The Surfer

Where are the legspinners?

Oliver Brett, writing in Firstpost, contemplates the lack of legspinners in international cricket and believes that young legspinners must be supported and encouraged in spite of the limited-overs format in youth cricket, where winning a game is considered more important that nurturing bowling.

So much youth cricket is of a limited-overs nature, and when a game gets tight...

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The Cricket Sadist Hour

How to lose a final

List A cricket is so unimportant to the world; the final of the Ryobi Cup is on a Wednesday. When the final started, there were roughly 120 people in the ground, and you had to do two and a half laps of the G to even find any overpriced food. But perhaps the reason that so few...

The Buzz

History turned to ashes

The partnership of 664 between Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, in 1988, in an inter-school match, is a lore many cricket fans are fond of. But the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the landmark – a world record, broken only in 2006-07 - was dampened when it was found that the original scoresheet that noted the achievements of the...

The Confectionery Stall

MS Dhoni: thrives when the knives are sharpened

You did not need to be a qualified mathematician to calculate that – as of the close of play on day four of the Chennai Test - MS Dhoni had scored 224 runs in the series so far. At an average of 224. After one mesmeric innings, Dhoni has already posted his second highest ever series aggregate, his best...

Inbox

The Sammy debate at the crossroads

The West Indies captaincy has been described as a poisoned chalice because it is one of the most difficult jobs in the sporting world. For one, you are following in the footsteps of giants like Lloyd, Sobers, Richards, and Worrell. The weight of history on your shoulders is tremendous, from multiple World Cups to years of dominance to...

The Long Handle

Bat-twirling is not a crime

If you put a microphone in front of them, most sports professionals come across as personable young men of the kind you’d happily introduce to your grandmother, or entrust with the raffle prizes at a village fete. This is all an act. Left unchecked, they are dangerous hooligans who would bite the ear off an opponent as soon as...

Different Strokes

Cricket threatened by second XIs

To those unfamiliar with the Australian sporting landscape, these last few weeks have been full of controversy on many levels. Cricket was initially in the headlines when the much-denied “rotation” policy was debunked by Mickey Arthur and John Inverarity. They preferred instead to refer to it as “informed player management” or some such rubbish. The problem was that not...

Pak Spin

The power of a few good men

Nobody except Rambo - and I don’t mean Pakistan’s and ESPNcricinfo’s linguistic champion Ramiz Raja - ever won a war in isolation. We overestimate sport if we believe it is genuinely war minus the shooting, but on some occasions we don’t overestimate it by much. Perhaps a televised rumble without switch-blades is closer to reality. For many reasons, Pakistan...

Women's World Cup Tour Diaries

Good, but lessons still to learn

The cricket at the Women’s World Cup 2013 has largely been exciting and unpredictable, and it has been a privilege to commentate on the action. Australia were worthy winners, having lost only once, their final Super Six match against West Indies, by which time they had already secured their place in the final. There are a few things,...

The Pitch

The body language of fast bowlers: Diversity in unity

Some 15 or so years ago, as I watched Pakistan’s then latest fast-bowling find, Mohammad Akram, bowl against India in the 1997 Toronto one-day internationals, I remarked to a friend - then chatting online with me - that Akram’s smooth action was quite distinctive. Indeed, I suggested, it was even ‘non-subcontinental’. “A non-subcontinental action? What’s that?” my friend, quite...

• County Cricket Live 2012: LV= County Championship, Thursday August 2
• Posted by clomiphene 25 mg
• uSqV9t Awesome blog. Will read on...

• It Figures: Where is No. 2 and No. 20?
• Posted by alarky
• Ananth, I think that in your "Longevity Runs Scored/Hundreds Scored" tables, an "Age" column would ..

• The Cricket Sadist Hour: How to lose a final
• Posted by Kasun
• Great piece, and it was actually a great game for a rain marred affair. Being a loyal NSW man, I d..

• Inbox: The Sachin Tendulkar Experience
• Posted by Mani
• Not manys knows. I started following cricket because of him. I will stop watching cricket not delib..

• The Confectionery Stall: MS Dhoni: thrives when the knives are sharpened
• Posted by dinesh d kuwar
• Dhoni is a great no.3 position all format batsman.

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