The story of Shivakant Shukla, who batted for821 minutes to take Uttar Pradesh through to the final of the Ranji Trophy, embodies Uttar Pradesh cricket

Sidharth Monga in Nagpur07-Jan-2009

The story of Shivakant Shukla, who batted for 821 minutes to take Uttar Pradesh through to the final of the Ranji Trophy, embodies their cricket.As a raw, talented 17-year-old, he went with the India Under-19 team to the Asian Under-19s in Pakistan in 2003-04. Many of his team-mates went on to play for senior side – Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa and VRV Singh – and almost all others have developed enough to at least be permanent members of their state sides.However, until this match, Shukla was seen as a passenger in the UP team, part of it only because there was no other opener who could have done better than his average of 25 in five seasons of first-class cricket. “I was doubting if I would be picked even in the 15 [man squad] this season,” Shukla admits. “When I would see all of them [team-mates] doing so well, I didn’t feel good for myself. But somewhere I also used to think if they can do it, so can I.”His innings in this game, under extreme pressure, with all the big players dismissed, spanning over three different days, tackling three new balls, facing a spirited and resurgent L Balaji, and taking the team through unbeaten, clearly shows an average of 25 is not the accurate depiction of his talent. So what had been going wrong until now?”I don’t even know how I scored these 178,” Shukla says. “And I don’t know how and why I have been failing. My funda is simple: when I go to the ground I give my 100%, and whatever the outcome be I accept happily.” There is not much else a youngster can do when there is nobody to guide him, to tell him if his footwork is wrong, if his head position is not right, if something is going wrong psychologically.Staying in the famed UP hostels, many like Shukla learn their cricket on their own, playing with each other: the passion and desire, and not the technique, matters. Mahela Jayawardene recently spoke of how one needs to fight his own battles, and kill his own demons. But that can hold for an established Test player who has seen a lot of highs, and is going through the lows, and not for a inexperienced player struggling in domestic cricket. In UP cricket if you lose your way, you find it back yourself. “I had lost my way, this has been an experience for me,” Shukla says. “This experience will stay with me, not only in cricket terms but in life.”Yes, there was support for Shukla, in that he was being picked for the team. Beyond that there was little. Just like this team keeps on winning without any outside support. They have the name UP to play under, but the rest they do by themselves. There is no computer analysis, there is one trainer-cum-analyst and there are no grounds owned by the UPCA. Yet somehow they find a way, like Shukla did over the last three days.After close to 14 hours of batting Shukla, chuffed with his effort, is not tired. “I can bat four more days,” he says. “No seriously. The little bit of tiredness that I had is gone, because we won.”Two matches ago, he cut a sad forlorn figure in Bangalore. UP had won the toss, put Karnataka in on absolute flat track hoping to get early wickets [they needed to win to be on the safe side]. Both the Karnataka openers offered catches to gully, where Shukla fumbled. He spent the next two days on the field, in the deep, watching his team-mates struggle. And when his turn came, he played a loose stroke and got out for 1.”That was the low point. I was nervous throughout. Fielding for the next two days was very difficult. I was focusing too hard, thinking I had to convert even a half-chance to redeem myself. My captain and coach helped me that time. They said, ‘Don’t worry, just give your 100%. There is always a next match.'”UP have made giant strides in the last four years, winning the Ranji Trophy once and twice making it to the final. There have been many satisfying victories along the way – a win over Mumbai in Mumbai, their maiden Ranji Trophy win in 2005-06, the comebacks after poor starts to seasons, but this one will be one of their most satisfactory matches. In that it is a change for a side that has earned a reputation of relying too heavily on the big star players: Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina with the bat, and Praveen Kumar with the ball.”This is a big win,” Shukla says. “We have depended on consistent performers – Kaif, Raina and Tanmay [Srivastava who has done well this season]. So when we were three down, it seemed we would go down easily, and the biggest satisfaction is that two fringe players won the match.” He feels he might have turned a corner today. If he can turn that corner, UP cricket could too.

They may not have a Test win in New Zealand since 1976 but India are focused on winning the series instead of worrying about past performances

Sidharth Monga in Hamilton17-Mar-2009
Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t won a Test in New Zealand © Associated Press
The ODI series win will have changed a few notions inside the Indian camp. Some of the players who hadn’t been here before, including the captain, will be wondering what the fuss about New Zealand was about. Twenty-seven days into this tour, the previous tour already sounds like fiction.Others who have been here before have only the freakish conditions in 2002-03 as explanation for not having won a Test. Sachin Tendulkar, for example, has played eight Tests in New Zealand and hasn’t been on the winning side even once. He will know, given the team’s form and the conditions this time around, that this series represents his best chance – and most likely his last. So too for Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.Then there’s the middle group, the likes of Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, whose only experience of Tests in New Zealand are those losses in 2002-03. But all three are strong characters, capable of putting past failures well behind them. Sehwag has made a living out of forgetting the previous ball he has faced.However, history is against India. The facts are startling: India last won a series here more than forty years ago and even their last Test victory here came back in 1976.A lot will depend on how successfully India ignore history. Of late, this team has made a mockery of history and reputation. They were supposed to be the worst of the big teams at the World Twenty20, they were supposed to lose easily in the ODIs in Australia, they were not supposed to win a Test there.Ask Mahendra Singh Dhoni if past record matters to this team and he says: “We hadn’t won a one-day series [in New Zealand] either.” This time they cruised through the series, just missing out on a clean sweep.”I am not bothered about whether we have won here or not,” Dhoni said. “I am just bothered about the things we need to do over here as a team. We are not thinking about what happened in the past. I am not great when it comes to stats, so that really helps.”Fast forward to the present, and what India need to do here as a team. They have almost everything sorted out going into the first Test. They couldn’t have asked for a better team, with 10 players picking themselves. All they would have hoped for is a third pace bowler who they can repose their faith in. Munaf Patel is not that bowler as of now. L Balaji, on his comeback, is too untested to be that man.Dhoni made clear that Munaf’s poor outings in the ODIs would not be held against him. “You know he is a much better bowler than what he did in the one-dayers,” Dhoni said. In two ODIs Munaf bowled 9.3 overs for 93 runs for no wickets. “Often he bowled as one-change seamer, and wickets were quite placid. We had big scores, and most of the times New Zealand got off to a good start, which meant basically the batsmen targeted the third seamer. It’s always tough to judge on the basis of one-day especially.”We will see who the best bowler is and who is bowling better right now, and accordingly we will pick the third seamer.” Munaf, though, has bowled fewer overs than Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and L Balaji in the nets over the last couple of days.India will fix that quandary on Wednesday morning. Another historical blip they need to fix is the first-Test blues while touring. Even on their two most recent tours, first Test losses to Australia and Sri Lanka set the tone for series defeats. India cannot afford a slow start here. If they suffer one here, that coupled with their past record in New Zealand, could weigh heavily on the rest of the series.That said, India have the right mix, the conditions are good and this is not the toughest New Zealand side they have faced. They have players to whom history means nothing, players who have suffered and have lessons to share, and they have players who are very good at putting the past behind them. From tomorrow, they will look to set right what they believe is an aberration.

In a five-part preview series, Cricinfo profiles the Super League teams

Cricinfo staff31-Oct-2008
You can trust the in-form Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina to put up the big scores for Uttar Pradesh © Cricinfo Ltd.
Uttar PradeshThe enigma boys are at it again. Champions one season, just about avoiding the relegation the next, and almost winning the Ranji Trophy in the next. It took a superlative rearguard from Delhi to deny Uttar Pradesh the title last year, but it will take a few more consistent seasons for UP to genuinely make a transition from being backwaters to powerhouses.Their contribution to the national teams – RP Singh, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh – is an endorsement to the cricketing revolution in the state, and despite the state. Their captain, Mohammad Kaif, too, has been a close outsider to the Indian team. Like Delhi, they have a coach who has just retired as a player – Gyanendra Pandey.They would want to start off with a big win in their first game, against Andhra in Meerut, because after that their star players will be available to them sporadically, as this season clashes with big international matches – the England one-dayers start from November 14.As the case has been for the last three years, no one knows what to expect from them. In those widely varied results, the personnel had not changed drastically.What they did last season
Their last season was not dissimilar to their championship season. In 2005-06, they had four points from four matches, and were sitting pretty at the bottom of the table. Last season, they had eight from four, and again they were at the bottom of the table. Like in 2005-06, three big wins followed, and they were through to the semi-finals.In the semi-final, they got a green top in Vadodara, which worked to their favour. Sudeep Tyagi, their new pace sensation, and Praveen Kumar, their seasoned pro, combined well to shot Saurashtra out for 127 and 113. Kaif helped them to marginally more than that.They had a superb start to their final, too, at the Wankhede. After having scored 342, they had Delhi down to 36 for 4. Delhi recovered, but UP still managed a 52-run lead, only to squander it through some irresponsible batting in the second innings. A Gautam Gambhir special followed in a chase of 230 runs to stop the dramatic turnaround at its last step.Kaif was their leading run-getter with 687 at 57.25, followed by Raina with 683. They were Nos 4 and 5 on the overall run-getters’ list. But it was Tyagi who made the main difference, with 41 wickets at 21.63, in his debut season. Praveen, who was available for only six matches, made his contribution with 36 wickets at 16 apiece.Men to watch
As usual there are lots to watch out for, depending on their availability and form. Tyagi is one of the lesser known ones: after a promising debut season, when it came to taking himself to the next level – the zonal games, or the IPL money and fame, he got injured. He played a match against Australia A, which might suggest he is fit again, but it will be interesting to see if he finds the form that form that made him such a success last year.RP Singh, who has now become a frequent flier with the Indian team, might not be available for long. Raina would want to make Test claims, Chawla would want his place in the ODI side back, and Praveen would look to cement his place in the ODI side.PunjabPunjab clearly are yet to recover from the ICL exodus that saw 12 players defect to the unofficial league as they just about managed to avoid the relegation to Plate with an outright victory in their final league encounter. And to think they were the runners-up only three years back. Inthikab Alam was the coach then but subsequently, though, Punjab have had two more coaches. Arun Kumar, former Punjab wicket-keeper, will be the third coach in as many years and he replaces Gurcharan Singh who failed to provide any sort of impetus to a weakened team.Kumar’s familiarity with the players was the main reason behind his appointment, which probably might help in the team bonding. That and the presence of Yuvraj Singh, who is part of the squad for the first two games at least, should help Punjab start on a positive note in a tough season where they play a solitary home game.What they did last season
Despite having home advantage in five games Punjab won just one game in a must-win situation against Orissa. Uday Kaul’s two fighting centuries in the initial half of the season had gained first-innings points against Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Against UP, VRV Singh played a pivotal role with a seven-wicket haul in the first innings, which denied the visitors the lead. But even if the batsmen managed decent, if not huge, totals Punjab’s bowling failed to show any consistency. VRV only played four games and peaked in two of them; Manpreet Gony was more of harmless trundler and Gagandeep Singh toiled hard but sometimes without much luck. The bowling clicked against Orissa, reducing them to 50 for 4, but the batsmen failed miserably to hand over the advantage. However, VRV snatched it right back with a superb five-wicket haul to set up an easy target to chase.As for the performers Uday Kaul was the only batsman to cross the 500-mark (503). VRV Singh, in and out due to his injury concerns, managed to still bag the maximum wickets, 15, with Gagandeep and Manpreet sharing the second spot with 13.Men to watch
With VRV still recuperating from his ankle injury and not expected to play at least in the first half Gagandeep and Gony will be the strike bowlers. Not to forget Siddarth Kaul, who even if green, has a good enough pace to trouble the bat. He showed that during the Under-19 World Cup final against South Africa. India needed two wickets, their opponent needed 16 runs off the last over and Kaul cleaned them up without much trouble.AndhraA sixth place last year despite the loss of Venugopal Rao and Syed Sahabuddinshowed Andhra are no pushovers. They have gone in for more new blood this season: four new players and a new coach in MV Narasimha Rao have been recruited. And Rao is confident that his young bunch can do more damage this season.”We have many guys from Under-22 division, our fast bowling looks good with P Vijaykumar, Kalyankrishna, Israel Raju and Sharat Babu. Our batting too is in good hands with Hemal Watekar and the two young talent in AG Pradeep, and B Sumanth.” They have a tough start against Uttar Pradesh but as Rao says, and as the recent history shows, Andhra could give a good fight to any team on their day. The spin department is a worry, though, as Andhra have lost the services of Shankara Rao, the left-arm orthodox who picked 20 wickets last year, this season due to a accident. They will look to M Suresh, the legspinning allrounder to do the job.What they did last season
Watekar, the opener, hit two hundreds to get Andhra off to a comfortable draw against Punjab and his opening partner Prasad Reddy reprised that effort to earn another draw against Uttar Pradesh. They won their next game against Orissa but suffered heartbreak against Hyderabad in a low-scoring thriller . They went on to draw against Baroda and beat Bengal but that loss against Hyderabad proved crucial in the final-four ranking.Men to watch
Watch out for the openers, Watekar and Reddy, who amassed 909 runs between themselves last season. Kalyankrishna and Vijaykumar, who grabbed 20 and 21 wickets respectively, will lead the bowling attack.

Rahul Dravid is a modern great but his goodwill account is depleting fast

Sambit Bal12-Dec-2008

Margins always discriminate against batsmen struggling for form. Paul Collingwood, who didn’t look like being able to buy a run yesterday, got a shocker from Billy Bowden, who must now rank as Collingwood’s least favourite umpire. Rahul Dravid’s case today was fuzzier. Daryl Harper wouldn’t have been blamed had he adjudged him not-out leg before: Dravid was well forward, the ball was turning and it hit him around the knee roll. As David Lloyd, who has been a first-class umpire, said, quite likely it was out but could Harper be sure?Dravid can look back to Sri Lanka, where he was twice given out to marginal lbw decisions by the review umpire and was once caught off the helmet of the fielder. But nothing, absolutely nothing, can hide the big picture: Dravid’s run of poor scores has gone far beyond a slump and has now reached a dangerous flashpoint.Dravid batted for 44 minutes and faced 24 balls today and, for academic interests, scored only three runs. Not once did he look secure and sure. Steve Harmison, all energy and vim, sped past his dangling bat; Andrew Flintoff hit the perfect length with his first ball and caught Dravid groping, then got him to poke at another short one a while later. The last one Dravid would have let go comfortably ten times out of ten. In between, he managed to tuck one behind square and tapped two more in front to squeeze out three furtive singles. There was neither a moment of authority nor a hint of promise.Graeme Swann bowled him a good ball but who knows how Dravid would have played it had his feet been moving better and his mind been free of doubts. Another debutant offspinner had got him in the previous Test in Nagpur. Admittedly, it was the first ball Dravid was facing off Jason Krejza, but it was hardly a ripper and the edge was the consequence of a tentative prod.When batsmen of great calibre hit a fallow spell, a turning point seems imminent. After all, skills don’t run dry. In Dravid’s case, there has been a sense of that for a while. Everyone has felt it – Dravid himself, his team-mates, his opponents, the selectors, and the fans – that it is merely a matter of one big innings. But what was once inevitable is now turning into desperate hope.Dravid started the series against Australia with a half-century, a battling, Dravid-like effort on a slow pitch in Bangalore that kept alarmingly low on the third morning. But there followed a series of dismissals that were a combination of casualness and misfortune. In the second innings in Bangalore, he hit a full ball from Brett Lee to midwicket; in Mohali, where he looked confident and attractive, moments after chasing a wide ball, he aimed for another ambitious drive and ended up dragging the ball onto his stumps; in Delhi he chased a wide ball from Mitchell Johnson to slip and inside-edged a drive to the stumps. Only in the final innings in Nagpur did a deserving ball from Shane Watson – it swung in and deviated away off the pitch – get his edge.Two inferences could be drawn from his performance against Australia, when he got in plenty of times and then got out. One, that he was batting well without the runs on the board (it happened to Sachin Tendulkar in Sri Lanka earlier this year). The other thought is more worrisome. The foundation of Dravid’s batsmanship has been his immovability. Once he got in, it needed a great ball to get him out. Many of his recent dismissals have suggested a looseness, a certain wandering of the mind, traits not associated with Dravid. Stroke-players can sometimes fall prey to overconfidence but Dravid’s career has been built on diligent adherence to the basics and an almost superhuman application of the mind. A deviation from these fundamentals can be inferred as a sign of decline.

And the decline can be traced to the tour of South Africa towards the end of 2006. Till then Dravid had scored more than 9000 runs at just under 59, an average that put him ahead of all his contemporaries. He then had 23 hundreds and 46 fifties, a ratio of 1:2. The 26 Tests since then have fetched him only 1320 runs at 30. Both his hundreds in this period have been nondescript, one against Bangladesh and other a 291-ball 111 against South Africa on a pitch where Virender Sehwag hit 319 off 304 balls.In South Africa, Dravid batted hard and long – an 83-ball 32, a 58-ball 29 and a 134-ball 47 during which he was associated in a scoring freeze with Sachin Tendulkar that ultimately cost India the final Test and the series – without being able to make an impact, his first such failure in an away series in years. After this, the Dravid story has not been the same. Only one innings – a typically gritty 93 in Perth – could be said to have contributed substantially to a victory; there have been other odd contributions to partnerships but the security that India had been granted by him at No. 3 has not been available.Few other batsmen would have survived two successive poor years but it is right for Dravid to have been granted the allowance and the space. No one wants to see off a batsman of his pedigree and accomplishment in a hurry.Dravid has been a modern great: a colossal fighter, the hero of epic revivals and the architect of many famous triumphs. In the Indian batting pantheon, he stands firmly behind Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. And more than that, he has been a man of commitment, a wonderful teamman, and a sporting hero of impeccable bearing and manners. Such men sport needs to hold on to for every extra second possible.However, sportsmen must ultimately stand and fall on their performances. The second innings will present Dravid with an opportunity to help save or win a Test. There would be no better time for the innings that he has been waiting for. It would be familiar territory. And it could be his moment of truth.

A few key numbers involving Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers, and Centurion, the venue for the first semi-final of the IPL

S Rajesh22-May-2009RP Singh is the owner of the purple cap with 20 wickets, but against Delhi he only has one wicket from two games•Associated Press0 – Number of times Deccan have beaten Delhi in four tries over two IPL tournaments.67 – Number of wickets lost by Delhi in the round-robin matches in this IPL, which is the lowest by any team. Deccan have lost 91, which is next only to Bangalore and Rajasthan, who’ve lost 93.2111 – Runs scored by Deccan, which is the most by any team. Delhi are fourth with 1978.8.23 – Deccan’s run-rate in the first six overs. Delhi’s average run-rate in this phase of their innings is 7.94.505 – Runs added by Deccan’s opening pairs, which is the highest of all teams. They average 36.07 per partnership, at 8.94 runs per over. Delhi’s opening stand averages 28.38, at 7.66 runs per over.11 – The number of 50-plus scores for Delhi in the IPL. Deccan have only seven.11.36 – Adam Gilchrist’s runs per over against Delhi. In two matches he has scored 72 from 38 balls.1 – Number of wickets, out of 20, that RP Singh has taken against Delhi. He has been economical, though, conceding 6.57 per over in his seven overs.9.62 – Ashish Nehra’s economy rate against Deccan, which is his worst against any team – in eight overs he has conceded 77 runs and taken three wickets.5.25 – Pradeep Sangwan’s economy rate against Deccan (42 runs in eight overs, for four wickets). Dirk Nannes too has an excellent economy rate of 5.87 (47 runs in eight overs).7 – The number of games, out of 11 in Centurion, won by the team batting second. However, in seven night games, four have been won by the team batting first.159 – The average score of the team batting first in night games in Centurions. In seven matches, four times teams have scored in excess of 160, and twice in excess of 180.43 – Wickets taken by spinners in 11 games in Centurion, at an average of 26.97 and an economy rate of 7.31. Fast bowlers have taken 63 wickets, at 33.17 and 8.09 runs per over.

So the home side lost, but the fans at Centurion weren’t complaining – too much

Guy Snelling23-Sep-2009Choice of game
South Africa were playing and the opening match of any tournament is always worth watching. If I were a gambling man, my money would have been on South Africa, and indeed I still had hope for them until Jacques Kallis lost his wicket.Team supported
I’m a Protea supporter and I still believe that we can win this tournament. The team will learn from the mistakes made today and will work to move forward.Key performer
Tillakaratne Dilshan. He outplayed the South African opening bowlers, Wayne Parnell in particular, and his 106 off 92 balls was well deserved.One thing I would have changed about the match
I would have had South Africa play a few warm-up matches before the tournament. They hadn’t played for a few months and the practice could only have helped.Wow moment
Dale Steyn’s wicket of Dilshan, caught by Albie Morkel when Steyn was re-introduced at the Hennops River End was a turning point, as were Parnell’s consecutive wickets of Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera.Player watch
We were sitting in the stadium in the area of long leg to a left-hand batsman and the players near us were the fast bowlers of both sides. Due to the “moat” at Centurion, it is impossible to get autographs, but the partisan crowd applauded both Steyn and Johan Botha. Lasith Malinga managed to avoid any heckling until his “wide” bouncer to Botha. After that the crowd set up a chant against him.Shot of the day
Kallis’ high four on 15, immediately followed by Graeme Smith’s low flying rocket to the boundary on 17 really got the crowd going and were probably the best shots of the South African innings.Crowd meter
It was a weekday match and the stadium started off only about half full, but it filled up slowly as spectators got off from work. By that time, though, Sri Lanka were well up on their score, so the crowd was very subdued. There was the occasional Mexican wave and isolated pockets of cheering and singing that kept the buzz going and most people had a good time. It was a partisan crowd but there were a number of Sri Lankan flags flying nevertheless, and all the spectators applauded the good Sri Lankan shots and fielding.I saw a few people in green-and-yellow body paint and a couple of topless guys running round in skirts.There was a group of four- or five-year-old girls smartly dressed in pink and white, dancing and waving their South Africa flags and 4/6 cards whenever they got the opportunity, much to the delight of the nearby spectators.Entertainment
There are going to be a number of competitions running during this tournament during the innings breaks. We were entertained with the Reebok “Hit the Stumps” competition, where lucky spectators can win cash prizes of up to R 100,000 for hitting the stumps from the boundary. There was also a Dress Like a Champion” competition, where the winner got to take home a Honda motorcycle.Unlike the cheerleaders of the Twenty20 competitions, we had African dancing and drums for each wicket and six. A nice idea, but I thought it was somehow out of place in the environment of a cricket stadium.ODI v Twenty20
I think that South Africa has been spoilt by the amount of Twenty20 that we’ve been exposed to this year. This was my first live ODI in a long time and it did seem to drag at some stages. It obviously lacks the speed of Twenty20, but the match did get exciting, and I look forward to the rest of the tournament.Dale Steyn provided some relief•Getty ImagesEnhanced viewing
I didn’t take too much with me in the way of food, but I did have field glasses to view the action and the crowd, and also my cellphone, with which I logged on to Cricinfo to get clarification on scores and plays.Marks out of 10
On a scale of 1 to 10, where the South Africa v Australia 438 match was a 12, I would rate this one 7. There was some excellent cricket played by both sides, but the domination by Sri Lanka put a dampener on the local crowd.Outplay of the day
It seemed to me Sri Lanka beat South Africa by their bowlers’ ability to bowl to their field. Sri Lanka were able to easily score boundaries during their opening Powerplay, but when it was their turn to bowl, they stacked the field on one side and the bowlers bowled to that side. Consequently South Africa found it hard to find the gaps, and even when they did, the sweeper was perfectly positioned to prevent a boundary.

Garry Sobers, Wes Hall, Viv Richards and Richie Richardson discuss the plight of West Indies cricket, Stanford’s legacy, hosting the World Twenty20, and more

Interview by George Dobell15-Dec-2009SpinIs Chris Gayle the best man to lead West Indies if he said he didn’t care for Test cricket?•Getty ImagesAfter all the years of success West Indies cricket enjoyed, is it hard to see the side so low in the rankings and being beaten by Bangladesh?
Viv Richards That is tough []. Let us forget the rubbish about the depleted team: when you put a team out, that is your country’s team. Don’t give me no excuses. Bangladesh must be given credit, and I am not quite sure that the first-choice guys would have been able to do any better.Wes Hall I’m not sure that was the West Indies side that was beaten by Bangladesh. You might remember that the best 35 players weren’t available.Garry Sobers I don’t agree. They were the best side available. They were the West Indies. In 30 years, when you look in the record books, it won’t say, “Oh, the best 35 players weren’t available.” Besides, why are you so sure that the first-choice team wouldn’t have been beaten by Bangladesh? I’m not.Richie Richardson It is hard, but my tears dried up long before we lost to Bangladesh. When I was playing, I was getting frustrated because I saw the way we were heading. The players at the time were very concerned but we weren’t listened to. It’s still sad, but sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can bounce back, and I am hoping we have hit rock bottom.How do you view the players’ strike?
Hall The latest players’ strike, you mean? They are always on strike. Look, I was president of the WICB and experienced a couple of their strikes. Sometimes the reasons would make you sick. Some of these guys are striking for money before they have scored a run or taken a wicket! Of course there are times when the players have legitimate concerns, but the solution is to be found by communicating. Making demands and going on strike is not the way. I don’t think they understand the pain they cause to all those people around the world who care about West Indies’ cricket.
Sobers I wonder why they play the game now. What’s their motive? We never thought about money when I played – and we never made any – but now it seems that’s all it’s about. Look, I’m delighted that players are making money from cricket. But what is their priority? It should be the honour of representing West Indies. But I ask you, is it? It’s difficult for us to talk about it. Whatever we say, we’ll be told we’re bitter or jealous because they’re making more money than we ever did.Richardson The whole thing is very sad for me. We all want our best players to be out there for us, playing hard and giving everything for their country. I don’t know all the ins and outs. I think the West Indies Cricket Board is responsible for cricket in the Caribbean and responsible for dealing with whatever problems we have. The players also have a responsibility but based on the little I’ve heard, the players have had enough. They believe they have been maltreated by the board for a very long time, that they have been let down and that the board will only listen to them if they take the actions they did. We had a lot of problems with the board during my time as a player, but nobody knew and we were winning, and many times we would put our differences aside and go and play.[…] I don’t know who they [the WICB] answer to, I would love to know. Is it the government? I believe that West Indies cricket belongs to the people. I would love the governments, if they have the authority, to take control of the board, disassemble the board and put five or six very serious and successful businessmen in control. I have nothing personal against the individuals on the board; it’s the system that has to be changed.

“I know that some are pretending they never trusted Stanford, but I couldn’t do that. I did and I still do”Garry Sobers

Should Chris Gayle be captain?
Richards Maybe some of the things he said are rather unfortunate, but there are folks that do take things out of context sometimes and maybe Chris Gayle is one of those hard guys to understand at times []. Let’s hope that what he said about Test cricket was taken out of context because he would have learnt his cricket playing first-class and Test cricket before he got into one-day and Twenty20 cricket.Sobers I’m sorry, I’m not such a diplomat. I read in the papers that he didn’t want to be captain. And he said he didn’t care much for Test cricket. Are those the qualities of a leader?Richardson I don’t have any problem with Chris Gayle as captain. I get the impression that the players respect him and want him to be captain, and that is the key. He’s very laidback, but I think he is the best man for the job.A year ago we were all in Antigua watching the Stanford Super Series. None of us could have known what was about to happen to Allen Stanford or his empire. What will Stanford’s legacy be?
Sobers I don’t know what his legacy as a man will be, but his legacy for West Indies cricket is very positive. He was the first man to put the money into West Indies cricket that it needs. The Stanford Super Series was a good event and it captured the imagination of the people. I know that some are pretending they never trusted him, but I couldn’t do that. I did and I still do. I’ve seen pictures of him in chains, which they don’t seem to do to other people accused of crimes, and I hope that he is cleared. People were always looking for ulterior motives with him. I didn’t see any. I believe he would have been very good for West Indies cricket. It’s very sad.Hall I don’t recognise the description of the man I hear people talking about. I trusted him and believed in him and I still do. He’s a good man. We’re not experts on high finance, so we can’t comment on what may have happened in that respect. But his aim was to get hundreds of people in the Caribbean playing professional cricket. Training every day. Living right and thinking about cricket. He had started to do that and we were beginning to see the results. He chose the right people to do the job and he paid for it. I still believe his passion for cricket – and for West Indies cricket – was genuine and it’s a terrible shame things have worked out this way. We were called all sorts of names for being involved. We did it because we believed in him and what he was trying to achieve.Richards It’s disappointing to see him in the position he’s in. I’m not going to be judge and jury. You’re innocent until you’re proven guilty. But what I do know is that what he did for us in Antigua and what he tried to get done in the cricketing world was a great period for us.Wes Hall: “I played for 10 summers and winters in succession. Ten. I’m not sure modern players are as fit as we were. What you put in your mouth is very important”•Getty ImagesRichardson I was very excited about the Stanford 20/20 because I believed you had already started to see positive results – young kids had started to play cricket again. Families were coming out to watch cricket and the whole world was focused on Antigua. I was a member of the [Stanford] board and we had one island playing fully professionally. Since that time, the Antiguan team cannot lose a match.There’s some talk of Trinidad going it alone as a Test nation. What do you think?
Richardson It would not be good for the region. But Trinidad has shown if we work collectively and organise properly, we can be successful. We need to use Trinidad as an example.Sobers It’s rubbish. It will never happen. I know they say we, in Barbados, already did it because we played a couple of matches against a Rest of the World team to celebrate independence. But it was just a one-off. Can you imagine England travelling all the way just to play Trinidad?Richards I don’t think they should. It would be totally ludicrous and selfish. They did represent West Indies cricket in the Champions League and [reaching the final] was a remarkable effort. What they showed with those performances was that with the right environment West Indies cricket is still relatively healthy.Hall The idea has no merit whatsoever. It won’t happen. Some have said they could play in a second division of Test cricket, but I don’t think that’s a good idea, either.It’s becoming much harder for West Indies – and other non-English – players to participate in county or even league cricket in the UK. What are your thoughts?
GS The English have very short memories. County cricket was only being watched by one man with a white stick and his dog when they asked us to play. I didn’t do it for my benefit; I did it because they needed help. And they’ll need help again. I remember Enoch Powell’s speech in 1968. Some people have wanted to get rid of us for years.Richardson Everybody is responsible for their own development. England is trying to do what they think is best for English cricket and there is nothing wrong with that. What we need to do in the Caribbean is start looking at our cricket. We need to make sure we have a good enough structure that is going to propel our cricket way into the future. We shouldn’t be dependent on English cricket.Hall People used to moan that we learned from playing in English conditions and against their players. And it’s true, we did. After one season playing league cricket in England, I had bowled more there than I had in the West Indies. But surely they could learn just as much from us? Surely if you play with and against the best players, you learn? Besides, people should ask those watching what they want, too.Modern players seem to be injured more frequently than you were. They say that because today’s cricket is more “intense”. What do you think?
Sobers [] There were some quite good players around when we played, you know. There were Test players in the leagues in those days. When I played in domestic cricket in Australia, some of the teams had nine or 10 Test players in their sides. We played without helmets, on uncovered wickets, and we played all the time. I was never injured. I know some modern players dismiss what we did as they say the game has changed. But it hasn’t.Hall I played for 10 summers and winters in succession. Ten. I’m not sure modern players are as fit as we were. What you put in your mouth is very important. And even now I swim in the sea six times a week. You have to push yourself, but sometimes poverty encourages success and wealth prevents it. Maybe wealth has come a little easy for some.Sobers Some of these people retiring from Test cricket wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t for the IPL. I don’t blame them; they have to look after themselves and their families. But the money in the game now from Twenty20 is in danger of damaging Test cricket.Richardson It’s hard to say. There’s a lot more cricket. But I’m probably not the best person to make that judgement because I was always a workaholic and never shied from playing and if wasn’t playing I was training. But your mind is powerful thing and if you start thinking, “I’m playing too much” then you can get an injury. A lot of it has to do with the mind.Is there still the raw talent for cricket in the Caribbean?
Hall We do have the talent. Look at the results of our teams at Under-13, U-15 or U-17 level. They’re as good as anyone’s. The problem comes between the ages of 19 and 23, when they might go astray. It’s more about hard work and discipline.Richards Yes, it’s rubbish when people say it’s not there or people are going to basketball. We’ve still got a lot of talent, but people get disillusioned. Say you were a young player aspiring to play for the West Indies and you were reading all this stuff. You start to wonder: is this the right kind of environment?Sobers I’ve said for years that we have the talent, but I don’t know what’s happened with it. I don’t know any more. There is still talent, but where does it go? When I was young, I used to travel around the island watching as many of the great players as I could. I used to operate the scoreboard and just watch how the players moved their feet. I saw cricket as my way to see the world and do something with my life.

“I would love the governments, if they have the authority, to take control of the board, disassemble the board and put five or six very serious and successful businessmen in control”Richie Richardson

Richardson I have always believed that. I think we will always have that. I believe cricket is embedded in our genes and will always be there. But that has been taken for granted – that we will produce these players and they will go out and beat everyone. The game has moved on and other countries have analysed the game and done what it takes. We have regressed.Hall One of the good things about Stanford was that he asked us to talk to the current players. There’s a man like Sir Garry – the greatest cricketer who ever lived – available to help and not enough players seek his opinions or listen to his views. They say, “Oh, it was different in your day’. [].Sobers If a players phones me and asks for help, that’s good. I can’t just go and give them my opinion if they haven’t asked.The 2007 Caribbean World Cup was not a great success anywhere but Barbados. Will the 2010 World Twenty 20 be better?
Hall Yes. Lessons have been learned. The WICB deserve some credit for that. Ticket prices will be lower to encourage locals and there won’t be the restrictions on bringing in food or musical instruments.Richards We’ll have to be better. We gave a lot of opportunities to individuals from the ICC to come and tell us how we run a Caribbean party. I hope that’s not the case next time.Richardson I hope so. The 2007 World Cup was a disaster. We were promised a lot of things. We were given the impression that this was the greatest thing on earth that was going to happen to the region, that it was an opportunity to make money and develop our infrastructure, and that then we would be sailing. But for that to happen you have to do this and do that and suddenly the World Cup became not a Caribbean show. There was nothing West Indian about it; everything was taken away. That was sad.The Caribbean fans became disenfranchised and even the fans from overseas, who had come for a great West Indian time – they didn’t see that. It was like it was held in another country. It kept the fans away. A lot of the governments spent lots of money and we have some massive structures that are hardly used. It was like money down the drain. Hopefully the authorities will have learned their lessons and next year’s World Cup will be different.

England’s year began with the Moores-Pietersen spat and the 51 all out and went on to take in the Ashes win and a marked improvement in ODI cricket

Andrew Miller04-Jan-2010A year that began in disarray for England has ended with a glut of triumphs that bring to mind some of their finest achievements of the decade. A year that began with Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores at the helm, but tugging the rudder in opposite directions, has finished with Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower bedding in as the most composed and harmonious captain-coach combination since the heyday of Duncan Fletcher and Michael Vaughan. A year that began with the humiliation of 51 all out in Jamaica ended with an innings triumph in Durban – a result to savour like few that England have ever pulled off overseas.A year that began with mocking laughter from Down Under has finished with England as Ashes winners for the second time in four years, and in between whiles they have even achieved some measure of competence in one-day cricket – of which more later. All in all, it’s been a year to remember, both for the results that have arisen and the manner in which they have been achieved. In years to come, when England revert inevitably to their frustrating ways of old, 2009 will be taken as proof that fortunes can be transformed almost at the flick of a switch, so long as there is a collective will to do so.And it was indeed the collective that enabled England to become a force once again, for 2009 owed as much to the unsung heroes as the standout performers. Strauss was imperious as an opening batsman, as he revelled in the responsibility of leading the team he ought to have inherited from Vaughan back in 2006, and cracked 1172 runs in 14 Tests, while Graeme Swann emerged as the most confident and attacking spin bowler in world cricket, and the first from England ever to manage 50 Test wickets in a calendar year. But their efforts would have come to nothing had it not been for the belt-and-braces efforts that kept the team afloat in between whiles.Take Paul Collingwood, for instance, who rescued the Ashes opener in Cardiff with a five-hour 74, then repeated the feat in Centurion before Christmas, grafting a vital 26 not out to repel the fury of Friedel de Wet. Take the long-forgotten Monty Panesar, and his fellow tailenders James Anderson and, in Centurion, Graham Onions, who glued their bats to their front pads and blocked their way to two vital draws. Having lost embarrassingly in the Caribbean in the spring (and having failed to capture the public imagination during a dismal return series in May), England could easily have been sizing up three defeats out of three in their marquee series. And had January’s poisonous atmosphere not been dispersed, that is surely the record they would have been nursing.

It was indeed the collective that enabled England to become a force once again, for 2009 owed as much to the unsung heroes as the standout performers

Talking of Onions, his earthy heroism with the ball brought to mind the highfaluting failings of his Durham team-mate Steve Harmison, whom he rightly usurped in the Test squad due to his greater willingness to get down and dirty for the greater good of the team. All in all, it was not a good year for the big cheeses. Pietersen went from January humiliation to August anonymity, and was even upstaged on his return to South Africa in November by Jonathan Trott. Andrew Flintoff, meanwhile, saved his best for a single barnstorming bowling spell at Lord’s, but was limping towards retirement long before the Ashes reached its climax.Humility, enforced or otherwise, was a clear feature of England’s performances, and it even extended to the one aspect of their cricket that not even the legends of 2005 could quite be bothered with. Like toddlers learning to walk, England were not without sizeable mishaps in their one-day performances – they were stuffed 6-1 by Australia in a series that should never have been scheduled so close to an Ashes finale, and they also tripped up in comical fashion against the Netherlands in the World Twenty20. But from an important if untrumpeted series win in the Caribbean, via a semi-final showing in the Champions Trophy, and all the way to an impressive maiden triumph in South Africa, they showed a rare determination to improve their dismal reputation, and as Australia have shown for decades, success begets success, no matter the colour of the clothing.And as it happens, few moments in England’s year were as important as the forgotten ODI triumph in the Caribbean. When England set off on that trip with the embers of their flare-up still glowing, Flower and Strauss had not the slightest inkling as to how they would gel, and Flower wasn’t even sure he wanted the full-time role. But as the series wore on and the near-misses mounted in Antigua and Trinidad, it became clear that England had chanced upon a winning combination.But after surrendering the Wisden Trophy, the pair still needed a result to stick on their CVs, and with a little help from John Dyson’s arithmetic and that man Flintoff, who hasn’t played in limited-overs cricket since his series-winning hat-trick, that is what they achieved. By the time they had seen off South Africa in Port Elizabeth eight months later, they had identified a potential star of the future in Eoin Morgan, and were sure enough of their direction to jettison Owais Shah, whose impressive 98 in the Champions Trophy came too late to dispel the doubts about his temperament after a decade of nearly-man status. The message is clear. Henceforth, only the toughest team players need apply.New kid on the block
It’s a peculiar fact that England’s most buoyant discovery of the past 12 months has been lurking in the backs of the selectors’ minds for longer than anyone else in the current Test XI. Graeme Swann toured South Africa precisely a decade ago, and played a solitary ODI in Bloemfontein before being ostracised for seven years by Duncan Fletcher, for a combination of crimes against punctuality and humility. What a gem he overlooked. Those years in exile have taught Swann all the tricks of the offspinner’s trade, and persuaded him to seize the day now that his belated opportunity has come about. On debut in December 2008, he claimed two wickets in his very first over, and that trait of striking early has served him well ever since, not least during his finest hour to date, in Durban last week. His confidence, dare one say it, is almost Warne-esque in character – and his lower-order tonking is a joy to behold.Swann: overlooked for about a decade, but back in the frame now•Getty ImagesFading star
If Fletcher’s judgment on Swann was prematurely damning, then he’ll doubtless permit himself a quiet “I told you so” about another spinner to have featured prominently during his time as coach. Monty Panesar’s most notable performance of 2009 came with the bat, when he and James Anderson survived 69 deliveries on the final day in Cardiff, to save the Test, turning the Ashes. It was also his final act for the foreseeable future in international cricket. Swann’s instant impact, and moreover his willingness and ability to think on his feet, have shown up Panesar’s robotic obsession with good areas. A dismal county season brought an end to his 10-year association with Northamptonshire, and perhaps the spin-friendly atmosphere at Hove will raise his game back to the heights of 2006. But damningly, James Tredwell was named as cover for Swann during the tour of South Africa, despite Panesar being billeted down the road with the Highveld Lions.High point
In terms of popular acclaim, nothing could match the achievement of winning back the Ashes, as England took a flawed but thrilling series two Tests to one, in a contest that lacked the sheer intensity of the 2005 version but was nonetheless blessed with more than enough ebb and flow to keep the nation gripped. But from the point of view of an England management who saw that triumph as a stepping stone to greater glories rather than an end in itself (as it had been four years earlier), the manner in which the team launched their tour of South Africa was even more satisfying. A shared Twenty20 series, a victory in the one-dayers, and a 1-0 lead in the Tests as the year drew to a close.Low point
At least England got their crisis out of their system nice and early. Mind you, it was something special, a conflagration of Pakistani standards, as Pietersen instigated a coup against his coach, Moores, and found himself out on his ear as a result. Twelve months on, it is hard to recall quite how poisonous the atmosphere was within the England set-up, with accusations of cliques and backstabbers in every corner of the dressing room. It actually meant that what followed in Sabina Park, though hideous to behold, was actually a blessing in disguise. From the nadir of 51 all out, England had nowhere to hide and only one direction in which to take their subsequent fortunes.What 2010 holds
The immediate focus is on Cape Town and the Wanderers, two massive Test matches in which England have a chance to emulate the achievement of Vaughan’s men in 2004-05, and win in South Africa for only the second time since readmission. After that, however, the challenge will be to maintain focus throughout a fallow nine months that offer little in the way of headline acts. Bangladesh at home and away, followed by the mercurial Pakistanis and an overkill of a one-day series against Australia, will test the intensity of Strauss’s tightly bound unit. But then it’s off to Australia for another defence of the Ashes. And after what they’ve overcome in the past 12 months, they’ll surely believe that vengeance for the whitewash is a distinct possibility.

Plays of the day for the fourth day of the third Test between Sri Lanka and India at the P Sara Oval

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval06-Aug-2010Out or not-out?
In the 16th over of India’s chase, a potentially controversial dismissal happened. M Vijay clipped one off the hip, and because of extra bounce, couldn’t keep it down. Mahela Jayawardene, at backward short square leg, claimed the low catch, but Vijay immediately suggested he had doubt and stood his ground. Simon Taufel wasn’t sure either, which was made clear when he consulted Rod Tucker. Tucker wasn’t sure either, which was made clear when Kumar Dharmasena, the third umpire, was consulted. The replays were inconclusive: they didn’t establish beyond doubt that the catch was clean. And going against common practice, they decided to rule Vijay out based on the inconclusive evidence. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, Immediately rushed to the match referee’s room, and left not looking pleased.Sangakkara keeps gifting wickets
It was a long hop from Pragyan Ojha, gift-wrapped, complete with a bow. Kumar Sangakkara, with loose balls at a premium, went to pull, and found Suresh Raina, placed at square leg for the sweep, with pin-point precision. Out of the four times that he has got out in this series, this was the third time Sangakkara had found fielders with such accuracy. Deep midwicket in Galle, long-on in the first innings here, and now square leg.Mathews does a Sangakkara
Angelo Mathews hasn’t had a great Test, except for the wicket of Rahul Dravid in the first innings. He dropped a very difficult chance to remove Virender Sehwag off his own bowling, and then dropped Amit Mishra at third slip. Both men went on to hurt Sri Lanka. The horror, though, arrived on the fourth day when he tapped a gentle full toss from Mishra straight to midwicket. Surely Mishra will send Mathews a Christmas card at least?Saqlain to Srinath, part II
Saqlain Mushtaq’s overspinning delivery to bowl Javagal Srinath out and finish the Chennai Test of 1999 is not easily forgotten. Srinath had then gone back, covered the line, played a straight defensive block, but the ball bounced around the crease and top-spun onto the stumps. Suraj Randiv did something similar to Rahul Dravid today. Dravid had the ball covered, defended it well, but it hurried on viciously onto the stumps.Mendis turns the senior batsman
During their match-turning 118-run eighth-wicket partnership, Thilan Samaraweera kept shielding Ajantha Mendis, turning down singles whenever he thought the bowler was slightly dangerous. Upon Samaraweera’s dismissal, though, Mendis had some fun himself. He first smacked Ishant Sharma for three fours off the first three balls of an over, and then took a single off the last ball to retain strike. And in the next over again, he refused singles, and took one on the fifth ball. What did Chanaka Welegedara do with the last ball of that over? Get an inside edge of course, for four.

Fitness, fielding and simple cricket sense will be key if Guyana are to match T&T’s fairytale performance from last year in the Champions League

Tony Cozier08-Aug-2010Guyana have a hard act to follow. Trinidad and Tobago’s inspiring performance in the inaugural Champions League in India last year set standards and created expectations that the new West Indies Twenty20 champions will find difficult to match in the second tournament in South Africa next month.Complete outsiders at the start, the Trinidadians advanced to the final with one victory after another over powerful opponents from England, Australia, South Africa and the Indian Premier League, most bumped up by foreign imports. Only Brett Lee’s all-round brilliance for New South Wales stopped them in the final.They caught international cricket’s attention and restored some of the West Indies’ fading image. The impression of Ian Chappell, the great Australian captain of the 1960s and 70s, was typical. “Daren Ganga’s team played with a smile on their faces and fun in their hearts, while capturing the public imagination,” he wrote. “This team has the ability to deflate opponents with their big hitting and outrageously optimistic strokeplay but, by taking such risks, they also keep the opposition interested.”Despite playing in such a free-flowing manner there’s an underlying discipline in the team that was epitomised by their sure-handed and, at times, brilliant fielding,” he added.
Ganga’s leadership was universally lauded, encouraging a strong, but unsuccessful, lobby for him to be elevated to the West Indies captaincy.This is the benchmark that confronts Guyana. Already, the naysayers are predicting the worst. Dwayne Bravo has publicly asserted that, regardless of the outcome of the WICB’s first T20 championship, T&T remain the best short-game team in the region.And there has been the especially dismissive judgment of Andre Baptiste, a regular columnist in T&T’s oldest newspaper, the Guardian, that the Guyana team “is just not up to international standard and will be a poor representative for this region”.The Guyanese can disregard such pessimism. Much the same was felt about the Trinidadians a year ago, if not as strongly put. Their team paid no heed and simply went about the business of proving the doubters wrong.The internal strife within the Guyana board and the predictable wrangle over how the payout from the League should be portioned out seem like distractions. So it was for T&T. A contracts dispute between the players and their board last year wasn’t settled until days before they flew out for their date with destiny in India. The opportunity of participating in the first significant competition of its kind, televised live internationally, eliminated any distractions then. So it should now.

Quite apart from the pride qualification has already brought to the substantial global Guyanese diaspora, a few strong motivating factors, collectively and individually, override all dire forecasts.

Quite apart from the pride qualification has already brought to the substantial global Guyanese diaspora, a few strong motivating factors, collectively and individually, override all dire forecasts.There is overall prize money of US$11 million to be shared around and, after Kieron Pollard’s brazen six-hitting for T&T last year made him one of the most sought after, highly-paid cricketers on earth, all are aware that a pot of gold could be waiting for them at the end as well.Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has redundantly stressed that the most critical element in their campaign is preparation. While the same doesn’t appear to apply to West Indies teams, Sarwan would be keenly aware of the benefits of the six-week Stanford camp prior to the Super Series against England in 2008. T&T realised it and committed themselves with real intensity for five weeks last year. The effects were obvious on the field.Time is shorter for Guyana but at least two areas are already covered. Throughout the regional T20, Sarwan said his was “an easy team to lead since I have a great relationship with all the players”. He described team spirit as “the best I’ve seen in any Guyana team I’ve been in”, and he’s been in Guyana teams since he was 15.It tied in with his tactical direction that was widely praised in media coverage by former players, usually grudging in such praise. His leadership can have the same impact as Ganga’s for T&T.Where attention is urgently needed – and this applies to West Indies teams at every level – is to fitness, fielding and simple cricket sense. A glance at the physiques of the majority of West Indies players and a count of the number of injuries emphasise the first point. The overall sluggishness, the proliferation of missed catches, of fluffed run-outs and of fumbles in the field cover the second.These are areas the Guyana coaching staff needs to concentrate most on – even above batting and bowling – in the brief period available to them. The evidence, especially in this helter-skelter version of the game, is clear.The major difference between England and Australia, the finalists in May’s World T20 in the Caribbean, and the also-rans was fitness and fielding. T&T might now be getting ready to return to the Champions League but for the five catches and palpable run-outs they missed in their semi-final loss to Guyana. It was in direct contrast to the sure-handed and, at times, brilliant fielding Ian Chappell praised last year. Barbados certainly would be the West Indies’ representative in South Africa had the boundary catch off Jonathan Foo to clinch victory in the final not been parried over the ropes for six. And so on and so forth.Guyana are understandably keen for a few late preparation matches against T&T at the National Stadium before their excited and expectant public. By then, they should have an idea as to whether they have got everything in order for the challenge ahead. They carry the hopes of the Caribbean with them.