All posts by h716a5.icu

India’s spinners were outbowled on their own patch as MS Dhoni’s demand for a turning wicket backfired

Sidharth Monga25-Nov-2012Bounce? Check. Turn? Check. Toss won? Check. Three spinners? Check. Good first-innings total? Check. Quality spin bowling? Conspicuous in its absence.MS Dhoni will, or at least should, live and die by the spin sword, but he and India will wonder if the basket they put all their eggs in is reliable enough. Even before the series started, while good for general cricket, it was considered a gamble to play on square turners because the young India spinners came with reputations that were built through wickets against West Indies and New Zealand. So far, only one of them has added to it.If India can’t manage a miracle on day four – and it will need Gautam Gambhir to continue playing his blinder for another session – they will have done the equivalent of South Africa losing a Test after winning the toss on a green top in Johannesburg. Wait, that has been done before, so that’s not the end of the world. These things happen in cricket, but what will irk India is how the England spinners made the pitch look much more menacing than India’s did. And that should not be happening. Truth be told, the pitch was menacing.Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen played really well but when you saw the ball snarl at the India batsmen later in the day, you knew they should not have been allowed to make it look that easy. Scoring runs against India spinners is okay, scoring what looked like easy runs is not. One of the reasons, Gambhir said, was that Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar found the right pace to bowl on a pitch where you didn’t necessarily need to beat batsmen in the flight. The sharp turn from the surface did a lot for you.However, when they sit down and introspect, India will know that alone was not the story. Firstly, it doesn’t say much about their cricketing sense if their two offspinners bowl 63.3 overs between them without discovering the right pace. Secondly, pace was not the only issue with R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. Swann and Panesar clearly put more action on the ball, giving it the best chance to spin.Ashwin, on the other hand, kept bowling about one short ball an over and hardly ever bowled a decent string of deliveries in one spot to get the batsmen driving. It was his ninth over of the day when Ashwin finally bowled six consecutive deliveries that brought the batsman forward. The last of those six balls was slightly short of driving length, creating space between bat and the pitch of the ball, and Ashwin finally got a wicket, his second in his last 85.2 overs, including the one of a switch-hitting Swann in Ahmedabad. The relief on Ashwin’s face was obvious as he finally took a wicket, but the virtue was soon forgotten.With the new ball against the new batsman, Jonny Bairstow, Ashwin was back to trying too many things, bowling carom balls and into the pads. Dhoni’s fields didn’t help. Perhaps he wasn’t left a choice. For almost the entire first session, India had fields for poor bowling with as many as four or five men on the boundary, giving England easy singles. The dominating Pietersen kept finding boundaries with even those spread-out fields.The problem was, Harbhajan wasn’t much better either, more disappointingly because this was his kind of pitch, with turn and bounce for the bat-pads to pop up. It took him 20 overs to bowl his first maiden, despite starting decently. For some reason, he didn’t enjoy the captain’s confidence. He was brought on in the 25th over after the other two spinners had opened the innings without any success. He bowled 21 overs, Ashwin 42.3.”If you are playing three quality spinners, one of them is bound to be underbowled,” Gambhir said. “You can’t look at the scoreboard and bowl them all for an equal number of overs. If you look at it, all three bowled well. It was just that one partnership took the game away.”I didn’t say their spinners bowled better than us. I just said they bowled at the right speed. It’s not that our spinners didn’t bowl well. If you take out that partnership, none of their batsmen contributed in a big way. That showed our spinners bowled pretty well as well. Important on this wicket is to bowl at the right speed. Maybe they got the idea of bowling at the right speed. That is what Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar did.”Pragyan Ojha, though, stuck to it, and even though he didn’t bowl as fast as Panesar he was accurate, building pressure through dots. That’s what he does. You won’t see him running through five-fors for 30-40 runs, but he was spirited in the face of the onslaught from Pietersen. Right now, though, India need more than spirit. More like miracles. If they can’t conjure one up – and odds will be against them – it will be an emasculating defeat for them. They have thrown what they thought was their best at England, and yet it is on the verge of being proven not good enough.

From Daniel Keane, Australia Sometime on the final morning at Lord’s, the thought must have crossed or re-crossed Ricky Ponting’s mind – more than the Ashes are at stake this series

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Sometime on the final morning at Lord’s, the thought must have crossed or re-crossed Ricky Ponting’s mind – more than the Ashes are at stake this series. As if the tiny urn is not enough – is not, indeed, all – circumstances have conspired to add a little extra spice.Flintoff’s impending retirement and Ponting’s desire to avoid losing a second series in England will no doubt spur on their respective sides. More importantly, however, the outcome of this series will retrospectively determine how we regard the previous two. After two tests, the legacies of 2005 and 2006/07 already appear locked in battle. Both series have been invoked, the former rather more than the latter. Flintoff’s bowling at Lord’s was, as Stuart MacGill put it, “straight from the 2005 highlights reel.” The only question about next week’s Edgbaston Test will be whether the memories of ‘last time’ linger quietly or are broadcast loudly.By contrast, viewers of Australia’s first (and only) innings at Cardiff could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the sixth test of 2007, rather than the first of 2009. After two years, it seemed that Australia had merely resumed its winning run against its old foe. Hundreds from Katich, Ponting, North and Haddin helped raise Australia’s highest Ashes total since 1934. Sometimes, the roles were even reversed. Panesar and Anderson’s unbroken last wicket stand was likened to Lee and McGrath’s at Old Trafford four years ago. Collingwood’s match-saving 74 was every bit as important as Ponting’s 156.Despite (or perhaps because of) their contrasting scorelines, the 2005 and 2006/07 series shared several important features. Reputations were tarnished. Ponting’s captaincy – already questioned by some – lost further legitimacy. In Australia, Flintoff proved himself an unsatisfactory leader. Australia’s narrow defeat was every bit as devastating as England’s humiliating loss. Even now, the memories of both must cause the minds of many to darken. For Australians, 2005 upset the natural order. To restore that order, no simple retaliation would suffice. Nothing short of an annihilation would begin to sooth the wounds. And in being thumped five nil, England did not only lose the Ashes – it lost a little of 2005. As Gideon Haigh rightly pointed out, while England can forever claim the Edgbaston Test, Adelaide 2006 belongs to Australia.English aspirations (to the status of an equal and the title of number one Test nation) were revealed as mere pretensions. After its 2007 triumph, another Australian win would further reduce 2005 to a vivid but regrettable stain on Australia’s otherwise unblemished recent Ashes record. An English victory would not only silence Australian talk of an ‘aberration’, but elevate England into a frontier unconquered by Ponting’s men.For the time being at least, the current series has the air of a decider, of a final set following a first set tie break and a second set bagel. Its significance has been inflated by its remarkable predecessors. Perhaps it will help to settle the score of which of the two was the greater victory. And while some of the principle players have gone from the scene, both captains will fight bitterly for the last word.

This Ashes squad won’t strike fear into the hearts of the England players but it will give Australia their best chance of an upset

Brydon Coverdale24-Apr-2013Two 35-year-olds recalled, one as vice-captain. Five openers. Three specialist batsmen averaging sub-30 in Tests in the past two years. An injury-prone 33-year-old fast bowler. Only one spinner. England could look at these facts about Australia’s 16-man Ashes squad and wonder if it is a touring party or a touring wake. Certainly this is the weakest group Australia has sent on an Ashes campaign since the 1980s. Just as surely, there is little the selectors could have done to improve it. England remain firm favourites, but this squad is Australia’s best chance of an upset.The batting needed to be bolstered after the misery of the India tour; Chris Rogers has the technique and record to do it. An experienced and in-form vice-captain was desirable after Shane Watson stood down; Brad Haddin fit those criteria. Of course, reverting to two men whose Test careers appeared to be finished raises the issue of why there is so little depth in Australian first-class cricket, especially among young batsmen. Why did nobody but Rogers and Ricky Ponting score more than two Sheffield Shield hundreds last summer?That is an important debate, but one for another day. What’s relevant now is that John Inverarity and his selection panel have picked the best group they could. The squad is neither a throwback nor a forward gamble; it is a team for the here and now. And in a year featuring two Ashes series, what else matters but the here and now? Haddin and Rogers are past the age limit for Contiki tours but this is a trip that requires a couple of older, wiser heads, not just young men out for a good time.Australia’s awful batting in the post-Michael Hussey era in India and the uncertainty surrounding several of their top six meant that Rogers had to be included. He has spent the past nine years piling up runs in county cricket: no Englishman has made more first-class runs in England than Rogers since 2010. Perhaps he will open, perhaps he will bat in the middle order, but wherever he comes in he will inspire confidence in his team-mates – 19,000 first-class runs tend to have that effect.Similarly, Haddin is a sturdy operator who will provide Clarke with important on-field support as vice-captain. It is easy to recall his irresponsible batting in South Africa in 2011 and the poor form that followed during the home summer against New Zealand and India, but equally it cannot be forgotten that in his two Ashes campaigns he has averaged 45.57 and he was one of the standout batsmen in the most recent Shield season.Haddin, 35, will be the first-choice gloveman, which leaves Matthew Wade, 25, likely to be dropped. Little separates the two men on field and Haddin’s importance as a second-in-command to Clarke has given him another opportunity. Had there been another obvious candidate for the vice-captaincy, things might have been different. But if Clarke’s back gives way on the morning of an Ashes Test, nobody in this squad is better equipped than Haddin to take charge.Wade has been a solid Test performer, but it’s not as if he’s Adam Gilchrist. It’s not as if he’s Robinson Crusoe either, in terms of having underperformed on the recent Indian tour. One of the few men who did thrive in India was Steven Smith, who is the omitted player who deserves the most sympathy. But Smith’s success in India, where he averaged 40.25, was down largely to his footwork against spin. England is a different proposition, and Usman Khawaja was preferred.All the same, Phillip Hughes, David Warner, Ed Cowan and Watson will be under pressure to perform early in the Ashes series, Hughes and Watson especially. In the past two years they have each played 14 Tests, Hughes for a batting average of 28.46 and Watson for 24.11. Watson will bowl in the Ashes but it’s runs he most needs. As the best all-round option he had to be in the squad, and should start in the XI. But his chances are running out.

The batsmen should perform better in England than in India, but it is the bowlers who really hold Australia’s hopes. In swinging and seaming conditions, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Ryan Harris and Faulkner form an imposing group

Watson’s presence as an allrounder meant there was no room for Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell, who figured in the Indian series. Such bits-and-pieces players were luxuries Australia could not afford. James Faulkner, who is in the squad, cannot be characterised the same way, for although he averages 29 with the bat he is viable as a frontline bowler. Tasmania have been the best Australian state team for the past three years and Faulkner has been their player of the season in each of those seasons, with Sheffield Shield wicket tallies of 36, 36 and 39.Faulkner might not start in the XI but he will be a strong backup option. In fact, the makeup of Australia’s attack for the first Test is hard to predict, for all of the bowlers in the squad can make a strong case for selection. The batsmen should perform better in England than in India, but it is the bowlers who really hold Australia’s hopes. In swinging and seaming conditions, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Ryan Harris and Faulkner form an imposing group.The recall of Harris, 33, was neither surprising nor unwarranted. Although he missed most of the home summer after having shoulder surgery, he reappeared late in the Shield season with a rush of 19 wickets at 22.26 in three matches. Injuries have kept Harris to only 12 of a possible 35 Test appearances since his debut in 2010, but he is a match-winner when fit. Even if he is rested more often than he plays, he can still be a key man.Certainly the selectors expect more of the pacemen than they do of the sole spinner. Three Tests ago, Lyon was dropped in Hyderabad but now he is the only slow bowler considered required on a five-match Ashes tour. The conditions are unlikely to warrant a second spinner, but by naming 16 men the selectors have left themselves room to add another player if required, perhaps Ashton Agar if he performs well on the Australia A tour of England that precedes the Ashes, or Fawad Ahmed if his passport is fast-tracked.Whatever happens, they have given themselves the soundest squad they could have to begin the series. It is not a Dad’s Army, but nor is it a troop of callow cadets. Without doubt it appears a sturdier outfit than the one that toured India, though that’s not saying much. The pace bowling is strong, the spin serviceable and the leadership improved. If the batting holds together, and Rogers will help in that respect, a sneaky upset is not impossible. Improbable, yes, but not impossible.

Haroon Lorgat on his reasons for taking the CSA chief job, how he will restore the board’s reputation and what he hopes to achieve in his time in charge

Interview by Firdose Moonda22-Jul-2013Haroon Lorgat: “In the ICC role, I built a network of excellent relations with global broadcasters, commercial parties, administrators, professionals, media persons and notably the players. This is a particular asset I would bring to CSA.”•Getty ImagesWhen and why did you become interested in the chief executive position at CSA?I never foresaw becoming involved in CSA, but after all that had happened over the past few years and with many people from all quarters approaching me and asking me if I was interested, I felt a need to help restore confidence and the good reputation that South African cricket deserves. I could not turn away from such a call and of course it provides me the opportunity to contribute in South Africa. This is where I come from and I could not wait to come home. The day after the new board was announced, I submitted my application.You previously mentioned it would be non-negotiable for you to work with a board that included an independent component. Are you satisfied with the way CSA has restructured and do you see it as an improvement on their previous set-up?I am a big fan of independence. It keeps people honest and in their place and the independents don’t serve any vested interests. I had indicated that I would only be interested in this job if the governance was restructured and I believe CSA has improved vastly in this regard. I have not sat through a full board meeting but in the 90 minutes I have interacted with them, I have been very impressed. I am looking forward to working with this board because they are very mindful of corporate governance. I think there are good people on it who will ensure corporate governance is adhered to. Even though most on this board were not involved with the bonus scandal, they are still publicly distrusted by association. Your first task will probably be to restore confidence in CSA. How do you plan to go about that? By continuing to work in the manner I have always worked and to do whatever is right and in the best interest of the game. This is an opportunity to build some confidence because CSA has not enjoyed the best of times of late. But already, sponsors have come back and most of the properties have been sold at good value. I’m confident our reputation will continue to improve.Somewhere else where the image is in question is India. You’ve already said it will be your priority to smoothen your relationship with the BCCI. How will you go about that??I will need to first understand what the issue is and I will do my best to resolve any differences. I always did what I thought was in the best interests of the game and will continue to do that. I know the game is bigger than any one of us so I will have no hesitation to apologise if I had wrongly offended anyone as it was never my intention to cause anyone harm.

“We simply cannot be satisfied with the lack of representation from our biggest community – black Africans – and therefore this must clearly be an area of focus. At the moment, we are not benefitting from the talent that exists among black African players and we need to work hard to nurture it right into the national team.”

The India issue seems to be the one negative from your time with the ICC, but there must have been many positives. What aspects of what you learnt at the ICC will you bring to this job? There is no specific thing but rather a set of experiences developed from having played first-class cricket and then administered the game at every level from club cricket to being CEO of the ICC. In the ICC role, I built a network of excellent relations with global broadcasters, commercial parties, administrators, professionals, media persons and notably the players. This is perhaps a particular asset that I would bring to CSA.What is your assessment of the players you will preside over? Obviously, the Test team has done exceptionally well and we’re very proud of them. The limited-overs squads are still working towards that. I have no doubt they are very committed to what they are doing and they would have taken Saturday’s defeat to Sri Lanka hard. They don’t take losses easily. They want to be champions and so they don’t want to lose. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet with the national coach yet but I am looking forward to that. I know most of the players either from when I was in South Africa or from meeting them on travels in the last few years and I enjoy a good relationship with them, which I hope to grow.Apart from the national team, the franchises will also require your attention. What will you look to do at that level of the game? While we can be proud of our national team we cannot ignore the challenges faced by the domestic franchises. They are absolutely integral to the future health of South African cricket and I will certainly look to see how we can work together to improve their situation. I think that financially some of them may need some support and I will look at ways in which we can help them. Transformation is an unavoidable topic in South Africa. What is your approach to it?We simply cannot be satisfied with the lack of representation from our biggest community – black Africans – and therefore this must clearly be an area of focus. At the moment, we are not benefitting from the talent that exists among black African players and we need to work hard to nurture it right into the national team. What are you most looking forward to? And what do you see as your biggest challenge? I’m looking forward to help restore confidence in CSA and I am excited by what I experienced during my first interaction with the board. Without the opportunity of a deeper understanding of CSA matters, I think my biggest challenge will be to build sustainability, both in economics and in player development, which includes transformation.

Rahul Dravid talks to ESPNcricinfo editor-in-chief Sambit Bal about dealing with the charges of spot-fixing against his Rajasthan Royals team-mates, why it is vital for the law to be involved in policing cricket and how credibility is of utmost importance

07-Aug-20130:00

Dravid: ‘Fixing has got to be made a criminal offence’

Sambit Bal: Rahul, the last three months haven’t been easy for you.
Rahul Dravid: Yes, towards the end of the IPL it was a difficult period. Difficult personally and from a team perspective as well. So in a lot of ways, relating to the IPL and personally, it has been a tough time.SB: Take us through those first couple of days. Describe your emotions when you heard about it.
RD: There is not really one emotion at a time like that. You go between anger, sadness, disappointment, you feel bad. From our [Rajasthan Royals] point of view, I thought the IPL was going really well. For a team like that to be at that position at that stage, to be pushing for the title, was fantastic. I thought, not just from Rajasthan Royal’s point of view but from the whole IPL’s point of view, till that point it was a really good IPL; good crowds, some good cricket to watch. The standard of cricket was good. So for that to happen was really disappointing from everyone’s point of view.SB: You really involve yourself in building this team and get personally involved with a lot of players. So was betrayal an emotion you felt very strongly?
RD: It’s not just about me personally. While I’m the face of the team and probably the most high-profile player in that team, there are a lot of people in the team and a lot of people who have done work behind the scenes, not just to get the team together but to set up the whole team, set up the franchise. A lot of people work behind the scenes to make the IPL the success that it was.Obviously you do feel bad because you know some of these players at a personal level. You’ve spent a lot of time with them in the dressing room. But you also feel bad for the lot of other people as well, those who’ve put in a lot of effort to try and make this a success. And you can sense a lot of people do feel let down, I guess it’s a natural feeling. A lot of the team-mates of the players concerned, a lot of the coaches, the officials, people who have spent many hours talking to the players not only in the team but within the states, the state associations, local associations … So there is a feeling of being let down, part of it is personal. But it’s not only about me, a lot of people felt let down.SB: So what happens to a team at that point? You had qualified already. How easy or difficult is it to get your mind back to doing what you ought to be doing?
RD: I think it’s difficult, it’s not easy as there’s not a lot of clarity at that stage. Now, today, there’s a lot more information that has come out and there’s a lot more in the public domain. But at that particular point of time, especially when we had to play a game two days later or a day later actually, there was a lot of confusion around the group – nobody knows if people are really involved, there are lot of rumours flying around, the police is involved, what is going to happen next, is the tournament going to go on? Are we going to be able to play? Are only the players who have been mentioned [involved]? Are there other people? What could we have done better? What should we do now? So I guess at that point of time there are just so many things going on. It’s hard and never easy to sit back and focus on the cricket. Which is what you’d expect us to do and want us to do. So especially that game against [Sunrisers] Hyderabad, it wasn’t about cricket but it was about us trying to get the group together and trying and getting on the right track and luckily from our point of view we had already qualified for the semi-final.SB: Do you go back and look at some of the events? What went on here, what went on there? Do you start doubting more people around you?
RD: I think your first instinct is to try and trust people but there’s no doubt that when something like that happens and there’s no clarity about which games, what happened, it’s but natural as individuals and players in a team that you do discuss – “Could they be talking about this game?” It’s hard, that’s the difficult thing about spot-fixing and why it’s so different from match-fixing. Spot-fixing, that’s why it’s so hard to control or police in some ways, because if someone if he decides tomorrow to get out or an individual decides to bowl a no-ball or a wide or give a certain number of runs an over, there’s very little you can do and very little somebody else can do around it. If somebody on the personal level decides to [do something, it’s hard to decipher], because this is normal – I mean giving runs or getting hit for sixes in Twenty20, it happens all the time. There are a lot of very good people who I would never doubt who have also been hit for sixes, bowled wides or got out early.

Counselling and guidance has to go to the first-class level and junior level … But that part of it is already being done. I know that India has its own ACSU and even for Ranji Trophy teams this education is given. So I don’t think only education can work, [we have to] police it and have the right laws and ensure that people, when they indulge in these kind of activities, are actually punished.

So it’s very hard to start doubting people and doubting specific things and events. If you go down that road and start doubting everything, then you’re going to go crazy because there are so many things that happen on a cricket field – it is a game of glorious uncertainties. I would never like to play the game like that and I would never want to go back and start doubting everything as it would take away the joy of the game for me.SB: You’re someone who has played with a certain amount of integrity and honesty and when you see something like this it must make you really angry. Did you think at that time, maybe, cricket isn’t worth playing?
RD: There is anger. Like I said earlier, you go through emotions, there is anger and you feel let down. Especially in India, in fact not only in India, there are so many passionate fans of this game, who truly love the game, you can read and hear about the sacrifices they make to be able to watch us play cricket matches, wherever, in different parts of the world. Waking up at wee hours, following the game, writing about the game on the web. Today, because of the web you get to see just how many fans this game actually has and how passionate they actually are. You feel angry for them. You feel angry, when things happen, that you have let down people like that, you’ve let down the real fan and you’ve let down the people who truly care about this game and give you unqualified support, and that’s where you feel that sense of anger.SB: You have been part of two teams that have been involved in fixing scandals and in 2000 you were much younger. How did it affect you then?
RD: The funny thing was in 2000 – and I tell people that – I remember the day I landed in England to play county cricket for Kent was actually the day Hansie Cronje confessed and I remember this so clearly because I landed in Kent and Simon Willis, who was involved in Kent at that time, came to pick me up at Heathrow Airport and the first thing he said was “welcome to England” and the next thing he said was “Hansie Cronje has confessed”. Six months I was away from India then and all hell broke loose in India after that, and a lot of stuff happened in the next six months but I felt completely away from it all because I was playing cricket in England and in those days I didn’t have access to a computer or wifi and if I needed to get news from India, I remember I had to go to the club office for a computer and then log on to pages. There weren’t so many television channels and after some time I just switched off from it. I was just so happy playing cricket in England, that I just switched off from it and when I came back six months later and when we played the Champions Trophy in Kenya, there was a completely different team. The whole thing had passed.The commission, the inquiries, it was all over. So it was really funny for me, the first time, that I was completely away from it all. This time around it was a little different and obviously with so many news channels, so much of more television and so much of more media involved, you just feel like you are a lot more in the middle of it than I was last time.SB: But Cronje was a huge figure, an iconic figure, who played cricket hard.
RD: You’re right. When you played against him, you respected him for the way he carried himself as a captain. And for a lot of young, aspiring players at that stage, people would look at Cronje and if you wanted to know how to captain a team, he was the sort of guy that you looked up to.SB: So would you say, in a strange way, you are better prepared to handle this?
RD: I don’t know how you equip yourself to handle these things really. I don’t think you go around getting a training course on how to handle something like this, but I guess that sense of naivety wasn’t there this time. I mean, because it had happened before, that level of shock when that thing broke out then obviously was not there this time, because it had happened before.SB: Do players think the same way as fans? Does fixing get spoken about in dressing rooms or in conversations that players have?
RD: When incidents happen, like the Pakistan players at Lord’s or the Bangladesh Premier League or even last year in India, where there was a sting operation and there were some boys who were managed to fix games or take money under the table, when incidents like these happen and it comes out in the papers, players do talk about it. It does get discussed in the dressing room. It won’t be constantly get discussed in the dressing room, like players always taking about fixing, it’s not like that. But when incidents happen, people do talk about it, people do mention it and just in general, casual chat that would happen in any dressing room.0:00

‘No player can say he didn’t know about the issue of fixing’

SB: So when you’re watching cricket as a fan, from the outside, if something strange or unusual happens, does it ever cross your mind?
RD: Like I said, I can’t speak for other people but at a personal level if I were to doubt everything that happens in this game, it would take away the joy and the love of the game, from what it’s meant to be. It has been my life from the time I can remember, my first memories are of a ball and a cricket bat. So personally no, my first instinct is to trust and believe what is happening on a television screen. I hear, people do come to me, and you hear chat about this might have happened or look at that. But like I said, I’ve seen a lot of strange things on a cricket field and from people and players I would never doubt, I would bet my life on that fact.SB: But when you are leading IPL teams, there players are from a different background and there are players you may not know as well as you know an Indian team. In team meetings, is there any kind of counselling or do these things ever get talked about?
RD: They do. We have anti-corruption training before every tournament, before every IPL, before every international series or at least once or twice a year. In fact I don’t think there’s anybody in an IPL team who has not received that training from the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, and they do a particular job of it. That training module that the ACSU shows and the ACSU officers who come and give that training are actually really good, that’s a pretty good module. So from that point of view it is done. We do discuss it at team meetings, that if you do notice anything untoward and if you notice anything suspicious then please report it and these are the lines of how you should go about it. So the structure of what you should do if you are approached is quite clear to every player. I don’t think any player can honestly say that he didn’t know. That’s how it’s done. Obviously, from what we’ve seen, it’s not really working.SB: What about at a lower level? Do you think there should be more counselling at lower level about the values of cricket?
RD: I think a two-pronged approach [is needed]. My personal belief is that education and counselling at a junior level is really important. As we’ve seen recently with these incidents, they aren’t only about international cricketers but we’ve seen with the sting operations last year, with what’s happened this year, is that a lot of these elements are targeting younger players, domestic players, first-class players. So obviously counselling and guidance has to go to the first-class level and junior level. So I think we’ve got to start early, we’ve got to start young but like I said earlier, in answer to your question, that part of it is already being done. I know that India has its own ACSU and even for Ranji Trophy teams this education is given. So I don’t think only education can work, [we have to] police it and have the right laws and ensure that people, when they indulge in these kind of activities, are actually punished.People must see that there are consequences to your actions. That will create fear for people. For example, look back on the doping in cycling. Everyone knows it’s wrong and it’s frightening having read a little about it and the number of cyclists who were doing it. Surely everyone knows it’s wrong. [But] it was an exception not to do it. So the only people cyclists were scared of was not the testers, not the [cycling] authority, they were scared of the police. You read all the articles, the only guys they were scared of was the police and going to jail. So the only way that people are going to get that fear is if they know the consequences to these actions and the law that will come into play. It has got to be a criminal offence.

I think credibility, irrespective of what you do, if you are in public life, then it is important.

SB: The chargesheet the police had filed in this case, it has charged them with a criminal offense…
RD: The case is still on and I don’t want to make any judgement on whether people are guilty or not, and I think everyone has a right to be innocent until proven guilty. But I’m glad the police are going ahead and doing what needs to be done and taking it to its logical conclusion.SB: We have seen in both cases that have been exposed in India that it’s the police who exposed it. It’s not the mechanisms that both the cricket boards put together that finally detected it, and both cases have been accidently discovered. The police were not really trying to find match-fixers but they found it accidentally.
RD: In some ways it’s only the police who can do that, because they are the only ones who have the power. For example, the only way you can prove this is if you secretly tape people, if you follow people, and I don’t think any administrator [could]; we would never give that power to administrators of any sporting body in our country and we shouldn’t. So, like I said, that’s the only way you are going to get this is actually. See, for security the cricket authorities already work in conjunction with the police. I mean the police are at our grounds, they manage security for us. So the next step is administrators need to work with the police to manage these issues as well, as they are the only ones who have that authority to be able to do this.SB: So you are saying that it is something that is better handled by the CBI, the police?
RD: Both sets of people have to work together. I think you don’t want police sitting in your rooms all the time, but I think there has got to be a partnership between the law and administrators of all sporting bodies.SB: Do you think that administrators have done enough? Have they shown enough seriousness consistently over the years, or is it when something like this happens, people wake us and then it dies down?
RD: I think they’ve tried. We can easily go around blaming just administrators and players. But the fact that the incidents are still happening, it means that it [what is being done] is not enough and we need to admit the fact that we need to work in partnership with the law in this country to be able to actually crack down on this thing.SB: One thing that happens every time a fixing story breaks is that cricket suffers a serious dent in its credibility. We’re not going to go into specific cases because your team is involved and one of your team’s owners is involved. But do you think that administrators in our country care enough about credibility?
RD: I think they should. I think it’s really important. Like I said earlier, when I answered your earlier question, so many fans and so many people care deeply about this game and it’s because of these fans and people we are who we are as cricketers. Administrators are there because of the fans and the cricketers, to run this game. So I think that credibility of a game in the eyes of the public is extremely important.0:00

‘Credibility in the eyes of the public is extremely important’

SB: Credibility of a cricket board or organisation?
RD: Of any authority, of a team, of a board, or a government for that matter. I think credibility, irrespective of what you do, if you are in public life, then it is important.SB: But the thing about the government is that it can get voted out every five years, but with administrators you can’t vote them out…
RD: I don’t want to get into the specifics of it, it’s not fair and I’d like to believe that there are good administrators as well, people who have done a lot for the game – the game has grown in this country and you can’t argue with that. Across the world as well, not only in India. But like good and bad cricketers, I guess there are good and bad administrators.SB: What would be your message to cricket administrators, not only on fixing but generally on the issue of credibility?
RD: I think, Sambit, cricketers in India – right from the time I can remember, growing up – were always celebrities. I think they still are and we still are. But apart from being celebrities there’s a huge amount of respect associated with being cricketers and a certain amount of reverence and honour associated with representing India. In people’s eyes, apart from other celebrities in India, I think for sportsmen in India there’s a certain amount of regard. Whether [it’s because] there’s more money now, it’s not seen as an amateur thing anymore, and for a variety of reasons things like this don’t help – when we are on the front pages of the newspapers and not on the back. Things like that don’t help, a certain amount of that reverence and respect and love for cricketers, for sportsmen, can diminish and I think that will be a really sad thing for sport and for cricket in this country if that happens.

The WACA came to life on the second day as England fought valiantly in the face of oppressive heat and aggressive bowling

Jarrod Kimber in Perth14-Dec-2013It’s not a long walk from either team hotel to the WACA. For the Australians, they have one hill to climb, and then are pretty much at the ground. For England it’s even closer. It would be an idyllic walk through the heavenly Queen’s Gardens.But if you’re a player, you don’t walk to a Test cricket ground. You’re driven. You just arrive to play some cricket. The WACA isn’t like other grounds. Perth, like Chennai and Dubai, seems to be closer to the sun than other places. It feels like you are part of some alien child’s magnifying-glass torture experiment. The Fremantle doctor seems like a myth most of the time, lazily mentioned by commentators from their air conditioned booths. People think tall bowlers are picked here because of the bounce, but it’s mostly so the batsmen have some shade.The ground is a throw back to the old Australia; hard, but fair. The footpaths are stained as you walk in. Weird liquids drip on you in old buildings. The toilets are concreted bunkers that smell like a short ball from Mitchell Johnson. The temporary stand near the scoreboard had temporary chairs, and was banned years ago by the Geneva convention. Even the grass banks are too hot for human use on days like this. The entire place was built to test the spectators as much as the players. If there was a Caribbean-style pool at the WACA, it would boil people.On the field you have the WACA pitch. Which carry by carry, crack by crack is trying to get back to its glory days. One ball from Peter Siddle just jumped away. Johnson’s deliveries tended to punch Brad Haddin’s hands. It’s the same pitch on which Rod Marsh kept wicket with steak in his gloves. Today, that very steak would have cooked after minutes.Then there are the cracks. Before the Test, the WACA looks virginal, by the end of day two it looks like it’s turning tricks to pay for its habit. The ball has barely kissed anything at the moment. But everyone has seen the Youtube clip of Curtly Ambrose sending a ball under Greg Blewett’s stumps, or even worse, the second XI game where David Warner and Daniel Smith were almost killed.England chose this surface, and this ground, to play their must-win innings. They did that through constant bad play. Kill or be killed is sort of perfect here. With Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook at the crease, it was jumper-punch Test cricket.Pietersen refused to play a shot. Pietersen refused to run silly singles. Pietersen was stopped from scoring. Cook played Cook. Had a bell rung every time he used the middle of the bat, you would’ve heard it once an hour. The inside of his bat had a magnet, the outside of his bat was in full squirting mode. It wasn’t the non-sweating, lizard god Cook of 2010-11, it was the battling captain trying to save his team.They toughed, grinded, stuck and ducked. Balls barely missed the outside edge. Near chances veered off the open face through gaps. Catches almost carried. Run-outs seemed only a pause away. Mis-hits dangled in the air. Late swing provided strange noises from fielders. There was saliva dribbling off the chins of the slips.

This series has been the very opposite of a lovely stroll in the park for England. It’s been a limp through an abattoir being chased by an English-hating, axe-wielding maniac.

But they kept fighting. The showman and the office manager. The men who beat India. The players who can change a session, day or Test. The two men who will soon be first and second on England’s all-time scoring list.Against them was a swarm of bowlers suited to the surface. Johnson eats batsmen here. Ryan Harris finds a good length and strangles it. Siddle, who will run in to bowl through razor wire. And Watson’s gentle-looking dangerous swing.Clarke used them like it was a T20 game. Changing them at will. Keeping them all fresh, seemingly all the time. To mock England more, the pitch gave seam movement, and the hard cloudless sky still allowed some swing. When the sun, pitch and opposition weren’t enough, Clarke egged the crowd to get behind Johnson as he ran in. Forty-three degrees, 15,000 screaming fans and Mitch’s moustache. It’s a lot to take in.KP and Cook survived. One playing against muscle memory, the other playing a teeth grinder. It seemed like England had finally won a big battle. Cook was set, KP was in. Maybe the hollow sounding “We’re gonna win 3-2” chants were right.Then Nathan Lyon came on. It should have been a break, instead it was the end of the partnership. If you are wondering why so many stupid-looking shots are played at the WACA, it’s because you don’t understand the sun, the ground and the pitch. Cook didn’t play the cut shot badly through stupidity or hubris, he did it because of everything that went before it. Not the humiliation at the Gabba or the crushing loss in Adelaide, but 212 minutes of standing out there and playing this in-form, carnivorous side in this mood, in this climate.Soon after Pietersen was stopped, mocked and changed by Australia, the WACA seemed to get him out as well. When Siddle finally took his wicket he howled like a savage dog over a fresh corpse. That was the WACA scream. Had England survived, had they prospered, had they even just held their own, Siddle would have screamed the same way, but for a different reason.England thought they had Australia’s measure coming into this series. They were right to think so. This series has been the very opposite of a lovely stroll in the park for England. It’s been a limp through an abattoir being chased by an English-hating, axe-wielding maniac.Today their best men, trying their hardest, fought as hard as they could. England still lost the day. Tomorrow they walk out into the WACA heat once again.

Three years ago there was plenty of noise at the MCG when Mitchell Johnson ran into bowl, but for very different reasons to the atmosphere that greeted him this time

Jarrod Kimber at the MCG27-Dec-2013To describe Mitchell Johnson as a member of a bowling unit is like calling a howitzer just a part on a tank. Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon are parts of the unit. Quality parts, working very well. Mitchell Johnson is the bang. Forget plans and line and length, England were smashed in the mouth by Mitch. Again. It was a continuation of his summer of brutality.It could not have been more different from this time three years ago.”He bowls to the left, he bowls to the right, that Mitchell Johnson, his bowling is shite” was ringing out by this stage of the previous Boxing Day Ashes Test. It was well earned. Mitch’s first over went for 11. It had followed his fourth-ball duck. Later there would be wides, byes that should have been wides, plenty short outside off and full tosses down the leg side. Had he bowled the ball into his own foot, he couldn’t have done much more damage to himself.It continued to be just that bad the next day, on the very rare occasions that Ricky Ponting gave him the ball. By lunch on the second day, he’d sent down 12 overs of the 76 bowled. He’d taken no wickets. He’d gone for 57 runs. And Brad Haddin had gone for a few byes.The Test before, Mitch had sat beside Ponting in a sweaty gym-cum-press conference room admitting he had no idea why he had bowled so well at the WACA. Now he was bowling the very opposite, and presumably still had no idea. The Barmy Army abused him in song. The Australian fans abused him less lyrically. The only way his lunch could have been worse that day was if someone had spat in it.By drinks today he was having a break. His job was done. England were out. Australians near the Barmy Army were probably arguing whether “his bowling’s a fright” sounded okay in the song. He could enjoy his lunch, hoping his batsmen can cash in on his carnage.The MCG yawns louder than other grounds. When England passed 250, you could hear the entire crowd not give a hell at once. Harris might have been storming through the crease with a vicious face and a perfect seam position, but Melbourne didn’t want that. They wanted Mitch.Tim Bresnan’s wicket was their chum. They needed to know it was the Mitch of last night, and not the Mitch of three years ago. They needed to see the first victim. Then they let loose. Anyone who had strolled in late, not knowing of the 10.30 start, would have walked a lot quicker just because of the atmosphere of the crowd. You could feel the feet pounding the concrete. The members murmured with anticipation. The public clapped their hands.Fast bowling was made for this ground. Not the pitch; the pitch rarely gives much at all. It’s the crowd that does it. Sarfraz Nawaz’s reverse swing is still whispered about like a massacre. Merv Hughes’ fitness regime became legendary. Curtly Ambrose came around the wicket with murderous intent. Glenn McGrath was given the ground by Bill Lawry. And Dennis Lillee, well this ground is as much part of him, as he was of it. He was a champion everywhere, he was a God here.But if it makes Gods, then it also is vicious to those who don’t make it.It doesn’t matter if you’re an Australian cricketer or an overseas player, if you’re playing badly, this ground lets you know very well. Australian cricketers have threatened Melbourne crowds with violence on their worst days. Opposition players have been pelted with gold balls, and urine. Flags were used as weapons as poor fielders picked up a ball from the mammoth boundaries.As England beat Australia up three years ago, Mitch was out on the boundary getting abuse from both sets of fans as a blown up condom drifted across the ground. Written on it was the simple message, “F*ck you England”. No punctuation, no subtlety.Rather than needing the crowd to do that for him, Mitch did that himself today. His only mistake taking his wickets in front of a crowd that was leaving last night, and a crowd that hadn’t turned up today. He owed himself better. He has dominated England all summer, he should have taken all five of his wickets in the Melbourne screaming hour. That magic hour right after tea when everyone is at their drunkest, and only those who have been kicked out for anti-social behaviour have left.His five-wicket salute to the Barmy Army shouldn’t have been polite hand gesture in front of people still climbing up to their seats. This ground humiliated him. And in this innings he smashed all that away. He should have screamed out a demon and beat it to death with a series of short balls.Three years ago Mitch ended with 2 for 139 from 29 overs. But it might as well have been none for a billion. Today it was 5 for 63. On both occasions the MCG was noisy. This time it was for explosions that Mitch created. The humiliation had moved on.

The results of India’s general elections could shape the next BCCI leadership, with several politicians on the sidelines of the current regime said to be on the frontline for the post of president

Amol Karhadkar27-May-2014The swearing in of India’s new union cabinet on Monday is likely to have ripple effects on the BCCI.With Arun Jaitley, a former president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association but still a political player in the BCCI, being appointed finance and defence minister in the new government, his new job has left him little time for BCCI matters.As a result, Amit Shah, a close aide of India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could enter the BCCI in an active capacity during the board’s annual general meeting in September. Shah, who has been the vice-president of the Gujarat Cricket Association – of which Modi is president – for more than five years, could replace Mumbai’s Ravi Savant as the vice-president from the west zone. While Shah’s son Jayesh, it is said, appears to control the GCA affairs, Shah may emerge as the link between the BCCI and central government during the Board’s AGM in September.Should N Srinivasan, currently sidelined as BCCI president, be found guilty in a Supreme Court-appointed inquiry looking into the IPL corruption scandal of 2013, then more politicians currently on the outside of the current regime are likely to stake their claim for the post of president.The candidates being mentioned are Rajiv Shukla, a BCCI vice-president, joint secretary Anurag Thakur and Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI and ICC chief. Shukla and Thakur, who belong to different political parties, have not expressed opinions on Srinivasan’s attempt to stay in office despite severe criticism from the Supreme Court. Pawar, however, has become a vocal critic of the BCCI and, as the Mumbai Cricket Association chief, is expected to take an active role in the lead-up to the AGM.These possibilities were created by the BCCI decision to amend its constitution in September 2012, which created a loophole to go past the conventional rotational system of nominating presidents. At the time, it was widely understood the rule had been changed to ensure that Jaitley, a lawyer turned politician in charge of the DDCA since 1999, could take over the presidency of the BCCI in 2014 even though he did not belong to East Zone, who were due to nominate the next head.Four months ahead of the AGM, though, it is understood Jaitley will not make a pitch for the top job. There is a strong possibility that his decision to stay away has as much to do with a disinclination in leading an organisation that has been on the wrong side of public opinion and the judiciary since the IPL corruption scandal broke in May 2013, as with his new-found responsibilities.A Jaitley confidante in the DDCA said he did not want the central government to be dragged into controversies surrounding the BCCI. In September 2013, Jaitley had decided to step down from his position as BCCI vice-president to focus on the general elections, and was replaced with his DDCA aide Sneh Bansal. That was followed by Jaitley choosing not to contest for the post of DDCA president, making way for Bansal to head the body. Though Jaitley remains a member of the DDCA executive committee, he hasn’t participated in any BCCI meetings since the 2013 AGM.Jaitley distancing himself from the BCCI and Shah getting closer could make for a fascinating four months in the run up to the BCCI election. With all the office-bearers’ terms being extended to three years as per the amended constitution, the main question is whether the ruling faction in the BCCI will face any open opposition.At the moment, the only hurdle against Srinivasan controlling the board by proxy is the on-going investigation by Justice Mukul Mudgal into 13 individuals, including Srinivasan, for their alleged role in corrupt and unethical practices. Several BCCI members are confident that if the Mudgal committee exonerates Srinivasan, he could appoint one of his lieutenants as proxy BCCI president.In such a case, the three prime candidates would be vice-president Shivlal Yadav, who was appointed by the Supreme Court as the chief of all BCCI affairs except IPL after Srinivasan was sidelined, secretary Sanjay Patel and treasurer Anirudh Choudhary.According to the rules, it is the East Zone’s turn to nominate the BCCI president. However, after the 2012 amendment, a non-East Zone member could be nominated for president if his name is proposed and seconded by members from the East Zone. This means if the ruling faction has five of the six East Zone members on its side, the possibility of an election is eroded automatically.The Mudgal commission held its first meeting on May 25 and told the Supreme Court it would require four months to finish investigations. Should Srinivasan be found guilty, there is a strong possibility the tide may turn against the man who has occupied the three most important positions in the BCCI – treasurer, secretary and president – since 2005.Irrespective of who becomes president, Brijesh Patel, the secretary of Karnataka State Cricket Association, could be the prime contender for the post of the BCCI secretary. The former India batsman, whose group replaced the one headed by former India captain Anil Kumble at the helm of KSCA in December 2013, has already been bargaining hard with the ruling faction. Not only were Patel and KSCA vice-president Ashok Anand given managerial duties for the World Twenty20 and the Asia Cup, respectively, the IPL final was recently moved from Mumbai to Bangalore.

Plays of the day from the tri-series match between Australia and South Africa in Harare

Firdose Moonda02-Sep-2014De Kock gets it wrong
Australia’s positive start to their innings could have ended early when Aaron Finch found himself stranded in his attempt to sneak a single at the end of the fourth over. Phillip Hughes had nudged JP Duminy behind square leg and was content to register a dot ball, but not Finch, who was halfway down the pitch by the time Hughes had even seen his partner run. Had Quinton de Kock picked up the ball on his first attempt, he would have run Finch out at the non-striker’s end, but luckily for Australia he did not collect cleanly and allowed the batsman to get back in time.De Kock gets it right
Glenn Maxwell was finding run-scoring laboured, and out of frustration he tried to muscle the sixth ball he faced over midwicket. The problem for Maxwell, though, was that it was a Dale Steyn short ball and it needed more than just meat to be properly dispatched. Maxwell top-edged the ball straight up and Steyn wanted to finish the job himself. He called for the catch but de Kock had already done the same. Steyn trusted his wicketkeeper, and rightly so, as de Kock safely pouched the ball. De Kock’s celebration was briefly curtailed when he was met with a snarl from Steyn, but it eventually gave way to a smile and some high-fives.Saving the best for last
Mitchell Marsh collected 42 runs in sixes and saved his most sensational hit for last. Marsh proved he was the master of the straight shot by hitting Imran Tahir and Steyn back over their heads. He even managed to dispatch Steyn for three consecutive sixes for the first time in ODIs. But when Ryan McLaren abandoned the plan to fire it in full and slammed it short instead, Marsh targeted a different area. He latched on to the short ball and slapped it over midwicket, over the stands, over the rugby field next door, and out of sight.Dive of the day
Although he was one half of Australia’s most important partnership, Brad Haddin’s contribution with the bat was just 11. However, he did something far more important in the field. Hashim Amla was fidgety throughout his innings and had moved across his stumps to play Marsh down to fine leg but could only manage an edge behind. Haddin stretched fully to his left and timed his move perfectly to take a superb one-handed catch.Throw of the day
Steven Smith is fast gaining a reputation as a man whose arm should not be chanced by batsmen. He proved that again when Steyn unwittingly decided to take him on. Steyn was concentrating on passing the strike to du Plessis as often as he could, and after punching the ball to mid-on, he tried to out-sprint the fielder. Smith had all three stumps to aim at and zeroed in on middle with such accuracy that he broke it. Steyn did not even wait for replays and kept jogging in the direction he started off in, because it would take him back to the changing room.Comedy of errors
Four deliveries after giving a lesson on how to run someone out, the two teams conjured up the exact opposite. Du Plessis inside edged Johnson and was not quite sure where the ball went. But when he saw Aaron Phangiso moving towards him, he thought a run might be on. When he realised Haddin had closed in on the ball, du Plessis decided against the single and sent back Phangiso, who was two-thirds of the way down the pitch. A direct hit, or even someone backing up at the non-striker’s end to break the stumps, would have dismissed a slow-moving Phangiso, but Australia had neither.Mis-step of the day
Among the various unlucky ways to get out, hit-wickets rank fairly high on the list. Du Plessis had spent a large part of his innings batting outside his crease as he looked to take on the bowling, but went back to a Kane Richardson delivery that he was trying to hit through midwicket. Du Plessis made contact but just as he did, he stepped on the base of his off-stump and dislodged the bail to end his own innings, as well as South Africa’s challenge.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s first innings for Derbyshire was a short-lived affair, but the club hope it could be the start of a lengthy relationship with the Indian star

Alan Gardner in Cardiff10-Sep-2014Those perusing the scorecard from Cardiff might pass quickly over the contribution of CA Pujara, who fell lbw to J Allenby on the second morning. Plenty of batsmen have suffered similar fates: Jim Allenby has taken almost 200 first-class wickets for Glamorgan with his niggardly medium pace. Pujara’s seven runs, coming from 26 balls in 27 minutes, constituted his first outing for Derbyshire, having been given dispensation by the BCCI to play the final few weeks of the season. Welcome to county cricket, son.Perhaps it was to be expected. Cheteshwar Pujara, one of only nine men to have scored three first-class triple-hundreds, has not played for three weeks and that was when rounding off India’s miserable 3-1 Test series defeat, during which he averaged 22.20 with one fifty. His response to failure, having come to England feted as the successor to Rahul Dravid at No. 3, was also no surprise: practice.Growing up in Rajkot, Pujara’s technique was honed facing thousands of under-arm throwdowns from his father, Arvind. In James Astill’s book, , Arvind relates how he identified his son’s talent at only a few years of age, simply from the way in which he watched the ball. He also describes the temperament that brought Cheteshwar a Test debut at the age of 22 and an average of 66.25 by the start of 2014: “If he scores runs, he thanks God. If he fails to score runs, he says it is God’s will.”In those early days, he was known as “Chintu”. At Derbyshire, his new team-mates have already nicknamed him “Puj”. Derby was the first stop on India’s tour and he formed an immediate affinity for the club. “When we were coming into Derby I saw farmer’s fields and beautiful farm houses,” he told the local paper. “That was my first experience. I loved Derby because it is a small town and the quietness of it.”Pujara made an impression on Derbyshire as well and the club were already batting around the possibility of trying to sign him for 2015 when he expressed a desire to continue his education in English conditions right away. Tom Poynton, the wicketkeeper injured in a car accident before the start of the season, effectively tapped up Pujara during the tour match, while running Derbyshire’s India Club project, and they were quick to make arrangements for him to replace Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the final few games of the season.When you are trying to build relationships with the local Indian community, it does not hurt to have an India Test player in your side. On Monday, Pujara attended a charity launch at an inner-city community school, joshing good-naturedly with children and posing for photos. Graeme Welch, in his first season as head coach, hopes the arrangement can be mutually beneficial.”Obviously India had a bad time over here and I think they want their players to come over here and learn how to play the swinging ball,” Welch says. “He seems a very nice man, he’s very respectful, he’s integrated with the team brilliantly. We’ll try and make him as comfortable and welcome as we can. If we can build a relationship with him and he likes coming back here, everybody’s happy.”The management team have always spoken about Pujara, he averages 50 in Test match cricket, so he’s obviously a very good player. We were trying to think of overseas players for next year and his name popped up. It just so happened that Tom Poynton and the chairman were speaking to him when they played here, they sowed the seed. India didn’t have a very good Test series and that connection happened. A lot of Indians came down for the tour game, there’s a lot of influential Indians in Derby, so it works for everybody. He’s getting some experience, we can drag some more supporters in.”It was also in Derby that Dravid, working with India during their Test series build-up, suggested Pujara would benefit from a spell with a county. India players are a less common sight in English domestic cricket these days, though plenty at Derbyshire remember Mohammad Azharuddin’s prolific season for them in 1991, when his “revolving door” wrists rattled off 2016 runs, with seven hundreds.There is also a story about Virender Sehwag, during his one season with Leicestershire, deciding to get rid of a reverse-swinging ball by hitting it out of the ground, ensuring it would be lost. Pujara is not really that sort of batsman but he will doubtless come up with his own solutions, honing the technique he developed with his father at the Railways ground.Having spent 90 overs in the field on the first day, he came out to bat on Wednesday with Derbyshire 45 for 2, exchanging a mandatory glove punch with Wayne Madsen, captain and No. 3. His first ball, from Graham Wagg, was nudged watchfully behind square and, after playing out a maiden from Allenby, Pujara caressed the same bowler for a cover-driven four. That brought polite applause from a crowd barely into three figures, on a ground where India had been cheered raucously to victory in the ODI two weeks before.There were a couple more singles, several leaves outside off, front and back-foot defence. Then Allenby, bowling from the River Taff end, trapped him on the crease. He lingered a moment, contemplating Nigel Llong’s raised finger, before sloping off. Time to have an ice cream and enjoy the sunshine. There will be another chance soon, such are the eddying waters of the schedule. He’ll pick up the rhythm. Welcome to county cricket, son.