All posts by csb10.top

Mark Ramprakash has been awarded a testimonial by Surrey for his endeavours both on and off the pitch. The county usually rewards ten years’ service, but Ramprakash has made such an impact that he will be the beneficiary of the honour in only his seventh year with the club.This fact, coupled with his usual modesty, left him an astonished recipient. “It was a complete surprise,” he told Cricinfo. “I’m really, really chuffed and obviously really pleased.”But it was an award that was richly deserved after his prolific form, and tireless dedication to the club in marketing and PR matters. Even during the final stages of Strictly Come Dancing during December, he would regularly give up his own time to present awards for the club.Ramprakash is keenly aware of how players’ form can dip during a benefit or testimonial year – with the extra pressure of events – and has vowed to remain ever-professional. He says he will also use the experience of his benefit year at his former county Middlesex, when he organised a lot of events, to make sure he does not lose his on-pitch focus.”It’s not an easy balance,” he admits, “but it depends on the individual. The players want to make the most of the opportunity, but if you’re one of the main players, you’re still aware of the responsibilities. I will hopefully do some good functions, but not as many as in my benefit. I have to use the time wisely, and rely on my wife [Van] to be understanding. But hopefully I will have some fun with it, too.”I still have things I want to achieve. I’d still love to get to a final and win one. I haven’t given up on that. Success is still important. Personally, I’m aiming for the 100 hundreds. It would be a fantastic thing to achieve before I retire.”Ramprakash has reached 93 first-class centuries to date, and has every chance of succeeding in his latest personal goal, given that he has signed with the county until 2009, and could – like Graeme Hick who has recently extended his contract with Worcestershire at 41 – carry on and on. “Hick has done brilliantly. I’m not saying when I’m going to finish. I’m still enjoying my cricket.”Besides, he’s got no clear plan of what he will do after cricket, another reason he is thrilled with the testimonial. “These are very important years for cricketers, financially. I really don’t know what I will do next – I don’t really have a career; it’s not like I’ve studied.”Surrey have also announced that their head groundsman, Bill Gordon, will be awarded a benefit for his hard work in the last four years in the role at The Oval. Gordon is the three-times winner of the Groundsman of the Year award for both the four-day and one-day categories – and has also won the four-day category in 2004.He has been on the Surrey staff since 1964 and became Head Groundsman in 2003. He will retire at the end of the 2010, having completed 46 years of service to the club. “I am happy to receive this honour,” he said, “as it makes me feel very appreciated.”

A team of Royal Marines were emphatically beaten today by the Afghan National Army, in a match to celebrate New Year and Eid.Members of 45 Commando Group, who are currently based in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, were bowled out for a paltry 56 in 14 overs. Their opponents knocked off the required runs in just 12 overs.”The skill level of the Afhans was brilliant,” Lt Rob Cooper told . “We soon realised we were in trouble when they opened the bowling.”Afghanistan enjoyed a successful tour of England last summer – their first – in which they also beat the Officer Cadets of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Cricket is enjoying a boom in Afghanistan, ever since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, thanks to the refugees bringing the sport home from the camps in Pakistan. The game continues to be well supported by the government and has spread to over 16 provinces, where it was once banned by the Taliban to just four.”Obviously, we were disappointed to lose as badly as we did,” added Cooper, “but we still managed to enjoy the encounter. It certainly provided a good break from the operational work being done on a daily basis out here.”

On a sultry Mumbai afternoon, the cop-turned-fast-bowler Shane Bond hit the sluggish wicket at the suburban ground trying to hunt down a few weapons that had slipped from his grasp during the lengthy recuperation period from a back injury. Rhythm, pace, line, and length. Especially rhythm, the others usually come as free accessories with it. He left the arena a tired man, still in search of them.Only three balls beat the bat in his first spell that yielded 26 runs in five overs. The first one kicked up from a length to bruise the right hand, the second whizzed past the outside edge after landing on a length, and the third got an edge, but flew to the third-man fence, when the batsman tried to force a short-of-a-length delivery. Though he was more fluent in later spells he didn’t look threatening at any stage. But New Zealand would not have expected any miracle from him on this slow pitch and would be satisfied that he had clocked some miles under his belt.Faces peered eagerly through the fence at the far end as Bond, sporting a black wristband on his left hand, ran in 13 paces before arching back his upper body to release the ball. However, today, it didn’t usually land where he wanted. First over was spent in search of both line and length as he threaded on either side of the wicket, sometimes short, sometimes full. However, he ended it with a snorter that hurt the right hand of Rishikesh Parab, the plucky opening bat. Maybe Bond has found his rhythm now and will dismantle the first-class batsmen from Baroda. It was not to be. His next ball was slashed over point by Parab. Hmm… a bouncer or a yorker, now, surely? A length ball followed and Parab took a single off the next.At the start of the third over Vettori, the captain, moved out the second slip to gully. A gully and a point were now in place. In better times, Bond would have kicked it up from short of a length outside the off stump, got an edge out of the startled batsman and either the gully or point would have come into play. He attempted straightway but to Bond’s surprise, it flew off the middle of the bat and sailed over backward point. Parab had reproduced a Virender Sehwag special. There was a buzz around the arena. Now we had a real contest on the cards. Unsurprisingly, a bouncer followed. Parab calmly swayed away. Then another one, banged in short, was punched down on the off side. A fullish one was served up next which was driven powerfully and if not for an agile cover, it would have been a four.Vettori ran across to hand over the goggles and a pat on the back as Bond trudged back to his fine-leg position to attend to his end-over ritual. Some chilled water would go down the throat, some down the back of his neck and he would then grab a towel to wipe his perspiration away. The heat was truly on.Early in his next over, Parab edged a short-of-a-length delivery to the thirdman fence to produce a shake of the head from the bowler. The next one flew at the throat of Parab who swayed away quickly. A couple of balls later Parab tried to whip a ball on the legs to the on side but got a leading edge that fell short of mid-off. That ball didn’t deserve a wicket but neither was lady luck smiling on the tired fast bowler. A series of balls that were banged in short of length were served up in the next over, all of which was pushed away without any fuss. Off his penultimate ball of the spell, Bond sent one full and on the middle and leg, hoping to trap an lbw decision but it was nonchalantly flicked past the square-leg. And that was that.When he came back for his second spell in the 34th over, he operated on two lengths – bouncers and just short of driveable length. He even attempted a yorker, his first of the day, in his eight over.However the dark clouds cleared for him even as the sun was setting in the western sky. Off the penultimate ball of the 47 th over, his ninth, he finally got one to pitch full and just short of driveable length to clean up a tailender. He looked more relieved than happy as he slowly halted his follow-through, came to a stop somewhere in the middle of the pitch and just stood silently. His team-mates, however, realised the importance of the wicket and ran towards him to high-five. Slowly, the hand stretched out and the tired lips spread into a smile. Bond had found his first clue and his hunt will continue another day.

At the end of day two, Sourav Ganguly had said that South Africa’s collapse in the first innings, during which they lost nine wickets for 113 runs, boosted India’s confidence in the second. Perhaps he knew the bowlers had got the measure of the Green Park pitch, something Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captaining in his first Test, reiterated today after the dramatic win.”In the second innings, everybody knew what lengths to bowl, and from what spots they would get variable bounce,” Dhoni said, “The fast bowlers especially deserve a lot of credit in the second innings.”A major change from the first innings was that India opened with Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma, neither of whom gave anything away. They made sure there were no free runs on offer to let off the pressure that a 60-run deficit would have put on the South Africans. India applied what Dhoni termed as ‘mindgames’ with that lead in their bags, and delayed its erasing as much as possible, knowing the wickets would just be a matter of time if they could push South Africa into a shell. The approach was rewarded fully, as South Africa had lost four of their best batsmen by the time they were only 12 ahead. “Although this was the third day of the match, this was not a third-day pitch,” Dhoni said. “The way Harbhajan and Viru [Virender Sehwag] bowled, we knew it was going to be just a matter of time. There were no easy singles on offer, so we put a lot of pressure on them. We made sure they didn’t take a single and go off strike.”This is where the efforts of Ganguly and VVS Laxman provide a stark contrast to the South African batsmen, and also proved crucial in the final equation, as they controlled the innings, consciously looking to score more often than they usually would. “To play positively on this wicket is very important,” Dhoni said. “You can get out irrespective of whether you are playing your shots or not, the way it happened to Rahul Dravid. So you have to keep scoring on such tracks. It was very crucial the way Sourav batted on this track, and the 60-odd lead was very crucial, because it changes the whole mindset of the team that is batting next.”Almost all the bowling changes he made seemed to work. In the first innings, Piyush Chawla got wickets in his first over on two occasions. In the second, Sehwag got a wicket with his first ball and Ishant got two in the first over of his second spell. But Dhoni said it was easier to captain on this pitch, especially with the way the bowlers bowled.”Viru is much more than a part-timer on this kind of wicket. He continuously kept bowling the right areas, in the rough. It was a deliberate move, and we knew that with him and Yuvraj in the team we would not need an extra spinner.”He had a pretty difficult job of replacing Anil Kumble as captain, and also playing without Sachin Tendulkar and Kumble for the first time since the latter’s debut. “It’s pretty hard to replace a man like Kumble, and especially on such a wicket,” he said. “Had he been playing, I don’t think this would have lasted three days.”Well we did well, but it doesn’t mean we are better off without Sachin or Anil. Who is there to replace Sachin? Who is there to replace Kumble? It is better to have them in the side than not, but the credit goes to the boys who stood up in their absence.”It was also an extremely difficult match for Dhoni the keeper, and to his credit he did himself no shame during the last three days. “The wicket was turning square, and most of our spinners were bowling in the rough,” he said. “So you find yourself keeping to some balls that would spin and some that wouldn’t. I was quite happy with the way I kept, because some balls were kicking and some were keeping really low. The way our fast bowlers were bowling, it could hurt your fingers pretty badly. It was good fun though.”This series was part two of a potential rivalry that India had started in South Africa last year. India needed a tailor-made track to come back on level terms on a series that they were expected to win easily. Dhoni, though, agreed with the South African coach Mickey Arthur that there was nothing wrong in playing to your strengths. “If we go to Australia, we get bouncy tracks; when we go to England, we get swinging tracks. When you come to India, you expect turning and bouncing tracks, and that’s what this one was. It’s better to stick to the specialties of certain places.”India fighting South Africa on a greentop at Kingsmead should make for an equally gripping a battle, if India can fight as hard as South Africa did at Green Park.

With 200 days to go before the start of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, all 12 stadiums in the region are looking in good shape – except one.There are great doubts over the readiness of the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, and officials have put authorities there on notice. The facility – which will host pre-tournament matches – is behind schedule. A Cricket World Cup (CWC) inspection team will visit the ground on September 7 and a decision is expected by mid-month.Organisers are looking at several options as backup in case the ground cannot meet the required standard for a global event the size of the World Cup. As it stands, the ground will now only be used for the four scheduled matches. It will not be used as a back-up venue as part of the contingency plan.It is understood that the problems are not with the actual development, but that the powers-that-be in Trinidad took a long time to decide on the scope and size of the project. As part of the rush to get ready, GL Events, the French firm contracted to build temporary facilities at all 12 venues in nine countries, might take on a major portion of the work at the stadium.In recent weeks Don Lockerbie, venue development director of the CWC, repeatedly expressed concerns over the proposed 15,000-seat facility.When asked about the situation, Lockerbie was direct. “It’s the one stadium we have concerns over as we reach 200 days to go”, he said at the Hilton Barbados. “The stadium will not be complete in legacy format. We are doing everything we can to get ready.”We want to make sure that pre-tournament matches remain in Trinidad and we are working with the local organising committee and the government to get it done. We are considering all options. It took some time to get the master plan in place to have the stadium ready in its most effective state. The time span affected the CWC schedule, but we are confident that with GL Events coming in, all will be ready.”Lockerbie added: “We have some issues in every territory, as we are still not precisely where we want to be with pitches and fields, but that’s one area we can catch up on.”

8 Andrew FlintoffNobody poured more effort into England’s campaign than Flintoff, and forthat reason his desperate display at Lahore deserves some mitigation.Utter exhaustion is forgivable in the circumstances, especially when it iscoupled with the sort of dejection he must have felt at finishing on thelosing side at Multan. In that match he produced a career-best haul of 8for 156 and looked the most complete fast bowler in the world. His battingsuffered as a side-effect, and he produced more than his fair share ofdumb dismissals. But he also produced a match-saving 56 at Faisalabad, notto mention more overs – 140.1 – than any other player on display.8 Ian BellEngland’s solitary success story in the batting ranks. A traumatic Ashesseries looked like extending into a tough winter of drinks-waitering whenhe was initially overlooked for Multan, but Vaughan’s knee offered areprieve that he gratefully accepted. Capped his series with a century atFaisalabad, and made big runs in each of the three matches. Still shows atendency to go missing when the stakes are at their highest, but has anappetite for accumulation that no England batsman has matched sinceMichael Atherton.7.5 Steve HarmisonWidely tipped to go missing mentally, given his previous problems withhomesickness in Pakistan, but instead hit a subcontinental length from hisfirst spell at Multan and stuck to it rigidly to the tune of 12 wickets -nine more than the great Dennis Lillee managed on these same pitches.Mohammad Yousuf described his spell on the third evening at Lahore as oneof the finest he had ever faced, and as if that was not inspirationalenough, Harmison, at No. 11, was one of the few English players to executethe sweep shot properly.7 Marcus TrescothickFaultless display as England’s stand-in captain at Multan, where his 193should have set up a memorable victory, and made important first-inningscontributions in the final two Tests as well. His second-innings statswere another thing entirely, however. He managed just five runs in threeinnings, including ducks at Faisalabad and Lahore as Shoaib Akhtar torechunks out of England’s resolve. Deserved better support from histeam-mates, but his struggles confirmed that the defeat was no fluke.7 Paul CollingwoodStuck at his task, but not even scores of 96 and 80 at Lahore could fullyconvince the doubters, who question whether Collingwood has the techniqueor temperament to thrive as a Test-class No. 4. As a team-man, hisattitude is unrivalled, and his disappointment at Lahore was keenly feltby all who have appreciated his uncomplaining approach, even whenopportunities have been hard to come by. His bowling was heralded as atrump card on these wickets, but it was his rival Bell who bagged the mostscalps – all one of them, and even that was dubious.7 Geraint JonesOne of the few players to make genuine strides on this tour. His battingwas solid without ever blooming into something spectacular, but it was hiswicketkeeping that caught the eye – or rather, didn’t, because he hardlyhad a blemish in all three matches. Crouching lower than in the summer,and with a wider cordon to allow him fuller expression with those divingchances in front of slip, he took 11 catches on the slow low strips andensured that Matt Prior remained nothing more than an eager understudy.7 Matthew HoggardLearned the ropes as a rookie on this tour in 2000-01, and proved that thelessons had sunk in with a disciplined and penetrative performance in allthree Tests. Consistently found swing with the new ball – if only ever fora couple of overs – and seemed set to rescue his batsmen’s blushes when hegrabbed two early wickets at Lahore. Did as much as could have been askedof him.6 Kevin PietersenA stylish hundred at Faisalabad, but it was the manner of his parting -caught slogging across the line one ball after raising his century with asix – that said the most about KP’s contribution to this series. Initiallyearmarked as England’s No. 4, Pietersen remained one place lowerthroughout, which was perhaps a hint that his application was noteverything that Duncan Fletcher had hoped. His talent is so intense thathe will always leave the fans wanting more. But in the second innings atboth Multan and Lahore, they deserved more as well.6 Liam PlunkettEngland’s youngest Test debutant since Ben Hollioake in 1997, Plunkettpassed his test with flying colours and confirmed that he has a brightfuture in the game. Batted with nerve and plucked an effortless catchbefore he was even called upon to perform his strongest suit, but hedidn’t disappoint with the ball either, generating pace and accuracy, andproviding England with two breakthroughs that, with a bit more of a totalto defend, might have given Pakistan greater cause for concern.

5 Michael VaughanA tough tour for England’s semi-fit skipper. His trip appeared to be overwhen his knee locked up at Bagh-e-Jinnah, and though he returned for thefinal two matches, his rehabilitation appeared rushed at best andfoolhardy at worst, especially when he mustered 11 runs at Faisalabad. Areturn to the top of the order heralded a late blossoming at Lahore, butit was all too brief. Fifty-eight sparkling runs in the first innings wererendered inconsequential by a rash sweep-shot, and his captaincy lackedthe imagination he had shown in the summer4 Andrew StraussUntil this series, Strauss hadn’t failed to score a century in a seriesagainst major opponents, but with fatherhood impending, he never lookedlike extending that proud record. His mind was back in England long beforethe rest of his body followed suit, as he proved by droppingInzamam-ul-Haq on the midwicket boundary in the closing stages atFaisalabad. Though he’s guaranteed an immediate return to the top of theorder for the India trip, there is some question as to whether he shouldhave come on this leg at all.4 Ashley GilesArrived in the country with a reputation to maintain, but was hampered bya hip injury that forced him to miss the final match, and remained ashadow of the man who took 17 wickets in the same series five years ago.Sent down too many full-tosses that destroyed his rhythm, and was unableto extract anything but the most negligible turn. But his full value wasonly recognised in his absence, as England toiled for three days at Lahorewith barely a sniff of salvation.4 Shaun UdalPromising beginnings at the end of a long, long wait, when he took hismaiden Test wicket at the age of 36. But Udal’s penetration receded as thetour progressed, as his economy-rate ballooned all the while. By the timehe was selected as the solitary spinner at Lahore, Pakistan had hisnumber, and cashed in with alacrity in their single mighty innings. ThatUdal bowled 18 overs in that innings, to Harmison’s 43 and Flintoff’s 36,was ample proof that he had failed his biggest test. His batting was abonus, mind you. Almost Gilesesque, in fact.

Once upon a time the first round of matches in the County Championship was an eagerly anticipated rite of passage – the clocks may have come forward and the daffodils may have bloomed, but spring could not officially be declared open until the pavilion gates had closed behind the players and umpires.It’s all a bit different these days. An exhaustive glut of international matches has drowned out those first cuckoos, and more is in prospect, with England’s Test and ODI calendar rammed to the gunwales from May to September. As a result, many of the country’s top players will once again be forbidden by their contracts from turning out for their teams. If the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack served up a damning appraisal of the county game last year, this time around it has delivered an even more brutal snub – it hasn’t even reached the nation’s bookshelves in time for the start of the 2003 season, because publication was delayed so that the World Cup could be included.The season – in case you blinked, or have been locked in a darkened room since the first Test at Brisbane last November – actually began last week, with four of the most untrumpeted first-class matches on record, between counties and university teams. But tomorrow at 11am, the real thing begins, and on the hottest April weekend in memory to boot. It is appropriate weather for a sport that no longer believes in an off-season.That off-season does still exist, of course, although the behind-the-scenes machinations have been almost as exhausting as the winter’s international treadmill. Leicestershire have undergone a coup de shire, with eight players, including the captain Vince Wells, driven from the ground amid mutterings about lawsuits. Graeme Hick has been sacked as captain of Worcestershire, Shane Warne was appointed – and hastily replaced by John Crawley – at Hampshire. And Phil Tufnell has chosen to face his demons Down Under, on the reality gameshow I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, rather than commence a 17th season at Middlesex.But it is the structural changes to the county game that will cause the most upheaval in the coming months. Out goes the Benson & Hedges Cup, in comes the Twenty20 Cup, a mid-season, early-evening slogathon designed to attract a “new breed” of spectator, presumably the type with a short attention span. In the absence of any rest, a change will have to do, and it can only be hoped that the experiment is a success.Another change, largely to offset the loss of so many international players, is the reintroduction of two overseas signings. Not since the heyday of county cricket in the early 1980s has such a move been permitted, but much of the lustre has since been removed. When international cricket was the exception, not the rule, the likes of Joel Garner and Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Malcolm Marshall would light up the county stage. These have now been replaced, for the most part, by journeymen and greenhorns although, as in all walks of life, there are several honourable exceptions.Inevitably, money matters have dominated the winter agenda. The announcement of funding cuts by the ECB – in the wake of the Zimbabwe affair – have prompted renewed speculation about the future of the county game. Glamorgan, who say they couldn’t afford to hire a second overseas player, have mooted the possibility of a cross-border merger in the not-so-distant future. The two-division Championship format, meanwhile, is entering its fourth year, and by the end of 2002, the disparity between the haves and have-nots of the county game was becoming ever more evident.The 2002 Championship was won at a canter – for the third time in four seasons – by county cricket’s millionaires, Surrey, and it is difficult to look beyond them for yet another triumph. “We’ve been favourites for every game we’ve been in for the past four or five years,” said Adam Hollioake, their hugely respected captain. “We just turn up and play.” Turn up and play, and win, of course.For Hollioake, 2002 was a year that began in desperately tragic circumstances, with the death of his brother Ben in a car crash in Perth. He took his time to return to the game, but then channelled his grief into some of the most spectacular form of his career. Surrey is a team moulded in his fervent image, and an outfit chock-full of international players can only be strengthened by Alec Stewart’s likely retirement from England’s one-day side, especially if Rikki Clarke and a rejuvenated Graham Thorpe – and possibly Hollioake himself, maybe even as captain – find themselves winging in the other direction.At the opposite end of the spectrum lie Yorkshire, beaten and broke and riven with internal policking. The very year after claiming their first Championship for three decades, they were relegated to the second division, and an immediate return to the top is imperative for their new captain, Anthony McGrath, who took over after (but not, apparently, because of) Darren Lehmann’s much-publicised PR failure against Sri Lanka.Two fixtures stand out on the opening day: Essex v Middlesex at Chelmsford, where Ronnie Irani returns to the day job and Andy Flower begins life after that protest; and Surrey v Lancashire at The Oval, which already has the look of a potential Championship decider, even with Andrew Flintoff forced to sit out the match and Harbhajan Singh threatening to miss the entire season with a finger injury. In the second division, Jonty Rhodes and Jack Russell are threatening to form the quirkiest fielding and middle-order batting partnership since Derek Randall and mountain-climbing Bruce French left Notts, and their livewire personalities could spark Gloucestershire to more than just one-day trophies.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo in London.

Shahid Afridi ran, ran, ran, ran, ran towards square leg and punchedthe air with a divine joy and turned around, and then they fell ontohim, one by one, a swarm of Pakistanis homing in on happiness. SachinTendulkar had played a ball from Afridi, just short-of-a-length,to Asim Kamal at short leg, and Kamal, who had dropped himearlier, held on. And then he watched Afridi run past him, and keep onrunning. What could stop them now? (AV)The million-dollar miss
Throughout the series, Pakistan’s fielders have been culpable ofcostly misses, but the biggest catch arrived moments before the teabreak. As India waged a grim battle, Mohammad Sami, who was shaping theball away from the bat, unleashed the surprise short one at SachinTendulkar. Tendulkar fended without any sort of control and the ballbegan its loopy trajectory left of the short-leg fielder, Asim Kamal.Kamal palmed it further away from him, juggled a couple of more timesand as if overwhelmed by the occasion, groped in the air as the ballfell to the ground. Sami dropped to his knees immediately, Kamalrealised the magnitude of the error and dropped too. Four Pakistanfielders had their hands on their heads, Kamran Akmal covered his face withhis gloves and Inzamam-ul-Haq went down in slow motion to apostion of . Eleven heads reeled in the centre as about25,000 around them danced with relief. (SV)Captain falling
When Sourav Ganguly came out to bat, sections of the crowd shouted,”We want Karthik, we want Karthik”. Less creative sections just booed.It was sad: such a fine batsman in his prime, perhaps the best captainIndia has ever had, now reduced to a poor parody of his formerself. He pottered around for a while, then tried to drive a ball fromShahid Afridi that pitched wide outside off, and missed. The ball cameinto him viciously, and bowled him. As the fielders celebrated,Ganguly stood around wondering what had happened, unable to fathomthat he was out, thinking perhaps that it was a stumping attempt andhis foot was in the crease, or that the ball had rebounded from KamranAkmal’s pads. He had been down for a while; and now the umpire saidthat he was out. He walked off; was it for the last time in a Testmatch? The crowd didn’t care. They booed him. (AV)The mesmeric opening
The roar over Sachin Tendulkar’s entry had hardly died down as hefaced up to Mohammad Sami’s steaming deliveries, but off the third ballhe faced, a full-length one on middle stump, he stirred some old memories. Front foot slightly forward, perfectly in position, bat thrustout just at the right moment, making perfect contact, summoning the force to drive it straight, managing the angle to beat the bowler … and thwack. Sami’s right hand extended desperately,the mid-on fielder simultaneously looked left, the ball had meanwhilecovered three-fourth the distance to the fence, the crowd had gonebonkers and several nostalgic chords sprung up within. (SV)Anything is possible
VVS Laxman had said yesterday, “The way [Virender] Sehwag plays, anything is possible.” Well, Sehwag was 38 off 53 balls, playing with controlled aggression, when Danish Kaneria bowled to Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir pushed it to mid-on, Sehwag casually backed down the pitch, Abdul Razzaq raced to the ball, Sehwag turned, Razzaq threw, and leather hit timber. Sehwag didn’t even have time to try to get back, he just walked to the crease and past it to the pavilion. Razzaqwindmilled his arms, and Inzamam-ul-Haq came, a wide smile painted on his face, and lifted him up.And then Rahul Dravid walked in. (AV)

Bangladesh looked like continuing their discouraging streak of failures since their inception into Test cricket in the second Test against Pakistan at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong. The hosts found themselves blown away for 148 just before the tea break and, by stumps, Pakistan had steadily advanced to 99 for just the loss opener Shadab Kabir.Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who bowled little and unsuccessfully in the first Test at Dhaka, was the chief architect of the Bangladeshi collapse, luring five Bangladeshi batsmen to their doom and conceding only 35 runs in the process. At the other end, continuing his strategy of torment against Bangladesh, was Danish Kaneria, who claimed 4-62.Bangladesh were most comfortable in the day only between Khaled Masud winning the toss and the openers taking strike against Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. First strike on a flat, dry batting surface that promised to aid spin later in the match was an advantage that Bangladesh badly needed. It was also an advantage that was to be squandered.Javed Belim, the right-handed opener playing in place of Mohammad Ashraful, opened with an injured Al-Sahariar. The pair added 21 runs for the first wicketbefore Waqar induced a nick from Al-Sahariar and sent him back for 13, caught behind by Rashid Latif.Mehrab Hossain and Belim then proceeded to give their supporters a rare moment of cheer. Batting patiently and steadily, they saw off the opening pace salvo and then looked comfortable when spin was introduced into the attack. Just before lunch, however, Belim, then on 17, misread the bounce from a Saqlain delivery, offering a catch to silly point Shadab Kabir.One of Bangladesh’s more dependable bats disappointed on the day. Habibul Bashar’s dismissal mirrored Belim’s, with Shadab Kabir taking yet another catch at silly point off the bowling of Saqlain. Their best batsman gone for just 2, the remaining members of the batting line-up crumbled in the face of fine spin bowling from Saqlain and Kaneria.Aminul Islam and skipper Khaled Masud did offer some resistance further down the order, adding 27 runs for the seventh wicket. Aminul ground out 27 runs, while Masud top-scored in the innings with 28.Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis was in particularly attacking vein on the day, setting suffocating close-in fields to entice the batsmen into playing big shots. The plan worked brilliantly, with almost all the batsmen fell into that very trap. The home side’s innings lasted only 56.4 overs.Mohammad Sharif brought slight cheer with his early success, removing Shadab Kabir caught behind in the sixth over. Shadab appeared suspect outside the off-stump from the very start, prodding at deliveries that were meant to be left alone. His mode of dismissal, thus, came as little surprise.That was to be Bangladesh’s last success of the day. Younis Khan and Taufeeq Umar consolidated their side’s position to run up 99 runs by the close of the play. Both were unbeaten on 47, taking eight boundaries each off a Bangladeshi attack that appeared unlikely to set things up for a series-squaring win by bowling Pakistan out twice.

Brian Lara has told England they must forget about trying to play a containing game if they want to wrest the Ashes back from Australia. England, who have lost their last eight Test series against them, are now second behind Ricky Ponting’s men and hopes of a first Ashes triumph since 1986-87 have been stirred by victories in the past two limited-overs matches.”Australia know it’s a more competitive English team that it is facing,” Lara said after the tsunami appeal one-day match at Lord’s. “It’s going to be a good contest, I don’t know if it is going to be close, but I know England are playing good cricket at present. Australia love teams that sit back, be patient and try to win a game from a few mistakes by the Australian team. They [England] have to be aggressive all the time, three sessions a day, 15 sessions a Test match.”England beat Australia by six wickets in the Champions Trophy semi-final in September and on Monday won the Twenty20 match at The Rose Bowl by 100 runs. “The last two successes England have had over the Australians, it’s because of aggressive cricket, attacking cricket,” Lara said.”They played it better than Australia, they didn’t sit back and allow the world champions to dictate. That’s what they need to do in the triangular series coming up and in the Test series.” Australia’s first match against England in the NatWest Series is at Bristol on Sunday.Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, also predicted a great summer and said it was England’s best chance to win the Ashes for years. “The billing is one and two in the world, I can’t wait to watch it,” he said. “[The Twenty20] was a spar, the first of many I’m sure,” Fleming said. “We need to acknowledge that the last two years of their Test cricket has been superb. [England] have got every right to feel confident they can challenge Australia.”Fleming, whose best result against Australia was 0-0 in three Tests in 2001-02, said to topple the world champions five or six players needed to have outstanding series. “I haven’t beaten Australia so I’m in no position to advise Michael Vaughan,” he said. “We’ve tended to compete for a period of time. The trick is to compete for the entire series. That’s the challenge, maintaining a higher standard for a longer period of time.”Lara said after the tsunami match that he wasn’t sure if it was his final game at cricket’s home. “I thought the Test match [last year] was,” he said. “I’ve always loved playing at Lord’s. Every time I go out there I try to make sure that people see the best of me.” West Indies next tour England in 2007 when Lara will be almost 40.