cricket

Monday, 12 October 2015

Making conscious effort to flight the ball, mix deliveries: Amit Mishra

Kanpur: Making traditional leg-spin look attractive and effective in the opening ODI against South Africa, India's Amit Mishra is keen to hold on to his ODI spot after an impressive return to the limited-overs field here.

India vs South Africa - Complete Coverage

Mishra made his presence felt in the five-run loss against the visitors on Sunday with the all-important wickets of Hashim Amla and David Miller. The Delhi-born player, who has made a place for himself in the Test squad, now wants to become an ODI regular as well. Before the match at Green Park, Mishra last played an ODI against West Indies last year.

"It is a great feeling to come back into the ODI side and straightaway put up a good bowling performance," Mishra told BCCI.TV.

"From here on I would only look to better my performances if I get a chance in the forthcoming ODIs. I feel whenever you play for India you need to have self confidence. Irrespective of the fact that you are taking wickets or not; the most important thing is to bowl well and pitch the ball in the right areas.

"I believe I am bowling well at the moment and I am enjoying every bit of it. I am looking to take as many wickets as possible at the moment and bowl according to the match situation," he added.

Mishra did his bit for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side as he picked up two wickets in his 10-over spell, giving away just 47 runs. The 32-year-old player said that he worked to a plan that worked well for him.

"I made a conscious effort to flight the ball and mix the deliveries. I didn't want the batsmen to settle and get used to a particular type of delivery. The aim was to keep mixing it up and I believe I was successful in it to some extent," he said.

Mishra cleaned up a dangerous-looking Amla (37) in the 24th over with a straight on faster one and the South African run-machine saw the ball brush his pads to crash on to the stumps. Mishra said that aiming at Amla's weakness was his target.

"We know that Hashim Amla plays a lot on the back foot.

My aim was to bowl a straight line to him and get the ball to brush his pads or get him out bowled.

"That is exactly what happened during the match. I tossed up a few to him and got the ball to spin. But then, after a lot of spinning deliveries I surprised him with my straighter one. He got beaten and I got him bowled," Mishra said.

Playing at home, the biggest advantage ever?

We have all witnessed how England changed its cricket history. Since 1896, this is the first time the world could see a new, refreshed team that was able to do their best and beat Australia in 4 consecutive series. 2015, one heck of a year.

In 2015, The Ashes matches were hosted by England, therefore I cannot help but wonder how important was the home advantage in helping them win. It’s been 14 years since the British won a title during the Ashes cricket championship. To sum it up: Australia won 32 series, and England 32, in the past. But now, the last-mentioned has raised the bar. How come?

Over the last couple of weeks, Cardiff was the only setting to receive everyone’s attention: fans and cricket players, altogether. Alastair Cook really proved worthy of his name, I daresay, but the fact that the competition took place in England had a huge influence on making the team win the trophy, wouldn’t you agree?

Even the Australian coach admitted that his team is not very strong when playing away from home. British players are already used to the country’s weather conditions: constant showers, chilly, and somewhat breezy winds. Not the same thing can be applied to Australia. The team had to adapt.

It seems irrelevant at the first sight, but trying to adjust oneself to different conditions overseas is something I’d take into consideration if I were to be a cricket player. Nonetheless, the audience plays an important role for the team’s spirit. Cheering and applauding can make all the difference in the world.

But can we give it a long shot and place a bet on the host team? Winning at home is a must? Always? Well, let’s do the math. 2001 was the year when Australia won in England, and since 2002, there have been 25 Ashes won by the host team, and other 7 by the guest. Here, I am talking about a win/loss ratio of 3.57.

Things were quite different before that, because back then more than half of the series were won by the touring team. Before 2002, for example, the win/loss ratio was at around 1.19, with 117 cups won by the home team, and 98 by the guest.

Of course, of course, I know it will take some time till the cricket world will resolve this huge gap between playing at home and playing away. Teams have to learn how to play on various surfaces: Aussie wickets no longer have their own character, so that’s a good start. A good start for new records, I mean.

I guess the idea is to give all of them the chance to play a fair game, without any extra details that can influence their performance. Nonetheless, if a team can overcome those disadvantages when playing away, it means they are really great players, don’t they? Even James Sutherland wants to train a team that can play away as good as they can play at home.

Being able to win anywhere is the goal, isn’t it?

As a short reminder for those who didn’t turn on the TV this weekend: during this short Ashes test (the shortest one since 1950), England set the bar high with an innings and 78 runs, throwing only 1059 balls on home soil.

The Best Test Batsmen among the New Generation

Soon after England secured the Ashes to seal their decade long dominance over Australia at home, they were met with some more positive news.

Joe Root was the new world number 1 ranked test batsman, overtaking AB De Villiers.

Root has been magnificent for England in both limited overs and tests since his debut about two and a half years ago. So much so, that he is now not only England's most reliable batsman but among the best in the world.

We have seen a number of great batsmen in test cricket. Each decade has provided us with some of the game's greats like Border, Gavaskar, Miandad, and Richards in the 80s; Waugh, Sachin, Lara, and Inzamam in the 90s, Ponting, Dravid, Sangakkara, and Kallis during the first decade of the new century; and also Younis Khan, De Villiers, Amla, Clarke, Cook, and KP over the past decade.

Similarly, the past 5 years has seen the rise of a new generation of batsmen.

Like Joe Root for England, there have been a few others who have emerged to become their team's most reliable batsmen in the recent few years.

There has been Virat Kohli for India, Steven Smith for Australia, Azhar Ali for Pakistan, Kane Williamson for New Zealand, and Angelo Matthews for Sri Lanka.

Each one of them has performed at an exceptional level in international cricket and has fast become the mainstay of their respective batting line up. Their success has also been recognized with all of them, barring Root, captaining their national side in at least one format (Kane Williamson as a stand in).

There is no doubt in my mind that these are the next set of batting greats that will shine for the next 7-10 years in test cricket. These are the names that will dominate batting charts going forward.

But who among them is the best out of the lot?

Like Border and Gavaskar, Sachin and Lara, Ponting and Kallis, and Sangakkara and Younis were the best during their respective decades, which two out of the current lot are the best right now?

Here's a look at some numbers.

(For the purpose of this analysis, only those batsmen who have played at least 30 tests and made their debut since July 2009 have been assessed)

Leading Averages

It is no surprise that each one of the above mentioned batsmen are among those with the current highest test averages, with Root and Smith right at the top.

Most Frequent Century Makers

Four of these batsmen have scored at least 10 test centuries already, but no one scores them more often than Virat Kohli who scores a ton after every 5 innings or so.

Biggest Match Winners

The most prominent sign of great test batsmen is how often they produce match winnings knocks. Most batsmen can score a lot of runs, but scoring meaningful runs that help win matches is what makes these batsmen great.

Warner and Azhar have been involved in most test wins among these batsmen; both of them are the leading run scorers in test wins as well; Root, Smith, and Williamson have exceptional averages in test wins; while Warner and Smith have the most centuries in test wins.

If it doesn't get better for India, Kohli would well become the Tendulkar of his generation. Lots of runs and centuries, but not enough match winning ones.

Best Away from Home

Everyone knows that it is much easier to bat at home than in foreign conditions. In this regard, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq must be given a lot more credit than the other batsmen considering that they have not played a single test at home.

Having said that, here's how these batsmen perform in foreign locations.

Foreign locations have been determined as outside Indian subcontinent and UAE for Azhar, Asad, Kohli, Matthews; outside Australia and South Africa for Warner and Smith; outside England and New Zealand for Root, Williamson and Watling; outside West Indies for Bravo.

Only Bravo and Root average above 50 in foreign conditions; while Kohli's and Williamson's century hitting ability in foreign conditions is exceptional. Bravo's is a rare case; he averages more away from home than he does at home, and 5 of his 6 test centuries have also come away from home.

The rest of the batsmen seem to have decent records away from home, except for Warner, Azhar, and Asad - while away. they are not even half the batsmen that they are at home.

* * *

While all these batsmen are special in their own way, there are only two names that are repeatedly at the top of the pile in the tables above.

Joe Root and Steven Smith.

They have the best average among these batsmen, they score test centuries as frequently as the greats did, they are the leading performers in test match wins, and they have outstanding away records.

The other 8 batsmen have a lot of catching up to do.

Warner, Azhar, and Asad need to significantly improve their away records, while Kohli has to put in more match winning performances. Williamson is not far behind Root and Smith, however to be considered one of the greats he needs to push his average closer to that 50 mark; same goes for Bravo and Watling. As for Mathews; he has established himself as the premier Sri Lankan batsman following the retirements of Sangakkara and Jayawardene. However, to be one of the greats he needs more test centuries and improved performances outside the subcontinent.

While Root and Smith are ahead of the rest right now, all these batsmen are 30 or under, which means their best years are still ahead of them.

There is a lot more for all of them to achieve. With the kind of start they have had to their test careers, they are well placed to reach even greater heights to be considered among the best in the world to ever play the game.

Are Butt, Aamer, and Asif really worth it?

Five years have passed since Pakistan cricket was rocked by the worst scandal ever in its history -then Test captain Salman Butt and Pakistan's two premier fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were accused of spot fixing.

It seems like yesterday when they were handed 5-year bans from the game and jail terms for their role in spot fixing during the summer of 2010. There is some irony in the fact that they are once again eligible to play international cricket when Pakistan is gearing up for a series against England, the same opposition they played against last.

Noise has already been made by all three players about resurrecting their international careers.

Aamer's return is most likely considering that his return-path was paved for him 6 months ago when the ICC allowed him to return to domestic cricket, enabling him to play some competitive cricket before making a fully fledged international return. For Butt and Asif, it will be harder. They haven't played any competitive cricket for 5 years and both players are not as young as Aamer, who at 23 has a full career ahead of him.

I would place my money on them returning. Would be interesting to see what the odds are on betting sites regarding the return of these three cricketers.

Whether they will return to the Pakistan team or not is all together another question. Should they return is the more pertinent question really.

It seems a little unfair that Butt, Aamer, and Asif are now allowed to play international cricket again after disgracing their country and the sport on the international stage, while a player like Danish Kaneria is banned for life for coercing a domestic cricketer to accept money for fixing in a domestic game. What this means is that wrong doing in international cricket can be forgiven, while the same in domestic cricket cannot be? That is a bit perplexing for me.

And what about all the players who have represented Pakistan during the past 5 years with integrity and success? Is it fair for Aamer and Asif to come back into the team at the expense of Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, or Rahat Ali? Is it fair for Salman Butt to make a return at the expense of Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Nauman Anwar, Sami Aslam, or Babar Azam? Definitely not.

These are arguments based on moral grounds.

Here's a look at how these three faired in the three formats before their bans, and whether their return is warranted on a statistical basis or not.

The records that stand out are Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer in ODIs, and Mohammad Asif in Tests. In T20Is, all three had below par figures. While in tests Butt and Aamer were just about average, and likewise for Asif in ODIs.

I can probably shed more light on these three after comparing their figures with those of the players who replaced them in the past 5 years.

In test matches, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, and Taufeeq Umar have all performed far better than Salman Butt ever did in his career. Even Shan Masood, who is just finding his feet in test cricket, seems like a better test opener than Salman Butt.

Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed have been a revelation at the top for Pakistan, and have performed better than most openers. Even Shehzad has a solid record that is comparable to Salman Butt's.

Salman Butt was never an opener in the T20 mould and Pakistan have far better batsmen to do that job. Shehzad and Mukhtar have both performed better than Butt did, while all the batsmen in the table above, barring Nasir Jamshed, have a better T20 strike rate than Butt's.

It is quite clear from all this that Salman Butt has no place in Pakistan's international team for any format.

On the bowling front, however, the story is a bit different.

In tests, there has been no fast bowler for Pakistan who has performed as well as Asif. Not even one who has done so as well as Aamer either, besides Tanvir Ahmed who appeared for a short time and then fell out of favor for reasons best known to selectors. In fact, besides Tanvir, only Imran Khan averages under 30 among the pacers that have played for Pakistan in the past 5 years since Aamer and Asif got banned.

While there have been several bowlers for Pakistan who have done far better than Asif in ODIs; such as Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Aizaz Cheema, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, and Junaid Khan; there has been not a single one who has performed at the level of Mohammad Aamer.

Pakistan's pace bowling has definitely not been the same during the absence of Aamer and Asif, who together created arguably the best attacking pair Pakistan has had since Wasim and Waqar. It is unfortunate that they played together for less than a year and that their best years were taken away from them due to their own grave mistakes.

Once can only sit and wonder what could have been had these two not succumbed to greed and had continued to share the new ball for Pakistan over the past 5 years.

While statistically there is no argument about whether Aamer and Asif should return to Pakistan's colors; however on moral ground there is still plenty of debate.

On Salman Butt however, there should be no debate. Pakistan has far better resources at the moment to go back to a dead weight like Butt.

Butt might have served his 5-year ban from cricket and his jail term, but the damage he has done to Pakistan cricket deserves more punishment in my opinion. He was the captain of the team when all this drama ensued. That only means that he needs to accept more responsibility than both Aamer and Asif who were in a way coerced by Butt to bowl those no balls. Butt was in control of the bowers on the field. He was the sole decision maker regarding who to throw the ball to. He was the one who ensured that Aamer and Asif bowled those particular overs and the no balls on those specific deliveries. The control was all in Butt's hands. He was critical to the whole spotfix. Without him, it would not have been possible.

Just this fact that it was Butt who enable the whole fix should ensure that he never plays for Pakistan again. Ban or no ban, Salman Butt should never be allowed to don the Pakistan cap.

Cricket, or where you get to defeat the impossible

One hundred years of top-class records and unforgettable matches. Cricket has always been one of those sports that knew how to hit the headlines. Every single one of The Ashes episodes is responsible, in a way, to this sport’s tour de force. In the same time, various players made quite a name for themselves. All the more so to say that cricket is not just an ordinary sport on ESPN, Saturday night. It’s a living legend.

One hundred years and still counting.

I. Power is a quality. Mind power - a privilege.

Just before you jump to a conclusion, I must clarify something. All sorts of sports have the ability to generate adrenaline, to make teams unbreakable. They all know how to gather a group of thousands or, why not, millions of fans ready to support them, under the rainiest circumstances. But, in my opinion, cricket comprises a power that no other activity does. It engages your entire being.

A Test match cricket can be enjoyed over a 5-day period, in a short session perhaps, or in a rough encounter between a batsman and a bowler. It can go down in a couple of seconds too. Yes, in cricket you can invest it all in a second to none second.

The Nobel-prize winner, Harold Pinter, described cricket as being extremely dramatic. Batsmen view that ball as the biggest threat or the rarest joy in life. Players’ wits are squeezed to their last droplet in order to test their patience. Only chess and golf challenge your concentration as harder as cricket does.

II. Being taken by surprise is no surprise at all.

Players need to be athletic material. Reflexes ought to be polished regularly. Elegance is a prerequisite. Cricket is a game where the rational decisions are somehow fighting against the body’s willingness to rebel.

At this year’s Ashes tournament, England was the one that sang victory in a 5-match series where they won with 3-2. 169 runs during the First Test. Joe Root made that match worth it. But who knows what will happen in 2017? Rain poked its nose into the 2015 series, causing delays and postponing in playing, but for 2017 gambling guides such as Betoclock say that there are more chances for Australia to win, and less for England.

III. You set your own deadlines. And records.

Cricket is a sport made for the individual, not for the team. It highlights the persons’ smarts and talent, bringing it the forward, in the spotlight. And there is no end: individuals are allowed to keep the balls flying till they’re in their 40s or even 60s. For example, in the ICC World Cup 2015, there were exactly 17 players aged over 35, and three of them were above the age of 40. Age can be a blessing in this kind of world.

Now, if I couldn’t argue you into the values of cricket, then thesebatsmen will. Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle, Adam Gilchrist.

Tom Curran - Tipped for the top

Tom Curran has been named the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s young player of the year, in the same month that he was brought into the England Performance Programme squad. Curran was presented his award at the yearly gala, alongside Chris Rushworth who won the player of the year award.

The prestigious awards are given out annually to players who are considered the best in their category at county cricket level.

Year 2015 has been an incredible year for the 20-year-old. Alongside his younger brother Sam, the pair have formed a formidable partnership for Surrey, and were key members of the side than won Championship promotion, and got to the Royal London One-Day Cup final. Recently the brothers took 10 wicketsin the first innings against Northamptonshire.

The PCA young player of the year has taken more than 70 County Championship wickets this season, including a notable two-seven wicket haul at Surrey’s home ground.

Curran is the son of genuine all-rounder Kevin Curran, who played regular county cricket for Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire, and internationally for Zimbabwe. He was also noted for passing 1000 runs in a season an impressive five times.

Like his father Curran also grew up in Africa and it was here that his talents were first spotted by Ian Greig. The former Surrey player, who now works in youth cricket, observed Curran while playing for his school side and recommended him to PG Academy Director Gareth Townsend.

Upon his arrival Townsend was quoted as saying, “Tom has the potential to be a very special player indeed and I am delighted he will be with the club for the next three years at least.”

Curran is a right armed batsman and is known for his fast bowling. Despite his South African roots he will be eligible for England call ups in October 2015, as he will have completed his required four years residency.

England fans will be eagerly making their bets and tracking their side’s success in the test match against Pakistan.

Cricket & Beyond - In Conversation with Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram

The inaugural Cricket & Beyond event was held in Dubai yesterday, 9th October, at the Rixos The Palm. The event featured two legendary cricketers - Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram. Cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle moderated the talk show.

The event lived up to the hype of its title - Cricket & Beyond. Harsha Bhogle took the entire crowd down memory lane by asking Sachin and Wasim about their memorable cricket performances, and then also went beyond and questioned both the legends about non-cricket related things.

The legendary cricketers were asked about their love for music. Sachin talked about Dire Straits and Gypsy Kings, while Wasim Akram talked about his love for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Kishore Kumar. Wasim is a huge Bollywood and Pakistani music junkie and he claimed last night that he gets hold of songs well before the general public because he knows people in the right places!

Similarly, Sachin watches Bollywood movies before they are released to the public. Not only is he invited for private viewing by actors and producers, he also receives unreleased cuts of movies at home, where he enjoys them on his home-cinema system.

Harsha Bhogle revealed that Sachin used to be the first one in the Indian dressing room to own the latest gadgets to listen music on. And soon after, the entire squad used to have the same one. Such was his following!

Both legends also talked about their love for food. We found out last night that there is hardly a restaurant in Dubai that Wasim Akram has not been to. He loves steak and played an influential role in introducing steak, sushi, and other continental foods to Rogan Josh loving Pakistani cricketers.

Similarly, Sachin narrated a story about how he was once raving about Japanese food to some of his team mates and one of them spoke highly about the same cuisine. The next time Sachin and that cricketer, who remained unnamed, went to a Japanese restaurant together, Sachin was so amused to see the cricketer spread wasabi all over his bread!

Wasim was asked about his secret for remaining fit and how he coped with diabetes. Wasim spoke of sleeping early and waking up early, going for a run every morning, and eating healthy! Pretty much what everyone talks about regarding remaining fit.

But what was inspirational to hear was about Wasim's fight with diabetes. He was diagnosed at the age of 29 and played top tier cricket for another 8 years. His insulin injections were a permanent feature of his cricket kit bag, and while on the field he used to stock his chocolates and other sweets with umpires to fight against low sugar levels.

Harsha also told the crowd that Sachin used to be a big prankster in the dressing room and his shy and sober demeanor is a mere facade.

Sachin talked about this time when he and Sehwag were in the bathroom and another senior cricketer, whose name Sachin again did not reveal, was in one of the cabins. Knowing that this cricketer was there Sehwag started discussing how Sachin's adidas t-shirts, shorts, and jackets looked better on him than they did on any of the other Indian cricketers. Sachin told Sehwag that it was because adidas sent him special personalized items that they did not make for anyone else.

An hour or two later, Sachin got a call from an adidas representative asking him what he had told that other cricketer about his clothes from adidas because he called them and asked for the same stuff!

All the beyond talk was very interesting. But it didn't overshadow the cricket talk where both Wasim and Sachin spoke about their World Cup wins, their other memorable performances, Sachin's debut series against Pakistan in 1989, the secret behind their longevity, their influence on junior cricketers, losses that they regret, and wins that they cherish.

The most interesting question that both of them were asked came from social media: "If you had access to a time machine, which match from your career would you like to play again?"

When Harsha asked the question, my immediate thought was that Wasim would say the 1999 World Cup Final and Sachin would say the 2003 World Cup Final, so that they could play those games against and alter the result.

The answers were quite different.

Wasim Akram said the 1992 World Cup Final and Sachin said the 2003 World Cup game against Pakistan at Centurion.

Harsha was quite surprised by the answers as well and talked about how champions think differently from us normal folks. While we thought they may choose to play matches they had lost to alter results, both of them chose to relive their wins!

It was quite a night where we got to experience an interesting conversation between two legends of the game. It was also a great start to the Cricket & Beyond Series, which continues in New York next month. There are other shows planned as well for Melbourne and London where Sachin will be joined with legends like Shane Warne and Brian Lara.

Make your pitch on this post...

Tom Curran - Tipped for the top

Posted by Q at 1:21 PM No Comments

The prestigious awards are given out annually to players who are considered the best in their category at county cricket level.

The PCA young player of the year has taken more than 70 County Championship wickets this season, including a notable two-seven wicket haul at Surrey’s home ground.

Upon his arrival Townsend was quoted as saying, “Tom has the potential to be a very special player indeed and I am delighted he will be with the club for the next three years at least.”

England fans will be eagerly making their bets and tracking their side’s success in the test match against Pakistan.