim Amla once refused to wear the team jersey because the sponsor was an alcoholic brand. It is this mental strength that has seen him through to what will be his 50th Test in Durban

Sidharth Monga in Durban23-Dec-2010During the Durban Test, a photo exhibition will be on display to mark 150 years of Indians in South Africa. It is a wonderful look at a history that began when the Truro, a British ship, arrived with 339 indentured migrants from Madras (as the city of Chennai was then known) on November 16, 1860. The pictures show how over the years the Indians went from working on sugar plantations to moving on to more enterprising work, such as washing clothes or making baskets, to renting land to grow fruits and vegetables.There are photos of characters such as the “Gov”, who looked after gardens in Newcastle in the twenties and the thirties, of the scenes outside the courthouse when Ebrahim Ebrahim was sent to prison in Robben Island, of the 1949 riots when the Indians fought with the Africans for scarce resources, of Fatima Seedat marshalling a group of women for the first time in the political arena, of how Nelson Mandela’s first stop in Durban upon his release was the house of Fatima and Ismail Meer, and more recently of Bollywood actress Preity Zinta coming here for the IPL and throwing gifts into the Kingsmead crowd. There is also one of Yacoob Omar, considered the finest batsman in non-racial circles in the seventies.The story, though, will be incomplete without the photograph of a bearded man punching the ball square on the off side, playing slightly away from the body, on the up, with an open face. Alternatively, the punch on the leg side will do too, with the bat face closing at just the right moment. Especially when that man, the most Indian of batsmen, is about to play his 50th Test, about to bring up the milestone at the venue where the most Indian of techniques was developed. When he started off, he was the only cricketer of Indian origin to ever play a Test for South Africa; today only 14 men from his country have more caps.At the same time, despite the diversity that his style of play and demeanour bring to the team, Hashim Amla is still every bit a South African. While Hashim has toured India, Ahmed Amla, his elder brother and Dolphins team-mate, hasn’t even been there. They understand the Gujarati language, but can’t speak it. Ahmed will not be here for the start of the Test, but says he will make sure he is here to watch Hashim is batting in the second innings. Then again if Hashim makes one of his big first innings scores – and he has had a few this year – he might not need to bat in the second. Some of those innings have come in the country that his grandfather left years ago.Ahmed says it wasn’t as difficult for them when they were growing up as it might seem from the outside. “We missed that era when it was difficult for people of colour,” he said. “It would have been difficult for somebody like Ashwell Prince, who was older than us, and would have started playing serious cricket around 1992.” Ahmed still went to an Indian school while Hashim studied in Durban High School. “He studied in an integrated school, played with and against white and other coloured kids. It does have a huge impact on the personality. Also, Durban High School was the one that Barry Richards went to – it had a great cricketing culture and history.”Ahmed can’t quite put a finger on the time when the brothers became serious about cricketing careers, but it started in the backyard where – at times – he would get out and run away, not giving Hashim a bat. Although cricket didn’t run in the family, Mahomed H Amla, a doctor in Durban, played a big role. He would drive them to grounds once they started taking it seriously.Observers here say that Mahomed never pushed the kids too hard, but Hashim turned out to be really mentally strong. When Hashim was first picked for the South African side, he saw the jersey and refused to put it on because it had the Castle (beer manufacturers and team sponsors) logo on it. They had seen this mental strength in how he used to bat on for days in Durban, but this – for a debutant to cross the team sponsors – was the real deal. It takes a strong man to refuse your national cricket team’s jersey. He still doesn’t drink, but is very much a part of a team where celebrations start with a pint.”He was always strong in the head, more disciplined than me,” Ahmed said. “And once the rest of them get to know the person, they understand too.”More than matters of belief and faith, perhaps it was difficult to establish a style that was foreign in this country. South Africa has produced some mighty fine batsmen, but this was new. The high back lift, the extravagant punches that look risky at first viewing, the wrists. There was a period when it seemed he had been found out. Ahmed says that was Hashim’s big test, and it all came down to feeling comfortable at the big level. “Once he felt he belonged there, there was no trouble at all.”Hashim has also been wary of not becoming the public face of anything larger than what he does best, score runs. He has always kept away from the media, prefers not to talk about his background much, and quietly, albeit with a certain flair and charm, keeps scoring runs. Ahmed, though, has seen a change. “The kids now see one of them is there, about to play his 50th Test. It was bound to make many more of them take up cricket.”Barring an injury, Ahmed said, 50 Tests is not even the half-way point in Hashim’s journey. Here’s to at least 50 more.

Stats highlights from Sri Lanka’s remarkable collapse on the final day of the first Test

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan30-May-2011In an extraordinary finish to a rain-affected game, England pulled off an innings victory when it seemed that a draw was a foregone conclusion. When Sri Lanka started their second innings trailing England by 96 runs, only 51 overs were left in the game. Incredibly, they didn’t even survive half that many, losing six wickets for 19 at one stage to slump to an utterly demoralising defeat. The stats highlights from their innings won’t make pleasant reading for their fans.

• Sri Lanka faced only 24.4 overs in their second innings and were bowled out for 82 to lose by an innings and 14 runs. It is the lowest number of deliveries faced by Sri Lanka in a completed innings in Tests. Their previous lowest was 24.5 overs against Pakistan in 2006, when they were bowled out 73.
• The 24.4 overs is also the least number of overs in which England have bowled out any team since they bowled India out for 42 in 17 overs at Lord’s in 1974. It’s also 14th in the overall list of least deliveries faced by a team which has been bowled out in their second innings.
• Sri Lanka’s total is their fourth-lowest score in Tests and their ninth score below 100. It is also their second-lowest score against England, after the 81 in Colombo in 2001. Their lowest score in Tests is 71 against Pakistan in 1994.
• The innings defeat is Sri Lanka’s 28th in Tests, their 22nd overseas, and only their second against England. The previous innings defeat against England came in 2002 when they lost by an innings and 111 runs in Birmingham.
• Sri Lanka’s innings had four ducks, which is one short of their record. Only twice have they had more in an innings: against India in Chandigarh in 1990 and against New Zealand in Wellington in 2006-07.
• This became only the fourth instance of Sri Lanka losing after scoring 400 or more runs in the first innings. The last such instance came against India at Colombo SSC in 2010 when they lost after scoring 425.
• For the first time, three English batsmen scored a century in a single innings in a Test against Sri Lanka. Their overall record is four, against Australia at Nottingham in 1938 and against West Indies at Lord’s in 2007.
• Graeme Swann’s 4 for 16 is his best bowling against Sri Lanka in Tests, surpassing his 3 for 78 in the first innings. It is also the sixth-best performance by an English spinner against Sri Lanka.