England captain, Alastair Cook, proves yet again why he's top of the line

November 19, 2012

alastair-cook

Ahmedabad, November 19: Alastair Cook is not a crowd puller. But he can pull his weight in the team and score runs. Despite his elegant touch as a left-hander, he is not in the same mould as, say, a David Gower.

But let's accept it: he is not as boring to watch as Allan Border was! But he will surely settle for AB's 11,174 Test runs.

"Cook knows how he can score runs. He cuts the ball well, plays the odd sweep, plays straight, plays resolute. He has got defensive qualities and he has got good judgment and good decision making ability.

These are the qualities you need to make runs," said former England captain and batting coach Graham Gooch. It's not easy to please Gooch. But he appeared mighty pleased with Cook.

"He crafted a hundred today, put together a hundred. It is a different skill than scoring a hundred. When things go well and it all fits into place, people score hundreds. The boy just made it happen.


This is as any innings he has played, and it came under great pressure after a poor first innings. If you get bowled out for less than 200, then you are up against it because there is so much time left in the game.

"He can play such knocks because he is one of the best players in the world. It is not just physical skill I'm talking about. You need skill between the ears," Gooch said.

Some of Cook's figures ooze world class. He was the second youngest after Tendulkar to reach 5,000 Test runs at age 26. He has Test hundreds in Perth (versus both Warne and McGrath), Durban, Galle, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, Nagpur and now Ahmedabad.


Except in New Zealand and the UAE, he averages more than 40 in other countries.

If his 766 runs in the historic Test series win Down Under in 2010-11 are mind-boggling, he scored his second consecutive hundred on Sunday following on in as many attempts (the previous one was the 118 in Galle 2007 in a rain-curtailed draw).

Cook did not score a boundary in the last 19 overs on Day 4 but Matt Prior was relatively aggressive at the other end, it did not make much difference.

A former wicketkeeper in the England dressing room - Andy Flower - will also be pleased with Cook.

But the England skipper needs to score more than 232 (Flower's score in the Nagpur draw of 2000) if they are to save this Test.

And yes, Cook can always look at his 294 against India in the Birmingham Test last year, batting for 773 minutes, for inspiration.

Motera Musings

KP falls to left-arm spin, again
When Kevin Pietersen was in the middle in both the innings, there was an unmistakable buzz. The eagerness among the spectators and the Indian team was palpable. Sadly, in both the innings, KP was a huge disappointment. Not because he fell for 17 and 2, but the manner in which he was dismissed. In the first innings he played down the wrong line to Ojha and saw his middle-stump knocked down. Then, in the second innings, he played a horrible predetermined sweep off a fuller-length delivery and was bowled round the legs. Presumably, there are less talented but more balanced batsmen in the England camp. KP has already got special treatment after the 'texting' drama. Now, he must prove he is a special Test player in Indian conditions. Time the England think-tank weighed his special ability and special inability on pitches like the one in Motera.

New Aswhin style
Off-spinner Ashwin tried various ways to keep the batsmen guessing. One of them was getting to the bowling crease by running between the umpire and the wickets despite bowling over the wicket! It proved to be a futile exercise as he is wicketless in the second innings despite bowling 41 overs.

Relentless spin
Dhoni's decision to not employ the services of part-time operators Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag on Sunday was somewhat baffling. But some of his moves worked. He shuffled his bowlers and opted for the left-arm spin of Pragyan Ojha when it was least expected. In the first over, he got rid of Jonathan Trott, a sharp chance plucked by Dhoni behind the wickets. For almost the entire Day 4, only spinners operated from the media end. Only at the fag end of the day, he gave three back to back overs to pacemen. The quickies did not bowl consecutive overs at any time in the first innings.

Low and slow
The low and slow nature of the wicket was well indicated by the way the slip fielders were stationed to the fast bowlers. At times, Dhoni kept just the second slip. And whenever he kept the first slip, it was positioned way ahead of him and not behind, which is where first slip fielders conventionally stand. Cook edged an Umesh Yadav delivery in the 81st over but it fell short of Kohli at second slip.




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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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News Network
March 21,2020

London, Mar 21: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended all professional cricket till May 28, delaying the start of the new season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ECB took the decision following discussions with the First-Class Counties, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

"It was agreed that, given the current information available, a seven-week delay to the start of the season is the most appropriate approach," an ECB media statement said.

The Board also announced that it is working on three new options, including the three-Test series against West Indies, the T20 Cup and the women's schedule against India, for a possible start in June, July or August.

"Close liaison with the Government will continue, with discussions on the potential of starting the season behind closed doors and giving sports fans the opportunity to live broadcast action," the statement said on Friday.

"The potential for reduced versions of competitions, should the season become further truncated, will also be discussed."

The ECB said it will meet as needed to review the position and make further decisions as the UK situation unfolds.

"During this period of deep uncertainty it is the ECB’s first priority to protect the wellbeing of everyone within the cricket family, from players, to fans and colleagues across the game,’’ ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said.

"The decision to delay the start of the season has been essential, given the circumstances the nation faces. I am reassured by the collaborative effort from across the game that together, we will make the very best of whatever length of season we are able to safely schedule in the coming months," he added.

He said this would give the ECB time to keep pace with a fast-moving situation and continue to plan for how a revised season might look.

"Critically, we can also remain as flexible and adaptable as possible, within the obvious restrictions we face."

Last week, England's tour of Sri Lanka was called off mid tournament in view of the rising threat of the pandemic.

"Securing the future of the game will be a primary focus as we plot a revised schedule with an emphasis on the most financially important forms of the game for the counties across international and domestic cricket," Harrison said.

The COVID-19 global death toll has climbed past 11,000 with more than 250,000 infected. In UK, close to 4000 have tested positive so far and 177 died.

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News Network
May 25,2020

Karachi, May 25: Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq believes Babar Azam is destined to be a world-class player and is very close to being in the same league as India skipper Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith.

"I don't like comparisons but Babar is currently very close to being in the same class as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Joe Root," Misbah said in an interview to Youtube channel, Cricket Baaz.

"He believes in the work ethic that if you want to better Kohli you have to work harder than him at your skills, fitness and game awareness."

The 25-year-old, who was named captain of the Pakistan T20 team ahead of the Australia series in October last year, was recently handed the reins of ODI team as well.

"Making him the T20 captain was a tester. We wanted to see how he will respond to this challenge. All of us agree that he has done a very good job and his biggest plus is that being among the worlds top players he leads by example," Misbah said.

"If you are a performer like Babar then it becomes easier for you to motivate the rest of the team and get things done.

"Even when I was made captain in 2010 my performances were here and there and I was in and out. But captaincy changed my game and mindset and I became a more hard-working and motivated cricketer."

Misbah said Babar always challenges himself and would get better as a captain with experience.

"He is in a zone of his own. He just doesn't want to be in the team. He just doesn't want to play for money. He wants to be the top performer for Pakistan. He is always pitting himself against other top batsmen like Kohli or Smith," he said.

"He loves challenges in the nets and on the field. He has really matured as a player and in time he will get better as a captain with experience."

Babar was the leading run-scorer of the T20I series against Australia last year. He also scored 210 runs, which included a hundred, at 52.50 in the Test series against the same opponents.

In the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka, Babar ended the series with 262 runs with an average of exactly 262.

Misbah feels Babar had changed as a batsman when he got runs in the Tests in Australia.

"Before that he was getting runs in tests but not consistently. In Australia and in the following tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he changed," he said.

Talking about his experience as a head coach, Misbah said: "Having captained, it has helped me a lot. As captain I had to manage everything and also having played under top coaches ... I have seen closely their work ethics and how they managed things.

"It is a learning process. Having remained captain it is a big advantage for coaching because you know the players and their mood swings. You know which player will respond in a given situation,which player is feeling pressure in a scenario.

Misbah said it is not easy juggling between different roles.

"Most important thing as a coach is mentally and psychologically how you handle a group of players," the former skipper said.

"Sometimes captain and coach is different as you have to take tough decisions. Being chief selector makes it it a bit difficult but I had experience of creating and managing teams, I have been building teams since 2003. Till now it is going well."

Misbah feels in Pakistan cricket there were different parameters for judging foreign and local coaches.

"I don't know why it is like this why do we have different eye for locals and foreigners. Maybe we feel they have something special. It looks like every decision by a foreign coach is right. In contrast we tend to be very critical of local coaches no matter what decision they take," he said.

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