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Maxwell signs with Washington Freedom to play alongside Steven Smith and Travis Head under coach Ricky Ponting

Alex Malcolm18-Apr-20244:18

Was Maxwell right in asking to be dropped?

Glenn Maxwell has joined Travis Head and Steve Smith in signing with Washington Freedom for the upcoming Major League Cricket season while clarifying that his form was the major reason for his self-omission from Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s side in the IPL rather than needing a mental break.Maxwell has become the latest Australian player to sign in MLC and will join his Australia teammates in Head and Smith, along with his former IPL coach Ricky Ponting, at Washington Freedom.He told ESPN’s that he was excited about the opportunity to play in the United States.Related

Aussies at the IPL: Head's hot streak, Fraser-McGurk fires again, Maxwell drops himself

Travis Head joins Steven Smith at Washington Freedom for Major League Cricket 2024

Steven Smith joins Washington Freedom ahead of Major League Cricket's second season

Maxwell takes a break to refresh after asking to be rested by RCB

“It’s a tournament that I watched from afar last year and was extremely excited about hopefully playing this tournament one day and luckily enough the timings have aligned this year,” Maxwell said. “I’ve been speaking to Ricky Ponting and a few other players a fair bit over the last little period and certainly extremely excited to get stuck in.”Having Travis and Steve there and Ricky, three guys who I’m extremely familiar with, I think that sort of probably tipped me over the edge. You sort of um and ah about that time of the year about where you’re going to be and whether you take the time off, whether you play the Hundred or what you might do and I think just having those couple of Aussies there and I think the opportunity to be a part of something really big in MLC and grow something is really exciting as well.”Maxwell joins Head, Smith, Adam Zampa (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Spencer Johnson (Knight Riders), Tim David (MI New York), Matt Short (San Franciso Unicorns) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (San Franciso Unicorns) as confirmed Australian signings for the second season of MLC, with more expected to join for the tournament which starts immediately after the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies ends on June 29.Meanwhile, Maxwell has moved to clarify his decision to ask to be omitted from RCB’s line-up from the last IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Maxwell explained that it had nothing to do with needing to take an extended break from the tournament. He simply felt like he was not in the best XI and wanted to take any tough conversations away from captain Faf du Plessis and coach Andy Flower by asking to be dropped.”I was pretty low on confidence,” Maxwell said. “I had a good couple of net sessions and just went out to the ground and felt really tentative. I wasn’t able to really commit to my game plans and just felt like if I had kept playing and playing that role, I don’t think the results would change too much.2:51

Glenn Maxwell to join Washington Freedom in MLC

“So I just went to Faf and said, look, I think we need to try someone else in my position and had the same conversation with Andy Flower, the coach, and to me it was a bit of a no-brainer. I think it sort of saves the tough conversation they might have to have about dropping me.”I felt really at peace with it. Obviously, I’m frustrated that I wasn’t able to get the results I would have liked but comfortable in the fact that I know I feel like I’ve made the right decision for the team and it’s certainly not like I’m taking an extended break away from the game.”I just think it’s a better opportunity for someone else to have a crack at my position. I know I’m an important part of this side but at the moment I’m not playing well enough to I suppose warrant a spot.”Maxwell revealed he is unlikely to come back in for the next game, against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, given he is battling a minor hip injury. He said he understands he has to bide his time to get another opportunity.”I’ve actually got a little bit of a hip strain so I’ve got a few more days off and during recovery,” Maxwell said. “So I’ve got a little period here where I’m still training, still trying to get myself right. If there is a spot that becomes available, I’ll obviously put my hand up and take it”It’s not one of those things where I’ve set a date that I’ll be out for three games then I’ll come back whenever I’m ready. That’s that’s not how it works. I haven’t been at a level that’s good enough to warrant a spot on the side this year.”

Alexander Isak has been training in San Sebastian with his former club Real Sociedad, per a new report in Spain, amid claims he has gone AWOL.

Newcastle striker waiting out Liverpool sagaIsak wanted for British-record sumReportedly in SpainFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Per , Newcastle striker Isak has been spotted training at Real Sociedad's San Sebastian base, as he continues to wait out Liverpool's pursuit of his signature. The Reds are said to be willing to table a British-record bid worth around £120 million ($159m) and reports had suggested that Isak has gone AWOL from training at St James' Park, after rejecting the chance to join the club's pre-season tour of Asia.

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Newcastle had initially claimed that Isak was left out of the tour squad due to injury and would stay in the north east to continue his rehabilitation. It is unclear if the club are aware of the fact that he is in Spain, where he is apparently working to recover from the thigh issue. The Magpies are reportedly targeting Benjamin Sesko as a potential replacement for the Sweden international, but they face serious competition from Manchester United.

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Manager Howe has admitted that he is "not in control" of Isak's future, as he appears to be inching closer to moving to Anfield. Isak is reported to hold serious concerns over the club's project across the next few years and is keen for a move to a perceived bigger team.

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Liverpool have yet to make a formal bid for Isak but that cannot be too far away. Newcastle play Tottenham this weekend in a pre-season friendly in South Korea.

Sri Lanka have slipped to a new level of incompetence and India are on the rise. For me, the disturbing signals are from seniors

Arjuna Ranatunga29-Oct-2005

Marvan Atapattu will have to lead from the front for a Sri Lankan turnaround © Getty Images
Sri Lanka have slipped to a new level of incompetence and India are on the rise. For me, the disturbing signals are from seniors who have to provide leadership to a touring party. Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan are our favourite sons. A few failures can’t revise their reputations. They now have to dig their heels deep to ensure the team is not redefined if another week, god forbids, of similar intensity is going to rock our boat.A few things have been beyond control. Jayasuriya might be a little out of touch but his injury hasn’t allowed him to be his ebullient self. He alone can answer the charge that he is a bit slow or if his reflexes and eyesight are not how they used to be. Murali has been confronted by a high quality batsman in Sachin Tendulkar after a long time and if there are only hundred-odd runs to defend, it restricts even his options. Mahela Jayawardene then has to attend his wedding and I don’t blame him either for it was arranged before the present schedule was announced.I am concerned about the collective batting failure. It is the batsmen who win you games in our subcontinent conditions. I also don’t approve of Kumara Sangakkara opening the batting. The opening combination was duly tinkered with but Sangakkara isn’t the man for the job. When everyone is gripped with the virus of failure, you don’t put all your worries at the doorstep of your best man. Every individual has to pull his own weight. Upul Tharanga needs to be brought out of the closet as an opener.I also wouldn’t accept the pitch being held up as a reason for our batting mishaps. The one at Mohali was perfect, backed with a lightning quick outfield. I certainly didn’t see it as one where the ball was holding up. Even at Nagpur, one has to revisit the match again to see if spinners really had that huge assistance in the second half of the day. I mean, when the spinning duo of Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag took successive wickets, it was only in the 10th and 11th overs of the innings and the ball was still new!It is easy to over-react to such terrible reverses and I hope such a thing is not happening behind the closed doors of the dressing room. There is nothing wrong with the quality of these batsmen. Most who go out of form suffer because they start believing their best has deserted them. Being uptight will never be a solution, it actually adds to the problem. Sometimes being relaxed is the best option. The best process is to attend to the basics – watch the ball closely as it leaves the bowler’s hands and trust your ability which has brought you thus far. If it is a technical issue, help is available from the support staff.The best man to convey the message is the captain. Actually, Atapattu could cite from his own experience. When he began his career in India, years ago, he was a doddering wreck where even scoring the first run was a matter of celebration. Amid cries for his head, we believed in his ability but more importantly, he believed in himself. He soon turned the corner and a string of centuries and double centuries flowed. That message still has relevance. I have a massive regard for his ability and intelligence. We in Sri Lanka are actually in the process of appointing him as long-term captain, till the 2007 World Cup.It’s a complete contrast with the Indians. Their batsmen are raking up massive totals and their bowlers are dismissing the opponents for less than 200. I am sure Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan have much to do with this revival as their efforts in the first two games show.Pathan deserves a closer look as a world class allrounder in the making. Even though he, and his captain Rahul Dravid, wouldn’t like this extra weight of expectations to be placed on his shoulders, it is an inescapable offshoot of good performances.As for Tendulkar, he has lifted modern-day mediocrity with his sublime genius. Men like him inspire a generation of youngsters to pick up the game and create a different level of creativity. Ask yourself how many times you have replayed those pick-up shots over the infield in your mind and swooned over it. We are suffused in his genius and watching an immortal in action. Enjoy it for such men grace the game once in a generation!

Players from New Zealand look back on their tours to India

Wisden Cricinfo staff23-Jun-2005Touring India, assuredly, is much more than Phil Tufnell’s poverty and elephants. Newcomers must adjust not only to a country of vast contrasts and stunning diversity but also to pitches and match atmospheres unlike any other in the world. In a new series on Wisden Cricinfo titled My India Tour, players from New Zealand speak about their time in India.‘The dinner service was all gold’
John Reid on the 1955-56 tour of India, where he had dinner in gold dishes by the side of the Ganges, and where the umpiring was awful. More’You could score a hundred if you keep your head down’
Bruce Taylor on the 1964-65 tour, where he kept his head down, made a hundred and collided with his wicketkeeper. MoreMuch more than cricket
Glenn Turner on the 1969-70 tour, where he met the woman he would later marry. More’It was like a sauna’
Richard Hadlee on the 1976-77 tour, where, despite conditions being much more extreme than he expected, he came of age. More’Everyone wanted a part of me’
John Bracewell on the 1988-89 tour, when the passion and enthusiasm for the sport among spectators made him forget all the aches and pains of a gruelling day’s cricket. More

Zaheer Khan’s 9 for 134 is the sixth-best figures by an Indian fast bowler abroad

S Rajesh31-Jul-2007Despite all the noise about subcontinent fast bowlers relishing conditions overseas, traditionally plenty of seamers from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have done better at home than overseas – Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Waqar Younis, Chaminda Vaas and Javagal Srinath all have better stats at home. Which is why Zaheer Khan’s matchwinning performance at Trent Bridge, coupled with Sreesanth’s excellent display in South Africa, bodes well for the future. Zaheer’s match figures of 9 for 134 is the sixth-best by an Indian bowler overseas; exclude Bangladesh and Zimbabwe from the list, and Zaheer’s performance rises to No.3.Kapil’s best abroad was 8 for 85 against Pakistan at Lahore in 1982-83, while outside the subcontinent it’s his 8 for 106 against Australia at Adelaide in 1985-86. Javagal Srinath only had one eight-wicket haul overseas in his entire career; Sreesanth admittedly had a terrible game here, but he has already had two eight-fors, both against South Africa on the tour in 2006-07.

Best bowling by an Indian fast bowler overseas

Bowler Match figures Against Venue & year

Irfan Pathan 12 for 126 Zimbabwe Harare, 2005 Irfan Pathan 11 for 96 Bangladesh Dhaka, 2004-05 Venkatesh Prasad 10 for 153 South Africa Durban, 1996-97 Chetan Sharma 10 for 188 England Edgbaston, 1986 Irfan Pathan 9 for 111 Zimbabwe Bulawayo, 2005 Zaheer Khan 9 for 134 England Trent Bridge, 2007 England were eventually outplayed, but there was one bowler who would be justified in believing his figures should have been resembling those of Zaheer. Ryan Sidebottom repeatedly beat the outside edge of the bat through the Indian first innings, but finished with figures of 1 for 75, and in the entire game he conceded just 103 runs. As the table below shows, he forced almost as many false strokes (edges, play-and-misses, which are shown by the batsmen’s not-in-control percentage) from the batsmen as Zaheer. Sadly, though, the bowling figures will not indicate the number of times he beat the bat.

Not-in-control percent for Zaheer and Sidebottom

Bowler Total balls Not-in-control balls Percent Match figures

Zaheer Khan 288 76 26.39 9 for 134 Ryan Sidebottom 264 66 25.00 1 for 103 Thanks to their more incisive bowling attack in recent years, India have won 16 times abroad since 2000, which is more than 50% of their entire overseas wins. The victory was also an excellent way to celebrate their 200th overseas Test. Seven of those 16 wins have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, but even excluding matches in the subcontinent and in Zimbabwe, India have done much better when they have toured since 2000.

India’s overseas record

Period Tests Won Lost Drawn

Overall 200 29 84 87 Since 2000 45 16 15 14 Outside subcont, and excl Zim,
since 2000 27 6 10 11

Stat snippets on Jacques Kallis, who went past the 9000-run mark in Tests

Mathew Varghese10-Nov-2007

Jacques Kallis’run-fest continues © Getty Images
As South Africa piled on the runs against New Zealand, Jacques Kallis went past a number of personal milestones and, along with Hashim Amla, set a few more records.Kallis became the eighth batsman to go past to 9000-run mark in Tests and currently possesses a batting average of 57.74, second only to Ricky Ponting’s 59.27 among batsmen to have scored more than 9000 Test runs.Kallis is also by far South Africa’s leading Test run-scorer, with Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs the only other batsmen to have gone past the 5000-run mark.With 218 wickets to his name, Kallis is also one of three players – Garry Sobers and Ian Botham are the others – to have completed the treble of 5000 runs, 200 wickets and 100 catches. In fact, Kallis’ Test record is uncannily similar to that of Sobers, generally considered to be the greatest allrounder.

Players with 5000 runs, 200 wickets and 100 catches in Tests

Player Matches Runs Average Wickets Average Catches

Jacques Kallis 110 9066 57.74 218 31.40 109 Ian Botham 102 5200 33.54 383 28.40 120 Garry Sobers 93 8032 57.78 235 34.03 109Kallis has equally impressive records both home and away; in fact his average of 58.85 in 49 away Tests is better than the 56.82 he manages at home. That away record is boosted by the fact that Kallis has amassed 503 in four innings in Zimbabwe, being dismissed only once in the process. Against Australia, the best side during his playing days, Kallis averages 38.32. Sri Lanka is the only other team against whom he averages below 40, an indication of his consistency. (For Kallis’ career batting summary, click here.)With his 186 in South Africa’s second innings, Kallis is now seventh on the list of all-time leading centurions, with 28 hundreds. However, he would be disappointed to once again miss out on a double-hundred. Surprisingly, for a batsman known for his ability to occupy the crease, Kallis is yet to go past the 200-run milestone in a Test innings, despite having eight previous scores of 150-plus prior to this knock. Kallis utilised 262 balls for his 186, his best hundred till date in terms of strike-rate.Kallis is the lone batsman among the 11 with more than 25 Test hundreds not to have made a double-century. His 330-run stand with Amla – the best for any wicket in New Zealand-South Africa Tests – helped the hosts set an imposing target of 531 for the visitors. Kallis has been at his best in the third innings of a match, with an average of over 70. However, 996 of those 2643 runs have come in drawn matches, at an average of 166 in 14 innings. Kallis’ average in the 29 drawn Tests he’s played in is 78.74.

Best batsmen in the third innings of a match (Minimum 500 runs)

Player Innings Runs Average 100s 50s

Don Bradman 15 1565 130.41 7 4 Jacques Kallis 46 2643 77.73 7 15 Herbert Sutcliffe 16 897 74.75 3 5Though Kallis has batted at the No. 3 position, he’s at his best at two-down, where his average is next only to Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf.

Best averages for No. 4 batsmen (Minimum 1000 runs)

Player Innings Runs Average 100s 50s

Mohammad Yousuf 40 2832 76.54 11 10 Jacques Kallis 90 5327 71.98 19 26 Garry Sobers 24 1530 63.75 6 4Kallis also inched closer to 1000 Test runs for the fourth time in a calendar year. He currently has 994 runs in 2007, having previously achieved the feat in 2001, 2004 and 2005. He has scored four hundreds so far this year, and averages over 90, his best in any calendar year.During the course of his innings, Kallis became South Africa’s leading run-scorer against New Zealand, while Amla’s unbeaten 176 bettered his previous best of 149, also against New Zealand in Cape Town last year..

Both sides came into the game with one win and four defeats behind them; both seemed afraid of victory

Cricinfo staff03-May-2008
Rahul Dravid needs to sort out issues with the batting order and the constant shuffling has only exposed their weakness © AFP
There were times tonight when Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers felt like the resistible force and the movable object. Both sides came into the game with one win and four defeats behind them; both seemed afraid of victory. And, well though Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan bowled at the death, it seemed appropriate that the final nails were banged into the Hyderabadis’ coffin by two poor legbefore decisions – one each by Billy Doctrove and Suresh Shastri.Even then, there was time for a final twist as Anil Kumble, the most experienced man on either side, was hit for successive sixes by Sanjay Bangar with the Chargers requiring 18 off four balls. But each time the momentum appeared to swing one way in this match, it duly swung the other. “I thought, ‘he can’t do it again, can he?'” said Rahul Dravid, afterwards. He couldn’t: Bangar managed just a single off the game’s penultimate delivery and Arjun Yadav was unable to clear the ropes off the last.Fireworks went off around the Chinnaswamy Stadium even as the batsmen completed their forlorn single and Bangalore will be hugely relieved. “I thought we deserved a bit of luck today,” said Dravid. Perhaps. But the truth is his side could easily have lost.In a match riddled with doubt, Deccan Chargers appeared to be on their way to a much-needed win of their own while VVS Laxman – finally doing a decent impersonation of a Twenty20 batsman – and the prodigiously gifted Rohit Sharma were adding 96 for the third wicket in 11.4 overs. But with 30 needed off 19 balls and Bangalore shoulders preparing to slump yet again, Rohit plonked one down Wasim Jaffer’s throat at long-on, before Shahid Afridi fell to a stunning catch in the same position, this time by Dale Steyn.Then came the lbw howlers. There must have been some doubt in Doctrove’s mind before he dispatched Laxman as to whether the ball had pitched outside leg (it had, just). But Shastri’s decision to give out Scott Styris next ball to Zaheer was truly awful, the ball landing several inches outside leg. To lose to Rajasthan when Shane Warne butchered Andrew Symonds was hard enough; but this was sickening.”It’s disappointing to lose these close games,” said Laxman, before exaggerating by one the number of truly close games his side has actually been involved in. “We have lost three close ones and if they had been three wins, it would be a different story altogether. Rohit’s wicket was the key, but from the 16th over, we lost too many wickets. We’re just not able to finish things off at the moment.”The Royal Challengers can consider themselves fortunate to have come up against a side that currently lacks the killer instinct, because – as Dravid himself admitted – a total of 156 for 8 was at least 15 runs below par. This is hardly surprising, since the top order, now without the classy hitting of Ross Taylor, who has gone to play for New Zealand in England, still looks desperately unsettled.The constant tinkering with the batting line-up suggests all is not well. Five different batsmen – Jaffer, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Bharat Chipli, Praveen and Dravid himself – have formed four different opening partnerships, and together they have totalled 74 runs in 12.3 overs. That’s one run per ball – unacceptable when the fielding restrictions are in place for the first six overs of every innings – and a wicket on average at the end of the second over. This is not the stuff of which firm foundations are made.There’s more. No Bangalore player has yet made more than Jacques Kallis’ 54, against Delhi Daredevils. That’s the lowest high score of any of the eight franchises. Of the 37 scores in the competition of 50 or more, only three have come from the bat of a Royal Challenger. They are manifestly not pulling their weight, despite Dravid’s assertion last night that Jaffer has “always been a strokemaker” and has suffered from being pigeon-holed too early.It’s true that Dravid himself batted well at No. 6 for a 19-ball 26 – the role of an innings finisher surely suits him best – but you sense Bangalore will need to assign specific tasks to each of their top six for their remaining eight group games if they are to reach the last four.

How the advent of one player promises to mark the beginning of an epoch for a country’s cricket

Sa'adi Thawfeeq03-Jan-2009

A new dawn: Mendis has already almost taken over the mantle of main match-winner for Sri Lanka © AFP
Two thousand eight, according to Chinese astrology, was the Year of the Rat. For Sri Lanka cricket, it was the year of Ajantha Mendis.The 23-year-old burst into the limelight in the Caribbean in April, bemusing the best of West Indies batsmen, who were at sea against the five varieties of spin he bowled. When Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene threw the ball to Mendis in the first one-day international, inPort-of-Spain, little did anyone realise that it would herald a new genre of spin.Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan came into thelimelight at a time when the art of spin bowling was dying. In the next 15 years orso they raised it to a level it had never attained before. Butnothing lasts forever. Warne left the game in 2007 and Muralitharanis nearing the end of the road. The old fears were back that spin would become a dying art. Then came Mendis.Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, recalled his first sighting: “[Ramnaresh] Sarwan had problems picking him, and from the time we saw this, most of the batsmen retreated to the dressing room and had a close look at his hand on the TV monitor.” However, the best quote came from Rob Steen, on Cricinfo: “I have just seenthe future of spin bowling – and his name is Ajantha Mendis.”Mendis really came into the limelight in his second ODI series, the Asia Cup inPakistan, where he spun his team to a remarkable 100-run victory over favouritesIndia in the final in Lahore.He continued to torment the Indian batting when they toured Sri Lanka for a three-Test series and lost it 2-1. The difference was Mendis, who broke a 62-year-old record, held by England fast bowler Alec Bedser, by taking the most wickets in a debut series – 26. The strong Indian batting line-up of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman was left so bemused by the mystics of Mendis’ spin that they managed only three fifties between them.With Mendis catching so much world attention it was no surprise when he won the ICC’sEmerging Player of the Year award.In a rather restricted Test calendar year, where Sri Lanka played fewer Test matches (six) than even Bangladesh (nine), the most memorable were their first Test victory in the Caribbean, by 121 runs in Guyana, and the home series win over India. The hero of the Guyana victory was Chaminda Vaas, who once again showed that he still had enough steam left, even at theage of 34, to spearhead his team to victory: he had a match haul of eight wickets to gowith his unbeaten half-century. A fortnight later Vaas was cast in the villain’s role when he conceded a four and then a six off the last two deliveries of the match to Shiv Chanderpaul as West Indies pulled off a stunning victory over Sri Lanka in the first ODI.While Sri Lanka continued to impress in the longer game, their unpredictable battingwas a cause for concern in the limited-overs matches, where they continued to losebilateral contests but managed to come out on top in tournaments – the most remarkable of those was the victory in the Asia Cup. On a more low-key note, they also pocketed the tri-nation T20 Canada, beating Pakistan in the final.The arrival of the Indian Premier League and the rebel Indian Cricket Leaguebenefited Sri Lanka’s present and former cricketers with monetary gainsof the sort SLC could never dream of matching. Overall, 15 of SriLanka’s top cricketers were signed in both tournaments.Sri Lanka’s women cricketers once again had to be satisfied with the runner-up titlewhen they lost the Asia Cup final, held in Sri Lanka, to India. Pakistan and Bangladesh were the other participating countries. The Sri Lankan women, however, gained some consolation later in the year when they defeated West Indies 3-2 in a thrilling five-match one-day series at home. Opening bat Dedunu Silva and the captain, Shashikala Siriwardena, entered the top 20 of the ICC ODI women’s batting rankings for the first time.

First blood: Sri Lanka celebrate their maiden Test win in the West Indies © AFP
On the domestic front Sri Lanka’s cricket continued to falter under an interimadministration. When former captain and present politician Arjuna Ranatunga wasappointed chairman, replacing businessman Jayantha Dharmadasa, by the country’spresident, there was plenty of hope that with his vast cricketing experienceRanatunga would put Sri Lankan cricket, which has been plagued in the past byalleged misappropriation of funds, on the right track. But Ranatunga fell out with the national team over the IPL contracts, and then made unwarrantedremarks against the Indian board, which soured the good long-standingrelationship the two countries had enjoyed over the years. He had constant clasheswith the sports minister, whom he accused of not allowing him to do aproper job. By the end of the year everything pointed to a change in administration,with either a new interim committee being appointed or elections being held.New kid on the block
Ajantha Mendis, who promises to become Sri Lankan cricket’s new chief match-winner, succeeding Muttiah Muralitharan, who has held the mantle for many years.Fading star
Workhorse Chaminda Vaas began the year on a high, bowling his country to their firstTest victory in the Caribbean, but has struggled since to keep his place against awhole crop of youngsters breathing down his neck.High point
Following a poor one-day series in Australia, and a 2-0 lossto West Indies in the Caribbean, Sri Lanka were under pressure to perform in the AsiaCup. They did it in magnificent style, beating India in the final.Low point
Losing the first ODI to West Indies to a last-ball six whenvictory was well within grasp.What 2009 holds
An unscheduled tour to Pakistan for three Tests will boost Sri Lanka’s output forthe year to 10 Test matches – possibly 13 if they tour India later in the year.The year begins with the second Test against Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan, whom they will play away and at home in six Tests. They also host New Zealand for athree-Test series.

Mitchell Johnson will get a chance to re-group and toughen up away from international glare if he is dropped

Peter English at Edgbaston29-Jul-2009It’s almost eviction time in Australia’s touring Big Brother house. “Day 49, and Mitchell Johnson is still bowling rubbish,” the Geordie narrator dribbles, changing only the date in his repetitive voiceover. The public now wants to dump Johnson, the pre-tour favourite for reality stardom in England. Most of his housemates have wavered at some point over the past week, downgrading him from a certainty to possibly, maybe, hopefully. For many of those on the outside they just want the saga to end this week in Birmingham.But this is not a popularity contest. Johnson’s position in the Test goldfish bowl depends on the selectors, three former opening batsmen with risk-free outlooks and a larrikin fast bowler. Andrew Hilditch and his panel don’t want to discard a man who won all the challenges during the South Africa edition earlier in the year. Back then Johnson was seriously A-list, but over the first two Tests in England he has been the unintentionally bumbling extra nobody can stop looking at. And it hasn’t been funny.Ricky Ponting, the leader of the house, insisted he has not considered dropping Johnson during their preparations for Thursday’s third Test, but left some wriggle room by talking about the unpredictability of the conditions in Edgbaston. He now wants Johnson at first-change instead of with the new ball and to employ him in short, attacking bursts. He doesn’t believe any of the problems are technical.”Right at the moment it is more of a confidence thing,” Ponting said. “I’ll probably look at him in this game playing in a slightly different way than I have in the last couple, and use him more as a strike-impact type of bowler. He has had the ability to strike for us and take wickets. That part of his game is still there. He is going okay, there has been other stuff going on off the field that is probably not making life any easier for us.”After weeks of silence, Johnson, 27, entered the diary room this week to open his hurt heart to a cashed-up women’s magazine. Speaking in his soft, sensitive and sometimes squeaking voice, he said his mum’s comments over his girlfriend stealing him away were not the reason for his loss of focus.Allan Border, one of Australian cricket’s godfathers, doesn’t like what he saw in Cardiff or London and wants Johnson to have another week off. All the tour batsmen say in public that he is bowling well in the nets. All the Australians are, apart from Brett Lee, who is coming in off four steps. But occasionally hitting the strip has been too difficult for Johnson at training.England want him to play to re-hone their cut shots and clips through midwicket. Andrew Strauss and his men have thought a little about possible replacements – Stuart Clark is the most likely, followed by Shane Watson and Andrew McDonald – but are ready to blaze at Johnson if he stays in the limelight. “At this stage of the series it is important you look to seize on any opportunities that come your way,” Strauss said. “We did that pretty well at Lord’s, not just with Johnson, but generally. If we get those opportunities again it’s important we take them.”The danger lies in the ability of Johnson’s body to remember how to deliver a wicket-taking ball. He has eight victims in the series, mostly from batsmen who have been either surprised by some sudden late movement, or shocked to find a ball in a troubling area. Strauss succumbed in Cardiff and Alastair Cook fell at Lord’s after the pair put on 196 before tea. Rarely have they benefitted from so many first-day donations as those offered by Johnson.In the tour game at Northampton over the weekend he was rationed, delivering 18.1 overs and failing to intimidate lower-rung county players. There was only one wicket, but his team-mates have talked of all the edges through or over the slips. Such strong public support for a player so obviously out of form hasn’t come since Mark Taylor arrived in England 12 years ago, when every cover drive in the nets was applauded.

His team-mates have talked of all the edges through or over the slips. Such strong public support for a player so obviously out of form hasn’t come since Mark Taylor arrived in England 12 years ago, when every cover drive in the nets was applauded

Ponting warned observers not to make any assumptions on the make-up of the team for Edgbaston. How times have changed. In the England camp the only real issue is Andrew Flintoff’s fitness, and he looked fine at training on Tuesday. Australia have whiteboards full of possible formations. “I don’t know which way it is going to go with the overall attack,” Ponting said. He does expect Nathan Hauritz, the offspinner, to have a significant role and believes the pitch will turn from the opening day.Moulding the pace stocks is the migraine area. Ponting said Peter Siddle and Clark could fit in the same team – the coach Tim Nielsen believes they are too similar – but there is also some support for the multi-skills of Watson and McDonald. Even though Phillip Hughes has been wide-eyed and unsuccessful, Marcus North could be vulnerable if Australia want to shoehorn an allrounder into the side. Two hundreds in North’s opening four matches make it hard to believe the issue has been discussed.All these combinations would have remained wacky internal thoughts if it hadn’t been for Johnson. Currently it feels like it would be too demoralising for the side’s most qualified bowler to be dropped, but it is something that has happened often in the past. With only three or four spots for fast men in a side, they have always been vulnerable to conditions, form, injury and mood, both of themselves and the selectors. It happened to McGrath, Gillespie, Lee, McDermott and every other long-term contender.Johnson has not been dropped since debuting in 2007, and any omission won’t lead to years in the wilderness, especially with the recent rate of regeneration. If the team’s Big Brothers evict Johnson before the toss it gives him a chance to re-group and toughen up away from international glare. In his current state they would be doing him a favour.

On the third day in Kanpur, Sreesanth didn’t need the verbals; the ball did the talking for him

Cricinfo staff26-Nov-2009Sreesanth covered his face as soon as the ball flashed from Mahela Jayawardene’s outside edge and past the narrow alley between MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar at first slip. It was probably the ball of the day: it was the first ball Jayawardene was facing and, perhaps sensing his vulnerability, Sreesanth pitched it fuller and shaped it away just enough to prompt Jayawardene to play at it. Where once Sreesanth might have walked up to the batsman and indulged in a bit of verbal, today he walked back quietly with a faint smile.Today, Sreesanth didn’t need the verbals; the ball did the talking for him. Such was his allure that each time he ran in Green Park buzzed with expectation. And when he had finished his job and led his team off the pitch, it was incredible to think he was coming into this Test without any international cricket for the past 19 months and without much match experience of any sort.Yet, as he later said, he was “hungry to take the “new ball”. The aim was not to go full throttle straightaway, though he did hit Tharanga Paranavitana’s helmet with an accurate bouncer. On a docile pitch Sreesanth understood that trying to hit express pace would be futile; the focus was on hitting that length from where he could make the batsmen play and vary pace.”This was a wicket where the faster you bowl the easier it is to bat. It was important to make him (batsman) play early and make him play late and it was a mixture of lots [of deliveries],” Sreesanth said while explaining his strategy.He then started shaping the ball both ways, sowing the seeds of doubt in the Lankan minds. The first over was a maiden to Paranavitana, who was clearly edgy and eventually nicked an outswinger to Dhoni. Then came Mahela who, though lucky to escape off that first delivery, found Sreesanth pounding in relentlessly, banging the ball unerringly on the same spot.Against Sangakkara, Sreesanth used the crease to produce his angle. He came round the wicket and bowled a slower ball that the Lankan captain picked smartly but had him next ball. It was a straighter one, fuller and wide on off stump and, though apparently harmless, Sangakkara dragged it on to his stumps. Thilan Samaraweera fell in the same fashion after being pegged down by Sreesanth’s movement early on.Sreesanth returned halfway into the second session when the two Jayawardenes – Mahela and Prasanna – were attempting to retrieve the situation. The ball was old and with his pace Sreesanth had the advantage of extracting reverse swing. Continuing to attack the off stump Sreesanth speared a toe crusher into Prasanna. The Lankan got his bat down in the nick of time but the crowd roared as the Indians appealed anyway. The next ball, though, Sreesanth pitched on the seam, cut the ball out and the batsman went fishing. This time contact with the bat was debatable but the decision went the bowler’s way.

Fast-bowling greats like Allan Donald have always cited Sreesanth’s example to youngsters, particularly pointing to his erect wrist position at the point of release as exemplary. The energy, the ability to swing at 140-plus speeds, and that priceless quality of pitching ball after ball on the same spot make Sreesanth a terrific package.

He would soon bend Ranganna Herath’s off stump with another straightening delivery to bag his second five-for – roughly three years after his first, during India’s brilliant victory in Johannesburg in 2006.Perhaps that performance became Sreesanth’s albatross, increasing public expectations and, indeed, those in his own mind. He was 24, relatively green, and wanting to get a wicket every ball. The next three years were up and down, with lots of plateau thrown in, and a 19-month spell on the sidelines.He now seems to have turned full circle. Sreesanth’s fast bowling skills have never been in question: fast-bowling greats like Allan Donald have always cited his example to youngsters, particularly pointing to his erect wrist position at the point of release as exemplary. The energy, the ability to swing at 140-plus speeds, and that priceless quality of pitching ball after ball on the same spot make Sreesanth a terrific package.The doubts that have persisted have always been about his temperament. He was always vulnerable to adrenalin and bravado, a heady mix that has frustrated and irritated the team management, co-players and selectors.Though he spent a month at Warwickshire and then the season-opening Irani Cup, no one, perhaps not even the man himself, knew whether he was ready for the return. He was fined during the Irani Cup game for abusing an opponent and received a stiff warning from the BCCI against breaching the code of conduct. And it’s fair to say his selection for the first two Tests did not evoke universal approval.Remarkably amidst such chaos Sreesanth maintained his calm. All through the last two weeks he has been restrained, doing his job, head down in a silent manner. In training session teammates have consciously left him alone, while praising him silently as he bowled at good speeds, beating the bat consistently.He’s been quiet since his comeback. And today, he let the ball do the talking.