Osman Samiuddin on the World XI squads to face Australia in the Super Series

Osman Samiuddin23-Aug-2005

Inzamam-ul-Haq: in stunning form, but hardly a man who revels in hype © Getty Images
Who would want to be a selector? If you’re lucky you please some of the people some of the time. If you’re dreaming you please all the people all the time. If your constituency is slightly larger than that of the average national selector, as was the case for the selectors of the World XI squad then, well, good luck.A glance at both the squads announced by the ICC selectors and the criterion they laid out for selections suggests that, try as they might to convince the world that theirs was an exercise dictated only by on-field endeavour and considerations, it was clearly accompanied by no little commercial nous.It’s not that the squads are weak, far from it in fact. By and large, they are a comprehensive representation of players acknowledged as the best in the world over the last year. But within the squads there are some selections – and some omissions – which only enhance the suspicion that the selectors were swayed at least as much by star value as they were by form and performance.It could explain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s absence from either squad; a Test average of nearly 60 and an ODI average of 45 since the beginning of 2004 is cancelled out by a personality cocooned from hype and celebrity. Undoubtedly it doesn’t help that his record againstAustralia is poor and popular misconceptions about his comical running (it has actually improved) and his fielding (inside the circle and at slip, he is still more than competent) persist. But a poor record against Australia hasn’t harmed the prospects of Jacques Kallis.Sachin Tendulkar lacks nothing in star value, but he does lack form, runs and match fitness. In ODIs, he averages 36.80 since the beginning of 2004. And lest the more zealous among us think it is a nationality bias, it isn’t; Tendulkar’s team-mate Rahul Dravid has figures to compare to Inzamam’s, and in fact anyone in the world, yet finds himself only in the Test squad.Dravid’s omission from the ODI squad hints at the selectors’ predilection for the superficial, for following fashion over form; despite his growth as an ODI player, Dravid doesn’t astonish a crowd – or selectors – with his daring and bravado as does a Tendulkar. But currently, he is more likely to score runs and that too against Australia. But it seems a World XI without Tendulkar, in or out of form, is still near-blasphemous.However, if Inzamam and Dravid’s cases are marginal, then the exclusion of Chaminda Vaas from the ODI squad is shocking, and highlights best the central dilemma that plagued the selectors. Vaas is not quick and he doesn’t take the breath away with speed as Shoaib Akhtar does; neither is he an admirable product of a controversial, much-discussed and far-reaching social policy as Makhaya Ntini is. But as an opening and closing bowler with rare intelligence and rarer gifts of control, seam and cut, he is almost unparalleled in ODIs, a successor to the original left-arm of God. To boot, he has a robust record against the Australians.

Chaminda Vaas: his omission from the one-day squad is a travesty © Getty Images
With Shoaib at least, there is no comparison, statistically, spiritually or in practice – Vaas has taken 40 wickets in 23 ODIs (Shoaib has 37 from 28) at nearly ten runs less per wicket (19.75) and with an economy rate almost a whole run better (3.95 per over) since January 2004. And, an Afro-Asian Cup apart, Shoaib has played no international cricket since January, although that hasn’t precipitated lesser media coverage.Many more debates, borne perhaps from a skewed sense of national identity and pride, are likely to emerge over coming days. Daniel Vettori possesses a decent record against Australia and burgeoning batting skills additionally, but can he really bowl the side out to win a game, as Anil Kumble (in particular) and Harbhajan Singh (to a lesser extent) have done? Does Ntini’s legendary fitness, stamina and increasing incisiveness not deserve a place in the Test side too? Has Steve Harmison developed enough ODI cunning and confidence to warrant a place? And is his captain Michael Vaughan not in possession of a supreme record against the Australians, as well as a fondness for Australian tracks, to manage a place in the top order?The most pertinent of those debates, however, will remain. To ensure the success of the Super Series, the ICC selectors are in need of hype just as they are in need of a competitive contest, and they have picked the personnel best suited to achieve that aim.

Cricinfo’s readers pick their Ashes XI

Cricinfo staff19-Sep-2005

Andrew Flintoff: celebrating his inclusion in the team you picked? © Getty Images

It reflects, perhaps, the closeness of the 2005 Ashes that the Ashes XI that Cricinfo’s readers have picked contains six Englishmen and five Australians. The difference comes bang in the middle of the side, perhaps, where Andrew Flintoff bats at No. 6. Of the 4590 readers who voted to pick the Cricinfo Readers Ashes XI, 4524 voted for Flintoff. And yet, he wasn’t the most popular choice. Fittingly, Shane Warne, one of the greatest players of any era, walked away with 4526 votes.Ten of the 11 players in the side faced no competition. The only contest was for the last bowling place, for which Steve Harmison, with 2710 votes, beat Brett Lee, with 2509. Andrew Strauss, with his century at the Oval, made a late surge, but his 2043 votes weren’t enough to keep out Marcus Trescothick (3826) or Justin Langer (2885). Ricky Ponting, with 3809 votes, got the most votes among the other batsmen, but was barely in the running for the captaincy: Michael Vaughan got 2705 votes to Ponting’s 937, with Shane Warne gathering 540.Cricinfo’s staffers carried out a similar internal poll among themselves, and came up with exactly the same team. Our readers, it would seem, get the writers they deserve. Vaughan was our captain as well, and, interestingly, more of us voted for Warne as captain than for Ponting. But in the imaginary match in which our notional Ashes XI will play, both men will have to listen to Vaughan.Your team is below. And if you have strong views about the shape of Test cricket and its future, do take part in our survey, “Shaking up Test cricket”.

Cricinfo Readers’ Ashes XI

Position	Player	Votes
1	Justin Langer	2885
2	Marcus Trescothick	3846
3	Ricky Ponting	3809
4	Michael Vaughan (c)	3584
5	Kevin Pietersen	3335
6	Andrew Flintoff	4524
7	Adam Gilchrist (wk)	3317
8	Shane Warne	4526
9	Simon Jones	3772
10	Steve Harmison	2710
11	Glenn McGrath	3283

Dileep Premachandran presents the plays of the day

Dileep Premachandran at Lord's19-Jul-2007

Slapstick comedy: Dinesh Karthik messes up a dolly of a catch © Getty Images

Drop of the day – The cap doesn’t fit: Dinesh Karthik’s attempt to
catch Andrew Strauss just before lunch was pure slapstick. There was a
little anticipatory jump, even though the ball was coming to him at eye
level, and it then burst through his hands to knock his cap off. India’s
best outfielder had spilled the easiest of chances, and provided the
perfect snapshot to encapsulate a mediocre day for his team.Top shot – Zak gets Cook-ed: Zaheer Khan’s first spell was a truly
woeful one and, when he dropped one short, Alastair Cook was so quickly
into position that the pull just rocketed to the square-leg fence. There
was a peachy Michael Vaughan cover-drive off Sourav Ganguly later in the
day, but Cook’s aggressive intent was what established English dominance.Ball of the day – How to make an impression: Your new-ball bowlers
have been as effective as the wolf huffing and puffing to blow the
house down, and you turn instead to your former captain, a man who bowls
at 70 mph. With his fourth ball, he gets you a wicket, breaching the
defence of the dangerous Cook. Eleven years after making a century on
debut at Lord’s, Sourav Ganguly’s timing is once again spot on.Shocker of the day: Anil Kumble’s first ball was an attempted
googly. It emerged from the hand as a looping waist-high full toss.
Strauss was so surprised that he could only put it away for a single.How not to get a hundred: Premeditated charges have caused plenty
of batsmen grief against Kumble in the 17 summers since he made his Test
debut. And when Strauss chose the Light-Brigade option when on 96, he paid
a heavy price. Having committed to the stroke, he might as well have given
it a wallop but an attempt at cuteness only found Dravid’s hands at slip.The new face of English cricket: Monty Panesar is everywhere,
smiling enigmatically at you from NPower hoardings and stickers. A year
ago, Duncan Fletcher appeared reluctant to play him. Now, an England team
without Monty is almost unthinkable. And with Flintoff, Harmison and
Hoggard out of commission, he’s now the most senior bowler in the side.Missing banner of the day: Time was when Indian fans would arrive
at a game in England with those hand-painted banners that said Give ’em
Curry. No longer. It would be a futile taunt anyway, given how eagerly the
English have embraced curry – or their version of it.

A brief overview of World Series Cricket

Martin Williamson10-Oct-2006In May 1977 the cricketing establishment was shaken to the core with the announcement that Kerry Packer, an Australian media magnate, had signed more than three dozen of the world’s leading players for a rival tournament to run head-to-head with the 1977-78 Australian season.The series originated because Packer’s attempts to secure TV rights for his Channel Nine network had been dismissed by the Australian Cricket Board in favour of a long-standing, and some said far too cosy, relationship with state broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Packer set about using his corporate wealth to establish a rival attraction for his network, a job made easier by the poor financial rewards offered to players at the time.Through the second half of 1976 and early 1977 Packer signed up dozens of leading players, and remarkably the secret was kept until the eve of the official announcement. Packer’s main agents were Tony Greig, at the time the England captain, and Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain, who did the bulk of the local recruitment.The news broke on May 9, 1977 as the Australians prepared for their Ashes series in England – 13 of the 17 had signed for Packer. The media reaction was generally unwelcoming while the establishment were unable to hide their fury. World Series Cricket soon became known as Packer’s Circus, Greig was stripped of the England captaincy, and was singled out for vitriolic attacks by the press, while many wanted all those who had signed banned from playing anywhere. Over the summer more signings emerged, while Australia, a far from happy side, lost the series and the Ashes 3-0.Packer had undertaken a PR offensive in the UK in May and June 1977 and while many regarded him as cricket’s antichrist, there was no denying his passion and eloquence. Against a slick media operator, the cricketing establishment looked like floundering dinosaurs. His cause was further aided by signing the highly-regarded Richie Benaud as his advisor.The ICC as slow to respond to what it initially saw as an Australian affair, but as recruiting increased it became apparent WSC affected the game across the world. The ICC met with Packer in London on June 23. Initially, it seemed that the two sides might reach agreement but talks broke down over Packer’s insistence that Channel Nine be awarded TV rights for the 1978-79 season. That was outside the ICC’s powers. Packer stormed out with a clear message: “It’s every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.”Those comments polarised opinion and fired up the establishment. In July the ICC ruled that any Packer matches were not first-class and that anyone taking part would be banned from first-class and Test cricket.For a while many players wavered. Packer acted quickly to protect his interests and launched his lawyers against boards and the ICC. Greig, Mike Procter and John Snow, backed by Packer, took the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB – the forerunner of the ECB) to the High Court claiming restraint of trade.For seven weeks from September 26, 1977, the case was played out with massive global interest. Packer claimed the ICC had tried to force his players to break contracts. On November 26m, Justice Slade delivered his verdict, finding for the plaintiffs, arguing that professional cricketers need to make a living and the ICC was wrong to stand in the way just because its own interests may be damaged. The cost to the establishment was close to £250,000 as costs were awarded against them.Not everything went Packer’s way. He was barred from describing the games as “Test matches” nor could he call the side “Australia”. He rebranded the games “Supertests” and the team “WSC Australia XI”. Such was the take-up among West Indies players that Packer was able to add a third team – WSC West Indies XI – to his tournament, although some of these players doubled up for the WSC World XI which rather tarnished the credibility of the matches.Dennis Lillee supporting the brand•Getty ImagesHe was also locked out of the traditional grounds, having to lease non-cricket stadiums in the major cities. The authorities thought that would undermine the standards as those venues did not have cricket squares, but Packer’s groundsman, John Maley, devised drop-in pitches. Grown in greenhouses, they saved WSC, despite initial scepticism.Some players were barred from grade cricket – Ray Bright was forced to keep in touch by playing for Footscray Technical College, Richie Robinson for North Alphington.On November 24, 1977, two trial matches took place without major hiccups, and on December 2, 1977 the first official Supertest between Australia and West Indies got underway at Melbourne ‘s VFL Park. To the delight of the establishment, attendances were derisory, with barely 2000 people in the vast 79,000-capacity venue. What’s more, the crowds at the official Test between what amounted to a second-string Australia side and India were good.The imbalance was short lived. Packer poured money into marketing and advertising, using established names to back the media push. It was all about big hitting and fast bowlers. Spinners or grafters hardly got a look in. It was brutal , especially for the batsmen who were subjected to a bouncer barrage – WSC even removed the ban on bowling short at tail enders. Within weeks extra protective equipment started appearing, and horrific broken jaw suffered by David Hookes at the hands of Andy Roberts only served to speed the arrival of helmets.Packer also changed tack from Supertests to one-day cricket. Again, initial response was lukewarm, although day-night matches had shown a more healthy turnout. It was to help shape the second season.The Australian media had, by and large, sided with the board and so WSC was fighting on two fronts – cricket and media. What is more, the official Australia side, under the recalled veteran Bobby Simpson, had a gripping 3-2 series win over India, who had no Packer defections to content with.The first cracks in the establishment hardline came in March 1978 when Simpson’s young side headed to the Caribbean. With the WSC season finished, the West Indies board picked their full-strength side, including all Packer’s rebels.While England refused to pick their rebels – Greig, Derek Underwood, Alan Knott and Bob Woolmer – in the 1978 summer, many WSC-contracted players turned out in county cricket. Pakistan also refused to pick Packer players but relaxed when more players were signed between seasons. The other main World XI contingent came from politically-isolated South Africa, with New Zealand and India unaffected.The brutal side of WSC: David Hookes clutches his head after being hit during the WSC Supertest in Sydney in December 1977. He sustained a broken jaw•The Cricketer InternationalPacker used the off-season to sign more players – at the peak there were more than four dozen – and rumours grew that he planned to field two more full XIs from England and Pakistan. So many players were contracted that a second-string WSC tour was arranged to take the game to outlying areas of Australia. The side, led by Eddie Barlow, was called the Cavaliers and featured a mix of recently-retired and up-and-coming players. Packer also organized a short tour to New Zealand and a much more substantial one to West Indies in the spring of 1978-79.Ahead of the 1978-79 season WSC finally got a foothold inside the establishment camp with an agreement from the New South Wales government that he could use the SCG, complete with newly-installed lights, and soon after WSC gained access to the Gabba. Perth and Adelaide were jettisoned from the itinerary and WSC concentrated on the population centres of Sydney and Melbourne.Without doubt, the Australian Cricket Board had won the 1977-78 war. However, it was thumped the following season. The official side, now under Graham Yallop, were trounced by Mike Brearley’s England five Tests to one in a fairly turgid series, while WSC’s day-night cricket, after a slow start, really caught the public’s imagination. On November 28, 1978 a crowd of 44,377 watched Packer’s Australian and West Indies side play at the SCG – the first floodlit game at a traditional venue. The drubbings of Yallops side also swung the media who now demanded the return of the Packer defectors to bolster the side.Packer’s marketing also hit home, targeting women and children. By the end of the summer it was clear that the ACB were on the back foot. The final Supertest between Australia and the World attracted 40,000 over three days; the final official Test 22,000 over four days. Desperate to redress the imbalance, the ACB hastily scheduled two Tests against Pakistan, who fielded their Packer rebels.The WSC circus then upped and headed to the Caribbean for a series that was remorseless on the field and fiery off it. The five Supertests and 12 ODIs were popular with the public and, most importantly to the region, bailed the West Indies board out of a financial hole.At the end of the season the ACB was hemorrhaging cash and goodwill. Its finances were limited and at risk of being reduced by WSC while Packer continued to pour money into his project. During March the two parties started a series of meetings that resulted in an announcement of a truce on May 30, 1979. It was clear who had won. Channel Nine had not only gained the rights to broadcast Australian cricket but Packer was granted a ten-year deal to promote and market the game. While the news was received with relief in Australia, the ICC and TCCB, which had taken a hard line in backing the ACB, felt they had been sold out.If there was an uneasy peace at the top, the players were not all as happy, especially the Australians who feared they would be victimised by their board. The signs were not good when the ACB’s World Cup team contained not one WSC player, and later in the year the squad to tour India was equally sans rebels. Kim Hughes, who led the two sides, paid a price as in many people’s minds he became the face of the establishment.By the time England toured for another hastily-arranged tour in 1979-80 – with the Ashes not at stake much to the ACB’s anger – Greg Chappell was back in charge and WSC players were in the team. Learning from WSC, the ACB added many more ODIs and those, dotted between two concurrent three-Test series against England and West Indies , caused much unease. Crucially, it made the ACB a profit. The new era had arrived and Packer’s influence, via the marketing and promotions contract, was there for all to see.

On the eve of the biggest World Cup to date, we look back at the opening encounters of the previous editions

Cricinfo staff12-Mar-20071975: Amiss the hare, Gavaskar the snailIn the first World Cup match England batted first and racked up a record 334 for 4, then the highest score for a 60-over game in the country. Madan Lal delivered the first World Cup delivery and it was met by John Jameson, England’s opener who was born in Bombay. On a seaming Lord’s pitch India left out the left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi. Amiss motored along to 98 at lunch to set the pace before Chris Old whacked a 28-ball 51 to launch the total. India’s reply was most anti-climactic – Sunil Gavaskar batted out 60 overs for an astonishingly slow 36 and India ended on a feeble 132 for 3.1979: Greenidge leads Indian routClive Lloyd won the toss and, as one would expect on a lively Edgbaston pitch, chose to field, allowing AME Roberts and MA Holding to party. Strangled by a cluster of fielders close to the bat, India were reduced to 29 for 3 and it was left to Gundappa Viswanath to prevent an abject surrender. India’s No.10 and Jack – Bedi and Venkataraghavan – surprised everyone with a battling 27-run stand but 190 was never going to be enough. Not with Gordon Greenidge controlling the chase. Greenidge, who was to end the tournament as the leading scorer, finished with an unbeaten 106, a point from where he and his side never looked back.1983: Lamb shears Kiwi skinsJust like they’d done in ’75, England’s batsmen got the World Cup off to a flier. While it was Amiss in the inaugural edition, Allan Lamb stormed The Oval on this occasion. His 103-ball 102 took the game completely away from New Zealand, whose bowlers were punished for their waywardness (203 runs off the last 25 overs). Whatever little chance New Zealand had evaporated once they collapsed to 85 for 5 and it was only thanks to Martin Crowe raging against the fading light that they crossed 200.Martin Crowe: on a Bradmanesque streak in ’92•Getty Images1987: Mahanama stands alone, Pakistan wrap it upRoshan Mahanama, then an unheralded Sri Lankan opener, almost orchestrated an upset in the opening clash of 1987. Chasing 268 in 50 overs, Sri Lanka were limping at 103 for 4 but Mahanama, along with the pugnacious Asanka Gurusinha and Aravinda de Silva, almost pulled off a heist before running out of gas in the final stages. Pakistan had built their total around a century from Javed Miandad, who was in the middle of a red-hot streak after piling up nine consecutive 50-plus scores. Imran Khan reached a special milestone in the game – when he nailed de Silva he’d reached 100 wickets in ODIs.1992: Crowe pulls the rug from under Aussie feetIn a clash of the hosts, New Zealand shocked Australia largely through Martin Crowe’s influence, first with the bat and then through his captaincy. On a sluggish Eden Park pitch, his well-paced century enabled New Zealand to overcome a horror start, which included John Wright being dismissed off the first legal delivery of the tournament, and guided them to 248. This despite a dodgy knee. Then, in what was an inspired move, he handed the new ball to offspinner Dipak Patel and saw him concede just 19 runs in his first seven overs. David Boon’s battling century kept the contest alive but Crowe marshalled his bowling options admirably to kickstart the tournament with a grand upset.1996: Astle too hot for EnglandEngland paid for their rusty fielding, allowing Nathan Astle to cruise to a century. Having sent New Zealand in, England’s butter-fingered fielders grassed four chances. Graham Thorpe, who reprieved both openers, committed the most costly blunder: fluffing a chance from Astle when on 1 and watching him go on to a composed 101. England got close through Graeme Hick, who cracked 85 despite a hamstring strain, but his run-out at a crucial juncture allowed New Zealand to sneak home.1999: Mullally swings out Sri LankaJust like the opening ceremony, the first match of the 1999 edition was a complete anti-climax, with the title holders Sri Lanka wilting in swinging conditions. Alan Mullally was dangerous with 4 for 37 and a middle-order collapse (five wickets for 23 runs) left Sri Lanka reeling at 65 for 5 before Romesh Kaluwitharana’s half-century lent some sort of respectability. England didn’t break much of a sweat while chasing 205 (the conditions were more batsmen-friendly in the afternoon) with Alec Stewart and Graeme Hick finishing the job.Brian Lara on song at Newlands•Clive Mason/Getty Images2003: Lara poops South Africa’s partyThis was the first time that a host team had been part of the opening game of the competition and not won. South Africa were favourites in this one but it was the genius of Brian Lara, returning to the side after a five-month break, that shone through. From 30 for 2 after 15 overs, West Indies motored along to 278 thanks to a scintillating century from Lara and high-voltage hitting from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ricardo Powell. South Africa were always in the hunt, despite losing wickets at regular intervals, and it was up to the 1999 World Cup hero Lance Klusener to repeat his heroics. He was lucky to be dropped on 48, when Pedro Collins not only spilled a skier but also tapped it over for six, but his dismissal in the penultimate over left Newlands silent.2007: The next chapterPakistan have lost both games they’ve played at Sabina Park, the venue for the opening clash. The only time they were part of the opening match (1987), they didn’t go past the semi-final. West Indies appeared in the first fixture in 1979, when they not only won the game but went on to claim the title, and in 2003, when they won by three runs but didn’t make the Super Sixes. Batting first is historically a better option (only in ’79 and ’99 have teams chased successfully) but the unknown nature of the pitch may tempt the captains to field first.

A statistical look at Sourav Ganguly’s Test career

Mathew Varghese25-Dec-2007Eleven years after a sensational start to his Test career at Lord’s, Sourav Ganguly steps out for his 100th Test in Melbourne riding a crest reminiscent of 1996, when he heralded his arrival with back-to-back hundreds in his first two Tests. The celebrations have already begun for him, though: in his 98th Test he scored a maiden century in his home town, Kolkata, and followed that with 239 in Bangalore, the highest Test score by an Indian left-hand batsman.Ganguly will become only the seventh Indian to play 100 Tests, and the second to reach the landmark at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after Allan Border. In the 99 Tests he has played so far, Ganguly has scored 6346 runs, making him fifth on the run-getters’ list for India. He is the most successful Indian left-hander by far, with Ajit Wadekar a distant second with 2113 runs.

Ganguly’s Test batting record

Matches Innings Runs Average 100s/50s

99 161 6346 43.17 15/30 Thirty-two Test wickets doesn’t say a lot about Ganguly the bowler, but he has been a handy option with his gentle seamers; in fact, he has opened the bowling for India in ten innings.

Ganguly’s Test bowling record

Matches Overs Wickets Average Strike-rate

99 488.2 32 49.46 91.5 Ever since his comeback after being dropped from the team early in 2006, Ganguly has been in remarkable touch, and went past 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the first time in his career.

Most Test runs in a calendar year for Ganguly

Year Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

2007 9 1023 63.93 3 2002 16 945 41.08 2 1997 11 848 56.53 3Ganguly was in sublime touch during the recent three-Test series at home against Pakistan. He was assured and prolific with the bat, notching up his best aggregate for a Test series, and was able to get a few crucial breakthroughs when he rolled his arm over, picking up five wickets at under 20.

Ganguly’s highest series aggregates Series Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

Pakistan in India 2007-08 3 534 89.00 2/1 Sri Lanka in India 1997-98 3 394 98.00 2/1 India in England 2002 4 351 58.50 1/3 The imperious touch with the bat also saw him amass the second-most number of runs in a three-Test series by an Indian batsman.

Most runs in a three-Test series for an Indian batsman Player Series Runs Average 100s/50s

Virender Sehwag Pakistan in India 2004-05 544 90.66 2/1 Sourav Ganguly Pakistan in India 2007-08 534 89.00 2/1 VVS Laxman Australia in India 2000-01 503 83.83 1/3 With the exception of South Africa and West Indies, Ganguly has scored a Test hundred against all opposition. His averages of 30.66 and 32.07 against those two are his lowest against teams, while he has only done marginally better – an average of 32.46 – against Australia. However, Ganguly fares better in away Tests against the three, averaging 36.14, 38.41 and 40 in Tests in South Africa, Australia and the West Indies. (For Ganguly’s career batting summary, click here.)Overall, Ganguly’s overseas numbers are marginally better than his stats at home.

Ganguly home and away Venue Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

Home 43 2645 41.32 7/10 Away 56 3701 44.59 8/20 Twelve of Ganguly’s 15 hundreds have come in drawn games, and his average in those matches is more than 60. The remaining three have come in wins, while Ganguly has done poorly in matches India have lost.

Ganguly’s record by result Result Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

Won 32 1945 48.62 3/12 Lost 30 60 21.77 0/5 Drawn 37 3116 64.91 12/13 Out of 99 Tests, Ganguly has played 49 as captain, the most by an Indian. The 21 matches won during his tenure is also an Indian record, and he had a win percentage of over 40. He is the only one with such a high percentage among players who have captained India in more than a solitary Test.

India’s most successful captains (at least five Tests) Player Matches as captain Won Lost Drawn Percentage of matches won

Sourav Ganguly 49 21 13 1542.85 Rahul Dravid 25 8 6 1132.00 Mohammad Azharuddin 47 14 14 1929.78 Though the team did well during his captaincy, the burden did affect Ganguly’s batting. His average as captain is less than 38; in the 50 Tests in which he hasn’t led, Ganguly’s average is a healthy 47.91.

Ganguly and captaincy Playing role Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

Captain 49 2561 37.66 5/13 Non-captain 50 3785 47.91 10/17 After his success while playing at No. 4 in the third Test against Pakistan in Bangalore – where he scored 239 and 91, Ganguly had said that batting down the order had resulted in him and VVS Laxman, who normally bats at No. 6, missing out on big scores.The figures for Ganguly vindicate that statement: he has fared much better at positions three and four – the ones normally occupied by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar – than at No. 5, the position he has played at most often.

Ganguly by batting position Position Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

Opener 1 11 11.00 0/0 No. 3 11 739 46.18 3/2 No. 4 13 1143 71.43 3/4 No. 5 56 2933 38.09 6/14 No. 6 29 739 41.60 3/10 No. 7 2 64 32.00 0/0 The trio of Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar form of the top five batting combinations for India in Tests. In partnership with Tendulkar, Ganguly has scored 3739 runs at an average of more than 61, while his numbers with Dravid are almost as impressive.

Leading Indian partnerships Batsmen Innings Runs Average runs per dismissal 100s/50s

Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar 99 5028 52.92 15/18 Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly 64 3739 61.29 10/15 Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar 67 3272 50.33 10/12 Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Gavaskar 60 3127 54.85 11/10 Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly 59 3040 56.29 10/11 Ganguly had an eventful start to his Test career – with consecutive hundreds in his first two matches – and though his average has dipped since then, he’s one of the few batsmen who have maintained an average of more than 40 throughout their careers.Ganguly made his Test debut in the same Test as Dravid, and a comparison between the careers of the two makes for interesting reading. Till the 30th Test the gap between the averages of the two wasn’t much, but since then it has widened considerably.

Dravid and Ganguly career averages comparison Tests played Ganguly’s average Dravid’s average

1 131.00 95.00 10 46.12 48.31 20 51.13 52.68 30 50.68 55.21 40 45.01 53.58 50 40.97 52.34 60 42.23 51.44 70 41.74 55.22 80 42.06 57.36 90 40.63 58.00 99 43.17 58.16 Like all batsmen, Ganguly has been dismissed a significant numbers of times for low scores. However, perhaps one reason he hasn’t been able to prop up his average towards 50 is his inability to build big hundreds. He only has two scores of more than 150, unlike Dravid, who has gone past 150 nine times in his career.

Ganguly and Dravid scores break-up Score range Percentage of Ganguly’s total innings Percentage of Dravid’s total innings

0-19 39.75 33.50 20-49 32.30 29.44 50-89 16.15 20.30 90-99 2.48 4.57 100-149 8.07 7.61 150+ 1.24 4.57

Stuart Robertson, the ECB marketing man who devised Twenty20, speaks to Andrew McGlashan

Andrew McGlashan13-Sep-2007

“It’s not rocket science and that’s the beauty of it” © Getty Images

The first ICC World Twenty20 is a satisfying time for Stuart Robertson. Back in 2000, as the head marketing man at the ECB, Robertson was set the daunting task of trying to bring more people through the gates to watch English domestic cricket. Test matches and one-day internationals were routinely sold out, even when England weren’t winning, but county matches really were for one man and his dog.The idea he came up with is what we now know as the Twenty20 game. Seven years and 9000 km later, the Wanderers, Newlands and Kingsmead are guaranteed sell-outs to watch some of the biggest names in cricket at the first world championship in the new format.”The key is, it’s such a simple format,” Robertson, who now works for Hampshire, told Cricinfo. “It’s not rocket science and that’s the beauty of it. I wasn’t surprised how quickly the game took off in England, but the international growth was a bit more unexpected, especially the pace at which other countries introduced it into their fixtures.”Twenty20 made its debut in the 2003 English season, and that winter South Africa introduced Pro20. Two years later Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all made room in their domestic calendars for a competition. Since then, New Zealand have also joined in, while Stanford 20/20 sparked popular interest in the Caribbean and has now been incorporated into the official WICB season. Even India, who have a stubborn love-affair with the 50-over game, yielded to pressure and played a domestic Twenty20 tournament last year, although the reception was lukewarm. Cracking that market remains the game’s major challenge.”The data we had was fairly black and white,” said Robertson. “Across the board, attendances were down 20 per cent over five years when the project began in 2000-01. My job was to put together a report, looking in detail at how to bring people back through the gates, but importantly, doing it from a consumer perspective. There had been plenty of committees set up to look at the issue in the past, but they’d involved former players and county chairmen whose findings were not always in the spectators’ interests.

In England I certainly think there is scope for a tournament to run throughout the season, maybe on Friday nights, rather than just the two-week period in midsummer

“We looked at why people weren’t coming to the games and there was a key theme: accessibility. This was a physical reason – the timings of the matches; people at work couldn’t get to the games during the day. But there was a cultural, social aspect as well. A lot of people said: ‘I thought you had to be a member to go a game.'”Robertson and his team identified key groups of people who were barely registering in the county game; women, the 16-35 age group, and young families with children. “We needed a product that would be attractive to them, and asked if there was a game that took less than three hours, would they come to that? The overwhelming response was that they would, so we went back to the counties and in 2001 it went to a vote of the First Class Forum. It was passed 11-7 in favour and that was the start of Twenty20.”It wasn’t a faultless progression from idea to inception. As the voting suggests, the format didn’t gain wholehearted support, although Robertson was confident from the outset that the early misgivings could be overcome. “There was scepticism before and after the start of the tournament, but the great thing was that once it got off the ground, everyone got behind it. Even those who voted against the proposal initially didn’t stand back and say they wouldn’t embrace it.”The advantage was that virtually all the commercial and marketing men
could see the potential that Twenty20 had, but it was the chairmen – brought up in slightly different eras – who offered the early obstacles. Once Twenty20 was voted in, the marketing men could hardly wait to get working on it.”

Twenty20 has been a real crowd-puller, and not only for the cricket © Getty Images

It wasn’t only off the field that Twenty20 found itself struggling for recognition. During its first season, players didn’t quite know what to make of it, having been brought up on a diet of 50-over and four-day cricket. “From the playing side there was certainly a feeling in the first year that it was a bit of hit-and-giggle, and a few teams didn’t take it seriously,” said Robertson. “I spent a lot of time speaking and giving presentations on it through the PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association] and slowly the mood changed.”Sometimes the early misgivings actually came from the international players who were used to playing in front of full houses and weren’t sure it could be replicated on the domestic level. But for the young, upcoming players performing in front of six or seven thousand people it was a totally new experience. It’s what being a professional sportsman was all about.”The question now is, how far can Twenty20 go? The ICC has put a limit on the number of international matches in a year and Robertson agrees the current level “is just about right” with a match or two against each touring side, and the World Cup. But he doesn’t support the view that there’s a danger of overload, especially at domestic level. “It’s been such a success. Why shouldn’t there be more of it? In England I certainly think there is scope for a tournament to run throughout the season, maybe on Friday nights, rather than just the two-week period in midsummer.”One enticing prospect is the idea of a Champions League-style Twenty20 league where the top domestic teams from each country play each other. “It certainly would be interesting,” said Robertson. It might sound slightly far-fetched at the moment, but so did the ICC World Twenty20 five years ago.

The former New Zealand coach shares insights from a career in which he made a speciality of cracking tough nuts and getting hard cases to toe the party line

Interview by Sriram Veera20-Aug-2008Steve Rixon, the former Australia wicketkeeper, has over a successful coaching career specialised in dealing with cricket’s more spirited characters – among them Chris Cairns, Michael Slater and Stuart MacGill. Currently with the Indian Cricket League, where he coaches cricket rebels of a different kind, Rixon spoke to Cricinfo about dealing with difficult players.

‘Things are being served up pretty easily to the modern-day cricketer. You get free this, free that… It can go wrong at times’ © Getty Images
Let’s start with Chris Cairns, Stephen Fleming and New Zealand. Cairns was known to have problems with coaches. How did you turn things around?
Look, Chris had an attitude problem – they called him BA [for ‘bad attitude’]. He was an excellent player – so that wasn’t ever an issue. But how do you convert that potential into something real? I knew how important he could be. Martin Crowe’s knees had given way and I needed a senior statesman.In the end I realised that it didn’t matter if I pushed him a bit. Because at the end of the day we either get him on board or end up with a guy who would pop in ever so often, get three wickets or a nice fifty. So I pushed him harder than I would push other players, with the idea that if he broke and said, ‘Jam it, I don’t want to play cricket under you,’ I would have said, ‘Fair enough.’ But if we get him, we get a real product. It took a little while. At certain stages he must have thought I was a poor person, but to this day we are very close.His other coaches must also have pushed him pretty hard?
No they didn’t. I just needed for him to make a commitment – not to me but to himself. I asked him, ‘What do you want to achieve?’ He said, ‘I want to be the best I can be’. I told him, ‘You are not anywhere close to that. How are we going to change it?’ And he went, ‘I don’t know. You’ve got all the answers, you tell me’. And I said, ‘You could start with your sharp mouth. Just let that go and start looking at all these players who think the world of you and are just waiting for you to be the best player you can possibly be and be a leader in the side.’I told him, ‘You come back to me when you are ready to take that leadership and ownership. Then we’ll collectively set our programme out to make you whatever you need to be.’ And he said, ‘I want to be the best allrounder in the world according to the ratings. I’m telling you right now. I want to change, and I will take on the responsibility. You just show me how I am going to do it.’ We went through it step by step: practice sessions, the attitude outside the park, the way he presented himself at team meetings, when he hopped on a bus in a bad mood… the little things like that. He was just brilliant. When did the change materialise in concrete terms?
When we went to England for that final series, in 1999. We got beaten in the first game, when we lost seven wickets for 50 in session. Only session we lost in the whole game. But the thing that got me was how we threw that game away after having been so much in control.For the first time, I was shocked. I thought, ‘Hang on, this wasn’t part of the script.’ And all the way in the bus I’m thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ And I decided when we get out of the bus, we’ll go straight to our team room, sit everyone down and ask them to tell me what they are going to do to make a difference and get a better result next time.So I do it. I get pretty standard answers from people, but Cairnsy leapt off his chair and said, ‘In that Lord’s dressing room there are two boards and I will be on one of them at the end of this game. The only thing I can’t tell you is whether I will be up there with a hundred or a five-for. But I am telling every one of you right here, right now that I will be on that board.’ I thought, ‘Wow.’ That was the little spark that we needed to generate our next move. Everyone was so flat [till Cairns spoke] and then suddenly, poof, the energy was up. ‘What do you want to achieve?’ I asked Cairns. He said, ‘I want to be the best I can be’. I told him, ‘You are not even getting anywhere close to that. How are we going to change it?’ And he went, ‘I don’t know. You’ve got all the answers, you tell me’. And I said, ‘You could start with your sharp mouth And as it turned out, he did: he was on that board. Another kid, Matt Horne, came to the party and had a hundred as well. We never looked like missing a beat from there.Why do you think some players rebel like they do?
They get a little bit carried away. Things are being served up pretty easily to the modern-day cricketer. You get free this, free that. You get good cash to play the game, you get the best facilities in the world. When these things are served up easily, it can at times go wrong.Let’s say, for instance, in India – you’ve got a laidback lifestyle here. To turn that around is the big thing. In Australia, because you don’t get many opportunities to get a crack at the big one, you’ve got to be on song all the time or you just miss the boat.In England, those players [at Surrey, who Rixon coached] knew they could just turn in the odd good performance and hang on. A great example was in New Zealand, Craig Spearman. He got a 300 in a game and I told someone, ‘I bet you, in his next six innings he doesn’t get 20.’ And there you go, I had a hundred quid! The whole thing is about satisfaction – 300 means that’s my average creeping up to 50 and I can have a bit of a breather for a while. It’s just a comfort zone they get into.New Zealand have another player who allegedly has attitude problems, Jesse Ryder.
He has lived a party life. You can change all that. You give a little bit, but he needs to give some back as well. If he is not giving it, you get a bit harder on him. I see some talent in him. I would be finding a way of making sure that his weight is controlled and he gets into the best possible shape to do some fielding, for a start. If you feed them the right information and say the right thing at the right time, you just might get your result. It can be done.You threw a young Stephen Fleming into the captaincy. How did that happen? How much input did you have into it, and where do you draw the line? How did he take it?
Fleming was ostracised for some misdemeanours in West Indies, and there I was saying he was the best bloke for captaincy, and that was a bit of a shock for everyone. But we made a fantastic turnaround.We would have our own meeting before the team meeting. I would talk to Flem in detail and he would go to the meeting and say that. He told me, ‘I feel like a puppet.’ I said, ‘Flem, you’re just learning how it all works. Somewhere – I reckon in the next 12 months – you’re going to get past me, and at that point you’re going to take over and run the ship. I will be happy for that day to come but we’ve got to play it this way at this time.’And I remember one day on the England tour, telling him, ‘Did you feel the crossover?’ and he knew immediately exactly what I was talking about it. It was a nice little moment.

Michael Slater acknowledges the cheers for his century in the 2003 Pura Cup final. ‘But by then he was just high maintenance.’ © AFP
It was said that you had to change New Zealand’s cricket culture. What was going on there?
Their philosophy was, ‘Let’s make sure we don’t get beaten, and then start to look at how we are going to win.’ We Australians enter the park, day one, and think, ‘How are we going to win this?’ New Zealand had the fear of losing. That was the difference in mindset. I understood the culture in the end, but I never accepted it.Examples?
If Cairnsy is going to prod around the pad to [Shane] Warne, he is going to get out. I told him, ‘Mate, I know he is going to get you out. Why don’t you be more proactive? I want you to whack him back over his head. If you get out doing it, I can live with that. If you bang him over the top a couple of times, which you are capable of, he might start bowling a bit differently. You might win the battle’. After I took the pressure off him, to his credit he went on to do it well. It spreads to the others, you see. Craig McMillan and [Daniel] Vettori were like two kids in the schoolyard. It was infectious. But isn’t trying to impose an alien culture fraught with risk?
I had John Graham as my manager in New Zealand. He said, ‘I like where you want to go but I am contesting how you are going about it. You are forgetting one thing: this is New Zealand, this is how we are. Maybe just ease your way in, show you’re accepting a bit of New Zealand culture. Give it back a bit to the players through your interest in how things work, how they feel, what they have done in the past, etc’. And so I did it.They were negative with the way they lived their life. When you won, you couldn’t go out there and show some emotion. This once, we beat Zimbabwe, which we should have, but we were in all sorts of trouble. We needed 32 in the last two overs and Chris Harris got us home.This guy called Bird facilitated all our meetings. I told him, ‘Something special has happened here tonight, and I want everyone to come down to the bar.’ He said, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea.’ I had to tell him I wasn’t kidding. ‘I didn’t say everyone has to come and get drunk. Just have a Coke – I don’t care. We should be thanking Harry for getting us into the tournament.’ He walked off disgruntled but came back the next morning and said, ‘I don’t often say this, but boy, I was so far wrong. I saw everyone smiling, everyone talking together and I saw something building.’Did it work for you, being an outsider with no baggage?
I was the perfect person to come in and do the job at that time. They needed an outsider to take some hard decisions. They needed to have someone to have foresight into where the country could go, build the nucleus of the team for the future.There was the captain who had to be dropped. Danny Morrison had to be dropped. The attrition rate was high. What I was prepared to do was give the [Mark] Greatbatches, the [Dipak] Patels, Justin Vaughans – the older brigade that was still there -one final go. I knew they would either cut it under the new regime or miss the boat completely, and most of them missed it. I’d coached NSW, coached New Zealand, and I thought I was ready for the Australia job. They had approached me. I couldn’t imagine how I was not going to be picked. I sat down that night [after being rejected] and got angrier by the minute All of a sudden we had an [Nathan] Astle, a Fleming and a Vettori – who was a guy I had only seen once. It was a massive satisfaction to me. We would not have seen the best of [Adam] Parore, Cairns, or even Dion Nash, who became such an integral part of the victory in England. I knew it was right, since nearly every player, even now, when they do well, has at some stage called me and said, ‘Stumpo, I was just thinking about you.’ If we meet, we have a ball. It’s like a family. I have not experienced anything like that. I feel more welcome in New Zealand than in Australia.Which brings me to this: Queenslanders do have some issues with you! In an interview after you lost out to John Buchanan on the Australia coaching job, you said, ‘I thought my time had come.’ An acquaintance of mine from Queensland said, ‘Oh, now he is talking about it as if he has a god-given right to coach Australia. We all knew it was going to be Buchanan.’
() The Queenslanders… we always have had a love-hate relationship. You know why? Because we always used to beat them (). They used to hate us!But seriously, yeah. I came back from New Zealand thinking that I’d coached NSW, coached New Zealand, and I thought I was ready for the Australia job. They had approached me. I couldn’t imagine how I was not going to be picked. I sat down that night [after being rejected] and got angrier by the minute. I woke up the next morning and the anger was still there.Then the little fella on my shoulder tapped me and said, ‘Hey, this is not right. You don’t own nothing. This game owes you nothing and you don’t owe it anything.’ I got on to John [Buchanan], to Malcolm Speed, who I had had sharp words with earlier as he was the one who had notified me. I told him, ‘I do appreciate your ringing me yesterday. I was seriously angry and disappointed. I should never have been in that situation. I want to thank you for ringing me back and letting me know why I wasn’t given the job. I don’t agree with it but that doesn’t matter.’ I changed like that. That was the best thing that happened to me.What was your relationship with Steve Waugh like?
We both were the same. That was the problem! If Stephen made a decision, I would like to know why – not so much on the park, as that’s his area, but more about other times. As a coach, I don’t want to be the bloke who just rings up and organises taxis. I like to get in there and get my hands dirty. I like to talk cricket, I like to have an input into how we play the game, and I reckon I have enough experience to warrant that. I don’t know what he thinks of me but I don’t have any problem with him.You had tough characters like Michael Slater in the New South Wales team, who you had some problems with…
Well, I had problem with Slater coming back into the New South Wales side. He was going through difficult times with bipolar disorder and he was very erratic. He was getting arrogant about stuff. In the end I thought, ‘F*** it, I don’t need to take this.’ I remember he went, ‘What do you mean I have to go back to grade cricket to score runs. Don’t you f***ing know my record?’ I said, ‘Yeah, you got 14 Test hundreds. It’s great if you’re playing for Australia, but you’re averaging 13 in the last two years for New South Wales. I am not interested in what you have done for Australia. All that is telling me is that you’re not getting things right when you are playing here.’He started grumbling and saying, ‘I don’t have to go through this.’ I told him, ‘You are not being rational and you’re not even listening to me here. Go back to grade cricket and get some runs’. He stormed out. Anyway, he goes to grade cricket, gets some runs and comes back. Things started to get better temporarily before changing. The captain told him, ‘Slats, you’re batting at No. 5.’ ‘What? I don’t bat at No. 5’.He got a scrappy 170-odd, which kept him running a bit longer. But he never got it right. He just kept getting angrier all the time. He did play a very good innings in the final, which got us home. But by then he was just high maintenance.

With Fleming and Mark Butcher on the 1999 tour: ‘I would talk to Flem in detail and he would go to the meeting and say that. He told me, “I feel like I’m just a puppet.” ‘ © Getty Images
All the blokes I had coming in from the Test team were high maintenance. Without them we were a team. When Slats came back, or a volatile [Michael] Bevan, or a tired [Glenn] McGrath or a lethargic [Nathan] Bracken, or even a Stephen and Mark Waugh, they were not switched on for the game. That’s when I became a hard coach. I don’t have a problem in telling high-profile sportsmen to f*** off. That’s how you need to be at times.You guys are role models. I’m not asking you to become a mentor. I just want you to come back and want to be the best that you can possibly be for the sake of every one else in the team. And they did.And there was Stuart MacGill.
I remember a game. We won the toss and got bowled out for 190. We needed to win to be in the final. At tea on day one, they are 1 for 120-odd. [Matthew] Hayden is not out, and Stuey is yelling at people in the grandstand! When they got into the dressing room, Stephen [Waugh] walked in, mumbling to himself, shaking his head and not doing anything constructive – because he never had had too many problems like that.I told Stephen that I wanted to talk to the team alone before they went out. I walked in there and just lashed out at MacGill. ‘Who the f*** do you think you are? You are the one bloke who can get us back into the game and you are f***ing talking to the crowd and making a complete a***hole out of yourself. If you are talking to the crowd, how the hell are you going to get someone out? Think about getting Matty Hayden out. Don’t worry about the bloke in the crowd who is giving you a hard time because your bum is big or whatever.’He was really seething, and at the end of the day they were 8 for 202. MacGill had a six-for that evening. We only played three days and won comprehensively. He just had to get switched on to get back. I don’t do that often. It was a one-off time when I had to do something because we needed to get back on track.Are you still looking at the Australia job?
Ah, I don’t think so, not at this stage. I think I have better chance now because I don’t think I am ready (). When I wanted it, I didn’t get it. So maybe I might get it when I think I’m not ready. I could do the job, no problems at all. They have made up their mind about succession plan – the way they want to go with the line of coaches. Personally, for the time being, I would like to be here in India till the death of the ICL. If they are going on in five years’ time, I will still be here.Would you be tempted by an IPL offer?
Actually, I was offered an IPL job the day I signed up for the ICL. Sachin [Tendulkar] called me to be the coach of Mumbai, but I told him I had just signed for ICL and I don’t go back on deals. That was that.

George Binoy on Pakistan’s 140-run loss to India, their first defeat after a run of 12 successive victories

George Binoy in Mirpur11-Jun-2008

	Wahab Riaz struggled to get his radar working, going for 9.21 an over © AFP

Pakistan’s record-breaking run of 12 consecutive wins came to a screeching halt on Monday with their worst defeat against India, by 140 runs. Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, attributed the loss to a “bad day” but that was understating it. Pakistan were a distant second to India in every department, and the margin merely highlighted deficiencies that had been masked during their successful run against weaker opponents.Their bowlers were guilty of bowling 15 wides and three no-balls against India, offences that contributed 29 out of the total of 38 extras. India, in comparison, conceded only three extras – all of them leg-byes. Attributing it to a bad day doesn’t quite cut it, for although Malik said it was down to “not bowling in the right areas”, it’s a problem Pakistan had even during their winning streak. Against Zimbabwe earlier this year, Pakistan conceded 80 extras in five games, with 62 wides and 10 no-balls, and during the home series against Bangladesh they gave away 97. Malik had said then they were “working hard on it”, their efforts evidently haven’t borne fruit yet.However, some credit must be given to their bowlers for creating wicket-taking opportunities with the new ball. The architects of India’s victory, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, were both let off: Gambhir on 4 and 29 by Younis Khan at slip and Sehwag by Kamran Akmal on 43. The fielding left a lot to be desired as well; a few examples that come to mind are fumbles from Salman Butt, at point and on the boundary, Malik’s inability to pick up at mid-off when the batsmen were stealing a quick single, and Shahid Afridi’s late reaction at point that allowed Sehwag’s leading edge to lob over his head. The combined effect of the extras, dropped catches and misfields along with stroke-making from India’s openers yielded a partnership of 155 at a run-rate of more than seven an over.The composition of Pakistan’s XI also left Malik with limited bowling options. They had only five regular bowlers, Afridi included, and a four-pronged pace attack meant that Malik, who hasn’t bowled his offbreaks in the tournament so far, had only one spinner to use on a pitch that became slower as the ball grew older.”When we played against Bangladesh, the ball was swinging in the evening,” Malik said. “That’s why we played four fast bowlers.”One of those fast bowlers, Wahab Riaz, was playing his first game against tough opponents and, although he took the wickets of Sehwag and Gambhir, his line was wayward and he went for 9.21 an over. He had to be taken out of the attack for bowling a second full toss that was above waist height during the 46th over. The situation Malik faced was a tricky one. There were four overs to go and Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul had two each. He chose not to give the task of completing the over to a part-timer and brought on Tanvir instead, ensuring that one of the remaining overs would have to be bowled by a non-regular bowler.”Irfan [Pathan] and [Suresh] Raina were batting and they were the last pair [of recognized batsmen],” Malik said. “That’s why I gave the ball to Tanvir because we needed that wicket.” Tanvir failed to break the partnership but, fortunately for Malik, Gul struck twice in the penultimate over, giving Younis the easier task of bowling at Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla.Pakistan’s chances of making the final now rest on the outcome of the clash between India and Bangladesh. They won’t be too worried, for the possibility of Bangladesh springing a surprise on a charged-up Indian outfit is remote. However, they are still dependent on factors outside their control, which is never a comfortable position to be in, and to beat India, if they meet them in the final on June 14, Pakistan will have to make dramatic improvements in all their departments.Pakistan rounded off a forgettable day with a knock to their purses. Jeff Crowe, the match referee, docked Shoaib Malik 20% of his match fee while each of his players received 10% fines. “Although there was a rain interruption late in the innings,” Crowe said, “which always makes it difficult to keep the overs flowing, Pakistan only bowled 13 overs by the first drinks break and never managed to recover that deficit.”

Xavier has the makings of the star player West Indies cricket sorely needs but it comes with a volatile temperament not uncommon to those blessed with a touch of genius

Tony Cozier06-Jan-2009

	Xavier Marshall hit a record-breaking 12 sixes against Canada © Eddie Norfolk

It was the tour for the players of the future to establish themselves. With only three ODIs against New Zealand remaining, time is running out for Xavier Marshall, Sewnarine Chattergoon and Kieron Pollard.Already, Sulieman Benn, Leon Johnson and Kemar Roach have returned home. Benn at least had a Test and a couple of Twenty20s. Johnson and Roach were confined to anonymous net sessions and 12th man duties after getting no value from their solitary first-class match.At least, they now have the early rounds of the imminent West Indies’ first-class season to put their case to the selectors, For the others, their last week in New Zealand is essential to their prospects, none more so than Marshall.The 22-year-old Jamaican has the makings of the star player West Indies cricket sorely needs but it comes with a volatile temperament not uncommon to those blessed with a touch of genius.It is a conundrum that has drawn the attention of captain Chris Gayle, his fellow Jamaican who appreciates Marshall’s limitless potential.”I take a lot of interest in him,” Gayle said. “He needs a bit of guidance, you need to keep your eyes on him but, at the same time, you’re not going to treat him like a child. He’s a big man. He’s got a daughter. He’s a father.”Sometimes you see young players lose interest in the game so I try and improve him as much as possible. Hopefully in the future he can be a bright prospect for West Indies cricket.”
Head coach John Dyson is equally concerned. “You get glimpses of Xavier’s potential. The hardest part for our squad and their development is they’re learning on the job,” he noted. “It’s now a matter for Xavier to work out what he needs to do to his game to bring his potential out.”
Marshall’s highest score in all matches in New Zealand going into the third ODI at the Westpac Stadium on Wednesday is his battling, unbeaten 28 in difficult conditions in the abandoned ODI in Queenstown on New Year’s Eve.He arrived with recent statistics that hinted he was set to back up his ability with numbers but on the back of troubles that have prompted Gayle, and other well-wishers, to pay him close attention.The bold gamble by selectors to choose him for the second Test of the home series against Australia in June, purely on impulse, was validated with a stroke-filled 53 in the first innings in Antigua and a top score 85, spread over three and a quarter hours, in the second innings in Barbados – all against a fast attack of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson.When he hooked the first ball from Lee in the subsequent Twenty20 in Barbados for six, it seemed confirmation that he was now ready for the big time.He has matched such expectations only once since – a remarkable, unbeaten 158 off 118 balls with a record 12 sixes in an ODI against the associate team, Canada, in Toronto in August.In the interim, he failed a drugs test – reportedly for using marijuana – during the Stanford Super Stars camp and was removed from the 20/20 for 20 match against England that earned the 11 victorious players US$1 million each.

	Chris Gayle: “He [Marshall] needs a bit of guidance, you need to keep your eyes on him but, at the same time, you’re not going to treat him like a child” © AFP

Noting that it was an offence outside of their jurisdiction, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sanctioned Marshall’s inclusion in the team for forthcoming series in Toronto against Bermuda and Canada, Abu Dhabi against Pakistan and New Zealand.The Stanford incident was not Marshall’s first indiscretion. He was reported for undisclosed reasons after the 2006 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, where his scintillating 106 from 133 balls against South Africa brought him to wider attention. Two seasons back he was suspended by Jamaica for a couple of Carib Beer Cup matches.Perhaps expectations have been too high. Perhaps such problems stem from his premature entry into international cricket.Former head coach Bennett King was so taken by what he had seen that he influenced his selection for the 2005 tour of Australia, aged 18. A few months later, with Gayle and other senior players refusing to tour during a contract dispute with the WICB, he was opening the batting in two Tests in Sri Lanka.It was too much, too soon. He would spend the next three years in and out of the Jamaica team as several mentors tried to have him focus his full attention on the game.His promising returns against the powerful Australians indicated what might be. More strong opposition is imminent in home and away series against England. It is time for Marshall to prove that he is the “big man” Gayle says he is – in more ways than one.