From the Editor
Tales of an Afghan, the Basin, and a poet
Some recommended reading on ESPNcricinfo over the past weeke
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
It's not unusual for sport to provide cheer at times of misery. The rise of its cricket team has been one of most uplifting stories to have emerged from Afghanistan in recent times. Will Luke, who went to South Africa to cover the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, brought us the extraordinary story of Raees Ahmadzai.
As with many good stories, this one just happened. Will spotted Raees in the press box adjacent to the one he was in, chatting to the lone Afghan journalist at the tournament, an ardent cricket fan, who works for the BBC's Pashtun service. "So I seized my chance," Will says, "not knowing who he was. Fortunately he spoke eloquent English and, even more
fortunately, he knew and loved Cricinfo."
The piece wrote itself. "There wasn't much cricket chat, and perhaps that helped me. I was talking to a human being instead of a sportsman trained in the art of replying to the media, which is nothing short of a disease spreading through the modern game.
Full postFan's eye view of IPL
Here's another plan to make you part of Cricinfo
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
Here's another plan to make you part of Cricinfo. If you are a cricket fan in South Africa and are keen on the IPL, you could share your experiences of watching the games with the world through us.
We are looking for volunteers to send us really short reports of the fan experience at the upcoming matches. If you are going to be at any of the games (the schedule is here) - in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Centurion, East London and Kimberley - you may be able to help us.
Send us a brief note (under 100 words) about yourself, telling us what you do, mentioning which city you're going to be in, and anything else you think may be relevant.
Unfortunately we can't pay you for your efforts, but you will be read by a large audience, and we'll be happy to publish a thumbnail picture of you and a brief bio, with a link to your blog or other webpage if any. Interested? Mail fanfollowing@cricinfo.com.
Full postThe heart of the matter
And here's what you ought to have read on Cricinfo last week.
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
And here's what you ought to have read on Cricinfo last week.
What does Kevin Pietersen really want? Andrew Miller goes to the heart of the question and finds a simple answer: like a lot of us, he merely wants to be loved.
The countdown to the English summer has begun and we warm up to the job by introducing a weekly column on county cricket, once the nursery for the world game, but now English cricket's favourite scapegoat, by Lawrence Booth, who writes regularly in the Guardian and occasionally on Cricinfo. Booth starts with a lament about the diminishing coverage of domestic cricket in newspapers, but ends with hope. A new saviour is at hand: the web.
Topicality was the last thing on Sidharth Monga's mind when he got Mark Greatbatch to chat about his monumental match-saving innings against Australia in Perth in 1988-89 (655 minutes, 435 balls, 146 not out). But the piece became instantly relevant when Gautam Gambhir put up his own marathon (643 minutes, 436 deliveries, 137 runs) to save India the Napier Test.
Full postIndia's finest slip fielder
Mohammad Azharuddin will rank as the greatest all-round Indian fielder, and he was quite brilliant in the slips, but as a specialist and for sheer longevity, Dravid stands alone
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
Now I believe that everything happens for a reason. So despite waking up at 4am and getting to the airport well in time I have missed my flight to Chennai for a reason so silly that I can't bring myself to own it up in public. But what makes the misery bearable is that it ensured I didn't miss Rahul Dravid's record-breaking catch. I didn't want to miss it, though I always feared I would.
I remember telling him jokingly before the series that if he wanted his countrymen to watch him break the record he better make sure that it came after lunch, or better still in the final session. Of course I have been up to see the first session on most days and I saw him take the first catch of the series, in the seventh over of the first morning's play on March 18, but the next one has taken some time to come. But when I left home in the morning just after India declared, I had a feeling that I would miss it.
And despite sitting in front of the TV in the airport lounge I almost did; had I got up in time to catch my flight, I certainly would have. It was just in time that I shifted my attention from the laptop to watch Zaheer Khan induce the edge from Tim McIntosh and Dravid go down to his left at second slip to pick the ball few inches from the ground. It was a good catch, not spectacular, but not as easy as Dravid made it look. It was a result of what makes Dravid such a good slipper: good anticipation, swift movement, perfect timing, and soft hands.
Full postWhy spinners can make Sehwag look silly
Sehwag is among the most unbelievable batsman of his time, and the most frustrating too. Against spinners he doesn't rate, he isn't even prepared to confer the bowler of one ball of watchfulness
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
Something happens to Virender Sehwag when he sights a spinner. Despite all his adventurism, Sehwag's batting is usually based on clear and sound principles. He tries to send as many balls as possible to the boundary, but against pace bowlers, his shots are determined by the type of ball. Of late, he has taken to fetching balls from outside the off stump and hitting them between midwicket and mid-on, but by and large, he knows his percentages. It might appear risky to those watching, but in his mind, he has dealt with the ball on merit.
Not so against the spinners, or at least the spinners he doesn't rate. I once asked John Wright, then the India coach, if he worried about Sehwag's technique, particularly his lack of feet movement, against the new ball. Wright said he never worried about the new ball, but was terrified when spinners came on to bowl. It was then that he was most likely to get himself out. That's because "Viru doesn't think spinners have a right to exist."
Perhaps Wright has passed on a tip or two to Daniel Vettori.
Full postHow to hold live discussions with readers
We have always looked for ways to engage you in our coverage of cricket and some of you might have noticed or indeed taken part in the live discussions we have been conducting on the site in the last few weeks
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
We have always looked for ways to engage you in our coverage of cricket and some of you might have noticed or indeed taken part in the live discussions we have been conducting on the site in the last few weeks. It is still a work-in-progress and we have been experimenting with different forms to find out what works best.
One of the biggest challenges during live online discussions is dealing with the huge amounts of feedback and messages. It is impossible to keep everyone happy. When we tried this first during an India-New Zealand one-day match in a closed environment - we told only a few friends - Jamie Alter, who moderated it, looked dazed after a few minutes. It was a free-for-all format and soon the discussion went completely out of shape.
After a couple of matches, we tried it live just after a match and Sriram Veera tried heroically to take in as many comments as possible, but still ended up with huge number of dissatisfied readers. We read every comment before publishing and the eye and mind can only process so much. Clearly, that was not the way to go.
Next, Avinash Subramaniam moderated a discussion with the readers in which I took part. But soon, it was clear that neither him, and nor me (mostly me) could cope with the volume of questions. A few readers pointed out, quite rightly, that my typing speed was well below par. It is. Shamefully, I have never gone past using two fingers.
Full postAn unhealthy obsession with the Ashes
The way large sections of the English cricket establishment have managed to work themselves up over Kent signing Stuart Clark for the first part of the next summer is a needless distraction and reeks of hypocrisy
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
On an idle Sunday, some stray thoughts.
I am staggered at the way large sections of the English cricket establishment and even the English media have managed to work themselves up over Kent signing Stuart Clark for the first part of the next summer.
Not only is it a needless distraction, but it also reeks of hypocrisy. Have they forgotten the generosity New Zealand extended to them by allowing Jimmy Anderson to play for Auckland to gain match practice during England's last tour there?
Full postA matter of time
It is not unusual for sport to adjust its timing to suit the structure and space of television but Test matches starting at noon will still feel strange
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
It is not unusual for sport to adjust its timing to suit the structure and space of television but Test matches starting at noon will still feel strange.
For the moment, the New Zealand cricket board has managed to keep the start of the first Test against India to 11 am. But who knows what will happen before the second Test. Sony Television, which has the rights to broadcast the India-New Zealand series in India, want the Tests to be pushed back by an hour so that the start is at the slightly less unearthly time of 4.30 am.
At one level, it is a reasonable request because ultimately television runs - and pays for - sport. And non-cricket fans might wonder what the fuss is all about. After all, they will still play for six hours or more and 90 overs will still be bowled, and the light in New Zealand holds till 7 pm. And in most parts of the world, sport organises itself to the convenience of television.
The English Premier League long ago sandwiched the traditional 3 pm Saturday kick-off between matches starting at noon and at 5 pm to ensure a better spread on television. It means inconveniencing fans travelling to cities spread over a distance - they either have to start out too early or have to stay back overnight - but the truth is that television pays the salaries. The two football world cups in Mexico - in 1970 and, more famously, in 1986 - had matches starting at noon despite the heat just to suit television timings in Europe. And earlier this year Roger Federer complained about the late starts at the Australian Open that kept players on the court close to, and sometimes past, midnight. But he had to play on.
Full postThe reading room
It's only the second week and I am already running a day late in supplying my list of things you ought to read on ESPNcricinfo
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
It's only the second week and I am already running a day late. Apologies, and here's the recommended reading list from the last week or so.
Australia surprised most cricket followers, and perhaps themselves, by swiftly demolishing South Africa to keep the Test mace. After a series of pieces on depressing subjects, Gideon Haigh was delighted to be able to write one on the new boys
who made the feat possible.
And Christian Ryan, recently the author of a biography of Kim Hughes, the golden boy who presided over one of the lowest periods in Australian cricket, found the Australian win all the more rewarding because it involved struggle.
As South Africa lay in disarray, Brydon Coverdale, Cricinfo's man on the tour, reported on the tension and confusion in their camp with such clarity that one of the members of the home side's management team remarked on how accurately it captured the mood and the goings-on in the dressing room.
Full postIt runs on the site
Here's a little ritual I want to start on the blog. Every Monday I will put together a list of recommended reading from pieces published on Cricinfo
Sambit Bal
25-Feb-2013
Here's a little ritual I want to start on the blog. Every Monday I will put together a list of recommended reading from pieces published on Cricinfo. As Cricinfo regulars, you will perhaps have read them all. But why leave it to chance. These are not necessarily the best pieces from the last 10-odd days, but the ones I liked best.
It was quite a time, and obviously the incidents in Lahore kept us busy. We had a number of pieces on the subject on the site, and a few stood out.
While covering disasters, professional journalists find themselves walking a thin line between the needs of news-gathering and respecting the private space of those affected. We had mixed feelings about asking Kumar Sangakkara, one of six Sri Lankan players injured in the attack to share his experience. But Kumar, who has been a columnist for us for nearly two years, chose to be the professional that he is, and dictated this piece to us while waiting to board the aircraft that would bring the Sri Lankan team home.
Full postMost Read
Writers
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