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BCCI president N Srinivasan, currently in the eye of more than one storm, speaks about India’s South Africa tour, the board producing TV telecasts, and the health of the game in the country

Interview by Sambit Bal16-Oct-2013Can you describe how the last few months have been for you?
Since I had stepped aside from cricket, I was able to play golf. Administering the BCCI and running my own business takes a lot of time. So my spare time got eaten into. So the truth is, during this period I could afford to try to get my swing back again.You have been a successful businessman for most of your life. In that part of life you are generally in control of your affairs, your writ runs unchallenged. But in the last few months have you found yourself feeling vulnerable, exposed? Was it one of the tougher periods in your life?
I won’t call it tough or difficult. I felt I had been unfairly attacked. Continuous attack on me. As I said somewhere, one particular paper had about 90 pieces written about me, 11-12 editorials, and I was occupying the entire front page for 10-11 days. This has never happened in independent India. Am I worth that much of coverage? I am not that big a businessman. BCCI is not that big.Cricket is big.
Cricket is big, I agree, but not to this extent.Why do you feel you were unfairly targeted?
Unfair because somewhere along the line I think some amount of focus was lost. I had announced clearly that I was not an accused. I had not done anything wrong, and then I stepped aside. And then the BCCI working committee, at a meeting which I did not attend because I had stepped aside, appointed this probe commission. Somehow it got represented as if I [appointed it]. I did not. They appointed the probe commission, and then events followed. Somebody went to court, then it went to Supreme Court etc. So how am I to be blamed for that?The perception that was that you were still…
No, I had stepped aside. You must understand this, really. If you talk to members of the BCCI, you will understand very clearly that once I stepped aside, I was away. This meeting was held in Kolkata. The secretary was there, other members were there. I was nowhere to be seen, and neither was I in touch.They appointed the commission, and they followed up and then the report was given. I didn’t see the report, I was not present when the report was given. I was hands off. I was out of the picture. I had stepped aside, the BCCI was run by others.But these were all your colleagues, a lot of them worked under you and you have influence.
That is wrong. That is where I say it was unfair. Because I was very correct, proper. I was absolutely proper in this matter.Even when you stepped aside, you suggested that it was unfair to ask you to step aside. You said, “I am not a accused, why should I step aside?”
But then I did [step aside]. That was my initial reaction, but then I said, all right. I did not mind it. The rest is history.There were two different reactions from the BCCI to two different cases. One involved the players, one involved the team owners.
I was involved in the disciplinary committee, I am not involved in the other one. So that cannot be laid at my doorstep.I am asking you this question as a matter of your personal opinion. Looking at it from the outside, can you now say that the standards were different?
I cannot comment on this as this is sub judice.What is sub judice now is the case, not the manner in which the commission was appointed.
Everything is connected. I have to be very careful, and I am, because I do not want in the least bit for anybody to petition – be it the court or anybody – to [say] that I am trying to influence things. So this is hands off for me. I accepted it. Supreme Court has said, you co-operate but stay out. Yes sir. And I genuinely believe that.It is clear that nobody accused you of anything. The question was how it was perceived. It was a matter of propriety more than anything legal.
Even that propriety, you must understand… If I express myself freely on this, I will again be travelling to certain areas I should not be. Inevitably. Please understand my caution in this. I have to be cautious. I have to watch it.It has been an issue that has come up repeatedly since the IPL started. And this is a question I have to ask you, again. Legally, technically or constitutionally, there’s nothing wrong with India Cements [owning Chennai Super Kings], because the BCCI approved that. But there is the conflict-of-interest question.
That is also before the Supreme Court. AC Muthiah has filed a petition going up and down. That’s before the Supreme Court. I can’t enter these areas. You have to understand, you are interviewing me at a time when [there are] certain topics I shouldn’t speak about.The fact is that Indian cricket has made news for the wrong reasons in the last three or four years, and that it has dominated the front pages. Would it not be fair to say that it is a reflection on the administration? Most of these issues relate to governance.
I don’t think so. Unfortunately I can’t elaborate on some of these topics. What I say is, let these matters get settled, and I will address this then. I will address it when I am able to speak. You have to give me that opportunity. I can’t talk when matters are sub judice.When the Supreme Court order came and cleared you to take up office again, what was your immediate feeling?
I was pleased. People who have known me for a long time will believe what I say. In the sense that I am a person who has always focused on what to do next. I don’t carry any grudges, I don’t have any such feelings at all. That’s how I am. People who have known me for years will attest to it. I will just move on. This happened, okay, fine, I dealt with it, I am glad, I am back, I go on.There’s a perception that you never forgive.
First and foremost, I never get upset. Words like “forgive” and things like that, I don’t know in what context people are saying that. But those who have moved with me will know that this is not true. Those who have moved with me and know me for a very long time will carry a different impression.A former colleague of yours, a former BCCI president you have worked with, has called you an autocrat.
Yeah, I read it. But I will not comment on what someone else says.

“We don’t censor commentators. This word “censorship” is incorrect. BCCI doesn’t tell the commentator, you say this, you cannot say this, and things like that”

That is not sub judice.
But I am not an autocrat. I don’t want to get into debates. I have a job to do, and I will do my job. I realise this is not a permanent job. This is not my bread and butter, it’s an honorary job.How important was it for you to come back as president for the final year?
I am entitled to a term, and I think I am entitled to finish it. So I do not think it wrong.Is it right to say you’re not somebody who will give up a fight easily? That you’re combative, you don’t step back?
I’ll put it differently. I stand up for what I believe is right. And I think the rest of me all of you have seen. I am honest, very honest. And, I think my character has been seen in the last few months.Why do you think there is such a different perception of you in the outside world?
I don’t know. See, I have generally been a private person. I think anybody in media would agree that I am a private person. I don’t have a favourite journalist to whom I give information, or to whom I give a scoop. If I speak, I speak in front of all. This is all that I have done, and I have administered the game.My background is cricket. India Cements got involved in cricket 50 years ago when there was not a for cricketers. We employed cricketers. We ran cricket teams in the league and we continue to do so. Not contracts, actual employment. So that [when] he finishes playing cricket, he works. Now India Cements owns the Chennai Super Kings, it is world known, but it is probably the 14th team we are running. Our interest is not because there is glamour in cricket, my interest is not because of the publicity attached to it. We have been supporting cricket passionately, the whole company is full of cricket enthusiasts, somehow or the other. And for 50 years – this is the second generation, my father was interested and I continued it. So this is where I come from, we enjoy watching the league matches together, so it is [as a] complete enthusiast.Does public opinion bother you?
See, I can’t do anything about that. It doesn’t affect me. It doesn’t affect me because when I am not in BCCI I will not merit one line in any newspaper, so why must I worry about the 20 lines now?Since you’re the president of the BCCI, I must ask you this: Why does the BCCI feel the need to control the message? Why must the BCCI run its own TV production? The harshest way of putting it is that there is a censorship about what commentators can say, what they cannot.
No, no. This I will address because I think it is important. Why did the BCCI start producing? Television production was disorganised. It wasn’t professional. There were lots of freelancers involved, the production house was just coordinating things. We wanted to make it systematic and we wanted domestic cricket covered professionally so that we can monitor performances, evaluate umpires…But the fallout of this has been a de facto control over the commentators.
We don’t censor commentators. This word “censorship” is incorrect. BCCI doesn’t tell the commentator, you say this, you cannot say this, and things like that. But if there was an instance and if you were to come to know about it, please feel free to bring to my attention.Ian Chappell has said it on record.
What has he said? Ian Chappell is not employed by us. We have never said anything to him. We are talking about people employed by us.He said there are three things you can’t talk about. You can’t talk about the DRS, the selection, and the administration. He said he was told this by Star.
I can’t comment on that. You have to ask Star.The broad point is that former cricketers and experts are hired to give their opinion. But in the current set-up, they are not allowed to express their opinions freely.
You’re asking me the wrong question. You’re asking the wrong person. BCCI doesn’t tell the commentator anything. We produce domestically. BCCI in no way interferes with the freedom of the press. But a commentator should be a commentator, and a journalist should be a journalist.”The last several years have been very good for Indian cricket. If you look at the positives, we won the World Cup, we won the Champions Trophy”•AFPWhat’s the difference there?
See, we do not interfere with selection. There is a selection committee. People select. Now if someone comments on it, they are not commenting on BCCI, so it doesn’t worry me.Now BCCI’s position on DRS is very well-known. I have articulated on this several times. Many commentators in the western world and other geographies have supported DRS and criticised the BCCI. I have taken it. I have not said anything, I have not got upset, I have noticed it. But that doesn’t change our view. Our view was logical. And I am very happy to say we stand vindicated.So will you go to the board meeting and push for the DRS to be abolished?
I feel the DRS was not sufficiently good. Even assuming it is 100% reliable – which it is not, my view always was that – if you give two referrals, then generally batsmen up the order will take it. And it really may not be [ideal] for eliminating a howler. And I said, if it’s only two referrals, then it is a lottery. If you want, first you decide to refer every decision.So there are a lot of things wrong, apart from the technology – even the two referrals, the one referral in an ODI, how does it help? So there’s that luck element, and this was my position and it remains. If India plays, DRS is not there, and if two other teams play and they want a faulty system, why should I stop it?It’s a question of how cricket is played around the world.
This is where I say I am not a bully, I don’t force my view on others.When it comes to the DRS, there’s a perception that the BCCI is opposed to the DRS but Indian cricketers aren’t. Can you please clarify?
The question of the DRS comes up at the Cricket Committee [CC] meeting in the ICC. At the CC, players give their view, then administrators have their view, etc. The BCCI view is this.Another controversial topic, the South Africa tour. I know that talks are currently on and maybe the tour will take place. But that’s not the point. The point is, why has it come to this?
I am glad you asked this question. One of the reasons was we felt that we should be [playing] more international cricket in India during our season, and there should be a balance between inbound and outbound tours. And we felt that this year we had very little international cricket [in India], and therefore we needed to supplement it, so we invited the West Indies. This was the thought process.If you look at our calendar, we’ll be hosting Australia, then the West Indies, then we are supposed to go to South Africa, then New Zealand, come back and play Asia Cup, play the World Twenty20, come for IPL, go to England. It was a very long, tough programme, so we also wanted to lessen the strain if possible. Unfortunately there was a lot of media speculation on whether the tour is on etc, and on news emanating from South Africa. We did not make any comment. We did not say anything about this. In fact, until now we have said nothing. But so much has been written, so much been said, things attributed, so how would I summarise it? There are some challenges.You have announced the New Zealand schedule, the England schedule was announced, and the South Africa tour is before that, and that’s the only thing that is stuck.
There are some challenges, as I said. We are meeting them. Let us see what happens.How much has it got to do with Haroon Lorgat?
I want to make one thing clear. We are not anyone to say who should or should not be the chief executive of another board. But there are some challenges. Maybe after discussions I might talk about it. I should not prejudice the discussions by talking about it now. So talk to me in a few days’ time. I don’t want to discuss it now.In your final year, what’s your vision for Indian cricket?
The last several years have been very good for Indian cricket. If you look at the positives, we won the World Cup, we won the Champions Trophy.India also lost two series – 8-0.
In retrospect, we probably didn’t have enough preparatory time in England when we went there. The injury list was a little long, we had fitness problems for our major players. The Indian team was in transition.I think we have come out strongly after that. It has recouped well, as has been seen from the recent form. A lot of development for cricket has happened – infrastructure, new stadiums, cricket has gone to all states, our development programmes are very good, our age-group programmes are doing very well, we are encouraging our senior players to play domestic leagues also, we have a lot of A team tours to other countries so that they can acclimatise themselves to different conditions, particularly South Africa, Australia. We have won the U-19 World Cup, our bench strength is strong. IPL has improved our players. For example, the Champions Trophy was an example where in the last-over finishes our team displayed tremendous capacity.There are a lot of positives. Indian cricket is looking good, spectator support has been good, people have come and watched matches. We are also putting in place systems, NCA is getting more active, zonal academies are also functioning. So it’s a beehive of activities going on here. All of it is coordinated. There is an umpire’s academy that is in place.

“We are not anyone to say who should or should not be the chief executive of another board. But there are some challenges. Maybe after discussions I might talk about it”

So all this is what is helping. You can’t say this one item of work has helped. It is a sum total that is resulting in a strong bench strength – spotting talent, training them, enough games to play, enough exposure to the outside world, so the good players are able to come and they are coming up now.I know you are a fan of Test cricket. Do you have concerns about Test cricket’s future?
Not in India alone but all around the world. Because if it has to survive, it has to survive globally.I always say the total eyeballs on cricket has increased substantially. We have three products: Test cricket, ODI cricket and now T20 cricket. What some people seem to be disappointed in is that not all three products are market leaders in all parts of the world. That is not possible. There are some places where these products might not find acceptance. But in India, all three are good. India contributes a lot to the cricket economy. All three of them are doing well here. It is also for those people [in other countries] locally to address why this is happening.As far as I am concerned, for me Test cricket is always the best.Are you satisfied with where Indian Test cricket is? Do you think the next set of players will be as passionate about Test cricket in India? Tell me that as a cricket lover and not as the president of the BCCI.
I don’t see lack of enthusiasm. But if you say, will you produce the Dravids, Laxmans, Tendulkars and Gangulys immediately, I don’t know. But I think there is enough talent that the players will keep coming.Will the BCCI make it a priority to focus on Test cricket?
BCCI focuses on Test cricket.But do you also have a vision for the global game? Or do you want to solely focus on Indian cricket?
The ICC are focusing on the global game. They want to give primacy to Test cricket, which I fully support. The reaction of the spectator is different in different geographies. People are trying their level best in seeing how to increase the level of enthusiasm for the game.India is the leader in the global game, but the feeling is India doesn’t do enough in the global arena. It is not a global leader in that sense.
The problem here is, one group of people says we are taking too much leadership, we are throwing our weight around. Other group says we are not doing enough.I think we are acting responsibly. India is a very responsible member of the ICC.Cricket is a small game. But there is a clear divide between the rich and the poor. And there are only three boards in the world who are self-sufficient. There are four or five countries that are literally on the dole. That disparity is becoming bigger and bigger.
The fact that cricket doesn’t evoke the same enthusiasm and response from spectators in all geographies is a matter of concern. There are countries where cricket was so popular once upon a time and now you find empty stadiums. At the ICC level we are looking into this very seriously to see what are the issues that have to be addressed to remedy and set this right.Rahul Dravid recently made a suggestion that each of the boards that has money and players could adopt a board each, like India could adopt Bangladesh, Australia could adopt New Zealand, to bring them up to standard.
You are talking about two different things now. One is, you are talking about the global game and how to bring the spectator back. The other aspect is the quality of the teams. The ICC has now put in place a targeted assistance programme to assist some of these nations to better develop their cricket, if funding was an issue, which India has supported. This funding is for facilities, training academies. This has been started recently and the BCCI has supported it fully. And this is possibly not far from what Rahul is saying. What would you want your legacy to be in Indian cricket and world cricket?
I don’t consider myself such a great leader or something to talk about legacies. As long as people realise that our interest was solely cricket, and we worked hard for Indian cricket, and thereby also helped consolidate world cricket, I would be happy.

While Jacques Kallis has a reputation of being aloof, of late there have been instances that showed glimpses of his other side

Firdose Moonda30-Dec-2013Jacques Kallis had been an international cricketer for as many years as it takes others to go from birth to school leavers and reach the age where they get a drivers’ licence and vote in the national election. After 18 years, it’s no wonder he is pre-programmed to do certain things.Taking a catch at slip is one of them, signing autographs is another. The latter was on display at a recent fan interaction. I was waiting to do an interview with Kallis and watched from the sidelines as supporters interacted with the legend. All of them were a blend of nerves and excitement. He remained cool and composed.He signed a selection of memorabilia, he smiled for photographs, but he maintained distance. He rarely made eye contact and he did not engage in small talk. Most were so overawed to be in his presence that they shuffled past quickly, the way tourists do at a popular monument.Once there was no one left, I stepped into the spot the supporters had occupied, notebook and pen in hand. Absentmindedly, Kallis picked up my pen and began to sign my book.As was his routine, just after marking the first stroke, he looked up. When he realised I was not there for his signature, he stopped mid-way and gave me a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I’ve been doing this all day. I’m just on auto-pilot. Did you need something?”The interview did not last long. Kallis’ answers were concise but informative, so I learnt more from watching than I did from talking. What surprised me was that Kallis remained true to his reputation of being aloof, even though he had come out of his shell in recent years.Since early 2012, four incidents stand out for the different facets of Kallis they revealed: from his generosity to his strong views, his humanity and his love of home. This is the Kallis I think I know.

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January 2012.South Africa were hosting a one-day series against Sri Lanka. The second match was in East London. At practice the day before, once everyone had left, Kallis remained behind. He was soon at the centre of a circle of six school boys.They were the recipients of scholarships from his foundation and were meeting him for the first time. Naturally there were overwhelmed. Because of him, they were being educated at a leading school, Selborne College, something they would otherwise not be able to afford. Kallis hoped it would give them the best chance of either playing cricket professionally or receiving a good enough grounding to prosper in other areas. He was obviously interested in how they were getting on.Even though it was one of the hottest days of the year, like any initial meeting, the ice still needed breaking. Kallis, being the oldest, had to do it. He had planned a question and answer session, and a net practice, but they needed prompted. “Okay, so you can ask me anything,” he said. “Or is everyone too shy?”Eventually, the questions rolled in, some about cricket, others about life. Kallis opened up, revealing things few journalists get to hear. He spoke about the quickest bowler he faced and the best spinner, why he thought sledging should still exist in the game, the thrills of the IPL and the changing nature of cricket. He left them with advice Mark Boucher confirmed two days ago neither he nor Kallis ever took themselves: “Stay away from the girls. Only cricket, and academics.”For the first time since I started covering cricket in 2007, Kallis became a human being to me. I saw his softer side and the joy he got from making a difference.

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March 2012.On a drizzly evening in Dunedin, after three days of the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand, Kallis was the man tasked with addressing the media. It was not a job he enjoyed, but because he was one of two centurions on the day, with the other being the captain, he had no choice.The questions were routine. South Africa were comfortably ahead with a lead of 233 runs and seven wickers in hand and there wasn’t too much to talk about, barring one thing which Kallis actually wanted to discuss.In the penultimate over of the day, he convinced Jacques Rudolph, who eventually also went on to score a hundred, to review being given out lbw off Doug Bracewell and was proved correct because the ball had pitched outside leg stump. On being asked what prompted him to persuade Rudolph to use the technology, Kallis launched into a lengthy monologue about the DRS as a whole and made the startling claim that the overwhelming majority of players did not trust the predictive path.He spoke with conviction and confidence to make plain his doubts about the DRS. “How accurate it is, I don’t know… We are getting that right to a degree but I am not convinced how accurate it really is. I don’t think there are any guys that are 100% sure that the thing is as accurate as they want to make it out to be. They keep saying it, but I’m not so sure and I think 99% of cricketers will say that.”Kallis’ speech was met with a stunned silence. Even those who had covered his career from its beginnings agreed that it was the strongest sentiment Kallis had expressed. He was known as a man who just got on with things but that day he showed he also thought deeply about them, could be bothered by them and was willing to say so.

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July 2012.Mark Boucher suffered a horrific eye injury in South Africa’s first practice match on their tour of England. Because Boucher had planned to retire after the final match of the series, it seemed his career was over.Word filtered through that he had spent the night in a lot of pain and was awaiting surgery. Kallis had been at his side through most of it; he did not arrive with the rest of team at the ground on the second day and did not bat, because he was with Boucher.Midway through the day, Graeme Smith called an impromptu press conference to issue Boucher’s retirement statement. Kallis was with him.I was standing directly opposite Kallis. As Smith read from a piece of paper, his voice shaking as much as the hand that held it, I looked at Kallis. He had his hands behind his back and he was focused on a point on the horizon. His eyes had glazed over but if there were tears hidden in them, he was not going to let them spill. He looked as though he was trying to be strong but he was obviously hurting.Few would have thought they’d see weakness and Kallis side by side, but there they were. I felt for him then. At the same time, I was proud of his devotion. With a friend like him, who could go wrong?

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October 2013.Kallis had not been in the public eye for at least six months. After the IPL, he withdrew himself from the Champions Trophy squad on the eve on its announcement, for personal reasons. He wanted to get away from the game.Shortly before South Africa’s tour of the UAE, he recommitted to South Africa’s one-day squad. It seemed his career, although in its latter stages, had some time left, especially after he spoke before the first Test in Abu Dhabi.Kallis took the podium looking refreshed. He explained it as being the result of a much-needed break, calling it the “best thing I could have done”, and filling us in on how he had spent his time. He had played a lot of golf, including the Dunhill Links Championship, he had gone to braais, he had spent time at home with his friends. In other words, he did all the things someone who is not an international sportsmen does and he enjoyed it.Home has different meanings and holds different importance for various people. Some want to escape it, in search of adventure. Others crave home, because they enjoy its comforts. With all the time Kallis spent on the road, all the Christmases and birthdays missed, all the normal-people things he never got to do, he fell into the latter category.When he spoke of his life in Cape Town then, even though he had only just left it, he seemed to miss it. We should have known then life outside of cricket was calling Kallis.He answered the call on Christmas eve. Kallis called Boucher to say he’d made his decision to retire and Boucher was not surprised. He knew as soon as Kallis began questioning his enthusiasm, the time was right.

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No one saw or heard from Kallis throughout his final Test, because he asked for privacy. His guard was back up. He seemed the single-focused person he was always painted as. But the last two years, especially, have shown there is much more to him.Kallis’ reservation, Boucher explained, is a product of his childhood. Losing his mother at a young age is what Boucher said made Kallis’ early years “not exactly perfect or like other children’s, especially mine”. Kallis formed close bonds with his father and sister. The former passed away ten years ago, so it was up to Kallis to give the latter away at her wedding last week.Moments like that are what those who know Kallis say he lives for. Now that he has retired from Test cricket, he will be able to enjoy many more of them. And he deserves exactly that.

Stats highlights from the 3rd ODI between New Zealand and India, at the Eden Park, Auckland

Shiva Jayaraman25-Jan-2014 This was the seventh time India have played out a tie in ODIs and the first against New Zealand. New Zealand have been involved in six tied games, including this one. There have been 32 ties in ODIs and this was the third tie in which the teams ended up with scores of 300-plus. India have figured in three of the four highest-scoring ties. Click here for a list of tied ODIs. This was Corey Anderson’s maiden five-wicket haul. Including this five-for, Anderson has taken ten wickets in this series, becoming the first New Zealand allrounder to score 100-plus runs and taken ten or more wickets in a bilateral ODI series. India’s chase saw a rare rearguard by their lower-middle order, with MS Dhoni, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja all scoring fifties. This was the first instance of a team’s No. 6, 7 and 8, all scoring 50 or more runs in an ODI. The 181 runs scored between these three batsmen is the fourth-highest runs added by India’s No. 6 to 8 in an ODI. Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 66 is the second-highest score by an India batsman at No.8 in ODIs. He ended up just one short of Ajit Agarkar’s unbeaten 67 runs against Zimbabwe at Rajkot in 2000. Mohammed Shami gave away 84 runs from his ten overs in this match – the most he has conceded in 23 ODIs that he’s played for India. This is also the most any bowler has conceded at this venue, beating Daryll Tuffey’s 80 runs against Australia in 2007. This match also broke Shami’s consecutive sequence of ODIs in which he’s taken three or more wickets. He took three or more wickets in five consecutive matches before this one. The 84 runs that Shami conceded in this match was the second-most by an India fast bowler in ODIs outside the subcontinent. He conceded just three runs less than the 87 runs by Javagal Srinath against Australia in the 2003 World Cup final. Kane Williamson hit his third consecutive fifty of the series. He’s scored 213 runs in this series at an average of 71.00 – already the second-highest by a New Zealand No. 3 batsman in a five-match ODI series. Adam Parore’s 266 runs at 66.50 against South Africa in 1994 are the highest by a New Zealand No. 3 in a five-match ODI series. Martin Guptill’s 111 in this match was the fifth century of his ODI career and his second at this venue. Guptill has scored 391 runs at the Eden Park – his highest at any venue – at an average of 65.16, with two centuries and one fifty, from eight innings. The 153-run partnership between Guptill and Williamson is the highest at this venue for the second wicket in ODIs, beating the 147-run partnership between Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh against the hosts in 1995. There were 23 sixes hit in this match – the fourth-highest ever hit in an ODI in New Zealand. These teams were involved in the ODI that saw the highest number of sixes hit in New Zealand too, in Christchurch in 2008-09, when 31 sixes were hit, 18 of them by India batsmen.

After last year’s drubbing, Delhi Daredevils opted for wholesale changes this season. It made little difference, though, as they floundered in every department and finished bottom of the table again

Rachna Shetty26-May-201411:12

Season review – Duminy, the only positive for Delhi Daredevils

Kevin Pietersen’s batting and captaincy were not up to scratch•BCCIWhere they finishedLast, with two wins in 14 games.What went rightLittle went right for Delhi Daredevils this season. After their last-place finish in IPL 2013, they began 2014 on a shaky note. Their loss in the opening game to Royal Challengers Bangalore was their seventh successive one, but they picked up the pieces in the next match against Kolkata Knight Riders, winning by four wickets. Three matches later, they restricted Mumbai Indians to 125 for 6, their best bowling performance of the season, and went on to win by six wickets. That, however, would be their last win in IPL 2014 before another losing streak of nine matches – their third extended string of losses over the past two seasons and their worst in the IPL.What went wrongAfter last year’s drubbing, where they finished in ninth place, change was the buzzword for Daredevils. They brought in Gary Kirsten as coach. They opted to not retain any of their players ahead of the auction, the only franchise to do so. Along with Royal Challengers Bangalore, they also spent their entire budget.After the auction, the one thing that stood out about the Daredevils squad was how heavily batting-centric it was. James Neesham and Laxmi Shukla were their slotted allrounders but neither played a season entirely. Packing the side with batsmen also meant they could never quite hit on a combination that put batsmen in best-suited slots. Ross Taylor, for instance, is primarily a top-order batsman even in T20s but was played at No. 6 in three of the four games he played this season. JP Duminy and Kedar Jadhav were slotted in as finishers and batted low down despite being their best batsmen; Daredevils suffered as their best batsmen were denied significant batting time at the crease. It didn’t help that opener M Vijay – who was picked up by Daredevils after being a regular performer for Chennai Super Kings over the seasons – was in woeful touch.Their bowling was left considerably weakened by injuries, lack of form and the absence of a plan B. Nathan Coulter-Nile’s departure due to injury left Daredevils’ pace attack reliant on Wayne Parnell and Mohammed Shami and both couldn’t step up. Their Indian pacers, Jaydev Unadkat and Rahul Shukla, had mediocre seasons. An average of 3.6 wickets per match is hardly the sign of a winning team. Near the end of the season, Eric Simons, the franchise’s fast-bowling coach, admitted he had been using mats to train his bowlers to bowl to appropriate lengths – which they consistently missed.The spinners didn’t fare any better, evidenced from the fact that midway through the tournament, Duminy, a part-timer, was the best spinner. Shahbaz Nadeem flopped and Rahul Sharma was given just two games. Imran Tahir’s late addition to the side barely made a ripple, in spite of his form in the World T20 that preceded the IPL.Key statDelhi Daredevils were the worst bowling team of the tournament. They took the fewest wickets (51) at the worst average (41.47) at the highest strike rate (29.40) and had the most expensive economy rate (8.44). They did not bowl a single maiden over, and none of their bowlers claimed a four-wicket haul.Best playerUndoubtedly, JP Duminy. Their only batsman to feature among the top 10 run-getters, he repeatedly had to step in either to stem a collapse or score quick runs when the side was almost out of time. In spite of that, he finished the season with 410 runs at an average of 51.25. Also, Duminy was the most economical of Daredevils’ bowlers (apart from Coulter-Nile who exited early in the campaign), bowling his part-time offspinners in 11 games out of 14.Poor performerWhen you spend a third of your auction budget on two batsmen, high expectations are a part of the package. Unfortunately for Daredevils, Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik did not have much of an impact at all. While Karthik managed three fifties, he couldn’t reproduce the consistency he showed for Mumbai Indians in the league stages of IPL 2013. Pietersen, playing in his first tournament as a free agent, missed a few games at the start due to injury and found semblance of form only towards the very end of the tournament when it was too late. His captaincy also left a lot to be desired.Surprise packageUntil 2014, Kedar Jadhav had had indifferent seasons with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, including one last year where he scored 152 runs in 12 innings. This season, lifted by his form that helped him score six hundreds in the Ranji Trophy, Jadhav quickly settled into the niche of a finisher. In 10 innings, he scored 149 runs which came at a brisk strike rate of 147.52, the best among Daredevils’ batsmen.Memorable momentOne of the more forgettable aspects of IPL 2014 for Kevin Pietersen was his running between the wickets. In both matches against Rajasthan Royals, Pietersen escaped being run-out. In the first instance, the umpire Sanjay Hazare, shot down an appeal from Royals, a decision for which he was later stood down from the IPL. In the second game, Pietersen’s bat was stuck in the turf and his foot was in the air when the ball hit the stumps. Royals, however, did not appeal for the run-out. The image of Daredevils’ struggles was best captured, perhaps, by Manoj Tiwary’s run-out against Kings XI Punjab in their last league game.Unused playersMilind Kumar, HS Sharath and Jayant Yadav. Saurabh Tiwary was ruled out after the UAE leg due to a shoulder injury.

ESPNcricinfo marks the South African players out of 10 following their series win against Sri Lanka

Firdose Moonda29-Jul-20149Dale Steyn
13 wickets at 17.46, 1 five-forA match-winning performance in Galle, which ended up being a series-winning effort, gave Steyn close to full marks for this tour. He combined pace, short ball attacks, yorkers and reverse swing in a display which proved that stand-out bowlers will be stand-out bowlers no matter the conditions. Steyn did not need the surface to play to his strengths. He registered the best figures by a foreign fast bowler in Galle and made crucial breakthroughs in Colombo – which included getting Kumar Sangakkara out for just his fifth first-baller in Test cricket – to lead South Africa’s charge.Morne Morkel
12 wickets at 16.00Often overlooked as just a support bowler, Morkel was nipping at Steyn’s heels, statistically speaking, throughout this series. He adjusted his game to bowl fuller in Galle when he needed to and maintained the miserliness which allowed South Africa to keep the pressure on even after the change bowlers had begun operating. In Colombo, Morkel earned his 200th Test scalp and became the fifth-fastest South African to the milestone. Always the lion-heart, he was padded up and ready to save the series with bat too but Hashim Amla admitted relief at not needing him for that purpose.8Hashim Amla
197 runs at 65.66, 1 centuryHashim Amla led from the front even before the Tests started. He was in scintillating form in the ODIs and hoped that would translate to the Tests. The examination began in Galle where he was not among the major contributors with the bat but had an excellent tactical game. Amla’s declaration, which offered Sri Lanka a chase of 370 at three runs an over was considered risky but he managed his bowlers in a way that made it seem anything but. At the SSC, Amla batted for more than eight hours to record his first century as captain and blunt the Sri Lankan challenge and he did his bit to secure the series with his 170-minute vigil in the second dig.6.5Vernon Philander
2 wickets at 76.00, 63 runs at 31.50Philander made memories in the first Test but not for his bowling where he went wicket-less. He featured in a 75-run eighth wicket stand and was at JP Duminy’s side when the No.7 brought up his century but was also caught tampering with the ball and fined half his match fee. In typical Philander fashion, he responded to the critics as only he can – bullishly. At the SSC, his disciplines were impeccable, length was fuller and line more attacking. His claim to the allrounder position was fueled by his batting efforts. Philander spent 105 minutes at the crease in the second innings, marshaling the tail to the draw.JP Duminy
114 runs at 57.00, 1 hundred, 5 wickets at 33.40After runs in Australasia and at home, the place Duminy really needed to prove himself as a Test batsman was the subcontinent, especially given his history against spin. His century with the tail in Galle did it. Duminy swept and reverse-swept with confidence and helped South Africa set up a match-winning total. The old issues returned in Colombo where he looked fragile against turn but he showed good temperament to record some of the slowest innings in Tests. Although he was classed as South Africa’s back-up spinner, Duminy actually took centre stage in that department and kept run-rates down. Two of his wickets came off a long hop and half volley but sometimes that is how an under-rated but effective bowler gets them.Imran Tahir lacked control and sent down too many full tosses•AFPDean Elgar
129 runs at 32.25, 1 centuryIf buffalos wore shoes, it would be their size Elgar was asked to fill when he was given Graeme Smith’s position at the top of the order. In his first outing as the new opener, Elgar showed a Biff-like determination to score runs despite any technical deficiencies – and Elgar’s seemed to be footwork against spin – and muscled his way to what may turn out to be a career-defining century. His trouble with turn was evident in Colombo but now that it has been exposed, he will know what he needs to work on in future.Quinton de Kock
124 runs at 31.00, 1 fifty, 14 catches, 1 stumpingThe 21-year-old was entrusted with a big responsibility when this series kicked off, which only grew as it went on. AB de Villiers’ hamstring niggle meant de Kock was asked to take the gloves and bat at No.6. He scored his maiden Test fifty, took 14 catches including a stunner to dismiss Kaushal Silva in the second innings, put down only one and effected a stumping to restart his Test career on an impressive note. In Colombo, de Kock was promoted to No.3 after South Africa crawled in the first eight overs of their innings and asked to infuse some energy into the cause. He showed his attacking instincts with a gritty 37 to suggest South Africa may have found their next permanent Test gloveman.6AB de Villiers
121 runs at 30.25, 1 fiftyNiggles to his hamstring and back prevented de Villiers from participating as fully as he may have liked to in the series. He scored a half-century in Galle in quick time and accompanied Amla in holding the line at the SSC where he displayed remarkable restraint. De Villiers is a naturally creative player but curbed those instincts and concentrated on blocking South Africa to glory.5.5Faf du Plessis
163 runs at 40.75, 1 fiftyA fairly quiet series for du Plessis, who has been promoted to No.3 in the batting line-up, started brightly with 80 in the first innings in Galle to build on the solid start South Africa had. He formed part of the resistance in both innings in Colombo but all that was overshadowed by the catch he took to give Morkel his 200th Test wicket. Running backwards from point, du Plessis had to dive amid two other converging fielders to catch Kithuruwan Vithanage’s wild swing.4Alviro Petersen
68 runs at 17.00After promising starts in both innings in Galle, Petersen was victim to uncertainty against offspin. He reviewed both decisions but was proved incorrect both times as he was beaten by deliveries that straightened from Dilruwan Perera. Things got worse in the second Test where he threw his wicket away against the other spinner, Rangana Herath, to extend his run of century-less innings to 21.3Imran Tahir
4 wickets at 84.00This was supposed to be Tahir’s watershed tour. He would be able to play in conditions where spinners thrive, where seamers have to play second fiddle and where he had proved his worth to the limited-overs’ teams a year before. But all he managed to deliver was disappointment. Tahir lacked control as he rushed through overs and was inconsistent. He sent down too many full tosses and failed to find enough flight to be considered one of South Africa’s premier spinners. His hour at the crease in the first innings at the SSC and 27 minutes to save the Test later on may be the only things that kept his place in the Test squad to Zimbabwe.

Plays of the day from the second ODI between South Africa and New Zealand in Mount Maunganui

Alagappan Muthu24-Oct-2014The bug
Imran Tahir got to unleash his animated celebrations twice against Brendon McCullum•Getty ImagesA vital part of New Zealand’s machinery is their fielding. However, someone forgot to tend to it on Friday. The first symptoms appeared in the sixth over when Tom Latham at first slip and wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi stared at each other instead of going after an outside edge from Hashim Amla in the sixth over. If that wasn’t bad enough, Daniel Vettori later hugged the fine leg boundary and squinted up against the sun to try and track a top-edged pull from Amla – which landed inside the 30-yard circle. Tim Southee was the bowler on both occasions, and all he got for his efforts was a sheepish gesture from Vettori to indicate he had not caught sight of the ball.The mute button
South Africa’s fielders were no better. Martin Guptill misjudged a good length ball from Vernon Philander in the fourth over and his top-edged pull looped up to entice two fielders. Dale Steyn was rushing forward from short fine leg, while AB de Villiers was hunting it from square leg. Neither fielder had called for the catch as both of them were worried about the collision and eventually the ball fell right between them.The strike bowler
Perhaps he was smarting from that fielding gaffe. Perhaps he thought a 282-run total was large enough. Perhaps he was just bored. Whatever the reason, de Villiers took the ball in the 15th over and filled it with short and wide deliveries to the right-handed Dean Brownlie. He didn’t improve on his length in the next over he gave himself, and Tom Latham had the opportunity to thump a leg-side long hop anywhere he wanted. A few seconds later, de Villiers was celebrating a maiden ODI wicket as the batsman’s pull had obligingly found short fine leg.The replay
Imran Tahir had flown into an intimidating appeal – hands spread out and eyes nearly popping from the sockets – after trapping Brendon McCullum on his pads in the 21st over. It was good enough to convince umpire Steve Davis, but the New Zealand captain knew better and opted for a review. He had lunged a long way forward and planted his front leg across as well while trying to sweep and though he was struck on the back pad, the impact was just wide enough outside off stump. The same process was re-enacted in the 25th over. This time Tahir had sneaked in the googly to slide under McCullum’s sweep and hit him low on the front pad. Another vociferous appeal. Umpire Davis upheld it again and McCullum’s decision to go for a second opinion only resulted in confirmation of his wicket.The cold shoulder
“I like that,” de Villiers said as No. 11 Mitchell McClenaghan nailed a reverse sweep in the 38th over. The batsman had reached it on the full and struck it in front of point as well to draw some high praise. And perhaps that had tempted McClenghan to keep pursuing the shot. He repeated it in the 42nd over and got three runs off JP Duminy. But third time wasn’t quite the charm. Not against Morne Morkel’s pace anyway. South Africa thought they had finally ended the last-wicket partnership when McClenaghan seemed to have gloved the ball through to Quinton de Kock. Umpire Davis, though, disagreed and DRS was called into play again. Hot Spot seemed to indicate it had come off the glove. However, for a second time in two matches, Hot Spot received the cold shoulder and McClenaghan got to stay unbeaten.

A one-sided game between West Indies and Pakistan did not take anything away from the great atmosphere at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch

Marc Swain-Rogatski22-Feb-2015Choice of game:
When I purchased tickets to the World Cup last year, my friends and I wanted to support not only the New Zealand team, but the tournament, cricket and Christchurch city. So we bought tickets to all the Hagley Oval matches. On form, I thought Pakistan would win comfortably.Team supported:
I was neutral with my support but if I had to lean one way it would have been with West Indies, as they were the underdogs.Key performer:
Andre Russell’s swashbuckling 42 from 13 to finish the West Indies innings pushed the tempo firmly in their favour, and their opening bowlers capitalised with Russell himself taking 3-33.One thing I’d have changed about this game:
I, along with many at the stadium, was really looking forward to seeing Chris Gayle tee off, but it wasn’t to be.Wow moment:
I had never seen a team in the position of 1 for 4 before, and with West Indies bowling with their tails up, it looked like Pakistan would be rolled for a record low total.Close encounter:
A large Pakistan contingent cheered any fielder manning the boundary. Mohammad Irfan took his cap off and waved to the fans which went down well.Shot of the day:
Andre Russell’s shot which landed on the roof of the Hagley Pavilion, an almighty blow!Unlucky player of the day:
Darren Bravo didn’t have the happiest day at the office – after diving to make his crease taking a run, he copped a sickening blow to the head from the fielder attempting a run-out. Not long after, he took a run and pulled up short with what looked like a hamstring problem and had to leave the field on a cart. To add salt to the wound, he was left on 49. Luckily, the rest of his team-mates finished the job and made it a brilliant day for the team.Crowd meter:
A great turnout from the Christchurch public, along with fanatic fans for both teams. The Pakistani fans outnumbered the West Indies group, with green-clad supporters waving green and white flags with pride around the stadium. A Caribbean lady several rows back had the whole stand laughing and cheering her beloved boys along with her, screaming for the team at the top of her voice and running in the aisles waving her flag. The weather was a lot warmer than game one, and everyone in the crowd showed up to party and enjoy the match, which provided an excellent atmosphere.Fancy-dress index:
Plenty of Pakistani supporters clad head to toe in green were seen wandering the grass banks. One man chose to dress as Superman and ran along the embankment in the latter half of the game. Another chose this fixture as the destination for his stag party, with his friends dressing him up in a red dress, a red cardigan with STAG emblazoned on the back, red knee-high socks and a cowboy hat – or perhaps it was his choice.Entertainment:
The song interludes between plays in the game were quite amusing – by Creed for wide balls, and by Incubus for the third-umpire decisions.Accessories:
Sandwiches, a wide-brimmed cricket hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and the all-important orange Tui Catch-a-million t-shirt.Overall:
8/10. Great weather, great atmosphere, some excellent cricket from West Indies, but it ended up being a one-sided contest.

Plays of the day from the game between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in Dunedin

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dunedin22-Feb-2015The crunch
Quicks love the sights and sounds of broken timber, and though Shapoor Zadran may have shattered a few stumps in his life, he busted wood in a less meaningful, but in some ways more impressive manner. The 136kph back-of-a-length ball he delivered was met with a defensive push by Mahela Jayawardene. His bat middled the ball, or was it that the ball middled the bat? The willow in Jayawardene’s hands snapped at the point of impact, and he was left holding the handle and just the top third of the bat, as the rest came flying off to land near the middle of the pitch.The celebration
Hamid Hassan would probably have preferred to send Kumar Sangakkara’s off stump cartwheeling, but the outstanding delivery that made its way through Sangakkara’s defences managed only to send the bails flying. So Hassan took it upon himself to perform the cartwheel. He sprinted close to the batting crease and went head over heels, then squatting, pounded the ground with both hands, in jubilation.The borrowed apparel
Hamid was midway through his fifth over when he began to feel some discomfort in his right boot. He bowled one more ball, and while he was inspecting his boot a second time on the way back to his mark, Shapoor jogged in from cover to ask what the problem was. Between the two, they must have figured out they had the same shoe size, because in a few seconds, Shapoor had his boot off and the pair were swapping footwear. Hamid finished the over, and returned Shapoor his boot, before leaving the field to get a replacement.The start
Najibullah Zadran came to the crease in the pivotal middle-period of Afghanistan’s innings, and he promptly proceeded to bat the only way he knows. A team-mate had already been caught in the deep off Rangana Herath’s bowling, but unconcerned, Najibullah swung hard at the third delivery he faced and sent it high over cow corner for six. On air, coach Andy Moles was being interviewed and said, “He can’t block to save his life.”The miss
The last time the World Cup was held in the Antipodes, Jonty Rhodes gained acclaim for that superman-dive at the stumps to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq. Najibullah had the chance to do that himself in the fourth over of Sri Lanka’s innings. The opposition two down as well, but inexperience shone through and he fluffed the chance. Sangakkara was well short of his ground as Najibullah collected the ball at point and ran in at the stumps. Najibullah had the time to break the stumps with ball in hand, but instead fired an underarm throw from close range, and missed, to the chagrin of team-mates.

Older and wiser, Ryan Harris looks back at his career, the injuries he overcame along the way, and the art of swinging it

Interview by Daniel Brettig17-Mar-2015Some of the most fascinating passages in your new book are about the earlier days, before the success arrived. When you went back and looked over those early days, what lessons did you take away?
Certainly how much I’ve matured, how much harder I’ve trained and how much better I’ve looked after myself as I’ve gotten older. How I’ve dealt with injury as well. Some of the injuries I’ve had, people in the medical profession have questioned whether I’d be done, so there’s determination as well. The way I bowl, years ago I didn’t expect to play Test cricket for Australia. So to see where I’ve come from, it’s a good achievement, to show the amount I’ve had to work to get there. I’ve surprised myself, in a way.What would Ryan Harris of 2015 say to Ryan Harris of say 2003?
Apply yourself a bit more, and believe in yourself. Train harder. Once I had that stronger belief, that’s when I started playing well and belonged at first-class level. Just to apply myself a bit more would have been better. You always wish you can go back and change things, but in the end I don’t regret it, it’s part of growing up.You evolved a lot as a bowler in South Australia. You started to learn about yourself and started to flourish before you left there, but was there anything about SA or Adelaide that meant it took a little longer for that to happen?
Not really. Something just clicked in my bowling action, I started bowling a bit quicker, started taking wickets. I got to the stage where I was on the verge again and almost lost my contract, two and a half years before I left. I had a good pre-season and did my knee in the first grade game and then had a longer time out of the game than I should have had. Then I sat down with Wayne Phillips, who was SA coach at the time, and he said, “Look mate, you’ve got to decide what you want to do”, so I came back, trained hard again and got back to bowl at good pace and started taking lots of wickets. Once I got through that injury I bowled as well as I ever had and things started to run for me, so that was probably the belief starting to show. That’s probably when it turned around.Something Graham Manou told me about the 2009 Ashes tour was how different it was being in the Australian side versus South Australia in terms of the attitude to defeat. It was “How did we lose that, we can’t be losing games” rather than “Oh well, we’re not good enough again.”
I don’t know what it was with the South Australian team because at the time I was around the team we had a good side. But it was just finding ways to win games. We didn’t know how to do it. In Queensland it struck me when I moved here how much fighting spirit they had. We won games from where we shouldn’t have – the Queensland boys just had that determination never to give up. That was similar to what I found with the Australian side and the mentality they had. Whereas SA, we just didn’t seem to believe we could do it in certain positions in games. With the side we had – Lehmann, Blewett, Gillespie, David Fitzgerald, Ben Johnson, Brad Young, Paul Rofe, we had a really good side, but just not enough to win things. In the whole eight years, I think we finished fourth once, very close to the Shield final but never got there. And years later they still haven’t.

“I know when I left South Australia, Ian McLachlan said it wasn’t a big loss, I only took 37 wickets. Whether or not they were happy to see me go, who cares. History shows it was probably a mistake for them”

Around the time you moved to Queensland there was this whisper campaign along the lines of: we need to move Ryan because we need to change the culture. It looks an outlandish claim now.
The culture at the time wasn’t too bad. We were starting to win and I was starting to take wickets. I never really knew about that. I know when I left, Ian McLachlan [then SACA president] said it wasn’t a big loss, I only took 37 wickets. Whether or not they were happy to see me go, who cares. History shows it was probably a mistake for them, like it has been every time they seem to establish a team and get good players, then let them go because of some sort of dispute – like Michael Klinger or Mark Cosgrove. At the time I felt there was an issue with Northern Districts players because they let me go, they let Graham go, they let Darren go, and they let Cossie go. But it was just coincidental.You dealt with Darren Lehmann at Northern Districts, South Australia, Queensland and then Australia. You’ve had him in your professional and personal life over a long period. What have you seen change or grow in him?
To be honest, he hasn’t changed. He’s still the same sort of guy as coach that he was as captain. He’s honest and to the point, he’ll tell you if you’re doing something wrong, tell you if you’re doing something right. The Northern Districts boys used to love him going out there and making sure he’d have a beer afterwards. He’d buy them a carton and sit in the rooms. He just loves cricket and he’ll talk about the game forever.On the personal side he’s been a mentor of mine for a long time. I spoke to him about leaving SA. He was probably the second person I told after my dad. I rang him to get his opinion. He got me over to the IPL, and I had him up here with the Bulls, and he’s been great for me and my cricket. In times when I have slackened off, he’s usually been around to kick me in the butt to get me on track.You say he hasn’t changed, but he clearly picked up a few things about coaching along the way?
He’s a great man manager as well as a great coach. But he was like that when he was playing, he’d do the same thing with the young blokes then – he gave you confidence to go out and play the way you wanted to play. If you make a mistake that’s okay, but just don’t make it again. If you keep making it over and over again, that’s when he gets shitty.One thing you shared was that you’ve both dealt with loss. You lost your mum, he lost his mum, and also David Hookes. And you spent a fair amount of time with each other in both cases.
When my mum passed away, he was the first to call in to see me. He was captain at the time and he was fantastic about it. “Go away and take as much time as you want, if you want to play cricket next week, play, if you don’t, you don’t. You do what you’ve got to do.” He was always there ringing me, a good shoulder to lean on, and as a mentor and close mate he was great through that time. Even now with anniversaries, he seems to remember when it happened. I’m a bit sketchy on when his anniversary is but he always seems to remember my mum, there’s always a message. He’s fantastic in that way.With bowling coach Allister de Winter in the nets: “The wrist snap was just a part of my action that started to click”•Getty ImagesOne thing about your career is, it spans a lot of changes to the domestic structure. You arrived when there were a lot of older players around, then a big group left the game in a short space of time, before the Futures League caused a few more to go. How do you look at the Shield now versus when you began?
The Futures League was a mistake from the start. You had a lot of contracted players who were sitting around, not allowed to play 2nd XI cricket like they used to do, and missing out. So guys were thinking, “Well, I can’t rely on grade cricket each week” because guys performing in grade cricket weren’t getting picked in 2nd XI because of the age restrictions, so they’re like, “What’s the point, I might as well go get a full-time job.” These guys were on 40 to 60k, which is okay money, but if you’ve got a trade, you could be earning twice that money, I think that’s why we lost a lot of guys. My theory on that a long time ago was that if the young players were good enough and earning a pot, they’d play anyway, but the competition went down because of that. It took probably three years too long to realise that.The times I as growing up playing 2nd XI cricket, I was playing games against teams then that could have been second 1st teams now, playing as additional states – they were that good. I don’t think there’s enough of that these days. It’s funny because after the big u-turn they did, the Australian Cricketers Association and Cricket Australia now are trying to get more older players back in the game.You and Mitchell Johnson are now the 30-something fast bowlers with a lot of younger guys around you. How have you found Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood and others to deal with? Can you sense the generation gap?
I’ve spent a lot of time with them and they love the game and love talking about it. They ask for advice and love learning, so that part of it is covered. None of them are “I know what I’m doing, I know the game.” They respect the game for what it is and where they’re at. They’re always trying to learn, trying to bowl six balls in the right spot rather than four and all that sort of stuff. It’s important to get young guys talking about the game and they do that a lot, which is great.A lot of people have marvelled at your strong wrist, how it snaps over and sends the ball down with perfect backspin and seam position. How did that develop?
I’ve got nothing for you there, that just happened. I didn’t even know when that started, whether it started in Adelaide or up in Brisbane. I remember watching replays at some stage and seeing that wrist snap back, and to me it feels like it’s straight up and down. I don’t feel it go back. That was just a part of my action that started to click. It started happening and I got my wrist behind the ball. I always swung it. When I was younger and a bit slower, I could always swing it both ways.How did you pick up reverse swing? Even now it can be elusive for Australia.
I used to love bowling in Adelaide because of that. There’s different theories on it. You try to keep the ball as dry as possible. I’ve learned a little bit being in the Aussie side. We might let the ball go completely, not touch it up or anything like that, which I’d never done before, and once one side goes really bad, you start working on the other side and that works as well. All in all, it’s keeping one side smooth and trying to rough the other one up. Everyone does it these days – throw it into the ground or into the wicket when the keeper runs back. If that doesn’t work, you can go the old-fashioned theory, and that’s load it up one side, wet one side and make it heavier.

“I never thought I’d play Test cricket. If anything I thought I’d play one-day cricket or T20s, but to be able to do that at Test level and sit now where I am, it’s a good feeling”

Have you spoken much over your career to bowlers from other countries about how they did it?
No, because they keep their secrets! Usually in Australia you go for reverse when the ball is a bit softer. But if you can get it going while the ball’s hard, it’s a lot more effective and a lot harder to play, because you get that bounce and zip off the wicket, which doesn’t happen very often. It’s only really happened once in my career in the Shield final in Hobart in the second innings. The ball started reversing after about five overs. It hit the right side enough times and reversed. We had Tasmania 5 for 15, so it’s tough to play.Looking over your Australia career, what do you cherish most? Perhaps apart from your debut.
Winning the Ashes was pretty good, then going to South Africa and winning again was a big few months for us. We played good cricket here, but we spoke about the biggest challenge being to play cricket away from home and winning, and we did that against the best side in the world at the time. That period there was pretty special, but the debut as well. I never thought I’d play Test cricket. If anything I thought I’d play one-day cricket or T20s, but to be able to do that at Test level and sit now where I am, it’s a good feeling.It is a year on from the summer of 2013-14. Does that distance allow you to look on it and work out why it operated so perfectly?
The change of personnel helped. When Darren took over it was a bit of a weight off a few guys’ shoulders and they started to enjoy playing cricket again. Before that they didn’t seem to be doing that, and the way Darren’s handled the team, and also Michael, they’ve done really well. They’ve got us playing positive and entertaining cricket. We were close in England, we knew we were growing close as a team, so if we could come back to our backyard in our conditions, we had a big chance. We hit them pretty hard and they weren’t expecting that at all.In your time in the Australian side the only time you’ve been dropped was from the one-day team in early 2012. Can you remember that, and was it an issue of, like you said, enjoyment or being over-anxious abut your spot?
Exactly that: I tried too hard. I had been injured and out of the one-day team and then wanted so badly to get back in, I tried to bowl too fast and got pumped all over the place. I remember playing India and being quite anxious on the ground, and that was a big lesson to me. I was worrying about my spot, and I never worried about that before. It was how I got to where I did, just bowling and taking wickets. I tried so hard to get back into the team then, I tried so hard I got myself out of it as well.I never ever worried about it before, I just played and let the ball do the talking. For once I tried too hard and I knew I’d mucked it up.Looking ahead, you’ve got a pretty detailed plan to make sure you’re ready to go in the West Indies?
I’m basically doing a pre-season. The opportunity is there to do what I did leading into England in 2013, that was identified as the way to do it. It was a very similar time frame, and every time I bowl now, I’m using up balls that I won’t be able to bowl again, so the decision was made that I wouldn’t play Shield cricket to play another Ashes series for Australia. It’s disappointing not being able to play, but the thought of going to England again one more time and having a crack at the Ashes was something I couldn’t argue with.Cooking with Michael Clarke at a fan event: “Darren and Michael have got us playing positive and entertaining cricket”•Getty ImagesI know the lead-up I had to 2013 was spot-on and when they sat down and said, “We’re going to do what we did last time”, I couldn’t argue because it got me through nine Tests. I didn’t have a very good build-up into the India series after knee surgery, I wasn’t fit enough. At first it was disappointing because a World Cup was there potentially, but I can’t argue with it.A lot of talk has been devoted to the ball that bowled Alastair Cook in the second innings in Perth last summer. Can you think of any other balls to get wickets that stick in your mind?
The one in Cape Town last year to get AB de Villiers in the second innings was a decent ball with the second new ball. Then there was one in Galle in 2011 to get Mahela Jayawardene when he was on a hundred on the last day. I worked bloody hard to get that. That Cook one was a fast bowler’s dream, what you try to do every ball. When it comes off, you look like a genius. The seam was up and it hit the seam and almost swung again afterwards. It was just a freakish ball and I’m trying to do that every time. Keep that seam up. is out now on Hardie Grant Books

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2015Shane Watson departed in Bishoo’s next over, edging a drive to slip•Getty ImagesFour overs later, Bishoo ripped a legbreak past Brad Haddin’s defences to leave Australia struggling on 126 for 6•Getty ImagesDebutant Adam Voges halted the slide with a fifty partnership in the company of Mitchell Johnson…•Getty Images… till Bishoo removed Johnson and Mitchell Starc in the space of three deliveries•AFPAided by the tail, Voges became the oldest player to make a hundred on Test debut, his unbeaten 130 helping Australia to 318•Getty ImagesFacing a deficit of 170, West Indies were pegged further back when Johnson removed Shai Hope early for 2•Getty ImagesStarc then ripped through Kraigg Brathwaite’s bat-pad gap to leave the hosts precariously placed at 25 for 2 when stumps were called•Getty Images