All posts by h716a5.icu

Dropped by Lancashire, and playing out the rest of the season for Somerset, Sajid Mahmood tries to stay positive and believes he still has plenty to offer

Vithushan Ehantharajah 28-Aug-2012″I blame nerves; I drove down OK, but as soon as I got close to Taunton I lost my way. I had to call Brian Rose [director of cricket at Somerset] to come get me.” In the right area, but ultimately wayward – an apt metaphor, if ever there was one, for Sajid Mahmood and a career that has shown too few glimpses of great potential being fulfilled.The former Bolton League bowler finds himself, eventually, at Somerset after a difficult start to the 2012 County Championship season with Lancashire. The campaign began with Lancashire looking to defend their 2011 crown but is set to end in a relegation battle, as bad weather and poor performances leave the county one point ahead of bottom-of-the-table Worcestershire.Quite the turnaround for all concerned, especially Mahmood, who was determined to rid himself of the “inconsistent” tag even idler cricket fans attribute to him since his short-lived England career. It is an unfortunate tag for any bowler to carry, but one Mahmood feels he fully deserves.”I’ll hold my hands up and be the first one to say that I’ve been inconsistent throughout my career,” he admits. “I do try and bowl fast, and sometimes I get carried away with that. But I try my best to be different to any other bowlers we have in the side.”Last year, Mahmood enjoyed one of his best domestic seasons to date, taking 35 wickets at an average of 29.85. It was only the third time in his career that he averaged under 30 with the ball, after 2003 (his first full season for Lancashire) and 2006, which led to an England call. However, a paltry four scalps in three games earlier this season saw Mahmood dropped, before Somerset offered him a way back into first-class cricket for the remainder of the season. The hardest thing, he says, has been staying positive.”I wasn’t getting too much of a gig at Lancashire,” he says. “Somerset came in and I just wanted to go and play cricket. As soon as I heard they were interested, I was up for it straight away – just the chance to play some games again. It was the only thing I was focused on.”Being dropped as a professional cricketer is tough. I suppose it’s the same in any sport – doubting yourself is one of the worst things you can do as a sportsman. I spent more time doing sessions with Mike Watkinson at Lancs, just to keep ticking over, and I played 2nd XI cricket. It’s very easy to get angry and frustrated by how things have panned out, but I’ve tried to take my mind off it. Otherwise it eats away at you.”It’s an indication of his desire to get back to playing first-class cricket as soon as possible that he chose batsman-friendly Taunton as the place to resurrect his season. His self-belief is welcome to all those who support Mahmood, especially when it seemed he was starting to get disillusioned with his cricket.In June, he was penalised for using “obscene, offensive or insulting language” in Lancashire’s FLt20 defeat to Derbyshire. His figures – 42 runs conceded in 2.3 overs – would test any bowler’s resolve, but it was his second breach of the fixed-penalty system in three years. Another breach could see him serve a ban.

“I do try and bowl fast, and sometimes I get carried away with that. But I try my best to be different to any other bowlers we have in the side”

The previous month, Yorkshire fast bowler and good friend, Ajmal Shahzad, made the switch across the Pennines on loan as Lancashire looked to address their poor start to the season. Mahmood played in Shahzad’s Lancashire debut, against Sussex, with both taking three wickets apiece. However, it would be Mahmood’s last County Championship appearance for the side.”I was really happy when I heard Ajmal was coming over – we even roomed together for the first half of the season. But he’s a great bowler and deserves to be in the side – I can’t really say the same when I look back at my performances. I’ve not been able to get back in the side because they’ve not bowled too badly.”Five years ago, Mahmood was championed as the out-and-out speedster England had yearned for. He looked the part too; his powerful physique and piercing eyes ticked the boxes in England’s “bully or be bullied” mindset that had helped them win the Ashes in 2005. He would go on to win eight Test caps, playing in three of their five defeats in the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia. The match in Sydney was his last Test for England. While he looks back on this time of his career fondly, he can’t help but do so without a feeling of deep regret.”It was tough and it gave me a gauge of where I was in relation to the best players and the best team in the world at that time. I enjoyed every single day of it. To represent your country at the highest level – it’s pretty hard not to enjoy it. It’s every boyhood dream come true – I made my debut at Lord’s, I played against Pakistan – the country of my parents.”But I took it for granted. At the time, it all seemed to come so easy to me. Ultimately, I was picked on potential. I didn’t prepare for games as well as I should have. I just thought, ‘Go out there, bowl fast and knock some people over.’ That doesn’t really fly in Test cricket. But then again, that’s all I used to do in county cricket and it seemed to work – why change?”Mahmood is in the last year of his contract with Lancashire, and nothing has been forthcoming from the reigning county champions. It is unclear whether success at Somerset will influence those at Old Trafford to stick by him. At 30, he is still an attractive proposition for anyone willing to gamble on the explosive spells offsetting the erratic ones.Vithushan Ehantharajah is a freelance journalist. He tweets at @Vitu_E

From Vipul Gupta, India I do not think that many people would have been surprised by Symonds conduct

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Vipul Gupta, India
I do not think that many people would have been surprised by Symonds conduct. As I am sure not many people would have been shocked when Harbhajan slapped his ‘younger brother’ Sreesanth in an IPL match last summer. The one trait that is comman to all these 3 gentlemen is that they are of a ‘slightly’ volatile temperament and believe me I am trying my best to put it very mildly.All three have been involved in on field controversies on numerous occasions in their careers. Things had already started to heat up in India itself and it came to a head with Roy alleging that Bhajji had passed a racist comment against him in the very eventful Sydney Test Match. Unfortunately the only person who displayed any grace and dignity in this entire unsavoury episode which threatened to derail the series was Kumble, the Indian skipper who personally requested Ponting to withdraw his appeal. But the Aussie skipper was adamant and he felt that he could not let his ‘mate’ Roy down by withdrawing the appeal and it was his stand which put both the CA and the BCCI on a collision course which threatened to fracture the entire cricketing fraternity.Come to think of it, the crazy juvenile antics of these players was about to bring this great game to its knees. Such mavericks are found everywhere and it is up to the people who are occupying the positions of power to control them and not allow the events to get out of hand. I am afraid that the subsequent events have only put a big question mark on Ponting’s wisdom and judgment and by that token of logic even the CA cannot be spared. I am sure that by the end of his career Ponting will be regarded as a great batsman and a good captain, but as a Statesman, not at all, which Anil Kumble proved that he was in that series.One also cannot help but wonder that things might have been different for the unity in the Aussie dressing room were it not for the IPL’s Twenty20 tournament held in India. I am sure that the salary offered to Roy must not have gone down well with some of the greats in the Aussie team because compared to them he was just a toddler starting out in the Test arena. It was amusing to see the sensitive Symonds lament the fact that how the CA had bowed in to the BCCI’s financial power when he himself did not think twice of accepting the Deccan Chargers offer, which itself is a brain child of the BCCI.It might be argued that it is in the nature of the beast that such players have serious temperamental flaws and although they might be adorning this great game as jewels it is very important for the authorities concerned to recognize this particular breed of players and to understand that they cannot be allowed to hold the game of cricket as hostage by their actions and any incident should be nipped in the bud itself before it snow balls into anything major. Surely, as a die hard cricket fan this is not asking for much , or is it?

From Debojit Dutta, India

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Sachin Tendulkar once replaced Mohammad Azharuddin at the centre of Indian cricket’s consciousness; it is but the circle of life that Virender Sehwag is now seemingly taking over that mantle•AFPIt was one of those occasions when deserted by your own vernacular you seek consolation in another’s vocabulary and when even that is found to be depleted, you are left haywire – fixated on fixing a proper adjective to your newfound emotion. That emotion which allures both, but falls neither on the lap of joy or sorrow.As it occurs to me quite often nowadays, I was dumbfounded and then appalled at my loss of words in describing Virender Sehwag’s one-day double hundred.I missed out on the live telecast of the match, (for reasons best known to the people in my office, the television was tuned to an Indian news channel, Aaj Tak) I had to rely on ESPNcricinfo for score updates. “Sehwag reaches his 100 off 69 balls. And runs out Gambhir off the next ball. 176 for 1,” they tweeted.All merry on this side. Viru had, after months of waiting, reached triple figures and keeping the upcoming Australia tour in mind, its timing could not have been better. Moments had passed in my juggling between Twitter and Facebook when someone updated their status pleading, “Sehwag, for heaven’s sake don’t score a double”.The immediate response was to laugh, laugh out loud. I did, and then regretted it. The profundity of the Facebook status was much greater than plainly visible. For what Sehwag was chasing was not a mere figure. For a generation born a couple of decades ago, it was a brutal invasion on their years of growing up.The childhood, the adolescence, there was much to trade; so much to be traded to fill the next generation’s kitty. And, as it often happens in periods of transition, our kin were reluctant to fritter away their remains.And trade but for whom — an impostor of our idol, a porcelain replica?This miserliness did not fall out of nowhere. It’s an inheritance we are carriers to.Somewhere in 1998, if I’m not mistaken, I got into a minor war-of-words with my dad when he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar away (at the pinnacle of his career), calling him a debaucher. In his words, Mohammad Azharuddin was the artist. With a touch of his brush, he had painted many of the older generation’s dreams.While chairman of selectors Raj Singh Dungarpur’s casual offer to Azharuddin over a cup of tea – ? (man, do you want to be the captain?) – in 1989 gave birth to the new-age casualness, Azhar also brought a necessary face-lift to the way India approached the game. The era of Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh was pioneered by their carefree captain. Much before Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina learned to dirty their laundry, Azhar, one of India’s finest fielders, had mastered the art of mud-mingling.His rise to fame, jostling past the elders to elderliness, extra-marital affair, eventual divorce and remarriage … Azhar gave the fans their first celluloid cricketer, before he himself robbed them off it.Of Azhar, it could be said that he was brash and unpolished. There were stories about him being aloof, allegedly always at loggerheads with the seniors of the team. The media talked about his linkups with bookies. Vinod Mehta in his autobiography recollects an incident during which Azhar, on winning the toss against Pakistan, pocketed the coin and claimed to have lost it to Aamir Sohail.His crimes were fragrant, not that he cared to hide them. And it was this puzzling impunity that separated Azhar from the rest.Rohit Brijnath wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo: “He (Azhar) was my favourite, because no sportsman ever made me struggle so much, no Indian athlete demanded so much inner debate, no cricketer so confused the senses.” He was liked because he wasn’t perfect; he was liked because he never tried to be liked.However, the turn of the decade changed all that. In the match-fixing fiasco, which still rests like an indelible scar on the face of Indian cricket, Azharuddin was found to be the most culpable of all sinners. This blow was hard to swallow for even the most ardent of Azhar followers.Somewhere between all this, but hardly under anyone’s shadow, emerged a curly-haired kid. His rise was inversely proportional to Azhar’s fall. By the time the fixing scandal broke, he was already an established star. Tendulkar stood in contrast to the former’s frivolity. A complete antithesis, he was more consistent, hardworking and disciplined, and he lacked the petulance that his long-time captain was inebriated with.Our fathers’ invention was fast-slipping out of their own embrace, they knew, still it was shameful to adopt the insignificants’ imagination.To the generation gone by, all things we found ‘cool’ were scornful luxuries: burgers, pizzas, the new colas, the very word ‘cool’ and every other evil that liberalisation of the Indian economy brought. Sachin seemed to emblemise this change; he scored quickly, his batting was fizzy in a way and he could also be described using word, if I am allowed to use it three times in one paragraph. looked at him with childish cynicism, as if he was the reason why Campa Cola lost its vitality.Our Tendlya would dance down the ground, swat the balls all around, score at run-a-ball (if not more than that) and then endorse everything from Power shoes to ‘Visa power’. The coming generation of engineer-cum-writers, doctor-cum-actors, accountant-cum-singers who were bent on breaking conventional barricades had got their multi-tasker to look up to.For some, Sachin exceeded the game itself. I know people who remember the exact Sachin innings that coincided with the appearance of their first pimple, and also those who would tell you about the time they first parted with the peach fuzz over their physiognomy and Sachin scored a duck, following which, for months, they didn’t pick up a razor again.Amid all adulation and idolisation Sachin kept his conquest going. Undeterred by the flurry of off-field activities, he continued churning out boundaries, waitressing to the insatiable millions. Sehwag showed up and vanished and showed up again.On his debut, which he made in a One-Day International against Pakistan in 1999, much less stouter than he now is, Sehwag looked totally innocuous. He scored only one run, before falling LBW to Shoaib Akhtar, and went for 35 in the three overs he bowled.His positioning in the batting order — at No. 7, below the likes of Saba Karim, Khurasiya and Robin Singh — showed that even to the team management he was rather inconsequential.In his next stint in national colours, which came after almost two years in the wilderness, Sehwag performed admirably. In his fourth match, in a series against Australia, he made 58 (off 54 balls) and then picked up three wickets to bag the Man-Of-the-Match award.So far, so good. Sehwag did shine in the series but so did Vijay Dahiya. Conceiving him to be a utility player, I even made him a regular in my favourite game, book-cricket.With Sachin unavailable for the tour of Sri Lanka that followed, Sehwag was promoted to open the innings. Sehwag delivered a hidden message in his 69-ball century against New Zealand. I failed to decipher. It was the third fastest hundred by an Indian. But accidents do happen, I had said to myself.In every innings thereafter, he started giving tuitions on hard-hitting. The ‘nervous nineties’ were nervous of him. Even when on 99 he would attempt the big hits and when he faltered, there was no shame, no discontent. The from Najafgarh who had hardly envisaged fame would walk towards the pavilion with a self-assured contentment.Blasphemous comparisons to Tendulkar were made. Stance, shots and even physical attributes were measured and, when human vision failed, they resorted to graphics. As if the need was to establish a dummy. During most part of the 90s, when Sachin scored in losing causes, I had seen placards asking for ‘Ten more Tendulkars’. Those statements were laudatory, these comparisons bordered on lunacy.But soon, the dummy started looking livelier, at times shining brighter than the deity. Sehwag soon formulated his own brand of atheism.He preceded a number of players who would wear their heart on their sleeves, cover it with their armbands and advertise it to their fancy. Harsha Bhogle’s tweet after Sehwag reached his double hundred was, “I wonder sometimes if Sehwag achieves these landmarks because he doesn’t worry about achieving them.”It is true. Nothing bothers. Nothing worries him. For ‘seriousness’ and ‘nervousness’, it would appear, had been parted with when he parted with the placenta.Wanting to not fall prey to the rules of evolution, to not allow my dream become a requiem so soon, I have tried various tricks of sustenance. To my little cousin, in eulogies—guised as lullabies, I would preach how great a batsman Sachin was. How much faster he was, still, and how much more responsible and steady.Flashbacks now remind me how, in stages of life, we all are juxtaposed. How, in clockwise alignment, ‘me’ and ‘my cousin’, ‘dad’ and ‘me’, we all stand.My cousin, who was barely four or five years old, at the time of my preaching, soon gave up all I had infused in him. He must have celebrated Sehwag’s double-hundred. Of course, Sehwag, in the process of scoring it surpassed Sachin’s 200, previously the highest individual score by any player in a 50-overs game. But the next time we meet, I will brag about how my hero still remains the first cricketer to reach the landmark. Bring it on.

Delhi Daredevils’ left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem shares his regret over dropping Sachin Tendulkar’s catch and is optimistic about Delhi Daredevils’ chances in IPL 2013

Amol Karhadkar22-Apr-2013Shahbaz Nadeem isn’t a party animal. Still, the left-arm spinner was awake till 4am the morning after Delhi Daredevils thumped Mumbai Indians on Sunday. He was, obviously, “relieved” to have finally ended up on the winning side, but the two dropped catches – especially the return catch offered by Sachin Tendulkar – were weighing on his mind.”I am no different from all the players of my generation when it comes to that man,” Nadeem told ESPNcricinfo. “We have all grown up watching and idolising Sachin Tendulkar. So naturally playing with or against him is in itself an achievement for someone like me. But to earn his wicket is something that I aspire for as a bowler.”Before the match, I prayed. Even before bowling that ball, I prayed, (God, please get me his wicket)’. And then to create an opportunity against him and let it go is something that will be on my mind forever. I don’t know whether I will get another chance to get his wicket.”The two dropped catches, however, haven’t overshadowed his good run with the ball. After impressing the Daredevils team management in his limited outings last year, Nadeem has been persisted with as the leading spinner from the start of the season. And he hasn’t let them down, taking six wickets in seven match and bowling at an economy rate of 5.96.In between the two IPL seasons, he had a good domestic season. Not only did he lead Jharkhand’s charge into their maiden Ranji Trophy quarter-final, but also finished the premier domestic first-class championship as the most successful spinner, and the fourth-highest wicket-taker, with 42 wickets at an average of 25.97.With such a strong performance, it wasn’t surprising that Nadeem entered the IPL with the most vital ingredient a professional requires for any important assignment: confidence.”I got used to the Daredevils set-up in the first year and then, picking so many wickets in the domestic season made me confident and relaxed,” he said. “I hoped that I would get an opportunity and I am happy to have delivered so far.”With the team going through such a torrid time early on in the tournament, Nadeem was touted as the odd man out in a pack that was consistently failing to deliver. That made him all the more determined to “not experiment too much”. About the morale in the side with the continuous failures, he said: “Delhi Daredevils is such a formidable unit that all we knew was that we had to continue with our efforts and do the right things till they fell in place.”While some experts might have been taken aback by the manner in which Daredevils stunned Mumbai, with Virender Sehwag making his presence felt for the first time this year, the side was unfazed by the outcome. For them, it was just one of the nine victories they require to make it to the playoffs.”It was important to start winning. Before the Mumbai match, we discussed that we had ten matches and we had to win nine of those. With one win under our belt, we have to win eight more from nine games. And if there’s one team that’s capable of doing this, it is Delhi Daredevils,” Nadeem signed off.

The plays of the day from the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians in Delhi

Sidharth Monga21-Apr-2013The field
The Feroz Shah Kotla is known for its lack of bounce, but it seemed to have gone a step too far when the match began without a single slip in place, possibly for the first time this IPL. The first over from Irfan Pathan done with, Shahbaz Nadeem bowled the second with a slip. The coloured clothing aside, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a Test being played in India, circa 2013.The run-out
Before this match, Dinesh Karthik hadn’t scored fewer than 30 in this edition of the IPL. He failed to get into the double figures today, thanks to what is widely considered an unfortunate way to get out. Sachin Tendulkar drove straight, Umesh Yadav got a hand to it in his follow-through, deflected the ball on to the stumps, and Karthik was caught short having backed up too far. If you steal that backing-up advantage, you are liable to be run out too.The welcome
There has been a clamour, without reason, for Roelof van der Merwe to be played in the Delhi Daredevils XI, but the management has been teasing the clamourers with either of Johan Botha, Ben Rohrer or Jeevan Mendis ahead of van der Merwe. When he finally got his chance, van der Merwe was lofted over mid-off first ball for four.The catch
Van der Merwe made an immediate comeback, though. He refused to dart one in, and Dwayne Smith was lured into attempting another hit over mid-off. This ball was a little slower, and he didn’t get enough elevation. Enough to clear most fielders, that is, but not Umesh Yadav. He leapt full length in the air but didn’t go for the catch, deliberately parrying it up instead. He landed upright on his feet, and completed the catch.The drops
Shahbaz Nadeem has been one of Delhi Daredevils’ best fielders this season, but in this match he led the way in what was a mostly shoddy effort. There were overthrows, there were misfields, but most of all there were dropped chances from Nadeem. First he dropped a return sitter from Sachin Tendulkar, who added 17 off 17 after the reprieve. The more costly drop was that of Kieron Pollard, off the first ball of the last over, when Nadeem’s eyes somehow stopped following the ball as it approached his hands at sweeper-cover. Pollard went on to hit a six off the last ball to take the target past 160.

Australia know their attack is their strength but feeble batting at Trent Bridge and Lord’s made the bowlers redundant. Now is the time for Lyon and company to prove their worth.

Brydon Coverdale at Old Trafford02-Aug-2013Graham McKenzie was once dropped after taking ten wickets in a Test against India. Nobody could really explain why, but it was speculated that the board wanted a more competitive series than his bowling would allow. His next opportunity came in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford, where McKenzie helped bowl Australia to victory.Nathan Lyon was once dropped after taking nine wickets in a Test against India. Nobody could really explain why, but it was speculated that the selectors wanted a more competitive series than his bowling would allow. His next opportunity came in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford. The next three days will tell if the stories continue to run parallel.Like McKenzie, Lyon is easy-going and thus easy to let go. The quiet ones never kick up a stink. But there is no question that both men were part of their country’s best attack at the time of their axing. Lyon did not pick up a wicket on the second afternoon in Manchester but he could have had Alastair Cook cheaply, had Michael Clarke at slip moved a little more fluently.His flight, dip and turn left England’s batsmen edgy, and he built pressure: 51 of his 60 deliveries were dot balls. Certainly he gave the selectors reason to regret leaving him out at Trent Bridge and Lord’s. There, they had gambled on Ashton Agar, a 19-year-old still learning his craft. Agar failed to take a wicket at Lord’s; who knows what Lyon, Australia’s leading spinner since Shane Warne, might have done.Lyon isn’t the only member of this attack with a point to prove. Mitchell Starc was dropped after the loss in Nottingham and was outbowled by Jackson Bird in the tour match at Hove. When asked on the first morning at Old Trafford why Starc had been preferred over Bird, the coach Darren Lehmann said the main criteria separating them was that Starc would create footmarks for Lyon.Starc must show that his spikes aren’t all he brings to the side. He began well on the second afternoon, curling a few deliveries away from Cook and for the most part keeping things tight. Ryan Harris was hampered by a stomach bug that forced him temporarily from the field, but by the standards of the brittle Harris, that’s an ailment Australia can handle.While the pressure built elsewhere the man who reaped the first two rewards was Peter Siddle. For the first time in his Test career Siddle was not one of the first four bowlers used, relegated below Lyon and Shane Watson. After some stretches that made Merv Hughes’ warm-ups look subtle, Siddle was given his chance and grabbed it.Whereas Starc at times moved the ball too much to tempt Cook, Siddle made Joe Root play and straightened it just enough to tickle the edge. His bustle also accounted for the nightwatchman Tim Bresnan, and an edge from Jonathan Trott in Siddle’s final over fell just short of Clarke at second slip. It was Siddle who challenged England on the first day of the series and Siddle who kept the pressure on them here.Of course, only two wickets have been taken, but for the first time in the series the mountain of work asked of the bowlers has been preceded by a mountain of runs. A draw is of very little value, but Australia’s bowlers must remain patient, building pressure, compiling maidens, maintaining their discipline. They must not get carried away by the runs behind them.The last time an Australian made a Test hundred – Clarke, not surprisingly – the opposition responded by building a 192-run lead. The venue was Chennai, the assailant MS Dhoni, the victim Lyon. If he tossed the ball up, he was driven down the ground; if he went quicker and shorter he was dispatched square. Lyon’s confidence was knocked, and he was dropped for the next Test.Now, Lyon appears sure of himself. His first ten overs displayed skill and patience superior to any of Agar, Glenn Maxwell or Xavier Doherty, all of whom he has made way for this year. He might not do a McKenzie, but like the man they called Garth, the man they call Gaz has his chance at Old Trafford.Australia entered this series knowing their attack was their strength but feeble batting at Trent Bridge and Lord’s made the bowlers redundant. Now is the time for Lyon and company to prove their worth.

Plays of the Day from the second day of the Chittagong Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong10-Oct-2013The let-off I
Bangladesh were on a roll in the morning session when it got even better. Rubel Hossain had BJ Watling driving, and the ball caught the edge and flew to gully where Nasir Hossain took the catch. New Zealand would have been 290 for 8, when the umpires went to check for a front-foot no-ball. The replays showed a big one. Watling came back, and took his score from 4 to 103.The let-off II
Anamul Haque was also as lucky as Watling to be caught in the slips off a no-ball. The offending bowler was Doug Bracewell in the second over of the Bangladesh innings. But unlike Watling, Anamul didn’t make it count. He had the let-off on 1, and added two more before falling to the same bowler.The gap
There was just a small gap between Doug Bracewell’s bat and pad as he tried to paddle the ball. But Sohag Gazi somehow found the opening through it to hit the stumps. The much-needed wicket amused the bowler, who kept pointing at the gap as he walked towards the other fielders to celebrate. He was finding it hard to believe that the ball had actually sneaked through.The comeback
No 11 Trent Boult batted two hours and 27 minutes to make an unbeaten fifty, so his first-ball wide to Tamim Iqbal was perhaps fatigue. The recovery was complete off the next ball when he pitched one just a little away from Tamim’s reach, outside off stump. The drive came out, and the edge was well caught at slip.The elbow
Boult, like any No 11, had little to lose. As he settled down, he looked to play more shots and started attacking Bangladesh’s most successful Test bowler. Shakib Al Hasan was smashed for six over long-on, with the bat perfectly pointed towards the direction he intended to hit. Boult charged the left-arm spinner, moved slightly to the leg side to make room and lofted the ball high. The elbow was right up there, perfectly balanced.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the first one-day international between Australia and England

Andrew McGlashan at the MCG12-Jan-2014Replay of the dayNew format, new bowlers…but nothing much was new for Alastair Cook. His first ball from Clint McKay swung back in and brought a loud lbw shout, although it was too high, although there was momentary relief when he cut his second for four. But two deliveries later it was as though it was Ryan Harris sending the ball down as he prodded outside off and edged through to Brad Haddin. He may have talked a more positive game yesterday, but Cook looks a batsman who would rather not be here.Milestone of the dayGary Ballance’s one-day international debut did not go to plan: caught behind for a second-ball duck against Ireland in September. It was uncertain whether he would make the starting XI Melbourne but benefitted from England packing their batting line-up. He was off the mark fifth ball with a drive through backward point off Glenn Maxwell and showed impressive composure with England in a sticky situation on 3 for 62. When he tucked a single off Maxwell he went to a 69-ball half century – it is expected to be the first of many.Second chance of the dayRunning in from third man, Xavier Doherty could not hold onto Ballance’s thick outside edge off McKay much to his own (and the bowler’s) frustration. Yet, three balls later he made amends when an identical shot picked him out with precision and this time the ball nestled safely in the hands as he tumbled forward.Drop of the dayIt’s fair to say Aaron Finch lived a charmed life. Chris Jordan bowled a lively opening spell and could easily have claimed Finch’s wicket. The clearest opportunity came when he had 8 and drove firmly, but at an easy catching height, to Ballance at mid-off who shelled the chance. An upbeat feeling England may have had, or belief they had a decent total, started to evaporate from there.Decision of the dayThen it was David Warner who gained a second life. On 22 he edged Ben Stokes to Jos Buttler, who claimed the catch low down. Warner appeared content to take Buttler’s word that it had carried, but as soon as TV replays were seen that usual problem of foreshortening provided doubt. Warner slowed his walk towards the boundary as the umpires conferred and eventually he was recalled to crease. On his way back he gave Buttler a sympathetic pat on the backside; none of the players had done anything wrong.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from Chittagong

Alan Gardner in Chittagong18-Mar-2014The charge
Mark Chapman, Hong Kong’s No. 4, is not a tall man and plays most of his shots along the ground with a compact technique. But against Dawlat Zadran, he came forward to try pull off the front foot, only to wear the delivery on the grille of his helmet. His legs buckled but, after whirling back to his feet, he appeared to be looking for the possibility of a single as the ball trickled to midwicket. Stunned he may have been but, after a squirt of water and some time to collect himself, he continued to walk at the decidedly nippy Dawlat and narrowly missed being hit again after failing to connect with another flailing pull.The first ball
Jamie Atkinson’s decision after winning the toss might have been different but, for the second match running, he found himself out in the middle to face the second ball of the Hong Kong innings. Irfan Ahmed was again the opener to depart at the earliest possible opportunity, this time pushing tentatively around a full delivery from Shapoor Zadran that kissed off stump and dislodged the leg bail. Irfan became the second player to be twice out off the first ball of the innings at a World T20, after Ireland’s William Porterfield at the last tournament – being Irfan’s first two knocks at this level, his, er, achievement is unique.The first ball II
A wicket off the first ball occurred in Afghanistan’s opening match too, as Mohammad Shahzad carted Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza straight up in the air. This time around, Najeeb Tarakai took guard against the new ball but Shahzad was quickly down the striker’s end. What would he choose from his ample locker of shots? The straight thump? The back-foot slash? His own version of the helicopter? No, on this occasion, Shahzad left his first delivery alone outside off.The drop
Shahzad’s bloodlust eventually got the better of him, when Hong Kong’s left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed came on to bowl. A heave went straight up in the air, barely beyond the square towards mid-on, and even as it was climbing, Shahzad chopped his bat down on to the pitch, bellowing at his mistake. Perhaps the tremors caused the earth to move under Aizaz Khan’s feet because a regulation catch went straight through him like an undercooked .The catch
Several chances were missed on another night of ropey fielding at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury but there was one piece of world-class fielding and it came from Irfan to remove Shahzad. A venomous drive over cover looked to be dropping short of the fielder coming in off the boundary but he flung himself forward full length to catch a rocket with Fairy-soft hands, sliding along the turf to scoop it two-handed.The missed run-out
When Waqas Barkat squirted the ball to backward point and Chapman came halfway down the pitch looking for a single, it appeared as if Afghanistan would break Hong Kong’s second-wicket stand with a simple run-out. Chapman had barely put his breaks on as Mohammad Nabi threw a flat, hard throw to the bowler’s end, where all Hamza Hotak needed to do was collect it and break the wicket. In his excitement, he managed to flatten all three stumps without having the ball in hand, diving forward and unsuccessfully trying to deflect it with his open palms. Not the way to do it, Hamza.The six
Afghanistan cleared the boundary ropes several times in a rambunctious innings but the best of the match was struck by Atkinson, showing his side the way as Hong Kong’s batsmen gave a much-improved account of themselves. When Gulbadin Naib dropped short and Atkinson hammered a swivel-pull on a high arc into the stands to the longest part of the ground at deep square leg it could have been a more well-known wicketkeeper-batsman, AB de Villiers, at the crease.

After their first seven games in IPL 2014, Kolkata Knight had only two wins. Their recovery and charge to the title is a story of belief, assured decision-making, and man management

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Jun-2014On May 5, Kolkata Knight Riders were cruising to victory against Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad: they were 121 for 0 and needed 50 in six overs. Gautam Gambhir’s dismissal, however, triggered one of the worst collapses in the IPL. Six wickets tumbled for two runs and Knight Riders eventually lost by 10. It was their fourth successive loss and their fifth in seven matches.In the dressing room, no one spoke but there was no recrimination. People were angry but did not lose hope. “Everyone was hurting bad,” Robin Uthappa, the Knight Riders batsman, says. “It was a morose atmosphere. Everyone’s self respect was hurt. We could see it in every player’s eyes: each wanted to play for his own pride and wanted to make the most in every subsequent match. There was a different energy post that defeat.” Uthappa finished the IPL wearing the Orange Cap given to the tournament’s highest run-maker.Vijay Dahiya, one of Knight Riders’ assistant coaches, remembers the defeat as a huge disappointment. “It was unacceptable. I would be lying if I don’t say it was a big, huge disappointment. I remember Trevor Bayliss (head coach) saying it was good to see players hurting. They were angry that they could not finish it. That shows the character of this team.”Dahiya says it was not a case of the opposition winning convincingly; Knight Riders who were not playing smart cricket. A week before the Ahmedabad collapse, they had lost to Royals in Abu Dhabi, where they had needed 16 off 12 balls with six wickets in hand before tying the game and the Super Over but going down on boundary count.”Nobody was willing to leave it for the other guy from then onwards,” Dahiya says about the 6 for 2 debacle.Joy Bhattacharjya, the team manager, says Knight Riders did not let the pressure get to them, even when they had to win six of their last seven matches to qualify for the playoffs. The players did not look too far ahead.”The best part of the story would be the team stayed calm throughout,” Bhattacharjya says. “It was always about the next match. If we win it, we have a chance. It was never about the tournament. KKR kept it shape despite pressure.”Knight Riders did not fall over even when on the edge of the precipice. Instead they bounced back with a record nine-match winning streak, all the way to the title.***Like all teams, Knight Riders had also started their campaign at the player auction in February. They had a well-defined strategy. Venky Mysore, their chief executive officer, says the focus was to create a strong stable of bowlers with emphasis on buying high-quality Indians.Legspinner Piyush Chawla, and fast bowlers Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav, were bought to complement overseas players such as West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, South African quick Morne Morkel, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and young Australian quick Pat Cummings. “All of these people have played at the international level so they have the experience, skill and temperament to perform under pressure,” Mysore says. “And that is why it was not a case of hell for leather with us chasing big totals.”The success of those selections, Mysore says, can be gauged from the consistency of the Knight Riders attack, which almost always restricted the opposition to a manageable target. “The one common thread in all matches, even in the five games we lost, we contained the opposition which put us in a position to win.”Despite the pervading influence of technology in the sport, cricket is a lot about communication between people, about man-management. Mysore says one of the biggest factors behind Knight Riders winning their second title was the return of Wasim Akram, who had been absent from the coaching staff in the 2013 season.”He is a tremendous influence on the team. We missed him last year,” Mysore says. “I have to come to the conclusion that ultimately it is about being in the right frame of mind, creating the right environment and creating opportunities for conversations. When someone can facilitate it with integrity and credibility it goes a long way. Someone like Wasim is very unique: anybody from a youngest member like Kuldeep Yadav, who follows him around everywhere, to a great player like Jacques Kallis, who could have a one-on-one conversation, can easily strike a conversation with him.”***Leaders have always been the fulcrum of champion IPL teams – Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, MS Dhoni, and Gautam Gambhir in 2012. When Knight Riders retained Gambhir, questions were raised because he was not part of the Indian team anymore. Mysore and his think tank, however, believed in Gambhir, in his hunger and leadership.That faith was tested immediately, when Gambhir began the season with three consecutive ducks and Knight Riders lost more than they won. It looked ominous from the outside but within the team no one was perturbed. “To conclude he [Gambhir] was not in form when he had just faced five or six balls is not fair at all,” Mysore says.The highlight for Mysore was how Gambhir did not let his slump affect his leadership. “I never saw any difference in the way he approached the game, the way he led the side, the conversations he had during team meetings,” Mysore says. “I do not see him taking pressure on his captaincy by virtue of his batting – whether he is doing well or not doing well. That was a big thing.”Yusuf Pathan, a senior player at Knight Riders and a three-time IPL winner, is of the same opinion. “He never let his bad form in the first four matches have any effect on the team. That is a very big thing,” Yusuf says. “If a batsman gets out without scoring runs it is easy to get irritated, but he never let that have any impact on his captaincy and the team. He has been a champion in the past and he always held that belief. A good captain can make the team stand out and take it to a different level. Gautam has done that at KKR.”Yusuf also had a lot of critics after his bad form from last season continued into the early stages of 2014. He managed to turn it around, though, and struck the fastest fifty of the IPL in Knight Riders’ final league match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Yusuf credits his form to Gambhir, who supported his elevation to No.4 in the batting order.”In the first part of the tournament I was batting lower down and was not getting too many overs to settle down,” Yusuf says. He did not ask for a promotion, but considering Yusuf performed well in the middle order in domestic cricket, Gambhir decided to send him in earlier. “In the second half of the tournament he (Gambhir) said he knew I would win a few matches. And that did happen. So he supported me and remained confident about my role.”Gautam Gambhir had a terrible start to the season as a batsman, but he did not let his struggle affect his leadership•BCCIThe Knight Riders environment was such that tough decisions, such as dropping Jacques Kallis after he played eight games, were possible. According to Dahiya, Kallis was forthright during the meeting where he was dropped. “He said I will sit out if the selection panel thinks it would benefit the team combination for certain pitches,” Dahiya says. For Dahiya, Kallis set the benchmark in terms of team spirit. “He had the option of staying back at the hotel but he came for every match and was involved in our strategies. On training days he would move around and have a one-on-one with everyone. You don’t need team meetings. You need such interactions to help learn and build confidence.”Immediately after the final, Mysore said on Twitter that Kallis was the heart and soul of the team. “I have the greatest respect for Jacques. He did not play the final. But he was the most excited and happiest after winning the championship,” Mysore says. “He could have easily caught a flight and gone back home but he said he was staying back for the celebrations in Kolkata. In 2012 he had missed it due to FTP commitments.”***On the day of the final, immediately after a team meeting at the hotel, Mysore asked co-owner Shahrukh Khan to speak to the players. “Initially he was reluctant, but Shahrukh eventually spoke about the opportunity at hand. He told the players that this is what we live for, an opportunity to compete. He told them to enjoy the moment, not take any additional pressure, cherish it and whatever happens, happens.”There are many moments that contributed to Knight Riders’ march to the title. For Mysore, it is Yusuf’s blitzkrieg against Sunrisers, when he reached fifty off 15 balls and finished on 72 off 22. The innings led Knight Riders to a second-place finish in the league. “It changed the entire complexion of the knockouts. It gave us two bites at the cherry by virtue of finishing No. 2,” Mysore says. “It also allowed us to play the playoff against Kings XI Punjab in front of a home crowd at Eden Gardens. We got a couple of days to relax before the final. In this format every mini break always helps.”For Yusuf it was “one of the most memorable innings”, one that also brought him one of his favourite compliments. “Wasim told me he had played 20 years of cricket and has been doing commentary on TV for more than a decade but he had never seen such an innings,” Yusuf says.Uthappa says to finish as champions was a dream. It was his fourth title of 2013-14, having won three domestic trophies with Karnataka. “To have our backs against the wall at the start and then to finish as the winner is mind boggling.”Piyush Chawla, whose timely boundaries denied Kings XI in the final, recollected the words of Mike Horn, an adventurer hired by the franchise to help the players. “He would say in his game he does not lose his wicket. He loses his life. That kind of statement makes you put your body on line and play to win,” Chawla says. “At the halfway stage we were on the edge of falling out of the tournament. So we had to put our body on the line.”This was the first time Chawla has won the IPL, having previously played for Kings XI. He cannot forget what Shahrukh told him. “Shahrukh said many things but the one that stood out was when he told me in all the four matches I played against Kings XI, my previous franchise, I had delivered. That to him was incredible.”Knight Riders had been trying hard to “solve the jigsaw” in the first half of the season, according to Bhattacharjya, and the last piece slotted in once the Uthappa-Gambhir partnership took off. They had five fifty-plus opening stands this season, the most by any pair, and are one of only three opening pairs to hit two century partnerships in a season. “The rest were all good pieces, but the last one we were searching for desperately to solve the jigsaw came in the form of the success of that opening partnership.” Bhattacharjya says. “That is when the juggernaut started to roll.”***Immediately after Knight Riders had won their maiden IPL title in 2012, their coach Trevor Bayliss closed the dressing-room door to address the team. “He said, ‘This is it. Mission accomplished. Let us spend some minutes with ourselves and savour the moment before everyone else comes in,'” Bhattacharjya recollects.This time, when Bhattacharjya asked Bayliss if he wanted the door closed, the coach said there was no need. “The way we treated the 2014 campaign was like it was a job that needed to be done. It was not that we were scaling impossible heights [this time],” Bhattacharjya says. That is a terrific illustration of knowing, as a team, that we were not over-reaching to win.”