A look at the squads and purses of the IPL franchises ahead of the player auction on February 3

Vishal Dikshit02-Feb-2013A total of 108 players* will go under the hammer during the February 3 auction for the 2013 IPL. Each franchise has a salary cap of $12.5 million to spend on their squad, which can have a maximum of 33 players, including 11 from overseas. Here is a team-by-team break-up of the players they currently have and the amount left with them to spend during the auction.

Chennai Super Kings

B Aparajith, one of the Under-19 World Cup stars, will play for Chennai Super Kings•ICC/GettyCurrent Indian players: 11, slots left: 11
Current overseas players: 6, slots left: 5
Salary cap spent: $9.4 mn, salary cap remaining: $3.1 mn

Present squad: MS Dhoni, M Vijay, S Anirudha, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, S Badrinath, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, B Aparajith, Vijay Shankar, Michael Hussey, Ben Hilfenhaus, Faf du Plessis, Albie Morkel, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dwayne Bravo.
Signed before auction: B Aparajith, Vijay Shankar
Released in November: George Bailey, Doug Bollinger, Joginder Sharma, Suraj Randiv, Yo Mahesh, Abhinav Mukund, Scott Styris, Sudeep Tyagi, K Vasudevadas, G Vignesh.

Delhi Daredevils

Current Indian players: 15, slots left: 7
Current overseas players: 8, slots left: 3
Salary cap spent: $11.1 mn, salary cap remaining: $1.4 mn

Present squad: Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Naman Ojha, Ajit Agarkar, Yogesh Nagar, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Varun Aaron, Unmukt Chand, Pawan Negi, Manpreet Juneja, Kedar Jadhav, Siddharth Kaul, Sujit Nayak, Venugopal Rao, Mahela Jayawardene, Ross Taylor, David Warner, Roelof van der Merwe, Kevin Pietersen, Morne Morkel, Andre Russell, Gulam Bodi.
Signed before auction: Kedar Jadhav, Siddharth Kaul, Sujit Nayak, Venugopal Rao (re-signed), Gulam Bodi (re-signed).
Released in November: Puneet Bisht, Robin Bist, Gulam Bodi, Doug Bracewell, Aaron Finch, Sunny Gupta, Glenn Maxwell, Prashant Naik, Kuldeep Raval, Aavishkar Salvi, Venugopal Rao, Vikas Mishra, Tejashwi Yadav, Zafir Patel.

Kings XI Punjab

Current Indian players: 14, slots left: 8
Current overseas players: 7, slots left: 4
Salary cap spent: $5.6 mn, salary cap remaining: $6.9 mn

Present squad: Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Mandeep Singh, Siddharth Chitnis, Nitin Saini, Sunny Singh, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Paul Valthaty, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Parvinder Awana, Rajagopal Sathish, Manan Vohra, Adam Gilchrist, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, David Miller, Ryan Harris, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Azhar Mahmood
Signed before auction: Manan Vohra
Released in November: Kyle Abbott, Love Ablish, Amit Yadav, Ben Cutting, Paras Dogra, James Faulkner, Vikramjeet Malik, Abhishek Nayar, Ramesh Powar, Nathan Rimmington, Stuart Broad
Madhya Pradesh spinner Jalaj Saxena has been bought by Mumbai Indians•West Indies Cricket

Kolkata Knight Riders

Current Indian players: 12, slots left: 10
Current overseas players: 9, slots left: 2
Salary cap spent: $10.3 mn, salary cap remaining: $2.2 mn

Present squad: Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary, Debabrata Das, Manvinder Bisla, Yusuf Pathan, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Rajat Bhatia, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Iqbal Abdulla, Shami Ahmed, Pradeep Sangwan, Sarabjit Singh Ladda, Eoin Morgan, Brad Haddin, Brendon McCullum, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, James Pattinson, Sunil Narine
Released before auction: Marchant de Lange
Released in November: Chirag Jani, Sanju Samson, Iresh Saxena, Jaydev Unadkat

Mumbai Indians

Current Indian players: 17, slots left: 5
Current overseas players: 6, slots left: 5
Salary cap spent: $10.2 mn, salary cap remaining: $2.3 mn

Present squad: Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Amitoze Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Pragyan Ojha, Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Aditya Tare, Pawan Suyal, Suryakumar Yadav, Sushant Marathe, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishi Dhawan, Jalaj Saxena, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Aiden Blizzard, James Franklin, Mitchell Johnson, Dwayne Smith
Signed before auction: Rishi Dhawan, Jalaj Saxena
Released before auction: Robin Peterson, Herschelle Gibbs, RP Singh, Apoorv Wankhade, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Shukla, T Suman (transferred to Pune Warriors)
Released in November: Davy Jacobs, Richard Levi, Clint McKay, Sujit Nayak, Thisara Perera, Jaydev Shah

Pune Warriors

Current Indian players: 21, slots left: 1
Current overseas players: 8, slots left: 3
Salary cap spent: $9.2 mn, salary cap remaining: $3.3 mn

Present squad: Robin Uthappa, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Rahul Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, Raiphi Gomez, Mithun Manhas, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ali Murtaza, Harpreet Singh, Anustup Mazumdar, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Mahesh Rawat, Shrikant Wagh, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ishwar Pandey, T Suman, Udit Birla, Angelo Mathews, Alfonso Thomas, Wayne Parnell, Marlon Samuels, Luke Wright, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Tamim Iqbal.
Signed before auction: Ishwar Pandey, T Suman, Udit Birla, Steven Smith (re-signed), Tamim Iqbal (re-signed)
Released in November: Sourav Ganguly, Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Kamran Khan, Harshad Khadiwale, Nathan McCullum, Mohnish Mishra, Sachin Rana, Jesse Ryder, Graeme Smith, Steven Smith, Tamim Iqbal, James Hopes.
Pune Warriors will play their first season without Sourav Ganguly•AFP

Rajasthan Royals

Current Indian players: 11, slots left: 11
Current overseas players: 7, slots left: 4
Salary cap spent: $4.8 mn, salary cap remaining: $7.7 mn

Present squad: Rahul Dravid, S Sreesanth, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Stuart Binny, Siddharth Trivedi, Ankeet Chavan, Shreevats Goswami, Ajit Chandila, Harmeet Singh, Dishant Yagnik, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Kevon Cooper, Owais Shah, Samuel Badree.
Signed before auction: Samuel Badree, Harmeet Singh, Dishant Yagnik (re-signed), Owais Shah (re-signed)
Released in November: Johan Botha, Deepak Chahar, Dinesh Chandimal, Aakash Chopra, Paul Collingwood, Aditya Dole, Samad Fallah, Faiz Fazal, Sumit Narwal, Pankaj Singh, Amit Paunikar, Abhishek Raut, Owais Shah, Pinal Shah, Amit Singh, Dishant Yagnik.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Current Indian players: 18, slots left: 4
Current overseas players: 6, slots left: 5
Salary cap spent: $10 mn, salary cap remaining: $2.5 mn

Present squad: Vinay Kumar, Arun Karthik, Karun Nair, Sreenath Aravind, Mayank Agarwal, Vijay Zol, Abhimanyu Mithun, KP Appanna, Virat Kohli, Harshal Patel, Syed Mohammad, Cheteshwar Pujara, Zaheer Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Abhinav Mukund, Sandeep Warrior, Sunny Sohal, P Parameswaran, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori, Andrew McDonald.
Signed before auction: Abhinav Mukund, Sandeep Warrior, Sunny Sohal, P Parameswaran (re-signed).
Released in November: Raju Bhatkal, CM Gautam, Mohammad Kaif, Abrar Kazi, Charl Langeveldt, Dirk Nannes, Ryan Ninan, Prashanth Parameswaran, Asad Pathan, Luke Pomersbach, Rilee Rossouw, S Thiagarajan.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Current Indian players: 14, slots left: 8
Current overseas players: 6, slots left: 5
Salary cap spent: $5.5 mn, salary cap remaining: $7 mn

Present squad: Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Akash Bhandari, Akshath Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Bharat Chipli, Biplab Samantray, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Ishant Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Veer Pratap Singh, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Dale Steyn, JP Duminy, Rusty Theron, Kumar Sangakkara.
Released in November (who were in Deccan Chargers): T Atchuta Rao, Darren Bravo, Daniel Christian, Kedar Devdhar, Manpreet Gony, Daniel Harris, Ishank Jaggi, Tanmay Mishra, Syed Quadri, Sneha Kishore, Sunny Sohal, Tanmay Srivastava, Arjun Yadav.
*18.05GMT, February 2: The number of players has been updated following the IPL’s press release on the eve of the auction

Zimbabwe thrashed Bangladesh by a huge margin in the first Test, and hope to better their performance in the second

Firdose Moonda in Harare21-Apr-2013The fans could hardly believe what they saw on the scoreboard in Harare. “Zimbabwe won by 335 runs.” Never mind the last three words, the first two were enough for them.Many wanted to immortalise the moment and cameras came out in dozens to capture images that confirmed Zimbabwe’s victory over Bangladesh. They snapped away – at the writing on the board, the singing fans on the wooden stand, the team huddle on the field and themselves, beaming with the afterglow of victory.A day earlier, the same people were debating whether or not Zimbabwe should enforce the follow-on. Popular opinion was that they should, given the lead of 255, because on the evidence of Bangladesh’s batting there was an opportunity for an innings win. Then someone brought the masses down to earth by reminding them that just a few weeks ago, talk of following on only applied if Zimbabwe were being put in again. Everyone laughed. How things had changed.

Movements on the ICC rankings

Batting:
29 (+41) Brendan Taylor
34 (-3) Tamim Iqbal
37 (-8) Shakib Al Hasan
40 (-3) Mushfiqur Rahim
50 (-4) Nasir Hossain
64 (-3) Junaid Siddique
65 (+4) M.Ashraful
69 (-3) Shahriar Nafees
79 (-4) Mahmudullah
84 (-13) V.Sibanda
85 (+11) Jahurul Islam
100 (+25) Graeme Cremer
Bowling
15 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan
43 (+14) Kyle Jarvis
59 ( – ) Sohag Gazi
68 (+24) Robiul Islam
71 (-2) Mahmudullah
87 (+42) S. Masakadza
92 (+21) Graeme Cremer

Zimbabwe’s turnaround was as unexpected as it was spectacular, and it could be another restart for a team that has had the handbrake pulled on their attempts to move forward. It shows that cricket has not been crippled and, although it was badly wounded, it has made some sort of recovery.”This is a confidence booster after the thrashing we got in West Indies,” Stephen Mangongo, Zimbabwe’s interim coach said. “We got on to our two feet, which is important.”Zimbabwe’s victory was as important for team morale as it was for demonstrating the progress of individual players. Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis now have career best ICC rankings, Graeme Cremer moved up in both the batting and bowling rankings while Shingi Masakadza also made himself known.The hosts achieved their success by nullifying Bangladesh’s strengths: not allowing their spinners to get into the game and keeping their best batsmen, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, quiet. In the next match Zimbabwe will have to do the same, and will probably also have Tamim Iqbal, almost recovered from a thumb injury, to tie down.That’s the difference this time: there is a next match. When Zimbabwe made their Test comeback in August 2011, they celebrated like there was no tomorrow because in cricketing terms, there wasn’t. One-off fixtures were a good way to re-enter the longest format and Zimbabwe had four of them. But it was also too spread out for them to develop any long-term strategies and the lack of match time showed, especially when they went overseas and battled to adapt to conditions.This series gives Zimbabwe an opportunity to change that. With both Tests being at the same venue, it will allow them to isolate areas that need to be worked on – such as the performance of the top order against medium-pacer Robiul Islam – and measure their development.While Zimbabwe’s performance against Bangladesh was dominant, it was not perfect and they know it. There was much to celebrate and Taylor and the team did when they walked off the park to the sounds of the traditional song and their fans saluting them. There was also much to reflect on.After their change-room celebrations, they joined their other halves for a few quiet ones. They may have gone on to wilder things after that but while at the ground, they provided sobering illustration that they know the job is not done. “It’s nice to have some momentum but we know Bangladesh always seem to bounce back on us. We can’t get complacent at all,” Taylor said. “If we play the way we played in this game, we are going to be tough to beat. We are going to find the areas where we can improve, go to training and keep trying to better ourselves.”Zimbabwe understand one victory does not mean the end of their aims, as it did in 2011. It’s just the beginning. If the schedule is as it should be, Zimbabwe will have Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home in the next six months. Those challenges will be greater than the one Bangladesh pose now and the only way to prepare adequately for will be to repeat and improve the showing in next week’s Test.

A look at the top batting and bowling displays from IPL 2013

S Rajesh24-Apr-2013Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 175 against Pune Warriors, and Jacques Kallis’ 3 for 13 against Sunrisers Hyderabad have emerged as the top performances so far in IPL 2013, according to an analysis by ESPNcricinfo.Gayle’s hurricane hundred, which broke several records – it’s the highest individual score, the innings with the most sixes in Twenty20 cricket, as well the fastest hundred in the format – is miles ahead of the rest of the competition. The next-best so far in the tournament is Virat Kohli’s 93 not out against Sunrisers Hyderabad during a run-chase of 161 in Bangalore. The two other heavyweights in the side, Gayle and AB de Villiers, totalled only 28 in that match, but Kohli guided them home with a superb unbeaten 93 off 47 balls.Kohli’s effort is about a couple of points ahead of David Miller’s matchwinning unbeaten 80 for Kings XI Punjab against Warriors in Mohali, after Warriors had scored 185 batting first. Kings XI fell to 5 for 2 and then 58 for 3, before Miller got together with Mandeep Singh and put on 128 for the fourth wicket to guide Kings XI to victory. Miller was the dominant partner, scoring 80 off 41, while Mandeep’s unbeaten 77 is in 23rd place. MS Dhoni’s 51 off 26 against Mumbai Indians is next, even though that effort was in a losing cause. Chasing a modest target of 149, Super Kings fell far behind the asking rate before Dhoni brought them back with some frenetic hitting. It required a superb catch by Keiron Pollard at the midwicket boundary to curtail that innings and end Super Kings’ chase.Gayle features twice in the top five, and three times in the top eight, while the first century of this IPL, Shane Watson’s 101 against Super Kings, is seventh. However, the innings that upstaged that century and ensured a successful chase of 186, Michael Hussey’s 88 off 51, is a slot above Watson in sixth place.Hussey also features at No.14, while the first sub-50 score in the list is Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 36 off 14 balls, which helped Super Kings over the line in a low-scoring run-chase against Knight Riders.

Top batting performances in IPL 2013

BatsmanInningsAgainstStrike ratePointsChris Gayle (RCB)175*Pune Warriors265.1574.86Virat Kohli (RCB)93*Sunrisers Hyderabad197.8755.38David Miller (Kings XI)80*Pune Warriors195.1253.58MS Dhoni (CSK)51Mumbai Indians196.1552.68Chris Gayle (RCB)92*Mumbai Indians158.6252.31Michael Hussey (CSK)88Rajasthan Royals172.5550.64Shane Watson (RR)101Chennai Super Kings165.5749.26Chris Gayle (RCB)85*Kolkata Knight Riders170.0048.57Virender Sehwag (DD)95*Mumbai Indians166.6748.45Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)36*Kolkata Knight Riders257.1446.83Manpreet Gony (Kings XI)42Kolkata Knight Riders233.3346.35AB de Villiers (RCB)64Chennai Super Kings200.0046.00Keiron Pollard (MI)57*Chennai Super Kings150.0045.65Michael Hussey (CSK)86*Kings XI Punjab159.2644.89Dinesh Karthik (MI)86Delhi Daredevils179.1744.38Though the bowlers have generally done well in the tournament, there haven’t been too many stand-out performances in terms of a bowler taking a clutch of wickets. Only three times has a bowler taken four wickets, which includes Amit Mishra’s hat-trick.However, the top bowling performance according to this analysis is Jacques Kallis’ 3 for 13 against Sunrisers in a fairly high-scoring match: the match aggregate was 312 in 40 overs, a run rate of 7.80. Kallis took three top-order wickets, dismissing Parthiv Patel, Cameron White, and Thisara Perera, and went at only 3.25 runs per over, less than half the match run rate.Next-best is Umesh Yadav’s 4 for 24 for Delhi Daredevils against Rajasthan Royals in the fourth match of the season, largely because all his wickets were of top-order batsmen, and among the batsmen he dismissed were Rahul Dravid and Brad Hodge. That was also a high-scoring match, with a run rate of 8.13, which also pushed Yadav’s overall points higher than if the match run rate had been lower. Mohit Sharma’s 3 for 10 for Super Kings against Daredevils is next, largely because he dismissed three top-order batsmen – Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Manprit Juneja.With James Faulkner and Praveen Kumar taking the next two positions, the top five are all seamers. The first spinner in the list is Sunil Narine, for his 4 for 13 against Daredevils in the first match of the tournament. What reduced his overall points tally for the performance was the quality of his wickets – only one of the batsmen he dismissed was among the top six. Bhuvneshwar Kumar features twice in successive positions, while Mishra’s top performance so far is his 3 for 19 against Warriors. The batsmen he dismissed in that match were Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh and Abhishek Nayar. In the return game between the two teams, when he took the hat-trick, three of his wickets were those of Nos.9, 10, and 11, which pushed that performance down to No.26.

Top bowling performances in IPL 2013

BowlerFiguresEcon rateAgainstPointsJacques Kallis3 for 133.25Sunrisers Hyderabad57.90Umesh Yadav4 for 246.00Rajasthan Royals56.90Mohit Sharma3 for 103.33Delhi Daredevils53.70James Faulkner3 for 205.00Chennai Super Kings51.99Praveen Kumar2 for 102.50Rajasthan Royals49.82Sunil Narine4 for 133.25Delhi Daredevils49.50Bhuvneshwar Kumar2 for 123.00Chennai Super Kings47.95Bhuvneshwar Kumar3 for 184.50Sunrisers Hyderabad45.73Azhar Mahmood3 for 215.25Kolkata Knight Riders44.74Vinay Kumar3 for 276.75Mumbai Indians44.13Kevon Cooper3 for 153.75Kolkata Knight Riders43.48RP Singh3 for 276.75Sunrisers Hyderabad42.47Amit Mishra3 for 194.75Pune Warriors42.22RP Singh3 for 133.25Rajasthan Royals41.91Vinay Kumar3 for 184.50Rajasthan Royals41.89The main factors that were considered : Each batting and bowling performance was weighted against the scoring rate in that match. Thus, an 80 off 40 balls got more points if it comes in a match in which the other batsmen struggle to score quickly, compared to one in which several other batsmen make quick runs. Similarly, an economical spell gets more points in a high-scoring game. : Since the 20-over game is one in which top-order batsmen get many more opportunities than even middle-order ones, the runs scored were weighted against the average scores by batsmen in those batting positions. A middle- or lower-order batsman thus gets more credit for a half-century compared to a top-order batsman. : In T20 matches, bowlers often taken lower-order wickets in a cluster towards the end of an innings. In this analysis, the lower-order wickets fetch lesser rewards for a bowler compared to a top-order wicket.

He may not be the flashing, daring captain that some Pakistani fans crave but Misbah-ul-Haq is an essential, steady hand negotiating his country through difficult times

George Dobell09-Jun-2013It’s not easy being Misbah-ul-Haq. Charged with leading Pakistan during one of the most challenging periods in their history, Misbah knows that whatever he achieves he will never win over all his critics.It doesn’t matter that he possesses leadership qualities that Pakistan sorely require. It doesn’t matter that he provides a rare beacon of batting solidity amid a morass of fragility. And it doesn’t matter that he has the calm head and experience to steer his squad through choppy waters. To some, it only matters that he isn’t Shahid Afridi.Misbah captaining Pakistan is like an accountant taking centre stage in the circus. A team renowned for its raw skill and entertainment value is being run by a man who isn’t exciting, isn’t flamboyant and isn’t glamorous. He is a fine player, certainly, but for some that will never be enough. They don’t just want to win; they want to win with style. They don’t just want a captain who leads them to victory, they want a captain who leads them to victory amid a flurry of boundaries and with thick glossy hair.So partly for that reason, Misbah’s captaincy – in limited-overs cricket, in particular – has been the object of continual criticism. It is true that his ODI strike-rate is not especially high – he scores at a rate of 74.30 runs per 100 balls – but, in a team that sometimes struggles to bat through a 50 over innings (they have been bowled out in six of their last 11 ODIs), that is rarely a problem.Besides, after everything that Pakistan have been through in recent times, a little bit of stability is no bad thing. Confronted by an array of obstacles that would have driven a weaker man into retirement, Misbah has shepherded his young team to respectable performances, including Asia Cup victory in 2012 and a Test series whitewash against England. There is little need to dredge up matters consigned to the past here, but it should never be forgotten that Misbah inherited an ageing team in transition, devastated by retirements and bans and fated to spend the foreseeable future playing all their games away from home.

For all the bowling talent, Pakistan’s batting resources are arguably at an all-time low.

The burden on Misbah’s shoulders was most graphically illustrated in Pakistan’s opening Champions Trophy fixture against West Indies. While most of his colleagues batted with the resilience of a pappadam – the combined efforts of nine Pakistan batsmen amounted to 18 runs – Misbah compiled an unbeaten 96 that almost led his side to something approaching a respectable total.So perhaps, as 39-year-old Misbah approaches the autumn of his career, he will begin to win greater appreciation. Perhaps, as Pakistan start to consider who will replace his middle-order calm, Misbah’s considerable worth will become more apparent. But while there was certain world-weariness in Misbah’s description of the fickle nature of celebrity, he did reaffirm his commitment to Pakistan for the foreseeable future.”I think everybody knows that there is not much time left in my career,” Misbah said at Edgbaston ahead of his side’s must-win Champions Trophy tie against South Africa. “So, my priority is to play for Pakistan. I just want to play more and more international cricket because I know that I haven’t much time left in cricket. But whatever comes, I just want to play. I just want to enjoy it and play well for Pakistan.”When you do well, it’s really something. Everybody praises you and you’re a star for a day. But with the high praises, there are also high criticisms when you don’t do well.”In our country it’s like that. As a player, you need to just understand this and just try to put on a better show in every game you play and don’t let it get on your mind because one day these people are really after you and the next day you could be really out of it.”One of the encouraging aspects of Pakistan’s defeat in the opening game was the performance of their bowlers. Despite all the impediments and absences, it seems Pakistan still have an ability to develop fast bowlers that are the envy of many other nations. Misbah’s theory is that the lack of help available to bowlers who develop in Pakistan forces them find other skills to compensate.”Maybe genetically people are a bit stronger in Pakistan,” Misbah suggested. “Or maybe it is because the conditions are not conducive for seam bowling. It’s really hard work in Pakistan. If you want to be a fast bowler, you really need to be hard working, you need a bit of pace there. So maybe that helps people to just bowl a bit quicker than other parts of the world.”But for all the bowling talent, Pakistan’s batting resources are arguably at an all-time low. Misbah’s speculated that, with conditions so straightforward for batsmen in Pakistan, young players are ill-prepared for the challenges that wait when they graduate to the international game. For that reason, he accepted the extra burden on senior batsmen in the side, but expressed hope that younger players would also perform with confidence and application against South Africa.”It really makes it easier for the team if all of the others are contributing, especially at the top of the order. It’s really important in these conditions. They believe that they can do it. I believe they can do it. It’s just a matter of applying yourself. They should not be worried.”

Blessed with an ability to swing the bat liberally and be equally care-free in the field, Ben Stokes is a bright spark for Durham who is catching the eye of England’s hierarchy

Vithushan Ehantharajah06-Aug-2013″No one needed to sit me down and tell me – you quickly realise how foolish you were,” Ben Stokes said ruefully in the Lord’s pavilion.In February, during a challenging tour of Australia as a member of the England Lions squad, Stokes, along with Kent’s Matt Coles, found himself returning home early. “Alcohol related incidents”, or some variant of was echoed throughout the press, as ECB performance director David Parsons, in charge of the tour, spoke of previous warnings going unheeded.Stokes couldn’t have timed this final misdemeanour worse. England team director Andy Flower had just stopped over in Australia, on his way to New Zealand for the Test series, as the two roommates embarked on the night out that broke the camel’s back. It is thought that Flower rubberstamped their early return home.Understandably, Stokes, the Durham allrounder, is sheepish went reflecting six months on. He has previous after he was arrested in 2011 for obstructing a police officer.”I knew what I had to do when I got back to England to make sure I got my career back on track,” Stokes said. “I know I had a lot of work to do to get the England selectors back on my side.”Selection in the Twenty20 series with New Zealand, with the majority of England’s Champions Trophy squad rested, represents a pardon of sorts. But less than a month later, it seemed he had convinced Flower of his reform and reiterated his worth.Ahead of the 2nd Investec Ashes Test, Stokes was on the Nursery Ground training with the senior side. Net work with Graham Gooch, a bowl at the top order to keep the overs ticking over and some extensive drills with Richard Halsall was tough, but the chance to reconnect with the national setup once again was welcome.”It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the one day team,” Stokes said. “It’s pretty nerve-racking if I’m honest. To be around the Test squad and to share a changing room, sitting next to some great England players gives you butterflies. But it’s nice to know that you know them and they know who I am. That settles things a bit. It’s just nice to be involved again.”This heightened sense of responsibility has extended into Stokes’ game, specifically his batting, which has helped Durham reach the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 as one of the two best third-placed sides.Occupying No. 5, he has a hat-trick of scores that secured three out of Durham’s final four wins to take them out of the North group. His most notable, a 72 off 48 balls against Nottinghamshire, came with his side struggling on 30 for 3 after six overs – 130 shy of their target. In the end, Durham won off the final ball.

“I was born with that desire to throw myself about. I do try and practice the most unlikely catches.”

Up against an impressive Northants outfit on Tuesday, who boast this year’s revelation and leading wicket-taker, Pakistani fast-bowler Azharullah, his form will be tested.”The way games have panned out, I think it’s given me the chance to fulfil my role as ‘finisher’,” Stokes said. “It’s one thing to take that responsibility on but you need to back it up. The game at Trent Bridge was that moment for me as it then gave me the confidence to do it. Then, with games against Derbyshire and Leicestershire coming within six days, I was able to carry that over and do the job in those matches, too.” Stokes made 46 and 41 not out as Durham finished with a flourish.Apart from his hitting, which has allowed him to clear the fence 18 times – the most by any player in this year’s competition – Stokes’ fielding borders on freakish. In the final group match against Derbyshire, he sent Dan Redfern back to the pavilion with a stunning catch at long-off, while also displaying his athleticism off his own bowling to run out Alex Hughes.But his kamikaze approach to fielding has also caused him problems, most notably against Surrey in a Yorkshire Bank 40 clash at The Oval where he was stretchered off after taking a superb diving catch to get rid of Jason Roy that had his body seemingly bent in three. Luckily, he was back the very next day for the County Championship match between the two sides, albeit playing a limited role in the field and not bowling. Typically, he saw Durham home to a five wicket win with an unbeaten 35.”I’m not too sure why I field the way I do,” he said with a grin. “I think I was born with that desire to throw myself about. I do try and practice the most unlikely catches – that way you’re ready when one comes along that needs you to do something a bit special.”Twenty20 matches are much closer than they used to be and batsmen are getting better at both setting a target and chasing one down. Any way you can shave a few runs off their total or hold them back in a chase is invaluable. You’ve got to put your body on the line.”Still without a T20 title to their name, Durham have the right blend of experience and youth to at least see them through to their second Finals Day. No one better reflects the strength and exuberance of that youth like Ben Stokes – a future star in waiting.

Born into perhaps the most famous of cricketing families, Fabian Cowdrey is taking on the weight of expectation and is determined to forge his own career

Alastair Mavor13-Sep-2013″If I retired now, statistically I’d be the best Cowdrey. I was joking about that with my Mum the other day.”There’s no such thing as a cricketing gene. At least, no scientist of note has ever bothered to search for it. Yet, if cricket were a gene, Fabian Cowdrey would almost certainly have it carved into every chromosome in his body. Born into cricketing blue blood, the Tonbridge-educated youngster with the puppy dog face and cheeky grin is the grandson of the late, great, Lord Colin Cowdrey, son of former England allrounder Chris Cowdrey, and as if that wasn’t pedigree enough, nephew of Kent legend Graham Cowdrey.The 20-year-old Cowdrey has burst onto the scene this year making an exciting half-century in a T20 against Surrey in front of the television cameras in July, before crushing a 30-ball 52 in a Yorkshire Bank 40 against Worcestershire a few weeks later. A quick glance of his batting quickly reveals his apparent appetite for a cover drive. Perhaps that is no surprise. It was his grandfather’s favourite shot.If not inevitable, there was always a fighting chance that there would be a third generation of the Cowdrey clan playing first-class cricket. The chances increased when two Cowdreys arrived in one go on January 30, 1993. Twins. Both boys. Luck could not have dealt a better hand – the two boys grew up fiercely competitive. Garden cricket became so much more than a game. Predictably there were fights, as with any siblings.”It was a case of always trying to do better than the other brother,” Fabian explained. “I used to wind Julius up, telling him I was a better singer (he is now a musician), and he used to tell me he was the better cricketer. We’re still competitive, but I think it’s eased off as the years have gone by.”Interestingly their parents have never told them which of the pair is older. Despite an undoubted similarity in look, the pair’s characters are like chalk and cheese. Julius more relaxed, carefree from an early age about both life and his cricket; Fabian more intense, focussed and with one goal, from the start: to play professional cricket.”My mum told me at the age of three that I whispered the words ‘I want to play for England’ to her, but I’m not sure I knew that many words to be honest,” Fabian said. “But I do remember it was all I ever really wanted to do.”What influence did his grandfather have on that? “I remember playing in an Under-9s game at six years old. I was far too young, had no technique and was completely out of my depth. But I somehow managed to hit the winning runs. My grandfather was watching on, encouraging me. It’s still one of my fondest cricketing memories.”Lord Cowdrey passed away the following year. “It was the only game he got to see me play in. It’s quite surreal to think of it.” He sounds moved at the thought.Grandfather and grandson’s careers share some remarkable similarities to this point. Both played for Kent’s age group sides throughout their youth. Both also played a high standard of rackets. Indeed Colin used to head over to the rackets courts at Tonbridge before he batted to get his eye in. He used to find it prepared him far better than throw downs ever could. It is something which seems to have been passed on through the generations.”The hand eye element is great,” Fabian points out. “But most usefully it is probably the closest thing to fast bowling you can get. The reaction time is miniscule. I still try to play a bit now, when time allows.”

Aside from both attending Tonbridge School both Fabian and Colin captained the first team. In Fabian’s final year, he broke the great man’s record for most runs in a school year, notching up more than 1,200 runs

The similarities do not stop there. Aside from both attending Tonbridge School, which has produced a plethora of professional cricketers throughout its prestigious history, both Cowdreys captained the first team. In Fabian’s final year, he broke the great man’s record for most runs in a school year, notching up more than 1,200 runs. They also both went on to university with the primary intention of playing cricket, neither being awarded a degree; Colin at Oxford, Fabian at Cardiff.Originally it was never the young Cowdrey’s plan to go to university. Upon being offered a contract after finishing at Tonbridge, he spent a year knuckling down, and doing his best to get into the first team. Yet no opportunity came. He scored runs in league cricket, but admitted struggling to make the transition from schoolboy cricket to the professional game.”I didn’t have the best year really. I think the addition of the family name brought a lot of pressure with it, and it’s easy to forget the adjustment you have to make from school to facing bowling in the mid-80s. It’s one thing being able to play a cover drive off a 70mph half volley, but can you play a pull shot off a bouncer at 85mph? That’s a different ball game entirely.”With a few doubts in his mind about whether he would be able to progress at Kent, and feeling the need to take a break from the intensity of the county set up, Cowdrey headed to Cardiff under the tutelage of their MCCU head coach Mark O’Leary. He thrived.”It has turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made” Cowdrey said. “I had the opportunity to live out the university lifestyle as well as really focussing on my cricket. It cleared my head.”It took me out of my comfort zone in that I didn’t have home just round the corner, and I was fending for myself a little bit. We had team practices three times a week, but a lot of the practice was down to us. Whereas some people focussed on their work, I was down in the nets at every spare opportunity. I also really enjoyed myself and met a lot of new people.”The results were apparent pretty quickly. A more content Cowdrey hit an impressive 62 for Cardiff against Glamorgan on his first-class debut in April. He was frustrated by two days of rain playing for his university against his home county a few weeks later, but not before he’d made 23 against opening bowlers Charlie Shreck and Mark Davies. He was not out before the rain came.He returned from Cardiff in June, having decided to focus solely on cricket once again, and discontinue his studies. Yet he had to wait for the club’s top order to consistently fail before getting his opportunity mid-way through Twenty20 season.”If you go away and perform, and your opportunities are coming, then you can’t complain,” Cowdrey said. “It’s when you’re getting those runs and no opportunities come, that it is difficult.”But Jimmy Adams always has your best interests at heart, it’s one of his great strengths as a coach. He was a young player once too, so has been through it all. Besides, when the chances did start to come, I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Fabian’s plummy obsession with calling everyone “old boy” caused Rob Key to ban the phrase. When Cowdrey slipped, his punishment was two rounds of grievous bodily harm in the boxing ring with Ben Harmison.

One cannot help but think that his long wait for an opportunity has perhaps made him hungrier, especially after lugging drinks onto the field for several days in June. As in any dressing room, his time on twelfth man duties drew its fair share of gentle, and not so gentle, chiding from his teammates. The youngster’s plummy obsession with calling everyone “old boy” caused Rob Key to ban the phrase. When Cowdrey slipped, his punishment was two rounds of grievous bodily harm in the boxing ring with Ben Harmison.”Oh God,” Cowdrey chuckles as I mention it. “Time doesn’t really fly when you’re in a ring with six foot five lad from Durham. He’s obviously been in for some severe bullying from his brother over the years, and I think he rather enjoyed getting his own back on me. It was probably the scariest experience of the year. Far worse than any fast bowler I’ve faced.”Apart from taking evasive action from his team-mates, Cowdrey is starting to relish his time at Kent. “Seeing my grandfather’s name on the stand, and practically every honours board put a lot of pressure on at first. Now I’m accustomed to it. At the moment I can’t see myself anywhere but Kent, and it’s a lovely place to be with all the history.” As if to reinforce his words, Cowdrey signed a new two-year deal at the start of September.Yet when pushed, he admits that the importance of getting opportunities in the longer form of the game – he is yet to break into Kent’s Championship side – or perhaps playing Division One cricket might be the make-or-break as to whether he stays a one-county man like his grandfather, or follows his father’s path, who moved to Glamorgan at the end of his career.”It’s an interesting dilemma,” he muses. “I’m very happy at the moment, but I’ll go where my career takes me. If I have to move, then I’ll move.”But for now, he’s intent on continuing to work hard and is determined to represent the county in all formats. “I want to get into the Championship team and try to make a name for myself in that. I’m also heading out to Brisbane for a few months this winter to play some club cricket, and work on the short ball. I might try and catch a few Tests out there too.”He may have only played 12 professional games, but the next Cowdrey off the rank has already made quite an impression. Arriving at Tonbridge aged 13, he overcame the enormous expectations of him. There was a house, and even a sports scholarship named after Cowdrey! At Canterbury there is a stand named after Cowdrey. That is quite some pressure. Pressure can burst a pipe or make a diamond. If the latter applies to Fabian, and he can live up to these great expectations, perhaps scientists should start searching for that cricket chromosome after all.

He may have been dismissed around the Gabba but Graeme Swann’s struggles – in difficult conditions for finger spin – shouldn’t deter faith in one of the great spinners

George Dobell in Brisbane23-Nov-20130:00

‘First Test not over’ – James Anderson

It was ironic that, on the day on which Graeme Swann reached a landmark that should have underlined his value as a player, he endured one of his most trying episodes as a bowler.With the wicket of George Bailey, bowled playing down the wrong line, Swann became just the seventh England bowler to claim 250 Test wickets. Perhaps more pertinently, he did so in only his 58th Test.To put that in perspective, it is the same number of games as Curtly Ambrose. It is quicker than Derek Underwood; quicker than Wasim Akram; quicker than Bishan Bedi, Shaun Pollock and Courtney Walsh. It is quicker, too, than any finger spinner. Only Sir Ian Botham and Fred Trueman, of England bowlers, have reached the landmark more quickly. Such figures, and a bowling average of 29.18, render it hard to dispute Swann’s place among the greats.Yet Swann has not experienced a happy Test in Brisbane. Unable to gain any meaningful turn, he was uncharacteristically anodyne and unable even to offer his captain much control in the field. Swann conceded five-an-over and drew unflattering comparisons with Nathan Lyon, who claimed two wickets in two balls in England’s first innings, and even Joe Root, who was more economical. While he did eventually finish with a couple of wickets, they came when Australia were looking to up the rate in search of the declaration.The kneejerk reaction will be to suggest that Swann is past it. To suggest that the Australia side, now lacking the number of left-handers on which he used to feast, may be more susceptible to left-arm spin. Some – though mainly those who did not see him bowl during the last county season – have suggested that Monty Panesar might come into the side ahead of him in Adelaide.That would be a mistake. If any doubts remain about Swann’s value, we only need think back to England’s last Ashes tour. After a similarly grim Test in Brisbane in which Swann was punished by Mike Hussey and claimed 2 for 161, he took 5 for 91 in the second innings at Adelaide to bowl England to victory. Then, as now, he just needed some assistance from the conditions. In Adelaide, a more sympathetic pitch and Doug Bollinger’s foot marks provided them.Swann is far from the first offspinner to struggle in Australia. Even Muralitharan, perhaps the finest of them all, took his wickets at 75.41 apiece on the hard, true pitches which offer little turn and where the bounce tends to limit the number of lbws. By comparison, Swann’s record – his wickets are costing 47.76 in Australia – is not so awful. The country really does present the final frontier for finger spinners.What should have been a day of celebration at Graeme Swann’s achievements turned to dispiriting leather-chasing•PA PhotosSwann did not bowl badly here. There were no full tosses; few, if any, long-hops. While he did not present much of a threat, he was on a pitch offering him little and bowling against batsmen – Michael Clarke and David Warner – who played superbly. Presented with a fine surface and an overwhelming match position, they played with a freedom and flair that was hard to suppress. Even James Anderson, who bowled beautifully, was treated to some harsh treatment as the innings progressed.”With the lead they had, it was difficult to apply any pressure,” Anderson said afterwards. “They were able to play with freedom.”Swann did a really good holding job in the first innings on a pitch offering him nothing. I wouldn’t judge him on that second innings performance.”Lyon is a slightly different style offspinner. Unlike Swann, who searches for dip and turn, Lyon bowls with more over-spin which has, on this pitch, proved more effective as it has resulted in greater bounce. In a perfect world, England might possess a Test-class wristspinner or Swann might be armed with a “doosra” or topspinner, but his skills – his turn, his ability to make the ball dip sharply and his accuracy – have served him and England well, with match-defining performances in England, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies. Now is not the time to go searching for new tricks.But this was not a wholly convincing performance from England with the ball. Chris Tremlett, bowling at a pace so modest it sometimes appeared he was equipped with a shuttlecock, was unable to maintain the pressure built by Anderson and Stuart Broad in the first session. While he finished with three wickets as Australia set-up the declaration, this has not been an encouraging return. Boyd Rankin or Steven Finn would, for example, both have been able to sustain the short-pitched attack on Clarke far more effectively.It was an avoidable selection error, too. Anyone who had seen Tremlett bowl in the English domestic season would have been able to see that he is simply not capable of delivering the spells he could before his career was hit by serious injuries. On the type of pitch on which he would once have presented a nightmare proposition, he was dispiritingly impotent. The description of him as “a whale shark; huge and majestic to look at, but ultimately floaty and harmless” on Twitter may be harsh, but is uncomfortably accurate.It is quite wrong to think that the role of third seamer should be primarily to offer control, too. At 132-6 in their first innings, Australian hopes were hanging by a thread but, due to the lack of attacking support for Broad and Anderson, they were allowed to claw their way back into the game.But it should not be forgotten that it was England’s batsmen who got them into this mess. Tremlett and company were forced to bowl for a second time only 52.4 overs after the first innings ended. In this heat, that is no easy task.

ESPNcricinfo charts how Australia won back the urn in just 14 days

David Hopps17-Dec-20131st Test, the Gabba, November 21-25, 2013 1st day:
Stuart Broad responded to a campaign of vilification in resounding fashion, taking five wickets on the opening day as Australia lost their first six wickets for 132. But England could not finish Australia off as Brad Haddin, in his first redoubtable innings of many, and Mitchell Johnson fought back enterprisingly by the close.2nd day:
England again performed inadequately in the first Test of an overseas series. In perfectly good batting conditions, Australia wrested a first-innings lead of 159 that must have been beyond their wildest dreams. Six England wickets fell after lunch for nine runs in a startling 58-ball phase as Australia, with Ryan Harris and Johnson to the fore, inspired a feverish response from the Brisbane crowd.3rd day:
Domineering hundreds by Michael Clarke and David Warner, a declaration with an impregnable position swiftly achieved and two England wickets in the final hour: things could not have gone much better for Australia as they pressed for the victory that would put them 1-0 up in the Ashes series.4th day:
Johnson, a fast bowler reborn, embodied Australia’s supremacy as they pulled off an overwhelming 381-run win in the first Test. Johnson finished with nine for 103 in the match. Australia’s attacking cricket came in defiance of a record of 10 Tests without a win. The sledging was uncompromising, too, with Australia’s captain, Clarke, caught on stump mic telling James Anderson that Johnson would break his arm.2nd Test, Adelaide, December 5-9, 20131st day:
England responded to the dry nature of Adelaide’s first drop-in pitch by selecting two spinners in Australia for the first time for 23 years. But Australia won an important toss and, on a hard-fought day, benefited from three England dropped catches in the final session to achieve solidity by the close.2nd day:
Clarke continued his love affair with the Adelaide Oval with an unflustered century which with every graceful moment stated his intent to become the Australian captain who regained the Ashes. Alongside him, stood his vice-captain and senior professional, Haddin, another hundred to his name. It could not have looked much better for Australia.3rd day:
Johnson produced a blood-curdling display of world-class fast bowling to destroy England in the second Test . Johnson’s sustained menace bore comparison with the great fast-bowling spells of the modern age as he took 5 for 16 in five overs immediately after lunch to leave England in a state of bewilderment.4th day:
Joe Root led a stubborn rearguard for England as they were presented with a hopeless 501 for victory, missing out on what would have been a deserved Ashes hundred when Nathan Lyon dismissed him for 87. Alastair Cook’s attempts to carry the fight against Johnson saw him out hooking for 0 as Australian newspaper headlines predicting a 5-0 whitewash looked ever more convincing.The series never got going for Alastair Cook’s side•Getty Images5th day:
Australia needed only 11.4 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series with three to play as they inflicted a 218-run defeat on England. Matt Prior’s desperate hitting recovered a semblance of form as he passed fifty for the first time in 17 attempts. Johnson confirmed his moustache would remain for the rest of the series – here was a fast bowler with Mo-mentum if ever there was one.3rd Test, Perth: December 13-171st day:
Everything continued to go right for Australia at the start of the Perth Test. Steven Smith, a gifted and fidgety young man raised on spin in New South Wales and until recently out of his depth on pitches as fast as the WACA Ground, secured his place in Australia’s middle order for the foreseeable future with a composed hundred to keep the pressure on England.2nd day:
Cook had been immovable in Australia three years earlier. He mustered all his efforts to regain that status as England sought to avoid a defeat that would hand the Ashes back to Australia. But, hard though he tried, Cook could not shake off Australia, making 72 on a day that produced some of the most compelling cricket of the series.3rd day:
England’s last realistic hopes of keeping the Ashes alive depended upon a strong batting display when the chips were down. What happened instead was the surrender of 6 for 61 to Harris, Johnson and Peter Siddle, a slide made worse by a Johnson toe-crusher that not only pinned Broad lbw but sent him to hospital, ruling him out of bowling for the rest of the game. 4th day:
Australia took their chance to kill England off and plundered 134 runs in just 17 overs, most of them from the brutal striking of Shane Watson, who made a century. It set up a declaration before lunch and a beautiful delivery from Harris castled Cook first ball of the England innings. Wickets fell regularly until Ian Bell and Ben Stokes finally came up with a partnership of some gumption.5th day:
Five wickets were needed for Australia to regain the urn but they were held up by Stokes who continued to play a heartening innings and brought up a maiden Test century in just his second match. But when he fell after lunch to Lyon, Johnson fired out the lower order and on the 14th day of the series, the Ashes were won.

Three of Graeme Smith’s former team-mates, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis, remember a brash youngster growing into a statesmanlike captain and scoring a mountain of runs with a rough technqiue

Firdose Moonda04-Mar-20140:00

#politeenquiries: Will Graeme Smith play for Ireland?

The final salute: Graeme Smith walks off after his last Test innings•Getty ImagesBy the time he was 21, Graeme Smith had already done a lot of growing up. He had moved away from the city of his youth and his parent’s home in Johannesburg and set himself up 1,400 kilometres away in Cape Town. He had a job as a professional cricketer at Western Province and he was making progress.After a couple of seasons in the domestic set-up, he was earmarked for higher honours. A month after reaching the adulthood, he was picked to make his international debut. Against Australia. At Newlands.Glenn McGrath was the first man to dismiss Smith at that level and the Australian seamer was not going to let him forget it. McGrath spent the rest of that series sledging Smith, who took it bravely but was slowly losing patience. He wanted to respond but was not quite sure how. So he asked some of the senior players, including mischief-maker Mark Boucher for some help.”A couple of us mentioned something he could say back but we did it as a joke,” Boucher said. “Graeme went out there and said it. He just came back to us and said he didn’t think it went too well.”In a candid interview with the now-defunct magazine two months later Smith revealed he asked McGrath if he was “constantly on his period,” in retaliation. It was exactly the kind of thing that would irritate McGrath and Boucher and co. knew it. They did not know Smith could be ballsy enough to repeat those words. “That was Graeme, he had the character to front up. He walked the walk,” Boucher said.Exactly a year, a month and a double hundred later, Smith was asked to walk a much thornier path. In the aftermath of the 2003 World Cup failure, South Africa wanted to work from a clean slate. “Graeme had a mature cricket brain and a real presence,” Shaun Pollock, his predecessor said. “He was a youngster but he was a big man.”He also had a sharp tongue that he was not afraid to use. “People saw him as quite brash because he was a 22-year-old and making big statements and people would ask where the performance was to back that up,” Pollock said. Smith had an answer for that too: twin double hundreds against England. From “whatshisname”, as Nasser Hussain called him in a press conference, to having his name become headline, Smith had arrived.Then he had to continue. Captaining in South Africa involved dealing with much more than just sport. A country fractured by segregation was only in its first decade of healing when Smith took over. Democracy was younger than him and a lot had to change to make the game inclusive. He had to understand that and he had to become part of the solution. “We are unique in this country. There are extra challenges that you have to deal with that other countries don’t have to,” Pollock said.But there is also the small matter of winning. As a fiercely competitive nation, South Africa never accepted anything but victory and even when Smith racked some up, his failure to win a World Cup, for example, always haunted him and the team. “He is another South African sportsman who just didn’t get the credit that he deserves,” Jacques Kallis said. “A lot of our sportsmen are like that – rugby players, golfers. Maybe it is a South African thing that we like to keep our guys down on the ground or we like criticising.”Smith dealt with the public dislike and snide remarks for much of his career, which only started to soften when he won in England in 2008 and then won in Australia. That was where he really won hearts. By the time the team went there, they were wisened by memories of being beaten by Australia at home and away. He decided the best way to fight them was not to fight at all. At least, not publicly. “Graeme and Mickey said let’s not try and upset the apple cart, let’s go there humbly and not get involved in too much media stuff,” Boucher said. It worked.

It was quite emotional for guys in the dressing-room. They realised what had happened on that tour. The Australian crowd had come to fall in love with a captain they actually hated. I’ve never seen it beforeMark Boucher remembers the reception Graeme Smith received in Sydney

South Africa concentrated on themselves and soon led the series 2-0. They stunned an Australian side that had not been beaten in their own backyard for 15 years and so they had earned respect.Smith earned them a little more when he showed he too could adopt an Australian-style ruthlessness. Even though the series was won he walked out to bat with a broken hand to try and save the final Test. “South Africans and Australians love to hate each other,” Boucher explained. “It was quite emotional for guys in the dressing-room. They realised what had happened on that tour. The Australian crowd had come to fall in love with a captain they actually hated. I’ve never seen it before.”On homecoming South Africa were hailed but then humbled when they lost to Australia in the return series. That was the last time Smith captained a team in a series defeat. It was 14 series ago – an incredible run that includes South Africa’s rise to No.1 and another series win in Australia. Even just those two things in isolation would leave many wondering what there is left to achieve.Smith has decided there is not anything. Combined with an accident to his young daughter and a lean patch personally, he has also decided it is not worth battling on to try and engineer something and Boucher can understand. “When Jacques wasn’t quite up to it, his technique took over and he could still score runs. Graeme’s technique is not as good as Jacques so he needs a bit of heart, a bit of passion and enthusiasm to get out there and dominate so his technique won’t put into a situation when it was questioned.”He probably woke up a couple of mornings ago and realised he was battling to get himself up for this challenge. When that happens he probably gets exposed a bit more than a guy who has a good technique.”Those comments could be seen as a criticism of Smith’s methods of slicing and clubbing his runs but Smith will not take that away. By his own admission, he “made a career of looking ugly,” and embraced his awkward technique because it worked for him. He does not expect it to be copied.”If I had a boy, I don’t think I’d want to get him to bat the Graeme Smith bats,” Pollock joked. “I’d rather go down the Kallis or AB de Villiers route. But that’s the nice thing about cricket. You’ve got different techniques and not all of them are from the MCC coaching manual.”Kallis said Smith’s heavy bottom-hand and leg-side preference meant, “you always feel like you can get him out lbw, so he sucks you into it.” In-form, Smith could take a delivery from a yard outside off stump and find a way to force it through the on-side. Out of form, he looks clumsy and unsure and that is how he lurched through most of this series.What he never let slip was the emphasis he placed on team-spirit. South Africa began this series with a bush weekend with Boucher as part of his Save the Rhino campaign. They tried to maintain the same close bonds that they formed over the last 18 months. Smith made sure he led them as best he knew how. “He is very strong on culture and tradition and that’s something he set up in his time,” Kallis said.But even the person who held it all together eventually could not hold on anymore. Although the timing of the announcement is awkward, both Pollock and Kallis believed he chose the right moment. “If you had to pick a time, it’s probably the right time,” Pollock said. “If you look at what’s coming, there’s a Test series of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and then West Indies at home. No disrespect to any of them but it’s a bit of honeymoon period now where the new captain can sort out what works for him.”Who that new captain is will be decided in the next few months. For now it is all about Smith, and Kallis has asked for it to stay that way. “I just hope South Africans get behind and appreciate what Graeme has done for South African cricket,” he said. Having recently retired himself, Kallis said he “can recommend it,” because “it’s been nice to do stuff away from the cricket and it will be for Graeme. Rather he retire too early than too late.”Smith is now 33. He has played his last Test. Against Australia. At Newlands. He has grown up completely. He is a husband and a father and he has decided his time as an international cricketer is up. He will celebrated and he deserves to be.

Varun Aaron ticks all the boxes when it comes to sheer pace but has been lacking control and bowling nous, and that is compounding India’s bowling woes

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Fatullah26-Feb-2014Varun Aaron is quick. On Wednesday at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, he maintained an average speed of 88.2mph, and his fastest delivery clocked 93.2mph on the speedgun. That’s 149.99kph. India have a fast bowler. A genuinely fast bowler.It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that the selectors gave Aaron a chance to play for India solely because he was quick. He made his ODI debut in October 2011 and his Test debut a month later. At that point, he had taken 26 first-class wickets in 12 matches at an average of 41.50. His last first-class match before his international debut was for Rest of India against Rajasthan. In that match, he took one wicket for 117 runs in 42 overs.He didn’t have the numbers in first-class cricket to suggest he could take wickets at the international level. He had, however, sent the speedgun needle into previously largely uncharted territory for Indian fast bowlers. You could legitimately label him “right arm fast”.On Wednesday, Aaron came on with Bangladesh 40 for 1 in 11 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami had bowled tight first spells, and each of them had produced edges that flew through gaps in the slip cordon. There was little in the pitch to enthuse the seamers, but they had kept the batsmen under pressure.Aaron immediately released it with his first two balls, wide half-volleys that left-hand batsman Mominul Haque drove handsomely for fours. This was a portent of what was to come, although it wasn’t immediately apparent, after R Ashwin dismissed Mominul at the other end and Aaron bowled a quiet second over.You could tell even then, though, that he wasn’t really worrying Anamul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim. His length wasn’t asking them any difficult questions, and both batsmen came forward and drove him confidently. For now, they were hitting to the fielders.What came next was unexpected. Out of nowhere, in Aaron’s third over, Anamul jumped down the track and clattered him over long-on for six. In his fifth over, Anamul charged him again. Aaron banged the ball in short. Anamul swatted it for six. Later in the over Aaron served up another half-volley. Anamul clumped it back past him for four.Aaron was bowling fast, but there was no extra ingredient – no cunning and no intimidation either. Even that can work sometimes, if you bowl fast and attack the stumps, but Aaron’s default line was fifth or even sixth stump.When he came back on later in the innings, in the 37th over, Aaron dismissed Anamul, bowled off his inside edge, but only after he had struck two more fours, the second a slash past point off a high full-toss that was called no-ball. In his next over, the high full-toss made another appearance, seemingly slipping out of his fingers and striking Mushfiqur Rahim a painful blow on the chest. The second offence meant he had to go out of the attack.It was unlikely he would have done any more bowling after that over anyway. Before being struck by that beamer, Mushfiqur had spanked Aaron for two more fours and a six. All of that had left him with figures of 1 for 74 in 7.5 overs. This was the second time that Aaron had gone for more than eight runs an over in an ODI, and this was just his eighth match. His career economy rate had now spiked to 6.64.India’s excitement with Aaron’s pace is understandable. It’s a precious resource. And he has improved his bowling to the extent that he has enjoyed his best ever first-class season after recovering from recurring back injuries. But he still seems unsure of what exactly he’s trying to do when he bowls at the international level. It has been the same case with Umesh Yadav, and it’s hard to tell if either of them is getting the guidance they need to make the most of their talent.It’s hard to tell if any of India’s young fast bowlers are getting this. Aaron’s spell in Fatullah was the 12th instance of an Indian fast bowler conceding eight or more runs per over in an ODI spell of six or more overs since the start of 2013. Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma appear once each on that list. Vinay Kumar and Mohammed Shami, like Aaron, have two entries each, while Ishant Sharma features a staggering four times. All of this, remember, has happened in the last 14 months.In that period, India’s batsmen have been made to chase 300-plus targets eight times. They’ve been made to do it not just in Jaipur, Nagpur and Rajkot but also in Johannesburg, Kingston and Wellington.Despite Aaron’s waywardness, their target in Fatullah was “only” 280 and they got home without too much fuss. It’s what Virat Kohli does. But he must wish sometimes that he didn’t have to do it so often. He will wish he won’t have to keep doing it in this tournament. MS Dhoni isn’t around to help him.