SPINT HE I NDEP ENDEN T V O I C E O F CR I C K E T

How Test cricket got into this mess and how it can

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HOW TO

BAT v LEFT-ARMERS

PAGE 72ADIL RASHIDDAVID SAKER LOU VINCENT

STEVE FINN

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GAME OVER?How Test cricket got into this mess and how it can survive

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24.07.2010 PROMOTION

In the UK, we do it with honorary degrees. In India, they do it with honorary military ranks: hence Sachin Tendulkar’s promotion this month as an Honorary Group Captain of the Indian Air Force. Sachin’s “devotion towards his profession has served in upholding the pride of the nation,” reckoned the top boy in IAF. Tendulkar gets to keep the uniform and has been promised he can learn to fly a fighter jet, if he has the time.

29.08.2010 BLANKINGOnly in cricket could a player be handed a giant cheque for £4000 on the morning that it had been very publicly alleged that he had been taking bribes of tens of thousands of pounds to under-perform in matches. Mo Amir was named man of the series but to avoid further hooha, the ceremony was staged in ‘private’ in the Lord’s pavilion. Rather than showing his disapproval by, say, not handing over the cheque, ECB chairman Giles Clarke did not offer a handshake to or even look at Amir and maintained a face like thunder throughout. As he handed over the giant cheque.

31.08.2010 PR OWN GOALOwais Shah learned of his dismissal by Middlesex after 17 years with the club, via a friend who had read about it in a local paper. The news had been issued under an embargo, before Shah himself had been told. Which process, even if the paper itself was technically to blame, all seemed a bit odd. Still only 31, the Mauler had played 50 consecutive ODIs before his omission by England last October. Though he was averaging just 33 in the Championship this season, Director of Cricket Angus Fraser suggested the parting of ways was not entirely down to Shah’s stats. Shah said he was “sad”, his agent said it was “disgraceful” and Fraser said he was “sorry”.

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this month’s biggest…

01.09.2010 COUNTY COMEBACK

For the first time, KP was dropped by England (as he saw it) or ‘rested’ as the team management would rather have spun it. Without a

century in any form of the game for over 18 months and still apparently struggling for rhythm after the achilles injury that kept him out of the back end of the 2009 Ashes, England gave KP the chance to go back to county cricket and get some runs under his belt. “It’s a f**k-up!” he declared on Twitter, later transcribed for the press release as “I am grateful to be given the opportunity by Surrey.” In his second game, he made 116 off 105 balls in a tied one-day game at Hove.

27.08.2010 BREAKTHROUGH

Soft-hearted/wrong-headed observers seemed to think that the great pity of the Pakistan match-fixing allegations was that poor Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad’s eighth wicket heroics at Lord’s would be undermined. That was plainly a loss of perspective. But cricket had been on a high after the Friday and Saturday of the Lord’s Test, as Trott and Broad put on a world record 332 for the eighth wicket to take England from 102/7 no-hopers to victors by an innings. Broad, who made 169, became only the third England No 9 in history to hit a Test century. His old school coach Phil de Freitas thinks Broad should bat 6 in the Test team. Slightly optimistic, possibly. What was certain, though, was that after a long barren spell with the bat (he’d averaged just 15 in the year since the Ashes) Broad, finally, looked reborn as England’s new New Flintoff.

05.09.2010 POT/KETTLE

“I think he is 30, 31 – but mentally he is 15, 16. People know

which type of character he is. We

have known him for a long time and we can expect anything from him.”Shahid Afridi on Yasir Hameed after the latter was quoted in the News of the World, apparently confirming allegations of spot-fixing.

29.07.2010 VINDI CATION

Just last month we flagged up the little reported interview given by Rashid Latif to cricinfo at the end of July. The ex-Pakistan wicket-keeper, a whistle-blower on Pakistan’s original match-fixers led by Salim Malik in the late -90s had warned: “Some cricket matches have been scripted like movies or plays. I honestly don’t think it can be stopped.” It would later emerge that Pakistan skipper Salman Butt had been reminded on five occasions of his responsibilities this summer by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit. Exactly how ruined the state of international cricket would have been without the backstage warnings of the ACSU we can only conjecture. But hard to see how the game could have been engulfed in a bigger public scandal than the one broken by the News of the World during the Lord’s Test.

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Why Pakistan?The culture around the Pakistan team is informal and ad hoc – and players are keen to take advantage of commercial opportunities. That’s not to say that there has necessarily been any wrongdoing; rather, that the circumstances around the team would do little to prevent it.

As editor of SPIN I have, on previous tours, been approached by two or three ‘agents’ representing the same player and offering to arrange interviews in return for money. Often these players have an official ‘mainstream’ agent as well as a roster of friends and friends of friends – not to say hangers-on – who act on their behalf informally. The Majeed brothers at the centre of the current controversy were two of the British Pakistani community who befriended the Pakistan team. Azhar Majeed – brother of Mazher, the subject of the News of the World sting – approached SPIN on the 2006 tour with regard to player interviews.

For determined would-be

agents or well-wishers, access to players has been easy; indeed, the players – often looking for commercial opportunities from whatever direction they can find them – cultivate an ad hoc world around them.

Speaking exclusively to SPIN for this feature, one erstwhile Pakistan agent outlined the culture surrounding the team that placed them in potentially vulnerable situations. “I was just a fan,” he told us. “Then, once, after an international game in the mid-2000s, I went to the team hotel and got chatting to some of the players. I’d never

met them before but they were very friendly. One of the senior players invited me up to his room, which was great but slightly surreal. We sat and watched the highlights of that day’s play with other players coming in and out. I asked them about how sponsorship deals came together for them and they explained how it worked: it seemed all very ad hoc. They told me some of the youngsters were looking for sponsors.

“They all came in and I shook their hands and they said if I could find them any sponsorships to get back in touch. I was a nobody. We were genuine supporters and we thought we could genuinely help promote the players as bona fide agents. But seeing the way the players did business was an eye-opener.

“I was put in touch with one of the players who I thought I could promote in India. The player wanted £7k a month in cash up front. He met me in the men’s room in the team hotel and shook my hand and took the cash. We arranged some TV interviews and some newspaper columns for him in India

SPIN speaks to Indian bookmakers and Pakistani agents to answer the questions that matter about the spot-fixing allegations that threaten the game. Main story: Duncan Steer

music died.Again.The day the

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and we just about got our money back. He thought he could get on the Indian version of Strictly Come Dancing, but that didn’t happen. There was nothing untoward about our relationship with the player at all – but the manner in which business was conducted was very different to what I had expected.

“The players do not expect to pay for anything. If you go sight-seeing with them, you are expected to pay. Dinners, cabs… there’s so many people hanging around them, that there’s always someone who will step in and look after the bill for them. Which could be entirely innocent. But then who are the people paying those bills? Are they just being friendly? Those guys can easily befriend players and where does it lead?

“All it needs is someone to turn up with a brown envelope full of cash and ask if you want to go for dinner. Of course you’re going to go. And one thing could lead to another and you’re going to become friends with the guy and then eventually, he’ll just ask you

to do him a favour. I can see how it would work.

“I was with the team for six weeks in India and you did see a lot of the same rich friends turning up at the team hotels. That culture is exacerbated by the fact that many players come from poor backgrounds – and, given the way the team is selected, some of them may only be there for a couple of series, so they don’t know if this is their last chance to make some money. Then again, someone like Salman Butt is from a middle-class background and privately educated so the situation is not as straightforward as some would suggest.

“Sometimes I’d talk about the cricket but I don’t think the guys really wanted to talk about it. It’s their job. They wanted to chill out and switch off. The cricket is a job to them, they have a life beyond cricket, they are not as emotionally attached to the game as a fan would be. If I was playing for Pakistan, I’d be nervous and waking up in the night. But these guys were very laidback about it to a degree that surprised me. Is that true for all

professional sportsmen? Maybe. I don’t know. I only got close to Pakistan.”

Should we have been surprised?Not especially. For two reasons. 1) Pakistan had been effectively left by the ICC to put its own house in order. How else to explain that at the start of the series, Pakistan had both Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Asif within their ranks? At the time Kaneria was on police bail having been arrested for allegedly spot-fixing during a NatWest Pro40 game for Essex last summer.(He was subsequently cleared and released without charge in September.) Asif, meanwhile, had three drugs offences against his name, offences that, had he been from any other country, would have led to substantial, possibly even life bans. But because the PCB were not signed up to the international doping charter of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Pakistan had been effectively left to mete out their own punishments.

If players with publicly known

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Jono Russell runs the Hawkeye rule over England and Australia’s series with Pakistan in search of some pre-Ashes lessons

MEANWHILE,

Jonathan Trott: England’s rockThe fragility of England’s top order may be a cause for concern – but Trott is exempt from any such criticism. He was top runscorer in the series and had it not been for his 404 runs at 67.33 the series result may have been different. His 184 in the fourth Test at Lord’s was particularly vital, as he and Stuart Broad took England from 102/7 to 434/8. Graphic 1 is Trott’s wagon wheel from that innings. While the rest of England’s top order failed at the hands of Mo Amir (and silly strokeplay), Trott produced a superb Test innings.

Plenty of runs were scored behind square on the leg side, as he milked plenty of singles (yellow) by nudging off his pads. There was the odd edged flash to third man for four (blue), but more often than not when he decided to attack it resulted in classy drives – square or down the ground. His beehive (Graphic 2) is what you’d expect of a batsman tasked with rescuing his side: defending anything on a line and length that threatened the stumps (red), leaving anything wide (yellow) and attacking everything else (blue). The cluster of blue deliveries on and around the leg stump show just how effective he was at working the ball off his pads to keep the score ticking over.

back onthe field...1 2

HAWKEYE LESSONS OF SUMMER 2010

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ILE,

Australia’s rock: Simon KatichAustralia’s batting has also appeared brittle at times over the past year but Simon Katich, the man dumped from the team in the 2005 Ashes post mortem, has been rock solid at the top of the order. Prior to the second Test against Pakistan at Leeds, Katich had managed at least a fifty in nine Test matches on the trot. In the three years since his return to the side, he’s scored 2721 runs at 54.42.

As the statistics suggest, the left-handed opener has reduced his weaknesses and improved his strengths and, while he may be a more limited player as a result, he is also far more prolific. Graphic 3 is a wagon wheel combining both of Katich’s innings

during the Lord’s Test again Pakistan, in which he scored 80 and 83. It shows the areas he likes to score – between mid- wicket and square leg, predominately – with the help of his distinctive shuffle across the crease. Only one scoring shot was played straight down the ground; the rest was either square drives or played with a horizontal bat.

However, at Leeds Pakistan showed England just how they might try to bring the New South Wales captain down – Graphic 4 shows the two Mo Amir deliveries that removed Katich at Headingley, both angled in at the leg stump. Both times Katich was shuffling across; trapped leg before in the first innings, then bowled in the second.

Katich averaged 36 in his first 23 Tests, before being dropped in the winter of 2005/06. After being out of the side for over two years, his record since his comeback in May 2008 is remarkably different: he averages 54 in 29 Tests, including eight centuries.back onthe field...

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THE BATTING DOCTORWITH GARY PALMER

MANY RIGHT-HANDERS struggle against left-arm over pace bowlers, especially the ones who swing the ball back in to them. This problem is apparent with all ages and standards of cricketers – even with international players. Why is this? It’s because batters generally develop their technique against right-arm over bowling, throw drowns and also the bowling machine from the same angle. To my mind, we need to be more specific with our practice and learn to master techniques from various angles: too often, coaches neglect the left arm over angle. This month I look at the key technical points specific to playing against the left-arm over bowler who swings the ball back in to the right-hander. All these points are most relevant to driving in the v off the frontfoot but the principles are the same for driving off the back foot.

HOW TO BAT v LEFT ARMERS

MASTERCLASSFOR ANY YOUNG LADS OUT THERE…

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1OPEN FEET AND SHOULDERS SLIGHTLY more to align yourself to the angle of the bowler. Your

back swing needs to go back towards 1st/2nd slip thus aligning to the bowler. This should happen naturally if your feet and shoulders are slightly more open than they are when you face the right-arm over bowler.Common faults: a) Stance too sideways on (feet and shoulders ) and therefore initially poorly aligned to the bowler. This is where the process begins of tipping to the offside, being blocked off and playing around the front pad.b) Backswing too straight and therefore hidden behind the body. This means the bat has to swing like a golf swing to get at the ball and therefore the batter plays across the line and ends up too chest-on. At the point of contact you will be too side on and therefore blocked off and in a poor position to access the ball.

Adjusting your angles to the left-arm-over fast bowler

in practice

4 THE ‘V’ BETWEEN MID-OFF and mid-on which is your basic target area for the right-arm over bowler should

now be adjusted more towards the leg side. Now the V should be between very straight mid-off and wide mid-on: this will help you naturally align your body position to where you are looking to hit the ball and you will be well balanced. To drive well through mid-on and mid-wicket you need to work harder to maintain a dominant top hand throughout the shot. It is all too easy to bring the bottom hand in and hit across the line thus collapsing your final shape.

To play the left-armer well, you must be able to play the on drive very well with perfect technique. If you have the

confidence to play this shot you it will make facing the left-armer easy because you will be playing straight towards the correct target area in your revised V.Common fault: a) Too much bottom hand in the drives causing hitting across the line. b) Wanting to hit the ball on the off side because the V between mid off and mid on has not been specifically adjusted to the left armer and therefore you are trying to hit the ball in the wrong areas against the swing.

Gary Palmer has coached a roster of county and international players and helped young players from outside the system to win pro contracts. For info on courses and one-to-one coaching: www.ccmacademy.co.uk

3LOOK TO MAKE CONTACT with the ball slightly further forward of the front pad than usual when the

ball is on middle and leg stump line, but still remember to let the ball come to you. When playing the on drive make contact with the ball in line with the front foot to encourage good balance.

Take a slightly smaller stride: this will allow you to open up and adjust your shoulder position to the ball swinging in to you thus giving you good access to the ball. This is especially important when playing the short ball off the back foot. Look to hit the ball through mid-on and straight mid wicket when it pitches on leg stump line, rather than flicking the ball through square leg.Common faults: a) Making contact with the ball level with the front foot b) Ttaking too big a stride, which limits the batter’s ability to let the ball come and adjust as the ball swings in.

2PUSH YOUR HEAD and NOT your shoulder towards the ball. Too often players lean towards the ball

with their shoulder causing them to tip towards the off side and therefore play around their front pad.

Your front and, more importantly, back foot need to point up the wicket more, to better align your hips towards where they are trying to hit the ball. The heel of the back foot must be raised prior to hitting the shot to ensure good balance and alignment.Common faults: a) Front or, more importantly, back foot lands too sideways thus making the batter blocked off. Again, this is because the hips are too sideways thus limiting your reach and balance.b) putting the front foot outside the line of leg stump when playing the on drive thus getting squared up. This results in tipping to the off side and also trying to play the ball to square on the offside.