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 […]
7th April 2009. The offer to host the IPL is an impressive statement of confidence by a nation prepared to accept challenges. By a strange quirk of fate and in the twinkling of an eye, South Africa has become the cricketing venue of choice. Within a fortnight the second season of IPL will start on […]
24th March 2009. Mitchell Johnson has moved from newbie to pace-bowling spearhead cum hard-hitting No. 8 double quick, and the best part is, he’s not nearly done developing yet. Mitchell Johnson’s buccaneering innings at Newlands enhanced his reputation as an immensely talented cricketer likely to provide outstanding service to his team and rich entertainment to […]
13th March 2009. Cricket has been more vulnerable to discord and conflict than many sports, and the latest crisis may be the most serious yet. Cricket is enduring the toughest period of a colourful, contentious history. Of course all cricketers experience bad patches when form deserts them. Indeed it is part of the test provided […]
2 April 2011. 1. The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan shaking hands. Sport cannot cure all the ailments of the world but it can open minds. Tensions had been high since the Mumbai bombings in 2008. Then India and Pakistan were drawn to meet in the semifinals of the World Cup. All sorts of […]
23rd February 2009. The win in Australia was an expression of hope; the potential needs to be taken to the next level now. South Africa start the forthcoming series, played on their own red soil, as red-hot favourites to beat the Australians and thereby replace them at the top of the Test rankings. Of course […]
12 February 2009. The signs are that Australia may have put the worst behind them. Australia has suffered its worst cricketing summer since the community was rent asunder by rebel tours, retirements and other upheavals in the early 1980s. In those days antipodean cricket was down in the dumps. Defeats piled up at the hands […]
29 January 2009. Humble, resilient, modest and unflappable, Hashim Amla has overcome plenty and emerged the better for it. Hashim Amla counts amongst the most serene of cricketers. Nothing seems to ruffle him. Along the way both life and cricket have tried to disturb his tranquility, only to be met with a mild smile and […]
02 April 2011. After long weeks of slow progress, India and Sri Lanka arrive weary and footsore in Mumbai with a single aim in mind – capturing the World Cup and so securing glory for their country and cricketing immortality for themselves. These entertaining and skilful sides have much in common, a reliance on spin, […]
14 January 2009. Hayden was typecast as a batting bully, but he was subtler than that, and the same divergence showed in his character as well. And so one of the last big guns has fallen silent. Only Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting remained from the team that pounded so many opponents into submission in […]
16 March 2011. Between them the Associate teams scored 523 runs on Sunday. Unused to facing top class bowling or playing in front of large crowds they still managed to give an excellent account of themselves. Nor were they playing the weaker sides. Canada reached 261 against the Kiwis. Kenya attained 262 against mighty Australia. […]
17 December 2008. Every now and then a Test match comes along that transcends the moment and lifts the spirit. Chennai was one such. If ever cricket needed to rise to the occasion it was over the last few days in Chennai. Emotion plays an enormous part in sport. Try as we might with computers […]
3 December 2008. New Zealand cricket has been reduced to its present low state chiefly by a lack of cohesion. New Zealand cricket is at low ebb. Although it may not return to the desperate days of the last century – when individual deeds were celebrated in the absence of any hope of victory, a […]
12 November 2008. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a forthright, straightforward cricketer unburdened by the baggage that generally accompanies a man onto the field, thereby restricting his outlook. At once he is intelligent and simple, aggressive and canny, tough and respectful. He did not come to cricket as a youthful dreamer but as a young street […]
5 March 2011. The crushing defeats suffered by Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the latest round of matches confirm that the line drawn between Test and the rest is artificial and requires review. Certainly, it ought to revive debate about dividing the top 12 nations into leagues with promotion and relegation permitted. Granting Test status is […]
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