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Answers to who’s playing, what’s the format and other basic questions about the Champions League Twenty20 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2011

The format

One of the problems with the Champions League 2010 was that the teams from Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies struggled to match up to the levels of the rest of the field. In an attempt to increase the commercial viability of the tournament, the 2011 event will have a qualifier round involving teams from these countries, the top two county sides, and the fourth-ranked IPL team. The teams participating in the qualifier round are:

• Trinidad & Tobago from West Indies
• Ruhuna from Sri Lanka
• Auckland from New Zealand
• Kolkata Knight Riders from India
• Somerset and Leicestershire from England

The top three teams from the qualifier round will compete in the main draw that will also include:

• Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore from India
• New South Wales and South Australia from Australia
• Cape Cobras and Warriors from South AfricaThe ten teams in the main draw will be split into two groups of five each, with the top two from each group contesting the semi-finals. For a full list of fixtures, click here.
  

  The prize money

  Winning team – $2,500,000Losing finalist – $1,300,000Losing semifinalists – $500,000 eachTeams finishing fifth to 10th – $200,000 each

  Players eligible for more than one team:

  Since the event features franchise-based clubs unconstrained by national boundaries, there are instances of a player having to choose between two or more sides. For the 2011 season, the following players faced overlaps, and each chose to play for their IPL teams:

  • Kieron Pollard (Mumbai, South Australia, Somerset)
  • Suraj Randiv (Chennai, Ruhuna)
  • Doug Bollinger (Chennai, New South Wales)
  • Aiden Blizzard (Mumbai, South Australia)
  • Brett Lee (Kolkata, New South Wales)
  • Brad Haddin (Kolkata, New South Wales)
  • Davy Jacobs (Mumbai, Warriors)If a player is selected to play for an ‘away’ team rather than his ‘home’ team (the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket), the ‘away’ team must pay $150,000 as a release fee to the ‘home’ team. ‘Away’ teams are not eligible for compensation if a player chooses to play for his ‘home’ team.
    

Shakib Al Hasan is the outstanding Bangladesh cricketer of his era, but his outspoken ways might not be tolerated if the team fails to win under him

Mohammad Isam03-Aug-2011On January 23, 2009, a Bangladeshi became No. 1 in the world. Now, it might seem strange that climbing to the top of the ICC’s one-day all-rounder’s chart, as Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, did, is big news. But for a team whose significance is regularly questioned and for a country where there aren’t many personalities or occasions to cherish, a place at the top of anything is at once remarkable, taken to heart and, more often than not, scrutinized.In Shakib’s case, it is an even more unlikely climb given that Bangladesh cricketers typically learn to play top-class bowling only after they get to international cricket. They bowl less than their opponents in Test cricket too, and they have yet to develop a culture of winning. But Shakib managed to stay on top for two solid years, and if not for Shane Watson’s glorious run, Shakib’s No. 1 status would probably have survived his dip in form during the World Cup.As a result Shakib is instantly recognised in Bangladesh. Kids want to be like him, sponsors just want him and a growing list of hangers-on follow him around. At 24, he has shown the maturity of a hardened pro, but there have been occasions recently when his age has betrayed him. The casual verbal dismissal of a rival Dhaka club the day before a league game that Shakib’s team lost to by 10 wickets, and his behaviour during the World Cup – misplaced jokes, making fun of reporters – have raised the same question: Is Shakib capable of handling his new found fame?What has set Shakib apart as a Bangladesh cricketer is his clarity of thought, professionalism and forthright nature. His push for the High Performance programme to be reinstated and his ideas for the first-class structure are a breath of fresh air from a conservative group of sportsmen who mostly mind their own business. It is a rare Bangladesh cricketer who criticises himself for not bowling well after taking four wickets in a match. Nor have many Bangladesh captains told a batsman he must score a hundred when he’s made 75, not even in the privacy of their dressing room.Yet Increasingly Shakib’s off-field actions are drawing more attention than his brilliance on it. His daring century against New Zealand was worthy of adulation, but was marred by his aggressive rush towards a fan who wasn’t moving quickly enough from in front of the sightscreen.When he was asked to take over as captain “permanently but on a series-to-series basis”, he refused and asked for a longer term so that people listened to him and there was a structure in place. His public stance against the Bangladesh Cricket Board wasn’t out of place either; the BCB has increasingly become a punch-line and if the best cricketer in the country can’t set it right, no one can. But a more level-headed approach would have helped set things right without focusing on any of the unpleasant incidents that have taken place since their 4-0 win over New Zealand last year.Even the controversy over team selection that arose just before the tour of Zimbabwe was as much Shakib’s fault as the board’s fault and echoed his comments from December last year, when he hinted that he was saddled with a XI that he did not completely agree with.Shakib Al Hasan was the lone player from Bangladesh to play in the 2011 IPL•AFPIf each indiscretion is looked at in isolation, it reveals a person frustrated at being misunderstood. He joked with a journalist after Bangladesh beat Ireland in the World Cup, a video whose hits multiplied online after the devastating loss to West Indies. When Mahmudullah Riyad and Shafiul Islam shocked England in the next game, Shakib cried; the pressure telling on a man whose critics jumped at the opportunity to castigate him for being too ambitious after beating Ireland.The BCB also had to ask the players and those associated with the team not to write columns in newspapers after Shakib wrote a column expressing his displeasure at criticism from former players after his side was bowled out for 58 against West Indies.Shakib, though, has tasted the hard labour of county cricket and the glamorous life of the IPL. His experiences in England and, to a lesser extent, in India, have given him a better sense of professionalism, something he can pass on to his Bangladesh teammates. But in order to make the best use of his skills, he needs to understand the responsibility of being important, being No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, and he has to realise what he represents.His troubles with the cricket board and media certainly don’t make him any less of a cricketer and in an increasingly competitive and fractured society in Bangladesh, it is unfair to put Shakib on a pedestal. It will also take time for people to fully understand this young man or for him to understand what people expect from him.One thing that is in his favour is his record in Bangladesh wins. He is the best with both bat and ball and across all formats. But the fickleness of the game, particularly in Bangladesh, is what Shakib has to come to grips with right away. His performances on the field are no longer the only measure of him since he’s also the captain. That’s why in Zimbabwe, and the upcoming winter at home, Shakib has to win. If he doesn’t, he might find there is not as much tolerance for his outspoken views as there are now.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the the fourth day of the second Test between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi28-Jan-2012Moment of the day
Many great bowlers have represented Pakistan but with the wicket of Matt Prior, Saeed Ajmal became the fastest Pakistan bowler to 100 Test wickets. To make his achievement more remarkable, he has not played a single one of his 19 Tests at home. It was surely fitting that Prior was deceived by Ajmal’s doosra.Dismissal of the day
Abdur Rehman, gaining turn and wicked dip, kept convincing batsmen to play back when they should have been forward. Several England batsmen looked hapless against the spin but none more so than Eoin Morgan. Back when he should have been forward and with the bat at an angle when it should have been straight, Morgan left a gap so wide Inzamam-ul-Haq could have squeezed through.Puzzling decision of the day
Andrew Strauss was on 16 when he played back to a delivery from Abdur Rehman only to edge the ball onto to his thigh and then, seemingly, into the hands of Azhar Ali at short leg. It looked to most observers as if the catch was clean but the umpire, Bruce Oxenford, wanted to make sure and the third umpire, Billy Bowden, felt he could not be certain. Strauss, who later admitted that he hit the ball, survived. It seemed a remarkable escape for Strauss, though it was to make little difference in the grand scheme of things.England’s high-water mark of the day
It does not matter which side you support, it is hard not to warm to the unaffected joy of a man who is relishing every moment of his career. Monty Panesar’s leapt upon dismissing Saeed Ajmal, caught at slip to bring up his fifth wicket. It was understandable: he has spent nearly three years in the international wilderness and confessed during this match that he thought he may never win a recall. This was his ninth five-wicket haul in Tests but his first since May 2008. It clearly meant the world to him and was due reward for a skilful and persistent performance.Image of the day
There were stories – stories that were vehemently denied by the authorities – after the third day that England and Pakistan supporters had been segregated in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. There was little evidence of such issues on the fourth day – or the third, if truth be told – as this picture of members of the Barmy Army and Pakistan supporters swapping caps shows. Cricket has many issues but tension between spectators, thankfully, is very rarely one of them.Quote of the day
“It is a struggle to think of a loss that has hurt more than this,” Andrew Strauss, the England captain.

The ODI series saw the emergence of Azhar Ali, the success of Sri Lanka’s flexible batting order and the fragility of Pakistan’s fielding

Kanishkaa Balachandran19-Jun-2012The rise of Azhar Ali
Azhar Ali may not take too kindly to being labelled a ‘Test player’ anymore. With a reputation for being a patient, stodgy batsman, Azhar had played just four ODIs and opened once before the tour of Sri Lanka. He managed to make fifty in his first outing as an opener, in the UAE against England, but didn’t look an automatic choice for the starting line-up, with ODI specialists already identified for that position. An average of 33.25 in four innings was good enough to make the squad for Sri Lanka, but an injury to Nasir Jamshed gave him another opportunity at the top. Pakistan didn’t send for another opener to join the squad. Clearly, Misbah-ul-Haq had seen something in him which others couldn’t. Misbah wanted a solid player capable of facing the two new balls at either end and Azhar was his preferred choice. He didn’t have to prove his ability to occupy the crease. The surprise element was his breezy strike-rate and ability to find the boundaries through orthodox cricketing shots. However, he tended to get bogged down when support wasn’t forthcoming from the other end, and his more experienced colleagues were all culpable. Both his half-centuries came in losing causes. Nevertheless, Misbah was satisfied enough to term him a long-term opening prospect. At the end of the series, his average had risen to 43.75. Easily the biggest positive to come out of a disappointing series for Pakistan.The weather

It could have been worse. The scheduling and choice of venues left many fearing multiple washouts as June is the month of the southwest monsoon in Sri Lanka. While the Twenty20s were played at the relatively dry Hambantota, three of the five ODIs were in Colombo, where rains were forecast on all three days. No games were scheduled in the dry zone of Dambulla. Pallekele had its share of interruptions for the first match, but it was completed within a day. The worst fears were confirmed when the first of the three Colombo games was washed out. That prompted Pakistan to ask for reserve days, which were granted. The fourth ODI too had an interruption but thankfully for the players and fans, rain kept away for the fifth. Bizarrely, the rain largely stayed away during the non-match days. One washout in five wasn’t as bad as predicted, but it should serve as a lesson for the administrators when planning for future tours.Fielding lapses galore

It was a routine at every press conference to see a forlorn Misbah moan about Pakistan’s fielding. The ground fielding especially left much to be desired. Suffice to say it cost them the chance of squaring the series as the lapses were most embarrassing in the final ODI. Pakistan failed on occasions to get behind the line of the ball and time the dive. Sohail Tanvir’s footwork topped it all. In a close finish, those extra runs were a bonus for Sri Lanka. Another costly miss was Umar Gul’s drop off Kumar Sangakkara in the 4th ODI during his innings of 97. The cameras would regularly pan to the fielding coach Julien Fountain, embarrassed at what he had seen. Was it the rustiness of a two-month layoff?Sri Lanka’s flexibility

A factor in Sri Lanka’s success as a batting unit was the flexibility in their options. Except Tillakaratne Dilshan’s opening slot, none of the other positions were set in stone. Mahela Jayawardene realised that clustering the seniors at the top was a gamble, which didn’t pay off at the start, so he set an example by dropping himself down the order and giving Dinesh Chandimal more overs to play himself in. Jayawardene said the players had been conditioned to be more flexible and adjust according to the match situation. The presence and form of the two allrounders in Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera gave Sri Lanka the freedom to experiment.The pitches

Another often repeated statement by Misbah was about the conditions, which seemed to have challenged his batsmen more. The trend of batting pitches seems to be changing in Sri Lanka, with even totals under 250 proving competitive. In the post-Muralitharan era, the pitches have had more grass and are harder. In this series, the rain has made it tougher for the batsmen, as was the case in Pallekele where the seam movement resembled that of the early English summer. As a result, it forced Pakistan to rethink their combination to the point where, for the final ODI, they let go of their best bowler Saeed Ajmal for the fast bowler Mohammad Sami.

It’s tough to make sense of a loss so bizarre for Sri Lanka. Their journey so far might have provided a positive launching pad for the future, but for the moment the team must introspect

Andrew Fernando in Colombo08-Oct-2012Walking through the Khettarama neighbourhood into the R Premadasa stadium on Sunday afternoon, it was impossible to contain a smile. Police had cordoned off the streets leading into the grounds to ease congestion, but the locals had taken that as a signal to begin the street party early. Stereos were set up on the roadside, pumping everything from baila to Western pop, grown men were dancing with children, Sri Lankan flags were draped across every balcony and awning, and the face painting stands and popcorn stalls were bedecked in blue and yellow. It was supposed to be the warm-up event, the precursor to the night’s long celebrations.Eight hours later, those same streets were deserted. No anger, no riots, just the profound disappointment only silence can convey. Signs in Sinhala reading “Victory to Sri Lanka” still flapped in between the lamp posts they had been anchored on. No one had had the will to remove them. Sri Lanka had hurtled to a cricket frenzy over the last few days, but their expectations have crashed and burned even more quickly. The country now awakes to gloom, and its team to questions that do not have easy answers.How to make sense of a loss so bizarre? Of a team who gave it away so freely, having fashioned their campaign of newfound fortitude? They had trussed up Chris Gayle, and gagged the West Indies top order for more than half their innings. So dominant were the hosts at one stage that their fans might have been glad for Malinga’s expensive 13th over. It is more satisfying to win against a worthy opponent after all. How to make peace with the thought of a captain so renowned for his acumen, sending forth his poorest bowler of the evening to be slaughtered across his full quota of overs? How, given West Indies had managed only to take the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan in both the Super Eights match and the pre-tournament practice game, did Sri Lanka’s batsmen succumb so comprehensively that only three men among them breached double figures?Even more disturbingly, what is behind Sri Lanka’s inability to take that final leap to a secure a title? After the match, Mahela Jayawardene said there was no theme tying the four finals losses together, and given the quality of the champions on each previous occasion, he might have a point. But in front of a desperate home crowd, and having progressed so ominously throughout the tournament, perhaps this loss will sting the most. Sri Lanka will not have the chance to host a major tournament again until the next decade at least.”It hurts a lot,” Jayawardene said. “It hurts because you want to do something special. Not just personally as individuals but for the public as well. We’ve been playing some good cricket but we haven’t been able to cross that hurdle. As a cricketer, it hurts a lot. We need to move on and try and see how well we can get over this and get back on and keep fighting again.”The pluck that had defined Sri Lanka’s campaign suddenly deserted them in the biggest game. It was as if they had used up all their mettle on the semi-final dogfight with Pakistan. The bowlers cowered when Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy swung hard and the batsmen shrunk away when faced with persistent bowling of good quality. It is clear Sri Lanka responded poorly to pressure against West Indies, but it is also too simplistic to label them chokers. The ease with which they’ve cleared the penultimate hurdle en route to each final proves they have the capacity to handle big matches. Still, at some point, the aggregation of so many finals losses will put some serious dents in the team’s confidence. It is a strange record, but it is one that will now hang heavy above them in any crunch encounter.In the short term, Sri Lanka now face the prospect of having to pick themselves up after another heartbreak – something they failed to do after the 2011 final loss. Jayawardene’s resignation from the Twenty20 captaincy, though well intentioned, has thrown up yet more questions. Angelo Mathews’ short dalliances with leadership may have been encouraging so far, but will his own development suffer if he is burdened too early (as he might be if Jayawardene steps down from all formats in January)? He is too important a player for Sri Lanka’s future for the selectors to make that mistake. Is the young middle order around Mathews growing as it should? Twice in this tournament they have underwhelmed against high quality bowling, and they are yet to add dependability to their flair.Sri Lanka have three weeks to perform the post-mortem before New Zealand arrive. In December, they embark on their biggest tour in years when they travel to Australia for a three-Test series. They cannot afford to let another defeat faze them for long. The World Twenty20 title might have provided a positive launching pad for the future, but for the moment Sri Lanka must introspect. The way ahead is unclear.

An attack that hunts in a pack has always alluded Sri Lanka, and on the evidence of their first innings performance at the P Sara, they will not produce one in the immediate future either

Andrew Fernando at the P Sara26-Nov-2012In 2002, Wisden named Muttiah Muralitharan the greatest bowler of all time – ahead of Shane Warne, Sydney Barnes, Wasim Akram and even Malcolm Marshall. The second name on that list helped explain why Murali was valued so highly. Like Murali, Richard Hadlee felt his team’s burden more heavily than most other great bowlers. Both men, and Murali in particular, some would say have their records demeaned by the notion that they would not have taken so many wickets had they played in a better attack. Wisden, instead, asserted that it was in spite of their team-mates’ failures, not because of them, that they are champions.It is an argument that few who saw Sri Lanka toil against New Zealand can effectively rebut. For so long on day two, Rangana Herath seemed the only bowler capable of taking a wicket – even those of batsmen as undaunting as Jeetan Patel or Tim Southee. His team-mates veered from innocuous to wayward in comparison, and at times, their indiscipline actively made Herath’s task more difficult.Shaminda Eranga appears to be in possession of swing, seam and pace – the raw materials that might see him become a successful international bowler – but if he is to rise above the mediocre achievements of so many Sri Lankan quicks before him, he cannot be as wild as he was in the first innings. He was lucky to be awarded his only wicket when Brendon McCullum inside edged a ball that was deemed to have trapped him lbw. Perhaps it is only fair to mention that he was equally unfortunate not to dismiss Ross Taylor on the first morning, but that should not sweep away the cold truth that he might have gone wicketless for almost 100 runs if not for an umpire’s howler.On the first day, he achieved good lift and occasional seam movement with some deliveries, but could not sustain his intensity, often even through one over. In addition to straying down the leg-side and bowling poor lengths, his pace would vary wildly from ball to ball – some in the mid-140s, others barely faster than 130kph. The New Zealand fast bowlers’ inability to generate appreciable movement with their new ball confirmed there was not much to be had in the conditions, but they continued to threaten the batsmen regardless, bowling with the fire and accuracy of which Eranga’s spells were bereft.Suraj Randiv may have been relieved mid-week when he was named as the only other spinner in the squad to Australia after Sri Lanka’s chief selector had insinuated his place was under threat, but three innings in a row now, his spin has been utterly outshone by Herath’s. The extra bounce in the P Sara pitch should supplement his high delivery point and topspin, yet the batsmen were rarely troubled by him. His figures were spared by an uncharacteristically reticent New Zealand approach, but his spells were awash with deliveries that released the pressure Herath was forced to mount anew every over, at the other end. That he bowled only three maidens in 39 overs betray his indiscipline. In comparison 10 of Herath’s 49 overs yielded nothing to the opposition; unsurprisingly, Herath was also Sri Lanka’s most economical bowler in addition to being their most penetrative.Nuwan Kulasekara, cannot hope to take many Test wickets when the conditions do not grant him swing. It is hard to find fault with his effort, or his lines and lengths, but being barrel-straight at just over 120kph, he would not have daunted good club sides at the P Sara on day two. That is not to say he is unfit for Tests because he is a decided asset when there is movement to be found, but perhaps the selectors can be more discerning when choosing him in the XI on tracks as flat as this one. He seemed content to stay with his Plan A too, when perhaps a few leg cutters and the like would not have gone amiss. Sri Lanka need better than a holding bowler from their new ball paceman, and for large periods in the first innings, the most Kulasekara could hope to achieve were a few cheap overs.History, ancient and modern, teaches us that the most successful sides have attacks that hunt as a pack and flourish in the pressure their partners create. Sri Lanka have never possessed such an attack, and on present evidence, will not produce one in the immediate future. In the 15 years before his retirement Sri Lanka may have relied heavily on Murali for breakthroughs, but in addition to his inimitable class, they also had Chaminda Vaas’ toiling cannily in support. Herath has done his best to take on Murali’s mantle, but in this Test, so far, he has been poorly assisted and that is a failure a friendly Sri Lanka attack cannot long afford.

India’s bowlers, especially the spinners, had perfect conditions in Mumbai yet fluffed their lines dramatically. However, it wasn’t a one-off. The bowling has been a problem for a while

Sidharth Monga30-Nov-2012The defeat at the Wankhede Stadium last week was arguably India’s worst in Test cricket. Not in terms of margin, but in how almost everything was stacked in their favour: the pitch, the toss, the combination, the runs. The illusion they have tried to create through countless interviews that they were done in on “green tops” and they were still world-beaters at home has come crashing down. If ever there was a match set up for the bowlers to win, it was this, with 327 on board on a square turner. And as it has been happening over the last 18 months, India’s bowlers came up short again; in the case of their lead spinner’s length, literally so.Starting July 21 last year, India have been the worst bowling unit of all Test sides bar Bangladesh. At least statistically so. Not only have they averaged 40.39 with the ball, better only than Bangladesh, they have give away more runs per over than any Test side over that period. And whisper it, for most of this period India have bowled on “green tops”. With the bat, their average – 30.80 – is better than that of Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Needless to say, they have lost more Tests than any other side over the period.There is no denying that India’s batting hasn’t been ideal over this period, but it has neither been as bad as the bowling nor as crucial to this slump. If Test cricket were a spin bowler, batting would be its line and bowling its length. The former optional, the latter mandatory. Pakistan are a glaring example. Even during their most turbulent period, with non-existent batting and wicketkeeping, they have still managed to survive as a Test side purely through their bowling. In 2010 alone, they won two Tests in England, as many as India have in 26 years.However, the main focus of most of the debates around India’s defeats, even in Mumbai, has been around the batting. Even when India were No 1, the bowling hung by a thread. A brittle, not-always-fit, but highly skilful thread. The captain’s statement that this thread was the Sachin Tendulkar of bowling was spot on. Ever since Zaheer Khan has gone into what seems like a terminal slump, all others have been brutally exposed. In the two to three years since Anil Kumble’s retirement, Zaheer carried the bowling on his own. He brought the control the unit badly needed; when he was injured, India would look lost in the field.Zaheer is not the same any more. He has not even been there for six of those 15 Tests. With other bowlers, you never know what you will get. In Mumbai, for example, when Kevin Pietersen felt comfortable enough to boss the bowlers, chances are even the best would have suffered, but it was the easy period of easy singles that let him feel comfortable. That’s where Indian spinners failed on two counts.On a pitch that was calling for them to exploit the turn, they didn’t put in enough effort to spin the ball. Spin here is not just the sideways turn, but action on the ball, which gets you drift and dip. They didn’t do it on purpose, it’s their techniques. They don’t put enough shoulder or hip behind the delivery, they have hardly any follow-through. R Ashwin, especially, ends up relying too much on his variations. In so doing, he bowls a release ball almost every over, which is the bowling unit’s second shortcoming. MS Dhoni has copped a fair deal of criticism for his defensive fields over this period, but his bowlers haven’t done him any favours with their inconsistency.The desperate part, though, is that there are no replacements in sight, except for a hospital ward full of tried-and-tested bowlers missing the Ranji Trophy. Which is why somebody like Harbhajan Singh can walk right back into the squad without having done anything at the domestic level to earn a comeback, although when he did make that comeback he bowled better than Ashwin and got only half the overs. Outside the squad, only Pankaj Singh and Jalaj Saxena have both the wickets and the fitness. Neither of them seems to enjoy the faith of the selectors and the team management.After Wankhede, Dhoni made what seems like a fair point on paper when asked about the direness of the situation. “I think we have got replacements,” he said. “It’s not like we don’t have replacements. But you don’t chop and change players on the basis of one or two Tests. We have to give them a fair run.” Apart from the fair run, they also need a huge improvement, especially in their discipline.

From S

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013S. Giridhar, India
There is something extremely seedy about the way the inexorable finish to the glittering careers of India’s finest ever quartet of middle order batsmen is being dissected with complete insensitivity. Compare this to the times when we peacefully bid adieu to the other ‘Fab four’ nearly 30 years ago, the incomparable and finest ever quartet of spinners.Ah but those were different times! The mind goes back to the 60s and 70s – the era of this unmatchable spin quartet. No live TV coverage for almost the entire part of their career, those were the days when the fruity voice of Pearson Surita and the nasal drone of Ananda Rao in India, and the vivid description of John Arlott in England and Alan McGilvray in Australia brought them into our lives. Remember Arlott in the summer of 1971 describe Venkat and Chandra….”Here comes Venkat, tall, slightly flat-footed, 5 languid steps, left hand reaching for the sky…” and “Chandra, shirt tail flapping in the breeze, sleeves buttoned down, turns, begins his run, 1,2, 3….11, 12 past Umpire Eliot…”Yes, very romantic times those…..we won a match or two now and then and were happy to hug those memories. And then we won some more and we realized that these four magicians were in fact setting up opportunities for victories more frequently than ever before. And so this quartet was forged over 15 long years. Prasanna the eldest came into the Indian side in 1960, Chandra in 1964, Venkat in 1965 and Bedi in 1966. Each of them made their debut at age 20 or earlier, for their entire careers four spinners, brothers in arms, but fighting forever for three places in the team.Each was poetry in motion…..fluid, smooth, economical of action and with unending guile. Bedi the supreme artist, warm-hearted, always the first to applaud the sixer from the batsman but owner of the best arm ball in cricket history; Chandra the least demonstrative, quiet, magical, unplayable destroyer; Prasanna, cunning, cocky, plotting all the time to make a fool of the batsman; Venkat, of fierce tigerish resolve, almost a fast bowler’s temperament to complement his spinner’s brain, bowling for the team than for his own ego.By the time the Indian team went to Pakistan in 1978 – to resume cricket ties after 18 long years – it seemed that these four icons had been playing forever. Prasanna was 38, Venkat and Chandra 33 and Bedi just a year younger. And between them they seemed to have bowled a million overs! They had bamboozled Sobers and Lloyd, lulled Chappell and Walters to doom; toyed with Fletcher and Edrich….they seemed to have taken every wicket for India in the last 15 years! But 15 years is a long time and these intelligent men knew that they were approaching the end of wonderfully illustrious careers.What they did not know was that in a matter of weeks, just three Test matches to be precise, the quartet would hurtle from the twilight of their careers to oblivion. What these maestros received in Pakistan was a hiding of soul-searing proportions from Miandad and Zaheer, Asif Iqbal and Majid Khan. No newspaper devoted columns to discuss the imminent demise of the quartet. The end was almost instantaneous for three of the four spinners. Prasanna never played again after returning from Pakistan. Bedi and Chandra made a token appearance in a couple of Tests and were dropped. Venkat, the warrior kept plugging away for a few more years but must have been a lonely man missing his three comrades till he too faded away.There is perhaps a lesson for us here from the way the spin quartet went out of our lives. None of the ‘Fab four’ spinners ever announced their retirement from Test cricket. They were fearless samurai, when the time came for them to be dropped they accepted this with dignity and the press gave them the space and the respect that they deserved. When 4 great spinners with 900 wickets between them could go with grace and dignity, is it too much to ask that 4 great batsmen with 35000 runs between them also go the same way? I agree we live in noisy strident TRP times but surely we can lower our tones, stand aside, and salute them as they go back to the pavilion one last time. Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman, rare gems all and for all four to be playing at the same time for India. We will never know how blessed our country was till they are all gone.

The evolution of England from the second innings in Ahmedabad

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013One-all after two is the ideal beginning to any series. Apart, perhaps, in a distinctly non-cricketing sphere, from the Rest of the World v Germany and Friends series that scarred the early 20th century. When a 2-0 scoreline was applauded by most neutrals. Particularly after the Rest of the World had gone one-nil up.Yesterday morning, India seemed to want to take no chances of leaving the rubber unappetisingly almost secure by snatching a miraculous victory, and comfortably avoided setting England an awkward target of 130 or 140 that might have prompted some jitters and some flashbacks to their 72-all-out debacle at the start of the year in Abu Dhabi. When, to make the parallels even more pertinent, an inexplicably-left-out-of-the-first-Test Monty Panesar had taken six second wickets to put his side in a winning position.Another 70 runs could have made the match a tense affair, although England would have still been strong favourites not to repeat their disastrous freeze against Ajmal and Rehman. However, after the top order had been cauterised by some excellent deliveries and one horrific mishit, Ashwin, Harbhajan and Zaheer perished with injudicious strokes when a calmer, more patient approach might have helped Gambhir set England at least a nerve-inducing target. Might have, or might not have. They probably would still been bowled out for not very much.But they maximised their chances of failure, before Gambhir entrusted Ojha with the task of smashing a quickfire 40 whilst he kept one end safe and let Ojha, the notoriously flamboyant Indian Garry Sobers, farm the strike. (I may have misread that situation, but that is how it appeared. It was hot, though, and I have pale skin and a very English body-thermostat.)India did not exactly go down fighting. Although England had been fully whooped in the first Test, at least Cook and Prior’s second-innings rearguard had given them a foothold against the Indian spinners, which the captain and Pietersen then transformed into a chokehold on the Indian spinners in Mumbai, and a full body slam as KP cut loose with awesome power and control on the third day.England were duly able to wrap up one of their finest Test victories of recent years under negative pressure, a superb performance driven by four players ‒ their two best batsmen of the last 25 years, and their two best spinners since Derek Underwood’s 1970s peak.When you see Pietersen bat as he did in Ahmedabad, you think: “How on earth does this guy have a Test average of just under 50?” Then, when you see him bat as he did in Mumbai, you think: “How on earth does this guy only have a Test average of just under 50?” This year has been an extraordinary one for England’s flawed, brilliant superstar.India have major problems. Their batting looks frail, Pujara aside, and their bowling appears confused and worryingly blunt. Dhoni seems to lack faith in his two most experienced bowlers, the mystifyingly underused Zaheer, who extracted an edge from Cook late on day two and was economical throughout, and the returning Harbhajan. Between them, they bowled fewer overs than either Ojha or the decreasingly effective Ashwin.● Panesar restarted the trend of bearded Englishmen taking ten or more wickets in Wankhede Tests. Admittedly this was a trend that lasted for only one Test, in 1980, when Ian Botham gave the cricketing world what is far and away the greatest single all-round Test match performance in the history of humanity – 13 for 106 (ten of them top-seven batsmen), and 114 runs off 144 balls, after coming in with England struggling at 57 for 4 (soon 58 for 5), in a match in which no other batsman reached 50.Monty, not entirely unexpectedly, contributed rather less with the bat – although the abject failure of India’s tail to even contemplate wagging denied him the opportunity to smash a match-winning day five century (stranger things have happened) (let me correct that, stranger things have not happened). And, to be fair to the would-be-allrounder Monty did score at a faster strike rate even than the mighty Botham in his two-ball innings of 4.● The Test matches in Mumbai and Adelaide have generated statistics like an out-of-control helicopter in a jelly factory generates mess. For example, India’s less-than-flawless second innings in Mumbai was the first time in Test history that seven batsmen have been out in single figures but for more than 5. Only once before in 7290 Test innings have more than five players been out for between 6 and 9, and the previous Indian record for “unconverted microstarts” is four. There you go. That’s one for you to use as a conversation-starter at a party.Furthermore, in Adelaide, South Africa lasted 762 balls after losing their fourth wicket, obliterating the previous record fourth-innings middle-and-lower-order rearguard length, a barely noticeable 586 balls by Pakistan as they subsided in slow motion to defeat in Galle earlier this year. That nugget of information might be more appropriate in breaking the awkward silence at a wedding after the bride has sprinted out screaming, “No, no, I can’t do it, I know a bet is a bet, but this is the worst mistake I’ve ever made.”These are just two of the deluge of stats emerging from the last few days of cricket. I will share more of them with you in the World Cricket Podcast later this week, when I attempt to set a new world record for Most Cricket Stats Delivered in 90 Seconds. Strap in. It will be like Usain Bolt in the Beijing Olympics, but more exciting.

The most memorable quotes from the sixth edition of the IPL

Compiled by Vishal Dikshit27-May-2013″He would go [for the matches]… he was enthusiastic.”
“I was pointing out I have got children too.”
“MS Dhoni didn’t put the towel in his trousers.”
“So the crowd can watch Chris Gayle bat earlier.”
“I don’t want to sound politically incorrect but what will they do if I enter? Shoot me?”
“Maybe they must reconsider 4pm games in Chennai. My word someone will die soon!”
“We’re not going to let him in. We’re going to keep my brother in for the whole 20.”
“In eight games if you haven’t made a significant contribution you’re a bit of a passenger.”
“Life is all about taking the right decision, seeing Gayle bat today I think I took the right decision of being a wicketkeeper.”
“When you give Sir Ravindra Jadeja one ball to get 2 runs he will win it with one ball to spare!”
“Once we start playing proper cricket, we’ll be a side to beat.”
“Batsmen are scoring easy runs in IPL in the absence of Pakistani bowlers.”
“If it is in the V, it goes in the tree; if it is in the arc, it goes out of the park.”
“It is these dirty cricketers that have done it. These people who have indulged in these kinds of activities.”
“We then dropped a couple of chances and they’re not playing run outs anymore so that makes it tough.”
“I’ll personally call Gautam tomorrow morning and ask him to go out and win the game for us.”