Nepal captain Paras Khadka isn’t diplomatic, cries while watching movies, and supports Liverpool in football

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi10-May-2014Describe yourself in two words.
Honest and too straightforward.Are you talkative?
I am not. But if I see something wrong I cannot keep my mouth shut. I will talk loud and clear.So you’re not diplomatic?
My friends tell me to be diplomatic at times. I cannot be. That is against my ethics, that is not me.Do you feel like you are the most popular person in Nepal at the moment?
Cricket has become really popular and me being the captain makes me popular automatically. But the way cricket has picked up – in corridors, houses, schools, grounds – people are loving the game. Our performances in global tournaments like the World T20 has brought a new dimension to Nepalese sport as well as the whole country. It is a new beginning where anything and everything is possible. Hopefully we can take cricket to further heights.Is cricket now more than a sport in Nepal?
It is like a religion now. Everybody is now interested in what the team is doing, what the players are doing. We have the audience. Now we have to build and invest in grass roots and regional cricket to help the younger generation play the game. It is just a beginning for better and amazing things.Tell us something we don’t know about you.
I cry a lot while watching movies. One of my favourite movies is .How do you fight negative thoughts?
I tend to switch on and switch off easily to ward off negative thoughts.The most important ball of your life so far?
It has to be the last ball in the World T20 Qualifiers against Hong Kong. We had to get one run for victory. And we managed to do it.How does it feel to play in front of an empty stadium?
We are not playing against the audience. The more the audience the better it gets, and you enjoy the environment. We love cricket and we are happy playing, like we did in the streets, verandahs, schools and playgrounds.Have you ever broken anything while playing cricket?
I was practising for an inter-school tournament at our ground in South Point Boarding High School. I was captain and we were training in a box net. Just then our school principal shouted from his balcony that there was to be no more hitting the ball in the air. I tonked the very next ball straight to where he was standing and it broke the window next to him.Do you manage to walk the streets without being mobbed?
I need to wear masks at times now in public places. I can’t do things I used to do earlier. I just can’t walk out anywhere and everywhere. Earlier I used to do whatever I wanted to, which I cannot anymore because people recognise me easily.A rule in cricket you want to get changed?
A non-striker should not be ruled run-out if the ball is deflected off the bowler’s hand in the follow-through.Do you have a sporting idol?
I like Steven Gerrard. I love Liverpool. In cricket I am a big fan of the Australian cricket team: they play hard, aggressive, to the point.What gives you goose bumps?
Whenever you stand up for the national anthem. I remember the moment around the time we were fighting hard to beat Hong Kong to qualify for the World T20, when a huge section of Nepalese fans right behind our dugout were chanting our victory song. It was a special moment.Is there sledging in Associates cricket?
Of course, there is. A lot.What is the most difficult job of being captain of an Associate team?
You have to be stronger off the field than on the field. I have to make sure the administrators run the game the right way.Now that you have made your World Cup debut, the bar has been set high. What is the key to evolve?
We have to be there at every World Cup going forward. We should dream big. Train hard, work hard, keep the discipline and have the determination. You just have to push yourself.What more can the ICC do to help Nepal cricket?
It might sound a bit harsh but you cannot limit international cricket to just ten countries. I know you need different and better skills in longer versions but you can only improve if you play against better opponents.Tell us about a memorable compliment you have received.
After our warm-up match against Ireland in the World T20, at the team hotel, just as I was about enter the elevator the security guard asked me which team I represented. Once he realised I was the captain of Nepal he said we played a good brand of cricket against Ireland and he enjoyed it. It was a nice to hear that people could identify and relate to Nepal cricket. That remark was something that made us feel we were slowly doing things the right way.

Plays of the day for the 1st women’s World T20 semi-final between Australia and West Indies

Mohammad Isam and Alan Gardner03-Apr-2014The harmless mix-up
In the first over of the game, the new Australian opening pair of Elyse Villani and Jess Jonassen were involved in a mix-up, only to be saved by the square-leg fielder who picked the wrong end to throw. The Tremayne Smartt delivery struck Jonassen on the pads and while the two batsmen were still deciding which way to go, the throw was to the wicketkeeper where Villani had already reached. However, the throw should have been to the bowler’s end as Jonassen was struggling to complete the leg-bye.The drop
Jonassen survived a second chance at the start of the third over when she tried to chip Shaquana Quintyne but was dropped by Stacy-Ann King at mid-off. She failed to time her jump properly, thus parrying the ball away like a goalkeeper as West Indies looked for their first wicket.The big wicket
Australia’s batting was boosted by Meg Lanning, who carried on after Villani’s efforts. She was on 29 off 21 balls with five fours when she was outsmarted by Smartt in the 13th over. The delivery was slightly innocuous to be dragged on to the stumps but that’s what Lanning did. Smartt’s celebration was fun to watch too, as she took off, and it was evident how much West Indies wanted this particular wicket.The switch
After Villani and Lanning, the baton was with Alyssa Healy to give Australia a good finish. In the final over, Healy took a left-handed stance to Stafanie Taylor, who didn’t deliver the ball but laughed. It drew a smile from Healy too, but Taylor followed it up with a delivery that was far too wide outside the off stump.

Although angry and full of bombast, Kevin Pietersen’s book should unsettle English cricket. If even some of his claims are true, the culture within the England camp has been destructive for a long time

George Dobell06-Oct-2014Like watching the bitter divorce of friends, the overwhelming reaction to Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography is regret.It no longer matters who is right or wrong. In such a fight, we all lose. It doesn’t matter who gets the toaster.It shouldn’t have ended like this. The finest England batsman of his generation and the finest England team in a lifetime should not have drifted apart to such an extent that they are sniping at each other in a way that does nobody any good.Of course Pietersen deserves his right of reply. Of course he deserves his chance to clarify the events that appear to have ended his international career. Of course this is a must-read book. It is riveting. It is illuminating. It is audacious. It is outrageous.But most of all it is sad.Because talents like Pietersen come along all too rarely. Because cricket, in the UK in particular, is crying out for entertaining, box-office players to win back supporters and inspire the next generation. Because, with a bit more imagination, a bit more humility, a bit more carrot and a bit less stick, Pietersen could still be playing for England.Instead he is, as he would put it, settling scores, correcting injustices and, understandably, putting his side of the story on the record. That, more than money, will be the motivation behind this book. He feels he is a wronged man. And, up to a point, he might have a point.It is unlikely many will change their mind about Pietersen as a result of this book. Just as his supporters will find new ammunition for his defence, his detractors will find examples of his perceived divisiveness and self-absorption. However good the book on Manchester United, it won’t make Liverpool fans support them.There is a telling phrase on page 313. “There should be more cricket in these pages.”And he’s right. Because it is sad that the man who played some of the best innings in England’s Test history – three of his last four centuries (Colombo, Headingley and Mumbai) can only be described as “great” – the man who played the switch-hit against Muttiah Muralitharan in a Test and saw the ball sail for six, the greatest run-scorer in England’s international history, the man who played a part in four Ashes triumphs and was man of the tournament when England won their only global trophy is in danger of being remembered as little more than an argumentative ego-maniac with a mistrust of authority who could fall out with his own reflection.He deserves better than that. And so do Matt Prior who, whatever his perceived faults, was a wonderfully selfless player for England through many of their finest years, and Andy Flower, who seized a poorly-performing group of talented individuals and turned them, just briefly, into the finest team in the world.Instead Flower and Prior are destroyed in this book – the abuse of Prior is, at times, amusing but soon becomes gross and gratuitous – and, in the coming weeks, the revenge attacks on Pietersen will be no more edifying.All of it – the book and the ensuing squabbles – is a manifestation of an appalling failure to manage a character who, while demanding, was also brilliant.Perhaps, in a perfect world, Pietersen could have taken a more subtle approach. He could have corrected what he sees as misinformation but he could have avoided the excessive abuse that sometimes follows.

Maybe, more than anything, he craved acceptance and support and praise. Maybe, in a more benevolent environment, England might have coaxed even more out of him. It is telling that, in psychometric testing, he was rated as an introvert. The brash exterior? A coping mechanism, perhaps

But Pietersen is not a fellow to do things by half measures. Just as when batting, he reacts to adversity in typically straightforward, bold manner. You might as well try and persuade a lion of the virtues of vegetarianism as preach subtlety to Pietersen.Among the revelations in the book, Pietersen claims he never issued an ultimatum over the sacking of Peter Moores; he never used the word ‘doos’ in a message – though he does not deny agreeing with the sentiments – to a South African player (and really, does it matter if he did?); he has sometimes been embarrassed by Piers Morgan’s aggressive support; he never much wanted the captaincy and he was not the instigator of the anti-Flower tirade in a team meeting after the defeat in Melbourne. It was, according to KP, Prior.All of which leads to the question: what did Pietersen really do that was so bad?Maybe he was brash. Maybe he was clumsy. Maybe he was rather pleased with himself. But none of those are reasons to exclude someone from a team. As he puts it: “I was often naive and sometimes stupid. I was no villain, though.”Maybe, more than anything, he craved acceptance and support and praise. Maybe, in a more benevolent environment, England might have coaxed even more out of him. It is telling that, in psychometric testing, he was rated as an introvert. The brash exterior? A coping mechanism, perhaps.There are admissions of errors. He admits he was an unsympathetic captain. He admits his overt support of his IPL team, the Delhi Daredevils, was sometimes expressed inappropriately (such as when watching the IPL on TV during a Test against the West Indies at Lord’s). He admits to some poor strokes. He admits, on the issue of South Africa and the “quota system”, that he “said too much without understanding enough.” And he admits trying too hard to be ostentatiously English in his early days.Kevin Pietersen admitted he misplaced his support for the IPL at times, but also called out the ECB as hypocrites over money•BCCIPerhaps, were he more reflective, he might admit that his seeming inability to move on from upsets and slights – his sense of being wronged when he wanted a few days at home during the Caribbean tour in 2009 is a bizarre recurring theme – was unhelpful and that his failure to work towards building a constructive relationship with Flower was a major fault.This book should unsettle English cricket, though. If Pietersen’s claims are true – and there is an uncomfortable ring of truth around some of them – the culture within the England camp has been destructive for a long time. The failure to manage problems reflects poorly on not just the likes of Hugh Morris – dismissed as “a weak prick” by Pietersen – and Paul Downton – who comes out of this little better – but also on the entire ECB management system. What where they all doing that the situation sunk to this level? It is a damning indictment of their management.While it would be easy to dismiss Pietersen’s claims – you can guarantee the ECB will do so – it would also be a mistake. Pietersen is not the only man from the England dressing room to talk of bullying, to talk of cliques and to talk of an unhealthy culture. He is just the only one brave enough to do it publicly.And he is not the only one to describe Flower in negative terms. While the Flower who led England to No. 1 might have been focused and determined, he was also capable of loosening the reins sometimes. But by the end of the last Ashes series in Australia, the atmosphere within the England squad was miserable.Players were intimidated by Flower. He was seen, and not just by Pietersen, as a brooding menace in the dressing room. As a negative influence. As part of the problem. While Pietersen’s view of Flower is extreme it is not unique. If the ECB do not know that, they are not communicating with the players effectively.There are other pertinent points made. Pietersen complains about his medical treatment following an operation on his Achilles tendon in 2009 that he says jeopardised his career. He was, he claims, not given appropriate after-care (he relates a tale of a cab driver helping him into his home following surgery) and was encouraged to return to training far too soon.Bearing in mind the state Prior was in when he played the Lord’s Test against India this year, it seems reasonable to ask some questions of the medical support team.There are other fascinating insights: the extent – perhaps the psychological extent – of the knee injury sustained in Queenstown in early 2013 – he reckons he has never been more than 75% of the player he once was; that his cricket income “tripled” following his sacking by England and the claim that the ECB tried to persuade the MCC not to select him for the bicentenary game at Lord’s. He says he “hated playing for England” for a while.And, through it all, there are complaints – some will call them ‘moans’ – about the schedule. About the schedule that pushed Graeme Swann into premature retirement, that pushed Jonathan Trott to a breakdown and which compromises England at every stage. Might some of Pietersen’s injuries have been a psychosomatic reaction to the demands of that schedule? A physical expression of his mental exhaustion? A plea for time off from an environment in which he felt unwelcome and, in his words, bullied?But, incredibly, he still admits to harbouring hopes of a recall. By describing Peter Moores as “a good bloke” and Cook as “a nice man” and “decent at heart,” Pietersen may feel he has not burned his bridges with the men who look set to remain in charge for a while yet. And by attempting to diminish Flower and Downton, he may feel he may yet see an ECB set-up where the door is opened once more. It seems unlikely, but so much about Pietersen’s life has been.So, realistically, this is the end. The last word. His final statement.It should have been a celebration. Instead it is a bitter divorce played out in public. The brightest chapter in England’s recent history, and all the characters involved in it, deserved a happier ending. It is not the legacy Flower had in mind.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between England and India at Trent Bridge

Sidharth Monga at Trent Bridge30-Aug-2014The déjà vu
Ishant, Rohit, and Mohit have all not had too much luck on the injury front•AFPThe previous international match at Trent Bridge produced an excruciating draw on a slow and low pitch where edges hardly carried to the slip cordon. Those who had been through that were hoping for better when they walked to the ODI. They were to be let down in as early as the fourth over. Mohit Sharma, who bowled a good channel until then, pitched one around off, got it to seam away, drew a healthy outside edge, but it did not carry to the diving Suresh Raina at second slip. A sigh suggesting “here we go again” went around the ground.The tease
Alastair Cook played an odd innings by all account. He survived leading edges, outside edges, inside edges, and in between played some authoritative pulls. At one point, his educated edges just played around with MS Dhoni. By the seventh over, discouraged by the lack of bounce, Dhoni had taken out the second slip and sent him to fine gully. Cook expertly opened the face, it seemed, and edged Bhuvneshwar Kumar through that gap between first slip and gully. It is open to debate if the edge would have carried. In Bhuvneshwar’s next over, when Dhoni brought the gully back to second slip, Cook got a stronger, healthier edge which flew through where that gully would have been. Dhoni could only smile.The curse
If you are a Sharma, you must get injured in England. After fashioning the Lord’s Test win, Ishant Sharma sat out two Tests with a leg injury that the Indian management never specified the nature of. After Rohit Sharma finally got a half-century on the tour, in the Cardiff ODI, he broke his middle finger while fielding in the same game. Three days later, after finishing his third over, Mohit Sharma called the physio, had his calf tended to by the side of the field, and hobbled off after treatment that lasted two overs. He took a pill, had a crepe bandage put on, and went back to the dressing room with his right boot in his hand. Fourteen overs later, though, he was back on the field.The dozy moment
When the Indian spinners applied the choke hold on the England middle order, Ian Bell was the only batsman who looked comfortable. The same cannot be said about his running, though. In the 34th over, with the Powerplay just around the corner, Jos Buttler hit Suresh Raina wide of long-off, and the non-striker Bell called for the second, which looked easy enough. Bell went too easy, veered away from the straight line and almost strolled through, only to find to his horror that Mohit’s throw hit the stumps direct and found him well short. Raina’s reaction was priceless. It looked like he did not entertain any possibility of a run-out, and almost had his back to the action. He suddenly saw that Bell was short and started to celebrate. If Raina did this on purpose, just to lull Bell into thinking this was an easy second, it was sheer genius. It did not look like it, though.

Though a strong argument remains that Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan are Sri Lanka’s best opening pair, a consistent Kusal Perera is vital to the batsmen maintaining their present positions

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo26-Nov-2014Sri Lanka is not quite an island dream in November. Rains are nation-wide. Mosquitoes rule the gardens. Flood and landslide risk announcements invade airwaves, and drawn-out days are endured indoors, until the monsoon breaks and the cool, dry months sweep in.Even with the climate at its worst, though, Sri Lanka’s cricketers appear glad to be back. On Wednesday, they settled back into their Khettarama haunt, like a weary traveler returning to his own bed. A side that had not looked like competing in four of their five previous games rediscovered their batting mojo in almost jarring fashion. The same top order that limped around India were suddenly surging in long stretches. The brittle middle order was bustling to the finish. That Sri Lanka’s commanding total was achieved without substantial contributions from Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews, the two recent pillars of the batting effort, is remarkable in itself.Troubles at the top of the order have plagued Sri Lanka for over a year, but in only his fourth match at home since July last year, Kusal Perera played an innings that showed why the selectors had given him such a long rope. Three knocks in India read 0,4,0, before he was dropped, but on return to his hometown he was crashing balls into the Premadasa’s rustic scoreboard and bludgeoning to leg in step with the music in the stands.Kusal’s 59 off 74 was one of his more measured ODI innings. He played himself in early on, then attacked only in bursts, but the runs were high-impact nonetheless. Alastair Cook was forced to take Ben Stokes out of the attack when Kusal clobbered him for 18 in four balls.Tillakaratne Dilshan had been visibly out of touch when his opening partners abandoned him in India, but while Kusal monopolised England’s attentions, Dilshan was taking runs on the sly at the other end. How quickly major troubles were eased by the return to familiar surroundings. The opening partnership had been the root of Sri Lanka’s batting woes in India, but on Wednesday Dilshan and Kusal mounted Sri Lanka’s first three-figure opening stand in 14 months.That is not to say Sri Lanka, and Kusal, have had all their concerns disappear in one match. Kusal has always been capable of playing innings like his 59, but there are frustrating gaps between good scores in his career so far. Before this innings, he had had 12 knocks without a fifty, and four of his previous five outings had yielded single figures but he has at least begun to make his World Cup case now.Though a strong argument remains that Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan are Sri Lanka’s best opening pair across all conditions – with a place for Kusal lower down, where he bats in domestic cricket – Angelo Mathews and the selectors will feel that Wednesday’s batting order helps avoid top-loading the team’s experience. A consistent Kusal is vital to the batsmen maintaining their present positions.Kusal and Dilshan also led the charge in transforming Sri Lanka’s near-farcical fielding of the past three weeks. At 38, Dilshan is still a livewire at backward point, making horizontal saves and descending on loose balls in the ring. Kusal meanwhile blazed trails in the outfield, hunting down well-struck balls that most others would have allowed to cross the ropes.”Although we dropped two catches, we fielded very well, I thought,” Mathews said after the match. “If you compare it with the India tour, there was a huge difference in this match. I’m less concerned about the two catches, because we showed a real intent and urgency in the field.”There are concessions to be applied here. Having had their preparations disrupted by the November rains, England were visibly rusty, particularly with the ball. They are also missing their two attack leaders in James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and also had Steven Finn unavailable for this match. Sri Lanka will face greater ODI challenges in the months to come – probably in this very series. Even a depleted England attack will not bowl 17 wides in every match.But Sri Lanka have rediscovered their aggression and energy almost as suddenly as they seemed to have lost it. Following the shellacking in India, a little home comfort has got them playing fighting cricket again.

Auckland offers great views – of nature and people

Ian Butler19-Nov-2014Sky City
Sky City is a must-visit. There’s a casino there, if you like a flutter, and a lot of restaurants, bars and hotels. It’s got the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand – the Sky Tower – too. That’s pretty impressive; it’s one of New Zealand’s biggest tourist attractions, and from the top you can see for something like 80km. Up the tower there’s a restaurant called Orbit, which is the only 360-degree revolving restaurant in Auckland. It’d be top of my list of things to do while you’re over here.Devonport Beach
Go here to see some of the best views in Auckland. It’s so easy to get to – a ten-minute ferry ride from the the harbour – and is a nice place to chill for the afternoon. In the village there are art galleries, cafés and shops and everything is pretty close.People enjoy the sunshine in Mission Bay, looking out on to Rangitoto Island•Getty ImagesAuckland Museum
The main Auckland Museum is worth a look. It’s one of the best in the southern hemisphere – let alone New Zealand. There’s a lot to see about the history of the Maoris, and there’s even a cultural performance they put on. You pay an admission fee to get in if you’re a tourist, and it’s open every day of the week.Pukekohe Park Raceway
If you’re into racing, this is the one to pop down to to fill an evening. It’s a motor-racing circuit south of Auckland city, which used to host the New Zealand Grand Prix. It’s well-known for staging car races, but in the middle of it, there’s a horse-racing track too. It’s one for the bogans!St Heliers
Head down here for some more great views and some of the local scenery. It’s popular for the beaches, cafés, views of Rangitoto Island – and some other views. And I may or may not be talking about the views of some of the runners running up and down!

ESPNcricinfo present the plays of the day from the opening ODI

Firdose Moonda16-Jan-2015Out the park David Miller still takes his own “in the arc, out the park,” rhyme pretty seriously and when Sulieman Benn dropped a touch too short and wide outside off, he advanced, freed the arms and swung hard. The ball was well over the two-metre tall Benn’s head and the grandstand behind him as it disappeared over them both.Right foot, left foot In addition to being an allrounder, Andre Russell proved himself an ambidextrous footballer. Last Sunday, he ran out David Miller with his right foot; this time he dished out the same treatment to Farhaan Behardien, using his left foot. Behardien was ready to set off for a single after inside-edging onto his pad but was sent back by JP Duminy who saw Russell keep going in his follow-through. When Behardien saw Russell, he put in a desperate dive but like the many footballers who try the same trick hoping to get something out of it, he was found short. Russell was on target as he kicked the ball onto the stumps. Goal! Wicket!Leading from the front It’s every captain’s job but some do it more brazenly than others. In his first match in charge, Jason Holder wanted to show he could do it straightaway so took the new ball to set the tone and the old one to have the last say. When South Africa’s tail arrived at the crease, Holder took it upon himself to give them the treatment. The first three balls of his penultimate over were brutish bouncers directed at Dale Steyn’s head. He fended the first one off the glove, onto his helmet but short of Denesh Ramdin, backed away to the second one and swung at it but missed before swiping irritably at the third. Holder followed up with three yorkers to end an excellent, assertive over.Eye on the ball When Chris Gayle is batting, it’s not just the opposition that need to take cover, sometimes it can be the spectators too. A cameraman on the square leg boundary found himself in that position when Gayle dispatched a Vernon Philander short ball his way. The shutterman put his duty first and followed the ball as it hurtled towards him. Luckily, it hit the boundary board to his left so his equipment, and his person, were safe.TIme for a stretch Graeme Smith, in his first stint as a commentator, was reminiscing about Shaun Pollock’s need for the physiotherapist in his playing days when someone else needed help stretching on-field. Marlon Samuels, who threw his wicket away in the third Test to spark a wave of criticism, did not reach long enough after attempting a suicidal single off Imran Tahir. There was no run on when Samuels punched the ball to Farhaan Behardien at mid-off, whose pick up and throw was quick and accurate; unlike Samuels’ running. Samuels had not made his ground when he turned his back and replays showed he only needed to stretch a few centimetres to be safe.Yes, that’s out Darren Sammy got a thick edge off a Vernon Philander delivery and AB de Villiers completed the catch. He celebrated in routine fashion and then turned his back to collect the helmets before realising no-one had joined him in appealing. Philander, never one to shy away from claiming a wicket, had not joined in and Sammy stood his ground. When de Villiers saw the inaction he leapt in the air and shouted the old “How was that?” before Philander joined him, the umpire raised the finger and Sammy was forced to go.

Zimbabwe know they are capable of upsetting a top-eight side or two, but their first priority at the World Cup is to avoid embarrassment against Ireland or UAE

Firdose Moonda09-Feb-2015Cricket’s big (read: Test-playing) teams use matches against smaller outfits to take a breather or experiment, even during a major tournament. Zimbabwe will use those fixtures to reassure themselves they still belong among the elite.”The most important games are Ireland and the UAE,” Craig Ervine said. “If we lose one of those, it makes the task of getting to the quarterfinals ten times harder. But if we can win both of those and hopefully cause an upset with one of the others, it gives us a chance.”That succinct analysis reveals much of what we need to know about the Zimbabwean mindset. They’re not among the top eight, they’re not among the cute and cuddlies – Ireland, Afghanistan, Nepal or the UAE – bubbling under, they’re stuck in an awful limbo between jumping off the edge and being pushed and it makes competing in a World Cup a test of character and skill.Zimbabwe are not supposed to be so concerned with Associate nations because they are supposed to beat them and beat them comfortably. But there remains the real possibility that they may not, which is why Zimbabwe’s first focus is on the teams ranked below them, rather than punching above their weight. “It’s beating those smaller teams first before we can have any sight of beating a bigger team,” Sean Williams confirmed, while Brendan Taylor called the penultimate group stage match against Ireland “the biggest game for us.”Taylor acknowledged that his harsh reality is that even if Zimbabwe win against the two teams they do not want lose against, it may not be enough to secure a spot in the knockouts. In 2011, they were victorious over Canada and Kenya, but lost to all of Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and were booted out. They need to beat one of the big boys to get through and Taylor has identified “West Indies or Pakistan” as teams they fancy themselves against, although he knows it will take a performance bigger than the sum of all Zimbabwe’s individual parts to do that.They have only delivered one example of that in the last year, beating Australia in the triangular series at home, despite threatening to pull off a few more recently. “What disappointed me the most was after how well we bowled at South Africa in two of the games, the way we batted,” Taylor said. “That was frustrating because if one guy just put his hand up, we would have got two wins there.”Zimbabwe bowled South Africa out for the first time since the 1999 World Cup in August last year during their bilateral series in Bulawayo and again in the triangular series involving Australia. Both times, they restricted South Africa to under 260 but they failed to chase 258 and 232 when none of their batsman took responsibility in a line-up that collapsed.Who does Taylor think will do it this time? “I’d like to say myself; well, myself and a few others,” he said. “We are batting to No.8 now, we used to bat to No.7. It might leave us a bit thin when it comes to bowlers but on these smaller grounds, I think it will be quite high scoring and the team that bats the best is giving themselves a better chance.”Zimbabwe’s line-up has been bolstered by the inclusion Solomon Mire, who has taken the role of finisher off Elton Chigumbura’s hands. “Elton hits the ball far but Solomon hits the ball harder. He is really good to watch,” Taylor said. Mire was a rookie at the Melbourne Renegades, played in the Dhaka Premier League and is in good form, with 68 from 32 balls and 39 from 23 balls in two of the three games Zimbabwe played against Northern Districts last week. Zimbabwe won all three games, although two of them were close contests, and had what Ervine said was “the best practice we could have asked for.”Despite squeezing past the New Zealand domestic side by 22 runs in the first match and 11 runs in the third – the second game saw Zimbabwe win by eight wickets in more dominant fashion – Zimbabwe posted over 200 twice and over 300 once and developed a rhythm to their batting. “We have a good pattern now. We have the guys at the top, with Sean Williams coming back it strengthens the middle order and towards the end we’ve got Solomon and Elton, who are quite explosive,” Ervine said.It also gave them a glimpse of how their bowling is holding up on batsmen-friendly surfaces. Williams believes they lack for a “wicket-taking” spinner, especially since Prosper Utseya was banned from bowling spin because of an illegal action. Utseya is in the squad and will bowl medium-pace but Chigumbura admitted a slew of allrounders makes it tricky for him to manage the attack and his own bowling will “play a big part when it comes to the balance of the team,” so he will be doing a lot of it.”Prosper’s situation didn’t help us. He was our banker in the middle overs but Sean Williams has proven to be very handy for us and Tafadzwa Kamungozi is quite economical. I think the fifth bowler is a tricky one,” Taylor said. “If we can sneak a few overs our of Sikandar Raza and maybe Hamilton Masakadza we should get through but you have to be careful on smaller grounds where big teams will look to target that fifth bowler.”It was beginning to look as though Zimbabwe were working through that in their warm-up match against New Zealand. Raza and Masakadza and Kamungozi each got a wicket, Tinashe Panyangara and Chigumbura got two apiece and Zimbabwe had the co-hosts on the ropes at 157 for 7 when the match was called off. Zimbabwe will never know whether that was good enough to cause what they now consider an upset against a top-eight team but it suggests they can surprise. If they listen to their captain and understand that “not panicking too early will be key in this tournament,” they may surprise when it really matters.

Plays of the day from the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Apr-2015The celebration
Mitchell Johnson and Aaron Finch had shared a dressing room and a World Cup win just over two weeks ago, but on opposite sides now, Johnson did not dial down the intensity for Finch, whether with the ball, or in his celebration. Having rapped Finch on the pads first ball and then made a mess of his stumps the next, Johnson sped down the edge of the pitch and leapt as he passed the batsman – his face a contortion of ferocity and joy.The triple blow
Mumbai Indians’ chase seemed dead even when Harbhajan Singh arrived at the crease, but when he slammed Anureet Singh for three consecutive sixes in the 17th over, perhaps he opened up a sliver of hope for the hosts. The first six was clobbered over long on, when Anureet overpitched attempting a yorker. The bowler pitched the next one short, only for Harbhajan to swat at it like he would an insect, to send the ball sailing over deep midwicket. The next ball – another attempted yorker, this time too full – would be launched into the stands in the same area too.The hand shake
Glenn Maxwell is a hitter that moonlights as an offspinner. Harbhajan is an offspinner who moonlights as a hitter. When the latter outdid the former for outrageous batting on Sunday night, Maxwell made sure to communicate his appreciation of Harbhajan’s 24-ball 64. He approached Harbhajan as the batsman departed the field after being dismissed by Anureet, and said a few friendly words as the pair shared a soul-brother handshake.The welcome
Ravi Shastri has been absent from television commentary since mid-2014, thanks to his role with the India side. But like a man released into the world, Shastri overdosed on exuberance on Sunday night, yelling “Hellooo Mumbaiii” into the microphone at a volume that would have blown television speakers all across South Asia, and triggered avalanches in the distant Himalayas.

The team’s bowlers, led by captain Vinay Kumar, have shown great understanding of their respective roles to collectively apply pressure on opponents

Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Mar-2015On the second morning of the Irani Cup, Karnataka’s first- and second-change bowlers sent down eight overs in tandem. Sreenath Aravind bowled from one end, HS Sharath from the other. No wickets fell in those eight overs, and the batsmen hit five fours. In that period, Rest of India went from 41 for 2 to 72 for 2.The bare facts might suggest Aravind and Sharath released the pressure built by Karnataka’s new-ball bowlers, and gave Paras Dogra and Naman Ojha breathing space to rebuild after RoI’s rocky start. The bare facts, as can often be the case, are misleading.Of the 31 runs Aravind and Sharath conceded in those eight overs, only three came through the leg side, all singles, one of which was an attempted cover drive that Ojha inside-edged towards fine leg. Four of the five boundaries came via drives through the off side when the bowlers erred on the full side – a more forgivable offence than bowling short or on the pads, considering Karnataka had cover, mid-off and a short extra cover for protection.There were plenty of open spaces on the leg side, but this didn’t make the bowlers veer too far away from off stump. Through that eight-over period, the batsmen left only six balls.It wasn’t a hugely significant period of play in the context of the match result. The new-ball bowlers picked up two wickets before Aravind and Sharath came on, and two wickets fell immediately after they went out of the attack. They weren’t perfect spells, as the half-volleys would indicate, but it was pretty good bowling, and it took some pretty good batting from Dogra and Ojha to survive it. It showed Rest of India’s batsmen there would be no real let-up in the pressure from any of Karnataka’s four seamers.A lot of pitches this season have come in for criticism for being too green, to the point of rewarding medium-pacers for simply putting the ball in a reasonably good area. This Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch wasn’t like that. It had true bounce and a bit of seam movement over the first couple of days, and driving or punching away from the body was a risky idea, but anything loose could be punished without fear.It was important for a bowling team to maintain pressure on the batsmen, and Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka captain, said it was this thought that prompted the decision to play four seamers.”Normally, we have three good seamers and once we finish our spell, we need a part-timer to fill up,” he said. “Even Shreyas [Gopal, the legspinner] is a main bowler, but someone has to bowl that five to six overs, and the chances are there for the batsmen to get set.”That’s why we went with an extra bowler. We knew with the kind of bowlers we have, the plan was to come in short spells and bowl in the right areas.”On the first day, Rest of India had bowled Karnataka out for 244, and that might suggest they bowled well too. They did, but only in spurts. Given the start Karnataka got – they were 220 for 4 at one stage – they must have felt disappointed they didn’t put a bigger total on the board. Vinay said he had expected around 350.It took a good spell from Varun Aaron – who bowled a good length in the channel outside off and defeated batsmen with bounce when they looked to drive or punch him with an angled bat – to restrict Karnataka. Aaron was RoI’s first-change bowler, and he came on to replace Shardul Thakur, who had sprayed the new ball around, giving up three leg-side fours in his first four overs.In the second innings, the roles were reversed, somewhat. Aaron took the new ball, and bowled a long first spell, half of it at the end of the second day and half at the start of the third. He picked up the wicket of Mayank Agarwal, but he conceded eight fours in ten overs. Thakur, off his rhythm in the first innings, was the pick of RoI’s second-innings bowlers, finishing with a five-for and impressing with movement and bounce.Manoj Tiwary, the Rest of India captain, picked up on this inconsistency.”I thought we were good in patches, but not on a regular basis,” he said. “We bowled too many overs outside the off stump and few of the bowlers were not getting into the rhythm.”We were a little inconsistent as far as our length and line was concerned. They capitalised on the loose balls which were provided by us.”Given the mix-and-match nature of the Rest of India side, it was natural that the seamers didn’t necessarily have defined roles. Karnataka, on the other hand, came into the match as a wildly successful team whose core has remained more or less unchanged over the last two seasons.Each of the four seamers knew their roles perfectly. Vinay, the leader of the attack, was the aggressive swing bowler, pitching it up, swerving it away, occasionally jagging one back in – such as the ball that dismissed Tiwary in the first innings – and given a little more license to try things than the other three.Abhimanyu Mithun, usually the hit-the-deck enforcer, bowled fuller and straighter than he typically does, particularly in the second innings when there was up-and-down bounce on offer. RoI were chasing 403 and he destroyed their hopes with three wickets in his first two overs. Two were caught behind, poking at the ball as it took off from a length and straightened, and the other was bowled looking to work across the line of one that kept a bit low.Aravind, the left-arm seamer, and Sharath, blessed with Mithun’s height but not his pace, merely looked to keep things simple. With the cracks on the pitch widening during the second innings, Aravind bowled mostly from around the wicket, an angle that allowed him to attack the stumps.The only release from the pressure maintained by the seamers came from Shreyas’ legspin, but while he conceded close to four runs an over in the first innings and more than a run a ball in the second, he kept getting batsmen out. It’s been the story of his career so far. He bowls shorter spells than a spinner might usually expect, filling in whenever the seamers have needed a break, but has a strike rate – 37.50 – that would make a 19th century bowler proud. He turns the ball, bowls a good googly, and while he does bowl the odd bad ball, there’s a certain amount of risk involved in targeting his bowling.”[Shreyas] has improved, and he has become our breakthrough bowler, but the consistency has to improve,” Vinay Kumar said. “He will do well for us in the coming years.”It was an unusually harsh assessment, in an era when most other captains might have chosen to play up a young bowler’s strengths. But it summed up the attitude Karnataka have shown with the ball over the last two seasons. They have set the bar pretty high.