His greatest contribution may be turning fans inured to close defeats and panicky collapses into a set that refuses to believe a game is lost as long as he stays in

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan12-Jul-2013This was not cricket; this was poker. MS Dhoni was too calm, too cool, too sly. He bluffed and bluffed. He raised the stakes even as wickets fell. He rode his luck, survived a close run-out chance, escaped two perilous mix-ups with Ishant Sharma, and closed it out.Dhoni wasn’t even supposed to play this match. And it was clear that he was struggling with injury through his innings. He declined some easy singles and didn’t take some twos he would have normally harried through. He was up against the run rate. He was up against a sharp Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews. And he was up against pressure. He overcame them all.There is plenty to say about Sri Lanka’s batting, India’s bowling, and India’s top order. There is a lot to write about Rohit Sharma’s innings. And there is much to talk about Herath. But let them be for now.Dhoni walked in at 139 for 4. He tapped and blocked. Occasionally he nudged. It took him 16 balls to get to 4. Meanwhile his partners came and left. Suresh Raina swished at an away-goer; Ravindra Jadeja played back to one that nipped back in; and R Ashwin was done in by the arm ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar made nothing (though he did hang around for 15 crucial balls), and Vinay Kumar had a popcorn burst in his head when, on 5, he tried to slog a short ball out of the ground.Twenty runs were needed off 22 balls. With Ishant, the last man, sauntering in. Dhoni played out two balls. Then took a single. And Ishant blocked out the final delivery.The next three overs tell you the story of India’s finest finisher. He waited. And he waited more.This was classic Dhoni. He bides his time until the game reaches a boiling point, plays out the best bowlers, pushes the required rate higher and higher, and then backs himself to win the face-off. Javed Miandad did this often. As did Michael Bevan. Dhoni has turned it into an art form.With 19 needed off 18, he faced Malinga. He patted the first ball down the pitch and defended the next one to the off side. The third was slightly wide but he smashed it to cover. He saw a chance to sneak a single but turned it down. The fourth ball was fuller, on off stump, and he wristed it to deep midwicket for two. A typical Dhoni hustle, manoeuvering the gaps with his tennis-ball technique.The next ball was angled to third man. Again he turned down the single (even with only one ball left). The last ball was a bit wide. He tapped it to point and hollered, “No”. Ishant, who was halfway down the pitch, was lucky to survive a run out.Seventeen were needed off 12.Ishant stayed on strike for the whole over from Mathews. He was nearly run out off the first ball. He picked off two runs off the fourth. And blocked out the next two.Fifteen were required off the final over. And Dhoni asked for a change of bat. “A 2kg bat,” as he later revealed.There is a reason India adores Dhoni. For those who followed Indian cricket in the ’80s and ’90s, he may even come across as a messiah. Those were the days India choked and crumbled. They withered at the first hint of pressure. Their batsmen seemed to know exactly when and how to combust. All would be hunky dory until a slew of wickets wrecked their progress.

Dhoni bides his time until the game reaches a boiling point, plays out the best bowlers, pushes the required rate higher and higher, and then backs himself to win the face-off

Match after match, big tournament after big tournament, India pined for a batsman like Miandad. Or Saleem Malik. Or Bevan. Or Steve Waugh. Or any number of others who could stay ice-cool in a chase. They craved reassurance when the rate climbed. They yearned for some batsman to steer them calmly.Dhoni’s calm can be intimidating. It’s as if he absorbs all the pressure as he works himself into a zone. Those watching can feel this. They understand that he gauges the pulse of the game, that he reads the opposition and the conditions. They are so used to his ways in ODIs that they trust him to take the right decisions at the right time.Fifteen off the final over with a wicket in hand – that’s what schoolboy dreams are made of, the kind of scenario that young kids imagine while they stare into a life-size mirror. The first ball of the final over was short and slightly wide. Dhoni tried an almighty hoick and missed. Many other batsmen would have cussed aloud. Or admonished themselves. Dhoni walked away towards square leg.The second ball was full and wide. It stood no chance against his pendulum swing. A monstrous six. The third ball was on a length. He carved it behind point. Five needed off three. The fourth ball was also on a length. Another meaty swing. Another six. Match over. Tournament won. Let’s all go home.The Sri Lankans were stunned by the assault. Dhoni’s team-mates looked shocked too. The commentators were delirious. And those at the ground went bananas. But when all these people sit back and quietly consider the final stages of the match, they will be overcome by a sense of inevitability.Dhoni is no doubt a badass finisher. He is one of India’s finest ODI batsmen. And he is their most decorated captain. But his true contribution goes far deeper. He has managed to turn a fan base inured to close defeats and panicky collapses into a set that refuses to believe that a game is lost as long as he stays in.There was a time when Indian fans turned off the TV when Tendulkar got out (and Dhoni too has admitted to having done the same when he watched the 2003 World Cup final). But the thinking these days seems to have been turned on its head, almost to a point where fans tune into a game when their captain walks in.

Reactions to Stuart Broad’s decision to stand his ground against an appeal on the third day of the first Ashes Test

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2013″What Stuart Broad did amounts to the same thing as [Denesh] Ramdin. He knew he had hit the ball. The ICC fined Ramdin and suspended him for ‘actions that were contrary to the spirit of the game’. What Stuart Broad did is contrary to the spirit of the game. He played the ball and stayed there.”
“Don’t have a problem with Stuart Broad not walking its a decision which he will have to live with! #Ashes.”
“If you start banning players who don’t walk, Australia wouldn’t have a team”
So should a bowler call back the batter when he knows its a bad decision ? Of course not , I’m bored of this !
“Just saw the Broad dismissal … sorry non-dismissal. No issue with him not walking but an appalling piece of umpiring. Hard to fathom.”

By the way, you can't blame Broad for not walking, hats off I say if you nick it to 1st slip stand your ground & get given not out !

— Shane Warne (@warne888) July 12, 2013

“You can pinch the soap from a hotel without shame but you can’t rob the safe. There are many grades of grey in cricket’s spirit.”
“Once, professionalism explained walking: it was mutual respect between pros. Now, professionalism excuses not walking. Pathetic.”
“Australians have a reputation (other than Gilchrist) for not walking, not sure I’ve ever seen anything like that before with Broad’s edge!”

“I have no problem with batsmen not walking if there is 1% of doubt. But Broad 100% knew he was out, and cheated. Unacceptable.”

Thinking about the Broad-walk. Is it so wrong given the times you are given out incorrectly? Leave to umpires or self regulate a la golf?

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 12, 2013

If you find somebody's wallet and nobody (no "umpire") sees you pick it up, you don't keep it, you walk to a police station & hand it in.

— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) July 12, 2013

Just as they did at The Oval last July, South Africa’s quicks bowled too wide on the first day. Allan Donald hopes they can stage an Oval-style turnaround

Firdose Moonda18-Dec-20130:00

Cullinan: ‘Smith could’ve managed bowlers better’

M Vijay vigilantly watched half of the first over of this Test match sail past him. Dale Steyn was steaming in, swinging the ball away, and although he beat Vijay’s outside edge once, he also provided enough room outside off stump to ensure the opener was not forced into a shot on three occasions. Eighty overs later, with Steyn taking hold of the second new ball, MS Dhoni watched four out of six balls carry through to AB de Villiers. Sandwiched between those two overs was the reason South Africa did not have more success on the opening day of this series: they did not make the Indian batsmen play enough and did not show enough discipline.They bowled too wide of off stump and the unexpectedly stoic attitude from India’s batsmen left the first day delicately balanced. It also highlighted South Africa’s occasional lapses into lethargy, otherwise known as ‘starting slowly.’South Africa, by their own admission, sometimes stutter in their attempt to get off the blocks, especially if they have been on a break. They took half a Test to get into their groove in the UAE after a seven-month layoff, by which time the first match was all but lost. Then, they could not adjust to conditions quickly enough. Today, at the Wanderers, their showing was reminiscent of their display at The Oval last July.England finished the first day 267 for 3, with Alastair Cook scoring a century. England had been allowed a free pass, as South Africa bowled without the attacking intent they had built their reputation on. Even though Allan Donald said then that they knew width was not an option, they persisted with a line outside the off stump and England’s batsmen could settle.M Vijay leaving the ball was one of the defining sights of the first morning•AFPDonald, South Africa’s bowling coach, recognised the similarities between that day and this one immediately. “I went back to the day we had at The Oval where we asked the right questions to start with but at the same time, we were slightly wide and a little bit too short,” he said.India’s openers left almost half of the first ten overs – 27 deliveries out of 60. Vijay spent 41 balls being watchful. He ignored anything he had to reach for, for more than an hour. He only faltered after being given a working over by Morne Morkel, who, as he did at The Oval, delivered the most impressive of South Africa’s opening acts.Morkel extracted steep bounce and used the short ball to good effect, directing it at the batsmen’s bodies in the hope of getting them to fend to short leg. It almost worked. After Vijay was dropped at short leg, Morkel sensed he would be vulnerable and dished up the fuller one, which Vijay could not stop fishing at.Mistakes like that were what South Africa were waiting for. At 24 for 2, with both India batsmen falling to a plan and the evidence of the one-day series still fresh in their minds, they could hardly be faulted for expecting more of the same. Cheteshwar Pujara only offered one chance – when he edged Morkel short of first slip – and even though Virat Kohli initially looked uncertain, especially against Morkel, he soon showed his prowess on the back foot.With Pujara’s determination and Kohli’s strokeplay, the frustrators became the frustrated. Kohli had time to ease in and sensed it would get easier for him if he rode out the initial test. “I don’t think they were threatening at all,” he said. “It was all about respecting the conditions. After that, you have to respect yourself. You have to respect the good balls that are thrown at you and use your opportunity to hit when you could. Later on, they started bowling on fifth, sixth stump.”That was after lunch and it was when South Africa’s day threatened to unravel. The usually impeccable line of Vernon Philander veered much wider than usual and the spinners, on a first-day Wanderers pitch, were ineffective and expensive. Imran Tahir’s mash-up of long-hops and full tosses provided relief and runs for India, proving that patience pays.Still, Donald said South Africa never felt India took the game away. “They fired down,” he said. The run-out of Pujara and Kohli’s soft dismissal kept South Africa on a fairly even keel. Despite Ajinkya Rahane being handed the same leeway, with South Africa offering as much, if not more, width at the end of the day as they did at the beginning, Donald was largely satisfied. “I will say I will take it. It was a mixture of asking the right questions but then being a bit sloppy in patches. There’s no doubt we have to make a big play tomorrow.”For that, Donald will ask them to remember The Oval. South Africa surged back on the second day with much more conviction and purpose. The chat Donald had with them may have had something to do with it. “I went to bowlers individually and spoke to them,” he said. “I chatted with Dale especially about setting the tone.”Led by a fired-up Steyn, South Africa took the last seven England wickets for 114 runs. “We locked in so well and didn’t give England anything,” Donald said. “That’s what we have to do tomorrow. There is a lot riding on tomorrow’s first session and how the bowlers set the tone.”In recent months, South Africa have not stacked up bad days and Donald is convinced that won’t change, especially if he has something to do with it. “When we have a rusty day, we get back into things and we pride ourselves on how we find a way. We have done that successfully against teams all around the world. Tomorrow is another one of those days where we have to do it.”

Darren Sammy and Brendon McCullum have both had moments to savour as captains at international level but the pair begin this contest with major questions hanging over them

Andrew McGlashan in Dunedin30-Nov-2013Captains have plenty to think about before a Test series begins – media commitments, which XI to select and the decision at the toss among them – even before they get to their own performances. That combination of team and personal welfare has proved too much for many and that’s why a captain whose form remains unaffected by the strains of captaincy is such a lauded and prized asset.Brendon McCullum and Darren Sammy, the opposing leaders in the upcoming Test series which begins in Dunedin on Tuesday, have both had moments to savour as captains at international level but the pair begin this contest with major questions hanging over them.McCullum, a player full of boldness and bravado, is suffering from a long-term crippling back condition, which forced him home from Bangladesh and means his future is likely to be a fitness, rather than form, issue. Sammy’s Test credentials, having already been removed as the ODI captain, were severely weakened during West Indies’ horrendous performances in India, with the defeat in Kolkata ending a run of six Test wins on the bounce.Being turned over on the subcontinent is no disgrace, but it was the manner in which they folded with barely a whimper, after reducing India to 83 for 5 in Kolkata, that left an empty feeling. Sammy was at the forefront of the criticism for shots he played in the first innings of both Tests – caught in the deep off Pragyan Ojha in Kolkata and in a similarly reckless manner, second ball, in Mumbai off R Ashwin. ‘Natural game’ and ‘counter-attacking’ are vacuous defences for such shots when your team is in the mire.The problem for Sammy is that the second part of his game, the seam bowling, is not standing up to scrutiny at Test level, either. The overall average of 35.66 is not a write-off, but unless a surface is green or made for nagging medium-pace (the latter was the case when he bowled West Indies to victory against Pakistan in Guyana and may also be the case in New Zealand), he is not a Test-class third seamer. His average rises to 39.94 from his 27 matches as captain. Neither is he a Test-class No. 6 (or even, at the moment, a 7 or 8). Therefore he is a captain being carried. In his last three Tests he has bowled a grand total of 40 overs and taken one wicket.Sammy knows his recent returns are not enough. “I didn’t have a good tour in India,” he said. “I want to reassure myself as a Test captain and Test cricketer.”When he took over the role from Chris Gayle in 2010, he was not even a regular in the starting XI. West Indies needed someone to inspire and unite. Sammy, a man brim-full of passion, ticked those boxes. Six wins in six (and the World T20 title, albeit in a vastly different format where Sammy the allrounder is a more accommodated player) is not to be sniffed at; it is a more favourable return than New Zealand have enjoyed. But even in those Test matches, Sammy averaged 30 with the bat and, most tellingly, 55 with the ball.Brendon McCullum last scored a Test century in 2010•AFPMcCullum’s Test record stands up to somewhat more scrutiny than Sammy’s – although his last century, 225 against India, came in 2010 which is a vast gap for such a batsman. Handed the captaincy controversially when Ross Taylor was sacked last year, being bowled out in a session in Cape Town was a rough start, and laid a low base for improvement, but for a while there were signs that McCullum’s way was working. New Zealand should have beaten England earlier this year which would have been their finest series victory since 2002 when they trounced India on homemade greentops, or arguably 1999 when they overcame England away.Although the hundred continued to prove elusive for McCullum, the way he batted set a tone of defiance and determination. He scored three half-centuries against England, but the return series – in tougher batting conditions – did not see him pass 20. The recent Tests in Bangladesh have again been lean with 54 runs from three innings. He has recently admitted his back was causing him more problems than he let on.Both McCullum and Sammy come across well when they talk. Sammy really does care, which may seem an odd thing to say about a sports captain but it has not always felt the way with some West Indian players, and McCullum freely admits he has to make the most of some meagre resources, which are made even thinner when he doesn’t contribute significant runs.McCullum was particularly impressive as a leader during the series against England and the Champions Trophy, but despite references to “trending” in the right direction their results remain much of a muchness. They had two Test wins in 2012, but one of those came against Zimbabwe at home, and have yet to register one in 2013 although Auckland came desperately close. The draws (two in 10 Tests last year and five in nine in 2013) suggest a team becoming harder to beat, but the Bangladesh series was hard to evaluate. The West Indies series will define their year.McCullum remains one of the best six batsmen in New Zealand (although that is not a view shared by all) despite a failure to make to the most of his batting talent. Yet that fact, alone, highlights the struggle for world-class batsmen that Bruce Edgar, the new national selector, is trying to deal with.If there is debate about a current captain, then what are the alternatives? From the New Zealand perspective there is a succession plan in place. Kane Williamson is the anointed one, but there will be a reluctance to burden him just as he is starting to settle into the demanding No. 3 role. His time will come, though, and perhaps sooner rather than later.The alternatives to Sammy are even harder to pick out. For a moment it is tempting to suggest Dwayne Bravo, but he hasn’t played a Test since 2010 and his batting and bowling numbers are actually worse than Sammy’s.Denesh Ramdin has leadership experience but is continually battling to retain his place and it’s doubtful Shivnarine Chanderpaul wants it on his plate towards the end of his career. Kirk Edwards has led the A team but has been unconvincing at the top level, while Darren Bravo is another name that has been suggested. Sammy has become the Hobson’s choice of West Indies cricket. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that this series could mark the end for two captains.

From David Warner’s run out to catches by Michael Clarke and Daniel Christan, Australia showed why they are among the leaders in the field

Vithushan Ehantharajah at the SCG19-Jan-2014David Warner had not even faced a ball before his innings should have been over. He knew it, too – giving up on a single he was never supposed to make, with half the pitch left. Just two balls into Australia’s chase, Aaron Finch had punched the ball to Ravi Bopara at cover, who anticipated, picked up and threw, low but wide.Warner’s bonus 70 balls allowed him to take Australia to within 123 runs of victory, with just under 30 overs left. His removal so early would have changed the game.Earlier in the day, Warner himself had nailed an outrageous direct hit to see off Ian Bell, who was caught ambling between the wickets here for the second match in a row. It was one of a triumvirate of pieces of fielding that served as another marker of the galling gap in quality between the two sides on this tour.”The Australian way is to lead in the field,” Michael Clarke said immediately after the match. And how he led, taking a remarkable one-handed grab when Ben Stokes got down on one knee and swept Xavier Doherty hard and behind square. The ball shot low to Clarke’s right but he somehow managed to claim the ball within a whisker of the turf, with his weaker right hand.Daniel Christian was responsible for the third, as he dived after a leading edge from Eoin Morgan, scooping the ball safely – as confirmed by the television umpire – while almost upside down and vertical. Morgan stood his ground to await confirmation on the catch’s cleanliness but he could just as well have stayed there in amazement.It is one of the game’s great truths that a side’s fielding is a measure of their confidence. While England’s fielders towed the ring’s outer limits, Australia were choking, at times wilfully making the 30-yard circle ten short. Where England were meek Australia were hounding and hungry.As if to provide an exception to prove the rule, Aaron Finch dropped Bell on 14, after the ball was flat-batted straight to him, standing close in at point. Finch’s nonchalance upon taking a swirling skier when Chris Jordan tried to pull James Faulkner into Moore Park did little to suggest he was satisfied with the scalp of a No. 10 as redemption. It spoke of a ruthlessness that England have been unable to match, in any discipline.

“Globally, fielding has never been so crisp. Through years of trial and error, as some theories were binned and others became theorems, the skills required for various positions have been honed”

Globally, fielding has never been so crisp. Through years of trial and error, as some theories were binned and others became theorems, the skills required for various positions on the field have been honed. The introduction of Twenty20 has undoubtedly sped up the evolution of fielding, as evidenced by the number of self-assisted boundary catches that are taken nowadays. It seems there is now a correct way of pulling off the extraordinary.Even in east Africa, cricket development officers working on the border of Uganda and Kenya have noted how modern teachings have allowed athletic kids, with no previous exposure to cricket, to become exceptional fielders, almost overnight.That’s not to say fielding can’t or won’t evolve further. Just as George Bailey showed in the Ashes series, with his array of volleyball parries from short leg, there’s always room for innovation. There was certainly something novel about Australia’s Chicago-born fielding coach Mike Young, as he used a baseball bat to send cleanly struck high balls from the middle to the boundary’s edge during the mid-innings break.Young has been around the Australia set-up since 2007, when he initially worked closely with Ricky Ponting and John Buchanan. Since then, he has been involved with various international and domestic sides in one form or another, including a stint with Glamorgan last year, as a specialist fielding coach for their Twenty20 campaign.Talk to him for 15 minutes on throwing and you will have all you need to know about searing in a flat one from the rope as well as the physiology of the human arm. He’s very much in the “learn by doing” camp, a big believer that volume of practice helps perfect throwing mechanics and “arm patterns”. Warner was quick to praise the effect of Young – “he tells us to keep it tight” – and Steve Rixon, Australia’s assistant coach, who have polished this talented bunch of individuals into an all-seeing, all-stopping force.The fielding brilliance of Warner, Clarke and Glenn Maxwell, and those not playing here today like Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson – not forgetting the high standard on show in the Big Bash League – underlines the high standards that Australia are seeking once more. Their encounter with South Africa next month is the meeting of two of best fielding sides in the world.We are no longer in an era where individuals are vaunted for excelling at specific facets of fielding – Heath Streak’s bullet arm, Upul Chandana’s freakish reflexes or Jonty Rhodes’ ambivalence to the laws of physics. International fielders must be bucket-handed walls, and Australia have some of the deepest and biggest in the game.

Graeme Smith has plenty of memories of facing Mitchell Johnson. Some are good. Some are painful. In their first head-to-head of this series the fast bowler came out on top in double quick time

Jarrod Kimber at Centurion Park13-Feb-2014February, 2014The ball punches the pitch, and cracks into Graeme Smith who seems to react only as the ball leaves him. It loops up slowly and the crowd make noise accordingly. It is just off the pad. Not out. It is the first ball Smith faces from Mitchell Johnson.____________There is not much time to think between the ball leaving Johnson’s hand and the batsman having to deal with it. It is like a camera flash, or a political back-flip.You can have a plan, you can think it through, but the ball just comes out of his hand and you react. There are some batsmen who revel in that. See ball, hit ball.Not enough time for clear rational thought. There is not enough time to think about past deliveries, or history, it just happens.January, 2009A full ball that that should never have damaged anyone, but spat up and took the left massive hand of Smith. His hand disappeared like he had been zapped by a ray gun. For a second Smith was lost, the pain confused him, he was walking around in a circle towards point. And only then did he eventually find the culprit, which had gone off to fine leg to allow him to get off strike. But the damage was done, and he would only come back into to bat at No. 11, with a broken hand.____________There is a bowling machine that players have used to try and learn the mystery and tricks of certain players, the Pro Batter. You can face Morne Morkel, Lasith Malinga or even Mitchell Johnson.But you can’t program it with superhuman confidence. You can’t give it artificial menace. And you can’t play against it like it is a real force of nature. It is a computer game with real elements. Nothing more. All you can do is try and pick up a few tricks that you hope the next time you play will come in handy.South Africa have used the Pro Batter, they have also faced Johnson at his old best. They should know how to play him. Smith has faced him more than most. They have survived him at the WACA, after he took 8 for 61, they milked him on their chase beyond 400 to win, they have played him ten times. They know him.Well, they knew the old him. This new one is relentless and brutal, like a zombie girl group, or a current affairs reporter. This Mitchell is worse and better than anything that can be made with CGI or the old model.Graeme Smith could only fend a Mitchell Johnson short ball to the slips – at least his hand remained intact•Getty ImagesMarch, 2009Off the ground, looking at point, one hand off the bat, the right hand protecting his throat and being smashed into the bat handle. That is how Smith found himself as he just tried to survive a delivery. The ball did not take his wicket, he did end up in hospital.____________Smith is respected all over the world. He has scored almost 10,000 Test runs. He has done that at almost an average of 50. He has 27 Test centuries. He is the captain and leader of the world’s best Test team.Smith is South Africa’s top order monolith. Strong, calm and reliable. The young warrior who took over the side and pushed them higher than they had ever been. All with a bottom handed technique that makes even his best shots look like a solid uppercut.His place in the world of cricket is safe and secure, and he could retire tomorrow and be remembered for decades.In nine Tests he has been dismissed by Johnson five times and sent to hospital twice. Today Johnson tried to do both in one ball.February, 2014The ball leaves the pitch with a mission to break the jaw or eye socket of Smith. There is no time. There is nowhere to hide. There is no way out. Smith can ever be hit in the face, or try and play the ball. His body is doing in one direction, his face another. His bat is jerking upwards not like a cricket shot, but like he is fending off a surprise Pterodactyl attack. The ball hits the bat, more by pure chance than design. The ball flies high, and all of the slips, (there are a few, but it seems like hundreds), arch their necks up at once, and watch it float behind them. Shaun Marsh chases, and chases, while the batsmen easily cross, and at the last minute he reaches the ball to barely take the catch.____________Graeme Smith faced two balls from Mitchell Johnson today.

Pakistan staged two impressive comebacks in the match to trounce Australia, reviving an old act of creating a win from a difficult situation

Abhishek Purohit23-Mar-20141:19

Umar Akmal rates his 94 as the best knock of his career

Like the World Twenty20 2012, Pakistan came up against Australia on Sunday right after a meek display against India. Once again, they played like the Pakistan side fans expect, showing that it was the pressure of an India game that brought out all the diffidence two nights ago. The intensity was not close to the levels of the Premadasa in October 2012, but the similarities were there.That evening, Pakistan had to win, and win big, to make the semi-finals ahead of India. This evening, a loss would not have knocked them out of the tournament, but would have still left them teetering on the brink. Both times, Pakistan batted first. In 2012, they made 149 and defended it with such ferocity Australia were out of it long before their chase meandered to a feeble end. In 2014, Umar Akmal sent them rocketing to 191. Then Australia lost two wickets in the first over. This is where the similarities would end.Umar Akmal dragged Pakistan from the abyss they were threatening to sink into after the defeat against India•Getty ImagesPakistan are usually all over the chasing side after such a batting effort and a successful start with the ball. Until Glenn Maxwell happened. He swept six after six, each blow hacking away at Pakistan’s spirit. Not even Saeed Ajmal and his doosra were spared. Bilawal Bhatti went for 30 in one over. The asking rate had come down to 7.5. When anything and everything your bowlers come up with is swatted for six, it is an understatement to say that it is demoralising. And Pakistan did what probably any side would have done in the face of such an assault, for a while at least. They were rattled. They dropped catches.Akmal had already brought them back once in the match, after a rather weak start. Are two comebacks possible in a T20 match? Maybe they are, when Pakistan are making the comebacks. The asking rate for Australia was still extremely manageable, around eight, when Maxwell finally hit one that failed to clear Ahmed Shehzad in the deep.Suddenly, it was as if the elusive combination of a safe had been cracked. Suddenly, bowlers who had cost so many runs until now found suffocating lines and lengths. Suddenly, fielders who had been fumbling and putting down straightforward chances seemed to spring up wherever the ball went and pounced on it. A gigantic wall had sprung up out of thin air to block Australia’s smooth progress. All Australia’s batsmen were managing against it were scores of 4, 2, 8, 0, 3 and 3.When you come from a generation that grew up watching Pakistan conjure wins out of sheer will, you expect that to happen even now. Everything has changed – times, personnel, the game itself. That expectation, though, refuses to go away. And although the frequency may have dipped, Pakistan are still capable of conjuring such victories, as they showed tonight.Amid such vintage Pakistani thrill at the end, what Akmal achieved at the start should not be overlooked. He caught Pakistan by the scruff and dragged them out of the abyss they had fallen into against the Indians, and one they threatened to slip further down into at 25 for 2. Akmal had all the intent and aggression that had gone absent against India.It is tempting to the see the patterns for Pakistan in this match – from Akmal’s dominance with the bat to Babar’s controlled opening with the ball to the commanding closing by the team. There is the small matter of Maxwell’s massive scare in the middle. To the faithful, Pakistan were always going to find a way around him. To those who aren’t, Australia gave it away under pressure. Either way, there is no denying the swiftness, the finality and the thrill of that wall Pakistan constructed.

The sight of Aaron Finch and David Warner marauding their way to a 98-run opening stand hint at what might have been for Australia, but the selection against Bangladesh highlighted their issues

Alan Gardner in Mirpur01-Apr-2014Australia’s first win at the World T20, a tournament they entered as one of the favourites, only increased the sense of disappointment. Cricket Australia has been beguiled by the shortest format, giving the Big Bash League a prime slot at the heart of the season, while Australians are the most in-demand of foreigners invited to partake in IPL ambrosia. Yet success in this tournament remains elusive.Beating Bangladesh at least prevented Australia from being bracketed alongside UAE as the only winless teams in the entire competition. After the conquests of recent months, and the burgeoning optimism of the Darren Lehmann era, this was the smallest of beer.Even in this match, comfortably won as it was, there were signs that Australia’s T20 cricket has some way to go before anyone will back them heavily again. The next global tournament is on the subcontinent once more, in India in two years’ time, and the deficiencies batting against spin that were liberally riffed upon in that country this time last year will face insistent probing.The sight of Aaron Finch and David Warner marauding their way to a 98-run opening stand – after previous associations worth 4, 33 and 13 – hinted at what might have been this time around. Such a platform could perhaps have been the difference in narrow but ultimately decisive defeats to Pakistan and West Indies. Both batted with the sort of freedom and aggression that characterised a summer of brutality during the Ashes and subsequent limited-overs larks.Ah, but that was only against England, you might say, not even as good as the Dutch, on the evidence of their last game. And this domination was only against the more modest spin resources of Bangladesh, rather than Saeed Ajmal, Sunil Narine or R Ashwin, and in a dead game, too. Nevertheless, it gave Finch pause to reflect.”I think myself and Davey have both been very disappointing in this tournament as a partnership,” he said. “What makes it even more disappointing is that it took until the final game to have a big partnership, and to be out of the tournament already. To not be able to progress and then provide a good start for the side was very disappointing and something that is frustrating. We’ve both come here with high expectations of each other and ourselves. I don’t think we played particularly well in the first three games and in such a short format you have to rely on your openers heavily and we didn’t do that. So we take a lot of responsibility.”Finch and Glenn Maxwell were Australia’s only significant contributors with the bat but there were problems elsewhere. Unusually lackadaisical in the field – an aspect of the game so central to the Lehmann revival – there were further discrepancies against Bangladesh, such as Doug Bollinger’s defeatist flop at fine leg in a failed attempt to prevent four. Brad Haddin, having put in an unstinting shift since November, at least had an excuse for a tired miss off Dan Christian’s slow bouncer.With the ball, only Nathan Coulter-Nile enhanced his reputation and he was the pick of the attack against Bangladesh, who were allowed to make their highest score in seven innings at this tournament. The decision not to field a specialist spinner, although justified by Finch, was suggestive that Australia were unwilling or unable to properly adapt to the conditions. Brad Hogg played just one game, while James Muirhead was also given limited opportunities, drawing criticism from Shane Warne in his TV commentary role.”I think the selection they’ve got wrong,” Warne said. “I know their strength is fast bowling but in these conditions we’ve seen the wicket turn. Brad Hogg is a pretty experienced bowler, he didn’t bowl as well as he would have liked. Young Muirhead, he’s going to bowl a few bad balls every now and again but when he lands them he’s good. I think they could have gone in with both those spinners, they’ve got guys like Watson and Maxwell as well. They could have mixed and matched a bit better.Finch, however, backed up the decision to continue battering away with the quicks. “Bangladesh are very good players of spin and in these conditions they probably haven’t been exposed to the pace as often,” he said. “I think that that was absolutely the right decision to make. Both our legspinners are very attacking, in Hogg and Muirhead, so if that doesn’t work it becomes a situation where you don’t really have much to fall back on.”The presence of Mitchell Johnson would certainly have augmented such a strategy but the adherence to it with Bollinger as an unlikely-for-like replacement erred towards dogmatism.Almost half of Australia’s squad, including Finch, Warner and Coulter-Nile, will head on to the IPL to extend their tutorial on subcontinental pitches before an interregnum and a return to international competition against Pakistan in the UAE in October. Success in franchise leagues may plump reputations and bank balances but it will not make up for another World T20 that has passed Australia by.”I think we’ve let ourselves down in all three disciplines over the first couple of games,” Finch said. “And in such a short format like this that really comes back to haunt you quickly. When you have games back-to-back like this, momentum is really crucial. And we probably let that slip in the West Indies game. When we got to the India game we were out of the tournament. It’s very disappointing. We came here with hopes to win the competition and we’re going home with nothing.”

In which our correspondent is remembered by a former international cricketer, befriends a librarian, and talks horses with Ravindra Jadeja

Sidharth Monga16-Jul-2014June 29
7am. First day in a new country. Always expect to be wide-eyed, taking in surroundings. Like removing a blindfold after hours. No such sensation here. Stay underground, into the tube and off to Derby, where the Indians will play their second and last tour game before the Tests, from St Pancras. All efficient, with arrival times kept, and zero anxiety of missing connections. Will remove blindfold tomorrow.Strike that. Sit by Derwent in Derby and marvel at daylight at 10.30pm. Don’t know yet that it will be four days before darkness is first seen in UK.June 30
Things I know about Derby:
On the banks of the Derwent, which is more canal than river.Possibly the oldest factory in the history of factories, Lombe’s, a silk-throwing mill, was built here. Silk Mill is a famous pub in Derby now.Home to massive transport manufacturing, including Rolls Royce. Mohammad Azharuddin played his home county matches here.On a rain-affected day in 1969, in the Derbyshire nets, Majid Khan proved to three front-line Glamorgan bowlers you need not move your feet when batting, just hands and eyes. For 20 minutes, on a rough and unprepared pitch, Majid batted without moving his feet. Didn’t miss one ball, played all the shots. Those who saw it estimate he scored about 75 runs.Brian Clough died here. There is a Brian Clough Drive here. Clough joined Derby County in 1967; in four years he took them from nowhere to first the second-division title, and then their first England championship.The Indians once lost a three-day match here to Derbyshire in 1996. Dean Jones was captain, Devon Malcolm took eight wickets. To rub it in, Malcolm opened the chase of 13 runs. India won’t be playing competitive cricket here this time, just an exhibition match with all 18 allowed to play at various times.July 1
County Ground in Derby. Small. Intimate. Conveniently located, near city centre. Fans can walk up next to change rooms and get autographs, photos, and the newest fad, selfies. Someone in the Indian set-up doesn’t like it. Fans cordoned away, players walk to nets with four security guards in tow. Locals have never seen anyone with four security guards in Derby. “In Derby of all places,” they laugh.Indians lose toss, and look largely ineffectively with the ball on a flat, slow pitch. No one bowling at 100% intensity. Big concern that Ishant Sharma has bowled nine no-balls. Umpire George Sharp omits to call about as many. Will hate it if he thinks he is all right now and then finds out he has overstepped with wicket-taking deliveries in Tests. Derbyshire 326 for 5 declared.Not more than a handful out in city centre at night. Streets and buildings look like each other. Get lost on way back to bed and breakfast. Will become routine. In Derby, you get lost.July 2
More consternation among fans and media at Indians’ refusal to engage with them.Wall at Derby stadium where bricks can be bought to commemorate people’s lives, events, meeting of lovers here, a son’s gratitude towards his father for introducing him to cricket. One brick has name Jonty Rhodes. Pretty sure he is not Jonty Rhodes.Derbyshire’s official photographer David Griffin has dedicated one wall to aggressive Derbyshire batsman Ken Barnett. Griffin is a cricket tragic, and more importantly Derbyshire tragic. “Don’t know what I was thinking when I became their fan,” he says. Cricket, though, had him at hello. First match his father took him to involved a Garry Sobers hundred. You can’t go back after that.The land of Larwood•Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdIndians 341 for 6 declared. Cheteshwar Pujara scores fifty, MS Dhoni bats at No. 5. Are they thinking of the improbable, playing just five batsmen in first Test?July 3
Iain O’Brien. Former New Zealand quick. Now doing BBC commentary for Derbyshire matches. Spoke to him for five minutes five years ago. Remembers my name. I am stunned. No one has ever remembered my name from a five-minute conversation after five years, let alone an international cricketer. “In Napier, not in McLean Park but in Nelson Park,” he says.Three kids in school blazers by India nets. Not even ten years old. Trying to watch Indians practise without getting noticed by security. “I asked him for an autograph, but his security guards won’t let him. That’s how they lose their popularity.”Pop in for lunchtime chat with O’Brien on the BBC. Indians’ refusal to engage with fans and media hasn’t gone unnoticed and is a topic of debate. Point out the players are not horrible people, and also to various cases of their getting heckled horribly by “fans”. And that they don’t need media any more, nor do they owe them anything except to let them watch their cricket, which will be on show in a week’s time.July 4
Derbyshire is real-ale country. Working-class drink. Unfiltered, unpasteurised, and served without artificial pressure introduced by nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Actually cask ale but named real ale as part of campaign to promote cask ale. Real and rail are combined as trails are run from Derby to Matlock with passengers taken on a tour of local ales and foods. Real Ale Rail Trail runs on what used to be the Midland line from Derby to Manchester.Head towards Derby train station. Not to catch ale train, but train to Nottingham, next stop on tour.July 5
Some mentions of Robin Hood:In the Wallflowers’ “Hollywood”: “Oh my god / They’ve sold Hollywood / Burned down my neighbourhood / Even shot Robin Hood”.The Fake IPL Player nicknamed Ishant Sharma Little John, the trusted lieutenant.”Feared by the bad / Loved by the good.” Of course. Carl Sigman’s quintessential Robin Hood song.”Sidebottom, Sidebottom / Swings it through the air / Sidebottom, Sidebottom / With his curly hair”. Sung to the tune of “Robin Hood”, by the Barmy Army.Robin Hood Pandey. The corrupt cop in Bollywood movie , played by Salman Khan.”Einstein disguised as Robin Hood / With his memories in a trunk / Passed this way an hour ago / With his friend, a jealous monk.” Only Bob Dylan can think of these things.In Cockney rhyming slang, Robin means good. Good rhymes with Hood. Remove Hood from the rhyming set of words. If you’re Robin, you’re good.July 6
India are back on the field, beginning their final round of training before the first Test, which begins on July 9. Becoming increasingly clear that Stuart Binny will get a debut, ahead of Rohit Sharma, so that India can have a support seamer. Pitch is dry, MS Dhoni looks confident of batting at No. 6.Ravindra Jadeja, who will bat at No. 7, is putting in his usual extra hours working on his batting. As he walks off, ask him how his farm and horses are doing. His face lights up as he talks about his horses, as if they are his kids. Loves Kathiawadi horses. Their ears point inwards. Suggest he takes one home from here too. Says he doesn’t like Arabian horses because their ears point outwards, making them look like donkeys. Feel offended, as a fan of almost every Indian child’s most loved song, “” [Wooden Saddle], whose central character is an Arabian horse.July 7
Peter Wynne-Thomas. Archivist, author, historian, librarian at Trent Bridge. Could be any granddad. “Oh, you have come to assault me again,” he says, seeing a journalist enter the library. Yet spend five hours there talking cricket without ever feeling any discomfort. Talks about how , and thus ESPNcricinfo, has mistakes in many minor games’ scorecards. Ask him what said mistakes are. “Not significant enough to change Bradman’s average, unfortunately,” he says. “More like the number of overs bowled are wrong, maidens are wrong, number of byes and leg-byes have been interchanged.” He is poring over many such cards for Nottinghamshire.Find in his library the Harold Larwood book by Duncan Hamilton, which he lends happily. Find also an old book with a full-page advertisement of Mushtaq Ali endorsing tea. “Tea for stamina,” it says. Mushtaq must be the first Indian cricketer to have featured in any kind of advertisement. Also witness tolerance for political incorrectness back in the day. An ad in one of these books, asking for recruits for the services, says, “Hook the Jap for a six” with the batsman about to hit a ball that looks like a poorly drawn Japanese face.July 8
Walk from Trent Bridge to Nottingham station, and then from Kirkby-in-Ashfield station to Nuncargate to, vaguely, imagine how it must have been for Larwood to walk many a mile for his cricket. Walk past Waggon & Horses, which looks like a completely run-down pub. Board next to it says Kirkby Boxing Club. Looks like a rough old place. Richard Wheldon, former amateur boxer, quit his job as plasterer to take over this decrepit pub and turn it into a gym and boxing school of sorts. Local offenders are being reformed here. They have a place they can come to stay fit, something to look forward to. Sounds like a movie script.Another good movie script is bitter rivalry between Nottingham and Derby football teams, but shared love for Clough. Like Derby, Nottingham Forest, too, won title under Clough. Stand devoted to Clough in Nottingham Forest’s home ground. When he died, fans of both teams came together to pay tribute.The quietest it gets: Abbey Road during a lean patch•Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdJuly 9
Before toss, go to library to return book. “Oh no, will I have to entertain you again now?” says Wynne-Thomas. I’m sure he won’t mind talking more cricket for three more hours. He is allowed to watch the Test only from the third day. No, Peter, the entertaining will have to be done by the Test today.And the Test fails miserably. What is popularly known as a chief executive’s pitch has been rolled out: a slow, low surface designed so that the county can recover its bid money for staging the Test. Steve Birks, known for his bowler-friendly pitches at Trent Bridge, almost apologises for what has turned up this time.India win toss, bat first, Stuart Binny gets his debut, M Vijay scores a hundred, but stroke-making is not easy because of the pitch’s slowness.India 259 for 4.July 10
Trent Bridge press box superbly located, right behind bowler’s arm at Radcliffe Road End, and not too high either. In fact, no movement allowed inside press box when an over from the Radcliffe Road End is on. Wonder how Sachin Tendulkar ever batted here: sightscreens are small, and people are allowed to sit right under and above them. His average here: 68, with a highest of 177.Don’t like glass-blocked press boxes. Can’t hear cricket. Can’t feel it when a match is heaving, when it is meandering. Too sterile. Sit out in stands to watch Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami plonk their front feet down and tonk everyone to get to fifties. When No. 11 with average of 3 can score a fifty without looking troubled, it can’t be a good pitch.Stuart Broad is asked if it is demoralising that the visitors are feeling more at home than the hosts, and he says, “Well, Indian pitches are faster than this.” Also warns England tail is looking forward to batting.England 43 for 1 against India 457.July 11
Broad Appeal Day. Stuart’s mother and Chris’s wife died of Motor Neurone Disease. Family raising money for awareness about and research into cure for the ailment. They are happy with what they have raised today. Stuart’s sister Gemma involved too. Also England ODI team’s analyst. Ask her for an example of how her inputs might have helped her brother get a wicket in an ODI. “Not giving out team secrets,” she says. Father and sister remain nervous until Stuart has got off the mark. No need to be nervous here: he scores a quick-fire 47 to take England past the follow-on mark but Ishant Sharma’s back-breaking spell has left India in the box seat.England 352 for 9 against India 457.July 12
Dickie Bird. Stopping in same bed and breakfast. Invited to watch fourth day’s play. Drives from Yorkshire to Nottingham. Ask him why modern umpires don’t bend as the bowler runs in, like him and his contemporaries. Not impressed with modern stance. “We had to watch the back foot, and also staying low helped us judge height vis-à-vis the stumps. We even used to run a lot so we could get into position to adjudge run-outs. Now… [makes the third-umpire signal]” Ask if the back-foot no-ball was the only reason to bend in their stance. Says no. Your move, modern umpires.Broad’s premonition comes true. Joe Root and James Anderson add 198 for the last wicket, a world record. Anderson misses century by 19. Says when he reached fifty, Root asked him to “milk it” with long celebration. Now India only team that can lose.India 457 and 167 for 3 against England 496.July 13
After a spot of bother, Stuart Binny sees India through to safety. Not even three innings completed. Sounds like a cruel joke to someone watching his first Test in England. Can we start over again, please? Let’s just play the first Test again, on a pitch with some bounce, a little movement, and where edges carry. If you build it, they will come.In Nottingham, you run by the Trent, and watch the football final by the Trent.July 14
London / Is the place for me / London / This lovely city.Some neighbours: Liam Gallagher, John Major, Kate Moss, Abbey Road Studios. Challenge to self: photograph Abbey Road crossing when no one is around; no car, bus or person.

Poor decisions on and off the field have made it difficult for Bangladesh to snap their extended run of losses

Mohammad Isam21-Aug-2014Bangladesh’s winless streak this year, now extended to 11 by the three-wicket loss to West Indies, is mainly the creation of mediocre decision-making on and off the field, leading to carelessness and insecurity.After the first ODI, the talk was mostly about how the batsmen left the job for each other and only one of them stuck to it, and how the bowlers couldn’t finish things off after a fantastic start. The batting story isn’t a new one, as Bangladeshi batsmen have developed a habit of making an early impression and then giving it away.The bowlers were just one wicket away from effectively clinching the game, but Denesh Ramdin and Kieron Pollard never gave them a chance. What also didn’t help the bowlers was the general defensive approach, coming from captain Mushfiqur Rahim and the bowlers themselves.When the wickets kept falling, Mushfiqur hardly moved anyone into a catching position. Chris Gayle was caught at third-man, Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo were caught by the wicketkeeper and Kirk Edwards was bowled trying to slog.Dwayne Bravo’s dismissal – caught at deep square-leg – seemed to be part of a plan that Mushfiqur had concocted, but it was the more the batsman’s impetuousness and the momentum at that stage which resulted in that wicket.So when they went down to 34 for 5, it was expected that someone among the captain or the bowlers, one of whom is a former captain, would bring in the fielders to try get the sixth wicket quickly – particularly as it was the last recognised batting pair.As has been the case since January, the trouble isn’t just on the field. Selection has become a regular issue that has often made the playing XI look lop-sided, as it was in the first ODI.The grand plan from Dhaka was to pick four openers in the top four, sidelining regular middle-order batsmen Mominul Haque and Mithun Ali.Imrul Kayes’ Test century at No. 3 this year kept him in that position, but Shamsur Rahman batting at No. 4 didn’t work out well. He has only batted a handful of times in that position on the domestic circuit, and only twice now in international cricket.Mominul haque played the first ODI against India in June where he looked out of sorts for 27 minutes, and was dropped for the second game in that series and now the first ODI here. The selectors back home are sympathetic towards Mominul, having talked to him about the big role he has to play, especially in the Test team.But why deprive the ODI team of his skills, which have obviously been shown only a few months earlier? To count one poor start against him was harsh as Mominul banks a lot on starting well. He was replaced by Mithun Ali back in June, who, to his credit, was the top-scorer in the second ODI where Bangladesh folded for 58.After this three-wicket loss, expect more reactionary changes, as has been the norm this year. Twenty players have been used during this winless streak so far, which can cause a lot of insecurity within the team. Here too someone like Shamsur would feel unsure whether he would be given another chance. If Mominul can be considered too slow or out of sorts after just one innings, what guarantee is there for him?This sense of insecurity should make players more careful, but the batsmen who have a question mark next to their name were anything but. Tamim Iqbal, an accomplished opener trying to get out of a rut, was diligent for a while before he tried the pull shot one too many times. Shamsur tickled down the leg-side and Mahmudullah, woefully out of form for nearly two years, saw the ball get knocked off his thigh-pad as it also slid down the leg side.These dismissals are unfortunate in the best of times so when the batsman is out of form, more caution is expected.Mushfiqur would have to lead the way, but it is a big ask to change habits and there is very little time. Not many of the habits internalised during a lean period can be scrubbed out but like Tamim and Anamul had shown, it is possible to bring about a change by making the right mentality.