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It was clear West Indies were thinking throughout this match, keeping their composure, and sticking to a plan

Vaneisa Baksh08-Feb-2009

When coach John Dyson uttered the pre-combat words, it had struck me that he must have been trying some new approach with this West Indies team to be sounding so confident. And when Sir Viv Richards said it was time to turn things around, adding that “Either they are going to come through with John Dyson’s method or we’ve got to go on another ride again,” it seemed that something different must have been emerging under the new coach.Yet nothing portended anything significantly different.Both England and West Indies teams seemed lacklustre as entities. One was reeling from in-house upheavals; the other relied on its captain to be in party mood and was only otherwise propped up by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a producer not quite renowned for provoking excitement.So the first Test at Sabina Park offered no thrill, merely a window through which to observe how England was coping with its new structure, and to see how Suleiman Benn and Brendan Nash would fare.It was placid watching over the first three days. The teams seemed fairly evenly matched, and although there was no sense of top drawer cricket, it was a reasonable way to spend the days. But there was something starkly different in the West Indies approach. It seemed measured, patient and disciplined. Kevin Pietersen made 97, but then both Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan scored centuries, patient ones that lingered in the mind for the difference in application that was reinforced by Nash’s stoic going. It removed the feeling of impending collapse that inevitably clouds a West Indian innings.The bowlers were not flying all over the place. Jerome Taylor was good in the first innings, but in the second he was riveting. Bowling straight and true and always controlled, he muttered murder with every delivery, and it invoked Curtly Ambrose in a way no West Indian bowler has been able to do for a long time. He deserved the Man-of-the-Match award for his 5 for 11, but also because he has been the most consistently improving player in a team that has seemed to be languishing in amniotic fluid for too long.Suleiman Benn had intrigued me with his unexpected combination of height and spin, and I had been keen to see him unravel it on England. When you think about it, Benn is something of an anachronism, coming at a time when West Indians have lamented the loss of big, tall quick bowlers to stock their arsenal. He is the tower on the team, but he is a spinner, and the little one, Jerome Taylor is the dread man with the fast ball. I think between them, the West Indies may have finally made a mental breakthrough in terms of arming itself. They were bowling as a pair, a quickie and a turner, not grouped in the conventional categories, and it worked. And this might be a big step in shifting the predisposition of selectors for quickies who are really throwaways with no control and opting for bowlers who can determine their deliveries. Benn has an unusual advantage with his height, one that should add to his complexity, and his success will augur well for slow bowlers waiting in the wings.It was weird enough to see the team play in this composed manner throughout the match. Even as the bizarre England collapse was underway in the second innings and cameras were panning out to their shell shocked supporters; and chants of London Bridge is falling down filled the air, even as I wondered what they were thinking, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the West Indies team. What were they thinking?It was clear they were thinking throughout this match, keeping their composure, and sticking to a plan. England on the other hand, crumbled outstandingly. It was hard not to feel sorry because the truth is that Taylor was simply superb, and the batsmen were out of their depth.At the astounding end early on Saturday afternoon, a deliriously shocked Jamaica crowd celebrated a total victory that was all the more precious because of its rarity, and a series that had seemed lacking in lustre was suddenly lit up with anticipation.

These are tough times for Australia’s bowlers. While the side’s overall return is diminishing, the fast bowler’s collection improved slightly with his first two-wicket haul in the series in the third Test

Ali Cook03-Nov-2008

The public confidence in Australia’s squad is so high it would be easy to think they were the team heading to Nagpur with a 1-0 lead instead of facing the prospect of losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In modern sport, keeping up positive appearances during times bordering on despair is essential for sending all sorts of messages – to opponents and team-mates – but it masks what is actually happening.Brett Lee is adept at following the company line and after being the leader of a wobbling attack in the first three Tests believes a change of results is imminent. It has been a popular message over the past month.What the sports-speak doesn’t reveal is that Australia took 14 wickets in Bangalore, 13 in Mohali and 12 in Delhi. While the side’s overall return is diminishing, Lee’s collection improved slightly with his first two-wicket haul in the series on Sunday. These are tough times for Australia’s bowlers.Despite the lack of penetration, Lee is confident of a swift turnaround and convinced this unit is one for the long term. “The bowling squad we’ve got now is great,” he said. “We’d like to keep that going past the Ashes, or even further on. You’ve got to trust the guys around you and trust that we are, as a bowling group, not far away from taking those 20 wickets. It’s hard work in India.”Mitchell Johnson leads the series wicket tally with 12 at 34.58, but the next most-successful Australian is Lee with seven at 57.71 before Shane Watson’s five at 47.40. India have four bowlers with eight or more victims and the tourists will attempt to copy some of their methods in the final game.”We’ll try and experiment with new things,” Lee said. “What we’ve done in the first two Tests probably hasn’t worked. If you’re being critical about not taking wickets, we haven’t achieved that goal. In the last Test we tried new things and watched what India did. Sometimes they bowled short stuff, then put the ball up and tried to get the nick or lbw.”Lee has just finished his third Test in India and said he was still learning and adjusting to the conditions, which were “a lot tougher than anything we’re used to around the world”. In the first two games he got a wicket in each innings before match figures of 3 for 167 from 47 overs in Delhi. It is a big switch from 2007-08 when he picked up 58 wickets in nine Tests.”I was lucky the last couple of seasons to have success, and then when you look up at the scoreboard and you haven’t got many wickets in the first couple of matches, it’s easy to think is it my action? Is it because the ball isn’t swinging? Is it because I’m not fit enough? But you’ve just got to trust your own ability,” he said.Following a tense and at times angry contest, Lee supported Johnson’s bowling and verbal aggression against V.V.S. Laxman on the final day after the batsman had described Australia’s approach as “defensive”. He also felt Johnson was doing a good job of carrying the attack.”He’s bowled well, whether it’s because he’s a left-hander and gets the ball to angle across or not,” he said. “Everyone has patches where they take a bag full. Everyone has been backing Mitch up and he’s really carried the side and done a great job. Why? He’s put the ball in the right areas.”Australia will consider making changes to the line-up for Nagpur, with the legspinner Cameron White likely to make way for Jason Krejza and fast bowlers Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle coming into contention. Stuart Clark bowled economically in Delhi, going at around two an over, but Ishant Sharma was his only wicket. It will be revealing to see where the team stands on tying up an end versus the potential for more breakthroughs.”It’s very tough to sit there and judge and say Stuey hasn’t taken many wickets – he’s a world class bowler,” Lee said. “We’d have Stuey Clark in the side at any stage.

The fact that Michael Vaughan’s departure has been met with resignation, as opposed to widespread angst, by the nation suggests that the man currently in situ at No. 3 has served England well

Alex Brown02-Jul-2009England officials had long hoped Michael Vaughan would turn out at Edgbaston this week, albeit for the purposes of an Ashes warm-up rather than a retirement press conference. The architect of the 2005 Ashes victory was England’s original and preferred choice to replace the underwhelming Ian Bell at first-drop this summer until knee injuries and the wily seamers of young Archie Vaughan forced a rethink.The fact that Vaughan’s departure has been met with resignation, as opposed to widespread angst, by the nation suggests that the man currently in situ at No. 3 has served England well. Ravi Bopara might have seemed a risky proposition when posted at first-drop for the opening Test of the summer against the West Indians, but back-to-back centuries, complementing his 104 scored at No. 6 in Barbados, have convinced many that he has both the temperament and the technique for Ashes combat.Like Vaughan, Bopara possesses a laid-back temperament and an array of breezy strokes that belie the ferocity of the competitor within. Indeed, it was Vaughan who counselled Bopara through his dispiriting debut series in Sri Lanka – which culminated in three consecutive ducks – and provided the template for his understudy to draw from in his bid to cement the No. 3 position.”He took me under his wing to start with,” Bopara recalled. “He talks very positively about the game. He never makes you feel under pressure, and I think that’s one of his big qualities.”But whatever anyone says to you, at the end of the day you’ve got to have it within yourself to go out and approach a game in a certain way. No one is really going to be able to take all the pressure away from you, apart from youself. That’s where you excel as an international player or you don’t. If you can go through your lowest, can you come back? And can you stop yourself going through those lows? If you look at the very best players in the world, their careers don’t go up and down. They stay level. They might go through a little dip and then go back up. That’s the key.”Bopara’s Test career has been anything but level to date – three straight centuries following three straight ducks – but consistency is proving less elusive. He compiled steady innings of 43 and an as-yet unbeaten 88 in England’s practice match against Worcestershire, evidently recalibrating his batting after the helter-skelter of the World Twenty20 and IPL campaigns.Compliments have not been in short supply for Bopara of late, but perhaps the most significant of all was one of the backhanded variety. Shane Warne, who has not let the small matter of retirement dent his attacking instincts, recently questioned Bopara’s temperament and vanity. Leaving aside the pot-kettle implications of the latter sledge, the former critique appeared every bit the well-practiced mental disintegration ploy which Warne employed on many worthy foes over the years. Clearly, Bopara has rattled the Australians.”I’m not bothered about comments like that,” Bopara said. “You get that on the field now and then – when I was young and first came into county cricket the older guys did get stuck into you and they had their piece to say. [Warne] is someone who has done a lot in the game, he obviously likes to stay in the media and enjoys having his name put in the paper. He can say his bit.”Little seems to faze Bopara these days. Not one to obsess over his game, Bopara spends much of his free time walking his rottweilers, working on his car, or socialising with mates, many of whom have little affinity with cricket. “They only know some of the big players – they might know Sachin, they might know Ricky Ponting – but they don’t really know anything about it,” he said. “Sometimes they won’t even know who I’m playing against. In a way, that works out well for me.”The hype of an impending Ashes series doesn’t appear to be distressing him, either. Unlike most participants this summer, Bopara’s childhood was not spent daydreaming of antipodean rivalries and terracotta urns, but rather organising tape-ball games with his Brampton Manor schoolmates.”Before [2005], I didn’t see it as such a massive series,” he said. “It only really hit me when we actually won it. That was when I realised, ‘Jesus, it really is a big series. It really does mean a lot to everybody.’ I knew it was a big series but it really doesn’t hit you until you win it and the celebrations went on for a long time. I thought it was just another series.”Bopara played a walk-on role in 2005 when, as a 20-year-old, he scored 135 for Essex against the Australians in the week preceding the series-deciding Test at The Oval. This time, with a starring role in the offing, he is determined not to fluff his lines.”I don’t think it is a bad time [to play Australia],” he said. “They’ve had some quality bowlers in the past like McGrath, Gillespie and Warne and they don’t have them now. It might be a good time. But at the end of the day, every cricketer starts somewhere. This could be the making of two of their bowlers. They could be on top form, so that’s why we don’t take it likely. We go out and we prepare as if we’re facing the best. Everyone starts somewhere, and even though they might be new to the team and new in their international careers, they could still be very, very dangerous.”

On form, Gambhir is India’s most bankable batsman. Mohali, Napier and Wellington are milestones in his career that indicate the calming influence he has had over the last 15 months

Cricinfo staff19-Nov-2009Virender Sehwag’s frustrating dismissal had sent blood pressure levels soaring, the Sri Lankan spinners – backed by a huge first-innings lead – were enjoying bowling into the rough and extracting sizeable spin and, with more than 120 overs left in the game, India were deep in the rut. What eased the tension for Indian fans on a dismal day for them was the knowledge that Gautam Gambhir was still around.On form, Gambhir is India’s most bankable batsman. Mohali against England and Napier and Wellington against New Zealand indicate a career path over the last 15 months in which his stature has grown manifold.In Mohali last December, at 80 for 4 in the second innings, England had opened up a chink in the Indian batting but Gambhir dug deep to bury their hopes with a vigilant 97 in a 153-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh. The defining knock of his career arrived in Napier when he stuck around after India were forced to follow-on: his 137 lasted 72.2 overs and was spread over 10 hours and 43 minutes. He was not finished though, as he returned in the following Test to score another big century (167) and douse New Zealand’s hopes of securing a win.Enough precedent, then, to indicate that Gambhir will be India’s biggest hope going into the final day in Ahmedabad. Though the pitch remains a batting wonder, the threat is three-fold. To begin with, the crucial first hour, then the looming threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath and finally the reverse-swing factor – both Dammika Prasad and the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara are able to reach speeds of at least 140kph.But Gambhir has grown into a seasoned combatant having slugged it out on various pitches at home and abroad. Today, he called on that experience as he compiled runs more by placing the ball into the gaps rather than charging after the bowlers. In the process, he also managed to clear the few cobwebs that had begun to creep into his batting in the last month.After a bright start in the ODI series against Australia, including half-centuries in the first two games, Gambhir fell apart and came up with single-digit scores in the next three. Perhaps the pressure of scoring off every ball might have weighed on his mind. But today there was no such pressure even if Sehwag was galloping away at the other end in streaky fashion. In a way, conquering or ignoring the Sehwag factor has been Gambhir’s most important quest.Both the Indian openers have been opening together for a long time and have their own distinctive games: Sehwag is instinctive, impulsive, and goes with the gut feeling. Gambhir is also aggressive and can charge the bowlers, but he possesses a more gritty and stubborn mindset. In each of the above mentioned knocks, it was his strength of mind as much as skill that thwarted his opponents. Gambhir’s stronger temperament, at the moment, is something his senior partner wouldn’t mind having. Sehwag is 32, has 15 hundreds (only three of them have resulted in Indian victories) but despite his stunning batsmanship, he can occasionally disappoint you with his shot selection.The spinners failed to dissuade him despite having a close ring of fielders as they pitched into the rough. When Herath followed that approach, Gambhir nonchalantly stepped out to firmly push the ball between the cover and mid-off fielders for a sweetly timed four. With his composed stance, he waited for the ball rather than rushing into the shots, a tactic that helped him counter the fuller length and incoming deliveries from the fast bowlers.India’s coach Gary Kirsten said he was happy with India’s final scoreline today though he would have preferred one wicket less. As for his strategy for tomorrow, Kirsten said the batsmen had nothing to fear on such a bland pitch. The key was focus. “We have to play risk-free cricket as much as possible and within each one’s gameplans. It is going to require someone to bat 70-80 overs tomorrow.”Gambhir is the best man to accomplish that task. “We know what he is capable of and he has proved that…he and Rahul [Dravid] saved us the Test in Napier,” said Kirsten. His message was clear: play according to the situation. “The bottomline is we need to bat for 80% of the day. As long as the guys understand that and confront the situation and come up with a determined and concentrated effort we have the skill to see through the day.”

From giving up the game at a young age, to returning with a vengeance and forcing his way into the national side, life had come a full circle for Colin Ingram. Now the future is calling, and he seems to be listening keenly.

Sriram Veera24-Sep-2010Colin Ingram says he is not a shy, but a reserved young man. It is when he bats that he is able to give full expression to his personality. Perhaps, batting is a release from everything else, even from himself, and allows him to be what he wants to be. Many people go through life without finding out what they are meant to do; Ingram is lucky.”When I have a bat in my hand and when I am hitting the ball, I feel in my element,” Ingram says. “That’s when I completely feel comfortable with myself as a person. I feel I am doing something that I am meant to be doing. From a young age that feeling has grown inside me.”Ingram’s childhood revolved around cricket. He grew up in a farming district around a cricket field. His father was a club cricketer, a wicketkeeper cum lower-order hitter who is still going strong. His mother used to throw balls at him and one of his earliest memories is standing on the cricket field on Saturday mornings when the local people would cut grass, and make tea. He grew up listening to cricket stories and loved giving the ball a good thump. The coaches tried to temper him but, luckily, his father encouraged him to just enjoy himself. “He used to say that lots of youngsters hit the ball well when young but when they grow up they focus too much on technique and suffer. He didn’t want me to do that.”His first major life lesson came at 18 when he wasn’t picked for the under-19 squad. It was a big blow to his confidence and he was ready to give up the game. He did for two months. “When you are that young you think that’s the end of the world and that you are done. But in the long run I guess that was the best thing that happened to me. It made me go back and find deep inside if I want to do this or not. Whether I thought it was really worth it or not.”He was in Bloemfontein then at the university, enjoying a different sort of life. He remembers the cold wintery morning when things turned around for him. “I remember thinking let me start all over again. I put on my running shoes and ran.” It was the longest jog he had ever taken. At the end of it he had decided on his future: Cricket was his first love and he would stick by it. “That morning is where it all restarted for me. There comes a time in everyone’s life when things become difficult in whatever you do. You have to restart. Stop, rethink and restart. That was my rebirth in cricket.”Ingram nails the most important factor in the turnaround: “Everyone was driving me in one direction from when I was young but I probably hadn’t thought about what I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go. That setback helped me to find it and want it for myself.”

Everyone was driving me in one direction from when I was young but I probably hadn’t thought about what I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go

Clarity was beginning to seep in. His head was clearing up. It seemed as if the future was bright. The blinds came down soon after, though. He was released from his contract as a junior cricketer. Once again he felt claustrophobic but this time he knew how to get out. He watched a lot of cricket. This time around, there were no doubts about his desire to play cricket. It was just a matter of getting smarter, wiser and developing his game.He did just that. He recalls the day when the confirmation of his transformation came. “I remember Davy Jacobs got off the plane and had a look at me. I had just rejoined then. And he said, “There is something different about you. You just look ready this time.” Jacobs was right.Ingram averaged 49 in first-class cricket in the 2008-09 season, 60 in List-A in 2009-10, and nearly 48 in Twenty20 in the same season. 2010 has been special. He got married to Megan Olivier this year – “She is the rock bed of my life. When your life is stable, your cricket will be stable and in balance.” He likes to go fishing with Megan. He used to relax to the quiet music of Jack Johnson and Goo Goo dolls; his wife introduced him to ‘Thirty seconds to Mars’.The rock and roll year flew by. The selectors contacted him in the end. Ingram thought his selection news would come through a telephone, but he was informed by an email. “I had this picture in my mind how it would happen, you know; it was always a telephone. My coach said you got a mail and we were all in the team bus then and I saw it.” Ingram rushed to share the news with Megan. He then spoke to his father, the man who introduced cricket to him. Life had come a full circle for the Ingrams. Now the future is calling, and Colin gives the impression that he is listening keenly.

This was a mighty batting performance by the mightiest batting line-up in the tournament but India have a few crinkles to iron out

Sambit Bal at the Shere Bangla Stadium19-Feb-2011The crowd and the stage was befitting of a World Cup opener – and, when the home batsmen sparkled briefly at the beginning of the chase, the atmosphere too – but gradually the inevitable outcome of a gigantic chase homed in, batsmen abandoned the chase and the crowd resigned themselves to cheering the occasional boundary. The streets outside the ground weren’t as charged as the night before but the partying continued in Dhaka. It isn’t merely about the home team here: the World Cup is the real thing.For the Indians, it went to script. A large total was mounted; so large, in fact, that it didn’t stretch their bowlers at all. But the most interesting part of the plot was the unveiling of a new Virender Sehwag, restrained, patient, canny, and hungry. There were glimpses of this during the warm-up games, and he made good his pre-tournament promise to bat long. This was the longest he has ever batted in a one-day match, and inevitably it yielded his highest score. The 200 came tantalisingly close but Sehwag never looked over-anxious to get there. Was it because he didn’t think it appropriate to take Sachin Tendulkar’s record after having run him out?Overall, it was a mighty batting performance by the mightiest batting line-up in this World Cup. The Bangladesh bowling was unthreatening but by no means was the pitch a belter. It was a typical Bangladesh pitch, low and slow. So slow that the real threat to the batsmen came from the risk of indecision. Bangladesh turned to spin after four overs, and the ball took so long to arrive that Virender Sehwag could have sung a song before playing it. Runs had to be manoeuvred, not bludgeoned. The Indians did it expertly, skillfully.The wagon wheels tell the story (check out our brilliant new one). India picked up 152 of their 370 runs in front of the wicket on the onside. The arc between the bowler and mid-on is among the most difficult scoring areas but, on a pitch where the batsmen were forced to generate their own pace, Indian batsmen drove off the back-foot consummately. Sehwag, of course, hit a few straight down the ground with a flat bat.Uncertain of his place in the XI before the World Cup began, Virat Kohli has cemented his place at the number four with an exquisite hundred on debut. By all accounts he is India’s most improved batsman in recent years. Sehwag joined the chorus of teammates to speak about his maturity. Recalling that he had thrown away his wicket in the Champions Trophy match against Pakistan in South Africa, Sehwag pointed out that Kohli has scored six hundreds in the ODIs since then. His batting today was perfectly tempered, full of grace and timing and of cover-driving reminiscent of Rahul Dravid.Sreesanth had only the theatrics going for him in a wayward performance•AFPBangladesh’s decision to bowl was not inexplicable, and Shakib Al Hasan defended it stoutly but did betray diffidence. Two factors would have weighed on Shakib. The dew that tends to set in in the final stages of the match is potentially crippling for his spin-based bowling attack. And historically, most of their wins against top nations, including their two World Cup upsets, have come bowling first. In fact, that’s how unfancied team usually sneak a win: they capitalise on opposition batsmen either underestimating their bowlers or just batting badly.Bangladesh have a fair chance of making it to the quarter-finals in this World Cup. But to get there, they would need to believe that they are genuine contenders. They have a largely defensive bowling attack, and they must trust it to defend in these conditions. A team choosing to bowl first expects wickets off its bowlers, and there wasn’t a sniff of a wicket-taking ball throughout the Indian innings today. The most sustained cheer from the crowd came when Virat Kohli under-edged a pull to his thigh and winced in pain. As if to keep the spirits going, they replayed the ball four times in quick succession on the giant screen, and the cheers grew louder. But for the most part, the crowd was left to feel the pain inflicted by Indian batsmen.Abdur Razzak bowled a couple of good overs at the start and Shakib has developed a fast offside yorker that works at the death but Bangladesh had no option but to wheel away once the Indians got going. Rubel Hossain alone produced some spunk with clever use of the bouncer that Sehwag, and later Kohli, found difficult to put away. He went for only six an over despite bowling in all the Powerplays and at the death.India can be relieved to have done the business expected of them but the bowling will remain a worry. They chose Sreesanth ahead of Ashish Nehra, who had been wayward, and Sreesanth delivered two spells full of sins: too full, too short, too wide, too far down the leg, and predictably a no-ball. Since playing four specialist bowlers is fundamental to their strategy, and they have nowhere else to look for a fast-bowling option, they might soon need to consider two specialist spinners.On a turning pitch in Bangalore against England, that may not be the worst option.

He has earned a spot in India’s Test squad, but with plenty of other young India batsmen knocking on the door, Rohit Sharma knows he needs to make opportunities count

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Nov-2011On May 31, 2011 Duncan Fletcher met Rohit Sharma for the first time. Fletcher’s opening words to him were: “I want to see you play for India in a Test match because I have heard so many things about you. It is very unfortunate that you have still not played a Test match.” Rohit narrates this shortly before the start of the second day’s play in Mumbai and Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match at the Brabourne stadium.Now, Rohit is one step closer to fulfilling his dream of playing in a Test. On Thursday, he was drafted into the India squad in place of Yuvraj Singh for the third Test against West Indies, starting in Mumbai from November 22. It was an unexpected call-up. Rohit expected to be selected for the five-match ODI series, starting at the end of the month, and he wanted to focus on playing for Mumbai till then.”My plan was to play at least four to five Ranji matches, perform, score a lot of runs and then perform well in the ODI series against West Indies. I thought if I perform consistently I would stand a chance of going to Australia.”This is the third time Rohit will be part of India’s Test squad: the first was in 2008 in Sri Lanka, and the next was when he was called up as back-up for VVS Laxman for the Nagpur Test against South Africa in February 2010. In Sri Lanka he was a rookie but against South Africa he was set to make his Test debut before he turned his ankle while playing football on the morning of the match.Even though he was one of the IPL’s brightest stars, Rohit had to return to the barren lands of domestic cricket and wait in hope for the next Test call-up. He did not brood too much about what might have been. He finished the 2009-10 Ranji season with 527 runs at an average of 87.83. His unbeaten 309 against Gujarat came off 322 balls, 28 more deliveries than he had faced in the whole of the 2007-08 season. Last season he improved his aggregate to 732 runs in six matches at 122, with a highest score of 200 not out.Equally impressive were his ODI statistics in the period after the twisted ankle in Nagpur. Between February 2010 and now, Rohit has averaged 57.84 at Nos. 4 and 5. This is third behind Michael Clarke and AB de Villiers for these positions (minimum 750 runs). He also has the
fourth-best average in the same period among Indian batsmen. In the West Indies he was the top run-maker in the five-match ODI series. He then sustained a freak finger injury early in the one-day series in England.The selectors had their eye on him, and Surendra Bhave, a member of the national selection panel, watched his century against Rajasthan, Mumbai’s second-round opponents this season, closely. It was Rohit’s second hundred in as many matches, following a match-winning 175 against Railways on a tricky pitch where the bounce was uneven and not many batsmen were comfortable.”Since Nagpur I have been trying to get into the Test squad, [and now] I am happy to be included,” Rohit says. He believes his form in the West Indies and the Ranji hundreds “must have done the trick for me.”There seem, though, to remain a few creases in his batting and mindset that need to be ironed out. Against Rajasthan, three balls after getting his century, Rohit tried to clear the in-field and was caught at mid-off. He admits now it was irresponsible.”I was disappointed. I was in good flow and we were chasing 530; facing runs on the board always make it difficult. My plan was to go after the bowlers, and although that shot was not required that is how I play my game. It was a nice pitch to bat on, the ball was coming on to the bat and it suited my batting, and they only had four bowlers. So I thought why not put them under pressure? That was my gameplan but it did not work out.”In his chats with Fletcher, one of the most valuable tips he has received has been about mental discipline. “He spoke about how to build an innings, especially in Test cricket,” Rohit says. “He spoke about the kind of temperament needed to play Test cricket. He said even if you are not 100 % correct in technique, if you are mentally strong and you show the right character you are bound to succeed.”He says Fletcher and MS Dhoni, the India captain, want him to prove his Test credentials by playing longer innings in one-day cricket. “Their message to me is even if I play 70 balls I will still score 60 runs. I usually bat at Nos. 5, 6, 7, and come to the crease around the 35-over mark. When you bat in those positions character is very important. If you do not show the right character and lose your focus there are obstacles which come in your way. I need to be calm in situations where I have to play my shots but not take too many chances.”The most important thing, he reckons, that has changed in the time after the injury in Nagpur is that he has learned game. “I have become more mature.” After the 175 against Railways, people told him they had never seen him bat like that.Rohit is aware that in Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina he has strong and talented competition. “If I play the Test, this or any other, I will play as if it is my last Test match. I have to think in that fashion. There is a lot of competition for that one spot. I do not want to miss out on it now. I do not want to give it easily to anyone.”

Stats highlights from South Africa’s comprehensive win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Paarl

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan11-Jan-2012Morne Morkel produced his best bowling performance as South Africa routed Sri Lanka by 258 runs in Paarl•Getty Images

• Sri Lanka’s total of 43 is their lowest total and the joint fourth-lowest overall in ODIs. It is also the second-lowest total in Paarl after the 36 made by Canada in 2003. It is the ninth time that Sri Lanka have been dismissed for a score below 100 and the second such occasion in matches against South Africa.
• The 258-run defeat is the largest ever for Sri Lanka in ODIs surpassing the 232-run defeat against Australia in 1985. It is also the third-largest defeat margin for any team in ODIs. Their previous highest defeat margin for Sri Lanka against South Africa was 177 runs in Centurion in 2002. For South Africa, the victory margin is the second-highest after the 272-run win over Zimbabwe in 2010.
• It is only the second occasion that both Sri Lankan openers have been dismissed for ducks and the third time for Sri Lanka that three or more of the top six batsmen have fallen without scoring. The previous such occasion came in the World Cup 2003 game against India.
• The team score at the start of the sixth-wicket stand (9) is the second-lowest in ODIs. The record for the lowest such total in also held by Sri Lanka when they were 6 for 5 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2009. The total at the start of the seventh-wicket stand (13) is also the second-lowest. The lowest score after the fall of the sixth wicket (12) also came in Paarl in 2003.
• Morne Morkel’s 4 for 10 is his sixth four-wicket haul and best bowling performance in ODIs. It is also the fourth-best bowling performance by a South African bowler in matches against Sri Lanka.
• South Africa’s total of 301 is their fourth-highest against Sri Lanka and the sixth 300-plus score in Sri Lanka-South Africa ODIs. The highest score is 319 by Sri Lanka in Centurion in 2009.
• Hashim Amla’s century is his ninth in ODIs and moves him to fifth ahead of Graeme Smith on the list of South African batsmen with the most ODI centuries. Amla’s average of 56.38 is comfortably the highest among South African batsmen with 2000-plus runs in ODIs.
• The 144-run stand between Amla and Jacques Kallis is the second-highest second-wicket stand in South Africa-Sri Lanka ODIs after the 158 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara in Centurion in 2009.
• Kallis’ half-century is his 85th in ODIs. Only Sachin Tendulkar (95) has more half-centuries than Kallis.
• Lasith Malinga’s 5 for 54 is his fifth five-wicket haul and his best bowling performance against South Africa. It is also third on the list of all-time best bowling performances by Sri Lankan bowlers against South Africa.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the 4th ODI at Chester-le-Street

Daniel Brettig at Chester-le-Street07-Jul-2012Departure of the day
Australia had already lost Shane Watson to injury when Brett Lee pulled up after the second ball of his third over to grab and stretch his right calf. Seemingly unsure whether or not it was cramp, Lee tried to straighten out the kink before attempting to run in and bowl. He did not make it halfway through his run-up before pulling up again, and a concerned Michael Clarke then ran from slip to encourage Lee to take his leave. The Chester-le-Street crowd offered warm applause, and it is just possible that Lee was leaving an English cricket ground for the last time.Change-up of the day
Sometimes a fuller ball can be used as a surprise tactic, even on a pitch that is crying out for them. Steven Finn succeeded in pushing David Warner back by bowling short of a length in the early overs, often with extravagant movement. There was the odd slightly fuller delivery that Warner played from the crease, before the first ball of Finn’s third over arrived faster and further up than the batsman had computed for. Completely on his heels, Warner was plainly lbw, though it took a review of the umpire’s original decision to confirm it.Surprise of the day
Given the firepower at Alastair Cook’s disposal, it was hardly expected that the day’s most perfect ball was to be delivered by Ravi Bopara. Yet a tacky, seaming surface and slightly damp air afforded Bopara’s mediums the ideal setting, and he would use them to confound George Bailey. Angling the ball in towards middle and off to have Bailey shaping to play to the leg side, Bopara zipped it away off the seam to clip the off bail. Bailey has now been bowled five times in as many innings on tour, though never was he as blameless as here.Introduction of the day
James Pattinson had been straining all tour for a chance to charge in at England’s batsmen, but his first delivery was not one to remember. Full at leg stump and neither swinging nor particularly fast, it was summarily dispatched to the backward square leg boundary by Ian Bell. What’s more it was a no-ball, offering Bell a free-hit. Pattinson evaded punishment for his transgression with a slower ball that the batsman miscued, but the final ball of the over was not dissimilar to the first, and Bell flicked it wide of mid-on for another boundary.

How does a team that has for years played with low expectations approach a must-win game? Do they hide behind their underdog status, or prove they can deal with pressure?

Mohammad Isam in Dhaka 19-Mar-2012If you ask a cricket fan in Bangladesh what he thinks of the national team, you will get a reaction of either adoration or exasperation, and very little in between. At the moment, with the team facing the rare prospect of reaching a tournament final, the dominant sentiment among Bangladesh fans is one of love for their cricketers. Even if they are disappointed, it will probably not be for long. Hope is in ample supply in Bangladesh.The bar of expectation is habitually pretty low for the average Bangladesh fan. He does not buy a ticket expecting to see the home team win. He goes to the stadium to be part of the team’s driving force, perhaps subconsciously hoping that he can make a difference to the outcome. Hope, in a sense, has been the essence of Bangladesh cricket.There has been some change to that ethos lately. There are a few more critics of the Bangladesh cricket team now, within the country and among the millions of Bangladeshis spread across the world. The fact that the team has had good days more regularly than in the past has made people question why they are bad on other days. Criticism in Bangladesh cricket was reserved for Mohammad Ashraful between 2002 and 2008, when it was hard to find something to lament about after Bangladesh’s many losses other than the failures of their most-talented batsman. In general, though, the feeling was more one of resignation rather than anger towards the team.Bangladesh still lose regularly but the number of ticks in the “won” column has been steadily rising, though the incline is not as steep in matches against the higher-ranked sides. Their recent successes are due, in large part, to the presence of a world-class allrounder in their side, who wins them a lot of games and has been the team’s most consistent batsman and best bowler over the past three years. They also have an opener who succeeds more than he fails, a captain who is growing in stature as a matchwinner, a set of pace bowlers who are inspired by a man roundly applauded as the bravest cricketer in the country, spinners aplenty, and a bunch of other batsmen who can, at least at times, look like they belong at the top level.On Tuesday, these players will face a situation they have hitherto seldom been in. It is not often that Bangladesh play a must-win game with an eye on a tournament final, and it is the rarity of the situation that will perhaps increase expectations as they try to beat Sri Lanka to pip India to a place in the Asia Cup final. The only other time they made a tournament final was when they beat Sri Lanka to meet them in the final of a tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh, in January 2009.Logic suggests that Bangladesh will start the match as underdogs. They have rarely been able to string together consecutive wins against top sides, with the 4-0 drubbing of New Zealand at home in the October 2010 ODI series a notable exception. That apart, a victory against a major team seems to be just an annual occurrence. So, an India-Pakistan final, with Bangladesh bowing out after a big defeat, is the most widely predicted result of Tuesday’s game. In a sense, Bangladesh are once again the beneficiaries of low expectations and hence should not feel too much pressure.However, the scenario can also be looked at in a different light. Bangladesh will hope that the pressure of a must-win match is something they will experience more frequently in the coming years. They will hope that, given the talent in the country, they will soon be expected to beat top teams, rather than just be given an outside chance. Perhaps this match against Sri Lanka is an opportunity for young players to experience some of that pressure. It is with that backdrop that Bangladesh’s reaction to the must-win situation is eagerly anticipated. Will they come out thinking they have to win, or just hoping to?The difference between an average team and a good one, it is often said, is than an average team does not know how to close the deal when they are near a win because they are not used to winning. There are already several individuals in the Bangladesh dressing room who believe they can win. With the inspiring performance against India, after the off-field chaos before the tournament, spurring them on, this is a match in which they can prove they can handle a pressure situation. A win in a crucial game like this will teach them far more than the annual upset.Edited by Dustin Silgardo