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Despite the Test series whitewash against Pakistan, England are unlikely to make many changes for the short tour of Sri Lanka

George Dobell27-Feb-2012In a less enlightened, more chaotic age of England cricket, the announcement of the squad to tour Sri Lanka might be anticipated with some anxiety by those who lost the Test series in the UAE 3-0 to Pakistan. There was a time such a reverse would have precipitated much wailing, gnashing of teeth and the dropping of several players.Those days are, largely, gone. Despite suffering a Test series whitewash against Pakistan, England will keep faith with the majority of the squad that travelled to the UAE. While it is accepted that most of the batsmen endured a poor series, responsibility has been taken collectively and those that struggled in the UAE will be given an opportunity to show they have learned the lessons. England will play two Tests in Sri Lanka and no limited-overs cricket. The squad will be announced on Tuesday at 9.30am UK time and most of the players informed after the final Twenty20 against Pakistan on Monday night.The squad that lost in the UAE was, by and large, the same one that took England to No. 1 in the Test rankings. While they have questions to answer in Asian conditions, most impartial judges would agree the 12 players who represented England in the Tests against Pakistan were the best available. Failure has been, in part, blamed on the lengthy lay-off that preceded the tour. Time will tell if the answer is that simple, but it is a mistake England will not make again.Besides, the continuity of selection policy has served England well in recent years. Whereas desperate selectors called upon 29 players in the Ashes of 1989, they utilised just 13 in 2010-11. It is not coincidental that England lost the first series 4-0 and won the second 3-1. Often, when it comes to selection, less is more.Ian Bell, who averaged just 8.5 in the Test series in the UAE, will be included, as will Kevin Pietersen (11.16) and, of course, the captain Andrew Strauss (25). Indeed, Bell and Strauss will be among those travelling to Sri Lanka early to gain extra acclimatisation time. To suffer one poor tour may be regarded as a misfortune by the selectors; only after suffering two will the selectors regard it as career threatening.That is not to say that there may not be a couple of changes. Eoin Morgan, in particular, is waiting uncomfortably. England have invested a lot of time in Morgan and will be loathe to abandon him now. But he has endured a wretched tour of the UAE and, unlike some of his middle-order colleagues, does not have the excellent record of past achievement in Test cricket to suggest recent struggles are any more than a blip. He averaged just 13.66 in the Test series against Pakistan and has progressed beyond 31 only four times in his last 21 Test innings. He will have found little comfort in Andy Flower’s distinctly equivocal backing.”He’s had little glimpses of success,” Flower, the England coach, said. “I think he’s got a couple of Test centuries. But he’s had a tough tour of the UAE, there’s no doubt about that. And I think his record would suggest that he’s found Test cricket pretty tough. I think he’s averaging about 30 so he’s got some work to do in that regard.”There are several men pushing for his place in the side. The first is Ravi Bopara who enjoyed a more than respectable ODI series in the UAE (he averaged 54, scoring half-centuries in each of his two innings) and could be used as a third seamer in a Test attack including two specialist fast bowlers and two spinners. Bopara is capable of generating reverse swing as a bowler and there is guarded optimism that, aged 26, he has added the requisite composure to his undoubted talent.Probable England squad

Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Samit Patel, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Steven Finn

Samit Patel, too, could win a place on his first Test tour. While it is hard to see Patel’s left-arm spin squeezing Monty Panesar out of the team, he could provide another option at No.6 and fill the role as third spinner. More realistically, he could be utilised as back-up should either Panesar or Graeme Swann sustain an injury.And then there is Jonny Bairstow. He could replace Morgan as a batsman or Steve Davies as reserve wicketkeeper. While it may seem that one very good T20I innings has overshadowed a modest Lions tour of Sri Lanka – Bairstow averaged 24 in five List A games on the Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka, but helped England win the second Twenty20 in the UAE with a very fine, unbeaten innings of 60 – the 22-year-old from Yorkshire has shown the talent and temperament required to thrive at the top level. He is not the finished article with bat or gloves, but the England team management have identified a special quality – a cool, inner steel – in Bairstow that could, with guidance, develop into something that could serve them well for many years.It would be a harsh blow for the blameless Davies, but Flower and co. have shown they are not afraid of taking tough decisions if they think it for the best. There is little room for sentiment in the England camp.The bowling attack performed admirably in the UAE and requires little alteration. The unfortunate Chris Tremlett, aged 30 and with an injury history that would require several volumes to relate, was forced home early from the UAE for back surgery and may well have played his last international game. Steven Finn, Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions all wait in the wings for a tour on which two seamers may well suffice. It is just possible that Finn could edge out Anderson when it comes to Test selection, though he may have to wait a little while yet.The Test series in Sri Lanka also sees Strauss’ return as captain. Flower said he felt it too early to draw any conclusions about the experiment with three captains – on each for Tests, ODIs and T20s – but those who believe it will cause division within the team misunderstand the England set-up. The respect in which Strauss is held by his team is immense. Personal ambition from other captaincy candidates will not be responsible for his downfall.A lack of runs might be, however. While no-one doubts Strauss’ qualities as a leader or his past as a batsman, his record of just one century in his last 46 Test innings – and none in his last 21 going back to November 2010 – is a growing concern. Strauss actually struggled less than some in the UAE but, aged 35 within the week, he needs a much improved tour to prove to himself, as much as anyone, that he still has what it takes to thrive at international level. He will not lack support from the England team or management but, as Flower suggested when talking about captaincy in general, runs and wickets are the primary currency on which players can be judged. While Alastair Cook is not pushing for promotion, his success as ODI captain in the UAE suggests England does have a viable alternative.”He’s a very fine leader; a very fine cricketer.” Flower said when asked about Strauss. “He’s done some great things for England cricket. All the guys realise when you are made captain it does not mean you’re captain forever. It’s like almost a playing position, you’ll be constantly monitored. If as a player you go through extended periods of bad form, someone else will be pushing you. Same as a captain. You’ve got to ensure you’re doing the job well for England. You’re not given the job for life.”

Stats highlights from day four of the first Test at The Oval

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan22-Jul-2012
Amla’s 311 is the highest individual score by a South African batsman. He went past AB de Villiers’ 278 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2010. When Amla reached 278, he surpassed Graeme Smith to hold the record for the highest individual score by a South African batsman against England. It is also Amla’s second 200-plus score after the 253 against India in Nagpur in 2010. The triple-century is also the first in England since Graham Gooch’s 333 against India at Lord’s in 1990. Amla’s 311 is joint-fourth on the list of highest individual scores in Tests in England and the second-highest at The Oval. The highest at the venue remains Len Hutton’s 364 in 1938. It is only the eighth 300-plus score by a batsman in Tests against England. The number of minutes Amla batted (790) is the fifth-highest for a batsman in a single innings. He became only the fourth batsman after Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene and Younis Khan to have two innings lasting 11 hours or more. Kallis’ century is his 43rd in Tests and eighth against England. It is, however, only his second century in Tests in England. Kallis has improved his average in England from 29.30 at the start of the tour to 38.40. Kallis’ 182 is his personal best score against England and the fifth-highest of his career. The South African innings featured three centuries. This is the fourth time that three South African players have scored a century in the same innings against England and the 16th time they have managed the feat in Tests. This is also the seventh such instance (three centuries in an innings) in a Test at The Oval. The 377-run stand between Amla and Kallis is the highest partnership in South Africa-England Tests. The pair went past the previous record of 338 between Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith in 2003. The partnership is also the third-highest ever for South Africa. Amla and Kallis became only the second pair after Gibbs and Smith to feature in three triple-century stands. The two have also been involved in six 200-plus stands, a record they share with Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. Kallis has now featured in 20 partnerships of 200 runs or more. The South African innings featured two 200-plus stands. This is only the third time that they have had two 200-plus stands in the same innings. It is also the second time in Tests that a team has had two consecutive 200-plus partnerships for the second and third wickets. This is also the second time (after the Australia-India Test in Sydney in 2012) that there have been two 250-plus stands in a single team innings. South Africa’s total of 637 is their second-highest in Tests against England. However, the number of wickets lost (2) is their lowest ever for a 600-plus total. The visitors’ total is also the eighth-highest by a visiting team at The Oval. The highest remains Pakistan’s 708 in 1987. The run aggregate for the second and third wickets (636) is the highest ever in Tests surpassing the 632 runs for Sri Lanka against South Africa in 2006. The number of overs bowled by England (189) is the fifth-highest in a home Test since 1990. This is the fewest number of wickets picked up by England in an innings in which they have bowled 600 or more deliveries. Graeme Swann conceded 151 runs off his 52 overs. This is the highest number of overs he has bowled in an innings and the second-highest number of runs he has conceded in a single innings.

Jacques Kallis missed out on a chance to finally make his mark at Lord’s as the tourists’ No. 1 challenge reached a critical stage

Firdose Moonda at Lord's18-Aug-2012When South Africa readied themselves to jostle with England for the No. 1 ranking, they focused some of their time on planning for the big moments. It was the catches that make for the best photographs, the centuries that are scored where a run would fear to tread and the wickets that are taken despite those centuries that would decide the best of the best.One of their biggest moments has now come. Although the match is not South Africa’s to win, enough time remains for it to be theirs to lose and how they go about avoiding that will be one of deciding factors of the series. On the batting front, South Africa will have to do it without the two heaviest of their heavyweight line-up – Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.Kallis, in particular, is a significant loss in the wider context. His batting has probably been on display at Lord’s for the last time and it did not show itself in the way he would have wanted it to. In three matches, Kallis has scored only 54 runs at the ground. Before the second innings he had collected just 23 runs. It’s not just that Kallis has not been on the honours board at Lord’s, it’s that he has not even come close to it.No matter how many times Kallis repeats that accolades and statistics don’t matter to him now, his reaction to his dismissal said something else. He was denied in the first innings, after a bizarre third umpire’s call gave him out despite replays that showed his hand was not on the bat when the glove made contact with the ball, and there was mild annoyance as he left the field. Knowing that the second innings would likely be his last batting stint at one of the sport’s most hallowed theatres must have been on his mind when he arrived at the crease with South Africa 50 for 2.So much opportunity presented itself. There was the chance to score a series-defining innings (his century at The Oval was a footnote to Smith’s 100th-Test hundred and Amla’s record-breaking 331) and rescue South Africa from trouble. There was also the chance to write his name into the only part of cricketing history it has failed to be inscribed on.On both counts Kallis missed out and, unlike the call on day one, he had nothing to complain about second time around. Despite emphatic gestures to his bat, brandishing of the willow and a wave of words as he walked off, there was little to support that Kallis had been hard done by. His was a dismissal that technology needed to prove was clearly not out after Simon Taufel had raised his finger.Hot Spot gave no indication that contact had been made and replays showed the ball had passed between bat and pad and Kallis was hit on the back leg. Without any conclusive evidence to overturn the decision, Taufel’s call was rightly upheld and Kallis Lord’s hoodoo remains. When his career in remembered, this will be brought up as his only blot. Should South Africa go on to be crowned the top-ranked Test team after his match, the dark spot will be a few shades lighter.But that will depend on factors out of Kallis’ control. It will hinge on whether the other batsman can hold their nerve to play the big moments in the same way he so often has and whether the XI as a unit can make something happen, where they have sometimes not been able to.South Africa do not have a good record of consecutive Test wins. Their solid record comes from not losing. A typical series for them includes one authoritative performance and a few gutsy draws. In this series, the domination has already come. Assistant coach Russell Domingo described the win at The Oval as the “perfect game” and said “to match that would be difficult”. The draw came at Headingley, where if weather was not involved the result may have been different.What next? In South Africa’s last three three-Test series, against India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, they have drawn, won and drawn the last Test, after losing the second against both India and Sri Lanka. Had they won the match against India in 2010-11, they would have earned a series win and the No. 1 ranking. But the draw came as a relief after Kallis had to bat with a side strain to save the match. In big moments like those, South Africa had been endured but not prospered.This series has been different so far. The belief and confidence of the team is stronger than it has ever been in the past and if the big moments are considered in their widest possible form, South Africa have triumphed.Alastair Cook could have gone on from his 114 after the first day at The Oval but all he was able to do was add one more run before playing on. Alviro Petersen and Jacques Rudolph could have succumbed in the first hour on the second day at Headingley but they battled through, scoring only 36 runs and seeing off six maidens up front. Kevin Pietersen’s 149 could have bloated into a double century and more but Morne Morkel culled him in the first over of the fourth day at Headingley.Another watershed moment like that one awaits. Of the major run-scorers for South Africa so far, only one remains – Hashim Amla. Potential and talent makes up the rest. AB de Villiers, who has made his biggest scores in recent times only when platforms have been laid, is capable and then some. Rudolph, JP Duminy and even Vernon Philander can all bat but what goes on in their minds will end up being more important.The challenge facing them is not one of technique or skill but one of temperament. For the first time in the series, the middle order will come under real pressure to post a total that South Africa can defend. They have not needed in that capacity yet and when they were, in the first innings it was left to Philander. Leaving it that late again would likely not translate into a victory of the big moment, but more importantly, it could cost South Africa the biggest moment – that of becoming world No.1.

ESPNcricinfo’s George Binoy picks his team of the Under-19 World Cup

George Binoy in Townsville27-Aug-2012
1. Unmukt Chand (India)
After one half-century and a couple of starts on difficult pitches, Unmukt’s performances had been average during India’s progress to the final. However, on the grandest stage an Under-19 player can have, he delivered a breath-taking innings, his century helping India pull off the highest successful chase at Tony Ireland Stadium to become World Champions.2. Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Began the tournament with 75 against Afghanistan and a century against Scotland to help his team top their group. Made the curious decision of batting first on a tricky pitch in the quarter-final but was good enough to score a half-century against India as his team-mates collapsed around him. Was Pakistan’s top-scorer in a play-off semi-final against West Indies as well.3. Quinton de Kock (wk) (South Africa)
Blitzed 95 and a century against Namibia and Bangladesh to finish top of the run-charts in the group stages, but had consecutive failures in the quarter and semi-finals. Finished the World Cup with a half-century against New Zealand as South Africa won the third-place play-off. Made the best XI because, with 18 dismissals, de Kock was the best wicketkeeper-batsman on show in Queensland.4. Anamul Haque (Bangladesh)
The highest run-scorer in the World Cup, Anamul began with a hundred that would relegate Sri Lanka to the plate competition and ended with another hundred, against Pakistan, which helped Bangladesh finish seventh out of 16 teams. He scored a half-century against England’s potent attack as well, and had starts in two other innings. Wasn’t tested on the tough pitches at Tony Ireland Stadium, but received praise from his former coach Stuart Law.5. William Bosisto (capt) (Australia)
Player of the Tournament. Unbeaten in five out of six innings, his only dismissal was a run-out against South Africa. Made important contributions in chases against England, Ireland, Bangladesh and South Africa, often shoring up a top-order wobble. Saved his best for the final, his 87 taking Australia to a competitive total. Had the coolest head in the competition. Bosisto’s only slip-up was dropping Unmukt in the last ten overs of a tense chase in the final.6. Kyle Mayers (West Indies)
One of three players to have scored over 100 runs and taken more than ten wickets in the tournament, Mayers batted at No. 6 and bowled second change for West Indies. He was their highest wicket-taker and conceded fewer than four runs an over, hitting the bats hard with his pace and bounce. As a batsman, he had the ability to play in several gears, showing patience against India and attacking against Zimbabwe.7. Ashton Turner (Australia)
Finished as Australia’s leading wicket-taker by bowling an attacking brand of offspin. Turner got the ball to bounce and spin from an aggressive line just outside off stump. A useful batsman at No. 7 as well, contributing valuable runs in the quarter-final against Bangladesh and in the final against India.England’s Reece Topley was the most complete bowler at the World Cup•ICC/Getty8. George Dockrell (Ireland)
The left-arm spinner who could not be attacked is the only player from the plate competition in the XI. Dockrell’s tournament figures were 60-22-122-10. He had astonishingly economical figures against strong opposition as well – 0 for 22 and 1 for 10 in full spells against England and Australia. Against Namibia, he had 10-5-8-1. His economy-rate of 2.05 made him impossible to not pick.9. Ronsford Beaton (West Indies)
His stats may not be the best but Beaton was a tough quick to face. He hit speeds of 145 kph and was a constant threat with his lines and length. Began with a match-winning 3 for 33 against India and also took 3 for 47 in the quarter-final against New Zealand. In that match, Beaton conceded only four in the penultimate over of the chase, leaving Justin Greaves 18 to defend in the 50th, which he failed to do.10. Sandeep Sharma (India)
Had supreme command over the new ball and could swing it prodigiously in both directions with exceptional control. His inswingers with a right-hander’s nightmare and, for the left-hand batsmen, the same deliveries were un-leaveable. They would begin around leg and finish just outside off. Could be relied on to provide an early breakthrough nearly as regularly as the sun rises.11. Reece Topley (England)
The most complete bowler at the World Cup. Tall, fast and skilled, Topley was dangerous with both new and old ball. His attacking lengths – good length and straight – made it difficult to score off him and he had an economy-rate of 3.17. Finished as the top wicket-taker and provided one of the most memorable moments of the tournament with his second ball – breaking Jimmy Peirson’s middle stump in half.

Geoff Boycott on England’s upcoming trial by spin, why South Africa can beat Australia, and his memories of playing in India

09-Nov-2012Siddhartha Talya: Hello and welcome to another Bowl at Boycs. Speaking to me today from Dubai is Geoffrey Boycott. Good morning, Geoffrey. There was a bit of uncertainty over the BBC commentary coming down to India for the Test series. It’s resolved now. Happy to be making your way here?Geoffrey Boycott: Yes, no problems at all. There are always hiccups. Looking forward to it. I know the people there love cricket and, fortunately, I have a good rapport with them. So I think the Test matches will be good. England have a number of problems but you could say India are in a sort of change, aren’t they, with one or two of their great players going. So it’s going to be interesting.ST: Lots of Test cricket happening around the world. Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand, Bangladesh play West Indies, Australia play South Africa at home and India take on England in a four-match Test series starting in Ahmedabad on November 15. The first question of the day, from Atreya in India, is about that series.He says: England haven’t won a Test series in India in a while. Do you think this is their best chance, and are India at their most vulnerable for the first time in a while at home?GB: Good question. Yes and no. England haven’t convinced anyone that they can play the turning ball. I don’t think they’ve convinced themselves. They might talk [about how] they’ve done lots of planning and preparation, but they actually haven’t done it in the middle. So it really boils down to what sort of pitches are produced by the Indian groundsmen. If the pitches turn, which they usually do… by the third, fourth or fifth day they will turn at some stage. How much will they spin is important. And who wins the toss, that’s vital. If you can win the toss and have a chance of putting up a really big first-innings total on a pretty good batting surface before the ball spins, then make no mistake, that is really a vital factor.If the pitches stay flat, England have some good batsmen who can score heavily. But I don’t think anybody can believe that you can go to India and the pitches won’t turn at some stage. It just always happens that way. Occasionally you get a very flat one over five days. Nobody can back England. Nobody in their right mind can back England until England play well on the subcontinent.There are young guys there, like Joe Root, who’s played very little county cricket, never mind anything else. There’s young Jonny Bairstow. I know them both from Yorkshire. Extremely talented, but the turning ball? They don’t see that very much in English conditions these days. The pitches have got great covering. They are dry and flat. In the old days we used to play on uncovered pitches. They could find it very difficult. Then there’s this guy [Nick] Compton. He is a new boy to this sort of bowling; he hasn’t seen anything like that in English cricket.For India, if Zaheer Khan can stay fit, he’s a really fine bowler with the new ball and the old ball. He’s an old warrior. On Indian pitches he’s been known to be very good, get early wickets and let the spinners do the job when the batsmen are under pressure.Now I know a lot of people, like the [one who asked the] question, say that India are in transition. No Dravid, no Laxman, the great names are gone. Sachin [Tendulkar] is at the end of a fabulous career – not sure how he will play. [Virender] Sehwag looks vulnerable, bit of loss of form. He’s always been a mercurial batsman but done well in the subcontinent. Now Yuvraj [Singh] as well, he’s been ill and not played for many months. These are all question marks everybody is conscious of about these very well known players.But India are still good. They’ve got captain [MS] Dhoni there, who is still a very fine player. [Gautam] Gambhir is a very good batsman at home. He struggled in England where the ball bounces and seams a great deal more, but at home in India, he is a very good player. [Virat] Kohli is a top young batsman, he’s a real quality player in the making.India usually play well at home. The players are used to the slower bounce in the pitches, that’s the key. It doesn’t move as much with the new ball and it doesn’t move for long. And it’s the lower bounce, it doesn’t get up high past the chin. They like their own food, they’ll get home support. They may look a little vulnerable for these questions that I’ve posed, but I still fancy India over England. There are far too many ifs and buts about the English batting. Sorry, I’m not sure they’re going to do it, the English batting.ST: Geoffrey, when India went to England in July last year, they had a lot of problems against pace. Do you see the England pace attack making an impact in Indian conditions?GB: I’m not sure even the Indian fast bowlers will make too big an impact. What you want from your fast bowlers on either side is get a couple of wickets. Although spinners are vital in India, it’s helpful if your spinners don’t have to get all ten. That’s much harder work. When you start, when you come on bowling, after a number of overs have been bowled and the ball has lost a little shine and you are expected to take ten wickets… if you’ve got a seamer like Zaheer or James Anderson, who can nip you out a couple, then the batting sides are a bit under pressure and you’ve got eight wickets to pick with the spinners. That’s much easier. But when you just rely on spin to take all ten, unless it’s a real raging turning pitch, a real big one, then the spinners can do it… but, you know, you want a pitch that’s really decent and turns a bit.The England seamers will be all right. I know they’ve had injuries. I like [Graham] Onions, as well as Anderson. They keep picking everybody else but I think Onions is a good bowler.ST: Our next question is about a series happening Down Under. It’s a series between two major teams, and there’s a contest on for the No. 1 spot in the Test rankings. Aaron writes in from the UK. He says: There’s no Pat Cummins but Australia still have a strong attack. Can South Africa beat them, as they had done almost four years ago?GB: Yes, I think they can. They are No. 1 in the world because they are the real deal. They are a very good team. They are good in batting, bowling – seam bowling, particularly – catching… They’ve got only one weak link, have South Africa. That’s Imran Tahir. For me, he’s too expensive, is their legspinner; there’s too many easy balls to hit, and that lets the pressure off batsmen than keeping it on. [Dale] Steyn, [Morne] Morkel, [Vernon] Philander, these guys are from the top drawer – terrific attack. Plus a bit of Jacques Kallis. He’s getting on a bit now but he’ll still bowl about ten overs a day if need be. They are some deal.The biggest threat to South Africa not winning the series is their self-belief. If deep down they really can have the conviction and confidence that they can win, really believe it… it’s not enough in top sport to hope you can win, you really have to believe it deep down. Not talk a good game, but play a good game. If they do that, they can win.

“Winning will be nice, that’s what you play for, but, more than anything, they have to perform because if they make two mess-ups, then it will just show that they’ve learnt nothing.”Boycott on England

You’ve got to remember that Australia’s batting has a big question mark over it. It doesn’t look that great. You’ve got [Michael] Clarke, the captain, who’s a fine batsman. The left-hander Michael Hussey is still a fine player. But there’s a number of question marks about the rest of the players. They’re still searching, are Australia, for a good-looking, settled batting order. They’ve got the Ashes coming up in England next summer and they still don’t look settled. I know their seam bowling will be all right, even without Cummins. I would have played Cummins definitely, he’s a fine young bowler. I also liked Mitchell Starc, who played at Yorkshire this year. He’s a fantastic bowler and he’s been in the best bowling form of his life, left-arm as well, over and round the wicket. This kid is really good. So they’ll be okay in seam bowling.You’ve got to think, well, they’re at home, are Australia, but they do look very vulnerable.ST: Time for a bit of a flashback and this is leading into Geoffrey’s favourite question for this show. It comes from Sameer in India. He says: Geoffrey, you didn’t play a Test match in India until 1980, 16 years after you made your Test debut. But you did play your last Test in India, in January 1982. What are the memories that stand out for you of having played Test cricket in India?GB: I didn’t come for most of my career. I was worried. I lost my spleen in an accident when I was nine and doctors told me at the time that the conditions in India could have been very difficult for me.But when I did come, I loved the crowds, full stadiums, so I was lucky. When you play Test cricket now in India, crowds are very few. They’ve all got into ODI and T20 cricket; the IPL’s taken off. I was lucky. In the era I played the game, ODI cricket hadn’t yet captured many cricket lovers’ attention. Test match cricket was still a fantastic event and occasion that cricket lovers wanted to go to and watch. When I played at Calcutta, my last Test match, it was a full house. You don’t see that too often now. There must have been 80,000-100,000. It was fantastic. I played at the Wankhede Stadium, which I really liked. I felt that the smaller stadiums, with the crowds so close, made for a fantastic atmosphere and India beat us there in ’81, and deservedly so.I have memories of Delhi, where I scored my world record for most Test runs, when I passed the total of the greatest cricketer I’ve ever seen, Garfield Sobers. I said then and now that making more Test runs than Garry didn’t then make me a better batsman than him and it still doesn’t. It’s facts and figures and they never lie. They tell you that the guy was pretty good, whoever he is, but they never tell everything.Geoff Boycott sweeps while going past Garry Sobers’ world record aggregate of Test runs, in Delhi 1981•Getty ImagesI remember playing against the three great spinners. Now that was something. Bishan Bedi, he could bowl, and that Chandra [Bhagwat Chandrasekhar], wow. When he had a good day, he was very difficult. They were a handful, with [Erappalli] Prasanna as well. They were a handful, but it was the competitive thrill of playing against such great spinners that if you succeeded, made runs and did well, you felt that you had scaled a mountain. That you had done something really good because you knew you were playing great bowlers.I enjoyed playing against Kapil Dev. He was one of the great allrounders with Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee. With the new ball, he had the most fantastic action. All you saw was the back. You didn’t see the shoulder, you saw his back – he turned his shoulders that much. He had such a fluid, high action, swung the ball out, which is the most dangerous delivery for any batsman. He was a real handful with the new ball. He got me out sometimes and other times I succeeded, and that’s the challenge. If you can succeed against the truly great bowlers then that’s what you want as a player. You’re in there to test yourself, test your skill and character.Watching Sunil Gavaskar bat… technical excellence, beautiful batsman with lovely footwork, his concentration and determination was 100%. I didn’t know him very well then, just watched his batting, and we’ve become good friends doing TV commentary together. It’s one thing to become a great batsman, but he’s a great human being – straight, honest, loyal, and he’s got a naughty sense of humour, which I love.Some wonderful memories, and I’m looking forward to this series. For England, it’s a bigger series than [for] India. Remember, in February-March, they absolutely got outplayed by Pakistan in the UAE on pitches that turned. They couldn’t pick the doosra, they were a right mess, they made some real cock-ups in batting. Deep down they know, and we were watching as ex-players and public, that they are under real pressure. They’re under pressure to perform. It’s not about winning. Yes, winning will be nice, that’s what you play for, but more than anything, they have to perform because if they make two mess-ups, then it will just show that they’ve learnt nothing.They say they have been practising, they say they have been trying to work it out – this doosra business and everything. It’s one thing to practise, one thing to think about it. Now you’ve got to go and do it. If they really make another mess-up, then I don’t know where they go from there. I really don’t. And I think they’re going to struggle. [Kevin] Pietersen will be all right, he’s a class act. [Alastair] Cook somewhere will get some runs. But [Ian] Bell had a terrible time against the doosra and the turning ball and he’s a wonderful player. He’s going home for the second Test because his wife is having a baby. Then you’re left with a lot of young kids. Jonathan Trott will work hard and graft, but there’s a few other spaces where I’m not sure how the batsmen will do. I’m looking forward to it. I’m crossing my fingers, because as a former England Test player I want them to do well. But I need to cross all the toes on my feet and all the fingers.ST: Here’s hoping for an exciting Test series. It gets underway in a week’s time. Geoffrey, one final question. You did play in the Jubilee Test in 1980 didn’t you?GB: Played at the Wankhede Stadium, which we did win actually, by ten wickets. And I met Mr Wankhede. I liked him a lot, I got along really good with him. I’m sorry he’s passed away now. I liked him, he built his own stadium, and it was a great atmosphere. We were coming from Australia and we came to celebrate your Jubilee, and that’s the first time I came.ST: Thanks a lot for that, Geoffrey.That’s a wrap on today’s show. Please don’t forget to send us your questions using the feedback form, and Geoffrey will be joining us from Mumbai the next time we get together. He’ll be watching the second Test between India and England then and we’ll be sure to pick his brains when we catch up again. Thank you for tuning in and we’ll see you again in two weeks.

Angelo Mathews’ career is in transition, and he is steadily coming to terms with his new role with both Sri Lanka and Pune Warriors

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Apr-2013He smiled at the question. After a moment’s consideration, he spoke about Sri Lankan players not being allowed to play in Chennai during the IPL. “There is a bit of a situation in Chennai and we have to refrain from going there. Politics and sport don’t mix. We need to concentrate on our cricket and not worry too much about things happening around. If this was an issue between the two countries we wouldn’t have been playing in the IPL,” the Pune Warriors captain Angelo Mathews said.Mathews’ response wasn’t as thoughtful as what his Sri Lanka team-mate Kumar Sangakkara expressed. But neither was it a casual response to what was a serious question. Had he been just a player, he may have shrugged off the question. But since he is captain, Mathews spoke responsibly.For Mathews, 2013 has been a year of transition as a cricketer. After Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara decided to pass the baton to a younger cricketer, Mathews was picked as the man to replace them as leader. He was a long-term choice, who could provide stability. These were the key factors the selectors had in mind while appointing him ahead of Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had led Sri Lanka briefly a couple of years ago.Mathews led Sri Lanka in the Test and ODI formats during the home series against Bangladesh. He did not disappoint, despite Sri Lanka losing their first-ever game to Bangladesh on home soil in the drawn ODI series.Mathews blamed his bowlers for the defeat, but signs of his inexperience were evident when he showed impatience with bowling changes during the preceding Test series. But Mathews is willing to accept his and his team’s shortcomings, and that’s a good sign. On Friday, after the dispiriting defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mathews admitted his batsmen had played “too cautiously” and “choked” chasing a small target. So how does he rectify the error? How does he tell the senior trio of Yuvraj Singh, Marlon Samuels, and Ross Taylor that they need to play more responsibly?”You’ve got to stay calm as far as possible. You need to gel with the boys because they are the ones who will make you a good leader. You have to listen to the boys because it is important to get all things on board. And then you take the positive stuff out of what they have said,” Mathews said.Desperate to rise from the bottom of the IPL table, where they finished over the previous two seasons since they became part of the tournament, the management appointed a new coach in Allan Donald, the former South African fast bowler. For Donald, aggression is the . At the same time, he believes in the player understanding his role clearly. In that regard Mathews could be the ideal man to communicate the coach’s message to get the job done.Reading situations correctly, identifying the right go-to men, and keeping back-up plans ready, are what Mathews believes make a good leader. For him, Sangakkara ticks all those parameters, as witnessed on Friday evening, when Sunrisers won by 22 runs despite scoring just 126. His rival captain’s strategy on the field, Mathews agreed, was good homework for him. “He has been a successful captain in the past for Sri Lanka and Deccan and Sunrisers now. He stays calm all the time and the way he handles the guys is amazing. There is a lot to learn from him. The way he carried out the bowling changes, the way he thought through the game, the way he read the situations was really learning stuff for me,” Mathews said.In January this year, Mathews led Sri Lanka successfully to a 2-0 victory in a two-match T20 series in Australia. Sangakkara had returned home due to injury, but Mathews displayed the right temperament to make sure he did not look out of place as a captain.An impact player himself, Mathews recognised the primary priority for a player in Twenty20 was to retain focus at all times. “We need to have the focus right through the 20 overs. We can’t just give in to the situations because we need to play some really good cricket to win against quality teams.”Mathews shows an aggressive spirit, especially evident at times in his batting, and is steadily coming to terms with captaincy. There is a long way to go, but just like Sri Lanka, the Warriors, too, might have chosen the right man to lead the team.

The David Warner incident is the latest in a string of discipline issues that have hit Australian cricket recently

Jarrod Kimber12-Jun-2013″Drink within your boundaries,” said a pre-recorded Michael Clarke on the Edgbaston big screen a few moments before the match against New Zealand. It’s possible he said it before the game on Saturday as well. Clarke is currently in London, getting intensive treatment on his back. Had he been in Birmingham, he may have been powerless to stop Warner from getting in trouble.Despite what David Gower said, Australia does have culture, and at the moment that culture is toxic.It’s easy to overreact to a man punching an opponent a few hours after a game. Or even to take that one problem, and extrapolate it so that the system and all players are to blame. Young people today, eh. Wasn’t like this in my day. These kids are running wild.But Warner’s punch isn’t a one off for him, and many young Aussie players are doing things that are either blatantly stupid, or amazingly unprofessional way too often over the last couple of years. It’s as if Australian cricket has turned into a giant crèche. Some of these things can be explained by Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting retiring, but it’s deeper than that, and was around even before they left.Brad Haddin’s recall to the side, despite his replacement Matthew Wade averaging pretty much the same, shows that CA knows there is a problem. But bringing back one father figure isn’t enough, this problem runs deep.In this team is Mitchell Marsh. Marsh arrived at the cricket academy out of shape, he was almost sent home straight away. Eventually he was kicked out for being unfit to train after a big night out. That was July last year. A few months later, in October, Marsh was left out of a Champions League match for Perth Scorchers because his 21st birthday celebrations meant he wasn’t in a fit state to play. His brother Shaun Marsh was also dropped from that game for the same incident.Their former Western Australian team-mate, Luke Pomersbach, was in trouble during IPL 2012 when he was detained by police for alleged assault. The case was eventually settled out of court. Pomersbach has more than enough batting talent to slip into any of the three Australian sides.Allrounder Daniel Christian was suspended after damaging not one, or even two, but three separate changerooms during the last Sheffield Shield season. Christian was fined and warned during the first two incidents, but still committed the third act.Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja were suspended from one Test in India after they didn’t provide any plans on how they or the team could improve. Watson, the then vice-captain, left the tour straight after the incident, for the birth of his child. That followed on from the World Twenty20, where a player was heard undermining the captain George Bailey to opposition players.Young Queensland batsman Chris Lynn was fined for attacking the alleged victim in an assault case on Twitter. Saying “She should serve 2 months in jail for her make up! #booyah”. Lynn later apologised and noted, “Violence against women is not acceptable and I’m sorry that my words could been seen to condone that.” Even Shane Warne was running around the Big Bash League, throwing balls at people and making a fool of himself.Now there is Warner. Before last weekend, Warner’s off-field history was fairly minor. Some bad tweeting with Brett Geeves a few years back, rumours of a personal curfew, perhaps some skinfold issues and being sent home from the academy for untidiness are hardly crimes. And neither is arguing with some press on Twitter. Sure, as a contracted player he was stupid to swear, but I am sure many players and journalists have sworn at each other in bars without us ever having to know about it.

A punishment will not do. A punishment won’t stop the cause. These players have been warned, fined and suspended; they are still making mistakes, still being unprofessional and still making it harder for Australia to win matches

This latest incident is not fully known. And in some ways it’s barely an incident. It took days to hit the press. Joe Root’s jaw is undamaged. Perhaps Warner had a few too many one quid vodka and redbulls at the wrong time of night and did something stupid. But he did try to punch an opposition player. It is far worse than breaking a door in a changeroom or failing to fill in some feedback reports.In the past, events like this happened all the time. A player gets a bit stroppy when he goes out. A young player enjoys the good life a bit much. A player is involved in a late-night incident that he should’ve steered clear of. A player bad-mouths his captain.In the 1970s, it would have been sorted out, and the player would now be doing after-dinner speaking about the good old days. On Sky talking about his days, which were fairly recent, Jason Gillespie said, “If you stepped out of line off the field, you got into strife from the captain and the coach.”So how has Australia regressed since then? How is that a potential captain of the Australian team, in CA’s own words, can take a swing at another player? I don’t expect James Sutherland to be standing in the bar making sure Warner doesn’t do anything stupid.Culture is not an easy thing to fix. But this has happened under CA’s watch. It has happened after their Argus review. It is affecting their marketing off the field. It is affecting their performance on it. They must find the problems and fix them.A punishment will not do. A punishment won’t stop the cause. These players have been warned, fined and suspended; they are still making mistakes, still being unprofessional and still making it harder for Australia to win matches.Ex-cricketers were quick to abuse Pat Howard and Mickey Arthur for treating players like school kids. But they’re acting like them, consistently. It’s time for CA to look at the what is wrong with their current crop of cricketers. Or what is wrong with CA itself. This is a team that is losing on the field, and losing off of it.This is 2013, if you want to be the best team in the world, you can’t afford to be anything but professional. South Africa is the best side in the world, they are the best behaved, led, managed and performed in the world. Their players don’t get caught in scandals, their team just works as hard as it can to win every match. They even managed to improve while there was a scandal around their board.This Australian set-up is not behaving, the leadership is not around, the management is not working and the team is not performing.Point no. 4 on CA’s new strategy for cricket to become Australia’s leading sport is, “Provide world-class leadership and management and unify Australian Cricket”. This is the time when CA proves that is not some lip service that looks good on a plaque in their offices.Clarke has not attended any of Australia’s games in this tournament. The only cricket he has attended was Shane Warne’s charity match on Sunday in the Cotswolds, a couple of hours from London. Warner was also there.After Warner’s twitter moment, Clarke said to the press, “Davey has great potential to be a leader of the Australian cricket team, he’s a wonderful guy, he’s a wonderful player, I know he’s learnt from this”. That was only a few weeks back.Whatever Warner did learn, it didn’t seem to help him on early Sunday morning.

In his new brief at No. 6, Phillip Hughes showed an improved technique and greater awareness of his team’s needs to register a first Ashes fifty

Daniel Brettig at Trent Bridge11-Jul-2013One of the recurring themes of Michael Hussey’s career was that many of his finest innings were overshadowed by someone else. Whether it was Michael Clarke cracking 329 not out against India or 259 and 230 against South Africa or Adam Gilchrist murdering England in his 102 at the WACA ground in 2006, Hussey was often cast as a minor character in his own life story. Possessing a tremendous ability to complement the batsman at the other end in whatever way was most required, Hussey thrived on partnerships, even if it meant playing the accomplice to Jason Gillespie when he had the cheek to turn a nightwatchman’s shift into 201 against Bangladesh.So it was for Phillip Hughes on a day of dreams at Trent Bridge. While Ashton Agar produced a performance that no one who witnessed it will ever forget, Hughes quietly crafted an innings that was arguably the best and most significant of his Test career. If Agar’s display was one of the most striking examples of a selection hunch rewarding its architects, then Hughes’ effort offered vindication of his retention in the team after a dire tour of India, as well as a remarkably promising glimpse of his batting future.Where Agar walked out to bat with few expectations to live up to, and doubtless even fewer plans to counter among England’s bowlers, Hughes faced up to opponents who had twice threatened to wreck him as an international batsman even before he had matured as a man. Five Ashes Tests spread across two series had reaped a meagre 154 runs at 17.11. Hughes’ highest score in that time was 36. No wonder there was a quite palpable sense of English anticipation among the Nottingham crowd when he walked out to bat at 53 for 4 on the first evening.Such a feeling had to be shared by James Anderson, Steven Finn, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. After all, Hughes had been turned from a bright young batting hope to a jittery mess on his first encounter with England in 2009, and then skittered nervously and fruitlessly around the crease in Australia two years later. Nothing, it seemed, had underlined Australian flaws and English superiority more than the sight of Hughes struggling for traction against the aforementioned bowlers.But Hughes has travelled far in his journey from boy to man since then, moving from New South Wales to South Australia, regaining confidence during a stint with Worcestershire last year, and finally accepting a commission to move down the batting order to No. 6. This change was most significant, changing Hughes’ role from that of a top-order dasher to a more considered job holding the team’s mid-section together. It was tested out during the tour matches, and a string of healthy scores suggested Hughes would be comfortable reacting to the circumstances that confronted him.England to assess Hughes plans

For the first time in six Tests and three series, England’s Plan A to Phillip Hughes did not work. England will be forced to re-examine their attack on Hughes after an unbeaten 81 more than doubled his previous best in an Ashes match, while contributing to a world record 10th wicket stand with the debutant Ashton Agar.
James Anderson, who claimed five wickets for the hosts at Trent Bridge, said the team would have to look over video footage of Hughes innings to assess the quality of their bowling, while also praising his ability to tough out several difficult periods.
“I’m not sure he’s changed much,” Anderson said. “He obviously played very well. He showed a lot of skill to get through some tricky periods of play. I thought he batted well with Agar at the end to build a partnership and frustrate us. We’ll have a look and see if we actually bowled that well at him.”

In his first attempt at the role, the scenario was dire indeed. Four wickets down for very little, the Dukes ball swinging and seaming, the crowd baying for more wickets, the Nottingham light dull and augmented by electricity. Accompanying Hughes in the middle was none other than Steven Smith, another young man from NSW who had been a figure of English ridicule in 2010-11. Both had tightened their techniques and bolstered their confidence since then, and both would go some way to proving it by establishing a stand that bridged evening with morning.Hughes would lose Smith soon after the team tally had passed 100, amid another bewitching spell from Anderson. The wickets tumbled quickly, Australian groans matched by English glee. But for the first time, Hughes was not part of the procession. He survived, batting grimly but near enough to neatly, playing many balls under his nose and occasionally stretching out to drive. Leg-side deflections not in his repertoire two years ago allowed him to get off strike at regular intervals. And after the trials of India, Swann’s spin and flight was handled in the kind of manner Steve Waugh fended off short balls for most of his 168 Tests – not much style, but plenty of guts.A mere nine runs after Smith had fallen, Hughes was joined by Agar. The liquidation of the lower order had been swift and brutal. In his partner, Hughes perhaps saw a little of his younger self, Agar not knowing the fear or self-doubt that invariably envelops a cricketer when the first troughs of form and performance are encountered. The pair had never batted together before, and Hughes initially followed the received wisdom of most batsmen with the tail by attempting to farm the strike. How they must have chuckled about that later.As time ticked by, however, Hughes began to show the kind of awareness that had made Hussey such a fine batting partner. Witnessing Agar’s accomplishment, he did not worry about trying to dominate, and played comfortably in a most unexpected slipstream. Agar sprinted to his half-century in 50 balls; Hughes fought gamely to his in 94. He spread his wings a little more from that moment, driving and cutting through the off side with plenty of vigour but greater control than his younger self had demonstrated when commencing so boldly in South Africa. England, for the first time in their encounters with Hughes, did not appear entirely sure of how to dismiss him. Given what had gone before this was some achievement.Ultimately, Agar would fall two runs short of his century, leaving Hughes 19 shy of his own. He offered a consoling word and pat on the back for Agar, before standing aside in respect to allow the 19-year-old wonder his moment of adulation from a crowd still getting to know him. Though they may not have noticed, those assembled at Trent Bridge had also witnessed a new man at the other end. The dancing, struggling, edging Hughes of the past was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood a batsman of far greater composure. Agar had earned a revered place in history, but he could not have done so without Hughes. Hussey would have been proud.

Steve Smith’s innings at the WACA was patient and significant, and showed how far he has come.

Brydon Coverdale at the WACA13-Dec-20130:00

Smith savours first Test ton on home soil

It’s one thing to score a Test hundred in a dead rubber, quite another to do it when your side is in a bind with a series win on the line. An win.The centuries scored by Steven Smith and Shane Watson at The Oval in August were meaningful for the individuals, but not for the team. Big runs early in this home campaign against England, not after the Urn has been regained, that is what Australia needed from Smith and Watson. So far one has delivered, one has not.Australia came to Perth 2-0 up and confident, but aware that an England victory could undo all their good work. When Australia lost their third wicket before lunch and Smith walked to the crease, the pressure was immense. Chris Rogers had run himself out. Michael Clarke had been caught attacking the spinner.Watson had edged a ball he should have left. Leave on length – that’s the old WACA cliché. At slip, Graeme Swann caught the ball above his head; Watson’s stumps were not in danger from that Stuart Broad delivery.Smith walked to the crease with an awful first-class record at the WACA, averaging 17.20 in six games.”My patience now has changed a bit. Going out there, it’s pretty key to watch the ball closely and leave well early,” Smith said on Tuesday when asked about how he would approach such an unsuccessful venue. “That’s going to be part of my game this week.”When Smith reached his century with a boundary pulled through midwicket, the graphics said it all. Eighty of his runs had come on the leg side, from muscular pulls when the bowlers dropped short, as they did often, and flicks off the pads when they strayed in length. Only 20 had come through the off side. He chose his strokes well. The pitch map was just as revealing; a big cluster of good-length balls outside off, nearly all of them dots. This was an innings of patience.Steve Smith made his second Test hundred at the WACA and it was one that really mattered•PA PhotosHis century at The Oval was brought up with a six down the ground; his hundred at the WACA began with one. It took until his 16th ball to get off the mark, a lofted drive over long-on that was struck firmly and safely with a straight bat. As he would for the rest of the day, he respected the balls that would cause him danger, and acted decisively against those that would not.Smith faced 147 dot balls. The Steven Smith of two or three years ago did not have that kind of patience. That is precisely why the WACA led him astray. He was the type of player commentators say “likes to feel bat on ball”. Not anymore. Against the fast bowlers, he was so resolute that his only scoring shots through the off side came when they dropped short or extremely wide. He more or less refused to drive them through cover or mid-off.At times he showed he was human. On 85, he played the one shot batting coaches say you should forget about at the WACA – the drive with a bat angled at 45 degrees. He was lucky he missed, smiled, and chastised himself. He edged just short of slip on 92. But to bat for two sessions in Perth’s extreme heat and not let your brain wander, you’d need to be super-human. After reaching his hundred, as stumps approached, he was again watching and leaving.

Before today, there were casual Australian fans who viewed him as lucky to be in the side, a bits-and-pieces player promoted too early. That is patently not the case.

It was revealing of Smith’s character, for as fidgety at he appears at the crease, as awkward as some of his limited-overs strokes look, he is the kind of cricketer who learns. He takes things in – usually. After stumps, he said he had not heard a chirp when he came out to bat, when an England player seemed to say that Smith was “one game away” from being dropped. Certainly, he had failed in Brisbane and Adelaide, but No. 5 must now be his for some time.He is Australia’s third-highest Test run scorer in 2013, behind Clarke and Warner, and the only Australian besides Clarke averaging over 40 this year (leaving aside Michael Hussey’s one Test in the first week of January). Before today, there were casual Australian fans who viewed him as lucky to be in the side, a bits-and-pieces player promoted too early and favoured over others more deserving. That is patently not the case.Smith and Brad Haddin, Australia’s saviour throughout this series, set the team back on course after their early troubles. That there were early troubles again was a worry. So far in this series, Australia have been 6 for 132, 4 for 174 and 5 for 143 in their first innings. Three of the top six – George Bailey, Rogers and Watson – are averaging under 25 in the series. They are fortunate the runs are coming from elsewhere, and not from England.Australia entered this match with an unchanged side for the third consecutive Test, the first time that had happened since the 2006-07 Ashes. It is a rare luxury, and while they keep winning, the selectors will maintain the status quo. They were lucky that Smith stood up at the WACA. His innings was patient, mature and significant.It was a hundred that meant something, not like those dead-rubber tons at The Oval. Smith is 24, and he delivered when it counted. Watson is 32, and he has not – yet. He could learn from his junior colleague.

Building on the chances he got in the field, Brendon McCullum scored his toughest hundred yet, ensuring India’s substantial lead was wiped off, in spite of some diligent play

Abhishek Purohit in Wellington16-Feb-2014’McCullum growing in stature as a Test player’

Brendon McCullum has grown in stature as a Test player, New Zealand batting coach Bob Carter has said. McCullum began the home summer with 113 against West Indies in Dunedin and then hit a game-changing 224 against India in the first Test in Auckland. He has followed that up with an unbeaten 114, rescuing the side from 94 for 5 in their second innings in Wellington.
“He is now using his defence,” Carter said. “Brendon has really shown his defensive game has come forward. And as well as he still likes to attack. I think he is growing in stature as a Test player and I would like to see him play a lot more.”
McCullum also battled pain in his arm and back during his innings, taking treatment on occasion. Carter said McCullum had been consistently putting his body on the line, and he preferred the captain was more cautious on the field.
“You see how he is in the field. I sort of prefer him to just run to the boundary and just knock the ball back but he sets our tone all the time,” he said. “And you have seen him dive – he dived on about seven or eight occasions while he was fielding and sets that example to everybody.
“I think it has been a tough summer all round but the funny side of it is that Brendon had a little bit of a shoulder injury from shining the ball yesterday. He was trying to get it to swing a lot as well trying to get it changed a lot. And then he was joking today that his bottom hand was playing up. I prefer it to be his top hand actually.”

For the second time in as many Tests, India were left applauding a Brendon McCullum century. MS Dhoni walked to the edge of the boundary at the end of the day’s play, waited for McCullum, who was being congratulated by several India players, and clasped his counterpart’s hand. You can talk all you want about strategies and execution and momentum. At times, you just have to admit that you threw everything you had at the opposition, and they still came out on top. In the absence of Ross Taylor, it was McCullum who extended New Zealand’s glorious summer by another day.In Auckland, McCullum was helped by India bowlers, who lost their lines and lengths after having New Zealand at 30 for 3. The only assistance he had in Wellington was the two dropped catches. He got nothing else from India. They tried to force him into playing a rash stroke by bowling restricting lines to leg-side fields. McCullum defended, without giving them a chance. They tried to force him into playing a rash stroke by bowling teasing lines to an open off-side field, especially with the second new ball. McCullum attacked, without giving them a chance.Ravindra Jadeja was at New Zealand all day, doing the job he had failed to do in the first Test. His 26 overs went for 120 in the first innings in Auckland. He conceded 49 runs in 26 overs this time. He choked McCullum and BJ Watling with a leg-side field and a line from over the stumps. Both batsmen defended, and then defended some more. On the rare occasion that Jadeja was too short or too full, they made sure he was taken for boundaries. There was nothing in the pitch for the spinner, and New Zealand ensured they were not going to create anything for him on their own.Jadeja’s run squeeze meant India’s fast bowlers had more reason to come hard, which they did. Zaheer Khan has been largely accurate with his lines in this series, but the intensity had been palpably lacking. He made up for it with an eight-over opening spell that yielded two wickets. He never let McCullum and Watling feel they were in. Over the stumps. Round the stumps. Moving midwicket back, moving square leg in. Seaming it in, seaming it out. It was a terrific display from the bowler. The batsmen needed luck to survive Zaheer today. They needed the ball to beat that outside edge, for there were plenty they were not going to middle. You could argue that McCullum and Watling deserved that luck for the way they denied themselves.Mohammed Shami could have tested New Zealand more had he been more consistent. He is a bowler who will produce an unplayable one every now and then, and he did that today as well. However, he also dropped it short on occasion and when he did, McCullum and Watling were around to take toll.Ishant Sharma had been awkward to handle in the first innings, and he made the ball kick and seam in again. McCullum and Watling were hit on the pads several times. Even after playing 195 balls and batting on 94, McCullum missed and took one on the leg off Ishant. Just when you were pondering over the replay with the ball-tracker, he walloped the next one for six and was raising his bat for another hundred.”Him going from 94 to 100 with a six certainly caught me by surprise,” said Bob Carter, the New Zealand batting coach. “Suddenly I was sitting down thinking about the ball that had just beaten him. All of a sudden he was hitting it for six.”What more could India have done against McCullum? Dhoni had men in catching positions through the day. Slips, gully, short mid-on, short midwicket, short leg. He tried in-and-out fields. He tried reducing and increasing the number of slips. He left third man vacant. He brought point in, he sent him back. He left cover and extra cover vacant with the second new ball. He still kept going with his specialist bowlers, not trying any part-timer.But here was the king of indulgence starving himself, gorging in between, then returning to starve again. Alongside was a sidekick in perpetual hibernation. It was the day McCullum batted nearly six hours, and yet made only 114, despite going almost run a ball from fifty to hundred. It was a day to come out second-best despite giving it all. It was a day to hold a hand out to your opponent and say: “Well played, captain.”