Polly Umrigar “Sam Loxton [the Australian fast bowler] was so impressed with Mushtaq that he said if he can bat like this consistently he must be the best opener in the world. He was a fearless hooker of the ball, one of the finest to play the shot, and used to step out and play the shot against the fast bowlers. He was an attacking batsman right from the word go. He was also a thorough gentleman.” Chandu Borde “It’s sad that both Vijay Hazare and Mushtaq Ali had to leave us in the last few days. Both were greats and Indian cricketing history will be incomplete without them. My first Ranji Trophy match was against Indore and on the very third ball I bowled, he jumped down the track and hit me off length. His footwork was fantastic and he could read length better than most. He even jumped down the track to Sam Loxton when he was bowling really quick. When I asked him for advice later in the evening he said, ‘You are looking at the batsman and not at the pitch’. That proved to be a crucial lesson for me and I will always remain grateful to him.” Madhav Mantri “His entry on the ground used to be greeted with huge applause. Tall and upright, he was an unorthodox opener who felt attack was the best form of defence. Mushtaq was a real crowd-puller whose double century partnership with Vijay Merchant for the first wicket in 1936 at Old Trafford is still remembered. During that century knock when he was in the 90s Walter Hammond walked up to him and told him to be a bit more cautious as centuries don’t come that easily. He was that sort of a batsman. Though we were part of the Commonwealth squad we never played together in the playing eleven as when I was in the reserves he was in the eleven and vice-versa. He was a thorough gentleman and we had excellent rapport even after our playing days.”
Mumbai 513 for 5 (Mane 106, Jaffer 133, Muzumdar 119*, Kambli 55, Bahutule 64*) lead Tamil Nadu 294 by 219 runs Scorecard Tamil Nadu struck some crucial blows in the first two sessions at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, but a stroke-filled century by Amol Muzumdar put the game way beyond their reach. At tea, Mumbai had been only 93 ahead, with five wickets in hand. But it all changed with the unbeaten 131-run stand between Muzumdar and Sairaj Bahutule, and by the close the lead had mushroomed to a massive 219.Mumbai were cruising at 236 for 0 overnight, but Tamil Nadu’s decision to take the new ball first thing in the morning provided them with a whiff of a chance, as they prised out three wickets in the first half-hour. Somasetty Suresh, was rewarded for his disciplined medium-pace and eventually dismissed both the openers. He induced a faint edge from Vinayak Mane (106) and the catch was easily pouched by Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps (243 for 1). Wasim Jaffer began with a flourish, stroking a couple of boundaries with ease, but when he had made 133 he was undone by a one-handed reflex catch from Suresh. Jaffer pushed the ball firmly down the pitch, and Suresh grabbed it inches from the turf (257 for 2).Bhavin Thakkar didn’t spend too much time in the middle, but his unusual stance perplexed most of the spectators. He has a high backlift and his chest points towards the slip cordon, and you wonder how he consistently churns out vital knocks. There wasn’t one today, though, as he was soon lbw for 7 (266 for 3).Tamil Nadu nearly had a fourth immediately afterwards, when Vinod Kambli edged one to second slip. But the umpire, Subroto Porel, felt that the ball had bounced after hitting the bat, and gave Kambli the benefit of the doubt – and the TV replays were inconclusive. Kambli was then given some generous offerings on his pads, and he took full advantage. Muzumdar played the supporting role to a T, and they ensured there was no major collapse.They continued in the same vein after lunch, and their hundred partnership came up in 136 minutes. But the second hour completely belonged to Tamil Nadu. Subramanium Badrinath, the part-time offspinner, extracted some turn and bounce at one end, while the medium-pacers bowled a restrictive line at the other. Frustration got the better of Kambli as he slapped a wide one to point (379 for 4). And Manoj Joglekar lasted only 10 balls before he gloved one to the wicketkeeper (382 for 5).Only 18 runs had come in the 16 overs before tea – there was still hope of restricting the lead to below 150. Unfortunately for Tamil Nadu, the bowlers didn’t maintain the same discipline after the interval, and the game drifted away again. Muzumdar danced down the track to the spinners and upset their rhythm, while Bahutule worked the ball around deftly.Shots flowed all around the ground as Muzumdar approached his hundred, and there was one moment that encapsulated Tamil Nadu’s frustration. Ganapathy was convinced that Muzumdar had edged one to the keeper, and they had a heated exchange after the appeal was turned down. The next ball was full and wide, and Muzumdar laced it through the covers … and maintained his kneeling pose for a few seconds. The riposte was both fitting and majestic.That partnership ensured that the game is virtually over as a contest. After the day’s play, Tamil Nadu’s players retreated into the dressing-room and began a long meeting. Meanwhile, the Mumbai team frolicked around in the outfield and indulged in a spot of volleyball and some friendly banter. With the Ranji Trophy now firmly in their grasp, why shouldn’t they?
South Africa go into their fourth World Cup tournament knowing that theyhave an excellent chance of being the first team to win on home soil andhold the trophy aloft at The Wanderers at the end of March 2003.Shaun Pollock and his team come into the tournament with convincing serieswins against both Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but the World Cup is not a seriesand any inconsistency in performances will see them fall by the way side.During both the Sri Lanka and Pakistan series the South Africans allowed theopposition to record an easy victory and this type of inconsistency couldsee the team suffer the same fate as previous World Cup teams.During their first World Cup tournament in 1992, in Australia and NewZealand, they fell to New Zealand after beating Australia and then gotknocked out by England in the famous rain-interrupted, 22 needed off oneball semi-final.The World Cup in 1996, in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, saw West Indiesburst the South African bubble in the quarter-finals after the latter hadwon ten consecutive one-day internationals.In 1999 South Africa lost a place in the final at Lord’s when they tied thesemi-final with Australia after needing one run from the final three balls.This match was, however, not the only slip during the tournament with SouthAfrica being beaten by Zimbabwe in the first round and then failing todefend a 271 total against Australia during the Super-Six stage.2003 is going to find the South Africans under a lot of pressure from theirlocal supporters. Playing at home will place additional demands on SouthAfrican players who find themselves in Pool B with West Indies, Sri Lanka,New Zealand, Kenya, Bangladesh and Canada and on current form should have noproblem in qualifying for the Super-Six round.South Africa face a difficult start to their 2003 campaign, the opening gameof the tournament, against West Indies at Newlands on February 9. The resultof this match could have a major impact on the tournament for the home team.West Indies has only beaten South Africa twice out of ten games played onhome soil but come off a much-improved tour of India.The Super-Six stage is sure to see South Africa and Australia meet and thiswill be the most crucial game of their campaign. Australia destroyed SouthAfrica in a one-day series on home soil during the previous season andmentally the visitors will be better prepared. If South Africa gets overthis hurdle then nothing should stop them from repeating the rugby world cupwin of 1995.The South African squad is very well balanced and includes some of the topall-rounders in world cricket. Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and LanceKlusener are proven match-winners. The matured Herschelle Gibbs and experienced Gary Kirsten are more than capable of taking most attacks to pieces while the evergreen Allan Donald and the much-improved Makhaya Ntini have shown that they have the ability to bowl teams out. Added to that they have Jonty Rhodes and Mark Boucher who can adapt their games to the requirements of the situation.
Earlier today at the WACA ground, Brendon Julian officially announcedhis retirement from playing for the Western Warriors and at all otherlevels of Cricket.Commonly recognised as one of WA’s most explosive and entertainingcricketers, Brendon started his senior representative career for WA atSheffield Shield level during the 1989/90 season.Brendon’s debut game was against Tasmania at the NTCA ground inLaunceston on 9 February 1990, along with his Midland Guildfordteam-mate Chris Mack. In that game Brendon took 1-30 off 11 overs: withhis first wicket in 1st class cricket being Dirk Wellham caught by TomHogan. Brendon’s batting debut saw him coming to the crease at numbersix, where he scored six not out in the first innings.Brendon stated that the main reason for his retiring was his inabilityto sustain the commitment and motivation that is required to play forWA.New WA Coach Michael Veletta said, “I am disappointed to lose a playerof Brendon’s undoubted ability and experience for the approachingseason. He will be sadly missed by all players and his lastingimpressions as a valued member of West Australian Cricket will remain”.WA Cricket Operations Manager Rob Thompson said, “It is a bittersweetmoment that we bid farewell to Brendon from the WA team. While everyoneinvolved at the WACA wishes Brendon all the very best in his retirement,there is no doubt that we will sincerely miss his playing performancesfor WA. We compliment Brendon on his outstanding career for WesternAustralia and Australia and are looking to maintain a close associationwith him”.
The fact that it took until the 27th of December for a manager to be sacked was a bit of a revelation for the Premier League – this time last year, five managers (25%) had already taken their leave.
But Neil Warnock’s abrupt dismissal has set the unforgiving iron-clad ball in motion. Roberto Martinez, who guided Everton excellently last year, suddenly seems vulnerable after taking one point in 21 while Nigel Pearson and Steve Bruce’s declines at Hull have received significant amounts of attention and scrutiny.
Alan Irvine became the second in the firing line late last night. Given West Brom’s stalling form in recent times, perhaps that was fair. They’ve won once in their last nine. Superficially that may therefore have made sense, but in reality, it really doesn’t.
Irvine’s biggest weakness lay in his pedigree, or lack of it. He was previously the head of Everton’s youth academy and before that he led Sheffield Wednesday through an austerity-dampened relegation battle. Either way, unlike Martinez who won the FA Cup with Wigan and led Everton with merit last season, or Bruce and Pearson who commendably navigated their teams out of the Championship, Irvine has no previous success to vindicate his initial appointment. Inevitably, when the club faced adversity, the doubt surrounding him became significantly more emphatic.
The West Brom board should never have appointed him if they were unwilling to stand by him during any period of genuine difficulty. It’s unfair for him to be a victim of his own lack of success. They appointed him fully aware of the ramifications of his lack of experience. For them to bow down to the myopic-mob-like pressures of fickle football fans and sack him for leading West Brom to roughly where you’d expect them to be is entirely illogical.
Granted, Irvine isn’t blameless. West Brom could be doing better. But considering they only just survived last year, sacking him when they’ve largely performed at a similar level is harsh. The club have hardly faltered under his tenure.
The interesting facet regarding West Brom as opposed to other clubs is their unique managerial structure. Irvine isn’t a manager, he’s a Head Coach, exclusively responsible for training his players, devoid of administrative duties. He works in tandem with their technical director, Terry Burton, Director of Administration, Richard Garlick, and Director of Performance, Mark Gilett, who all collectively have a part to play in this seemingly more bureaucratic process of management. They should all be liable to West Brom’s fall – it’s vastly unfair for Irvine to act as a magnetic point of criticism for all of their shortcomings.
After 19 games Irvine has led West Brom to 17 points, leaving them in 15th. Pepe Mel, a coveted foreign import who was deemed worth taking a risk on, led them to 18 points in the same position. The year before that, Steve Clarke had them at the dizzy heights of seventh with 33 points.
The over-riding question remains – why appoint an unproven manager, in an unorthodox managerial structure, and then dispose of him when he fails to exceed an unrealistic set of expectations? Sacking him will cost additional compensation, and the opportunity costs associated with replacing him could exacerbate their decline further.
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Ask anybody who’s worked with Irvine about his ability to coach – not manage – and you’ll receive favourable response. If he’s only empowered to coach the team, then that’s the only way in which he should be judged.
Irvine hasn’t set the world on fire, but sacking him has undermined the purpose of his appointment. Loyalty and consistency can pay great dividends in football and Irvine deserved longer.
Tasmania crept home to end Victoria’s plans for domestic domination as they lifted the FR Cup after a mostly wet and extremely tense afternoon in Hobart. The one-wicket victory earned the home team’s third limited-overs trophy and it was sealed following a gripping chase, which was originally 159 before being cut to 131 by the weather.Bryce McGain almost snatched the game from Tasmania with 3 for 11 from five immaculate overs, but the legspinner’s cool was matched by Travis Birt’s calm. Birt’s glide for three off the first ball of the final over ensured a great escape and sparked celebrations of relief at Bellerive Oval.After a rain break at 19.4 overs the sunshine of the morning returned and a comfortable Tasmania assignment of 42 off 68 balls became more difficult when Mark Divin cut McGain to point and Xavier Doherty charged unsuccessfully two balls later with 22 still needed. Brett Geeves added to the stress – he thought he was out lbw twice – and after a useful stand he departed with four to win before Brendan Drew edged twice in two balls to Adam Crosthwaite, who pouched the second attempt to the roars of his team-mates.Victoria wanted only one wicket but Ben Hilfenhaus navigated the two balls necessary to give Birt the strike for the final over. Throughout the crisis Birt kept his head and his 37 off 37 was the best innings of a see-sawing contest.”We’ve been fantastic all year, although this was not our best game,” Dan Marsh, the Tasmania captain, said before accepting the FR Cup and a cheque for $96,000. “But we bowled magnificently, and fantastic batting at the end got us over the line. Thanks, Birty.”Irritating rain, which caused three breaks in the second innings, and an afternoon temperature around 13C did not help the approach of Tasmania, who originally appeared desperate to conquer the small total quickly. As hosts they had the advantage if the match was abandoned before 20 overs, but they wanted to win it properly and the attitude kept Victoria’s interest as regular breakthroughs came.Dane Anderson thrashed 15 from a Dirk Nannes over, which included a pulled six, and then fell in the next trying to loft Clint McKay on 25. Michael Dighton (19) and George Bailey (7) also slipped to aggressive miscalculations against McKay, who gained 3 for 42. Things started to get exceptionally tight for the first time when Marsh jumped across his stumps and was lbw to Shane Harwood, leaving the Tigers at 5 for 76.A superb all-round bowling performance from Tasmania limited the powerful Victoria to 158 in 37.3 overs after Cameron White won the toss. Geeves started the problems with three early wickets and Hilfenhaus and Doherty cleaned up once the dangerous stand between David Hussey and Andrew McDonald was extinguished.Despite the early dominance, the Tigers were fearful with Hussey at the crease and he was the main reason the Bushrangers were able to stay for so long on a pitch the fast men enjoyed. Hussey, who belted a 60-ball century on Wednesday, waited ten balls before opening with a six over midwicket, one of two in his 69-ball innings, and remained in control despite some tricky patches.However, when he cut Doherty behind point to Hilfenhaus on 50 any hope of a big total was gone. McDonald had already departed to Hilfenhaus for 35, slicing to third man after a fortunate escape from a catch in the slips on 8, and Crosthwaite became the first of Doherty’s four victims when ruled to have edged behind.After Hussey and Harwood fell in consecutive overs Victoria had lost 4 for 19 and the innings closed with Nannes failing to offer a shot to Doherty. He captured 4 for 18 off 6.3 overs while Geeves had 3 for 28 and Hilfenhaus 3 for 32.”They were outstanding, especially Geeves early,” Marsh said. “Then for Ben to come back and get us those two wickets, it showed he’s back to his best form.”The home team started strongly as Hilfenhaus wobbled the ball and his partner Geeves caused problems with his short deliveries. Brad Hodge (9) was a key wicket for the Tigers and when he pushed away from his body to Birt in the gully Geeves and his team-mates were ecstatic.Tasmania’s mood improved further next ball with White nicking a fierce lifting delivery, leaving the Bushrangers at 4 for 47. McDonald survived the hat-trick and then started the recovery work in an 80-run stand with Hussey that was not enough. White, who admitted the better team won, will have to wait until next month’s Pura Cup for another opportunity to earn a second trophy for the season.
Cricket Australia (CA) will send a security delegation to assess the situation in Zimbabwe ahead of the team’s proposed tour in September, but they may yet be given a get-out clause with the Australian government considering what action it could take to call off the trip.CA officials and representatives from the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) met with the foreign minister Alexander Downer on Thursday with increasing unease surrounding the prospect of the tour. Downer said the government was exploring a range of legal options.”If, legally, the government can stop it, then clearly that’s an option,” he told . “I don’t think it’s practical for the parliament to legislate to stop it in a one-off situation like this but if there is [an] existing legal basis, then that’s an option for us that we would stop it ourselves.” He reiterated his view the tour would be seen as a propaganda victory for the president Robert MugabeJames Sutherland, the board’s chief executive, said: “After tonight’s meeting, we understand very clearly the government’s concerns and preference for us not to tour Zimbabwe. In conjunction with the ACA, we will continue to work through these issues in the coming weeks and fully brief the players and CA’s board of directors so they are as informed as possible before a decision is finalised.”CA is also conscious of world cricket’s requirements that each country visit all other nations regularly as part of the ICC’s Future Tours Program. Cricket Australia is strongly committed to the global development of cricket. As with all planned international tours, a joint Cricket Australia-Australia Cricketers’ Association security delegation would travel to Zimbabwe to assess the safety issues closer to the date of the planned tour.”Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the ACA, said the meeting had enabled discussions to take place on what was a very complex issue. He said the ACA would continue to “work with Cricket Australia, the Australian government and international cricket authorities in the hope of reaching an acceptable outcome”.John Howard, the prime minister, has already said the government would pay any ICC fine levied on Australia for not touring, which would amount to around $2m. If the final decision is the tour goes ahead it will be down to individuals to decide whether they are willing to take part.”There are some issues there and every individual player will be asked what their own views on that are, and they’ll have a chance to make up their own mind what they want to do,” Ricky Ponting told The Australian earlier this week. “I’m sure every individual player will be asking themselves ‘should I or shouldn’t I be touring Zimbabwe?'”
The ICC’s Executive Board which meets in Dubai on March 21 and 22 has a number of crucial issues on its agenda. “This meeting is an important opportunity for the directors from across our membership base to guide the direction of international cricket on a range of major issues,” ICC President Ehsan Mani said.A new six-year Future Tours Programme is likely to replace the current five-year programme for the ICC’s 10 Full Members. The new proposal, a culmination of two years and 10 drafts, would require all the Full Member-sides to play home and away series against each other within the six -year period, each series comprising a minimum of two Test matches and three ODIs.The draft FTP also provides opportunities for several series to take place on a more frequent basis including Australia v England, Australia v India, Bangladesh v Zimbabwe and England v India among others.The board will also evaluate Zimbabwe’s readiness to resume Test cricket when it approaches the end of its 12-month voluntary withdrawal from Test commitments early in 2007. It will be apprised by Peter Chingoka, the chairman of the Interim Committee of Zimbabwe Cricket, regarding financial mismanagement, the composition of the Interim Board and on improving relations with players.The board will receive an independent written report from India’s Solicitor General Goolam Vahanvati on incidents of racist crowd behaviour in Australia during the home series against South Africa. The meeting will also consider a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to increase the number of venues from three to four for the Champions Trophy. The ICC had previously indicated that should the BCCI seek to increase the number of venues, the extra costs would be borne by the BCCI. The change would require amendments to the schedule but the tournament duration would remain the same.The meeting will take a decision on whether to prematurely end the experimental Supersub rule after feedback from stakeholders, including current and former players, in February had recommended its scrapping.The introduction of a formal pitch-monitoring process, which would include potential sanctions ranging from a formal warning to suspension of international status for venues that produce substandard pitches, and making an anti-doping code mandatory for all ICC events beginning with October’s ICC Champions Trophy in India are also on the anvil.
When did you decide to enter the fray? They [the Indian board] were trying to get in touch with me for couple of weeks, but last week I decided to take up the offer. It’s an honour to be associated with the India team.Do you have a vision for Indian cricket? At the moment it’s just an interview that I am going to attend, so I have nothing to say about the plans and what I’ve got to bring to Indian cricket and all that. If I was given the job, obviously, my first job would be to get to know the players – to know what makes them click, how we can get them to perform. Then I would outline my style: I play fair, but I like to play tough.How did you get involved in coaching? It started from my young days where, as a young boy, I started preparing wickets in the area I grew up in. When I joined Barbados I was always the guy willing to offer advice when I saw things. During my playing days on the English county circuit for Middlesex and then in South Africa for Western Province, apart from playing, I was involved in coaching a lot of youngsters like Mark Ramprakash, Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs, to name a few. My first job as a fulltime coach was for Sussex from 1996 to 1999, and then as a batting coach for Hampshire. In 2002 I was the batting coach for Barbados.What do you consider your strengths as a coach? I have got the eye to pick up flaws and correct them. And a lot of people have always told me that and that’s what always encouraged me to coach players.Have any of the India players spoken to you about a possible coaching offer? None. But over the years I’ve had a very good relationship with some of the former Indian players, and that is a plus point for me.What are India’s strengths as a team? They have got a very, very famed batting line-up. Also, with a few young fast bowlers, along with the spinners like Harbhajan Singh, they look good.What do you think about the reports of the suggestion to appoint a foreign coach or consultant to work in tandem with an Indian manager or assistant? It would be fantastic to work with an Indian assistant, as then it would help me learn more about the guys. If I am offered a job to assist Indian cricket in any way I would accept it.
What the key players said after the match:Marvan AtapattuSri Lanka’s captain We thought 240 was a good score, but the way we finished was not too good getting just 45 runs in the last 10 overs. We did not plan enough at the end, and if we had concentrated on getting ones and twos we would have got around 270-odd.The [Symonds lbw] decision was made and the umpires decided to call him back and they asked me whether I had a problem with that. Our guys knew it was a wrong decision and we didn’t know what to do but when they asked him I was happy to call him back. It’s only a game, after all, and we have to play the game in the right spirit. I said no because we all make mistakes and it was clearly a mistake. I don’t see anything wrong in that.Ricky PontingAustralia’s captain It was close and a great game of cricket. I was pretty happy with the way wewent about things today. We were behind the eight-ball early in the gameafter a very good opening partnership, but we fought back really well withthe ball. The batting was pretty good – just two runs shy. The guys will take a lot of confidence out of knowing that we can perform as well as we did today on a very worn Sri Lankan wicket.You are always disappointed when you lose a close game, but we are not goingto point the finger at any individuals. If you look back over the game youcould probably pick up half-a-dozen incidents [that cost us the game].We needed one of us to go on a finish it off, as it was not easy getting astart out there. But I played a poor shot and Matty [Hayden] got caught on theboundary and we did not finish the job. He played really well but we have come to expect that from him as he churns out runs in both forms of the game for us.The venue was good but I was a little disappointed that we used the samewicket today. With there not being a lot of cricket here I would havethought there would have been time for the curator to prepare two wickets.Chaminda VaasMan of the Match and bowler of the fateful final over Marvan asked me to bowl the final over and I used my experience and tried tobowl six yorkers, and it went nicely. I have played 220-odd matches but Ithink this was the best one that I have played. I have been playing forSri Lanka for ten years and I know exactly what to do on these wickets.