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From Hariharan Sriram, India As he has done quite often in his career Kumble brought alive a boring final day in a Test match at Kotla today

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Hariharan Sriram, India
As he has done quite often in his career Kumble brought alive a boring final day in a Test match at Kotla today. However unlike in the past, this did not cause discomfort and nervousness amongst the opposition batsmen.Many are the batsmen who have been at the receiving end of Jumbo’s super fast flippers and spitting leg breaks and though his form had dipped quite a bit of late, there will be lots of them who will be more than relieved to hear that the warrior had hung up his sword.Many are the special memories that he leaves us to cherish. The first of those came in the Hero Cup final when he picked up 6 for 12 against the Windies when a couple of wickets came thanks to yorkers which until then, even the Indian pacers couldn’t bowl accurately.It was yet again against the Windies that he would produce a sight never before seen and possibly never again seen scenes as he bounded in with his broken jaw to try and secure a wicket for India.His performance against in Australia was perhaps something which he enjoyed quite a bit himself. His celebration after taking out Ponting in Melbourne after he had worked him out is one of those rare occasions when he’s let his emotions be so visible on the cricket field.And so were his reactions after getting to his maiden century at the Oval. But perhaps the moments which defined all that Kumble stood for came during the course of that much discussed Sydney Test this year.Even as the rest of the Indian batsmen got out or gave their wickets away, he stood their at one end determined to fight it out till the end. With his limited technique he defied the Aussies, focussed on playing out every ball and taking India closer to safety. However as fate would have it, with just five minutes to go three wickets fell in one over leading to the defeat. How much it would have hurt the man is for anybody to guess.And then with the whole Indian and Australian press waiting for his sound bytes after the most controversial Test of our times, he kept his cool and came up with one single statement which said more than a five minute speech would have.Determination, commitment, composure and dignity are words which cannot be strung together to define any other sportsman better than him. Not many Indian cricketers have left the game on their own terms, but then the timing of Kumble’s departure has been spot on, much like his deliveries.Never once has he given less than 100% on the field and the moment he’s recognized that there were factors beyond his control which would not allow him to do so, he’s stepped down. Memory doesn’t serve up any names of Indians who have retired as captains and he definitely deserves to have done so.There are two kinds of great players. There are those whose very presence lights up the arena and then there are those whose absence speaks more about their contributions. India have been lucky enough to have one of each kind play in the same era.It is only fitting that he should have been carried on the shoulders of his team mates on his farewell lap, on the ground which has been lucky enough to witness the great man at his best, time and again. Goodbye Jumbo, and thanks for all the wickets.

Monty Panesar so far hasn’t looked at himself as the leading spinner in England’s side. It is time he changed that mindset

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland20-Mar-2013There was one moment in the Wellington Test that would not have been seen a few years ago. On the third evening, with England striving to make inroads before the weather closed in, left-arm spinner Monty Panesar remonstrated with his captain, Alastair Cook, about his close-catchers.From a distance away it appeared he did not much like the leg side, perhaps he wanted another man in the covers instead. Cook got his way and the leg slip stayed in place. Panesar completed the over then got an arm round the shoulder from Matt Prior. With rough to aim at and wickets an urgent need, the pressure was on Panesar. As it turned out he did not make further inroads and, ultimately, the Test was a watery draw.That moment, however, when Panesar questioned, or challenged, his captain, was important – that is what people had wanted him to do. Come out of his shell; be confident in what he wants; set the agenda himself rather than have it set for him. A few years ago Shane Warne remarked: “Monty Panesar hasn’t played 33 Tests, he’s played one Test 33 times” in reference to his lack of development of self-thinking. The fact he did not get it on this occasion does not matter and, it must be hoped, it will not stop him from trying again in the future.Panesar was not expected to play any part in this series. Then, Graeme Swann’s elbow became too great a concern for the England management and he was sent off to the United States for surgery. Suddenly, on the morning of the first Test in Dunedin, Panesar was pitched into the series without having bowled a competitive delivery since the Nagpur Test in mid-December.He was rusty in Dunedin. His economy, normally a safe house for him even when he isn’t taking wickets, was high as Hamish Rutherford, especially, made an effort to get after him. In Wellington he was better, playing an important holding role in the first innings to allow the quick bowlers to rotate and dismiss New Zealand for 254 on a flat pitch. At the start of the second innings, Panesar made one spit and bounce out of the rough to remove Rutherford but that was as good as it got despite a few near misses.There have been suggestions that Panesar’s place could be under threat for the final Test, either from James Tredwell or a fourth seamer, on a surface unlikely to offer much for the spinner. Panesar, though, should be persevered with. He is not a naturally confident person so, although Test cricket is not a place for soft decisions, he needs to be given the sort of strong backing which will keep his self-belief high.This is the first time Panesar has been England’s lone spinner since the start of the West Indies tour in 2009, when he played the Jamaica Test, where England were bowled out for 51, and the next match in Antigua that was abandoned on a sandpit outfield after 10 deliveries. He was then dropped, in favour of Swann, for the rearranged Test at the Recreation Ground, and ever since has only ever partnered Swann, until this tour.Being the main man is still not a position that comes naturally to Panesar. His successes in the UAE and India came when he knew the expectation was on Swann, something that Swann does not struggle to cope with. Yet Panesar can, even though he perhaps doesn’t realise it, take a leading role. Cook’s second-innings hundred in Ahmedabad instilled belief in England they could compete, but Panesar’s spell on the first day in Mumbai – which included dismissing Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar – sparked them into life.This tour, and especially the final Test with the series still square, is an important challenge for Panesar. The very early signs are that Swann’s elbow surgery has gone well, but it will be a few more weeks before anyone has a clearer picture. Swann, certainly, is unlikely to be tweeting any downbeat thoughts. Panesar, however, must get his mind around the possibility that he will be England’s one spinner in the Ashes not just that he might, yet, be part of a two-man spin attack that is looking tempting after Australia’s problems in India.If there was a combination of conditions Panesar would not want to have, it could well be what he will encounter at Eden Park. A drop-in pitch is unlikely to encourage the spinners and then there are the odd dimensions of the ground; short straight boundaries which are no more than a chip away. In his favour, he has a batting order filled with right handers and the DRS.And, it might just be that one of the most discussed facets of Panesar’s game helps him. Pace, pace, pace is often the theme when he bowls. Why can’t he vary it more? Toss one up, Monty. Sometimes it can be infuriating when there appears no discernible difference during a long spell, but the slower he bowls often the more erratic he becomes. With short boundaries inviting lofted shots, Panesar’s quicker speed, which gives batsmen less time to get under the ball, might just give him another trick up his sleeve.

The Champions Trophy will put the spotlight back on Cardiff and Welsh cricket, and the likes of Robert Croft plan to make the most of it

Alan Gardner07-Apr-2013England will always have Cardiff. That is, the memory of the first Ashes Test of 2009, recently evoked by the images of Monty Panesar helping Matt Prior rescue a similarly triumphant draw in Auckland. There have been difficult times for Glamorgan and their ground since then – in particular a hefty loss on the Sri Lanka Test of 2011 and the subsequent forfeiting of a West Indies Test last year – but in June, the global cricket caravan will cross the Severn for the opening game of the Champions Trophy, a tournament that could go a long way to determining the future of hosting international fixtures in Wales.As with England against Australia four years ago, cricket in Cardiff might be considered to have its back to the wall. Less than a mile down the River Taff squats the Millennium Stadium, home of Welsh rugby. In their national sport, Wales have breathed fire over the Six Nations in recent years, and last month they won a fourth title – including three grand slams – since 2005. In football, Cardiff City are closing in on promotion to the Premier League,where they will join Swansea, who in February became the first Welsh side to win the League Cup.Passion for the English summer game may be harder to discern than daffodils in this bitterest of springs. But walking along the river towards the SWALEC Stadium, although the trees are bare, it is possible to make out a faint, pointillist constellation of yellow. In a couple of months, with the rugby and football seasons finished and cricket out of hibernation once more, the cricketing world will be introduced to the ECB’s silent W.Or perhaps not so silent, as Robert Croft, the former Glamorgan and England offspinner, alludes to in his promise of a “carnival atmosphere” at the Cardiff Wales Stadium (as it will be called for the duration of the Champions Trophy). Croft is used to fielding questions about Welsh support for an England team – in most sports, the are jeered rather than cheered across the border – but he is confident that the locals will open their arms and clear their throats. TV coverage is expected to reach hundreds of millions of eyeballs and little stirs the Welsh as much as pride in a sporting occasion. Indians might not know the words to “Bread of Heaven” by the end of the Champions Trophy but the hope is they will want a further taste.”There’s going to be the eyes of the world on Cardiff,” says Croft, who is now in a coaching and ambassadorial role with Glamorgan after retiring last year, and will be prominent during the tournament. "We want the Welsh cricket brand to get across to the global audience. There’ll be a lot of potential people who would love to come to Wales getting an opportunity to see it on television – so we want to make that sing, as it were.”Croft believes that the continued ability to stage cricket at the highest level is important for the game in Wales. Alongside the immediate financial benefit to Glamorgan, having regular international cricket in the Welsh capital can help to pique the interest of a new generation, who might otherwise be lured to rival sports.A man who knows something about nurturing the grassroots of cricket in Cardiff is David Kirtley, younger brother of the former England international James. Having moved from his hometown of Eastbourne in the 1990s in order to go to university, Kirtley has captained Cardiff Cricket Club for the last eight years and can remember as far back as the days when they played their home games at Sophia GardensCardiff CC now play in Whitchurch, to the north of the city, but as part of the Cardiff Athletic Club they are still officially billeted in a small brick building between the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Arms Park, an insurgent in rugby heartland. Founded in 1819, the club is one of the oldest sporting associations in Wales – Kirtley jokes that they are older than the Australia team – and with almost 200 years of history to fall back on, there are no feelings of insecurity. Having a Test ground up the road is an added fillip, reckons Kirtley.”There’s no doubt it’s been a benefit for cricket in the area, havinginternational cricket on your doorstep,” he says. "Our junior section iscontinuing to grow and we had definite a spike around when the Ashesstarted.”For Glamorgan’s chief executive, Alan Hamer, hosting a successful Champions Trophy is a matter of “reputation”. While the first Test match to be held in Wales was well received – described it as a “triumph” – the drive to construct international venues in outposts such as Cardiff, Durham and Southampton has been characterised in some quarters as the fake sound of progress. A £1.7m loss in 2011 did little to counter that argument but, despite the economic turmoil of the last few years, Glamorgan have taken steps to improve their financial footing and Hamer is confident that a regular offering of international cricket is central to the county’s fortunes. A successful Champions Trophy will be a prerequisite to Glamorgan’s prospects in the ECB’s next four-year match allocation cycle, which will include the 2019 World Cup and Ashes, as well as the World Test Championship, which is expected to be held in England in 2017.Perhaps just as important to bringing in the crowds and establishing Cardiff as a cricketing citadel is the regeneration of Glamorgan as a genuine county force. Gimmicks such as calling the one-day team the “WelshDragons” have been abandoned and Glamorgan recently published a Strategic Plan aimed at improving links with Welsh clubs. In the club’s 125th year, Croft has been touring the country and taking part in q&a sessions; Kirtley says that after a “rocky time three-four years”, Glamorgan are going in the right direction.Croft: “There’ll be a lot of potential people who would love to come to Wales getting an opportunity to see it on television – so we want to make that sing”•Getty ImagesHamer also acknowledges the need for a corrective. “We recognise that continued poor performances in the Glamorgan team have compounded the gap between the profile of rugby, football and cricket. We know we have an important part to play in resurrecting that interest. Over the last few years we’ve pursued a strategy which has involved investing money in cricket by signing players, either from other counties or overseas. It’s not something financially sustainable long-term but also in order to resurrect the interest in the Welsh public in Glamorgan, we need as well to be developing our own players.”Forty years ago, in Swansea, England and New Zealand played the first international match ever to be held in Wales. There were no Welshmen in the side that day and Cardiff is still waiting to cheer a homegrown hero in an England shirt. “I would have loved to have played in an international here,” Croft says wistfully. “It’s very important for the profile of cricket in Wales that we get another Welsh lad playing at the highest level.” That, surely,would secure Cardiff’s status. And all the cricketing cathedrals in the world will not have heard a roar like it.

It may be on a sound financial footing but in terms of relationships with supporters there is work to be done for Haroon Lorgat at CSA

Firdose Moonda23-Jul-2013″There is no broken business.” That was the only defiant statement at Haroon Lorgat’s unveiling yesterday and it was uttered by someone who should know. Louis von Zeuner is one of CSA’s independent board members and is also a banker. From his vantage point, there is nothing ailing CSA and when browsing the books it’s hard to argue with von Zeuner’s assessment.Over the last two years, CSA has signed an eight-year broadcast deal with Taj and Willowton TV worth R1.5 billion (US$150 million). The last revenue figure they released was after the 2010-11 season when they reported a record R727.4 million (US$72.74 million) income. They have high-profile corporate sponsors attached to each of the three formats and all domestic competitions so financially, CSA is strong and healthy.But a business is not only about money and that is what von Zeuner forgot when he made his declaration. A business is also about relationships and at the moment, CSA’s most important one is fractured.The South African public still harbours suspicion towards the organisation, justifiably so in the aftermath of the bonus scandal, which revealed a lack of corporate governance in the body and the continued series of PR blunders which followed. CSA has not done a good job of explaining things to the people they should be accountable to – the supporters – be it the delay in appointing a new CEO or whether a player has passed or failed a fitness test and so they have earned nothing but circumspection. It is Haroon Lorgat’s job to change that.Just the fact that he was appointed is a good start for CSA’s beleaguered reputation. In Lorgat, CSA has picked a familiar and trusted face. He spent almost a decade working in various positions in South African cricket before appointed ICC boss. His rise is an example of how a traditional cricket-person – Lorgat is a former allrounder with a decent record – can combine corporate acumen.He is the only convenor of selectors since readmission to leave the job with the same amount of respect he had when he started it. Perhaps he was lucky in that the choices he had to make were not as confusing as the crossroads other convenors stood in front of, particularly when it came to established players and transformation.In Lorgat’s era, Makhaya Ntini was at his peak and Herschelle Gibbs’ allegations of a Graeme Smith-Jacques Kallis-Mark Boucher-AB de Villiers cabal were not fully formed (de Villiers was only a rookie at the start of that period) or released. But he also made brave decisions like dropping Boucher in late 2004 and giving Hashim Amla his debut the same year and that added to his stature.His time at the ICC did the same. South Africans are proud that one of their own headed up world cricket’s governing body. They see Lorgat as a man of great prestige. The other side of the story – the one which alleges Lorgat was skating on thin ice towards the end of his tenure – has not reached these parts. And Lorgat’s battles with the BCCI are considered a case of the Indian board flexing their muscles against a man who was strong enough to stand up to them.It’s no secret that some view the BCCI as a bully because of their money and influence. When, in March they voiced their concerns over Lorgat’s bid for the CSA job, it came with a threat of a possible pull-out of their upcoming tour. The BCCI’s beef was believed to be because of some of their old baggage with Lorgat, emanating from disagreements at the ICC, but South Africans saw it as unwarranted interference. That CSA appointed Lorgat regardless of the BCCI’s concerns has been received as an act of bravado. CSA has been congratulated for holding the line where other boards may have caved in.While the board puffed its chest out with pride that they had made a popular decision, Lorgat emerged almost apologetically into the limelight. At his first press engagement, he spoke on the India issue with humility. He said he did not know exactly what he had done to earn their ire and he wanted to understand their concerns. He also gave an assurance he would be willing to say sorry to India because maintaining close ties with him is in the best interests of CSA.

He will have to find equilibrium between heading up CSA in a way that is credible to the South African public while also keeping peace and fostering relationships with other boards.

Therein also lies Lorgat’s biggest challenge. He will have to find equilibrium between heading up CSA in a way that is credible to the South African public while also keeping peace and fostering relationships with other boards. In essence, Lorgat will have to be a diplomat. Fortunately for him that is something he has had a lot of practice doing.With one eye on international image and the other at restoring CSA’s reputation at home, Lorgat will also need a third, to scan over the intricacies of running South African cricket. The main protagonists, the players, cannot be ignored. South Africa’s Test squad appear to be able to take care of themselves and the limited-overs’ units seem the problem children but it is not that clear cut.South Africa’s golden generation are slowly being affected by injury and age as Graeme Smith’s ankle recurrences have come too frequently and Jacques Kallis accepts the twilight. Even the usually fit Dale Steyn has begun to pick up niggles. As we’ve seen recently with India and Australia, a succession plan needs to be watertight for a country not to feel the losses of some heavyweights. South Africa’s depth exists but when it is severely tested, as has happened with the one-day side now, it’s evident there is work to be done.The franchises have continually produced players who are capable of stepping up but they have oft-cried for assistance. They rely on CSA for grants and many of them would like those to increase. The domestic Twenty20 competition is an avenue they want to further monetise with players with a worldwide appeal to draw in advertisers to match. CSA do not want to compete with the IPL, that would be pointless, but they would prefer something like the Big Bash League instead of the low-profile event they are saddled with now.And to make Lorgat’s job a little more difficult, he also has to pay attention to development. In a country with a past as divided as South Africa’s, addressing inequality is complicated. Transformation is associated with fast-tracking players of colour but it is not as unfair as that. As a policy it looks at making opportunities to play cricket available to all people and, by implication, those who were previously disadvantaged require more attention.It is often criticised because it is applied higher-up at the same time as it takes root at the lowest-levels. Many would prefer to see real change at grassroots long before it grows elsewhere because they believe that will allow for real change. But others have growing impatience about the slow rate of representation.Unity took place 22 years ago and to date only five black Africans, who make the majority of the population – Makhaya Ntini, Mfuneko Ngam, Thami Tsolekile, Monde Zondeki and Lonwabo Tsotsobe – have played Test cricket despite black African communities having century-long traditions in the game. Lorgat himself said he feels South Africa is not benefitting fully by failing to tap into this talent pool and he wants to change that.Von Zeuner may be strictly correct: by the traditional understanding of a business, CSA is not broken. But by the larger one, it has holes. If Lorgat can fill some of them, his time in charge will be judged successful.

Plays of the day from the fifth ODI between Pakistan and South Africa in Sharjah

Firdose Moonda11-Nov-2013(Un)lucky number three
A first inside-edge may leave a batsmen feeling nervous. Like when Quinton de Kock tried to cut Mohammad Irfan and almost played the ball onto his own stumps. A second, even more so, but still de Kock survived, and also collected a four for good measure. By the time the third comes, the fielding side can consider themselves unlucky. After two French cuts, de Kock had a third, off Sohail Tanvir. All of them, miraculously, missed the stumps.Rapid AB
AB de Villiers was on 97 going into the last over but Wayne Parnell was facing the first ball. After his partner hit a boundary off the first ball, de Villiers was anxious to get on strike. When Parnell beat the point fielder with his next shot, de Villiers called him through for three runs. De Villiers had to race against the throw to make his ground, but had his skates on as he fell mid-stride. He dived in vain at the striker’s end, with bat at full stretch to ensure he was well in his crease by the time Umar Akmal took the bails off. Having survived, de Villiers brought up three figures off the next ball.Flying AB
De Villiers had already led the batting effort but he was ready to do his part in the field as well. When a Lonwabo Tsotsobe delivery leaped up to take the shoulder of Mohammad Hafeez’s bat, the ball ballooned over second slip where de Villiers was stationed. He moved backwards, stuck his hand out and put in a jump to try and pluck the ball from the sky. For all his dedication, de Villiers could only get his fingers to it, but the ball spilled out when his arm struck the ground again, and Hafeez got away.The unlikely cricket enthusiast
Dead rubbers between two teams who will meet again in a return tour (two Twenty20s followed by three ODIs) that starts later this month are not exactly the biggest crowd-pullers and the numbers in the stadium were evidence of that. But there was someone who was interested in the action. A caramel-coloured pigeon was on the field for large periods of the Pakistan innings, and had to be shooed off on numerous occasions. He hung around at the boundary rope and was distracting some of the fielders to the point where Ahmed Shehzad had to wave him away in energetic fashion. Later, one of the members of the academy was spotted cradling the pigeon as the match drew to a close.Misbah unplugged
Tired of along, Misbah-ul-Haq played the shot of the match off just his seventh ball. Tsotsobe bowled it full, outside off, Misbah got underneath it, cleared the front foot, and lofted it over mid-off. The ball traveled high and far, crashing into the stand near the commentary box before bouncing back into the field. Even Misbah has an aggressive side.Irfan is bounced
The game was meandering to a foregone conclusion when a bit of spicy fast bowling from Parnell made people sit up and take notice. Irfan, at 7 ft 1in, would be the last person you would expect to be bounced out, his lackluster skills with the bat notwithstanding. But Parnell tested the middle of the pitch and made the ball rise towards Irfan’s head. The tail-ender fended it away as best he could, but the ball skied in the air and Hashim Amla back-pedalled from first slip to collect a safe catch. The wicket had no bearing on the eventual result, but was another example of the strange things that can happen on a cricket field.

Meet a Washington-based Afghan journalist who follows the nation’s cricket team as he tries to spread some cheer in a country starved of good news

Karthik Krishnaswamy04-Mar-2014Out in the middle, Mohammad Nabi has just pulled Thisara Perera for four. Afghanistan, chasing 254 to beat Sri Lanka, are 108 for 5. In the press box, I open Matiullah Abid’s Facebook profile. His latest post, like most of his posts, is in Pashto, and I cannot read what he’s written. But I can see it has attracted 60 likes in six minutes.Two chairs to my right sits Abid himself, punching away at his laptop, a frown of concentration tugging down at the ends of his thick black moustache. “I’m telling my countrymen not to worry,” he says, turning away from his screen. “Lots of big teams get bowled out for low scores. I’m telling them it’s part of the game. They are still learning what cricket is all about.”Abid has played a big role in teaching them. Based out of Washington DC, Abid works for , the US government’s official radio station. His broadcasts in Pashto mainly cover youth affairs, and cricket has grown to occupy a prominent role in them.”I have a show, weekly, and all the players, once they have become part of my show, everywhere they go I’m in touch with them, I find their phone numbers,” he says. “If I can travel, I travel. If not I use my connections to bring them on the show and tell the listeners Afghanistan is playing and how they are doing. I ask them to send their pictures and post them on Facebook and on our webpage.”Our Facebook page has almost 130,000 followers. I myself have over 5000 friends, and nearly 10,000 followers. I don’t want to praise myself. If you go to Afghanistan and say my name, ‘You know Abid?’ and they’ll say ‘the cricket man?'”Cricket entered Abid’s life quite early. When war began in Afghanistan in 1978, his family migrated to Pakistan. He was seven at the time.”First time I saw cricket was in Peshawar. My friends in my neighbourhood were playing on the streets, in the gardens,” he says. “That was when Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad were playing. Then Shahid Afridi came, and Saeed Anwar was there. I was a left-hander, so I followed Saeed Anwar when I batted and Wasim Akram when I was bowling.”Following the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan, Abid thought he could move back home, but the start of the civil war put paid to that plan. He moved instead to the USA in 2000. There, he realised that cricket had taken root in Afghanistan, and began following the fortunes of the national team.After Afghanistan won the World T20 qualifier in Jersey, Abid decided he would start travelling to watch the team. He’s been at nearly all of their big moments since, but the first time was a particularly emotional experience.”I went to West Indies in 2010, and I could not believe it,” Abid says. “How can Afghanistan be here, playing against South Africa and India in the T20 World Cup? I was listening to our national anthem, and I cried, in front of my friends, and I said, look, people think Afghanistan is a terrorist state and drug state and Afghanistan is nothing. But now, we have a flag, we have an anthem, we have representation.”So this cricket has made us a country in the world arena and now people know us with a different name. If you go on Google, and write Afghanistan – attack, fighting, killing, death, drugs. If you add cricket with Afghanistan – jubilation, victory, fun. Cricket has changed the face of Afghanistan.”Apart from changing how the country is perceived by the outside world, Abid says cricket is also helping heal Afghanistan from within.”The war is the base of all the problems,” Abid says. “Infrastructure is totally destroyed. No schools for a long time, and two generations almost, from 1978 to 2000, remained out of normal life. They lived a refugee life. They can’t think about moving forward. This is the big problem. In Afghanistan, they still don’t believe that things will remain as they are now. If Americans go, what will happen? If the war started, what will happen?”Second thing, the government has misused the money and funding the world is giving, so people live by their own, everybody taking care of themselves. So youth are struggling, trying to make their own life. Thirdly, peace. The main thing is peace. If you are free of all fears – I will go to my school, I will go to work, I will go to the ground, and come back – this thing Afghanistan is lacking.”So these boys give hope to the Afghan youth, that look, we have qualified for the World Cup, so we are concerned about 2015, so we have already crossed this year. Recently, the Afghan cricket team went to the province of Khost. 35,000-plus people were there, and the big ground was full of people, only to see a glimpse of Mohammad Nabi or Hamid Hassan. The guys travelled from Kabul by helicopter.”The reception they received there gave a message to all of the youth. They are the guys who were refugees. They were nobodies. Now the whole country is following them, there are pictures in people’s houses. If you go to Kabul there are big hoardings with Mohammad Nabi and Hamid Hassan. This thing is very good, to push them, to motivate them, to say, look, if they can do it, everybody can do it.”And everyone in the country, it seems, is starting to play the game. Having first established itself in the regions bordering Pakistan, Abid says cricket is becoming popular in other parts of the country too.”The youth who belong to the border areas, the Nangrahar province – Jalalabad is the main city – and in the south, Paktika and Khost, most of the people migrated to the nearest part of Pakistan [during the war]. Which is why most of the players [in the national team] speak one language – Pashto,” Abid says. “Cricket was not that famous in the beginning in the north of Afghanistan [where Dari is the more commonly spoken language], but due to this explosion in popularity, now youngsters in that region also follow cricket. Mirwas Ashraf is from the north of Afghanistan, and there are some other players in the A team and the Under-19 team.But Jalalabad remains the epicenter.”The people who first spread cricket in Afghanistan – Taj Malik, Dawlat Ahmadzai – they belong to Jalalabad,” Abid says. “They established a club, Nangrahar Cricket Academy, which is still producing youngsters, talented guys like the Under-19 players, Hashmatullah Shaidi, Fareed (Ahmed) and the captain [Nasir Ahmadzai], who is the brother of Raees Ahmadzai, the former senior team captain. So Jalalabad has made a big contribution to cricket.”The spread of cricket in Afghanistan, and the successes of the national side, have made Abid a very busy man. Since Saturday’s historic win over Bangladesh, he’s barely had a moment’s rest.”Day before, we beat Bangladesh, and our whole radio programme was based on this,” he says. “Different programmes covering Pashto audience, they were just calling me, can you be our guest, so for four hours I was continuously on radio, talking and talking. Yesterday, I was watching the India-Pakistan match but still talking about what happened against Bangladesh.”

ESPNcricinfo picks out the plays of the day in the third T20 between South Africa and Australia in Centurion

Firdose Moonda14-Mar-2014Starc’s chin musicIn a tour that was billed as a battle of the bowlers, the batsmen would have known they were in line to get hurt. With extra bounce on offer in Centurion, pain was all but guaranteed. With the third delivery of the match, Mitchell Starc got one to rear up and seam away from Quinton de Kock and the youngster’s heart my have skipped a beat. He would have had it in his throat three balls later when Starc dug it in short and the ball bounced to hit de Kock just below the chin. His grille jammed against the lower part of his face and his collarbone appeared to have taken the bulk of the impact. De Kock received treatment immediately and took a few minutes to get his breath back before batting on.The mis-hit sixIt’s not often that AB de Villiers gets it wrong but even when he does, he manages to make it right anyway. De Villiers was two balls into his innings when Brad Hogg served up a half-tracker. The swipe over mid-wicket was not timed at all and, at first, it looked as though de Villiers had hit the ball straight up. He wore a pained expression even as he watched it sail over over the boundary for six and eventually offered a sheepish grin at his good fortune.The triumphant returnAlbie Morkel spent his comeback match doing nothing more than fielding and would have have been pleased to get some time in the middle in this one. With South Africa in trouble, he was quiet for six deliveries before Shane Watson presented him with an inviting length. Morkel cleared the front leg and swung hard, sending the ball over cow corner and many rows back into the stands to announce his big-hitting return.The toe-cruncherMorkel managed only one more cracking shot before he was undone by a delivery that needs to become more frequent in this format. Starc’s toe-cruncher was on target and Morkel could not keep it out. By the time he brought the bat down, middle and off stump had been disturbed.AB’s apologyIt wasn’t de Villiers’ night with the bat and it wasn’t his night in the field either. It was the fourth over of the chase and he was stationed at point when Aaron Finch hit the ball his way. Awkward bounce saw it slip past him and allow two runs. Later that same over, de Villiers was undone by bounce again. Cameron White’s square drive went over his head as de Villiers’ was on his haunches trying to stop it. When de Villiers looked to be fooled by the bounce off the next ball, his home ground could not help but jeer and de Villiers raised a hand in apology to them.The perfect cover driveBefore play, Aaron Finch joked that he did not just stand and swing but there was some method to the madness. He proved it by playing the shot of the match. Finch played the perfect cover drive off Wayne Parnell after slamming a couple of short balls with disdain. He inched forward to a slightly fuller one and caressed it through the covers. The timing was exceptional and would have satisfied most purists.

With Alastair Cook isolated and the deficiencies in his captaincy laid bare, the suggestion that English cricket is at a low point continues to gain credence

George Dobell at Headingley23-Jun-2014Might this count as a low ebb?After the Ashes defeat in Australia, the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, said it was “utter nonsense” to claim that England were at “some sort of massive low ebb”.Since then, though, little has gone right for England. They were embarrassed in the World T20 by Holland, they lost the ODI series (and the T20 match) against Sri Lanka and their new managing director, Paul Downton, has sometimes looked so out of his depth that it is hard to resist the temptation to throw him a pair of armbands.And, as their bowlers were thrashed around Leeds by Sri Lanka’s eighth-wicket pair, as their captain’s grim run of form continued, as they allowed a game they had every chance to dominate slip away in front of a ‘crowd’ so small it should probably be called a ‘sparse’ and as their batsmen displayed the resilience of a papadam – Liam Plunkett’s dismissal might be remembered as the worst shot by a nightwatchman in the history of Test cricket – it was hard to avoid any other conclusion than England had slipped not just to a low ebb, but to basement flat below one.Ian Bell’s dismissal was another example of senior players failing to help out Alastair Cook in England’s time of need•Getty ImagesEngland have already gone seven Tests without a victory. But even if they do produce a miracle and prevail on the final day (and they might as well pray that a plague of unicorns prevents play), even if they pull off the largest successful fourth-innings run chase in their history, it should not obscure the deficiencies that have hurt them. And it should not obscure the deficiencies in the leadership of Alastair Cook.It is not just the poor batting form or the uninspiring tactics that provoke such concerns. Yes, we know that he has now gone 24 innings without a Test century and that, since July 2013, he averages in the mid-20s. And we know that, as a tactician, he is more mouse than Strauss; more phoney than Dhoni. The decision to set spread fields in the opening overs of the day simply allowed Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews to settle in.But we also know his long-term batting record is excellent and, given time, he should come again. And we know that, when he is batting well, he has the ability to unite his team and lead them to fine victories such as a series wins in India and an Ashes win at home. There are different ways to lead and Cook is not as hopeless as some would suggest.The real concern is his inability to raise his team when required. Frustrated by his ineloquence, he appears unable to find the stirring phrases to rouse and renew in times of trouble. He is the type of captain who leads by example. And his current example is mediocrity.More than that, though, he was the captain backed by the ECB when it was decided to drop Kevin Pietersen. He was the captain either unwilling or unable to accommodate the highest run-scorer in England’s international history and, as a result, he has weakened his side and shouldered an unnecessary burden.Any suggestion that he was unaffected by the relentless negativity towards him from high-profile critics such as Shane Warne and Piers Morgan was dashed when Cook snapped back the day before this match. It has clearly been on his mind.But if Cook must take his share of responsibility for England’s performance, a few of his senior players also need to reflect on the support they have offered him. Matt Prior has looked unrecognisable from the keeper who proved so reliable up until the end of 2013 and, in this match, has flapped like a seal and dropped like a stone.

For Sri Lanka to come in early summer and secure their first series win is a damning indictment of England’s new era

James Anderson, impeccable for so long, bowled horribly short and wide in being out-performed by Dhammika Prasad. His first over with the second new ball did not demand a single stroke; his second was little better. Ian Bell was beaten through the gate, back when he should have been forward, while Stuart Broad was unable to summon any of the menace gained by his Sri Lanka counterparts. In an inexperienced side, these are the men who have to support Cook. On Monday, at least, they let Cook down. All those burned by the Ashes thrashing fell away under pressure.What England cannot – must not – do is blame bad luck.If you win the toss and decide to bowl first, you cannot complain if you end up batting fourth against a turning ball.If you waste your two reviews on speculative lbw shouts – one where the ball was clearly going down the leg side – you cannot complain when an umpire misses a blatant outside edge off Shaminda Eranga before he has scored and there are no reviews remaining.If you waste the new ball and squander more than half-a-dozen chances in the field, you cannot complain when Test batsmen punish you.If you pass your opposition’s score with only two wickets down but then lose 7 for 54, you cannot complain when the opposition fight their way back into the game.And if you bowl your overs so slowly that you run out of time when the opposition are nine wickets down, you cannot complain when they hold on for a draw.Sri Lanka have played well in this series, but England have been, to a large extent, the architects of their downfall.There is, as ever, mitigation. This is an England side containing several inexperienced players; there were bound to be days like this as they learned their trade. Equally, in a two-match series, the effects of one poor day can be magnified. England have not been this bad for the other eight days. But overseas victories are hard to come by for any side and for Sri Lanka to come to the UK in early summer and secure their first series win, is not just a reward for fine cricket, but a damning indictment of England’s new era.

Stats highlights from the first day of the SL v SA Test at the SSC, where Mahela Jayawardene scored yet another hundred

Shiva Jayaraman24-Jul-201434 Test hundreds that Mahela Jayawardene has made, having drawn level with Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara. Jayawardene needs two more centuries to catch up with Rahul Dravid, who is the only other batsman within striking distance of Jayawardene given that the Sri Lanka batsman only has a maximum of five more Test innings before retiring. Kumar Sangakkara also has 36 Test centuries, but is likely to end up above Jayawardene in this list.11 Number of hundreds Mahela Jayawardene now has at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo – the highest any batsman has in Tests at one venue. Jayawardene was already leading this list before his latest century at this venue. Don Bradman and Jacques Kallis are next with nine hundreds at the MCG and Newlands, Cape Town, respectively.1031 Runs scored by Angelo Mathews since the New Year Test against Pakistan. Only Sangakkara has outscored Mathews in Tests during this period. Mathews has scored three centuries and five fifties in 15 innings and has averaged 85.91.131 Partnership runs between Jayawardene and Mathews – Sri Lanka’s highest for the fourth wicket against South Africa, beating the 118-run partnership between Roshan Mahanama and Arjuna Ranatunga in Centurion back in 1998.10 Number of times Sri Lanka have lost their first two wickets before reaching 20 in their innings, including today. The last such instance came seven years ago against Bangladesh, when Sri Lanka were two down for just 14 on board.21 Debutant wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella’s age on Test debut; he is the third-youngest wicketkeeper at 21 years and 263 days to make his debut for Sri Lanka. Asanka Gurusinha, who made his debut at the age of 19 years and 52 days against Pakistan in 1985, is the youngest Sri Lanka debutant wicketkeeper.5 Number of times Kumar Sangakkara has been out for a first-ball duck. Including this, three of the five instances have come at this venue.18 Hundreds Jayawardene has scored at the SSC and Galle put together. He has currently scored 5135 runs at these venues at an average of 76.64 from 74 innings. He has taken nearly a hundred more innings at other venues to score the remaining 16 of his 34 centuries. At other venues, Jayawardene ‘s 6511 Test runs have come at an average of 39.7.

VenuesMatInnsNORunsAve100/50SSC and Galle48747513576.6418/19Other venues991739651139.7016/29Overall147247161164650.4134/48

When in Adelaide, you can’t take a step without being reminded of the game’s history

Daniel Brettig04-Nov-2014So you’ve visited Adelaide Oval, reconfigured as a 21st-century football stadium that hosts cricket in the summer. Where to now then?Walk out from the southern gates, left along Memorial Drive towards King William St, where you take the right turn. Up the gentle incline towards the city, past the River Torrens, Elder Park, the Festival Centre, and State Parliament on North Terrace. Up one block you turn right again, down Hindley Street and its assortment of shops, bars, red-light-district neon and burgeoning laneway diversions.Halfway down this street, again on your right, step into the garish pub on the corner with Morphett Street. This is the Rosemont, a watering hole of no airs or graces but a long history. Thirty-four years ago it was known as the Overway Hotel, and one late summer lunchtime Ian Chappell was having a meal at the bar when the phone rang. It was the journalist Alan Shiell, fortuitously finding the right location at which to inform Chappell that he was to replace Bill Lawry and become the new Australian captain.Many such moments and places of importance to the game are scattered about the city of Adelaide, a place Chappell, Clem Hill, Darren Lehmann, Jason Gillespie, and of course Sir Donald Bradman, have all called home. Its CBD is compact, easy to walk around, and notable for its neat, grid design and wide streets – the roads often likened to the oval’s batsman-friendly pitch. But there is more to the city and the state than Bradman, though the collection that bears his name at the oval is well worth an hour or two.Cricketers both local and touring have enjoyed Adelaide and its surrounding areas in more ways than one. In the years of rest days, the Sunday of an Adelaide Test was invariably spent on a visit to the Barossa Valley and the Yalumba wine estate of Wyndham Hill-Smith in Angaston. The likes of Ian Botham have retained friends and even taken up a financial interest in affairs of the vine at least partly because of these idyllic afternoons.

Adelaide’s CBD is compact, easy to walk around, and notable for its neat, grid design and wide streets – the roads often likened to the oval’s batsman-friendly pitch

Another bowler of more recent vintage has cast his lot in with a notable pub to Adelaide’s south-east. Shaun Tait, he of the 160kph barrier, now owns a stake in the Hotel Elliot, a centrepiece of Port Elliot, the pleasant beachside town that splits Victor Harbor and Goolwa near Encounter Bay. Tait was holed up in his room at the Holiday Inn after Australia’s drawn Test against India in January 2008 when he chose to step away from international cricket, and on a winding road since, he has been as happy pouring beers at the Elliot as he ever was hurling down bouncers at the world’s best batsmen.The day Tait conceded his state of mental and physical exhaustion, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds were over the other side of the city’s central Victoria Square, tangled up in the legal web created by the Australians’ allegation of racial abuse against Harbhajan and India’s furious appeal.That day’s events were confused and unsatisfactory to many, but their venue is worth a look. The Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Court Building was opened in 2006 and is among the most striking features of the skyline, particularly its oval conical tower, designed to resemble an opal. Australian cricket administrators have been known to marvel at the design while in the same breath hoping they never have to walk through its doors again.Apart from the Rosemont, there are numerous bars and pubs with more than a passing role in cricket’s winding Adelaide tale. Back along Hindley Street, the Apothecary 1878 is a venue that can escape the attention of all but the most attentive street wanderers, and it is for this reason that many a cricketer and commentator has chosen it for an out-of-the-way drink or dinner – Tony Greig was a regular.Two North Adelaide pubs have been particularly loved down the years. The Queen’s Head on Kermode St has always been a favoured spot for Adelaide Oval’s ground staff and many other cricket types besides, its numerous makeovers mirroring the oval’s evolution. A little older-world in look and decor is the British Hotel on Finniss Street, which lives up to its name in choices of ale while also offering the chance to barbecue one’s own steak in the back beer garden.Adelaide’s inner eastern suburbs are a leafy home to numerous cricket grounds, and the suburb of Kensington has also harboured the home club of Bradman, Greg Blewett and numerous others. The Kensington Hotel is the home patch for the former South Australia left-arm paceman and now SACA board member Sam Parkinson, and the international umpire Steve Davis is also happy to call it his local.Doubling back to the oval, its hosting of a World Cup quarter-final in 2015 will be a chance to add to what is an already significant if quirky place in the history of the tournament. Adelaide was the venue where Pakistan secured the point that took them into the 1992 semi-finals ahead of co-hosts Australia, if in the most fortuitous of circumstances. The same heavy air that aided England’s seam attack in skittling the eventual champions for 74 shed a lengthy rain storm in the afternoon, washing out a match that could otherwise have had only one winner.Twenty-three years later the oval has changed irrevocably, but in the town it is still possible to read the views of Alan Ross in and have a good idea of what he was talking about. His description of the walk down to the ground depicts the journey you took earlier but in reverse, away from the Rosemont and towards the cricket. “A ten-minute walk down a broad tree-lined avenue takes in a swimming pool, Turkish baths, a jocular round bandstand, and grassy slopes spreading to a river… families sit picnicking on the banks, much as Renoir or Seurat might have painted them…”