The post mortems have seldom been so exhaustive, tedious or varied in their verdicts. Two days after the drawn Ahmedabad Test, Indian newspapers can’t get enough of comment from former cricketers. The inability to force a win raised many questions: Were the Indians too defensive? Were New Zealand more resilient than expected? Was the pitch at fault? The answers depend, almost entirely, on which newspaper you read with your morning cuppa.

Asian Age readers were treated to Geoffrey Boycott, never short on words, and fast strengthening his standing as the darling of the Indian masses. “Could India have done anything different to win the match? I don’t think so,” wrote Boycott in his column. But a scapegoat is needed. We must have someone to blame for every match not won. “Blame should lie fairly and squarely with the guy who prepared the pitch. There was no pace, no movement and no spin. It never gave the bowlers a chance and batsmen found it easy to stay in and defend but became frustrated at not being able to play shots. This pitch was no good to anybody.”Nadeem Memon, the curator, may have struck Boycott off his Christmas-card list, but he won’t be the players’ favourite either, if you believe Boycott: “Even the players don’t enjoy this sort of cricket. They do their best and keep their mouths shut. Any critical comment would be frowned upon!” The players might have to be diplomatic, but Boycott does not. “Slow, low pitches like this do harm to the game.”Another opener, the not-so-orthodox Kris Srikkanth, did not buy into Boycott’s logic. The Times of India took the trouble of listening to what Srikkanth said on TV and reproduced it for its readers. “I’m disappointed. Kumble and Harbhajan were tired. That the wicket was flat is no argument. Tendulkar and Sehwag should have bowled longer spells. Tendulkar was flighting the ball well. We didn’t show the killer instinct.”The Doordarshan studios must have a specific effect on people, for Madan Lal too thought that the pitch was not to blame. “Had the spinners flighted the ball a little more it could have made the difference. The New Zealand batsmen applied themselves and were successful in hanging on in the middle, especially in the morning. For the moment it is advantage New Zealand. They have learnbed a thing or two on how to negotiate spinners.”

Sunil Gavaskar chose to be a touch more diplomatic than his one-time opening partner. “The draw will make Ganguly’s critics sharpen their pens finding fault with his bowling changes, field placements and just about everything. The fact is New Zeland have come better prepared mentally and are thus tougher customers than their previous teams.”Glenn Turner, another former opening batsman (if English papers are dominated by former medium-pacers, India seems to like to see openers in print), told the Indian Express that there were no real gains from the game. “New Zealand might feel satisfied at getting out of jail and India may feel cheated, but there is no room for moral victory in this game; in my book no-one scored any point.” He also spared a thought for the spinners: “There is bound to be some criticism of the spinners but the wicket was such a flat deck that their best efforts did not yield results.”Sanjay Manjrekar (who, thankfully, cannot be called a former opener despite having done occasional duty in that role) could not make up his mind about the Indian captain. “Ganguly has made it amply clear that he felt that the Ahmedabad pitch was responsible for the eventual outcome of the Test, he wrote in the Times of India. I would tend to agree with him, but not wholeheartedly. Now to give the pitch all the credit for the draw would be terribly unfair to the curator and the Gujarat Cricket Association.”Manjrekar also wondered why Ganguly seemed to lack a certain spark, conveniently glossing over the fact that he was suffering from an irritating groin infection. “So why was the spark missing in Ahmedabad? My guess today would be that the Indian captain just started off in a bad mood. The local association just did not support him where they could at the start of a very important game, signalling the start of the Indian cricket season. I think Ganguly, perhaps, went into the Test match just feeling let down.”Ravi Shastri, in his column in the Times of India, was full of praise for Anil Kumble. “New Zealand not only walked away with a draw, but also the honours in the first Test. India’s trump card at home is still Anil Kumble. Remember, Anil did not play at home against Australia, else he would have finished with a bagful. He was under pressure to perform now, but proved yet again that on such wickets he is the best.” Shastri, like Manjrekar, reckons that all was not quite well. “I sensed that the Indians got frustrated a little too early and surrendered thoughts of a win. Having been beaten 2-0 in the last series against New Zealand some more fire and ambition was warranted.”The debate, you can be sure, will rage on till the Mohali Test starts on Thursday, when there will fresh points to ponder over a cup of coffee.

In spite of England’s defeat in the final of the Champions Trophy, Andrew Flintoff has consolidated his position as the world’s leading one-day player. According to the PwC ratings, Flintoff now lies fourth in the batting table and seventh in the bowling, and is unsurprisingly rated as the best allrounder in the game, ahead of West Indies’ Chris Gayle (eighth and 23rd respectively).Marcus Trescothick, who scored a valiant but futile 104 in the final, has climbed to fourth in the batting charts after top-scoring 261 runs in the tournament. That was almost 100 more than the next most prolific batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was named as Man of the Tournament after picking up match awards against South Africa and Pakistan. He has slipped from fourth to seventh after falling cheaply in the final.Of the bowlers, Steve Harmison makes the biggest leap up the rankings, climbing 16 places to No. 20 after another penetrative new-ball spell. The batting list is still topped by Sachin Tendulkar, however, despite the fact he missed the tournament through injury.

An innovative technique to balance wicket conditions is being trialled at Old Trafford. Peter Marron, the groundsman there for the last 22 years, has been applying a glue-resin directly on the pitch to bind it together to prevent wearing, with particular emphasis on the one-day game to ensure the pitch condition remains the same for both batting sides.Speaking to , Marron said: “Everybody thought I was joking when I first suggested trying it on the net pitches, and I admit I had a laugh when it was first suggested to me. But in fact the substance used is a glue-resin, PVA, which bonds and seals the surface so that conditions remain the same for both sides in the course of a one-day game.”Marron has been experimenting on the net pitches at Old Trafford, which have proved successful, providing “consistently hard, long-life strips.” The wicket used for the one-day game between the England and Sri Lanka Under-19s yesterday was due to use Marron’s pioneering technique, but the match was called off after four overs due to bad weather.

Steve Rixon, the former Australian wicketkeeper and New Zealand coach, has joined the call for Matthew Hayden’s exclusion from the Australian team for the fifth Ashes Test, which starts at The Oval on September 8. Hayden has struggled throughout the series, scoring only 180 runs in eight innings at an average of 22.50, and Rixon reckoned it was time for Simon Katich to move up the batting order as Justin Langer’s partner.”I’d be leaving Matthew Hayden out and letting Simon Katich open,” Rixon told . “I’ve no doubt Ricky [Ponting] will want him in the team, but it shouldn’t happen. I’m a fan of Matthew Hayden. He’s been sensational for Australia. But this is a one-off Test with everything – and I mean everything – at stake. It’s the biggest match Australia has played for as long as I can remember. Matthew is a frustrated batsman. Even he would have to admit he’s out of form. It’s been too long since he’s made a big score.” Hayden hasn’t scored a hundred in his last 15 Tests, and averages only 30.23 over that period.”He can come back for the next Test, but he shouldn’t be in this one,” Rixon continued. “I’ve never seen him play the way he is at the moment. Some of the balls he misses, he wouldn’t have hit it with two bats.”If Hayden plays, I hope he gets runs and proves me wrong. But we need batsmen to go out there and fight to save the series. Katich will do that. He was ready for the innings of the life before he was taken out through no fault of his own,” Rixon said, referring to Katich’s 183-ball 59 at Trent Bridge, an innings which was cut short by a dubious lbw decision. “Simon showed that’s it’s possible to bat for a long time against these bowlers when you get tough. The selectors need to be strong on this.”Meanwhile Jason Gillespie, another Australian who has been struggling throughout the tour, rejected suggestions that there will be wholesale changes to the Australian team after the current series. Gillespie was dropped from the fourth Test after taking just three wickets at 100 apiece in the first three.”I honestly don’t believe there is a feeling of a sea change within the team,” Gillespie told . “There is talk of this being an older team but you’re only as old as you feel. We all feel fresh, the batsmen are hitting the ball well, the bowlers are doing well, it’s business as usual.”So, I don’t know if I buy into that sort of talk. That sort of talk always happens when you’re not playing well. “We’ve played a couple of bad games, we haven’t played to our usual standards, and you have former players in the media having their bit to say, which is fine. We know we can do better, it’s time for us to fine-tune our skills and we’ll silence [the critics] when we win at The Oval.”

.Ganguly belongs to the hall of fame which includes the likes of Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Bedi, Vishwanath, Vengsarkar, Amarnath, Prasanna et al. But it is time that Ganguly, if he wishes to continue in the present team, proves himself and what better way to do that than to go back to Ranji Trophy cricket. One century on a placid wicket against a weak bowling attack doesn’t prove anything. The Indian team is more important than a person, no matter what the record books say about that person. Lakshmi Challa FloridaLet Ganguly be India’s vice-captain. Keith Massay UKI guess everyone will agree that a team of 10 good players is better than 11 individual performers. Ganguly has been the only Indian captain in history to mould a team out of individual players. If not for anything else, Ganguly deserves a place in the team for that. When people say that Ganguly should step down for the likes of Yuvraj and Kaif, I must remind them that the same Yuvraj and Kaif have had long bad patches and they are today in the team because of Ganguly’s backing. He backed them because he believed that they had potential. Does Ganguly himself not deserve the same backing from the public and the media? And lastly, even if people believe that he should be replaced, do we have better players to replace him with. When Venugopal Rao and J P Yadav can play in the Indian side, is a place for Ganguly so unimaginable? Shobhit Aggarwal IndiaChappell has been appointed coach for the Indian cricket team and he should focus on that. He seems to be crossing his jurisdiction getting involved in matters like the selection of captain and the team — there is no harm in an informal consultation by a captain for selection of the final eleven with the coach, but nothing beyond that. The BCCI needs to intervene immediately and deal with the conflict between the captain and the coach. If this conflict persists, it would hurt the very soul of our team. Ram Chopra TorontoGanguly should go. Chappell knows what he is doing. Eshwar IndiaIt is sad to see that even the media is taking sides. Cricinfo is probably the only media outlet which has reported fairly on the issue. Observation is something very different from judgment. And I don’t really understand as to why the media is taking potshots at Chappell. Chappell is an honest guy, and he should be given the best team if he wants to make any meaningful contribution to Indian cricket. Partha IndiaGanguly has done enough damage to the Indian team over the last couple of years due to his egoism and continuous failure as a batsman. It’s time he should be shown his place. If Kaif has to sit out of the playing eleven, let’s not talk about building the team for the next World Cup. Instead let’s call it an employment exchange to keep non-performing bozos in business. Anand Chitre IndiaHe needs to speak out and get some support. Maybe it’ll help his form. Ann Singh IndiaIt pains my heart that a person of Ganguly’s stature can stoop to such a low level and unnecessarily stir a hornet’s nest. It was Ganguly who originally backed Chappell as the coach of Team India. Ganguly’s obsession with the captaincy, which is of course a much-prized possession, is like a small baby refusing to part with a toy. Mukul Maheshwari IndiaClick here to send us your feedback on the issue

Anyone arriving in the UK this morning could be forgiven for thinking that cricket was the nation’s obsession and football was a mere afterthought to fill in the gap between seasons. But then again, the Ashes aren’t won every day (or even every decade).While the broadsheets attempted to retain some sense of restraint – if only in appearance as opposed to their writing – the tabloids had no such worries. “FantASHtic” boomed the front page of The Sun, while its back page was devoted entirely to a picture of Michael Vaughan and the words of William Blake’s Jerusalem. The Mirror also put aside its front and pack pages to the cricket, and chose a different pun to lead with – “URNcredible”. And inside, just to put football finally in its place, the headline – “They think its all Oval … it is now”.The broadsheets also went into overdrive, with pages devoted to the match, and in some instances special pull-outs as well. But it was Kevin Pietersen’s performance which attracted the column inches. “When sport and drama can reach no higher plane and spectators are watching through the gaps between their fingers, even the greatest athletes can have performance strangled from within them. Pietersen’ s colleagues from higher up the order yesterday bore witness to that,” wrote Owen Slot in The Times. “Those who survive, we tend to associate with steely mentality: Jonny Wilkinson, Nick Faldo, Bjorn Borg. But to come equipped with soaring self-belief clearly helps, too. Arguably, Pietersen had no right to be “the man who did it”, but when your mentality is as cocksure as his is, who is there to stop you? “

In The Daily Telegraph , Geoff Boycott said Pietersen was “a belligerent individual. He is cocky and confident; there is a touch of arrogance about him. I love it, so long as he produces runs. All the great players have had self-confidence and self-belief. They have all been full of themselves. But the point is that they have delivered. Up until this point, Pietersen has had the persona but he hasn’t had the runs. All we want now is for him to take a catch, and then he has cracked Test cricket.”In the same paper, Martin Johnson carried on the theme with his tongue firmly in his cheek. “A grateful nation woke up this morning with the unshakeable conviction that Kevin Pietersen was wonderful, and if this was a view which happily corresponded with his own, what the heck. He even has an autobiography in the pipeline, no doubt with a diamond-encrusted front cover and the modest working title, KP Superstar … many batsmen take to wearing lucky charms, like a rabbit’s foot, but while they generally wait until the rabbit is dead, Pietersen became the first cricketer in Ashes history to bat with a live animal as a mascot. Wearing a skunk underneath your helmet may not meet the approval of the RSPCA, but in England’s hour of crisis, it certainly got the job done.””Play Pietersen, they said before this series began,” wote Mike Selvey in The Guardian. “Tolerate his lip and his ego, the bling, bullshit and 50-grand ear stud. And forgive him his batting peccadilloes – of which there would be many from such a free spirit with a confidence level on red alert – because somewhere along the line he will deliver an innings that matters. Yesterday was his, the day this brash fellow, with the skunk-chic haircut and more front than Durban, channelled it all into one remarkable innings that saved the day for his team and won them back the Ashes.”In The Independent, James Lawton caught his breath. “England won the Ashes, but long after this is a detail of cricket history assigned amid a thousand others, this day, this summer, will surely live at least as long as all who saw it and felt it and were carried, for a small but totally absorbing fraction of their lives, into a world where men, however young and green, however steeped in gritty experience, kept digging down and finding new dimensions to both their will and their talent.”Also in The Independent, Peter Roebuck said that the England had won the Ashes fair and square. “They looked the Australians in the eye and exchanged blows until the weaker side fell.. He concluded: “Perhaps, though, the last word belongs to a cheerful crowd’s lone trumpeter, a splendid gentleman who reminded all and sundry that it is only a game by routinely greeting Langer with his rendition of ” hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work we go”.Back to The Times , where Christopher Martin-Jenkins touched on the massive interest in the match across the country. “There has never been a series followed at close quarters by so many as this,” wrote Christopher Martin-Jenkins. “When Radio 4’s computer was switched on in the Test Match Special commentary box yesterday morning there were 18,543 e-mail messages unread.”

Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden, Australia’s Test openers, have slammed the World XI’s attitude ahead of the Super Test that begins at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 14.”We don’t want to hear any excuses about it [World XI] not being a team, they have less to play for, that sort of stuff. It is a Test match. They are playing the best team in the world over four years, and we [Australia] are playing against the best players in the world,” Langer was quoted as saying by sportinglife.com. “There are no excuses and hopefully the best team will win this Test match, and I think the best team won the three one-day games. I hope the World XI are not making excuses about not being galvanized.”Langer’s salvo came in response to Andrew Flintoff’s comments that the World XI struggled in the one-day series because the players had to play different roles from the ones they were used to in their national teams.Matthew Hayden too believed that Australia were still far ahead of any other team. “This side [World XI] is as good a side as we have ever seen, perhaps, in cricket for me. If we [Australia] play well then I think we will beat anyone. And I think the last few days have really proven that. I think from our point of view it is important that we just play our game. We have come off a big series, but we have had good strategies against all of these players over a number of years, and I think in a lot of ways if we do put that together, we are unbeatable.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

It was the Brian Lara show all the way at the Adelaide Oval, as he uncorked an innings of stunning class and vintage majesty on the opening day of the Adelaide Oval. His eighth double-century – an unbeaten 202 – lifted West Indies to 7 for 352 at close of play on the opening day, and left him just 12 runs away from breaking Allan Border’s record for the highest aggregate in Test cricket.Dogged by poor form and bad luck throughout this series, Lara fought back in style at a venue which has always been a lucky one for him – he now averages 94.83 here. As has happened so often in the past, though, none of the other West Indian batsmen offered him substantial support – the second-highest score was a measly 34 – which ensured that despite Lara’s monumental effort, West Indies still only had a par score on the board on a pitch which is an excellent one for batting.Coming in to bat at 2 for 19, Lara had to battle hard for his runs – and for survival – early in the piece. The ball was swinging, conditions were slightly overcast, and both Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath had their tails up. Lara negotiated both, not entirely comfortably, but his biggest test of the day came from an unlikely source. The first ball that Andrew Symonds bowled to him nearly had him trapped in front – though replays showed that Aleem Dar made an excellent judgment as the ball pitched just marginally outside leg – and then, throughout that eight-over spell, Symonds probed ceaselessly with his swing and control.

Lara survived that, battling his way to a 67-ball 27 at lunch. After that, none of the Australian bowlers had much of a chance. The twinkle-toed footwork gradually returned, the uncertain shuffling around the crease stopped, and those supple wrists soon began to work their magic: when the legspinners tossed it high and wide, Lara took the bait, crashing the drives either side of cover; when they drifted towards leg, the sweep shot – including a single-handed one – did the trick. As the confidence returned, so did the ability to pick the gaps and make use of the short boundaries square of the wicket. When Lee returned for his second spell, he was greeted with a scorching square-drive – little footwork but all flourish – and then a pull shot which brought him his hundred.By the final session, Lara’s mastery over the Australian bowlers was complete. Though this was a first-day pitch, both Warne and MacGill got reasonable turn from it, but Lara’s presence meant they were far less effective than they might have been otherwise – off 107 balls, they leaked 88 runs to him. Ponting took the second new ball as soon as it was due, but that only increased the flow of runs for Lara. On 190 with just three overs to go, Lara turned it on in style, pulling Lee in front of square for four, flicking him for a couple, and then unleashing another pull which crashed into the square-leg fence – his 20th four – and brought up his double-hundred. The Adelaide crowd, which had given him a rousing welcome in the morning sensing that it was probably be his last Test in Australia, rose to a man to applaud an outstanding effort.At the end, the score was a damning indictment on the rest of the batsmen. Wavell Hinds, back in the team in place of Chris Gayle, and Devon Smith were consumed by the pace and swing of Lee, who bowled an inspired opening spell, and while Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell to a fine delivery, some of the others were guilty of throwing it away – Ramnaresh Sarwan fell to the pull for the umpteenth time, while Dwayne Smith tried to smash the cover off the ball when what was needed was sensible support for Lara.The best support acts came from the batting heroes at Hobart, Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin. Bravo batted with all the assurance he had shown at the Bellerive Oval, scoring a fine 34, while Ramdin handled both the spinners and the new ball with aplomb till he was trapped on the shuffle late in the day. With only the bowlers for company, expect Lara to turn it on from the start on the second day. And expect another standing ovation when – and if – he gets those 12 runs.

Wavell Hinds c Hayden b Lee 10 (1 for 16)
Devon Smith c Hayden b Lee 7 (2 for 19)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Symonds b Lee 16 (3 for 53)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Gilchrist b Symonds 25 (4 for 121)
Dwayne Bravo c Ponting b MacGill 34 (5 for 237)
Dwayne Smith c Symonds b MacGill 14 (6 for 263)
Denesh Ramdin lbw b McGrath 27 (7 for 333)

An official statement by the ZImbabwe Professional Cricketers’ Association issued on November 28, 2005The ZPCA, in its capacity as the legitimate representative organ for Zimbabwe’s Professional Cricketers, wishes to officially endorse the stand taken by National Captain Taibu and to formally record its support for the same concerns which have led Tatenda to quit Zimbabwe cricket.The ZPCA constituents are united in support of Tatenda’s call for the leadership of Zimbabwe Cricket to stand down in the interests of the survival of the game in Zimbabwe.The concerns raised in the Player’s Statement released on 10 November have not been addressed by ZC. In addition, ZC has failed to deal with the Provincial Chairmen’s List of Governance issues and their questions related to ZC Finances. In the time since the Player Statement, there has been a further deterioration in the standing of cricket, with a series of threats to Taibu and others, and the involvement of the RBZ in investigating cricket. Cricket results on the recent tours of India and South Africa and at the U19 Tournament have shown that cricket continues to suffer.Over the same period, ZC has made no discernible effort to deal with the issues we have highlighted. In fact, ZC have either played down player concerns, ignored them or accused players of being the agents of other forces. Such responses insult the players, implying they are not sufficiently intelligent or committed to think for themselves. When Taibu retired, making clear in his statement he could not continue because of factors on and off the pitch, ZC’s response was to belittle his concerns by suggesting he is greedy, and motivated only by financial considerations.The ZPCA has regrettably concluded in the light of ZC’s response to the recent opportunities they have been given to resolve the player crisis that no genuine will exists on ZC’s part to confront this unsustainable situation, which has culminated in Taibu’s retirement, and that of Streak before him.In the light of the continued failure by ZC to address the crisis in the game, ZPCA wish to re-affirm its call for the suspension of ZC leadership and an urgent investigation into the affairs of cricket, in order that the long term viability of the game can be assessed, and Zimbabwe’s professional players can be satisfied that cricket remains a viable career choice. Until that happens, no guarantee can be given by ZPCA that any professional cricketer will be prepared to make himself available to play national cricket.THE ZPCA
Harare
November 28, 2005

Michael Vaughan has said that he won’t rush Ashley Giles back into action during England’s tour of India, despite the importance the left-arm spinner to the attack on the subcontinent. Giles is confident of recovering for the trip, following surgery on his hip, but Vaughan is adamant that he can’t play half-fit.”It’s so important we get him back but we are not going to take him if he is like he was in Pakistan,” Vaughan said in an interview with newspaper. “He has to be fit and mentally right. He is going to bowl this week and it’s still six weeks until the first Test.”The selectors have left one space in the tour squad open for a third spinner, to accompany Giles and Shaun Udal, but Vaughan knows how important it is to have his No. 1 option available for the tough conditions.”Ashley is a big, big man for our team. He has played 52 Tests and is at the heart of the set-up,” Vaughan added. “If you lose Ashley you are going to have to throw someone else in who probably hasn’t played into what is the hardest tour of them all.”Vaughan is also willing for Giles to forego the two warm-up matches before the opening Test if he needs extra time. “If it means the first 10 days of the trip are part of his rehab I’d take that, as long as he is fit for the first Test.”Ian Blackwell, Monty Panesar and Alex Loudon are the three spinners competing for the spare spot in the tour squad, but they will struggle to give Vaughan the same control as Giles.An even more vital cog in the England team, Andrew Flintoff, has yet to decide whether he will be available for the third Test, in Mumbai, which coincides with the time that his wife, Rachael, is due to give birth to their second child.”I’d like to be at the birth but I’ll have to talk to Rachael about it before we decide anything,” he explained. “I will have a chat with the captain and coach about it, but it’s very hard to plan these things – my daughter Holly was born a week early and if that happens again it will throw all the plans up in the air.”However, Flintoff is certain about one thing – he wants to make his mark on the tour. It was on the 2001-02 visit to India that Flintoff’s stuttering international career began to take off. It was his bowling that kept him in the team, with his bounce causing discomfort for the Indians. He struggled with the bat, making just 26 runs in five innings, and is aiming to perform with both aspects of his game this time.”I’ve played in India before and I know how difficult it can be. I know after the last trip there I came back a better bowler by the end of it but I struggled throughout that trip with my batting and hopefully that will improve this time.”We know it’s going to be a tough tour and there is a big year ahead with the Ashes tour and the World Cup, but we are a good team and we all want to keep improving.”