New Zealand have form and confidence on their side as well as the spin options that could yet prove crucial in this tournament

George Dobell at Edgbaston11-Jun-2013It speaks volumes for the resilience and versatility of New Zealand cricket that, despite all the challenges and setbacks they face, they continue to produce teams that compete and surprise.It should never be overlooked that New Zealand is a country with a population of around 4.5 million in which cricket is very much a second sport to rugby. That they continue to produce players such as Mitchell McClenaghan, the latest in a batch of impressive seam bowlers, and a team that can take on nations blessed with vastly greater populations is remarkable. While other international teams have huge pools of players, New Zealand somehow continue to develop talent from a country with a population smaller than some of the cities of their rivals.That having been said, the last few years have not been the easiest. New Zealand have slipped to eighth in the Test and T20 rankings and seventh in ODIs. Before their thoroughly deserved ODI series victory over England and a somewhat nervy win over Sri Lanka in their first outing in this competition, they were seen as outsiders for this tournament.But that may be changing and, unusually, they might be considered favourites in some quarters for their game against Australia at Edgbaston on Wednesday (although not by the bookies). Australia are ranked No. 2 in the ODI s but, without their injured captain Michael Clarke and clearly in the midst of a transitional period, they do appear ripe for the plucking.If New Zealand do prevail, it will all but confirm their qualification to the semi-final stage. Bearing in mind the balance of their side and the benefits they will have taken from having had longer than the other sides in the competition to acclimatise to the conditions, they look dangerous opponents.If they are to progress to the latter stages of this event, it seems likely that their spin bowlers will play a key role. While most onlookers felt that seam and swing would hold the key to this event, the somewhat surprising character of the pitches has led to a reappraisal of that view.The pitches at Cardiff and Edgbaston, in particular, have been unusually dry. Spinners have played a huge role not just in containing batsmen, but in dismissing them and, as the event progresses and the pitches are re-used, they should wear more and make spin ever more important.New Zealand are better placed than some sides to cope with that. While the record of their batsmen against spin remains modest – they played Graeme Swann poorly in the Test at Headingley – their current side does contain three men capable of exploiting the conditions with the ball.Daniel Vettori may not be the spin bowler he once was. All those overs, all those injuries and all those years have taken their toll on him. But he is experienced, he is reliable, he is calm and he can bat. His presence would still be a major boost. Indeed, if Vettori plays, there is a possibility New Zealand will deliver up to 30 overs of spin in the game, with Nathan McCullum and Kane Williamson also likely to contribute.

“We’re one game into the tournament and we know that spinners are playing a big part, so it’s something we can adapt to”Tim Southee

“If you look at the tournament before it started,” Tim Southee said, “you tend to think that, in England, it might nip around and the seamers might be the main wicket-takers. But those surfaces have been pretty dry and with them tending to play two games on each wicket, then in the second game obviously the spinners are going to come into play even more.”The wicket in Cardiff was dry and the spinners played a massive role. I haven’t had a look at the wicket at Edgbaston yet, but certainly we weren’t expecting spin to play such a major part. But I guess now we’re one game into the tournament and we know that spinners are playing a big part, so it’s something we can adapt to.”Vettori is not certain to be fit for Wednesday’s game. He will undergo a fitness test on the morning of the game before any decision is taken. Grant Elliott has already been ruled out due to a tight calf muscle.There was no hubris from Southee, who has arguably been the pick of New Zealand’s seamers throughout the tour, as he looked ahead to Wednesday’s game. He understands that Australia are smarting from defeat against England and knows they will be aching to put in a much-improved performance. He knows they have a point to prove.But he also knows they are a team in transition, still coming to terms with the loss of great players who dominated for so long.”It’s been a while since we’ve played them but we tend to lift a little bit more when we play against the Aussies,” Southee said. “It’s still pretty evenly poised between us. They’ve got a good side and they’re coming off a loss and with a point to prove. They’ll be hungry to turn the tournament around and grow some momentum.”They were so dominant for so long, but those players all retired at the same time, so it left a massive gap and I guess they’re still trying to fill it. You have to understand that the players that left were exceptional and you’re not going to replace them overnight.”But they’ve still got some great players. Look at Shane Watson and David Warner: on their day they can tear a side apart. And they have bowlers like Clint McKay, who has a great one day record. They’ve shown that they aren’t a poor side, but they’ll be disappointed in the results they’ve produced of late.”

Newly turned freelance, Simon Jones talks about the 2005 Ashes, Lord’s teas, and sleeping next to a snorer

Interview by Jack Wilson14-Oct-2013So it’s T20 all the way from now on for you. Are you looking forward to the new challenges?
I’m excited about the future. I’m feeling good physically, I’m mentally refreshed, and it’s a case of wait and see what happens now. It was nice to finish well in the YB40 final at Lord’s, to show what I can do. Hopefully a couple of people saw me in action, but now I’m in that awkward time of just waiting. There are so many competitions in the world, it would be foolish not to try and play anywhere. There are different experiences to be had and different environments to sample. There’s T20 leagues in Bangladesh, India, New Zealand and Australia now. The West Indies is one I’d like to go out to, and England, of course. I want to give T20 a good go.Think back to your first day as a Test cricketer. Batting at 10, you hit 44 off 43 balls. Could you even have imagined that?
It was awesome. I loved my batting. I think it’s one of the reasons Duncan Fletcher picked me, because I could do a bit with the bat. I went in with a no-fear attitude. India were a very good team but their bowling was not quite as strong as their batting, although they did have Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and a few others. I thought, “I’m just going to enjoy myself here.” Freddie [Flintoff] was at the other end and he told me, “Don’t worry about it, it’s just a game of cricket, go and hit it.”. So I did.You enjoyed batting then?
Of course, I think you have to. When you’re facing someone like Brett Lee, who’s steaming in with a load of aggression and trying to intimidate you, it’s a great challenge.Take your mind back to 2005 and ball to Michael Clarke. Ever find yourself watching it on Youtube?
I’ve seen it a few times. It keeps me going when I go back and look at some of the stuff I’ve done. It gives me a little bit of clarity to where I want to go and why I’m putting myself through things. I’m not being big-headed, but it just keeps me on track.Is that the best ball you’ve ever bowled?
In terms of where the game was at, and the way I’d set him up with four awayswingers and got one to come back, yes. We were playing an incredible Australian team – one of the best to play the game – and it was a massive occasion. But I’ve bowled a couple of jaffas in my time.Edgbaston 2005 – the greatest Test ever. What was it like to play in?
It was a different league – but horrible at the same time. We expected to go out on that last day and turn them over, but Brett Lee and Shane Warne batted incredibly well. Warney is a difficult customer to bowl to and runs carried on coming. When I dropped that catch I thought I’d dropped the Ashes. I just wanted the ground to swallow me up. Luckily the boys kept on going and it was a great feeling for Geraint [Jones] to take that winning catch. Him and Gilchrist had dropped some that series, but that’s what pressure does. I was so relieved for him.

“Edgbaston 2005 was a different league – but horrible at the same time”

Was the Ashes win the highlight of your career?
Easily. You don’t get better than that. It was the best team that had played the game, who had ten to 15 years of domination, and we beat them. If Australia put out their second team at that time they would have beaten sides. They had some incredible boys on the bench who’d walk into other teams.Who is the best captain you’ve played under?
Matthew Maynard was very good. He just wanted you to relax and enjoy yourself. I liked playing under Nasser Hussain as you always knew where you stood with him. He always backed you too. There’s one picture of me with my arm around him during my first Test and I was telling him I couldn’t feel my legs I was so nervous. He’s laughing his head off at me! Warney was like Maynard. He just wanted us to relax, enjoy ourselves and test ourselves.And the best of them?
I’d have to go with Nasser.Which batsman from the past would you most like to bowl at?
Don Bradman. His stats are incredible. I know it’s a long time ago but I’d still like to have a go at him.Where in the world do you get the best teas?
Lord’s. I always look forward to having a bat and filling my boots at tea. The fitness guys don’t like it but the lads do.Do you keep your old kit for memories?
I do, it’s good to look back sometimes. I must have something like 25 cricket bags in the garage full of old stuff that I kept from when I was 12. It’s all safe in plastic bags away from the moths.What’s more rewarding, smashing a batsman in the ribs or taking out their off stump?
It depends who the batsman is and if you’ve got a bit of niggle with them! I’d say getting them out.In 2006, magazine did a poll of the world’s sexiest men. Do you know where you finished?
() Ninth.Simon Jones’ best ball: the one that bowled Michael Clarke at Old Trafford, 2005•Getty ImagesWho is the worst room-mate?
A guy I shared with at Glamorgan, Dan Cherry. He was an unbelievable snorer. I ended up beating him with a pillow. He tried his best to lay on his side but then he’d roll over on his back and he’d be gone. It was as if he was cracking nuts in his mouth.Who is the best Welsh sportsperson of all time?
There are a few, but I’m going with Colin Jackson.What are you like at other sports?
I played football, rugby, athletics and pretty much everything when I was younger. I was just in a generation that did everything and didn’t really have an option. At school I loved football over cricket. I was tiny up until I was 16. I went through Millfield School for three years and just shot up there. I went being 5ft 5ins to 6ft 3ins so quickly. My mum came to pick me up once and she didn’t recognise me!Who is the biggest practical joker?
Matthew Hoggard. He’s so mischievous. He changed the password on Duncan Fletcher’s laptop once and you could see the annoyance on [Fletcher’s] face. When he came in I went down like a prawn sandwich, but Hoggy found it funny! I think he realised afterwards that maybe he shouldn’t have done it.

The Wankhede Stadium has been India’s most result-oriented Test venue, but in the last 13 years it hasn’t been kind to the home batsmen

S Rajesh12-Nov-2013Sachin Tendulkar’s last Test will be played at a venue which has been a wretched one for Indian batsmen over the last 13 years and more. Since the beginning of 2000, India have a 2-4 win-loss record from seven Tests at the Wankhede Stadium, the worst among all home venues where they’ve played at least five Tests. In these matches, the batsmen have averaged 24 runs per wicket, easily the lowest among all Indian grounds: at no other ground is the average less than 35.Four times in these seven Tests, India have been bowled out for less than 300 in their first innings, and their average in the first innings is 29.71 runs per wicket. Last year against England, India scored 327 and still ended up losing by ten wickets, because England replied with 413 and then bowled India out for only 142.In fact, India’ second innings at the Wankhede has been much worse than their first: their last six such innings read as follows – 142, 242 for 9, 100, 205, 219 and 113. The average runs per dismissal in the second innings: 17.30. The only time they didn’t have to bat a second time during this period, though, was against West Indies in 2002, when they scored 457 and won by an innings and 112 runs. Their last Test here against West Indies, in 2011, was much tighter, though: India, chasing 243 for victory, finished on 242 for 9, a run away from victory and a wicket away from a tie.During this period, only four centuries have been scored by Indian batsmen at this venue: 147 by Virender Sehwag and 100 not out by Rahul Dravid against West Indies in 2002, 103 by R Ashwin against the same opponents in 2011, and 135 by Cheteshwar Pujara against England last year. That’s an average of 0.57 centuries per Test by an Indian batsman.In contrast, the average runs per wicket in Kolkata, the venue for the first Test, is 51.62 runs per wicket, with 18 centuries in nine Tests – an average of two per game.

India’s Test results at home venues since 2000 (Min 5 Tests)

VenueTestsWon/ lostRatioBat aveBowl aveDelhi76/ 0-42.6327.86Mohali85/ 0-44.5832.88Chennai74/ 0-40.6033.40Kolkata96/ 16.0051.6232.72Ahmedabad72/ 12.0042.5240.22Bangalore82/ 30.6735.8840.41Mumbai72/ 40.5023.9927.26Tendulkar has scored one Test century in 18 innings at this ground, but that came way back in 1997, when he scored 148 against Sri Lanka. He has come close on a couple of other occasions, scoring 97 against South Africa in 2000 and 94 against West Indies in 2011 – when he was searching for his 100th international hundred – but the landmark has eluded him for his last 14 Test innings at the Wankhede Stadium.In fact, his Test career at his home venue can be neatly divided into two compartments of five Tests each. Till 2001, Tendulkar was prolific here, scoring 604 runs in nine innings, including six scores of 50 or more. Since then, runs at his home ground have been far tougher for Tendulkar: in his last five Tests he has scored 243 runs at 27, with only two fifties. In his most recent Test here, against England last year, he scored a total of 16 in two innings, his lowest aggregate from a Test at the Wankhede.

Tendulkar’s Test career at the Wankhede Stadium

PeriodTestsInningsRunsAverage100s/ 50sFirst 5 Tests (Till 2001)5960467.111/ 5Last five Tests (2002 onwards)5924327.000/ 2Total101884747.051/ 7One of the milestones that Tendulkar hasn’t achieved in his career so far is scoring 1000 Test runs at a venue: his highest is 970, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, at an average of 88.18. Before the start of the Kolkata Test, Tendulkar had an aggregate of 862 there, but he added only ten runs to that tally. In Mumbai, Tendulkar will need 153 runs to touch 1000 runs at the ground; in the ten Tests he has played here, only once has be aggregated so many in a match.As it stands, Tendulkar’s 847 is the second-highest Test aggregate at the Wankhede Stadium, next only to Sunil Gavaskar’s 1122 runs from 11 Tests at an average of 56.10. However, while Gavaskar managed five hundreds in 11 Tests, Tendulkar has only one so far.

Batsmen with the most Test runs at Wankhede Stadium

BatsmanTestsRunsAverage100s/ 50sSunil Gavaskar11112256.105/ 3Sachin Tendulkar1084747.051/ 7Dilip Vengsarkar1063148.532/ 2Rahul Dravid761956.271/ 4Syed Kirmani947747.702/ 1Ravi Shastri645757.122/ 1While this ground hasn’t been a favourable one for India over the last decade and more, it hasn’t been a favourite for West Indies either: in seven Tests they’ve won only once, and that was way back in 1975. In their last three Tests they’ve lost twice – in 1994 and 2002 – and were close to defeat in 2011 as well (though they had a chance to win that one as well).India’s most result-friendly groundAmong Indian venues which have hosted at least five Tests, the draw percentage at the Wankhede Stadium is the least: only seven out of 16 Tests haven’t had a decisive result (30%); the next-lowest, among current grounds, is the MA Chidambaram Stadium with 35% draws. Since 2000, only one out of seven Tests have been drawn, and even that match was potentially one ball away from a result, as India finished on 242 for 9 chasing 243 for victory. (Click here for a full list of draw percentages in Indian grounds.)In these last seven Tests, the Wankhede pitch has been at its best in the first innings of the Test – as is the norm at most grounds – but even there the average scores haven’t been too high. The average runs per wicket in the first innings is only 33.02 (which translates into a team score of 330); it’s 29.41 in the second innings, 17.02 in the third and 20.11 in the fourth.The conditions at Wankhede have generally helped both fast bowlers and spinners: in the seven Tests since 2000, pace bowlers have conceded 27.87 runs per wicket, compared to the spinners’ average of 24.06. However, in the two Tests – against West Indies and England – since the pitch was relaid, fast bowlers have taken only 15 wickets at 52.60, compared with 52 wickets by the spinners at an average of 29.63. In the most recent Test here, against England last year, spinners accounted for 28 out of 29 wickets that fell to bowlers in the match. Given the composition of the bowling attacks in this match, though, it’s highly unlikely spinners will dominate to the same extent over the next five days.

Shane Warne has turned up in Cape Town at a helpful moment for his friend in need, Michael Clarke, ahead of a pivotal Test match meeting with South Africa

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town28-Feb-2014Michael Clarke is a worrier. Sometimes about things he should be worried about, sometimes not.His unfailingly, even deliberately sunny public persona can be seen as one of the most pointed manifestations of that worry, about what people may think if Clarke does not project the right image nor deliver the right sound bite. At the moment the Port Elizabeth Test was lost by Australia, the camera panned to Clarke in a moment he could not prepare for, at a juncture where he was not wearing his public face. Its expression was memorable, conveying considerable shock and, yes, worry.Over the past nine months, as Clarke’s team has grown from a chaotic ensemble floundering in the search for direction and resolution to a cohesive, successful and Ashes-holding side, his worries have been few. But at St George’s Park a pair of lingering issues compounded with a new one to create fertile circumstances for defeat. Clarke’s recent lack of runs was compounded by a batting line-up that failed collectively, and a bowling attack that for once failed to adapt or succeed. The worry was back.So it was fortuitous that Clarke would arrive in Cape Town for a reunion with Shane Warne, the former team-mate, friend and mentor who has informed so much of the Australian captain’s agile, aggressive and inventive leadership. Warne is in South Africa ostensibly to work with the Twenty20 team’s spin bowlers ahead of the World T20 in Bangladesh, but his presence for a pivotal match in the narrative of Australian cricket may prove to be an ideally-timed reassurance for Clarke and the coach Darren Lehmann.When Warne and Clarke first became close on the 2005 Ashes tour, it was the younger man who took a lead role, offering an audience to the ageing legspinner as he juggled personal torments with unforgettable on-field feats. Now it was Warne offering a sympathetic ear and a few morsels of advice for a worried batsman and captain as they shared room service in the team hotel – much as they would have done in England all those years ago.”That’s what friends do isn’t it?” Warne said. “The one thing I felt with Pup was that he’s disappointed he hasn’t got some runs lately, but as I said to him last night ‘mate, let’s look back at the last seven Test matches. You’ve come back from England, you’ve been hammered 3-0 – yes, it was a bit closer than everyone thought but the scoreline still read 3-0. But over the last seven Test matches you’ve won six and not everyone has relied on you, that should be a good thing’.”I said ‘okay, from a personal point of view you’d like to make a few more runs, but for the last few years if it wasn’t for you we would have lost a lot more. So when [the Ashes] were on the line in the first few Test matches, you made back-to-back hundreds and played really well and then in the next five Tests after that other guys have put their hands up.”I said ‘you should be happy with that – I understand that you wanted to make some runs but you’ve lost one Test match in the last seven as captain, and you haven’t made many runs’. That, to me, is good news. So I said ‘stop stressing and worrying about it and make some runs in this Test match’.”Warne’s advice may sound simple, but recent glimpses of Clarke at the batting crease would suggest it is the right kind. So eager has he been to score runs, and so worried about doing so, Clarke has been almost too keen in his search for the ball. Compare his dismissals in Port Elizabeth – bat jutted out in search for contact, away and in front of his body – with the century of Chris Rogers, who plays the ball posthumously late by comparison. A soothing “relax” from Warne may well prove valuable.”He’s one guy you don’t have to worry about batting because we know what a class act he is, and you know that old adage about form being temporary but class being permanent,” Warne said. “That’s something I’ve been talking to him about, and just a few mindset things about the way he plays. He’s a bit of a worrier, Pup, but the good thing is it hasn’t affected his captaincy. He’s been outstanding.”Warne’s effect on the Australian team, now being led in something like his image by Clarke and another friend in Lehmann, will only be known at the end of the Test. But it is clear that his presence and knowledge will provide a significant aid. Lehmann will certainly not find a more avowed fan of his straightforward methods, where players are dealt with harshly, fairly but above all directly.”I think he’s doing a fantastic job, and created an environment where there are pretty high standards,” Warne said of Lehmann. “We all know he’s laid back and likes a beer and is pretty relaxed, but he can also be pretty tough. And he does it in a way that’s charming, he’s friendly when he’s nailing you. It’s always nice when there’s a bit of that happening rather than just the old size 10. But I think he’s brought a lot to the table.”He’s always had respect for the way he played the game, and he’s earned a lot of respect from the group for the way he’s conducted himself. He’s learned a few lessons along the way, probably not to do radio interviews when he’s had a few beers. But he’s straight up, what you see is what you get, which is a good thing from a coach. If you’re out of the side he’ll tell you why, it won’t be like ‘I voted for you but the other three guys didn’t’. He’ll tell you straight.”Warne can certainly tell glowing tales of Newlands. He played in three Test matches at the ground and won them all, including his 100th in 2002. Having flown 16 friends and family over for the event, Warne put in one of his greatest displays, runs in each innings adding garnish to a nine-wicket haul spread across no fewer than 98 overs of rare precision on an unforgiving wicket. Australia’s win sealed the series, and was one of the more notable victories of an era laden with them.

Warne can certainly tell glowing tales of Newlands. He played in three Test matches at the ground and won them all, including his 100th in 2002

Such memories will be usefully retold to a younger generation still scarred by the events of 2011, when Clarke’s bold 151 on the first day was completely obscured by Australia’s second innings disintegration for 47. That episode unfolded when the team were without a coach, between the exit of Tim Nielsen and the appointment of Mickey Arthur, and Clarke summoned his best batting form in spite of it all.This time around, Clarke will seek to regain something of that fluency. His search for the recently elusive sense of comfort and feel at the crease has led Clarke to the nets on both the day after the Port Elizabeth Test and on another scheduled day off for the team in Cape Town. “I’m doing everything I can to be a better player,” he said. “If I walk out here and make a duck or make a double-hundred my attitude doesn’t change as to the improvements I think my game needs.”The past few years for me have been exceptional – it’s been a great run – but I understand and respect that in this game you’re going to go through some tough times as well. There’s swings and roundabouts – that’s the game. The number one role for me as captain is to make sure I’m leading from the front. I have high expectations on myself, and that will never change.”Clarke will worry this week, of that there can be no doubt. But with Warne at his side he may loosen up just a little. Just enough, perhaps, to win.

He was Maharashtra’s captain when they last reached the Ranji Trophy final 21 years ago. As coach, Surendra Bhave has made them dream again

Amol Karhadkar15-Jan-2014Just before lunch on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Mumbai, as Maharashtra readied themselves to take the field after conceding a 122-run first-innings lead, coach Surendra Bhave delivered one of his numerous pep talks, hoping it wouldn’t be his last one of the season.Bhave, a former Maharashtra captain who had led them to their last Ranji Trophy final appearance in 1992-93, gave his players two choices. “One was to go on to the field, complete the formalities, pack our bags and head straight to Pune from the Wankhede. The other was to go out, play with our heads held high, give it our best shot and change the opinion of the people.”Even when Maharashtra captain Rohit Motwani recalls the words four days later, he seems just as charged up as he was after hearing them at the Wankhede. “That speech inspired us a lot,” says Motwani. “We chose the second option and it worked for us.”

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Just over 12 months ago, Bhave, the then chief selector, was given the additional responsibility of being the interim coach with two games remaining in the group stage. Maharashtra were then at the bottom of Group B and required a miracle to avoid relegation.It wasn’t to be. Maharashtra were blown aside by Karnataka in their last league game. “[Abhimanyu] Mithun and Stuart [Binny] just ran through us and poured water over all our ambitions to continue the good work of the previous game against Baroda and avoid relegation. At that time itself, all of us knew we had to start afresh.”It was a fitting end to an erratic season. Maharashtra had started it by appointing Dermot Reeve as coach, and had replaced him with Bhave midway through the season. Reeve, the former England allrounder, had raised eyebrows during his brief tenure, playing the guitar just outside the boundary ropes during Maharashtra’s matches and even missing a couple of games to work as a TV analyst on the India-England series.Without a father figure, the team was in disarray. “Due to the prevailing circumstances, the team wasn’t that together,” Motwani says. “Everyone was kind of coming into the field and playing his own game. Even though all of us had been playing together for a while, the cohesiveness was somehow missing last season.”Maharashtra didn’t do any better in the second half of the season, and failed to progress beyond the zonal stages of the domestic one-day and Twenty20 competitions, which were considered their strengths.

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If Maharashtra were to turn the tide this season, they needed a pitch-perfect build-up. But with the Maharashtra Cricket Association in financial disarray, the team only had their first official training session on August 19. The mess also deprived the team of any competitive warm-up games. The association hadn’t been able to participate in preparatory tournaments or conduct a reciprocal tour with another state team, which had been a trend during recent off-seasons.But this gave Bhave ample time to evaluate what had gone wrong and to come up with a solution. “If you see the numbers, most of the batsmen had averaged 45-plus and still the team was not doing well,” he says. “We had to imbibe among the players that if your aim is to play for yourself, you’re not contributing to the team. Once we got everyone to work for the cause of the team, most of it was taken care of.”Bhave’s next task was to get the bowling act together. Barring Samad Fallah, the attack didn’t have a consistent performer in its ranks. And the lack of match practice may have affected the bowlers’ rhythm going into the season. Bhave’s solution benefited not only the bowlers but the batsmen as well.

It’s not just when the chips are down that he [Bhave] speaks. He makes it a point to compliment us for our good work. A pat on the back from someone you have idolised means a lot and he knows it. His words of wisdom – sometimes one-on-one, sometimes to the whole group – are cherished by all of us.Rohit Motwani, Maharashtra captain

“We couldn’t go to any of the warm-up tournaments, so the moment the monsoon receded, we formed four teams amongst our probables and played a handful of practice matches on lively tracks at Gahunje,” Bhave says. “The atmosphere was no different to a first-class match and you couldn’t even sense it was a practice match. It helped the bowlers get used to running in and bowling more than 20 overs per day and the batsmen were tested against tough bowling in tougher conditions.”The decision to prepare lively pitches for the warm-up games was based on the assumption that “every Plate team has three decent pace bowlers”. With the bowlers made to work hard outdoors rather than in the confines of the gym and the batsmen made to bat in adverse conditions, the team was ready by the time the season began.

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“We may not be that old but we are not a young team,” Motwani says. “For the last four to five years, more or less the same bunch has been playing together. And we were all confident at the start of the season that we could deliver this time around.”For the captain’s words to come true, Maharashtra needed to get their campaign off to a strong start. Harshad Khadiwale and Kedar Jadhav gave them just that, in their contrasting styles. At the end of Maharashtra’s fourth game of the season, they had scored three centuries each and were occupying the top two positions in the list of the Ranji Trophy’s highest run-getters.”Every time Khadi or KJ reached a milestone, the dressing room revelled with them,” says Akshay Darekar, the team’s leading spinner. “They gave us bowlers the much-needed cushion to bowl oppositions out.”While they piled on the runs, not many gave Khadiwale and Jadhav their due, reckoning that a hundred in a Plate (Group C) match wasn’t a big deal. “I can’t help such perceptions,” Jadhav says. “Those who say this don’t understand that many Plate teams play with such a defensive mindset that they bowl with seven or eight fielders on the boundary once a batsman is set. Scoring runs becomes really difficult at such times. When a batsman still scores big in such circumstances, you should give him his due. Be it myself or Khadi or anyone else from any other team.”The impact that Khadiwale and Jadhav had on their team can be gauged by the fact that Maharashtra didn’t once concede a first-innings deficit during the group stage. But the bowlers were coming to the party too; Maharashtra won an unprecedented four games outright, and ended Group C seven points ahead of second-placed Jammu & Kashmir. The team’s primary objective, of regaining their place in the top flight of the tournament, had been achieved. But the group was far from satisfied.

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Two days before the quarterfinal, Maharashtra’s players asked the driver of their team bus, going from Pune to Mumbai, to take them straight to the Wankhede Stadium rather than their hotel. They were playing Mumbai, their big brother, away from home, in a televised match. They were ready.On the second evening, with the Maharashtra batsmen struggling in the face of a ferocious spell from Shardul Thakur, on a wicket tilted in favour of pace bowlers, it looked like the heckling of Maharashtra as flat-track bullies would continue. Mumbai captain Zaheer Khan, in what might have been a mocking gesture, placed all nine fielders behind the wicket early in Maharashtra’s innings.”We didn’t even take it as an insult. We took it as yet another challenge – a first of its kind, and Ankit (Bawne) and Kedar counterattacked to show we could take them on,” pace bowler Anupam Sanklecha says. “Even then, it wasn’t as if we had played bad cricket. All of us know that Mumbai crossed 400 only because of some stupendous batting by Vinit (Indulkar) and Surya (Yadav).”The next afternoon, Sanklecha led the Maharashtra fightback as a three-pronged pace attack dismantled the Mumbai batting in 38 overs to get Maharashtra back into the game. “The 60-70 runs that we were helped with when Mumbai over-attacked in the first innings helped us reduce the innings deficit,” Bhave says. “When we talked to the bowlers, my impression was, if there are more play balls, there are more chances of us getting wickets on such a track. Another thing that worked for us was, since we didn’t have a bowler who could rely on sheer pace in our attack, it was ultimately going to be a case of pitch it up to the bat and catch it whenever it comes your way.”But the manner in which the three seamers and the slip cordon executed that basic plan left the Wankhede spellbound. Often, seamers in India tend to get carried away when they see a green surface. It happened with the Maharashtra bowlers in the first innings and they sprayed the ball around. But to learn the lessons and reverse the trend so quickly stunned even Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating on his first Ranji game.It isn’t a surprise that beating Mumbai meant so much to the players, since only one of them had experienced the feeling before. Sanklecha, in fact, had become the first Maharashtra player to feature in two outright wins over Mumbai. “Back then (in 2005-06), I had contributed with the bat, ending as the highest scorer in the second innings,” says Sanklecha, who hails from Ahmednagar, 120 km to the west of Pune. “This time around, my bowling came good. For the last four days, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I feel like I’m on top of the world right now.”

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Bhave’s pep talks have been a constant feature over the season. “Each time one of us drifts slightly, a pep talk is waiting, and it invariably sets things right,” says left-arm spinner Darekar, who, with 31 scalps, is Maharashtra’s leading wicket-taker this season. “His technical expertise is well known but he has also been a great motivator.”Motwani adds: “It’s not just when the chips are down that he speaks. He makes it a point to compliment us for our good work. A pat on the back from someone you have idolised means a lot and he knows it. His words of wisdom – sometimes one-on-one, sometimes to the whole group – are cherished by all of us.”When it began its journey back to Pune on the evening of January 11, the team bus was juddering down the same expressway it had taken to Mumbai. Bhave, however, knew everyone in it was floating in the air. Naturally, just before the team got off the bus, he had another pep talk waiting for them. “I said: ‘We have to play two more matches in the same way. Don’t get too far ahead of yourselves. Don’t think that you cannot be conquered. Be guarded against complacency. Enjoy the hard work and the rest will be taken care of’.”

Shakib Al Hasan has had discipline issues in the past, and had he been pulled up earlier this latest incident may not have occurred

Mohammad Isam22-Feb-2014Less than 24 hours after his dressing-room misdemeanor, Shakib Al Hasan left the Shere Bangla National Stadium with a three-ODI ban and a heavy fine. The punishment may seem disproportionate to this particular crime, but it is a fair verdict for a man who has enjoyed lots of leeway as Bangladesh’s No. 1 cricketer.Shakib’s inappropriate gesture during the second ODI against Sri Lanka was the big incident waiting to happen, after several smaller ones over nearly four years were overlooked by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.Shakib’s first public outburst was in October 2010 but the incident was buried under his match-winning performance on that day, and the bigger picture was missed. He was on 92 in the fourth ODI against New Zealand when there was movement near the sightscreen that the umpires could not stop. After a few minutes Shakib, Bangladesh captain at the time, ran towards the sightscreen, hurled abuse and threatened to hit the offender with his bat.He was warned by the match referee but because he had led Bangladesh to their first major series victory over higher-ranked New Zealand, the BCB ignored the incident despite it happening in front of a large audience.Shakib hit a low before and during the 2011 World Cup. In the lead up to the tournament there were several reports of him giving the BCB a hard time over small issues, while also having a bigger battle with them over permanent captaincy.After Bangladesh’s World Cup match against West Indies, several people in the Mirpur grandstand complained Shakib had reacted too strongly when he was booed. The offending picture was spread over the internet and published in several newspapers.Within days of that incident, Shakib blasted former national cricketers in his column, retaliating to their criticism of Bangladesh’s implosion against West Indies. All the BCB did at the time was put a gag-order on the whole team for a few days, until Bangladesh beat England in Chittagong and everything was forgotten and forgiven.A few months after the World Cup, in August 2011, Shakib was sacked as captain after Bangladesh lost a Test and an ODI series to Zimbabwe. The decision derailed the team, and the BCB was seen as being responsible, not Shakib. If this was Monopoly, Shakib seemed to hold all the get-out-of-jail-free cards.In this latest incident, Shakib seemed to be getting angry because the camera had panned on him in the dressing room more than once. Shafiul Islam, the player sitting next to him, was laughing when Shakib suddenly gestured towards his crotch. The laughing continued, but by then the camera had refocused on the cricket. Shakib had played a poor shot to get out, and the immediate television attention was the trigger.There has always been a tendency to portray Shakib as a dissenter against authority, particularly during his battle with the BCB regarding permanent captaincy. He wanted the board to stop naming a captain on a series-by-series basis, and he had his way.While he was praised for his vision as Bangladesh captain and his record as an allrounder, there are not many in the BCB who have disciplined him when necessary. Nobody was willing to be held responsible for annoying the country’s most valuable cricketer. It has been done this time, though, and quickly by BCB’s standardsShakib has been delivered a clear message, but he should have got it at least three years ago, through a different medium. On a crisp winter evening, Shakib walked into a room full of five-year-olds and they screamed his name in delight. He is a hero to people of all ages in Bangladesh, and that cheer should have been enough to make him understand his responsibilities.Perhaps the healing process can start with him saying sorry to the kids.

India Under-19 batsman Ricky Bhui has brushed aside his torrid form from the World Cup with a good string of scores and is ready for his maiden IPL experience

Amol Karhadkar29-Mar-2014India’s Under-19 side had a forgettable World Cup earlier this year and they failed to defend their title. One player, however, went through a worse campaign. Ricky Bhui, one of India’s in-form batsmen going into the tournament, managed only 15 runs in four matches and also lost his place in the side.Bhui had spent the last two years preparing for the U-19 World Cup and after such a torrid run, one would have expected the batsman to get bogged down. The 17-year-old, however, struck form soon after his return to India. Instead of going home to Visakhapatnam, Bhui joined the Andhra senior side midway through the south zone one-day league and his three unbeaten knocks, including a century and a fifty, helped Andhra revive their campaign and end the league on a high.Bhui’s most remarkable innings came against Goa, where he made his List A debut. With Andhra chasing 269 and his side shaky at 109 for 3 in the 25th over, Bhui came into his own, making short work of experienced and in-form spinners Shadab Jakati and Amit Yadav to race to an unbeaten maiden century and help Andhra secure the win with eight balls to spare.While many were surprised with Bhui’s quick resurgence after the World Cup, the batsman himself was pleased with his smooth transition to the senior league.”The best thing that happened to me was I didn’t have time to go into a shell after the U-19 World Cup and had to enter the field straightaway,” Bhui told ESPNcricinfo. “Moreover, I found it easy to make the transition of playing at the higher level. What I found was here bowlers are more consistent. Most of the times, they bowl according to their field, so you kind of know where the ball will be pitched and where to score. At the junior level, bowlers tend to spray the ball around.”Bhui’s tally of 204 runs off 190 balls wasn’t enough for Andhra to make the cut for the knockouts, but it did earn him a place in the South Zone squad for the Prof DB Deodhar Trophy. While he didn’t play the side’s semi-final game against North Zone, Bhui was excited to share the dressing room with the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa and R Vinay Kumar.The South Zone experience was a sort of prelude to the Indian Premier League, where he will share the Sunrisers Hyderabad dressing room with some of his idols. Bhui was the youngest player at the IPL auction and was bought by his home franchise for the base price of Rs 10 lakhs (approx. $16,000).”Money just doesn’t matter,” Bhui said. “I am looking forward to learning the tricks of the trade from some of the biggest names in the game. The thought of being around them in itself is exciting. If I can get an opportunity to make a mark for Sunrisers, it would be like icing on the cake.”And with the IPL’s first leg scheduled to be played in the UAE, Bhui may get a chance to exorcise the ghosts of the U-19 World Cup. Over the last three weeks, Bhui has had plenty of time to analyse what went wrong for him in the event.”I won’t say I failed to cope with the pressure. In fact, it was the first time that I experienced loss of form,” he said. “I had never been dismissed for single-digit scores for four successive innings in the past. I am pleased I managed to regain my touch as soon as the tournament ended.”Bhui has had a topsy-turvy time on the field recently but he would not have come thus far had his love for sweets overcome his passion for the game. In early 2013, when the probables for the India Under-19 World Cup squad were named, he was overweight and on the verge of being obese. His talent with the bat was never in doubt but a bulging waistline threatened to hinder his progress.What followed was a strict diet and fitness regime, which resulted in Bhui, the son of a Bengali businessman, doing extra yards in practice and cutting down on sweets. in the last year, the batsman lost more than 12 kgs.”Initially, my mom used to be so upset to see me eat salad instead of all sorts of Bengali mithai. But now she has realised this is the way forward. So have I.”

ESPNcricinfo picks its team of the 2014 season, with a limit of only four foreign players in the XI

Nitin Sundar02-Jun-20147:58

Agarkar, Isa Guha pick their IPL XIs

Picking the tournament XI is among the most anticipated activities at ESPNcricinfo the end of a long tournament, and IPL 2014 was no different. Fourteen members of ESPNcricinfo’s editorial team who watched the tournament closely sent in their votes, and after the numbers were tallied, we ended up with a well-balanced and dynamic XI that ticks all the boxes, even if it has more wicketkeepers than it needs.Mohit Sharma and Suresh Raina made it to the ESPNcricinfo IPL XI for the second year running•BCCISeveral names were automatic picks – a reflection of a season where some players were consistent and impactful right through the tournament. Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine were unanimous picks. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Suresh Raina came next, dropping just one vote each. So did Glenn Maxwell, whose slump in the latter half of the tournament would seem to have not impacted his popularity. Akshar Patel and Mohit Sharma were shoo-ins as well, with 12 votes each out of a possible 14. Wriddhiman Saha (9 votes), who capped an outstanding tournament with a century in the final was another straightforward choice in the middle order.

ESPNcricinfo’s IPL XI from 2013

Chris Gayle, Michael Hussey, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, James Faulkner, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn, Mohit Sharma

The last remaining specialist bowling spot went to Lasith Malinga (6 votes), who was predictably effective for Mumbai until his departure for England. That left one more overseas slot to fill. David Warner (6 votes) beat competition from Dwayne Smith and Lendl Simmons to make the grade as an opener.One spot remained, and that selection proved to be the most contentious. The side needed a finisher and it had to be an Indian player, which ruled out JP Duminy and Kieron Pollard, both of whom had only one vote each in any case. It came down to Delhi Daredevils’ Kedar Jadhav and one of the usual suspects in IPL XIs – MS Dhoni. The spot eventually went to Dhoni (4 votes), whose ability to finish off games without a fuss helped Super Kings in their march to the play-offs. Dhoni’s selection gave the team it’s third wicketkeeper, but more importantly, gave it a captain.Shakib Al Hasan is the twelfth man, and a good choice since he fields well and can replace a batsman or a bowler as required. If team balance wasn’t a criterion, he would have made the starting XI. The most notable miss was David Miller, who made a strong case for a fifth overseas spot. Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag, who both showed signs of a second wind during the tournament, missed out narrowly as well, as did Sandeep Sharma.The team has six batsmen, one spinning allrounder, three seam bowlers and a mystery spinner.Team of the tournament
1. Robin Uthappa (Knight Riders) – 660 runs, average 44, strike-rate 138
2. David Warner (Sunrisers) – 528 runs, average 48, strike rate 141
3. Suresh Raina (Super Kings) – 523 runs, average 40, strike rate 146
4. Wriddhiman Saha (Kings XI) – 362 runs, average 33, strike rate 145
5. Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI) – 552 runs, average 35, strike rate 188
6. MS Dhoni (Super Kings) – 371 runs, average 74, strike rate 148
7. Akshar Patel (Kings XI) – 17 wickets, average 24, economy rate 6.13
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers) – 20 wickets, average 18, economy rate 6.65
9. Mohit Sharma (Super Kings) – 23 wickets, average 20, economy rate 8.39
10. Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians) – 16 wickets, average 16, economy rate 6.45
11. Sunil Narine (Knight Riders) – 21 wickets, average 19, economy rate 6.35
12th man: Shakib Al Hasan (Knight Riders) – 227 runs, average 30, strike rate 149; 11 wickets, average 30, economy rate 6.68

Umpires are simply not watching for the no-ball closely enough and it is creating trouble for bowlers. When an umpire fails to call your foot faults, he is basically omitting to tell you all is not right

Sidharth Monga at The Oval16-Aug-2014In the tour game in Derby – it seems like an age ago for the hobbling Indian team now – Ishant Sharma bowled nine no-balls. Those sitting in the press box – dead square from where Ishant was delivering – spotted about as many no-balls not called.In the 64th over today, he got a tickle down leg from Ian Bell, which MS Dhoni failed to catch. Had he caught this, it still wouldn’t have brought Ishant a wicket, because he had overstepped marginally. A ball later, he produced the outside edge, which Dhoni accepted, but the umpire momentarily cut short his joy by asking for replays to check if this was a no-ball. It wasn’t. By a long margin. As was the case with another wicket earlier.Ishant Sharma’s no-balls, or lack of them, highlights a general umpiring issue•Getty ImagesLater in the day, Stuart Binny bowled a big no-ball, got an edge down the leg side, but the umpire missed it. Had this edge gone straight to Dhoni as opposed to the boundary, the umpires would have surely checked it with the third umpire.All this sounds right on the surface, but hasn’t Ishant been led into believing he is doing all right by an umpire who was only half alert to his no-balls? Had Binny taken a wicket next ball with a similar no-ball, wouldn’t he have reason to feel aggrieved that he wasn’t warned at his first indiscretion? When an umpire fails to call your foot faults, just because that ball has not produced a wicket, he is basically omitting to tell you all is not right. And he surely will go upstairs should you take a wicket. He will go upstairs even if you are not even close to overstepping.On his debut, in Adelaide last December, Ben Stokes was denied his first wicket when the third umpire called it a no-ball but he had landed in the exact same spot a few times before without the umpire calling him. Had he been called earlier, he would have delivered from six inches further back.The umpires have a big problem almost all over the world; hence there might be no point in naming Kumar Dharmasena as the main culprit here. Umpires are simply not watching the front foot closely enough. It can’t be the case that they operated similarly earlier, and it is just now that the technology has exposed them. The technology has been around for years, but the umpires didn’t miss the number of no-balls they do now. It just becomes all the more jarring when they go upstairs for wicket-taking deliveries even though half the foot might be behind the line.There is a general trend of falling umpiring standards, which the ICC masks by releasing misleading stats on the percentage of decisions the umpires have been getting right. For the purposes of these calculation, moving your hand parallel to the ground and around waist high for a straightforward four is also counted as a correct decision.Ishant, Varun Aaron and Binny – the three men involved in the no-ball dramas today – were not available for comment, but R Ashwin – a spinner, who is going to be involved in much fewer similar cases – took this quite sportingly. He basically said that while it might be unfair on the bowler who is going through this, you can’t have the umpires check every ball. But this state of affairs has all the makings of becoming ugly when in a tight match a bowler lands in the same spot with two consecutive deliveries, and is called only for the second just because he got a wicket.”This is one thing I have been conscious of,” Ashwin said. “It is very nervous moment when the umpire checks the no-ball. It has taken away the real quick happiness of taking a wicket. Once you have celebrated and all that, it is like a pinch on your backside. But it’s good, to use the technology to correct the errors. If we keep checking every tight one, we won’t get 90 overs in in a day.”There is no external solution to this problem. Checking no-balls is a welcome addition, which has an offshoot that is not quite desirable. There is no way someone can sit outside and check no-balls before a spinner has collected a forward defensive and bowled the next ball. The umpires will have to get their act together. There is no reason for them to not look at the front foot as closely as they used to.

Marcus Trescothick’s demise in the shortest format leads this week’s countdown of the things that mattered in the NatWest T20 Blast

Tim Wigmore14-Jul-20145. The end for Tresco in T20?
Marcus Trescothick’s emphatic return to form – he has just scored his fourth Championship hundred of the season – has been one of 2014’s most heart-warming tales.Could Marcus Trescothick’s career in the shortest format be over?•Getty ImagesBut it has not extended to the NatWest Blast. Trescothick mustered only 33 runs in six innings this season and, going back to the start of the 2012 season, has scored only 142 runs at 10.92 apiece. The offside crunches and nonchalant heaves over long-on, shown off during a 129-ball 133 against Durham hailed by Paul Collingwood as an innings that would be talked about “for the next ten years” have been absent in T20 colours. And they will continue to be so: Trescothick was omitted from Somerset’s team on Friday; they beat Gloucestershire without him.The decision hints at permanence, too. “We have decided to leave Marcus Trescothick out of the team,” director of cricket Dave Nosworthy said. “Marcus has not been scoring as well as he would have liked to have in this form of the game and he has agreed that it is in the best interests of the team that he should be left out.”This move will now allow him to focus on his Championship and 50-Over cricket,” Nosworthy said. The T20 captaincy has been taken over by Alfonso Thomas for the remainder of the season.Trescothick could perhaps be viewed as a victim of the new Blast format, and the demands on players to play a T20 game a day after a Championship match. Somerset are currently in the midst of a particularly nonsensical schedule: 11 consecutive days of cricket, including Championship matches in Uxbridge and Northampton, and T20 games at Southampton, Taunton and The Oval. He could hardly be blamed if he did not find that conducive to extending his sterling Championship scoring to T20.4. The Fred factor
Round two was better than round one. At Grace Road, Andrew Flintoff took 3 for 26, showing that his yorker remained in fine working order. The first innings of his comeback was less impressive, ending on 1 to a self-described “horrendous shot”. No matter: “I just can’t stop smiling,” he effused.

Player focus: Michael Hogan

Getty Images

Not many would be allowed to keep Justin Langer waiting but Michael Hogan can: so convinced is Langer of Hogan’s worth that he has kept a berth open in Western Australia’s squad for 2014/15 in the hope of being able to convince him to return. Hogan’s reputation – in so much as he has one – is for relentless first-class excellence from his rangy build. But he’s also a skilled death bowler. He earned an amazing tie against Kent when his last over went for only three, and he yielded only eight from his final over against Surrey at The Oval, with Vikram Solanki unable to get any bat on a final ball yorker outside off stump to hand Glamorgan a four-run win.

He wasn’t the only one, either. “There was definitely a Freddie factor,” Leicestershire chief executive Mike Siddall said. “Freddie probably put 500 on the gate – we’d love him at Grace Road every week! Our gate takings were the best of the T20 season and we sold a lot of beer as well.”With Flintoff obliging fans with autographs and photographs after the game, many Leicestershire supporters would have left unperturbed by the home side’s defeat.Lancashire’s win means they have qualified for the quarter-finals. Based on the current tables, they will have a home draw against Surrey and Kevin Pietersen. Tasty.3. Yorkshire’s spin twins
The notion of spin twins is a stirring one for many cricketing romantics. That is especially true when, as in the case of Yorkshire, both players are homegrown. Azeem Rafiq and Adil Rashid have both been through tumult in their careers but they have combined superbly so far in the Blast this season, already sharing 25 wickets. Rashid’s tale is familiar, but Rafiq’s is just as interesting. He stood-in as Yorkshire captain, with considerable success, in T20 two years ago: quite a fear for a 21-year-old. His career has stuttered since – partly due to Rashid’s resurgence. For all their T20 success, Yorkshire are still yet to partner Rafiq and Rashid in the Championship in 2014.2. Ajmal’s T20 farewell
His effect hasn’t been as spectacular as in the County Championship, but Saeed Ajmal has also been magnificent in the Blast, taking 12 wickets at 19.75 apiece while going for only 6.07 an over. Ajmal signed off from this season’s Blast with 3 for 17 at Edgbaston: he now goes to the Caribbean Premier League. His mystery and control – equally effective in and out of the Powerplay overs – have been instrumental in Worcestershire’s rise to third in the North Division, and the Rapids will now fear submerging without him.1 But don’t forget another overseas offspinner…
In comparison to Ajmal, Jeetan Patel is a rather less exciting import: an offspinner who enjoyed a fairly nondescript career with New Zealand But no one at Warwickshire would dispute his worth, and Patel’s gratitude in return was shown when he rejected the chance to tour the Caribbean with the Kiwis last month. His 2 for 17 helped Warwickshire trump Ajmal on Friday and snap a four-game losing streak: Patel now has eight wickets in his last three Blast games.