England’s WACA record suggested they would struggle and that proved to be the case with a thumping defeat

Andrew Miller at the WACA19-Dec-2010The WACA is the venue that packs an onomatopoeic punch, and England, in keeping with their terrible record at the ground, were whacked out of sight this week, good and proper. One victory in 12 visits is how their statistics now read, after a performance that might feel entirely familiar to the cricket-watching fraternity in Perth, but seems totally at odds with the confidence and expectation levels that England harboured coming into the contest.To write their defeat off to old-fashioned English complacency would be to do a disservice to an exceptional and career-transforming spell from Mitchell Johnson (not to mention another staggeringly composed century from Australia’s second renaissance man, Michael Hussey) but there’s no question that England were caught off guard this week. Ricky Ponting said before the match that the WACA conditions would be the most alien ever encountered by England’s batsmen. To judge by their downfall, he was proved entirely right.”I may have mentioned that coming into the game,” said Ponting. “I’d seen some other results in places around the world that they’d had, I know a lot about their stats and their facts and figures here at the WACA which don’t make for flattering reading, so I felt this was a good week for us. We play these conditions really well so it is just as much about how we play as the opposition play. I know for a fact that there are a lot of times that the England team come here and make scores below 200 and we’ve done that to them twice this week.”Could it be that England allowed themselves to be duped? Their exhaustive planning for this campaign involved ten straight days in Perth at the very start of the tour, but the pitch that they encountered in their three-day warm-up against Western Australia was nothing like as lively as this. Cameron Sutherland, the WACA curator, told Andy Flower there and then to expect extra bounce for the Test match, but the message was lost in translation as England honed their strokeplay on a succession of placid decks at the Gabba, Adelaide and latterly against Victoria at the MCG, on the slowest pudding they’ve played on in months.Andrew Strauss, inevitably, was dismissive of that notion. “I don’t buy into that theory that it’s just because of bounce we got bowled out,” he said. “I just think we didn’t react well to a couple of good spells of bowling. Mitchell Johnson started swinging it and before we knew it we had lost three batsmen to lbw. As I have said before, the issue to address is if you lose one or two wickets you make sure you don’t lose three, four, five in a row.”But the very fact that England couldn’t pick themselves up off the canvas suggested that they were unprepared for the chinning they received in this Test. Instead they crashed to their sixth straight defeat at the WACA, and – true to Ponting’s research – their seventh sub-200 total in their last 12 innings, in which time they’ve exceeded 300 just once. And since their high-scoring draw in 1986, which also happened to be the last time England successfully defended the Ashes in Australia, the nature of the beatings have been particularly traumatic as well.

Today, England’s second-innings 123 was the same that they mustered on this ground 16 years ago, when Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting were dispatched into retirement in the midst of a collapse of 6 for 27 – but despite the similarity of the result, the circumstances this time are very different

First there were two “goodnight-and-p***-off” uppercuts in 1990-91 and 1994-95, as the tourists were routed in the final matches of the rubber; then came two Ashes-sealing crushings in 2002-03 and 2006-07, which were marked by brutality of differing types from Brett Lee with the ball and Adam Gilchrist with the bat. In between whiles there was an agenda-restoring victory in 1998-99, after a thunderstorm had saved England from certain defeat at the Gabba a fortnight earlier.Today, England’s second-innings 123 was the same that they mustered on this ground 16 years ago, when Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting were dispatched into retirement in the midst of a collapse of 6 for 27 – but despite the similarity of the result, the circumstances this time are very different. Eighteen months ago at Headingley, they were left facing an even more traumatic scenario, after an innings defeat in the penultimate Test had placed the onus on England to win at The Oval to reclaim the Ashes – which they did. This time at least they are holders, which gives them two shots at a single decisive victory in the course of the festive finale.”In 2009 it was a see-sawing series and there’s no reason to expect this one not to be,” said Strauss. “But up until this game our cricket has been very consistent. We dropped off this game, there’s no doubt about it, but if we can regain those levels of consistency then we’ve got a fair chance of going on and winning the series. At the same time as a batting line-up we will be very disappointed with our two performances. We’ve got to take it on the chin, learn the lessons and move on.”As England showed all through the summer against Pakistan, they have a collective vulnerability against the moving ball – a trait that another of the world’s best batting teams, India, showcased in damp conditions on the first day at Centurion this week. The Highveld, of course, was the scene of another of England’s remarkable recent capitulations, as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel destroyed them in Johannesburg back in January. But when the going has been good, few line-ups have been better at cashing in than England, and it’s a fact that they will cling to as the intensity of the series steps up.”We were in a very good position to take control of the game but we weren’t able to do that and you have got to give Australia a lot of credit for the way they bowled,” said Strauss. “At the same time we have got to keep perspective about things and realise there has been a hell of a lot of good batting on this tour so far. We have no reason to expect that to be any different going forward.”As England move forward to Boxing Day at Melbourne, however, there will scarcely be a backwards glance at the WACA. It’s not a venue upon which England teams like to dwell.

Indians have been in South Africa for 150 years now, and cricket has been one of their connections to the motherland

Firdose Moonda09-Jan-2011When Hashim Amla steps out to bat in the Twenty20 International between South Africa and India at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, he won’t simply be walking out to any ordinary crease.It will be to a wicket that has been laid at a venue that was crucial one of South Africa’s greatest achievements in their short democratic history. Amla will be batting on a pitch at a stadium built for the football World Cup, a tournament South Africa could not have dreamed of hosting when men of just a generation before Amla were his age – men who would never have been able to play in a ground so magnificent, let alone be picked for the national cricket side. They are an almost forgotten community of cricketers who played a rich role in keeping the sport alive in the minority Indian community during the apartheid years.Some of them will feel commemorated in this Twenty20 match, albeit in a small way, for the decades of deprivation they endured. The game has been turned into an event of tribute, and some of the homage paid is going to be to the Indian community, which is celebrating 150 years in South Africa.A century and a half ago, the first indentured labourers arrived on a ship from India to work on sugarcane plantations in what was then Natal. The thousands of poverty-stricken people who made the journey across the Indian Ocean were getting a raw deal – they would work to pay back the costs of their travel to South Africa, and when they had done that they could either go back home or stay on and earn a measly wage. Effectively that meant almost all of them would never return to their homeland and had to build new lives in a new country. But their lives were not all about work and poverty.”They were naughty and they played games,” Ashwin Desai, a sociologist, tells ESPNcricinfo. The first of those sports was football.”It was the game of the people, and for many it was all they knew,” Krish Reddy, the well-known cricket historian, says. Even though it was amateur and played on derelict fields, where any excuse for a round object could be a ball, it was taken seriously. It was also the start of what came to be a tradition: of tying sport closely with the motherland. Many teams were named after something in India. “They were very nostalgic about their home and they wanted to feel close to it. So they called their teams names like Tigers of India,” Reddy says.It’s these bonds with India that are still evident among the diaspora today. Many South Africans of Indian descent still nurture strong links to the religions, foods, dress and other elements of culture of India. To some that tie is so strong it even leads them to cheer for the Indian cricket team, although the community as a whole learnt and played the sport in South Africa.Cricket began to catch on in South Africa in the late 1880s, about 30 years after the first Indians arrived in 1860. At that stage the policy of segregation was not formalised, but there was a distinct distance between people of different races, along economic lines as well as cultural and social. Indians took up the sport in Natal by the early 1900s, according to Reddy, and formed the Durban Indian Cricket Union in 1923.That body relied solely on donations and membership fees and cricket was played on a largely social level. Indian cricket unions were forming all around the country and in 1941 the South African Cricket Union (SAICU) was born, an amalgamation of organisations in Natal, the Western Province, Eastern Province and Gauteng. They could only organise tournaments every two years, lasting for about a fortnight each, but in the 20 years the union existed, they managed to play nine events.It’s this sort of activity, Desai says, that illustrated Indians in South Africa wanted to build a life for themselves in their new country. “They laid down very deep roots, probably because they knew they weren’t going back. Even though it was impossible to amalgamate (because of apartheid), they wanted to create a space for themselves to function in.”

“I couldn’t believe it when they allowed us to use Kingsmead. The seating was separate for spectators but they allowed our players onto the field that was used for whites only”Cassim Docrat, Gauteng chief executive

In the later years of the SAICU’s existence, all people of colour were uniting in the resistance movement against apartheid. Black Africans, Indians and coloureds formed one group standing up against minority rule. As divisions between them broke down politically, the same happened in sport. “They decided to abolish the ethnic character of their unions,” Reddy explains. In 1959 the South African Cricket Board of Control (SACBOC) was formalised, under which all players of colour participated in the game.SACBOC’s most important tour was their 1958 (even though they were not yet formalised) and 1959 home and away series against Kenya. Basil d’Oliveria captained the team in “Test” matches, one of which was played at Kingsmead.”I couldn’t believe it when they allowed us to use Kingsmead,” says Cassim Docrat, who was instrumental in SACBOC’s formation and is now the chief executive of the Gauteng Cricket Board. “The seating was separate for spectators but they allowed our players onto the field that was used for whites only.”Just before democracy, SACBOC and the white-run South African Cricket Association joined to form the United Cricket Board and create a national, all-encompassing body. “Many of the SACBOC members weren’t happy when we agreed to talks with the whites. They thought we were too lenient,” Docrat says. “I don’t regret it. We did the best we could to form a united board and pave the way for the future of all our cricketers.”The matches played under SACBOC, 223 in total, have recently been given first-class status. Reddy was tasked with sourcing all the scorecards and his work has seen close to 800 cricketers achieve first-class status. They include prolific 1970s batsmen Yacoob Omar and left-armer spinner Baboo Ebrahim. Of the 800 players, Reddy thinks at least a third were Indian.The interest South African Indians have taken in cricket has not translated into major representation on the international stage, though. Only five Indians of South African descent have played at international level and only one is a regular. Amla is currently the poster boy for Indians in South African cricket, in the same way that Makhaya Ntini was the black African face for over a decade. It worries Docrat that there is not a steady stream of people of Indian descent staking a claim for a place in the South African team. “We are concerned about it. The important thing is that administrators at domestic level keep looking for talented players and helping them through the system.”Hearteningly, though, the number of Indians in the domestic set-up is growing and many feature regularly in their franchise line-ups. Like anything in the new South Africa, it will take time to even out the balance. One only needed to take a drive past Curries Fountain, a haven of non-white sport in the apartheid years in Durban two years ago. The field that was once used by the Indian cricket union was battered and bruised, almost everything in it broken. It has since undergone a revamp – a telling sign of how old wounds can be healed.

His team needed a huge score, but Australia’s captain managed just 20 as the end of a career looms larger

Peter English at the MCG28-Dec-2010Ricky Ponting cannot stir himself from his Ashes nightmare and when he wakes on Wednesday his side will be only four wickets from a defeat that ends any dreams of winning back the urn. A day after being fined 40% of his match fee for arguing with the umpires, Ponting failed to inspire his side and went quietly for 20 when he needed 200.A cloud of depression hangs over Ponting and it seems the only way it will clear is if he walks away from the side he has been trying so hard to nurture. Stepping back is not part of his nature so he may require a push – either out of the side or down the order.The rest of the players look to Ponting as a role model, but he is not providing them with many valuable lessons. In this game the troubles of his predicament morphed into an ugly debate over a dismissal that earned the fine and he has provided only 30 runs, taking his tally to 113 at 16.14 for the series.It has been sad to watch such a great No.3 perform so consistently poorly at crucial times. He looks fit but fidgety, slim but a touch slow to respond to the bowlers. When Tim Bresnan forced Ponting back, he jumped awkwardly and thrust down an angled bat, which rebounded the ball on to the stumps. The shot was played by a man no longer in total control.At 36, he is nearing the end of a wonderful career yet the only time he has been able to find his voice is when approaching officials. He was booed when stepping on to the MCG to bat, mostly by the English supporters, before the Australian fans responded with a long cheer for the hero who has steered them to so much success and a handful of key failures. Winning the Ashes is the most important responsibility for an Australian captain but Ponting has almost given them up three times.While a drawn series is still possible, the Sydney Test will not be a celebration. Apart from a couple of days in Brisbane and Perth, Australia have been outplayed by a side that has been purring at every spot except Paul Collingwood at No.5. The hosts are wobbling in too many departments and on the same surface on which England skipped to 513, Australia scraped to 98 and 6 for 169.Ponting was not the only local batsman to falter in both innings, with Michael Clarke, Phillip Hughes and Michael Hussey also managing less than 40 runs for the game. But he is the man that matters most to the side.”Ricky doesn’t need any encouragement because he’s been there and done so much throughout his whole career,” Shane Watson said in defence of his leader. “He’s a very tough man mentally and he’s shown that throughout his career. Everyone is – and will always be – right behind Ricky. He’s been a brilliant leader for us.”Watson said Ponting was still the right man to captain Australia after the Ashes. “Of course he can,” Watson said. “It’s unfortunate he hasn’t scored as many runs as he would’ve liked.”But no-one will ever question his ability to lead the group because of the things he’s be able to do throughout his career and for everyone in the Australian cricket side.” The questions might not be coming from within, but they are being asked by almost everyone else who follows the team.

In a rain-marred series in which England’s all-round strength was on show, the lack of potency in Sri Lanka’s bowling attack was also exposed

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan21-Jun-2011England ahead by a distance
In a heavily rain-affected series, England’s eventual victory margin of 1-0 does not quite do justice to their domination. After the first innings of the first Test in Cardiff where Sri Lanka made 400, England bossed the contest, scoring at a quick pace, and held the initiative throughout the three-Test series. Sri Lanka, aided by the inclement weather, fought hard and managed to draw two Tests at Lord’s and the Rose Bowl, but were undone by an extraordinary collapse in the second innings in Cardiff. Faced with a deficit of just 96 runs, Sri Lanka lost five wickets for just ten runs in the middle of the innings and went down by an innings. Perhaps the most telling stat from the series is that Sri Lanka managed to bowl England out only once in the three Tests, but were themselves bowled out four times including twice for less than 200.Although both teams scored approximately the same number of runs, England lost 18 fewer wickets, and averaged nearly 23 runs per wicket more than Sri Lanka. England’s scoring rate was also very impressive, as they maintained a rate of nearly four runs per over across all their innings. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, could not quite wrest control, and scored at 3.30 runs per over. England batsmen scored six centuries with three coming in the Cardiff win. Kumar Sangakkara’s 119 in the final Test, which helped secure a draw, was one of three centuries scored by Sri Lanka players in the series.

England and Sri Lanka in the three-Test series

TeamWonTotal runsWickets lostRuns per wicketRR100/50England116943056.463.866/10Sri Lanka016064833.453.303/5Sri Lanka’s toothless attack
It was anticipated that the Sri Lankan attack, without record wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan, would struggle in England. The result was exactly as expected: the bowlers were inconsistent and made life easy for England’s batsmen with some wayward bowling. Apart from Chanaka Welegedara, who bowled with some purpose, the rest of the bowling lacked the ability to trouble a powerful England batting line-up. Suranga Lakmal and Rangana Herath picked up seven and six wickets respectively, but the wickets came at strike rates of 75.7 and 95.8. Lakmal and Welegedara both had high economy-rates (4.10 and 4.22 respectively), which further compounded Sri Lanka’s problems.England’s bowlers were far more incisive and probing than their Sri Lankan counterparts. Chris Tremlett was the pick of the bowlers, with 15 wickets at an average of just over 23 and a strike rate of 46.4. He started the slide in Sri Lanka’s second innings in Cardiff and followed it up with his best Test figures: 6 for 48 in the first innings of the third Test. Graeme Swann, the most successful spinner in Tests since 2009, continued to impress, taking 12 wickets at 23.58. Stuart Broad was disappointing with his eight wickets coming at a very high average (48.75) and strike rate (89.2). A clear indication of England’s bowling strength is the fact that they have been able to bowl opposition teams out for less than 200 on 13 occasions since the start of 2009, including five scores below 100. In contrast, England themselves have only six scores below 200 in the same period.

Stats of England and Sri Lankan bowlers

BowlerWicketsAverageEconomyStrike rateChris Tremlett1523.403.0246.4Graeme Swann1223.582.7351.6Stuart Broad848.753.2789.2James Anderson729.002.5069.4Suranga Lakmal751.854.1075.7Chanaka Welegedara737.424.2253.1Rangana Herath649.833.1295.8Middle-order woes for visitors
In a series dominated by England, the partnership stats are a clear reflection of the difference in performance of the two teams. Apart from the first two wickets, England were clearly the better side when it came to partnerships. Surprisingly, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, England’s most-prolific opening pair in Tests, had a poor run. They aggregated only 55 runs with a highest partnership of 46. While Cook was the highest run-getter in the series, it was Strauss who never got going. He scored just 27 runs in four innings with a highest score of 20. Jonathan Trott and Cook were involved in two century stands, including 251 for the third wicket in the first Test. However, the middle-order partnerships were dominated by Ian Bell, who scored 331 runs in four innings while being dismissed just once. Bell has scored six of his 14 Test centuries since the start of 2009, and averages over 64 in the same period.Sri Lanka’s opening partnership did much better than England’s across the three Tests. They aggregated 362 runs with one century stand and a fifty partnership. However, the lack of substantial partnerships in the middle order was the biggest problem for Sri Lanka. They had only one century stand in the middle order (wickets 2-6), and generally averaged much lower than England. Mahela Jayawardene, who was one of Sri Lanka’s most successful batsmen in England coming into this tour, had an ordinary series, scoring just 103 runs at an average of 17.16. Sangakkara, who scored just 65 runs in his first five innings of the series, made amends with a timely century in the second innings of the third Test. This was also his first century in Tests in England. Thilan Samaraweera, who averaged under five in Tests in England before the start of the series, improved that record, scoring two half-centuries in six innings.

Partnership stats for teams (wickets 1-6)- (Runs, Avg, 100/50)

WicketEnglandSri Lanka155, 13.75, 0/0362, 60.33, 1/12141, 35.25, 1/0225, 37.50, 0/33488, 122.00, 3/0184, 30.66, 0/14247, 61.75, 1/2169, 33.80, 0/15283, 70.75, 1/1282, 56.40, 1/26276, 92.00, 2/060, 15.00, 0/0

Reactions from former players to the fallout of Gautam Gambhir’s shoulder injury

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2011″It is hard for the players to say no. Each game is important. As a professional cricketer, it is one’s responsibility to play. IPL has value for the BCCI as it is not a competition that is played in off-shore. It is a genuine cricket tournament and it is important to the Indian landscape.”
.”Gambhir’s shoulder injury will actually catch BCCI on a sticky wicket. Gambhir was playing in a BCCI-sanctioned tournament and was only honouring his commitment towards his franchise, who had bought him at a record price.”
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“One has to be realistic and understand that in the practical world, franchisees that pay huge sums for players would try and get the best returns from them in terms of performance and leveraging their star value. Therefore, it is important to realise that the player here is a professional worker like any other professional in other fields of work, who does not have a choice!”
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Meet Dane Vilas, the Cape Cobras wicketkeeper who performed the role of Allan Donald in – a movie on Cronje’s life

Nitin Sundar in Chennai27-Sep-2011Dane Vilas’ face bears almost no resemblance to Allan Donald’s. If anything, Vilas, the Cape Cobras wicketkeeper, with his angular, lined visage and easy smile, has more in common with Fanie de Villiers. Vilas does however have a fast bowler’s physique. He is tall, strong and broad-shouldered – attributes that must have helped him land the role of Donald in , a 2008 movie on the life of former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje and what he went through during the match-fixing scandal he was involved in.Vilas, who is in India for the Champions League Twenty20, admitted he didn’t know why he was selected for the part while speaking to ESPNcricinfo on September 25, coincidentally Cronje’s birthday. “I’m not entirely sure why they picked me,” said Vilas, whose only bowling experience is as a part-timer in the nets. “They were looking for guys who could play cricket and may be do a little bit of acting. I went through a pretty standard audition, I said a few lines. Obviously they liked what they saw, and they called me up one day and said I’ve got the part.”Once he was in, though, Vilas got into the White Lightning persona quickly. “I got all the Allan Donald stuff – the zinc cream, the arm bands, a little bit of snarling at the batsmen. I did everything Allan used to do since they wanted to make it as realistic as possible,” he said. “I am not 100% sure if Allan has seen the movie though, I haven’t heard from him.”While the part wasn’t very long, Vilas said it was “quite significant” to the movie. “It wasn’t a huge role, but I had a fair bit to do. There were a few scenes where I bowled, batted and fielded. And I also said a few lines. I was in quite a few scenes.”So what was his favourite line in the movie? Vilas took a while recollecting, which came as a bit of a surprise even though it has been over three years since the movie was shot.”We were all in a team situation, the whole side sitting and joking around in an informal gathering. Hansie was also in the group, and they showed a picture of him on the TV. I can’t remember exactly what the line was, but it was something to the effect of: ‘Not too bad for an old goat!’.”Vilas was the only professional cricketer to play a major part in the movie. “There were one or two snippets of other players, Friedel de Wet [the South Africa fast bowler] for instance played Glenn McGrath in one of the scenes. But the guys who played Jonty Rhodes and the other major South African cricketers were all professional actors.”It was a great experience, and completely different to what we are used to doing. I had never done anything like that before or since. Just working behind the scenes, it was actually nice to see how they go about making movies.”While he found it an exciting experience, Vilas said it was also a very emotional time. “One of the producers was Hansie’s brother [Franz Cronje] and the main thing about the movie was that they wanted to show his side of the story, for everyone to understand what exactly happened. Different parts of the media went for different angles to get their stuff to sell, but the movie wanted to just tell the actual truth; so there was a lot of emotion on the sets.”The movie was not very well-received in South Africa, but Vilas will always hold his contribution close to his heart. Like many South African kids who took to cricket in the early 90s, Vilas idolised Cronje in his formative years, and watched in disbelief when he disintegrated in front of television cameras a decade later. “When I was a kid growing up watching him, I loved him and the way he played. From what I understand from guys who played with Hansie, everyone looked up to him. He was a great leader, and there was huge respect for him.”I don’t think it [the match-fixing scandal] was something he ever wanted to put his team-mates through. It was an ugly thing, unfortunately it happened, and it spoiled his reputation and what he would have been remembered for.”

He couldn’t find a place in his South African first-class side, moved to Canterbury, then went to Central Districts, and got into the New Zealand XI through the backdoor. No wonder Kruger van Wyk uses the word “fight” a lot

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton12-Mar-2012The South Africa and New Zealand teams were on the same flight out of Dunedin. When the seating plan was drawn up Kruger van Wyk was put with the South African contingent, reasonably so, considering that his name is distinctly Afrikaans. He was placed in the same row as Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla, and had a good time catching up with Allan Donald, the current South Africa and former New Zealand bowling coach.A local reporter at the press conference asked van Wyk how to pronounce his surname. “It’s fan vyk,” he said, explaining the phonetics of his home language. “The v becomes an f and the w becomes a v.” He had clearly answered that question many times before.So, after all of that, does Kruger van Wyk feel like a New Zealander? “Yeah I do, I really do feel like a New Zealander,” he said, pronouncing the vowel “a” with a flatness that suggested he had adopted some of the habits of his new home. “I get the mickey taken out of me for my accent quite a lot but I love being here and I’m extremely appreciative of the opportunities New Zealand has given me. It was the proudest moment of my life to walk out and wear that black cap. This is where I belong.”Those words will sting those who are not in favour of the cricketing export trade which van Wyk joined six years ago when he moved from Centurion to Canterbury. Unlike some of the other travellers, like Kevin Pietersen, he did not do it because he felt deprived of opportunity, but rather because he realised he could not take the ones he was presented with in the country of his birth. “If I’m brutally honest, at that time I was probably not consistent enough to make the South Africa side,” he said. “I always knew that if I kept persevering and working hard that opportunity would come somewhere along the line.”When van Wyk left South Africa he was not even the first-choice wicketkeeper at the Titans franchise, with AB de Villiers doing the job in the limited-overs games and Heino Kuhn in first-class cricket. He had to actively seek a place where he could feature regularly in a starting XI, and New Zealand was it.It has taken longer than he may have liked to get a look in at international level; he had stints at two domestic teams, one of which he captained and was axed from, before being included in the squad to play Zimbabwe in January. By then, his prime age as a cricketer had probably passed and the younger BJ Watling was chosen ahead of him. A century from Watling in that match would have been a strong sign to van Wyk that his dream of playing international cricket was probably sailing past him.The backdoor is not a way anyone wants to get in by but van Wyk had to settle for it. Watling’s hip injury opened it for him and continues to hold it ajar. Had Watling been fit for the second Test, in Hamilton, it is likely he would have played despite van Wyk’s fighting 36 in the first innings in Dunedin, when New Zealand were on the cusp of a collapse. Instead, van Wyk gets a second chance to wait for that elusive first catch at international level and perform adequately with the bat.It’s a precarious position to be in, knowing that one wrong move will cost him his place and that, at his age, it will be tough to get it back, but van Wyk says he is up for the challenge. “Every day, I’ve had to fight. If I play 100 Tests or only one, I’ve got to get up and perform every day. I don’t find that difficult or different. Whether it’s my first Test or my last I’m just going to go out there and fight.”He used the word “fight” a lot. Some people may think that was because of the added incentive that accrues from playing against one’s former countrymen. van Wyk said that is not quite it, although there is some extra motivation.”There’s a lot of familiar faces there and guys I’ve played with since I was 10. We spent a lot of time together at the same school and spoke a lot about our heroes in cricket.” van Wyk was schooled at the Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool, the same school attended by AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Jacques Rudolph, and he knows most of them well. “It was surreal playing against all those guys. They’re all extremely competitive; that’s one thing we do have in common. It was good playing against them and it would be better to get a win against them.”Again, there was a mention of competitiveness. In truth, it is something that is an important part of the whole New Zealand side. They have earned the reputation of being a feisty side, not afraid to say a few things on the pitch, and talk confidently off it. Hearing van Wyk echo that did not come as a surprise. Like any member of his team, he wants to show that New Zealand are better than their No. 8 ranking in Tests suggests. “There’s a massive amount of belief in our side. We have no doubt that if we play good cricket it will be tough for South Africa. There’s a lot of backbone and a lot of belief. We’ve got a lot of fight.”Edited by Dustin Silgardo

If the idea of rotating players is to keep Rohit Sharma away from pressure, singling him out as the reason behind India’s openers’ rotation policy will only do the contrary

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide11-Feb-2012Two days after Virender Sehwag was left out of the Melbourne ODI, he let a cat out of the bag. When asked why he wasn’t played in Melbourne, Sehwag said, “We are giving breaks to top-three batsmen. Maybe tomorrow is somebody else’s turn. Either Gautam [Gambhir] or [Sachin] Tendulkar will have a break, and maybe I can play.”The next day, Gambhir was rested, and Sehwag played against Sri Lanka in Perth. In a press conference at the end of the game, MS Dhoni reiterated the rotation policy for the openers. Which, going by the way the captain and a senior player had spoken, suggested Tendulkar would be the next to rest. Now you don’t ask Tendulkar to sit out. So the anticipation rose for the press conference before the match against Australia, in Adelaide.On the day before the match, true to form on this tour, the Indian team sent out R Ashwin to handle another tough press conference. Poor Ashwin’s response was to say he was not part of any selectorial decisions. He couldn’t have said much more. He was not asked any other questions. The team spokesperson then clarified that the rotation policy was not set in stone, and that the first purpose of the side was to qualify for the finals.That should put the rotation policy to rest, but it doesn’t take away from the ridiculous reason given out for the system in the first place. The captain of the side, Dhoni, had this to say after the second ODI: “We are looking to give Rohit [Sharma] as many games as possible, and we can afford to do that in the first leg of the tournament.” He went on to talk about how dropping or, to use a term in vogue, resting Rohit would put extra pressure on him, and that he should not be judged on a short sample.Rohit should be so grateful for this favour. However, unless the captain has not watched matches that he himself has not played in, he will do well to know that Rohit has been Man of the Series in both of the last two ODI series he has played. Dhoni had been rested for both those series, in the West Indies and against the same opponents at home. During that period, Rohit won India three matches from the brink, and fell just short of another. All of a sudden, though, the team seems to be having to rest legends just to accommodate Rohit.If the idea of rotating players is to keep Rohit away from pressure, singling out just him will only do the contrary for a batsman who has been made to believe through the summer that he is not good enough to get into a Test side that has been whitewashed twice. Especially when there is another batsman in the middle order who has managed to stay under the radar. Suresh Raina always gives his best on the field, which makes captains like him. He is also the man who seems to be officially given the charge of keeping the team’s spirits up when on the field. He does that job well. He also brings value to the side with his part-time offspin. He was even made the captain of the ODI side when India toured the West Indies.As a batsman, though, Raina doesn’t seem to have evolved from the one first seen as an attractive stroke-maker. The same mistakes keep repeating themselves, most grating being the pull shot that more often than not lobs up in the air. To be fair to him, Raina often gets to bat too late in the innings, and has to go for his shots.Starting with the West Indies tour last year, though, Raina has been anything but a finisher. He kept getting out irresponsibly in the West Indies, and here in Perth, especially when he knew Virat Kohli, the non-striker, had hurt himself during the chase, Raina played that limp pull shot again. At that time neither was the asking-rate was out of control nor were India running out of time. He believes it’s only people’s perception that he has trouble with the short ball. He possibly felt the need to challenge that “perception” by trying to get on top of the bouncer. He is not managing that at the moment.If India feel playing Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir is the way to go ahead and realise their first aim, which is to make the finals, that is what they should do. If they feel resting one of them from each game is the way to go, they should not say it is being done for Rohit’s sake because with his performance in the ODIs last year he has earned the right to be in the first-choice one-day XI at least for the first few games.

Stats highlights from the first 12 days of IPL 2012

S Rajesh and Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan16-Apr-2012One aspect that has stood out in IPL 2012 so far has been the extent to which bowlers have dominated. Of the 18 matches so far, 17 have been 20-over games, and in seven of those matches the team batting first has finished with a score of less than 140. Only once has the team batting first topped 200 (and ironically, Royal Challengers Bangalore couldn’t defend that total, against Chennai Super Kings).The table below compares the stats in the first 12 days of each of the five IPL seasons so far, and it’s clear from the numbers below that the batsmen haven’t been having it all their way. The overall run-rate so far this year is 7.59, which is exactly what the rate was after 12 days of IPL 2009, when the tournament was played in more bowler-friendly conditions in South Africa. Among all the editions played in India, the run-rate so far is clearly the lowest this season: in 2008 and 2010, the rates were more than eight per over, while it 2011 it was 7.98 after 12 days of comeptition. Even the current rate this year is thanks to the last four days, when Royal Challengers and Super Kings both scored more than 200, and Rajasthan Royals fell only five short of the mark.In terms of averages, this year’s 21.41 falls marginally below the 2009 mark of 21.83 at the same stage of the tournament, and well below the averages achieved in the three previous editions which were held in India. Last year, the average was 30.23, with 29 fifties and two hundreds in 19 games; this year, after 18, the fifties and hundreds are about half that number. The 20-over format is meant to be a run-fest with batsmen calling the shots, but this year the bowlers, with their clever variations in pace and length, have made life pretty difficult for batsmen. The pitches in some of the venues – slow and low in Kolkata, green and seamer-friendly in Mohali – have further added to the batting woes.

Batting stats in the five seasons*

SeasonMatchesAverageRPO100s/50s4s/6sBoundary %Boundary runs/match20081627.208.534/20495/19661.37197.2520091821.837.591/19388/16951.08142.5520101826.588.101/30535/17856.64178.2220111930.237.982/29540/16955.54167.0520121821.417.591/14406/18552.54151.88Another big difference so far this season compared to the last one is the ratio of matches won by the teams batting first. In the early part of last season, batting first was a wretched option – only five of the first 19 matches were won by the team defending a total. (By the end of the tournament last year, the teams batting first had a 32-40 win-loss record.) This year, teams batting first have done much better, winning ten out of 18 matches.However, captains have struggled to make the right call after winning the toss this year: only six out of 18 games have been won by the team which won the toss. In the last three seasons, the team winning the toss had won more matches than they’d lost. This season, many captains have continued to field first after winning the toss, but without much success – out of the 12 times when they’ve fielded first, they’ve won only four games.

Record of teams batting first in the five seasons*

SeasonPlayedWins/lossesW/L ratioBat RR/Bowl ERRR diffBat avg/Bowl avgAvg diff2008165/110.458.43/8.64-0.2123.77/32.30-8.532009189/81.127.79/7.380.4122.09/21.530.562010189/81.128.23/7.970.2626.95/26.190.762011195/140.357.78/8.19-0.4126.65/35.00-8.3520121810/81.257.84/7.320.5221.68/21.110.57When 20-over cricket first started, there was fear regarding the future of the spinner in a format which is built around fours and sixes. As it turned out, spinners have held their own very well, and are increasingly playing a bigger role in matches, especially in conditions which aid slow bowling. The stats for pace and spin over the five seasons indicates that spinners are bowling more overs every season: in the first 16 matches in 2008 they contributed just 22% of the overs; in 2012, that percentage has risen to almost 41%. Their contribution of wickets has increased more modestly, but their bigger contribution has been in keeping the runs in check – their economy rate has been better than that of the fast and medium-fast bowlers in every season.

Pace/spin stats in the five seasons*

SeasonPace (Over %)Pace (wickets %)Pace (ER/avg)Spin (Over %)Spin (wickets %)Spin (ER/avg)200875.8867.728.32/29.7322.3120.638.02/27.69200964.7761.307.77/23.6035.2228.696.79/23.95201063.5553.998.29/32.0034.2929.107.31/28.24201161.0457.677.92/31.7738.8132.807.61/34.12201259.1358.027.67/22.0440.8630.457.05/26.67More numbers from IPL 2012
31 – Murali Vijay’s tally in five innings this season. He has faced 48 balls for his runs, which gives him an average of 6.20 and a strike rate of 64.58. In his two previous IPL seasons Vijay had scored 892 runs in 31 innings at an average of 30.75 and a strike rate of 141.36.25.58 – The average opening partnership in IPL 2012 so far, at a run rate of 7.38 runs per over. Rajasthan Royals have scored the most runs – 192 in five innings – while Kings XI Punjab have struggled the most, scoring 59 partnership runs in four innings.8.87 – The average run-rate between overs 14.1 and 20 in the IPL this season. Rajasthan Royals average 10.38 with the bat in the last six, the highest among all teams. Among the bowling teams, Royal Challengers have conceded 10.87 runs per over, and Deccan Chargers 11.41.6.94 – The combined economy rate for Zaheer Khan, Muttiah Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori in this IPL season. In 47 overs, they’ve taken 16 wickets and conceded 326 runs, for an average of 20.37.11.12 – The combined economy rate for the rest of the Royal Challengers’ bowlers, apart from the three names mentioned above. Together, they’ve taken five wickets in 33 overs conceding 367 runs, at an average of 73.40 runs per wicket.204 – The total runs scored by Owais Shah in five IPL matches for Rajasthan Royals this season. In three previous IPL seasons he had scored only 141 runs in all, and played just seven innings.118 – R Ashwin’s bowling average so far this season. He has taken one wicket in 18.2 overs, at an economy rate of 6.43. In his previous three IPL seasons he had taken 35 wickets at 19.82.20.10 – The combined average for Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni in the tournament so far, at a strike rate of 117. In previous seasons they had a combined average of 37.65, and a combined strike rate of 139.57.

Chris Gayle’s return and the presence of a number of potential matchwinners in the line-up augment West Indies’ chances in the ODI series

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan15-Jun-2012England ahead in recent contests
When England and West Indies last played each other, in the group game of the 2011 World Cup, the context was entirely different. While West Indies had managed to keep themselves afloat by beating the three lower-ranked teams in their group after a loss in their opening game to South Africa, England were struggling to stay in the tournament after an indifferent run in the group stage where they beat South Africa but suffered shock losses to Bangladesh and Ireland. In that clash in Chennai, England were on the ropes after Chris Gayle’s stunning start but managed to recover and eke out a close win. However, the joy for both teams was short lived as they crashed out in humiliating fashion in the quarter-finals (both ten-wicket losses). Since then, England have gone on to win three out of four bilateral series (excluding the one-off game against Ireland) with their most recent win coming against Pakistan in the UAE. The situation for West Indies has been the opposite. They lost home series against Pakistan and India (both by a 3-2 margin) and were beaten 4-1 in India. However, in their most recent home series against Australia, West Indies performed well above themselves to secure a 2-2 result.Since 2000, West Indies’ slide in Tests has been alarming. However, in ODIs, they have been a far bigger threat. In 2004, they came back from the brink to win the Champions Trophy final and made the final of the next edition of the tournament in 2006. As is the case for West Indies against most teams, their win-loss record against England is better in home games. Since 2000, their win-loss ratio in home ODIs is 1.20 while the corresponding number in away games is 0.66. They played England twice in neutral venues (both in India) in the Champions Trophy 2006 and the 2011 World Cup and lost on both occasions. West Indies’ steady decline in the last decade becomes even more apparent when one considers that they had a positive win-loss record against most top teams before 2000.

West Indies’ record against England in ODIs

Host country	Matches	Wins	Losses	W/L ratio
West Indies (since 2000)	12	6	5	1.20
England (since 2000)	11	4	6	0.66
India (since 2000)	2	0	2	0.00
Overall since 2000	25	10	13	0.77
ODIs till 1999	58	31	25	1.24
Overall in ODIs	83	41	38	1.07

West Indies’ away record a worry
In their last series, West Indies nearly pulled off a stunning upset against Australia. Despite the absence of Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, West Indies pushed Australia in the five-match series and managed to secure a 2-2 result (the remaining game ending in a tie). However, that is as far as West Indies have been able to go. Since 2007, they have managed to win just one bilateral home series against a top team (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). In two home series against India and Pakistan, the only matches they managed to win were dead-rubber games (after losing the first three matches). Their away record in the same period is hardly inspiring. Of the nine series they have played in away/neutral venues, West Indies have won just one. They can, however, draw some confidence from the fact that their only away series win came against England in 2007 (2-1). The win-loss ratio for West Indies in home and away matches since 2007 is 0.47 and 0.19 respectively.England have traced a very different path in ODIs in the last five years. Despite their lack of success in major tournaments, they have stayed extremely competitive in bilateral series. Their win-loss ratio in home matches (1.25) is much better than their performances in away/neutral games (0.58). In the last two years, England have won home series against Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka by a close margin of 3-2 each time. Two of their worst defeats have come in away series – they lost 6-1 in Australia and 5-0 in India. However, they did manage to salvage their away form by defeating Pakistan 4-0 in the UAE. England’s home series record (Seven wins and three losses) gives them a major advantage over West Indies, who have hardly threatened in away matches.*

Record for West Indies and England in home and away bilateral series since 2007 *

Team	Series venue	No of series	No of series won	No of series lost	No of series drawn	W/L ratio in matches
West Indies	Home series	8	1	6	1	0.47
England	Home series	10	7	3	0	1.25
West Indies	Away/neutral series	9	1	8	0	0.19
England	Away/neutral series	8	4	4	0	0.58
West Indies	Overall	17	2	14	1	0.32
England	Overall	18	11	7	0	0.88

Gayle’s comeback a cause for cheer
Given Gayle’s spectacular form in IPL 2012 and his excellent track record in ODIs, West Indies will be more than glad to have him back. Gayle last played in an ODI in the 2011 World Cup and his absence deprived West Indies of powerful starts. He is just one century away from surpassing Brian Lara as the leading century maker for West Indies in ODIs. While his overall stats make for impressive reading, it is his performance in chases that sets him apart. He has scored 10 of his 19 centuries in chases at an average of 41.67 and strike rate of 87.81. He has a high average (51.88) in matches against England in England but a surprisingly low strike rate (70.22). Gayle, who was instrumental in setting up West Indies’ series win in England in 2007, undoubtedly adds to the threat posed by West Indies in the shorter form.

Chris Gayle’s record in ODIs

	Matches	Runs	Average	SR	100/50
Overall	228	8087	39.06	83.69	19/43
v England (overall)	25	946	43.00	82.18	2/4
v England (in England)	12	467	51.88	70.22	1/2
bat first	105	3669	36.32	79.72	9/16
chases	123	4418	41.67	87.81	10/27

Pietersen’s absence could be felt
Although Kevin Pietersen had not been in the greatest form for the last two years, he had reversed the trend in the series against Pakistan by scoring consecutive centuries. Pietersen’s sudden decision to retire from ODIs will have a major impact on England’s batting, considering that his average and strike rate are the highest among England batsmen with 4000-plus runs. England, however, have benefited vastly from Alastair Cook’s renaissance as an ODI batsman. Cook has been remarkable in recent matches scoring over 1000 runs at an average of 53.95 and strike rate of 91.51. While Jonathan Trott provides stability at the top, Eoin Morgan adds value to the middle order by virtue of his aggressive approach.Kieron Pollard, already an integral part of West Indies’ Twenty20 setup, has now established himself as an allrounder in the ODI team. In the fourth ODI against Australia, Pollard proved his worth by scoring a century off 69 balls, the joint second-fastest by a West Indies batsman. Along with Pollard, the presence of powerful hitters like Andre Russell and Darren Sammy makes the West Indies middle order extremely dangerous. Gayle is likely to be partnered at the top of the order by Lendl Simmons, who has made a fairly impressive start to his ODI career (11 fifty-plus scores in 36 matches). Darren Bravo is yet to prove himself in the shorter form but will be buoyed after his century in the tour game against Middlesex.

Record of England and West Indies batsmen since 2009

Batsman	Matches	Runs	Average	SR	100/50
Alastair Cook	22	1079	53.95	91.51	3/8
Jonathan Trott	37	1414	45.61	76.88	3/10
Eoin Morgan	45	1296	39.27	91.59	3/6
Ravi Bopara	32	895	31.96	80.84	0/3
Kieron Pollard	44	1084	27.79	98.09	2/2
Chris Gayle	33	1041	33.58	106.00	1/5
Lendl Simmons	28	974	38.96	73.89	1/9
Darren Bravo	32	765	30.60	69.92	0/5

Experience gives England the edge
While the West Indies’ batting line-up matches up well with England’s, the relative lack of bowling experience could hurt the visitors. Dwayne Bravo’s return adds variety to an attack that will miss the aggression of Kemar Roach. Sunil Narine, who had great success against Australia in the recent ODI series, has picked up 14 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 3.79. Narine was not quite at his best on his Test debut, but given his impressive display in IPL 2012, he will be a tough bowler to handle in the shorter form.James Anderson suffered on the flat tracks in the subcontinent during the World Cup but will be far more dangerous in helpful conditions in England. Graeme Swann, who is already England’s most successful spinner in ODIs, has excellent stats in the period (average 24.06 and economy rate 4.30). Steven Finn bowled superbly in the series against Pakistan and finished with a series haul of 13 wickets (from four matches) including two four-wicket hauls. Finn, who has had an excellent start to his ODI career (28 wickets at 23.92), gives England a definite advantage on the bowling front going into the series.

Record of England and West Indies bowlers since 2009

Bowler	Matches	Wickets	Average	ER	4WI/5WI
James Anderson	44	70	27.88	5.11	2/1
Stuart Broad	39	64	28.28	5.39	5/0
Graeme Swann	41	61	24.06	4.30	2/1
Steven Finn	15	28	23.92	4.69	2/0
Ravi Rampaul	33	47	27.14	5.05	5/0
Dwayne Bravo	33	44	28.06	5.22	2/0
Kieron Pollard	44	36	32.02	5.46	0/0
Sunil Narine	8	14	20.00	3.79	1/0