Sachin Tendulkar’s quest for his 100th century is a feat of Olympic proportions. He got excruciatingly close to the mark on Monday

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval22-Aug-20111425 hours. Monday. A moment Sachin Tendulkar may never forget. A moment of agony for his fans at The Oval and elsewhere. A moment when time stood still: Tim Bresnan reverse-swung the ball, drew an alert Tendulkar out of his crease, rapped him on the front pad, then appealed. A moment, probably the most important in the Indian second innings, that umpire Rod Tucker will never forget either. Forced to make up his mind quickly by a baying England team and a raucous crowd, he upheld the appeal.Tendulkar was out for 91. Nine excruciating runs short of what we have come to know as the infamous hundred. He stretched his stay by more than a couple of moments. Tendulkar appeared unruffled after missing the milestone, and more worried if Tucker had got it right, considering he had come so far out of his crease.The decision was right: replays showed the ball was clipping the top of leg stump. Tendulkar walked back slightly numb. He had played his best innings in eight outings on the tour. Yet, as he was escorted by security guards, as he climbed the 46 steps to the dressing room, listening to a second standing ovation in under 24 hours, Tendulkar will have been disappointed that he could not do enough to help India salvage a draw.Nothing went right for Tendulkar this series, nothing he tried worked. He began hitting throw-downs nearly two weeks before the series had started. He continued hitting them before and during the Tests at Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston and then The Oval. Before this innings, his highest score was the 56 at Trent Bridge. All through, Tendulkar wanted to make an impact. He took hits on the body, on the helmet, tried playing with soft hands, switched to hard hands. He kept failing.Today was the first day in the series where the voices of Indian fans were louder than those of the home fans. It was the first day India’s supporters outnumbered England’s. When the bell rang five minutes before the start of play, The Oval was two-thirds full. By mid-afternoon virtually all the seats were occupied. Some of the people streaming in had skipped office meetings, citing lunch as an excuse.The party atmosphere of the weekend was back. The England fans were happy to support Tendulkar’s century as long as India lost 4-0. The Indians wanted to celebrate Tendulkar’s century and a draw. The Oval was alive with banter, emotion. As Tendulkar neared his century, only 15 away, Matt Prior failed to hold onto a tight nick off Swann. The replay showed up on the big screen and a few voices, no doubt Indian, were heard over the collective gasp of the crowd. “Don’t catch,” they cried out, “don’t catch.”The crowd was desperate from the first ball Tendulkar faced. Every run – single, double, four – was cheered. They were trying to push him from the outside, towards the never achieved and possibly unattainable landmark of hundred international centuries.Tendulkar survived a handful of chances – on 34, 70, 79 and twice on 85 – and millions gasped each time, but when Tendulkar pulled Kevin Pietersen to move nine short of the century, The Oval chanted his name. Five minutes – an over later -Tendulkar was out and there was a release of emotion: elation from England’s fans, disbelief in the Indian contingent; in the media box, the journalists were aggrieved and there was disbelief at the decision more than the fact that Tendulkar missed his century.Tendulkar’s quest for his 100th century is a feat of Olympic proportions. Usain Bolt takes nine seconds to achieve the unthinkable. For Tendulkar, the pursuit is over days, weeks, years, decades. It tests mental application, skills and discipline as much as physical endurance.A senior Indian cricketer once pin-pointed what differentiated Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid from the rest. “They will murder you when they are on top of the game and score big hundreds with ease. But it is when they are down and things are not going well, even then they can last for three hours. The rest just wilt without a spine.” That is the difference.An hour after play ended today, as the spectators were being asked to leave, one of the stewards remarked: “India will be back. India will be back big-time. No doubt.” Tendulkar’s fans will be back too. Waiting for their moment.

Having rebuilt his career, Vernon Philander is now riding the crest of the wave his hard work has created

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2011Vernon Philander walked into his third post-match press conference. He has only played three Tests. Once seated, he fidgeted with his fingers, as he has done twice before, sat with his head directed downwards and his eyes avoiding anyone’s gaze. When he heard his name, he looked up, listened and in a tone as casual as a Sunday at the beach, Philander said “Media is not something that I really take note of”.Graeme Smith guffawed, almost spitting out his energy drink, perhaps wishing he could say something similar. The 10 or so reporters in the room giggled nervously. Unsure whether to fawn at the very same feet they had once found unfit for international cricket, they waited for him to continue. “What the media write up about you, you take it on the chin and move on,” Philander said. “Soak it all in and go back to the drawing board to start again.”Relief. Success has not serenaded Philander just yet.He listened, unconcerned, when told he was that he had become the first South African to take four five-wicket hauls in his first three Tests. The numbers swam around in the air, failing to catch Philander’s eye. The only time the conference seemed to really grab him was when Smith spoke to directly to him, almost as a father would. “I would love to you to keep on bowling the way you are now but you know there are tougher times around the corner,” Smith said. Philander nodded.

“Vern is level-headed enough to know that there will be tougher times ahead. He has had enough ups and downs in his career to know that it’s not always going to be easy.”Graeme Smith

He knows, but does he really know? Already Philander’s extraordinary success is being attributed to the helpful South African tracks. He is being condemned before even setting in foot in places like the sub-continent (where South Africa are not scheduled to tour until 2014) and has been warned that outside his home country the roads will become far flatter, literally.Managing a bowler with a Midas touch is a simple, almost non-existent task, as Smith confirmed. “There’s a lot of motivation for Vernon at the moment and he understands his skill pretty well, which makes my job easier,” he said. But preparing him for when the magic fades is a far more delicate and complicated matter, something which Allan Donald will be tasked with handling.”For me, I’ve got to be on Vernon’s shoulder now,” Donald said. “I’ve been through it before, when you’re going through the golden spell, and you don’t really care about how it’s happening.” Donald’s entire career was a bathed in sunshine – there was only one Test in his total of 72 in which he did not take a wicket so he knows how to ride the highs and has this advice for Philander. “He needs to understand why it’s happening, why he is swinging the ball and why he has such good control. Because when Mr bad form arrives at some stage, he will probably come to me and ask me what’s going on.”One of the reasons for Philander’s current achievements has been the conditions and both Smith and Donald have gently reminded him that he won’t always have these pitches to bowl on. Another reason is the amount of time he spent in the first-class game, redeveloping himself as a cricketer.When Philander was dropped from the national team, in 2008, he spent two seasons concentrating on the SuperSport Series, where he took 80 wickets. When the franchise team wasn’t playing, he turned out for the amateur side and in total captured 94 wickets in two seasons at an average of little above 13. In essence, he did his time and learnt the hard way that being an international sportsman is not something that happens by accident and that mediocrity is not a quality that cuts it at the highest level.Those two seasons polished Philander’s rough edges and turned him into the finished product that has taken to Test cricket with such ease. Philander hardly talks about them, even when prompted, but Smith knows he will refer back to it when five-wicket hauls become fewer and further apart.”Vern is level-headed enough to know that there will be tougher times ahead, he has played a lot of cricket. He has had enough ups and downs in his career to know that it’s not always going to be easy and that there are different surfaces around the world that will challenge him.”Philander has already agreed a contract with Somerset, which he will take up if he does not receive an IPL offer next year, to prepare him for South Africa’s three-Test series against England. As his third post-match press conference drew to a close, Philander was asked about the lure of overseas leagues and the demand he may soon find himself in. He shrugged. Then he mumbled something and got ready to leave.

ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day for the match between Australia and India in Sydney

Sidharth Monga at the SCG26-Feb-2012The break
Before the start of the 10th over of the Australia innings, the game stopped for about five minutes. Upon closer observation, the wicketkeeper was missing. Music played, drinks arrived, players joked around until Dhoni came back. By all evidence, he went to answer nature’s call. When a man’s got to go, a man’s got to go.The misfield
Had Suresh Raina not let one through at cover, who knows how much India would have had to work to get Michael Hussey out? There shouldn’t have been a run, but Hussey saw it go past Raina and charged off. David Warner called him for a second, saw Irfan Pathan was a little too quick in the outfield, and sent Hussey back. India had a run-out.The collision
This was nasty. These often put players out for weeks. In the 21st over, Warner swept Ravindra Jadeja, got a top edge, and Raina and Irfan converged towards the chance. Raina ran back from the infield, Irfan came in from the boundary. Raina was closer to it, Irfan was the man running in. So who should call for it?Neither man did in this case. Raina completed the catch, and then the two ran into each other. Raina’s hands hit Irfan’s face, but he did well to not lose the ball on impact. He grabbed it as it was about to fall. The two lay flat after the catch, though. The whole team rushed to check on them, and when the two got up, they patted each other’s back for the effort.The run-out
It was a day of potentially controversial runs and consultation with the rulebook. After the David Hussey incident, another potential incident happened with Tendulkar. Gautam Gambhir bunted one down to point, and Tendulkar set off for the single straightaway, only to find Brett Lee, the bowler, in his way, near the striker’s end, with his back to the non-striker’s end. According to the law, it is the batsman’s responsibility to run around the bowler; not the bowler’s to make way. The only way a batsman can get away with such a run-out is if the fielding side withdraws the appeal. Australia were in no mood to. The supporters of mankading can stretch the point and raise the question why the umpires didn’t ask the fielding side to reconsider this appeal.Edited by Abhishek Purohit

A famous win for South Africa was doubly special for Makhaya Ntini, who became the first bowler from his country to take ten at the ground

Firdose Moonda11-Jul-2012Makhaya Ntini is the only South African so far to have his name on the ten-wicket board at Lord’s. It came on Ntini’s second tour to the United Kingdom, in 2003, by when he had established himself as one of the leaders of the bowling attack. He had shown the willingness to match his great skill, and had the opportunity to show off that combination in the second Test of the series.After a draw in Birmingham, Ntini took a five-for in the first innings at Lord’s to bowl England out for 173. But he does not dwell too long on that innings, since Graeme Smith’s 259 overshadowed any bowling effort by that stage of the match. The pitch had flattened and South Africa declared on the third day with a lead of 509 runs.The instruction was clear: they did not want to bat again. “Corrie van Zyl came to me and said, ‘Now it’s all up to you, you can get ten wickets here,’ Ntini says. “He took me by the shoulder and showed me the board with the names of the people who had got ten wickets and one of the names there was my hero, Malcolm Marshall. At that stage, in my head I took on the responsibility of the game. I asked myself, ‘What to do I want to achieve here?’ The most important thing was not to draw.”Getting a victory would require a massive effort from the South African pace attack, which was missing the young Dewald Pretorius, who was only able to bowl seven overs in the match because of a niggle. “I had a heavy load on myself and I also had my own target – to get ten wickets at Lord’s,” Ntini says.He had the belief. “[Marcus] Trescothick was the one wicket I knew I would get. He was a left-hander and I had clean-bowled him in the first innings.”And he had the energy. “I finished the innings with 31 overs. That was a lot of hard work for a fast bowler. Graeme knew I never said no. Even if he called me back and I had just finished a spell, I was always willing to work for him and win the game for him.””We were close to tea and I got Nasser Hussain out, so we were getting there.” And then Ntini gave South Africa the breakthrough. “Alec Stewart came in at No. 6, and I had him caught second ball. We knew if we could get that one, we’d be in a good position. It was part of the excitement – to go off for tea knowing you had got another wicket,” he says.Shaun Pollock dismissed Anthony McGrath, but there was still someone standing in South Africa’s way. “[Andrew] Flintoff was the hero of England cricket. When he hit fours, the crowds would go berserk,” Ntini says. They also went berserk when Ntini shattered Flintoff’s bat from handle to toe so that the two halves parted like the proverbial Red Sea.”The crowd was unbelievable,” Ntini remembers. “They were cheering like you can’t believe. I went to my fielding position on the boundary and everyone was standing up and clapping. It was hero against hero. It was us against him. He was the only one. We knew that if we got him out, the game would be over.”With the wicket of Ashley Giles, Ntini had nine for the match. When he got Steve Harmison caught in the slips, Ntini sank to his knees to kiss the hallowed ground. “I couldn’t do any more. I was overjoyed. I was excited that the mission had been accomplished. I was over the moon. Even now, when I look at the pictures in my lounge, I feel proud, although I wonder, ‘What the hell was I thinking to kiss the pitch?'”But still, ten wickets at Lord’s. There’ve been so many South Africans who have been there and played there and no one else has done it.”It was Paul Adams who eventually broke through Flintoff’s defences and had him stumped to give South Africa a series lead.”Our families were with us, so there was no boys’ time afterwards,” Ntini says. “We had some time at the ground where we stood on the balcony and put our flags. I don’t care who says what, Lord’s is one of the best dressing rooms.”But Ntini’s efforts were largely overlooked by the English media, who footnoted it after Flintoff’s fighting century. It was referred to in the sixth paragraph of the ‘s match report. Ntini himself did not see the achievement as one signalling greatness, because he still hadn’t completely cemented his place in the squad. “I never felt in a comfort zone. For me it was always that I needed to work even harder to compete with the young stars that came in.”Ntini leads the celebrations on the Lord’s balcony•Getty ImagesNtini’s advice to the team this time is that everybody should feel secure, which he feels they have not been in the past. “The whole team needs to bind together, one frame of mind, one thought. They need to make sure we are together at all times. They must protect one another. That’s one thing we have always lacked, we always want to expose one another, which is wrong. If there are any holes that they see can crack the team, they need to make sure that they close it as quickly as possible without pointing fingers.”He thinks the person who could decide the series is a man he will “always be friends with”, Mark Boucher. He could hardly have imagined Boucher would be out of the series before it got underway. “He mentioned that the tour is his last,” Ntini says. “He must not put himself under pressure but he must go there and enjoy himself and show people why he is the best wicketkeeper in the world.”

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second day at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge26-May-2012Milestone of the day
Maybe the ball did not go quite where he intended – Darren Sammy was aiming through midwicket and the ball disappeared through point – but the boundary that took West Indies’ captain to his maiden Test century in his 45th innings was a heart-warming moment. Not only was this tangible individual reward for Sammy’s part in an encouraging seventh-wicket stand but it was also a highpoint in the personal career of an honest, selfless cricketer. Sammy was not dealt a handful of aces when he inherited the captaincy of this West Indies side: beset by political problems far beyond his control, he is a man with a limited team and limited personal talent but he makes the most of his ability and has instilled in his side a pride and unity that might, with some nurturing and some reinforcement, grow into something more substantial in time. No-one, be they supporters of England or West Indies, would begrudge him his moment in the sun.Obliging shot of the day
Perhaps it is churlish to criticise a man who had just recorded his maiden Test century and helped post a record seventh-wicket stand of 204. But, having fought their way back into the match, West Indies had an opportunity to build a formidable position. They had an opportunity to take advantage of an easy-natured pitch and a jaded attack to reach a total well in excess of 400 and apply pressure on England. Instead Darren Sammy, perhaps losing concentration a few moments after completing his impressive century, pulled a short ball straight to the man set for the shot on the square leg boundary. Marlon Samuels’ angry swish of the bat spoke volumes: Sammy had let England off the hook. Left with just the tail for company, Samuels fell just nine balls later attempting to force the pace and West Indies had squandered their chance to reach a match-defining total.Let off of the day
When Alastair Cook felt for one outside off stump and was very well taken by Denesh Ramdin, it seemed West Indies had the early breakthrough they required. England, it appeared, were 2 for 1, with Cook out for one. It was not to be. Instead Aleem Dar, somewhat unsighted by Kemar Roach’s action but suspecting he might have over-stepped, called for a review which showed the delivery had been a no-ball. Cook was reprieved and a weakness in the West Indies game had been highlighted. This was an accident waiting to happen: Roach delivered 18 no-balls in 38 overs during the first Test at Lord’s and six in 21 overs in the game against the Lions. To compound his error here, Roach repeated it a few overs later. This time Cook was on 12.Shot of the day
Accepted wisdom would suggest that a batsman should take a little time to take a look at a bowler before launching an attack. But Kevin Pietersen has never accepted the conventional path. Instead he skipped down the wicket to the first delivery he faced from the offspin of Shane Shillingford and deposited the ball over long-on for six. With Andrew Strauss also cutting two fours, the over cost 17 and, a short while later, Shillingford was withdrawn from the attack after an opening spell that had cost more than five an over. Strauss later denied that it was a pre-emptive attack, but the result of England’s assault was that West Indies’ plans to use Shillingford to maintain control were in tatters. It is worth remembering, surely, the criticism Pietersen would have attracted had he mis-hit and been caught: that is the nature of the beast. Pietersen is a match-changing player. When it comes off he looks magical; when it does not, he can look foolish. In a team containing solid players such as Cook, Trott and Strauss, however, there is surely for a risk-taking batsman like Pietersen.Quote of the day
Asked to reflect on his place in history – now only three men (Colin Cowdrey, Wally Hammond and Geoffrey Boycott) have scored more Test centuries for England than Strauss’ 21, England’s captain took a typically modest view. “You only have to look at how many centuries Sachin Tendulkar has scored to realise 21 is not that many,” Strauss said. Tendulkar has scored 51 Test centuries to date.

He may have wanted to keep his cap on at all times, but the world cricket community is united in doffing its collective headgear to one of the finest umpires of them all

Daryl Harper06-Oct-2012A basic tenet in cricket is about respecting and agreeing with the umpire’s decision. In the case of Simon Taufel, players generally agree with him on almost every occasion. They accept his decisions because a very good percentage of them are correct – and this has been mostly also validated by technology. But that is only part of the reason.A lot of that respect comes because Simon has a measured and methodical way of dealing with people. He generally ensures that he keeps emotion out of the discussion – not easy to do in the middle of a Test match when something is going on and you are not happy about it. Simon has usually been able to satisfy both sides if there is an incident, and people have been confident in his ability to keep doing that. Personally, I was more emotional in contrast. That is a major difference when it comes to gaining respect from players and coaches. Simon knows when to talk and when to keep quiet.I remember an incident in a tri-series match in Dambulla in 2003. I disallowed overthrows at one point when Pakistan were batting against Sri Lanka. The throw deflected off the batsman’s body and ran away to the boundary. I consulted the Pakistan batting pair of Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar, who agreed with me that it was unfair to benefit from the deflected throw. I did not signal the boundary and the game continued. Simon was not officiating that day, but his glare at the end of the day made me feel like a schoolboy being dealt with by his principal. I told him I had used common sense instead of referring to the laws and copped the blame, agreeing that my initiative was not universally acceptable. I made sure I never used that interpretation again.Despite being a young guy, Simon has never been afraid to have his say if he thinks something is wrong. He has always had an opinion, and on most occasions it has been reasonable and considered. That is because he has done all his preparation and has usually been on the right track.Simon leaves nothing to chance, and it is this attitude that has ensured he has been prepared for any eventuality. On the field, when the pressure is on, he usually exudes a calmness that must impress everyone else around, who is generally passionately and emotionally involved in the outcome.Right from 2003, when he made it to the Elite Panel, which was in its second year then, Simon not only accepted the chance to perform at the higher levels of competition but seized the opportunity to challenge his fellow umpires to match his meticulous preparation and levels of performance. Many umpires, including myself, found his presence somewhat intimidating at first, until we realised it was just his dedication that was making us feel that way.Simon has always been consumed by all things cricket and was always thinking ahead. Between games, he was studying the Laws, attending nets sessions, and working in the gym on his fitness. In the early days, some of us umpires would joke at the way he wired himself to mentors of all sorts: at one point he had a life coach, a financial manager, an umpiring mentor and a physical mentor. Meanwhile the rest of us were just umpiring cricket. But it was not that Simon was trying to cure some deficiency; instead, it showed his openness to experimenting. He was always going to try something different if it was going to improve his performance.

In Elite Panel seminars, Simon guided discussions with painstaking attention to detail and thorough preparation. His involvement was so complete that I introduced a new word into our umpiring vernacular. Seminars became known as “simonars”

For example, before any match, Simon had his individual training routines revolving around his physical and mental preparation. When he decided that running laps of the ground before a day’s play was going to improve his performance, we all begrudgingly felt obliged to follow suit… except possibly the much loved and sadly late David Shepherd. When Simon ceased this practice, we all sighed with relief.In Elite Panel seminars, Simon guided discussions on laws and playing conditions with painstaking attention to detail and thorough preparation. His involvement was so complete that I introduced a new word into our umpiring vernacular. Seminars became known as “simonars”. (This was wholly complimentary, of course.)During rain-interrupted ODIs, where every other umpire would immediately open the playing-conditions booklet to the appropriate page to begin calculating the numerous possible permutations, Simon would go straight to his calculator and have the vital numbers in an instant. We came to be heavily dependent upon him in moments requiring such calculations. When he wasn’t in the team, we had to come up with right answers ourselves and it always seemed to be more stressful.He was a perfectionist, no doubt, but he accepted his mistakes. Both of us eventually umpired nine Tests together, and I can only recall one Test match, in Nottingham in 2004 between England and New Zealand, when he struggled to come to terms with his own poor performance. A highly complimentary newspaper article, on the third morning of the Test, about the new face of umpiring, was followed by one mentioning more than a handful of errors by Simon on the third and fourth days. It was impossible to speak to him about it because he did not know what was happening. While he looked for a reason for why he was making the errors, there was nothing I could say that would appease him. It was not that he stopped making mistakes after that, but he clearly used the experience to develop strategies to prevent a repetition. It was entirely predictable that Simon would win the ICC Umpire of the Year Award for the first five years of its existence; such was the excellence of his on-field performances.Simon has always been very particular about his appearance and has ensured that he presents himself perfectly, with a glance in the mirror before returning to the field after a break in play. He wasn’t happy when he began to lose his hair at the crown, and less so when I began to continually harass him about it. He was reluctant to remove his hat on the field and he almost always wore a baseball-style cap off the field to hide the march of time.Harper and Taufel at the Taj Mahal, 2006•AFPTo an outside observer, it often seemed that Simon was so clinical and concise in his decision-making as to be almost robotic, lacking humour or personality. However, after several years on the Elite Panel, his colleagues began to observe that he had begun to develop both qualities in varying degrees.Off the field Simon, though a very private person, has not been afraid to try out new things. He certainly didn’t have any trouble eating local foods all around the world. I cannot say the same for myself. He can eat a horse – and possibly did at some point in his travels.Umpiring is a very lonely job, but Simon made it popular. The fact that he did not have any obvious flaws in his performance was very attractive. He certainly set an example for everyone to follow.

Few gave England hope after defeat in Ahmedabad, but a few weeks later they left with a famous series victory. There were a few key reasons why they came out on top

Andrew McGlashan17-Dec-2012Dhoni’s pitch pleaThe events in Nagpur, where a dead pitch led to a largely forgettable contest, showed how this series could have gone. After going 1-0 up, the call could have been for flat, low, slow surfaces and India aiming to keep what they had. Instead, MS Dhoni was strongly critical of the Ahmedabad surface so in Mumbai the teams were greeted by a pitch that spun from the start and, crucially, had bounce. Those two factors brought England back into contention but, it was assumed, would also suit the home side. This is where the move backfired. England’s spinners were better than India’s and they also had two batsmen score hundreds. India really were beaten at their own game. Kolkata also had help for the bowlers, this time quicks as well as spinners, and again Dhoni did not have the quality of bowling to make the most of it. Alastair Cook did.Flexible thinkingIt was blatantly obvious within a very short period of time that Monty Panesar’s omission in the first Test was a huge error. Andy Flower later admitted so. Therefore it was a no-brainer that he would be recalled for Mumbai. However, not all England’s selection decisions were so cut-and-dried. Stuart Broad was clearly struggling in the first two Tests, but to drop your vice-captain, and a player hugely valued within team, is not an easy decision. But it was spot on. Steven Finn, in his only appearance of the series, took four wickets in Kolkata and showed again what a bright future he has so long as he can stay fit. The boldest call, though, was still to come. A few hours before the final Test started rumours began circulating that a new No. 6 was going to play. Jonny Bairstow? Nope. Eoin Morgan? Nope. It was a debut for Joe Root, by trade an opener for Yorkshire, who had impressed Graham Thorpe and Andy Flower during the tour. He walked in with the score 119 for 4 and a series on the line. His response was an innings way beyond his years as he made 73 off 229 balls. It had a two-fold effect by eating up time and giving England a workable total. The England system, and the selectors, were shown in a very good light.Fit for purposeThere will be some tired bodies flying home for Christmas, but crucially fatigue never played a part on the field. The way England kept going, often having key successes late in a day, was a credit to all the off-field work that goes in by the large backroom staff the team now carries around. Most notably this occurred in Nagpur, when a late burst of wickets meant India were not able to bat deep into the fourth day and build a lead. James Anderson typified England’s fitness, coming in for spell after spell as part of a two-man (and occasionally one-man) pace attack, but Cook’s stamina was also incredible.In the fieldCricket is a three dimensional game and it has long been accepted that the old-school India players are not too keen on the third part – fielding. Plain old hard work can make a team better, but if anything India got worse. England were miles ahead. They produced three crucial run outs; the team work, led by the often derided Samit Patel, to remove Virender Sehwag after a brisk start on Kolkata; Bell’s direct hit to shift the in-form Cheteshwar Pujara in the same Test and then Cook’s direct hit to remove Dhoni in Nagpur. Coaches often talk about the fielders taking a wicket and this was reward for the hours of training done between Tests and before play. The catching, a significant problem in 2012, also improved after a poor start in Ahmedabad.Digging inAfter a horror first innings, bundled out for 191 on a largely blameless pitch, Cook showed his team-mates that run-scoring was possible in India with some hard graft. They heeded the lesson. Nick Compton’s first tour was not prolific, but he and Cook ensured the middle order was not regularly exposed early. England accepted that a run-rate of three-an-over would often be the summit of their ambitions, but knew the value of keeping India in the field for hours on end. Of course, Kevin Pietersen’s 186 in Mumbai was a glorious, thrilling exception but it was an innings that could only be played by a unique, and perhaps great, player. He was the only England specialist batsman to have a strike-rate over 50. Most of the time it was head down and dig in. The series finished on such a note, with Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell refusing to yield, facing a combined 616 balls between them.

Despite being one of the most accurate, consistent and wicket-taking bowlers in domestic cricket, Pankaj Singh has been consistently ignored by the national selectors

Amol Karhadkar20-Nov-2012″ [You have to give it all every time you bowl],” Pankaj Singh, the Rajasthan bowling spearhead for well over half a dozen years now, said after having bowled three spells at his best on the last day of their Ranji Trophy Group A tie against Madhya Pradesh. Such was Pankaj’s energy that each one of his three spells on a meaningless last day, was as good as – if not better than – his opening spell of the match under a blazing sun on the first morning at the KL Saini Stadium.Even though Pankaj, 27, tried to be as optimistic as possible, there was a hint of frustration in his voice. And soon, rather than answering a question, he himself raised one that has been pondering not only him but a lot of Indian cricket followers. “Can someone tell me why is it that I am not picked for India [in Tests]?” he asked. “I have picked 150 wickets in the last four domestic seasons and there have been so many others who have been given an opportunity. Why I am not presented with an opportunity? What more do I need to do to seek attention [of the selectors]?”There’s no doubt that Pankaj has a point while venting out his dejection. After all, despite being one of the most accurate, consistent and wicket-taking bowlers on the domestic scene over the last five seasons, he has been consistently ignored by the national selectors. The only time he was part of the Test squad was during the tour to Australia in 2007-08 but he didn’t get an opportunity to bowl in a competitive game during the tour.The only time he wore the national jersey was during the tri-nation series in Zimbabwe in June 2012 as part of a second-string India squad led by Suresh Raina. While all the other India pace bowlers on that tour have played at least one Test, Pankaj is still waiting for his chance. Since then, he has consistently picked wickets in domestic cricket. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2010-11 Ranji season with 43 wickets [53 in the whole domestic season] and was the third highest wicket-taker in Rajasthan’s victorious campaign last season.Did he try and ask any selector – none of whom is a member of the refurbished national selection panel – about what he needed to do in order to get a national call-up? “I had asked one of them about three years ago. I was told I was lacking in pace, so I worked on it and now, I can consistently bowl 135+ [kph] for hours,” he said. “Then they said I don’t perform against the big teams. I can tell you that I have played six games against Mumbai and barring two of them [including last week’s Group A tie], I have picked rich hauls in the other four games.”Despite his returns of one for 90 against Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai in Jaipur last week, Pankaj has picked three five-wicket hauls in six outings against the domestic stalwarts.While the likes of Ashok Menaria and Robin Bist have gone on to represent India A after starring in Rajasthan’s back-to-back Ranji triumphs, Pankaj’s impressive record has been overlooked. “Let alone the India side,” he said.But howsoever frustrated a sportsperson is, a ray of hope is what keeps him going through the paces day and day out. The case was no different for Pankaj, who signed off with: “I have been ignored even in the A squad for a long time. I just hope that my efforts will be recognised soon.”

England have lost the full-time services of the best coach they have ever had through an unsustainable fixture calender. Andy Flower may not be the last casualty

George Dobell28-Nov-2012A relentless schedule that is incompatible with family life has persuaded Andy Flower to relinquish at least part of his role at the helm of the England cricket team. While Flower will remain accountable for all teams and will continue to travel with the Test side, Ashley Giles will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the limited-overs sides.Flower, a married man with school age children, could no longer justify the sacrifice of personal life for professional success. With no end in sight to the demands the ECB places upon its employees, Flower has become the most obvious casualty of an unsustainable fixture list that is flogging all concerned into early retirement or mediocrity; a fixture list that has now seen the partial loss of the most successful cricket coach England have ever had.The recent form of Stuart Broad, one of the few men to play in all formats of the game, should also sound a warning to the ECB.It takes only a glance at England’s fixture list to see the problem. From the moment they departed for Sri Lanka and the World T20 in September, Flower has been in demand. After a couple of weeks in England, the team departed for Dubai and then India. But for a nine-day break over Christmas, those involved in all three formats will not be home until the end of March. In between all that, there are training camps, selection meetings, planning meetings, media requirements and sponsors’ events. It is remorseless.Nor is there any end in sight. Next summer will see England play another Test series against New Zealand, an Ashes series and host the ICC Champions Trophy. Then there are various ODI and T20 series. And, well before the end of October, the squad depart for an Ashes tour that lasts until the end of January. Within three or four weeks of its end, they depart for the Caribbean and, before the next English season, have to fit in the World T20 in Bangladesh.It is easy to criticise the ECB for underplaying its duty of care towards its employees, but it is less easy to find a solution. The business model of the English game relies heavily on broadcast revenues that can only be maintained by guaranteeing huge amounts of cricket. Much of the money has been well spent: in grass roots cricket; in disability cricket and in women’s cricket.While some – mostly those with an agenda – will blame the counties’ financial demands, the truth is that the national side – its salaries, its costs and its support structures – represents the most significant increase in expenditure in recent years. The only way to keep players out of the clutches of T20 leagues – rebel or authorised – is to pay them handsomely. And to pay them handsomely, they must fulfil the broadcasters’ requirements.

Obvious concerns remain. Will the coaches be able to work together; what happens to the support staff; does Andy Flower’s new role impinge on Hugh Morris?

Flower relinquishes control of England’s limited-overs sides with a record of which he can be proud. Most tangibly, he led England to the 2010 World T20 title – the only global trophy they have ever won – and, less tangibly, to No. 1 in the ODI and T20 rankings. It will smart him to leave after poor displays at both the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 World T20 as England failed to do themselves justice in either competition. But their ODI cricket, in particular, has improved drastically in recent months.But the work of any man will mean nothing if it comes at the cost of his family. Flower, after four years containing far more highs than lows, has decided – quite rightly – that his priorities must lie at home. The demands of Test tours remain onerous, but the breaks between them at least provide time for rest and recuperation.It would be stretching a point to suggest that the Kevin Pietersen episode has claimed another victim. But it cannot have helped. Perhaps there is a certain irony, too, in the fact that Flower will now enjoy some of the rest that Pietersen claimed he wanted when his limited-overs retirement was announced.The promotion of Giles is not unexpected and he has been appointed without consideration of other candidates. That says much about his qualification for the role – he should command the respect of the side for his record as a successful player at international level and a coach at domestic level. It also conveys the fact that he has been viewed as part of the England team establishment virtually since his debut as an international player in 1997. He is seen, by the England team management, very much as “one of us” and he remains a selector, albeit presumably a selector with more influence than before.The sceptics will point out that his record as coach in T20, in particular, is not the best. But he inherited a failing club when he took over at Edgbaston at the end of 2007 and has impressed as a coach, a man manager and a spotter and developer of talent.Warwickshire have improved in all areas and, apart from winning the Championship title in 2012, he also led them to the CB40 trophy in 2010. Besides, his Warwickshire team has been blessed with players, the likes of Chris Woakes, Rikki Clarke, Keith Barker and Boyd Rankin, who are much better red ball than white ball cricketers and, at county level, the Championship remains the priority. A man who has experienced the extremes of success and failure in sport, he will remain calm in the face of adversity and offers, as much as is possible, a like-for-like replacement for Flower.Obvious concerns remain. Will the two coaches be able to work together; who has the final say if there is a disagreement; what happens to the support staff; does Andy Flower’s role as England team director impinge on Hugh Morris’ as managing director of England?But England have navigated such choppy waters before. They managed with separate captains for the three formats of the game without conflict or complication. By choosing characters they know and trust, characters they know have the best interests of the team at heart, they have reacted to an imperfect situation with an imperfect solution. But it may well prove as good as any they could have found.

70-year-old Peter Chismon, who has been at 54 Test grounds around the world, is currently on a three-month tour of India and is catching as many international and domestic matches as he can

Siddarth Ravindran10-Jan-2013Places in which 70-year-old Sussex fan Peter Chismon has watched cricket in over the past two months: Mumbai, Jammu, Surat, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Sambhalpur, Cuttack, Faridabad, Nagpur, Rajkot. At least those are the cities he can immediately recall. He has been at 54 Test grounds around the world, and is currently on a three-month tour of India and is lapping up international and domestic matches like a man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.Given the travel involved, the hotels, the living out of a suitcase, all of which even well-paid players complain about, why does he do it? “Because I like cricket, that’s my hobby you see, now that I have retired,” Chismon says. Press him for something more than that simple explanation, and all he offers is, “India in winter is better than England in winter.”His cricket watching started early (“I saw Bradman at Hastings, and just about remember it”) but was interrupted by a 22-year stint in the army that ended in 1982. After that, he worked with a gun manufacturer (“very, very expensive shotguns”), and after his retirement has spent his summers watching Sussex and the Lord’s Test, and the winters crisscrossing the globe in search of cricket.He started touring in 1994, and hasn’t stopped since. “I was off work for about six weeks in the winter, it was an Ashes year, so I decided to go to Australia for the cricket.” The reason? “Because the fare was cheap, 600 pounds return to Melbourne.”This is his fifth visit to India. In Rajkot, where thousands thronged the team hotel to welcome the England one-day team, Chismon has perhaps been the only spectator to watch the entire Ranji match between Saurashtra and Karnataka. There are usually several dozen fans milling around the ground, but most drift away after watching an hour or so. He rarely takes his eye off the game, frequently peering through his binoculars for a better look, and doesn’t get up from his seat except at the end of a session. Even while talking to me, he as one eye on the cricket and his answers are punctuated with remarks on the match -“Yes, he’s got him, hasn’t he?”, “there’s the ninth, one more to go,” and so on.

Best grounds
To watch cricket, it is the Wanderers in Joburg, because there is a lot of rain there, the grass is very dark green and you can see the ball wherever you sit, because the stands are steep, but not too steep, you can see red on green all the time, advertising boards and people don’t get in your way
To be in, is Hobart and St Kitts. If you get bored with the cricket you can go to the back of the stand and see the yachts come in on the sea behind you, there’s the sea and the mountain, some beautiful views. St Kitts the airport runs just behind the stadium and you go up on top of the stadium and see, it’s a lovely place
Worst grounds
Faisalabad … didn’t like it, industrial city, Old Trafford just the same, both are cotton towns, cotton cities, one makes it and one produces the goods for it, the grounds are not good to watch cricket in, Manchester stadium, it is not a place to view a match, never has been … the seats … you are watching the crowd all the time

Given that many Ranji games are first-innings affairs, with the final day proving meaningless – like in all three current quarter-finals – doesn’t he get bored? “People like a bit of excitement, that’s why people flock in to ODIs and T20s, but here you need to be more,” he pauses searching for the right word, “attuned to the cricket to see how it goes. Cricket is cricket, it is not boring.” Does he like the shorter formats? “No, no, no, no, no,” is the dismissive answer.Chismon collects autographs of every Test player he comes across, and has an old-fashioned scorebook in which he keeps score every time he watches a Test at a new venue. “I had some photographs for someone, he gave me 10 photos, I’ve got six signed already but have four more to go, I’ve got Dhoni to get but he’s easy isn’t he,” he chuckles. “Another fellow at home collect ties, I’ve only got one this year, that was Tamil Nadu.”As you’d expect from a man with so many miles under his belt, he has plenty of advice for travellers. “Patience is a virtue you got to have in India, if you want it to happen, it will happen in the end, don’t rush it and it will happen,” he says. “You have got to plan properly, get your itinerary sorted out.” He booked his tickets for this trip at the start of 2012, when even the Ranji format for this season wasn’t decided, much less the fixtures.And he has chalked out plans to catch Sri Lankan domestic cricket early next year, and wants to return to India for the 2014-15 season. “I have seen every state except Haryana in Group B, and five in Group C. I shall definitely go to Dharamsala (where he wanted to go this time, but couldn’t as there was no match scheduled), the first match that is played there that season, in November when it is warmer.”Ask him which of the Test venues he wants most to visit, and he starts mentally checking off the grounds he’s already been at. “Done everything in Australia, done all the major ones in West Indies and South Africa,” before he settles on his answer. “Karachi, don’t know whether that will happen, I want to do that, it’s the most important one.”As our chat winds down, Saurashtra get bowled out in Rajkot and he rushes over towards the dressing rooms, searching for Abhimanyu Mithun to add to his collection of autographs.