All posts by h716a5.icu

Shane Watson still has much to learn about leadership and Test match batting, but he’s made it his priority, and his tutelage under Warne and Dravid in the IPL will only help

Daniel Brettig05-May-2011Shane Watson is gleaning as much as he can from Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid in the IPL while reconciling himself to the fact the Australian side he is about to drive is not capable of matching their feats. In Warne and Dravid, Watson could not have two better mentors for the tasks ahead, as he and Australia’s new captain, Michael Clarke, embark upon the task of rejuvenating a team that slid to a horrendous Ashes defeat and an early World Cup exit.Not only the most valuable player in the Australian team, Watson is also Clarke’s vice-captain, the winner of the past two Allan Border medals, and the only member of the current side to be considered a natural choice in any contemporary World XI. For all this he remains in a state of development, both as a leader and as a Test opener, where his penchant for handy half-centuries must be built upon if he and his team are to make significant strides over the next 12 months.Little more than two years ago it would have been deemed optimistic in the extreme – if not a little daft – to mention Watson as a Test-captaincy contender. Now he is next in line after Clarke, a position of far greater resonance when the new captain’s decidedly slim past year of Test batting enters the equation.Amid the hustle of the IPL, Watson is seeking to grasp Warne’s tenets of leadership and Dravid’s Test batting, while angling for a little more batting time in the Rajasthan Royals spinners’ net ahead of the August tour of Sri Lanka. Warne’s place as a friend and teacher to Watson and Clarke is significant, and it is arguable that he might have greater influence on the direction of the Australian teams of 2011 and beyond than he did on the team in which he played a vital but rigidly defined role in his later years as a Test player.”Warney’s influence on me, throughout the last three or four years, since I’ve been able to spend a lot more time playing with him, has been very significant on my game, the way I bowl, and reading the game more,” Watson said.”Seeing the things that Warney does, his tactical thinking, really seeing that at work, continues to open my eyes. There’s no doubt his relationship with Michael Clarke has shaped the way Michael does captain, and the tactics he picks as well. I think it’s a brilliant thing because there’s no doubt in my mind that Warney is one of the best minds that’s ever played the game.”The fields he sets and the bowlers he picks – it’s pretty amazing to see the decisions he makes, and the fields that he sets come off nine out of 10 times.”Watson said he hadn’t faced Warne in the nets a lot but was hopeful they could get some time in together over the next few weeks as a lead-in to the Sri Lanka tour.Warne’s tactical spark has begun to fire Watson’s mind, as he trains himself to look beyond the issues of batting, bowling and body that defined his Australian role until quite recently. Looking back to his younger self, perhaps the one that celebrated so unwholesomely at dismissing Chris Gayle in a Test match in Perth in December 2009, Watson can see how much he has grown as a leader.

“The fields he sets and the bowlers he picks, it’s pretty amazing to see the decisions he makes. And the fields that he sets come off nine out of 10 times”Watson is impressed with Warne’s tactical strengths

“Yeah much differently, definitely, because now I know there might be a chance at some stage that I might have to be the person to make the decisions on the field, so my eyes are much more open to what’s being done,” Watson said. “Even over the last six months I’ve tried to open my eyes up to that aspect of the game as well. I’ve definitely got my views and certain ways of thinking tactically, and also [about] the roles of people within the team, so it’s one point of my development that’s really come on. Now to be able to be so close to Warney and see how he goes about it as one of the best in the world, I’m very lucky.”Luck, in the form of the IPL auction, has also played a part in bringing Watson and Dravid together. While they will more than likely spar against one another when India tours Australia later in the year, for now Watson is sitting at the feet of Dravid, among cricket’s most supreme exponents of run accumulation.”That’s the continual fight for every batsman, trying to clear your mind as quickly as possible,” Watson said. “I have been very excited about actually playing with Rahul, from watching him from afar over the last 10 years or more he’s been playing Test cricket, and especially seeing how dominant he has been over his career. So I’m very lucky to talk to him about the ways he’s able to clear his mind and concentrate for long periods of time. That’s the beauty of the IPL, as well: to be able to mix with different people and be able to dive into their mind and be able to find different ways that might work for me.”Finding what works is the great challenge confronting Watson, Clarke and the rest of the Cricket Australia hierarchy, ahead of Test series against Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, India and West Indies. In Bangladesh, Watson and Clarke were inseparable, whether it was striding out to practice, talking shop while carrying armfuls of batting gear, or chatting purposefully in the team hotel late on the eve of a match.Watson described the week in Dhaka as a chance to articulate a “collective vision” for the future, before Clarke travelled home to discuss things further with team management and the Cricket Australia board. What emerges from these discussions will be better known once the list of centrally contracted players is released, but for now Watson said it was important to define the team by what it can do rather than by what its predecessors did.”My opinion is always that whatever the strengths of your team are, that’s what you’ve got to stick to. We can’t try to emulate what the Australian team did five or six years ago with the amazing talent they had. We’ve got to stick to our strengths and what we have in our team, to be able to try to develop a really good game plan around that. That’s what the next two or three months are going to be, to find and know what the team’s going to be and develop our cricket around our strengths and weaknesses in that team.”There’s no doubt the Australian public do expect us to play the way teams did five or six years ago and how aggressive they were, and all that really came down to how amazingly talented the whole group was. The people playing back then were some of the greats who have ever played the game, and that’s something we’re going to be trying to develop as individuals and as a team.”

Charles Coventry is out of the national side, but is keen to break back into the big league by scoring big for his franchise

Firdose Moonda30-Aug-2011It was mid-afternoon in the nets in Bulawayo and the Zimbabwe players were starting to train. In the middle of the field, the local franchise, Matabeleland, had gathered. The players had to undergo fitness tests before they would be allowed to sign on for the new season.While their national counterparts milled around for a few minutes, the franchise players sweated through their bleep tests. Most of them did not have a moment to look elsewhere. But, one of them did. He threw the national team the slightest of glances, the kind that screamed, “I wish I was there”.”Obviously you get a bit jealous sitting on the sidelines,” Charles Coventry told ESPNcricinfo. “But, it’s a part of your career, sometimes you’re in the team, sometimes you’re out and you just have to keep working towards becoming a regular.”To those who will associate Coventry with 194* forever, it will probably come as a surprise that the spectacled, tousle-haired batsman was not training in the national camp. For seven months since August 2009, until Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 in February 2010, Coventry held the joint world-record for the highest individual score in ODIs with Saeed Anwar.One innings can’t build a career, but in that innings that came out of nowhere, Coventry showed glimpses of greatness. Before that effort, he had only scored 301 runs in 14 ODIs, and his marathon effort somewhat eroded the criticism he had to cop for not having the discipline to build an innings over a long period of time.To disappear, almost into nowhere, after that was just as unexpected. Not many would be able to live up to a score like that, but fewer people would live it down like Coventry has. Since then, he played in 22 matches, crossed the half-century mark just once and was out in single-figures six times. “I think I put myself under a bit too much pressure,” he said. “I lost a bit of the enjoyment for the game.”With him failing to steady up the middle order, and perhaps with memories of the 194 in mind, Zimbabwe’s selectors thought of a new role for Coventry as they went to the 2011 World Cup. “I had a bit of a tough World Cup, being pushed to open the batting and now I find myself on the sidelines.”Scores of 14, 4 and 0 in his three World Cup outings were clear evidence of a failed experiment and a build-up of frustration for Coventry. “I think they tried to give me a chance at the top because I started getting into some bad form in the middle order,” he said. “I was usually the guy who had to make sure I was there to finish things off but at the time [during the World Cup], my role was more to come in upfront and play a few shots and that didn’t work very well. When that failed I had to get back on the sidelines.”He has now decided that the yo-yo has to stop and that he will concentrate on the middle-order spot from now on. “I’ve done well batting lower down the order so I’ve just got to keep getting runs at the franchise level and hopefully I can get back in the national side,” he said. Last season, Coventry was not able to impress at that level. His seven List A games fetched only 90 runs but he did manage 272 in the same number of first-class matches.Coventry acknowledged that those numbers do not do him any favours, but said his previous performances mean he can’t be written off. “I’ve played for the national side before and it’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said. It’s doing it more consistently, and now at the level below the national side, he needs to get right.The plan has already been mapped out and it sounds like a fairly simple one. “I’ve just got to work hard, make sure my fitness levels are up there and start scoring some runs at franchise level,” Coventry said. The realities of that plan are little more serious, because it will involve more than becoming a run machine. “I’m trying to enjoy myself and trying not to put myself under too much pressure when I fail, and understand that I’ve got another innings to put that right.”That kind of determination and persistence is echoed throughout the Zimbabwe national team, with players from Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda to Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya showing what can be achieved through hard grit and grind. By the time the four of them, and the rest of the squad had completed their session, Coventry had left the ground, but if he was there and had stolen a stare at them then, he may have seen the level of commitment he will have to show to break back in to this Zimbabwean side.

ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the second day of the second Test between Australia and India in Sydney

Sidharth Monga at the SCG04-Jan-2012The wait
About seven minutes before lunch, both Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were on 97. While Clarke has been more used to reaching the three-figures mark of late, Ponting would have been rather anxious. Clarke raced away to the century before lunch, cuing a lovely celebration in front of his home crowd. Those celebrations, and a no-ball in the over, made sure it would be the last over before lunch, and Ponting would have to endure a nervous 40-minute break.The single
Ponting’s anxiety to get to the hundred showed in the way he pushed straight to mid-on and charged down when on 99. Zaheer Khan took aim and missed by inches. Had he hit, he would have caught Ponting short of his first century in a little over 23 months. There was immense joy on Ponting’s face as he got up, but also a realisation that he had cut it too close. As it was the start of the session, Ponting came out of the soiled shirt in the middle of the ground, and changed into a fresh one.The reaction
As Zaheer missed that run-out, every Indian had his hands on his head or hips. Virat Kohli sank to his knees. They could all see that their last chance to make something out of the second day had missed by inches. Rahul Dravid, however, had the sense of occasion. Even as the rest came to terms with their disappointment, Dravid applauded Ponting’s effort.The miss
There weren’t going to be too many chances for India to slow down Australia’s charge today. One of them came in the final session when Clarke drove uppishly back at Ishant Sharma. It went fast but at a catchable height. It was spilled. Clarke was 182, and resumed chugging along.The reaction II
It is slightly extra special making it to a landmark when batting with Michael Hussey. He is often just as pleased as you. When Clarke hit one into the leg side when on 199, Hussey’s hand went up in the air too, and as they were coming back for the second, Hussey changed his line of running just so he could high-five Clarke along the way.

Plays of the Day from the first day of the third Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington

Firdose Moonda at Basin Reserve23-Mar-2012 Kallis moment of the day
South Africans are often of the view that Jacques Kallis does not get the recognition he is due and that his importance to the team is often undervalued. If they needed evidence that it is not, it came today. Kallis was forced to withdraw from the match because of a stiff neck, making it the first time since the Boxing Day Test in 2006 that he has missed a Test for South Africa.Usually, he plays despite his niggles. Against India in January last year, he batted with a side strain which the team doctor described as being as painful as breaking a rib every time he moved and scored a hundred in each innings. Kallis’ injury meant that South Africa had to reshuffle their XI to maintain balance. They were forced to sacrifice their frontline spinner, Imran Tahir, because Kallis needs two players to replace him. JP Duminy was named in the middle order and Marchant de Lange will do the bowling duties in Kallis’ absence.DRS decision of the day
Technology has come to play a starring role in this series and found its way into the spotlight again. Graeme Smith was given out by Aleem Dar after Doug Bracewell got one to nip back in as Smith attempted a cover drive. New Zealand were convinced bat met ball but Smith was not and asked for the review. Hot Spot did not reveal anything, although there was a noise but Billy Doctrove, who is the third umpire for the match, upheld Dar’s decision.Last week, Virtual Eye inventor Ian Taylor said the umpires should be able to use their discretionary powers to over-rule technology, if they felt they had enough evidence to do so, and this may have been the first application of that theory.Sign of the day
Officials at the ground took decisive action after a lengthy delay caused by too much movement on the grandstand end held up play when Mark Gillespie was bowling. The staircase leading to the stand was soon being manned by someone who had to tie a rope blocking off access every time the bowling changed ends. Printed posters were also made, which read “Please remain seated whilst bowling from this end.” The spectators who saw the suited man in their way sniggered as he went about his task while Dean Brownlie bowled. It turned out they belonged to the grammar police as one of them piped up, “Does Dean Brownlie know he should be seated now?”Drop of the day
When Alviro Petersen charged down the track to Daniel Vettori, the ball was headed the way of those sitting on the grass embankment at long-on. It travelled long and high, giving a spectator enough time to get under it and after running to his left, he let the ball slip through his fingers. He lost the chance to win $200, which he was reminded of as the big screen flashed the amount, and ducked his head in embarrassment at his mistake.

Still only 25, Ashwin needs to show more patience to be successful. So do the others who expect him to deliver each time

Abhishek Purohit in Hyderabad24-Aug-2012Still very early in his Test career, R Ashwin has experienced extreme highs and lows. He started with 22 wickets in the home series against West Indies last year, went to Australia ahead of Harbhajan Singh and averaged 62.77 for his nine wickets in India’s 0-4 thrashing. And right away, the criticisms arrived: He tries too many things rather than focus on his stock offbreak, he has played too much Twenty20 cricket, he is too impatient, and such like.Indeed, Ashwin looked very flat in Australia, reduced to a containing role amid India’s lack of runs and defensive fields. In hindsight, it was forgotten that he was barely three Tests old going to Australia. In hindsight, it was forgotten that even Harbhajan and Muttiah Muralitharan average over 73 and 75 in Australia.Back home against New Zealand, Ashwin today again demonstrated just how many positives he has for a 25-year old, an age when most spinners aren’t supposed to be exactly mature. He used a lot of flight, something he does even when bowling in a T20 Powerplay. He got a lot of bounce, something he relies on more than turn, which was anyway little and slow on the Hyderabad pitch. He bowled largely with control. To his credit, he stuck mostly to tossed-up offbreaks and did not overuse the carrom ball like he’d done in Australia. When he did, he troubled even Kane Williamson, who handled the India spinners the best. And yes, he can bat as well.”I have always maintained that [I’ve] relied on my stock ball much higher than I have on the carrom ball,” Ashwin said. “Yes, it has done the trick once or twice, I have got people out with it, but [I don’t bowl] one every over. I am definitely looking to be patient on it.”And he can learn with showing more patience in this format. He did start to push it through quicker, flatter and shorter to try and get more out of the sluggish pitch when Williamson and James Franklin resisted. As he himself said later, it only made the ball come on better.”I think the new ball was a little hard and the seam was a little more upright when we spinners started bowling,” Ashwin said. “That helped us get a bit of bounce and a few wickets up front. As the ball got older, it was slowing up a little bit. We have to be patient to get wickets tomorrow. There is a little bit of bounce if it is slower through the air. Quicker through the air [it] is obviously going nicely on to the bat.”Somewhat inevitably, Ashwin was again asked what he thought of the criticism about his perceived overuse of the carrom ball. Ashwin, sounding a little miffed, reasoned that the perception had been carried over from his bowling style in limited-overs cricket.”You want me to elaborate, I can. We play a lot of one-day and T20 cricket and I need to be one up and I would rather try that [the carrom ball] more often in a one-dayer or a T20 game because inevitably I would get hit. I think it is a comparison drawn from there.”I have played enough first-class cricket to know what the stock ball is. I would rather get pinned down bowling the stock ball than the carrom ball. The carrrom ball is much more of a defensive mechanism, it is not an attacking ball at all. I don’t know where that comparison comes in at all.”Perhaps he can learn to be more patient in press conferences as well, but figures of 14-3-30-3 on a day two pitch, combined with a confident 37 earlier with the bat, wasn’t a bad day’s work at all. Ashwin already has a Test hundred, and again his batting was refreshing for an India No. 8.Forget the calm steers and stylish clips he played, even the way his bat comes down to meet the ball shows you that this man can bat. India had lost their sixth wicket on 387, and it was largely due to Ashwin that they got close to 450. The rest of India’s lower order is really nothing more than a proper tail. As a reminder of that, Pragyan Ojha had one scoring shot in 28 deliveries, and also ran out Umesh Yadav. Ashwin’s importance to this Indian side, thus, gets magnified. He surely can improve, but even we, perhaps, need to be more patient with him.

A wretched 2011-12 season has filled New South Wales with resolve to regain the respect of Australian cricket

Daniel Brettig17-Sep-2012In capturing why last summer went so badly wrong for New South Wales, it is not hard to find the emblematic day. Five Test cricketers in the top six, eight Australian representatives in the XI, the Blues were routed for 91 at the WACA ground on February 17.They had been 1 for 60 moments before the lunch break, Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja battling along with no hint of the maelstrom to follow. But Khawaja played a horrid stroke, bowled while trying to pull a ball from Michael Hogan, and from that moment the innings, and the match, went to pieces.An innings and 323-run hiding brought many discontents bubbling to the surface, as a decidedly strong team on paper fell apart in the field. The reasons for this were many and varied. A new coach in Anthony Stuart and the new captain Steve O’Keefe floundered for direction after replacing a successful long-term duo.Stuart’s predecessor Matthew Mott had left of his own accord, but the captain Simon Katich was moved on by the chief executive David Gilbert, in what appeared a move made in too much haste. The state cricket manager, David Thompson, was in his second season and saw his old school grade cricket values clash with those of the 21st century game.As the summer progressed as many as seven players found themselves demoted to the NSW team after time playing for Australia, grappling with the disaffection and public scrutiny of being dropped as much as their own techniques. And in the midst of it all, the squad was splintered by the Twenty20 Big Bash League, with one of Sydney’s teams coached by Trevor Bayliss, who had made no secret of his indignation about Gilbert preferring Stuart for the state coaching job after returning from his time with Sri Lanka. That Bayliss’ Sydney Sixers went on to win the competition only heightened the sense among some players that he may have been the better man for the job.Following the BBL, the team reconvened in dribs and drabs, and lost heavily to Tasmania in Hobart before the WACA humiliation. They won only one Sheffield Shield match all season. Looking back now, on the eve of a return bout with the Warriors in Perth, O’Keefe is frank; he has never wallowed through a lower moment in his time wearing the baggy blue cap.”That was the lowest point of my career,” O’Keefe told ESPNcricinfo. “When you get given the mantle as captain and you go over and have the worst loss in 95 years of Sheffield Shield cricket, that resonates personally. And when you look at all the stakeholders involved in such a great side, the fans, the coaches, the staff, it doesn’t hurt only me but it hurts everyone else.”It’s not that I can fault the effort, the guys were turning up and putting in each day, I just think we were in a completely different head space from where we needed to be in that match. When it comes down to it when you’re facing that ball, if you’re not 100% committed to that single moment, if your mind’s even a little bit somewhere else or you’re not thinking about the team as a whole, you’re going to fall into a trap.”If you look at that side, five out of the top six had played Test cricket, but those five guys were in different positions in their careers. A lot were coming back from the Test side, trying to find their own game and improve their own technique, trying to do that on the WACA, which can be a tough ground getting started, we were exposed. Our bowling attack, again I can’t fault the amount of effort guys were putting in, but as a side we weren’t moving together as one, and it couldn’t have been exposed more. If you had to use it as a metaphor for our season in terms of the way we were going, that’s probably the best way to do it.”If the WACA was the lowest moment, the signs of instability were evident far earlier. Thrown together into their pivotal roles at the same time, Stuart and O’Keefe struggled to divide their tasks in an adequate manner. O’Keefe had missed much of the pre-season with injury, then found himself thrown amongst the team as their new captain. Stuart had difficulty with the fact that several members of the NSW squad preferred the counsel of their own private coaches, while others required more direction than he expected. The team had an uneasy first trip away together for the Twenty20 Champions League in India. While the Blues made the semi-finals, it quickly became clear that players and staff represented different eras of the game. It was a gap that would close only marginally across the season.”Personally I didn’t fully understand the responsibilities a captain had on a side,” O’Keefe said. “You look at Simon Katich and you take it for granted how well he leads a team and how well he has done in the past. It seems like it’s effortless the amount of work and the 300 first-class games he’s played, it all seems to come out naturally and flow well. Missing the pre-season and turning up for the second game of the Shield season was tough, I’m noticing the benefits this year of having a pre-season and getting to know the guys a bit better, understanding their games.”Overall I think we had a lot of issues, and a lot we had were probably that we were pointing our finger as a whole group at other people, when we just had to point the fingers at ourselves. What we want to control and what we own is entirely up to us as players, and one thing I was guilty of last year was doing that. I know I’ve got to take accountability for how I want myself to be seen, how I want the team to be perceived, and that’s where the responsibility lies.”If we’re not happy with the standard of training it is up to the players to decide and to push that forward. Last year it wasn’t a really positive vibe, and for a lot of reasons. It’s tough when you’ve got a side with so many talented players that you just expect it to roll on and work. This year we’ve put in place things that are a bit more autonomous in terms of the group buying into what we believe is important. It’s that sort of mental attitude shift that’ll put us in a better position.”Better than 91 all out.

****

With the end of the season came recriminations. A review of the Blues’ 2011-12 summer cast blame for the team’s poor showing in all directions, from players, to leaders to management. Stuart and O’Keefe were sent for sessions with Wayne Pearce, the former rugby league international, coach and motivational speaker. Their roles are now more clearly defined, and O’Keefe has been freed up to spend more time concentrating on his own game – it shuddered to a halt amid the team’s difficulties last summer. The team is now encouraged collectively to share views on where things can improve.”Stuey’s been great this year, and I don’t think Stuey was that bad last year,” O’Keefe said. “The issue was as a playing group we had something new, and it is our responsibility to look at ourselves – if we think something isn’t up to a certain standard, it’s up to the players to decide, not necessarily the coach who has to keep pointing the finger and telling us. If we want a group to work together it has to be done by the group and the coach adds his dimension.”What we’re realising now is that having planned a bit better, Stuey’s input’s been as good as any coach I’ve had. He’s jumped on board with looking after the quicks, an area he knows really well. We had those tough conversations last year, where Stuey and I sat down with Wayne Pearce whose helped with the leadership side of things, just to make sure we’re clear on what we expect of each other.”When we turn up to training now it’s not a subconscious ‘five out of the Test top six, someone will get it done’. We point the finger at ourselves, how do I improve this team, I improve it by my own actions, and I get to know my team better, understand what’s making us tick, and really giving the power to each individual. On Fridays we’ve sat down in a meeting, gone through a few trust principles we’ve got, and there’s a free-for-all if guys have got issues about anything, to speak their mind and bring it up, have that tough conversation with everyone in the group. That’s been a fundamental shift for the side.”A trio of departures have also brought a marked shift. Hughes and Khawaja sought greener pastures, in South Australia and Queensland respectively, while Nathan Hauritz, who had given himself a second chance by moving to Sydney in 2006, returned home to Queensland. Khawaja seemed clear about his departure even before season ended, having watched his former teammate Peter Forrest flourish under the tutelage of Darren Lehmann at the Bulls. Hughes was a little more conflicted, and at one point went with O’Keefe to Gilbert to assure him that he would be spending 2012-13 with NSW. Eventually, Hughes could not resist the financial heft of SA’s offer, plus the chance to bat for half a season on Adelaide Oval.In their places will be the likes of Nic Maddinson and Kurtis Patterson, a young duo of batting talent capable of great things. O’Keefe does not want to place undue pressure on his players, and hopes Maddinson and Patterson can show the fearless batting intent that rushed them into the NSW squad in the first place.”Nic had a bit of a muddled year last year where he was in and out, across formats. But if you look at that guy and how he can play, I know he’s going to play for Australia,” O’Keefe said. “Rather than making it confusing, they’re young and uninhibited, so I want to keep that fearless factor for those guys. Kurtis has come out, he’s got no scar tissue [from last season], he’s made 160 on debut, so the less I say to him the better.”I just want him to be comfortable around the group, to feel his opinion is valued, that he’s as much a part of this XI and this NSW team as Brad Haddin. If they’re comfortable in their skin in this side and I know they’ll do well. My goal for Nic is to make him own his position, if that’s opening the batting I want him to own it.Australia’s captain Michael Clarke is leading the Blues at the start of this season•Getty Images”From last season to this one we’ve got guys who were on the fringes who are now right in the mix. They’ve got the talent, and their doing well or not doing well is going to be the way they approach it. If they think of themselves as fringe players, they’re going to play like that, and have that nervous look over their shoulder. If they think of themselves as cricketers who can hold a spot, then that’s the way they’re going to play. The opportunity is there.”Helping to rebuild the Blues will be Australia’s Test captain Michael Clarke and his sometime deputy Haddin. Their presence in the NSW side for the early matches of the season, after Haddin has also taken part in pre-season, seems likely to make a significant difference to the team’s fortunes. O’Keefe is Clarke’s deputy until the senior man goes to Brisbane for Test duty against South Africa in November, and he acknowledges the impact of Haddin in particular.”The biggest thing we’ve got from him is Brad’s not just come along to be a passive part of the team. He’s come along, he’s noticed this team needs to improve and shape up and he’s been more than willing to express his ideas and thoughts around the group,” O’Keefe said. “And that I think is going to lift a lot of us guys who haven’t played as many games.”Someone with that experience to come back and show how much it means to be a Blue-bagger, and do well for this state, to him. That’s inspiring, and he’s trained as hard as anyone else, and he’s prepared to stand in front of the group and say ‘these are areas we can improve at’. The thing with Brad is he’s always going to give it to you straight. He can bring up a point where he thinks you can improve, but he’s never doing it to personally attack, he’s doing it to create a better environment around the team.”O’Keefe knows that 2012-13 will be a chance for NSW to regain a level of respect commensurate with the state’s central place in Australian cricket. He also knows that another year as poor as the last will result in plenty of changes. Stuart’s contract is up at the end of the season, and O’Keefe admits his place as captain will also be under threat if things do not improve.”Respect is something you’ve got to earn, and I’m aware with this group that if it was Michael Clarke walking in there, that bloke automatically demands that respect,” O’Keefe said. “For me I have to develop to earn it. Regardless of whether I’ve played 20 games or 100, respect comes from your ability to produce the goods out on the ground, and also lead the way in developing the culture we want to produce.”Last year was a blip on the radar, this year I’ve been given a second chance to work on it, improve on it and get it right. If that doesn’t work, and I know I’m not doing my job, then it’s pretty clear there has to be a change made.”

JP Duminy emerged from nowhere to star in South Africa’s first series win in Australia

Firdose Moonda06-Nov-2012After being completely outplayed in Australia in 2001-02, South Africa managed to just avoid a second whitewash when they returned in 2005-06.A draw in the first Test, in Perth, was somewhat cathartic for Jacques Rudolph. He scored an unbeaten century after being left out of the XI in all three matches of the previous visit because of a change in selection policy. But South Africa lost the next two Tests and returned home empty-handed again.By the time they made the trip four seasons later, South Africa were a team transformed. They had beaten England for the first time since readmission and went to Australia with a fresh mindset. There was not the excitement of 1993, or the false bravado of 2001, but a quiet confidence in their plans.The tour didn’t begin well, though, when a day before the first Test, Ashwell Prince, who had made two centuries in England and was a core part of South Africa’s middle order, injured his thumb in the nets. Losing him was a big blow, especially because his replacement, JP Duminy, was a rookie.”I was in the field catching for Paul Harris and I didn’t really bat much that day, because the playing XI got preference, when Mickey [Arthur] rushed over and said Ashwell had got hit,” Duminy said. “Mickey said I’ve got to get into the nets and prepare.”Duminy had a “sleepless night”, but when his phone buzzed early the next morning he knew what was coming. “Ashwell SMS-ed me at 6 o’clock to say he didn’t think he was going to be able to play, and he wished all the best to me, which was quite nice from his side.”Australia took a first-innings lead of 94, and Mitchell Johnson, who took 8 for 61, was looking dangerous. One of Johnson’s wickets was that of Duminy, although the South African batsman maintains he wasn’t out. “I got a bouncer from Johnson, was hit on the arm and got given out. So I was a little disappointed.”The short ball would go on to become Duminy’s nemesis further in his Test career, but only after his heroics in Perth and Melbourne.Australia scored 319 in their second innings, and even though none of their batsmen made hundreds in the match, they set South Africa 414 to win. It required a near-world-record chase*, and few thought South Africa could do it, given their reputation as chokers.Opener Neil McKenzie fell to Johnson for 10, but Graeme Smith added to his enormous pile of second-innings runs in successful chases with a stoic century, and Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis contributed fifties. On a fifth-day pitch that was as good as a third-day one, South Africa inched closer.With Kallis and AB de Villiers at the crease, they had the right mix of experience and aggression, but when Kallis was dismissed with South Africa still needing 111, the responsibility fell on young Duminy.”I was walking out and Kallis said to me as we passed each other, ‘Go make history.’ It’s something that I’ve always remembered, because that’s what it was. It was history in the making and it was a special effort from our side.”

“I was walking out and Kallis said to me as we passed each other, ‘Go make history.’ It’s something that I’ve always remembered”

Displaying remarkable clarity of mind and control, Duminy crafted a fine fifty and hit the winning runs. At no stage did he think South Africa would not get there. “We had six wickets in hand, the pitch was playing very well and AB was going well too. I thought we had the upper hand. I suppose, on the plus side, we didn’t lose any more wickets.”The victory represented more than just an odds-defying achievement. A series lead had been taken over the old enemy. “Going up 1-0 against Australia gave us the belief that we can chase down anything and that we can beat the Aussies in Australia,” de Villiers said. “That was a massive mental thing for us to get over.”Come Boxing Day, however, tension had mounted to the point of exploding. Ricky Ponting’s century was offset by the South African pace trio’s wickets, and Australia went to stumps at 280 for 6. On day two, Michael Clarke and the tail added another 114 runs, after which the Australian bowlers stuck into South Africa.With his side on 132 for 5, Duminy was presented with a different kind of pressure from that in Perth. His team’s hope that he could be like Prince and drag them out of trouble, his own uncertainty about his position and his game plan all weighed him down.”Leading up to that second game, I still wasn’t sure if I would play, because Ashwell was getting a lot of rehabilitation. There was still a chance of him playing, so I wasn’t sure where I stood until fairly late again. I just took the opportunity that arose. The team was in a bit of trouble when I went in to bat and I just took it ball by ball. Initially it was a little bit difficult, but it was just about absorbing that pressure.”Duminy lost partners steadily, though, and when Dale Steyn walked in at No. 10, South Africa were still 143 runs behind. “The partnership with Dale stands out because of the way he went about his business, Duminy said. “He was getting hit quite a few times on the body and [there were] one or two dropped catches.” Johnson struck Steyn on the left hand, Ponting dropped him at second slip, Michael Hussey at mid-on, and Nathan Hauritz off his own bowling. Steyn went on to score a career-best 76.Duminy accelerated at all the right moments – when the Australian seamers were tired and when Steyn was able to hold his own. When he got to his hundred, Duminy leaped up and punched the air. Mark Nicholas, on commentary, exclaimed, “You beauty, you superstar”.Duminy was finally dismissed for 166 and South Africa on 459. The lead of 65 was worth far more because of the psychological blows they had dealt Australia.Ponting led the reply with 99, but when South Africa were set only 183 to win, Australia’s series defeat was inevitable. Duminy did not have to bat again but there was no doubt that he was the architect of South Africa’s series win. “We had a team huddle and a meeting on the field, and a few guys spoke. There were definitely emotions around and we made memories I will always hold close,” Duminy said.South Africa were the first team to beat Australia at home in 16 years. That it came down to a player who would not even have featured in the series seemed to make it more special. De Villiers pointed out that the bowlers’ contributions were vital as well. “JP’s innings in Melbourne was special, but also the way our bowlers came to the party.” Steyn took ten wickets and his all-round performance earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.The champagne flows after the series win•PA PhotosAustralia pulled back a victory in Sydney but the Test is better remembered for Graeme Smith batting with a broken hand. He was given a thunderous standing ovation – an affirmation that he is one of the great captains of the game.The bulk of that 2008-09 South African squad are now back in Australia for more, and they hope to achieve the double – winning in England and Australia in the same year – again.This time, Steyn said, they are better prepared than before. “The last time, I wasn’t as prepared for how difficult the cricket was going to be or for the crowd’s abuse. This time I know what to expect.” But there is also the burden of expectations, which Duminy hopes they can shake off quickly. “Whatever happened four years ago is in the past. It’s about making new memories this time. The only difference is that we’ve come here now expecting to win, because we are the No. 1 Test team.”08:41:13 GMT, 6 November 2012: Corrected from “world-record chase”

Victory at Newlands will give South Africa their most successful Test run under Graeme Smith

Firdose Moonda at Newlands13-Feb-2013Milestones have been lining up for Graeme Smith and the Newlands Test presents another two.Smith will captain South Africa for the 100th time (at the Wanderers, he was captaining for the 100th time in Test cricket having once led the World XI). As special as that will be for Smith, the other statistic will be more significant. If South Africa win, it will be their fifth consecutive victory and their best run with Smith as captain.South Africa’s longest winning streak was a period between 2002 and 2003 when they notched up nine wins in succession. The captaincies of Shaun Pollock and Smith straddled that period and Smith was only in charge for the last two, against Bangladesh. In that time they also beat Australia (once), Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.Smith’s period in charge has been defined by solidity, stability and not losing. Consecutive wins in individual Tests did not stand out as a characteristic but series wins and series draws when it mattered did, particularly away from home. What that pointed to was that South Africa were strong on the defence and capable on the attack, but sometimes too cautious.Now, that has been replaced by ruthlessness. It helps that South Africa’s Test attack is penetrative all the time. Opposition the world over, most recently Brendon McCullum and Dav Whatmore, have praised them for their relentlessness. They apply wave after wave of pressure, they each present different challenges, there is no one to target and they do not give an inch.They also get the batsmen out of trouble when they need to, When South Africa were bowled out for 225 in Perth, Dale Steyn led the attack to bowl Australia out for 163. Similarly in Johannesburg, when Pakistan’s attack dismissed South Africa out for 253, Steyn’s 6 for 8 ensured Pakistan were plucked for 49. It is not too often that South Africa’s line-up stumbled but when they do, they have the security of knowing that the bowlers can probably make up for it.It is worth noting that the batsmen have only been bowled out for less than 300 in an innings four times in the last 22 innings. The main credit for that must go to the top four. Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis operate exactly as a top order must. They see off the new ball and lay a platform that allows AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis to play with complete freedom.De Villiers has benefited most from that. He said he could not remember a time when the team was “10 for 3 or 5 for 2,” and he has to do a rescue job. De Villiers does not suffer from short-term memory problems. Since becoming world No.1, South Africa have played six Tests and have only had a total of less than 50 for the loss of three wickets once. That was in Adelaide against Australia in a match they drew.Smith confirmed there has been a conscious move to ensure the likes of de Villiers and du Plessis can play an aggressively and take the game away from the opposition. “Test matches are about pattern of play and setting the base up,” he said. “There is a lot of experience in the top four and we are prepared to do the hard work. We know it’s not just about flashy play for us.”With the serious men upfront, the exciting ones further down and bowlers who can operate in just about any situation, Smith’s team seems to be able to do it all. The biggest change he can identify in them is that they have become more astute. “It’s about big days and big sessions and making big impacts,” he said. “When the game needs to be stepped up, we’ve found the extra bit.”The Newlands Test will have some of those moments. A series victory could be achieved there, which will ensure South Africa go to Centurion under no pressure, a fifth consecutive match will be won which will ensure they continue with their new-found intent and a proud record at the ground that Smith calls the “marquee,” venue in the country. It will also be a good way to send off Mark Boucher, who will have his farewell on the third day.

From Brad Hinds, Australia

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013
Almost the same age but their careers appear to be heading in different directions•Getty ImagesIn the space of little less than half a year, the two most senior Australian cricketers will have reached the mortal age of 36; Ricky Ponting already has, and Michael Hussey next May. It’s an interesting time for these two batsman – both who have accumulated many accolades – especially as Australia traverse into a territory where they are no longer as dominant as they were several years ago; and where they must cement themselves once more with a core group of talented young players. The Ashes series may very well be the last hurrah for these two particular batsmen, and in light of that looming possibility, it has been interesting to witness the manner in which both Ponting and Hussey have individually gone about their performances out in the middle.For Australia, much of its success is supposed to be attributed to the way in which the top order can establish a solid foundation by which the middle order can capitalise and the bowlers draw upon. Particularly, many eyes center towards a side’s captain, especially in a series as important as the Ashes, to help lead that attack with confidence and positivity. But for Ponting, he’s been able to achieve none of that so far in the first three Tests, where he has scored only 83 runs across six innings at an abysmal average of 16, boosted by a single half-century during the second innings at the Gabba. It’s a stark contrast to the man who scored 568 runs in the 2006 Ashes series with a top score of 196 followed by a 142. It is also a very depressing outcome.There is little doubt that Ponting’s decline has been in progress for several years now – incidentally mirroring Australia’s own decline in the international rankings – but it is disconcerting to see Australia’s greatest run-scorer capitulate at home with as many accomplishments as he has earned. It is also rather surprising. Several months ago, during Australia’s tour of India, Ponting was by far the team’s best batsman. He played in those two Test matches as well as he ever has throughout his distinguished career with three consecutive scores of over 70. But time is running out for Ponting. At the age of 36, the curtains are close to closing, especially if his persistently poor form perpetuates any further. With the Ashes at stake, he also faces being branded by a terrible legacy; the first Australian captain to lose an Ashes series at home in almost 30 years and, more harrowingly, to lose three Ashes series in over 120 years.Despite what his numerous naysayers might say, Ponting is not deserving of such a tarnishing legacy. It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly he is going wrong in the area which he prizes above all else – a combination of rotten luck and an aging and weary mind bogged down by the pressures of captaining a declining side where talent is not consistently pulling through. It is interesting to note that for many batsmen who have carried the captaincy have found themselves in prolonged slumps that have raised question marks and uncertainties about their place in the side. Sachin Tendulkar is experiencing the best form of his life – at the age of 37. Perhaps it would be a wise decision on Ponting’s part to consider that move as well. As a specialist batsman at No. 3 or 4, he could very quickly turn his fortunes around with a much clearer mind and a more cheerful disposition.With that in mind, he need look no further than Hussey, who has come from death’s door and experienced what can no less be described as a transformation. It is interesting to compare the two batsmen – where they have come from in the past 18 months – and to see their performances today. Four years ago, in the 2006 Ashes, the two of them were Australia’s top two run-scorers. Today, only one of them shows any signs of that destructive form. Whereas Ponting came from a relatively stable and positive position from India not too long ago, Hussey has suffered from a prolonged slump in form over the past 18 months that very recently resulted in his batting average dropping just below 50 for the first time in his career. Indeed, his place within the side was so tenuous that he was lucky to have made the squad for the starting Test in Brisbane. He went on to make 195 – the highest score of his career – in Australia’s first innings. It very much set the tone of the summer for him.Though he may have scored in a single brilliant burst of batting prowess, talk still existed about whether or not he could transfer the good form through to subsequent innings. Indeed, Hussey made a futile 126 in the final Ashes Test last year at Lord’s but failed to carry on with it in future games. Fortunately, the same could not be said here. Since his heroic 195, he has hit scores of 93, 52, 61 and 116. He has become the first batsman in the history of the game to score six consecutive scores of over 50 in the Ashes. He has already made 517 runs at an average of 103.4 – the best series total of his career – with a maximum of four innings still available for him to play in. His performances over the past several weeks have been reminiscent of him at his very best in his early days, when his batting average of over 85 loomed as close to Bradman’s 99.94 as any mortal could hope to achieve.But it’s extended beyond merely just his scores; he has pulled (quite literally) Australia out of dire trouble right when they needed him, and he has rallied the tail behind him in order to secure healthy scores that have at least been vaguely competitive. Indeed, his 116 at Perth secured Australia that Test and revitalised their hopes of taking back the Ashes. As a batsman, Hussey is neither overly stylish nor unorthodox. He is a subdued player who could spend days out in the middle batting his way along in a timely fashion without ever getting bored. Such is the incredible scope of his concentration and commitment. One cricketing fan described it thus: “His application to scoring runs as opposed to practicing a ballet-like style and hoping for the best is a reminder of what one hears about Bradman – the attunement of the action to the purpose.”Like Ponting, Hussey’s future will depend on the success of the Ashes. But while Ponting may retire if the Ashes is lost, Hussey may retire when the Ashes is won. Such has been the grandeur of his recent success – and the unparalleled comeback he has achieved – that will characterize his own legacy and engrain into the minds of all his supporters and fearful opponents just how eerily close he is to Bradman’s class. If Australia win the Ashes, it isn’t hard to foresee Hussey retiring with success in lieu of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist at the peaks of their respective careers. Ponting’s career may be ending on a whimper, but Hussey’s is ending with an inspiring resurgence. It will be a long time before anyone will forget that 100 he made at the Gabba – his scream of satisfaction an act of defiance in the face of the overwhelming calls for his dumping from the team.

There is a degree of ambiguity around the roles Amit Mishra and M Vijay will play for India at the Champions Trophy

Amol Karhadkar04-May-2013As India’s selection panel sat down to pick the squad for the Champions Trophy on Saturday, they had to first decide whether to consider the Champions Trophy a marquee event, or treat it as the start of preparations for the 2015 World Cup. Going by their sweeping changes, it is clear that they have their eyes fixed on 2015, rather than attaching too much importance to what could well be the last edition of the Champions Trophy.If Ajinkya Rahane had to be dropped for not living up to expectations with the bat in the limited opportunities he got last season, so did Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir. While Yuvraj tallied 160 runs in eight innings against England and Pakistan, Gambhir totalled just one run more. The selectors decided to replace all three. Cheteshwar Pujara, who is recovering from a fractured finger, was going to miss out as the selectors want him fully fit for the India A tour to South Africa towards the end of July.Shikhar Dhawan was a certainty to come in at the top of the order. Once Manoj Tiwary was unavailable, having injured himself during the IPL, there was no better choice than Dinesh Karthik in the middle order. Not only has the Tamil Nadu batsman been in superlative form during the IPL but he also provides the option of a back-up wicketkeeper. Not at all a like-for-like replacement for Yuvraj, but given the circumstances, Karthik deserved yet another chance to prove his mettle at the highest level.The most contentious selections in the squad are M Vijay and Amit Mishra. Vijay’s selection draws parallels with that of Wasim Jaffer for the ODIs in South Africa in 2006, that of a Test opener being given a chance in ODIs purely on the basis of his technique. But ESPNcricinfo understands that the selectors haven’t just gone by Vijay’s good form during the Test series against Australia. It was pointed out that Vijay’s “run spree” in the Challenger Trophy and in the warm-up one-dayer against England went in his favour.Agreed, Vijay’s 76 against England came in somewhat trying circumstances at the Palam ground in New Delhi. But it’s rather baffling if his Challenger Trophy fifty and 155 – against attacks including Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha and Parvinder Awana – are yardsticks for Champions Trophy selection. After all, the Challenger Trophy was played in Rajkot, the flattest deck in India. The Champions Trophy, on the other hand, will be played in England, that too in the first half of the summer, where the conditions won’t be anywhere similar to what they were in Rajkot last October.As far as Mishra’s selection goes, once again it is baffling to see three spinners in the squad for an event in England in June. No doubt Mishra is spinning his web around the batsmen during the IPL. But the fact that the team management did not give Mishra a single game during the five ODIs at home against England cannot be ignored. The selectors, though, feel that a wrist spinner may be better off in English conditions, especially given the fact that there aren’t many on the international scene.Fair enough. But the team management is still likely to back Ravindra Jadeja as the second spinner in the XI, and the selectors have given them the option of Irfan Pathan for the allrounder’s slot. So where does that leave Mishra? Serving drinks, more often than not, we suppose.As for the bowling line-up, as expected, Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar have come in for Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed. But instead of replacing Mishra with Pathan, the selectors have chosen to get Pathan in place of Rahane.Rahane, the selectors felt, would affect the balance of the squad. With three openers, four middle-order batsmen including two wicketkeepers, three spinners including an allrounder and five pace bowlers, have Sandeep Patil and Co got the balance right this time around? Your call.