The announcement of the English Premier League yesterday came without much fanfare. And in The Times, Richard Hobson questions whether this really is a "premier" competition:

There is a fundamental problem about England and an equivalent of the Indian Premier League (IPL). We can have an English Premier League by name - Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, coined the term when the 2008 season was launched in April - but what is “Premier” about a competition with at least 18 teams?

If the EPL is to really blossom as a viable commercial product, England will need support from India, Hobson continues.

Talks on refreshing the Twenty20 format, which was born in England in 2003, began long before the notion of “New Twenty20” and Collier, who is trying to finalise details of the Champions League with India, Australia and South Africa, said that the ECB has “received enormous broadcast and sponsor interest from around the world”.

The success of the tournament - and value of broadcasting deals overseas - is sure to be enhanced if the ECB can reach agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India over the release of its leading players, with the quid pro quo that England players will be allowed to feature in the IPL.

Keith Bradshaw and David Stewart's leaked plans, which proposed a city-based set-up of nine teams, was thrown out by the ECB, but many are concerned that a competition involving 20 teams might lack the cutting-edge talent which the Indian Premier League offered. Over in The Telegraph, Nick Hoult has a rather simple explanation to why Bradshaw and Stewart's plans were rejected: television.

It is believed they threw out Bradshaw's proposal after being told by television companies a nine-team city based tournament was worthless as a broadcasting deal. Sources within the broadcasting industry last night cast doubt on that view.

Paul Newman at the Daily Mail believes that the counties have locked themselves into a "Twenty20 prison".

The 18 first-class counties will all play a full part in a Twenty20 revolution that ends any possibility of city franchise cricket but leaves the domestic game in danger of reaching saturation point in the short format that is taking over the cricketing world.

There is also the possibility of EPL teams being backed by team name sponsors to generate more income. Kentucky Fried Middlesex, perhaps? Or how about Utterly Butterly Lancashire?

At The Guardian, Lawrence Booth was particularly concerned about overkill, but recognised that politics had scuppered any prospect of a slimline tournament.

The announcement confirmed what had become obvious in the days since proposals for a nine-franchise EPL, drawn up by Keith Bradshaw of the MCC and David Stewart of Surrey, were leaked to the press last Friday: namely, that many of the 18 first-class counties were unwilling to be marginalised and the ECB did not want to cede ownership of a potential milch cow to an outside company, in this case New Twenty20 Ltd. It has also been pointed out that any ECB-sanctioned tournament involving anything but all 18 counties would have been unconstitutional in any case.

Blame it on the grass

Posted 2 days, 10 hours ago in English cricket

A sixth-successive draw at Lord's is indeed a dubious distinction for the ground and Mike Selvey reckons the swanky new outfield, despite having one of the best drainage systems, is to blame. Read on in the Guardian.

I happen to think that the new outfield is a contributing factor, for it will have helped lower the natural water table, sucking moisture from beneath the square and making preparation a different task from that which the Lord's head groundsman, Mick Hunt, would have had when he first took over the job in the late 70s. There is so much more artificial watering required now which, when added to a top-dressing that binds, results in a true surface but one which has discovered the secret to eternal youth, like anti-wrinkle cream.

Also read Neil Manthorp's Lord's diary in Supercricket, Manners on Tour

Holding, meanwhile, is not as affable and friendly as he was a couple of years ago. He is far, far more so! There appear to be no minutes in the day when ‘Mikey’ doesn’t have a smile on his face and when he boarded the lift to descend from the famous UFO-style media centre after Saturday’s play, he seemed well-prepared for a party with half a case of rum under his arm.

Doping: the myths and reality

Posted 2 days, 13 hours ago in Miscellaneous

There's plenty of confusion in India and Pakistan about the rules that govern anti-doping measures in the world of sport in the wake of the Mohammad Asif scandal. The Hindu lists out the various myths and realities of doping.

Myth: A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) is the way to dope.

Reality: True, a TUE gives an athlete the chance to take a prohibited substance in certain medical conditions, but a TUE is granted by a panel of experts only after satisfying that such a medication is absolutely necessary for the athlete’s health and there is no substitute. For example, an athlete applying for a TUE for an asthma medication is expected to produce results of a series of tests and if the authorities are not satisfied the competitor may be subjected to on-the-spot tests to verify whether he actually suffers from asthma and the TUE he is carrying is in order.

July 16, 2008

55,035 vs 1686

Posted 3 days, 9 hours ago in India in Sri Lanka 2008

	Not a bad trio: Sachin Tendulkar (11782 Test runs), Anil Kumble (608 wickets) and Virender Sehwag (4813 runs and two triple-hundreds) © AFP

If wealth of cricketing experience was something that could have been deposited in banks, the cricketers from India and Sri Lanka would have formed the creamy layer of a Forbes list and their congregation at Colombo for the three-Test series would be akin to that corporate thing they have in Davos in January every year, writes Sandeep Dwivedi in the Indian Express.

Seven of the 11 active members in the 100-Test club are here and that includes the top four longest-serving present-day cricketers. Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble made their Test debuts in the late 80s or early 90s — that’s an era with which no other international team, besides India and Lanka, has any remote connection with. West Indies with 1994 debutant Shivanarine Chanderpaul in their side comes close, but that’s all.

...

Even if one does a real needle-in-the-haystack kind of search, it will be tough to find a series where record-breakers will so frequently brush shoulders, where every other bat versus ball contest is a high-profile face-off with several layers of intrigue. The 55,035 vs 1686 is a kind of contest that has never happened before and the chances of it happening in the near future aren’t very bright either.

Poor captains, poor Razzaq

Posted 3 days, 10 hours ago in Pakistan cricket

	Abdul Razzaq now plays for the Indian Cricket League © AFP

In an interview to PakPassion, a cricket forum, Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq says he was handled poorly in the later stages of his international career, and that led to a decline in his performance. Razzaq explains why he couldn't replicate his form during Wasim Akram's tenure under other Pakistan captains:

There's only so much a player can do by himself, the captain's backing and his correct utilization of each players skills is also critical to a players success. Imagine if you've spent the whole day practising your batting and you've got yourself worked up to go out there the next day and bat, then when the next day comes you are slotted in at number 7 or 8 and you either dont get a chance to bat or you only face a dozen balls. How disheartened would you feel? Wouldnt it get you down mentally to know that you were fully fit and mentally ready but you didnt get a chance because you are batting too low in the order?

In the same way if you're confident about your bowling ability but you dont get a proper chance to show your skills then what can you do about it? Fast bowling in cricket is about the new ball, the best time to pick up wickets in an ODI match is within the first 15 overs. That's when the batsmen are unsettled, the ball is new and the batting team is willing to take risks off your bowling. The first 15 overs is when bowlers can either take a bad beating or pick up some crucial wickets, it's the best time to bowl. What's the use of introducing one of your most experienced bowlers between the 20th and 40th overs?

Missing numbers

Posted 3 days, 10 hours ago in South African cricket

	No numerical recognition for Mike Procter from Cricket South Africa © The Cricketer International

Although the likes of Bruce Mitchell, Roy McLean, Robert Catterall, Alan Melville and Percy Sherwell feature on the honours board at Lord's alongside South Africa's latest entrants in Ashwell Prince, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla, in the eyes of Cricket South Africa they remain "illegitimate children", writes Gary Lemke in the Independent Online.

You might have noticed that McKenzie wears the number '42' below the Proteas badge on his shirt, Prince has '48', Smith '49' and Amla '60'.

This is where they are recognised in CSA's numerical system, a controversial badge of honour that starts with Kepler Wessels, who captained the first unified South African team back into Test cricket. The official excuse a few seasons back was that the "older" generation, like the above- mentioned, plus the likes of Mike Procter, Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock and Eddie Barlow, lived and played in a "parallel universe" and as such could not be honoured in such a manner for having represented their country.

Handle Freddie with care

Posted 3 days, 11 hours ago in South Africa in England 2008

Andrew Flintoff's return to Test cricket from injury should be handled with care and importantly, shouldn't be used as a strike bowler straightaway, writes Derek Pringle in the Telegraph.

Becoming a strike bowler is not something a player can just wake up one morning and decide to do. It requires a nose for wickets, a sharp mind with an even sharper bouncer, and a swagger that falls, usually, to those who take the new ball. Flintoff possesses most of these attributes except taking the new ball, which, apart from the odd desperate foray in the last Ashes series, he has tended to leave to others.

In the same paper, Geoff Boycott feels England may have missed the trick by not selecting Steve Harmison for Headingley.

I would have added Steve Harmison to the squad. I have been critical of his attitude and his bowling in the past but he has gone back to county cricket, is bowling better and getting wickets. It was obvious during the first Test that on a flat pitch England lacked pace. After three days of bowling, our three fast-medium guys are knackered. If England bowl first at Headingley, they could be bowling five days out of eight. That is a tall order, let me tell you.

Sheffield Shield makes a comeback

Posted 3 days, 14 hours ago in Australian cricket

Malcolm Conn welcomes the return of the Sheffield Shield, which he finds refreshing in an age where crass commercialism have taken over tradition and history. He says in the Australian:

Nine years after the state four-day competition became the Pura Cup, much to the chagrin of cricket lovers around the country, Cricket Australia has found a sponsor which does not want to put its name at the front of the award.

...

State captains were lined up for a promotional photograph with yoghurt smeared across their top lip to make it look like they had been drinking milk.

"I felt like I was committing treason," then Victorian captain Paul Reiffel confided later.

Meanwhile, Maddy Hogan, who has represented Victoria at under-17 and 19 level despite a congenital limb deformity on her left arm, will also feature in 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Read more on the Cricket Australia website.

July 15, 2008

A farce on a bland pitch

Posted 4 days, 13 hours ago in South Africa in England 2008

	Why was the light offered when the batsmen weren't really in any danger? © Getty Images

The first Test between England and South Africa was the sixth successive draw at Lord's but Patrick Kidd wants to know why the umpires offered the light at 4.35pm given that the batsmen weren't really in any danger and that England had given up trying to get them out. He writes in the Times:

OK, the game was going nowhere, but surely the only reason you forfeit the final hour is if neither side can win. By declaring 47 runs ahead, hadn't Smith given England a chance of winning? Scoring 47 shouldn't be beyond England in an hour. Of course, Smith's declaration was only made because England had promised not to chase it, but it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

Kidd and other Times cricket correspondents pick their World XI based on the players they have seen.

In the Telegraph Simon Hughes in unimpressed by the bland pitch, which according to him was was like a cover girl's face after it had been airbrushed: pale, smooth and blemishless: beauty in the eye of the batsman.

The culture needs to change. Batsmen don't want bland pitches any more than bowlers. More risks must be taken. At the moment grass, which can add life, meets the same fate as body hair on Olympic athletes, and is unceremoniously shaved off. Steve Rouse, at Edgbaston, has the right idea and is more expermimental. He relishes a low scoring match. Maybe we need more ex-bowlers as groundsmen.

On iafrica.com, Rob Peters and Ebrahim Moola debate whether Kevin Pietersen is a loss to South African cricket.

Moola: KP could easily be in Hollywood or the House of Lords, such is the man's charisma. He represents the evolution of the game from a twee, limp-wristed game of rounders to a high-octane slugfest suited perfectly to an audience with a concentration span about the length of Glenn McGrath's batting average.

Peters: If cricket was not a team game I might have conceded that Pietersen was a loss to South Africa. If for example, he was a loud-mouthed and far less humble version of Roger Federer, I would admit that I would find it hard to see him turning out in English colours at Wimbledon. But Pietersen is nothing like Federer, not in ability and certainly not in the way of humbleness.

What England supporters can expect in India

Posted 4 days, 13 hours ago in English cricket

The proposed itinerary for England's tour of India in November includes only two metropolitan cities - Mumbai and Delhi - and it prompted the ECB to express its disappointment at the schedule. But the Guardian's David Hopps takes time out from watching the Lord's Test to give a list of hidden attractions that the venues offer to England supporters.

Rajkot (1st ODI)
Rajkot is a city in the no-alcohol state of Gujurat, about 70km from the Gulf of Karachi, and offers an insight into the life of Mahatma Gandhi, who was educated here. Visit Gandhi's ancestral home (1880) which now houses the Gandhi Smriti, a memorial museum containing photographs and personal effects. The Watson Museum and Library includes a huge 19th century marble statue of Queen Victoria and is fascinating. Drinkers should stay in Mumbai as long as possible - or even find an excuse to skip the first ODI entirely.

Jamshedpur (4th ODI)
Jamshedpur is a modern city in the state of Jharkand. The city is dominated by the Indian steel industry. It is named after Late Jamshedji, founder of the Tata steel empire. For recuperation, try Jubilee Park, a 200-acre park with fountains, a zoo, a mini golf course and a lake. The park is modelled on the Vrindavan Gardens in Mysore, which is slightly more famous. The Keenan stadium is one of India's better grounds. And you can visit the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, where you can expect to see some wild elephants, barking deer, porcupines, and perhaps even a leopard and tiger.

Dhoni's pull-out justified

Posted 4 days, 14 hours ago in Indian Cricket

With cricket having gone far too commercial to take a break, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's honesty in deciding to skip the Sri Lanka Tests needs to be respected, writes Makarand Waingankar in the Hindu. He lists examples in the past when previous captains like Tiger Pataudi and Sunil Gavaskar drew a lot of flack for opting out of tours.

Dhoni certainly has built his image through the electronic media. His utterances are measured with honesty and purpose. His demeanour presents the character of a true team man willing to do anything for the team. It’s when one has this image, reasoning for any act is accepted without murmur.

However, Amrit Mathur in the Hindustan Times wonders if Dhoni's honesty could lead to a wrong perception in the eyes of the Indian public.

There are some in the Board who are okay with players choosing what to play and what not to. Others, driven by a sense of outrage at this insensitivity towards the country, will wait for an opportunity to pounce on him. To them, the issue is not about a tired player wanting a rest but one of power. In this game, the rules say the ones in authority choose who plays when and where and not, as Dhoni has done, the other way round.

July 14, 2008

ECB's monster

Posted 5 days, 6 hours ago in Twenty20

The popular metaphor for Frankenstein's monster is of something new running amok. In cricket that thing is Twenty20 cricket, its manic spread and brazen allure conquering all before it, Derek Pringle writes in the Telegraph.

The England and Wales Cricket Board created Twenty20 five years ago, to widespread acclaim and profit. But those by-products now threaten to destabilise a game several centuries in the making, a situation the ECB can perhaps best serve by shackling the thing it loves.

...

Twenty20 is undoubtedly a hot product but the frightening thing for people who prefer progress and change to be considered and gradual is that eight months ago only one of those competitions existed - the Twenty20 Cup. The indecent haste to fill those gaps that still exist in the itinerary seems driven by the need for a fast buck, which in turn suggests that the product is a fad and not especially robust. As some sage pointed out recently, cricket needs to make money to exist but should not exist simply in order to make money.

Panesar's lawn at Lord's

Posted 5 days, 9 hours ago in English cricket

	Monty Panesar hogs the attention at Lord's © Getty Images

Wimbledon has its Henman Hill and yesterday afternoon Lord's had its equivalent: Panesar Lawn, reports Richard Hobson in the Times. The MCC have installed a big screen on the Nursery Ground - the stretch of grass behind the Compton and Edrich Stands - and on a good-day for lazing around, one man stole the attention.

Panesar continues to grab the popular imagination but, as the game moved well beyond its halfway stage towards the climax of today, he started to resemble Henman on semi-finals day. He tried, tried again and then tried harder, but for all the optimistic whoops, balls narrowly missed the edge or fell short of fielders.

A delay between the real-time action and transmission on the screen created a double echo whenever Panesar bellowed one of his famous appeals. First would come Panesar's roar, then a chorus from the 25,000 or so watching live and another cheer from those following the big screen.

A not-so-dour partnership

Posted 5 days, 13 hours ago in South Africa in England 2008

	Smith and McKenzie: Positively frisky © Getty Images

Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie added a record 204 together as South Africa looked to save the Lord's Test on the fourth day and while the crowd shouted about the slowness of the first two sessions, Guardian's David Hopps believes this was positively frisky when compared to other dour innings in the history of Test cricket.

Call this dour? It was positively frisky compared with the habits of Jackie McGlew, who once entrenched himself for more than nine hours to reach a century against Australia in Durban in 1957-58. McGlew was one of Test cricket's great stonewallers. He was first pictured waving a cricket bat at four years old and it may well be that he never waved it so fearlessly again. South Africa dubbed him "the little general", with memories of Napoleon, and praised his orthodoxy but there were others who would have happily exiled him to Elba.

Cricinfo's Sambit Bal feels in the context of this match, and the series, it was a compelling day: slow, but always simmering; lacking in action, but not plot and intrigue.

In the Telegraph, Simon Hughes writes that McKenzie on the crease yesterday was entirely different from the eccentric guy batting in South Africa's middle order on their last tour to England.

It is hard to imagine someone suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ever being in an ideal frame of mind to play a major Test match innings. Such behaviour is a serious energy drain. Judging from his demeanour at the wicket yesterday he has purged himself of these affectations. He remained calm and unflustered during a crucial morning session when he would have known that early wickets spelt the end for South Africa. He has an idiosyncratic way of leaving the ball, withdrawing the bat inside the line at the last second, a method referred to as the 'curtain rail' because the movement is similar to drawing the curtains.

A thrilling final day at Lord's may be on the cards but the England papers can't stop speculating on who will make way for Andrew Flintoff in the second Test. Lawrence Booth writes in the Guardian that bringing in Matt Prior at No 6 could be an option though he adds recent research reveals Prior has so far cost England more runs in byes and missed chances than he has actually scored with the bat.

July 13, 2008

The negotiator

Posted 5 days, 18 hours ago in Miscellaneous

Sean Morris, the new chief of the Professional Cricketers' Association, is trying to negotiate a share of the new spoils for the England team while preserving the soul of the game. He spoke to Martin Baker in the Independent.

As a journeyman county cricketer himself, who went on to various jobs in the leisure promotions world before joining the PCA, he certainly feels his members deserve a bit more money: "Players are central to delivering the future of the game. We have to work with the ECB and the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] in a world market nowadays. As the players' representatives, we must play a more effective role in securing financial rewards, but we've also got to for players coming into the game."

...

Meanwhile, although he welcomes the "massive opportunity" provided by the short form of the game, Morris is determined to preserve five-day test cricket, which he and 90 per cent of his members regard as the ultimate form of their sport. "We have a responsibility to protect the game we've got. Test matches in this country bring in £50m to £60m per annum. It would be stupid to kill off the skills required for test cricket [which aren't easily acquired in the limited-overs game]. That would be killing the golden goose."

Nail in Test cricket's coffin

Posted 6 days, 12 hours ago in Twenty20

The proposal for a new Twenty20 league in England has hammered a nail in Test cricket's coffin, writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent.

Well researched, even well meaning though it may claim to be, the report cannot dispel fears. It offers a stay of execution that it cannot deliver. The intention is that New Twenty20 will complement the smash-hit IPL (and good luck in convincing Lalit Modi, the accomplished and extremely satisfied IPL commissioner, of that).

Forget for a moment the ridiculous business of the world's best cricketers playing for one team in the IPL and then merely weeks later for others, mixing and matching, in the New T20. The IPL would run for 42 days, NT20 for 25 with a salary cap of £1m. If players could earn so much so quickly, why would they want to play international cricket beyond it? And while the players are bred by international cricket at present, that does not have to last. T20 can find its own stars. It already has.

'Exodus' draws Rhodes to Israel

Posted 6 days, 12 hours ago in Miscellaneous

Now in Israel as part of a unique Israel team with several Jewish cricketers, Jonty Rhodes says he's excited by the talent in a country with no cricket culture. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, he says the book Exodus by Leon Uris really drew him to the country.

"My knowledge of Israel comes from the 'Exodus' and how tenacious and determined the people here are to have transformed the desert into this thriving economy. It's genius, and the people here are tenacious to be able to make a living in a really harsh environment."

Eden Gardens, India’s largest cricket stadium, is readying for a nip-and-tuck before the 2011 World Cup. But will it be any better? The Kolkata-based Telegraph investigates:

The tournament is two-and-a-half-years away but the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) that reigns, with the army’s boots on the throne, over Calcutta’s most famous patch of green has only a foggy idea of which apple to pluck for the Eden or which snake to let loose. Architects have not been spoken to, a budget is not in place. Prasun Mukherjee, the CAB president who took charge in a blaze of publicity around this time last year, said: “The land belongs to them (the army). We cannot start construction unless the lease is renewed.”

While that is true — the application for renewal has been lying with the defence ministry for over a year — Eden Gardens has already fallen behind the Wankhede stadium in the nip-and-tuck run. Wankhede has already submitted its plan to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, hired an architect and set its budget at Rs 100 crore.

Contrasting captaincy of Smith and Vaughan

Posted 6 days, 14 hours ago in South Africa in England 2008

	Graeme Smith wasn't proactive enough © Getty Images

Graeme Smith and Michael Vaughan are contrasts as captains in this Lord's Test, writes Vic Marks in the Observer. While Smith seems to have an air of resignation around him, Vaughan's grey cells seem to be in overdrive.

Smith had nowhere to turn, no variety to offer. Jacques Kallis? He often looks a reluctant bowler and it is counter-productive to bowl him into the ground when his runs are so vital. Paul Harris? So far, he gives the impression of a journeyman left-armer who makes Ashley Giles look like Hedley Verity. Even so, it was odd that Smith was not more proactive. Kevin Pietersen dominated all too easily and the South Africans took their punishment all too passively.

Contrast all of this with Vaughan. Any criticism of him in recent times has been triggered by the notion that his captaincy has become too quirky, too restless - but, with so many runs on the board, he was allowed his quirkiness yesterday. So we saw Paul Collingwood bowling to Ashwell Prince with seven on the off side and three fielders at point who could almost hold hands with one another. James Anderson bowled to AB de Villiers with three fieldsmen loitering randomly on the leg side in no man's land.

Marks also highlights the similarities between Pietersen and Basil D'Oliveira.

For all the grandeur of his stroke play Pietersen, like D'Oliveira, spends plenty of time in reconnaissance. Both players have been reviled in the country of their birth when successful for England albeit, in D'Oliveira's case, by the potent minority. And there is the small matter of the 158s against Australia at The Oval.

In the Sunday Times John Stern writes that ever since Troy Cooley, England’s Ashes-winning bowling coach, returned to Australia two years ago, England have been trying to rediscover the art of taking wickets with the “old” ball.

In the same paper, David Gower tries to work out who will make way for Andrew Flintoff, if he is picked for the next Test. While Gower feels Tim Ambrose should be dropped for Flintoff, Angus Fraser, in the Independent believes it's Paul Collingwood who should be left out.

Continue reading "Contrasting captaincy of Smith and Vaughan"

BCCI is responsible for resting players

Posted 6 days, 15 hours ago in Indian Cricket

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was given permission by the Indian board to opt out of the Sri Lanka Tests starting this month. In the Hindustan Times Sunil Gavaskar remembers the time in the late 70s when as captain his request for a West Indies tour to be postponed by a week was flatly refused by the BCCI. When he announced his decision to opt out of the tour and step down as captain, there was a furore and plenty of criticism.

I approached the then-BCCI president and asked if the departure to the Caribbean could be delayed. The president flatly refused after I explained the reasons. Instead he said there were 5000 players waiting to play for India.

July 12, 2008

Wealthy, unhealthy and unwise

Posted 6 days, 23 hours ago in Indian Cricket

One can continue analysing the wisdom of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to pull-out of the Sri Lanka Tests, but in the larger context, it's hard to find fault with him, writes Pradeep Magazine in the Hindustan Times. That the BCCI continues to cram the schedules with meaningless tournaments speaks of their arrogance and that only denies the public the chance to watch players play to their optimum potential.

Is there any point in making an effort if the pursuit of excellence takes away the joy and celebration of living? Watching listless, tired Indian faces running around the field in searing heat and humidity during the Asia Cup in Pakistan could not have been too enjoyable for the spectators.

Reeve heads to Napier

Posted 1 week ago in New Zealand cricket

Dermot Reeve has been appointed the Central Districts coach and talks to Dominion Post's Sam Worthington about the challenges ahead, as he relocates to New Zealand without his family.

Reeve brings to Central a reputation for improvisation that is likely to endear him to the likes of the flamboyant Ross Taylor, though he claimed that was a tag thrust upon him by others. "Innovative is something that someone else puts on you and I just weighed up the pros and the cons of where to put men in the field and what degree of risk you might take with a certain shot. I was lucky to have played and captained at a time at Warwickshire where myself and Bob Woolmer, we did analyse the game and give it the attention I believe it deserves. To me, playing the reverse sweep when the field is set a certain way is just the right thing to do. Other people would describe the shot as innovative, but if you practice it, it's just like playing any other shot."

England's nearly man shines

Posted 1 week ago in South Africa in England 2008

	After Pietersen departed, Bell was the one in charge of the hammer © Getty Images

Ian Bell came in to the first Test at Lord's under pressure with Andrew Flintoff fit for action against for the next match, writes Derek Pringle in the Telegraph. There have been criticisms that Bell makes hundreds in undemanding situations and that he is too introverted, playing the theory of the game rather than the game itself. His 199 on Friday laid to rest some of these doubts.

To get the ball in the gap behind square leg, Pietersen had to rotate his wrists as if turning a car steering wheel sharp left at the lights. Bell may lack that kind of elasticity in limb but not in mind, and his late cut for four off Ntini, through an empty slip cordon, was like a deadly kiss, delicate but lethal in its effect on South Africa's morale. Before that his finest shot had been a lofted six off his eventual nemesis, Harris, but this came with that delicious cruelty closer to sadism than sport.

In the Guardian, Neil Manthorp catches up with Gulam Bodi, the man KwaZulu Natal picked ahead of Pietersen ten years ago, a selection which turned KP's career for the better.

"We had a couple of issues but we resolved everything afterwards. There's no problem now. Just a couple of misunderstandings."

In the Times Mike Atherton feels Bell's transformation from youth to manhood has been almost overnight.

The Guardian 's David Hopps writes that in Test cricket terms, when Bell finally opened his own bank account.

Allan Donald, the former South African bowler, has seen him progress at Warwickshire and his loyalties seemed with the batsman when he predicted before the Test: "It's only a matter of time before Ian Bell absolutely nails it." Well, he has nailed it, with utter certainty. And, after Pietersen departed, Bell was the one in charge of the hammer.

New Twenty20 threatens county structure

Posted 1 week ago in English cricket

"Although its architects will deny the charge of plagiarism, the similarities between the radical new Twenty20 competition leaked yesterday and the Indian Premier League (IPL) are so clear that it seems the ground-breaking tournament has simply been transported thousands of miles from Bombay to London," writes Richard Hobson in the Times.

In a different slot, the New T20, as it would be called, is being projected as a complement rather than a rival to the IPL. The organisers will save themselves a lot of tedious politicking with Lalit Modi and his friends on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) if they can make friends early. But the tone of the early part of the document written by Keith Bradshaw, the MCC chief executive, and David Stewart, the Surrey chairman, is that England must act quickly to ensure that India, already the biggest market for the world game, does not gain a monopoly on the most lucrative staging of the format.

Also in the Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins writes, "Profits are estimated, with questionable precision, at £7 million a team, but let us have some cricketing honesty here. It should be either this revamped nine-team extravaganza with profits genuinely shared, or a continued county league. In a properly balanced programme there is no realistic place for both."

"The Twenty20 format proposed by the Marylebone Cricket Club, Hampshire, Lancashire and Surrey is imaginative and has some merit but it threatens the fabric of the domestic game in England. Despite what the project team state, the creation would cause an insurmountable split among the 18 first-class counties. It threatens overkill of Twenty20 cricket, a product that has achieved so much good in the six years since its inception," writes Angus Fraser in the Independent.

July 11, 2008

Blurred Twenty20 vision?

Posted 1 week ago in Twenty20

Reacting to the proposal for an Indian Premier League clone in England, Stephen Moss in the Guardian asks: Do we really want to replace the grand narrative of county cricket with mock dramas starring the Headingley Humdingers.

If and when this English Premier League is launched in 2010, dominating the key cricketing months of June and July, the county championship, which has already been made virtually meaningless by the comings and goings of star players for the odd fortnight, will wither. It will carry on in some form, but in effect it will be a second-eleven competition, a place for the Premier League stars to get some practice and for young players to stake their claim to the big bucks of Twenty20.

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Cricket is a great game because it lasts long enough for character to express itself. Twenty20 allows for no such niceties. Mock drama replaces narrative; money overwhelms love; celebrity usurps true character.

Jonathan Agnew, in the Test Match Special Blog, doesn't believe the franchise system will work in England.

Not only is there no attachment to a team from Birmingham if you live in Leicester, but Twenty20 cricket is so short, that any journey of more than an hour hardly makes the experience worthwhile.

On the same blog, Alec Stewart feels Twenty20s must be given room to breathe, and that the ICC's futures tours committee must try avoiding a situation where Sri Lanka might send a second-string side to tour England.

Day of mixed emotions and a skip to the loo

Posted 1 week, 1 day ago in South Africa in England 2008

Billy Bowden, the umpire, shares his experience of officiating on the first day of the first Test between England and South Africa. Read his thoughts in the Times.

I thought the fact that my mother was not at Lord's to watch me - she died three weeks ago - would hit me hard when I took the field yesterday .. The one intervention that I needed to make came when I picked up Pietersen's necklace when he was hit on the helmet.

Telegraph's Martin Johnson writes that the Lord's Test was a welcome dose of Twenty20 antidote.

There were 41 dot balls in the first six overs of this game, but it didn't mean it was any less intriguing than the instant biff-bang-wallop of Twenty20. Did those spectators who turned up to see whether the self-proclaimed South African mean machine would live up to their arrogant pre-match propaganda feel disappointed when it turned out their fast bowlers couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo?

Writing in the Times Mike Atherton believes Kevin Pietersen has passed the test of character.

Rather than verbals, this time South Africa gave Pietersen the silent treatment, the cold shoulder. So much so that he was reduced to striking up a conversation with Billy Bowden, the umpire, within his first few minutes at the crease. Not that the silence equated to a softly-softly approach. South Africa's plan for Pietersen clearly involved a liberal sprinkling of bouncers and, er, a few more bouncers ... But after that there was precious little evidence of the planning that Smith had spoken about before the match. Mid-wicket, for example, Pietersen's favourite area, was constantly left untenanted.

Read Stuart Broad's weekly diary ahead of each Test in the Daily Mirror .

Wednesday: The game is at the forefront of my mind and I'm trying to visualise my first ball - hitting the bat hard or over the top of off stump. We had a good net session and Fred was back, which was great to see, although I had to face him and he nearly took my nose off!

Azeem Rafiq 'just wants to play cricket'

Posted 1 week, 1 day ago in English cricket

Azeem Rafiq, the 17-year-old at the centre of Yorkshire's Twenty20 eligibility furore, is gutted and just wants to play cricket. Read the thoughts, in the Yorkshire Post, from the men who know him at the Barnsley cricket club.

As far as we are concerned, there is no reason for him to feel upset," said the club's development officer David Clayton ... "He's absolutely gutted. He just wants to play cricket. He is obsessed by cricket, so driven. He loves the game. I offered him a game with our Under-17s (last night) and he said he'd better not – that was the first time I've ever seen him turn down a game. I remember when he first moved over here with his family. He was so keen. He practised every night. If there was no one to practise with, he would practise on his own. Even though he's been playing with the Yorkshire Academy for the last two seasons, he's still down here all the time.You could tell he was good right from the start – he's the best I've seen at that age. He's also a top lad. I'm sure he'll bounce back from this."

Yorkshire Post cricket writer Sam Wheeler gives his views on the ECB's decision. Listen to the audio programme CricketTalk.

Mendis creates magic but ICC mess up big time

Posted 1 week, 1 day ago in ICC

In the Indian Express, Harsha Bhogle writes how Ajantha Mendis' marvellous bowling performance was the only silver lining in a week that saw the game suffering grievous wounds at the ICC meeting.

The funny thing is that every country got what it wanted and the game suffered. Zimbabwe got the best deal. They wanted money, they got it; they didn’t want cricket, now they don’t need to provide it. And England got what they wanted; the money that will flow in from organizing the next world T20 and a political victory by denying Zimbabwean players a world stage. It has very dangerous implications ... Worse still is the decision to change the result of the Oval Test between England and Pakistan.

July 10, 2008

A highly anticipated clash

Posted 1 week, 2 days ago in South Africa in England 2008

Michael Atherton previews the upcoming Test series between England and South Africa, and is happy that the home side is going to play a new opponent after a while. Click here for the article in the Times.

Not since the beginning of the Ashes series three years ago has there been such anticipation about the start of a Test series. Yesterday, Michael Vaughan suggested that a series against South Africa is “nearly up there with the Ashes” and if the England captain overstated the case a touch, it was partly in recognition of the fact that the bland fare offered up by 19 consecutive matches against New Zealand will be replaced by something much richer and more varied for the palate.

The Guardian's Mike Selvey says it will be series that "defines England's progress" since Peter Moores took over last year.

The Times' Ivo Tennant talks to the eccentric Billy Bowden ahead of his maiden appearance as an umpire at Lord's.

Meanwhile, the punters, as revealed in the Guardian, are backing South Africa to claim the series.

Meanwhile, Paul Collingwood talks candidly to the Independent's Glenn Moore about the controversial Grant Elliott run-out.

How safe are helmets?

Posted 1 week, 2 days ago in Miscellaneous

The Telegraph's Simon Hughes writes about the Loughborough University's scientific study on helmets.

In a project financed in part by the government, in part by the ECB, Loughborough's sports technology institute - an organisation that works with sporting bodies and manufacturers to produce cutting edge equipment - has been subjecting various helmets and gloves to a severe assault. In a transparent box a typical betting helmet is positioned on the head of a mannequin which is screwed onto a steel post. Balls are fired at the helmet from close range using a bowling machine.

The speed is about 65mph, similar to that of James Anderson bouncer once it has reached the batsman. The process is recorded by cameras filming at 10,000 frames per second. Once slowed down the images are similar to those ads featuring crash-test dummies. A similar process is used to test a glove on the hand of a prosthetic arm.

ICC flunks Zimbabwe test

Posted 1 week, 2 days ago in Zimbabwe cricket

Michael Atherton, in the Times blasts the ICC for its handling of the Zimbabwe issue.

The ICC no longer has the moral authority to run the game. Given one final opportunity to lift decision-making out of the morass of self-interest, deceit and compromise into which it had fallen, it flunked the test. The outcome on Zimbabwe - self-censorship in return for the loot - was in many ways a triumph for Giles Clarke, the ECB's intelligent and forceful chairman, but it should signal the end for the ICC. Like flared trousers, string vests and the Bay City Rollers, what once seemed a good idea has had its day.

Brian Moore, in the Telegraph, is not in favour of sporting sanctions.

If cricketers should not play against Zimbabwe, why are English companies allowed to trade with impunity? The moral matrix differs not when it comes to trade. Indeed, economic sanctions were the real reason for the change in South African politics, not the sporting ban; anyone who believes different is naive.

Cricket Australia's AFL-style mediation plan

Posted 1 week, 2 days ago in Australian cricket

Chloe Saltau, in the Sydney Morning Herald, says Cricket Australia (CA) is lobbying for an AFL-style mediation plan to resolve racial disputes before the ICC.

The AFL is considered a world leader in confronting racial vilification, and won a United Nations award for the code established after Essendon champion Michael Long reacted to Collingwood's Damian Monkhorst racially abusing him in 1995. Since then, the first step in resolving incidents of racial abuse has been for the two players to attend a mediation session. If that fails, the matter proceeds to the AFL Tribunal.

Cricket Australia is advocating a similar system, in which mediation would ideally be confidential, and prosecution a last resort. The ICC is understood to have been unconvinced, but CA is determined to keep pushing for a less combative process that, in the first instance, aims for the offender to understand why a particular remark is unacceptable.

July 9, 2008

Flashback 2003

Posted 1 week, 3 days ago in South Africa in England 2008

	Jonty Rhodes: "Hashim Amla gives us something different, as he isn't really a 'South African' batsman. He is much wristier than any of our other batsmen, which gives the team something different" © AFP

South Africa play England in the first Test at Lord's on Thursday and iafrica.com's Barend Prins asked former national coach Eric Simons to share his experiences of the 2003 tour to England.

What went right during the tour in 2003:

"We got input from many cricketers that knew conditions intimately and passed on that advice in a camp we held. We had a young squad with a strong self-belief that through youthful attitude wanted to make a statement. Englishman Mike Finnigan did amazing work with the squad after the one-day series and developed real self-belief and desire to make this statement. Mike had worked with Sam Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers and is now with David Moyes at Everton."

Where it went wrong:

"Ultimately, we could not handle the pressure when it came down to the wire in the final Test. A team should never score 480 in the first innings and lose the way we did at The Oval. England did not win the last Test from that position — we lost it. In some ways we were the victims of our own success as we scored the runs in 128 overs which meant the match moved on very quickly — so by lunch on the second day we were virtually bowling already whereas 484 would previously take you till at least tea, and then the time factor makes it difficult for team batting second to come back."

Prins also caught up with Jonty Rhodes and asked him who he thought would be South Africa's performers on this tour.

"Obviously Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis are very important for us. Graeme has played some County cricket now and scores his runs very quickly. Neil is batting out of position a bit, but he is very experienced. Hashim (Amla) gives us something different, as he isn't really a 'South African' batsman. He is much wristier than any of our other batsmen, which gives the team something different. AB de Villiers is another to look out for. Ashwell (Prince) is probably the only one of our batsmen that hasn't scored much in the last series or two. All of our top six can score big scores though, which is something we've not had before."

In supercricket website, Mike Haysman explains how Hawkeye works.

Mendis is good but ...

Posted 1 week, 3 days ago in Indian Cricket

Nari Contractor,who played Jack Iverson in 1953, believes Ajantha Mendis is similar to Iverson who could bowl off-break, leg-break and googlies without a change of action.But Contractor believes the Indian batsmen could have done much better than what they did in the Asia Cup final.Read his thoughts in the Mumbai Mirror.

Jasu Patel pocketed nine wickets for 69 against Australia. How long did he play?” he fumes. “Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma were undone by Mendis’ pace. Had they played him off the front foot they would have negotiated him easily.”

Show some respect to local coaches

Posted 1 week, 3 days ago in Indian Cricket

Makarand Waingankar, in the Hindu, feels local coaches should be given their due.

The argument of the associations inviting the foreign coaches is that they have the experience to get the desired results whereas the qualified Indian coaches get too technical for the comfort of the players. More than the technicalities, it’s the strategy which helps you get runs and wickets, and that’s something these foreign coaches are good at. At least that is what is projected.

Getting foreign coaches who have not performed to replace proven coaches like Chandrakant Pandit and Vijay Dahiya is a dangerous trend. If qualified Indian coaches are not wanted, the NCA should immediately stop all the coaching courses. It’s a waste of time and money to train someone and then fail to utilise their expertise.

Five things th