All posts by h716a5.icu

Robbed of precious practice time in Potchefstroom, the Australia captain had a hair-raising net against the team’s fast bowlers on damp pitch

Daniel Brettig04-Feb-2014With apologies to Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, Australia’s Michael Clarke may not face tougher bowling all tour than he did on Tuesday. A hair-raising 30 balls in the nets on a dangerously damp and drying Centurion Park practice wicket ensured that Clarke’s feet were moving and his blood pumping as he faced up to the combined might of the Australian pace attack, stretching out in their first notable spells of the trip to South Africa.Aware of the danger posed by the pitch and adhering to the markers laid down by the bowling coach Craig McDermott, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird, James Pattinson and Moises Henriques all pursued a fullish length. Even so, they repeatedly hit the splice of Clarke’s bat as they did so, with the odd shorter ball rearing up devilishly from the sort of surface Derek Underwood might once have delighted in.There was little sense of something held back either, as a frustrating few days in waterlogged Potchefstroom had robbed the tourists of valuable preparation time. Clarke was as eager for a bat as his bowlers were to charge in, and their brief combat energised all who witnessed it. Certainly the Australian players were fascinated by the contest, the bowlers’ glee matched by the batsmen’s winces. The team physio Alex Kountouris and doctor Peter Brukner stood close by, just in case.Pushing through their paces, familiar patterns emerged. Harris and Siddle were the most precise, Johnson appreciably the fastest, Pattinson and Bird the most in need of more bowling. Henriques surprised by extracting as much life out of the track as anyone, his trajectory digging the ball into the pitch while the others tended to kiss it a little more lightly at a higher pace. Of the sextet, only Harris kept his foot consistently behind the crease.When Clarke decided he did not wish to risk any more, having worn a couple of blows, the difficulty of the net was emphasised by the next ball after he departed. The unflappable Chris Rogers was struck a prancing blow on the chest by a Harris delivery that climbed and seamed back at him, letting out an involuntary yelp before moving promptly across to the net being used by the spinner Nathan Lyon. No-one was about to question Rogers, and it was enough for Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson to turn on their heels and return to Centurion Park’s indoor nets.The remainder of the session had the pacemen bowling at unguarded stumps, as numerous batsmen tested themselves out against the spin of Lyon, his mentor John Davison and the eager David Warner, who has returned to leg spin after a year’s flirtation with less beguiling medium pace. Alex Doolan was a notable absentee from the session due to a bout of flu, but he will not have done his chances any harm by missing a stint in the net Clarke had dared to tread.Before the session, Harris had expressed the tourists’ irritation at the weather that had robbed them of their one and only tour match before the first Test, but balanced that with hope for improving practice surfaces and the possibility of centre wicket training at Centurion ahead of the series opener on February 12.”It’d be nice to get a couple of good net sessions in and be starting the game tomorrow, but that’s the way it is. We have to deal with it,” Harris said. “It hasn’t been great, but everyone’s dealt with it really well and got what they needed. As bowlers we were able to get a decent bowl in the nets down there one day, and a centre wicket.”It helps, centre wicket – if you’re not playing a game – is always better than training in the nets. As a bowler, you haven’t got the normal cues that you get when you’re out in the middle. There’s no net posts, you can feel a bit enclosed in the nets. But hopefully over the next couple there’s plans that we can get some center wicket and we can get out there as much as we can. I’m ready to go. If the game was today or tomorrow, I’d be ready to play.”After his brush with danger, so too would Clarke.

Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Piedt were once young boys who dreamed of competing in the big leagues. Now they’re on the verge of playing Test cricket

Firdose Moonda18-Jun-2014It was the final day of the season at Kenridge Primary School. The children were going to play against the teachers in a traditional match-up, whose result mattered far less than the reputations that would be built and broken.The best batsman among the teachers, or at least the person who fancied himself as the best, was in to bat early on. The bowler had had a sleepless night waiting for this moment and was revving himself up as much as he could. He ran in with rage, everything about the furious movement of his arms and legs suggested it would be his quickest delivery of the season and perhaps even his best.And then the ball was released. The hurried swing of the willow was premature; the ball only reached the batsman after he had played the shot but before he could recover in time to attempt another. The bowler could barely believe his pace had abandoned him but watched with glee as the stumps splayed. The slower ball had done the job. Golden duck. The youngster could claim bragging rights for years to come.Nico Aldrich, the Under-12 coach of Kenridge Primary School, chuckles when he tells the story. “It was just one of those funny things. He thought he was bowling really quickly but it must have just come out wrong, and that teacher really thought he was going to score a lot of runs that day,” he said. The teacher remained nameless but the bowler was Stiaan van Zyl.Yes, the man who scored 933 runs in ten first-class matches last season and one of two players to have received a maiden call-up to South Africa’s Test squad for Sri Lanka, was a roaring quick as a youngster – or at least he thought was.The match took place more than a decade or so ago. Aldrich doesn’t remember if Dane Piedt, the other rookie in the touring party to Sri Lanka, was in attendance, but there is a good chance he was. Piedt was also a pupil at Kenridge and being three years younger than van Zyl was probably watching in awe, dreaming of the day he would be good enough to play against the teachers.Piedt’s superiors all thought that day was not far off, given his talent. He was only nine years old when he was identified as a bright sporting prospect. “At that age, kids are in grade three and the following year, in grade four, they move on to hard-ball cricket. But kids who show potential in grade three are allowed to use hard balls from the third term of that year, which is really quite something for them. Dane was one of those kids who was allowed to play hard-ball cricket early,” Felicity Hill, a teacher, remembered.Piedt was part of Hill’s mini-cricket group, formed after she and some of her fellow teachers had a Bakers coaching course at the school. “I never thought I would become involved in cricket but when I started at Kenridge, 25 years ago, they offered the coaching course and I did it. After that, we ran mini-cricket at the school for a group of kids. They even got invited to play on the field at Newlands during one of the internationals,” Hill said. “I’m 61 now and I am still doing it.”The Bakers programme, which ended in 2010 after being a part of the South African game for 27 years, and has been succeeded by KFC, was initiated by Ali Bacher and tasked with allowing children of various backgrounds to learn the basics of the game. After that, more specialised coaching was required and the cricketers of Kenridge Primary found that from a high-profile source.”Eric Simons’ son was also in that group of children with Dane, and Eric would come to the training sessions and offer the kids a bit of advice,” Hill said. “It was just awesome to have someone like him there.”Simons, a former national fast bowler, may have had some influence on van Zyl’s ambition of becoming a bowler but he did not change Piedt’s mind about what he wanted to do. “He was an opening batsman – very talented, a fantastic leader and always smiling, always happy,” Aldrich said.Piedt was the captain of Aldrich’s Under-12 side, which would often go on short cricket trips to compete against other schools. On one of them, in the nearby town of Worcester, Aldrich remembered Piedt being particularly optimistic.”We were sleeping over on the Friday night to play in the tournament on Saturday, and when we met for breakfast on the Saturday morning, Dane came to me and said he had a dream that we would win the tournament. I just laughed but later that day we actually did win.” Piedt was the star batsman.Dane Piedt was the star player in his Under-12 side•Kenridge PrimaryHe continued batting in the Under-13 matches, where his coach Eddie Fitzroy explained that he didn’t bowl much because of his stature. “Dane was short and quite small and everyone who was bowling then was bowling quickly, so he didn’t really bowl.”Fitzroy knew all about wannabe firebrands. Before coaching Piedt, he had coached van Zyl, whose enthusiasm knew no bounds. “Stiaan wanted to play everything across the line. We just couldn’t get him to play straight. And he didn’t want to take singles. Everything had to go,” he said. “So he batted in the middle order and we actually used him more as a bowler. He was left-arm over and absolutely devastating. Schoolboys struggle with that angle and he did really well.”It was up to Keith O’Kennedy, who ran a cricket academy at Kenridge, to help van Zyl refine his technique. “He had the ability to attack and it was about teaching him control,” O’Kennedy said. “After a while, I didn’t think I had seen a batsman who applied himself to playing so correctly as him.”Van Zyl also dabbled in rugby and was the school’s Under-13 fly half on an overseas tour to the UK, but his father steered him towards cricket. “The support Stiaan got from his parents was immense. They were always around to watch the Saturday games,” Fitzroy said. “Stiaan’s dad was very committed to cricket. He was involved with the South African blind cricket team, and then when Stiaan went to high school he coached the cricket team there.”Although O’Kennedy wanted to get talented players into traditional cricketing schools “so their games would progress”, van Zyl completed his schooling at the Boland agricultural school, Boland Landbou. His father took over as a sporting mentor and the teachers at Kenridge didn’t hear much about his progress until he started playing for the Cobras.O’Kennedy tried to get Piedt into Rondebosch Boys’ High School, where Gary Kirsten and Jonathan Trott had studied, “but they were full that year”. Piedt’s parents eventually enrolled him into SACS, Peter Kirsten’s alma mater. Piedt’s progression as a batsman continued and he was selected in the Western Province Under-19 side for the national tournament at the end of 2008, where he opened the batting and bowled.The competition was played in Port Elizabeth, where O’Kennedy had retired to, but he did not manage to see Piedt in action. “He called me and said he had been selected and I wasn’t at all surprised,” O’Kennedy said. “He was such a good player, even from a young age, that I always knew he would reach great heights. To know that I may have played a small part in that, and Stiaan’s achievements, is really superb.”For Kenridge, Piedt and van Zyl’s selections is a sign that they’re doing something right. “We work with so many kids – to see some of them progress so far is a great achievement for us,” Fitzroy said. He described the school as an “ordinary co-ed government school,” which sets them apart from the more elitist, single-sex privately-owned schools that have the resources to spawn international sportspeople.But what Kenridge has are “beautiful facilities,” according to O’Kennedy, and a way of “making sport really enjoyable for all the kids because it’s about having fun, playing games and giving people a chance.”Soon, it will also have two South African Test caps.

ESPNcricinfo picks the Plays of the Day from the IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings

Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Apr-2014The decisionIt was short, it was pitched wide of leg stump, it hit David Warner high on the pad, with the batsman on the hop. Ben Hilfenhaus probably didn’t think he had too much of a chance when he turned around to appeal, but let out an impressive bellow anyway. Umpire Vineet Kulkarni raised his finger. Sunrisers Hyderabad had already lost Shikhar Dhawan earlier in the over, and Warner’s dismissal left them with two of their top three in the hut inside three overs. For a team as top-heavy as Sunrisers, it was a sickening blow.The slower ballMohit Sharma delivers the back-of-the-hand slower ball so perfectly that the seam comes out upright, and often remains that way after pitching. This delivery was quite potent on a particularly sluggish Sharjah pitch. Having conceded only 11 runs in his first two overs, Mohit came back to bowl the 18th over, with Aaron Finch in the 40s and looking to launch. Out came that slower ball and Finch picked it late. He had almost completed his across-the-line swing when the ball pitched and hit middle stump.The hookAgainst Kings XI Punjab, when the match was already lost, Karn Sharma had hooked Mitchell Johnson for six, over the roof of the East Stand and out of the ground. With Sunrisers going in to this game with five specialist bowlers, Karn had the responsibility of batting at No. 7. In the 19th over, Hilfenhaus banged one in short at Karn. He clearly hadn’t watched him deal with Johnson. Karn hooked once more, and the ball cleared the East Stand roof once more. Next ball, Karn launched Hilfenhaus over cover for another six, and eventually finished on an unbeaten 7-ball 17.The pullDale Steyn was fired up, and Brendon McCullum didn’t have too much time to react to a well-directed bouncer that rose towards his head. McCullum went for the pull, and connected sweetly. For a moment it seemed as though he had picked out Venugopal Rao at deep midwicket, but the fielder had walked in some five yards from the rope, and the ball just about cleared his outstretched, leaping form. The stump mike at the bowlers’ end picked up Steyn’s furious reaction. “Stay on the rope, for heaven’s sake!” was the gist of what he said, but he expressed himself in altogether more colourful manner.The checked sixIshant Sharma had watched CSK’s bowlers make good use of the slower ball and cottoned on to how effective it could be. He seemed to have fooled Dwayne Smith with one of these, full and straight. Smith, into the shot too early, checked his bat-swing, and it seemed as if the ball would land in long-on’s hands. Instead, it sailed way over his head and landed quite a few rows back.

Zimbabwe were excited and nervous about facing South Africa’s full-strength pace battery. After their edgy beginning, Brendan Taylor showed that a platform could be built, with intense focus and a little luck

Firdose Moonda in Harare09-Aug-2014At the tipping point of an amusement park ride, stomachs knot, palms sweat and heads buzz as fun steps on a collision course with fear. Those sensory reactions and the feelings of unease only last a few seconds, which makes it all worthwhile.Imagine if it went on for minutes, hours or even a full day. It would become nauseating. Only a strong core, a dry towel and painkillers would make it bearable but most people would want to get off that.Zimbabwe did not do that. They had jitters but they did not let them turn to jelly – they stumbled and then they got back up, they fought, they flourished and they clung on by their fingernails so that in the end they gave a credible account of themselves against the world’s premier pace pack and a promising spinner. A year without Test cricket may have robbed them of match time but it did nothing to the amount of heart they have.Their rollercoaster started when they knew they were scheduled to play a full-strength South African side complete with its full pace battery. They were excited at the prospect of facing up to Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel but were terrified of them as well.They swung between the great gusto of initially preparing both a green mamba and a brown house-snake but showed common sense by choosing the less dangerous pitch and dehydrating it for good measure. In doing that, they showed they were not willing to be reckless but would respect themselves enough to try and be reasonable. They would go into the game with seatbelts fastened and helmets on.Vusi Sibanda sensibly ducked under the first bouncer he was presented with and did not try and pull it, as his instincts may have instructed him to. He let the next one – outside off and moving away – go. He tried to leave first, defend second and look for runs last. Hamilton Masakadza did the same.For two overs the tension they created could have held a rope strong enough to lift the Costa Concordia. Sibanda was almost caught on the backfoot to a Steyn delivery that swung; he edged another to gully as he tried to watch it go past. Masakadza faced an appeal for caught behind as he left a short ball, his edge was also found but fell short of third slip.Caution was the main focus, the same as when a rollercoaster inches up to the point at which it will be released. The movements are slow but deliberate and the moment of truth, although expected still comes as a surprise. That’s what happened at the start of the third over. Sibanda opened the face and committed to playing, the ball shaped away and the edge carried.The ride had crashed down and as Mark Vermeulen walked out, it began its journey back up. He left the short ball, then he got on the back foot and blocked it, then he almost edged one. Masakadza watched one through, then wasn’t sure if he should go forward or backward to defend, then ducked a shorter one.Only after 22 deliveries did contact actually result in something when Masakadza pushed into the covers and ran. He ran quickly, Vermeulen responded quickly, the fielder responded not quite as quickly but it was still a scramble and all that produced only one. The second time it happened it produced two but even that would not be enough to ease anxiety, especially with what followed.Vermeulen tried to defend a Philander delivery which just evaded him with some away movement and there was a confident appeal. Aleem Dar was not convinced and he was right. It was back to leaving, watching, defending, hoping, pushing, maybe even some praying like when an edge evaded gully for four soon afterwards.”I was very edgy batting. I couldn’t sit still,” said Brendan Taylor, who watched the first hour from the change-room as he waited to bat. But as the clock ticked, the moments of trepidation became fewer and the moments of confidence greater. There was Vermeulen’s backfoot punch for three and Masakadza’s quick move to get out of the way of one directed at his head. There was Vermeulen’s delicate touch to fine leg and then the real ice-breaker, Masakadza’s freeing of the arms and crash through the covers for four. The rope snapped. Zimbabwe could hold their own.”Mark and Hammie (Masakadza) started to look solid,” Taylor said. “That gives the guys coming in some breathing room.”Even though Vermeulen left Taylor with rebuilding to do he had shown that the team was not working in an earthquake zone and something could be built. It would need intense focus, lapses from the bowlers and a bit of luck.Masakadza provided the first of those when he dragged himself to 3 off 36 balls before allowing himself some freedom. Throughout his innings he had flashes of aggression to compliment the concentration. Taylor was party to it as well with his trademark approach of temperament above technique. The sweep shot was the exclamation mark of his innings but the restraint he showed, the patience and the determination strung all the letters and words that really matter together.The South Africans allowed the second when Dane Piedt got a little loose after lunch and there were sprinklings of misfields. And there was enough of the third for Zimbabwe to feel fortune played its part too. Edges went for four, some fell short of fielders like Taylor at short leg when he was on 63, a run-out opportunity which may have seen Richmond Mutumbami dismissed on 13 was not capitalised on and there were missed chances – Tinashe Panyangara when he could have been caught by Steyn in his follow-through, Piedt could have had Tiripano the same way in the final over.That was balanced by strokes of bad luck which could have stymied Zimbabwe’s progress. Mutumbami’s lbw looked like it could have been going down leg, Tendai Chatara’s caught behind may have come off the right thigh pad. Zimbabwe too were guilty of mistakes. Taylor holing out on 93 as he tried to hurry to his hundred with the new ball looming was one of them. He admitted he should have “had more faith in the tail.”But Taylor’s disappointment was couched in satisfaction that his team had “showed a lot of character,” in how they fronted up to the world’s best. Now he is only asking for more fight on a pitch which he thinks should facilitate that demand.”The surface is bone dry and very abrasive. The wicket will only get worse,” Taylor said. Ordinarily that may not be a good thing but for Zimbabwe it is. If it’s showing those signs on day one, it will give us some confidence with the runs we have already. Our spin bowlers will have a big part to play tomorrow.”Given the line-up they are facing, it’s best their strap themselves in as tightly as the batsman did.

For long a contributor to India’s lack of control with the ball, Ishant Sharma has become far more accurate. The rest of the fast-bowling attack, however, still remains wayward

Sidharth Monga at the MCG29-Dec-2014Adelaide. First morning of the series. Five overs in. Australia 0 for 45. David Warner is hitting everything that moves. This is the first time Ishant Sharma is introduced into the series. Behind Varun Aaron and Mohammed Shami, who have played 12 Tests between them. They have both bowled poorly. They have both bowled ahead of Ishant, who is in his 59th Test. Leader of the attack. Butt of jokes. Bowls a maiden. Takes a wicket next over. Pulls Australia back with a first spell of 6-2-11-1 out of 1 for 86 after 17 overs. Is hit for just one boundary but that is when Shane Watson has taken him from off and middle, and played it to leg. Tip your hat, and hope he misses the next time he tries such a shot.This has been the theme of the series. Ishant cleaning up after the less experienced, wayward, full of promise as we are told, bowlers. Ishant in their ear. Ishant drying up runs. Ishant taking a wicket every 14 overs and every 48 runs. “Ishant has been the most difficult to face” – Chris Rogers. “Ishant has bowled the best” – David Warner. Ishant’s average against left-hand batsmen this series: 59. Strike rate: a wicket every 88 balls. His economy rate against them: four an over.The story of Ishant’s life. He cleans up after others. He bowls overs others dread bowling. His opponents say he has bowled well. He has contributed to others’ wickets. Where are wickets, though? What’s new here? We have seen this movie before. His pitch maps is what is new. Pick out any from the six innings he has bowled in. Apart from the time India lost their minds in the face of the Mitchell Johnson onslaught and during the small chase that Australia got through, Ishant has hardly bowled loose balls. There haven’t been many freebies.In Adelaide, in Australia’s total of 7 for 517 declared, Ishant pitched one ball on the middle stump of the right-hand batsmen, two outside leg from round the wicket, and everything else was outside off. In the second innings, just one ball on the off stump, and everything else outside off. There weren’t many too wide either. In Brisbane’s first innings, two of them strayed into the pads, and that was it. In the first innings in Melbourne, three short balls on middle or down leg, everything else outside off. In the second innings, just one ball on the pads. That is all.If you offered MS Dhoni three such bowlers, he would bite your hand off. Or two such and a third real quick one. He would, for a change, be able to join the dots. The way he does with the spinners back home. None of them is an exceptional practitioner of drift and dip, but once there is control Dhoni gets into the game. India’s quicks provide him no control. Ishant himself didn’t contribute much on that front before this year.Ishant Sharma’s new-found control is apparent in this pitch map to right-hand batsmen from the second innings at the MCG•ESPNcricinfo LtdNow that Ishant has become metronomic with his line, he is only doing damage control. Throughout this series, India have had one weak link releasing the pressure. Mohammed Shami most of the days, Umesh Yadav filling in when Shami goes missing. If Virat Kohli and M Vijay have been the soul of this team, Ishant has been the life support. Every time India’s attack has threatened to unravel for good, Ishant has resuscitated it.On Monday, day four of this Test, with India having given themselves a chance to win or save this match, how do the other two fast bowlers start? Short and wide, on the pads, and it’s 0 for 39 after six overs. Warner again is hitting everything that moves. Dhoni calls for Ishant. Ishant delivers a maiden. Shami delivers a boundary. Ishant gets a change of ends. Ishant delivers another maiden. To Warner this time. And then 4-2-5-0 from Ishant later, R Ashwin gets Warner out. Ishant keeps at it. India are back in control. Australia can’t declare. They can’t bat India out on day four. Now there are fewer overs for India to bat out. That – if you can’t bowl a team out on a flat deck – could have been India’s realistic target when they began day four.This has been a great improvement in Ishant. He is now ticking the first box you need to tick to be a Test bowler without bowling 150ks or hooping the ball around corners. He has been accurate over a considerable period of time. But he and his team can’t be satisfied with that. He is the leader of the attack, into his 61st Test. He should be able to bowl more wicket-taking deliveries, at least against the tail. He should be able to mix the mercurial with the metronomic. If it is a team plan to bowl around the wicket to left-hand batsmen with the brand-new rock, or if it is the team plan to bounce out Johnson, Ishant should be able to overrule it when it is not working.It is probably a bit too much to ask. In an ideal world Ishant won’t settle with just being the workhorse, but India’s is a flawed attack. It has a flawed leader. That’s why India find themselves facing an uphill task every time with the bat. Still Ishant is doing something right. Consistently. If India do go on to win or draw this Test, it will come down to the batsmen, but Ishant will have played no small role in it.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2015Finch’s opening partner, David Warner, though, was bowled for 22 by Stuart Broad•Getty ImagesShane Watson came…and went, nicking one behind first ball•Getty ImagesSteven Smith, too, didn’t last long, as Woakes shattered his stumps•Getty ImagesStand-in captain George Bailey rediscovered his touch, putting on 146 runs along with Finch•Getty ImagesFinch became the first centurion of World Cup 2015 as Australia, aided by Glenn Maxwell and Brad Haddin, ended with 342•Getty ImagesSteven Finn picked up five wickets, including a hat-trick off the last three balls of the innings•Getty ImagesEngland’s chase took off slowly, and just as Moeen Ali was starting to find his groove, Mitchell Starc removed him•Getty ImagesMitchell Marsh dismissed Gary Ballance, and then Ian Bell to reduce England to 66 for 3•Getty ImagesHe also removed Joe Root the very next delivery, and sent back Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler in quick succession, claiming his maiden five-for in ODIs•Getty ImagesStarc bowled Broad; the three Mitchells – Marsh, Starc and Johnson – claimed nine wickets among them•Getty ImagesJames Taylor was left stranded on 98 after James Anderson was run-out under controversial circumstances. The ICC later admitted that it was an error. The decision, however, didn’t alter the outcome of the game, Australia thrashing England by 111 runs•AFP

From the first match of this World Cup, from the very first over, they have sought to impose themselves, to set and control the pace of play

Sambit Bal in Wellington21-Mar-2015An Indian cricketer once told me that the singing of the national anthem before battle commenced on the field helped in finding focus. Watching the New Zealand team at this pre-match routine on Saturday was to feel their energy radiate through the ground.West Indies did their job with due reverence – and theirs isn’t really a national anthem – standing solemnly, hands clasped together or hanging at their sides, some looking down, some up, and when it ended, they all relaxed. New Zealand, however, made a statement. As soon as the West Indian anthem ended, the New Zealanders’ arms went up and around the shoulder of their mates on either side, drawing each other together so tight there was no daylight in between. And there they were, a group of powerfully built men in their black kit (in itself a statement of authority) standing tall in solidarity, like a band of brothers, with a tribal energy about them. It was an arresting and powerful image, a visual representation of their World Cup campaign.It would be simplistic and perhaps misleading to infer too much from this. But taken in isolation, the two images would tell not too inaccurate a story. New Zealand’s wall represented an irresistible force forged from shared belief and purpose. West Indies were a group of individuals brought together for battle.New Zealand is a rugby country, unmistakably. The Regional Stadium in Wellington is a rugby stadium dressed up for the cricket World Cup. The images around the stadium are of rugby players, and even of rock and pop bands, because they host concerts here. But inside the elevators that bring you to the media centre and the corporate boxes, there’s a photograph of Brendon McCullum walking out to bat. You can see only his back, with his name printed on the jersey, but even if it wasn’t, you would know who it is. His bat is loose in his left hand, and he is walking through a sea of New Zealand flags and outstretched hands. He looks gladiatorial. It tells two stories at once: of how a rugby nation has thrown its soul behind cricket, and of how McCullum has built a team in his own image.Coming into this quarter-final, New Zealand had reached six World Cup semi-finals but won only one knockout match – against perpetual underachievers South Africa in 2011. Almost every one of those semi-finals had felt like an overachievement. Barring 1992, when Martin Crowe had led them with imagination and passion, the end of their journey each time had seemed appropriate. But this time, from the first match, from the very first over, with bat and ball and in the field, they have sought to impose themselves, to set and control the pace of each match.Being the favourite in a knockout game, though, carries its own burden. Only once in this World Cup before this game – in the match against Sri Lanka – had they gone about setting a target, and only once had their batting been tested in a big chase, and that was in an inconsequential match against Bangladesh. That went to the last couple of overs. It raised several questions. Were New Zealand too reliant on their bowlers? Could they find the momentum without McCullum’s fiery starts? Had their middle order been tested enough? And what about the fifth bowler?About the first question, New Zealand didn’t want to die wondering. On winning the toss against West Indies, they embraced the challenge by going against their conventional mode of winning in this World Cup. Bowling had been their bigger strength, but in perfect batting conditions and against a team carrying one genuine wicket-taker, it made cricket sense to reverse the pattern. No one would have blamed McCullum had he stuck to the winning formula, but safe choices are not always the best ones. It would have gone against McCullum’s grain.New Zealand found themselves confronted with the second and third questions quite early. McCullum fell in the fourth over, for 12 off eight balls. Then Kane Williamson, the man expected to steer the innings to safe waters, had a bright innings cut short by a ball that stopped on him. They now had two batsmen in with runs behind them from the Bangladesh match and not a lot more from the rest of the tournament. Martin Guptill, in fact, had carried the worst-possible form into the World Cup and Ross Taylor had been scratchy.The run rate was healthy but not spectacular and, in this must-win match, New Zealand now required building and accumulation towards a final charge in setting up a target. For a campaign built on sustained aggression, the situation demanded sensible and pragmatic batting. Guptill finished spectacularly, with an avalanche of fours and sixes, but Taylor’s role in building the case cannot be understated. The bowling wasn’t threatening, but New Zealand needed to prove, to themselves as well as their opponents, that they could find a gear other than sixth when circumstances mandated.Only the last question remains unanswered. Trent Boult’s superhuman effort – once again he bowled ten overs on the trot – ensured that West Indies were not in the contest when he finished. The six overs bowled by New Zealand’s fourth and fifth bowlers went for 66. But as they savour their rightful place in the semi-final, New Zealand are likely to treat that as another challenge rather then fret over it. Their march in this World Cup has featured spectacular individual performances, but New Zealand haven’t departed from the familiar theme of the collective.In fact, they have taken it to new heights. When a ball caught the shoulder of Marlon Samuels’ bat and lobbed over the catching cordon, five men – three slips, a gully and a backward point – chased it all the way. It looked exaggerated and unnecessary, and it looked like New Zealand were making a production of it. But it was not an aberration. They have done it all through.It was certainly not an aberration that the oldest man among the chasers, Daniel Vettori, got to the ball first. He later held a catch so spectacular – leaping and pouching the ball with one hand behind him a couple of feet from the fence – that Samuels, the batsman on the receiving end, spent a couple of minutes mid-pitch to reflect on the unfairness of it.Anything is possible with this team now.

Five thoughts on the game, from Virender Sehwag serving up a series of delights to his former team-mate Harbhajan Singh revealing a glimpse of his best years

Abhishek Purohit at the Wankhede Stadium12-Apr-2015Sehwag delights
The light is dying. But it is still capable of sometimes flickering with fury. And when it does, there are few better sights in the game. Virender Sehwag did not make too many, he lasted 19 deliveries to blitz 36, but the impact Sehwag has on opposition and spectators has never been, and will never be, told by mere numbers. Even during this short stay, Sehwag showed he could still take on the field, and win.In left-armer Pawan Suyal’s opening over, Rohit Sharma moved short midwicket to extra cover. Sehwag blasted the next ball right over the new position. Rohit posted two backward points for Vinay Kumar. Sehwag cut violently past those fielders and easily beat third man too.Sehwag’s old India teammate Harbhajan Singh came on in the seventh over. Sehwag has always thought spinners exist to be instantly banished out of the park. Second ball from Harbhajan, he charged out, and long-on took the mishit. The light is dying, but he still flickers and he still entertains.Harbhajan the offspinner hits back
Harbhajan Singh was largely responsible for stalling Kings XI Punjab in the middle stage of their innings. They were 60 for 0 in the seventh over when he caused Sehwag’s downfall and in his third over, he also removed the well-set M Vijay. Spinners usually transform into darters in this ruthless format, and that is also something Harbhajan has been criticised for in the past. But there were plenty of variations on display from the offspinner.Of course, he did bowl the flat and quick ones, but he also flighted the ball often in between. And those ones dipped quickly, making it difficult for the batsmen to time their shots.Harbhajan also used the straighter one to good effect, and one such delivery claimed Vijay. The opener had swatted a sweep off the left-arm spinner J Suchith for four. He tried to repeat it against Harbhajan but found that the ball held up a bit more and also bounced extra, resulting in a catch to deep backward square leg.Harbhajan the batsman hits back
Some left when Ambati Rayudu got out. The ground started to empty after Kieron Pollard got out. Tail in the middle, 118 needed from 36. You could not blame the crowd, after the torture of watching the home batsmen sleepwalk through the chase. Those who remained were rewarded with some of the most incredible hitting you can see from a No. 8.Harbhajan can time the ball better than many batsmen when he is in the mood. And he was in some mood. Legs wide apart. Open-chested. Standing deep in the crease. And belting sixes with ridiculous ease. Wankhede shouted itself hoarse for each boundary, and there was no time to draw breath before Harbhajan would make them go wild again.Harbhajan faced 23 balls before he was eventually dismissed. Eleven of those went for four or six. That is almost every second ball. Even the ball he fell to, he had timed so well it zoomed to deep point. He may be out of national reckoning, but that spark for a scrap remains within.Sandeep Sharma weaved a web around batsmen•BCCISandeep swings it around Mumbai
Two days ago in nearby Pune, Sandeep Sharma had toyed with Mumbai and India batsman Ajinkya Rahane in his opening over. Sandeep’s combination of a tight line and controlled movement had left Rahane clueless, and the opener had holed out in the next over for a duck. This time, Sandeep contributed to the exit of another Mumbai and India batsman: Rohit Sharma. And for good measure, it was him and not the bowler at the other end who got the wicket.Sandeep swung his first ball into Rohit, who inside-edged his drive to mid-on. The second ball jagged in even more, Rohit could not put bat on it and was struck in front.Sandeep did not allow the Mumbai Indians batsmen any release throughout his spell. Rayudu survived a long, confident shout for leg-before off an inswinger. The next ball moved away. Caught in an awkward position, Rayudu poked at it, and managed not to nick it. Even last season, George Bailey was highly impressed by his young bowler, and after his spell ended, the captain ran up, put an arm around Sandeep’s shoulders and had a few words with him.Johnson v Pollard, take two
Kieron Pollard is not known for his batting prowess against high-quality pace but last season, he took 19 off the 19th over bowled by Mitchell Johnson to win a tight chase for Mumbai Indians on the same ground against the same opponents. That included an inside-edged four but also a straight six and a pulled four.Tonight was different. Johnson had disturbed fellow Australian Aaron Finch’s stumps with his second ball and was steaming in now. The first two balls, Pollard leaned forward and pushed to mid-off and extra cover. Johnson pulled the length back slightly and made the next two climb just outside off. Pollard lunged forward and left them. The Mumbai crowd watched stunned. They are not used to see Pollard leaving successive deliveries. Some even clapped in derision.As if to let everyone know clearly just who was in charge tonight, Johnson banged the next one short and made it climb at the batsman’s head. Pollard hopped, jerked his head away, and took a pounding on the glove.

Forty overs is not enough time for a pitch to wear, but if it is up and down the chasing team has a distinct advantage as Delhi Daredevils showed at Feroz Shah Kotla

Sidharth Monga in Delhi01-May-2015″Look, people have already started leaving.” Thisara Perera had been caught at deep square leg, pulling yet another ball that didn’t come on as expected, breaking Kings XI Punjab’s last recognised pair. It was 46 for 6 in the 10th over, and even as David Miller and Axar Patel looked to repair the innings people had begun to talk about leaving. By about 5.30 pm, 90 minutes into the match, quite a few – a hundred perhaps – had walked to the top edge of the stands in the north end of Feroz Shah Kotla and began to watch football in the adjoining Ambedkar Stadium. They cheered on as the incisive playmaker in the No. 15 red jersey that said “Young Boys” went past white jersey – SPCL inscribed on each – after white jersey to set up two goals in the first 15 minutes.Damn. Even this game was one-sided. People began to leave by the end of the second over of the chase, which was a matter of small relief for the Delhi traffic police as a major portion of the road alongside Kotla has been dug up for Metro work. It is not the relief IPL organisers want.Had this been Kolkata or Bangalore or Chennai or to a lesser extent Mumbai, the supporters there would have stayed on till the end to celebrate a one-sided home win. Other than those centres no IPL team has been able to build a strong connect with its local crowds. Fans come to these venues not to cheer the home team on but to dance, sing, eat, watch the big stars play no matter the team, and, most importantly, watch a close match. The greatest trick T20 ever played was to shorten the game so much that the difference in the quality of the teams doesn’t show too much. The matches are usually closer than the longer formats.There is only one glitch, though: you don’t want pitches to misbehave too much. In a game so short the argument that the pitch is same for both teams doesn’t quite hold. The side that bats first doesn’t quite get the time to asses the conditions and then reassess the total they should aim for, by which time usually you can be four-five down because you have to play aggressive shots in T20. And then the chasing side can plan its innings much better without the pressure of going for quick runs.The pitch for this match was a tricky one, one that leads to one-sided Twenty20 matches. It did bring the hosts Delhi Daredevils much joy, but it could easily have been them at the receiving end – they scored 95 in the last game here – had they lost the toss. From ball one, with people peering in to watch a contest between the two great Test hands for India in the 2000s, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag, the pitch made its treacherousness felt. Sehwag saw a short-of-a-length ball, outside off, looked to push at it, but the ball didn’t come on. Ball two was same, and Sehwag was not lucky this time, with the thick edge resting with short cover-point, a good field placement for a two-paced pitch.Soon the dual bounce would become apparent too. In Zaheer’s second over, Manan Vohra had to deal with a shooter, which skid through and came on quicker than the previous deliveries. Two balls later, having faced five dots out of six already, he stepped out and saw this ball kick at him from a similar length. Zaheer seemed to have run his fingers on this, which might have been good reading of a dry surface, but the variance in bounce was a bit much for a two-over old ball.In between the two wickets, which can be credited to the pitch, Kings XI had lost Shaun Marsh, a wicket that the pitch didn’t have much to do with. He just played an ordinary shot across the line to a full offbreak, and even if the angle had saved him from the lbw – it didn’t – his doziness would have had him run out anyway. In the next over, with Nathan Coulter-Nile hitting the pitch even harder than Zaheer more uneven bounce showed. The first ball – short and outside off – stayed low to beat the under edge, and the next – a touch fuller than before – reared at Wriddhiman Saha. A confused Saha got out next ball, poking at one outside off, and at 10 for 4 Kings XI were hardly in any state to reassess their way to a competitive total.The two men who took on the rebuilding job – Miller and George Bailey – didn’t show enough confidence in their footwork to take the wily Amit Mishra on, and weren’t great on the sweep either, which eventually consumed Bailey. There is no doubt Daredevils assessed the conditions better, there is no doubt Kings XI didn’t play spin well, but you don’t want to see so much unevenness in a Twenty20 pitch. Test the batsmen all you want with movement and good bounce, but it’s when the ball begins to go through the surface or sit up – sometimes one after the other – it doesn’t make for a close match, the currency of Twenty20.Some exceptional batsmen – the likes of Michael Hussey – can assess T20 conditions in two or three balls and reassess the total they want accordingly, some freaks – the likes of Glenn Maxwell – can sometimes get into a zone where they connect everything no matter the variance in bounce, but unfortunately for the crowd at Kotla no such events occurred. The football match at Ambedkar Stadium, too, was one-sided.

For several years, Bangladesh batsmen struggled against the short ball. Then, one day, Soumya Sarkar ramped a bouncer over the keeper’s head and forever changed the definition of Bangladesh’s periscope

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2015The first ever meeting between Bangladesh and South Africa was hardly a contest.In the sixth over of Bangladesh’s 302-run chase, Al Sahariar turned his back on a Makhaya Ntini bouncer with his bat hanging out vertically. The ball struck the bat and spooned up. Jacques Kallis ran back from slip to complete a superb one-handed diving catch. Bangladesh were 12 for 2, slipped to 43 for 6, and ended up losing by 168 runs.Commentators described Sahariar’s dangling bat over his head as a “periscope”. At the time, Bangladesh were not even into their second year as a Test-playing nation, their progress emanating suspicion. Handling the short ball was a prerequisite to playing against top teams, but despite high-billing locally, many like Sahariar were at sea. His dismissal in Potchefstroom symbolised inadequacy.Thirteen years later, in their third tour of Bangladesh, South Africa encountered another periscope. This time it was Soumya Sarkar’s dangling bat, but unlike Sahariar’s periscope, this was deliberate. On Wednesday in the third ODI, Soumya was on 67 in the 19th over when he leaned back and ramped a Kyle Abbott bouncer high over the head of wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, landing just short of the rope. Soumya’s periscope symbolised Bangladesh’s audacity.It was not even the first time he had tried the shot. In the second T20, Soumya attempted it against same bowler but failed to connect. The following day, the ICC tweeted a photo of the shot: “MS Dhoni’s renowned for ‘the helicopter’ – will Soumya Sarkar be renowned for ‘the periscope’? #ShotOfTheDay”The shot seems to be born out of his dismissal against England in the World Cup. Off a Chris Jordan bouncer, Soumya ducked poorly and gloved the ball to the wicketkeeper, ending a promising 40. In the third ODI against Pakistan, he tried the shot for the first time, against Wahab Riaz. He missed an attempted ramp against a 141kph delivery. He tried it a second time against India, in the first ODI. The bowler, Mohit Sharma, bumped one at him from around the wicket and without flinching, Soumya tipped it over MS Dhoni’s head to reach 50.After Wednesday’s game against South Africa, Soumya said it made him happy that the shot now has a name, and that it is associated with him.”I think the ICC gave the name to that shot,” Soumya said. “I just play it to the right delivery. But I made that six. It actually feels good to know that a shot I played has been given a name. I don’t think many people know it, but when they do, it would feel better.”It is not the only perception about Bangladesh that has changed in Soumya’s generation. Scrutinised for not capitalising on starts in his first eight months in international cricket, Soumya made it a point to remain unbeaten in the second ODI. He was close in the third ODI too, giving a soft catch to cover with 16 runs left to chase. Tamim Iqbal was also not out, for the third time in 80 innings batting second for Bangladesh. Soumya has done it twice in three innings and said he would have been happy to finish the chase himself.”There is happiness but I am feeling a little bad as I could not finish the game by being not out. It isn’t about the century, but it would have been great to win by 10 wickets. Hundreds will come later but a win by that margin would have been great,” he said.When asked what he would like to achieve in his career, the answer was another reminder of how much the perception of Bangladesh cricketers had changed over the years. It may sound a far-fetched statement, but Soumya said he wanted big teams to play more regularly against Bangladesh.”I have heard that bigger teams didn’t want to play against Bangladesh. I don’t know where Bangladesh want to go, but I would like all teams want to play against Bangladesh, in any format. I want them to invite us more regularly.”It would be unwise to place too much emphasis on what he is saying about finishing chases and a better tour programme. He is young and has not even completed one year in international cricket. But through the expression of his natural ability on the field, Soumya reflects the changing times in Bangladesh cricket.He can earn full credit for changing the definition of Bangladesh’s periscope.