12 August 2009. This article first appeared on the eve of Flintoff’s final match, against Australia at The Oval in 2009. England’s totemic allrounder has been more about competence, stout-hearted service and some irresistible performances, rather than out-and-out greatness. Somewhat to the amusement of observers, England seems to dwell upon and to equate The Battle […]
29 July 2009. Often the game becomes a curse, as two Australians struggling in the Ashes can testify. Every cricketer knows the feeling. The game has become impossible, a curse, a blight, a torment, a tease, a provocation, a creation of the devil; goodness only knows why it was ever invented, or why poets write […]
1st July 2009. The characters may lack in stature as compared to some of their predecessors, but the script promises to be tight. Suddenly hearts are thumping. After an eternity of speculation and enough opinions to impress an army of lawyers, the cricketing outfits representing England and Australia are busy putting the finishing touches to […]
17 June 2009. The purists may sneer at it, but Twenty20’s most vital role will be in making cricket popular in places where it isn’t. Twenty-over cricket is working wonders for the game. Forget about the greasy palms displayed by a handful of top players (the world is full of such types, and some of […]
22 December 2009. Australia are enduring a devastating injury crisis. In a matter of weeks, the ranks of fast bowlers have been decimated. Almost an entire Ashes attack has been sidelined. Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, none of then were available for selection in Perth. State teams have been fielding second and […]
4th June 2009. The 20-over version has caught the popular imagination, and the quality of the game hasn’t been bad either. It reminds us that cricket is meant to be fun – and that that is an important quality for a sport. Englishmen have been playing 20-over cricket for yonks. As a youth, a hundred […]
21 May 2009. Symonds’ omission apart, the selectors have merely named their best players and left the rest to be sorted out on tour. Australia have chosen a pragmatic party for their defence of the Ashes. Disdaining clear-cut choices between the stuttering team fielded in India and retained for the home series against South Africa, […]
24 December 2009. Two splendid pieces of bowling by two fine prospects were the highlight of a hard-fought 50-over match between old rivals played on a helpful surface. Between them Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson took a stack of wickets and thereby gave heart to those worried that the pace bowling stocks are running low. […]
17th October 1998. Mark Taylor has joined Sir Donald Bradman as the highest scorer in a Test in the 115-year history of Australian cricket. They sit beside each other in the lists, a mountainous score bringing together two men with little in common save an innate determination to keep going. No-one, not Warwick Armstrong or […]
July 2005. A book could be written about Shane Warne’s first ball in Ashes cricket. Famously, it was the ball of the century, delivered with a rip of the fingers and snap of the wrist that sent the ball burning through the air and made it curl to leg before bouncing and turning prodigiously past […]
14 January 2010. Australian cricket has had another rewarding season. Certainly, the campaign has surpassed modest expectations. Everyone began with the sort of glum expression detected in lemon-tasters. Even marketeers with shiny faces were hard-pressed to muster any enthusiasm. Little was expected from visiting teams placed sixth and seventh in the rankings. Poor wretches, they […]
Australia has continued its slow dismantling of a fitful visiting team. Pakistan put up a fight on the third day, forming notable alliances for the fifth and 10th wickets and only between times suffering the sort of hot-headedness that has been its undoing. Accordingly the Australians were forced to work harder than expected to reinforce […]
Phillip Hughes emerged as a rare talent when he scored centuries against South Africa in both innings of his second Test in 2009. Durban: Phillip Hughes is a tough, pesky 20-year-old lefty from the sticks who bats and lives by his own lights. Australia’s new opening batsman scores an awful lot of runs in any […]
2002. In his most candid interview ever, ‘Ice Man’ Steve Waugh talks to Peter Roebuck about everything from backyard cricket and his parents to car-jacking. Steve, I first saw you play in Sydney for CHS… in ’83, I reckon. What type of person were you? Actually, you’d met me before that. You coached me during […]
9 December 2009. The West Indies can take considerable pride from their performance in Adelaide. Ordinarily, moral victories are little use to man or beast. A draw is a draw is a draw. Moreover, Australia has retained the Frank Worrell Trophy and flies to Perth one-up in the series. All things considered, though, it was […]
3 February 1992. Sometimes it is a privilege simply to be there. Perth yesterday was one such occasion. To see Sachin Tendulkar batting was, for two hours, to be transported from our humdrum world and taken to a distant land, a land of magic, an impossible land in which a boy of 18 summers can […]
11 November 2006. Everyone has been batting the wrong way around. Right-handers ought to take guard as southpaws and vice versa. The reason is simple. Cricket is a top-handed game. Moreover, both hands have roles to play. Most racquet games are played one-handed. As far as batting is concerned, the dominant paw ought to take […]
19 December 2008. After vacillating for two days, the Perth Test finally found its man. A stunning intervention from Mitchell Johnson changed the course of the contest and probably the series. His burst came out of the blue and was notable for its impact. Previously, wickets had fallen in patches, but now the batting was […]
7th May 2009. The difference Warne and Dhoni have made to their sides proves that captains are paramount, even in the shortest format. Captains run cricket teams. It’s an old adage that has not lost any of its force. Cricket is different from other games. Rugby, hockey and soccer players spend most of their time […]
23 April 2011. IPL’s fourth edition has been going along at a rollicking pace. Packed grounds, excited spectators, new teams and vibrant contests have been its hallmarks. The sight of Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the scoring list, too, confirms that truly great cricketers can meet all challenges. Suffice it to say that IPL […]
16 April 2011. Never underestimate sport’s ability to inspire. Certainly it also provides opportunity and entertainment. It is, too, an outlet for youthful energies that might otherwise be directed into less savoury activities. Now and then a noted sportsman stoops but it’s a small price to pay. Overwhelmingly sport takes the sting out of young […]
21 April 2009. Men written off, men supposedly past their primes, have proved that the IPL, and the world, belong not to youth or any other category. Not the least delight of the opening rounds of the IPL, and among the most unexpected, was to be found in the performances of the old stagers. As […]
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