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From Donald Bradman to Michael Clarke, state school graduates have dominated the ranks of Australian Test teams. What are private schools doing wrong?

Steve Cannane 26-Jul-2013In cricketing terms Ed Cowan comes from a disadvantaged background. Australia’s top-order batsman was educated at Cranbrook, an elite private school well known for producing accumulators of wealth (James Packer, James Fairfax) as well as a few de-accumulators (Jodee Rich, Rodney Adler), but not so many accumulators of runs and wickets.But Cranbrook is not alone. Despite having access to the best facilities and good coaches, cricketers from elite private schools across Sydney are up against it when it comes to making it into the Test arena.When Jackson Bird made his debut in last year’s Boxing Day Test, veteran sports journalist David Lord pointed out that he was just the fifth Sydney GPS old boy to play Test cricket for Australia in 80 years. (The others are Stan McCabe, Jimmy Burke, Jack Moroney, and Phil Emery – Cowan’s old school is part of the Associated Schools competition). By Lord’s calculation, Sydney GPS schools have produced 132 Wallabies but just ten Test cricketers since 1877.So why the imbalance?One of the reasons is that cricket, unlike rugby, is a game in which 15-year-old boys can compete against men. If you attend a state school or a non-elite private school, you don’t have to play for your school on a Saturday. A teenage boy playing grade or district cricket early has his temperament and skills tested against men. As a result, his development is accelerated.”Historically yes, not being able to play against men regularly between those formative years of 15-18, particularly in New South Wales, is a bit of a disadvantage,” Cowan told me in the lead-up to this Ashes series. “Playing on good wickets you get mollycoddled a little bit in the private school system, and you’re not playing against great cricketers.”Cowan was lucky his headmaster at Cranbrook, Dr Bruce Carter, was a cricket fan. Carter released him from school first XI duties so he could play first grade for Sydney University in his final year of school. Cowan was able to test himself against first-class bowlers and has no doubt it made him a better cricketer.”I definitely think that last year, if I had to play school cricket, that would have been a bit of a handbrake on my development.”Former Australia captain Greg Chappell is adamant that quality young cricketers need to test themselves against men. When I was researching my book on the formative years of Australia’s best cricketers, he told me attitudes needed to change in the private-school system.”This whole idea of holding kids back in their age group is one of the greatest impediments to their development.”Chappell was one of three brothers who played Test cricket for Australia. All attended Adelaide’s Prince Alfred College. But when Greg and Ian went to school, the first XI played in the men’s District B Grade competition. At the age of 14 they were facing bowlers who had played, or would soon play, first-class cricket.By the time younger brother Trevor attended Prince Alfred College, the first XI team was only playing against other school teams. Trevor dominated schoolboy attacks but never dominated Test attacks like his older brothers. Both Ian and Greg believe the school’s withdrawal from the men’s competition was detrimental to their young brother’s development.”I believe,” Ian wrote, “playing against grown men at a young age gave Greg and me a huge advantage over Trevor.”When Ashton Agar made his extraordinary debut at Trent Bridge, cricket fans were struck by his maturity and unflappable nature. Playing in his first Test at the age of 19, he broke two significant records: the highest ever Test score by a No. 11 batsman (98) and the highest partnership for the last wicket (163 with Phil Hughes).Agar is only 18 months out of school. Would he have been able to show such maturity if he hadn’t been playing against men from an early age? Agar’s old school, De La Salle College in Melbourne, plays their first XI cricket on a Wednesday. This allowed Agar to play district cricket for Richmond on weekends. He made the club’s first-grade team when he was in year 11.Agar’s school coach Marty Rhoden, a former first-grade legspinner, has seen other young boys stagnate after winning sporting scholarships to elite private schools.”I’ve witnessed several cases of students who would have benefited if they stayed at their schools, where they could keep playing club cricket on Saturdays. I’d argue it had a direct effect on their development.”Of course there are exceptions. Shane Warne won a sporting scholarship to Mentone Grammar, as did current fast bowler James Pattinson at Haileybury. Pattinson’s school coach Andrew Lynch, now Victoria’s chairman of selectors, believes it benefits good cricketers to keep playing for their school.”They get an opportunity to dominate, which is important, and the competition only goes for ten weeks, so if they’re good enough they can still go and play for their clubs.”

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Of the 12 players chosen for the Australia Test team of the 20th century, eight went to state schools

Cricket is a game of statistics as well as stories. So let’s lay out some numbers. If we take the NSW squad as an example, of the 19 players contracted last season, 14 went to state schools, four went to religious private schools, and one went to both. None of the squad attended an elite private school in Sydney.If we look at the Australian team at Trent Bridge, the figures are closer. Six went to state schools: Michael Clarke (Westfields Sports High); Phillip Hughes (Macksville High/Homebush Boys High); Steve Smith (Menai High); Brad Haddin (Karabar High); Mitchell Starc (Homebush Boys High); and Peter Siddle (Kurnai College).Agar, as discussed earlier, went to a Catholic college that allowed him to play cricket for his club. Four went to elite private schools: Shane Watson (Ipswich Grammar); Chris Rogers (Wesley College in Perth); Pattinson (Haileybury in Victoria); and Cowan (Cranbrook).But if we split it up into those who grew up in NSW, it becomes five state school boys, and one private school boy, who was released from school duties to play club cricket in year 12.If we look at how elite private schools in other states go about their business, there may be some clues. Watson played grade cricket in Brisbane for Easts/Redlands while still at school. According to Ipswich Grammar’s cricket coach Aaron Moore, in Brisbane’s GPS competition they play only eight games, kicking off the season in February, and encouraging their boys to play senior cricket up until then.In Tasmania it’s similar. Launceston Grammar, which produced David Boon and current Ashes squad member James Faulkner, only plays six to eight games, freeing up their boys to play for their club sides more often than their Sydney counterparts.In Western Australia, the private school system seems to be working. In recent decades, the Darlot Cup has fostered Test players such as Justin Langer, Stuart MacGill, Chris Rogers, Simon Katich, Geoff Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tom Moody, Terry Alderman, Brad Hogg, and Brendon Julian. Seven private schools play each other in a competition that lasts seven weeks, with each game played over two days – Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. While the schools are considered elite, they are more accessible and affordable than those in the eastern states.According to John Rogers, a former NSW Sheffield Shield cricketer, and father of the current Australian opener, the Darlot Cup was where his son first found his feet.”I had no prospect or intention of sending my sons to GPS schools in Sydney. I was astonished to find I could in Perth and the facilities were superb and the competition played with intensity. Darlot Cup is a long, tiring exhausting battle and the boys love its drawn-out, competitive nature. Perth is quite different from Sydney and Melbourne. What Greg Chappell says has always been the case in Sydney – but in my view it doesn’t apply to Perth.”Having scored several hundreds in the Darlot Cup, on wickets as good as the WACA, Chris Rogers made a seamless transition to club cricket with Melville in his last term at school, making 70 in his second first-grade game against a trio of two-metre tall Test bowers – Jo Angel, Brendon Julian and Tom Moody.”At the same time,” Rogers says, “Michael and David Hussey were making their way through the grade system. WA has the advantage that both systems have been shown to work well.”Despite the productivity of Perth’s private schools, graduates of state schools have tended to dominate the ranks of Australian Test teams. If we look at the top tier of Australian cricketers, they tend to have been exposed to men’s cricket from an early age.Of the 12 players chosen for the Australia Test team of the 20th century, eight went to state schools: Bill Ponsford (Alfred Crescent School); Arthur Morris (Newcastle Boys High and Canterbury Boys High); Don Bradman (Bowral Public School); Neil Harvey (Falconer St School); Keith Miller (Melbourne High); Ian Healy (Brisbane State High); Dennis Lillee (Belmont High); and Allan Border (North Sydney Boys High). Two went to private schools: Greg Chappell (Prince Alfred College); and Ray Lindwall (Marist Brothers, Darlinghurst). The remaining two players went to both state and private, the rogue legspinners Shane Warne (Hampton High and Mentone Grammar) and Bill O’Reilly (Goulburn High and St Patrick’s College, Goulburn). Of the 12, only Warne did not play regular club cricket against adults in his final years in school.If we analyse Australia’s team in the first Ashes Test 12 years ago, when they put one of their best ever teams on the field, it’s an almost identical story. Eight of the 11 went to state schools: Michael Slater (Wagga Wagga High); Ricky Ponting (Brooks Senior High); Mark and Steve Waugh (East Hills Boys High); Damien Martyn (Girrawheen Senior High); Adam Gilchrist (Kadina High); Brett Lee (Oak Flats High); and Glenn McGrath (Narromine High). Two went to private Catholic schools: Jason Gillespie (Cabra Dominican College); and Matthew Hayden (Marist College, Ashgrove). Shane Warne went to both state and private schools, as mentioned, and once again was the outlier, being the only one in the team who did not play regular club cricket against adults in his final years at school.In 1998, fast bowler Matthew Nicholson was picked to play against England in the Boxing Day Test match. A former student at Knox Grammar, Nicholson was the last graduate of Sydney’s elite private schools to make it to Test cricket before Cowan and Bird were selected. He is now the director of cricket at Newington College.Michael Clarke, who went to a sports high school, had the time, the inclination and the facilities to hit balls for hours on end•Getty ImagesNicholson doesn’t feel that attending a private school held back his development: “I don’t think so. I captained my side and was able to develop in other ways. I learnt how to be a leader and learnt about myself, and I was still able to play for my grade side, Gordon, for eight weeks in the school holidays.”Nicholson makes a valid point that in private schools, boys have to juggle a range of activities that might put them behind cricket-obsessed boys in state schools: “A lot of our boys are pulled in different directions – school commitments, drama, music and academic. For many of them cricket is a small part of their life, for other boys it can be almost everything; all they do is hit balls.”You can’t imagine a 16-year-old Michael Clarke having to miss a net session to rehearse for , or make sure he did his euphonium practice. Clarke went to a sports high school and his parents ran an indoor cricket centre. He had the time, the inclination and the facilities to hit balls for hours on end.If neuroscientists like Daniel Levitin are right when they say that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master any skill, then Clarke had a big advantage over his private school contemporaries. Private school students in Sydney often spend hours commuting to and from school. State school students and private school boys in smaller cities can spend more time in the nets and less time stuck on the bus in traffic.In an interesting aside, in England it is an advantage to go to a private school. Writing in , former English Test cricketer Ed Smith points out that having a private school background is an advantage in England: “Simply, if you want to play for England, first attend a private school.”Smith claims over two-thirds of England’s 2012 team were privately educated, an extraordinary figure when you consider around 7% of English children go to private schools. In Australia, it’s a different tale. Around 35% of Australian children go to private schools, or five times the number in England, and yet the majority of our Test team continues to come from the state-school system.So what are the lessons from all of this? Should private schools in Sydney look at the Perth and Brisbane models? Should they be more willing to release their best players to play grade cricket?Nicholson says the most important thing is the development of the boys: “If they feel like they are being held back, then we should let them go.”Maybe the private schools should be asked to move their first XI cricket to Wednesdays or Sundays so all the boys get a chance to play against men from an early age on. But there’s little chance of that happening. In elite private schools, tradition is everything.As one coach told me, “We had enough troubles changing the start time by half an hour, let alone changing the days!”

Plays of the day from the fifth day of the first Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand in Chittagong

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong13-Oct-2013The smash and grab
Ross Taylor gave Bangladesh two chances in the first session. The first fell close to Marshall Ayub at silly point; the next one was a jab that was near Marshall again but he grabbed at the grass at short leg. Mushfiqur Rahim replaced Marshall, who was rising too soon at short leg, with Anamul Haque, a wicketkeeper by trade. And soon enough Kane Williamson’s full-blooded pull lodged between Anamul’s thighs, and he managed to hold on to the ball.The reaction
Sohag Gazi was the bowler that Anamul caught Williamson off. First, Gazi could not believe he had a wicket, and then he had his hand on his mouth as he ran to greet Anamul. His first concern was Anamul and whether he had been injured. There was a lot of laughter in the huddle that followed the catch, and most players had a concerned look for the catcher.The recovery
Gazi was bowling dangerously on the fifth morning, and his best delivery took the second wicket of his hat-trick. BJ Watling, the first-innings centurion, was bowled a doosra that jumped off a fuller length. The thin edge first hit Mushfiqur Rahim’s gloves but he withstood the pain to take the rebound, before stooping to the ground in pain.The catch Shakib Al Hasan doesn’t stay out of the game for too long. He was at leg slip when Gazi bowled the hat-trick ball. As the ball clipped Doug Bracewell’s outside edge, struck Mushfiqur on his boot and popped up, Shakib flung himself before the lone slip could even react. The dive got him to the ball, which he caught one-handed to trigger massive celebrations.

Despite losing by 129 runs, Afghanistan’s bowling won the praise of Angelo Mathews who was impressed by two factors that have been noticed since the first game: variety and control

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur03-Mar-2014Afghanistan’s bowling attack has shown the potential of grabbing the viewers’ attention and keeping it for three-and-a-half hours. Its variety and control has been quite evident in the three Asia Cup matches and with some more tweaks, it could be a decisive factor in the near future.The attack has usually carried two out-and-out fast bowlers, one left-arm and one right-arm, who have been quite effective with the new ball, but has work to do in the death overs. They keep a medium-pacer who offers pace variation and seam movement, and can be the right option if either of the quicker bowlers starts off poorly.They have three types of spinners with Hamza Hotak doing the controller’s job with his left-arm spin, Samiullah Shenwari bowling accurate legbreaks, and offspinner Mohammad Nabi generating turn with his slightly round-arm action. He bowls innocuously at times, but is perhaps the most attacking of the spinners.Despite losing by 129 runs, they won the praise of Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews who was impressed by the two factors that have been noticed since the first game: variety and control.”Their bowling attack is very good,” Mathews said. “They are as good as the other teams as well. Really good fast bowlers, and some really good spinners, so it wasn’t very easy for us to score off them as well, and the wicket was also pretty slow. But they gave us nothing away and we had to really work hard to get all the runs.”Their coach Kabir Khan said that the attack was chosen keeping the conditions in Bangladesh in mind. He hoped that their depth would continue to help their cause in the coming years, as it did against Sri Lanka when Nabi used eight bowlers.”We support them [the spinners] every time and obviously Samiullah Shenwari is one of the main players we have got,” Kabir said. “There’s another legspinner, by the name of Rahmat Shah, sitting outside on the bench. He might get a chance against India because he’s an equally good legspinner.”We’ve got a very good young bunch and there is proper competition for places in the team as well. We drop someone and the team doesn’t suffer too much. I think that is the beauty of our team. They’re young and talented, and they replace each other very well.”Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat Zadran have been the revelations of this tournament while Hamid Hassan used his experience well against Bangladesh. Mirwais Ashraf, the medium-fast bowler, has been effective while the spin trio has shown that they can carry the attack too.But there are areas that can be improved upon. Shapoor and Dawlat have to quickly measure up the dos and don’ts of bowling in the last ten overs. They have been attacked and have come up short on occasions.Among the spinners, Hotak has to work a little more on his pivot as he tends to lean on either foot for balance in the delivery stride. The subtle difference should be spotted by the bowler himself, and by smoothening out the kink, he can bowl more comfortably and with a better push off the shoulders and use the flick of the wrist whenever he wants.More control and guile, essentially gathered from playing matches at the highest level, will make them better bowlers. If they can be kept fit for the next 12 months, their potential can take the team further in the two major tournaments – World Twenty20 and 2015 World Cup.

The lack of home support has no doubt put certain franchises at a disadvantage, but the prospect of taking the IPL to different parts of the country has opened up all new possibilities

Nagraj Gollapudi11-May-2014First they had to play in the UAE, and now four IPL franchises have been forced to play home matches outside their base as the tournament enters its business leg. Lack of home support, failure to capitalise on home-ground conditions, and trying to appease and pacify sponsors are some of the issues Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals have faced this season because of the IPL schedule clashing with India’s federal elections.On Friday, the Super Kings were forced to shift two of their league matches from Chennai to Ranchi, while the Royals had to settle for Ahmedabad as their home for four matches due to the inability of the Rajasthan Cricket Association to acquire requisite state government clearances.The Punjab police could not provide security due to elections in Mohali, Kings XI’s home venue, forcing them to pick the eastern city of Cuttack to play two matches. The Knight Riders were scheduled to play four matches at Eden Gardens, but due to security issues their home match against Mumbai Indians has also been shifted to Cuttack.How much does the displacement affect the franchise? According to KKR chief executive Venky Mysore, the impact is not significant.”Cuttack will be a new experience because within India we are playing away from home,” Mysore told ESPNcricinfo. “From a cricketing perspective you always want to play in Kolkata because you know the conditions better, you know what to expect and you have picked the team for that. There is a challenge in terms of not playing at your home ground from the fan support and conditions standpoint. Needless to say, you want to play at home from the cricketing point of view but there is nothing we could do about it due to the security issue.”Knight Riders will be playing two matches in three days in Cuttack, against Kings XI on Sunday and against Mumbai on May 14. Cuttack is also Kings XI’s home ground, but Mysore said he was banking on the Bengali-speaking locals to support Knight Riders.The biggest disadvantage for Knight Riders in Cuttack would be on the money front because of lower ticket revenue – Eden Gardens is virtually double the capacity of the Barabati Stadium.”In terms of costs it should not make a huge difference,” Mysore said. “But the sheer size of Eden makes even a sellout in Cuttack shrink the ticket revenues by almost 50%.”Mohit Burman, one of the co-owners of Kings XI, said that franchises were now used to playing away from home since they had already done so in 2009, when the tournament was moved to South Africa,”Initially the displacement from a home venue is a little discomforting for anyone as one has a sense of belonging and more importantly, familiarity of working with the local people in a certain area one has been operating in,” Burman said. “Having said that, this is not the first time that the IPL venue has been changed – it was organised in South Africa in the second season and this year we have three venues – UAE, Cuttack and Mohali. One gets used to it.”Franchise owners have also had to accept that federal elections every five years is likely to lead to a repeat of such scenarios. “We are left with no choice. It is not that it was out love and affection we were going to one place or another,” the marketing head at one of the franchises said.Burman added that despite being a little sceptical earlier about having Cuttack as the second home, he was now entirely happy.”We felt at home at a new venue and it was easy to adapt to the new environment,” Burman said. “Also, the people from Cuttack have been great supporters of the team. The enthusiasm that they have towards the sport is almost contagious.”Burman agreed with Mysore’s opinion about cultivating a new audience, but the marketing head pointed out the disadvantage of the franchise’s distinct and loyal fan base being hurt where they were not getting enough matches.Despite being table toppers this season, Kings XI have not yet played in Mohali, starving local fans of the action. “It depends on how you see the larger picture,” Burman said. “A change in venue also enables the team to reach out to the much larger audience and connect with its fans across the globe. They also get an opportunity to see their favourite team in action live at a stadium.”What about the sponsors? According to the marketing head, the sponsor would have planned activation around his local city. Just having the logos on the team shirts is not what the sponsor is satisfied with, as he would need players to be present at local events where he could promote his brand. Places like Ranchi and Cuttack, the marketing head said, were cities where the fans could turn out in huge numbers at the ground, but the sponsor was keener on player involvement in his franchise’s original home base.Mysore said that since Knight Riders had many pan-Indian sponsors, they were at an advantage. “Fortunately we are not restricted to regional brands so to that extent I do not think the displacement has had a huge impact,” Mysore said, though he pointed out that the first phase of the tournament being played in UAE did pinch the franchise. “It had some impact because if it were to happen in India, the sponsor activation could have become easier.”Mysore said the challenge of taking the tournament to a foreign market could be much higher than playing in Cuttack.”The opportunity to take part of the tournament to a different market with a strong following for cricket was a nice little positive challenge. Some of the brands also got to see what it might mean to activate in UAE.”

Some may say that the England captain’s dismissal was unlucky, but it was the latest example of the demons he is battling as the form slump grows longer

George Dobell at Trent Bridge10-Jul-2014It was days like this that persuaded Edvard Munch to paint The Scream, Thomas Hardy to write and Leonard Cohen to pick up a guitar. And it has been days like this that have persuaded many captains that the time has come to step down.This was a day during which the pressure upon Alastair Cook mounted. It mounted when Matt Prior put down a chance to dismiss MS Dhoni before he had added to his overnight total. It mounted when Moeen Ali was unable to fill the role of controlling spinner. And it mounted when he saw his champion fast bowler, James Anderson, thrashed for six back over his head by a tailender who started the match with a Test average of 3.33 amid an agonising tenth-wicket partnership that left England exhausted, embarrassed and exposed.But it culminated in Cook’s own dismissal. Finally given the opportunity to make use of a pitch holding few alarms, Cook not just failed to take advantage, not just failed to mount the defence his side required, but betrayed the extent to which his own personal game has sunk.On a wicket on which India’s tenth-wicket pair had prospered simply by playing forward and straight, Cook paid the penalty for playing back and across. Instead of playing a straight ball back towards the bowler, he attempted to nudge it into the leg side and, lacking balance and a sense of where his stumps were, was bowled round his legs after the delivery brushed his thigh pad.The generous spirited might suggest it was an unfortunate dismissal. But, if you try to play straight balls through square leg, if your balance is so poor that your head falls over to the off side leaving you unaware of the position of your stumps, such things will happen.Previous dismissals surely played a part. Cook has been struggling outside off stump in recent months and here appeared to over-compensate by ensuring he would not be reaching at one. Such a solution simply created another problem, though.Nor is this failure an aberration. Since the start of 2014, Cook is averaging just 13.85 in Test cricket with a top score of 28. He has not made a half-century in seven innings and not made a century in 25. If England hide behind poor fortune for Cook’s decline, they are in denial.Weariness – mental and physical weariness – might have played a part. After enjoying a spell in early afternoon where his side claimed four wickets for two runs in 21 deliveries, Cook must have hoped that India could be dismissed for a total of around 350; probably under par on such a benign surface.Instead, for the third time in as many years, England conceded a century stand for the tenth-wicket. Yet again, Cook was obliged to force Anderson and Stuart Broad into new spells. England saw a game slip away from them and the lack of potency in their attack exposed.Cook was left to reflect on a situation in which the English system – a system that leaves counties requiring five days of ticket receipts to afford the cost of hosting Test cricket – works against the national side rather than playing to its strengths. For make no mistake, in years to come, this rotten pitch, a slice of Nagpur in Nottingham, may be remembered as a contributory factor in Cook’s demise.There is little so dispiriting for a fielding side than a lengthy tenth-wicket stand. Not only do such partnerships frustrate and embarrass bowlers, but they dispirit and tire entire teams. Bowlers who think their work is done are forced into new spells; plans that appeared to have been working are undermined and minds that were beginning to turn to batting are forced to wrestle with an irritation that had not been anticipated.The fact that Mohammed Shami drove Anderson for six has a significance beyond the symbolic. Not only did it underline the lack of potency in England’s main weapon on his favourite surface, but it suggested a worrying tiredness at this stage of the series. With five Tests to be played in 42 days, the last thing Cook wanted was to force his strike bowler into 38 overs in the first innings of the series. Demanding such spells of such a bowler is like using a sports car to transport scaffolding.Equally, the workload required of the seamers underlined the lack of effectiveness of Moeen. While he did not, with one full toss and one long-hop excepted, bowl poorly, he was simply unable to contain skilful batsmen in such conditions. He conceded more than five an over and, at one stage, was hit for two sixes in three balls.Moeen may develop into a fine Test bowler but, for now, England’s lack of a world-class spinner is making Cook’s job, and the job of his seamers, far more demanding. It might well be relevant that Simon Kerrigan, the left-arm spinner who endured such a tough debut at The Oval last year, has acted as 12th man for England in this Test.There were, perhaps, other signs that the pressure was beginning to distort Cook’s thinking; other signs that all the criticism, all the abuse, was beginning to convince him to stray from the methods that come naturally and persuade him to experiment.For when Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar came together, Cook experimented with a field that included, for a while, three short midwickets and no slips. And, for a while, he experimented with only one fielder on the leg side.Whether such tactics were admirably inventive or the symptom of a man trying too hard to appease his critics probably depends on your viewpoint before this match began.The truth is, Cook did not have a bad day in the field and England did not bowl badly. Quite the opposite, really. In difficult conditions Broad, in particular, displayed fine heart and skill and it is hard to think what Cook could have done differently. Until Shami and Kumar’s intervention, it might even have been considered an excellent day.But Cook’s primary role remains that of an opening batsmen. And whether as a result of the burden of captaincy, whether it is media pressure or whether fate has simply mixed a perfect storm of problems, his run of grim form is turning into something of a marathon. And if he cannot make runs on these pitches… well, it will not grow any easier.

Plays of the day from the tri-series match between Zimbabwe and South Africa

The Report by Firdose Moonda29-Aug-2014The double-drop Zimbabwe may have hoped for a change in fortune in the way they started the match; they kept South Africa quiet in the first four overs and then had the opportunity to make an early incision. Hashim Amla was on six when he pushed Brian Vitori’s first delivery straight back to the bowler but the left-armer could not get his hands up in time to collect in his followthrough. Instead the ball hit him on the left-shoulder and lobbed up for mid-on. Elton Chigumbura slid in but he was too late and Amla survived.The missed run-out Letting Amla off twice in one ball would have been difficult for Zimbabwe to swallow but they gagged themselves further when they did it again. Amla was on 18 when he pushed a Tendai Chatara delivery to mid-off and set off for a run but found the bowler in his path. As he ran around him, the throw came in and had the non-striker’s stumps been hit, Amla would have been out. Amla’s other life line Giving Hashim Amla one chance can be costly, two chances reckless, three, suicidal and four? Well Zimbabwe found out. Amla’s itchy feet continued in Chatara’s next over when he inside-edged onto his thigh pad and sprinted a single, putting himself in danger as he headed to the non-striker’s end again. John Nyumbu swooped in from mid-wicket and was close enough to run Amla out, but failed to hit the stumps.Wicket of the day I Zimbabwe seemed to be having one of those days until Chatara engineered a change in fortune with a spectacular catch. Quinton de Kock was on 75 and ready to take some risks when he reverse-swept Prosper Utseya over short third man, Chatara was stationed on the inner circle, back-pedalled and reached up one-handed to pluck the ball out of the sky. Chatara’s momentum saw him tumble onto the back of his head but he did not let go of the ball.Wicket of the day II When South Africa are two wickets down, it’s usually AB de Villiers walking out but because he sat out this game Zimbabwe were confronted with the less threatening image of Rilee Rossouw. Zimbabwe would have fancied their chances of nipping him out early – he was out for a duck on debut in his previous outing – but they may not have known how early. Utseya tossed it up, it turned and Rossouw, with nerves still jangling from last week, prodded tentatively. He got an outside edge to bring John Nyumbu into action at first slip, leaving Rossouw without an international run from two ODIs – same as Sachin Tendulkar.Wicket of the day III There had only been one previous occasion in which a Zimbabwean had claimed a hat-trick in ODIs – Eddo Brandes in 1997 against England. Utseya was 12 years old at the time but that probably was not going through his mind when he got ready to bowl to David Miller. He tossed it up again, Miller played for turn that was not there and was hit in front. Brendan Taylor, who was behind the stumps, John Nyumbu and Utseya went up immediately but Ian Gould took his time to make the decision before finally raising the finger. When he did, it was as though he had pulled a trigger on Utseya, who fell to the floor and began pedalling an imaginary bicycle.

Plays of the Day from the first ODI between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in Chittagong

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong21-Nov-2014The anger
Umpire Chris Gaffaney took notes at the end of the tenth over after Shakib Al Hasan let rip. It was not aimed directly at the umpire, but then Shakib’s leg-before appeal wasn’t his best and there was a point when he could have stopped reacting. Mushfiqur Rahim chimed in with an “oh my goodness” from behind the stumps. Then, replays confirmed the ball had hit Brendan Taylor outside off stump.The whip
The best of Shakib Al Hasan’s ten boundaries came in the 37th over, when he whipped Tafadzwa Kamungozi through midwicket. Someone did shout catch, the crowd did hold its breath, but Shakib was good enough to find the gap. The bowler despaired as the ball sped past the fielders at midwicket and long-on.The indisciplined leader
Mushfiqur Rahim was dropped by Elton Chigumbura on 16 and then on 60 by Brendan Taylor. In between, he was caught at deep midwicket on 56, but the bowler – Chigumbura again – had overstepped. The Zimbabwe captain would not have been happy with himself for letting Mushfiqur get away twice, something which highlighted the visitors’ indiscipline.The pullout
With Shakib and Mushfiqur rampant, a chance was offered in the 43rd over when Shakib scooped Chigumbura but didn’t connect properly. Kamungozi, at short fine leg moved late, and then decided keep it to a single instead of going for the catch. Zimbabwe’s fielding left a lot to be desired.The captains’ combo
Mushfiqur Rahim’s poor day behind the stumps turned around courtesy the catch he took to remove Brendan Taylor. In the 30th over, new captain Mashrafe Mortaza’s slower offcutter induced a little edge from Taylor’s bat that was horizontal, looking to play a deft late cut. But Taylor couldn’t go past Mushfiqur, who dived full length to his right to snap up the chance.

Though Kumar Sangakkara is contemplating retirement, he speaks of undiminished desire, and in the moments when his rehearsed public disposition is disturbed that you see how intensely the fire still burns

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Wellington04-Jan-2015Every hero needs a villain. Protagonists require conflict. The bad times put the good ones in context, and achievement gleams brighter in light of failure.At times in 2014, Kumar Sangakkara was sailing clear in the sun, wind behind him, no choppy waters in sight, no eddies to avoid. His father, who has lit Sangakkara’s path to excellence, scolds that if Sangakkara was a good batsman, only he would ever get himself out. As he amassed more international runs than anyone ever has in a calendar year, his son appeared to be living this maxim out.He pulled and slog-swept spinners during his 319 in Chittagong in February, then with the same ease, was scorching James Anderson and Stuart Broad through the covers at Lord’s. He was flitting to off to whip to leg during the World T20 final in April, then picking doosras out of the hand and back-cutting Saeed Ajmal against the turn in his August double-ton.Through 1493 Test runs, no Lex Luthor blocked Sangakkara’s way. No Joker threw his world into chaos. By year’s end, his hundreds had almost become passé: indistinguishable from one to the next, because they all followed that flawless Sangakkara formula. Here was a man who had taken cricket, dissected it under a microscope, and purpose-built a technique for all conditions, and any match situation. Many of his 2014 straight drives could have come shrink-wrapped, straight from a lab.If there was one common dismissal in the year, it was hitting rank half-trackers or dozy full-tosses, straight to legside fielders. But what kind of crappy kryptonite is that? That is not real struggle. It is like an iPod battery dying in the last ten-minutes of a drive. Like a coffee shop running out of your favourite roast for the day.But in New Zealand, Sangakkara has had real problems, because the opposition have a bowler who had finally flummoxed him. Who after two years, found the means to dismiss him for less than fifty in both innings. In Christchurch, Trent Boult fired two in, zooming down the line, darting away in the air, then off the seam. Sangakkara moved to drive then edged in both outings, collecting a match-aggregate of seven – 110 runs fewer than his average suggests he should get. In the first innings he left the field swiping the air, terse at himself. Next time it happened, he strode off briskly, and moments later, was sitting on a step outside the dressing room, hands to his head, shell-shocked.Though he is contemplating retirement, he speaks of undiminished desire, and in the moments when his rehearsed public disposition is disturbed that you see how intensely the fire still burns. Those dismissals triggered a chain of new measures. The string of extra net sessions was the most obvious response. Angelo Mathews described Sangakkara as a coach’s nightmare, when he fails, so long do the support staff spend throwing balls at him in this mood. There was introspection too. And dissection of his own movements, and of the opposition.”In the first innings in Christchurch, I found that maybe my foot movement was not the best,” Sangakkara said. “I tweaked it a bit for the second innings, but the foot movement was very similar: it didn’t go anywhere. So I spent the next three days trying to understand what I should do with my body and my setup to try and get my feet moving a bit better, and my bat going in the direction of the swing, especially to Boult, because to me he was the biggest threat that I was facing. I tweaked and tweaked, and kept hitting balls with the fielding coach throwing at me, and I felt pretty comfortable that it was working well, to a left armer. It ended up working well.”The specialised preparation clearly helped, and though he had a new formula, his hands would still get dirty at the Basin Reserve. Third ball he faced from Boult, the ball swerved just enough to miss his nervy, defensive prod – so nearly a duck to follow scores of 6 and 1. Throughout the first half of his innings, he would flirt scandalously with that perfect Boult line, then other times, overcompensate for the swing, getting huge inside edges that whistled past the stumps, or brought him runs in the midwicket region.The cover drives on bended knee were eventually plentiful, but so much of the filler was dirt-ugly. The drop singles into the infield almost had him run out more than once. Somewhere in his seventies, he would pick up a couple when he inadvertently hit a ball through his legs. Wearing deliveries in the groin, swatting at the ball when it rebounded towards his stumps, this was vintage Sangakkara. The fighter from the early years, until he crossed 100, and then the genius re-emerged. Towards the end of the innings, he veered toward the prosaic once again, crashing quicks over cover, launching the spinner into the sightscreen, cutting straight balls past point. No worthy foes. Unstoppable. Inhuman.There are theories that Sangakkara is not a high-impact player. That though the runs flow like rivers, he doesn’t gain enough ground for his team. He perhaps does not counterattack as often, or alter games as quickly as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting did, but the Sri Lanka victories off his bat are many. At the Basin Reserve, he had 57% of his team’s runs. Brendon McCullum, one of the most attacking captains in cricket, had all his men on the fence for Sangakkara in the 100th over – all hopes of dismissing him abandoned. Is there a more emphatic sign of domination? A more complete token of opposition surrender?In the evening session, there was an over that sealed this battle for Sangakkara. Two balls that completed the reversal from Christchurch. Boult ran in and sent the penultimate ball of the 92nd over wide and full, hoping Sangakkara would make no contact, so a team-mate could bowl at the tailender at the other end. That ball would be called a wide. The next – a bouncer – would be uppercut for six. Right then, you knew it was over. Sangakkara had conquered.

South Africa will remain cautious with Vernon Philander’s hamstring complaint, are not worried about Quinton de Kock’s form and are looking forward to Rilee Roussouw becoming a permanent spot in the XI

Firdose Moonda in Auckland05-Mar-20151:51

Duminy back in squad after fitness test

Should JP Duminy pass his fitness test on Thursday afternoon, he will likely slot back into South Africa’s XI for their Saturday clash against Pakistan in Auckland. But that may not be the case for Vernon Philander, whose hamstring strain will need to be more conservatively managed and may result in his returning only later in the tournament.”A guy like JP will definitely get back in the mix. He has been one of our best players over a period of time,” coach Russell Domingo said. “We need to make sure Vernon is 100 percent ready to go because we need to be careful with a hamstring strain with the important stage of the competition still to come.”South Africa have all but secured a spot in the knockouts and early calculations see them traveling back to Australia to play a quarter-final Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide and they see Philander as key when the competition reaches that stage. Domingo was keen to use him on pitches he has a proven liking for, but if they need to hold him back from their remaining fixtures in New Zealand to ensure he is available later on, they will.”If there is something in the wicket, there are few better bowlers than Vernon Philander. He is able to extract whatever movement there is,” Domingo said. “If there is something in the wicket and particularly at this venue there might be. We’ve had two low scores in the games here, then. Vernon is a handful, he hits that area consistently and finds a little bit of nip, swing.”Although Philander’s experience in New Zealand has been limited to four ODIs, he has taken six wickets at 15.83 and has an economy of 4.22. His skills would be a handy against Pakistan and the UAE, but his chances of making the XI will depend on how well his hamstring has healed.Someone whose place is not in in doubt is Quinton De Kock. The opener has got into double-figures only once in five ODIs since returning from an ankle ligament tear but Domingo said neither the injury nor the lack of game time has hampered de Kock.”The ankle is fine. All batters go through periods when they are looking for runs. It was four games ago in a warm-up game when he got a good 60 against Sri Lanka,” Domingo reminded.That innings came amid de Kock’s lean patch, his first since establishing himself with three successive centuries against India. De Kock followed that run with another ton in Sri Lanka, where he had appeared out of his depth in 2013, and became Hashim Amla’s third-most successful partner in runs terms after Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. Naturally, a bubble built around de Kock.”The expectation from a lot of people is that every time he bats, he is going to get runs and cricket does not work like that,” Domingo said.”It’s a good time for a young player who has had a great start to his international career and this will be a good test for him to find the form he is capable of. I’m sure it will be challenging for him because he has always been such a successful young player and a lot has been said and written about him for a young player. But players like that need a bit of love and attention and affection.”So who is providing the hugs? “I’m hoping his girlfriend,” Domingo joked. “I am giving him a lot of attention at the moment. Love is not the word. He is an important player for us and we need to get him going in the right direction so we are giving him as much attention as we possibly can.”With de Kock’s spot safe and Duminy likely to come back, that leaves Rilee Rossouw in limbo but all indications are that he has a big future with the ODI side, perhaps even in this tournament. He may yet displace Farhaan Behardien, especially because of the depth Rossouw provides to the batting line-up.”Even though Rilee wasn’t getting runs at the start of his career, he really looked like a guy who could dominate in international cricket. He has always looked good in the nets, in the warm-up games, the way he has gone about his preparation and when he has gone back to domestic cricket, he has always looked like a man amongst boy,” Domingo said. “He has always shown the attributes that we like. Its a big x-factor for him that he is able to dominate against opposition and he has always played with the mantra that he is able to take the game forward. A little bit of luck has gone his way, a little bit of confidence, coming in at the right times has been important for him and he has grown his game nicely.”Nicely enough to be among a World Cup starting XI? Saturday may tell.

Ajinkya Rahane on his aggressive mindset, talking cricket with Sachin Tendulkar, and how karate helped him develop a competitive streak

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi and Sharda Ugra01-May-2015It has been a very important 18 months for you, starting in December 2013 with the trip to South Africa. What has been the biggest change you have experienced along the way?
I have learned a lot. I really enjoyed my batting, my hard work and the process. There are many challenges, starting with South Africa, New Zealand, England and then Australia. I practised differently for each of these tours.The most important and satisfying thing for me before every tour is the preparation. I prepared well for each of these tours. Also, my mindset for these tours was to play aggressively, because if I played that way then the opposition would think twice before making their bowling plans and think about how to respond to our batting unit. Personally I had decided that regardless of the conditions overseas, I would play aggressively.What were these preparations you talk about?
Before the South African tour, where the pitches have bounce and pace, I practised with wet rubber balls on cement wickets and AstroTurf. I took throwdowns from 15 yards to get my hand-eye coordination correct and also react quickly with my hands. Before England I faced a plastic ball initially, as that ball swings more. I also taped half of the tennis ball to make one side heavy, so there would be reverse swing. It was the same for New Zealand. For Australia, where the pitches and conditions are similar to South Africa, my preparation was the same.Apart from my coach Praveen Amre sir, with whom I have worked a lot on my batting, I also spoke with Sachin [Tendulkar] and on the phone with Rahul [Dravid], because their record in these places has been very good.What did Tendulkar say?
He said to not change my game too much, just focus on those little adjustments. According to him my game would be suitable to these surfaces because I like playing on the rise and I like to play the back-foot strokes like the cut and pull. In Australia, he pointed out, it is easy to get runs playing the cut and pull when you walk in and that also opens up more options as you progress. That worked out.The way you attacked Mitchell Johnson during your 147 in Melbourne last year was one of most enthralling innings of attacking play in Test cricket. Tell us about your thought process at the time.
My mindset was already aggressive in the dressing room. Even before I went in to bat I was visualising which areas I wanted to hit Johnson and the kind of shots. My conversation with Virat [Kohli] was on the same lines: we will not give them any opportunity to get aggressive with us; instead we will be more aggressive against them. Whichever ball I found in my areas, I backed my instincts. Once I got set I told Virat, “Now I am going to attack. Even if Johnson bowls bouncers, let us go for shots instead of waiting.” It was important to score fast runs because we wanted to win the Test. By playing aggressively we wanted to tell them we have come here to win and we don’t want to settle for a draw. That partnership with Virat was memorable.

“I try to play in the present by focusing ball by ball – at least for the first 15 minutes. After that I look to dominate. Scoring runs is very important, even in Test cricket”

What was Australia’s response?
We realised they were going on the defensive because they sensed India could win the match, based on the way our partnership was growing. That is when Virat and I decided that if we could extend our stand the match will go in our favour.Let us go back to your debut Test. Do you remember the first ball you faced in Test cricket, from Peter Siddle in Delhi?
. I remember one of the first deliveries hit me on the helmet and flew away. I was obviously nervous, playing the first Test. It was a dream to play Test cricket, playing in whites – there is a totally different motivation and feel. But I do remember everything that happened in both innings.The first ball was an inswinger from Siddle and hit you nearly plumb in front of the stumps. Amre called you immediately after that.
Praveen sir called me to Khar Gymkhana, suggesting he wanted to work on my batting. He said it needed a little improvement. I wanted to practise with him too, but playing continuously I was not getting the time. I don’t know how sir realised and why he decided to call me on his own and ask me to come over. That one session really helped me a lot. He did not say too much or point out any faults. He just said I was batting very good. That one sentence was positive and it was very important for me to hear that. I know in terms of batting technique you can work on little things, but when you think positively you can easily deal with limitations better. But with a negative mindset all those limitations look bigger.He gave me simple throwdowns and asked me to just focus on watching the ball closely and timing. We spent about an hour in that session. In the Irani Trophy I got 82, batting alongside Sachin . Even he said I was batting nicely.Amre also worked on your backlift, which he thought was closing while the bat was coming down.
It was during the off season. We had sessions at BKC and Kalina grounds in Mumbai. He saw my batting closely during his first stint as Mumbai coach for four to five years. Usually my bat comes down straight but at times he noticed the bat was coming from leg stump. That was opening me up and affecting my whole body mechanics. So he said if I could bring it down from the middle stump instead, I would not have an issue playing inswing. He also said not to focus on reaction, which I was doing consciously. He suggested I should just start focusing on the action and not bother about the reaction.Playing the situation is the biggest test for any cricketer. What is your first impulse when you arrive at the crease?
I try to play in the present by focusing ball by ball – at least for the first 15 minutes. After that I look to dominate. Scoring runs is very important, even in Test cricket. In that first interval when I am going one ball at a time I am reading the situation, understanding the nature of the pitch, the bounce and the pace, and accordingly I adapt my game and mindset.”I practise visualisation regularly, especially the day before the match, thinking about the bowling attack, the kind of bowling plans I can expect”•Getty ImagesHow did you read the situation at Lord’s, where your century in the first innings was a match-winning effort?
It was a challenging wicket to bat on. My plan initially was to play as close to my body as possible and leave balls. But when we were 140 for 7 at tea [on the first afternoon] I just decided I would play my shots because runs would be very crucial on this wicket. I told Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] I am going to play shots, you back your game, but try and rotate the strike. I said I will take on Anderson and we will aim to score close to 300 by the end of the day. I knew that 300-320 would be a winning total on that track. We scored 295 and we won that Test. But that decision and risk we took in between was really crucial. At the time I did not know what was going to happen, but in that moment I trusted myself and ability and it clicked.When Anderson returned with the second new ball, you basically charged him, making 27 runs off 22 balls. Did you expect him to bowl where he did?
I backed my instincts and I got the feeling he would bowl that kind of line and length. And what I was thinking was actually happening that day. I just told Bhuvneshwar to support me from the other end, I will play my shots, and if I can push them on the back foot today, tomorrow the situation could be different. When do you get the confidence that you can go for your shots?
When I was on 29-odd, I just got the feeling: if I take these guys on, they will be on the back foot. I knew the new ball was coming, so I knew runs would come before the new ball and after it was taken. That confidence mentally came to me when Bhunveshwar responded positively. He just told me: Whatever you feel, you back your game. I am standing at the other end. I will rotate the strike and give it back to you, and if I feel like playing the shots, I will also play them.What is your go-to scoring shot?
My favourite shots are the straight drive and the cover drive, in Tests and T20 cricket. In Australia and South Africa, the cut and pull are better options. In England and New Zealand it is better to play the drives closer to the pitch of the ball, because the bowlers are trying to lure you into playing wider drives.You are an aggressive batsman but off the field your personality is such that if someone looks at you they might think you are the sort who is happy to play long, languid innings. How do those two personalities come together to make you the player you are?
I started karate when I was six years old. I always have been shy and will only open up when I know someone really well. But while practising karate I would be aggressive. I would break bricks. I have broken sugarcane sticks on my back and head. That has helped with my aggressive attitude on the field. I like to express myself on the field than off it. You can say whatever frustration you have, I take it out on the bowler.How did you handle sledging as a young batsman?
While learning karate, I was the smallest. And many opponents said, what will this kid fight, how can he fight? But I knew inside me that I did not like to talk but [to] show by doing. So that attitude I have brought to the cricket field too: by talking, the opponents might get happy and by responding there are chances of losing my focus and concentration. Instead, if I just stay quiet and respond with my batting that will help me more.

“While learning karate, I was the smallest. And many opponents said, what will this young boy fight? But I knew inside me that I did not like to talk but show by doing”

You’ve spoken about how Amre, Dravid and Tendulkar have been part of your growth – what about coach Duncan Fletcher? Can you talk about the areas he has helped you improve in?
Duncan helped me a lot. Among the many things he said, the one that has helped me the most is when he suggested I widen my stance before we went to South Africa in 2013. He said, “Try this and it will help you with your footwork positively. You can transfer your weight easily then.” I tried it and it really helped me a lot. Basically he had asked me to increase the distance between my feet a little bit. It took about 10-15 net sessions before I started feeling comfortable. I was not entirely certain still, even as India arrived in South Africa. I tried it in the practice match. But during the first Test I finally realised the widened stance was working for the transfer of weight.Regardless of all the differing preparation you have talked about on your away tours, what is the one thing you make sure to always do when you prepare, that is a constant in your preparation?
Playing as close as possible to my body. It does not matter where I play, in India or overseas. I practise visualisation regularly, especially the day before the match, thinking about the bowling attack, the kind of bowling plans I can expect.You spoke about attacking Mitchell Johnson. Did you watch videos of him?
I had seen a few Ashes videos but I was not listening to what people were saying about him and about his bowling. What was important for me was how I prepared for him and how I dominated him. In international cricket it is important you dominate. Only survival is not important. If you dominate, you go to the next level.Is it true that you were still practising just days before your marriage?
Yes, I was practising. Cricket is my passion. It has given me everything, so the more time and respect I can give to the game, the better for me. I don’t think about the results but what is important for me is process and the respect for the game. If I can do that 100%, the rest will take care of themselves.I knew that after the wedding the next few days would be busy and I would not be able to practise. We had the West Indies series starting, so I thought I should train. If I can give the time now for cricket, after cricket I can give my time to the rest.You have not been able to bring the same kind of consistency and intensity to your one-day cricket as in Tests.
It is all about time. I feel my time is yet to come. In one-day cricket I admit that consistency has not come, but my game and game awareness have improved a lot. I like to keep my role simple whether I am opening or playing in the middle order. When I am opening I try and take my time. Facing the new ball you have the opportunity to get settled and make a big score. While playing in the middle order the plan is to rotate the strike with the odd boundary. But with five fielders inside the circle, strike rotation has become more challenging, even if your chances of hitting a boundary have increased. So I focus in the nets, I try to work out options to find the gaps and the singles.”In one-day cricket I admit that consistency has not come, but my game and game awareness have improved a lot”•Getty ImagesYou have spoken about domination and aggression being parts of your batting, but you are no power hitter. Is it a challenge to hit those big shots at times?
If the ball lands even a little bit over the rope it is still a six. My strength is to time the ball, and if I can back that, the option to hit fours and sixes opens up. Sometimes, especially in T20 cricket, in the desire to hit the big shots one can forget easily taking singles and doubles, which need to be given importance. If you try hitting a boundary, many times you hit straight to the fielder. So I have never trained to become a power hitter. I am working on my fitness. Ravi Shastri told me the biggest plus point is my timing and if I don’t lose it, a lot of runs will come.What is your take on Kohli’s leadership?
Virat is quite aggressive as a leader and he takes good decisions. Our personalities are different but our beliefs are the same. He is a very mature player. He knows how to handle himself and how to handle the situation. In Melbourne he offered me positive support. I told him, “I am going to take the attack on now”, because I was in a good flow. He just told me, “Don’t worry, bat whatever way you want, I am standing at the other end.” With the confidence that he gave me from the other end I could express myself in the right fashion.How much is the senior role you have at Rajasthan Royals helped in your development as a cricketer?
I have a big responsibility that I enjoy. Rahul has told me the team is dependent on me. He said that if I can bat the whole 20 overs, the team is safe. I have learned a lot in the last 18 months. This period has given me a lot of maturity and my confidence is high.