All posts by n8rngtd.top

They have been loyal even during the side’s more abject failures. And their faith is being tested some more

Madiha Khan26-Mar-2014Choice of game
Bangladesh v West Indies, the first game of the host team, my team, in the World Twenty 20 Super 10s. It is a fact that Bangladesh are going through a rough patch, possibly one of the worst patches of their cricketing history so far. The have disappointed before, they might disappoint again. But at the end of the day, Bangladesh is my country. How can I not put my belief in them?Key performer
Before the match, a thunderstorm was expected, as was a Gayle Storm. Neither arrived. Chris Gayle looked happy playing dot balls and rotating the strike, while his opening partner took charge of the run rate. Dwayne Smith scored four successive boundaries in one of Sohag Gazi’s overs, two successive fours in another. He seemed to enjoy the spin bowling as he took 11 off Sabbir Rahman’s over. Mahmudullah finally managed to take his wicket, but not before he too was hit for a six and a four. Smith finished with 72 off 43 balls.It is also worth mentioning that even though Chris Gayle ended up scoring a run-a-ball 48 runs, when Smith was dismissed he had only scored 19 runs off 28 deliveries. From then on he went on to hit two more sixes and three fours to maintain the run rate above eight.One thing you’d have changed
Multiple catches were dropped, boundaries were not saved, wickets were thrown away. I also thought the right bowling changes were not made in the first innings; Shakib could have been brought on earlier to try to break the partnership; Ziaur Rahman, who took one wicket and produced two other chances in the single over he bowled, was only brought on at the back end of the innings.Wow moment

Everything except for a stunner of a catch that Tamim Iqbal took went wrong for Bangladesh. He took a one-handed catch, flying to his right to send back Dwayne Bravo for a duck. Not that it made much of a difference in the context of the game, but his effort was excellent.Shot of the day
A flat six that Smith hit off Al-Amin Hossain to deep square leg.Crowd meter
As you’d expect for a World T20 game in a cricket-crazy nation, the stands were packed. The supporters manage to put the past in the past and find it worth their while to come back their team every single time. Or perhaps it is just the pleasure of watching a World T20 game live? Maybe the spectators arrive in numbers simply to dance in the aisles, spend time with friends and sing the national anthem altogether.Overall
The entire experience of this match was disappointing and frustrating. From the word go things were going wrong for Bangladesh. Mashrafe Mortaza started the match with five wides. That negativity lasted for the entire duration of the match for Bangladesh. By the end of it, I had given up hope. From the way they have been performing I don’t see Bangladesh winning any match in the near future. Unless, by some miracle all their issues are addressed and the team as we knew it makes a comeback.

Pressure is supposed to be an impediment to executing your skills. It hacks away and blunts it. Not for Virat Kohli

Abhishek Purohit in Dhaka04-Apr-2014Why is it nearly always him? Why is it he is who is nearly always standing out there at the end of a victorious chase? There are others in this story, of course. There always are others. There is always a supporting cast. There is space even in this format for an opening dash. Likewise, there is also space for a closing sprint. But why is it he who nearly always runs and wins the marathon, for which there is a space even in the shortest format. Why does a high-pressure chase in a world tournament semi-final appear like an algorithm being executed at Virat Kohli’s command?He goes at a strike-rate of 163.63 and still, scores comfortably more than half his runs in singles and twos. He says a single is as important as a six in a format where run a ball is universally considered slow. A format in which the defending champions think only sixes matter. He does not hit his first till his 17th delivery, but that does not stop him from already logging more than run a ball by then. Notice the timing of that six. It comes immediately after a partnership has ended, and the opposition is looking to tighten things. But it does not come against the specialist bowler. He does it against the part-timer.The closing sprinter does his job in the matter of an over. But the marathon is still going on. The opposition’s best bowler will bowl two of the last three overs. Now there is no question of picking bowlers like it was earlier. So the best fast bowler in the world is taken for two fours in an over. Flicked over midwicket. Charged at and carved over point.Skill. High-quality skill. Skill that nearly always comes good under pressure, when it is dearly needed to. Pressure is supposed to be an impediment to executing your skill. It an impediment for most. It hacks away at your skill, blunts it, even though it has been honed over years and years and seems as natural as eating.This format can blunt your skills even further with its everything-or-nothing, ultra-condensed nature. Look at what happened to Pakistan and West Indies, powerful, explosive sides both. They to chase big runs or the tournament was over for them. They just bottled up. Forget going down swinging, they could not even summon themselves to make a decent attempt. The pressure had blunted them so much.Here we have a man who does the very opposite. Pressure sharpens his skills. It gives him an extreme, eerie clarity of mind. He talks lucidly about continuing to pick up singles and twos to avoid that “rush of blood”, that screaming instinct which will implore you to hit a boundary every time you play a couple of dot balls in T20. So what does he do? He just cuts off the dot balls completely.Kohli faced 44 deliveries, of which three were dots. The first one was the first delivery he faced, a 145 kph lifter that nearly every batsman hopeful of batting for any length of time would play out safely. The second one, his 25th, was a superb slow bouncer which he tried to get away, but only managed an inside edge. The third, his 39th, was a quick outswinger that he tried to drive, but was beaten.

India have chased four times this World T20. Three times Kohli has been there when the winning runs were hit with scores of 36*, 57* and 72*.

Astonishing as just three dots in a 44-ball innings are, at least two of them were not intentional from Kohli, and the one that was intentional was also quite a wise choice. So barring that first ball, at no point during his knock was Kohli’s intent to not score runs.And just like his skills are sharpened under pressure, so is his intent. We do not need to peer into the make-up of his innings to know that. This intent business is always overpowering, in-your-face coming from Kohli, although he might want to temper a few manifestations of it when he becomes the captain. Kicking a ball in anger because a team-mate misfields. Waving his bat in frustration if his batting partner, a quite senior one at that, turns down a second run. Pumping his fist when he hits a boundary, especially the ones that appear to come at exactly the moment a big shot is required. Celebrating with raw passion after he has tamed another chase.India have chased four times this World T20. Three times Kohli has been there when the winning runs were hit with scores of 36*, 57* and 72*. The fourth time, by the time he fell he had practically ended the match with his 54. Why? Why is it him again and again and again?”Is that a valid question?” he says, before laughing, and then responding. “I think anyone in the world does the same things. Cricket is played more between your ears than your technique. If you can mentally be strong then you can tell yourself to stay on the wicket.”Today, till about 20 runs, I didn’t hit a boundary. It’s about staying patient and staying calm and not thinking about how many runs or balls are remaining. It is important to back yourself which I think everybody does with time. Once you start scoring runs you start believing in yourself more. That’s something I try to do and try to keep myself in that zone. There is no secret. Everyone wants to do well, everyone wants to score.”Which is what the point is. Everyone wants to, but he is able to, much more than many others are. Like tonight, when there was an able supporting cast. And there was King Kohli.

Great weather, good pitch, strong start from the home side, superb fightback from the visitors. Lord’s. The perfect day

Sudhindra Prasad18-Jul-2014Choice of game
I have been at Lord’s Tests in the past, but never on Day 1 which invariably falls on a work day. But this time I wanted to be a part of the special day, and I was in luck since I got tickets allotted by the MCC lottery.Team supported
India all the way. But being a cricket lover, I was also looking to witness the class of Alastair Cook and James Anderson, as well as the exciting new talent in Joe Root, Gary Ballance etc. Anderson did not disappoint.Key performer
Ajinkya Rahane by a long margin. He battled through the tough second session and made most of the opportunities in the third. Though there is a lot of cricket left to be played in this Test, I feel the extra 100 added to the score will play a huge role in determining the outcome of the game.Face-off I relished
Plunkett v Rahane. During the second session, Plunkett was beating the bat very often with his measured outswing. Rahane was lucky to survive that duel. Captain Cook set a rather intriguing leg side field for a seemingly Mitchell Johnson type of attack. However, that ended up playing into the hands of Rahane, who was well set by then.My Accessories
None of my usual India ’99 Cricket World Cup Jersey, Indian scarf, tri-colour paint, flaming headgear / hairdo, bugle etc. were on, since I was invited by a MCC member for a tour of the pavilion (Read: Formal attire only). So, it was just a suit for the day and I had to dig into my tie collection to pull out a rare 1983 Prudential World Cup tie, to proudly display India’s greatest achievement to date at the Home of Cricket. My iPad had to go along to type down my Fan following report.Close encounter (also generation gap)
On their way back from the nursery ground, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes were caught by autograph-hunting kids. One individual sat on the first row of the Edrich Lower stand – the former England player, Nick Knight, who was taking a break from his hospitality duties. I went over and sat next to him and had a nice time talking about the current India and England teams. The kids eventually found out and were all over Nick for selfies, the new autograph.Shot of the day

That six by Rahane, which was a very good shot. As he was three maximums away from his century, someone in the crowd screamed out to him to get three sixes. Almost on cue, Rahane belted out a surprise maximum.Crowd meter

Normal service was restored with Indian supporters looked increasingly worried at the fall of each India wicket. I say normal service since less than two weeks ago, Lord’s had witnessed Indian supporters screaming out “Colly, Colly” on his hat-trick delivery after he had dismissed that man, Rahul Dravid for a golden duck.Hardship factor
The Mound, the grand and upper sections of Compton and Edrich stands were subject to scorching sunshine all through the day. It was a glorious day for cricket alright, but probably a bit too hot for some patrons and there were constant announcements for spectators to keep themselves well hydrated. Shelter for the Compton and Edrich upper stands on the cards?Songs and chants
On noticing a steady improvement in strokeplay from Cheteshwar Pujara, the Indian supporters started off singing “La La La La, La La La La, Che Pujara” to the tune of “La La La La, La La La La, Say goodbye”. After a second rendition of the tune, Pujara was spectacularly castled by Ben Stokes. Needless to say, the English supporters sang the original to bid the batsman goodbye.Tests v ODIs
I strongly feel that there is enough space and reason for both formats to co-exist. Personally I like Tests more than any other format. Just the ebb and flow of today’s play, with batting collapses, excellent seam bowling, and a good lower-order fightback, provided ample evidence of how exciting Test match cricket can be.TV v stadium
The preparation as a cricket fan starts with having to look for ticket sales, grab them, make travel plans with friends and family, book accommodation, plan the required accessories, the anticipation, the banter, braving the weather and the overly strict security at the ground entrance, the joy of victory and celebrating with unknown fellow fans, stopping the chants just before the point of delivery so as not to miss the action, the food and beer lines, the souvenir shops, the friends made in the stands and so on. All that experience is worth the effort. Stadium trumps TV, any day of the year!Marks out of 10
10. Great weather at Lord’s, nice seaming pitch, good start by England, an excellent fightback by the under-rated Rahane and Jimmy on song. The good performances and fight by both teams will stay in memory for a long time to come.Want to do a Fan Following report? Read our FAQ here

A cheat sheet to help the visitor understand the idiosyncrasies of the New Zealand sports fan in his natural environment

Paul Ford15-Dec-2014

The basics

Sobriquets: If you hear that you’re in Aotearoa, Godzone, Land of the Long White Cloud or God’s Own Country, don’t freak out. You’re not lost: these are all nicknames for New Zealand. You should also know that when you hear the word kiwi, it may be referencing the flightless bird, a person from NZ, a furry fruit, or the New Zealand dollar.Flags: Do understand the differences between the New Zealand flag and the Australian flag. Both are blue and have a Union Jack in the top left corner. The NZ edition has four red stars, representing the or Southern Cross constellation. The Aussie version has six white stars.Teams: Heaps of New Zealand sporting teams have a moniker that includes the word black or silver: All Blacks (rugby), Black Caps (cricket), Silver Ferns (netball), Black Sox (softball), Iron Blacks (gridiron), Black Sticks (hockey), Black Ferns (women’s rugby), Black Fins (surf lifesaving), Wheel Blacks (wheelchair rugby), Tall Blacks (basketball) and Blackjacks (bowls). Things famously went off the rails when New Zealand badminton rolled the dice and tried to become the Black Cocks. It didn’t last long.Geography: There are two main islands: the North Island and the South Island, which are separated by a challenging strip of water (and a bloody expensive one to cross by boat or plane) called the Cook Strait. The latter is often referred to as the Mainland as it is larger in size. It is also perceived as tougher and less posh. You will blow locals’ minds if you can name any other islands in our island nation such as Stewart Island, the Chatham Islands, Great Barrier Island, d’Urville Island or Waiheke Island.Don’t say: “You mean those rocks south of Australia are a country?”•UniversalImagesGroupPrime minister: Our PM is a bloke called John Key, recently re-elected for a third three-year term. He once hit Shane Warne for three boundaries in a low-intensity charity cricket match at the Basin Reserve. “Be gentle, son,” he told Warne, and the eccentric Australian tweaker obliged.

Cricket culture

Criticising the Black Caps is a national sport: The team have been whipping boys in the eyes of the sporting public for large periods of their history. Like most NZ sporting teams, they suffer from a sporting milieu dominated by the All Blacks, the national rugby team who have won 75% of their matches over the past 111 years. To get on this bandwagon, say things like: “No consistency…”, “The top order is so brittle…”, “If only we had a guy like Hadlee…”Keep an eye out for the eighties mafia: The decent New Zealand team of the 1980s are still floating around in many cricket circles, making their presence felt and talking about things back in their day (when medallions and moustaches were rife). There are some from the era who are less than keen for the current crop to eclipse their achievements in the heyday of one-day cricket.Chris Cairns: The most controversial man in New Zealand cricket. There is a pro-Cairns camp and an anti-Cairns camp. You probably want to walk the tightrope and stay out of the raging arguments and just describe the match-fixing allegations fiasco as a sad episode and a blight on the game. Especially in Canterbury.The guy in the crowd holding a kiwi: That is Sonny Shaw and he is both an obsessive cricket fan and a peculiar individual. He aims to position himself at each game to get on TV as much as possible, and he’s got a back story with some skeletons. Approach with care.The underarm: Never forgive, never forget. This is the reason so many New Zealand cricket fans still hate Australia. That and the procession of plonkers who followed in the Chappells’ footsteps: Greg Matthews, Dean Jones, Greg Dyer, Brad Haddin…The two types of spectator attire at New Zealand grounds•Getty Images1992 World Cup legacy: It was the perfect tournament in so many ways, and cricket gripped New Zealand on the back of Martin Crowe’s magnificent batting and captaincy, Mark Greatbatch’s red-line tonking, and the strangulation techniques of Gavin Larsen and Dipak Patel with the ball. Swot up what happened in this tournament because New Zealand cricket fans will be discussing this ad nauseum.Eric Tindill: To demonstrate your staggering sporting awareness, ensure you know the story of Snowy Tindill – the only man to have completed a truly extraordinary double double: playing cricket and rugby for New Zealand and also refereeing international rugby and umpiring a cricket Test. Legend.Alternative commentary: There is no doyen commentator in New Zealand. On the TV, portly wicketkeeping legend Ian Smith is the main man, and on radio it is the long-toothed, short-legged and high-pantsed Bryan Waddle. In recent summers, the ACC’s cult cricket commentary has emerged too, appealing to those who like a bit of innuendo and risqué discussion with their ball-by-ball.

Slang: what you’ll hear and what to say

“Bring back Buck” A reference to former All Black captain and notorious hard man Wayne “Buck” Shelford who was dropped from the team despite never losing a match as captain. Signs with this phrase on it pop up at sporting events all over the world.“BYC” That’s backyard cricket, the great Kiwi summer pastime. Halls, lawns, beaches, parks, roads – anywhere really. In high-end BYC the tennis ball is taped on one side for swing.“Cackhanded” Left-handed like Jesse Ryder or James Franklin.“Chilly bin” Compulsory at all cricket matches except stadiums with over-exuberant rules. It’s an esky or insulated plastic box for keeping food and drink chilled.“Choice” This is not about decision-making – it’s an expression that means very good. Example: “Corey Anderson’s $98 haircut is choice.”“Chunder” To vomit. Example: “Jesse doesn’t look well, reckon he might chunder?”“Eh” Pronounced “ay”. It is often used at the end of sentences to turn a statement into a question. Example: “It sucks that the beers here are $11, eh?” It is also used as a substitute for “pardon” or “what”.Be prepared for plenty of ’80s nostalgia•Getty Images“Hard case” A person who is funny. Example: “That Mattress McCullum, he’s a hard case.”“Hissy fit”/”Wobbly”/”Pack a sad” Throw a tantrum. Example: “Look at Mitchell Johnson over there having a hissy fit.”“Jandal” Rubber sandals, default footwear for a day at a cricket ground with an embankment or heading to the beach.“L&P” A unique New Zealand drink that combines lemon flavour with spring water from the North Island town of Paeroa.“Loo” The toilet. The best one in NZ cricket is at the Basin Reserve, where you can keep an eye on the cricket from the urinal at the southern end.“Pakeha” A Maori word referencing a Caucasian/European New Zealander. It’s not offensive.“Piece of piss” Easy. Example: “Beating South Africa in a World Cup knockout match is a piece of piss.”“Scarfie” A university student, probably from Otago Uni in Dunedin.“Sweet as” This simply means something is good. Example: “Daniel Vettori’s running style is sweet as.”“Zed” The way we say the 26th letter of the alphabet.

Like many other destructive batsmen, he has quick hands. Unlike them, he plays the field set for him, not the bowler

Aakash Chopra10-Feb-2015What are the chances of seeing, even in a T20 game, a reverse sweep being played by a batsman to a ball pitched a couple of feet outside leg? While the shot is often lucrative towards the end of an innings, how many batsmen would be audacious enough to try it if there were more overs left in the game than had been bowled?Glenn Maxwell is one such player who is rewriting the rules of batting in the shorter formats of the game. The shot mentioned above was played against R Ashwin in Kings XI Punjab’s first IPL game last year. ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary described it in this way:

3.2 Ashwin to Maxwell, FOUR, no need to get your eye in, just pull out that reverse sweep and drag the carrom ball from way outside leg stump to the point boundary. That is just a top shot.

Maxwell played a few more fours after that one, with equal success.Still, there are a few batsmen who, in spite of being phenomenally good in T20, find it tough to translate that success to the 50-over game, for they simply do not have the game to take on quality bowlers who aren’t hamstrung by being able to bowl only four overs a game. Most batsmen who are T20 successes are lethal against lesser bowlers, and reasonably aggressive against better bowlers, but if a quality bowler is allowed to have an extended spell against them, they are found out. However, though Maxwell is not a runaway success in ODIs yet, his knock against England in the tri-series final and against India in the warm-up game are a fair indicator of what to expect from him in the World Cup. While he might not be the standout performer for Australia – he plays in a side with proven match-winners in it, and bats too low to make a regular impact – he is likely to play a few crucial knocks when they matter.Some of his more outrageous shots may work in the IPL but not on the faster pitches and bigger grounds of Australia•BCCIMaxwell, like a lot of modern batsmen, has quick hands that allow him to generate great bat speed. It’s a quality that’s needed if you aren’t built like Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard. There’s no substitute for hitting the ball hard once it gets old and the field spreads. While there’s still a lot of merit in putting the ball in gaps and running hard, 300-plus in an ODI and 200-plus in a T20 can’t be achieved without hitting fours and sixes, and Maxwell is good at it.What makes Maxwell different from most players is the fact that he doesn’t play the bowler or the ball that is bowled to him but the field that has been set for him. Once he’s reasonably confident about his form on the day, his choice of strokes is totally a reaction to where the fielders are. The reverse sweep I mentioned earlier was a result of the point fielder being inside the circle to Ashwin. So Maxwell had to either beat the inner ring or hit over it. Yes, there’s still a lot of risk because of the lack of complete control while playing a reverse sweep, because of the angles involved, but Maxwell isn’t one to fuss over percentages.That’s another quality most batsmen who pull off these unorthodox shots share – they are completely convinced that they will pull it off almost every single time. Virender Sehwag would play Muttiah Muralitharan against the spin all the time with a conviction that the ball wouldn’t go through the gap between bat and pad. If it did, he’d consider it an aberration and play against the spin again when Murali came on. Sometimes you envy these players’ mindsets; most “thinking” cricketers spend their time wondering about what will happen if they don’t connect.If the third-man fielder is inside the circle, it is almost a given that Maxwell will attempt a reverse sweep sooner rather than later. If the point fielder is inside to a fast bowler, Maxwell will attempt an inside-out shot, backing away. The good thing about playing the gaps is that he doesn’t need to hit a 70-yard shot every time, and since he only needs to clear the 30-yard circle, he doesn’t hit the ball too hard, which means he can maintain shape on most occasions. Reading the field also gives you an insight into the bowler’s plan. For example, if the third-man and fine-leg fielders are inside the circle, the bouncer is out of the question; instead a slower one is much more likely. If the mid-off fielder is inside the circle to a fast bowler, you don’t expect full balls.Opposition captains are likely to find success if they bounce him soon as he walks in•Getty ImagesObviously it’s not easy to reverse-sweep a fast bowler, or to hit him down the ground if it is short, but the rewards are worth the risk. There’s a bit of criticism about Maxwell sometimes throwing his wicket away when ten to 12 overs are left in the game, but that’s the nature of the beast. You can’t play high-risk, low-percentage cricket and score big hundreds regularly. Also, given his batting position, he’s not really required to score hundreds; his job is to maximise the scoring potential.While there are many things that are going Maxwell’s way at the moment, teams might want to look at the chinks in his game.For starters, he isn’t 100% comfortable against good quick bouncers, so opposition attacks may want to look at using the big grounds in Australia to lay traps. Maxwell gets away with playing attacking shots against bouncers in the IPL because of the slower pitches and smaller grounds, but he might get into trouble if he tries the same things in Australia. It won’t be a bad idea to throw the ball to your fastest bowler when Maxwell walks in.The second ball that’s likely to work is the yorker. Targeting the nose and toes is fairly established as a successful tactic in the death overs, but with Maxwell you cannot afford to wait till the death overs, because he gets going as soon as he walks in to bat. If you allow him to find his feet, chances are you’ll end up paying a huge price.

Although the lead up to the World Cup was not perfect for Kyle Coetzer, he found some form in the warm-ups and has scored regularly to lead Scotland’s case in the tournament

Devashish Fuloria in Nelson05-Mar-2015Kyle Coetzer took 11 balls to move from 94 to his hundred, a sudden drop from his almost run-a-ball scoring rate, that too in the middle of the batting Powerplay, when Scotland were looking to press on. Five of those deliveries came from Shakib Al Hasan, easily Bangladesh’s best bowler, but then he missed three balls from Rubel Hossain.The partnership between Coetzer and Preston Mommsen had swelled to 82, but Coetzer’s nearing landmark was affecting Scotland’s tempo. Then, as he lofted Rubel fourth ball of the 38th over, it appeared he had succumbed to the pressure, toe-ending it. Or that’s what Bangladesh’s third man would have felt, as it’s not easy to gauge the trajectory from behind the stumps, but the ball actually landed on the grass banks to the left of sight-screen, making Coetzer Scotland’s first World Cup centurion.He took the helmet off to soak in the applause from a crowd that had put a lot more voice behind them compared to the one in Dunedin. It revealed his balding head with short-crop sides, sign of a youth gone by and of the years spent playing cricket for his country and counties, Durham and Northamptonshire. In a young line-up, Coetzer is one of the seniors. He may not have played the most games for Scotland, but he has played the most cricket.A lot of Scotland interest is focused on the new and exciting young batsmen. The small press pack wants to keep an eye on Calum McLeod. They want Matt Machan to not throw it away; he is too talented. Coetzer is seldom mentioned in the same breath. Yet, as his innings showed, he remains the guardian angel.Asked to bat first, Scotland were understandably tentative as was visible in Coetzer’s initial approach. He was keen to nudge the ball around, unlike McLeod and Hamish Gardiner, both of whom perished playing aggressive shots. He saw Machan come down the pitch and smash one for six, but he was not sucked into the flow. Happily staying away from strike, he let others play the big shots. It was only in the 13th over, when he spotted a long hop, that he swatted the ball away to the boundary.By the first drinks session, he had made slow progress to 23 off 30. It was in the 20th over, bowled by Shakib, that he probably thought he was set enough for the big shots, as he nonchalantly swept the bowler over midwicket for a six and followed it up with another boundary in the same area two balls later.

Coetzer wants ‘high-quality’ exposure for Associates

Kyle Coetzer, the Scotland batsman, has appealed for the Associates to be given more matches in between World Cups against the best teams.
“Well, I know a lot has been made of World Cups, but for me what is even more important is what happens in between every World Cup and the fixtures that are made available to Associate nations and the amount of cricket that they’re playing and the amount of cricket they’re playing at a high-quality level. Because at the moment, it’s quite clearly not enough.
“But if you’re focusing on a World Cup, it’s a World Cup, it’s a world tournament, so it should include teams from all over the world. But if you’re cutting that down, I’ve said it before, it’s just going back to having another Champions Trophy, so I don’t think it should be called a World Cup if you’re cutting down the teams even more.
“We knew today was a huge opportunity for us. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future regarding World Cups and the participation of Associate nations. I think a lot of discussions need to be had and the right decisions need to be made because at the moment I don’t think people are making the right decisions in terms of Associate cricket.”

Not so long ago, Coetzer was the captain of the Scotland side. Then a wrist injury sidelined him for a couple of games and by the time he came back, Preston Mommsen had established himself in the leadership role. Mommsen, Grant Bradburn, the Scotland coach, said, “thrived in the capacity” and was thus considered the leader going ahead. Bradburn wanted Coetzer to focus on his batting.Although the lead up to the World Cup was not perfect for Coetzer, the batsman managing a high of 22 in the three innings he played in the UAE, he found some form in the World Cup warm-ups, hitting a 96 that laid the foundation of a strong chase against West Indies in Sydney. That match ended in a three-run loss, but the belief has been set that if Scotland were to score big runs, they had to start from the top. Coetzer hit a half-century against England in Christchurch to reiterate he was playing himself into some form.In Nelson, it was only after he had crossed his half-century that he started playing freely, Bangladesh’s bowlers serving him with enough shortish deliveries. It was his preferred length, as he frequently got up on his toes to play punchy drives through cover. Against Afghanistan, he had been caught in the crease to a fuller one; Bangladesh did not test him with that length, playing into his strengths.The acceleration, though, came towards the end as Coetzer stole 18 runs off the 40th over. Two overs later, he smashed Mashrafe Mortaza for 15 more, the penultimate delivery landing in the crowd at long-on. It was the ball after, a searing yorker he calmly nudged away to the leg side, that showed how confident he had become. His dominating 156 set the tone of the innings, but it was not enough in the end as Bangladesh chased down the target clinically.”I thought 330 would have been good, but I felt the batsmen at the other end were also scoring, so I felt I didn’t have to do anything rash,” Coetzer said, forced to defend his relatively slow start.But Mommsen, who took more positives out of the loss this time, credited Coetzer for giving Scotland a good chance of putting pressure on Bangladesh. “It was a fantastic [innings], I was fortunate to spend a lot of time out there with him, especially through that period where he accelerated perfectly and timed his innings perfectly,” Mommsen said. “So the guys will take a lot of confidence from his performance, will enjoy his performance. We’re very proud of his performance, and hopefully the people back home are also very proud of that.”You look back and you might think, ‘Yeah, maybe we should have gone a little bit harder, a little bit earlier.’ But, yeah, it’s easy to say that in hindsight. I think 318 we are very happy with, and that gave us a chance to win the game.”In one of the sheds at the Saxton Oval is a bat, about four feet high, a good four kilos or more, that is used for drilling in the point to parents that it is what a normal bat feels like to a young kid. It is used to reiterate to parents that it takes time for the kids to be ready for the big boys. You could have handed that bat to Coetzer today and he would have still scored those runs. Coetzer’s innings was yet another example that Scotland are growing up fast.

From restricting Sehwag to taming Johnson, using the spinners wisely to building a strong partnership, Daredevils did a lot of things right to finally win a game

Amol Karhadkar in Pune15-Apr-2015Keeping Sehwag quietIf Delhi Daredevils were to avoid becoming the first team to lose 12 IPL matches in a row, they had to dismiss Virender Sehwag early. They didn’t manage that, but they achieved what most bowling attacks all over the world have seldom been able to do: keep Sehwag quiet.Playing against a team for whom he once was a marquee player, Sehwag spent 15 overs at the crease but he could score just 47 runs off 41 balls. His strike rate of 114.63 was barely acceptable for most of his Test knocks. Jokes apart, it was only the seventh time in his 99 IPL innings that Sehwag had a sub-115 strike rate for scores more than 20.Though Sehwag played the odd release shot, for most of his innings the Daredevils bowlers bowled disciplined lines to him. They hardly offered him width, preventing his favourite cut shot.Spin magicAt the end of the 13th over, Kings XI Punjab were 100 for 1. With Wriddhiman Saha scoring at will, Sehwag rotating the strike and the likes of David Miller, Glenn Maxwell and George Bailey to follow, Kings XI were set to make Daredevils chase 180-plus.Then came the masterstroke by Daredevils captain JP Duminy. Despite each of his three pace bowlers having an over each, Duminy persisted with spin for the remaining seven overs. The move paid dividends as Duminy himself, Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir managed combined figures of 7-0-65-6 at the death. They wickets they took during the last segment of the innings turned out to be the difference between the two teams.While Mishra started the wicket spree with a yorker to Saha, Tahir concluded on a perfect note by dismissing Bailey and Axar Patel off the last two balls of the innings.

Major security breach averted

The dog squad of the Maharashtra Cricket Association helped avert what would have been the first major security breach of IPL 2015.
During the innings break of Kings XI Punjab’s home game against Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI co-owner Preity Zinta was doing a lap of the adopted home ground. Just like she had done during Kings XI’s first home game four days ago, Zinta was throwing the home team’s jerseys into the crowd. As she neared the North Stand, a handful of spectators tried to jump the fence.
A section of the fence broke and forced the actress to sprint across the sight screen. Around a dozen spectators were on the ground but the security force responded quickly and three trained dogs evacuated the spectators in no time. The dogs remained stationed at the fence for the rest of the match and did not let an intruder onto the field.

Getting the better of JohnsonOnce Mayank Agarwal and Duminy, who finally promoted himself to No. 3, avoided an early collapse in Daredevils’ chase, the fate of the match was more or less going to be decided in the 24 balls from Mitchell Johnson. Despite being one of the most fearsome bowlers with the new ball, Johnson has been used in the middle overs by Kings XI, after swing bowlers Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh opened the attack.On Wednesday, Johnson was introduced in the sixth over and Duminy welcomed him with a flick through the on side for a four. He was taken off the attack, but once Duminy was run out in the eighth over and Yuvraj Singh took guard, the captain George Bailey was quick to throw the ball back to Johnson.Johnson has consistently pestered Yuvraj with his short balls over the last two years, but the batsman first flicked a shorter delivery to the fine-leg boundary before leaving what was easily the ball of the day – a bouncer pitched on a perfect line and rising all the way through – in the same over. In the next over, however, Yuvraj got the better of Johnson, hitting a couple of sweetly-timed boundaries. To compound Johnson’s misery Agarwal hooked him for a towering six in his final over. That six made sure Daredevils were in a position as good as match point.The Agarwal-Yuvi magicThe young opener had to justify his promise. The seasoned left-hander had to justify his price tag. Agarwal and Yuvraj managed to achieve their individual objectives, thus helping their team reach its preliminary goal of breaking the losing streak.Agarwal has a reputation of throwing away a rapid start. As a result, he hasn’t cemented his place in any format in domestic cricket. On Wednesday, however, he played a near-perfect T20 innings. A quick start, followed by sensible batting in the middle overs, and then accelerating when the asking rate had started to get closer to 10.Similarly, Yuvraj, who finally had time to get his eye in for Daredevils, shifted gears without any hassles to put his new team on the brink of a much-needed win. He had helped Pune Warriors end their 11-match losing streak with an immaculate bowling performance against Rajasthan Royals at the same venue two years ago. He did it with the bat this time to ensure Daredevils didn’t slump to an unwanted IPL record.

Jason Holder on his captaincy, the CPL, and why he backs the proposed changes to the ODI rules

Interview by Jonhenry Wilson22-May-2015You effectively embody the new direction of West Indies cricket, and are a very young ODI captain at 23. Do you feel the associated pressures?
The pressure is there, yes, but that’s quite normal. Coming into an environment you’ve longed to be in brings with it pressures. Nobody comes into international cricket not looking to perform and do well, but when you perform and are relatively successful individually, the pressures come with it. Not just me, all the players have something they must bring to West Indies cricket. The onus is on all of us, not just one or two, to take West Indies cricket forward, with hard work.You eventually succeeding Denesh Ramdin as Test captain seems more a probability now than a possibility.
I will just take it as it comes. If it comes to a situation where I can take over from Denesh when he is finished, then I’d have to think about it and decide. The ODI captaincy is a big challenge for the time being, and I’m really relishing it.In his new autobiography, Curtly Ambrose says West Indies will take 15 years to become a world cricket powerhouse again. Do you agree with this timeline?
Fifteen years is an extremely long time. I think if we can work hard and put certain things in place in terms of our physical fitness and patterns of our cricket, we will be back among the best – across all formats – within five years. As individuals and as a team, we have to take the time to do this – and do it right. We will reap success by pushing ourselves hard and going the extra mile when it seems really difficult to go the extra mile. That’s what will get us to No. 1, in all formats.

“The batting Powerplay and the current field limitations mean it’s pretty much all about the batting side succeeding. But these new rules could offer more leverage for the bowlers and perhaps leave a bit more room for error”

You’ve played Test cricket against New Zealand, South Africa and England, but June’s series against Australia will arguably be the most challenging of the lot.
The Australians were ranked No. 1 for a long time, and held the post ahead of South Africa recently too. They are a quality team, this we know, especially in Test match cricket. It’s only going to be two Tests against them, but it’s going to be a great challenge in front of our home crowds.Shai Hope had a disappointing Test debut earlier this month, but he has all the makings of a solid opening batsman for the future.
I’ve played a lot of cricket alongside and against Shai. He is ready for international cricket, after a prolific run at first-class and one-day level in recent years. He has scored a good few centuries too, which always bodes well for big runs on the biggest stage. If allowed the chance, he will go far.”The IPL is always going to speak for itself. But I prefer the Caribbean Premier League”•LatinContent/Getty ImagesThe ICC is probably going to change some of ODI cricket’s rules again, potentially removing the batting Powerplay and introducing less restrictive field placements. Does this please you?
I’ve heard the talk but have not looked into the possible changes at an in-depth level yet. I do know the eradication of the batting Powerplay will bring the right balance in the battle between bat and ball again. The batting Powerplay and the current field limitations, with only so many fielders allowed outside the circle at certain periods, mean it’s pretty much all about the batting side succeeding. But these new rules could offer more leverage for the bowlers and perhaps leave a bit more room for error.You’ve played for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League. How do the tournaments compare?
The IPL is always going to speak for itself, being the biggest domestic T20 tournament in the world. But I prefer the Caribbean Premier League. Playing in front of your home crowd, with familiar faces and at familiar grounds, makes for a great atmosphere. Nothing can compare to the CPL in terms of those aspects.Barbados Tridents don’t boast big-name international signings such as Shahid Afridi or Jacques Kallis, but have the likes of Shoaib Malik, Dilshan Munaweera and Robin Peterson.
I’ve played alongside Shoaib since the onset of the CPL. He is a wonderful recruit, performs well and is a great team guy. He is instrumental with the rest of the squad, comes across as very professional and gets a good response from everyone in the team. Dilshan is an exceptional player, I have a lot of respect for him. I know Robin, but I have not met Justin Ontong yet. They’ve got international experience, and they will bring that to the party.Will we see a marked difference in the Tridents of 2015 compared to the Tridents of 2014?
We won the competition last year, so there is nothing I really can say as to where the odd aspect or two might have gone wrong. As for what went right, and what I hope will repeat itself, is the crowds that come in. With games being played at night, people are afforded the chance to go to work and then come to the cricket, which works well for all concerned. With the big crowds coming in, we want to oblige them with excellent cricket, so I just hope we are able to do that again.Your West Indies career started some four years after international tours to Pakistan were halted due to the threat of terrorism. The lengthy hiatus will end this month. Would you be willing to follow in the footsteps of Zimbabwe?
I know Zimbabwe are there now, and that’s their decision in the end. I wouldn’t tour Pakistan now. I’d have to be 100% certain all the right security measures are in place and that the security would always be 100%. I don’t know if that assurance can be given at the moment.

At the helm of young teams, the contrasting leadership styles of Virat Kohli and Angelo Mathews could present a fascinating subtext to an important series in Sri Lanka

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Aug-2015Virat Kohli, 26, strides purposefully to the crease, reputation always preceding him, collar often popped, a sharp tongue cocked, ready to return fire. Angelo Mathews, 28, ambles to the middle, impervious and imperturbable, lost somewhere in his own universe.Both are gifted batsmen, leading young teams into an important series. That is about where the similarities end.If he was a general in your army, Kohli would be the man to lead the charge on an enemy position. His blood runs hottest in attack. He has sometimes been accused of being too aggressive, but to Kohli’s ears, this is probably a compliment. He isn’t blind to the merits of defence. More likely he feels it is beneath him. He bats out of his crease on the quickest pitches in the world, against the fastest bowlers. Balls other batsmen only dare prod at, Kohli sends scorching through midwicket, wrists whipping like a sail that has caught the wind.But there is a dark side to this outlook. When Kohli keeps a full cordon in for Indian quicks after the sheen has come off the ball, you wonder if he is deluded. Some decisions are best made with a level head and a sense of detachment, but Kohli’s emotions are never far from the surface. Even publicly, he has admitted he would prefer to be less expressive.As far as poker faces go, Mathews’ is among the stoniest around. On the surface he is dull. But still waters run deep, they say, and at 28, he has already produced some of Sri Lanka’s greatest innings. He is the general you want in charge of the fortress, because when his team is outgunned, when they are tumbling into crisis, that’s when he goads the best from himself. Kohli has a famously poor record in England. Mathews has a Lord’s ton and a monumental 160 at Headingley – an innings that seems to grow in stature with each passing England Test.Mathews’ shortcomings are peculiar for someone in his 20s, though unsurprising, given the man. “Angelo has ice in his veins,” his team-mates say, but when opposition batsmen are stealing the match away and he stands inert at slip or cover, you want to prod him with a stick to see if he hasn’t frozen through. When he attacks, he attacks conventionally. He uses words like “positive” and “aggressive” whenever a microphone is set in front of him, but in reality his style seems a departure from a Sri Lankan tradition that has pioneered strategy and embraced adventure.Angelo Mathews’ leadership style has often been criticised for not being aggressive enough but as a player, his best performances so far have come in challenging situations•AFPOf the two, Mathews has the better batting average of 51.67, and is arguably the superior Test batsman, to say nothing of his expanding wit with the ball. Since the beginning of 2013, only Kumar Sangakkara has a better Test average than Mathews’ 67.59. Sangakkara would be the first to concede that his runs have come easier. When Mathews bats with an often-clueless tail, they come to sudden life. He has subdued many fires, and ignited a few as well.Kohli is fresh at India’s helm, but appears to be the more dynamic leader. Under him, there is strong, vibrant direction to India’s transition. “We want to play aggressive cricket, and we don’t mind losing that way,” is the cry from his camp. Backed by full-throated advocates like Ravi Shastri, Kohli has so far lived true to his words, even if his team has died by the sword more often than they have thrived, for now. Kohli has arrived on the island intent on playing five frontline bowlers. Talk of dumping a batsman from the top seven perhaps won’t even feature in the team meetings Mathews leads.The path ahead teems with unique challenges for each man. Mathews is expected to fashion a world-beating team out of players graduating from one of the weakest domestic leagues in cricket. Kohli is funded by the wealthiest cricket body that has ever existed, but will barely draw a breath that is not endlessly pored over and dissected. Mathews’ loved ones are of virtually no interest to the Sri Lankan public, for example. With any luck, they will never become scapegoats for his failures.They now embark on a series that will be closely followed in Sri Lanka. Local fans have lowered expectations after a poor 2015 so far, but India is the team they would really like their side to beat. Kohli and his men, meanwhile, have that embarrassing recent away record to amend.Both teams will try new things. Unknowns will search for stardom. Old hands will aim to make graceful exits. And the clash of contrary captains will play out, perhaps in the background, but always with the capacity to define the tour.

On a pitch that threw up a puff of dust from the first ball, 17-year-old Ishan Kishan’s remarkable clarity of thought almost negated Saurashtra’s strategy

Sidharth Monga in Rajkot08-Oct-2015The Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot is now a relic, hosting Ranji Trophy matches only because there is an ODI to be played in Rajkot in 10 days time. This stadium has witnessed some exciting batting, though. Viv Richards had scored 100 off 77 balls with seven sixes and seven fours here. Virender Sehwag looted 114 off 82 in a chase of 300 against West Indies in 2002 before he, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara scored hundreds in a 400-meets-400 ODI. Sourav Ganguly, during the fractious days of Indian cricket, began his comeback with a Duleep Trophy hundred here. Not to mention the thousands of runs Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja have scored here to press cases for their national selection.Not many will not laugh at the suggestion that Ishan Kishan’s 87 on day one of a Group C Ranji Trophy match is being spoken of in the same breath. “Ishan Kishan, who?” will be the first question. Kishan is Jharkhand’s 5’6″ 17-year-old left-hand opening batsman and wicketkeeper. He was recently in Bangalore for India’s Under-19 camp. He is yet to score a first-class, List A or Twenty20 hundred. In fact, his strike rate in T20 is under 100.Now why is an 87 important? Saurashtra has two ways of playing cricket. Prepare a flat pitch and score a lot of runs through Pujara and Jadeja, and then unleash the master of metronome on the opposition. If they lose the toss on these pitches they still find ways of scoring runs batting second. The other way is to not water the pitch, prepare a Bunsen and unleash the king of quick turn, Jadeja, again. There is no breathing space for opposition batsmen, especially those in Group C. Tripura experienced it last week, losing in two days and a session. They are very few who can trip Saurashtra into the ditch they dig.For this match Saurashtra opted for the second method. The Bunsen. Underprepared. Powdery. Throwing up puffs of dust from ball one. “A “, a Jharkhand official remarked. A farm. Ploughed farm. “”, wrestling ground, it is generally called. The ball is “turning like a power steering”, it was observed. When Kishan – facing first ball of the match – scratched his guard, dust flew, and he saw Saurashtra fielders laugh at him. It will be interesting to see how the BCCI match referee sees this pitch: substandard, because it was turning from day one, or just a result-oriented okay pitch because it wasn’t really “dangerous”. It was also going to be interesting to see how Jharkhand deal with it and escape the Tripura-like fate?

Kishan was not going to roll over like Tripura did. He jumped out of the crease first ball, reached the pitch of the ball and went over mid-on. Saurashtra were a little stunned. Next ball he did it again. A wide long-on went back, and he went over that man for six. The Jharkhand players sitting on the sidelines were abuzz. “”, “”.

The first step towards doing so is to win the toss, but still you have to score runs first up. If you don’t, Jadeja can bowl all day long and still get you. When Jharkhand checked in into their hotel in Rajkot, Tripura players were yet to leave and told the Jharkhand side not to let the spinners settle, a mistake they made. On such pitches you have to do unto others they do unto you, as wrestler Steve Austin used to profess. The ball rears up on such pitches, well, like a rattlesnake. Saurashtra went in for doing unto Jharkhand as early as the fifth over. They began with the other Jadeja, Dharmendrasinh. He, too, bowls left-arm spin. He took the four wickets that Ravindra didn’t take in the second innings of the last match.Kishan was not going to roll over like Tripura did. He jumped out of the crease first ball, reached the pitch of the ball and went over mid-on. Saurashtra were a little stunned. Next ball he did it again. A wide long-on went back, and he went over that man for six. The Jharkhand players sitting on the sidelines were abuzz. “”, “”. Chhotey because Kishan is a wee fellow and the youngest in the side. “” the noun for verb “” directly translates to a collision. Attack them, confront them, collide with them. Don’t cower. “Even the seniors were not asking me to play carefully today,” Kishan said. “They knew against spin I can hit like a madman.”Before Kishan could face him, the bigger Jadeja had already taken a wicket. Kishan got another shot at Dharmendrasinh before he faced Ravindra. Dharmendrasinh began the next over with a long-on and deep midwicket in place. They were telling Kishan to go for it if he felt he was good enough. Kishan was. He was right out of the crease and down to the pitch of the ball twice in his second over, and cleared the fielder at deep midwicket with ease on both occasions. The key was a big and decisive first stride. And then came the sweet connection.To do it against Dharmendrasinh is one thing, against Ravindra quite another. Ravindra is stronger, bowls flatter and draws more turn. This is obviously early days, but Kishan has an amazing clarity of thought. Some might again laugh at the comparison, but it is almost Sehwag-like. He has no qualms in saying “seam-weam” I don’t understand, but he was picking Ravindra easily. “I was picking him from his grip,” Kishan said. “When he split the fingers on the ball I knew he was going to go slower and try to turn it from outside off. When he went up regularly, I knew he was going to fire it in.”So I went by line. When it was straight I felt it was in my reach, and I stepped out and hit. When it was that wider delivery, I played it properly.” If he was going to get out, he was going to get out on his terms. Before that, though, he would be laughed at once again.Jadeja bowled that split-finger delivery early on, which turned and bounced, and Kishan was almost on the floor, trying to cover the line somehow, and fended in front of his face. Ravindra and friends laughed, and mock-gestured among themselves as if playing a bouncer from a quick. The Jharkhand bench went, “.” Collide with them.Collide Kishan did next ball. Down the pitch decisively, he cleared mid-on. Jadeja responded by sending long-on and midwicket back, suspecting Kishan had only one gear. What a good gear he had, if he indeed had only one. Out of the crease again, managing to get under darts from Ravindra, he cleared midwicket and long-on in successive deliveries. The second went out of the ground. Kishan’s fifty came up in the 12th over, out of a team score of 64 for 2.The hitting didn’t stop although Kishan admitted he was beaten in the flight in two of his eight sixes. He went ahead with the shots, and made sweet connections still. “” [He had dragged the length back.] When Kishan finally miscued for the first time, he had reached 87, off just 69 balls, out of a team score of 120, hitting eight sixes and four fours. Jaydev Unadkat got under the ball, shouted out “mine”, and perhaps knew this was the big catch, went up with fingers pointing up, and let it slip. He stuck out a hand to catch the rebound, and the relief on his face was palpable. This 17-year-old was pushing Saurashtra into the ditch they had dug for Jharkhand.Ravindra ran towards Unadkat. The whole Saurashtra team assembled. Jadeja broke the huddle and patted the back of Kishan, which is not a common sight in the highly competitive world of domestic cricket. Not bad for someone who was laughed at even before he faced the first ball. Jharkhand went on to duly collapse for 168, and their spinners provided too many long hops and full tosses to Saurashtra to let them take a 35-run lead, which can prove crucial on this pitch where spinners have taken 19 wickets on the first day.There is a remarkable un-coached freshness to this Patna kid who had to move to Ranchi because the BCCI until this year didn’t recognise Bihar cricket. He may or may not repeat such efforts in the future, but with the Under-19 World Cup coming up, and with Rahul Dravid to be the coach of that side, he might just get the perfect coach to show him to pick “seam-weam” and how to build bigger innings.