What caused the India captain to have one of his worst-ever Test series?

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Christchurch03-Mar-20203:27

Won’t be in denial about what went wrong – Kohli

Sometimes, you get a ball that’s just too good. Sometimes, you get two in a Test match.Virat Kohli got two devilishly good balls in Christchurch – one from Tim Southee, and one from Colin de Grandhomme. Both threatened to swing away from him, and both nipped back off the pitch. Both were pitched on the fuller side of a good length, bringing the batsman forward but still leaving him far enough from the pitch of the ball for the seam movement to do maximum damage.Maximum damage is exactly what took place. Kohli looked to drive Southee down the ground in the first innings and to defend de Grandhomme in the second, and on both occasions, the ball went past his inside edge and hit his front pad, bang in line with the stumps.Both balls were starting to curve away from the batsman until they pitched and abruptly changed direction. It’s the physics of backspin – inswing bowlers usually tend to bowl the legcutter as a variation, and outswing bowlers the offcutter – but sometimes it’s not even in the bowler’s control when it happens.ALSO READ: A bowler for each batsman – how New Zealand plotted Virat Kohli & Co’s downfall”I think that’s a question for Tim or for Colin,” Trent Boult said in his press conference at the end of the second day’s play, when was asked whether they meant for the ball to nip back in like it did. “But I think they call that natural variation, pretty much, it’s just one of those things.”You’re trying to bowl a certain ball, and you slightly get a bit of variation with whatever, but yeah, the bowling group as a whole, I think the approach is to not give them too many soft deliveries, group the balls nicely, and then almost let that natural variation take care of itself. Yeah, we’re lucky to get two that lined up and hit him on the pads nicely, and yeah, it was a good feeling to see the back of him.”Sometimes you get a ball that’s just too good, and sometimes it’s not even wholly intentional on the bowler’s part. But could Kohli have played them better?Replays of both dismissals suggest Kohli could have.Against Southee, his head was falling over to the off side, ending up on a roughly fifth-stump line for a ball that pitched a fraction outside off stump and struck him in front of middle and off. He ended up slicing across the line of the ball in an attempt to drive down the ground, with his bat a long way in front of his body. Playing with a straighter bat, and closer to his body, might have allowed Kohli to survive.Kyle Jamieson is pumped up after getting rid of Virat Kohli•Getty ImagesKohli’s head was in a much better position against de Grandhomme, over the line that the ball may have ended up in had it followed its initial outward trajectory. He was also playing a lot closer to his body, so there was more reason for him to feel he simply got an unplayable delivery.But on both occasions, Kohli did something he almost never does when he’s batting fluently and scoring lots of runs, a little thing that was more easily observable from side-on. Usually, Kohli’s head is on top of the ball, roughly above his front foot. It allows him to play on-drives or flicks through midwicket even when he looks a little off-balance from front-on. It allows him to cover drive safely even when he’s not necessarily got his front foot close to the pitch of the ball.In Christchurch, his weight wasn’t going forward, and his head was ending up behind his front foot, forcing him to play around his front pad. And if your head isn’t getting on top of the ball, there’s one other consequence: you end up playing your drives, whether through on or off, away from your body, with your weight not fully forward.Think back to Kohli’s first-innings dismissal in the first Test in Wellington. The cover drive he attempted off Kyle Jamieson there was perhaps not on, given the ball’s line and length – it was closer to a wide length ball than a wide half-volley – and also India’s match situation. But as risky as it seems, he often drives similar balls for four. What was different, again, was his head position, well behind his front foot, forcing him to throw his hands at the ball.If Kohli’s head position has indeed been the issue dogging him right through this Test series, and perhaps the whole tour of New Zealand, what could have caused it? It’s hard to say, but one thing leaps out as a possible reason. Right through this tour, New Zealand’s use of the short ball has been spoken about and analysed endlessly, and there’s a reason for it: they bowl a lot of short balls, Neil Wagner in particular. India must have planned extensively for it as well; as early as the eve of their three-day warm-up match in Hamilton, a player as inexperienced as Shubman Gill mentioned in a press conference that India would need to be wary of giving New Zealand too many wickets off the short ball.When you have the short ball in the back of your mind, it can’t be easy to get your weight moving forward when the ball is full. Perhaps this is what has held Kohli back, and caused him to endure one of his worst-ever series.

Three key seniors were sick in the lead-up to the final, but where others would have panicked, Saurashtra planned

Shashank Kishore in Rajkot13-Mar-2020Exactly a week ago, the Saurashtra camp was hit by a slew of illnesses. Two days prior to the Ranji Trophy final, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the left-arm spinner, Arpit Vasavada, a batting mainstay and Cheteshwar Pujara, their No. 1 batsman, were all sick. Jadeja and Vasavada were running temperatures while Pujara had a throat infection and bouts of dizziness.Three big players not participating in their training session two days ahead of a big game may have given a jolt to most teams. Saurashtra had back-ups and prepared them to be match-ready, even though they hoped the sick trio would be match-fit. And so, two days prior to the game, the reserves underwent a longer than usual hit out at the nets under Jaydev Unadkat’s supervision. The team channelled whatever mild panic they might have felt in a productive way.After victory was achieved on the fifth day of a dreary final that was decided on the basis of a first-innings lead, Pujara revealed how he had to battle against his own body to be ready for an occasion he simply didn’t want to miss.He eventually came out to bat at No. 6 in the first innings, but retired hurt after spending just 30 minutes at the crease. It was only on the second day, after a night’s rest and some medicines, that a “half-okay” Pujara returned to the crease. He then defied the bowling to play “probably one of my slowest knocks (laughs)”. He faced 267 deliveries for his 64, putting on 142 with Vasavada to set the tone for a sizeable first-innings score.ALSO READ: Stats – Saurashtra’s maiden Ranji Trophy title, Bengal lose another final“I had a blackout like feeling when I went in to bat,” Pujara said, with the Ranji Trophy beside him. “It was tough on my body. I was down with fever, throat infection so it wasn’t easy. It was frustrating when I couldn’t come out to bat at my usual No. 4 position for Saurashtra because I knew runs on the board was key and we had won a crucial toss.”On this wicket I thought if I can walk in early, I can start dominating later. The first day is the best time to bat, but I’m happy that I could play my part [later]. I wanted to respect the conditions. On day two when I walked in, it was not easy. I felt a blackout [again], so it was tough. But you have to be motivated and lead from the front and set a good example. We had to set a platform for the bowlers, and that partnership with Arpit (who made a 287-ball 106) gave us a lot of confidence. Once we had 350-plus, we knew with our remarkable bowling attack, we were in a good position.

“If someone takes 67 wickets in a season, I don’t [think] a performance can get bigger than that. There has to be lot of importance to Ranji Trophy performance to get picked for the Indian team and I will be surprised if he is not picked in the Indian team.”Pujara on Unadkat’s Ranji season

“It was a tough pitch,” Pujara continued. “The ball wasn’t coming on nicely, it was slow, so yes I didn’t want to bother about conditions. I needed to put my head down and play a crucial knock, ultimately we needed a good total for the bowlers.”With the ball, the onus was on Unadkat to strike. He came into the match with 65 wickets, needing just four more to break Ashutosh Aman’s record for most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season. As such, no other fast bowler has taken these many wickets in a season. Unadkat came in to a tense final day with no wickets to his name. Bengal needed 72 runs and Saurashtra four wickets, and Unadkat rose to the occasion when his team needed him the most.”It was very draining emotionally and physically to be out there for couple of days and fighting for the coveted trophy. The guys put in everything that they had,” Unadkat said. “Though the energy levels were down a little at times, I think the way we won the semi-finals gave us self-belief. It gave us a marker that there one twist was left in the game and we will have to work hard for it. That hope and belief helped us sail through.”Unadkat finished the tournament with 67 wickets, and Pujara, his best friend, couldn’t have been happier. “If someone takes 67 wickets in a season, I don’t [think] a performance can get bigger than that,” Pujara said. “There has to be lot of importance to Ranji Trophy performance to get picked for the Indian team. Jaydev was modest that he would not be thinking about the Indian call but I will be surprised if he is not picked in the Indian team.”The guys believed in each other and all of us were contributing towards one goal.”

Celebrate Kane Williamson’s 30th birthday, by seeing how much you know about world cricket’s Mr Nice Guy

Sreshth Shah08-Aug-2020Celebrate Kane Williamson’s 30th birthday, by seeing how much you know about world cricket’s most-loved man. If the quiz doesn’t load, please click here.

Dissecting the key moments in the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals game

Matt Roller06-Oct-2020Why did Jasprit Bumrah open the bowling for Mumbai?Simple: Jos Buttler and Steven Smith. With the Rajasthan Royals’ batting line-up particularly top-heavy, and the recalled Yashasvi Jaiswal out second ball to Trent Boult, the Mumbai Indians knew that they could kill the game with early wickets.What’s more, Bumrah’s career numbers are particularly good against Buttler and Smith. Coming into this game, he had dismissed Buttler three times in 23 balls in T20s, with only 27 runs conceded, while he had kept Smith quiet, conceding only 54 runs in 45 balls and dismissing him twice.That meant Bumrah, whose first over had been the fourth, fifth or sixth in Mumbai’s previous matches in this tournament, shared the new ball with Trent Boult, and made an immediate impact: his first over went for two runs, accounted for Smith, and saw the Royals’ win probability dip to 10.7% according to ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster, having started the run chase at 24.2%.When did Smith turn into a slogger?After a year of batting with impressive tempo in T20Is to put questions about whether he was an automatic pick for Australia to bed, Smith has been frenetic in the powerplay this IPL. Three games in a row, he has been out playing ungainly slogs: first, he inside-edged Pat Cummins behind in the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders; next, he chopped on while throwing his hands at a ball wide of his off stump from the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Isuru Udana; tonight, he lined up a huge swipe with no foot movement against Bumrah, with Quinton de Kock taking a simple catch behind the stumps.The Royals appear to have asked Buttler to bat through the innings while getting Smith to make the most of the fielding restrictions inside the first six overs, and if that’s indeed their plan, it doesn’t seem to be working after three defeats on the bounce. They return to Sharjah for their next game against the Delhi Capitals on Friday, where ultra-aggression is the order of the day, but after that they will need Smith to find his rhythm rather than swing wildly.How did Mumbai’s top order manage to play with so much intent?With the Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard due to come in at No. 5-7, and Ishan Kishan finding his feet in the middle order, Mumbai’s top three had the freedom to attack tonight – particularly with Jofra Archer held back to bowl at the death and their middle order in supreme hitting form.Coming into this match, Rohit Sharma’s strike rate in his first 20 balls over the last three years was a relatively cautious 127.2, but he raced to 35 at that stage of his innings tonight, tucking into Ankit Rajpoot, Shreyas Gopal and debutant Kartik Tyagi.Suryakumar Yadav, at No. 3, managed to do what only the best ‘anchor’ batsmen can: combine a high level of control – ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data suggested that he was in control of 85% of the balls he faced – with a quick strike rate of 168.08.ESPNcricinfo LtdTowards the end of his innings, he played deftly by sweeping, ramping and reverse-flicking the seamers into the ‘V’ between fine leg and third man, scoring 37 of his 79 runs (46.8%) in that region. Only Rishabh Pant, in his 128* against Sunrisers in 2018, has scored more runs in that region in a single IPL innings.Why did Shreyas Gopal bowl before Archer?For the second game in a row, Smith used Shreyas inside the powerplay, this time to bowl the second over of the innings. It was a decision influenced by match-ups: Sharma has struggled against legspin early on, being dismissed four times in 20 balls against legspin in the powerplay, while Quinton de Kock also struggles against spin.ESPNcricinfo LtdBut it was a surprise not to see Archer used until the fourth over, by which time the Mumbai Indians openers had found their groove. With the ball no longer swinging, de Kock carved him for four and six, after Rajpoot – in for Jaydev Unadkat – had been wayward in his first two overs. While Shreyas was a good match-up early on, Smith could have given Archer the first over, as he did in the Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers fixtures; after Bumrah and Boult’s new-ball breakthroughs, it seemed as though he had missed an opportunity to land the first punch.Why was Krunal Pandya promoted to No. 5?After hitting 20 off four balls against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Krunal Pandya came in at No. 5 after Shreyas had taken two wickets in two balls, the second of them being the left-handed Kishan. It was a decision made in order to maintain a left-right combination at the crease, batting coach Robin Singh said, with the Royals’ two legspinners operating in the middle overs.But Krunal’s record against legspin is not great – between the start of the 2018 IPL and the start of this game, he averaged 13.80 and scored at a 130.18 strike rate against it – and as a bowler with plenty of variations, Shreyas is comfortable bowling to left-handers. The result was that Krunal was tied down, chewing up balls that Hardik and Kieron Pollard could have faced, and was then dismissed looking to force the pace against Archer.What has happened to Sanju Samson?After hitting 74 and 85 in his first two innings of the tournament, Sanju Samson has made 8, 4 and 0 in his last three. It is a familiar tale for him: in both 2018 and 2019, over 40% of his tournament runs came in his first three innings of the season.The explanation this season is simple: he struggles when the ball is short. That is not so much of a problem in Sharjah – where he made big scores in the first two matches this season – where mishit pulls can fly away for six and he feels able to take bouncers on, but his weakness against short balls has been his downfall in two of those three failures.Were the Royals one batsman short?Tom Curran had only once batted above No. 8 in the IPL, so it was a surprise to see him come in as high as No. 6. It was a necessary move, since the Royals had dropped two middle-order batsmen (Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag) and a seamer and brought in an opener and two quicks, but their balance looked off with Buttler having to do things single-handedly in the chase following three early wickets for the fourth game running.That will change soon, with Ben Stokes due to return next week and likely to bat in the top four, but perhaps Parag should be given one more chance in Friday’s game in Sharjah.ALSO SEE: Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals live score, October 6 2020

From finding a finisher to take over from MS Dhoni to investing in young, local talent, here’s what the Super Kings must look at to rebuild their empire

Deivarayan Muthu02-Nov-2020The Chennai Super Kings empire that was built for repeated success over ten years by MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming crumbled spectacularly in IPL 2020. They were the first team to be ousted this season, when they imploded to 30 for 6 on a flat Sharjah track against the Mumbai Indians. It was always going to end this way for Dhoni’s Dad’s Army, wasn’t it?They had defied the odds and proved critics wrong, marking their return after a ban with a third title in 2018. They defied the odds again and defended their title against Mumbai in 2019, courtesy Dhoni’s leadership and a spin barrage at their fortress Chepauk. However, the cracks kept widening, the slow-moving legs got slower and, inevitably, the team crashed in the UAE.In a way, Dhoni and Fleming brought this upon themselves. They made no bones about their plan to back experience and win titles, even if it came at the expense of preparing for the future. In 2019, when the Super Kings had already qualified for the playoffs, an ill Dhoni sat out of the home game against Mumbai. It might have been a good opportunity to ease reserve wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan or opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad in, but the Super Kings opted against it, with Fleming coming out to the press and saying they weren’t there to hand out caps.Ruturaj Gaikwad reached his third successive half-century•BCCITime for a full revamp
On Sunday, both Dhoni and Fleming admitted a revamp – starting with the core group before moving on to the strategy – is overdue. Whether there’s a mini auction or a mega auction, whether IPL 2021 gets underway in India or the UAE, the Super Kings will aim to rebuild with a focus on the young players like 22-year-old Sam Curran and the 23-year-old Gaikwad, who could end up with a long stay at the Super Kings.Dhoni and Fleming will continue to be at the helm while the experience will probably be provided by Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar, along with Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu, if they remain fit. It is difficult to see the franchise retain Shane Watson, M Vijay, Kedar Jadhav and Piyush Chawla until and unless there is only a mini auction for 2021.Also, the Super Kings’ fans might have to accept the fact that Suresh Raina, who opted out of this season’s IPL, may now be talked of as a former player – it should perhaps not be looked at as a purely emotional move, considering the left-hander has had fitness issues and not played any competitive cricket since IPL 2019.The Super Kings do have a handful of young players who have shown they can grow and steadily become part of the core. Both Curran and Gaikwad have received praise from the team management. Fleming said Curran has “exceeded” expectations. Dhoni trusted Curran to bowl the tough overs in the powerplay and at the death, though he said the left-arm seamer still “needs to be convinced” that he can execute the wide yorker. Curran’s all-round skills are also underlined by the fact that he fields in catching hotspots along with du Plessis and Jadeja.Gaikwad, too, finished the 2020 season guarding the hotspots and pulling off a blinder to dismiss the King XI Punjab’s Jimmy Neesham on Sunday. He made a bigger impact with the bat, becoming the first batsman from the franchise to hit three back-to-back fifties.Although the team management is yet to be fully convinced by the 24-year-old Jagadeesan’s abilities, he did show intent and innovation during his first game this season, when he got 33 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.ESPNcricinfo LtdLet Dhoni the batsman take the backseat
The biggest challenge for the franchise would be to identify a player who can go on to take over the captaincy from Dhoni in the next two years. Both N Srinivasan, the Super Kings’ owner, and Kasi Viswanathan, the franchise’s chief executive officer, have reiterated more than once that Dhoni will be retained at the next mega auction.On Sunday, for the first time, Dhoni himself said he is not in a rush to retire from the IPL.While Dhoni the captain remains fresh, Dhoni the batsman has become a problem for the Super Kings. Dhoni will turn 40 next year and, personally too, has just endured his worst IPL season, managing only 200 runs in 12 innings at an average of 25 and strike rate of 116.27. For the first time across 13 seasons of IPL, Dhoni ended one without a single half-century.Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai, Dhoni was sapped by heat and fatigue, coming up short in a middling chase he would have likely aced in the past. Against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi, Dhoni arrived with his team needing 69 off 47 balls, and they lost by 10 runs.Dhoni seemingly retains the belief that he can work hard to return stronger for IPL 2021, but he knows the Super Kings need a dependable finisher, which he is no more. But there’s one man who has the experience, the courage and the strokes to become a long-term finisher: Jadeja.Jadeja struck at over 200 in the slog overs this IPL, but he faced all of 135 balls in 11 innings. Fleming believes Jadeja is better suited to arriving late and making an instant statement, but Jadeja might disagree. Perhaps he can man the middle order and Dhoni can instead arrive later and free his arms along with Dwayne Bravo.MS Dhoni has been bowled by Varun Chakravarthy in both clashes this season•BCCIInvest in local talent
Releasing players like Jadhav and Chawla will help the Super Kings go into the next auction with a fatter purse, allowing them to invest in younger players and possibly local talent.Mohan Abhinav, who was among the Super Kings’ net-bowling contingent in the UAE, is a legspinner with an unorthodox action, while V Gowtham, the left-arm seamer who bowled at the Chepauk nets, is said to have a good yorker and has just made it to the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Gowtham is even being mentored and coached by the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s T Natarajan at his academy in Salem. Is it worth punting on them?In the past, the Super Kings have missed out on recruiting the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, who has now broken into India’s T20I squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, after his match-winning performances for the Knight Riders this IPL. Varun had caught the eyes of the Super Kings’ batting coach Michael Hussey in the nets before he made a splash in the TNPL. Varun has duly bowled Dhoni both times the sides met this season.All that said, the manner in which the Super Kings bounced back to finish this IPL with three consecutive wins will lend them confidence. They will be particularly optimistic because those victories were constructed by the young brigade led by Gaikwad. In a way, the Super Kings have already launched their new template.

As a commentator, Robin Jackman gave viewers a sense of friendship both with the man who was talking to them and the game that was his metier. He will be missed

Mark Nicholas27-Dec-2020Christmas Day, 2020, 6.18pm. A text message from the former Northern Transvaal wicketkeeper and presenter-commentator Trevor Quirk:

“Yvonne was not sure about announcing Robin Jackman’s passing at 15.30 this afternoon because she didn’t want to upset everybody’s Xmas but the sad news was spreading like wildfire so we decided it had to be done…needless to say I am devastated but since last night I knew the end was near, he was at home, being nursed by Saint Vonnie. Regards, Trevor”

Yvonne – “Vonnie” – is Jackers’ wife; Quirky – or “Wash” – his best mate. On Christmas Day, of all days, Jackman died from lung and heart conditions that were compounded by a positive coronavirus test on 21st December. It was typical of Yvonne to think of others, even at the time of her husband’s passing. The calendar waits for no man.Four of us – that’s Jackers, Quirky, yours truly and Andre Bruyns, the former Western Province batsman, had lunch three weeks ago in Cape Town. It was predictable fare and none the worse for being so: a few beers, a piece of fish, and gallons of white wine. We told stories – some old, some new, some borrowed, one or two blue – and reflected on the game we love and its changing ways. Jackers was beside himself at the brilliance of the batting in T20 cricket and wondered how on earth the bowlers coped.Related

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“Everyone says bowl yorkers but they ramp and scoop those for six!” he says, before adding “I’d be hopeless and lose my rag and eff and blind and carry on and curse the people who invented the bloody format in the first place. But I love watching it; love the way the game has found a place for itself throughout the ages.”He arrived at the restaurant carrying a mobile respirator. (“All the fags – if you know any smokers, tell them to pack in, now.”) He had put on a bit of weight and bandages hid the cuts and bruises from a recent fall. Later, friends asked me how he was. Full of spirit and bonhomie, I replied, but short of breath. Truth was, he had admitted the respirator was evidence of the inevitable. “My own fault, those cigarettes, old boy.” I didn’t take it that he saw the inevitable as immediate. In fact, the impression was that he had a few years in him yet. We had lunch in the diary for March next year but instead of sharing it with him in person, we shall share his memory and raise a glass or two in his name.Bob Willis and Robin Jackman in little more than a year. Very good, if very different, cricketers, and equally the best of men: once at Surrey together until Bob broke ranks for Edgbaston and England; another Surrey man, John Edrich, in the past few days too. These are bad blows.I first came across Jackers in a Benson and Hedges Cup match at the Oval. Greener than green was I, and he, by no means long in the tooth, was typically off his long run. In this sparrow scampered, little legs working like pistons, to bowl swing and seam from a sideways-on action at medium-fast and dress it up with a bouncer or two and a volley of verbals. From the inside edge of my bat, past square leg, came my first run. “Another one coached by effing Sainsbury!” he exclaimed, in reference to the Hampshire coach and former allrounder whose penchant for the leg side was the stuff of county cricket legend. After which, I made to whip a straight ball through midwicket, only for it to swing away late and fly from the outside edge of my bat over gully for four. “Never, ever play against the spin son, never.” Somehow, I scored 10, I think, but was greatly humbled: Jackman one end, Sylvester Clarke the other was no country for young men. Guess who was the first to come and introduce himself in the bar after play, buy a drink and chew the cud. My tormentor, of course.

Jackers was hit in the throat by Malcolm Marshall. He slumped to the ground and for a moment lay still enough to have left us. We rushed to his side. As those bright eyes opened, he waspishly asked if our fast bowler might slow down a bit

A couple of years later, at the denouement of a tight, low-scoring match, again at the Oval, Jackers was hit in the throat by Malcolm Marshall. He slumped, dead weight, to the ground and for a moment lay still enough to have left us. We rushed to his side and as those bright eyes opened, he waspishly asked if our fast bowler might slow down a bit. Up he sprang to soldier on, in vain it transpired, by just three runs.It was the throat, of course, that was to cause him such grief later in life. After operations to remove malignant tumours eight years ago, he went through radiotherapy and never quite recovered his brilliance in the commentary box. That rasping voice, once a feature, was sadly diminished, and as fatigue set in, it became little more than a whisper.How he missed life on the road! At home he watched with a keen eye, sent texts with intelligent observations, and occasionally called if something was awry – a rogue graphic, perhaps, or a fact misplaced. He was a fine broadcaster, astute, accurate, and driven by a lifelong love affair with the game. His relaxed style of delivery brought informality to a medium overrun by stilted former players well short of his natural flair for the job. In short, he gave the viewers a sense of friendship both with the man who was talking to them and the game that was his metier.Last year he suffered a serious heart attack in the Eastern Cape and after a dramatic day trying to secure medical help, was booked into an East London hospital to be fitted with a pacemaker.There have been three lunches since and any number of laughs. We shared an infatuation with Tottenham Hotspur, and having rejoiced in Mauricio Pochettino, rather grumbled and mumbled of late about José Mourinho. We didn’t buy the trophy-winning argument. “Would rather they played with flair and adventure frankly,” he said three weeks ago. “Bloody good group of players, why tie them up in defence!” Agreed, Robin, agreed.Jackman signs copies of his autobiography in 2012, the year he was first diagnosed with cancer•Associated PressApparently, his death had nothing directly to do with the cancer, though clearly, such shortness of breath from the lungs left him open to Covid. The respirator provided essential relief for pulmonary fibrosis, and the virus, like a bowler examining the opposing batsman’s technique, fed from the weakness it found.Since hearing the news, I have thought about his mother and father, who loved to watch him play and took every opportunity to spend time with him and Yvonne in Cape Town. Jackers was born in the Indian hill town, Shimla, where his father, a colonel in the 2nd Gurkas, was serving the last months of his military life. He had lost a leg during the war and was invalided home and into semi-retirement. His wife, Joyce, was of the acting fraternity and her son’s early enthusiasm was for the stage. He sort of achieved that ambition, delighting friend and foe alike with an ability to transform even a pedestrian day of cricket into a little piece of theatre. He turned “pro” at the age of six – sixpence from the colonel if he hit the handkerchief, a penny deducted if he slipped one down the leg side. “Dad lost,” said Jackers. At The Oval, on soulless summer days in front of next to no one, he would respond to the echo of hand clap after a tight maiden with “Thanks Mum” or “Bless you Colonel!”Jackman took 1402 first-class wickets, by the way, and further 439 in one-day matches. Of these, 14 were claimed in four Test matches, all played past the age of 35. He achieved more than what might have been expected from his height of 5ft 9in, but boy, those Test caps made him feel ten feet tall.Jackers’ energy, zest and commitment were an ongoing lesson and inspiration to all, not least in South Africa, where his determination to justify the faith in him shown by both Western Province and Rhodesia was well rewarded. He was to make Cape Town home, a fabulous South African girl his wife, the Proteas his team, and Castle Lager his tipple of choice.I miss him already. He held little gems beneath that weathered exterior, and from all of them, I leave you with this from his days as coach of Western Province.”We’ve got a kid here who’s going to be as good as Barry Richards.” Yeah, right Jackers. And the kid’s name? Jacques Kallis. Good call old friend, good call. Again.In closing, I defer to a mightier force, a tweet from Lord Botham of Ravensworth, once just plain ol’ Beefy:

Today only gets worse….Robin Jackman passed away our thoughts are with Vonny and the family so sad …….see you at the watering hole in the sky Jackers. RIP X

— Ian Botham (@BeefyBotham) December 25, 2020