They may have “fewer battle scars”, but few would bet on New Zealand to pull off their first win in in Australia in 23 years when the first Test gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday

Mathew Varghese19-Nov-2008
Will Daniel Vettori stamp his all-round mark on the Australians? © Getty Images
They may have “fewer battle scars”, but few would bet on New Zealand to pull off their first win in Australia in 23 years when the first Test gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday. In 28 Tests since that Perth victory in 1985-86, New Zealand have won only three times – all at home – drawn 12 and lost 13. It’s been 15 years, or 17 Tests, that New Zealand have been winless against Australia. They last won in March 1993 in Auckland, and have suffered 11 losses since. (Click here to view New Zealand’s past results in Australia.)Another hurdle that faces New Zealand is the Gabba, a venue where Australia have been unbeaten for 19 Tests. Since West Indies beat them in 1988-89, Australia have won 14 Tests, with four victories in the last four seasons. Daniel Vettori and his team, though, would rather prefer to look back to that series win in 1985-86, when they won by an innings and 41 runs in Brisbane, New Zealand’s biggest win over Australia. New Zealand also drew all three Tests during their visit in 2000-01, and since then Australia have failed to win a Test in a series just once: the recent debacle in India. Only India have drawn three Tests in Australia since 2000 – they have played nine to New Zealand’s five – while losses dominate the records for the rest.Australia’s record in 2008 may not be too daunting – three wins, three losses and three draws – but New Zealand haven’t performed any better: they have won four and lost four of their ten, but three of those wins came against Bangladesh. Only five of each side’s players have faced their trans-Tasman rivals in a Test before.

New Zealand players against Australia

Player Tests Runs Average Wickets Average

Daniel Vettori 10 368 30.66 45 31.02 Chris Martin 6 9 1.50 8 102.12 Brendon McCullum 5 145 16.11 – – Iain O’Brien 2 10 3.33 2 98.50 Kyle Mills 1 33 33.00 1 99.00

Australia’s players against New Zealand

Player Tests Runs Average Wickets Average

Ricky Ponting 11 808 73.45 – – Matthew Hayden 9 626 41.73 – – Brett Lee 6 139 23.16 32 20.81 Michael Clarke 5 141 37.20 2 12.00 Simon Katich 3 188 62.66 – – One big plus for Australia is the return of Andrew Symonds; his average of 74.37 in six Tests is the best for them this year: Simon Katich is the only other batsman with an average over 50. The worrying fact for the hosts is that their bowlers (apart from Jason Krejza with 29.83) have all gone at over 30 this year, with their fast bowlers unable to make an impression in India. For New Zealand, it’s Vettori who’s been their stand-out performer this year. Only Ross Taylor has scored more runs than him, and Vettori also leads the bowling charts, with 39 wickets at 25.53. The encouraging fact for New Zealand is that Iain O’Brien, Chris Martin and Kyle Mills have also been in the wickets, and even if you exclude Tests against Bangladesh, New Zealand’s bowling unit have performed better than Australia. (Australia’s bowlers, though, have played in tougher conditions in West Indies and India, while New Zealand played at home and in England.)Brett Lee struggled in India; however, he had 40 wickets at an astounding average of 20.57 in Australia’s home series against Sri Lanka and India last summer: he won the series prize for both. Symonds took 11 wickets at 25.27, and Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson had over 20 wickets each at over 30 apiece. Symonds was their main force with the bat, with 513 runs at 85.50, and four of their batsmen averaged over 60.Toss
Australia have only lost four of the 28 Tests when they have won the toss at the Gabba. On the other hand, opposition teams have won only four of the 22 Tests when they have won the toss. Australia have won 17 of the 32 Tests when they have batted first; New Zealand have lost all four doing so. In eight Tests since 2000, Australia have won the toss twice, fielding first and winning against West Indies in 2000-01 and batting first against England in 2006-07. Whenever the opposition has won the toss, they have put Australia in, resulting in four defeats and two draws.

Result by situation at the Gabba

Situation Tests Matches won Lost Drawn Tied

Australia winning the toss 28 18 4 6 Australia losing the toss 22 12 4 5 1 Australia’s dominance is clearly reflected in the average runs per wicket, with a yawning gap between them and the opposition during their unbeaten streak.

Average runs per wicket

Period Australia’s average Opposition’s average

Overall 39.51 26.33 1990 onwards 50.19 24.51 2000 onwards 58.29 24.02 Pace v Spin
The stats may not encourage Vettori too much, but being a spinner he might want to bowl in the fourth innings, although wet weather in the lead-up might prompt him to bowl first.

Pace v Spin at the Gabba – 1990 onwards

InningsWickets for pace bowlersAverageEconomy-rateWickets for spinnersAverageEconomy-rate1st13538.193.23051.93.02nd12732.952.954136.022.933rd9031.013.253333.732.764th4729.402.923225.462.69Overall39933.873.1013636.492.87

The dissolution of SLC’s interim administration under Arjuna Ranatunga was widely expected following a constant difference of opinion with the sports minister

Sa'adi Thawfeeq24-Dec-2008

	Relations between Arjuna Ranatunga and the Sri Lankan national team weren’t always as cordial © Getty Images

The dissolution of Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim administration under Arjuna Ranatunga was widely expected following a constant difference of opinion between the former World Cup-winning captain and the sports minister, Gamini Lokuge. The decision comes in the backdrop of a tumultuous year that featured more controversies than cricket.The situation, which was constantly deteriorating, eventually came to a head after Ranatunga decided to sack 16 employees of Sri Lanka Cricket last week. The aggrieved employees approached the Minister, who ordered that no decision should be taken without first consulting him.Ranatunga was appointed to the post in January 2008 after former chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa decided to step down. Ranatunga said then that he was taking over to set things right in cricket but he leaves having done more wrong than right.Ranatunga tried to run Sri Lanka Cricket in the same autocratic and ad hoc way he captained the cricket team. But the circumstances are different, and what worked for him as captain has clearly backfired in his term as administrator. He has come across as obstinate and impulsive, and his refusal to involve his committee members in the decision-making process has earned him constant criticism. Worse, most of his decisions have turned out to be counter-productive.Incredibly for a player-administrator, he has managed to alienate the majority of Sri Lanka’s international players. The relationship, already rocky, virtually broke down when he unilaterally committed Sri Lanka to a tour of England in April-May 2009 despite being fully aware that a majority of the Sri Lankan players were contracted to play in the IPL in the same period. The England tour was not part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme but hastily organised to fill a gap in the English summer that arose due to Zimbabwe’s withdrawal.Ranatunga justified his decision saying that the cash-strapped Sri Lankan board badly needed the US$2 million guarantee money the tour would bring. But the tour fell through when the sports minister sided with the players.

	Ranatunga, who began his tenure by appealing to the Indian cricket board to bail out Sri Lanka Cricket, is now seen as the biggest obstacle in the relationship between the two boards.

Ironically, Ranatunga, who began his tenure by appealing to the Indian cricket board to bail out Sri Lanka Cricket, is now seen as the biggest obstacle in the relationship between the two boards. The Indian administrators haven’t taken kindly to the Ranatunga’s constant jibing – he has emerged as a strong opponent of Twenty20 cricket and in fact blamed India’s loss in the first Test against Sri Lanka earlier this year to the after-effects of the IPL – and made it clear there could be no relationship between the two boards as long as Ranatunga was in charge. Consequently, the Indian board withdrew an offer of a US$70 million bailout package for Sri Lanka over a ten-year period in return for a commitment to Twenty20 tournaments organized by the BCCI.It is speculated that Ranatunga – who met President Mahinda Rajapakse after his removal – will be offered a ministerial post; those in the running to replace him include a former cricket board president, a former interim committee chairman and a current interim committee member.Whoever takes over the job, though, is likely to inherit a mess.

Bangalore’s turnaround has much to do with Kumble’s appointment as captain following the departure of Kevin Pietersen

Sriram Veera in Johannesburg19-May-2009The tale of today’s two captains can’t be more contradictory. Anil Kumble has almost taught this team to win while Delhi have sailed along without Virender Sehwag’s contribution with the bat. Bangalore hadn’t won much before Kumble took over and led from the front with his bowling; Sehwag has been almost anonymous through a mix of poor form and injury but Delhi – still comfortably top of the table despite today’s defeat – haven’t missed him.On a flat night at the Wanderers – the crowd was out of it till Ross Taylor biffed a few sixes – Bangalore cruised through a game they had in control from the dramatic first over. They were in top form – they had to be given their must-win situation – and, though clinical and professional, displayed a hunger to win.Bangalore’s turnaround has much to do with Kumble’s appointment as captain following the departure of Kevin Pietersen. Even Ray Jennings, the coach, admitted as much, noting that Kumble’s tenacity and hunger to win – qualities that served the Indian team for almost two decades – have spread across to the team. Not too long ago they were languishing near the bottom of the table, the players pessimistic about the fate of their campaign.Kumble changed all that – he set the example and the seniors followed. Last year, they failed to put up their hand. This year, though, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid and Mark Boucher have shone and Ross Taylor has begun firing at the right time. Kallis, the man whom Kumble pipped to the captaincy post, has especially supported him superbly with the bat. As witnessed tonight in another typically serene Kallis knock; he batted on calmly with Dravid and dropped anchor to allow Taylor a cameo before finishing the game.The seniors’ performances have started to rub off on the youngsters; Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Virat Kohli have chipped in with vital contributions to keep the team afloat in the competition. It’s a team that has worked really hard in their preparation. At times, they have had a strenuous workout in the morning before playing a practice game in the afternoon. Kumble hasn’t had to worry about reckless late-night partying, unlike last year when Martin Crowe had to impose a curfew mid-tournament.For all the preparation and practice, though, the wins weren’t coming. Till Kumble entered. He has led superbly with the ball in the last few games. Today, he didn’t have to do much as Praveen and Kallis had done the damage first up with the new ball. He simply had to ensure that Delhi didn’t get away in the middle-overs and he did it without much fuss. There was one Kumble moment, though, that evoked memories of his younger days when he would feast on the non-Asian and non-specialist batsmen with his pace.The mind went back to a home series against England when Kumble haunted, harrassed and made a mockery of Richard Blakey. The bat would go up and, in the blink of an eye, the stumps would be in disarray. Or the ball would crash against the pad or produce a hurried fatal prod. Today, Andrew McDonald found out what Blakey must have felt like. Anyone could have predicted Kumble giving him the yorker. Yet when it came McDonald was helpless; the bat was late and the furniture was disturbed. It was akin to watching one of those wildlife films where the tiger stalks the deer before pouncing; the brutality loses none of its beauty in the absence of surprise.Even in the earlier games, Kumble has bowled like a champion that he is. Not many have collared him and when some, like Yuvraj Singh, have tried, they have had to admit defeat pretty quickly. Kumble has been his fierce old self and his team has flourished under him.In contrast, Sehwag has seen his team win without his contribution. It’s a sign of a settled team and Sehwag could actually be pleased with it. He would know, though, that he’ll have to fire in the pressure games ahead to support his middle-order which has stood up valiantly so far. Last year, the top-order used to fire and the middle-order struggled. So far, it’s been the reverse. Sehwag’s best could come in the knockout games. For Delhi it would be well worth the wait.

This was what touring South Africa is meant to be all about, the battle between batsmen and fast bowlers

Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town04-Jan-2010This series has had plenty of passages of enthralling action, but the confrontation between England’s top order and the duel pace threat of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn was as riveting as it comes. This was what touring South Africa is meant to be all about, the battle between batsmen and fast bowlers which has created some of cricket’s great moments of the past.In Morkel and Steyn, South Africa have the perfect pair for a fearsome pace combination. The height and bounce of Morkel complements the fuller, skiddy approach of Steyn – not that the latter doesn’t have a rapid bouncer in his armoury. However, this was the first time that they had operated together in this series with prime effect.Steyn missed the opening Test and was still searching for rhythm during the Durban clash. By the time he was finding form England’s lead was out of sight and Morkel was nursing a sore foot. This week, though, South Africa couldn’t afford anything less than starring roles from their two strike bowlers. Their series hopes depended on it.However, surprisingly, they weren’t the first pair to greet England’s opening batsmen. Morkel was handed the opening over and continued his hold over Andrew Strauss with the sixth-ball removal of the captain, but at the opposite end it was Friedel de Wet given the honours. With Makhaya Ntini now moved aside there was an opening to share the new ball, but surely it was the prime moment for Morkel and Steyn to harness their powers.Instead it was de Wet who was given the chance to find some early swing while Morkel concentrated on hitting the splice. He didn’t disgrace himself, but didn’t offer quite enough wicket-taking potential to justify the move from Graeme Smith. Steyn initially replaced Morkel, but two overs later finally the pair were in tandem.Stump shattering: South Africa’s pacemen were on the mark today•Getty Images”The captain felt that with two left-handers, Friedel does bowl well to the left-handers as does Morne, while Dale is unbelievable to the right-handers,” Jacques Kallis explained. “It was a little bit of tactical thing and a bit of a surprise to see how England would react.”Once in the action, it didn’t take Steyn long to live up to the pre-series hype. His record against England actually needs some work; he currently averages 41.14 against them against his career record 23.92. But with his fourth ball after the drinks break he began correcting that when he induced Jonathan Trott to chop onto his stumps, and two deliveries later he managed something a little special.It’s common knowledge around the world now that the place to target Kevin Pietersen when he first comes to the crease is full and straight. Steyn began with a bouncer, as if to mark his territory, but his next delivery was the stumps. It appeared to come out a touch slower and Pietersen, still a little heavy-footed early on, drove too early and Steyn stuck out his right hand to accept the return catch. For a second, time appeared to stand still before Steyn flung the ball up in celebration.It left England tottering on 36 for 3 – the morning wicket count was up to seven – and Newlands barely had time to catch breath. Steyn and Morkel then steamed in as Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood tried to right the innings. Collingwood was left doing the limbo to avoid a Morkel bouncer, reminiscent of Robin Smith at his ducking-and-weaving best, but the pair survived until the slightly less threatening de Wet and Jacques Kallis took over.Battle was rejoined at the start of the afternoon session, and Morkel removed Collingwood leaving Ian Bell to face another working-over. Bell was repeatedly beaten outside off, especially by Morkel who was finding troubling bounce from a good length. The South Africans have said this isn’t a typical Newlands pitch and a touch of unevenness is already playing a role. Batting last won’t be easy.Crucially for South Africa, even when Morkel and Steyn weren’t in the attack they didn’t let England get away. Having Kallis available to play a fuller role was important, especially with Paul Harris not providing control. Towards the close, scoring became slightly easier, however Steyn returned and beat Stuart Broad for pace shortly before the new ball.”The bowlers came out and really showed what they can do and what they have been doing in the last year or two, rather than the last Test,” Kallis said. “The guys have stepped up and delivered the goods, it’s the reason why they got picked and have delivered the goods in Australia and in England last time.”The hard, red ball will be in the hands of Steyn and Morkel come the morning. Their first job is to mop up the tail, but the real work will begin when South Africa bowl again and the battle is rejoined with England’s top order. Then it will be about landing the knock-out blow.

Katherine Brunt nearly gave up on cricket before deciding to persevere on. She may not be the fastest but who needs speed when you’ve got wickets to show?

Nishi Narayanan08-Mar-2010The 2008 World Twenty20 final. New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins, match-winner in the semis, comes to crease at the fall of Suzie Bates’ wicket. She gets two runs off Laura Marsh and takes strike for Katherine Brunt’s second over. The first ball swings in to the left-hander, who looks to drive but is beaten by the inswing and bowled. Brunt takes two more and New Zealand are all out for 85. England win by six wickets.Brunt, the Player of the Match for her career-best 3 for 6, rates that wicket of Watkins as the best in her six years in the international game, but says she was lucky. “I knew she was going to come out very aggressive, and she took me on very first ball. If she had played defensive, she’d have been in, but she decided to go after me and it swung back in and bowled her,” Brunt said while on tour in India. “It was probably the best ball I bowled all year – just happened to be at her.”Good fortune has been hard to come by in Brunt’s career, though. As a teenager she nearly gave up the game because of her weight issues. Then in 2006 she suffered a career-threatening back injury that forced her to reassess her bowling priorities.Brunt says she gets asked about her weight problem, and how she countered it, a lot. It is a compelling story. At 17, having played Under-15 and Under-17 for Yorkshire, she decided to give up the game because she was overweight and was not enjoying playing anymore.”It was really hard [playing] as a teenager. There wasn’t much help there in terms of nutrition and fitness. You were just left to your own devices.” But being overweight and not playing was not enjoyable either. “One day I decided I didn’t want to be fat and unfit anymore. I wanted to be lean like everyone else and fit and strong enough to be able to play international cricket. When I was large, I never wanted to be part of that – I wasn’t confident. When I eventually decided to do it I lost it all in three months. The instant I lost the last of the four stone, I got picked for England straight away. So it proves if you want something bad enough, you’ll get it.”Brunt clearly wanted that England cap badly enough, because a broken finger (2005) and a prolapsed disc (2006) didn’t stop her from making another comeback. The latter injury did, though, stop her bowling at top speed. Even when she returned, she was haunted by the injury, wondering whether the next ball would be the end of it all.”The first six months [after] I came back, I bowled slower and within myself. I didn’t want to bowl that bouncer or quicker ball because that’s how my injury happened – I bowled a bouncer at the captain, and although it was a good bouncer it wasn’t good for me. It took me a while to bowl that quicker ball but it eventually came to me.”She got quicker but had to give up her dream of being the quickest. Brunt, who had a mixed action – “my arm was front-on and my feet were side-on” – reworked it during her rehab and returned as a side-on bowler.”When I was a teenager I just wanted to be the quickest in the world. Now I’m 24 and I want to be the best bowler in the world. I want to be economical, I want to take loads of wickets, and I want to be the No.1.”People can bowl as quick as they want but without control. I want to bowl controlled and with swing. And if you bowl quick you don’t naturally get swing. Jhulan Goswami bowls up and down – she doesn’t get much swing. That’s because you either have to do one or the other. So she’s quite aggressive and good with that and I’m good with my swing. I chose to do that but if I wanted to be quick I could.”After this tour to India she may never feel the need for speed again, having taken 10 wickets in five ODIs – including a career-best 5 for 22 on a slow Bangalore pitch. She got the ball moving early in the innings and reduced India to 16 for 4 in 6.2 overs. England eventually won the match by three runs but lost the series 3-2.

When I was a teenager I just wanted to be the quickest in the world. Now I’m 24 and I want to be the best bowler in the world. I want to be economical, I want to take loads of wickets, and I want to be the No.1

From here, Brunt will go to the West Indies for the World Twenty20 in May. And though a lot rests on her shoulders as the defending champions’ strike bowler, England now have the strength to bear that burden. And if she fails, she has the mental strength and maturity to bounce back.She also has a season of club cricket with her family to look forward to. As a youngster Brunt played with her father, and brother Daniel, in the Barnsley second XI. Her father, 63, is retired but has decided to pick up the ball again. Her brother, a batsman-keeper who got picked for Yorkshire but gave it up to play golf, will also play, so Brunt will return to Barsnley.”I felt quite comfortable playing with boys more than playing with girls because they were tough. I grew up in a family of six, so I am used to not being noticed or getting beaten up because I am the littlest. I used to enjoy it with the boys and it probably made me a stronger character. So when I came to women’s cricket I was a lot better for that.”

South Australia used it as a stepping stone to the semi-finals while Guyana were only playing to claim their participation certificate

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg21-Sep-2010South Australia could have well been playing a game of darts while Guyana were cycling a road race. So different were the two teams’ missions in this mismatch that they barely noticed each other as they each went about their business during their final group stage match. South Australia used it as a stepping stone to the semi-finals, aiming for targets and sub-targets along the way. Guyana were only playing to claim their participation certificate and cross the finish line with some self-respect.”For us it was about pride. We had some pride coming into the tournament and we wanted to regain that and give our fans something to cheer about,” Ramnaresh Sarwan said. For at least two-thirds of the match they did that. The bowlers managed a piercing start when they captured three early wickets, although that was the end of their success. The batting had far more to boast about. Even though, for most of the chase, it didn’t look as though Guyana were really aiming for the target, they reached their highest total in four matches, 176 for 7.Sarwan felt that his young side, who only arrived in South Africa four days before their first match may have been unsettled with the short preparation time. Despite that, he said they ended on a high and will go home with their heads held high. For this match at least, it was mission accomplished. “We found our best form towards the end of the tournament, which is the same thing we did in the Caribbean. Today, we showed what we are capable of; we were just not consistent in showing that.”By contrast, South Australia, who were already assured of a semi-final place before this match, wanted to “hit our straps and nail our game” according to Man of the Match Callum Ferguson. They found themselves on the back foot early on for the first time in the tournament when the top order was plucked cheaply. Was that a blessing in disguise, destined to give the middle order some time at the crease? “You can say that and it was fantastic to see Cameron [Borgas] notch up a good score and guys like Daniel [Christian] and Tom [Cooper] get a bit of a knock.”South Australia posted the second highest total of the tournament, which is made even more impressive because of their initial collapse. “We lost early wickets this time, which we hadn’t done before but we knew if we hold some wickets in hand and create a good platform, we can capitalise in the last few overs.”

We found our best form towards the end of the tournament, which is the same thing we did in the Caribbean. Today, we showed what we are capable of; we were just not consistent in showing that.Ramnaresh Sarwan

Ferguson was equally pleased with the test the bowlers were given, after being called on to defend on a pitch that is better suited to batting. “Our bowling wasn’t the best on the day but it was good to see that in a pressure situation we still got the win, especially after Sarwan took them really close.”Now that they have been put through their paces in a tense encounter, do South Australia feel ready for the semis? “We are happy with the way we are playing at the moment and they way we have played throughout the group stage. At first, we just really wanted to win the first game, so that we could have a real go at the two Indian sides. We’ve now got plenty momentum going into the semis.”But Ferguson was quick to issue a critique, and a warning. “We still feel as though we haven’t quite hit our peak and we still have another 5-10% to go.” The bulls-eye is where they are zoning in on as the tournament reaches its business end, which means whoever they meet cannot afford to be anything other than completely focused.

Plays of the day from Bangladesh’s must-win Group B clash with Netherlands

Sidharth Monga in Chittagong14-Mar-2011The run-out
Bowlers’ deflection onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end seemed to be the favourite mode of run-out today. In the 15th over of the Netherlands innings, when Eric Szwarczynski pushed Abdur Razzak back down the ground, the bowler got a finger on it, only to find that Tom Cooper, the non-striker was already home. In the 23rd over, though, when Cooper returned Szwarczynski the favour, the latter could not make it back.The amend
Mushfiqur Rahim dropped Cooper’s sitter off Rubel Hossain, and considering the free-flowing start Cooper made to his innings, it seemed it might cost Bangladesh as much as the Eoin Morgan reprieve did the other day. Today, though, Mushfiqur got a second chance when Cooper was short by a mile, but Shakib threw a wild return from point. He was down on his knees and around the good-length area on the pitch when he collected the throw, but from there he flicked it on to catch Cooper short.The appeal
In the 46th over, Razzak got so immersed in appealing for an lbw that Ryan ten Doeschate stole a leg-bye by the time the appeal finished. When Razzak finished the appeal, he looked up to find the ball at his feet. To make a point, he even implored Shakib into going for a review, only to find the ball kissing the outside of the leg stump.The misfortune
Shafiul Islam kept moving the ball consistently in his first spell, mixed in the yorkers, and the bouncers of both varieties. Still he couldn’t get a wicket: he often missed the edge; when he hit the pad, it would be too high. The first spell made for impressive reading, 6-3-7-0, but the wickets column remained blank. When he came back at the death, Shafiul would have thought he had finally got his wicket when ten Doeschate hit him straight to deep square leg. Razzak, however, dropped it. Some things are not meant to be.The indecision
When ten Doeschate was dropped in the above-mentioned instance, he was batting with the No. 11, and that being the first ball of the over, he wanted to retain the strike. So he called Adeel Raja back when he was about to touch down at the other end. The strike was successfully retained. ten Doeschate drove the next ball towards extra cover, and instinctively set off to run, expecting the ball to get through the inner ring. Then he saw the ball stopped at the edge of the circle, and realised all he could manage was a single, and decided to call Raja back. Then he realised it was too late. Then he thought maybe it wasn’t. Finally they decided to go back to their original ends, but it was too late even despite the slow throw.

Ricky Ponting is losing control of everything he desires in cricket. His influence on the side is disappearing and his power over the selectors has waned.

Peter English at the WACA16-Dec-2010Ricky Ponting is losing control of everything he desires in cricket. His influence on the side is disappearing and his power over the selectors has waned. His batting is an imitation of the man who once swung at the same level as Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Ponting is physically at his fittest and looks in fabulous shape, but his mind, 36 years old on Sunday, is winding down.His team is in even greater decline. Valued players let him down often and the new faces are not yet helping. Ponting is in charge during Australia’s most damaging crisis since the mid-1980s and the situation becomes worse by the day. Everything is going wrong: the wrong XI chosen, the wrong attitude employed and the wrong shots displayed after the coin fell England’s way.Australia did recover from a horror first session to post 268, but it will take something extremely special over the next four days to stop England from taking the 2-0 lead that would ensure they retain the urn. Ponting is already facing the prospect of becoming only the second Australian to lose three Ashes series. If that happens his hold on the captaincy will be weak and he is not a man who will play without the leadership. In this form, with 80 runs in five bats in the series, Australia wouldn’t want him to.The time has come to speak in the past tense of Ponting as a great batsman. Sparks may remain but the periods of sustained excellence have gone. Ponting walks to the wicket on reputation and has been leaving without regular results. He has played 24 Tests since the start of last year and averaged 39.87, including series against West Indies and New Zealand, and two against Pakistan. A No.3 who previously created fear has become a shadow.Ponting is meant to be the one Australian batsman who can change the game or wrestle back the series. Picking four specialist fast bowlers, omitting the spinner Michael Beer and then losing the toss made his task even harder. He was called to the middle after two overs following Phillip Hughes’ early legside wobble, and was lucky to last more than three balls.If England had four slips instead of three, Ponting probably wouldn’t have scored. Briefly, his fortune had changed.Boundaries from a pull and a flick to midwicket raced him to 12 off nine deliveries. He was aggressive and seemed in, but he could not tone down the high-energy tempo, a trait his batting partners also struggled to conquer. Four wickets fell in an opening session that required graft not glamour.Ponting used to love the bounce of Perth, a ground which hasn’t always treated him well. He was lbw, hit high on the thigh, when 96 on debut back when he was already destined for greatness. Last year he was struck on the left elbow by Kemar Roach here, forcing him to retire hurt after a painful, jumpy display. There were more jerky movements today as he attempted to get on top of the ball but couldn’t.To his tenth delivery he leaned on his back foot to James Anderson and pushed unconvincingly at the ball, which found his edge and shot towards Paul Collingwood at third slip. Collingwood launched himself to his right and the ball buried in his outstretched hand. It was a catch Ponting would have claimed a couple of years ago, but one that would surely escape his reach now.Ponting’s lips pursed as he watched the brilliant interception and he then turned his head in anger, disbelief and resignation. He left slowly, watching the replay on the way back, and seeing the score. Yes, he was really out, the victim again. The team was 2 for 17 and heading to an even worse start than the destruction of Adelaide. It would soon be 4 for 36 and 5 for 69 before the rally from Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson.Michael Clarke, the leader in waiting, went with a tame waft outside off and Shane Watson was beaten by a searing yorker from Steven Finn. Smith, a batsman Ponting didn’t think was good enough for the top six five months ago, tried hard but went tamely after lunch. Haddin is too low at No.7.In the second session Ponting sat next to his mate Justin Langer, who doubles as the side’s batting coach. They have a lot to fix but no guaranteed way of achieving answers.Usually when Ponting talks publicly he is so reassuring about his team, remaining convincing even during extended losing streaks. On the eve of the match he made a rare slip. When asked if his captaincy could survive another Ashes loss he said the choice was out of his hands. “The powers that be will make those decisions I guess at the end of the series, or after this Test match,” he said.Ponting was the one who brought forward his potential judgment day. He doesn’t want to leave the scene, as he showed with his funereal shuffle off the ground after his dismissal, but he knows the price of continual individual and team failure.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the first ODI between South Africa and India in Durban

Sidharth Monga at Kingsmead12-Jan-2011The Batting Powerplay
It was perfectly timed and perfectly used by South Africa, which was a refreshing sign, for the middle overs had become a drone after a frenetic start. South Africa had two set batsmen in the middle, and the India spinners were looking to sort of rush through the overs. Then, in the 28th over, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy asked the umpire to rotate his hand in a circular motion. That brought back the pace bowlers who struggled through the day. Without playing a single wild shot, the duo added 45 in the next five overs.The long hop
When nothing is working for you, in any form of cricket, when all else has failed, do try bringing on a part-time offspinner and see if he can bowl a juicy enough half-tracker. Rohit Sharma tried that for India in his second over, and was handsomely rewarded by de Villiers, who hit it straight down deep midwicket’s throat. One wicket soon became two, two soon became three, and India ended up conceding 30 fewer than they were expected to.The preparation
Fielders often charge in to prepare to field a shot that might come their way, but MS Dhoni, in the last over of South Africa’s innings, showed further foresight. With Lonwabo Tsotsobe on strike, he was so awake to the eventuality of a scrambled bye, he threw down his right glove even before Zaheer Khan let the ball go. That’s some anticipation.The Inzamam memorial
Rohit Sharma does tend to end up on the wrong side of umpiring decisions, but he has also tended to emulate Inzamam-ul-Haq’s slow walks back to the pavilion. He was given out caught behind off Morne Morkel’s bowling, but the sound came from his bat hitting the pad, something the umpire missed. And then he stood there at the wicket, looked at the umpire, looked down, and then began evoking Inzamam. Thankfully, this didn’t go to the extent it did in India’s game against West Indies in the World Twenty20, when Rohit tried to urge Billy Bowden to call for the third umpire after he had been given out caught off the forearm.The reversal in fortune
Two weeks ago, at the same venue, Ishant Sharma got a crucial deflection in his follow-through to get the wicket of a backing-up Jacques Kallis. This time around in Durban, the roles reversed not only in terms of winners and losers, but also in terms of deflecting balls onto the stumps for a run-out. India had staged a mini recovery from 43 for 4 with a 62-run partnership between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. A straight drive from Kohli, though, found Wayne Parnell’s hand on its way to the stumps at the non-striker’s end to send Dhoni back. This was actually the third time during the tour that a batsman has been run out in that fashion. VVS Laxman was caught backing up in the first innings in the third Test in Cape Town when Paul Harris dropped a stinging catch from Sachin Tendulkar but ended up running Laxman out anyway.

The game was decided in two five-over phases in each innings

Firdose Moonda in Nagpur12-Mar-2011It could be a moment that decides a match, sometimes a collection of moments, whether they follow in sequence or not. This time, it was two five-over long phases that made the difference – the two batting Powerplays that undid India and redid South Africa and in the end conspired to produce the result.The batting Powerplay has proved a puzzle for most teams, not knowing whether to take it when the going is good and they have a chance at acceleration or when they are being bogged down and need to find a way out. South Africa used it in a situation similar to the latter, when they needed to wrestle the match away. It was at the start of the 37th over of their chase and the difference between runs required and balls remaining was 40, and the required rate was almost nine runs to the over.To allow the chase to get further away from them would have left too much ground to be made up later on. Even though India had just run Jacques Kallis out and the pendulum and swung back in their favour, South Africa decided it was time to tussle for the advantage. It required careful calculation but they judged it well, after analysing their own batting and the bowling options that India had left at their disposal.The middle order after JP Duminy is relatively untested, with Faf du Plessis, Morne van Wyk, Johan Botha and Robin Peterson only playing a role in the disastrous chase in Chennai last Sunday. de Villiers and Duminy were the last experienced pair and Graeme Smith decided they would be best placed to take advantage of the fact that Zaheer Khan was almost bowled out . “We had discussed it tactically and we knew that Zaheer had been their best bowler in the Powerplays. After he bowled his two in the middle, we thought it was a good time to take it and it worked out well,” Smith said.Zaheer was used for two of the Powerplay overs but South Africa still managed to score 52 runs for the loss of just de Villiers in that period. They brought the required rate down to eight by the end of the 41st over. It was a combination of luck, with de Villiers inside-edging for four in the first over, and aggressive intent, with Duminy, new at the crease, but aware of what he needed to do and able to pick the lines and lengths fluently.When the Poweplay ended, Duminy had to escort the lower middle order through to the end. He ended up perishing in the cause but du Plessis and Botha were able to handle it on their own. It’s likely they wouldn’t have been able to if it wasn’t for the work done in the Powerplay. It’s also unlikely that the chase would have been on if it wasn’t for damage South Africa’s bowlers did during the India’s batting Powerplay.India were cruising on 253 for 1, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were both comfortable and starting to build a mountain for South Africa to climb. In anticipation of that Everest, India were determined to get to the summit as quickly as possible and decided to use the Powerplay as their cable car to the top. “Often in Powerplays, you look to get a par-plus score,” MS Dhoni said. He explained that India were hoping to add some bonus runs in that period, especially because they had wickets in hand, and it ended up having the opposite effect. “You look for those extra 25-30 runs and then you end up 40 runs short.”India’s desperation in the Powerplay was evident, with Gambhir’s urgency to return for a second run off the second ball Dale Steyn bowled; it would have had Tendulkar run out if there was a direct hit. He managed back-to-back boundaries off Morne Morkel but when Tendulkar attempted the same, he was dismissed. Steyn used the slower ball well and Kallis the full ball – each time they asked a question of the India batsmen, the answer was one of them holing out. Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh gave their wickets away and in total India’s Powerplay resulted in a score of 30 for 4.That was all part of their grander collapse, 29 for 9, with five of those wickets going Steyn’s way. The domino effect started with what happened in the Powerplay and instead of India aiming to regroup after that, they persisted in their pursuit of glory and crashed. “The Powerplay was the turning point,” Dhoni admitted.What may get overlooked is why India wanted to lash out in the Powerplay the way they did. They had been frustrated from after the first drinks break, because of a special spell by recalled offspinner Botha. With the score on 137 for 1 after 16 overs, the situation could so easily have got out of hand and the bushfire India had started could have burnt the entire forest down.It was time for Botha, the senior spinner, the man who has been credited with being able to steer a cricket match in the direction he wants it to go, and he got into the driver’s seat immediately. He should have had a wicket in his first over when Virender Sehwag was dropped by van Wyk. In the 15-over period where he bowled with Peterson, du Plessis, Steyn and Kallis at the other end, 66 runs were conceded.It was a deliberate effort by Smith to create the situation where Botha could do that. “I didn’t want to expose the two frontline spinners in the Powerplay because I wanted him [Botha] to control the middle overs. He bowled well in that period for us when we were getting taken to the cleaners.” Botha did not feature in the Powerplays, but his performance around them was enough to script what would happen in that five-over phase where South Africa won the game.