The Googly

Website of the Week: cricketbaat.com

A brand spanking new site launched by our friends over at www.fanbanta.com is our pick this week.

www.cricketbaat.com is a new Indian-focused cricket website that has news, forums, debate, opinion & comment, videos, photos and everything else you need as a cricket fan in this new media age.

Get yourself over there, tell them we sent you.

The Yanks buy Cricinfo

It is impossible to be a fan of cricket and not use Cricinfo, the site that certainly justifies its strapline as "The Home of Cricket".  It's mix of in-depth features, news, analysis and statistics is second to none.  As a result of its own success the site, and its seven million unique users a month, has been bought by US media giant ESPN.

Following BSkyB's acquisition of The Wisden Cricketer magazine, this sale marks the second takeover of a cricket media institution by a global company in the past eight weeks.  The times they are a-changin' and all that.

Hoggard: down but not out

Matthew Hoggard: a name to celebrate. We think of him so often as the journeyman of the England bowling attack, and yet he is so very frequently the one who makes things happen.

When he walked off the park last Saturday, our collective hearts fell - we know how much we need him to lead the pace attack. Yet much of the time, he seems to be relegated to the sidelines in the stories written of the England team.

Why this should be is beyond me. His figures stand scrutiny from the harshest of critics, and that includes that dour old Yorkshireman, Mr Boycott.

I do remember chants of "Hoggy, Hoggy, Hoggy" ringing round the grounds during the 2005 Ashes, but I cannot bring to mind many front or back pages of the newspapers featuring the shaggy-haired northerner. This is a poor public recognition for the man who took a brilliant hat-trick in Barbados in 2004, and followed that with a truly astounding 12-wicket haul that winter as England toiled in South Africa. Quite possibly, his performance was what turned the tide and ensured that the series went in England's favour.

In 2006 he had a solid series against Sri Lanka, not such a good time against Pakistan, but showed his class in the Adelaide match of the 2006/7 Ashes, taking 7 wickets. And yet still no headlines!

As a batsman, he has turned in some decent hits for Yorkshire, and internationally, is the nightwatchman all the Test playing countries wish they had. Stolid, unflappable, and always effective. He is, quite possibly, one of the best we have ever had the privilege to rely on.

Get well soon, Hoggy. England needs you.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Cricketers' Columns in the Press

Dear Little Ian Belly-Boy.

He may have put the curse on his own career by agreeing to write (or should that be ghost?) a column for The Guardian. Previous incumbents of this position include Saj Mahmood - he did himself no favours and gained no kudos during the 2006/7 Ashes Tour from his exceptionally banal writings, and Ashley Giles - there are few followers of the cricket who do not remember the press-wide spat in the pages of the print media during Ashes 2005.

Bell-boy suggests that a white-wash of the West Indies is not out of the question. In really a very dull article. It is very hard to convey quite how dull his piece is, full of what some of us would think as Fletcher-speak, but of course, he's not there any more. Strange how lingering the presence can be. I suppose the best we can hope for, apart from sparkling performances on the park, will be some rather more insightful pieces from a man we expect to be batting at least at number 3.   [mimitig] [image: Getty]

England Selection

As the first of the summer test matches approaches, who would want to be Peter Moores?

Well at least half a dozen cricket pundits in the media and more than twice that amongst the amateur watchers of the game. They all think they know who he should be selecting, and there are enough names being thrown in the ring to make up a UEFA size squad. So let's join in.

On current form, Marcus Trescothick would head the list of opening batsmen, but he won't because he's ruled himself out, and needs more nurturing in the comforting arms of Somerset. Vaughan and Pietersen aren't up for debate either, due to injuries and many of the other names going great guns in the county matches, are foreign, so that's not much help to the new England coach. Nonetheless, Mr Moores has got to make his choices sooner rather than later, and he is probably resting on the horns of a dilemma.

Should he play safe, and pick mainly from the defeated World Cup side, or should he use this opportunity to go for the new?

The most vigorously debated position is probably that of wicket-keeper: James Foster, Tim Ambrose, Nic Pothas (has he qualified for England yet?), Matt Prior, Geraint Jones, Chris Read, and of course there's the loyalty that may be owed to Paul Nixon. Personally I think Read is out and an imaginative Moores would recognise that despite sterling service, Nixon is yesterday's man. For me, Prior deserves a shot at Test level this summer, with GO Jones on the bench. So who to open? I think Strauss and Cook are the best bet. Leave the Bell Boy at 3 and bring St Paul of Collingwood (who has earned a shot at captaincy) in at 4. Shah for 5, Fred for 6, followed by Prior,Broad, Harmison, Panesar and our old friend Matthew Hoggard to round out the 11.

If I were Peter Moores today, I would just be hoping that none of the names on the list go anywhere near a Japanese bidet over the next week or so. Last thing he needs is an unpleasant explosion in the squad!

[Mimitig]

ICC Cricket World Cup: England resort to sports psychology

Once more a tape has fallen into the hands of Mimitig and The Tooting Trumpet (see this blog for earlier breaches of team security). Experts have confirmed the identities of the voices on the transcript below.

 

Thursday April 5, Antigua

 

Michael Vaughan: Lads, lads. Let’s pick this thing up shall we? Okay you can put down your shiny new Wisdens - thanks Monty – and listen. Jamie - you can stop reading it to Liam now too.

 

It was always going to be a tough game against the Lankans – they may only be a small island off a much larger land mass, but we all know that they are good (especially you eh Straussy after the 5-0 last Summer). It’s only a few days since that fine win over (muffled - who was it Straussy?) Ireland. Come Sunday, we’ll see if I can continue my resurrection of English cricket won’t we?

Bit of a change of tack now (that's what you should have done it that pedalo Fred), because I'm handing over to one of Duncan's mates, Jeremy Snape (yes, get the Professor Snape gags over now please) who some of you may know from County Cricket (that’s you Jamie). He played some ODIs when the likes of Matthew Fleming and Mark Ealham were getting a game, but he's a Sports Psychiatrist these days

(muffled - well that's what I said...) Sorry, he's a Sports Psychologist these days and Duncan wants us to listen (muffled - Duncan wants his head testing).

 

Professor Jeremy Snape: Thanks Michael. I've prepared a powerpoint (Straussy - would you be so kind - thanks) and I've some handy cards with slogans on them for you to take away. (Muffled Flintoff - Didn't we do all this with Bumble and his Churchill stuff?)

 

Goal setting - Who can tell me what their personal goal is for the next six months? Okay Liam, I'd want to be back driving too, but I'm looking for something related to cricket. Straussy - Good, good. Back making runs for England. Ed – don’t look so glum – let’s keep the glass half full shall we? (Not you Fred).

 

Improving self-confidence - Look how confident Fred, Straussy, Michael and Colly sound here after winning the Ashes all that time ago. Well, even if it is the beer talking, it's still confidence isn't it?

 

Concentration and focus - Just have a look at Fred's focus here. Okay, it's his interview after his booze cruise, but you have to admit, that's impressive.

 

Relaxation techniques – Calm, quiet breathing is essential here. Can you hear me Paul? Do you have to wear that gum shield? Relaxing will get you into “The Zone”.

 

Mental toughness – The Aussies show this facet of the game so well. Straussy just tap “Australian Captain’s Press conference” into youtube and let’s see how they project that toughness… (muffled – not Kim Hughes… isn’t there anything of Ponting?)

 

Visualisation – Prior to executing a skill, it’s crucial to visualise the whole process from start to finish if you are to perform it to your potential. In your mind’s eye, you should see off stump cartwheeling out of the ground – not you Ed, I know that’s what happened against the Irish, but you’re a batter. As he was running in, don’t you think Fernando visualised Ravi’s stumps shattered by that last ball? I know I did.

 

Communication – All of you should aim to communicate like the best talker on the field. Okay, not like him – maybe the second best talker. Oh for heaven’s sake, surely you can hear somebody on the field other than Nixon?

 

Leadership skills – How important is leadership to the side? Well, don’t jut sit there looking at Fred, let’s hear some answers. Paul showed excellent leadership skills throughout that partnership with Ravi, until he blew it at the end.

 

Team dynamics – Everyone must know their role and their colleagues’ roles. Turn to the person next to you and tell them what your role is. (Muffled – Okay Liam, I don’t know either, but let’s try and stay positive eh?)

 

Any questions?

 

Yes Jamie - I have got a degree in this. Is it relevant which team I’m supporting in the Boat Race on Saturday? Oh, I see. Well, yes, the degree is from a proper university.

 

"The Zone" Ravi? I was talking about getting into "The Zone". It means the mental space in which a player is completely relaxed and at ease with their game. No, I didn’t mean that nightclub in Ilford.

 

Well it’s a nice enough beach I suppose when you’re in Sydney. Sorry, thought you said Bondi. Bonding is key yes, but it needn’t involve alcohol even for men. Yes, even Englishmen.

 

Okay, well think about what I’ve said tonight and read your cards. I’ll be in touch with you for one-to-one sessions over the next week. No – No – Of course I don’t do horoscopes.

 

Tape ends. [The Tooting Trumpet and Mimitig]

Working at Cricinfo

I get the odd email or message or comment from people on my other blog curious to know "what it's like" working for Cricinfo. I was plucked from the unemployed blogging world to the esteemed halls of Cricinfo last July (or June - I never can remember), which has been a constant learning experience. Which, in itself, is a terrific thing and I'm incredibly fortunate to do what I do for a living. Anyway, this isn't a "look at me and my fancy cricket job" post (although I might post one of those some time soon), just some musings.

Today I did my first Verdict. It's worthy of capitalisation, for it offers a slightly different task than that of writing a bulletin. Maybe you're not even aware we have the two different match reports! But we do, and today was really quite tricky. Aside from usual work matters (trawling for news, replying to emails, cropping and uploading photos and other things) I spent much of the day scribbling notes, eyes fixed on the TV, waiting and constantly planning my opening paragraph. Before long I realised the futility of what I was doing - I had to wait until tea, at least, to really grasp the day's play and see what the story was. And by that stage, rightly or wrongly, I'd chosen Jacques Kallis' turgid (but fine) 24th Test century as the focus for my attention.

In retrospect, the piece I wrote lacked much focus. What I wanted to say was "Kallis and South Africa were unable to force the game and take command, when at one point the game was anyone's for the taking". What I ended up saying was a slightly ramshackled rant at Kallis' dogmatic defence and his lack of being a chancer and a risk taker (even when settled into his innings).

So it's all a learning curve. It was my first effort, so I'm using that as a perfectly valid excuse, although I'm irritated at myself as I know I can do better. Time waits for no man!

Will Luke writes for Cricinfo.com and edits The Corridor of Uncertainty

An Englishman in India

Paul Coupar, a colleage and Assistant Editor of The Wisden Cricketer, is kindly blogging for us at Cricinfo on his tour of India. It promises to be a great read, so don't miss out.