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Two hundreds would have been preferable, but there were none, and for all the brave effort in getting as close as 87 runs, 475 was always going to be out of reach for West Indies. By Tony Cozier

Tony Cozier17-Jun-2008

If it was ever to be scaled, the mountain peak that was West Indies’ goal at Kensington Oval yesterday required at least one “big hundred,” as Chris Gayle succinctly put it. Two would have been preferable. There was none, and, for all the brave effort in getting as close as 87 runs with one main batsman hobbled by a seriously damaged ankle, 475 was always going to be out of reach.Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were the three-figure men in West Indies’ record 418 for 7 at the obliging Antigua Recreation Ground in the final Test the last time Australia were in the West Indies, four years ago. In contrast, the major contribution to West Indies’ effort at Kensington Oval was Xavier Marshall’s 85.Sarwan and Chanderpaul, along with Gayle, were the only survivors from the memorable match. Both figured once more as the keys to an unlikely chase. They brought runs and confidence into the match and the experience of having done it before against the same opposition. Chanderpaul had something even more vital, concentration and determination.They had also combined to win the Queen’s Park Test against Sri Lanka in April and to draw the Antigua Test in this series two weeks earlier. But it was a bit much to expect them to carry the load every time.Sarwan’s error in going back to Michael Clarke’s arm ball on the previous afternoon ended his involvement, but the presence of Chanderpaul on resumption and, as those responsible must have noted, the reduced prices, brought out the highest attendance of the match.Chanderpual was again in fixed mode, observing what should be the first maxim of all batsmen: “don’t get out.” He and Dwayne Bravo, rattled by Brett Lee’s fearsome bouncer barrage but ever quick to counter-attack, batted through the first hour and 40 minutes, carried their partnership to 122, the total past 300, and reduced the deficit to 172. With every run, optimism grew of a miracle in the making. In the space of three balls, it was shattered. First Bravo, and then Chanderpaul, were gone and so were the hopes.The manner of Bravo’s dismissal was an anti-climax. He had taken to the offerings of Beau Casson with relish, hoisting him for three sweet sixes and deliberately unsettling him. With the new ball due, Casson went from over to round the wicket and, in spite of the pasting, placed a silly point under Bravo’s nose. Almost instantly, an over-cautious defensive prod popped a catch into the fielder’s hands. It was the crucial break.Ricky Ponting took the new ball and Stuart Clark’s second delivery pinned Chanderpaul on the backfoot. With Clark’s height, the hardness of the ball and the bounce in the pitch, it looked to be too high for an lbw verdict. Hawk-Eye confirmed the naked eye’s first impression, but umpire Mark Benson’s decision was swift and decisive. It would hardly have changed the outcome for only the fragile tail and the injured Sewnarine Chattergoon, with a runner, remained to be Chanderpaul’s partners.Where the match was lost was in the first innings, when the batting could not capitalise on dismissing Australia for 251. It was then, as much as now, that a “big hundred” was needed. The truth is that, at present, Sarwan and Chanderpaul are the only ones capable.

The Women’s World Cup witnessed several statistical highlights. Cricinfo looks at some of the interesting numbers from the tournament

Cricinfo staff24-Mar-2009England’s win against New Zealand was among the closest in the history of women’s World Cup finals•Getty Images

4

England women beat New Zealand women by four wickets, the second-closest margin of victory in terms of wickets left in a women’s World Cup final. Australia women beat England by three wickets in 1982. The closest final in terms of runs was played in 2000, when New Zealand beat Australia by four runs.

223

The fifth-highest margin of victory in terms of runs in a women’s World Cup. Pakistan were bowled out for 150, in response to a mammoth 373 for 6 – the third-highest total in the tournament’s history – posted by New Zealand in their Super Six match in Sydney. Pakistan were also at the receiving end of the biggest defeat in women’s ODIs, against New Zealand in 1997 in Christchurch, where they lost by 408 runs.

262

Suzie Bates and Haidee Tiffen were involved in the second-highest partnership in women’s ODIs, and the highest in a women’s World Cup. The stand – in the Super Six match against Pakistan – set up a massive win

8.6

Fast bowlers conceded almost nine runs more per wicket on average than spinners in this tournament. Of the 316 wickets to fall, fast bowlers bagged 148, while spinners finished with 151. However, their averages mark out who were more effective: spinners averaged 20.78, and fast bowlers 29.40

21.53

The average runs-per-wicket in the tournament. However, England exceeded that mark by a significant margin, averaging 35.02 each wicket. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa were largely responsible for the relatively low overall average, pricing each wicket at under 15.Haidee Tiffen and Suzie Bates added 262 for the second wicket against Pakistan to help New Zealand achieve the third-highest total in the tournament’s history•ICC

13

Of the 25 matches in this tournament, 13 were won by the side batting first. The side winning the toss opted to bat on 17 occasions, but won only eight of these games.

1.88

West Indies limped to 84 all out in 44.4 overs against India in Sydney, scoring at the lowest run-rate in this World Cup in a completed innings. The lowest run-rate in a completed innings in a women’s ODI is 0.73, when Netherlands ground out 54.2 overs to reach 40 all out against New Zealand in 1993.

11

In 30 completed innings in the tournament, sides managed to score 200 or more on 11 occasions. The side batting second managed to score 200 or more only twice, and successfully chased a 200-plus target once.

32.10

The average runs per wicket for the second wicket, which was the highest partnership among all wickets. Only the first two wickets managed over 30 runs on average, while the others struggled. The last six wickets didn’t go past 20. The figures for the second wicket received a massive boost as a result of the 262-run stand between Bates and Tiffen against Pakistan.

47

The number of sixes hit in the tournament – the highest for any women’s World Cup. The figure marks a stark contrast to the 15 sixes hit in the previous World Cup in South Africa, and eight in New Zealand in 2000-01 where more matches were played. In a match that witnessed several records being broken, the New Zealand batsmen struck nine sixes against Pakistan, the highest in an innings in women’s cricket.

Artist Paul Trevillion’s beautiful panels pose questions that will puzzle all would-be umpires, from the novice to the wizened expert

Martin Williamson09-May-2009Growing up as I did in the 1970s, I remember avidly reading Shoot, a popular football magazine, every week. In it one of the features my friends and I most enjoyed was You Are The Ref, a comic strip that posed refereeing scenarios, some likely, some highly improbable, for you to argue over. Some of those often heated debates lasted hours.I had all but forgotten about the strip when it was resurrected in the Observer‘s excellent monthly sports magazine in 2006. Soon after, a cricket version, You Are The Umpire, appeared to fill in the decreasing gap between football seasons.While the series relies on an expert (in the case of cricket, Test umpire John Holder) to deal with the nitty-gritty of the laws, the genius behind the idea, and the one who makes it work, is 75-year-old artist Paul Trevillion.Trevillion is more than just drawer of cartoons. He has an almost unique ability to bring character and movement to life (comic-art realism to use the technical jargon). Among his other claims to fame are holding the world speed-kissing record (25,009 in two hours if you must know), inventing the tags on the Leeds United socks of the 1970s (which almost drove Brian Clough to acts of violence), and creating a national row by drawing Wimbledon champion Evonne Goolagong nude for the Sun.The formula for Trevillion’s strips is simple but effective. Three beautifully drawn panels, each with a recognisable face from the relevant sport, each posing a question about the laws – in essence, what would you do? On the surface they are simply entertainment, but by using experts to give their opinions, they also serve as an excellent learning aid to anyone who plays the game.

It’s not just aimed at novices either, and I suspect some long-in-the-tooth officials could learn a thing or two. Do you know if a wicketkeeper is allowed to eat a hot dog at a drinks break, or if a fielder can catch a ball deflected off a cow?This book, which is essentially a collection of the last three summers’ worth of Observer strips, offers more, in that each cartoon is accompanied by a brief profile of the players involved. A few more general sections about the laws and the history of the game are also included, but while of interest to beginners add little.Overall this is an outstanding collection and one well worth the price. And even if you care little for the laws, it will still appeal to cricket fans because of the care and accuracy of Trevillion’s drawings.You Are The Umpire
by Paul Trevillion and John Holder
Guardian Books, 2009, hb, £9.35

Nitin Sundar03-Dec-2009West Indies’ batsmen had a tough time at the Gabba but, for a line-up woefully short on runs and confidence, the venue for the second Test represents the best chance to get going. The Adelaide Oval should raise Chris Gayle’s spirits since it is one of West Indies’ better venues in Australia.The last of the visitors’ five wins in Adelaide was the pulsating one-run victory in 1993, when Courtney Walsh dismissed Craig McDermott to end a 40-run last-wicket stand in the nick of time. Since then, West Indies have lost in each of their three visits to Adelaide. Australia have an impressive record here, with the last of their 16 defeats coming in 2003, when Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar inspired a come-from-behind upset.

Adelaide is among the best venues for batting around the world. It has traditionally favoured the time-tested dictum of win the toss and bat first, a trend bucked only by the invincible Australian sides of the 2000s, whose dominance often removed the toss from the equation. Six out of the nine matches played since January 2000 have been won by the team that batted second; Australia were victors on five of those occasions.

Australia’s belief that they can enforce a win irrespective of the toss is statistically well-grounded. In recent times, the pitch at the Adelaide Oval has remained a batting beauty for long enough to ensure that teams batting second are not disadvantaged. This is evident through the fact that the average scores in the first two innings have gone up considerably, while the variation between them has come down since 2000. In the same period, batting in the fourth innings has become easier than in the third.

The most interesting aspect of recent Adelaide tracks is that they drastically change character around the halfway mark, making batting notoriously difficult for both teams in the second match innings. The variation in averages between the two match innings is significantly higher in Adelaide than in any of the other major Test centers in Australia.

The Adelaide Oval offers very high returns for batsmen who like to bat long periods. While it has witnessed 23 centuries since 2000, five of those occasions have seen, batsmen going past 200. All those double hundreds have come in the first innings and, on four of those occasions, in the first innings of the match – a compelling reason for the captain winning the toss to bat first. During this period only seven double-hundreds have been struck in all the other Australian Test grounds put together.

Australia’s batsmen have excellent records at the Adelaide Oval and will look forward to another run-feast. Michael Hussey tops the averages, aided by three not-outs, while Ricky Ponting has five centuries and an equal number of fifties here. Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin will also have fond memories of their hundreds in Adelaide. West Indies on the other hand will hope that the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan (if he plays) can improve on their past showings here. Chris Gayle will be playing at this venue for the first time.

Although a batting paradise, Adelaide has also been among the more spin-friendly surfaces in Australia. Spin has accounted for over 35% of the dismissals here, a ratio topped in Australia by only the SCG. Nathan Hauritz, Suleiman Benn and Chris Gayle will look forward to exerting more influence on the proceedings than they did at the Gabba, which is the worst venue for spinners in the country. Dwayne Bravo will look to repeat his form from the 2005 Test where he picked six wickets.

Another striking feature about the Adelaide Oval is that it is an excellent venue for Test cricket. Of the nine Tests played here since 2000, seven went into the final day’s play, while only one ended in a draw. This, despite the fact that even all-time greats Shane Warne
and Glenn McGrath have failed to make an impression the first innings. That the mighty Australian side of the 2000s routinely failed to enforce early results here speaks volumes about the surfaces which have managed to be batsman-friendly and result-oriented at the same time.

Despite his outrageously aggressive batting style, Richards’ numbers stack up well against those of the world’s best batsmen

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan15-Aug-2010There are very few batsmen about whom it can be said that their impact on the game was greater than the sheer weight of the numbers they achieved. Viv Richards was surely one of them.This isn’t to say his stats aren’t impressive – a Test aggregate of 8540 at an average of 50.23 and an ODI average of 47 at a strike rate of 90 are outstanding numbers in any era, and more so during an age when bowling attacks and conditions were far more challenging than they have been over the last decade. Over and above these numbers, though, was the manner in which Richards approached the game: his swagger and sheer presence at the crease unnerved the best bowlers. He revolutionised the art of batting during his era, with his sheer aggression and the intent to dominate bowling attacks. That he achieved such outstanding stats despite this approach speaks volumes for his skill with bat in hand.Richards scored only seven runs in two innings on his Test debut in Bangalore in 1974, but an undefeated 192 in the next Test was an emphatic way to announce himself on the world stage. The next year was disappointing, but that only slightly delayed his reign on the world stage. Nineteen-seventy-six was his watershed year: he scored 1710 runs, including a remarkable 829 in the series in England despite missing one Test match. This aggregate in a calendar year remained a record till it was surpassed by Mohammad Yousuf in 2006. Richards made two double-hundreds in that England series, which included his personal best of 291 at The Oval, as West Indies trounced England 3-0. In World Series Cricket he was the best batsman on view against top-quality fast bowling, scoring over 1200 runs at an average of almost 60.His average dropped marginally over the next five years after 1980, but he scored centuries in 10 out of 12 series between 1980 and 1986. His form fell away drastically towards the end of his career, though, and he averaged only slightly over 36 in his last 19 Tests, with just one century and 10 fifties. Over this period his career average dropped from 52.88 to 50.23.

Richards’ best years were between 1976 and 1988. In 92 Tests during this period he scored 22 hundreds and was the only batsman to average more than 55 (among those who scored more than 4000). That was an era when several all-time greats were around – Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad are all listed in the table below – but Richards’ average was marginally higher than theirs (though he obviously didn’t have to face his own bowlers, who were easily the most fearsome attack during that period). He averaged more than 50 in 13 out of the 23 series he played during this period.

The table below summarises Richards’ career series averages. Of the 29 series he played, 14 times he averaged more than 50, and less than 30 on just seven occasions, most of them coming either during the early years or at the end.

Of the 24 Test hundreds he scored, 12 were in wins. Between 1974 and 1991, which is when Richards played his 121 Tests, only Greenidge scored more centuries in wins. Richards also averaged nearly 54 with six centuries in away wins. Unlike some batsmen who struggle to score in the last innings of Tests, his stats were remarkably consistent over the four innings of a match: his average in the first innings of matches was 53, while his average in the fourth innings was nearly 48, which represents one of the lowest variations among top batsmen. (Click here for his career summary.)Richards saved his best for England, against whom he scored 2869 runs at an average of over 62 with eight centuries. Among those who’ve scored at least 2000 runs against England, only Don Bradman has a higher average. Richards also leads the list of batsmen with the mosthundreds against India – he added seven more to the century he scored in his second Test. His most destructive knock against them, though, was arguably in Kingston in 1983, when he scored a rapid 61 off 36 balls to lead West Indies to an unlikely win; his fifty came off just 32 balls in that innings.Richards batted at various positions during his career but was at his best at the pivotal No. 3 spot. Of all the batsmen who’ve played a minimum of 50 innings in that position, only Bradman and Wally Hammond have a higher average.

In the 1985-86 home series against England, which West Indies won 5-0, Richards smashed the fastest Test century, off just 56 balls, in Antigua, which remains the quickest in terms of balls faced. He stands fourth on the all-time list of batsmen with the most sixes in Tests.Richards took over the West Indies captaincy following Clive Lloyd’s retirement in 1985 and led them in 50 Tests, winning 27 and losing 15, but more importantly he didn’t lose a single series. Among captains who have led in a minimum of 50 Tests, Richards’ record as captain is next only to Steve Waugh’s and Ricky Ponting’s.

Richards’ style of batting suited one-day cricket perfectly. He set himself apart from the rest of the top batsmen of his era with his exceptionally quick scoring in a period where the average rate was much lower. The table below compares the strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991. Richards was by far the most dominant of the lot, and among players to have scored more than 2000 runs in ODIs, he still remains the only batsman to average more than 40 and possess a strike rate of over 90.

Richards played 187 ODIs in all, but only 33 of those were in the West Indies. On the other hand, he played more than twice that number in Australia, where he scored 2769 runs in 73 matches. He was by far the finest overseas batsman in Australia between 1975 and 1991.

Throughout his ODI career, Richards was the man for the big occasion. He scored a brilliant unbeaten 138 in the 1979 World Cup final, and played several crucial knocks on major occasions. His overall ODI record and performance in World Cups and finals is summarised below. He averages the highest among batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs in World Cup matches.

In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.

If it weren’t for one thing, we could today be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the greatest batsman of all time

Steven Lynch20-Nov-2010

If it weren’t for one thing, we could today be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the greatest batsman of all time. Walter Hammond, who was born on June 19, 1903, played 85 times for England over almost 20 years, and averaged 58.45 in Tests. In first-class cricket that average was 56, from over 50,000 runs.The snag, though, was one that bugged Hammond for most of his career – Donald Bradman. The Don, in his debut series, was an interested observer when Hammond broke the Test record with 905 runs in the 1928-29 Ashes series, and Bradman smashed the record himself with 974 in the next rubber, in 1930. It still stands. Hammond hit 36 double-centuries in his career, more than anyone else … except Bradman, who pipped him by one.Hammond was a famously moody character, and his humour can hardly have been improved by those constant comparisons with the incomparable.In many ways Hammond was a more correct player than Bradman. He was tall and imposing at the crease, and his cover-drive was a thing of beauty. Uniquely, he was the leading Englishman in the batting averages for eight successive seasons (1933-46), and topped 3000 runs three times. He was a handy bowler, with 732 first-class wickets. And he caught like a flytrap, usually at slip – he took 10 catches (a record) in a county match in 1928, and 78 (another record) all told that season.His career stalled early on, thanks to the sharp-eyed administrator Lord Harris. In those days (1920) the qualification regulations were very strict, and Harris, a Man of Kent, objected to Hammond playing for Gloucestershire when he had been born in Dover. But Hammond made up for lost time when he was allowed to play, before a mysterious illness contracted in the West Indies in 1925-26 kept him out of the whole of the following season.Hammond’s biographer David Foot suggested that this was what is euphemistically known as a “social disease” (surely antisocial would be more appropriate?), and that it accounted for Hammond’s mood-swings later in life. Whatever the reason, his Wisden obituary refers to an “almost Olympian aloofness”, and his Gloucestershire team-mates were never quite sure how he would react to anything.He started as a professional, albeit a somewhat superior one, and back then it was unthinkable that a pro should captain England. But in 1938 there weren’t many suitable unpaid candidates, and Hammond “turned amateur”. He wasn’t a great success as England captain (Bradman again), winning only four of his 20 matches in charge. That included a rather sad farewell tour of Australia in 1946-47, when he was troubled by fibrositis and gave only glimpses of his former glories with the bat. Again, it didn’t help that The Don, who hadn’t been expected to play, turned up and reeled off scores of 187, 234, 79, 49, 0, 56*, 12 and 63.That was the end of Hammond’s serious cricket, apart from couple of mildly embarrassing appearances in 1950 and 1951. These days Hammond would be a hero, feted everywhere and a regular in the commentary box – but, prematurely aged, he disappeared to South Africa, where he struggled to find work. He was never the same after a car crash in the early 1960s, and died in Durban in 1965, aged only 62.You could argue for Hobbs or Sutcliffe or Woolley or Grace or Boycott as England’s greatest batsman. But I have a hunch that it was Walter Reginald Hammond.Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden CricInfo.

Five uncapped players who could have a memorable debut IPL season

Abhishek Purohit07-Apr-2011Ashok Menaria, Rajasthan Royals
On a turning fourth-day pitch, Rajasthan had lost four wickets for 61 against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy final in January. Bhargav Bhatt, the tounament’s leading wicket-taker, was posing problems when Ashok Menaria took matters in hand, and shifted the momentum in Rajasthan’s favour. He hammered Bhatt for three straight sixes in four balls and Baroda wilted after that. Menaria, India’s captain in the Under-19 World Cup, had been drafted straight in to the Rajasthan side for the Ranji quarterfinals after a long injury break, and went on to score hundreds in each knockout game. His batting style resembles Yuvraj Singh’s, and what’s more, he also bowls handy left-arm spin. He hasn’t played a Twenty20 game yet, and is looking forward to the IPL. “My style of play is naturally aggressive, and I hopefully should not have any problems in adapting to this format as far as skills are concerned,” Menaria told ESPNcricinfo. “Rahul Dravid has been advising us on the mental aspect, things like playing in front of a big crowd in a major tournament and how to focus amid the noise levels.”Ishank Jaggi, Deccan Chargers
Jaggi’s growing reputation for solidity has been built over the past three seasons, when he’s been the bulwark of Jharkhand’s middle order along with Saurabh Tiwary. He was instrumental in their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph this year, finishing as the tournament’s highest run-getter with 346 runs at 57.66 including half-centuries in the semi-final and the final. A strike-rate of 98.01 in eight Twenty20 innings does not do full justice to his talent, and he hopes to carry on his good form for Deccan Chargers. “The modern player must be able to adapt to all three versions. Being part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad earlier has helped me a lot in improving my game,” Jaggi said. “Facing Dale Steyn in the nets has been a different experience altogether, and he has even given us tips on how to face up to pace bowling. Darren Lehmann, our coach, has emphasised the importance of being able to find gaps in this format.”Varun Aaron, Delhi Daredevils
Aaron hit the limelight when he bowled a delivery that was clocked at 153 kph on the speed gun in the Vijay Hazare final for Jharkhand. In his next game, he took 5 for 47 against West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy semi-final, including the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar. Pace is a rare commodity in India, more so extreme pace, but Aaron has said that he consistently bowls above the 140 kph mark. Previous such prodigies have often been clouded by fitness and form worries, but Aaron remains positive after having battled a stress fracture in the past. “I just want to bowl fast, I do not want to cut down on my pace,” Aaron said. “I know this format demands a lot of variation from bowlers, and I have been working on the yorkers and the slower balls. But I think that speed is very important even in Twenty20s.” The speed guns will be out in full force during the IPL.Harshad Khadiwale, Pune Warriors
Maharashtra’s Khadiwale possesses a solid record across all three formats, and finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 214 runs from five games at a strike-rate of 132.91. His overall strike-rates of 140.08 in Twenty20s and 95.67 in List A games suggest an aggressive streak, and Khadiwale says that it’s his natural game. At 22, he has already been around for five seasons, and prior to that, was a prolific scorer at age-group level. He would like to be a more consistent first-class batsman, but as long as he can blaze away in the IPL, his side Pune Warriors won’t be complaining.Mayank Agarwal, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Agarwal was a bright spot in a disappointing Under-19 World Cup for India, top-scoring for his side in the tournament. He is an explosive batsman with a strike-rate touching 100 in Under-19 one-dayers. He was a consistent performer for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 166 runs at a strike-rate of 139.49. He was also Man of the Series in the 2010 Karnataka Premier League, making the only century of the tournament. Facing up to Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes and Daniel Vettori in the Bangalore nets will be a different experience for this 20-year old, but he has lots of potential.

A perfectly paced one-day innings set up Sri Lanka’s victory and opening could now be Jayawardene’s role for a while

Andrew McGlashan at Headingley01-Jul-2011Before the second one-day international, Mahela Jayawardene said he had sympathy for Alastair Cook as he tries to find his feet as England’s captain. However, there was none of that sentiment on show at Headingley as Jayawardene ensured Cook was pushed to his limits in the field by a majestic career-best 144. It is a mark of the longevity of his career that Jayawardene set a new high 11 years after his previous best made in 2000.And he could go on for a while longer yet. At 34 – a spring chicken compared to the now-retired Sanath Jayasuriya – he could carry on batting for at least another four years if the hunger remains and 10,000 runs in both formats is within touching distance. If he carries on as long as Jayasuirya a whole mountain of milestones are still his for the taking, but in a volatile set-up such as Sri Lanka it’s always possible that a player may decide to quit sooner than expected. Jayawardene must be savoured while he’s around.He struggled during the Test series, which was a surprise because, with a pair of Lord’s hundreds in 2002 and 2006, he was the one Sri Lanka batsman to arrive with an impressive record in England. However, since the change to one-day cricket he has looked much like his normal self. Either side of being lbw to James Anderson for 5 at The Oval, which has happened to many batsmen, he has toyed with the English bowling in the Twenty20 at Bristol and now at Headingley.”We all had a chat after The Oval about what our roles were and our plans,” Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, said, “We said one of either myself, Sanga or Mahela had to bat a long time and Mahela did a great job. That’s why we got 300.”Being on the end of a Sri Lankan hundred in Leeds is not a new feeling for England. In 2006 their whitewash was completed when Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga added 286 for the first wicket. Three England players survived from that day – Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Tim Bresnan – and yesterday Bresnan was asked about his memories of his two overs for 29. He played down the impact, of course, but the home side probably wouldn’t mind not having a one-dayer here next time Sri Lanka visit.On that occasion the damage to England’s bowlers was done largely by brute force, but it was difficult to remember anything approaching violence from Jayawardene in his innings. Yet the results were just as impressive for Sri Lanka. It was much the same story with his elegant hundred in the World Cup final which, purely as an innings, didn’t deserve to finish on the losing side. In fact, the most anger he showed at any point was a momentary confrontation with Jade Dernbach who, Jayawardene felt, had tried to get in his way.Jayawardene’s final score of 144 actually sits behind Jayasuriya’s 152 on this ground in 2006 and Viv Richards’ 189 at Old Trafford as the third-highest score against England on their home soil. As he has shown many times in one-day – and Twenty20 – cricket there is more than one way to build a limited-overs innings. He had his luck by being dropped at slip by Graeme Swann on 7 but was experienced enough to allow the opening bowlers a few tight overs before opening up as the innings progressed.It was only the seventh time in his 343-match career that Jayawardene had opened the batting but he now has three hundreds in that position. In this series Upul Tharanga is absent due to serving a doping ban and Jayasuriya has now retired after the opening match. However, as Jayawardene has shown in Twenty20 cricket, it’s a position that fits well with his natural game of building an innings and he is likely to get the job on a more full-time capacity.”We are looking to have Mahela open for us on a permanent basis,” Dilshan said. “But he wants to play for another three or four years so may need to be rested for some matches which means we’ll need to rotate players. We have about four openers who we can rotate which will allow us to give other people a chance.”Jayawardene hit 14 boundaries but didn’t clear the ropes, a clear sign of how progressing at a run-a-ball can be achieved by manipulating the field. Cook, who is trying to develop as a one-day opener, should keep a copy of this innings as reassurance of how traditional batting still has an important role to play. At the moment, though, the England captain will be hoping he doesn’t get another first-hand example in this series.

On Thursday, 11 men will emerge from the Member’s Stand at Newlands to usher in a new era: an era of change, an era of growth and hopefully, an era of progress

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town12-Oct-2011Thursday, October 13 is the day that South African cricket will start again. After more than six months of lying curled away in hibernation, 11 men will emerge from the Member’s Stand at Newlands, in unsponsored green and gold, to usher in a new era: an era of change, an era of growth and hopefully, an era of progress.In some ways, it will be a false dawn, because it was AB de Villiers, not Hashim Amla who was supposed to look out to the east and see the rising sun. An ill-fated finger injury has forced de Villiers out of his first series as captain and Amla, the supporting actor who has never wanted to take center stage, will have to take the lead role.Once a man who avoided the spotlight even as it pursued him, Amla is now forced to stand in it. He is trying to do it with the humility that has turned him into one of the sport’s most beloved players. “AB is still the man for the job,” Amla told ESPNcricinfo. “I am only captaining because he is injured.”Such a modest statement could make Amla seem like a nothing more than grateful heir who has obtained riches beyond his imagination. But, there is a deeper side to his stand-in captaincy and it’s something he is taking very seriously. “We started something in the team, just before the World Cup, at the World Cup, that we want to continue, not performance-wise, but in terms of team culture, and hopefully I can continue in the same vein, with AB’s vision,” he said.The World Cup brings back memories of underachievement, potential unfulfilled, heartbreak, but now that there has been time to separate the team from that dark day in Dhaka, Amla believes they should revisit it. “You do get over things, I don’t think we needed five months to get over it, there were many good experiences,” he said. The performances of individuals like Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir were some of those, but it was the development of a team culture that focuses on being thoughtful that is the biggest positive many national players can identify.From Faf du Plessis to Lonwabo Tsotosbe, from Dale Steyn to Jacques Kallis, the South African team has spoken about being selfless, caring, passionate and understanding throughout the winter, and that’s not just to their better halves. On the face of it, they appear to have bought in to a strategy that will connect them to each other and whether it is a gimmick or not, it’s a method that Amla believes in.Fortunately, it’s also a method his predecessors endorse, which can only make things easier for Amla. Of the 10 players who will follow him onto the field, Graeme Smith and Johan Botha stand out as two that Amla will need to back him, having both enjoyed successful runs as captain of the side. He said the pair have embraced and helped him in his new role and that he regards their advice as key to his time in charge.”The way Graeme has conducted himself now that he’s not captain has been a huge benefit to everyone around in the sense that he’s basically one of the blokes,” Amla said. “We’ve also got Johan Botha in the team who’s a largely successful captain in his own right. Every captain has a few guys who he bounces ideas off and those two will probably be it for me.”

“I’ve learnt that you can’t take everything on your shoulders. Gary Kirsten is extremely well organised and I think the structures he’s put in place take a lot of pressure off the captain”

Amla last captained in the 2004-5 season, when he took charge of the Dolphins as a 21-year-old. It was an experience that left him disillusioned with leadership, because he felt it affected his own game. Now, the thinks he is a better place to cope with it. “I’ve learnt that you can’t take everything on your shoulders,” he said. “Gary [Kirsten] is extremely well organised and I think the structures he’s put in place take a lot of pressure off the captain, so I’ve been fortunate to have a few days to work on my batting and a few other things around the captaincy.”And that is the other side of South Africa’s anticipated metamorphosis – the introduction of a new coach, who is a nationally respected player and has won the World Cup. Gary Kirsten’s magic touch has been missed in India since April 3, but he has yet to show if it has been successfully transferred to his homeland. He had a low-key winter, preparing for the birth of his third child, having the occasional strategic chat with new bowling coach Allan Donald and, for four days at the Arabella Golf Estate, meeting the men he is responsible for.The running joke in South African cricket circles has been the nonchalance with which Kirsten has answered questions about his new role. “Haven’t got a clue,” Kirsten said in response to questions relating to how he would handle more than one captain, working with players he shared a dressing room with, and coping with the chokers tag. But Kirsten’s carefree attitude could well be what South Africa need to get over some of their lingering insecurities and play like the team they so often threaten to be.It’s the delicate touch that Amla thinks will work well. “His [Kirsten’s] style is not to impose, it’s to let players grow and I think that might work well, especially with the lack of preparation,” Amla said. It seems strange that after their longest break in 14-years, South Africa can complain about running out of time but the Champions League Twenty20 gave them just three days together before their first international of the season. “It’s not ideal,” Amla said. “But the guys have been at the Champions League so their skills are up, others have been part of the SuperSport Series, so it’s just a matter of connecting.”If any more motivation is needed for South Africa, it’s that rebirth is on the horizon against a country they would relish a second coming against. Australia are the best test they could have had, in the current context, and Amla says they are ready. “We know that perhaps the Australians are going through a rebuilding process. Our team has been much more settled than their team has been,” he said. “But, even though they may have a younger team, players that are not well known and not as experienced, they still play a competitive brand of cricket.”Come October 13, South Africa will show if they are competitive enough too.