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Jenny Thompson spends a day in the commentary box with the Sky team

Jenny Thompson15-Jun-2006

“I don’t get nervous,” announces David Lloyd as he takes his place in Sky’s Third Man chair for the day. But the people behind the scenes do, like producer Barney Francis: “And it’s worse at a weekend,” he says, “As that’s when more are watching.”Jokes lighten the mood. “Two strokemakers to two blockers,” quips Nasser Hussain as he and Mike Atherton exchange places in the commentators’ chairs with Aravinda de Silva and David Gower. When they’re not doing their half-hour stints at the mic, Hussain explains, the presenters hover at the back of the box. Or they retire to the makeshift lounge, which is in reality an empty studio, and turn on the cricket, “if Beefy isn’t watching the golf.”Some, though, have no such luxuries. Francis, for one, is on guard from the opening credits right through to closing. So too are four other production crew who work among the stars, unseen and unsung – but no less important. There’s Steve, who feeds ball-by-ball information to the computer, Rich who feed stats to the commentators and the runners David and Alex, who constantly feed everyone. And don’t forget all the other crew around the ground who are feeding in replays and graphics all day long.Follow 300 or so yards of the 15 kilometres of the required cable and you get to the compound of 12 trucks, some of which concertina outwards like an inverse Tardis. Inside one of these dark cabins, eyeball-scorching brightness emanates from the 84 monitors splaying a rainbow of camera angles, Hawk-Eye and stats. Some are intriguingly named – Magic, Snick, Fruit. “Fly in the fish,” calls the director Mark Lynch mysteriously. That’ll be the fish-eye camera, which provides a landscape arced vision of the ground, over which the team-card graphic is added.Lynch has never yet missed a ball, thanks in part to Ginnie, the PA, who among other things checks there are enough ad breaks per hour and reminds Lynch to cut back to the live action. Manny, the vision mixer, sits on Lynch’s right. Behind them is Roger, the production manager, who explains: “I don’t make programmes, I just make them work.” His task list – book hotels, organize equipment, sort out maps, to name a few – is exhaustive and exhausting, but he is tireless, and remarkably cheery.In one of the extended wings of the truck sits Allan, the inventor and operator of the Snickometer. The Hawk-Eye team have a room to themselves as do the graphics team. It’s thanks to them that Lloyd can pretend to be a bona fide weatherman, a task he relishes even if there’s the occasional bumble. The commentators laugh when he points in two opposite places for west: John Kettley he ain’t. But does it trouble him? Unlikely. “It’s a big area is west!” Lloyd cries. “Especially in this wind. West moves about!”In yet another darkened booth are more furrowed brows and more shiny monitors – the VT (videotape) unit – where ten people are dedicated all day every day to the pursuit of the perfect replay to offer to James Lawson, the replay co-ordinator. “Celebs on white,” shouts someone suddenly, white being a certain camera angle – each angle has a specific colour. “High-fives on blue,” chimes another. “You’ve got yellow there, Laws.” A chink of natural light peeps in as Mike Atherton pops in to talk to Tiny, a man who is anything but, about shots for an upcoming package.It’s a frenetic environment so I leave them to it and bounce down the steps, bumping into the floor manager, Alex, whose job is to liaise with players, teams, umpires. She’s just co-ordinated the toss with the people, plus some of the 29 cameras and sound. She’s super-organised, and she has to be. “The busy parts are the beginning, middle and end,” she says – which is just about all day, then. And it is: nobody of the 85-strong OB (outside broadcast) crew stops.

So think of them next time you tune in. Think too of the 30-strong team back in Osterley, plus the transmission team, the audio people and the subtitlers. And the team is just getting bigger. Since winning the rights, the full-time team has added 13 new production staff; the rights may not be popular but you can’t deny the heat, soul and energy that crackles behind the scenes, even into the final session of the day.”Let’s liven things up with a bit of Willow and Stumpy!” calls Francis, as the close beckons. Raised eyebrows meet his suggestion. “I have realised they’re not everyone’s cup of tea,” he says later, “but they’re high quality animations and we expect that people who do know about cricket will appreciate they’re aimed at children and that it’s not meant to patronize them.”The Third Man has gone down better with the public. Francis realised that Sky had to emulate Channel 4’s Analyst in some way, but wanted to dispense with Simon Hughes’ truck and to use one of the existing presenting team, too. So the duty falls to one of Holding (“to focus on bowling”), Hussain (“he’s technical and gritty”), Atherton (“he gives an overview”) and Lloyd (“fun” – what else?) David Gower anchors the studio sessions while Ian Botham is used in the studio, too, and provides pitch reports.Francis is, rightly, happy with his line-up and says he isn’t thinking long-term about who of the current England crop would make decent presenters. “These guys have to play cricket at the moment.” Nevertheless, at every press conference he attends, Francis can’t help but notice who is cogent and throughout the day’s broadcasting he appraises the players who come up for interviews. “He speaks well, doesn’t he?”With nine or so hours’ live TV, the potential for cock-ups is huge, but the operation is slick as you like. A ha! At last I’ve spotted something that’s wrong – on the pinned-up rota: “Third Man – John Lloyd” it says. Surely some mistake?No. It’s a wind-up, Lloyd explains. A few weeks earlier, in a pub at Edgbaston, a fan had congratulated him on his commentary. Things were going well, he says, until his awestruck fan ended, “Keep up the good work, John.” That may have brought him back to earth, but it’s not such a bad life in the Sky.

A review of the Monty’s Cricket Madness DVD

Cricinfo staff24-Dec-2007Monty’s Cricket Madness Warner Music Entertainment £15.99

How quickly we forget. A couple of years ago it was Phil Tufnell, buoyed by success on a reality TV show, who was cashing in on the game’s many goofs and gaffes, and now it’s another left-arm spinner who has taken up the mantle. Ashley Giles must be wondering who he upset to be missed out. Perhaps it’s just that he spoilt his chances by being able to bat and field.While there was an inevitability about Tufnell lending his name to an outtakes DVD, Monty doing so it a bit more surprising, not least because unlike his predecessor he always comes across as a rather reserved individual.But armed with agents who appear hell-bent on milking every last penny out the Monty brand, this year’s Christmas offering is Monty’s Cricket Madness.What you get is pretty much what you might expect.Slickly edited clips make up the bulk of the content, and the links between from Monty show that he’s unlikely to be pushing for panto work should he miss out on a tour in the years to come, however hard his agents might try.It’s not dreadful nor is it going to be a million seller. If you get it for Christmas then it’s worth a viewing, but as for buying it, perhaps wait for the January sales.

The failure of India’s inexperienced middle order has raised questions about the idea of blooding too many youngsters at the same time

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Gabba03-Feb-2008

“Ultimately it’s only about situations. Put me in a situation and I’ll adapt,” Robin Uthappa explained in an interview to Cricinfo last year when talking about maturity on the field. On Sunday, he had a perfect situation lined up when he walked in with India hanging perilously at 94 for 5, a point from which he could have helped them claw back to safety. He had shown the character and spirit to be the guiding light on a few occasions last year but this time he disappointed, failing to deal with one that kicked on him, giving Ashley Noffke, the debutant, his first wicket.Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and the first-timer Manoj Tiwary too failed to trouble the Australians long enough. Add these four to the bunch of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina, and you are looking at what is likely to be the core of India’s batting in the future. So how ready are these freshers to assume the senior role once the remnants of the last generation – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid – step down?The lack of large sample for most of the youngsters doesn’t allow a ready conclusion. So let’s look at the evidence from today. The exit of the experienced opening pair of Sehwag and Tendulkar prompted fears of a collapse. But Gambhir and Sharma picked up the momentum in a manner that was reminiscent of their batting during the ICC World Twenty20. Except that this was a 50-over format, which required more patience. Gambhir was trapped by one that angled in, while Sharma, trying to push the pedal, could only feather an edge to Adam Gilchrist.India had been in the driver’s seat courtesy the 65-run partnership between the pair but in the matter of a few overs they were pushed on to the back foot when three wickets fell for as many runs. Dhoni was pleased, though, with the performances of Gambhir and Sharma. “I was happy with the way Gauthi [Gambhir] and Rohit [Sharma] played. I would like them to get in, stick around and play till the end and leave the fireworks for Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh], Robin [Uthappa] and myself.”Gambhir has been around for enough time now to understand that responsibility but, despite being prolific on the domestic circuit this season, he has often failed to kick on after getting starts – in 13 out of 38 ODI innings he has fallen between scores of 20 and 60. Sharma has only played a handful of ODIs but, after a superb World Twenty20 tournament, the highlight of which was a well-paced half-century in the must-win game against South Africa, he fell away in the domestic season: in five games for Mumbai he had a tally of 150 runs.Today, though, Sharma revealed his potential yet again. Even though he made 29, his innings had an unmistakeable aura to it and reinforced the pundits’ view that he can slip into the number four slot in Tests whenever Tendulkar leaves the arena. At the Gabba he took eight balls to get off the mark but the first runs came with a flourish: a free-flowing cover drive on the up off Nathan Bracken. In the next over, from Noffke, he picked one on the up easily and dispatched it between cover and point, and followed that with a cut shot for successive boundaries. Sharma is only 20 and unencumbered by the rigidities of technique and discipline. Yet the cloak of casualness he wears might hinder him from taking the next step – some of the senior cricketers feel he is yet to move beyond Twenty20 cricket. The advantage for him is he still has plenty of time to learn and grow.It’s impossible not to sympathise with Manoj Tiwary, who made an unceremonious debut within a day of setting foot in Australia. Understandably, he seemed overwhelmed as much by the occasion as by the pressure of facing an in-form Brett Lee. Lee had the newcomer’s pulse immediately and set him up with some short deliveries before coming up with a scorching yorker that breached Tiwary’s defences. Like Sharma, Tiwary isn’t coming on this tour on the back of a bagful of domestic runs: he was the top run-maker in the Ranji Trophy in 2006-07, but failed to maintain that level in the present season and couldn’t help Bengal avoid relegation. The story is the same with Uthappa, who piled on 188 in the four Ranji games he played for Karnataka.Tiwary’s selection, ahead of Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik, two players who were part of the original ODI squad, was in itself a surprise. Dhoni said that he went by his “instincts”, and indicated that he had decided on Tiwary on Saturday evening. Acclimatisation is the key when one arrives in a new country, and Dhoni agreed that most current cricketers didn’t get much time to settle in. “It’s tough and I understand but in international cricket you can’t complain. You have to adapt quickly and make the most of the situation.”When Sourav Ganguly was dropped from the one-day squad for the CB Series, there was concern that an overly pro-youth balance could harm the side. Dhoni made it clear, though, that if the board was serious about planning for the 2011 World Cup, it needed to start now. “If I’m still the captain then I would like a bunch that has played at least 80-100 ODIs and it is very important to start thinking from now onwards.”Dhoni has always been his own man, and has trusted his instincts. He now wants his players to step up and take charge. “It’s up to them to show courage and perform and rise to the occasion in the face of a challenge.” The next month will provide ample opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff.

With all due respect to Dale Steyn and Co, it was India, when confronted with a something unusual for this part of the world and a bit of swing, that ran scared

Jamie Alter in Ahmedabad03-Apr-2008

There are two ways to look at India’s embarrassing capitulation [76 in
20 overs and 109 minutes] on the first morning of the Ahmedabad Test: South Africa bowled out of their skins on a pitch with a tinge of green, or India, when confronted with conditions which were unusual for this part of the world, ran scared. The truth is, both factors contributed to the shocking pre-lunch collapse.India, Twenty20 champions and usurpers of Australia’s farewell home ODI tri-series, bowled out for 76 in 20 overs? Surely something must be up with the pitch? To quell all doubts and answer most questions, not a single dismissal was because of any alarming misbehaviour from the surface. A couple of batsmen fell to excellent deliveries, but the others simply combusted against a lively pace attack with a series of haphazard shots that would have made anyone cringe. It’s all right scoring over 500 on a featherbed in Chennai but on a surface encouraging seam, India were clueless.Miles away from Cape Town and Durban, South Africa’s fast bowlers made for a dangerous troika. Makhaya Ntini was quick and slightly short, Dale Steyn quicker and straight, and Morne Morkel used his height to extract bounce.The slightest bit of movement had India’s batsmen in a bundle of nerves. First up, Ntini and Steyn bowled far better than when Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag came out on the second evening in Chennai. Then they had bowled fuller, perhaps looking for swing, but here they pitched shorter and reaped the rewards spectacularly. There was a true South African rhythm, short of a length, occasionally full, and it worked wonderfully.Maintaining that tempo, these three bowlers – who arguably form the most potent pace attack around – left India with no answer. Ntini, especially, and Steyn varied their lengths, starting off straight and just back of a good length. Jaffer and Sehwag were casualties of poor shot selection, with Sehwag playing at one that could have been left alone. VVS Laxman was greeted with a first-ball bouncer from Steyn and seven deliveries later walked off in a
daze, shouldering arms to one that came in and clipped the top of off. The movement shouldn’t have surprised Laxman, for Ntini mostly delivers from wide of the stumps and brings the ball in.The variation continued to flummox India. Rather than try and bounce Sourav Ganguly early in his innings, Ntini pitched full and caught the batsman amidships, as if in anticipation of a short one. Then came the ball of the morning. Steyn followed up five back-of-a-length deliveries and two wides with one on a good length in line with off stump. It was almost mesmerising, the way Steyn bustled in and cranked up his pace to slip in a gem.Morkel tempted Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a wide one, after
peppering him with short balls, and he fell for it, nicking to Mark Boucher. That one shot perhaps summed up India’s predicament. Anil Kumble chopped on two balls later as Morkel held the length back a fraction. And with India’s tail exposed Steyn revved it up fast and straight, knocking Sreesanth almost to his knees.The same line-up that hadled the WACA surface so successfully at the start of the year looked like an amateur club third XI with a sequence of woeful shots and poor judgment. This wasn’t Hamilton in 2002, when India were last out for under 100, or Mumbai in 2006,
when they were shot out for exactly 100 against England. Yet six batsmen were bowled and apart from Irfan Pathan and Dhoni no one reached double figures. Subtract 19 extras and the shortest completed
innings ever in the subcontinent would’ve been closer to the summer
of 42.All credit to South Africa. When then they gave the tourists a distinctly
Indian surface in Cape
Town in early 2007, they combined superbly to take the
series. On an away track with a little bit of assistance, their quicks utilised the
conditions to leave India in a deep hole. India’s recent wins have come when the ball has swung – they have Sreesanth, RP Singh and Pathan, all relying on that factor – but here the onus was on hitting the deck with pace and extracting bounce, and the hosts’ vulnerability to these conditions was ruthlessly exposed.

Duminy (and Shaggy) rock the party at the Champions League opener

Ratnakar Polisetti09-Oct-2009Choice of game
Bangalore launched the IPL in 2008 and I missed it. Second time lucky and what a spectacle it was.Team supported
I supported Royal Challengers, ended up being a fan of JP Duminy, but would love to see Adam Gilchrist lift the trophy. I thought Jacques Kallis and Anil Kumble would combine to beat a Smith-less Cobras, but Duminy had all the venom that was needed.Key performer
Robin Uthappa opened and Ross Taylor kept it going, but Duminy finished and how.
When Herschelle Gibbs got out early, the crowd was on their feet and Bangalore fancied their chances. But Duminy played some delightful shots, and one of them, the reverse sweep off Anil Kumble to get to his fifty, evoked cheers even from the home crowd.One thing I’d have changed about the match
This match started with a spectacular opening ceremony but it may as well have been Akon instead of Shaggy, because the crowd response was really poor. As for the match itself, I would have loved to see Duminy get to three figures. With 2 required for a win he was on strike on 98 and took a single, leaving the winning run to Rory Kleinveldt.Face-off I relished
Duminy v Kumble. Cobras needed 29 off the last three. The crowd wanted Kumble and got him. But he was taken for 11, including a huge six, and that’s when some people started leaving the stadium.Wow moment
The PA begging the crowd to do a Mexican wave not once but thrice, but the crowd didn’t oblige. They did do the Mexican wave, but on their own. The crowd’s the boss!Shot of the day
Dravid and Taylor hit superb sixes, but none was bigger than the one by Duminy’ off Roelof van der Merwe, which disappeared high into the stands next to me.Crowd meter
Loud-O-Meter, should I say. Huge cheers for Dravid and Kumble and even Ross Taylor, when the names were flashed on the giant screen before the match commenced. Most stands were packed to capacity. Kids, youngsters, families – no different from the audience for a typical Bollywood movie. Now I know why Twenty20 is such a commercial hit.The crowd supported Bangalore. Period. There were a few foreigners cheering the Cobras, but they were somehow muted by the silence of the RCB fans.Fancy-dress index
Plenty of RCB jerseys, and those who weren’t wearing them seemed to have come in red t-shirts.Entertainment
This being the opening game, there was everything from Shaolin monks to Shaggy. Pity Shaggy did not get the response he deserved.Everybody was expecting fireworks at the end, so it may have been the surprise element that threw the crowd into a frenzy when they went off and lit the sky just before the toss.IPL v Champions League?
When the captains of the competing teams came on to the dais, only Gilchrist, Kumble, Gauram Gambhir, Justin Langer and Daren Ganga (someone whispered, “He is from India”!) got much of a response. That’s the Champions League, at least for now, before the Putticks and the Mubaraks make a name for themselves. There are no neutral teams in the IPL but it will be interesting to see how the crowds turn up to watch, say, Eagles v Blues.Overall
Duminy’s innings may not eclipse Brendon McCullum’s on the first day of the IPL in 2008, but unlike in that match, the game was on till the last over here.An amazing opening ceremony followed by a befitting game of cricket. Couldn’t have asked for more.Marks out of 10
Any high-scoring game should rank up there, and this one, with the sixes competing with flying monks, was a perfect 10.

Ganguly explodes, a cheerleader falls, and there’s Bengali music to jive to. A pity Tendulkar didn’t show up

Saugata Sen20-Apr-2010The game
I wanted to watch an IPL match at the stadium and see how the atmosphere was like at my favourite ground, the Eden Gardens.Team supported
Since I am from Kolkata, I supported the home team.Key performer
Sourav Ganguly. He took a stunning catch to dismiss Stuart Binny and then applied himself really well on what seemed to be a slightly tricky wicket.One thing I’d have changed
I would have loved it if this had been a do-or-die match for both teams rather than the dead rubber it was. I also wanted to see Sachin Tendulkar play but he skipped the game.Face-off I relished
JP Duminy v Jaidev Unadkat, an Under-19 left-arm medium-pacer for Kolkata. Duminy, who is so good against pace, had his stumps disarranged by a quicker one from the rookie.Wow moment
One of the Kolkata cheerleaders in front of us lost her footing and fell off the dais. It seemed funny at the moment but then we felt concerned about her. When she got back on her feet, we gave her a huge cheer. Talk about cheering the cheerleaders!Player watch
Young Saurabh Tiwary was fielding in front of us and a section of the ground kept shouting, “Dhoni, Dhoni” (because of his long hair, like Dhoni had previously) till someone said it was because of Dhoni and his heroics against Kings XI Punjab that Kolkata were out of the semis. After that the chants changed to: “Saurabh… Saurabh”.Shot of the day
Ganguly’s pulled six to midwicket in the third ball of the innings bowled by Ali Murtaza triggered a wild celebration from the crowd. It was so loud it drowned out the DJ’s music.Crowd meter
Since Kolkata had no chance of making it to the semis, the spectators chose to enjoy both sides’ play. Every Mumbai wicket was cheered, as were their boundaries. And when Kolkata batted, it was party time. The DJ mixed peppy dance music with the bugle in between balls and overs and the stadium resembled a huge dance floor.Accessories
I took a lot of videos and photos to preserve the memories of this wonderful evening.Entertainment
There were some Bengali favourites on the PA that were met with huge cheers.Twenty20s or ODIs?
ODIs are still my preferred format because of the quality of cricket offered but if you’re looking for pure entertainment, it’s got to be Twenty20.Star-spotting
When Shahrukh Khan was shown on the big screen towards the end of the match, the crowd went delirious.Banner of the day
“Still promises to keep and still miles to go before we sleep”.Marks out of 10
6, because it was a dead match and I didn’t get to see Tendulkar. While the cricket was not exceptional, the entertainment was.

Hashim Amla was the last South African standing after his vigil lasted a minute short of 500, but he was not playing for time and grinding it out. Instead, it is his bloody-mindedness, an antithesis to the fast-paced approach of the Twenty20 age

N Hunter18-Feb-2010After 1402 minutes and faced 1032 deliveries, Hashim Amla finished with 490 runs in the series – the second-best ever in a two-match series. In Nagpur his253, compiled over 675 minutes, set up the match for South Africa and in Kolkata he refused to be intimidated by either the imposing Eden Gardens or the match situation. He remained the last South African standing after a vigil that spanned one minute short of 500; it’s the sort of timespan that causes dehydration, cramps, fatigue and spasms in other batsmen but Amla complained of nothing, maintaining his focus and his beatific smile throughout.”I have learnt, after passing that stage of thirst and mental fatigue, that the limits we put on the body and mind can, and at times must, be challenged,” Amla had once said while talking on the gains he derives from fasting in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It is an interesting statement that provides an insight to this most intriguing batsman.It proves, and the evidence was there during his three centuries in the last two weeks, that Amla is not going to stop at anything – and will not be stopped by much either. He was more sure and secure about himself and his gameplans. Also, taking responsibility has never been an issue, considering he has been the captain at the school (Durban Boys Highs School), Under-19 (2002 World Cup) and the franchise (Dolphins) levels.He entered the Nagpur Test as the top-scorer in the two-day warm-up match against the Indian Board President’s XI, where he had scored a fluent 72. A few days later he walked into the first Test at 5 for 1 and returned only when South Africa declared at 558 for 6, the highlight of which was his 340-run partnership with Jacques Kallis.In Kolkata last Sunday, when Graeme Smith departed even before South Africa’s score could reach double digits (9 for 1) Amla settled easily into the groove and came up with an assured 209-run partnership. He returned to the crease three days later and remained till Harbhajan Singh broke the stubborn resistance of Morne Morkel.All this is not to say Amla was playing for time and grinding it out. Instead, his bloody-mindedness, an antithesis to the fast-paced approach of the Twenty20 age, harked back to a time before Australia made aggressive batting a prerequisite of Test cricket. Though that change has led to an increase in results in Test cricket, the flipside is that batsmen have not shown the grit to hand in there when the situation demands.When they do occur, such situations stand out, as does Gautam Gambhir’s 11-hour knock that allowed India to draw the Napier Test after being asked to follow on by New Zealand. Just like Gambhir played the ball with an open face of the bat, Amla too, came out confident and never refused to take advantage of the loose deliveries.Importantly, he planned his approach according to the situation and the batsman at the other end. Today, he was left to marshall the tail for the final two sessions but the expression and body language remained unchanged. He broke the sessions into hours, hours into minutes, overs into balls, making the opposition change their plans along the way.Surprisingly, MS Dhoni never set attacking fields to Amla in the first session today, especially when Harbhajan Singh was on. Even against Amit Mishra the patrolling was not suffocating and Amla enjoyed his freedom.”When you know at the back of your mind that you have to bat the whole the day but to break it down is the key,” Amla said in the post-match media conference. “In the change room we always talk about breaking it down hour by hour, over by over, ball by ball and there are no overs left in the day.”His confidence rubbed off on even inexperienced partners like Wayne Parnell and Mornel Morkel, as they gave him able support and reinvigorated South African hopes which seemed virtually over an hour after lunch.”Our emotions when myself and Morne were out there were enjoying it more than anything,” Amla said. “I took a lot of confidence from Morne and Parnell who told (me) they were more comfortable at certain ends so that made my job easier to farm the strike. It just was a lovely experience.”

Pakistan and Australia bring their A game; the fans bring their noisemakers

Osama Hamid07-Jul-2010Choice of game
Though I live in Birmingham, I was unable to go to Monday’s match, and as Pakistan won it, I was itching not to miss this one. Both sides have class players and I’d heard about the atmosphere the previous day, so I wanted to experience it for myself. My prediction was a close win for Pakistan as I believed they were more experienced in this format, although the Aussie side was full of match-winners and superstars.Team supported
I was supporting Pakistan, along with most of the Edgbaston crowd, and I desperately wanted some proper success for the team after all the controversy and dismal performances of the last few months.Key performer
There wasn’t any one standout player for Pakistan; most of the runs were made by the team, and the wickets were shared around, which is a sign of a strong team. If I had to pick someone, it would be Mohammad Aamer for his late cameo hitting and three crucial breakthroughs in the Australian innings. This got Pakistan to a total they could defend easily after a mini collapse, and his bowling quashed any hopes of the Australians getting away in the early overs.One thing I’d have changed

I would definitely have changed the number of horns and vuvuzelas inside the ground. The noise was so loud you could barely hear yourself think, and after three hours of it I was a bit tired, although the atmosphere they created was unlike any I had ever experienced before.Face-off I relished
I was really excited about the contest between Shoaib Akhtar and the Australian top order, especially David Warner, who had completely taken Shoaib apart in the first match, so I was quite disappointed that Warner only faced one ball from the Rawalpindi Express before being out lbw to Aamer. Akhtar’s bowling was much better than in the first match and he was quite comfortably the quickest bowler of the match, with several fizzers going past the noses of the Aussie batsmen.Wow moment
There were lots of fantastic moments, but the one I loved the most was when Mike Hussey got out to Umar Gul. He was looking increasingly dangerous as he had hit two fours off Gul, arguably Pakistan’s best death bowler, and it had gone down from 35 runs needed off 18 balls to 27 runs needed off 15 – very manageable, given what Hussey had done to Pakistan in the World Twenty20 semi-final. The umpire’s finger going up to the lbw appeal was a welcome sight for me, and it was cheered heavily by the crowd.Player watch
There were lots of players who fielded near my stand, which was right in front of the player’s shelters, and most of them were bowlers – among them Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson, who was heckled for conceding 14 runs off the first over. Of the Pakistanis, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Akmal and Saeed Ajmal all fielded there, with Ajmal – who’s not the best fielder in the Pakistan team – receiving loud cheers for his dive to cut off a four near the end of the innings.Shot of the day
This one has to go to Shahid Afridi’s huge six off Shaun Tait’s 90mph bowling. It was amazing to see someone just stand and smack a ball travelling at such a speed over the construction site. A replacement ball needed to be taken.Crowd meter
The crowd were totally and utterly rooting for Pakistan, with the exception of a few Aussie supporters who had had the courage to turn up for the match. They were duly harassed and heckled relentlessly by the extortionate number of Pakistani fans, but fortunately they all took it good spirit. The atmosphere inside and outside the ground was electric, with the air horns and vuvuzelas being heard before the stadium was even in sight. The stands were a sea of green and although the match was not sold out, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was. Wonder what the atmosphere and noise would have been like if the whole ground had been open to spectators.Fancy-dress index
There were many painted faces and green wigs. I got a bit of a shock when I saw a person covered with green paint – not just his face but every exposed body part; he looked more a ghost than a Pakistan fan!See any green?•Getty ImagesEntertainment
There was lots of music but it would be helpful if it could be heard over the noise of the air horns and crowd. The Pakistani band the Raga Boyz, who had been brought in specially for this match, played live twice. When Pakistan were in action, “” was played and for Australia “Down Under” was just about discernible over the noise.Accessories
As I lived pretty close and the match was a Twenty20, I didn’t bring much, but my Pakistan shirt was a must as was some food and drink. I also brought an air horn with me but regretted it as it fell apart after the first innings, and after having to hear so much of it for so long all around me, I no longer had much interest in it.Banner of the day
There was one which said “Demolition in Progress”, which I thought was appropriate for the ground, and “I want to be like Gerrard and Rooney”, with the names crossed out and replaced with “Gul” and “Afridi”.Overall
It was a wonderful game of cricket with many high-quality passages of play. The atmosphere was great and with so many Pakistani fans in the ground, you couldn’t tell if you were in Pakistan or England, although the light rain at the start and the cold breeze later gave you a bit of a clue. I was happy I had the opportunity to see two talented sides compete with such a high standard of performance.Marks out of 10
8. The mark is lowered mainly because of the din from the air horns and vuvuzelas, although they did add a bit of an edge to the atmosphere. The cricket was of an extremely good standard, with only a few mistakes costing either side. I left feeling I had got my money’s worth, and I hope Pakistan carry this form into the two Test matches against Australia, which will be the real test.

With the Little Master reaching an unprecedented 50 centuries, we asked his team-mates to pick the best of the lot

Interviews by Nagraj Gollapudi19-Dec-2010Rahul Dravid: 116 in Melbourne, 1999
To me this was a special hundred because he was captain of the team and we were struggling as a unit in that series and not playing particularly good cricket. And here was Tendulkar, facing up to a good bowling attack comprising Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming, Brett Lee and Shane Warne, and standing tall when nobody else was scoring runs. He was in total control.For a long part of his career, he had some other experienced batsmen around him, but that was a time when a lot of us were young and none of us were playing well. He had to carry the team on his own, and he did it beautifully. In some ways it was a Lara-esque innings because [Brian] Lara for a long time had to carry the side on his own. And the pressure is never easy. It was definitely not the toughest wicket he batted on but the atmosphere at the MCG and batting without any support was just brilliant. As a leader he was under tremendous pressure and to come in and make a terrific century was really a standout innings.Anil Kumble 241* in Sydney, 2004, 155 v Australia in Chennai, 1998
How do you choose a favourite from one of fifty? There are actually two that I find most memorable, both versus Australia, one in 1998 and the other in 2004. To me they were about the essence of Sachin’s greatness as a batsman which is more than about how many runs he scores – his greatness is in how quickly he adjusts to conditions, wickets, bowling, and his understanding in what he needs to do to score those runs.Before the Sydney innings, he was getting out outside the off stump in the series and he decided that won’t happen again. He didn’t score a boundary on the off side, didn’t hit a cover drive. He waited for the ball to come to him, picked it off and clipped it to midwicket all the way not just to three figures, but a double hundred. In Chennai, he practiced playing the ball from the rough because he knew Shane Warne was coming, and was supposed to be Australia’s biggest threat. When the game began, he was ready.In the Centurion first innings, it was a damp wicket, but he was the best of the batsmen, he looked comfortable till he got out. That’s greatness. You can often tell as soon as he begins that he’s going to get a big one. You can make that out. I watched his 50th Test century from when he was about 40 and I knew this was going to be the day. He looked determined, focussed.It’s hard to pick a favourite from his 50 Test hundreds, each have their own story about this kind of preparation and adjustment and thought.VVS Laxman: 114 in Perth, 1992
I was young and watched that innings on TV and it became very, very special immediately and it still remains so. For somebody on his first tour of Australia, especially when the team is not doing well, and to score a century on a fiery track like Perth at a tender age said a lot about Tendulkar’s talent. Some of the shots he played showed glimpses of a great batsman at work, particularly the ones he played off Merv Hughes. For a short guy, on a bouncy track, against a quick bowler and to play on the up, you have to have a lot of talent to do that. He displayed that in abundance during that century. He remained positive even as the wickets fell around him and play naturally. He dominated the Australian bowlers easily. Even to a youngster then it became clear how special Sachin was.Javagal Srinath: 114 in Perth, 1992
It was a wicket where there were a lot of cracks. It was quick and really fast, as the WACA was famous for in those days. There was no player who could really face the Australian attack. Tendulkar was just 18 or something and he was not only able to stand up to the bowling but bat aggressively. The ball was deviating left, right and centre from the cracks. No-one really knew how the ball would travel after pitching. But Tendulkar encountered it with such aplomb that it became the highlight of that series in many ways, even though we lost the Test.My other favourite Tendulkar century was against South Africa in Johannesburg against Allan Donald and Brian McMillan at their fastest on a very pacy Wanderers’ pitch. Another top-pick is the terrific century against Pakistan in Chennai in 1999. It was a case of mind over matter, and handling the pressure every ball.John Wright: 126 vs Australia, Chennai 2001
The hundred I’ll always remember is his 126 versus Australia in Chennai in 2001. Counting back, it was his twenty-fifth hundred, at what was to be a halfway stage that we wouldn’t have thought about then. It was a big, big game, against the world’s champion team, a Test that was going to decide the series, a contest between some greats of the modern game – Warne, McGrath and Sachin. I think he just loved that stage. He had come into that series in good form, and was batting beautifully, even though he had not got a century in the series until Chennai . The word was the Aussies had been thinking about that, that Tendulkar’s big knock was due. It was coming.There was also a lot of talk about how India depended too much on him. For me, though, the outsider who had come into Indian cricket without any baggage, you never picked that up inside the changing room. There was an overall confidence all the way through the team, its batsmen and its bowlers.

Sachin’s greatness as a batsman is more than about how many runs he scores – his greatness is in how quickly he adjusts to conditions, wickets, bowling, and his understanding in what he needs to do to score those runsAnil Kumble

The Aussies won the toss and put up a big first-innings score and we knew that we had to get close to it to get a foothold in the game. It was our big player who pulled out his big innings, which gave us a chance to win that game. When he came in we were about 180 behind Australia, and when he was out, India were 77 in front. I remember him hitting Colin Miller for a six to reach his hundred. The ball went over long-on into the far end of the ground. We were sitting in our viewing area with spectators on two sides of us, behind us, and on our right, and the celebration was wild. And loud. As much as we may see batsmen hitting sixes to reach centuries now, something like that was rarely done ten years ago. It was wonderful, emphatic, a statement. He was up against McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and the world’s best team. It was hot and sweltering, we were sweating buckets sitting out in the viewing area and the crowd was packed in to every inch of the ground. And then, there was Sachin batting for us, batting for them.Sanjay Manjrekar: 114 in Perth, 1992
This has been the toughest assignment for me as an Indian cricket observer. So, I have tried to simplify the task by giving myself a few important parameters to be guided by.It’s got to be an innings played against a good bowling attack in challenging conditions. Second, it’s got to be a performance that rises above all the others in that innings. Third, well, it’s got be pretty to look at.After applying all the above conditions, I have picked the 114 runs that Tendulkar made against Australia at Perth in 1992 as a 18-year-old as my favourite Tendulkar innings. Because I was also playing that game, it was a prime candidate for my selection. Now Perth to Indian batsmen, at the time, was the ultimate Test. For players weaned on pitches where the ball bounced knee-high, the regular chest-high bounce in Perth made life very difficult.India got 272 in the first innings. Pace and bounce did India in once again on that fateful tour. Tendulkar with just over two years of Test experience, strode out and almost casually got a brilliant hundred. He batted on that pitch as if it was his school, Shardashram’s, net pitch. He looked at home on it.I remember forgetting for a while that I was a player in that team. I came out of our dressing room and watched that innings like any cricket fan would. Tendulkar by that time in his career had showed signs of greatness. That afternoon he confirmed his greatness.He scored at a strike rate of 70.8, and he was unstoppable. Anything that was short of length around the off stump, which is the basic area of attack at the international level was driven through the covers off the back foot for four. We watched in awe as we saw one of the first Indian batsmen to hit good balls for boundaries on a regular basis. Anything that was pitched up was driven off the front foot by Tendulkar. There were a few ‘short-arm pulls’ added as a garnish on that innings. The short-arm pull was a shot rarely played by Indian batsmen then.The bowlers were clearly rattled, so they wisely focused on the batsmen at the other end, who were more obliging. It was clearly a case, in that innings, of a batsman seemingly batting against a different attack on a different pitch from the rest of us.That innings was played 18 years ago. He has now got 47 hundreds after that. But this is still the one that does it for me.Navjot Sidhu: 114 in Perth, 1992
The ball was really bouncing around that day. Normally for a short-statured man it is very difficult to face the short ball, but the consummate ease with which Tendulkar played those horizontal cut shots on that pitch was amazing. Even a good length ball was rising over the top of the stumps, but Tendulkar showed his mastery with his wrists – he played the pull shot, cuts and flick using the wrists beautifully on the fastest pitch at the time – in a way proving how great he already was at the age.

Even a missed century can’t spoil one’s mood on a day like this

Oliver Reid04-Jun-2011Choice of game
Some people talk of making a pilgrimage to the holy turf of the home of cricket. For me it was about seeing the victorious England from a winter of triumph against Australia return to Lord’s as holders of the urn, welcomed by a bursting crowd and glorious English sunshine.Team supported
I spent one part of the winter watching England from the confines of the couch, with an extra blanket for warmth, and another being in Australia, witnessing the demise of my home country as it handed the Ashes to England. It would surprise most people to know that I wished for a good England side; with all that it had achieved, a strong showing for its home fans is what they deserved.Accessories
A radio is the only companion required for a Test match at Lord’s. Henry Blofield’s outrageous descriptions on of the game in front of you may annoy in any other format or place but his pomp and pronunciation provide the perfect backing track to all things English in a day at Lord’s.Key performer
Alastair Cook stood head and shoulders above his team-mates; a century on the opening day of Lord’s would have been perfect but his nearly-100 nonetheless made the best impact. He was the only swimming rat when the ship seemed to be sinking in the opening session, and Cook carried his team and worked with Ian Bell to restore the English order.Interplay I enjoyed
Eoin Morgan brought the Lord’s crowd to life after Bell’s fall for 52 runs. Prior to this Bell and Cook had shown caution in their pursuit of mending the English innings. It was Morgan who lit the fire, first against Rangana Herath: punishing him down the ground into the waiting laps of the MCC members, and then pushing the run-rate to a one-day level that had the crowd applauding.Filling in the gaps
There is much to do at Lord’s to pass the time. Some of this is always spent perusing the shop looking at souvenir after souvenir, thinking whether buying a paper weight with a bit of the turf hidden within it is a justifiable purchase, and how to explain this to the wife. Or there are the people, celebrities and eccentric Englishmen in full colour. Blazers are the choice garment at the pavilion but elsewhere you see the first signs of the end of winter as spectators wander the ground in shorts, revealing pale pairs of legs.Player watch
While making his way towards the practice nets during the second session, Steve Finn stopped in front of a large throng of school kids and signed every miniature bat, cap, ticket or poster, not leaving one kid without his scribble. On completion of this mammoth task he was loudly cheered by the crowd.Shots of the day
Cook reached and went past his fifty with three fours off Dilhara Fernando who tried in vain to pepper the Ashes hero with short balls.Crowd meter
A full house greeted the sunshine that bathed Lords’ to create an almost heavenly place to watch cricket. The sun warmed the spectators’ necks as much as it warmed the playing field.Marks out of 10
10. An almost-century, great bowling, attacking batting, a full house and the sun made this the best day of all the days I have attended at this sacred place of cricket.