ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day from the first day of the second Test in Lord’s

Andrew Miller at Lord's03-Jun-2011Decision of the day

After a dank week in Cardiff, the Lord’s Test could hardly have started in more perfect conditions, with blue skies overhead and a full house streaming into the ground from all directions. In the circumstances, therefore, Tillakaratne Dilshan’s decision to bowl first was curious to say the least. With three of England’s tallest bowlers all lined up in the same XI, it was a move that seemed motivated, first and foremost, by self-preservation, reminiscent of Mohammad Azharuddin’s avoidance of Devon Malcolm in 1990 – the match in which Graham Gooch racked up 333. Andrew Strauss, however, conceded he had been tempted to do the same, and when England slipped to 22 for 3 in eight overs, he might have wished he had.Shock of the day

England’s newly crowned player of the year, Jonathan Trott, got off the mark with a clip for two through midwicket – the signature stroke of an extraordinary year in which he has racked up almost 2500 runs in all internationals. However, his prowess off the pads would soon lead to a rare downfall, when Suranga Lakmal fired a full delivery towards his leg stump, and Trott for once played all round it as he toppled towards the off side. A review proved futile, and he was sent on his way for 2, to contemplate the loss of more than two runs from his previous Test batting average of 66.77.Fail of the day

The stage, it seemed, had been set for Kevin Pietersen. Two early wickets had given him the chance to be England’s knight in shining armour once again, rather than the after-show entertainment he had been (for contrasting reasons) at Adelaide and Cardiff. There was certainly little prospect of Rangana Herath being tossed the ball as early as the ninth over, no matter how publicised KP’s frailties against left-arm spin may be. And yet, Pietersen’s need to get a move on once again lured him into a feckless early departure. On 2, he wafted loosely at Lakmal, and Dilshan in the gully snaffled a flying edge.Shot of the day

Eoin Morgan began this match as the only member of England’s top eight not to have scored a Test century at Lord’s, and by the time he had been pinned for 79, that stat remained intact. Nevertheless, his was a vital and sparky contribution, and the shot that really kickstarted his innings came in the sixth over of Herath’s spell. Morgan sauntered down the pitch to hoist the left-arm spinner high over mid-on and into the member’s area to the left of the pavilion. It was the first six of the match, but only the second of Morgan’s seven-match Test career – a curious fact given he has already struck 52 in all limited-overs internationals.Slog of the day

Alastair Cook’s 18th Test century seemed inevitable from the moment he emerged from the chaos of the first hour and set about grinding down Sri Lanka’s bowlers with his typical blend of watchfulness and selective aggression. And perhaps, in some parallel universe, he is currently 150 not out, and powering through yet another of his daddy hundreds. Unfortunately for him, this particular universe involves an extravagant hoick across the line on 96, one that could have ended up as the 16th boundary of his innings, but instead plopped gently into the hands of Farveez Maharoof at midwicket.

Madhav Mantri, who played with and learned from the great Vijay Merchant, whose birth centenary falls today, looks back at what the man meant to a nation finding its feet in cricket

As told to Abhishek Purohit12-Oct-2011Merchant against England in 1946•Getty Images”A batsman who is set must not lose his wicket. Let a bowler take his wicket.” That was Merchant’s principle. We never used to disperse after a match. We used to sit and wait to hear these gems.Back then the batting principle about staying in once you got in was yet to sink in for most Indian players. It was common for batsmen to play rash strokes once they reached their 30s or 40s. At such a time, Merchant made it a compulsive habit to play long innings, and his achievements were a source of inspiration for his team-mates, including myself.In the 1944-45 Ranji Trophy final against Holkar, Merchant batted for more than eight hours in the second innings, and he made 278. When he got back, legspinner Madan Raiji asked in Gujarati, “Vijayout?” (What happened? How did you get out?) Merchant’s reply was a lesson to the dressing room: “concentration.” (The concentration dipped a bit)That remark left a lasting impression on me. What happened to the rest of us in our 30s and 40s happened to him on 278. In the heat of March.Years later my young nephew, Sunil Gavaskar, was playing a school match. I asked him the day’s score and he said they were batting on 400 for 1.”How many runs did you make?””Double-hundred.””Who got out?””I.””Why?””I had made a double-century.”I instantly remembered Merchant’s remark and told Sunil that he should never throw away his wicket.Later, in another school game, Sunil was batting on a triple-hundred, and he left a ball outside off alone. [Former Bombay player] Vasu Paranjpe said to me: “Madhav, on 300 this fellow is leaving outside off?” At close of play, Sunil said, “Why should I throw my wicket away?” Merchant’s scores are in the record books, but things like that, even if one youngster picks them up, it is really good.Merchant’s game was based on a tight technique and correct strokes. This came from hours of practice, just like with Vijay Hazare.They were absolutely on par. Hazare was very good at playing the hook shot; Merchant had the late cut – it was not a diversion, it was a proper stroke. He used to play it so late that wicketkeepers used to get hurt, and the ball used to speed to the boundary.

“What happened to the rest of us in our 30s and 40s, happened to him on 278”

The rivalry between the two Vijays used to bring crowds to the Brabourne Stadium for the Bombay Pentangular. In the semi-final in 1943, Hazare made 248 for the Rest against Muslims.A few days later, in the final (he was playing for Hindus, against the Rest, this time), Merchant declared Hindus’ first innings though he was batting on 250. The Rest had to follow-on, but Hazare responded with 309 (out of a total of 387) in their second innings. About a month later, Merchant went ahead again, with an unbeaten 359 against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy.But their rivalry was confined to the field. They were very good friends, the first to congratulate each other. Hazare was not controversial at all. He wouldn’t talk. What [usually] happens is arguments between players, but unless one talks, you can’t argue.As with many great players, Merchant was a stickler for details. Even small things being out of place bothered him. Once in the Pentangular, I tried on some costly sunglasses. You couldn’t get them easily; somebody had got them from America. I had just put them on when Merchant’s voice came from behind me: “Madhav, kindly remove them. You are used to the sunlight. If you put them on, it gets diluted. And then when you go without them again, it takes time for you to get used [to the light], and that is the time you are going to make mistakes.” Since that day, I have never put on sunglasses.When we were practising together and I kept to him, he even made me put on my wicketkeeping pads, so he could get the feeling that he was batting in a match. It was so that he could concentrate and play.As a captain, he never used to take any risks. He also never used to make a bad stroke (during practice) till the very end, as if he was playing in a match. He used to deliberately leave the ball sometimes, so that I could collect some. Otherwise I never used to get any. He would connect with all of them. That was the secret. Top players give you hints all the time. That is what Vijay Merchant did for us.

While their bowling attack has been weakened by retirements, there are no excuses for Sri Lanka’s batting failures in this series, and the batsmen took what was, perhaps, their last chance to assert themselves

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele11-Sep-2011This might easily have been the day that ended the series. When Michael Clarke declared Australia’s innings closed at the overnight tally of 411 for 7, all he required for an innings victory and an unbeatable 2-0 series lead was a Sri Lankan top-order display consistent with their prior performances in this series. What he received instead was a far spikier batting performance from a team that was on its very last chance to gain a foothold against the visitors, and last perhaps to avoid a raft of reactive changes to a transitional team.Clarke’s declaration was made with the weather in mind – rain was predicted to cause significant disruption to the final two days of the Test, and threatening clouds ringed the ground more than once while 79 overs were bowled on the fourth day. He must also have reasoned that the morning air had been the most useful for bowlers seeking wickets, having yielded five wickets before lunch on the first day and the opportunities for more on the second and third. There was some early movement to be found, and Ryan Harris beat Tharanga Paranavitana three times in succession in the first over with his nasty habit of hinting at movement one way through the air then getting it to go the other way off the pitch.For the first time all series the early deviation wrought by Harris and Trent Copeland did not bring a gaggle of Sri Lankan wickets, as Paranavitana and his captain Tillakaratne Dilshan fought their way through the initial Australian spells, on a pitch that offered them more in the way of hope provided their bats came down straight to meet the ball. Dilshan’s innings was ended by a characteristically rash swing at Harris in the shadows of the lunch interval, but he had at least managed to give Kumar Sangakkara at No. 3 something to build on – for once Sangakkara walked out without having to glimpse the manufacturer’s logo on a still-new ball.That there were no more chances for Sri Lanka to assert some kind of influence on the series was beyond question. Dilshan himself had stated the case with a passionate public address on the first evening, after his men had been splintered for 174 on a surface that had many more runs in it. Sri Lankan cricket is in a state of unease, whether it be financial, strategic or tactical, and the team’s lack of fight for most of the series had been deeply unsettling for those who had become used to strong performances over the five years that spanned the captaincies of Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara. While Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas have left vast holes in the bowling attack, there are no such manpower excuses for the batsmen.”Definitely there is something wrong in the batting,” Dilshan had said. “We are talking, discussing, we are doing a lot of hard work in training and we are discussing a lot of things, but now is the time to deliver. We can’t say the wicket is bad. They’ve bowled really well but we’ve played the last series in England, where there was a better attack, and on a difficult wicket we batted really well. Now the players should put their hands up and deliver, they have to deliver, now is the time, we can’t wait anymore.”The example was set, as it had been in England, by Paranavitana, who is not a stylish player but shows a strong willingness to fight out his innings. It was he who had hurried the collapse on the second day in Galle by setting off for a run that Jayawardene could not complete. The burden of that dismissal weighed heavily on Jayawardene in the second innings of that match, and Paranavitana exhibited a desire to atone for his part in the mix-up once he was past the perils of Harris.His dismissal, burgled out by Michael Hussey – the man of the series to date – brought Jayawardene to the crease to join Sangakkara. So much of Sri Lanka’s success has been built around the two of them that the failures in the first three innings of this series had a lot to do with the fact that only once had either passed 50. But it is also instructive to note that they have never had much success in Test match partnerships together against Australia. As the most prolific batting pair in Sri Lanka’s history, it stood to reason that eventually Sangakkara and Jayawardene would get themselves in together against an Australian attack that for all its determination and planning, and the leadership flair of Clarke, lacks the fearsome armoury of previous teams. More composure with the bat in Colombo and Sri Lanka can hope to place Australia under the sort of scoreboard pressure that made them wilt during the Ashes last summer.The hosts were still trailing by 109 runs when Jayawardene walked to the crease, but the two former captains set about their work with purpose, frustrating Australia, who had more overs to attack Sri Lanka in the day than they would have predicted when the clouds first rolled in towards Pallekele in the morning. The second new ball remains a threat, but some more sturdy work on the final morning and Sri Lanka may yet have a chance of reviving their tilt at the visitors. Victory in the final match would mean a drawn series and Sri Lanka’s retention of fourth spot in the ICC rankings. Such a conclusion remains a long way off, but now there is hope for the hosts, and a contest for Australia. A day ago both were decidedly lacking.

David Warner couldn’t lay bat on ball in the net sessions leading up to the WACA Test, which makes his dazzling 69-ball century all the more special

Brydon Coverdale at the WACA13-Jan-2012David Warner entered this Test harbouring doubts about his ability to score runs at the WACA. It doesn’t bear thinking about what he might have achieved had he been full of confidence.To see Warner bat, to watch him dive in the field, to hear him speak candidly about the many weaknesses of the opposition, it is hard to believe he has misgivings about anything. But the sheer joy that he displayed when he launched Vinay Kumar over long-on for six to bring up the fourth-fastest Test hundred of all time, and a century in a session, was telling.Warner sprinted towards the Lillee-Marsh Stand as if trying for a quick single. He leapt like an Olympic hurdler as he headed in the direction of the dressing rooms, his team-mates and the WACA crowd cheering him on. Eventually, he pulled up his run and completed a more composed bat-raise and helmet-kiss but in no way was this a nonchalant celebration. In no way was it a nonchalant innings.By the time he walked off the ground with 104 runs to his name from 80 deliveries, he had scored more in this innings alone than he had in all his previous WACA appearances combined – Twenty20s, one-dayers, first-class matches, everything. That record, along with his struggles to get a start since his Hobart hundred against New Zealand, left Warner slightly worried entering this Test.”I’ve come to the WACA and put doubts in my mind,” Warner said. “I said to Mike Hussey the other day I’ve batted here a couple of times and I haven’t really scored any runs.”I see that Hobart was a challenging wicket and then we come to Melbourne and you look at the SCG as well and the boys are putting on 600 runs and you missed out, you think in the back of your mind, what did I do wrong? I know I got a good ball against Zaheer in Sydney. That’s cricket. But you always put some doubt in your mind, where’s your next runs going to be, when are they going to come.”It didn’t help that Warner had trouble in the nets during the lead-up to this Test. When his team-mates Mitchell Starc bowled him at training, Warner was ready to throw it in. “I said ‘I give up, I can’t work in this environment’,” Warner said. “I couldn’t lay bat on ball.”It wasn’t the pace and bounce, it was more me with my head getting still. JL [batting coach Justin Langer] and Mickey Arthur said to me if you look down the line, the axis of where my head was, I was always falling away and over my front leg. When the ball is coming straight down the wicket, you want to try and put your head in line with the ball. That’s what I was working on mainly this week.”His work paid off when India’s bowlers struggled following the dismissal of their batsmen for 161. The runs flowed. Warner welcomed Vinay Kumar with a six over long-on off his fourth ball in Test cricket for six, and struck boundaries to all parts of the ground.Some of the WACA spectators had seen Adam Gilchrist’s 57-ball Test ton against England six years ago, and Chris Gayle’s 70-ball effort in 2009-10. A few older ones had probably even been at the venue when Roy Fredericks reached triple-figures off 71 balls in 1975-76. This century, a 69-ball effort, was a worthy addition to the list of WACA demolitions.”I was actually looking at my strike-rate and I said this ain’t Test cricket, this is something different,” Warner said. “It’s just how I approach the game. I show intent, and it came off today.”I’ve always said if the ball’s in my zone I’m going to go after it. That’s what I did … In my zone is anything that’s within the three- to four-metre length. I find that’s probably the zone where, if it’s full I’ll probably throw the kitchen sink at it, especially when it’s a green wicket like this and it’s a bit lively.”Not that his judgment was always flawless. On 80, he tried to pull an Umesh Yadav bouncer and was struck a fearsome blow in the helmet. Then came a few minutes of attention from the physio Alex Kountouris, some stretching of the neck to ensure he wasn’t going to be badly affected, and Warner batted on. He plundered 21 from his next eight balls to race to a century.”You don’t really ever want to go off for anything,” Warner said. “The physio said to me if I had a bit of blurred vision it would have been silly to carry on. But I was fine and just a bit shaken up. It’s the second time I’ve been hit here at the WACA. I just think I’ve got to try and keep my eye on the ball and keep watching it. I’m feeling good now, I’ve got a nice golf ball at the back of my ear, but that’s fine.”The best thing for Warner was that he finished not out. Spectators will be well advised to arrive at the WACA on time on Saturday morning. It could be another eventful session.

The performances of Sarfraz Ahmed and Aizaz Cheema played a critical role in the outcome of the Asia Cup final

Siddarth Ravindran at the Shere Bangla National Stadium23-Mar-2012Pakistan’s biggest star may have won the Man-of-the-Match award, but the Asia Cup would not have been won had it not been for crucial contributions from two players who are less celebrated. Fast bowler Aizaz Cheema’s bowling at the death and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed’s career-high, unbeaten 46, after walking in at No. 8 played a huge role in separating the sides.In Pakistan’s versatile attack, Cheema is seen as the weakest link. Shahid Afridi’s mix of legbreaks and fast googlies have routinely confounded batsmen, Saeed Ajmal and his mystery variations make him the top-ranked spinner in the world, Mohammad Hafeez has shown himself as a credible option for regularly bowling 10 overs of tidy off-spin, and Umar Gul, despite a recent dip in form, with his reverse swing and on-demand yorkers is seen as a threat.Afridi bowled out early and strangled the runs in the middle overs, while Hafeez finished his quota in the batting Powerplay. As the match headed to the final ten overs, though the asking-rate had climbed, it was felt Bangladesh weren’t out of it – Cheema or Hammad Azam had to still bowl four overs, which could be targetted.That seemed to be Bangladesh’s plan as well, as Shakib Al Hasan launched the only six off the innings on the first ball of Cheema’s final spell, immediately putting the bowler, who is still in his first year of international cricket, under pressure. Cheema, though, bounced back superbly, mixing up his lengths and his pace to not concede a single boundary for the rest of his spell.More importantly, he got the potentially-decisive wickets of Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim. A confident Shakib was shuffling around the crease every delivery, but he missed a paddle off a length ball and was bowled behind his legs. Another length ball that Mushfiqur wanted to send to the grand stand only went as far as the deep square-leg fielder.Still, Bangladesh didn’t give up, and they took it down to the final ball. Cheema again delivered, with a yorker on leg stump that was too good for Shahadat Hossain to hit what could have been the most famous shot in Bangladesh cricket history.”I think Cheema was very confident, and Misbah [ul-Haq] did a great job as a captain,” Hafeez said. “It was a pressure game and Cheema was the one who was really confident to bowl the last over, and on the last ball we were confident he would bowl a good ball.”Shahadat would have needed to hit a six off the final ball if it wasn’t for some shoddy fielding off the previous delivery, when the man at long-off wasn’t quick enough to stop the second and Sarfraz then flicked the ball towards the stumps to concede an overthrow.But for that gaffe, Sarfraz fully justified the faith shown by the side in picking him for the final. Despite having Hafeez and Afridi as the two allrounders in the XI, Pakistan haven’t nailed down the balance they want in the side.They have grappled with the wicketkeeper conundrum for a while now. Is it better to pick a specialist gloveman, especially with three quality spinners in the side, or go in with either a specialist batsman or bowler or an allrounder in that spot? Pakistan have tried everything in this tournament: playing Sarfraz and the extra batsman in Asad Shafiq in the first game, Sarfraz and an allrounder Azam in the next, replacing Sarfraz with the extra bowler in Wahab Riaz against India. Riaz’s meltdown in the India game, and the fact that they would have exactly five bowling options in case Shafiq played, forced them to go with Sarfraz and Azam in the final.When Afridi’s typically manic cameo came to a close in the 42nd over, Pakistan were seven down and looked unlikely to last the full stretch. It was down to Sarfraz to lift Pakistan from what seemed a sub-200 score, which even their world-class attack would have had little chance of defending, to a more competitive one. His boundaries off Shahadat, including in the final over when the bowler doled out freebies, boosted both Pakistan’s spirits and their score.When it came down to the crunch, both the headliners and the unsung players did their part for Pakistan, the combination of which proved good enough to take down Bangladesh.

From hairstyles to stomach upsets, bibs to pre-match rituals – a look at the best quotes from the IPL season gone by

Carlyle Laurie28-May-2012″Stress and carrying Shah Rukh Khan.”
May 27, 2012
“[At the end of the season] everyone was getting each other’s signatures on their jerseys. I said I should get everyone’s signature on my bib, since I wore it most of the time.”
May 26, 2012
“When someone gets a stomach upset, it’s because of the IPL. If someone gets an outside edge, it’s because of the IPL.”
May 26, 2012
“Chennai is like putting your head into an oven and turning it to 200 degrees and baking yourself.”
May 25, 2012
“The IPL is on but they [Pune Warriors] haven’t kept me in the team and have sent me back. After returning to my village, I have started working out. After practising in the morning, I help my brothers in the farms.”
May 24, 2012
“I don’t see anyone with a hairstyle that is similar to mine.”
May 14, 2012
“Earlier, the men wanted to be introduced to Preity; now, the women want to meet Shah Rukh.”
Kolkata Knight Riders’ May 14, 2012
“I sleep the whole day after breakfast to get in shape for the game.”
May 12, 2012
“Take a single and give me the strike, I shall do the rest.”
May 6
“Maybe I’ll give my hair gel to him (Sourav Ganguly) cause I haven’t used it in last 3 months.”
April 21, 2012
“Those who are questioning my action are evil … If I was hit into the galleries, my action would never have been questioned.”
April 20, 2012
“Zaheer is as good a doctor as he is a fast bowler.”
Apr 19, 2012
“Chill, I’m fine. Don’t be sad. Keep hitting them in the stands.”
April 18, 2012
“We fielded like an Under-14s side. They are professional cricketers, they should be able to catch. They should be able to stop the ball going through their legs.”

Sunil Narine had a pleasant surprise for Sunil Gavaskar•AFP”Actually, I was named after you.”
April 15, 2012
“You’ve got world-class players who are sitting in England now wanting to play the IPL when you’ve got some second-rate Australians getting gigs here.”
April 12
“They ask me, ‘Is it as mad as it looks?'”
Apr 13, 2012
“We have been strictly instructed by Preity [Zinta, Kings XI’s owner] to go slow on serving the players any oily food, even if the cravings are intense.”
April 8

ESPNcricinfo presents the pivotal clashes to watch out for during the Sri Lanka-England Test series, which kicks off in Galle on Monday

Andrew McGlashan in Galle25-Mar-2012Andrew Strauss v Chanaka Welegedara
The England captain needs a strong series with the bat. He has not scored a Test hundred since Brisbane in November 2010, but if he is to get one on this trip the challenge will not just come from the spinners. Chanaka Welegedara removed Strauss in three innings out of four during the series in England last year, restarting the debate on whether technical issues existed against left-arm quicks. Zaheer Khan’s injury during the India series that followed removed an enticing battle. Opening batsmen falling to opening bowlers should not come as a surprise, but Sri Lanka will see it as an opportunity to make an early opening in conditions where new-ball wickets are so crucial.Kevin Pietersen v Graham Ford
This is a pairing between one person who will be in the middle and another who will be in the dressing room. Graham Ford is now the Sri Lanka coach but has been a huge figure in Pietersen’s career, a mentor he has sought out during times of struggle. Following a poor 2010 season, Pietersen went to South Africa and worked with Ford prior to the 2011 Ashes, during which he proceeded to score a double-hundred in Adelaide. Now Ford is in charge of the opposition and will have the inside track. Pietersen, for his part, is brimming with confidence. Will the pupil or the teacher come out on top?Graeme Swann v Mahela Jayawardene
To call Graeme Swann’s current situation a slump in form shows what high expectations there are of him – even being below his best, he took 13 wickets at 25.07 against Pakistan. He remains England’s No. 1 spinner, though, his hold on that title is now a little more tenuous. It hasn’t been a particularly easy start in Sri Lanka for him, either, firstly with the strong comments about an opposition batsman not walking, then match-figures of 1 for 132 against the Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI. Things will not get any easier. Swann is about to bowl against one of the finest players of spin around. Mahela Jayawardene put huge dents in Monty Panesar’s confidence four years ago, and his nimble footwork allied to deft touch will pose Swann a huge challenge.England v the heat
It may be clichéd to talk about England cricketers coping in hot conditions – as much as commenting on an overseas player wearing a few sweaters in May at Lord’s – but the temperature will play a key role for them in this series. It is why there is such debate about four bowlers verses five. Do such stifling conditions demand an extra option? And the heat does not just take a physical toll … England’s players have already lost their cool once in the middle when they were not impressed by an umpiring decision and it’s easy to crack.

Plays of the day from the fourth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Colombo03-Jul-2012Shot of the day
Kumar Sangakkara was in such ominous form that he managed to work around the defensive field placements for him against the spinners. Three men were placed in the deep on the leg side for Abdur Rehman and he bowled a full one outside the off stump, but the field and delivery made no difference. Sangakkara still got down on his knee, swept it firm and bisected the gap between fine leg and deep-square leg. Sangakkara couldn’t have timed or placed it better.Race of the day
With Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara both progressing towards their centuries at similar strike-rates, it was a question of who would get there first. There was little to separate the two as they reached the late 90s. Batting on 98, Dilshan decided it wasn’t time to hang around and took the fast lane to his 14th Test century. He charged Saeed Ajmal, launched him over wide long-on for a six and won the race to a hundred.Irony of the day
You don’t often get Mahala Jayaewardene and Thilan Samaraweera out cheaply at the SSC, as both average 77 here. Junaid managed to send Jayawardene back in an inspired spell of fast bowling with the old ball. Jayawardene made the mistake of padding up to a ball coming into him with the angle from round the wicket and was lbw. There was an element of doubt regarding the height, but it’s fundamental that if you pad up, you’re asking for trouble. Samaraweera was nearly dismissed in a similar manner to the same bowler. Trapped on the back foot, he failed to get his bat behind the line and a confident shout was turned down. Samaraweera failed to capitalise on that let off though, when he was caught on the back foot again, this time off Ajmal. Junaid could have had both, but he wouldn’t have minded as Pakistan had sent back two players who have tormented several bowlers over the years at the SSC.

In Indian cricket’s brand landscape, once you get past the big two, there isn’t any one name that commands universal attention

Tariq Engineer27-Jun-2012It is no surprise that MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are the two Indian sportsmen – and the highest-ranked cricketers – to feature in magazine’s list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes for the period June 2011 to June 2012, having made $26.5 million and $18.6 million respectively. India is cricket’s biggest market and Tendulkar was India’s first national sporting brand, while Dhoni has arguably been better than any Indian sportsperson at spinning on-field success into endorsements.When a brand looks for a sporting celebrity to associate with, the first criterion is naturally sporting success. You can’t be a celebrity without fame, and (in most cases) you can’t be famous without consistently performing at the highest level of your sport. Both Dhoni and Tendulkar are at the very top of their field. After that it comes down to how relevant the player’s image is to a particular brand. “That’s when the personality kicks in,” Samir Kale, the founder and president of SportzPR, a sports communications firm, told ESPNcricinfo. “There has to be a personality fit with the brand.”Personality has been Dhoni’s trump card. He is cool under pressure, seemingly fearless, yet easy-going and relatable to his small-town, middle-class background. He has also presided over a winning team (save for the last 12 months), for which he has often played a pivotal role, especially in the limited-overs formats, and that has made him even more of a coveted celebrity than Tendulkar.”Sachin Tendulkar came into Indian cricket when India didn’t win so often,” Kawal Shoor, planning head at advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, said. “So his greatness came from the individual records he has accumulated. Whereas if you were to look at Dhoni, the three or four big milestones against his name are not centuries or runs; it is about getting India wins.”The timing of Dhoni’s rise as a cricketer also coincided with the India growth story. It came at a time when the country’s economic engine hummed along at a pace exceeded only by China. In effect, Dhoni became a metaphor for a changing India, where small-town boys could dream of becoming world beaters. Dhoni’s contribution to the team’s success cemented his appeal across demographics, allowing brands of all kinds to court him.Look beyond Dhoni and Tendulkar at the next generation of players, however, and it raises the question of who might step into their commercial shoes in the years to come. The answer is not straightforward, say brand and advertising experts. This is partly because the next generation has not yet established itself, but more importantly the nature of the advertising industry is changing too, which will make it much more difficult for one player to corner the market as Tendulkar and Dhoni have done.”People are not going to follow one person,” Ramanujam Sridhar, the head of brand consulting firm Brand-Comm, said. “There is a void to find a person of that stature. So rather than one big punt on a Dhoni or a Tendulkar, I think you are going to get a slew of cricketers rather than one cricketer or one sportsman taking the lot.”The possible exception is Virat Kohli, perhaps the only one of the heirs apparent who has come to close to cementing a place in the Indian side. Kohli also seems to be the only one with an outspoken personality. His modern, somewhat devil-may-care attitude was showcased in a series of flirtatious ads for Fastrack bags, products aimed at teenagers and young adults, with the tagline “Move On”. In one of the ads, Kohli and a girl (played by a Bollywood actress) are in an elevator alone. When they start to get cosy, he points out the video camera in the corner. She promptly empties her Fastrack bag and uses it to cover up the camera.Kohli’s advantage is that in his own way he represents the next stage in India’s transformation. Where once a clean-cut image in the mould of a Tendulkar was a necessity, India’s youth now are a lot more confident and fearless than previous generations. “To that extent, somebody having attitude or being in your face is perfectly acceptable, and in fact there is a perverse sense of aspiration to be like that,” Sridhar, said. “This is why Kohli could do well as a model.”

As marketers start to develop clear ideas about how they want to use cricketers to target the segment of the population they want to reach, they will start looking for brand ambassadors who fit their brand’s unique profile

However, Kohli could well have to navigate a landscape different from the one Dhoni has made his own. The majority of Indian brands have so far typically focused purely on raising awareness and chased a mass audience. Signing any celebrity fulfilled that purpose, irrespective of the brand’s identity. But as marketers start to develop clear ideas about how they want to use cricketers to target the segment of the population they want to reach, they will start looking for brand ambassadors who fit their brand’s unique profile.”Until now, most brands have spoken to mainstream India and hence they have looked for mainstream heroes,” Shoor said. “You will see a lot of so-called fringe players – people who have appeal for a limited set of audiences.”That would bring someone like a Gautam Gambhir into play. Shoor thinks Gambhir, who is serious and intense on the field, would make an ideal spokesperson for the army. Making it even more of a match is that Gambhir had considered enlisting before cricket claimed him, and that his hero growing up was the Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh. (The army, however, recently made Dhoni its brand ambassador.)Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, should they establish themselves as India regulars, are two others who could eventually draw commercial attention because “pace bowlers evoke a very different kind of feeling”, according to Shoor. Yadav, the son of a coal miner, has the kind of rags-to-riches story that appeals to everyone as well. Of course, the two need to produce memorable match-winning performances first.Shoor also expects athletes from other sports to begin to challenge cricket for advertising rupees as the sporting landscape changes. Cricket is by far the dominant sport in India and any significant shift is still years away, but the signs are clear. Companies are investing in football academies, while success in individual sports, such as Saina Nehwal in badminton or the boxer Vijender Singh, will inspire others to follow in their footsteps. “It will take time, but India will become a multi-sport nation.”A current ad for Pepsi plays on that potential shift. Ranbir Kapoor, a Bollywood star, tries to convince a teenage boy doing tricks with a football to switch to playing cricket. In the end the boy convinces Kapoor to give football a shot. The tagline: Change the Game.Another of the brand’s ads features football stars Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres alongside Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Kohli and Suresh Raina in a three-on-three game of cricket.Sridhar believes that thanks to the IPL, mass brands might turn to international players in greater numbers for endorsements. Foreign players have been used in the past – Seagram in India chose to use some of the all-conquering Australians after the 2003 World Cup, and watch-maker Timex used Brett Lee as their brand ambassador in 2008 to great effect – but the advent of the IPL has allowed Indian fans to become more familiar with more international players. Also, most of them cost less than Indian cricketers do.Brand Dhoni: Companies clamour after the Indian captain because of his appealing personality and the team’s success during his tenure•AFPIPL franchises have already begun capitalising on their foreign stars by creating advertising campaigns around them. Last season Kolkata Knight Riders unveiled an ad for the Matrix forex card featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis and Lee – two foreign cricketers versus one Indian.At another level, the creation of the IPL and similar leagues in other sports could also throw up their share of sporting heroes, players that could have local appeal rather than national appeal. “There is no reason why you couldn’t create local heroes for local brands,” Kale, the founder of SportzPR, said.Ultimately, though, if a sportsperson, cricketer or otherwise, has the aura, the success and universal appeal, then the sport he or she plays is not all that relevant. Boxer Floyd Mayweather topped list of earners, with fellow boxing star Manny Pacquiao in second place, far ahead of stars in more popular sports, such as Argentina and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. “Personalities are bigger than the sports they play,” Shoor said. “It underlies the fact that it is the individual’s charisma that helps him rise above the sport he plays.”

Andrew Strauss’ contributions for England go beyond the stats that he has achieved as an opening batsman

S Rajesh15-Aug-2012Statistically, Andrew Strauss’ career isn’t among the best of those who’ve played 100 Tests. After 99 matches, he has scored 7016 runs at 41.27, which is a fairly modest average in today’s age of 50-plus averages. In terms of runs, 20 other batsmen in the 100-Test club had scored more runs after the 99th, led by Brian Lara, who had 8833 in a similar stage of his career, and Kumar Sangakkara, who had 8572. Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain who played his 100th in the first Test of the ongoing series at The Oval, had 8042 runs after his 99th – 1026 more than Strauss – at an average of 49.64. In terms of averages, 35 batsmen had a higher number than Strauss after their 99th Test, led by two Indian batsmen: Rahul Dravid averaged 58.16 going into his 100th, with Sachin Tendulkar close behind at 57.99.But then, there’s more to Strauss than just his batting. There’s his man-management skills and his understated leadership style, which has probably played a significant role in him being one of the most successful captains that England have ever had. Under him, England won an Ashes series in Australia for the first time in 24 years, and then took over as the No. 1 side in Test cricket – though ironically, they might no longer be the top team after Strauss’ 100th Test is done. The Lord’s Test will also be Strauss’ 50th as captain, and in the overall context of his career, his contribution as leader has been as vital – if not more – to the team as his performance as a batsman.It’s true that Strauss’ overall numbers with the bat don’t compare favourably with the top names, but there have been periods when he has stacked up well with the best. Unfortunately, consistency as a batsman hasn’t been one of his virtues.The start to his Test career, though, was perfect. Against New Zealand at Lord’s, Strauss became the 15th England batsman to score a century on debut, and the first since Graham Thorpe in 1993. He was also only the second England batsmen to score a century on debut at Lord’s, and the first England opener to start his Test career with a hundred since Arthur Milton, way back in 1958. The dreamy start got dreamier still, as Strauss creamed another hundred – at Lord’s, no less – against West Indies in the same season, and then, even more impressively – scored three more in the five-Test series in South Africa. After 12 Tests, Strauss had struck five hundreds and averaged 56.63.Then came a prolonged slump, as in his next nine series, only once did he average beyond 40, against Pakistan at home in 2006. On the other hand, there were several low points, most noticeably on the Ashes tour in 2006-07, when ten innings fetched him 247 runs, and a highest of 50. After scoring five hundreds in his first 12 Tests, he could only manage five more in his next 28.Over the next couple of years, his form rose again, with an impressive Ashes campaign in 2009, and runs against New Zealand, India, and West Indies. However, since then he has been in a bit of a slump again, though he did score two hundreds against West Indies earlier this season. Those hundreds broke a spell of 25 consecutive Test innings without a ton, but despite those hundreds against West Indies, Strauss’ numbers since the beginning of 2010 are pretty ordinary. (Click here for Strauss’ series-wise averages.)

While’s Strauss’ numbers after 99 Tests don’t compare favourably with the world’s best, his stats are pretty good when compared with England’s best. However, Strauss has also had the benefit of playing in an era which has been good for batting: the last column of the two tables below list the overall averages in the 99 Tests that each of these batsmen played, and it’s clear that the averages are higher in the last 15 years or so. For example, in the first 99 Tests that Dravid had played in, the overall batting average was 33.27; however, the corresponding number for Viv Richards in his first 99 Tests was 28.59, which means the average in the matches Dravid played was about 16% higher. Similarly, the average in Strauss’ 99 Tests has been higher by about 15% compared to the Colin Cowdrey’s matches, and about 12% higher than the first 99 Tests that Graham Gooch played.

Though he has played in a batting-friendly era, Strauss’ job is still a relatively tough one – opening the batting, and often in England, where conditions can be quite favourable for new-ball bowling. Among England’s openers, Strauss is fifth in terms of aggregate; overall for England, he is in ninth place; in terms of Test hundreds by England’s batsmen, he’s just one short of equalling the record. Those are impressive numbers, even in this era.Apart from his individual contributions, Strauss has been one half of England’s most prolific batting pair (in terms of runs scored, at least). With Alastair Cook, Strauss has put together 5219 partnership runs, with 4677 of those being for the first wicket. In terms of partnership runs, they are well clear of all other England pairs: in second place is the Atherton-Stewart pair, who scored 3687 runs in 89 innings at an average of 42.87. In fact, Strauss-Cook is the only England pair who’ve batted together more than 100 times.Overall, this pair has the fifth-highest number of runs, the sixth-highest number of century stands, and the third-highest number of partnerships. Given that neither of the top two pairs who played together most often are still active – Greenidge-Haynes batted together 148 times, and Dravid-Tendulkar 143 times – Strauss and Cook have an excellent chance to become the leading pair in Test cricket in terms of innings batted.

Strauss hasn’t had much success in the ongoing series so far, scoring 86 runs in four innings, but he’ll be pleased that the next game is coming up at Lord’s – it’s fitting too, that Strauss will bring up his 100th at the same ground where he started off with a century on debut. In fact, Lord’s has been particularly kind to him: in 29 Test innings at the ground, Strauss has scored 1541 runs at an average of 55.03. His second-best venue in terms of runs scored is The Oval, where he has scored only 554 runs in 17 innings. Only one batsman has scored more runs at Lord’s than Strauss – Graham Gooch aggregated 2015 runs in 39 innings. In fact, Strauss’ tally is in the top ten in terms of runs scored by any batsman at a single ground.

And then, as mentioned earlier, there’s his immense record as captain. Only two England captains – Michael Atherton and Michael Vaughan – have led in more Tests, while only Vaughan, with 26, has more Test wins than Strauss’ 24. With a 30-Test cut-off, the only England captain with a better win-loss ratio than Strauss is Mike Brearley, under whom England had a 18-4 record in 31 matches.Among all captains who’ve led at least 40 times, only five have a better win-loss ratio than Strauss, with Steve Waugh way ahead of the rest. If England win at Lord’s, Strauss will move up to fifth place, ahead of Cronje’s win-loss ratio of 1.45. More importantly, England will stay ahead of South Africa as the top Test side. That’ll be a fitting way to celebrate Strauss’ 100th Test match, and his 50th as captain.