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A statistical analysis of Sachin Tendulkar’s Test career

S Rajesh17-Oct-2008
Another run record for Sachin Tendulkar © AFP
Thirty-nine centuries, 12,027 runs, 152 Tests – the numbers are immense whichever way you look at it. In a career spanning nearly 20 years, Sachin Tendulkar has constantly been India’s biggest hope: through the 1990s, he was easily India’s best batsman, especially overseas, in conditions none of the others came close to mastering. With the emergence of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly, the pressure has eased somewhat, but Tendulkar still remains the most prized wicket for opposition bowlers, which is a remarkable testimony to his skill levels and the high standards he has consistently achieved.The best measure of the class of a batsman is his performances against the greatest team of his time, and if that is the yardstick then Tendulkar is matchless: in 50 innings against Australia, he averages 55.60, with nine hundreds and an equal number of fifties. Since 1990, he is one of only four batsmen who have scored more than 1000 runs against Australia at a 50-plus average. (Click here for the full list.)Through most of his career, Tendulkar has been the mainstay of the Indian batting, which is reflected in the percentage of team runs that he has scored. As you’d expect, it isn’t as high as Lara’s, who has often been West Indies’ only hope, but it’s only a few decimal points below Dravid’s, and a run lesser than Gavaskar’s, who was also helped by the fact that he opened the batting and hence had a greater opportunity to bat. The three Australians are at the bottom of the list, which clearly indicates the quality of the other batsmen they played with.

Contribution to the team runs for the top eight batsmen

Batsman Runs Team runs in those matches Percentage

Brian Lara 11,912 62,994 18.91 Sunil Gavaskar 10,122 61,174 16.55 Rahul Dravid 10,145 65,486 15.49 Sachin Tendulkar 12,027 78,645 15.29 Jacques Kallis 9678 64,032 15.11 Ricky Ponting 10,239 70,516 14.52 Allan Border 11,174 80,128 13.94 Steve Waugh 10,927 90,758 12.04 The champion at No. 4
Tendulkar started his Test journey at No.6, but 22 innings into his career, in the second innings in Adelaide in 1991-92, he was pushed up to No. 4 for the first time as India chased a daunting target of 372. The move failed – Tendulkar made just 17 – but in his next innings, on a bouncy Perth track, he scored 114 sublime runs which virtually sealed his No. 4 slot. Since then he has batted almost exclusively at that position, scoring 10041 runs at No. 4 – the most by any batsman at any position, and nearly 84% of his total runs. Tendulkar averages 56.09 at No. 4 – among batsmen with at least 4000 runs, only three have a higher average at No.4. (Click here for Tendulkar’s innings-by-innings list at No. 4.)The presence of Dravid at No. 3 has bolstered the top order immensely, but the lack of a settled and successful opening pair has meant Tendulkar has often come out to bat early in the innings, when the bowlers are fresh and encouraged by two quick strikes. Out of the 201 times he has batted at No. 4, 78 times he has come out with the score less than 50, of which on 34 occasions the score was less than 20. The table below lists his performances according to the team situation at his entry. When he has come in very early, his numbers have suffered – the average dips to less than 40. However, these situations have also produced some of his really memorable innings: against Pakistan in Chennai in 1999, he made 136 as India fell agonisingly short of a fourth-innings target of 271 after their second wicket had fallen at 6; in the Boxing Day Test in 2000, he scored 116 glorious runs coming in at 11 for 2; at Edgbaston in 1996, he came in at 17 for 2 and scored 122 out of a team score of 219, in an innings in which the second-highest score was a mere 18.However, there were also other instances when he fell cheaply – 18 times out of these 34 innings he was dismissed under 20.He was far more successful when he came in with the score between 21 and 50, averaging 54.56. Among his 44 innings in such situations, his two most unforgettable ones were in Bloemfontein, when he came in at 43 for 2 and made a stunning 155, and at Trent Bridge in 1996, when he scored 177 after the team had been 33 for 2.Most of his No. 4 runs, though, have come when the top three have given India a solid start: coming in at a score of 100 or more, he averages more than 76, with 17 centuries in 71 innings, including three of his four double-hundreds. Forty-one of those innings have been at home, where he averages almost 70. In similar situations overseas, his average is an incredible 87.39, with five unbeaten hundreds.

Tendulkar’s stats at No.4 by when he has come in to bat

Team score at entry Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s

Less than 20 34 1297 39.30 5/ 3 20 to 49 45 2346 54.43 6/ 13 50 to 99 51 1798 41.81 6/ 8 100 and more 71 4600 76.67 18/ 16 Breaking up those numbers host-country-wise reveals early wickets haven’t bothered him as much in England as it has in New Zealand and South Africa. In South Africa, in fact, a solid start hasn’t helped him much.

Tendulkar’s stats at No.4, by host country and by when he has come in to bat

Host country Team score at entry Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s

Australia Less than 60 9 390 43.33 1/ 3 Australia 60 or more 11 782 97.75 4/ 1 England Less than 60 10 535 53.50 2/ 1 England 60 or more 6 506 84.33 1/ 4 New Zealand Less than 60 6 210 35.00 0/ 2 South Africa Less than 60 13 459 35.31 2/ 1 South Africa 60 or more 5 111 27.75 0/ 1 Sri Lanka 60 or more 11 600 66.67 3/ 2 West Indies Less than 60 8 419 52.38 1/ 3 West Indies 60 or more 6 201 40.20 0/ 2 India Less than 60 33 1374 43.12 4/ 6 India 60 or more 62 3280 61.89 12/ 12Getting starts and converting them
Comparing the scoring patterns for the seven batsmen in the 10,000-club plus Jacques Kallis, who is only 239 runs away from that landmark, it turns out Ricky Ponting has the lowest failure rate and Steve Waugh the highest. More than 40% of Tendulkar’s innings ended before it reached 20 – only Lara and Waugh have a higher low-score percentage. Tendulkar, however, makes up by converting more than 16% of his innings into centuries, a ratio bettered only by Ponting. For Allan Border, the percentage is a poor 10.80.

Innings-wise break-up for each batsman

Batsman Less than 20* (%) 20 to 49* (%) 50 to 99 (%) 100 or more (%)

Sachin Tendulkar 97 (40.92) 51 (21.52) 50 (21.10) 39 (16.46) Brian Lara 95 (41.48) 52 (22.71) 48 (20.96) 34 (14.85) Allan Border 97 (38.80) 63 (25.20) 63 (25.20) 27 (10.80) Steve Waugh 104 (43.15) 55 (22.82) 50 (20.75) 32 (13.28) Rahul Dravid 71 (35.50) 53 (26.50) 51 (25.50) 25 (12.50) Sunil Gavaskar 81 (38.94) 48 (23.08) 45 (21.63) 34 (16.35) Ricky Ponting 61 (32.28) 52 (27.51) 40 (21.16) 36 (19.05) Jacques Kallis 74 (38.38) 44 (22.22) 48 (24.24) 30 (15.15) *Series and year-wise stats
Another indicator of the consistency of these eight batsmen is their series-wise averages. Ponting heads that chart again, with only five series in which he averages less than 30. Lara is next in the list, while Tendulkar’s ten poor series are more than offset by the 16 series in which his average soared to more than 70.

Series-wise performances for each batsman (excludes one-off Tests)*

Batsman No. of series Series average <=30 Series average >=70

Sachin Tendulkar 49 10 16 Brian Lara 35 6 11 Allan Border 39 7 8 Steve Waugh 47 11 11 Rahul Dravid 43 10 13 Sunil Gavaskar 31 9 6 Ricky Ponting 36 5 16 Jacques Kallis 42 7 11 *Tendulkar has been around for 20 years now, but only in three of those did his average for the year dip to less than 30 – in 1995, 2003 and 2006. The numbers are even more impressive for Border and Dravid, who haven’t allowed their average to dip below 30 at all.

Year-wise performances for each batsman (excludes years in which batmen played less than three Tests)

Batsman No. of years Year average <=30 Year average >=70

Sachin Tendulkar 19 3 4 Brian Lara 15 2 2 Allan Border 16 0 1 Steve Waugh 17 2 4 Rahul Dravid 13 0 2 Sunil Gavaskar 15 2 2 Ricky Ponting 13 2 3 Jacques Kallis 12 2 4 Stretches without hundreds
A measure of consistency over a long career is also the number of innings the batsmen have gone without centuries: for Tendulkar the longest such stretch is only 17 innings, the best among the eight batsmen. Gavaskar and Kallis are just one innings further behind, but Border went a whopping 61 innings without a three-figure score in 36 matches between 1988 and 1992.

Stretches without centuries

Batsman Innings 100s Longest stretch without 100 (inngs) No. of 10-plus inngs stretches without 100

Sachin Tendulkar 247 39 17 5 Brian Lara 232 34 27 6 Allan Border 265 27 61 6 Steve Waugh 260 32 41 6 Rahul Dravid 214 25 22 8 Sunil Gavaskar 214 34 18 3 Ricky Ponting 201 36 20 4 Jacques Kallis 207 30 18 5 All stats updated till the end of the first day’s play in Mohali.

Andrew McGlashan presents England’s marks out of ten for their series against West Indies

Andrew McGlashan11-Mar-2009England arrived in the Caribbean with high expectations, but, after their embarrassment in the first Test in Kingston, they found they lacked the firepower to blast their way back into contention in the series. Cricinfo runs the rule over the men that came, saw, and were thwarted.Andrew Strauss hit the form of his life, but was left floundering for that elusive win•Getty Images9Andrew Strauss
Led from the front after the debacle at Sabina Park, finding the form of his life with three hundreds in three matches. He was back playing the way of the Andrew Strauss who burst onto the scene in 2004 and if anything his 142 in Barbados was his most fluent Test innings. Captaincy clearly has a positive impact on his batting – he now averages more than 60 in the role – and he also remained an impressive figure off the field, dealing with the multitude of issues that came his way in a calm manner. There was theodd murmur that he could have been more aggressive in his tactics, but the end results were hampered by an attack that laboured for wickets on flat surfaces.8Paul Collingwood
Once again Collingwood silenced any doubters with a run-filled series,striking centuries in Antigua and Trinidad along with 96 in Barbados.He won’t always be everyone’s cup of tea because he lacks the flair of other players, but his value to the team is huge. One criticismthat probably can be levelled is his pace of scoring, strange for someone who has a good one-day record, as he occasionally becomesone-paced in the longer format. But the runs speak for themselves -Collingwood isn’t going anywhere in the near future.Matt Prior
A series that restablished Prior as the best all-round wicketkeepingoption for England despite a swift trip home to see his newborn son.He was in strong form before the interruption to his tour, and evenbetter when he returned. Hit a career-best 131 in Trinidad and thatwas followed by 61 off 49 balls to conjure the victory opportunity. Those efforts suggested he could hold down the No. 6 slot on a permanentbasis, but his glovework still needs refining as 51 byes and a crucialdrop off Shivnarine Chanderpaul showed in the final Test.Graeme Swann
Despite an encouraging tour of India, Swann had to wait until thehurriedly-arranged ARG Test for his chance but immediately grabbed itwith both hands. Deserved to finish on the winning side after a maidenfive-wicket haul before toiling long and hard for five more on thefeatherbed in Barbados. Between times it emerged that a long-standingelbow problem was having a serious impact and it was decided surgerywas required. However, he almost helped England to a memorableseries-levelling victory with an outstanding final-day spell. If theelbow recovers he’ll be facing Australia.7Alastair Cook
The key moment for Cook was finally reaching three figures for thefirst time since December 2007, although his unbeaten 139 in Barbadoswas made in the most benign of conditions. After a tough start inJamaica, Cook’s form improved during the series and his partnershipwith Strauss flourished. His technique outside off stump still remainssuspect, but his runs tally can’t be argued with. The fielding is adifferent matter and he still doesn’t convince as a close catcher,especially at bat-pad to the spinners.Kevin Pietersen
He saved his best until last with a flamboyant 102 to give England thechance of a series-levelling victory. Until that century it had been asubdued series for Pietersen, a hangover from the events of Januarythat still hurt him. His 97 in Kingston proved plenty of points, butwhen the going got easier on flat pitches Pietersen didn’t cash inlike his team-mates. Still, it’s all relative, and the final numbersof 406 runs at 58 are not too shabby.Stuart Broad
Developed nicely on what was billed as a crucial tour. Bagged hisfirst significant haul with 5 for 85 in the first Test (subsequentlyforgotten in defeat) and put in impressive spells throughout theseries. Showed strong stamina, but couldn’t hide his frustrations atthe batsman-friendly surfaces. With the bat he continued to look thepart and there is a Test century looming, while he is a long-termoption for the No. 7 spot depending on Andrew Flintoff’s health. Needsto watch his appealing and temper.James Anderson
He nearly reached breaking point in Trinidad as a hostile spell ofreverse swing went unrewarded, which was the tale of Anderson’s tour.Unlucky to be dropped for the opening Test he returned to bowl withpace but without the wickets to show for it. On the last afternoon healmost buried all those frustrations with another wicked spell and hisreputation, certainly within the team, remains very high. Will enjoyseeing the green grass of home.6Monty Panesar
He looked much more like the old Monty when recalled for the finalTest. He had clearly worked on his variations, with the introductionof an arm-ball, and there were more changes of pace. The bounce, bothfrom the ball and the bowler, returned as well, but he finally got thefine that has always been coming his way for over-zealous appealing. He willhave to fight for his place when just one spinner is selected, but the signs arethat he is learning.Ravi Bopara
After a marathon 41-hour journey from New Zealand, Bopara impressedstraight away. Called into the side to replace Flintoff he at last showed thetalent that everyone knew he possesses, and cashed in with his maiden century, albeit in some of the flattest conditions imaginable. His bowling is no more than part-time at best,but he has a future in the top order, though at which position remains to be seen.5Andrew Flintoff
Another tour, another injury. Before a hip problem curtailedFlintoff’s Test series he’d posed his normal threat with the ballwhile maintaining his inability to claim major hauls. However, to watch him bowl through the pain in Antigua was a stirring experience,although the long-term cost is still being measured. The time has cometo realise he is not a Test No. 6. The Ashes are looming and theycould well determine how his career is remembered.Tim Ambrose
Did all that could be asked of him after a rapid recall to replacePrior. Hit a sparky 76 to propel England towards 600 and kept tidilythrough West Indies’ marathon innings. Has maintained his name in theframe should injury strike Prior at any stage.4Owais Shah
After waiting so long for his chance, 133 runs at 22.16 wasn’t what he wanted. Shah’s spell at No. 3 started brightly enough with a half-century in Antigua, but his insistence for a nightwatchman later in the match when England were miles ahead was a poor decision, as was the crass run-out that denied him the chance to push for a century. After that he went into his shell, appearing tense at the crease, and suffered another bout of hand cramp in the final Test. The selectors have said he will have a run in the side, but questions are already being asked about the longer term.Amjad Khan
A wayward debut, but there could be something to work with for thefuture. He managed the key wicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan while alsogiving Prior plenty of diving behind the stumps. He certainly has paceand with a little refining – and a correction of his no-ball issues -he needn’t be a one-cap wonder.Steve Harmison
Harmison’s winter has been a bit like the hokey-cokey – in, out, in,out, spray it all about – and it’s impossible to know what the future holds. The usual provisos still apply that if he is bowling well he is a must,but that form has been absent since the end of the English season. Hedidn’t actually bowl badly in the two Tests he played,battling through illness on a slow surface in Antigua, but it stillwasn’t good enough from a strike bowler.3Ryan Sidebottom
How the mighty have fallen. England’s reigning Player of the Year was a shadow of the performer who led the attack for 18 months and thosestrains have caught up with him. He was economical, but unthreatening, in Kingston and sadly a bit of a liability in Barbados when he shouldn’thave played. The mind is clearly willing, but the body has otherideas.2Ian Bell
The writing was on the wall for Bell the moment he played a limp cutshot the ball before lunch on the fourth day at Sabina Park. The formslump that was evident in India continued with a number of loose dismissals early in the tour and eventually patience ran out. He willcome again, but may have to wait a while. An Ashes place is in thebalance, although England could do with his close-catching skills.

Three months after the horrific attack that nearly crippled him, Thilan Samaraweera is ready to play top-flight cricket again

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Jun-2009″Please Daddy, don’t go to practice. That naughty uncle will shoot again.” Sidhtya said to her father the first time she saw him put his Sri Lanka uniform on again. “I couldn’t stop smiling. I told her, ‘This is Sri Lanka, don’t worry about that,'” Thilan Samaraweera says.On March 3 this year, the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by armed terrorists as it made its way to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. The players were not aware of the mayhem outside till their driver shouted at them to “go down, go down” after the tyres of the bus were punctured. Bullets flashed in all directions; one caught Samaraweera in the left thigh, a hand’s length from the knee.”After 10 minutes of being shot the numbness set in,” Samaraweera reminisces. His first question to the Pakistani doctors arriving at the scene was if he would ever play cricket again. “They told me the bullet was stuck close to the knee. They said neither my nerves nor bones were damaged, so I would definitely play again.” Still, he didn’t believe them entirely. “I thought they were lying to me.” It wasn’t until the next day, back in Colombo, where he was admitted to the Nawalokha hospital that Samaraweera calmed down. “Once our [Lankan] doctors reassured me after removing the bullet, I got confident.”The following four weeks were enormously difficult for Samaraweera’s family. “The first week was terrible,” he says. Despite living in a country that had been mired in a civil war for over two decades, he says he had never been witness to any shootings or bombings.He appeared to be doing well on the outside with his recovery, but a blanket of fear had wrapped itself around his subconscious. “There would be some firecrackers outside the hospital which would terrify me. I would wake up in the middle of night scared,” says Samaraweera, who couldn’t sleep for more than two hours at a stretch during the first week after the attack.”I would dream of different things and the events of March 3 would come back. I would sit up suddenly. It would take about 15 minutes for my wife to help me settle down.” Erandathi Darshana stayed by her husband’s bedside continuously for three weeks and endured virtually the same amount of stress as her husband. “Fortunately, both our families took care of my two daughters,” Samaraweera says. His elder daughter Osuni, eight years old, was allowed by her school to stay at home for a while.The shock stayed with the family for a month. “But once I started walking, their nerves eased,” Samaraweera says. After three weeks in the hospital, he moved to his in-laws’ house, and a week later to his own, and that’s when everyone settled down.”After the first week I could move the leg and started to walk with the help of crutches for three to four weeks,” Samaraweera remembers. After a month he started to take a few steps without any help. This was followed by walking up and down the stairs. The Samaraweeras had a “little holiday” during the Sinhalese New Year in the second week of April, going on “small outings”.The physiotherapy sessions designed by Tommy Simsek and Jade Roberts, Sri Lankan team’s physio and trainer, helped a great deal. Simsek had one-on-one sessions with Samaraweera for the first two weeks, then Roberts took over and worked with him in the gym, carrying out particular exercises to strengthen the leg muscles.”I was really surprised with his determination to get back to 100% fitness after going through such an incident,” Roberts says. He is optimistic about Samaraweera getting back to complete fitness soon, and does not rule out him playing in the forthcoming home series against Pakistan.

“It has not changed me, really. It is not the biggest thing in my life. It could have happened to any person, not only a sportsman”

Fellow players visited him (and the six others who were admitted to the hospital). Muttiah Muralitharan, Samaraweera’s best friend in the team, was very worried initially and called frequently from South Africa, where he was playing in the IPL. He would ask Samaraweera if he (Murali) was bowling well. “If you are bowling four overs for 20 runs, why you are asking if you are good?” Samaraweera would tease. His favourite IPL team is Chennai, he says, but he denies it has anything to do with his friendship with Murali.”No one said to leave cricket,” Samaraweera laughs, when I ask if anyone in his family suggested he forget the game after the attack. “My family was emotional, and they were really happy the first day I walked without crutches. They were really happy…” He remains silent for a minute.It is difficult for him to revisit the incident. In fact, this is the first interview where he has opened up as much as he has done. He consulted three psychologists, who recommended that he overcome his fear by revealing every minor detail.Samaraweera can count himself lucky to be back playing the game so soon. Other sportsmen have found it difficult to come to terms with life after being struck down by similar injuries. Monica Seles is the most prominent case of an athlete who suffered after a similar life-threatening incident. She never regained the form that had elevated to world No. 1 after she was stabbed by a deranged devotee of her chief rival, Steffi Graf, during a 1993 tennis tournament in Hamburg. Seles later admitted that the stress of not playing in the wake of the attack led to an eating disorder.”I don’t like to talk about it in general, not even with my family or friends, as I’m uncomfortable psychologically,” Samaraweera says.Didn’t the sessions with the psychologist have a positive effect? “After a point it was really frustrating to talk about the same thing,” he says. “I just wanted to go home and spend time with the family and kids. I didn’t want to talk about the past. I just wanted to move forward.”Another thing he wanted to do after getting back on his feet was to hold a bat. “I wanted to bat immediately.” The last week of April was the first time he held a bat, during an indoor nets session. He faced 10-15 deliveries; the physio had told him not to go beyond that.”My first feeling was that I was scared about the front foot [tightly bandaged at the time], which is the most important movement for a right-hand batsman. I felt a little uncomfortable in the left knee.” Two days later he hit some more balls and things started getting back to normal.Before the storm: Samaraweera makes a double-century, the day before the attack•AFPHe will play his first practice game in a week’s time, followed by another a week later. He hopes that if he manages to return to normal fitness, he will have a chance of playing in the tour game against Pakistan, before the first Test on July 4.”I really believe I can play, because if I play the first Test it will be my 50th,” he says. If he does manage to do so, really would be an occasion to celebrate. It is a challenge Samaraweera is up for, according to Roberts. “He is really, really motivated and keen to succeed and is showing that in how he trains and works out every day.”It probably safe to say that what athletes fear most is being kept away from their sport. It’s underlined when Samaraweera talks of how he is raring to get going again, despite having almost lost his life. “I’m not scared,” he says with conviction.”What will be interesting for me, if I’m selected to play in the Pakistan series, is what I feel when I board the bus. If I will be sitting in my usual seat, in the sixth row, in front of Murali… if that will bring back memories of Lahore. I’m not sure, but I’m looking forward to it.”Samaraweera disagrees that near-death experiences change beliefs. “It has not changed me, really. This is another example in life and one has to move on. It is not the biggest thing in my life. It could have happened to any person, not only a sportsman.”It has been more than an hour. I finally ask: what happened to the bullet? There is a moment’s silence before Samraweera erupts into laughter. “I have the bullet,” he says. The doctor gave it to Erandathi, saying it was a “lucky bullet”, because nothing happened to nerve or bone though it pierced 12 inches into the leg.”I can’t tell you where I keep it but it is in my house,’ Samraweera says. “I think I will keep it all my life.” Doesn’t it hold a bad memory? “At the moment it is a terrible thing, but with time it may be something like a lucky thing which I can look at and think about in the future.”

They cannot use a lack of preparation as an excuse because they are perhaps the most prepared at each tournament

Marc Ellison21-Jan-2010Bangladesh have yet again limped out of the ICC Under-19 World Cup after a successful and dominant lead-up to the tournament in which expectations were high and great hopes were expressed. Their failure was reminiscent of the last two World Cups, which they approached in good form and on the back of strong warm-up campaigns only to fall at crucial hurdles.The current tournament should lead to some introspection over their inability to handle the ‘big games’ and perform under pressure. Even though nations tend to talk down their importance, U-internationals are seen as the pathway to international cricket and it must be acknowledged that their penchant for saving their worst performances for the crunch matches doesn’t set a good precedent for those moving into what is a very young men’s team.Placed in Group A, the ‘group of death,’ Bangladesh sailed past Papua New Guinea in their first match by by five wickets, then lost to West Indies by one run and Pakistan by four wickets after holding the edge for long periods. The latter game, especially, is one they will rue losing, having had their noses in front for the majority of the game before losing with one ball to spare. Against West Indies, Bangladesh – chasing 250 – needed just two runs from four balls with two wickets in hand before collapsing.Their 2010 pre-tournament campaign produced some outstanding results which included a 4-1 hammering of Sri Lanka at home, comprehensive victories against England 2-1 (away) and 5-2 (home) – against a side almost identical to the one that beat India on Thursday in the final Group A match – then disposing of Zimbabwe 5-0 (home). They had a slight hiccup in Sri Lanka where they failed to make the final of the Tri Series tournament, losing to both teams once and registering their only win against the hosts. Once they arrived in New Zealand they comfortably beat the hosts by 36 runs (D/L method) and encountered a star-studded Australian outfit which they beat by 20 runs to complete their warm up matches.They had similar warm-up campaigns in 2006 and 2008. In the lead up to the 2008 tournament in Malaysia, Bangladesh beat the world champions Pakistan 3-2 (away), Sri Lanka 3-2 (home), losing a tri- series final to a rampant Indian side in South Africa and beating West Indies 2-1 at home. During the tournament, they went through Group D unbeaten, impressing with wins against Bermuda, Ireland and, most importantly, a 13-run victory against England in the final match of the group stages before succumbing to a very good South African team in the quarter-final by 201 runs.In 2006, Bangladesh narrowly missed out on the final of the Afro-Asia Cup by losing to eventual finalists India and Pakistan but beating Zimbabwe, Pakistan and South Africa. Shortly after that series they demolished Sri Lanka and England in a tri-series at home. They conquered all before them in Group A with wins against New Zealand, eventual champions Pakistan, and Uganda. They actually won five out of six matches in the tournament, beating West Indies and the hosts to finish fifth, but lost the most important match, a quarter-final against a weak England outfit.This shows up a pattern that in turn raises many questions – at that level, and at that age, how equipped are these youngsters to deal with such pressure? Who is on hand to help out? What are the safety nets? I know in my own experience playing in the U-19 World Cup in 2006 that it can be a very lonely tour for a captain in control of an under-performing group of young men and having to face up to the media immediately after losing crunch games. The coaching staff around you see what is going wrong, and can even see these mistakes made before they happen, yet their own heads are on the chopping block and so they themselves struggle to deal with the frustration.The ability to handle pressure can simply be put down to experience by finding your way through the tight situations and coming out on top eventually. Without a doubt, the most important thing to learn from these events is how to handle the pressure better the next time. I know personally, I would’ve liked more preparation for our campaign back in 2006 to get a feel for the pitches we were playing on, to learn more about playing quality finger spin, and also, to get a better understanding of my players and their ability at that level. Unfortunately, Bangladesh cannot use that excuse as they are perhaps the most prepared U-19 team at each tournament.One thing is for sure, if they can find a way to win those ‘big games’ and get through the difficult pressure moments, then their raw unharnessed ability as a cricketing nation could be freed to produce greater success not only at the U-19 level, but also at the highest level.

The Warriors are just one rung away from the top of the ladder they set out to climb, but South Australia’s trophy cupboard stays barren

Firdose Moonda in Centurion25-Sep-2010Remember that rasping Creed song, Those scratchy, distressed words could well have been the ballad the South Australian Redbacks and the Warriors waltzed to in Centurion. – a world where hunger knows no bounds.The Redbacks have not won a trophy in 15 years and the parched trophy cupboard is getting anxious. Michael Klinger, their captain, always maintained that the team had high hopes coming into the tournament, and he couldn’t hide his disappointment that they couldn’t fulfil those aims. “It’s definitely frustrating, once we got to the semi-finals, we thought we could go all the way,” Klinger said. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it to the semi-finals, but we did. We applied ourselves really well, but we were outplayed in all three aspects today.”The Warriors have an appetite of a different sort. After capturing their first two trophies since the franchise system started last season, they have become addicted to the thrill of victory. Davy Jacobs, the Warriors captain, said before the game that the Eastern Cape side had a vision of becoming the best franchise in the world by next year, but hinted that perhaps their time had come a little earlier.They were ready to ask themselves, With eyes wide open, the Warriors appeared to see everything. The only moment of blur was when Ashwell Prince hung his bat out to dry against the second-fastest ball bowled in the competition. “It’s Shaun Tait’s job to take wickets, you can’t stop that. When Ashwell got out, it was important for the next guy who came in, Colin Ingram, to do the job, and he did,” Jacobs said.Ingram and the captain combined for a second-wicket stand of 104, with Jacobs the dominant partner. His 61 saw him soar to the top of the run charts. Despite his scintillating highs, Jacobs didn’t want to say much about himself. “This is basically the way I have been playing for the last couple of years. But, I don’t like to talk about myself; I’d rather talk about the team.”For the Redbacks, visibility wasn’t always that clear. Strangely, they sometimes saw with the precision of a bird of prey, like when Daniel Harris ran from his follow-through to square leg to dismiss Jacobs. At other times, their eyesight, along with a few other factors, let them down. The Redbacks put down Ingram twice and Mark Boucher once. “Most of the catches were pretty tough and some of them just didn’t stick today. We’ve prided ourselves on good fielding for most of the tournament,” Klinger said.The Warriors were seeing the ball like a pumpkin in the field. Boucher watched it climb a stairway to heaven and spiral down into his gloves to send Harris on his way for eight. Johan Botha almost swallowed the ball, when, three deliveries later, it was hit to him on the midwicket rope. Klinger was gone for 13, and the Redbacks had lost their two kingpins.The one man who may have appeared to have weak visibility was the ultimate Warrior himself, Makhaya Ntini. He laboured in the field and bowled two expensive overs. With the Wanderers pitch expected to be bouncy, will Ntini have fitted his pair of lenses, to be back to his best? “I wouldn’t say he is in bad form, he had a good game in the last match. Perhaps the pitch just didn’t suit him,” Jacobs said, adding that Ntini’s experience can never be underestimated. “He has been playing for South Africa for more than decade and he knows the Wanderers very well.”The Warriors are just one rung away from the top of the ladder they set out to climb. Klinger had some words of praise for his opponents, hinting that he thought the scale was ever-so-slightly tipped in their favour. “They have quite a predictable game, so we knew exactly who was going to bowl which over, but it didn’t matter, because they are so difficult to beat. They probably already had their bad game against Chennai,” he said.So, the Warriors go higher. To Johannesburg. To the final.

Chappell had talent, elegance and technique to burn, but more formidable was the discipline he imposed on himself – one more severe than those of any of his contemporaries

Gideon Haigh28-Nov-2010Australian cricket doesn’t have much time for elegance. It looks unserious, brittle, even a little effete. Australians favour aggression – bustling, bristling, business-like. They like to think of themselves as all about effect and output; it’s not how but how many. For Greg Chappell, they made an exception.The elegance did not, of course, come first. For more than a decade Chappell was the gold standard of Australian batting. He was like bullion in the vaults: the reserve currency. In the speculative side you chose at the pub, you put down his name at No. 4, and then you started with the rest. I dare say Australia’s selectors were the same. So Chappell did what was in him, and it to be beautiful.Yet it did matter how he achieved this, by looking a treat. After an early tightening of his technique, there was no stage in Chappell’s career when he was not a dazzling strokemaker. Nobody ever enjoined him to “bat ugly”; it would hardly have been possible. He had a bearing, a majesty, even in repose. He might have played three maidens, but if one dropped into the slot you knew it would be on-driven for four; he might take three hours over the first fifty, but the second fifty would take 45 minutes with barely a hint of extra effort.Chappell was a tall, slim, lean man – even a little austere. He played his cover drive from full height. The bat came down straight. The weight surged through the ball. It looked imperious. It imperious. As a spectator, you felt the wash of disdain – how it must have felt to bowlers. As for the leg side, you sensed he could have nominated any of its 180 degrees and hit it there, particularly behind square, the quadrant into which he directed his signature, wristy, upright flick. He never hurried, never seemed to push too hard, never thrashed or slogged when a stroke would do – he just made up his own rules and followed them, without deviation.Between balls and times, Chappell looked a little uptight, his pipe-cleaner man’s physique emphasised by a shirt buttoned to the neck, sleeves always to the wrist. His stance was stiff-legged, over-topped by a stoop. The bat made a rhythmic tap, before one final, faintly voluptuous loop towards gully. Then, with the ball in flight, everything changed. The bat and body snapped into line. The hands aligned perfectly at slip. Chappell didn’t take spectacular catches, fumbles or rebounds – his anticipation was too good to need to. The ball simply vanished and never reappeared.The effect was strangely humbling. When Chappell reached 200 at the Gabba in December 1981, a spectator bounced off the old Hill there and began hare-ing for the centre, pursued at the plod by security – a year before the misfortune of Terry Alderman, such invaders were an annoyance rather than a threat. It wasn’t to slap Chappell on the back or obtain his autograph that this man came either: he took the batsman’s gloved hand, went down on one knee and bowed his head, as if genuflecting to royalty. Watching Chappell put John Arlott in mind of William Clarke’s description of Joe Guy: “All ease and elegance, fit to play before the Queen in Her Majesty’s parlour.” It was something to provoke similar spontaneous homage from the Aussie egalitariat.It was not all patrician airs and drawing-room decorum, of course. Most people know that Chappell scored a century in his first Test. Not everyone remembers that he did so batting at No. 7, bowling his medium pace as the first-change bowler. He was joining a rather embattled team, recently mauled in South Africa and about to lose the Ashes too. Nor did he immediately impress as a permanent fixture. A couple of months before the Australian team to tour England in 1972 was chosen, his place was uncertain.Chappell’s batting crystallised when abundant natural talent was harnessed by an anchorite’s self-control. Early in his career he played his shots with a generous abandon. His biographer Adrian McGregor explains that the admonitions of Chappell’s father, and of the respected Adelaide journalist Keith Butler, caused him to undergo some soul-searching. Nine times out of 10, Chappell reasoned, a batsman blew himself up. He must not indulge bowlers so. He sacrificed none of his strokes – Richie Benaud had enjoined him not to. He simply developed a mental self-discipline more severe than any contemporary’s. His was the first generation to take the mental side of cricket in earnest, reading Rudi Webster’s , visiting the hypnotherapist Arthur Jackson, invoking the “flow” of Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi. They were lucky in already having good techniques – later players thought positive thinking could do the work for them. Chappell, however, was a class apart. He may even have imparted some of his drive to brother Ian, whose average after Greg joined him in the Test team was 12 runs higher than before.

He played his cover drive from full height. The bat came down straight. The weight surged through the ball. It looked imperious. It imperious. He never hurried, never seemed to push too hard, never thrashed or slogged when a stroke would do – he just made up his own rules and followed them, without deviation

There was something slightly forbidding about this. In contrast to Ian, a natural leader of men, Greg confessed himself only a “workmanlike” captain. Even to team-mates he could look stern, schoolmasterly. Geoff Lawson has described the agonies of entering the Australia team in 1980, of Chappell with hands on hips at slip “as if to say, ‘Don’t bowl that crap, son,’ every time I bowled a half-volley or got hit for a boundary”: he deemed Chappell “one of the poorest captains that I had ever played under”. His confreres Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh found Chappell a more communicative and empathic captain after he had tasted ruinous failure in the summer of 1981-82. The struggles of others became more explicable in terms of his own.Chappell’s great indiscretion was the underarm delivery. Most cricket conflicts arise from adrenaline, anger, petulance. Here was a rare counter-example, originating in the opposite state of mind, from a coldly rational assessment of problem and of probabilities, involving a solution on Chappell’s mind since a one-day match during World Series Cricket had been won off the last ball by a tailender’s six. Chappell’s decision is generally construed as a momentary lapse, an instance of judgement impaired by tiredness. Yet it might also be seen as one of Chappell’s truest actions – evidence of his analytical mind and unsentimental nature. Producers in Channel 9’s commentary position used to direct cameramen to vision of Chappell with a terse instruction: “Give us a shot of Killer.” Killers are as killers do.Chappell’s self-mastery might have come harder than it appears. He retired twice in his career, once publicly in 1977, once privately in 1982, when his form was at its worst. He also developed considerable business interests, as though he aspired to leaving cricket behind. When they did not really fructify, he remained in the game with a seeming ambivalence. Few men know batting better, but his coaching record is indifferent. He commentates knowledgeably but without much enthusiasm. He quit noisily as an Australian selector in the 1980s, and has returned more than 20 years later, this time in the created role of national talent manager. He is not the only cricketer, of course, to have struggled to find a place in life that suited him as amply as the crease. Nor in art is it rare for beauty to arise from hidden struggle.

The Canada batsman may well fade into oblivion after this World Cup, but his back-foot six off a 145kph Shaun Tait thunderbolt will be part of drunken pub conversations for years to come

Sriram Veera at the Chinnaswamy Stadium 16-Mar-2011Sometimes, we freeze an entire career of a batsman into a solitary frame of action. Kris Srikkanth’s timeless square drive on a bent knee off Andy Roberts, Javed Miandad’s last-ball six, Doug Walters’ six off the last ball of the day to bring up a Test hundred, and Tamim Iqbal rushing down the track to lash Zaheer Khan over long-on during the 2007 World Cup. There are some shots that get tattooed on your brain forever.And sometimes, just sometimes, a batsman might just be remembered for a single shot. Vikram Rathour, a very fine domestic player, never made it in international cricket, but in a mindless game in Sharjah, he played a stroke that made even Sachin Tendulkar, the non-striker at the time, turn to look at the trajectory of the ball with astonishment. It was the last ball of an over from Shaun Pollock, and Rathour leaned forward a touch and wafted his bat on the up and through the line of a short-of-length delivery and the ball went screaming over long-on.On Wednesday, Hiral Patel had one such priceless moment, which a fan may bring up in some drunken chat in some pub in the future. It was a sizzling knock from Patel, filled with cuts and drives, but one shot screamed out for attention from posterity. It was a 148.5kph thunderbolt from Shaun Tait that bounced short of a length. It demanded respect, but it got insouciance. Patel just leaned back, lifted the front leg in the air and absolutely thumped it on the up and over cover for a mind-blowing six.It was ballsy, impish and had a dash of an innocent arrogance that can only come from an amateur teenager. It was a shot of a lifetime, and probably will be so in the case of Patel, as Canada might disappear from the World Cup map if the ICC keeps out the Associates from the 2015 edition, and who knows what Patel will be doing in four years’ time.What makes the Patel moment almost magical is the context. Here is a 19-year-old kid from the cricketing backwaters of Canada, facing the fiery fast men of the World champion side. Tait, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson can make strong men go weak in the knees, but this kid was merrily thumping them.It brought back memories of a completely contrasting player, the defensive David Steele, who was plucked out of anonymity by the England captain Tony Grieg at the age of 33 to face Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. He wore steel-rimmed spectacles, nearly lost his way while walking out to the middle on debut at Lord’s, and stirred a nation’s imagination by defending the hostile men with aplomb. The Clive Taylor hailed him as “The bank clerk who went to war”. Patel could well be the kid who went to war.For 58 minutes, the kid stunned the grown-up men from Australia. In 45 balls, he experienced what he might never feel again: what it is like to be a conqueror of a fiery attack. Apart from that six off Tait, there was a serene shot that stood out among the adrenaline-fuelled gems. Lee had just nailed him with a sharp bouncer, which he just about managed to evade with a weak waft. That reaction made you lean forward in the seat to catch the next-ball action. Is Patel mentally strong enough to handle the next delivery? Would he retreat back, if not back away?Lee too, it seems, was thinking on those lines, for he hurled the next delivery fuller and straighter to catch the batsman by surprise. Patel strode forward – it was the maximum he stretched on the front foot in the entire cameo – and creamed it through the covers. It said so much about the plucky kid. He went on to even hook Lee for a six.The knock drew a lot of praise from Ricky Ponting, who even threw in a reference to Virender Sehwag. “He was savage on us. If you look at someone like Sehwag, he plays a pretty similar way to what [Patel] played today,” Ponting said. “Looking at the way he plays, he’s a fairly unusual sort of player in the fact that he scored probably 90% of his runs in the one area today, which was around the point, backward point area. The new ball swung a bit, which offered him a little bit of room, and that was all he needed. He accepted the room and he hit some amazing shots at the top of the innings.Ponting, though, did say that part of the early shock his team suffered was due to a lack of knowledge of the opposition. “We didn’t know a lot about him [Patel]. We didn’t know a lot about a lot of their players, from the fact that we haven’t played against a lot of them and we didn’t have a lot of footage on a lot of their players either. The notes and everything we had was more about their careers stats and a few clippings on things they’d done in this tournament. We probably didn’t bowl as well as we needed to.”Even Patel’s dismissal brought a smile to your face. When he was going hammer and tongs, a couple of us journalists looked up his profile on ESPNcricinfo, written by a Canadian journalist Faraz Sarwat. It ended with this gem: “When it works it can be spectacular, but there is always the danger that Patel’s innings won’t amount to too much more than giving catching practice to the fielder stationed at deep third man.” That is followed by a quote from the former Canada captain Sunil Dhaniram, “Hiral loves to play the cut over third man. It’s his favourite shot, but he needs to be careful, though, about when he plays it”. Soon, out in the middle, Hiral slashed a cut against Shane Watson and the ball settled in the palms of a fielder stationed, where else, but third man.By then, though, the boy who was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a state in India, and currently lives in Canada, had unfurled a memorable knock and a dreamy shot that will stand the test of time.

An unending skirmish for the orange cap, a left-field rehab programme, a déjà vu opening over and more in a review of the action for the second week of the IPL

Nitin Sundar22-Apr-2011The rehabilitation programme of the week
It doesn’t matter if your pains are physical or mental – the IPL has a cure. Lasith Malinga can barely hold his bones together after all the injuries, and has opted out of Tests. Chris Gayle can barely hold himself together after being ‘disrespected’ by the WICB. What do these men do? They turn up at the IPL. Malinga trots in for four overs of therapeutic yorkers every other day, while Gayle seeks inner calm by flogging sixes in every direction in his first game for Bangalore. Even the Sri Lankan board now seems convinced of the IPL’s special powers – they believe it offers their players better preparation for the upcoming England tour, than a three-day tour game against Middlesex.The unending tussle of the week
Can Sachin Tendulkar and Paul Valthaty settle their differences like gentlemen, please? Clearly neither man can bear to see the orange cap adorning the other’s head. The one-upmanship began last week, after Valthaty played innings against Chennai Super Kings. Tendulkar responded by producing a century of his own. Valthaty was not pleased, and unleashed his rage on Deccan Chargers to wrench the cap back. Tendulkar simply sighed, adjusted his crotch guard, squinted into the distance and calmly reclaimed the lead with an assured innings against Pune. Valthaty would have none of it, and smashed Rajasthan to all corners of Mohali to regain pole position. Can Mr Chirayu Amin just give both of them a lifetime’s supply each of orange caps, and ask them to stop being so competitive?The maiden of the week
When Shaun Tait chugged in for the sixth over against Punjab, the score had a distinct stick-cricket like feel to it. 73 for 1, at the other-worldly run-rate of 14.6. The batsman on strike was Valthaty, who was mauling everything hurled at him. Tait produced one yorker, three short balls, one bouncer and a late swerving inducker, each one at close to 150 kph. Valthaty defended the yorker, and swung at every other ball without making contact. A maiden would not have been more out of place in the men’s room.The contrived finish of the week
A chase of 119 should always be a walk in the park. Especially if you have Sachin Tendulkar at the top, and the likes of Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard in your middle order. Yet, Mumbai somehow contrived to take it to the last ball. Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu added 74 to put their side on course, but consumed 12 overs for those runs. Sharma and Symonds, who had spent too long padded up and waiting for a chance to bat in previous games, must have been very pleased when they eventually got a hit. They were probably worried if they would ever get another bat, and chose to stay out there as long as possible. With 11 required off 15 balls, they focused on pushing singles before Rohit hit a last-ball six to end the crawl-fest.Mahela Jayawardene’s predictions are as precise as his placement•AFPThe WAG of the week
Elizabeth Hurley added to the IPL glamour, but it wasn’t a good week for a Rajasthan supporter. Her first outing was a washout, but she was there to cheer Shane Warne’s side in their match against Punjab. When Siddharth Trivedi castled Adam Gilchrist in the first over, she was jumping for joy with the rest of the Rajasthan contingent. When the umpire called it a no-ball, she was visibly shocked. When Dishant Yagnik then tried to slyly run Gilchrist out as he walked, she looked on hopefully, but was left disappointed. To make matters worse, her presence coincided with Warne’s worst performance of the season, as he leaked 50 runs in his four-over spell.The slump of the week
Warne could do no wrong in the first week, getting vicious drift and turn out of his chubby wrists, but his fortunes – and his team’s – plummeted in the second. First, Rajasthan ran into an inspired Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis, who strolled through a chase of 160. In the return game, Rajasthan collapsed to 81, leaving Warne fuming at the press conference. That verbal lashing, however, did the opposite of lifting the team for their game against Punjab. There were no-balls that fetched wickets, free-hits that leaked boundaries, dropped catches, and atrocious bowling. Warne was at the forefront of the meltdown, living up to his prediction that the pitch was a “batsman’s payday” by sending down a rash of long-hops that were feasted upon. He then lost his composure, sledging Dinesh Karthik even before he had faced a ball.The precise prediction of the week
Mahela Jayawardene must be a stickler for high precision. During the toss in Kochi’s game against Kolkata, he was asked that oft-repeated question that captains barely think about before answering. “What do you think will be a defendable score?” Jayawardene’s refused to be vague, and boldly backed his team to defend anything between 130 and 140. Against a line-up that included Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Gautam Gambhir and Eoin Morgan. As it transpired, Kochi scored 132 and won by six runs. Jayawardene was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award, despite not scoring too many. The venerable Nostradamus would have approved.The déjà vu over of the week
Zaheer Khan may be the canniest fast bowler doing the rounds in international cricket, but IPL 2011, so far, has not been kind to him. His worst moment was the opening over in the game against Kolkata. He started with a delivery on the pads that Kallis glanced for four, but the next ball was even wider and ran away for five wides. Zaheer shifted to round the wicket and sent down another leg-side wide. He then over-compensated and pushed a ball yards outside off stump. As if the wides weren’t enough, he then gave Kallis gifts outside off and on the pads, both of which were dispatched to the boundary. Memories of the opening over of the 2003 World Cup final wafted around Eden Gardens.

Despite scoring plenty of runs in domestic cricket, Tino Mawoyo’s weight kept him out of the national side. Three and a half months after committing to a new fitness plan, Mawoyo is ready to cement his place in the team

Firdose Moonda in Bulawayo31-Aug-2011Five months ago, Tino Mawoyo rolled out of the 2011 World Cup. He was overweight, unfit and had sustained a tear to an abdominal muscle on the day of Zimbabwe’s first warm-up game against South Africa, ruling him out of the global showpiece.It was rough end to a complicated four-year period for Mawoyo, who had been sprouting runs at domestic level but was caught in a dangerous cocktail of lifestyle issues, which, in a series against New Zealand A, resulted in him being stripped of the A team captaincy for bad behaviour. After initially missing out on World Cup selection, he was included when Sean Ervine pulled out and saw it as a chance to prove his mettle. The injury indicated that rock bottom had been struck.”It was pretty devastating at the time,” Mawoyo told ESPNcricinfo. “I hadn’t been included in the original 15 and then I replaced Sean Ervine and I was with the squad for two weeks and got injured just before the tournament started. That’s what gutted me the most.”The injury healed quickly and Mawoyo was back on the field two weeks later for his franchise, the Mountaineers. Disappointed at not being able to play any part in the World Cup, Mawoyo was forced to face some harsh realities about his future, starting with something as superficial as the way he looked – which was not the way a sportsman should look.The battle of the binge has had the better of players such as Samit Patel and Graeme Smith, but for a long time Mawoyo didn’t think he would become one its casualties. “It didn’t bother me [being overweight] in the beginning because I was scoring runs,” he said. “I had the attitude that if I am one of the top of guys, I should be in the team.”He wasn’t the first name on the starting XI though, or even any of the other ten names most of the time, and eventually, he was able to admit why. “I thought to myself, in the last few seasons where I’ve done pretty well, every time my name comes up, I hear the selectors say, ‘Tino is overweight,’ didn’t hear them say ‘Tino is not good enough to play,'” he said. It was glaringly obvious what needed to be done. “They said to me straight up, if you’re not going to lose weight, you’re not going to be in the team, no matter how well you do so I had to do something about it and I have.”Once Mawoyo showed that he was serious about losing weight, Zimbabwe’s fitness trainer put him on a strict diet, which included cutting out a lot of carbohydrates. He was also instructed to spend more time in the gym, doing fitness as well as strength training. Three and half months after starting the new program, Mawoyo has lost 16 kilograms and looks every bit a real sportsman. The benefits on the field and in the mind have also been noticeable.”Moving in the field is a lot easier,” he said. “I don’t feel as tired anymore and from the training routine that I’ve got now, I feel if I go for two or three days without a run, something is wrong.”Suddenly, Mawoyo was making a real case for himself. He was not just the Logan Cup’s leading run scorer in the 2006-07 season or the Faithwear Metbank one-day competition top man in the 2009-10 season, with an average of over 60. He was not just a former under-19, World Cup captain and a former A captain. He was also an athlete, who was impossible to ignore.

“Moving in the field is a lot easier. I don’t feel as tired anymore and from the training routine that I’ve got now, I feel if I go for two or three days without a run, something is wrong.”

Mawoyo showed his abilities in the longer form of the game against New Zealand last year, when he ended up as the series leading run-scorer with 262 runs from three matches. “I didn’t expect to play in that series but I played in the warm-up game against my franchise and I got some runs there,” he said. It was also an opportunity to show how he would perform against quality, international opposition and one that Mawoyo snatched spectacularly. “It was nice to be part of an A side and play in an international tour, because I hadn’t for a long time. I took it as a very big challenge and it was good to get a big score against a team that went to India and did alright in the bowling department.”It was a performance that stood in the mind of the selectors when the return to Test cricket got closer. Mawoyo had to undergo another trial against Australia A, in June this year, where he put on a century stand with Vusi Sibanda in the first match and a 46-run partnership in the second. Mawoyo did not cross the half-century mark in the series but he has passed the test and would play in .”It was good to see that after having done a little bit of work that they [the selectors] recognised that I had done well,” he said, reminiscing about his Test debut, for which he had no nerves when going to bat but he had felt a little anxious two days before the match, when he saw the ground being prepared. “It was even better to be a part of a vital part in the opening partnership with Vusi and to have won the first game back in a long time.” Sibanda and Maywoyo opened the Test with 102-run stand with Mawoyo scoring 43. They put on 69 in the second innings, showing signs of a promising opening pair for the future.Mawoyo believes their complimentary styles of play will serve Zimbabwe well in the future. “Vusi is quite an attacking player, hits the ball well on the back and the front foot and square of the wicket on the back foot,” he said. “I am predominantly a front foot player, I push the ball around a little bit more, I don’t hit as many boundaries and I think that’s a good thing. Vusi can get on with the game on the other side; I don’t mind watching the show.”A second Test now awaits Mawoyo, this one against Pakistan, and although he expects the challenge to be bigger, he is looking forward to measuring himself against it. He was one of the Test players who took part in the warm-up game against the Pakistanis which ended on Sunday and scored only 15. He thinks the mere fact that he played in the match will give him an advantage. “I enjoy that they always make me play in the warm-up games and then I can see the bowlers before the actual game.” One bowler he did not face was Sohail Tanvir and it’s him that Mawoyo is most wary of.He is also targeting the ODI series which will follow the lone Test as a way of cementing himself as a regular in the team. Mawoyo has played just two ODIs, in 2006 against Bangladesh, although he was part of the ODI squad that hosted Bangladesh recently. He is hoping to translate his Test form into an ODI spot. “If I can get some bigger scores in the Test matches, then I can say to the selectors, look I’ve put my hand up. I just have to make sure I have something to back me up.”

While brazen aggression might have intimidated Zimbabwe in the previous series, Brendon McCullum must remember that smarts and mettle are required to topple a side of South Africa’s pedigree

Andrew Fernando26-Feb-2012For much of South Africa’s chase in the first one-dayer in Wellington, their innings mirrored New Zealand’s almost exactly. Forced to rebuild following the loss of early wickets, expansive flourishes were shelved, singles were scampered and a stream of seaming deliveries left alone outside off stump. So similar were the innings, that both sides had made the same amount of runs halfway through their overs – 101 – though New Zealand had lost one less wicket.But what was to follow after the 25-over mark was to prove the winning of the game for South Africa, and a missed opportunity for New Zealand. Unwilling to simply follow recovery with consolidation, Brendon McCullum – the hosts’ most experienced batsman – lashed out in counterattack. Launching Lonwabo Tsotsobe over midwicket in the 27th over, he advanced to smack Jacques Kallis over point in the 28th. Morne Morkel got the same treatment in the following over, though this time with less control, before McCullum fell attempting the same stroke three overs in a row. South Africa had become wise to McCullum’s ploys and placed the fielder squarer. In a seemingly myopic quest to spur the scoring-rate, McCullum was oblivious to the change.Three hours later, he couldn’t have been given a more fitting nor comprehensive lesson by his counterpart.Having steadied the early wobble, AB de Villiers continued to collect, even as the asking-rate grew. Keenly aware of the field and employing low-risk strokes – like the downward dab to third man -he’d developed for just such occasions, de Villiers nudged South Africa forward, one quiet over at a time.JP Duminy followed his captain’s lead, his first 34 runs all coming in singles and twos. His fall made way for Faf du Plessis, who lightened his captain’s burden with a rapid innings. All through the middle overs, de Villiers was precise and calculating – picking out only the genuinely bad balls to dispatch, and hitting out only when the required-rate threatened to become unmanageable. Where McCullum’s eagerness to attack cost his side the luxury of an ideal launching pad, de Villiers’ controlled composition of his innings took his side from 35 for 3 in 10 overs, to 254 for 4 after 45.2. If South Africa’s innings had come first, a total of over 300 might have been likely.The blame for New Zealand’s sub-par score cannot fall solely on McCullum’s shoulders, but having become accustomed to the conditions, he should not have left so much to a middle order missing the experience of Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram. And while brazen aggression might have intimidated Zimbabwe in the previous series, smarts and mettle are required to topple a side of South Africa’s pedigree.Speaking the day after the loss, Kane Williamson, who himself had the opportunity to see the New Zealand innings to the close, spoke of how much the hosts’ batsmen could learn from de Villiers’ knock.”It was just so clinical,” Williamson said. “He never gave [us] a chance, finished it off and looked at ease doing it, which is what class players do.”We spoke about it afterwards and realised that players like that, you need to dismiss. But when they put an innings like that together, you need to learn from it as well, personally and as a batting unit.”Even with Taylor in the batting order, New Zealand seemingly lack a batsman who regularly takes responsibility for the innings and completes the overs unbeaten. It is an area New Zealand have struggled in since Stephen Fleming’s retirement.Guptill, Ryder, Taylor and McCullum have the bat speed and bludgeoning power to match any batsman in the world. But unless they develop the ability to maximise that potential by building steadily for extended periods, New Zealand will continue to be, like them, occasionally brilliant, but too inconsistent to be truly formidable.Edited by Nikita Bastian