Dennis Lillee was an exceptionally skilled fast bowler, but his doggedness and endurance set him apart

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan05-Dec-2010Dennis Lillee was described by Ian Chappell as “a captain’s dream and a batsman’s nightmare”. Considering Lillee’s outstanding bowling record, the statement is a pretty accurate one. He was one of the greatest match-winning bowlers in Tests, and together with Jeff Thomson formed one of the most potent new-ball pairs of the 1970s. During the span of his international career, Australia won 31 matches and lost 16 when Lillee played, but won only 15 and lost 28 when Lillee did not play. His numbers are up there with the best of fast bowlers and his record as one of Australia’s greatest post-War bowlers is matched only by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.Lillee’s stats are obviously outstanding, but they become even more impressive when seen in the context of the injury he suffered early in his career. Less than two years after his Test debut in 1971, Lillee was diagnosed with stress fractures, leading to his absence for over one year. He returned in November 1974 and went on to become the best bowler in the world over the next three years. It was also the most successful phase of his career as he picked up 120 wickets in just 21 matches with eight five-wicket and three ten-wicket hauls. He bowled Australia to two Ashes series triumphs and played a major role in the 5-1 win over Clive Lloyd’s West Indies team in 1975-76. He played in World Series Cricket for two years from 1977 to 1979 before returning to international cricket in December 1979. The last five years of his career were also prolific as he added 184 wickets in 38 matches in this period, eventually finishing as the most successful Australian bowler in Tests. For Lillee’s detailed career stats click here.

Almost half the Test wickets Lillee took were against England. With 167 scalps in 29 matches, Lillee was the most successful bowler in Australia-England Tests till Warne surpassed him in 2005. Only Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall and Glenn McGrath average lower than Lillee in Tests against England. He has four ten-wicket hauls in Ashes Tests, a record he shares with three other bowlers. His 11 five-wickets hauls in Ashes Tests is second only to Sydney Barnes’ 12.Lillee was one of the best bowlers in Australia, picking up 231 wickets. Among Australian bowlers who have picked up over 150 wickets in home Tests, Lillee’s average is second only to McGrath’s 22.43.

Lillee picked up more than 200 wickets in wins at an average of just over 18. Among Australian bowlers who have picked up more than 100 wickets in home wins, his average of just over 19 is the best.

The 1970s and 1980s witnessed some of the finest fast bowlers including Lillee, Richard Hadlee and Marshall. Lillee’s overall performance is surpassed only by Marshall and Hadlee. However, Lillee took almost all his wickets in Australia and England; his stats outside those two countries and New Zealand were pretty ordinary. He played only five matches and took six wickets in Asia and the West Indies at an average of over 90. In contrast, Marshall and Hadlee were superb in the subcontinent, boasting averages of close to 22.

For almost 18 months between February 1973 and November 1974, Lillee did not play competitive cricket because of injuries, but came back strongly to become the world’s best bowler over the next three years. In 1977, he played in World Series Cricket and demonstrated once again that he was at the peak of his career. In a series that featured the world’s top fast bowlers, Lillee took the most wickets, though he also played the most matches, picking up 67 wickets in 14 games across the two seasons.

Lillee’s skills and Thomson’s pace were instrumental in making Australia the world’s best team in the mid 1970s. In 26 matches together, they picked up 217 wickets at an average of just over 27. They routed England in 1974-75, sharing 58 wickets between them in six Tests as Australia won 4-1. In the 1975-76 series against West Indies, which Australia won 5-1, they again set up a convincing victory picking up 56 wickets in the six Tests. Lillee and Thomson were at their peak for three years between 1974 and 1977, picking up an extraordinary 149 wickets in 15 Tests at an average of just over 25. But their overall average is slightly higher than some of the other leading fast-bowling pairs. While Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram boast a stunning average of 22.12 with 37 five-wicket and seven ten-wicket hauls, the Caribbean pairing of Ambrose and Courtney Walsh has been the most successful, picking up 762 in 95 matches at an average of 22.67.

Lillee reserved his best for the big occasion and more often than not, produced superb performances in crunch situations. As early as 1971, he stunned the Rest of the World XI in an unofficial Test match at Perth with a haul of 8 for 29 as they were bowled out for 59. In the next Test, he dismissed Garry Sobers for a first-ball duck in the first innings, only for Sobers to respond with a fantastic 254 in the second innings, where Lillee went for over 100 runs.In the Centenary Test in 1977, Lillee’s 11-wicket haul set up a 45-run victory for Australia. In 1981, he rose to the occasion twice after Australia had been bowled out for low scores. Against West Indies at the MCG, Australia had been bowled out for just 198, with Kim Hughes making a superb century. Lillee responded with an exceptional spell at the end of the first day, removing Viv Richards off the last ball of the day, leaving West Indies at 10 for 4. He eventually ended up with his best bowling figures of 7 for 83, leading Australia to a victory. In the first Test at Perth, his 5 for 18 helped Australia bowl out Pakistan for 62 after they themselves had made just 180.Lillee was a brilliant bowler to top-order batsmen and accounted for the best batsmen in the opposition regularly. He dismissed Viv Richards and David Gower nine times, though the player who succumbed to him most often was England’s wicketkeeper Allan Knott (12 times). Dennis Amiss, who averaged more than 70 against the West Indies, was very ordinary against Lillee. He averaged below seven in the eight innings he was dismissed by Lillee, making three ducks and just one score over 10. Lillee was most successful under Greg Chappell’s captaincy, picking up 199 wickets in 38 Tests. Fittingly, he retired along with Chappell and Marsh at the SCG in 1984, after picking up a wicket off his last ball.The Lillee-Rodney Marsh combination is the most successful bowler-keeper pairing in Tests. Marsh took 95 catches off Lillee’s bowling in 69 matches, which is five more than the Mcgrath-Adam Gilchrist combination.

Lillee picked up 25 wickets or more in a series on four occasions. His best performance came in the 1981 Ashes series, when he picked up 39 wickets. The series though, ended in defeat for Australia after Ian Botham’s heroics. Lillee’s 39-wicket haul is the fourth-highest by an Australian bowler in an Ashes series behind Terry Alderman, Rodney Hogg and Warne. He became the highest wicket-taker for Australia in early 1981, going past Richie Benaud, and later in the same year, he became the highest wicket-taker in Tests, surpassing Lance Gibbs’ haul of 309. He reached 200 wickets in just 38 Tests, and remains the second-fastest to the mark, behind Clarrie Grimmett. He is also the fastest to 250 and 300 wickets, reaching the landmarks in just 48 and 56 Tests respectively.Lillee played only 63 ODIs in his career, but picked up over 100 wickets at an average below 21. His performance in World Cups was not great, but he went on to become the first bowler to pick up five wickets in an innings in ODIs, when he picked up 5 for 34 against Pakistan in the 1975 World Cup. In the WSC one-day matches, he picked up 54 wickets to go with his superb show in the Super Tests. In the Australian tri-series matches between 1977 and 1984, he was the most successful bowler with 68 wickets at a average of just over 18. Another exceptional performance came in a Gillette Cup semi-final when Western Australia were defending just 77 against Queensland. He dismissed Viv Richards for a duck and Greg Chappell for nine in his spell of 4 for 21, leading Western Australia to a 15-run victory.Though Lillee had a batting average of 13.71 with just one half-century, his highest score was an unbeaten 73 at Lord’s in 1975, making him one of only four No.10 batsmen to make a fifty-plus score at the ground.

England had hitherto known only a docile and inaccurate Mitchell Johnson. After the second day at Perth, they realise just how destructive he can be

Peter English at the WACA17-Dec-2010England, we’d like to introduce you to the other Mitchell Johnson. Not the meek, erratic bowler your batsmen have enjoyed so much over the past year and a half, but the version who on his day is the most destructive in the world.Those days have been increasingly rare lately, but during a week of intensive training in the WACA nets he rid himself of his inferior alter-ego and rediscovered his action. Today he found a way back into the series for Australia. Last week in Adelaide he was unplayable, and dropped for the first time in his Test career; this time it was England who had no idea where the ball was going.Finally he was the bowler who could gain swing at high speed, instead of being the fragile guy England’s batsmen didn’t rate. They had no reason to – until today. Six wickets for 38 runs, including 4 for 7 in 27 balls before lunch, changed minds and momentum.Johnson had made it easy for people to give up on him. No bowler has been as frustrating after promising so much against South Africa over two series in 2008-09. Having shown he could be a wrecker, he became a wreck, spraying balls, dropping his arm and doubting his method. He was so bad even the Australian selectors gave up on him. Dropping him has reignited his career, a common theme among exceptional athletes.Sent to Perth a week ago, Johnson worked with Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, and remodelled his action successfully. He started to run in like a medium pacer instead of a sprinter, with all his energy focused on the crescendo through the crease during a huge delivery stride. It helped make his body taller, his left arm higher, and put his wrist behind the ball.Partway through the unexpected renovation something familiar started to happen – he began to swing the ball. Like snowflakes at Christmas, everyone got really excited. The Australians became delirious when it occurred in a match and Johnson’s spirit swept through a team that started to believe again.Before the series Johnson said he wouldn’t bother about swing and a match later he was out of the side. Plenty of illogical things have been said by the Australians during their extended slump, but this was among the craziest comments. When Johnson shapes the ball in he becomes a monster because the batsmen can’t leave with confidence. The South Africans found that out here two years ago, when he started his summer of devastation with a spell of 5 for 2 in 21 balls that turned into 8 for 61.This performance didn’t do as much numerical damage, but it will be priceless if it turns into a victory for Australia. The morning started like the past eight of the series, with England in control and Australia fumbling. Johnson, who delivered two controlled overs late yesterday, was saved until after Ryan Harris and Ben Hilfenhaus had failed to breakthrough.Alastair Cook has been an immoveable object for most of the series, but Johnson forced him to slice to gully, where Michael Hussey collected a smart catch. For the next four wickets Johnson didn’t bother enlisting his team-mates as he delivered a series of brutal inswingers around 140kph. Jonathan Trott attempted a drive from a full ball and was caught in front when surprised by the swerve. Three balls later Kevin Pietersen, fresh from a double-century, erred in similar fashion.Suddenly Johnson had 3 for 4 in two overs and he pumped his fist in a mixture of relief at himself and anger at his critics. No matter how high he flies, he must not forget how awful he has been over the past year and half – and how to rectify the problems when they reappear. He had to wait until the middle of a major series to do remedial work that could have been completed in the off-season or between series. It is the most stunning turnaround.Paul Collingwood somehow survived a fierce bouncer that narrowly missed his gloves and helmet, but couldn’t escape the follow-up full ball. Another late inswinger resulted in another lbw shout that was initially given not out. The Australians challenged and the replays showed Collingwood’s bat stuck in its downswing about 30cm from the ball when it crashed into his pad. England were now the ones in crisis at 5 for 98 and after a nine-over spell Johnson was given a rest.He returned almost an hour after lunch and finished off the innings when he sent Chris Tremlett’s off stump cart-wheeling and watched James Anderson glide to first slip. Anderson and Johnson have been trading verbals over the past month, but during the last two days Johnson has backed up his talk. England now know all about him – and don’t like him.

Plays of the day from the 1st day of the 3rd Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl

Andrew Miller at the Rose Bowl16-Jun-2011Call of the day
It’s possible that Mike Atherton didn’t mean to sound snide during Sky’s live coverage of the toss, when he declared to the viewing public: “A loud call of heads from Kumar Sangakkara”. But given what had happened on the last occasion when Sangakkara lined up as Sri Lanka’s captain, there was perhaps a good reason to clarify. At Mumbai in April in the World Cup final against India, his mumbled decision at the toss was drowned out by the expectant crowd, and in the confusion, the match referee Jeff Crowe ordered a retake. There was no such get-out this time around, and as Sangakkara ruefully admitted afterwards, he too would have bowled first in juicy overcast conditions.Decision of the day
He took his time to find his best rhythm, but right from the start of his spell, James Anderson’s lateral movement provided a threat that Sri Lanka had not encountered at any stage of the Lord’s Test. Sure enough, in the fifth over of the day, he looked to have prised the opening. A cracking delivery exploded off the seam past the edge of Tharanga Paranavitana’s bat, and looked to have grazed something on the way through. Umpire Aleem Dar, however, was unmoved, and the evidence available to England’s review provided no reason to disagree. Midway through the subsequent over, however, the Snickometer ground into life, and suggested that there might indeed have been the faintest of nicks. Either way, a howler had not been committed by Dar, and therefore justice had been seen to be done.Shot of the day
Kumar Sangakkara is as eloquent at speaking as he is elegant at batting, and later this summer he will prove that point when he gives the MCC’s annual Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s. At the Rose Bowl, however, he has struck a bum note on both counts. During the captain’s press conference on Wednesday, not even he could find a way to hide his evident displeasure at being handed back the captaincy, and the shot that produced his wicket today was typical of a man whose mind wasn’t entirely on the game. A touch of width from Anderson and a wild yahoo outside off, and Sangakkara’s unworthy record in England became that little bit worse still.Blows of the day
At Lord’s, Matt Prior endured a grim time behind the stumps, as England’s wayward seamers flung 25 byes past his gloves, most of them far out of his reach down the leg side. Today, however, the threat was not so much to his figures as his face, as first Chris Tremlett and then Stuart Broad found extra lift and movement to leave their keeper scrambling to readjust. The ball from Broad was particularly potent, as it jagged first one way then curled back wickedly the other, and Prior did well not to wear the ball on his cheekbone as it deflected away for two byes.Delays of the day
Late last month, a match at the Rose Bowl was interrupted when police marksmen were scrambled to tackle a stuffed toy tiger that had been abandoned on a neighbouring golf course. An interruption of such newsworthiness would have been a godsend for the ground today, but sadly, on the biggest occasion in its ten-year history, the delays endured were of a much more prosaic nature. A prolonged morning deluge was followed by extended showers around the lunch and tea intervals, both of which were long enough to include five-course meals and a post-prandial snooze. But in the end, the crowd got their money’s worth. Just about.

It was set to be a drab final day in Cardiff, but Andrew Strauss’s team created their own atmosphere to conjure a remarkable victory

Andrew Miller in Cardiff30-May-2011You know you’ve witnessed an extraordinary sporting achievement when even the protagonists admit they’ve been shocked by the turn of events. When Andrew Strauss drew back his hotel curtains this morning to be greeted by that familiarly bleak shadow of drizzle that has been Cardiff’s daily wake-up call this week, not even he could have predicted the epic denouement that played out on Monday afternoon.Despite the offer of free entry, barely 300 punters turned up to watch the closing stages of the match, as Cardiff’s sporting faithful were plunged into despair both by the weather and by Swansea’s promotion to football’s Premier League, a feat that was achieved just as Sri Lanka’s collapse started to gather pace. Nevertheless, for Strauss and his men, context was irrelevant, as they geed themselves up for their own private grandstand finish, and quite literally caught their opponents cold on a day that, in Glamorgan’s pre-drainage days, would unquestionably have been a wash-out.”This will go down as one of the most extraordinary cricket matches any of us have ever played,” said Strauss afterwards. “This morning I was saying it has been one of the drabbest cricket matches I’ve ever played, and suddenly it’s changed around so quickly, and that’s a great credit to the guys this afternoon. We were very keen to press for a victory but we thought it was a long shot to achieve it, but right from ball one the two seamers set the tone and were backed up well in the field. Once we got the pressure on we managed to sniff out the victory pretty well.”England’s resolve in the field was remarkable, given the apparently futile match situation as well as the absence of James Anderson, who succumbed to a side strain on the second day of the game and will play no part in Friday’s second Test at Lord’s. In a performance reminiscent of their second innings in Adelaide, when Stuart Broad had been the attack’s absentee, the rest of the bowlers closed ranks superbly and allowed no let-up in intensity. Each of the team’s last five victories have now come by an innings, and Sri Lanka’s total of 82 is the fifth time in ten Tests that their opponents have been rolled for double-figures.”I was impressed by our intensity because it would have been easy to go through the motions,” said Strauss. “It’s a tricky time to bat, for 50-odd overs with nothing much to gain, and if you can get early wickets, then pressure starts to play a pretty big part. I was very impressed by our ruthlessness in Australia and this was a good example for me. The full pressure of Test match cricket comes to bear quite quickly. You need guys to stand up and get past that, and thankfully we were good enough to prevent any of their batsmen doing that.”The crucial incisions were made by Chris Tremlett, a bowler of whom it will never again be said lacks the heart to play at the highest level. From his five-wicket haul in his comeback innings in Perth, via his Ashes-clinching contributions at Melbourne and Sydney, and now through to his brutal burst of 4 for 40 in ten overs, he has forged a reputation as towering as his physique. None of Sri Lanka’s batsmen fancied his offerings one little bit, as the openers were extracted in the space of his first eight deliveries, before Mahela Jayawardene received a peach of an off-stump lifter that demanded a stride forward but burst off the edge to slip nonetheless. At 33 for 3 with more than 30 overs of daylight still in prospect, the game was England’s to grasp there and then.In Strauss’s opinion, however, it was the scalp of Kumar Sangakkara that truly confirmed the destiny of the match. Graeme Swann had always envisaged a role in the Sri Lankan second innings, partly to atone for his anonymous effort on this ground in the 2009 Ashes, and partly because the wicket kept getting slower and lower as the game wore on. Even he, however, might have considered a burst of 4 for 1 in ten balls to be excessive. Rangana Herath’s wild swing across the line was brainless, but by that stage Sangakkara had been beaten by a deliciously flighted tweaker that slipped off the edge to slip, and from that moment on, Sri Lanka were geared for surrender.”It’s very difficult to explain,” said Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s bewildered captain. “I can’t believe we got out in just 25 overs with such a good batting line-up like we have. We lost the match because we batted really badly today. It will be difficult to forget this Test match but we have to stick together as a team, do whatever we can outside of cricket to get together, and forget about everything.”Strauss, for his part, believed that the momentum for England’s victory had been generated by the decision to bat on in the afternoon session and allow Ian Bell to pick off the two runs he needed to record his 13th Test hundred. The landmark ate up 20 minutes of the day’s play, for the addition of five runs to the total, but the difference it made to the general mood within the dressing room proved critical on a day when, at one stage, there were no more than 39 people sat on the city side of the ground.

The crucial incisions were made by Chris Tremlett, a bowler of whom it will never again be said lacks the heart to play at the highest level. From his five-wicket haul in his comeback innings in Perth, via his Ashes-clinching contributions at Melbourne and Sydney, and now through to his brutal burst of 4 for 40 in ten overs, he has forged a reputation as towering as his physique.

“That was one of the big challenges for us, to create our own feeling of intensity,” said Strauss. “It was obviously a small crowd – and they got into it and all credit for doing so – but you can’t blame people for staying away given what the weather was doing this morning. But those sort of things are always a test for you as a side. It’s about how desperately you want to win. We really wanted it today, and we got what we deserved.”The thought did cross our mind whether we should declare and have extra few overs at Sri Lanka, but I think [batting on] was the right thing to do,” Strauss added. “Bell thoroughly deserved a hundred by the way he played yesterday, and it allowed us to go onto the field with a real good buzz, and sprightly feel, whereas if he hadn’t been allowed to do it things would have been more melancholy.”There was, of course, a memorable precedent for declaring on 98 not out, at Sydney in 1994-95, when Mike Atherton famously denied Graeme Hick his first – and only – century against Australia. Atherton subsequently conceded that had been the wrong decision, as England’s previously sparky performance gave way to a double-century stand between Mark Taylor and Michael Slater, and a draw where a victory might once have been.Players often play down the value of personal milestones, but on days such as these, when only a performance of absolute commitment could have turned the tables, Strauss’s call was utterly vindicated. Would Bell have been so sharp under the helmet to Thisara Perera had he been privately brooding about the one that got away?Had England failed to close out a game in which more than a day-and-a-half had been lost to the weather, there would have been few recriminations, especially after the potency of their batting. However, in the first Test since the scaling of their personal Everest in Australia back in January, it was a mighty impressive return to the base camp of their ambitions. “We’ll be very buoyant heading to Lord’s,” admitted Strauss. “But it’s all back to square one now.”

Shaun Marsh’s maiden first-class ton came in the company of Michael Hussey eight years ago in Newcastle, and, so far, he’s looked good to repeat the feat in Test cricket in Pallekele

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele09-Sep-2011Shaun Marsh first emerged as a batsman of interest when he stroked a century for Western Australia against New South Wales in 2003, an innings that moved Steve Waugh to declare the teenaged Marsh would play Test cricket. His partner at the crease that day? Michael Hussey.Eight years later and half a world away in Pallekele, Marsh and Hussey found themselves together again. The younger man had already battled for more than an hour when Hussey joined him, at the fall of captain Michael Clarke’s wicket. In doing so, Marsh had shown patience and fortitude not always evident over his journey from that January afternoon in Newcastle when Waugh had been so impressed. He started his innings a little earlier than expected, after Shane Watson kindly allowed Suranga Lakmal to pluck his off stump without offering a shot. There was some early movement in the air and, at the other end, Suraj Randiv delivered perhaps his best sustained burst of bowling in Test cricket.Marsh stood up to all this in a manner that supported the views of his backers – including his former and current state coaches, Tom Moody and Mickey Arthur – that he was entirely ready for the rigours of Test cricket. Marsh has a pristine technique, straight in defence and limber in attack. He left the ball decisively, essayed not a single aggressive shot outside off stump until well set, and played crisply in the ‘V’ between mid-on and mid-off. He played, in fact, in the determined manner of his father Geoff, who had less of Shaun’s obvious talent but stuck to the crease like a limpet in an era when top-order batting was far more hazardous to one’s health than it can ever be in 2011.Clarke’s loss to an inattentive drive outside off stump served as confirmation that Marsh’s more circumspect manner was the correct way to bat as Australia sought to push Sri Lanka out of the game. The arrival of Hussey at the crease would have strengthened that notion further. No one in this Australia team modulates his batting more effectively than Hussey at his best, as exemplified by 95 on the first day of the Galle Test when the pitch was at its least understood and arguably its most spiteful. He made a measured start, pushing for runs here and there with the occasional boundary, and exuded the sort of calm that Marsh had also demonstrated.Hussey had to notch up many more runs and centuries before he was granted the baggy green that Marsh has been given in Sri Lanka, and in his methodical and intense approach there have been plenty of lessons for any young batsman. Marsh spent many of his years since that first century for WA in a lazy fog with a place in the state squad. He spent too much time out on the town with another left-hander, Luke Pomersbach, and both were suspended from state duty in 2007. Moody’s call as coach to pull up the talented duo did more for Marsh than it did for Pomersbach, who has been unable to get back to the place of promise he first occupied.One advantage Marsh had over Pomersbach was the example of a Test batsman for a father, and the sense of responsibility was tangible when Marsh senior handed a first Test cap to Marsh junior. The words Geoff spoke in an emotional team huddle were to the effect of “you know what this cap means”, and, on the second day in Pallekele, Marsh batted with the gravity of a cricketer who knows his father is watching him. Cricket teams are known for their superstitions, one of them being that the team does not change its position in the viewing area once a sizeable innings or partnership is established. Geoff Marsh seemed to be following this dictum throughout the second day, sitting still in the same seat throughout play, willing his son towards what would be only his seventh first-class century.When Marsh passed 50 with a trio of boundaries in the one over from Seekkuge Prasanna’s leg breaks, he met the milestone with pride but also, seemingly, the feeling that the job was only half done. Up in the stands his father applauded and had a smile on his face, but remained seated – the standing ovation could wait another 50 runs.At the other end Hussey kept talking, motioning and batting, lifting his rate and building the partnership as Sri Lanka wilted, resorting to the bizarre choice of Kumar Sangakkara with the new ball. Based on what they had seen in the Twenty20s and the ODI series, the hosts could have taken the brightest view of Marsh, since he had struggled against the spinning ball and played with chanciness even in his one substantial innings, 70 in the fourth limited-overs match. But they had to respect the way Marsh fought, staying composed and forcing the bowlers to go after him, for he refused to chase anything too wide.Marsh went to tea on 83, and added only another four runs after the interval when the light faded enough for the umpires to take the players off. A sleepless night on 87 is not the most palatable of thoughts for an Australia batsman, even if it means a very successful Test debut has been made. In the myriad of thoughts that flash through his head overnight, Marsh might even remember that in addition to batting with Hussey, the manner in which he reached his maiden first-class century in Newcastle was pretty striking. He pinged a pair of sixes off the bowling of Mark Waugh and said later “the quicker the better, get my nerves out the way”. Dad might not approve.

Cricket and the English language were the twin loves of Peter Roebuck’s life, and in his hands they forged a fine partnership

Harsha Bhogle13-Nov-2011This piece was first published as the introduction to Roebuck’s autobiography, , 2004Roebuck: a forthright, rasping style that took getting used to•Getty ImagesPeter Roebuck is born to write about cricket in the manner Sachin Tendulkar is born to play it. The right grammar, style, substance, and the occasional rasping statement that takes your breath away. Peter wraps cricket in fine clothing; he lends the weight of words to the deeds that a Tendulkar performs.Indeed, I have long felt that the writer needs to look upon himself as a performer, in much the way the sportsman does. Peter does that. He will be the first to admit, though, that his barely legible scrawl did the words he meant to shape no credit at all! They deserved better, and when the impersonal typeface finally replaced the medieval shapes he created, it came almost as a relief.Peter once told me of the twin loves in his life – cricket and the English language. In his hands they forged a fine partnership, the equivalent of Greenidge and Haynes, Hayden and Langer. The relative timelessness of Test cricket, the sub-plots within the larger story, the personalities who seem to have enough time to pose for a writer, all create a game that demands the beauty of words and a writer to produce them. And yet the game suffers in its obsession with the end-of-day “quote”, a collection of words that have no feelings, coming from men who are far better at putting bat to ball. Peter bucks that trend and does so with a combination of defiance and beauty. He gives you a reason to read the newspaper even if you have watched the day’s play.I met Peter for the first time in a commentary box, though his forthright, rasping style took some time getting used to. I hope he doesn’t remember much of that first session of commentary in Brisbane in November 1991, for, unable to pick his accent immediately, I could offer only a slightly stupid grin to most things he was saying. As that summer wore on, and many more after that, I looked forward to the experience, because Peter always challenged you with his views. He made you think, and you worried about a sentence you had let go lightly.Peter the commentator is little known outside Australia. Sometimes one skill can overpower another (how many remember what an extraordinary fielder Viv Richards was?) but he brings a different air to broadcasting. Where Peter’s writing in the newspaper shows the love the English have for the language, in the commentary box he is Australian: direct, unafraid to be blunt and perfectly capable of saying in 10 words what his column the next day will take 100 words to dwell over. I like both facets to his personality, but there is a greater permanency to writing.

I don’t remember when I first sampled his works. By the time I went to Australia in 1991, Roebuck was already the king of the written word in my eyes. Like good home cooking, the precise moment of discovery is lost in a world of pleasure

I can see why Peter is more Australian than English now. Australians are rather more feisty, game for a difference of opinion, holders of strong, often intractable views, and yet perfectly capable of laughing over a drink at the end of it all. I suspect they secretly admire people with a contrary point of view. The English, on the other hand, a bit like the Indian , tend to pronounce judgement rather than debate it; occasionally the conversation will grow cold. With his strong views on the game, Peter took to Australia like the great white did to its coastal waters.I can’t imagine Peter in a jacket and tie amidst the establishment at Lords. If I had to paint him, it would be in a loose shirt, slightly dreamy eyes beneath the glasses, with his straw hat looking like it was nicked from a lampshade. He would be sitting in a corner of the press box, an occasional darting comment (“Why isn’t that Harbhajan going round the wicket?”) interrupting the words settling around his thoughts.But there is more to Peter than the mere magic of words, and that by itself is not to be trifled with. He understands the subcontinent better than most, has strong views on Zimbabwe and South Africa, and has an acute sense of history. You can see that in the metaphors that abound, the awareness of politics, the grasp of history.I don’t remember when I first heard his name or indeed sampled his works. It might have been the lone season Sunil Gavaskar played for Somerset, when suddenly I heard names like Denning, Rose, Roebuck and Slocombe. And by the time I went to Australia in 1991, Roebuck was already the king of the written word in my eyes. Like good home cooking, the precise moment of discovery is lost in a world of pleasure.By then I had decided I wanted to write like Peter: the keen observation mingling with the precise metaphor, and then the throwaway line delivered, like by an actor who knows he has the audience in his grip. I gave up pretty quickly – I might have been condemned to an unfulfilled life otherwise.An autobiography is a different genre of writing from, say, an expression of joy at another Gilchrist swashbuckler. Peter manages it with equal élan, and his grandmother emerges as much a heroine as some of the stars he writes about. Luckily for Peter he too has a long innings ahead of him; maybe he will want to laugh a lot more. After all he has even learnt to use a laptop!

Nasir Hossain has built his reputation as a finisher in domestic cricket. Less than a year into his international career, he is showing signs of how comfortable he is with that role

Siddarth Ravindran in Mirpur21-Mar-2012Even without looking at the scoreboard, it was easy to gauge the state of the game at the Shere Bangla from the din made by the home side’s passionate fans. When Mushfiqur Rahim was bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara, and Bangladesh plunged to 40 for 3, the utter silence made it hard to believe there were 25,000 people watching. A hat-trick of fours from Shakib Al Hasan off Suranga Lakmal soon after was all it took for the long-suffering Bangladesh supporters to find their voice and belief again.Once Shakib was trapped on the back foot by offspinner Sachithra Senanayake’s straighter one, the volume was back to mute. A distraught Shakib slowly dragged himself off the field, turning back several times to take a look at the replays of his dismissal on the giantscreen. By the time he reached the dressing room, the players had already had their refreshments and the drinks cart was all set to return to its place beyond the boundary.Before, that dismissal would have been enough to permanently silence them. Over the weekend, in an interview Bangladesh coach Stuart Law had said: “Shakib has carried Bangladesh for a long time. He has been the mainstay. A great bowler and a world-class allrounder, but he needs help. He can’t do it every time.”Help has arrived. Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim have been around, but the emergence of Rajshahi allrounder Nasir Hossain over the past year has added more steel to the lower-middle order. He has built his reputation as a finisher for Abahani Limited in domestic cricket, and less than a year into his international career, he is showing signs of how comfortable he is with that role. So much so, that a local journalist asked Shakib whether Nasir could become Bangladesh’s Michael Bevan.More of a busy player than a boundary-merchant, he relies on an ice-cool temperament to keep the pressure of the roaring crowd at bay and hustles between the wickets to keep the asking rate in check. When the big hit is needed, he favours going over midwicket.For the third time in the Asia Cup, he was called on with a chase at a critical juncture. He had faltered after taking Bangladesh close in the first game, getting some stick for a stroke perceived to be casual, but he has been spot-on in the two famous victories that followed. Even after Shakib’s dismissal, the required rate was not out of hand, and Nasir poked the ball around for the singles to negate the momentum Sri Lanka had from getting the big wickets of Tamim and Shakib.There was one could-have-gone-anywhere swipe which, luckily for him, flew over the keeper for four, and like so many other batsmen, he was troubled by Lasith Malinga’s toe-seekers, but there was generally little panic as he completed a historic Bangladesh victory.Shakib himself had been concerned whether Bangladesh could pull off a win after his exit. “When I went in after getting dismissed, Mushfiq bhai [Rahim] asked me what will happen,” Shakib said. “I said ‘I don’t know’. But after 10-15 runs, I knew that it would happen today. Nasir’s performance was vital, has been doing his job very well. Riyad bhai [Mahmudullah] was due for runs and he did so well.”Originally picked as an offspinning allrounder, Nasir made his debut at No. 8 against Zimbabwe, promptly showcasing his talent with a half-century after coming in with Bangladesh at 58 for 6. Another reviving 50 against West Indies a couple of months later was enough to earn him a promotion to No. 6 and his offspin became his secondary suit.His other asset has been his livewire fielding, providing a major boost to the Bangladesh bowlers, never more so than in the first hour of the tournament, with a series of dives to slow down the Pakistan openers. That complements an exuberant personality that the world got a glimpse of with his over-the-top celebration on getting his first one-day wicket, against West Indies in Chittagong last year.It is early days yet, and Nasir remains largely untested in overseas conditions, but indications are that Bangladesh have found another player who can keep the Shere Bangla buzzing even after some of the bigger names have exited.

India’s fourth-innings mettle will be tested again in Melbourne, while Michael Hussey showed he isn’t finished just yet

S Rajesh28-Dec-2011VVS Laxman, who was dismissed by Peter Siddle for 2, has scored only 113 runs in seven Test innings in Melbourne•Getty Images

• The highest fourth-innings total in a winning cause at the MCG is England’s 332 for 7, way back in 1928. However, all winning scores of more than 230 came before 1963. In the last 49 years, no team has chased down a 200-plus target to win a Test at this ground.
• Over the last four years, though, India have successfully chased 200-plus fourth-innings targets five times, and were a run away from another. However, none of them have been outside the subcontinent.
• Australia’s second-innings collapse once again highlighted the problems they’ve had with the bat in 2011: for the third time this year, they were four down for less than 50; ten times, they’ve been four down for under 150. Australia’s average partnership for the first four wickets this year has been 35.83. Only three teams – Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Bangladesh – have done worse.
• Michael Hussey’s unbeaten 79 is the highest score of the match, while Hussey is also the highest scorer for Australia in Tests in 2011, with 670 runs at 44.66.
• Ricky Ponting’s 60 is his 19th fifty-plus score in 32 Tests since the beginning of 2009, but only two of those have been converted into hundreds. Before 2009, he had 37 hundreds and 43 fifties.
• India’s batting was characterised by a terrible collapse too. At the fall of the third wicket, they had scored 214; when their ninth fell, they were 259, which means six partnerships, from the fourth to the ninth wickets, had added 45. That’s the lowest that these six wickets have added for India in almost 20 years. The last time they fared worse was also in Australia, on the tour in 1991-92, when they collapsed from 97 for 3 to 134 for 9 in Perth.
• The failures for VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni continued a couple of jinxes for them. Laxman has scored 113 runs in seven Test innings at the MCG, at an average of 16.14. At the other Australian venues, he averages 69.28. The venue for the next Test, the SCG, has been Laxman’s best, though: 481 runs in five innings at 96.20. For Dhoni, Test cricket anywhere over the last 18 months has been a problem: in 22 Tests since July 2010, he averages 29.84. In his previous 28 Tests, his average had been 50.64.
• Ben Hilfenhaus had taken four wickets in an innings four times in Tests before this game, but he managed a fifth wicket for the first time.
• R Ashwin has been pretty effective against the tail in this match, but he has struggled a bit against the top order. Against the last four batsmen in this match, Ashwin has figures of 3 for 22 from 68 balls; against the top seven, it’s 1 for 103 off 220. That would’ve looked slightly better, though, had Rahul Dravid taken the catch Hussey offered him at slip.

At the interval, Mumbai Indians were congratulating themselves for restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to a gettable score. When the game concluded, the clapping and high-fiving had changed hands

Siddhartha Talya at the Wankhede Stadium17-May-2012The sight of Harbhajan Singh clapping and giving high-fives summed up the satisfaction of a job well done. Mumbai Indians had performed admirably to keep Kolkata Knight Riders down to a gettable score, and their batsmen, for the bulk, had the form behind them to complete the task. But they were conquered by a determined bowling attack. In the limited time available during the innings break, some of the Knight Riders bowlers made full use of the practice wickets, tried to shed any rustiness, knowing there’d be little room for error when the chase began.Such was their excellence with the ball that the hosts’ batting was comprehensively outclassed, the memory of two consecutive bowling debacles was overcome and Knight Riders’ passage to the playoffs was all but ensured.Among those bowlers warming up during the break was L Balaji, who was to later admit the Wankhede track was one of the best on offer for seamers this season. The key to his early thrift was his late away movement that confounded Herschelle Gibbs multiple times, drew scattered applause from a sporting Mumbai crowd and contributed to a quiet opening that helped Knight Riders’ three specialist spinners – used for the first time together by the team this season – perform without too much pressure.Pace was Knight Riders’ weak link in their previous two defeats but Balaji and Jacques Kallis put up a redeeming display. Their return spells were just as crucial. Brought back to contain an enterprising Dinesh Karthik, Balaji may have been lucky in having him caught at fine leg. Likewise for Kallis, when he had Kieron Pollard caught-behind while hooking, but a slower bouncer was a worthy ploy against a batsman known for ruthlessness against length deliveries. Dwayne Smith’s first-ball duck next up put Knight Riders in complete control but a critical feature of Knight Riders’ success with the ball was the taming of the Mumbai Indians top order by spin.Shakib Al Hasan, replacing Marchant de Lange for this match, set the tone, though he and Sunil Narine, while achieving the same aim – stifling the Mumbai Indians batting – went about their work differently. While Shakib doesn’t turn the ball much, Narine imparts tremendous spin. Both vary their pace expertly, but Narine’s high trajectory, ability to turn it both ways and the batsman’s difficulty in deciphering him off the hand gives him that added advantage.Shakib took on the challenge first, opening the bowling, and was accurate. He didn’t give Gibbs any room, instead chased the batsman as he tried to make way to open up. While Gibbs fell playing across the line to Iqbal Abdulla after a frustrating outing, a quicker one from Shakib accounted for the in-form Ambati Rayudu in his second spell. He should have had Sachin Tendulkar, who was deceived by one that went with the arm first ball but Narine continued the mystery against the crowd favourite when he came on.Tendulkar faced just six balls from Narine, smacking him for four once but was beaten twice, the second time by a ball that turned from outside off towards leg, clipping his thigh and then taking out the off stump as he tried to cut. Tendulkar had settled in well by then, in the 11th over, but the required-rate too had crept up to above eight. The cautious opening – the Powerplay yielded just 26 for the loss of Gibbs – that gave the visitors an early heads-up was to invite criticism from Harbhajan during the presentation. The clapping and high-fiving had changed hands.

The international schedule demands that England rest their key performers or face a repeat of the Kevin Pietersen stand-off

George Dobell02-Jun-2012There is a certain irony in England debating whether to rest one player within a week of telling another he cannot rest as much as he would like. While it would be disingenuous to draw too many similarities between the cases of James Anderson and Kevin Pietersen, their scenarios do highlight a dilemma that looks sure to become a greater problem over the next year or two: the onerous international schedule.When England name their squad for the third Test at Edgbaston it seems likely that Anderson will be excluded. Stuart Broad may also be rested for the game.While their status as England’s two first-choice seamers remains unquestioned, the England management are keen not to over exert them in a series that is already won. They hope that by providing opportunities to the back-up seamers, Steven Finn and, perhaps, Graham Onions, they can not only keep Anderson and Broad for more important matches to come but provide some experience to the support bowlers should they be required to step up in the future.There is logic in that. While some will decry a perceived degradation in the value of Test cricket – also, with some logic – it is an inevitable sign of the times. There is no way England – or several other international teams – can get through the next 18-months without squad rotation. Those members of the squad who hope to play in all three formats of the game, can expect to spend less than two weeks (from December 24 to January 2) in England between late October and April. Even before that, they face a trip to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20. It is asking too much of the players and their wives. It is not sustainable.Anyone doubting the absurdity of the current fixture programme need only look at the scheduling of the ODI against Scotland on August 12. It comes just six days after the second Test against South Africa at Headingley and four days before the third Test at Lord’s. To make matters worse, it is also scheduled two days after a Lions fixture against Australia A in Manchester and two days before a Lions fixture against the same opposition in Birmingham. It is surely the person responsible for such scheduling who should be the one ‘retiring’ from the ECB.There is no way England can sustain such a fixture schedule at the same time as any pretence about the sanctity of international cricket. Something had to give and if it is resting a leading player or two from a Test in a sealed series against an opposition struggling for equilibrium, then so be it. That Anderson is not happy speaks volumes for his excellent temperament: it is good that he wants to play. But, just as he bounced back after being omitted from England’s side for the World T20 success in the Caribbean, so he will bounce back from this. He is not the one about which England should worry.

“There is no way England can sustain the current fixture schedule at the same time as any pretence about the sanctity of international cricket”

No, it is Pietersen’s future that is causing the headaches. Given the schedule and the way in which the ECB are keen to look after Anderson, it is not hard to understand why Pietersen wanted more time to rest. He was requesting, after all, only what England imposed on him a year ago by ‘resting’ him from the ODI series against India. Had the England management – too heavy on the stick and too sparing with the carrot – handled this situation better, he might simply have missed a few games this summer and resumed normal service over the winter. He might have continued to play ODI and T20I cricket. Or he might just have retired from ODIs. But, bearing in mind that England have a different captain for each format of the game, the ECB’s argument that the ODI and T20I squads are so closely linked that opting out of one limited-overs format should automatically rule a player out of the other, is fatally flawed.Perhaps Pietersen does not cut a particularly sympathetic figure. His decision – a decision that he would have been insane not to take – to participate in the IPL rather than resting will always rile some and, perhaps more pertinently, it is apparent that he has never developed the reservoir of loyalty and affection within the England set-up that others – the likes of Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood – did, to see him through the lean times. He has been tolerated, not embraced, for some time.But just because Pietersen is not wildly popular does not make him wrong. His needs are not so different from those of Anderson. Perhaps they are expressed differently, perhaps they are more personal, but they are not so different. Both are individuals who require careful handling and both could, with careful management, still have a huge role to play in the future of England’s Test and limited-overs teams. If the ECB continue to push the players too hard, however, the cracks will become more apparent.