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Match facts

Saturday June 28, 2008
Start time 10.45 (9.45GMT)

The big picture

The wheels haven’t quite come off for England, but the nuts have certainly been loosened. After being swept aside remorselessly in the first ODI at Chester-le-Street, New Zealand have stolen the march and fought back with impressive resolve. The series reached an ugly flashpoint at The Oval on Wednesday, when Paul Collingwood decided not to withdraw an appeal for a run-out against Grant Elliott, the New Zealand allrounder who collided with Ryan Sidebottom. Elliott is now doubtful for the final match with the thigh injury sustained during the incident. Collingwood apologised, but his four-match ban – for a slow over-rate, not the Oval furore – further hampers England’s plans. It leaves England’s most influential batsman, Kevin Pietersen, with the task of trying to salvage a 2-2 draw in the final match at Lord’s on Saturday. But as New Zealand’s nerveless chase at The Oval suggested, they have peaked at just the right time.

Form guide

England L L NR W L (most recent first)
New Zealand W W NR L W

Watch out for

Ravi Bopara For someone who has battered county cricket’s bowlers in the past month, Bopara’s nervous, fidgety performance in this series has undoubtedly been a concern. He fought through the difficulties at The Oval impressively, however, and at last notched a worthwhile score with a 78-ball 58. A superb diving catch to dismiss Daniel Vettori reinforced the return of his confidence, and with Collingwood absent, England need him to fire in the middle-order if they are to have a chance of drawing the series.Daniel Vettori New Zealand’s captain has cast a forlorn figure this summer, but his euphoric celebrations at The Oval marked a turning point in fortune for his side. Admittedly, their joy was one of relief – justice had been served after Collingwood’s win-at-all-costs decision – but, moreover, New Zealand showed an icy calm resolve in chasing 246. Vettori can take credit for their resurgent form. Forever accurate with the ball, he has shown hitherto hidden qualities of tactical leadership as the series has progressed. He, more than anyone, will be desperate to ensure New Zealand finish their difficult tour on a deserved high.

Team news

Alastair Cook has fully recovered the shoulder injury which ruled him out earlier in the series, and is the likely candidate to replace Collingwood. It seems improbable he will fill Collingwood’s No.5 position however, meaning Luke Wright could be shunted down the order.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen (capt), 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Luke Wright, 6 Owais Shah, 7 Tim Ambrose (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James Anderson.New Zealand have a couple of injury concerns which could prevent them naming an unchanged side. Elliott will have a late fitness test on his thigh, while Kyle Mills tweaked his back during a net session at Lord’s. If Elliott misses out Gareth Hopkins could earn a recall and Michael Mason is on stand-by to come in for Mills, whose loss would be a major blow to New Zealand after his performances with bat and ball in the series.New Zealand (possible) 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Jamie How, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Daniel Flynn, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Mark Gillespie.Umpires: Steve Davis and Nigel Llong

Stats and trivia

• England have only won four of their last ten ODI matches at Lord’s, but were victorious in their last two matches against India and West Indies last year.
• New Zealand have never faced England at Lord’s in a one-dayer. They won their sole appearance against West Indies in the 2004 NatWest Series beating them by 107 runs.
• England will miss Collingwood’s captaincy, but moreover his runs: he is the leading run-scorer in the series with 149 at 37.25.
• New Zealand may be leading 2-1, but only McCullum appears in the the top five run-scorers with 114 at 38.00. Perhaps predictably, his strike-rate of 121.27 is the best of any top-order batsman.

Quotes

“When you perform like we have in the last two or three games, then guys start believing we are a good side.”
“Captaining England has been a dream of mine but I also understand that I’m assuming the role in Paul’s absence as he is the captain and leader of the one-day side.”

MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN was the lone spinner named today in Sri Lanka’s teamfor the upcoming tour of South Africa as the selectors reposed their faithin fast bowlers.The 16-man squad for next month’s two-Test series has seven new ballbowlers, showing that memories of their previous tours to South Africa haveremained in the minds of those who care to remember.The squad includes rookie left-arm quick Thilin Thushara Mirando, consideredone of the fastest bowlers in the country.All-rounder Hasantha Fernando and right-arm medium pacer Tharanga Lakshithaare the other new faces in the team captained by dashing left-hander SanathJayasuriya.Seasoned Chaminda Vaas will be supported by Dilhara Fernando, Sujeewa deSilva, Chamila Gamage, Ruchira Perera, Mirando and Lakshitha.While Vaas has played 62 Tests, the remaining six have a combined experienceof only 21 Tests between them.The Tests are scheduled to be played at Johannesburg November 8-12 and atCenturion, near Pretoria, November 15-19. Both of these venues are pacefriendly and provide plenty of bounce.A separate squad will be named for five one-day internationals Sri Lankawill play in South Africa after the Test series.Aravinda de Silva’s retirement from Test cricket, announced on Thursday,gives tall left-hander Jehan Mubarak a chance to make his first tour withthe senior squad after his debut at home against Bangladesh earlier in theseason.Prasanna Jayawardene is the lone specialist wicket-keeper in the squad,although batsman Kumar Sangakkara has kept wickets in both Test and one-daycricket.Sri Lanka’s Test squad (age, number of Tests in brackets):Sanath Jayasuriya (capt, 33, 75), Marvan Atapattu (vice-capt, 31, 59), KumarSangakkara (24, 24), Mahela Jayawardena (25, 45), Russel Arnold (28, 41),Hashan Tillakaratne (35, 71), Jehan Mubarak (21, 1), Hasantha Fernando (22,0), Chaminda Vaas (28, 62), Dilhara Fernando (23, 11), Sujeewa de Silva (22,2), Ruchira Perera (25, 7), Chamila Gamage (23, 1), Thilin Thushara Mirando(20, 0), Tharanga Lakshitha (20, 0), Muttiah Muralitharan (30, 76), PrasannaJayawardene (22Coach: Dave Whatmore.

Match facts

Monday, May 19, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The Delhi Daredevils’ semi-final hopes have dimmed after four defeats in five outings but they couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to reignite their campaign. Delhi’s frustrations coming into the game are compounded by losing two close encounters over the last ten days, but they shouldn’t have too many sleepless nights ahead of their encounter with the weakest side in the tournament.Gautam Gambhir, with 465 runs at 46.50, has gained a big lead in the run-chart and is followed by his captain, Virender Sehwag, who has cracked 338 runs at 37.55. They also possess a well-oiled bowling unit, which has been further strengthened by the control show by the legspinner, Amit Mishra.The under-fire Rahul Dravid is soldiering on, as his 36-ball 75 against Rajasthan showed, and continues to solidly defend his under-performing team-mates. While the team has tried an assortment of openers, nothing it seems, can alter their early fall of wickets, something which continues to put a heavy burden on the middle order.Their problems have been further exacerbated by the failure of their bowlers, who have taken just two wickets in their last two matches. Zaheer Khan, and to a lesser extent Praveen Kumar, are the only ones who have managed to give a good account of themselves. Worryingly, Dravid admitted that “the intensity was not there” after the Rajasthan game, a situation that needs immediate addressing if Bangalore don’t want to earn the wooden spoon.

Tournament position

Delhi Daredvils: P11, W5, L6, NRR +0.295
Bangalore Royal Challengers: P10, W2, L8, NRR -1.577

Form (last five matches, most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: LWLLL
Bangalore Royal Challengers: LLLLW

Watch out for …

Justin Langer was full of praise for England’s performance after the drawn warm-up match in Perth, in which England came within five runs of a memorable win. He singled out Simon Jones, who took five wickets as Western Australia were bowled out for 248 in their second innings.”I thought England played very well,” Langer enthused. “Nasser’s innings was superb, the best I’ve ever seen him bat and he looks very focused – that’s going to be an issue for us to sort out in our preparation for the Test match.”It’s all about momentum and I was expecting them to gain some leading into the Test match. I’m sure England will take a lot of positives out of the last three days which is a shame.”I’ve played at the WACA for 12 years and when pace bowlers get it right theytend to clean up the tail and Jones did well. I thought he probably bowled a bitshort, but he looks a pretty good prospect.”He’s been a bit rusty so it’s probably not that surprising that he bowledshort some of the time, but when he got it right, anyone who swings the ballback into the tail is always going to be a dangerous prospect.”Jones himself is hoping to play in the final warm-up game in Brisbane against Queensland, which starts on Saturday. It was his first full outing since he injured his side on his Test debut against India at Lord’s last July.”I’m very happy with the way things went in this game,” he admitted. “It’s the first game I’ve really played since I did the injury and I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made.”My fitness has come on a heck of a lot over the last week and a half. I’vestill got a bit to go before I’m full pace, I’d say another 10%, but I was ableto bowl the odd ball a little bit quicker.”I had a chat with Fletch (England coach Duncan Fletcher) before the game and he said just to work on the rhythms, not to try and go full pace yet. I also did some work on my action in the nets with Graham Dilley. It has worked really well for me in this game.”

MELBOURNE, June 14 AAP – Australian speed ace Brett Lee defended his one-day cricket tactics here today as he was recalled to the national eleven.Lee was the controversial choice for 12th man two days ago when Australia thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets at Colonial Stadium in the opening match of their three-game series.Opening bowler Jason Gillespie will carry the drinks tomorrow and Lee will take his place.The series was billed as a pace showdown between Lee and Shoaib Akhtar, the two fastest bowlers in the world.Shoaib also missed Wednesday’s match because of a leg injury, but trained fully today and is expected to play tomorrow.”In the past, I have been playing under specific instructions from Steve Waugh and they were to bowl fast and take as many wickets as I can,” Lee said in a statement released this afternoon through the Australian Cricket Board.”Under Ricky (Ponting), my instructions for one-day international cricket have changed a little.”I’m still going to bowl fast, but I have been asked to contain my bowling a little more.”I’m fully supportive of my new game plan and I’m hoping to be an economical bowler and still take as many wickets for Australia in the future.”Captain Ponting said before game one and again today he wanted Lee to concede fewer runs per over.After Wednesday’s match, Ponting conceded Lee and Andy Bichel were borderline selections for the one-day side and had to start stringing together consistent performances.Bichel impressed on Wednesday, taking 3-30 from 10 overs.Ponting said today he wanted all his bowlers to be more miserly, saying it was “fairly unacceptable” Australia had conceded nearly 100 runs in the last 10 overs at times earlier this year against South Africa.Ponting also made it clear today he had no problem with Lee’s attitude, saying they had been working on “a few things” at training this week.”He’s keen to do that, he wants to be a valued member of our side and we know he’s going to do his best to make sure he gets his economy rate on the next few games he plays,” Ponting said.”He still is required to be as economical as the other guys, but it’s nice for him to have that wicket-taking ability as well.”He’s always going to have that because he’s so fast and he can blast guys out.”Ponting added Lee probably had to bowl a little slower in one-dayers, but said he would lose his effectiveness if he went down to medium pace.Ponting had no doubt Pakistan would be much tougher tomorrow night and added he and his team-mates had been surprised “a lot” with the ease of Wednesday’s win.Counterpart Waqar Younis said Pakistan often made a slow start to its Australian trips and would be stronger in game two.The two captains asked for the bowlers’ run-ups and the creases to be dried ahead of tomorrow, because of concerns about players losing their footing.Australia would no doubt prefer Shoaib did not emulate his team-mates on Wednesday and unleash a top-speed “bean ball” because he lost his footing.Australia made a second change for tomorrow, with opening batsman Matthew Hayden returning to Brisbane to be with wife Kellie as they expect their first child and Jimmy Maher taking his place.Pakistan will name its side tomorrow.AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (capt), Andy Bichel, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Jason Gillespie (12th man).

It is likely to be Friday, at the earliest, before a final decision is made on Nathan Astle’s immediate playing future with the TelstraClear Black Caps.Astle returned home from Pakistan at the weekend with a patella tendon injury and surgeon Paul Armour has requested an MRI Scan be taken of Astle’s knee.New Zealand Cricket’s medical co-ordinator Warren Frost said Armour would not make a judgment until all the information was in.Frost said Astle had been struggling with his knees for a couple of seasons and wanted to get things sorted out in order to look ahead and to be better equipped to go ahead in stronger style.”It is a big year ahead and he wants no half measures to get it sorted out,” Frost said.That could mean that Astle misses the tour of the West Indies next month.A report is also being awaited on the side strain injury suffered by Jacob Oram.”They can be a nasty thing and can hang around a while,” Frost said.

What a match. What a season. What a climax.At the end of what might come to be remembered as one of the all-time great matches in Australian first-class history, Queensland has prevailed here at the ‘Gabbaground in Brisbane to win a thrilling Pura Cup Final against Victoria by a margin of four wickets.But the Bulls didn’t grasp a fourth domestic first-class title – one which gave them back-to-back victories for the first time in their history – without weathering close tothree hours of extraordinary drama on the final day of this memorable 2000-01 summer.Controversy hit the Final in the fifth over of the last day when Queensland captain Stuart Law (47*) was awarded the benefit of the doubt – courtesy of a series ofinconclusive television replays – after it had appeared that he had been wonderfully caught by a diving Michael Klinger at third slip from the very first ball that he faced.Around a series of incisions made by a remorseless Victorian bowling attack at the other end, Law then proceeded to lead not only a charmed existence but todeterminedly lead his team to the finishing post as well.He was caught behind off a no-ball with his score at 4, frequently played and missed, and was dropped by Matthew Elliott and Matthew Mott on 10 and 39respectively when he edged strokes behind the wicket. In the end, though, he was there to hit the winning runs in mid-afternoon. And, to a captivated crowd of 1374,that was all that really mattered.”It was probably the toughest game of cricket I’ve ever played in,” confessed a drained Law shortly after the seal had been set on his record-breaking fourth first-classsuccess as a captain.”The Victorians never let up, they never said die out there. They knew that they were only a couple of wickets away and that it could have turned on a knife-edge atany stage. To their credit, they stuck at it right until the last runs were hit. (To win) was total and utter relief.””I’ll remember it for the circumstances but not for the execution – it was pretty ordinary. It was very ugly but it became effective in the end,” he added of his innings.Even by the time that his back foot cover drive from the bowling of Michael Lewis (0/82) finally settled matters, this had not ceased to remain the gripping contest thatit had proved for each of the preceding four days as well. Virtually every ball was loaded and, while there were not a huge amount of them occupied, it was the edges(rather than the bases) of most chairs in the stadium that were being utilised. The result hung in the balance until close to the very end; even the conclusion of the matchdidn’t dramatically alter the tense atmosphere: heartfelt relief predominating on one side and heartbreak on the other.By stumps on the fourth day, the Bulls had worked themselves into a winning position at a score of 2/137 as they pursued a fourth innings target of 224. But this matchhad been so tight, so absorbing and such a struggle that it did not deserve a tame finish. Happily, it never came close to such.Key batsman Martin Love (52) was removed in the fifth over of the day when Mott, reaching high above his head at gully, held the remains of a forcing cutstroke off the back foot at Paul Reiffel (1/34). And then massive controversy erupted.Having been dismissed for a golden duck in the first innings, it appeared that Law had suffered the ignominy of recording a king pair when Klinger dived athletically tohis right and appeared to clutch a magnificent one handed catch. Simon Taufel, umpiring at the bowler’s end, was not immediately convinced that the catch had beentaken on the full, though, and the decision was referred to third umpire, Peter Parker.Obvious disgust from the Victorians – so obvious that Reiffel was later fined $200 after being found guilty by Match Referee Peter Burge of conduct unbecoming,intimidation of umpires, and dissent – ensued as a series of inconclusive television replays failed to either prove or disprove the validity of the catch.”We obviously thought he’d caught it; (the fact that it was given not out) was very disappointing. It was a clear catch to us,” said Reiffel.The worth of using the third umpire as the final arbiter to rule on catches has been debated many times in Australia this season. There is no doubt that this latestincident will only add fuel to the fire, coming as it did at such a defining moment of such an extraordinarily tense arm-wrestle. It added to simmering Victorianresentment that still carries over after Law also profited handsomely from another controversial no-catch decision on the first day of last season’s Pura Milk Cup Final.”It’s impossible to know,” added Reiffel, when pressed to comment on how crucially today’s decision impacted on the outcome. “Stuart, with his experience, hassteered them home in the end. To have got him out first ball … who’s to know?”Ultimately the one thing that was clear by the end of the match was that Queensland has reaffirmed its dominance and extended what has become a golden era ofsuccess for a state that took sixty-nine long years to even win the trophy once.This victory did not have the tears of 1994-95, not the emotion of 1996-97, not quite the same brow-beating dominance of 1999-2000. But what it did possess wasresolve, character and application … and indeed many of the same players who have been such a key to making Queensland such a good side.The bottom line, all controversies aside, is that there are five other state teams and five other sets of supporters which remain inordinately envious of the Bulls thisafternoon. The modern-day kings of Australian first-class cricket have triumphed once more; long may they rule if their cricket remains as inspiring as this.

My friend Khalid Butt is finding it increasingly difficult to defend the PCB’s much-sullied image these days in the face of wide media outrage. And that unfortunately is his job as PCB’s media manager. After the unending spate of defeats, he is full of protest and indignation. Not at the string of setbacks, but at hacks like me taking potshots at his boss and the organisation that he represents.Butt’s beef with this writer is the last piece one wrote, titled “Pakistan addicted to its losing ways”, which appeared on May 21. Butt says that my basic argument is flawed. To him the PCB’s performance should not be evaluated together with the national team’s. Rather, it should be looked at in terms of what other magnificent infrastructure the Board has put up or what fine academies they have created.This argument doesn’t wash, on a number of counts, the foremost being that it defies common logic. In military parlance, which the current PCB management should readily grasp, would mean that a major military defeat should not be blamed on the Head Quarters!And, conversely, if the Board should not be blamed for defeats why should everybody who is anybody in the PCB – from the Chairman, to chief selector, right down to the last brigadier, colonel, captain, lieutenant and the tea boy – wrangle for media credit in case of the odd victory. If you have forgotten, recall the gushing at the last good news they got – after the Auckland Test. The obverse side of basking in reflected glory is egg on the face in case of a setback. And those who choose to opt for limelight are condemned to face this situation whenever things go wrong.Anyway, this PCB defence, the only one they have been able to muster after months of head-scratching, has been accepted by some writers from the south of the country; most of them chose to remain nameless, and the one who didn’t was perhaps enamoured towards the idea due to a lucrative book sponsorship deal offered him. Those close to the powers-that-be divulge that the sum involved is likely to be in millions.Passing the buck in its entirety to the team, however, is an idea that did not cut much ice with the rest of the country. And the proof that the PCB’s position is considered untenable was that the opprobrium has been across the board, echoing in the editorials and other writings, in all the popular leading dailies, vernacular as well as English. One of them was titled, “Partners in Crime”, while others unequivocally asked for the sacking of the Board.And if the PCB’s position on the issue is as sound as they’d want us believe, why hasn’t a single credible voice been raised in support? That, of course, means leaving out those on the payroll, one way or the other. Frankly, even they are looking for cover most of the time.The men residing in Pakistan cricket’s ivory tower these days do not realise that the people’s fascination with the game is fast turning to disgust, and that’s why they are not getting many positive opinions. To be fair, in this the fault is not entirely set-up’s, but the fact is that people are sick of the shenanigans of players and administrators alike.It has also been ‘advised’ that one should not over-react, “not lose one’s balance at the Lord’s defeat”. Such arguments miss the whole point, and that is why they cannot befool men in the street any longer. Nobody is talking about an isolated defeat, there is a whole string of them: as many as 12 major debacles – a tournament or a series loss – in less than a year and a half.This reflects a pattern, and the current PCB set-up has singularly failed to break the cast.That when the General took over, the Pakistan team was rated as the second best in one-day cricket and was close to the top in the longer version of the game. In the previous year it had reached the World Cup Final and won the inaugural Asian Test championship. Only two years ago, it had attained the status of the top-ranked outfit in the world in Test cricket. That status was achieved without the high-fly advisors and new-fangled systems.Where are we today, despite the state of the art systems? Far from the top and hugging the bottom. Some achievement in only a year and a bit!That when hopes were high at the time the new command came in. The favourable argument was, if a serving general in a military government – can’t sort out the mess, then who can? But the General has obviously failed.More about it in the next column, looking at the last one year and a half encompassing the other so-called achievements – focussing on the human resource, the infrastructure, the systems and the academies. The PCB’s apologists do claim that they are without compare – more than what all the Boards combined achieved; well, then they surely deserve a dispassionate look and we will.Chronology of defeats under the present Board:

• 1999-2000: World Series Cup in Australia – Pakistan ends up second behind the hosts
• 1999-2000: At home against Sri Lanka – Pakistan was blanked out in one-day series 3-0
• 1999-2000: Pakistan loses the Test rubber 2-1 to Sri Lanka
• 1999-2000: In the West Indies, Pakistan loses the three-Test series 1-0
• 2000-01: Ends up third in a three-nation event in Sri Lanka, involving hosts and South Africa
• 2000: Loses a three-way one-day tournament at Singapore
• 2000: Loses in the semi-final against New Zealand of the ICC knock-out tournament at Nairobi
• 2000-01: Loses a Test series at home, its first in about four decades, against England 1-0
• 2000-01:Loses the one-day series in New Zealand 3-2
• 2000-01: The three-match Test series against the Black Caps is drawn 1-1 after Pakistan is beaten by an innings in the third Test
• 2000-01: Defeat in the final of the three-nation ARY Gold Cup against Sri Lanka
• 2001: First Test of the two-match rubber is lost at Lord’s by an innings and 9 runs – the first loss by an innings margin against England since 1978 and the second successive one by Pakistan.

…and successes:

• 1999-2000: Pakistan wins the three-nation one-day tournament in Sharjah in April
• 1999-2000: Pakistan wins the three-nation one-day tournament in the West Indies – their first victory in one-dayers in the Caribbean
• 1999-2000: Pakistan triumphs in the Asia Cup – its first continental trophy in seven attempts
• 2000-01: Pakistan wins the away Test series in Sri Lanka 2-0
• 2000-01: Pakistan beats England 2-1 in the one-day series at home

He had every reason in the world not to come out and bowl. Everyrational, pragmatic advisor would have told him to put up his feet,nurse his fractured jaw, thumb the pages of a paperback and watchIndia bowl at West Indies from the cool confines of the pavilion atthe Antigua Recreation Ground. Perhaps even sipping a cool, tall PinaColada. But then, even that might be hard to do with a newly-repairedjaw.God help you if you were one of the kind souls who made any of theabove suggestions to Anil Kumble. He’s the kind of man who iscomposed, thinks intensely about his game and when it comes to crickettakes no prisoners. After waiting patiently by the sidelines, sittingout two Tests, Kumble finally got a crack at the whip. Once he did, hewas not going to be a spectator once more – injury or not.And as they say, beware the anger of a patient man.Before reports filtered through that Kumble was out of action and thathe would be making the Antigua-Barbados-London-Mumbai flight, there hewas, all strapped up and asking Sourav Ganguly for a crack at the WestIndians. Clearly, Brian Lara was surprised to see Kumble coming out tothe middle. Clearly, the batsmen were rattled by the prospect offacing upto a few sliders and top spinners on a wicket that wasbeginning to lose its top.But that’s strategy. That’s for coaches and captains and turbanedexpert analysts in studios. It’s not what made Kumble take the field.”I knew that I had to go back home because of this injury so I thoughtI’ll give it one last try,” Kumble told pressmen at the end of theday’s play. One last try was not the kind of bowling that has causedcritics to bay about his 40-plus bowling average overseas. It was ahigh adrenalin burst. Heavily strapped up, with bands going around hisjaw, over his head and across the back of it, a semi-mummified Kumbleran in and presto, scalped the wicket of Lara.Classic Kumble, ball not turning much, skidding through, trapping thebatsman in front of the stumps.And make no mistake about it. This is not a case of Kumble doing aRick McCosker. Knocked over by a Bob Willis bouncer on day one of theCentenary Test at Melbourne in 1976-77, McCosker came back todo battle later in the game. Strapped up much more heavily than Kumble,McCosker famously came back to bat at No 10 in the second innings,made 25, was involved in a 54-run partnership with Rod Marsh who madea century and helped Australia win. The eventual margin of victory was 45runs, making the last wicket partnership crucial.There’s no such thing at stake here. India have 500-plus on the board,the wicket is less than conducive to bowling sides out and the gameseems to be heading for a draw.So what then was Kumble trying to achieve?Some say his appearance and bowling was simply a case of insecurity -he was booking a place in the squad that will tour England later. Somesay it was a calculated stunt to gain the sympathy of the public andthe media. Andrew Leipus, team physio, made it clear that localdentists had patched up Kumble’s jaw and there was little chance ofworsening the injury by playing. That should be good enough to takethe conspiracy theorists and nay-sayers out of the picture. But thatnever happens. People will believe what they want.There are others who feel this was a defining moment in Kumble’scareer. A testament to the man’s approach to the game. His job is tobowl and take wickets, he thought it was well within him to pushhimself and give his best. “At least I’ll go back home havingthought that I tried my best. If it did work it would be great, but itwas pretty tough. I just wanted to try,” said Kumble. That’s commendable to theextreme. It’s the kind of spirit rarely shown by Indian cricketers.Those are the two sides of the argument. To attribute either motiveunequivocally to Kumble would be a touch unfair and oversimplifyingmatters. Only Kumble himself will ever know why he did what he did -somewhere bang in the middle of the sentimental, pish-tosh attempt tobe a folk hero and the calculating schemer. He’s human after all. Andyet, he’s just turned in a superhuman effort.

Glenn McGrath has been appointed director of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, replacing Dennis Lillee, who has held the post since its inception in 1987. McGrath, currently in India, has called it a “great honour.””I know it won’t be possible to replace someone like Dennis Lillee,” McGrath said. “His legacy will be hard to live up to, but I will try my best in my role as the director at the foundation.”The academy’s contribution to world cricket is immense. I have trained there under Lillee and have experienced the facilities on offer.”The foundation has played a role in shaping the careers of several of the world’s best fast bowlers, including Brett Lee and Zaheer Khan. Lillee, who spent 25 years with the organisation, hoped the foundation would continue its good work under McGrath’s leadership.”McGrath is the perfect choice to carry the vision of the Foundation forward,” Lillee said. “I am happy for him and wish him all the best in his new role. I am certain that the MRF Pace Foundation will produce many more international fast bowlers under his guidance.”Lillee expressed satisfaction with the results of his association with the foundation and said that the decision to leave was not easy. “It has been a long journey. We had to begin from scratch, building facilities and slowly developing into a world-class academy. Our efforts and hard work have paid off and it pleases me to see bowlers trained at the foundation leading the Indian attack.”