All posts by n8rngtd.top

Naman Ojha’s performances for India A in Australia are rewards for almost two years of work with batting coach Pravin Amre

Amol Karhadkar17-Jul-2014Over the last fortnight, Naman Ojha has exemplified the skill of extending one’s batting form across seasons. Touring with the India A side in Australia, Ojha hit three successive hundreds and finished the four-day leg of the tour with 430 runs in three innings. The results were Ojha’s reward for nearly two years of work done with batting coach Pravin Amre.After a disappointing series against New Zealand A in 2012, where he scored 70 runs in four innings. Narendra Hirwani, the former India legspinner and national selector, came up with a suggestion. Hirwani, who has known Ojha since the latter’s first-class debut in 2000-01, asked the wicketkeeper-batsman to approach batting coach Pravin Amre for guidance.Amre, who had coached Ojha’s corporate team, Air India, agreed and the duo have been working closely at the Air India facility in Mumbai. “We realised there was not much wrong with his technique. In fact, his extraordinary bat speed is his biggest strength, so there was no point in tinkering with it,” Amre told ESPNcricinfo. “Instead, we realised it was more of a mental problem for him when it came to batting long. We then decided to focus more on building an innings.”The rewards followed quickly for Ojha, known as an underachiever in first-class cricket, despite India caps in the shorter formats. The 2013-14 Ranji season turned out to be his best in domestic cricket. Between his debut in 2000-01 and 2012-13, Ojha had scored nine first-class centuries. In 2013-14, he scored four hundreds and finished as the eighth-highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy, even as his team, Madhya Pradesh, had one of their worst seasons in the last decade.Ojha carried that form into Australia, too. His knocks of 219 not out, 101 not out and 110 were scored while batting at No. 7 for India A and each one came with the team in a precarious position. Moreover, he scored the centuries after long spells keeping wicket, thus underlining his fitness.In the first innings of the first unofficial Test, Ojha came in to bat with India A at 191 for 5. With the aid of the tail, he ensured the score reached 475 for 9 before the innings was declared. Then, he took three catches, including a diving take down the leg side, while keeping for more than 140 overs. In their second innings, India A slumped to 86 for 5 and there was a remote possibility of a loss to Australia A. Ojha was at it again, pulling the team to safety with Ambati Rayudu.In the second four-day game, Ojha had to keep wicket for almost a day and a half before taking guard with India A at 199 for 5 in reply to Australia A’s 423. He completed a hat-trick of centuries and took the team close to Australia’s total before Umesh Yadav’s blitzkrieg ensured a sizeable lead.”Even before we started preparing for the tour to Australia, we knew he had to make this opportunity count. He had realised that he may not get many opportunities to prove himself in the longer form, so he took it as his last chance,” Amre said. “I am glad he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. To score three centuries, that too after keeping wickets for so long, is just incredible. It’s also a compliment to his fitness levels.”Hirwani, who has been a guiding force for Ojha, first as a senior team-mate and then as a selector and coach, called the wicketkeeper-batsman a late-bloomer. “His talent is unquestionable,” Hirwani said. “What was perhaps lacking was temperament and patience. I thought Amre would be the best man to help him out in such a case and I am delighted that it has worked.”There are players who realise what their game is all about at a tender age and there are some who take time to know themselves. It’s a question of maturity and I think Naman has matured now – both as an individual and as a cricketer. This is his right age. I hope he continues to excel and hopefully bring in richer laurels for himself, MP cricket and possibly the Indian team.”

The Hagley Oval has put Christchurch back on the cricketing map after the AMI Stadium was damaged by the earthquake of 2011

Marc Swain-Rogatski04-Nov-2014The venue
While the Hagley Oval has only had a handful of international matches so far – during the World Cup qualifiers in January 2014 – the newly built facilities are set to host New Zealand’s first Boxing Day Test in 11 years, against Sri Lanka, as well as the first match of the 2015 World Cup, featuring the same teams. The new set-up looks picturesque, with its lush outfield and floating tensile roof covering the pavilion – a fitting setting, indeed, for the cricket Christchurch has fought so hard to get back.The primary venue in the city was the AMI Stadium – formerly Jade Stadium and originally Lancaster Park – in the south-east of the city. Following the devastating earthquake of 2011, the ground suffered irreparable damage. From late 2014 building up to the World Cup, cricket in Christchurch will be homed in the more central Hagley Oval.The AMI Stadium was always abuzz on game day. Before the Hadlee Stand and the other large seating arrangements were raised, the ground had a large embankment area that was often home to some very colourful individuals; its atmosphere provided a lot of fun for the boundary fielders. Spectators were even allowed to play their own games of cricket on the field during the lunch interval. If one was to walk the corridors beneath the DB Draught stand, they would find games as fierce as those on centre stage, raging between the New Zealand players of the future.Ground page | FixturesGreat matches (AMI Stadium)
New Zealand v India, 3rd ODI, March 2009
The third ODI between New Zealand and India in 2009 saw an Indian batting class in session, led by Sachin Tendulkar. On track to record the biggest ODI score, he helped pummel New Zealand’s attack, but retired hurt in the 45th over on 163 as India reached a mammoth 392. An excellent Jesse Ryder century and a late partnership between Kyle Mills and Tim Southee gave India a scare, but they still emerged victorious by 58 runs.New Zealand v Australia, 3rd ODI, 2005
A few years earlier, in 2005, in the third ODI of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, a New Zealand chase led expertly by Scott Styris and Brendon McCullum got New Zealand to the highest ODI score at the time (332), and won them the match. McCullum’s unbeaten 50, thrashed from 25 balls, aided Styris’ gallant century in chasing down the large total, which had seemed a high mountain to climb after Michael Hussey’s 88 from 56 earlier in the day.Top performers in ODIs (AMI Stadium)
Most runs: Nathan Astle 705 at 50.35 | Highest score: Sachin Tendulkar 163* v New Zealand | Most wickets: Daniel Vettori 23 at 31.82 | Best bowling: Simon O’Donnell 5 for 13Major players
Chris Cairns | Stephen Fleming | Nathan Astle | Chris Harris | Shane Bond | Craig McMillan | Richard Hadlee | Rod Latham | Lee GermonHome team
Christchurch is home to Canterbury, which supplied several players to the New Zealand one-day team in the 1990s. They won the one-day trophy seven times in the 1990s. They have also won the first-class Plunket Shield 17 times.

The Bangladesh batsmen are already faced with the challenge of dealing with alien conditions. The last thing the team needs is an unwarranted rejig in the batting order

Mohammad Isam19-Feb-2015The 10,000-plus people who turned up to create a raucous atmosphere in Canberra gave Bangladesh a little taste of home. But the players were far from known conditions against Afghanistan and will be even further away in Brisbane.Although the threat of Cyclone Marcia is hovering over Saturday’s Australia-Bangladesh game, even a bit of cricket at the Gabba will be demanding for the Bangladesh batting line-up that has not fully grasped the nuances of Australian conditions.Then came the reshuffle in the batting order which had them cornered by the 30th over against Afghanistan. Although some of the batsmen took it into their strides, the rejig seems to add to the challenges the batsmen face.Shakib Al Hasan batted at No 5, the only one in the top six to stick to his usual position. Soumya Sarkar had only one outing at No 3 in List-A cricket before playing his first two ODIs at this position; Mahmudullah is new at No 4 while Mushfiqur, who bats his best at No 4, batted at No 6. They were not exactly uncomfortable but have been given little time to grow into their new roles.The batsmen have never publicly criticised or discussed their preferred batting positions but they looked jittery for about 30 overs before Shakib and Mushfiqur rescued the innings. The only hitch was that by the time this pair were having a measure of the bowling attack, the slog overs had come. Leaving only 20.5 overs for your top pair seemed counter-intuitive.Sarkar impressed with his positive approach while trying to up the slagging run-rate, but he is essentially an opener. Mahmudullah looked to be stuck in first gear while Mominul Haque, who came in at No 9, usually needs time to get going. Still, personal sacrifices were the order of the day, and some should be lauded for adjusting and keeping their shape in a tricky game.Anamul Haque taking first strike for only the ninth time in his ODI career was the portent of the change. It was the first time in eight years for Tamim Iqbal to not face the first bal. Incredibly, Tamim has always taken first strike in Tests and T20s.Such a small change has little consequence on the match but it was a not so subtle signal from Tamim that all was not right with his confidence, particularly after the arthroscopic surgery on his left knee a couple of months ago. And that wasn’t the only change in the batting line-up.Mahmudullah batted at No 4 for only the fifth time in his career though four of those occasions have come in the last four Bangladesh matches. Mushfiqur is also increasingly shifted to bat at No 6, as he did against Afghanistan, a position he is accustomed to in ODIs, but most of his recent successes have at No 4.There remains room for adjustments but the batsmen ought to be given sufficient time. Mominul was wasted lower down the order but Mashrafe later explained that he was their insurance in case of a batting collapse which Bangladesh have had plenty of in the last 12 months. The recent batting debacles in the four practice matches too surely played in the team management’s mind.To use eight batsmen against Afghanistan was ultimately defensive on Bangladesh’s part. Against higher-ranked teams, another spinner would most likely be used in place of the eighth batsman. The chop could fall on Mominul, and that will be a bigger sacrifice on his part than for the team. It will be these big and small sacrifices that the Bangladesh players would have to make throughout this tough World Cup campaign.

Stats highlights from the Group A match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Christchurch

Bishen Jeswant14-Feb-2015100 Number of venues to host a World Cup game. The Hagley Oval in Christchurch, the venue of this ODI, is the 100th.1030 Runs scored by Kumar Sangakkara in World Cups. He is only the third Sri Lankan and 14th player overall to score 1000-plus runs in World Cups. Sachin Tendulkar leads with 2278 runs.13,732 Career ODI Runs scored by Sangakkara, the second-most for any batsman after Sachin Tendulkar (18426). He went past Ricky Ponting (13704) during his innings of 39.111 Opening partnership between Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill, the second-highest for New Zealand in World Cups against a top-eight opposition. Their only higher stand was 114, against South Africa, in 1992.11 Number of 50-plus stands between Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor since 2013, the second-most for any pair. Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan are above them with 17.22 Runs scored by McCullum off Lasith Malinga during the eighth over of New Zealand’s innings. The only batsman to score more runs off a single Malinga over is Virat Kohli, who scored 24 in Hobart in 2012.84 Runs conceded by Malinga, the most for him in a World Cup match. He had never conceded more than 55 runs previously. There has been only one previous instance in ODIs where Malinga has conceded more runs without taking a wicket, when he conceded 0 for 85 against South Africa in 2014.7 Number of 300-plus scores for New Zealand in World Cups, the second-most for any team. Australia lead with 14.20 Number of 50-plus opening stands for Sri Lanka since 2013, the most for any team. Lahiru Thirimanne and Dilshan put on 67 runs in this game.331 Runs scored by New Zealand, the second-highest by any team at the Hagley Oval. The highest score at this venue is 341, by Scotland versus Canada in 2014.

The players enjoy each other’s success, back each other, protect each other both on and off the field. All these virtues have been evident in the team’s success over the last five years

Amol Karhadkar13-Mar-2015Karnataka travelled to Mumbai for their Ranji Trophy final with a 16-member squad, besides the eight support staff. On the fourth evening, Mayank Agarwal, Ronit More, Kunal Kapoor and Abrar Kazi were brought over. The Karnataka team management and state association ensured everyone, except Stuart Binny who is at the World Cup, who had contributed to their dominant campaign was at the Wankhede Stadium to get their hands on the trophy.In today’s fiercely competitive domestic circuit, seldom do we see a group of cricketers playing for each other. Enjoying each other’s success. Backing each other. Protecting each other, both on and off the field. All these virtues have been evident in the Karnataka team over the last five years. And the results are showing now as they defended their title and barely let their guard down in the entire season.The seeds of team bonding were sown at a dinner in Robin Uthappa’s house midway through the last season. He had discussed the idea with batting coach J Arunkumar and the other seniors and the informal meeting was a success. The camaraderie between the players has increased not just on the field, but off it as well.”We all get together very well. Even when there is no match, we all get together at Robin’s or my house and have a good time. There is a sense of family in the team,” Arunkumar says. “We had to get certain things right. We had to start certain patterns of team bonding. We made a conscious effort to get some pattern into the team and slowly it became a habit. There is a way to make sure that people enjoy what we are doing also, so we added an element of fun.”The unity in the team has added another dimension to Karnataka. During their last league game in Mumbai, wicketkeeper CM Gautam was involved in a scuffle with Mumbai batsman Siddhesh Lad. For the remainder of the match, and during the sem-final as well, the Karnataka players kept sledging Lad.”We have each other’s backs,” Uthappa says. “You cannot say one thing to us – you will have 16-17 guys after your life if you say one thing to us. I think you got an example of that in the Mumbai game here, when Siddhesh threw the ball on CM Gautam, and we had 15 of us standing there and we said ‘you just come in and bat, we’re going to eat you up’. That’s the kind of unity we have in our side.”This is us and we care for our unit. We love our unit and we’ll protect it no matter what. Even if someone from inside is trying to do something funny, we set them right. We put them in place. We know what works for us and staying together is what makes this team really, really successful. We train hard together, we train really well. Our work ethics have been excellent in the last two-three years, and it’s a young bunch of boys, all of us want to play the next level and we’ve got all the ingredients to be a successful team.”Both of Karnataka’s successful triumphs were special in different ways. Their victory ended a 15-year title drought. This year they came in as favourites and that came with a lot of expectation. Karntaka simply welcomed it and showed champions thrive under any kind of pressure.’You will have 16-17 guys after your life if you say one thing to us’ – Robin Uthappa•PTI “It is many years of hard work I would say,” Vinay Kumar says after becoming the first Karnataka captain to two successive Ranji titles. “Last year we won the Ranji Trophy, we worked really hard as a group. When we lost to Mumbai in Mysore [in the 2009-10 final], that was a bunch which was growing as a team. Once the confidence level and maturity level increased, everything came good in the last season and we played Ranji trophy. Winning it last year really helped us to motivate ourselves to perform this year.”Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the last Ranji captain before Vinay to win back-to-back Ranji titles, agrees that Karnataka have been playing like “a champion team” for a while now.”Being confident, highly motivated and being tenacious are the primary requisites for a team to succeed. And Karnataka have been ticking all these boxes. The hallmark of a champion team is it doesn’t give up irrespective of the position of the game and the conditions it is playing in. That can only come if the whole team is committed and moving in one direction,” Kanitkar says.”Karnataka have been showing all these skills for the last four-five years. Even when we [Rajasthan] won the titles [in 2010-11 and 2011-12] or Mumbai won [in 2012-13], Karnataka was the team to beat since they made the opponents work for every single run, every single wicket. We knew we had to fight against them for every ball for four or five days. That’s setting them apart at this moment.”Karnataka began the league stages with an emphatic victory, were assured of a place in the knockouts halfway into the league stage and earned room for experimentation. They rested each of their three seamers – Vinay, Abhiamnyu Mithun and S Aravind – before the quarter-finals.The top-six batsmen hadn’t clicked in the first three games. So Arunkumar started his hunt for the best combination. Although Karnataka were made to struggle in a drawn game with Baroda and conceded the first innings lead to Mumbai later, they were not deterred. They knew they were setting themselves up for the knockouts, to field their best XI from the quarterfinals and there on.Assam found that out when they were buried under a huge first-innings total. Mumbai found that out when they were bundled out for 44. And Tamil Nadu found that out when they were left in Karun Nair’s slipstream.Uthappa and Vinay emerged as the Ranji Trophy’s leading run-getter and joint-highest wicket-taker respectively. Their contributions off the field have been just as important.”The best part about these guys is they are leading by example. I have seen a lot of seniors in other states also who set bad examples,” Arunkumar says. “They will just bowl their quota of overs, or bat and sit outside, so even the juniors see that and start doing the same when they become seniors,””But these guys are setting all the right examples. They know equality in the team is very important. If a Vinay goes out and sits in the dressing room for two hours, he knows it’s going to send a wrong vibe to the younger lot. That doesn’t happen. Vinay doesn’t do that. Robin doesn’t do that. They set very good examples. When the captain is motivated, the teams also gets motivated.”Vinay Kumar has been one of the pillars of Karnataka’s success, and his guidance of the younger players has been standout•PTI Uthappa admits he and Vinay revel in their roles as seniors. “For me, one of the most integral things is, as a senior, you want to make the juniors most comfortable. You want to make sure there is no gap between a senior and a junior. Everyone’s treated equally, taken care of, given a work ethic and helped. My job is to make sure that everyone is thinking and feeling right, that’s my responsibility in the side.”At the same time, the youngsters in the team should also be given some sense of responsibility and belonging and sensing their generation doesn’t like to be lectured too much, Arunkumar and head coach Mansur Ali Khan made them talk rather than talking to them.”We gave responsibility to all the boys to talk and take the lead. In our team meetings, we have one batsman and one bowler talk about the team in each of the meetings. He may not be playing in the XI in that match but he along with everyone gets a sense of belonging. That’s where the rest follow,” Arunkumar says.With all the ingredients in place, Karnataka look set to dominate the domestic scene for a long time. Vinay and Arunkumar feel they can continue their supremacy for the next five years, Uthappa raises the bar even more.”I think we’ve got that stuff now. This bunch of boys, we have it in us to win domestic tournaments for a good five-seven years,” Uthappa says. “We’re a very young lot, so easily the next five-seven years. I think Karnataka must protect this lot.””It’s something that we take pride in, our pride depends on being successful. So when we win tournaments, we feel like ‘Yes, we have accomplished this. We have done this, let’s move forward to the next one.’ So we know that we want to win the Irani Cup. No one’s ever won three tournaments – the domestic, the one-day and then the premier one-off. No team in the world has done it. And for us to do it twice in two years, I don’t think people will do it for a hundred years.”Kanitkar is of a similar opinion and sees the attitude that the old Mumbai teams – which he faced for well over a decade during his stint with Maharashtra – in the current Karnataka lot.”Experienced players are secure. Youngsters are hungry for success and also willing to learn to seniors, something that doesn’t necessarily happen everywhere these days. As a result, the team is playing only for a united goal. That is what the old Bombay teams used to be like earlier. And this Karnataka group is very similar to that.”

Sidath Wettimuny outlines his plans to restructure the domestic game, and talks of how the board can cut costs and boost player salaries

Interview by Andrew Fidel Fernando15-May-2015You came in with a mandate to clean cricket up. What are the pressing needs in Sri Lankan cricket at the moment?
I’m not sure my job is to look at the past. Instead it’s to look at how we can put processes in place to improve things, particularly on the cricket side of things. We’ve already started the process of putting indoor nets at Khettarama Stadium (R Premadasa Stadium), and we’re working on increasing domestic player salaries. Those are things I think are desperately needed. We’re also looking at our domestic structure carefully, and have a few proposals to make some changes.Can you talk us through some of the changes you’ve begun putting in place?
We heard a presentation from Mahela Jayawardene about domestic cricket, and in it he said that we have a lot of quantity, but we’re sacrificing on quality. We feel that at each level of the game there must be a substantial jump. You must have a situation where a Sara Trophy (second division) player, aspires to play Premier League, and a Premier player aspires to play provincial cricket, and a provincial player, aspires to play Test cricket. We need to show the difference in quality of cricket, and also via remuneration. Earlier we had LKR 2500 per day (approx. USD 19) paid for players in Sara Trophy and Premier players. We’ve made a proposal to raise the Premier player’s payment to Rs 7500 (approx $56) a day. I would said Rs 10,000 but we have to be cautious because of the finances. If you play for the provincial tournament, we will award a central contract to those players who don’t have one.If a player is playing in the Premier and the provincial tournament, he could make about Rs 1-1.2 million a year, until you aspire to play Test cricket. That’s a decent amount. But the thing we’re saying is that it’s performance and participation-based as well.

“I’m trying to see if we can give an incentive to the curators to create better wickets. Whoever prepares good, fast, even wickets would be eligible for a reward”

That’s a big increase in player payments. How will you bear the cost of the new salary levels?
Very easily. There are 108 central contracts at the moment. We’re going to reduce that to 40. When we look at how that’s done, we’re spending more or less the same amount at the end of the day – but we’ve re-engineered it to reward playing and performing. We’ve also cut budgets by asking all the managers to look at areas where we can save. I asked for a 25% budget cut. They’ve come back with a smaller budget cut, but it’s around Rs 44 million. We’re also hoping to cut tournament costs.There is no provincial tournament currently – setting this up seems like a priority for the board…
I’m of the same opinion as Mahela is, and Aravinda de Silva is, that we should decentralise Sri Lanka’s cricket. Almost everyone who has played at a high level feels that we should have a system where there are clusters of cricket around the country. We are trying to go to the stakeholders and the clubs and say: “This is how it needs to be done. If we don’t do this, one day we are going to collapse.” Other boards have a simplified system, where we have a system where everything is run from Maitland Crescent (the Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters). You can’t do that. The truth is I have no idea what’s happening in Nuwara Eliya, I don’t know what’s happening in Badulla. We are kidding ourselves if we think we are being of service to cricketers in those regions, or getting the best available talent from those areas. This is something we have to understand, because otherwise we are going to lose out. It’s a shame that we’re already losing out. That is the biggest challenge – to convince our stakeholders that they must really rethink the way we’re going to take our cricket forward.The domestic system relies on many of the clubs around Colombo. How will you get them on board to begin a provincial tournament, where they would not feature?
I think that club cricket is the backbone of our cricket. Without club cricket, nothing works. I’m not saying we must devalue the clubs at all. I’m saying we must promote and foster the clubs – especially the clubs that have grounds. Once these World Cup funds come, I’m going to propose that we provide some funds to these clubs, depending on what they need to do to develop their facilities. We must pump money in there. I don’t see anything wrong in giving Premier clubs who have grounds Rs 10 million to develop cricket. I think that’s essential.”A team would go to Pallekele, play the four-dayer, then play the one-dayer and finish. By doing that you save money”•SLCHow will you accommodate a long club season and a provincial season in the schedule?
We’ve done a calendar now, and what we’ve said is that everything finishes by April 10. The last thing to be played will be the T20 provincial tournament. The four-day tournament will be concurrently played with the 50-over tournament. So, for example, a team would go to Pallekele, play the four-dayer, then play the one-dayer and finish. By doing that you save money. Before the provincial matches start, you play the Premier and the Sara and the club tournaments. We’re not going to change anything up to that January period, but then the provincial games will finish the season’s cricket.Where would these provincial teams be based?
We would base the teams in Dambulla, Pallekele, Galle, Hambantota and Colombo – where we have grounds and facilities already.There won’t be any changes to the club tournaments?
Not this year. There is a view that the Premier tournament should be cut down from 14 teams to 12 or 10. I don’t want to even think that far. I won’t be there that long to make that decision. The guys who come in will have to study what happens in the next tournament and figure it out. What I think, the Premier teams should have is a second XI. That would allow the players not getting a match at the Premier level to play cricket and get back into form without having to look for another club.One of the objections to setting up provincial bases around the country is that those bases are susceptible to local political influences, and Maitland Crescent loses control of cricket there…
I think that’s a myth. We actually have no close connection with all those districts and provinces at all now. It’s only by name. The only connection we have is when the time comes to bid for their vote, you then try and woo them. There is no proper micro-management at that level.

“I don’t think the interest in the game has waned. Our climate is so warm, maybe you’re more comfortable under a fan at home rather than at the ground”

The lack of quality pitches in first-class cricket has also been an issue. How can you improve that?
I’m trying to see if we can give an incentive to the curators to create better wickets. Whoever prepares good, fast, even wickets would be eligible for a reward. In India, they’re saying they’re leaving a bit of grass, so we need to look into our own methods. Here, after the first over, sometimes there are spinners bowling. How can you blood fast bowlers when you’re doing that? Part of the reason we have so many breakdowns is that our fast bowlers are barely getting through ten overs in a day. A top quick should be able to bowl 20. I was speaking to Stephen Mount, the Sri Lanka team physio, and he was saying that our players are not doing enough bowling and batting at the Premier league.What will you do to improve cricket in the north and east, where there is a lot of passion for cricket but meagre infrastructure after the war?
Two years ago, when I was in a cricket committee, I suggested we play a combined north and east team in the Sara Trophy. It never happened. So we’re trying to begin that again. Maybe for the first four years we say: “Points don’t matter to you – you just play. You don’t get knocked up or down a division. You just play.”The national team is heading into a period of transition. What can be done at a policy level to ensure results don’t dip?
The gap between our first-class level and international level is pretty large. We don’t have the batsmen and bowlers who are used to the long haul. To compensate for this, we need to give A team players time to settle in. If at all I can find fault with the last set of selectors, they were trying too many things, with the best of intentions. If you’re selected to play in a three-match series programme with the A team, you feel you have to score runs in the first match, otherwise you’re going to get dropped in the second and be history by the third. Then nothing’s going to work. You’ve got to be told: “You are there, so settle in.” We’ve already seen results. Kusal Perera was talked to a lot and told we were going to play him through the series. The man is on fire. You’ve got to give them enough exposure for long enough.The previous board repeatedly clashed with national players on the issue of payment. Are the top cricketers being paid too much? Are they not being paid enough?
When you talk about too much or too little, it’s always a comparison with the same professionals in other countries. If you look at it from that point of view, you could say maybe we are not paying them anywhere near the best. But if you look at how much they are paid compared to other employment in the country, you would say they’re paid huge amounts. The key is to get a balance. As long as they are happy with their pay and they know that’s what the board can afford, then I think both sides are happy. I think the current system is okay.Kusal Perera was told he would be persisted with in the A team, and that security has helped him rediscover his form•AFPTest match attendance in Sri Lanka is very poor. Why is that, and what can be done to change this?
It’s a combination of a lot of things. I don’t think I have a ready-made answer for that. One is the marketing side, which must also come from developing these provincial bases and giving people ownership of those bases and getting them interested. I don’t think the interest in the game has waned by any means – I think everybody watches it on television. Our climate is so warm, maybe you’re more comfortable under a fan at home rather than at the ground.One thing we could do is, maybe each provincial school cricket team can be given a ticket to watch the match in that stadium. That will then stimulate the interest. [The kid] might bring his friends or his parents, and then you get affiliation to a province. After a good day’s cricket, maybe one spectator is born. We need to do things like that at the base level. We’re seeking some consultation on the marketing side as well.What’s the latest with the interim committee’s relationship with the ICC?
The latest is that we had a very cordial meeting with the ICC. Their concerns stem from some stakeholders writing in and saying there was chaos and so on. The ICC had legitimate concerns. The minister explained why he had to appoint an interim committee. He said it was for a short time, and now he has said that our committee will be dissolved by January, after which he will go in for elections. The ICC have agreed to release the funds on a certain basis, which is fine.There is absolutely no doubt about our Full Member status. That’s not in question. The only thing is, as an interim committee, because their [the ICC] constitution has changed, they think that we’ll need to come in as just an observer. We told them that that is not in their constitution to do that. There is a dialogue going on. There is nothing drastically out of order. They said they do not want to jeopardise Sri Lanka Cricket in any way. They just wanted to find out what was going on. They wanted to find out what our financial requirements are.

Mustafizur Rahman said he had varied the use of his stock ball, the offcutter, during his first day in Test cricket, when he took 4 for 37 against South Africa

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong21-Jul-2015Mustafizur Rahman’s eyes sparkled when asked, for the fourth time, how he felt after taking three wickets in four balls in the first innings of his debut Test. His spell of 4 for 37 had broken South Africa and the visitors had fallen for 248 in Chittagong.”Do I even have to tell you? Three wickets!” he said, with a clap and a big smile. That is also how he celebrates his wickets. Some have compared it to a happy baby, and there was even a mention of him resembling a flapping seal.It was hard to get a proper word out of Mustafizur. Out in the middle at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, he had been in his element, but in front of cameras and reporters in an air-conditioned room he was not at ease. But he tried.After Bangladesh’s poor start in the first session, Mustafizur said the idea had been to string dot balls together and form a bowling partnership that squeezed the South African batsmen. “In ODIs, you sometimes just have to keep the ball in certain areas. Batsmen try to go after the bowlers and end up giving away wickets,” Mustafizur said. “It is not easy to take wickets in Tests. Batsmen leave good balls alone. You have to earn your wicket in Tests.”I wasn’t bowling well in the first spell. I kept trying to take wickets and build a partnership together with the bowler at the other end. I was trying to bowl dot balls, even if I wasn’t taking wickets. We knew that if we could put pressure from both sides, wickets would come.”Mustafizur said he deliberately varied the usage of his offcutter, a delivery that had brought him most of his wickets in the ODI format. “I think I try the variation twice or thrice per over in an ODI. I was trying them once every two or three overs. Batsmen are not in a hurry to score runs in Tests so I didn’t try it much.”He said he was particularly pleased to claim Hashim Amla as his first Test wicket – to go with Shahid Afridi in T20Is and Rohit Sharma in ODIs. “Hashim Amla’s wicket gave me most pleasure,” Mustafizur said. “I am thrilled to have taken the wicket of a batsman of such caliber. I tried to take the hat-trick. I bowled exactly what I wanted to bowl, but the batsman played it well and I didn’t get the wicket. I was happy when I saw the stump flying. I am supposed to feel that way.”It is great to take wickets like this. There is no fun in fielding for two days,” he said when asked how much effort he put in on a slow pitch.Despite taking four wickets, Mustafizur enjoyed his signature celebration of clapping only once – when he dismissed Quinton de Kock with an inswinger, his third wicket four balls. He then tried to make eye contact with the batsman.The story is in Mustafizur’s eyes. It tells the tale of a 19-year old boy from a village living his big dream.

Having sealed T20 series wins in Bangladesh and now India, South Africa can look ahead to next year’s World T20 with increased confidence and self-belief

Firdose Moonda07-Oct-2015The confidence game is as much a part of professional sport as the technical game because even the best sportspeople in one country or team need reassurance that they are better than the best sportspeople in another country or team. South African cricketers have had that reassurance to some extent in the five-day game – they are the holders of the Test mace and their record in the format is enviable – but they have not had it for any sustained period of time in the shorter formats. Their major tournament record has not helped but now they are starting to build some conviction ahead of the next one.”Momentum and confidence is a big thing in international games,” David Miller said, ahead of the third T20 in Kolkata. “We came here with a lot of expectation to doing well and put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform. India are an amazing T20 side, they have got some huge players and this [performance in the T20 series] gives us a lot of confidence moving forward coming close to the World T20. We need to take confidence from this and it has been a huge confidence booster.”South Africa have won the first two T20s, giving them a second successive series win in this format in the subcontinent. Given that the World T20 will take place in these conditions, their performances in Bangladesh and India serves as a sign that they are on the right track.Crucially, South Africa have been able to adapt both departments of their game. Their batsmen have learnt how to deal with slow, low pitches and understood that patience is not the only way. Strike rotation and partnership building have helped them post impressive totals. Their seamers have not allowed the conditions to trip them up but have continued to bang the ball in hard, have moved away from an over-reliance on the short ball, and can execute clever changes of pace. They also have a selection of spinners to choose from.On this tour so far, they have even managed to bring their fielding back to its usual high standards after it slipped a touch during the home series against New Zealand, where numerous high catches were put down. “Our fielding in the last couple of weeks or months has not been up to standard as a team so leading up to this series we have really been working hard in the field in practicing and the last two games have been outstanding,” Miller said.Miller himself has not stood out. He has not scored an international half-century in 16 innings since the World Cup and there seems to be waning confidence from the team management in his ability to finish an innings. In the last two matches, Farhaan Behardien has been promoted above Miller, who could risk losing his place once Rilee Rossouw recovers from injury, and knows there is pressure on him to perform.While Miller can’t force more crease time if the opportunity does not present itself, he can take some inspiration from a team-mate who has found himself in a similar situation in the past, Albie Morkel. The allrounder was once touted as South Africa’s answer in major tournaments but then fell off the radar and thought his international career was over until a surprise recall for this series.Morkel worked his way back through the domestic set-up, where Miller will spend time for the Dolphins franchise once the ODIs are over and if he is diligent about it, he could find some of his own confidence coming back. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work over the winter but without any visions of playing for South Africa,” Morkel said. “I certainly won’t sit here and make statements that I should be playing, I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”Morkel seized what could be his final chance to play in a major tournament for South Africa with a career-best 3 for 12 on comeback. If anyone has reason to be confident, it’s him, but he chose to play it down instead. “I understand cricket. Sometimes it’s tough on the field; tonight was my night. Next game will be someone else’s chance. It is, I suppose, fortunate that on my comeback I got a man of the match. That’s something I’ll remember forever. But I’ll certainly not make any statements that I should be a permanent member.”

A collection of some of our best features on the destructive Indian batsman

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2015How good is Sehwag? (August 2011)
Shashi Tharoor: Is he ready to take his place alongside team-mates Tendulkar and Dravid in the pantheon?Is Sehwag great yet? (August 2008)
Suresh Menon: Up there with the Gavaskars and Tendulkars? Just where does India’s gonzo opener stand in his country’s batting pantheon?Bunnies and boundaries (March 2015)
Sehwag takes a video quiz on his careerCricket’s modern Zen master (November 2010)
Mukul Kesavan: The key to his success is that he has the ability to live in the presentMemories of Virender (March 2013)
Ramachandra Guha: Now that his best is likely behind him, let us look back on some Sehwag classicsSehwag more destructive than Richards(December 2009)
Sambit Bal: Time to cut out the buts and salute Sehwag for what he is: one of the greats of batting‘Sometimes I play according to the situation’ (September 2009)
Nagraj Gollapudi: Modern cricket’s greatest maverick batsman speaks about the method in his madness in a two-part interviewFootwork my foot (April 2008)
Suresh Menon: What value does technical correctness in general, and footwork in particular, hold these days?Anatomy of a classic

Chandrahas Choudhury and Nishant Arora: Virender Sehwag looks back at his century and a half against Australia in Chennai, 2004The Last Samurai (March 2008)
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan: On Sehwag’s 319 against South Africa in ChennaiHas there ever been another like Sehwag? (December 2009)
S Aga: On Sehwag’s 293 against Sri Lanka in MumbaiSehwag’s theory of relativity (April 2008)
Sambit Bal: Where others see risk, he sees opportunity. And he has the numbers to prove itThe Sehwag effect (, April 2005)
Rahul Bhattacharya: Examining the impact that Virender Sehwag’s berserker pace has on his team-mates and their battingThe school that Sehwag built (December 2014)
Gaurav Kalra: The plainspeaking Indian batsman is focusing on life beyond cricket, having set up an educational institution with world-class facilities for academics and sportsThe limited-overs batsman who revolutionised Test cricket (November 2012)
John Wright: Sehwag’s ability to use skills seemingly made for ODIs in the long game, and his instinct and fearlessness make him one of cricket’s most compelling sightsThe accidental opener (November 2012)
Harsha Bhogle: When Virender Sehwag accepted the challenge of opening in Tests, he dramatically changed the way the game was playedThe pragmatic art of Virender Sehwag (November 2012)
Ed Smith: He has reached an understanding with his own flaws, refused to compromise his strengths, and stayed true to himself‘Hit the ball, enjoy the sound’ (November 2012)
Sidharth Monga: Virender Sehwag’s unorthodox style and approach to the game has redefined Test batting at the top and his impact for India and on world cricket should outlast his recent slump in overseas form‘Sehwag allowed me to find my rhythm’ (November 2012)
Rahul Dravid pays tribute to his team-mateFrom batting long to just batting (December 2011)
Sidharth Monga: On Sehwag’s one-time world record 219 in an ODI against West Indies‘I could never plan against him’ (July 2010)
Virender Sehwag talks about facing Muttiah MuralitharanSublime Sehwag on a different plane (August 2008)
Sambit Bal: On Sehwag’s 201* in Galle against Murali and MendisA match-winner in the subcontinent (November 2012)
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan: A statistical analysis of Sehwag’s career before his 100th TestModern Masters: Virender Sehwag
Rahul Dravid and Sanjay Manjrekar break Sehwag down

Dane Vilas, who was picked for the Test series in India ahead of Quinton de Kock, hasn’t done badly behind the stumps, but has looked edgy with the bat in the first two matches

Firdose Moonda20-Nov-2015A wicketkeeper should be a silent contributor – if he is not noticed, he has done well – but on South Africa’s tour of India, he has found himself in the spotlight.Dane Vilas was a risk South Africa took – he had played just one day of Test cricket before this tour – and he was tasked with one of the toughest tours for a wicketkeeper. The bounce would be variable, the spin plentiful, and that was not the only difficulty. He would also have to double up as the seventh batsman to accommodate an extra bowler. In both departments, he has not looked convincing enough yet.Vilas has not dropped catches or fumbled stumpings, but he has not appeared entirely in control either. He conceded 15 byes in the first Test and four in the second, in 165.3 overs overall. On some occasions the ball scooted past him; on others it went through him. Almost every time he slapped the surface in frustration.Vilas has been more conspicuously out of his comfort zone while batting. He was edgy and nervous, as any newbie may be if he came in at 105 for 4, or 45 for 5, or 120 for 5. Vilas, however, tried to be over aggressive. He approached batting as though he had a point to prove, which he had already done in domestic cricket.Vilas’ first-class average is just shy of 40 and he has scored runs under pressure in the past. In 2011, when he moved from his home provincial team Gauteng to Western Province and found that his first match for his new side would be against his old, Vilas responded with a century, as if to show Gauteng what they had missed. He was promoted to the franchise team, Cobras, the following season and in his third game he scored a match-winning 161 not out against Titans – the then defending champions.Since then, Vilas has consistently been among Cobras most reliable players. Last season, he scored 499 runs in nine first-class matches, including one hundred and three fifties, at an average of 38.38.Morne van Wyk, who amassed 714 runs at 79.33 in eight matches for Dolphins, was last season’s leading wicketkeeper batsman in domestic cricket but Vilas had done enough to get noticed. It was eventually Vilas, and not the 36-year old van Wyk, who was called up for the South Africa A side for the India tour in August.The idea when that A side was picked was to create depth for the national selectors and to give some of the players who had not played much on the subcontinent – Dean Elgar for example – an opportunity to get used to conditions. It was not to ready Vilas for a Test stint in India; Quinton de Kock was the first-choice wicketkeeper.That changed when de Kock’s prolonged lean run became a proper drought in Bangladesh and he was subsequently dropped. Vilas was called up for the Bangladesh tour because AB de Villiers, who would have taken the gloves as he did when de Kock was injured against West Indies in late 2014, was on paternity leave. The expectation from Vilas himself would have been low and the understanding was that he was drafted in purely as cover for an emergency.Quinton de Kock was left out of the Test series against India, despite scoring two centuries during the ODI leg of the tour•Associated PressVilas’ debut Test in Mirpur was similar to the one that finished in Bangalore. There was only one day of cricket with four days washed out and that was rightly deemed far too small a sample to judge Vilas’ ability. He had to get another chance to show what he could do and the schedule dictated that the other chance would come in India.South Africa’s selectors cannot be faulted for sticking with Vilas. Consistency in choosing their players and affording them a long enough run in the side is what South Africa have built their success on. By picking Vilas, they simply did what has worked for them and what is fair. But professional sport is sometimes not all about following that linear line.By the time the Test squad was picked on September 10, de Kock had blasted his way back to form with three centuries on South Africa A’s tour to India. He was rewarded with a recall to the senior limited-overs’ sides but was left out of the Test series. Even after de Kock scored two hundreds in the ODI series, he was not kept on for the Tests and was sent home to play in the domestic T20 competition. It was the right message sent to Vilas and de Kock, though it may have cost South Africa both on the field and in the succession race.South Africa’s wicketkeeping position was owned by Mark Boucher for years and that meant there was never a clear plan on how to move on from him. Now, that issue has become fuzzier.Vilas will not know whether the next two Tests could decide his international future. De Kock will not know whether the fact that Vilas not scoring enough runs means he will get right back in. And what of Thami Tsolekile, as former international opener Alviro Petersen had mentioned on Twitter? Tsolekile may now consider himself extremely unlucky not to have been used in a stopgap role, and that may raise a transformation issue, as Petersen already pointed out.The tour of India will be won or lost with bat and ball, but there will also be debate about South Africa’s selection.