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Marks out of ten for Australia following the 2011-12 tour of South Africa

Brydon Coverdale22-Nov-2011Pat Cummins – Showing the way at 18•Getty Images8
Pat Cummins
The find of the tour for Australia. At 18, he was the country’s second-youngest Test debutant of all time but any questions about his readiness for Test cricket were erased over five days in Johannesburg. The best bowler in both innings, he swung the ball and used his bouncers wisely, taking 6 for 79 in the second innings and seven for the game, and hit the winning runs. Man of the Match in his first Test, his future is bright.7
Shane Watson
In a two-Test series, Watson made two important contributions: a five-wicket haul in the loss in Cape Town and 88 in the first innings at the Wanderers. His influence could have been far greater had he not strained his hamstring while bowling his fourth over in Johannesburg. The Australians missed his swing and accuracy, but by combining with Phillip Hughes for a 174-run opening stand he ensured a first-innings lead for Australia. All the more impressive was that Watson batted without a runner – they have been abolished – and pushed through the pain barrier caused by his right hamstring. It was a partnership that might get overlooked after the events of the final two days, but it played an important role in the win.Michael Clarke
The captain finished with scores of 2, 11 and 2, but the lasting memory of his South African series will be his wonderful 151 over the first two days at Newlands. Importantly, it was scored in tough conditions as the South African fast men moved the ball around in the air and off the pitch. It was Clarke’s best international century. The second-innings capitulation for 47 and subsequent loss might take some of the shine off Clarke’s innings, but in isolation it was a brilliant effort. Clarke rallied his troops well in Johannesburg and handled Cummins appropriately.6.5
Usman Khawaja
He won his chance at the Wanderers due to Shaun Marsh’s back injury and he ensured he will be strongly considered for the next Test by making a calm and crucial 65, his first Test half-century, in the chase. Khawaja came to the crease in the first over, after Watson’s duck, and immediately halted South Africa’s momentum with a pair of boundaries, a classy on-drive and a well-placed cover-drive, off Vernon Philander. His partnership with Ricky Ponting was a key turning point.6
Ricky Ponting
Made only one decent contribution for the series, but it came just when the team – and he – needed it most. He walked to the crease on the fourth day in Johannesburg at 19 for 2, and Australia’s target of 310 seemed out of reach. But Ponting battled hard and found some of his old touch. He missed the chance to go on and score a century but his 62 was a key factor in Australia’s win. It has also increased his chances of holding his place, after his 8, 0 and 0 in the first three innings of the series put him under intense scrutiny.Mitchell Johnson was nowhere near his peak•AFPPhillip Hughes
Like Ponting, Hughes had only one score of note in the four innings. The Australians would no doubt like more consistency from him, but a century in the final Test in Sri Lanka and 88 in the first innings in Johannesburg is encouraging. It was a mini-flashback to the way he handled the South African fast bowlers in early 2009. More is needed from him, though he seems to be on the right path.5.5
Brad Haddin
He was on track for a disastrous series with the bat until the final innings of the tour, when his 55 helped steer Australia to victory on the fifth afternoon. He played some fine drives and missed some flashes outside off, but all that mattered in the end was that he pushed Australia within touching distance of victory. But his two poor strokes to get out in Cape Town were irresponsible, especially in the second innings, when he left Australia at 18 for 6.Shaun Marsh
It is hard to judge a man on one innings of a series, but Marsh’s effort on the opening day in Cape Town was impressive. In tough conditions, he was the only man to offer significant support to Clarke, his 44 confirming him as one of the most reliable batsmen in the side. Unfortunately, he hurt his back during the innings. Bravely, he batted at No.10 in Australia’s second-innings disaster but was lbw to a ball that stayed low, and flew home before the second Test.5
Nathan Lyon
As an offspinner in a series dominated by the fast men, Lyon’s workload was not enormous. In fact, he bowled only three overs in Cape Town, where he also top scored in Australia’s second innings with 14. In Johannesburg, Lyon picked up two wickets in each innings, a good effort considering the conditions again favoured the fast bowlers.Ryan Harris
Another man who flew home before the second Test, Harris took 4 for 33 in South Africa’s first innings of the series, when they were dismissed for 96. He tried hard in the second innings without success, and remains a first-choice bowler when fit. It remains to be seen if that will be for the first match against New Zealand.4.5
Michael Hussey
Coming off a remarkable tour of Sri Lanka, where he was Man of the Match in all three Tests, Hussey crashed back down to earth in South Africa. He scored one run in Cape Town, his dismissal in the second innings one he’d like to forget, and 20 in the first innings at the Wanderers. However, his 39 in the chase in Johannesburg gave Australia hope, before Haddin, Johnson and Cummins took them home. Overall a disappointing tour, but he remains one of the first picked in Australia’s side.4
Peter Siddle
Picked up four wickets at 51.25 across the two Tests and while he worked hard, he was not nearly as threatening as Cummins. Siddle will be one of the men waiting to see if he retains his place for the opening Test of the home summer.Mitchell Johnson
Must surely be out of chances, if not now then soon. Johnson scored useful runs in both innings at the Wanderers – his unbeaten 40 was a key reason Australia won the match. But he is in the side to take wickets, and a series tally of 3 for 255 was inadequate. He changed his run-up halfway through the Johannesburg Test, a sign of his uncertainty, and is the man most under pressure leading in to the New Zealand series.

As has so often been the case in the last few years, the USA Cricket Association continues to be mired in internal bickering and controversy

Martin Williamson05-Sep-2011The rumbling discontent within US cricket about the way the USA Cricket Association is being run continues to grow with reports that a number of its board members are at odds with Gladstone Dainty, USACA’s president, over the way he is operating.Dainty has been a controversial figure for a number of years, and it was on his watch that the USA was twice suspended from international cricket because of what the then ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed labelled its “dysfunctional” operation.Through active and crafty politicking Dainty has managed to remain in office when his track record would have appeared to have fatally damaged his standing. He has often relied on a small group of associates on the USACA board to support him, but now he is again under attack.Critics point out that Dainty has failed to hold a face-to-face board meeting since November 2010. Since then, Don Lockerbie, the CEO, has been removed from office and in eight months a replacement has not been sought. Dainty, it is argued, has made no attempt to encourage the search for a new CEO, surprisingly at a time when USACA is seeking to attract lucrative commercial deals and real funding, not to mention the rebuilding of a very tarnished image in the domestic and international cricketing communities. The argument is that the lack of a successor for Lockerbie allows Dainty to proceed unchecked.Board elections, constitutionally due to be held in March of this year, have been delayed until October 15 and there are fears they may not even happen then. And most recently, Dainty has ordered election results in the Atlantic region be frozen, with critics claiming the reason is that one of his long-standing supporters is likely to be voted out of office.Last week, one board member expressed concerns that Dainty would try to use the constitution to remain in power, and within days USACA announced that eight leagues may not be allowed to vote because of technicalities. Many of those on the sidelines have seen it all before.Some board members are pushing for a face-to-face board meeting on September 17, and have more than enough support to impact a quorum of the board, but Dainty has refused to agree to that date, even though it is believed that the meeting was requested by USACA’s executive secretary, John Aaron.”We are all being painted by the general public, with one broad brush and labelled dysfunctional and incompetent,” one of his opponents on the board said. “That’s because our fight is not being seen on the outside. Dainty’s ability to continue demonstrating such a dictatorial style of governance is helped by the few who are afraid of his wrath, that they are too weak to join the few who are strong-willed enough to stand up to him.”While in the past there has been little at stake other than some internal politics, there is now the prospect of large amounts of foreign money pouring into the USA from media deals, making control of USACA increasingly important.The international community remains wary of a Dainty-controlled board, but he is a survivor and one that many have tried without success to unseat. His lack of accountability continues to deter many – both at home and abroad – from dealing with US cricket. It is crying out for slick and transparent leadership and, at present, it has neither.

Plays of the Day for the third day of the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan

Siddarth Ravindran19-Dec-2011The missed stumping
On Sunday, Shakib Al Hasan had been within sight of breaking the record for the highest individual Test score by a Bangladesh batsman but didn’t after being run-out due to a poor call from his captain Mushfiqur Rahim. He had shuffled off yesterday after several angry glares at Mushfiqur. There was more reason for him to be displeased with Mushfiqur on Monday. Shakib had Taufeeq Umar, on 56, playing for the arm ball when it actually spun past the pads. Mushfiqur collected and was so sure then was an edge that he jumped up-and-down in appeal without accepting the stumping chance on offer.The bouncer -1
It had been a tough day for Shahadat Hossain, repeatedly overstepping as he strived for pace. He couldn’t get the ball to jag around, and the batsmen dealt with him comfortably despite the high-decibel grunts that showed the effort he was putting into each delivery. He finally got one ball to lift sharply, a perfectly directed bouncer at Taufeeq. Even though Taufeeq was well past 100, he couldn’t get out of the way, and the ball struck his helmet just above the ear, before trickling away for a four towards third man. And to Shahadat’s dismay, it was a front foot no-ball, which meant a total of five runs against his name.The bouncer-2
While Nasir Hossain is a handy bowler in one-dayers, he isn’t quite as effective in first-class matches. He normally bowls offspin, and when he was tossed the ball in the 72nd over, the move nearly worked as the in-form Younis Khan whipped a catch towards deep midwicket, only for it to be dropped. When the second new ball was taken, the quicks had it seaming around, prompting Bangladesh to call on Nasir again, this time to try some medium-pace. The speed was nowhere near express, but when Misbah-ul-Haq casually drove him past mid-on for four, Nasir responded with the usual fast bowlers’ retort – a bouncer. Misbah evaded it, and grinned at the impudence of attempting a 116kph bouncer.The breakthrough
By the third session, Bangladesh’s fielding was ragged, the bowling flat and Pakistan’s batsmen looking forward to a pile of runs. They were buoyed though through a testing spell of quick bowling from Nazmul Hossain. The high point was the wicket of the well-set Taufeeq. First Nazmul had Taufeeq searching for the ball outside off as it nipped away off the seam, and two balls later he induced the outside edge to second slip, ending Taufeeq’s innings on 130.

Kraigg Brathwaite provided Australia with a reminder of how much steel West Indies have added since Darren Sammy and Ottis Gibson took charge of the side

Daniel Brettig at Kensington Oval07-Apr-2012Robert Samuels does not occupy a place of much glory in the long and undulating tale of West Indies cricket. The elder brother of Marlon, he played the last of six Tests in 1997, his contribution to the team as an opening batsman defined by the following nondescript digits: 372 runs at 37.20, one century. However Samuels accomplished one thing in that final Test, against Australia at the WACA Ground on a spiteful strip, patchworked by cracks. In an innings of 76 that lingered 332 minutes and 228 balls, he irritated the hosts and their champion bowlers Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne like very little before or since.Fifteen years later, on the first day of the series between Darren Sammy’s West Indians and Michael Clarke’s Australians in Bridgetown, another stodgy Caribbean opening batsman scraped and scrapped while his opponents vented their exasperation. Kraigg Brathwaite is playing his seventh Test, and none of the previous six have suggested he is anything other than a man battling above his station. Upon losing the toss and bowling first at Kensington Oval, Australia’s bowlers would have reckoned Brathwaite a possible avenue to their first wicket, certainly moreso than the more visibly talented Adrian Barath, who had announced himself with a coruscating debut century against Australia in Brisbane in 2009.Yet Brathwaite did not allow himself to be intimidated by the stature of the team he opposed, the bowlers who had humbled India or the slips cordon that included batsmen the calibre of Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson. From the first ball he faced, Brathwaite shuffled sturdily into line, playing the majority of deliveries from the crease and leaving most directed wide of the stumps. He deflected singles here and there, and flicked a wayward offering from Ryan Harris to the fine-leg rope. If the tourists made a mistake in their new-ball tack it was to not bowl full enough, allowing Brathwaite’s crease-bound approach to work for instead of against him. But there was no gap to be found between bat and pad, and no throaty lbw appeals against a batsman who made sure to get his blade down swiftly to cover whatever movement could be found.Aiding the cause was an assured appearance by Kirk Edwards, the new vice-captain. Taking up a stance once used to good effect by Peter Willey against West Indies, he was as abstemious early on as Brathwaite, before unfurling his greater array of strokes with time. He attacked Nathan Lyon’s spin adeptly, and also played the odd handsome drive. Once he had departed, Darren Bravo showed welcome signs that his touch was returning, his elegance and poise at a level far in advance of anything Brathwaite could produce. But still he remained, poking, prodding and persevering.Brathwaite did offer his pursuers a few chances. On 10 he pushed a Peter Siddle delivery that held up off the pitch, and the bowler failed to gather an awkward chance in his follow through. Thirty-four runs later and Shane Watson procured an edge to one ball that Brathwaite chose not to leave, and Ponting’s right hand stretched too far to accept the catch, leaving his wrist to make a doomed interception. At 48 Brathwaite appeared to snick David Warner’s leg break to Michael Clarke at slip, but questions about whether a clear chance had been put down were silenced by the umpire Ian Gould’s signal of byes. Two balls later Brathwaite raised his half-century, and acknowledged the applause of a crowd that had enjoyed his application – if not always his execution.Australia’s fielders were not quite so enthusiastic in their acclaim, finding themselves in a position loathed by cricketers so long as the game has been played: confronted by a batsman of limited range but tremendous concentration, they have nothing to do but be patient. The dropped chances betrayed wavering focus, and only served to make Brathwaite’s stay all the more infuriating. Patience was a quality Clarke’s men did not require too often during a summer’s waltz past India at home, nor something they necessarily expected to have to employ against a team they have pummeled more often than not over the past 20 years. That state of affairs developed largely because few West Indian batsmen of similar limitations were inclined towards the sort of defiance offered by Samuels at the WACA, when he caused Australian tempers to fray, then tear.So pronounced was the irritation at Samuels that Australia’s diplomatic captain Mark Taylor was at the limits of his conciliatory powers to prevent Warne and McGrath from doing considerably worse than unload on Samuels with a constant stream of verbal barbs. Most of those revolved around the use of the term “loser” with various fruity adjectives thrown in. In their fury that someone as limited in strokeplay as Samuels had managed to survive for so long in enervating Perth heat, Warne and McGrath lost sight of the fact that they had few runs to defend, and that Brian Lara was at the other end. He and Samuels added 208 before they were done, and set the visitors on course to a face-saving victory at the end of an unhappy tour.Brathwaite is unlikely to have faced the same intensity of abuse that Samuels received, given that the game’s standards of on-field conduct are more closely monitored now than ever, by Cricket Australia as much as the ICC. And the Bridgetown pitch was about as friendly as Perth’s had been spiteful. But the pressures of the occasion, the first day of the series at the ground graced by so many luminaries of the region, made his contribution decidedly comparable. By the time he finally left the scene, touching Siddle behind for Matthew Wade’s first Test catch, Brathwaite had held up the visitors for 273 minutes and 199 balls, smoothing a path for those who followed.In doing so he provided Australia with a reminder of how much steel West Indies have added since Sammy and Ottis Gibson formed their present captain/coach axis, and his team-mates with an example of exactly what can be achieved with a doughty attitude. How the Caribbean team’s troubled progress over the past 15 years might have been different if more had offered the application of Samuels and Brathwaite is open to debate. How much its position in this match would have been weakened without Brathwaite’s stern occupation is not.

Although India completed a comfortable series win, their job was made far easier by the New Zealand batsmen who often failed to capitalise on starts

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan04-Sep-2012In the last 14 months, very little has gone right for India on the Test front with their ranking dropping from No.1 to 5 after consecutive 4-0 whitewashes in England and Australia. However, one factor that has not changed in the last few years has been India’s exceptional form in home Tests. Although the opposition teams in the last two home series (West Indies and New Zealand) have not been the most consistent, there seemed little doubt about the results once India got back to playing in familiar conditions. New Zealand, who arrived after being outclassed by West Indies, were all at sea in spin-friendly conditions in the first Test in Hyderabad. Spurred by Ross Taylor’s superb century in Bangalore, the visitors had a firm grip on the game only to concede the advantage to India after a poor batting display in the second innings. India’s bowlers, who benefited vastly from New Zealand’s largess, will be much more severely tested when they face up against England and Australia in the coming months.Kohli, Pujara prop up India
India fielded an inexperienced batting line-up following the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Even as the top batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar struggled to post the big scores, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli stepped up to score centuries. Pujara, who made his debut in Bangalore two years back against Australia, set up India’s innings win in Hyderabad with an excellent 159. Kohli carried his brilliant run in ODIs into the Test arena and ended up with scores of 58, 103 and 51 in his three knocks. In Bangalore, he became only the sixth Indian batsman to score a century and fifty in the same game against New Zealand. The openers came good in the final innings in Bangalore but failed to make the most of their starts. In the second Test, the top-four batsmen failed to score a single half-century. The aggregate (218 runs) is the highest ever for India’s top four, without a single fifty-plus score. Tendulkar, who was bowled in three consecutive innings for only the second time in his career, added to his records tally when he went past Dravid’s fourth-innings aggregate during the course of his second innings in Bangalore.New Zealand were also guilty of frittering away good starts. Of the 44 innings, they had 12 scores between 20 and 49 (27.27%) and a very high percentage of single-digit scores (34.09%). With the opening partnership yielding just 81 runs in four innings, the middle order was always under pressure. Taylor and Kruger van Wyk gave New Zealand hope with fighting knocks in the first innings in Bangalore but as was often the case throughout the series, a flurry of wickets ended the visitors’ chances of dominating the game.

India and New Zealand batting in the series

TeamInningsRunsAverage100/500-9 scores20-49 scoresIndia29100640.242/598New Zealand4488622.151/31512New Zealand fail to score big
Since the beginning of 2011, New Zealand have regularly struggled to convert starts into substantial scores. Not only do they have a very high ratio of fifties to centuries in this period but also have a high percentage of scores between 20 and 49 (22.43%). The story was not very different in 2007 and 2008. In 16 matches played in that period, New Zealand averaged just 25.69 and had a high ratio of fifties to centuries (6:1). However, the percentage of scores between 20 and 49 was lower (18.81%). In 2009 and 2010, New Zealand had the best batting record. In 14 matches, they scored 16 centuries and 32 fifties and averaged 31.47. The problem with throwing away starts refused to go away though; they had 62 out of 271 innings between 20 and 49 (22.87%). New Zealand’s overall numbers since 2007 also illustrate their problems clearly. In over a fifth of their innings (21.26%), the batsmen have been dismissed between 20 and 49 and their ratio of fifties to centuries (3.53) is the worst among top Test-playing teams in the period.

Stats for NZ batsmen in Tests since 2007

PeriodMatchesInningsAverage100/500-9 scores20-49 scores% of 20-49 scores2007-20081630325.696/361245718.812009-20101427131.4716/32916222.872011-present1326325.426/31895922.43Overall4383727.4828/9930417821.26A comprehensive win
In their previous series in West Indies, New Zealand batsmen had struggled to pick the variations of Sunil Narine. So, it was hardly surprising that they were troubled by two quality Indian spinners on helpful tracks. The first Test in Hyderabad was completely one-sided. With R Ashwin picking up 12 wickets, New Zealand collapsed in both their innings to hand India their second-biggest win against the visitors. However, the second Test in Bangalore was a lot closer and it was only the superb 96-run sixth-wicket stand between Kohli and MS Dhoni that helped India get to the target.The average difference (18.72) for the series (difference between India’s batting and bowling averages) is the second-highest in a home series for India since 2009 with the highest (25.14) coming against Sri Lanka in 2009-10. At the other extreme is the series against South Africa in 2010 where the average difference was just 1.96 in favour of India. The presence of New Zealand (twice) and West Indies in the top four demonstrates the problems faced by the visiting batsmen from these teams in India. On the flip side for India, their batting average in this series (42.12) is the second-lowest in the same period and well behind their average in the 2009 series against Sri Lanka (66.84).

India in home series since 2009

OppositionYearResultBat avg (India)Bowl avg (India)Avg diffSri Lanka2009-102-066.8441.7025.14New Zealand20122-042.1223.4018.72New Zealand2010-111-048.9233.6115.31West Indies2011-122-044.8730.4014.47Australia2010-112-041.3433.028.32South Africa20101-145.9644.001.96Indian spinners make hay
Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha combined to pick up 31 of the 40 New Zealand wickets to fall. In India’s innings win in Hyderabad, Ashwin picked up 12 for 85, the second-best bowling figures against New Zealand after Courtney Walsh’s 13 for 55 in Wellington in 1995. Ojha, who became the first specialist India spinner to open the bowling in a Test (in the second Test in Bangalore), ended with 13 wickets including a five-for in the first innings in the second Test. While Ashwin was equally successful against right-handers (12 wickets at 13.25) and left-handers (six wickets at 12.83), 12 of Ojha’s 13 wickets came were those of right-handers (12 wickets at 16.16). Against left-handers, Ojha had very little impact picking up one wicket at an average of 46.00.On wickets that were hardly conducive for pace bowling, Tim Southee produced an outstanding performance in Bangalore finishing with 7 for 64 in the first innings. Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell were far better than their final figures suggested. Zaheer Khan, who became the third Indian pace bowler to pick up 100 wickets, was well below par while Umesh Yadav proved expensive (economy rate of 4.36).

Bowling stats in the series

TeamBowler typeRight handers (Wickets,avg)Left handers(wickets,avg)Overall (wickets,avg)IndiaPace8, 42.750, -8, 49.12New ZealandPace12, 53.415, 20.4017, 43.70IndiaSpin24, 14.877, 19.5731, 15.93New ZealandSpin5, 51.202, 10.507, 39.57The wickets tally for India in the series was completely skewed in favour of spinners. While the spinners ended with 31 wickets at 15.93, the pace bowlers managed just eight wickets at 49.12. The ratio of spin to pace wickets in this series is 3.87. Since 2000, there have been only two other series where the ratio of wickets taken by spinners to those picked up by pace bowlers has been greater. In the 2001 series against Australia, when Harbhajan Singh ended with 32 wickets in three Tests, the ratio was 5.12 (spinners 41 wickets and fast bowlers eight wickets). Second on the list is the 2004 series against Australia where the ratio was 4.61. It is also the first time since the 2008 series against South Africa that Indian pace bowlers have failed to pick up ten or more wickets in a home series.*

Spin v Pace in India since 2000*

OppositionYearMatchesSpin wicketsPace wicketsSpin wickets/pace wicketsAustralia200134185.12Australia2004460134.61New Zealand201223183.87South Africa200833293.55Sri Lanka2005334103.40England2001336113.27With the win in Bangalore, Dhoni went past Mohammad Azharuddin on the list of Indian captains with the most home Test wins (14). Dhoni’s win-loss ratio in home Tests is extremely impressive (14.00) with the solitary loss coming against South Africa in Nagpur in 2010. Among captains who have led in at least 20 home Tests, Dhoni has the best win-loss ratio followed by Steve Waugh (11.00) and Javed Miandad (10.00). In sharp contrast, his captaincy record away is extremely poor; in 19 away Tests under Dhoni, India have won five and lost nine (w/l ratio 0.55).

Stats highlights after the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan18-Dec-2012 Of the 12 matches played in the seventh round, six produced outright results. Two of those were innings wins while the other four were won by the team chasing. The previous round also had produced six outright results. The runs-per-wicket figure in this round was 29.75. In comparison, the corresponding number in the sixth round was 29.07. The seventh round had 16 five-wicket hauls. While the number of five-fors in this round is lower than that in the sixth round (17), it is higher than the numbers in the fourth and fifth rounds (14 and 15 respectively). After the seventh round, the total tally of five-fors in this season has gone up to 91. The seventh round of Ranji Trophy matches featured 18 centuries taking the total number of centuries scored in the season to 155. In comparison, the sixth round had 15 centuries while the fourth and fifth rounds had 25 and 22 centuries respectively. CM Gautam’s 257 for Karnataka against Vidarbha was the highest score in the seventh round. The only other double-century in the round was scored by Aditya Tare for Mumbai against Saurashtra. Gautam’s 257 is the fourth-highest score by a Karnataka player in the Ranji Trophy. The highest is 283 by Barrington Rowland against Madhya Pradesh in 2004-05. The knock is also the fifth-highest so far in this season. Ravindra Jadeja leads the way with 331 against Railways followed by Kedar Jadhav who scored 327 against Uttar Pradesh. Rohit Sharma added yet another century to his impressive season. In six matches so far, Rohit has scored 712 runs at an average of 71.20 with three centuries and two fifties. Punjab’s Jiwanjot Singh also scored 103 against Madhya Pradesh in Gwalior. He has so far scored 776 runs in seven matches at an average of 77.60 with four centuries. Karnataka’s 619 against Vidarbha was the highest score in this round. Karnataka’s highest total, however, is their 791 against Bengal in in 1990-91. The lowest total in this round was registered by Jammu and Kashmir, who were bowled out for 85 against Services. Jammu and Kashmir have lost three matches so far this season and have been bowled out under 200 in five occasions. Karan Sharma’s 8 for 97 for Railways against Rajasthan was the best bowling performance in the seventh round. Overall, it ranks seventh on the list of best bowling performances by a Railways bowler in the Ranji Trophy. The performance is also the fourth-best in the season so far, Ankeet Chavan’s haul of 9 for 23 for Mumbai against Punjab is the best innings bowling performance in this season.

After a four-year absence Robin Peterson has returned to the Test arena and although his first role was to score some vital runs he is eager to play a key part with the ball

Firdose Moonda at the WACA30-Nov-2012When Robin Peterson wore what looked like a new Test cap during the team’s final practice before the Perth Test, it was not a sign of anything. He had no knowledge he would receive a call-up the next day and had not been presented with new headgear already.”I didn’t have any other cap in my bag,” he confessed. Unlike Australian players’ affiliation to their first baggy green, Peterson had left his original Test cap at home and without a practice one had to make do with an alternative. It ended being the same cap he wore to appear in his seventh Test for South Africa, four years after last playing in whites.Peterson has been in South Africa Test squads for the last two years, never with a hint that he would do anything other than carry drinks. With Paul Harris as the main spinner previously and Imran Tahir being turned to since Gary Kirsten took over, Peterson was always there as an emergency for something no-one could quite predict.As neither an obvious Test bowler nor a frontline batsman, identifying where he could fit in was difficult. In Adelaide, Graeme Smith said Peterson did not come into the thinking at all for the starting XI, because Tahir was the “frontline spinner and we back him.” It was a suggestion that hinted that for Peterson to play conditions would have to allow for two spinners or South Africa would have want a spinner who could do the more traditional holding job. They would also have to have enough batsmen for Peterson to play a lower middle-order role.All of that seemed unlikely until Perth when it became clear that Tahir would have to do some soul-searching and form-finding and South Africa would need a containing bowler against an Australian line-up that could become rampant. Suddenly Peterson was “back in contention,” according to Smith.With that, Peterson’s weeks of carrying drinks and hours operating as a net bowler came to an end. However, the first thing required him of him in Test cricket was to play a role with the bat. It is something Peterson has always been capable of but very seldom had the opportunity to demonstrate and he could not have asked for a more important situation than walking out at 6 for 75.It allowed him the opportunity to prove the value of his experience, which spans over a decade in international cricket despite the limited number of his appearances, and his ability. With Faf du Plessis he put on 57 runs and ensured South Africa did not get skittled.”We thought we had to somehow put the pressure back on Australia and that if we were able to transfer the pressure, we could take momentum with it,” he said. Peterson played a cautiously important knock. Apart from an inside-edge to fine-leg, he concentrated on collecting runs quietly and found plenty in clips through the leg side.His real test will come with the ball, though. It will not be about how spectacularly Peterson can do things but how sensibly. Foremost will be his ability to control the scoring rate and he knows that, although he would also relish the opportunity to be more attacking. “I’m going to have do a lot of the work into the wind and bowl as a tight as I can,” he said. “But who knows? When the tailenders come in, with men around the bat, it might be my role to attack.”It means he will have to be flexible depending on the situation and what’s different about the Peterson of 2012 to the one of 2008 is that he is now confident enough to do that. Since last year’s World Cup, in which he finished as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker, he has thrived in one-day cricket. Peterson has played in most of South Africa’s limited-overs series and was picked over Johan Botha who has since relocated to Australia.His recall to the Test XI, much like du Plessis’ debut, was the natural progression from spending time with the squad and becoming a part of the team culture. “It has been nice to be part of the group because now guys understand you and how you go about your business,” he said. “You create that trust. I feel that they trust me and I trust them and that’s why I have success in the one-day game. Hopefully I can transfer that into the Test arena.”

Remembered for his part in the match-fixing scandal, the former South Africa bowler now mentors young cricketers and rears racing pigeons

Firdose Moonda17-Jan-2013A hawk circled Boland Park before dropping a half-eaten pigeon just outside the groundsman’s office. For most, it was a sight best ignored. For Henry Williams, it was worth a closer examination.The bird’s partly munched foot had a pink ring around it that Williams immediately recognised. A racing bird. Just like the 120 he has at home.”It’s an amazing hobby,” Williams said. “You watch the birds, how they learn by looking around at the environment, how they get stronger and fly away a little bit but come back. Then, at six or seven months, you put them into pens, take them 150 kilometres away and leave the whole bunch there. They start circling, slowly, and then off they go. Back to where they came from. Amazing. Expensive but amazing.”Williams’ highest-priced pigeon pair set him back R100,000 (about US$11,800) From them, he sold off studs to the value of R500,000 ($58,800). Of the 20 offspring that costly pair produced, 14 have already won events, making Williams one of the more successful owners in the industry.It wasn’t the same for him on the cricket field. His brief international career is only remembered for his involvement in the Hansie Cronje scandal, which grew new legs this week when Williams admitted he told the King Commission a different story from what actually happened. He realised this would only make him seem a liar, but it was a chance he was willing to take.”Life has moved on,” Williams said. He works as a scout for Cricket South Africa’s youth department, as bowling coach of the Boland age-group sides, from Under-11 upwards, and used to be with the national U-19 side and the national women’s team.Those who still regard him as stained by the match-fixing allegations may be uneasy with his involvement in player development, but Williams paid his penance (a fine and a six-month ban) and has a wealth of experience to call on.Few will know that he was one of the most economical bowlers in South African first-class cricket and finished his career with an economy rate of 2.3. He also pushed for a recall to the national team after the Nagpur nightmare, where he only bowled 11 balls in the match. Williams tore a lateral muscle in that fixture and needed serious surgery, before which he was warned he might never take the field again. “But I believed that I could play again, and then the operation was so successful that after seven months I came back.

“From 1992 until now, we keep thinking this guy will do it for us or that guy will, and it doesn’t happen. We like to follow, we can’t lead”Williams’ on South Africa’s lack of world titles

“I was written off in the country’s newspapers before that, but I took four five-wicket hauls in five matches for Western Province and people thought I had a bionic arm. I bowled sides to pieces. I was swinging the ball and guys were nicking off.” Unlike Herschelle Gibbs, though, Williams never played for South Africa again.He retired from domestic cricket when the franchise system was formed in 2004-05, but remained involved in club cricket, and played a particularly important part in mentoring Henry Davids, South Africa’s new T20 opener. Davids’ father and Williams were both racing-bird enthusiasts, and Williams first saw Davids play club cricket as a boy.Years later Williams was in the same XI when Davids scored his maiden first-class century against Northerns. It was one of the matches in which Williams took five-fors on his return.He remembers the details of Davids’ success better than he does his own. “That side had Steve Elworthy bowling, and the shorter he bowled, the further Henry Davids hit him onto the banks. That night I called [Davids] and said, ‘You will never see a short ball again. People will pitch the ball up and swing it away from you, so please make sure you make adjustments to counter that.’ He didn’t listen to me.”Davids continued to meander on the domestic circuit but one day decided to move upcountry to play in Centurion, where he had scored that first hundred.”We had a function for him at our club,” Williams said. “I said to him, ‘Remember what I said to you a few years back. Now you are going to the same field where you made your debut century and you need to own that field. It’s hard for somebody to go somewhere else and make it there.”Williams bowls, back in the day•Peter J Heeger/Peter J HeegerDavids found form in limited-overs cricket and was rewarded with a call-up to the national side, which Williams thinks he could have been part of years ago. Williams was similarly unimpressed by the 20 Davids made on his South African debut. “I sent him an SMS that day to say that he reminded of an old club cricketer,” he said.The tough love worked. In the next match, Davids scored 55, and in the third, 68. Williams could finally smile. “He has flair and he hits the ball so sweetly. He also has to have a bit of selfishness. That’s what made Jacques Kallis great. That little bit of self, but always in context with what the team needs,” Williams said.As one of the few people with a Level 4 coaching certificate in the country, Williams is trying to instill that sort of balance in the kids he deals with. “What I am trying to build in all the age groups is an understanding of what they need to do to get to the next level,” he said.”If you are at the U-19 level, you have to know what’s required [to get] into an academy. There are too many people who come out of school and think they can play provincial cricket, but they can hardly make a step. There are a lot of parents that believe in me. They trust that I can make a difference.”Williams is heartened by the potential and progress he sees around him in the Cape, where the culture of cricket is strong. Evidence of that was obvious at the tour match between the New Zealanders and the South African Invitation XI, where more people were present than at most franchise matches. The first Test was a sellout at Newlands, and Williams hopes the South African team’s performance will continue to resonate lower down.”The Test team is playing at a different level now. In Perth, against Australia, South Africa actually batted them out of the game. If South Africa play Test cricket like that, no one can beat them,” he said. Like many, he is concerned about whether that will translate to the one-day game and winning ICC silverware.”We can’t find consistency in one-day cricket. We have to find it sooner or later. Otherwise disappointment will be in our face again for the next World Cup. The approach was always very conservative. From 1992 until now, we keep thinking, this guy will do it for us or that guy will, and it doesn’t happen. We like to follow, we can’t lead.”A bit like a flock of birds, then. Williams laughed at that suggestion before reminding us of the one who never made it back. “I’m keeping this ring because it has a tracking number on it and I’ll have to see whose bird it is. I’ll tell them to come fetch the ring.” Life really does go on.

For us Pakistan fans, abnormal is normal. The love that one has for their favourite sports team is different to any other kind of love. It’s not bigger. It’s just different, and probably brings with it a lot more sorrow than any other kind of love

Gul Baz Khan25-Feb-2013My phone beeped, it was an SMS from a friend who had grown skeptical of the Pakistan cricket team since the 1999 World Cup final debacle. “So are your chuckers gonna win?” It was the eve of the 2009 World Twenty20 final. And though he knew that the response he would get would be oozing with positive energy, hope and an incomprehensible delight for one of the most unpredictable teams across sports throughout history, he still wanted to know.You see, after a long time, this team was showing some spine. It was re-generating interest even in the sceptics who had turned away.Please understand, I would never doubt the love Pakistan fans have for their cricket team. Apart from the heartbreaks caused by genuine losses, they have suffered through the years courtesy match-fixing, ball-tampering allegations, a whole year without any Test matches, infighting within the team, politics within politics, questionable board chiefs, coups against captains, no cricket at home for three years, and even an investigation around the death of their coach.For us Pakistan fans, abnormal is normal. The love that one has for their favourite sports team is different to any other kind of love. It’s not bigger. It’s just different, and probably brings with it a lot more sorrow than any other kind of love.The beef that I have with most Pakistan cricket fans is their fickle belief in their team. One loss and it’s all about how we should throw the whole team out because they sold out. One loss and half the team should retire. One loss and #BlameMisbah hash tags appear all across the Twitter world (Misbah has to hold the record for the most unappreciated, yet very successful, captain).But then, with the rich history of betrayal that Pakistan cricket fans have witnessed, it’s difficult to blame them for being so trigger-happy. On the flip side, that’s where true love comes in and fickleness goes out.I am a huge Lakers fan in basketball. The first game that I ever saw in the NBA was Game 4 of the NBA Finals in 1989, between Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons, with Lakers being down 3-0 in the best of seven series. I was 11 years old then and we were based in Singapore at the time. I had recently started playing basketball myself and upon seeing that match, I was completely hooked.Needless to say, it was the worst match to begin following the Lakers. Magic Johnson was out injured and the great Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a shadow of his former self at the ripe old age of 41. This was to be Kareem’s last game ever as well. So they lost, and I hadn’t even seen Magic play yet, but I was already a fan of the game.The bottom line is when you love a sports team, you love it with all the baggage it comes with•AFPAnd so it went. I have seen the worst of times with the Lakers, when after the 1991 emergence of Michael Jordan and the retirement of Magic due to HIV, Lakers went on a downward spiral, even missing the playoffs in 1994. It would be nine years till they return to the Finals under the Zenmaster.The bottom line is when you love a sports team, you love it with all the baggage it comes with. You don’t just wait for them to lift the Cup. That is not the defining moment. The defining moments are spread out across time, when you go to sleep thinking what combination would have worked out best, when you try and find all the faults the referee made in the match your team lost, when you can’t wait for the match to start, when you are willing to start an argument with every Tom, Dick and Harry who dares challenge your team’s chances. Those are the moments that define you as a sports fan.As my favourite sports writer, Bill Simmons, says, your love for your sports team is full of heartbreak, but what would love be without heartbreak. Your wife accuses you of not attaching any importance to anything else when “the match” comes on, your mood at dinner with guests after a big match will depend on the result, your friends curse you for spoiling an otherwise good plan because you don’t want to leave the house, and the same friends all start supporting the opposing team when they are stuck watching the game with you, just to piss you off; that’s when you know you are a goner.The Pakistan cricket team presents the most confusing paradox for any sports fan. It’s not a club team that you can choose to “unfollow” if they were as unfaithful as our team has been over the years. It’s your national side. You just cannot ignore it. You want them to do well. You need them to do well. There is already so much despair and negativity around, that it’s this bit of happiness that drives a nation wild.We are a very unforgiving lot – sports fans not Pakistanis. Well, maybe both. We cannot accept defeat. We will never look for the silver lining. And that is what makes my job as that unrelenting fan that much more difficult. Because there is only so much you can argue about with the many people around you. You can’t force others to be empathetic. You have to listen to all the know-it-alls who personally know the bookie who paid off some cricketer. You have to listen to the ‘experts’ who tell you how every move in the match was pre-planned. You fail miserably and continuously in explaining a particular innings or a certain bowling performance. (I mean, just the fact that I had to defend Saeed Ajmal’s class as a bowler after the time Hussey took him to the cleaners in the semi-final of the 2010 World Twenty20 angered me). Through all of that you still have to find that passion that allows you to stand by the team you love.The only unfortunate thing is that we live in a world of wicked needs and loose morals. Yet, when you see the team fight its way to a Twenty20 victory when defending 122 at the opponents home ground, when you see one of the greatest innings played by Inzamam-ul-Haq and yet have the team fall short by five runs when chasing 350, when you see this good-for-nothing team “brown-wash” the No. 1 Test team in the world, when you see the fight in the eyes of a Saeed Ajmal, the passion of a Younis Khan and the unrelenting charisma of a Shahid Afridi, your heart soars.

In the strongest test of their ability to play spin, Australia’s inexperienced top-order batsmen were found wanting in alien conditions

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan25-Mar-2013When Australia toured India in 2001, they were a world-beating team on a 15-match winning streak. In that series, India’s fortunes were completely turned around by a fantastic partnership between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in Kolkata. In sharp contrast, the team that toured this time round was inexperienced and lacked quality. Still, halfway through the first Test in Chennai, they were extremely competitive and raised visions of a win until MS Dhoni altered the course of the game with a brilliant double-century. This effort virtually ended the visitors’ challenge. Australia were crushed by an innings in the next Test and beaten convincingly in the third and fourth Tests too. This was the first time that Australia had been whitewashed in a series (three or more matches) since 1982-83 when Pakistan beat them 3-0. The whitewash was also the first achieved by India since their 3-0 home series win against Sri Lanka in 1994. India, who lost 4-0 in England and Australia, joined Australia, West Indies, South Africa and England on the list of teams who have been on the winning and losing side of series whitewashes (four-plus match series).In 2011-12, India travelled to Australia after a 4-0 drubbing in England. The first Test at the MCG proved close until the end of day four, before India fell away, losing by 122 runs. The next three Tests were forgettable for India as Australia won two by an innings and one by 298 runs. India’s batting average in the series was just 23.08 as compared to Australia’s 51.56. In the recent series in India, the stats were completely reversed. Australia’s batting woes against spin were thoroughly exposed as the visitors managed to average just 25.89. India, in comparison, averaged 43.80. The home dominance of the two teams can be further gauged by comparing the number of centuries scored. While India managed just one century (and 10 fifties) on the 2011-12 tour, Australia were able to score just one century (and 12 fifties) in the recently-concluded series. Australia had six century stands in the home series and three in India. Remarkably, India had the exact same number of partnerships in the home and away series (six and three respectively). As expected, the pace bowlers were the key to Australia’s success in the home series, picking up 71 of the 79 wickets to fall. In India, however, the home spinners were responsible for picking up majority of the wickets (65 out of 78).

Comparison between the two whitewashes in Australia and India

SeriesAvg(Aus/Ind)Avgdiff (Aus)100/50 (Aus)100/50 (Ind)5WI(Aus/Ind)100 stands (Aus/Ind)(Pace/spin wkts) Aus(Pace/spin wkts Ind)India in Australia, 2011-1251.56/23.0828.486/61/103/16/371/835/10Australia in India, 2012-1325.89/43.80-17.911/126/53/53/622/2713/65Perhaps the biggest difference between the two teams in the end was the ability of the Indian batsmen to stitch together crucial, match-winning partnerships. In the first Test in Chennai, India were eight down with a lead of just 26 runs, before Dhoni and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar combined to take the game away from Australia with a century stand for the ninth wicket. The second Test in Hyderabad was all about the massive 370-run second-wicket stand between M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara. Shikhar Dhawan’s superb debut century set up India’s first innings in Mohali, as he and Vijay were involved in a 289-run opening stand which deflated the Australian attack. In contrast, the Australian top order batsmen struggled to post effective partnerships, and were more often than not rescued by late-order efforts.With both David Warner and Ed Cowan ending with a below-par series performance, Australia’s average for the first wicket was just 40.50. India, on the other hand, put up a much better show (average 71.71) primarily because of the successful run of Vijay, who ended as the highest run-getter in the series. Pujara’s top form also meant that India were well ahead in terms of the average second-wicket partnership. While the average fourth-wicket stand for both teams was not very high, India ended with a far better average for the fifth-wicket partnership. The lower-order partnerships (8-10) were extremely productive for Australia – the last three wickets aggregated 639 runs with six fifty-plus partnerships.

Partnership stats for the two teams

Partnership wicketAustralia (Runs/avg)India (Runs/avg)Australia (100/50 stands)India (100/50 stands)1324/40.50502/71.711/22/02148/18.50532/76.000/12/03204/25.50276/46.000/10/24180/22.50161/26.830/00/15270/33.75253/63.251/01/16227/28.37106/26.501/00/0754/6.7556/14.000/00/08-10639/27.78304/25.330/61/1Australia’s top-order (1-7) batsmen ended the series with an average of 27.40. This is their sixth-lowest average in a series of four or matches since 1970. India’s openers scored 806 runs at an average of 62 with three centuries. In contrast, Australia’s openers managed just 438 runs at an average of 27.37 without a single century. Hughes and Watson had a very ordinary run, compounding Australia’s woes at No. 3. For India, Pujara stood up both at No. 3 (first three Tests) and as an opener in the final Test when he scored twin half-centuries. Tendulkar managed just one half-century and averaged 32 at No. 4. Even so, his performance was significantly better than Australia’s No. 4 batsmen, who managed just 90 runs at 11.25. Clarke’s consistency at No.5 was one of the few highs for Australia in an otherwise forgettable series. Dhoni ensured that the No. 6 stats were dominated completely by the hosts. Although Australia dominated the lower-order (8-11) numbers, they were left rueing the lack of consistency among the top-order batsmen.

Performance of top and lower order of both teams

Batting positionIndia (Runs/avg)India (100/50)Australia (Runs/avg)Australia (100/50)1-2806/62.003/3438/27.370/33333/55.501/0186/23.250/14192/32.000/190/11.250/05234/58.501/1429/53.621/26316/79.001/0151/18.870/1777/19.250/0213/30.420/2820/5.000/031/3.870/0943/14.330/0247/30.870/310-1155/9.160/0160/20.000/0Before the series started, it was evident that Australia’s fortunes firmly rested on their ability to play spin. England, who toured India recently, struggled to come to grips in the first Test, but picked up their game in the next three Tests to win the series 2-1. However, Australia had very little experience to fall back on. Only Clarke and Steven Smith (in the last two Tests) demonstrated the necessary footwork and consistency against spin. Phil Hughes was all at sea in the first two Tests, before turning it around in Mohali and Delhi. The Australian right-hand batsmen fared quite well against right-arm spinners (average 30.25) and managed to score at a decent clip (2.81). Against left-arm spin, however (Ravindra Jadeja in particular), the right-hand batsmen struggled, averaging just 19.65 (scoring rate 2.11). The stats are very similar for left-hand batsmen against right-arm spinners; the right-arm spinners picked up 22 wickets at an average of 19.36. Left-hand batsmen fared slightly better against left-arm spinners averaging 24.00 and scoring at a run-rate of 2.80.

Indian spinners against right and left-hand batsmen

Bowler typeBatsman typeWicketsAverageEcon rateBoundary %Right-arm spinRight-hand bat1230.252.8144.62Left-arm spinRight-hand bat2019.652.1150.38Right-arm spinLeft-hand bat2219.362.1452.58Left-arm spinLeft-hand bat1124.002.8037.12One of the highlights of the series was Jadeja’s success against Clarke, one of Australia’s best players of spin. Jadeja dismissed Clarke five times in six innings, while conceding just 72 runs (average 14.40). Jadeja also had a great run against Glenn Maxwell, dismissing the aggressive batsman three times (average 3.33). R Ashwin, who ended as the highest wicket-taker in the series, continued his good show against left-handers, dismissing Hughes and Cowan on five and four occasions respectively. While Cowan managed an average of 21.00 (56.75 balls per dismissal), Hughes had a terrible time averaging just 7.80 (35.80 balls per dismissal).Nathan Lyon, who finished with nine wickets in the final Test, dismissed Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli three times each, including getting the two batsmen lbw in both innings of the final match. Lyon however struggled against Dhoni, who hit him for 127 runs off 109 balls (run-rate 6.99) without being dismissed even once. Clarke tasted success against Ashwin, scoring 74 runs (scoring rate 4.18), while being dismissed only once.

Batsman v Bowler in the series

BatsmanBowlerRunsDismissalsAverageBalls per dismissalScoring rateMichael ClarkeRavindra Jadeja72514.4038.002.27Phil HughesR Ashwin3957.8035.801.30Ed CowanR Ashwin84421.0056.752.22Glenn MaxwellRavindra Jadeja1033.3312.661.57Sachin TendulkarNathan Lyon76325.3335.664.26Virat KohliNathan Lyon75325.0041.333.62Michael ClarkeR Ashwin74174.00106.004.18MS DhoniNathan Lyon1270–6.99