The Reverse Sweep

Rohit Sharma: The Artist formerly known as Nohit

But for naivety and the compusure of last wicket pair Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, West Indies would have accomplished in one game what England couldn't manage in five by beating the World Champions in their own backyard.

The catalyst for India's triumph was the increasingly impressive Rohit Sharma, who skilfully anchored what had appeared to be a forlorn chase with 72 before he fell with just 11 runs required.

For a while it seemed that Sharma, famously dubbed Nohit by his detractors, was going to be a talent unfulfilled. A lack of consistency, a seeming love of the celebrity afforded by the IPL and perhaps a touch too much arrogance all contributed to the man who Shane Warne described as having "all the talent in the world" to be left on the fringes of the Indian side.

But a pair of hundreds in an obscure one-day tournament in Zimbabwe in 2010 hinted that there was some substance to go with the style and his first-class average of 63 tells you that there is talent in abundance. 

Although he missed out on the World Cup squad, his curve has continued to go upwards since thanks to a strong performance in the Caribbean in June and perhaps a defining knock yesterday.

He is in the Test squad for the tour to Australia and along with Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane forms a quartet of immensely promising young Indian batsmen. 

It seems that the man Bored Cricket once amusingly called The Artist formerly known as Nohit, has a chance of becoming a Prince amongst batsmen.

Where next?

India have found some bowlers

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Heroes: VVS Laxman

Zeroes: Vinod Kambli

The best Indian test XI of the last 30 years

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Thilan Samaraweera's raw deal

Who do you think has the best Test average of those that have played at least three matches since New Years Day 2008?

Perhaps surprisingly, it is not Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla or even Jonathan Trott. No, the man who heads the table is that most underrated of cricketers - Thilan Samaraweera.

Samaraweera has scored 2,561 runs in 28 Tests during this period with seven hundreds and an average of 69.21 - only Younis Khan and AB De Villiers average over 60 during the same time.

But this excellent record didn't prevent Samaraweera from being dropped by Sri Lanka after the home series defeat by Australia in August.

Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors, has stated that Samaraweera, who is 35, would not figure in the long-term plans of the selectors who intended to give more opportunities to youngsters.

That is all very laudable, but Sri Lanka can ill-afford to leave someone of Samaraweera's quality, experience and recent record out of the side at the moment. Indeed, there is a sense that they are a side in freefall with no bowler to speak of (Lasith Malinga apart, and he doesn't play Test cricket).

Samaraweera has been belatedly called up to the squad for the daunting looking trip to South Africa, where to be frank one fears for Sri Lanka's ability to make the Test series competitive.

It was ridiculously harsh to drop him and we have no doubt that Sri Lanka will need him over the next few weeks as they rely on Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Samaraweera to keep the effervescent Dale Steyn from running through their batting.

Where next?

Sri Lanka know what they had and they know that it has gone

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story of cricket in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan

The ten most poignant cricket memories of 2009

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Responsibility and Misbah-ul-Haq

 
Responsibility. Some thrive on it, others crumble under its weight.

Being made captain of an international cricket side is certainly a responsible position. Being made captain of Pakistan in the wake of the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal that had consumed the previous skipper Salman Butt had even more responsibility attached to it.

Such was the burden placed on Misbah-ul-Haq’s shoulders.

Pakistan could easily have imploded. But it didn’t and Misbah must take a lot of credit for that.

At the Reverse Sweep, we find it absurd that Misbah attracts so much criticism from Pakistan cricket followers on blogs and Twitter.

His captaincy may be defensive and over-cautious at times, but Misbah has proved to be the steady pair of hands that the good ship Pakistan needed to prevent it from sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Since taking over the captaincy, Pakistan have drawn against South Africa, won in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, drawn in the Caribbean and have just beaten Sri Lanka in Test, ODI and T20 series' in the UAE.

When you consider that this has been achieved without the disgraced Lord’s trio and for the most part their two premier batsmen in Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, it is a pretty impressive record.

Misbah’s batting has been like his captaincy: cautious, steady and unspectacular; yet remarkably effective and consistent. His Test scores have been as follows: 9, 76*, 77, 58*, 62, 99, 70*, 2, 52, 25, 102* 66, 6*, 46, 41, 89 and 9 not out. 889 runs at an average of 80.81 and a fairly sedate strike rate of 42.

As we said at the start, some thrive on responsibility. Thankfully for Pakistan, Misbah-ul-Haq is one of those people.

Where next?

Historic India-Pakistan summit flounders due to cricket diplomacy

Revealed: New Pakistan Player Code of Conduct

Cricket Zeroes: Salman Butt

Mohammad Aamer: the waste of an irrepressible talent

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan

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India have found some bowlers

As India stumbled from heavy defeat to even heavier defeat during a traumatic summer in England one thing seemed very clear: the bowling cupboard was emptier than the contents of Wayne Rooney's head.

With Zaheer Khan injured, Harbhajan way past his best and Ishant Sharma even more inconsistent than usual, it was left to the wholehearted but lacking in pace Praveen Kumar to lead the attack. 

But after three Tests against an improving but brittle West Indies despair has turned into optimism as suddenly the cupboard is filling up faster than the supermarket shelves at Waitrose ahead of Christmas.

Harbhajan has finally been put out to pasture and Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha collected 42 wickets at 23 between them in the three Tests against the boys from the Caribbean.

They've also discovered that rariry of rarities in a country of over a billion souls - not one but two promising fast bowlers. The emergence of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron means that the likes of Sreesanth and Munaf Patel will be able to concentrate on the IPL and that RP Singh can return to the beach from whence he was summoned during the English expedition.

With Praveen returning from a well-earned rest, Zaheer (hopefully) from injury and Ishant fired up by the prospect of finishing Ricky Ponting's Test career, India suddenly look a different proposition.

The series against a transitional Australia under its new regime looks a thrilling prospect.

Where next?

Mumbai's thrilling final ball draw shows the true value of Test cricket

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Mumbai's thrilling final ball draw shows the true value of Test cricket

Just as in Adelaide in 2006, the first four days of the 3rd Test between India and West Indies had been pretty soporific.

Other than the pleasure of seeing Darren Bravo once again confirming his immense promise, the drama within a drama that was Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94 and the all-round display of Ravichandran Ashwin, the Wankhede Test had not been a good advert for the longest form of the game.

But the inherent brilliance of Test cricket is that in the space of a few minutes it can transform from execrable to exhilirating and   and that is exactly what happened on day five in Mumbai.

Through a mixture of poor shot selection, lack of belief and general naivety as well as some good bowling by Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, the West Indies disintegrated in their 2nd innings for the second time in this series when they had led on 1st innings.

Strangely enough a batting collapse of their own was the only conceivable way that West Indies could win this Test, and they nearly did despite India ranging from odds-on to slight favourites throughout their chase of 243 in what turned out to be 64 overs.

Every time India looked home and dry they lost a wicket, so that with two balls of the match left all four results were possible. Eventually the game ended with the scores level and India nine wickets down - only the second time in Test history there had been a draw with the sides level.

So just as at Adelaide in 2006 or Cardiff earlier this year, a game that had looked to be meandering to a turgid draw exploded to life into a thrilling last day contest.

Test cricket really is the purest, most challenging, thrilling and ultimate form of the game. Forget Twenty 20 and 50 0ver cricket, it's Test cricket for us every time.

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Do you want to help save Test cricket? @TestingTimesXI

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Cricket heroes: Darren Sammy

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Like we guess pretty much every other cricket blogger, we'd already penned our 'Ton of Ton's post in fully expectant anticipation that Sachin Tendulkar would reach this unique and magical milestone this morning.

But alas it was not to be and the hyperbole will now be magnified even more.

Like Bradman, Tendulkar has showed a hint of imperfection, which shows that even the greatest practitioners of their art are still after all just human beings like you and me.

And also like Bradman, Tendulkar can now argue that he has in some way equalled the greatest of all batsmen. 99 hundreds and a 94 equals 99.94. Surely?

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar or Donald Bradman - Who is the greatest?

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

Sachin Tendulkar's Tedious Quest

Sachin Tendulkar's Annus Mirabilis

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The England cricket team's newest recruit from South Africa

Despite the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott being regular fixtures in the side, even Andrew Strauss looks surprised by the ECB's newest acquisition. He should be quick in the field though.

Where next?

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Our Top 20 Cricket Blogs

The slow death of Test cricket?

England are playing THIRTEEN ODI next summer. Oh joy...

Andy Flower and the curse of autobiographies

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

In a piece on Cricinfo just five months before his death, Peter Roebuck asked Who are cricket's future greats? 

Roebuck concurs that cricket has seen its fair share of great players since the emergence of the formidable West Indies side of the late seventies. He goes on to name  half a dozen current batsmen deserving of the great tag: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting, before adding the caveat that all are within a few years of retirement.

When it comes to bowlers, Roebuck argues that only Dale Steyn is worthy of a place in the pantheon of bowling greats. This is hard to contradict as those closest to Steyn like James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Zaheer Khan would seem to fall into the ‘very good’ rather than ‘great’ category.

We’d concur with Roebuck that of the current crop of batsmen, Hashim Amla seems the most likely candidate to attain greatness in the coming years. His Test career took a while to get into top gear, but his sublime style and appetite for runs has grown and he averages over 70 since the start of 2010. Judging by his recent hundreds against Australia in Cape Town and Johannesburg the best is yet to come.

The past week has thrown up two more fledgling candidates, albeit two at the outset of their careers but whose promise seems unlimited.

A lot of people are getting very excited about Australia’s new fast bowling discovery Patrick Cummins. Even as thoughtful, respected and usually restrained observer like Christopher Martin-Jenkins writes in today’s Times that Cummins is a gem in the mould of Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath.

New Australian coach Mickey Arthur also sees comparisons with Steyn and it has to be said that it is hard to recall a more impressive entry into Test cricket than the one made by Cummins in Johannesburg. His six-wicket haul almost single-handedly brought Australia back into the game and more than that it was the manner in which he bowled that marked him as something special. The fact he is only 18, and with just a handful of first-class matches under his belt is mind-boggling. Australia would appear to have found the basis from which to rebuild.

Another to provoke comparison with a recent great is the 22 year old West Indian batsman Darren Bravo, who with back to back centuries in the current series with India has the same batting average and just one run less than Brian Lara at the same stage of his career.

Bravo has reputedly based his batting on Lara and there is no mistaking the panache, style and manner of his fellow Trinidadian at the crease. Of the many promising players that have emerged in the Caribbean such as fellow batsman Kirk Edwards, speedster Kemar Roach and spinner Devendra Bishoo, Bravo stands at the head of the pack. A West Indian resurgence could be in the offing at last.

There are other promising young players – Virat Kohli to name but one, but the positive impression left by Cummins and Bravo in the last week means that they will be the ones to watch most closely over the next few years.

Where next?

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

Cricket Heroes: Hashim Amla

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Shane Watson - 7: His body let him down just as he was looking impressive with the ball on day one. Batted well for his 88, but once again failed to get to three figures - it was the 18th time he has passed 50 in Test cricket, but has only gone on to reach 100 twice. His future lies down the order. 

Phil Hughes - 7: Batted entertainingly during his big partnership with Watson on day two and deserved a hundred. Will now get the opportunity to plunder some runs off New Zealand's weak attack.

Usman Khawaja - 7:  The replacement for the injured Marsh showed once again that he has the technique and temperament for Test cricket even if his failure to pick Tahir's googly led to his downfall after his crucial 65.

Ricky Ponting - 6: Things looked bleak after his 1st innings duck, but if nothing Ponting is a fighter and responded to his predicament by displaying better footwork and a straighter bat than he has for a long time. It was a shame he couldn't go on to make a hundred but this knock and injuries should keep him in the XI for the New Zealand series at least.

Michael Clarke - 4: After his wonderful hundred at Newlands, the skipper failed in both innings here, but he won't mind given the manner of his side's stunning victory and the way they bounced back from that humiliating 47 all out. Is starting to look like a decent leader.

Mike Hussey - 5: A quiet series after scoring heavily in Sri Lanka recently. Got starts in both innings, but was unable to go on and has a tendancy to get stuck in his crease.

Brad Haddin - 6: Picked an opportune time to score his first fifty of the year as he and Johnson compiled the partnership that won the game. Will need to kick on if he is to see off the challenge of Tim Paine and Matthew Wade.

Mitchell Johnson - 5:  Another stop-start performance, but looked good in the morning session on day four where he found some movement and batted intelligently (not a word you'd usually associate with him) to see his side over the winning line. May get a couple more opportunities in the last chance saloon.

Peter Siddle - 5: Helped put the brakes on South Africa's 1st innings with the wickets of Kallis, De Villiers and Boucher, but whilst his heart can not be questioned doubts still remain over how good a Test bowler he actually is.

Patrick Cummins - 9: Does it get any better than this? The 18 year old debutant's first Test wicket was Amla, then he led the attack magnificently to take a six wicket haul in the 2nd innings, hit the winning runs and was given the man of the match award. The future's bright, the future's Cummins.

Nathan Lyon - 6: He's no Warne, but he did bowl tidily throughout to pick up four wickets and continue to give the impression that Andrew Hilditch's last punt as head of the Australian selectors may well have been a decent one.

Where next?

2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Graeme Smith - 5: Undone by Johnson first time around and the extra bounce of Lyons in the 2nd innings. Gamble to bring on Tahir in the final throes of the chase failed.

Jacques Rudolph - 5: Looked well set in both innings before two tame dismissals. Will need to start kicking on to resist the claims of Alviro Petersen for his spot in the side.

Hashim Amla - 9: Was content to be circumspect as Kallis blasted away at the other end on day one, before playing what appeared to be the crucial knock of the Test with his 2nd innings hundred. Averages over 70 since the start of 2010 and on this form has a claim to be the best batsman in the world today.

Jacques Kallis - 6: 1st innings 54 off just 41 balls was very un-Kallis like, before the big man was out-foxed by Cummins second time around. Disappointing with the ball again: he now averages 53 with the ball since the start of 2010 in stark contrast to the 80 he offers with the bat. Can he now be classed as an all-rounder?

AB De Villiers - 7: A pair of fluent fifties only tells half the story as his shocking 2nd innings dismissal poking at one from Cummins started South Africa's slide.

Ashwell Prince - 6: Nice 50 on day one before needlessly holing out to mid-on and then run out by Amla second time around.

Mark Boucher - 5: Safe enough with the gloves, but his batting powers look in decline as evidenced especially by his ridiculous dimissal in the 1st innings when his side needed him to dig in. 

Vernon Philander - 8: Two Tests, two five-fors and 14 wickets at 14. Where has he been? Bowled intelligently throughout and led the attack admirably as Steyn and Morkel failed to deliver in the 2nd innings.

Dale Steyn - 7: Brilliant in the 1st innings to inspire the South African fightback and Australian collapse, but not at his best second time around and will rue his late drop of Cummins. Useful 41 with the bat looked to have made Australia's target too stiff.

Morne Morkel - 5: Disappointing on a ground that usually suits him - think England in 2010. Can be a top bowler but is inconsistent too often.

Imran Tahir - 5: Mopped up the tail nicely in the 1st innings as a good leg-spinner should, but perhaps a bit disappointing second time around. But it was only his 2nd Test and Tahir is clearly a better option than Paul Harris.

Where next?

2nd Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The final day of the South Africa-Australia Test 'series'

It is over before it has even began. It has been cut off in its prime.

It is almost if the South African and Australian players have jointly resolved to make their respective boards look as cretinous as possible for the terribly flawed decision to agree that this 'series' should comprise just two Test matches.

There have been more thrills and sprills, more twists and turns than the first series of 24, and the penultimate dayof the series yesterday was no different.

Hashim Amla paid fitting tribute to Basil D'Oliveira by completing his hundred - all non-white South African sportsmen particularly cricketers owe Dolly a debt of gratitude. Since the beginning of last year, Amla has scored 1549 Test runs at a tick over 70 and has claim to be the best batsman in the world today.

Australia has produced some tremendous fast bowlers over the years and 18 year old debutant Patrick Cummins looks the latest in a long line after his performance in this game. Taking a six wicket haul on your first appearance is something special especially the way he led the Australian attack, to do so at this tender age marks out Cummins as one to keep your eye on.

Then there is the drama within the drama that is Ricky Ponting's attempt to save his illustrious Test career. His partnership with Usman Khawaja has brought Australia back into the game and the prospect of Ponting saving his career with a match-saving hundred is an enticing one to say the least.

Whilst as much opprobrium as possible needs to be flung at the South African and Australian cricket boards for their senseless decision to agree such a short series, much credit must go to their players for what has been an enthralling seven days cricket to date.

A drawn series seems the fairest result and the one that makes the boards look even more ridiculous, so we will be willing Ponting on this morning in what we hope will be a one wicket win for Australia.

Where next?

Basil D'Oliveira R.I.P

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Basil D'Oliveira R.I.P

It's not been a good few weeks for cricket. First Graham Dilley, then Peter Roebuck and now Basil D'Oliveira - like Dilley another favourite son of Worcestershire.

We are too young to have seen D'Oliveira play, but his record speaks for itself. He averaged over 40 with the bat in his 44 Tests - a record all the more impressive given that he didn't make his debut until he was 35. He also scored nearly 20,000 runs and took over 500 wickets in first-class cricket.

But stats only tell half the story with Dolly, who was the catalyst for the sporting ban that was belatedly the fate of South Africa due to its vile Apartheid regime.

The South Africans refused to countenance D'Oliveira - a Cape Coloured by birth - as part of the MCC squad to tour their country in 1968 and this self-inflicted wound led to their eventual banishment from world sport.

Many argue that sport and politics shouldn't mix, but as Scyld Berry thoughtfully argued in the Daily Telegraph yesterday:

"History may well decide that the lives of millions of non-white South Africans would have been made wretched for even longer but for Basil D'Oliveira."

A poignant reminder for present-day South Africa and perhaps an indication of the debt of gratitude that the likes of Hashim Amla and Makhaya Ntini owe the dignified and brave D'Oliveira. 

Where next?
The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

Cricket Heroes: Graham Dilley R.I.P

Sir Alec Bedser R.I.P

Trevor Bailey R.I.P

Cricket Heroes: Hashim Amla

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

Nothing quite excites in cricket as much as watching a genuinely fast bowler at the top of his game and that's exactly what Dale Steyn was after lunch against Australia yesterday.

For sure, Australia's batting line-up (and that of South Africa's too) seems to have a collective case of severe osteoporosis given its propensity for sudden collapse, but Steyn once again was magnificent.

We suggested last week that assuming that Steyn maintains his current level of peformance he will be as deserving as Sachin Tendulkar of a place in the pantheon of all-time greats, and here's three reasons why:

Formidable strike rate - As we highlighted last week, of those that have taken over 100 wickets, Steyn has the second highest strike rate in Test history with a wicket every 39.4 balls. 

Surpassing Lillee - If Steyn takes just two wickets in the second innings, he will overtake Dennis Lillee - not a bad fast bowler himself - as the fastest ever to 250 Test wickets. 

He's getting better - The frightening thing for the world's batsmen is that Steyn appears to be geeting better. Since the start of 2010, he has taken 76 wickets in 14 Tests at an average of 20 and a strike rate of 38.

Now that's what we call stunning figures.

Where next?

Dale Steyn's duel with Michael Clarke

Dale Steyn's place in the cricketing pantheon alongside Sachin Tendulkar

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

Cricket Heroes: Dennis Lillee

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

What Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning

We’re not sure what Jacques Kallis had for breakfast this morning (although we can guess it was served on a large plate), but we hope it becomes a staple part of his diet.

Whilst we are happy to readily acknowledge that Kallis is a great batsman – you don’t score 12,000 Test runs at an average of over 57 without being exactly that – he is not one that we normally particularly enjoy watching at the Reverse Sweep.

Stodgy is the word that most readily comes to mind when trying to encapsulate a Kallis innings into one word, but his knock today in the 2nd Test at The Wanderers was anything but stodgy.

He came to the wicket when South Africa were 43/2 and proceeded to smash 54 off just 41 balls with 10 boundaries including two sixes.

It was all over in a blur but not before Kallis achieved something that we didn’t think was possible – upstaging Hashim Amla, who played Kallis’s usual stodgy role with some aplomb whilst Kallis was plundering the Australian bowling attack.

If this continues, we will have to start suspecting that his hair transplant was done with follicles gleaned from one of Virender Sehwag’s batting helmets.

Where next?

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Dale Steyn's duel with Michael Clarke

Cricket Heroes: Hashim Amla

Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis & Sachin Tendulkar: Three masters at work

Jacques Kallis is cricket's Thomas More - 'a man for all seasons'

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Has Ricky Ponting lost his punch?

Amidst the wreckage of Australia's 47 all out in the 1st Test at Newlands last week was the sorry figure of Ricky Ponting.

Not only had he failed with the bat in both innings, but the manner and similarity of his dismissals were not becoming of Australia's best batsman since Bradman.

So is Ponting a busted flush? Or like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - two other great batsmen of similar vintage, is Ponting just going through a trough and is it only a matter of time before he displays his consummate class once again?

This is the subject of our column this week on All Out Cricket. Read Has Ponting Lost His Punch? and then watch him go and score a ton in the 2nd Test at The Wanderers, which starts today.

Where next?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Michael Clarke, Lara Bingle and Australia's 47 all out

Can Ricky Ponting do a Dravid?

The real reason why Ricky Ponting smashed that TV

Gideon Haigh speaks about Peter Roebuck

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Lord Condon reveals the extent of match-fixing and spot-fixing in cricket

The article by Lord Paul Condon, the first head of the ICC’s ACSU, in the London Evening Standard yesterday represented worrying reading.

Whilst most of us feared that the extent of match-fixing in the 1990s went beyond the few cricketers that were hung out to dry and ostracised from the game at the time, Condon made it clear that the stain on the sport was not confined just to the likes of Hansie Cronje, Mohammad Azharuddin and Salim Malik.

Indeed, Condon stated that match-fixing had been rife since the 1980s "in the late 1990s, Test and World Cup matches were being routinely fixed". He also said that “Every international team, at some stage, had someone doing some funny stuff."

Whilst Condon’s comments have provoked much consternation within the game, it does beggar the question why if things were as bad as he said were not more players investigated, banned and shamed. This is yet another stone to cast at the door of the ICC in the week that their much vaunted Test Championship has been postponed until at least 2017.

Condon suggests that by the time of the 2003 World Cup, the wholesale fixing of matches had been eradicated and the much more sophisticated practice of spot-fixing had taken over.

If Condon is right, then spot-fixing has been going on for more than eight years and if this disease has infected the premier international limited-overs competition and a Test match at Lord’s, one can only imagine how deep this curse runs in both international and domestic cricket across the globe. The trial of Mervyn Westfield in January next year will tell us more.

Condon is clearly suggesting that spot-fixing is as common in cricket today as other gambling past-times such as roulette, blackjack, slot machines or the increasingly popular online casino phenomenon are in the world at large. But whilst these are harmless and enjoyable ways of winning (or losing) money, the sinister growth of spot-fixing is most certainly not. 

In the wake of the sentences handed out to Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, we advocated some immediate steps for the ICC and the individual cricket boards to take. These included life bans for anyone found guilty, suspensions whilst investigations are undertaken and increased powers for the ACSU.

Cricket needs to wake up to the fact that it has a real problem and take the right steps to get its house in order. That means tough decisions and real action, not the fannying around that is the ICC’s current approach.

Where next?

Spot-fixing: What should the ICC do next?

Does Mohammad Aamer deserve compassion and clemency for admitting his guilt and showing remorse?

Revealed: New PCB Player Code of Conduct

Zeroes: Salman Butt

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck 

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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VVS Laxman makes a compelling case for Kolkata to stage more Tests

If the ECB had somehow engineered for VVS Laxman to play for England (and wouldn’t that be something to behold?), he could expect to play two Tests a year at the home of cricket Lord’s.

Eden Gardens in Kolkata is the nearest equivalent India has to Lord’s and is widely considered by players, commentators and spectators alike as one of the finest stages in the cricket playing world, and that accomplished stylist Laxman has bestrode this theatre like no other.

But since his debut in 1996, Laxman has only played 10 Tests in Kolkata. That’s just 10 Tests in 15 years instead of the 30 he would have played at Lord’s if he had been English (you see how much we wish Laxman was indeed English!).

Laxman’s figures at Eden Gardens are sensational: 1217 runs in 15 innings at an average of 110.63 with five hundreds - that is the best record of any batsman at one venue in Test cricket except for Don Bradman at Headingley and Greg Chappell at Brisbane. 

The first of his hundreds at Eden was of course the never-to-be-forgotten innings of 281 in the amazing come-back-from-the-dead victory against Australia in 2001, which in the context of the match, series and opposition must rank as one of the greatest Test innings of them all.

His last three innings on the hallowed turf has seen 112 not out against Pakistan in 2007, 143 not out against South Africa last year and yesterday’s 176 not out against an outclassed West Indies bowling attack – that’s 431 runs without being dismissed once.

Given that Laxman is ascetically the best batsman playing the game today when he is in full flow – only the bearded Laxman Hashim Amla comes close – this seems to represent a compelling case for the BCCI to stage one Test per series in Kolkata.

Indeed when you consider that another great Indian stylist of recent vintage - Mohammad Azharuddin also averaged over 100 at Eden Gardens, it is worth demanding that every home Test India plays should be held at the country’s greatest cricket ground.

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar's Tedious Quest

Heroes: VVS Laxman

The best Indian test XI of the last 30 years

India vs Australia: 1st Test: India marks out of 10

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - South Africa marks out of 10

Cricket Heroes: Hashim Amla

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Gideon Haigh speaks about Peter Roebuck

The excellent One Hand One Bounce weekly cricket podcast on the equally superb World Cricket Watch is always worth a listen and this week’s edition is even more so given that it stars the distinguished cricket writer Gideon Haigh.

As we wrote in our eulogy to Peter Roebuck yesterday, Roebuck and Haigh are in our opinion two of the three best cricket writers in the world today along with former England skipper Mike Atherton. In his tribute to Roebuck in the Times yesterday (which can also be read in The Australian), Atherton wrote how Haigh credited Roebuck as a pioneer in how cricket is written about today compared to previous generations:

"I don't think anyone in cricket writing had a voice like Peter's when he arrived on the scene in the early 1980s. You only have to contrast the way we wrote about cricket in the 1970s to the way we write about it now - Peter has been responsible for a lot of those developments."

So World Cricket Watch have pulled off quite a coup in getting Haigh on as a guest this week. He speaks very candidly about the life of Roebuck and his impact as one of the finest writers in the game. It’s truly fascinating and insightful stuff and definitely mandatory listening for any cricket fan.

Click on the link here to hear what Haigh had to say about Roebuck.

Where next?

Gideon Haigh eulogises Test cricket and compares it to The Pixies

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

Douglas Jardine, Gideon Haigh and The Daily Telegraph

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Sachin Tendulkar's Tedious Quest

We live in a world where sticking a group of has-beens and noneities into the Australian jungle is considered entertainment by ITV.

So it is perhaps no surprise that the expectation and coverage surrounding Sachin Tendulkar's quest for his hundredth international hundred has reached ridiculous and frankly tedious proportions.

Now before his legion of fans spew forth any vitriol and bile in our direction, none of this opprobium is directed at the Little Master himself, who is probably as fed up about it as we are.

Indeed, the admirably modest Tendulkar is probably more than a bit embarrassed that his 'failure' to reach this unprecedented landmark was deemed more important by some commentators and media outlets (including sadly the BBC) than Rahul Dravid's fabulous century against the West Indies in the 2nd Test in Kolkata.

If Tendulkar had been out in the nervous nineties, one could have understood the extent of the coverage, but he made 38, which isn't even halfway to the fabled three figures.

Interestingly, Jack Hobbs, whose sobriquet was of course The Master, was virtually the first victim of media pressure in cricket when his attempt to equal the then record for the highest number of first-class centuries stalled one short in the summer of 1925.

Hobbs was besieged by "a whole caravan of reporters, cameramen, photographers and feature writers" and WG Grace's record eluded him for 6 matches as the hype intensified. Even as implacable a man as Hobbs was affected, telling John Arlott that the scrutiny "frayed his nerves".

So the Indian fans and media willing Tendulkar to succeed would be wise to relieve the pressure and give him time to breathe. He obviously needs it given that the wait has now been extended to 15 international innings (11 Test and 4 one day) since he recorded his 99th hundred in March at Nagpur against South Africa in the World Cup.

Of course once Hobbs finally reached his landmark against Somerset, with the shackles removed he scored another hundred in the second innings. Tendulkar would probably do something similar - that would be the time for celebrating not endless discussion about it before.

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar's Annus Mirabilis

Cricket heroes: Rahul Dravid - The impenetrable wall

Heroes: Jack Hobbs - The Master

Sachin Tendulkar or Donald Bradman - Who is the greatest?

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck 

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The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

In death as in life, Peter Roebuck will probably best be remembered for a handful of controversial incidents.

He was a decent enough cricketer to have amassed 17,558 first-class runs at 37 with 33 hundreds and he was perhaps a tad unfortunate not to have played Test cricket - especially given the selection merry-go-round that existed in England in the 1980s.

But Roebuck's playing career was overshadowed by his central role as Somerset captain in the sacking of Viv Richards and Joel Garner and the subsequent acrimonious departure of Ian Botham.

The manner of his death means that there is a risk that the quality of Roebuck's writing will be forgotten in favour of speculation and scandalous rumour.

That would be a second tragedy, as irrespective of the circumstances that prompted him to leap to his death, Roebuck was a fine cricket writer and one of the best of his generation alongside the likes of Michael Atherton and Gideon Haigh.

As well as being an erudite, absorbing and engaging writer, what made Roebuck really stand out was that he wasn't afraid to take the contrary and sometimes controversial view. Even if one didn't always agree with him, his opinion was always strongly argued and endearingly composed.

In what is a fairly banal world, Roebuck's provocative views were like a breath of fresh air. Whether it was his incisive, illuminating and heartfelt observations on Zimbabwe or calling for the Ricky Ponting's head in 2008, Roebuck didn't do fence-sitting, which made his pieces all the more compulsive reading.

Roebuck was a splendid contrarian and a maverick genius with the pen  - the world of cricket writing is much worse for his departure.

Where next?

1st Test: South Africa v Australia - Australia marks out of 10

Gideon Haigh eulogises Test cricket and compares it to The Pixies

Cricket Heroes: Graham Dilley R.I.P

10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep