The inconsistency of England’s quick bowlers didn’t please the bowling coach as they allowed Tillakaratne Dilshan to hit 193

Andrew Miller at Lord's05-Jun-2011As the drizzle closed in during the afternoon session, there was plenty opportunity for Sky to trawl their archives, and one match in particular seemed pertinent to this situation. At The Oval in August 1998, England looked to have their destiny under control when they posted a hefty 445 in their first innings. A hard-hitting opener had other ideas, however, and once Sanath Jayasuriya had finished battering a stunned attack all across South East London, Sri Lanka had secured a first-innings lead of 146, and a day and a half to turn the screw.At that point, however, the analogy starts to peter out. No matter how much of a lead Sri Lanka may yet secure in this Test, and despite their astute selection of five bowlers, they lack the mesmeric genius of an individual such as Muttiah Muralitharan, while England – regardless of the setbacks they’ve suffered in the past few days – are batting with a confidence that surely would not permit such a meltdown. Nevertheless, weather permitting, there’s still enough time for England to face an awkward Cardiff-style final day, especially if they continue to ship their runs at close to four an over.It’s been a long old while since England bowled this badly in a Test match. Even at Brisbane in the opening Test of the Ashes, the 307-run stand between Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin was mitigated by an intense discipline that stretched their partnership across the best part of 100 overs. And this time last year, when Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal appeared at times to have England’s number, their unwavering faith in “the right areas” eventually sealed four Test wins out of four. At no stage in either series did England’s line of attack waver to the extent they did today, a fact that David Saker, their bowling coach, conceded at the close of play.”Over the last 12 to 18 months we’ve set extremely high standards, and over the last two days we’ve been nothing like those standards,” said Saker. “For the first time, I’d probably say there are some technical issues there. I’ve never seen this team bowl so many balls down the leg-side, and Matty Prior had a hell of a hard job over the last two days wicketkeeping to that. That’s usually a sign bowlers are falling over and not jumping straight enough through the crease. We might have to address those [issues].”The performance of Steven Finn has made for particularly painful viewing, not least for the England management who had trusted his temperament and potential, and backed him in this match to recover from his axing in the Ashes. Instead of slotting straight back into the zone, he served up arguably the most wayward performance by an England youngster since Liam Plunkett bowled himself out of Test cricket at Old Trafford in 2007, before his best spell of the match was curtailed by the rain.”Finny did a lot of good work with Kevin Shine and Richard Johnson after the Ashes, and came back and was looking really good – so we had no hesitation putting him in the team,” said Saker. “We thought he would do a really good job, and I think he was pretty anxious to do that after the Ashes Tests. But he showed some really good rhythm in that last hour – so we walked off the ground feeling a little bit more buoyant.”As in Plunkett’s case, however, Finn was not alone in his struggles, because his senior partners also forgot their side of the bargain. Steve Harmison had a shocker in that contest against West Indies four years ago, and today it was Stuart Broad who fluffed his lines – and lengths – as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene clobbered him at close to five an over. Certainly there was none of the painstaking support that Broad had provided to James Anderson in that Gabba contest, when his 33 wicketless overs leaked just 72 runs all told.Anderson’s absence has been felt for so many reasons, but not for the ones that would have grabbed all the attention. His skiddier line of attack and movement both ways through the air and off the pitch might well have provided something else for Sri Lanka to think about, other than intermittent splice-rattlers from Chris Tremlett and his beanpole cohorts. But more importantly, his stump-to-stump discipline and control with the new ball are the factors that have really gone astray in this game.”What we usually have done is bowl well together, but we didn’t seem to do that, and that’s probably the most disappointing part,” said Saker. “We think we’ve got a really good crop of fast bowlers, not just here but back-up ready to slot in, but losing your leader with the ball is always going to be hard. Jimmy in particular has been outstanding. We expect him to bowl his first 16 overs for 30 runs, and that sets the scene for us to really attack with the other bowlers.”We’re hoping to get him back, but I don’t think we should be hiding behind Jimmy’s absence here,” he added. “We should be better than that. We set higher standards, and just to lose one player and bowl the way we did … I don’t think that’s excusable. The wicket was quite flat – we’ve scored 480 on it, so we knew it was going to be hard work. But we knew Dilshan was going to bat that way; we’ve seen enough of him to know that he can be a difficult man to get out and can take the game away from you really quickly.”Anderson has announced his readiness to return to action at the Rose Bowl, but between now and then England have two days in which to guard against further hiccups. There was a definite sign of improvement shortly before the weather closed in, as Tremlett squashed Dilshan’s thumb for the third time in the series before Finn followed up with a good-length ball to bowl him. But with their pride back intact after the horrors of Cardiff, Sri Lanka are unlikely to settle for anything less than a first-innings lead, especially with Jayawardene hunting his third century in as many trips to Lord’s.”We are a bit disappointed the rain has come here, otherwise there would definitely be a result in this match,” said Dilshan. “We need a result because we are already 1-0 down, and we came here to win, because there’s no point in coming for a draw. If it doesn’t rain, we [should] pass England’s score, bat one or two sessions tomorrow, get a lead of 100 to 150 runs, and put pressure on England’s batting.”It’s all a remarkable turnaround from the events of the start of the week in Cardiff, though Dilshan was proud to reiterate his faith in the players at his disposal. “You can’t say after 25 overs we are a bad batting line-up,” he said. “We have a lot of experience in Sanga, Mahela, Thilan [Samaraweera] and myself. Forget about everything that happened in Cardiff. We came here strong-minded and played our brand of cricket, and proved here we’re still strong enough to play good cricket. We’re really happy with the last two days.”Saker, understandably, was less chuffed, and admitted that the ease of the Cardiff win might have had some underlying effect on the attitude of his attack. “The danger for a cricketer is disrespecting the game,” he said. “When you have good days, you sometimes become lackadaisical. If you do that in this game, it has a habit of biting you on the bottom pretty quickly.”It’s more a sub-conscious thing,” he added. “When you’re bowling a side out for 80, you think it’s just going to happen again. Cricketers, and people in general sometimes, take things for granted. I don’t think we did that; I just thought our execution wasn’t as good as it has been, and the opposition played very well.”

Over the course of six weeks, and with their victory in the final, India busted a few old theories while proving several of their own ones right

Sharda Ugra at the Wankhede Stadium03-Apr-2011Just before the Indians left their Ahmedabad hotel for their first knock-out match of the 2011 World Cup, six men spoke to the team. They were players from the Class of 2003. Each of them told their team-mates his own story about what had happened at the Wanderers that day, about the mistakes of eight years ago that should not be repeated. They had tried too hard, they had been too eager, they had allowed the situation to overwhelm them. It was a cautionary tale. Their words were few, short, and plain and they gave the younger, newer, less-scarred group in front of them a simple instruction: not again.It is how India have performed at the tail end of the World Cup, looking at how their group stage had gone and saying “never again”. So that in the last fortnight of this World Cup, they could find a way to ensure that their early mistakes would not be repeated.It is often believed that finals somehow never turn out to be the events that are expected because the high stakes make athletes go cold and freeze up. Much is also said about what captain MS Dhoni called “peaking” in an event, which works more smoothly with individuals than it does with teams.On both counts the Indians came off at the Wankhede Stadium, like the fireworks that lit up the Mumbai night seconds after Dhoni’s bold signature six sealed their triumph. The final was the time when all the incomplete notes of India’s World Cup performance fell into sync.Gautam Gambhir, who had three fifties in the Cup but had not seized a game by its throat, produced his most convincing performance to lift India from the shock of losing their openers. He was central to two partnerships that took India from 31 for 2 to a six-wicket victory.Dhoni, whose top World Cup score up until the final had been 34, strode out and did not leave the field until victory had been achieved. Of course Yuvraj Singh, the Player of the Tournament and the Indian team’s totem through the early rough stages of the tournament, had to be with him at the other end. After defeat to South Africa in the group stages in Nagpur, India’s biggest stumble in the World Cup, Yuvraj had told a friend, “I have to take us to the World Cup final. Just you watch. I’m going to take them there.”There they were. Not a familiar India, dependent on their batting, but a more secure, self-assured India, batting as if chases in finals were like having a net, except with a crowd cheering them on. This was India in their most accomplished situational batting performance of the event, chasing down 274 with 99 singles, 24 twos and even a three. In every knock-out game, India have, through sheer consistency of method, exposed the weakness of their opposition. They made the most of Australia’s uneven bowling attack, defended against Pakistan by pressing hard in the field and forcing their batsmen to fumble, and stunned Sri Lanka by letting the weight and experience of their batting bear down, by taking the barest minimum of risks but making sure to always keep the score moving.India’s danger signs for the opposition in this World Cup lay not in their attacking openers or any flood of fours but in what their weakest links were able to do. When Indian fielders start diving, their batsmen start taking threes or sprinting surprising singles, or their most medium of pacers begin to repeatedly beat the edges and hurry batsmen, it is time for the opposition to worry. Or as the old says goes, to be afraid. In a World Cup knockout, that should have read be very afraid.After the game at the Wankhede, Dhoni said that the World Cup win had ended a chapter in Indian cricket that had opened with the World Twenty20 win of 2007. “Right now we can close the chapter. We need to build a team again. Because of the amount of cricket we play, we need quite a few reserve players to come in and bowl. We need spinners and batsmen to be at their best because if we want to do well at the international level, we will have to try out quite a few players and not think about the result.”Two weeks ago the audience would have guffawed. Now it must nod in agreement. Today it is perhaps wiser to give Dhoni and India’s theories the time to be tried out. After all, over the course of six weeks, with their victory, they have busted a few old ones and proved several of their own right.- That home teams are jinxed in the World Cup and chasing in finals is only a prelude to a meltdown. The Indians managed both at the Wankhede, setting the benchmark for World Cup final chases. If playing at home meant enduring the growing weight of public hope, it was also about enjoying the familiarity of conditions.Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were battle tested by the time India reached the final•AFP- That options exercised, whether in matches or training, can work if planned smartly. Dhoni said the Indians had known the group stages were going to contain “weak games” and they would need to keep their most seasoned players in prime condition going into the knockouts. “It was a big challenge, series by series we gave rest, or players opted for rest. And to be in a position where we were able to give 100% on the field, each individual throwing themselves around. They had a bit of reserve battery, which they applied throughout the tournament.”- That in a major event, covering the most trying of yards and being pushed to the edge is always more useful than coasting through to the final hurdle. In the final, Sri Lanka faced the heat for the first time in their World Cup and could not fall back into producing what their opponents know as their trademark move when defending a score: the mid-innings garotte. It begins with a few tight overs, the tap of runs suddenly shrinking to a trickle, moves onto a field closing in on the batsmen, and finally ends with one wicket and then another. On the contrary, the Indians had earlier survived several 31 for 2-like scenarios before. Had they lost Dhoni soon, the batsmen who followed – Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina knew how to resuscitate an innings because they had been there, done that. Yuvraj with Raina versus Australia, and Raina with the lower order against Pakistan.- That fielding can be lifted, no matter what vintage the players may belong to. All through the tournament Dhoni had constantly reminded outsiders that the Indians were not really good fielders, yet in the knockouts they stepped up a level with every game. No matter how clumsy or unpolished their techniques, the oldest and creakiest of the Indians were diving to stop boundaries.Had the India of the World Cup group stages, the India seen in Bangalore or Nagpur, been fielding at the Wankhede, the target could have touched 300, because the wicket had smoothed out towards the end of Sri Lanka’s innings. The dazzle of India’s batting is well known; the bowling, led by Zaheer Khan all through the tournament, had fought back to win territory in the early rounds, like they did against England.Where India were most astonishingly impressive during the knockouts was in cricket’s most “unselfish” art – in the field. All through the tournament Dhoni, who specialises in automobile analogies, had compared the Indian fielding to an old car engine trying to adjust to working with hybrid fuel. After the semi-final, he said that all he hoped for now was one more game. “After that, even if some of the cars fall down, it is okay.”Then there is this last theory: about India not really hacking it in recent ICC tournaments. Partly true. Not in the World Twenty20 after 2007, not in the Champions Trophy either. But in this one, the ICC’s biggest tournament, the Indians more than hacked it. When it came down to the rounds where both ability and nerve came into play, India became the team that refused to be beaten.

ESPNcricinfo’s Plays of the Day from the fifth day of the fourth Test between England and India at The Oval

Andrew Miller and Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval22-Aug-2011Moment of the day
When Sachin Tendulkar is at the crease and going strong, it can sometimes feel as though destiny is shaping his fortunes. In the final Test innings of the summer, with his 100th international hundred up for grabs, and a wave of good fortune clearing his path, The Oval was on standby for instant history. England’s failure to appeal for a stumping on 34 last night looked set to haunt them, as he was dropped by Cook at short leg and Prior behind the stumps, while also surviving two dicey lbws. But on 91, Tim Bresnan rapped his pads from wide of the crease, and after a dramatic pause, umpire Rod Tucker took a gutsy, some might say crazy, decision, and put up his finger. Replays showed that the ball would have grazed leg stump, so it could not have been overturned on reviewInnings of the day
As Anil Kumble will testify, The Oval is a good surface for legspinners … especially when they pick up a bat. Amit Mishra had a shocking time with the ball, returning figures of 0 for 170 which would surely have got worse had England not declared during the third-day rain break. But just as Kumble racked up his maiden Test hundred on this ground in 2007, so Mishra used the facilities to establish his unheralded second string. He provided doughty support to first Rahul Dravid in the first innings, and then Sachin Tendulkar in the second, as India gathered their composure and batted through to lunch without a wicket to raise the prospect of avoiding defeat. His 84 was a proper batsman’s knock.Duck of the day
Suresh Raina, on the other hand, has shrivelled as a batsman in the course of this series. His uncomplicated offspin has provided the sort of breakthroughs that Mishra’s failed to make, but the solidity of his second-innings 78 at Lord’s now belongs to another era. Today he prodded and poked his way to a 13-ball duck, having hung around for 29 balls without getting off the mark, meaning that his 42-ball pair slots in as the fourth-longest in Test history, behind Mike Whitney, Iain O’Brien and Manjural Islam. The end, when it came, was unlucky, as he was adjudged lbw despite an inside-edge. But all complaints about that should be directed to the BCCI. Besides, it never looked like making a difference.Drop of the day
Tendulkar was on 70. He was getting more confident by the minute. But Graeme Swann was threatening too, extracting extravagant turn from the fifth day surface and often beating the bat. In that mood he dipped one into Tendulkar, who propped forward to defend. The resultant bat-and-pad flew towards Cook at short leg. It was a regulation catch, but Cook was on the rise and slightly off balanced as the ball rushed into the inside of his right elbow, then into his chest before popping out. A desperate Cook, falling backwards, tried to hold on to the rebound, but failed. Swann was aghast. Andrew Strauss, at slip, turned back, holding his forehead, disappointed.

There’s been a lot of stroppiness in the England-India series. Both parties have been guilty of overdoing it

Sahil Dutta06-Aug-2011The England-India series has been quite an ill-tempered one. Not so on the field, of course, where things have been almost too good-natured, but off it. Among supporters, bloggers, Tweeters, and especially media pundits, the atmosphere has been positively fractious. Be it Michael Vaughan’s Vaseline nonsense, Ravi Shastri’s tantrum over “jealous” Englishmen or the endless to-ing and fro-ing on the volcanic social media landscape, if there is a special spirit of cricket, you won’t find it here.As much as anything, the combustive atmosphere is a response to history. In cricket India and England share a unique past that breeds a particularly tense relationship. The kind of hypersensitivity exemplified in the Shastri-Hussain saga was not on display during England’s recent games with Sri Lanka, for example. But in this series, the backdrop of cricket’s old off-field superpower taking on its new one has injected every remark with a deeper significance.When England’s MCC and later Test and County Cricket Board were the dominant voices in the game, their inflated sense of virtue was often at odds with their behaviour. Be it the resistance to boycotting apartheid South Africa or the haranguing of overseas umpires, England rarely acted as the responsible leader.Now, of course, the situation is not dissimilar, but it is India who are in charge. When an umpire offends them, as was the case with Steve Bucknor and Daryl Harper, the umpire is removed – one way or another. When a Test nation doesn’t impress them, as in Bangladesh’s case, they don’t tour.Nothing captures India’s power more than the IPL. Every cricket board in the world would love a domestic tournament as lucrative, and it is a sign of India’s recent economic prowess that no country can match the IPL. The English cricketing public, however, view it with intense suspicion, seeing little cricketing merit in the league and grumbling over its malign effects on the traditional game. It is from this context that Shastri’s outburst – and similar feelings expressed across the Twittersphere – emerged. If not jealousy, there did seem a certain indignation from sections of the English press that India could dominate both the most classical form of the game and the money-spinning newcomer.After two heavy defeats in the first two Tests, though, questions rightly arose over both India’s claim to be No. 1 and wider issues about how the game is run in the country. Internet comments are rarely forums for the most thoughtful debate but some of the response to that criticism has been incandescent. Charges of arrogance, conspiracy and ignorance are too readily applied to views India supporters find uncomfortable.”We Indians played the GENTLEMEN’S game in the right spirit,” raged one fan on ESPNcricinfo. “We did not check Ian Bell and Tim Bresnan’s bat for Vaseline or extra wood; we didn’t keep taunting English players like the way Jimmy Anderson was doing; None of our players’ father was a Match referee to get away with all the antics with umpires; and the most important one: WE DIDN’T BEG LIKE ANDY FLOWER AND ANDREW STRAUSS TO REVERSE THE DECISION… WE FOLLOW THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME AND THE MONEY FOLLOW US. Not the other way around.” It might not be fair to pick out a random example but the sentiments expressed are not unusual.Given its position at the top of the global game, holding the BCCI to account is essential to the sport’s health. It is why the revelations in the Mumbai Mirror that commentators like Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar, who are contracted to the BCCI, cannot say things “against the policy or interests of the board” give cause for concern. On issues like the DRS and scheduling, both of which have affected this series, questions must be asked of the Indian board. Similarly querying why, for all its expertise in generating cash, the BCCI’s record at grassroots redistribution is so sketchy, is necessary for the game’s development in the country.It’s worth acknowledging though that attacking the BCCI and its influence can be easily construed as a slight on the Indian team, and by association the Indian public itself. The media has a responsibility to ensure that does not happen. Back in April, for example, at the Wisden dinner debate in the Long Room at Lord’s, the question was clumsily posed: “Is India’s influence a threat to world cricket?” That could only ever fan flames of resentment.Awareness of context, history and culture, particularly from journalists outside of Asia, is needed. Vaughan’s attempted Vaseline banter showed none. The continued outrage in reaction has been tedious, and a little synthetic, truth be told, but we could have been spared the whole episode if Vaughan had thought a little beforehand.The new world order is hardly that new anymore. Cricket’s old establishment has adjusted to its subordinate position off the field, and is desperate to catch up on the field. Its fans and media, however, would do well to remember their chequered history. Supporters of the new power, on the other hand, should try to respect that India’s regal position will demand criticism. Cricket doesn’t really have a spirit as decreed from above, but the game would be served best if the battles were kept on the field.

ESPNCricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the first day in Mirpur

Abhishek Purohit17-Dec-2011The shock of the day
Bangladesh opener Nazimuddin chose to shoulder arms to an Aizaz Cheema delivery that, to his horror, nipped back in sharply to strike him high on the pad. Cheema turned around towards umpire Shavir Tarapore and started to shout but realizing that the height would probably save Nazimuddin, aborted his appeal. He instead grimaced in the manner of a bowler who knows how close he had come to getting the batsman out. To his visible surprise, umpire Tarapore raised his finger even as Nazimuddin and Tamim Iqbal, the non-striker, stared in disbelief. The Pakistan slip cordon, who had also resigned themselves to a not-out verdict, smiled broadly as they rushed towards Cheema.The acrobatic move of the day
Adnan Akmal is not far behind his more illustrious brother, Kamran, when it comes to creating a ruckus behind the stumps. There were several long-drawn screams today even when the bowler and the slip cordon were unmoved. As the day became more and more unproductive for Pakistan with the big stand between Shakib Al Hasan and Shahriar Nafees, Adnan resorted to another way to keep himself and the fielders entertained. He lay down on the ground, and in WWE fashion, sprang into the air to end up standing upright. He seemed pleased that he had managed to perform the move, with pads and gloves on.The blow of the day
Shakib not only defied Pakistan with his second Test century, he also caused some physical damage early in his innings. Abdur Rehman came on in the 24th over with Azhar Ali standing at forward short leg. With Rehman getting some turn straight away, Shakib decided that the best way to tackle him was to sweep. He connected off the middle of the bat on his first attempt. The ball flew straight into Azhar, who in the words of the commentator Ramiz Raja, tried to “make himself small”, but the ball smacked him so hard on the hand that he had to leave the field. The Mirpur crowd, who hadn’t had much to cheer in the morning session, applauded with gusto.The letdown of the day
Shakib and Nafees gave plenty of cheer to the crowd as they approached their centuries. Shakib brought the crowd to its feet when he moved from 89 to 100 in the 63rd over. In the next over, Nafees drove Saeed Ajmal to the extra cover boundary to move to 97. Given the recent troubles of their batsmen, two centuries in a day was more than the crowd would have hoped for and they started clapping as soon as Nafees was on strike again. But Umar Gul surprised him with a nasty bouncer that he could only glove to the wicketkeeper, and the crowd was shocked into silence.

ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between Australia and India in Sydney

Sidharth Monga at the SCG03-Jan-2012The misfield
In the fifth over of the innings, Virender Sehwag patted James Pattinson towards mid-off. Peter Siddle let it slide between his legs to the early bemusement of the crowd just settling in. The next ball would have rubbed it in further. With Dravid on strike, the delivery went for four.The virtual handshake
Sehwag and Dravid are not the best runners between the wickets. It was evident when Sehwag punched Ben Hilfenhaus to the right of point. The calling wasn’t clear, nor was the intent. The two just set off, then thought against it, then kept jogging. It seemed they even had a conversation in the middle of the pitch. Had David Warner, who dived to stop the ball, fielded it cleanly, we would have had a run-out.The interruption
Beach balls are a big part of watching cricket in Australia. And often they find their way onto the field of play. There were two such noticeable intrusions today. One when the substitute, Adam Zampa, an Under-19 New South Welshman, came on as a substitute. The ball had made its way in, he took the ball, but didn’t return it to the crowd, and was loudly booed. Later during the day, with MS Dhoni about to face, another ball made its way from around long-off rushing towards long-on. A volunteer jumped in, even as the fast bowler ran in to bowl, in a desperate attempt to keep the ball from making it to the sight screen. His valiant effort proved to be in vain.The overthrows
In the 38th over of the innings, Dhoni pushed to the left of mid-off for a single, but got four for his efforts. The shy at the stumps missed, and between mid-on, who was backing up, and the stumps stood umpire Ian Gould. Nobody remonstrated, though. You don’t, especially when there is no DRS.The drop
It was an image you don’t get to see often in cricket. A regulation edge to second slip, waist high, and Ricky Ponting dropped it. Commentary on ABC debated whether it was blasphemous to even say Ponting had dropped a catch. Sehwag, the beneficiary, added only seven to his 23, though.The haste
When Siddle got No. 11 Umesh Yadav to edge one behind, MS Dhoni and Yadav rushed back to the hut to prepare for their bowling innings. However, for the third such time in the day, Ian Gould went up to check if the wicket-taking delivery had been a no-ball. Like the previous two occasions, here too the front foot was fine, which meant Siddle had taken his 100th Test wicket. It would have been interesting had it actually been a no-ball. Dhoni and Yadav would have had to get their gear back on, and rush back. A case – albeit flaky one – could have been made that India had declared.

Somerset’s Nick Compton is an an old-school scrapper whose timeless virtues are paying dividends

Interview by George Dobell30-Apr-2012It is not, perhaps, so much the Compton name that should be capturing the imagination, but the Compton style. The emergence – or the re-emergence – of Nick Compton is relevant not because it evokes memories of his grandfather Denis but because it has shown the value of a style of play that was becoming endangered in the domestic game. In an age of disposable cricket, Nick Compton was built to last. In an age of bashers and dashers, Compton offers reliability. As Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, put it: “The way Compton plays forward-defensive and backward-defensive is as good as I have seen.” Bearing in mind Rose opened the batting for England with Geoff Boycott and captained Viv Richards at Somerset, that is high praise indeed.Compton’s qualities may sound prosaic, but they are as timeless as they are priceless. His judgement about which balls to leave outside off stump is excellent, his defence – off front and back foot – could keep out the rain, and his powers of concentration would shame a security camera. Whereas many contemporary batsmen look for the shortcut to success by trying to hit their way out of trouble – the get-rich-quick version of batting – Compton is content to wear the bowlers down, see the shine off the ball and wait.Those qualities, unfashionable though they may have become, remain as valuable as ever. At a time when the techniques of a generation of England batsmen have been exposed – both on the spin-friendly surfaces of Asia and the seam-friendly surfaces of England – Compton provides a timely reminder that there is another way. Bowler-friendly conditions tend to separate the wheat from the chaff, and while the majority have flashed and snicked, Compton has followed his 1000 runs last year – he was one of the first to the milestone – with over 700 already this year. If it wasn’t for his name, the comparisons would all be with Jonathan Trott and Jacques Kallis.The Kallis comparison pleases Compton. He refers to the South African as “the biggest influence of my life” and admits to spending hours in front of the mirror emulating Kallis. For all the self-deprecating talk, though, Compton has a pleasing drive and cuts and pulls unusually well. He is not, by Test standards, particularly strong off his legs, but so keen is his desire to play straight and avoid leg-before dismissals – a weakness in the past – that a few sacrifices have had to be made.Compton also has one significant advantage over most of his rivals for a Test spot: he can bat anywhere from one to six. He is currently batting No. 3 for Somerset, but has spent much of his career opening. He is pressing as much for Andrew Strauss’ position as Ravi Bopara’s.His mantra is simple. “I keep saying to myself, ‘Give these bowlers nothing,'” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Even after I reach my hundred, I say to myself, ‘Give these bowlers nothing.’ I don’t care what I look like, I just want to give them nothing.”That is not to say Compton cannot improvise. He scooped Brett Lee for six during the Champions League last year, and as he accelerated towards Somerset’s declaration at Trent Bridge, demonstrated a surprisingly large range of strokes and an ability change gears: his first century took 241 deliveries; his second just 81. But just because you have 50 shirts in the cupboard, doesn’t mean you have to wear them all at once, does it? For the majority of the time, Compton plays the percentages. He adores batting. He is greedy for runs. He puts a high price on his wicket. Those are good qualities for a Test batsman.There is, Compton says, “an unsung hero” in his story. Neil Burns, who kept wicket for Somerset among others, has been a mentor since 2005. The pair have spent many, many hours in the nets and talking about building “a package” that would turn Compton into a player of international class.”I was disillusioned when he got hold of me,” Compton said. “I had played a bit of first-team cricket and I was impatient for more. I remember him saying to me, ‘What have you actually done?’ It brought me back down to earth when I realised I hadn’t actually done anything. So we spent six months just working on my defence. It was the most uncomfortable six months of my life, but we built a new package, really, all based on the understanding that it doesn’t matter how good your cover drive or your pull is if you can’t stay out there. I wanted to play the one ball I faced with as much quality as I could to make sure I could play another ball. I scored 1300 runs that season.”I lost track of that a bit. Kevin Pietersen came on the scene and everyone wanted to bat like him. I tried to dominate, but that wasn’t my strength. My strength is to bat for long periods of time.”Compton’s call-up to the Lions squad is, as he put it, “a stop on the journey”. It is not the destination. “I have unfinished business for the rest of the year,” he said. “I’m on a journey and it is far from finished.”He has been here before. After six centuries in the 2006 season, he won selection on that winter’s A tour. He performed well, too, but with the realisation that an England place was tantalisingly close, he lost focus. Not helped by some clumsy handling by Middlesex, the next two seasons brought no centuries and just three scores over 50. Dropped from the first Middlesex side – what he calls a “crushing, devastating” experience – he ended up playing club cricket. It seemed his chance had gone.

“I’d love to play for England. I’d bite your arm off. But it’s also a distraction. The disappointment I experienced in the past was devastating and I don’t want to feel like that again”

“I put a huge amount of pressure on myself after coming back from a successful Lions tour and I really wanted to kick on,” he said. “Looking back, though, I was far too intense. I was trying to attain perfection, and I’m not sure that exists in cricket. I got into a downward spiral. I wanted it all too badly.”I’m not 21 now. I’ve played a bit. I’m focused on the immediacy of my career. I’m focused on fulfilling my role for Somerset as well as I can. You learn.”I’m a calmer person now and I’ve settled on a formula that works for me. If I get caught up in aesthetics it takes me down the wrong path.”I know this might very well be my last chance. Neil said, ‘You’ll get one chance at this.’ And of course I’m excited. I’d love to play for England. I’d bite your arm off. But it’s also a distraction. The disappointment I experienced in the past was devastating and I don’t want to feel like that again. Captaincy is something I’d like to do in the future. And winning the Championship is a huge aim for everyone at Somerset. But I need to focus on the next ball. Anything else is a distraction.”Leaving London and Lord’s – a ground where the Compton name appears on a stand and where he had a year remaining on his contract – at the end of 2009 was a brave move. But, as Compton said, “the ambitions of Middlesex didn’t match mine”. He was coaxed to Taunton first by Justin Langer, who liked the fight in him, and then by Rose, who saw in him a man who would complement Somerset’s array of strokemakers. He wanted Compton to occupy the crease and concentrate on batting for long periods of time. It is working, too: Compton has faced 1407 balls in first-class cricket this summer: no one else has faced more than 716. “I was a bit surprised by Mark Ramprakash’s comments about pitches,” Compton said. “He seemed to be saying that it makes batsmen want to have a go at the ball, but I’ve gone the other way with it. It’s made me more aware of technique and defence and doing the basics right.”I smile sometimes when I see people practise. They tend to practise attacking the ball. They practise in perfect conditions and they like to express their talent and hit the ball. But how much help is that when you play on a pitch where the ball nips around? And how many players in county cricket can bat for a day or a day and a half? There’s Cook, there’s Trott, but there aren’t many others. I enjoy taking on the responsibility to bat through the innings and provide the foundations for the rest of the team.”There are so many strokemakers down here. Brian Rose wanted me to provide the foundations for them to bat around and I’ve grown into it. I believe in foundations. I know that if I spend a lot of time at the crease, the runs will come. I feel I’m a strokemaker too, but that isn’t the role the team need me to fill.”Compton knows he will never emulate the success of his grandfather. But, if he completes 1000 runs before the end of May – thereby becoming the first man to achieve the feat since Graeme Hick in 1988 – he will have achieved something that Denis never managed.

Jonathan Trott, the ICC player of the year, talks about England’s ODI progress, being British, and the Test series against South Africa

Interview by George Dobell06-Jul-2012How has England’s ODI form improved so quickly?
We’ve been very clinical. In the past we, and a few other teams, have tried to mix and match, so we would have guys who batted and bowled a bit, but one of the bowlers might disappear or we might not score enough runs. Now we have five really good bowlers and the batsmen are scoring hundreds – we scored four in the series against Pakistan in the UAE – and we’ve pretty much carried on against Australia. So it sounds simple, but it’s really just about people doing their jobs. But part of it is just about winning. It makes it look as if we know what we’re doing – and I think we are going in the right direction – but you know, Australia haven’t lost the series yet: they could still come back.While most other teams utilise limited-overs specialists, the England side is increasingly similar to the Test team, isn’t it?
For us the introduction of two new balls has been okay. We just get on with it and do what we do best. We just bat. And you just have to look at this series to see why: you won’t get a tougher time to open the batting in an ODI than it was against Australia at Lord’s the other day. But we were 74 without loss. That opening partnership was fantastic. And it wasn’t so different in Southampton: the ball was nipping around early on, but we got through that and Ian Bell went on to score a magnificent century.It will help us in the sub-continent, too. The ball will never be more than 25 overs old, so it will stay nice and hard and we’ll have nice, quick outfields.So England are ahead of the game for the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2015 World Cup?
Maybe. These things are magnified when you’re winning. We have a very determined changing room led by a very determined coaching staff. The desire for success is huge. And I’m not doubting that we have a talented squad with some potential and the future is exciting. But let’s not get carried away. Things can turn around very quickly in cricket. Yes, we’ve won eight ODIs in a row, which is great, and we’ve won six successive ODI series at home, which is great, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to look too far ahead.Are you still improving as a limited-overs batsman? Are you aiming to improve your strike rate?
We don’t really concentrate on strike rate. Our job is more to ensure we go at the right tempo to give us the best chance of reaching the target we’ve been set or of the total we think is par. Sometimes we have to attack the new ball; other times we have to defend the new ball and attack at the back end. An important part of the job of the top three is weighing up what a good total is. And it’s important we have players like Eoin Morgan and Craig Kieswetter who can come in and give the innings a late boost. Morgan was unbelievably good at Lord’s. And, bearing in mind how much the pitch improved in the second half of the day, we did very well to win that game. Scoring 250 at The Oval was good, too: if you’d said ten years ago that England would chase down 250 to beat Australia, people would have thought you were mad.How do you react to the accusation that you can be a selfish batsman?
Selfish? Why?Look, there’s a balance between being responsible and not leaving it to the people after you to get the runs. Sometimes I might get that balance wrong. But no one thinks “I’ll bat for 20 overs and leave it to the rest of the team to bat the other 30”, do they? I’m aware that once you’re in, the runs can come quickly – you can score 60 or 70 runs in ten overs without taking many risks – but it can be much harder for a new batsman coming in. I always want to bat through, but it’s how you go about it and construct your innings.Was it a blessing in disguise that you were dropped from England T20 side?
I’m actually okay with how it is at the moment. If I get picked for England’s T20 side, then great, but I don’t think I will be, as I don’t get to play T20 anymore. But if there were three or four injuries and I was asked, then I’d give it a crack.

“I’d have a good month as a county cricket, but then I’d be thinking to myself, ‘Right, I have to kick on’, and I’d have a bad month. It was like I was running into a brick wall”

So you don’t worry about not playing in the IPL? You didn’t even enter the last auction.
Well, with the workload we have, why would I?Because the money on offer is fantastic.
And that’s a very valid reason. We all have to make money during the brief period we’re at the top of the game. But I’m pretty relaxed about it. I think with the availability we have, it’s pretty unlikely I’d have been bought, and I really needed that break.Your reputation as a T20 player isn’t as high as it might be. You set a record for the most runs in a domestic T20 season in 2009 but that seems to be forgotten.
Yeah, I knew that. Jimmy Adams of Hampshire broke it the next year, but he played 16 games. I played ten or 11.Look, being left out of England’s T20 side has worked quite well for me. Strike rate is important in T20 – of course it is – but the thing I look at is whether the team won. When I scored runs, the team tended to win. It’s the same way I look at ODIs and Tests: did I help the team win or not? If you look at my career – with England or Warwickshire – the team have tended to win when I’ve done well.Ashley Giles has had a huge impact on your career, hasn’t he?
Massive, yes. Mainly from when he became Warwickshire coach. I had a stinker in county cricket in 2007 and we were relegated in both competitions. Gilo took over at Warwickshire, we sat down and he gave me some advice. He basically said that he had experienced success and failure in his career and he thought I was going about my cricket in the wrong way. We had a chat and came up with a new plan about how to tackle things.Then I went on holiday to San Francisco and I got a text from Guy Jackson, who was the manager of the Lions team at the time. It said I’d been selected to go to India for six weeks. I sent a text back asking if he’d got the right person. I thought they had the wrong number. I had no idea why they’d selected me. I’d just had a horrendous season. But it was the perfect time for me. I had the chance to start again. It was brilliant. I had this new focus instilled by Gilo, and if you really want to get away from things and concentrate on cricket, there is nowhere better than India. I wasn’t exactly a new person, but I was approaching my cricket and the way I saw success differently. I trained with more attention to detail and threw myself into it. That was the start of everything, really.Is it fair to say that his advice was about being more process- than results-driven and about focusing more on team success than individual success?
Yeah. I always felt I had the talent but that I didn’t know how to harness it. I’d have a good month as a county cricket, but then I’d be thinking to myself, “Right, I have to kick on” and I’d have a bad month. It was like I was running into a brick wall.So by focusing on the processes, you take the pressure off the end results. You do everything you can to give yourself the best chance of success, but you accept that it won’t always happen. Sometimes when you’re in great form, you nick one, and when you’re not, you can miss it and you live on. That can drive you crazy if you let it. So you train hard and do everything right and let the results look after themselves a bit.You talk about putting the team first: I was actually putting myself under too much pressure. I was trying to take all the responsibility myself.Do you recall a game against Northants at the start of 2008, when you finished unbeaten on 60? Giles was furious…
I remember that really well. We scored about 290 in a 50-over game and lost. They smashed us. Gilo kicked off and we had a real argument. It was a good lesson. I thought I was going about it in the right way, but looking back now, I can see I had it completely wrong. I should have kicked on much earlier. I didn’t judge it right, but actually it was because I was taking on too much responsibility for the team. I thought I was the one who had to score the runs and that it would be a bit of a disaster if I was out. That game was all part of the learning curve.At Newlands in 2010. “I don’t think the South Africa team see me as a target any more than anyone else”•Getty ImagesWhen you see Eoin Morgan bat, are you tempted to emulate any of the things he does?

Not really. You can learn new tricks, but I’m a pretty orthodox player and he’s a pretty unorthodox player. He plays shots than no one else can. As a team, it’s important to have a mix of players, but I’m not sure I would be playing to my strengths if I tried to be something I’m not. It would be to the detriment of me and the team.Does the prospect of a series against South Africa put you under more pressure?

I feel less pressure. It’s going to be more focused on the outcome, not individual battles – there won’t be so much emphasis on personal success or failure.The way some people make play of your South African background is pretty tedious, isn’t it?
Oh, yes. It’s overplayed, for sure. I don’t think they – the South Africa team – see me as a target any more than anyone else. I don’t get any more sledging from them on the pitch than anyone else. It’s fine.Some spectators go on about it. You should hear the comments when I’m fielding. I guess they’re trying to be funny, or clever. They’re not either of those things. But basically it’s fine. Jacques Kallis will be asked about why he didn’t do well here on his last tour as much as I’ll be asked about my last tour there.Some feel they got to you at the end of the last tour of South Africa…
There was a whole lot of rubbish written about that. People tried to read more into things because I was born in South Africa. Basically I had one bad Test at the end of a long tour. But it made a more juicy story to say they had got to me or to try to link the fact that I was born in South Africa. Three batsmen had lower averages than me in that series, so how would that make sense? It was the end of a long tour and I had one poor game against a very good attack on a difficult pitch. No more and no less.I know there was some rubbish spoken about me celebrating with the South Africa team when they were last here, but it never happened. I don’t know where that came from.This series is being billed as particularly important. But when it’s finished, we’ll all say the same about the India tour and then the same about the Ashes. How do you see it?
Every single series is tough. Bangladesh in Bangladesh is tough. It would be silly to prioritise anything. The thought of challenging myself against the South Africa attack is brilliant. So is the thought of playing Australia and going to India. Playing international cricket is brilliant and tough at the same time. You’d be foolish to think that any series was going to be any easier or any less important.Leaving South Africa must have been a tough decision. You were part of the system there and seemed destined to take your place in their international side.
It just felt right to come to England. It was one of those lucky times when all sorts of different things fell into place. It wasn’t really about playing county cricket; it was about trying to become the best cricketer I could be. I’d played three years of first-class cricket in South Africa and I just felt I wasn’t developing the way I wanted. I didn’t think I was giving myself the best chance to be the best cricketer I could be.Why?
I was too comfortable. I was living every boy’s dream – living in Cape Town and playing for Western Province – but there were lots of distractions. We’d go to the beach at the end of practice every day. Here in England there was more emphasis on cricket.

“I feel completely British. I went back to South Africa for my brother’s wedding in April last year and I didn’t enjoy it at all in Cape Town”

Bob Woolmer and Neil Carter played a part in bringing you to Edgbaston, didn’t they?
Yes, more so Bob. He knew about my UK passport from when I was about 15 and in the early 2000s he said, “Come and play county cricket.” I knew him from Cape Town because, even when he was national coach, he would come into the townships and run coaching sessions. I ran some of those alongside him. Weird, really: the coaches were Bob Woolmer, Daryll Cullinan and me. And I was 15. Kids used to be gutted when they were allocated me!So yes, you’re right: when you play South Africa Under-15 and South Africa Under-19, which I did for two years, you are seen as part of the system. You’re in the line, waiting to play for the national team. But Eric Simons, who was Western Province coach at the time, said, “As your coach I have to advise you to stay, but as a father figure, I’d say go to England as you’re going to develop more there.”What do you say to those people who call you a mercenary?

I’d say, “Do they see me putting my pounds in a South African bank account?” And the answer is no. And do they see me buying property outside England? Or planning on a future elsewhere? No. I’m thinking about which school my daughter is going to go to here.It’s quite evident when someone is a mercenary. People can sniff it from a mile away. Of course you get people who come here for a short time and then go back – people like Jacques Rudolph and Vaughn van Jaarsveld – who come here for a little while and then head back. And that’s fine. People have to earn a living. But it’s not what I’ve done.English cricketers are very proud of their counties and of the county cricket they’ve come through. None more so than me. I’m very proud of coming through the Warwickshire system. I see myself as a Warwickshire player and I have an awful lot to thank the club for. I’m privileged and proud of the upbringing I had in South Africa, but the biggest strides I made were at Warwickshire.Do you feel British, South African or do you feel like a dual national?
I feel completely British. I went back to South Africa for my brother’s wedding in April last year and I didn’t enjoy it at all in Cape Town.Surely you prefer the climate in South Africa?
No, I don’t mind the rain. You get some good days here. Let me tell you: when the sun shines, there is no better country in the world than England. You can have the mountains and the oceans, but May and June in England are perfect. There’s nowhere better. Every time I’ve been back to Cape Town – for weddings, a holiday or whatever – I’ve always moved my flight so I can go home earlier. It’s nothing to do with crime or political reasons. I just didn’t enjoy being away from home. And home is Birmingham.Is the length of the tours a problem for you?
Not really. You have to find a way to cope. But that is why that South African tour became so tough. Those last two Tests were extremely difficult. To go on a first tour to South Africa and peak for ten weeks – which I almost did – is pretty tough. People forget I did well in the limited-overs games or that I played well in the first couple of Tests. I reckon I peaked for about eight weeks, which isn’t so bad. But then I went on the Ashes and I peaked for a lot longer, so you get used to it. Then, this winter, we went to the UAE and then to Sri Lanka. I was doing well at the back end of the tour. These things are a learning curve.Why don’t you field in the slips anymore? In your first full season in England, in 2004, you were very good there.
Yeah, I was. But I’ve gone the other way now. I think about hitting the stumps and catching high balls. Slip fielding is a specialist position and you become comfortable in a place. It’s a question of practise.Which do you think was your best Test century?
That’s hard. They are all so different. There were tough periods in all of them. The Pakistan one at Lord’s was pretty good. That’s probably my best. Asif and Amir were special bowlers and they were bowling really well. Melbourne was good. If we had won in Sri Lanka, that would have been right up there too. I’ve scored seven Test hundreds and I think we’ve won five of those games. That always makes it more special.Jonathan Trott will be in attendance at the T20 game at Edgbaston on July 8 to help raise money for Cure Leukaemia through the JustTextGiving service by Vodafone. Trott will take part in an on-pitch q&a session with radio DJ Russ Morris, and spectators will be in with a chance of winning one of six children’s places on his batting academy, run by Trott himself, and a signed kit. To help raise money for Cure Leukaemia, simply text CURE05 £3 to 70070. Click here for more information.

Yuvraj Singh once said he wished he had Virat Kohli’s work ethic when he was young and watching Kohli in practice shows why.

Abhishek Purohit in Kandy02-Aug-2012It is easy to talk about Virat Kohli’s attitude. He is young, successful and from Delhi, a city where brash is known to go with the former two attributes. He has everything a regular 23-year old would only dream of. He is India vice-captain, a World Cup winner, an IPL star and currently in the form of his life. And he makes sure you know all that the way he swaggers around with what can only be termed as the Don’t-touch-me-I’m-Virat look. All of this is easily seen and easily spoken about. What is not seen much, largely due to Kohli’s outward manifestations, is the way the man goes about his game. Yuvraj Singh has said he wished he had Kohli’s work ethic when he was young, and you can see during practice what made Yuvraj say that.If Gautam Gambhir’s eyes drip intensity and Rahul Dravid’s stance shows his determination, Kohli’s entire being exudes a rarely seen combination of precision and passion during practice.Kohli’s precision is not the mere cold calculation of doing exactly what is required to be done; it seems so natural it’s almost surreal. He bats with precision, he takes catches with precision, he does fitness drills with precision, he even gives throwdowns to team-mates with precision. And appears completely natural all the time.Kohli’s passion is not the uncontrollable childlike enthusiasm of a youngster. He will take several blinders at point during training and go down with a contorted face full of disappointment if he misses even one. There are many in this side who would not even go for such catches in the first place. Kohli gives the impression he wants to be here, doing what he is doing, playing cricket for India.He starts by thumping the spinners in the nets. There are a couple of local net bowlers and the three specialist India spinners – R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma. Kohli hardly differentiates between them. He charges out and carts them over the boundary. He lofts them into the stands. He crashes them off the back foot. Even from a distance of tens of metres, the sight is brutal. Not in the display of power, as MS Dhoni shows later, but in the relentlessness of it.He moves on to taking high catches on the boundary. He takes them all. He leaps and takes them inches from the rope. He runs several yards in front to take them. He drops none. At no point does he appear to be straining himself. Is this man for real?Now he takes those sharp ones at point. Virender Sehwag joins in for a few minutes, then walks away. Kohli continues to throw himself around. He goes with both hands, he goes with one hand. Suddenly, he drops one. And goes down as is he’s dropped it in a World Cup final. Say what you will about the man’s behaviour, but surely he can’t be overdoing this reaction.He now takes over the duty of hitting those high catches to his team-mates. And does it with gusto. Dhoni, who is among those taking the catches, asks for one close to the rope. The next ball promptly arrives where the captain wants it.You would think at least now he would show some sign, one sign, of being tired. But wait. Gambhir wants to practice some back-foot punches. Who to give him throwdowns but his young Delhi team-mate? Kohli keeps banging them earnestly into the pitch and Gambhir keeps punching them sweetly till he is satisfied with the stroke.Ah, he is done, finally. Surely, now he will show that he is tired. At least a deep breath? Not coming. The swagger is back in place as Kohli walks to the dressing room. He even poses for some photographs with a group of Sri Lankan fans. Did he smile broadly at the camera? Of course not. He’s Virat.

It’s less than six degrees of separation when you tour the Caribbean

Subash Jayaraman06-Aug-2012July 24
As far as beginnings go, the trip to the Caribbean isn’t the smoothest. First, I have to cancel my flight from New York to Antigua when I am informed late that I need a visa. After running around midtown Manhattan for a few hours on a Monday morning, putting together the visa documents, thanks to helpful folks at the Antigua consulate, I am finally on my way – only, this time via Boston, San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Beef Island (British Virgin Islands). A four-hour trip has turned into a day and a half.On the way from the VC Bird International Airport to the Sir Vivian Richards Ground, there are no signs that a Test will be underway in a matter of hours. A giant billboard of Sir Viv close to the stadium is faded. I see the New Zealanders having nets, and then run back and forth from the media centre to the WICB office to get my media pass.July 26
On the morning of day two, when I take the elevator to get to the press box, an Antiguan kid – no more than seven – rides with me. He must be related to someone in there, I think. I ask him who he thinks will win the Test. “New Zealand,” he says with conviction. Taken aback, I ask why. “You see how well the New Zealanders apply themselves. The West Indians don’t seem to be doing so.”July 27
A West Indies v New Zealand Test doesn’t register high on anybody’s interest scale. There aren’t more than a few hundred fans in the ground on any day of the match. There aren’t a lot of media personnel covering it either. Not even with Chris Gayle coming back and the prospect of seeing Sunil Narine in home conditions. “Oh, there is a carnival in Antigua, and so the fans aren’t gonna come.” “New Zealand media is more focused on the Olympics.” I don’t buy the reasons. There is a deeper malaise arising from neglect of cricket.July 29
While taking notes during the match, I hear the unmistakable deep voice booming from the back of the press box. I don’t have to turn around to know it is Curtly Ambrose’s. He looks as if he can still take a five-for. I happen to be walking alongside to the post-match presentation. He looks at the track, shakes his head in disbelief, and says: “You could play another Test on this pitch.”July 31
In the West Indies you always seem to be running into someone who knows someone or is related to someone important. The lady who owns a little grocery down the road from where I am staying in Antigua, Claire, is the niece of Ralston Otto, who is a cousin of Ambrose. The bed and breakfast I stay in in Jamaica is run by the daughter of Hartley Neita, who was a well-known journalist and later a press secretary to a few Jamaican prime ministers. The daughter is the cousin of Jimmy Adams.August 1
It is the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence from Britain. The celebrations are in full swing and almost every car has a Jamaica flag fluttering on it. The success of Jamaica in international athletics has given its people a lot of pride and reasons to drape themselves in the national colours. Independence Day is August 6, the last day of the Test match, a national holiday. That should bring quite a few fans into the ground over the long weekend, but no one is sure.August 2
Sabina Park has a bit of an anachronistic feel to it, but it is still quite imposing, as if the ghosts of past West Indian glory still haunt it. A giant white cloth is stretched over the seats at one end to act as a sight screen, while at the other, an entire wall is painted white. As you gaze out from the media box, sitting in not the most comfortable plastic chairs, the view is breathtaking. Against a bright blue backdrop, you see the Norman Manley airport in the distance, with planes coming in to land, the Caribbean Sea, oil tankers, and the cricket. Think to myself: “Life’s good.”August 2
I take a seat in the media box, next to the one reserved for an HG “Dellmar” Samuels. Dellmar, a crusty old man named after George Headley (HG stands for Headley George), is a freelance photographer who has covered West Indies cricket for more than 30 years. He shows me a self-produced photo book of the World Cups from 1975 to 2003. I flip through the pages that capture nearly all the important moments and ask him why there isn’t much on the 1983 final, where India beat West Indies. “Hey maan, why ya joggin’ mah brain?” he replies.Locals and tourists by the sea at Montego Bay, Jamaica•AFPAugust 3
Taxis in Jamaica don’t have meters. So before you get in, especially for a long-distance ride, fix a price. Having grown up in India, the art of haggling comes easy to me. From time to time, I’ll let the cabbie tell me how much it will be for a particular distance. Usually he’ll quote three times the actual fare. But once I tell them I have done this before, they let me set the price.August 4
The Test match is hurtling towards a quick finish. Disciplined bowling and a slightly challenging pitch are exposing fragile batting line-ups. I decide to spend 30 minutes in the camera gantry right below the TV commentary box to take in the view. One of the cameramen, Hari from Bangalore, lets me put on the headphones and listen in on the TV commentary as well as the producer’s calls. It’s a crazy jumble of numbers, letters and colours. “Come in, come in, three, three, five, five, cut to yellow, Hawk-Eye, black, white, seven, seven, five, five.” Hari tells me what the calls mean.New Zealand’s second innings ends. Ian Bishop and Jeff Dujon show up for the highlights show, but Bishop seems distracted by the women’s 100m final at the Olympics coming up and keeps sneaking looks at the giant screen.August 5
Change of plans. With tropical storm Ernesto – which is expected to strengthen to a hurricane as it feeds off the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea – threatening Jamaica, I rejig my plans to leave by the earliest flight. Weather websites and headlines like “Ernesto: Jamaica next in line” don’t inspire much confidence. Choose to get out ahead of the storm instead of waiting for it to pass and be stuck with a possible airport shut-down.