All posts by h716a5.icu

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013
If Shahid Afridi always played like this, Garry Sobers might be nervously fretting over his place in the All-Time World XI© Associated Press
Farewell then, South Africa. An excellent campaign ended in failure – and within seconds, the choking accusations had begun. As sure as night follows day (but without even the intervening buffer of evening), as sure as headache follows headbutting a lamppost, as sure as, in my experience as a father, throwing food on the floor leads to the mother of your children saying, “Don’t throw food on the floor – you’re 34 now and supposed to be setting a good example,” as sure as all of these things, South Africa were accused of choking on the big occasion.In all sports, when a team or player has acquired a reputation for choking, fairly or unfairly, any failure is habitually deemed a choke. South Africa’s track record of flunking big knock-out games goes before them, which is understandable, given the spectacular firework displays they have put on when exiting recent tournaments – all the more magnificent for the fact that the team habitually plays with studied focus and almost scientific precision. Seeing South Africa implode on the cricket field is thus akin to watching a normally sedate accountant turn feral and start barking at a filing cabinet after losing his favourite pencil.However, yesterday, there was no choke. Twenty20 is barely long enough for a team to peruse the menu and order a tempting sandwich of whole sardines, peanuts and biro lids in floury seeded bread, let alone start eating and choking on it. South Africa did not field or bat especially well, but (a) Pakistan were good, (b) Shahid Afridi was exceptional, and, importantly, (c) Twenty20 is a capricious game and this tournament has proved that most teams can beat or lose to most others on a one-off basis.Indeed, this very result, and the influence of Afridi, were both predicted in the latest Zaltzman Report audio show – listen to it here – along with my thoughts on the Super Eights, England’s Duckworth-Lewis difficulties and world exclusive news of the latest innovations in T20 strokeplay, including Dilshan’s as-yet-unseen Amateur Dentist Shot, in which he deliberately knocks out his own teeth. I hope you enjoy it. After predicting England to romp to a glorious victory over Netherlands in show 1, I am relieved that my reputation as cricket’s worst tipster has taken a dent.South Africa had been impressive in their previous five games, but despite their victories, they had posted two low scores (including against India, the only other Asian team they faced, when they struggled to score off the spinners), they had not needed to chase a challenging score to win (batting second once previously, in reply to England’s honkingly useless 111), and, due to the success of their top order, their middle order had had little batting and, in Duminy’s case, it showed.No choke then. They lost, and it happened to be a semi-final. And but for the incandescent Afridi, whose imperious all-round display made a total mockery of his overall career statistics, they might have won. If Afridi always played like this, Garry Sobers might be nervously fretting over his place in the All-Time World XI.There cannot have been an easier Man-of-the-Match decision since the eight-year-old Andy Zaltzman walked off with the commemorative medallion and a cheque for 25 pence from a one-on-one game against his friend Donal, away from home, in Donal’s garden, with a tennis ball, a home-made bat, and a large tree as the stumps. 208 not out and 4 for 13 − what a display from the young Zaltzman, smashing 52 boundaries into the nearby flowerbed through the untended leg-side field, before taking the tennis ball and mercilessly exploiting the fact that his tearful, bored opponent had never previously played cricket.(If I may digress a little, which, given that I am writing this under no supervision (the wife and kids are asleep), I may, there is an interesting comparison to be made with baseball. In cricket’s distant rogue third cousin, there are a similar number of ‘events’ as Twenty20 – an average of around 250-300 pitches per match, compared with up to 240 balls in T20, plus wides, no balls, and the possible effects of innumerate umpires. Results of individual matches are similarly unpredictable – a great major league baseball team will still lose more than a third of its matches, and a hopeless one will still win more than a third. It takes 162 regular-season games, plus up to 19 play-off matches, spanning seven months, for a team to win the MLB. The team winning the World Twenty20 will have played seven times. The brevity of the tournament has made it intense, unpredictable and exciting, but a strict meritocracy it is not. And there is a tendency to overanalyse the standard fluctuations of sport, and for some English commentators to ask momentous-sounding questions such as, “So, Graeme, where did it all go wrong?”, whilst desperately trying to suppress a snigger.)Pakistan, for their part, stride onwards, one more Afridi masterclass away from completing a great, soul-warming story, and extending a giant metaphorical middle finger towards New Zealand’s inane mistaking of their own inability to hit the ball with the bats they had bought specifically for the purpose, for evidence of illegal tampering.I expect Younis and his men to face Sri Lanka in the final. West Indies don’t have the bowlers to keep Sri Lanka quiet (unless they take early wickets), and, for all their batting depth, their struggles with Graeme Swann in recent months suggest they may also find Mendis and Murali a bridge too far and too confusing.But, then again, if Gayle gets out of the right side of his bed … if Sri Lanka lose early wickets and Dilshan successfully knocks his teeth out … if Sarwan and Chanderpaul neutralise the mysteries of spin … if stuff happens in a mildly unexpected manner as it always does in sport, and is then magnified by the shortness of the 20-over game … who knows. Thank Zeus, and those who devised Twenty20, for the glorious unpredictability of unpredictability.

From James Adams-Pace, United Kingdom

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013
Paul Collingwood has to step up•Getty ImagesThey were about three weeks late, but Australia have finally arrived. The bowling attack that was expected to expose England’s batting frailties has found rhythm and we now have a competition on our hands. This was the match-up that many had anticipated – let us hope it develops into the one the public desires.The signs were there for England that all was not well: among the batsmen, Andrew Strauss had been making a few too many low scores, Jonathan Trott was getting put down a little too often and Paul Collingwood was not making as many runs as he should, while among the bowlers, Steven Finn was conceding a few too many runs and Graeme Swann was not having as big an impact as hoped. But this was fine as long as Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen were scoring double-centuries. That is until Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson found form.Now England are in crisis, with changes to be made for the next Test. Suddenly, the team that could do no wrong is about to be broken up, the leading wicket-taker in the series singled out as one of the targets. As an Englishman, this may be wrong and perverse of me to say, but this is fantastic news. Of course, seeing England humiliate the Australians after years of embarrassment is delightful, but the cricket feels meaningless – there is no satisfaction in a certain victory.Cricket should be about tight matches, evenly contested, with the result uncertain until the last ball on the fifth day. Watching a team rack up 600 and bowl the other team out for 200 twice is not true entertainment – it is vacuous. Indeed, I would go as far to say that the best news of the series is that Australia have finally got their act together – it will make for more compelling viewing all-round. It was thoroughly enjoyable watching England dominate Australia, but to finally have a contest – now, that is cricket.

The former finished off Delhi, and the latter kept dancing even during the team’s victory lap

Sekhar Sridhar15-May-2013Choice of game
I want to watch at least one IPL match in the stadium every year, and this was my last opportunity this season in Chennai.Team supported
I’ve always been a supporter of the Chennai Super Kings.Key performer
MS Dhoni. The openers fell after a steady partnership and in came Dhoni to keep the momentum going. His assault on the Daredevils bowlers helped CSK cross the 150 mark, otherwise we might have seen a repeat of the Shane Watson heist when Chennai played Rajasthan, with David Warner or Virender Sehwag playing perpetrator this time.One thing I’d have changed about the match
I wanted Virender Sehwag to do well. Watching him get out for nought was a terrible sight. It is hard to believe the same player scored 319 in a Test at this very venue, against a top-class South African attack. I am also disappointed that Viv Richards didn’t show up on the field even for a brief moment. I am sure he would have got the loudest cheer of the day. I’d have also liked to see Morne Morkel bowl at his brother Albie, but Morne didn’t get to play.Wow moment
CSK’s expression of gratitude to the home fans at the end of the game. The highlight was that while every other player was throwing freebies into the crowd, Dwayne Bravo stood out with his characteristic dance moves for the fans.Close encounter
Michael Hussey, for a major part of the Delhi innings, fielded in front of us. He waved a few times to the crowd acknowledging the crowd’s chants of “Hussey, Hussey”. Suresh Raina was always in action irrespective of his fielding position. He was at his customary best today fielding at various points on the boundary and also in the infield, literally all over the place.Shot of the day
Dhoni’s six off Siddharth Kaul that went onto the roof and out of the ground was a jaw-dropping stroke.Crowd meter
A few of the top-tier seats in three stands were vacant and the emptiness was glaringly visible. The crowd had people of all age groups. There was a six-year old who identified the opening bowler of CSK as Rohit Sharma. There were also some foreigners who demonstrated their support by wearing customized CSK jerseys with their names on it. The excitement was palpable, what with this being the last match in Chepauk for a few months.Hardship factor
There was such a heavy rush at the food stalls during the innings break that it could have resulted in a stampede. It should have been better managed. The parking arrangements were quite haphazard. One wonders why these things don’t improve even with corporate involvement in cricket.Entertainment
Foot-tapping Tamil songs were the order of the day with Gangnam Style making a cameo appearance. In addition, the video of the ‘Best dancers of IPL’, featuring Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh and Darren Sammy, was shown a few times. Harbhajan’s moves invited the loudest cheers, even louder than Bravo’s.TV v stadium
The stadium trumps TV any day, even if only for the ad-free experience.Overall
I’ll give this game an 8 for the quality of the game, 8 for the experience, and 10 for the atmosphere.

Kusal Janith Perera triple-century in the Premier League Tournament is the highest score in the Sri Lankan domestic competition

Nirgunan Tiruchelvam24-Mar-2013A hurricane hit Sri Lankan cricket last week, but it was barely mentioned. Kusal Janith Perera, a 22-year old left-hand batsman and wicket-keeper blasted 336 off 275 balls for Colts CC against Saracens at Havelock Park, Colombo. The innings featured savage hitting with 14 sixes and 29 fours.The innings is the highest score in the Sri Lankan domestic competition. It is also the only triple-century in the 75-year history of the Sri Lankan domestic competition. Domestic cricket in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) was not recorded as first-class until the 1988-89 season, but there were no triple centuries in club cricket before that. The only other triple centuries in Sri Lankan first-class cricket were at Test level – Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 against India in 1997 and Mahela Jayawardena’s 375 against South Africa in 2006.Perera joins an elite band who have scored a country’s highest domestic score. The list includes Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Hanif Mohammed and Bert Sutcliffe.Perera made his international debut against Australia in the ODI series this year. His excellent timing and quick footwork impressed instantly. Comparisons were drawn with another left-hander with a similar build and approach – Jayasuriya. Like Jayasuriya, Perera is particularly strong square of the wicket. However, Perera plays straighter and with a more upright elbow. This suggests that he may not have Jayasuriya’s volatility.He does share Jayasuriya’s hunger for tall scores. At 19, Jayasuriya announced his talent on the Sri Lanka B tour of Pakistan in 1989 by scoring two successive double-centuries. Perera’s last three first-class innings are 93, 207, and 336. Clearly, Perera has the water-tight defence to add to his awesome hitting ability.Domestic cricket in Sri Lanka has traditionally been low-scoring. The conditions favour bowlers and the matches are typically three-day affairs. Team scores in excess of 300 are rare, let alone individual scores. Most Sri Lankan Test players have better Test averages than first-class averages. Kumar Sangakkara averages 57 in Test cricket but only 49 in first-class cricket.Perera’s achievement can be put in perspective by the fact that the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Duleep Mendis never came close to a triple-century in club cricket. The legends in the pre-Test era such as Anura Tennekoon, Ievers Gunasekera, David Heyn, and Michael Tissera fell far short of a triple-century. Mahadevan Sathasivam, the island’s finest pre-Test batsman, scored two double-centuries, but not in club cricket.Some would dismiss Saracen CC as a side unworthy of first-class status. They are languishing at the bottom of the table. They have no one with a hope of a place in the national side. Sri Lanka’s bloated first-class structure now features as many as 20 first-class sides.But, the same could be said of the first-class records in other countries. Bhausaheb Nimbalkar’s 443 not out against Kathiawar was ignored by the selectors as a triviality. Nimbalkar remains the only first-class quadruple-centurion never to have played Test cricket. Kathiawar, the native region of Mahatma Gandhi and MA Jinnah, was a collection of princely states that were integrated with the Republic of India soon after that innings. The hapless Kathiawar team did not appear in the Ranji trophy after 1950.Bill Ponsford held the Australian first-class record before Bradman broke it in 1930. He scored 429 in eight hours for Victoria against Tasmania in 1923, surpassing Archie MacLaren’s record of 424.McLaren, an Englishman who played in 1880s, refused to accept Ponsford as the record-holder, arguing that Tasmania was short of first-class standard. Eventually, Wisden recognised Ponsford as the record holder.Ponsford, however, bettered his record nearly five years later, scoring 437 for Victoria against Queensland.Hanif broke Bradman’s record in 1959 with a marathon 499 that spanned three days. Bahawalpur was a ragged team that would struggle against minor counties. But, Bradman was gracious unlike MacLaren. He promptly cabled Hanif with hearty congratulations, expressing disappointment that Mohammed did not cross 500. Even the matchless Bradman would be challenged by Perera’s achievements last week: Bradman hit about 45 sixes in his 22-year first class career, and Perera has hit almost a third of that number in last week’s record innings. He has hit the highest number of sixes in a first-class triple-century.Tales of Perera’s exceptional batting talent have been circulating for a while. He excelled as a school cricketer for Royal College and as an Under-19 international. After prolific batting for Colts CC, the selectors could no longer exclude him. A string of injuries created vacancies in the Australian tour.He is an agile wicketkeeper as well, who can field spectacularly in the circle when denied the gloves. He is also the first wicketkeeper in the select table.Records at domestic level do not ensure Test success. He may fade into obscurity. South Africa’s record-holder Stephen Cook is yet to play at the highest level. Nimbalkar’s feat has been reduced to a footnote.However, Perera’s batting and alacrity behind the stumps make him a compelling prospect. We live in a crass era where Twenty20 cricket is eclipsing the older form. Perera’s feat reminds us of the timeless value of the longer version. Bradman, Sutcliffe, and Headley mastered accumulation, as well as aggression. These virtues can only be witnessed in first-class cricket, a form that is rapidly facing extinction.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line

Plays of the Day from the Chennai Super Kings v Brisbane Heat Champions League T20 match in Ranchi

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Sep-2013The missile
The death overs are generally cause for “throwing one’s bat”, but Chris Hartley took that cliché a little literally in the 19th over, when aiming a slog at Jason Holder. The bowler pitched a length ball outside off stump, and Hartley wound up a big shot over midwicket, only to miss the ball completely and lose his grip on the bat at the top of his follow through. The blade went some distance in the air and ended up some way to the 30-yard circle, just behind square on the leg side.The miss
MS Dhoni has had a fine tournament so far, but was generous today to Chris Lynn, who should have been out in a straightforward manner for 27. R Ashwin bowled two dot balls to Lynn to begin the third over, and when he drew a thick top edge off the third delivery, the ball flew high into the air behind the batsman. Dhoni went after it immediately and called early, waving away Suresh Raina who had run in from short leg. But despite having a manageable distance to cover, Dhoni misjudged the ball’s trajectory and let it fall to the ground without even laying a glove to it.The debutant’s journey
Imran Tahir had made his Champions League debut on Friday for his 27th professional side, but while Brisbane Heat’s debutant on Saturday did not have such a thorough CV, his path to the Champions League this year is just as interesting. Exactly a month ago, 25-year-old Dom Michael was playing a three-day match for Surrey 2nd XI, and a week before that, for Kent 2nd XI. Seven days prior to that, even more remarkably, Michael was playing List A cricket for Netherlands.The relief
M Vijay came into the match with three consecutive ducks behind him, and he was almost made to wait before he snapped that streak in the first over. The ball went off Vijay’s pad and the batsmen crossed for a run, but thankfully the umpire had spotted the inside edge and did not signal leg byes. The run was enough cause for Hussey to come down the pitch and offer congratulations, and Vijay went on to make 42.

England look jaded, joyless and over-reliant on tired players who have too many miles on the clock; it is hard to avoid the sense that their time has passed

George Dobell at Adelaide Oval06-Dec-20130:00

‘Bowlers stuck to task’ – Stokes

As surely as day ebbs into night, so England’s grasp on the Ashes urn is loosening by the session.Yes, England are only one down with three-and-a-half Tests to play and, yes, they have earned through their achievements the respect not to be written off just yet.But it is increasingly hard to escape the feeling that an era is ending in English cricket. The issues that have been masked by individual excellence for some time can be hidden no more: England look jaded, joyless and over-reliant on tired players who have too many miles on the clock. It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.It is hard to pinpoint the moment the music died for this team. Was it during the batting debacle of Brisbane? Was it when Jonathan Trott became the most obvious manifestation of burnout and left the tour? Was it here, when Michael Carberry summed up a wretched fielding effort by putting down a simple chance off Brad Haddin, or when Australia’s No. 10 swung the finest spinner England have produced for decades for successive sixes?It says much about England’s performance in the field that the finest catch of the second day – an excellent, jumping one-handed effort plucked out of the sky – came from a member of the media beyond the midwicket boundary and not from any of the team. No bowling attack had ever conceded so many sixes in an Ashes innings and it is very hard to recall an innings where England squandered seven chances in the field.So it was all those moments and more. Certainly the wonderful batting of Michael Clarke on the second morning here and the vast improvement in the performance of an Australia team that looked hapless only months ago is relevant. The manner in which they snatched this game from England’s grasp was deeply impressive; the positive cricket they played backed up much of the bold talk they have made in recent months. They deserve all the praise they will receive.

While in 2010-11, the tone was set by the run-out of Simon Katich in Adelaide, this time England made basic mistakes. If fielding is the window to the soul of a team, England are in trouble

But it was also the scheduling that saw England obliged to go straight from a Champions Trophy final into an Ashes series; it was the seeping weariness of asking them to play back-to-back Ashes series with all the attendant hype and hyperbole; and it was the relentless demands of a treadmill that sees them regularly play more Tests than any other side in the world, alongside an increased priority in limited-overs cricket. The ECB, desperate to feed a business model that may well not be sustainable, has asked too much of its most precious assets.England have been running on empty for some time. They looked jaded going into the 2011 World Cup, as they did when touring New Zealand at the start of 2013 and throughout the Ashes in England. Perhaps partly as a result of the somewhat intense environment in which the England team operate, there appears to be a lack of levity to relieve the tension. All those night in hotels – anything up to 260 a year – all those big games, all those media conferences and public appearances, have taken their toll. The ECB has been to the well too often.There are other factors that have weakened English cricket. The decision to rid the domestic scene of non-England-qualified players and offer young player incentives saw a generation of experienced professionals replaced by kids who should have been forced to work harder for a career in the game. The turgid pitches that proliferate in England bear little relation to those found in the international game and the introduction of Lions games during the English season have further diluted the standard of domestic cricket. The gap between the county and international games has grown dangerously large.Alastair Cook is one of a number of experienced England players whose performances have dipped•Getty ImagesThe bowlers will attract criticism after conceding such a vast total. It is true, certainly, that there is a worrying theme among them to lose pace the longer they are exposed to the England set-up. Certainly the inability to exploit the vast potential of fast bowlers like Steven Finn reflects poorly on the coaching staff. He has regressed since his elevation to the Test team.But the England bowlers also suffered from a pathetic level of support from their fielders. While some of the missed opportunities were tough, there was a general sloppiness to England’s fielding – including Ben Stokes taking a wicket with a no-ball – that was unrecognisable from the side that won here in 2010-11.While in 2010-11, the tone was set by Trott’s run-out of Simon Katich in the first over of the Adelaide Test, this time England made basic mistakes. So Carberry fumbled a simple run-out and Monty Panesar, ridiculously, found himself at long leg as England attempted a hook trap. If fielding is the window to the soul of a team – and it very often is – England are in trouble.Whatever happens in the future, it should not detract from the achievements of the past. This team have, by England’s standards, enjoyed levels of success not matched for decades. Several of them, and their coach, Andy Flower, will surely be remembered as among the best to have represented England.But all things must pass. And the increasing sense of recent months is of a team, well past its best, desperately trying to cling to the past. The performances of experienced players – the likes of Matt Prior, Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Graeme Swann – have all dipped by a small degree and there is little evidence that all the millions invested in academies and youth teams and coaching structures have created the requisite competition for places.And that is England’s real problem. For these are, give or take a player or two, the best England have and they are capable of much better. But they are weary and spent with ingrained exhaustion and institutional weariness. Against a resurgent Australia team, they are struggling to summon the strength for another fight. It may be a battle too far.

Cricket Ireland have a stated aim of reaching Test cricket by 2020. Such has been their success that they may be able to bring that target forward, but series like the one in West Indies have to be about more than just taking part

Ryan Bailey17-Feb-2014A little over two years ago Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland chief executive, and coach Phil Simmons sat at the top of a conference room in a Dublin hotel. Trent Johnston and Kevin O’Brien, two of Ireland’s most venerable players, were also on hand and they had swapped their usual logo-ridden training apparel for formal attire.An ambitious vision for the future of the sport was revealed and the gravity of the occasion was palpable: 2020 was the year set for it all to come to head, and the date earmarked as the denouement of their grand and unfaltering development. It was a bold but venturesome masterplan that accentuated Ireland’s purposeful bid to advance to the next level.What has transpired since, however, has failed to take heed of that manifesto. Cricket Ireland have trumped their own ambitious objectives to the extent that the strategic plan has all but become obsolete. They find themselves almost a year in advance of the script and exceeding expectations at every juncture: the sport is reaching unprecedented popularity and participation levels with grassroot figures doubling in the past two years, while the domestic structure is getting close to first-class level in an aim to ensure a production line of talent.Everything appears to be clicking into place and now the final piece of the jigsaw – the Test match holy grail – is configuring itself into the puzzle, albeit a two thousand piece one. For Ireland, it is almost too good to be true. The foundations have been rigidly laid in such a short space of time. They have truly outgrown their Associate status – both on and off the field – and are patiently waiting to break through the glass ceiling.The substructure is also in situ. Twenty-four players have been handed two-year contracts while the addition of a troupe of backroom staff, which has become a staple part of a successful side in the modern era, have all been made possible by supplementary revenue streams. The results and second-tier domination reflects the swelling levels of professionalism but with increased stature comes expectation and the pressure to vindicate their credentials for ascension.Ultimately, the three game limited-overs series against West Indies is preparation for next month’s World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, but in essence the following ten days is the dawn of the next chapter. As Ed Joyce put it so succinctly last week, qualifying for tournaments is no longer enough for Ireland. Although an overseas tour, such as the one they are currently on, is indicative of their burgeoning repute, William Porterfield and his team-mates have to do more than just provide the opposition.Their sojourn in Trinidad, for the Nagico Super50, may suggest they are not quite equipped to bridge the gap on a consistent basis just yet but that would be jumping to conclusions. Yes, they were like rabbits caught in headlights, unprepared after a seven-week hiatus and unable to adapt to Caribbean conditions, but for Ireland participation in the tournament was part of a long-term programme.Having gone down without a fight to Guyana and then Jamaica, victory in their final fixture against Windward Islands – instigated by sharp fielding and nagging bowling – meant that winning feeling was restored was restored before proceeding to Sabina Park for the business end of the tour.They have fond memories of Kingston. It was there, seven years ago, that victory over Pakistan endeared Ireland to the international cricketing community, providing the catalyst for this vast evolution. It will be a full circle of sorts when they step out onto the Sabina Park turf come Wednesday afternoon. They were a bunch of amateurs and minnows that day but times have changed since then. Irish cricket has changed.Facing the World Twenty20 holders, on their own patch, in the first game of their home international season, is a thorough appraisal of the tourists’ credentials but it is where they want to be, the standard they aspire to reaching.”The West Indies are obviously Twenty20 side, their record speaks for itself,” Porterfield said with respect rather than trepidation.”They are a very good Twenty20 side. But we know we can do it and I think we’ve got to focus on that. We played some very good Twenty20 Cricket in the qualifiers for the World Cup in November, so we’ve got to take from those positives and keep improving, and taking the things that we did well in those games, into games against the top eight sides, or top ten sides, the Test Teams as such.”There is no scepticism surrounding Ireland’s ability to give superiorly ranked opposition a run for their money – they have shown that on countless occasions before – but they have not beaten a full member since September 2012. That came against Bangladesh at the World Twenty20 in Colombo.”We’re obviously going into these games wanting to get wins out of them. There’s no point in playing cricket if you don’t want to go out there and win,” Porterfield said. “If we put everything in on the pitch, and at the end of the day they come out on top, then that’s fair enough. But if we are at the top of our game, and playing the way we want to play, then that’s all we can ask for from the lads.”It has become clear that Ireland have widened the gap between themselves and their adversaries but this is a different ball game. The gulf in class between the game’s top sides and Ireland’s regular Associate opponents is vast and it is now up to them to ensure that gap is bridged before they can class their strategic plan as successful.For now, however, the focus remains firmly on the next few months and the task in hand. All Simmons and his side can do is continue to advance themselves on the pitch and the rest has to be left to those who regularly wear the suits and sit in the boardrooms. The hard work starts this week at the scene of their most acclaimed heist.

When the dust over their exit from the World Twenty20 settles, Ireland will have to introspect and find answers to concerns on their long-term team composition and strategies

Ger Siggins22-Mar-2014For seven years, Ireland have been cricket’s scrappy outsiders, gate-crashing world tournaments and picking up prize scalps. Pakistan, Bangladesh, England and Zimbabwe have all had their noses rubbed in it by a side which always seems to add up to more than the sum of its parts.For almost a decade they have been top dogs in Associate cricket, a position cemented by their being crowned champions in all three formats in 2013, and no side, not even the best in the world, has taken apart their attack quite as brutally as Netherlands did in Sylhet.Kevin O’Brien took a similar death-or-glory approach in Bangalore in 2011 and it paid off with a match-winning century against England. But to be on the other side of such an onslaught was not pleasant.”It’s a bit of a shock,” O’Brien admitted after the game. “None of us really envisaged what has just happened. We just didn’t have any answers.”Although disappointed with the result, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive Warren Deutrom saw nothing to divert him from his aim of getting Ireland to the sport’s top table.”It was one of those days when everything went right for Netherlands,” Deutrom said. “I’ve never seen a batting performance like it. They just went for it from the first ball, which you’ve got to admire.”Deutrom isn’t concerned that the defeat and early exit will have negative repercussions for his organisation as it continues to make its case at ICC: “Cricket people will look at that and see how it was one of those days. In the last four weeks, we have beaten West Indies and Zimbabwe, both full members, and those results aren’t wiped away by a freak batting performance.”Irish supporters, who usually travel in numbers to world events but gave this one a miss – saving for Australia/New Zealand 2015, they say – were more nonplussed than angered by the defeat. The Blarney Army isn’t used to seeing its team beaten by Associates – just 12 losses in 110 games since 2007, and Netherlands’ win was their first in 18 against Ireland since 2008.Blame was hurled, too: at Ed Joyce for dropping Tom Cooper on 1; at the bowlers who never found their length; at the captain for his lack of answers. But the bowlers who were carted around the Divisional Stadium were the same who were magnificent against Zimbabwe and UAE. Alex Cusack was savaged on the internet forums that sang his praises two weeks earlier when he took 4-14 and 2-17 in four-over spells in Kingston.When emotions cool, however, there will be a need for answers on why two offspinners were entrusted with the new ball, one of them a 20-year-old who played his maiden T20 international only four days before. Andy McBrine is a fine prospect, who was a real success in the West Indies, but he should have never been asked to set the tone for the innings against a batsman like Peter Borren, who feasts on spin. This after Borren and Stephan Myburgh had got their eye in against the similar style of Paul Stirling in the previous over. McBrine went for four sixes and Netherlands were on their way.The captain looked lost without the counsel of the retired Trent Johnston, and with the absence of John Mooney and the continued exclusion of Niall O’Brien the side lacked the traditional Irish sporting qualities of “boot, bollock and bite”. Niall O’Brien was suspended in 2012 for missing an Intercontinental Cup game in Kenya and Gary Wilson was given the gloves in his absence. The Surrey man has continued to wear them since O’Brien’s return.Ireland have also been missing the services of Niall O’Brien behind the stumps•AFPPhil Simmons has drawn wide criticism for his refusal to countenance a switch, despite Wilson’s lack of day-to-day experience – he kept in four games for Surrey last summer, a total of 242 overs, against O’Brien’s 2,304 overs behind the stumps at Leicestershire. It has weakened the team in the field, too, where O’Brien is a poor outfielder and Wilson one of the best.A series of keeping blunders last year – including a couple which probably cost Ireland a win over Pakistan – frustrated the players and a delegation of four senior bowlers approached the management in Abu Dhabi in November requesting change. Wilson, who is close to the captain, kept the gloves.The team management will also have to explain why, incredibly, it failed to let the captain know just why Netherlands had set off with such belligerence to get the runs within 86 balls. Porterfield himself was clearly irked by the blunder. “I was more concerned about defending 190 runs but I only found that out with about 20 balls to go,” Porterfield admitted in three separate interviews after the game.”I might have gone about it differently,” Porterfield insisted. “I thought spin was going to be the way but maybe we could have gone with the seamers slightly earlier to try to get the run-rate up, and try to get them out of the game. That might have made it easier.”His bowlers struggled with the no-fear attack of the Netherlands batsmen on a good pitch, and their carefully-worked out plans were torn up. But the sheer freaky nature of the display was best summed-up by Porterfield: “Maybe we bowled too full – but it’s hard when one ball is going straight over your head and the next is disappearing over midwicket.”Simmons will continue to search for and develop new bowlers. Three fast-medium seamers have spent several weeks in Australia, working with Craig McDermott. Craig Young, a former Sussex player, came on so well that he was selected for Bangladesh.”We’ve never necessarily ever had an express pace man,” Porterfield said. “Boyd Rankin was the last quick bowler we had but he’s playing for England. Express pace is one of the things we’d want – so would quite a few teams around the world.”Craig Young has that potential, and we have Peter Chase back home as well. We’ll be looking to those lads over the next 12 months to step up and get as much experience as they can. I know Craig has learned a lot over the last eight weeks and played a couple of times when we were in the West Indies. But the more he plays and learns, the better it’s going to be for ourselves because he does have that something different.”

Kane Williamson talks about his journey so far, his approach to spin, and his thoughts on captaincy

Interview by Subash Jayaraman03-Jul-2014You had been tabbed the great batting hope for New Zealand for quite some time, right from when you were 16 or 17. Who were your early mentors?
Firstly, I wasn’t aware of that. I always enjoyed my cricket. And I always aspired to be better. While growing up, I had a lot to learn. I guess my father got me into cricket. Then, as I started getting older, through intermediate and college, it had a lot to do with Ben Williams, who runs a coaching academy, and also Dave Johnson, and more recently [getting coached] in the professional set-ups.You made your Test debut in 2010, scoring a century against India in Ahmedabad. You seem to be more adept at playing spin than a lot of New Zealand batsmen. How did that come about?
No, I don’t play it easily at all. I would say that I’ve got my own methods of how I like to play spin and that may be different from other players in my team, perhaps. They have their methods. I like to use my feet and I believe footwork is a part of my game. So I guess that is something I tried to improve from time to time. From a young age, I have had that drawn into me – using your feet to spin when you can.You began your Test career at No. 6, but within a space of 14 Tests, you were the permanent No. 3. Were you of the opinion that your game was best suited for the key No. 3 slot?
No, not really. Growing up, I have always batted at No. 3 in age-group stuff. For me, you start enjoying perhaps, or start wanting to bat in that position. But I am enjoying No. 3 and am very much looking to improve my game in that area. I am enjoying batting at the moment, along with the challenges that come with it.What is that challenge that comes with batting at No. 3? What sort of change in approach does it take to go from No. 6 to No. 3?
I didn’t spend a lot of time at No. 6. I batted in the top order most of the times. The natural difference is that you are probably expected to play the new ball. You can also be sitting with your pads on for hours after play gets underway. So I guess being flexible in that position is important because you are not quite sure when you are going to come out.From the technical aspect, is there any substantial change?
Ideally you want your technique to remain similar wherever you are batting. I want to be relaxed and calm at the crease. Your options of how you play at a top-order position can be quite different with the ball possibly being new and fresh as opposed to the middle or lower order where the ball tends to be a little bit older. Ideally, if the top order is doing their job, then the bowlers get a little bit tired. The biggest change is how you approach it mentally and not much technically.

“My personal average is not that important when I am trying to contribute to the team as much as I can. That is not the concern”

Your presence at the crease is that of a seasoned veteran. You have played more than 30 Tests already, but your batting average is still in the 30s. Is there a particular reason why you are not in the 40s yet?*
Yes, I haven’t scored enough runs. That is the obvious answer. It is something that I want to keep improving on and try to become a better player, and do it day in and day out. People may want me to average in the 40s or whatever, but for now, I just want to keep improving as a batsman. [After the recent Test series against West Indies, Williamson’s average was 40.28]Are there any goals as to where you want your average to be when you hit 50 Tests in your career, and beyond?
No, not at all. It will be nice to hit 50 Tests. That will be great but I don’t really have goals like that. I would want to keep improving with my game and make an impact. [If] averages are getting high because of that, that will be great. But if not, still contributing while playing in the Tests – that is more important.You have a very classical, orthodox batting technique. Someone like Rahul Dravid struggled initially in the limited-overs format. However, you are averaging close to 40 in ODIs. Was there any particular tweaks that you had to make going from Tests into the limited-overs format?
Like I said, my personal average is not that important when I am trying to contribute to the team as much as I can. That is not the concern. But coming to the limited-overs game, adapting is important. You have to know where you are getting your singles and also know your boundary options. I don’t try to change the game very much. I just try to look at the situation and act accordingly. That is how I like to play it.You hadn’t played international T20s for nearly two years, but you were brought into the squad for the World T20. Was that recall a surprise?
Yes, certainly. As you’re growing up, and as a very young cricketer, you always aspire to represent your country and a call-up like that always comes as a surprise, no matter how well you are doing. I got a call, and was very surprised to be in the big stage.Since we are talking about the World T20, I have to ask you about the close loss at the hands of South Africa. Where did you think the game turned?
We were frustrated, obviously, that we couldn’t bring the game home from the position we were in. But, as you know, T20 cricket can be a bit like that, and small margins can change the game around. Obviously, their big players really stood up. And if you perhaps look at the innings of [JP] Duminy – he played, under pressure, an outstanding innings, a match-winning one. And also the way Dale Steyn bowled, the death overs in particular, and all through the innings, was world-class. And we didn’t stand up in those moments.What was the mood afterwards in the dressing room?
It’s not a nice dressing room when you lose, especially from a position where you believe that you should have won. And the dressing room wasn’t as cheerful as it would have been had we won it.Speaking of South Africa, you played one of the best rearguard innings in the recent years in Wellington in 2012, your second Test century. Steyn and [Morne] Morkel were on fire that day. You were hit a few times and broke your box once. Can you briefly take us through that innings?
If you try to be calm and be in the moment and not worry about things too far ahead and focus on the task at hand, you can handle those sort of challenges. During that game, we were up against such a stiff challenge that you knew you had to take your chances and stick together as a team. It was nice to come up with those runs and draw that match and show that our team can do it day in and day out.Williamson on his match-saving hundred in Wellington in 2012: “To me, it was surviving each delivery as best as you can”•Getty ImagesWhat does that sort of an innings do to a young player like you who is making his way into the international arena?
Going into that Test, we had lost the earlier game and we knew that the South African attack was a bit tough. I had played in the past mainly in the subcontinent. To come up against South Africa was a huge learning curve and a lot of guys in the side felt the same. There was a huge amount that I learnt during that period. Facing quality pace bowlers like that also improves your game. It is something that I will never, ever forget. I want to keep building on that as well.What does it do, in terms of your self-belief, when put in an impossible position? A win was basically out of question – so South Africa were going to go all out.
When you are up against things like that, you try to simplify things as much as you possibly can. There were a lot of runs up on the board and we were up against it. To me, it was surviving each delivery as best as you can, knowing that if you did that then it gave you a big chance; through your methods and your basics, it would give you a big chance for some success. I guess that is how I tried to play and it was nice to come off along with the boys who really contributed in that innings.You have been a fabulous catcher standing at gully, pulling off some absolute blinders. Is there any particular catch that is a favourite?
It is probably the one in the recent [home] Test against West Indies, the catch of [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul. It was when, I suppose, we didn’t get the runs that we liked in the first innings and then we rolled them and the way we took our catches was a great feeling. It was nice getting catches there at the gully position and I suppose I do enjoy that. I do see it as a good challenge.What are some of the key aspects for a fielder standing in that position?
Certainly better catchers than me are out there. What I try to do is stay low and as still as I can, watch the striking area and react. I suppose some catches are easier than others. There are ones that you might remember, but often you are just reacting. Those are the little things that I do while at gully.You have captained New Zealand a few times. Do you have goals and personal ambitions to lead New Zealand in all formats some time in the future?
I don’t really have a goal to do that, but it certainly would be a great honour if the opportunity were to come. A few times that I’ve led, I felt that you want the players in your side to come up to you, accepting you as a leader, and also you cannot come up with your own agendas. That is what I believe. It will be a huge honour to lead New Zealand, but in the meantime, I will just try and contribute to the team’s performances. Ultimately, that is what it is all about.I want to talk a bit about the New Zealand team itself. You have a great set of fast bowlers, and also a very good set of batsmen. Currently, the team is ranked seventh in the ICC rankings. Where do you see it going?
This is a positive and a good young group – a group that can win a lot in the coming years and ultimately move higher and higher in the rankings. That would be, without a doubt, the goal for us. We have got the talent there, we know that. Our fast bowlers have been great. Most of us are very young. And we have some very talented batsmen. We have to get good experience at this stage and move everyone’s game forward. Then we can do well in the future.Finally, the World Cup is coming home next year. The last time it was there, New Zealand were in the semi-finals. Is there any pressure on you guys to equal or better that performance?
Yes, naturally, playing in your home conditions, it probably brings a bit more expectations. The nature of the tournament is pretty cut-throat and you want to be at your peak as soon as you hit the tournament. We know our conditions, and we have played really good cricket recently in World Cups. If we can do that, we will be positive and confident going into the tournament.*This interview was conducted during the World T20 in Bangladesh in April

While Zimbabwe coach Stephen Mangongo’s uncompromising approach that will keep people on their toes is something to be lauded, the question remains, does Brendan Taylor’s recent run of form justify him being left out of the eleven?

Firdose Moonda22-Aug-2014To speak of Zimbabwe cricket and certainty in the same breath is to speak of white Christmases in Africa: they just do not happen. The former sways between changes to the structures, payment delays and a fixture list that can make the shifting sands of the Arabian desert seem stable when compared with cricket in the country, but one man changed that. Brendan Taylor.Since making his debut in April 2004, Taylor has been involved in almost every ODI – the format Zimbabwe play most often – his country has taken part in. Almost, because in 2008, he missed out on 17 ODIs after making himself unavailable because of a dispute with the board and a year before that he was dropped for the last match of a series in Bangladesh and the return home series after notching up scores of 1, 1 and 4 in the three games prior to his axing.Apart from those games where Taylor was left out, poor form had never accounted for his place in the XI until Thursday. With Zimbabwe 2-nil down in a three-match series and batting their broken element, their most experienced top-order player, Taylor, was left out. He was not injured, he was not being rested, he was dropped.The disbelief resonated from the commentary box to social media platforms were questions over whether a return of 20 runs from the two matches that preceded the final fixture was reason enough to bench the man who put on 93 in a Test a week earlier and scored a half-century and a 43 against Afghanistan in the last month’s contest. Zimbabwe’s coach Stephen Mangongo believed it was.”It’s a professional sport, there is always pressure. It is not Boozer’s XI,” Mangongo said. “It is a privilege to be selected, it is not a right. Whether you get one game or 20, there is always pressure and if you are professional and you get paid to do the job you must go and do the job.”The truth is that almost no one among Zimbabwe’s specialist batsmen were doing their job. Although their margins to South Africa defeat got smaller as the series went on, their methods of getting to those results grew worse because of their batting. Mangongo acknowledged that the efforts were lopsided with the tail wagging the dog quite literally.”The lower order batted with a lot of courage, a lot of determination, a lot of pride and dignity. They put runs on the board more than the top order,” he said. “Obviously we’ve got our work cut out for us in terms of the top order. It has been a perennial struggle and we’ve still got that problem on our hands. We’ve got to confront the demons and deal with them and get it right at some stage if we want to compete, let alone beat international sides.”In attempting to piece the puzzle together Zimbabwe trialled different combinations, all unsuccessfully. The Vusi Sibanda-Richmond Mutumbami pair yielded 16 runs before Hamilton Masakadza, who came in at No. 3 steadied things. When Masakadza was promoted into Sibanda’s spot for the second game, he put on 21 runs with Mutumbami but Sikandar Raza who was installed at No. 3 did not score at all. On their second go, Masakadza and Mutumbami were out in the first two overs and while Raza showed promise, it was up to Elton Chigumbura, promoted into Taylor’s spot, to give the innings a backbone.Exactly what Zimbabwe gleaned from all that is probably only that Masakadza should not be opening. Although he has scored most of his runs at the top, he has admitted to being more comfortable at first-drop. Sibanda’s talent has bought time often in the past but whether it will continue to do so with both Raza and Mutumbami around is doubtful, unless Mutumbami moves down. There may be a case for Chigumbura being given more time at the crease but there is doesn’t seem to be any for leaving Taylor out, something which seems to be happening increasingly.Taylor was stripped of the ODI captaincy after the Afghanistan series as part of a plan to unburden him. He was also taken off wicketkeeping duty, which Mangongo explained before the South Africa series. “I’m looking at a specialist role. I don’t believe in part-timers,” he said. “Wicketkeeping is a key role and I need the best man for the job, not a part-timer and that is the route we are going to do. BT is going to specialise in his batting, not keeping. That’s his role. We will look at a specialist keeper to do the job.”Mangongo promised to be equally harsh on other players who did not pull their weight. “Nobody is safe. We are coming from bruising encounters with Afghanistan where we have slid to our lowest levels – losing to an Associate member. It just tells you that there is something wrong here and we need to fix it,” he said. “This is part of the roadmap to fixing it and making sure we are competitive against the top teams and we thrash the Associates. Nobody is safe because we haven’t done well.”Sibanda experienced that recently and now, so has Taylor. Although his dropping is proving more difficult for Zimbabwean fans to stomach. Taylor’s decade with the national team has included acts that have made him a hero to people of varying backgrounds.Taylor refused to join the white-player walkout because he felt he was too young to involve himself politically and wanted to play for Zimbabwe. Although he had a dispute with the board in the years when chaos reigned, his was shortlived. On Test return, he led from the front. When more players walked away, he remained and that is not for lack of opportunity to follow them.As recently as the eve of the South Africa Test there were whispers that Taylor was contemplating a Kolpak offer. He denied that and confirmed he had resigned with ZC for the next year. Following his axing, he posted on Twitter: “I can’t wait to represent my country again. I will be back,” he posted on Thursday.”Mangongo’s uncompromising approach that will keep people on their toes is something to be lauded in an environment where mediocrity has been accepted too often. That said, Taylor has seldom been the protagonist of those middling times and so he has probably earned some time to remain flat-footed. The tri-series will tell.