England T20 call-ups for Yardy, Lumb and Bopara

The ECB today named the final England men’s and women’s squads for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 to be held in the Caribbean from April 30.

The England men’s final squad of 15 players includes uncapped Hampshire batsman Michael Lumb and Somerset’s Craig Kieswetter while Ravi Bopara and Michael Yardy have been recalled to the national team.

The England women’s squad welcomes back Claire Taylor and Holly Colvin as they look to defend their ICC World Twenty20 crown.

Commenting on the England men’s squad, Geoff Miller, England National Selector, said: “We believe we’ve picked a balanced squad that can meet the needs of the Twenty20 format – aggressive batting with variation and strength in depth and various bowling options that accommodate the conditions and surfaces in the West Indies. Our fielding, which is such a vital aspect of limited overs cricket, has improved markedly and there’s no reason we can’t perform well in what will be a challenging global tournament.

“On the recent tour of Bangladesh Craig Kieswetter showed what he is capable of in international limited overs cricket and as a wicketkeeper at the top of the order he gives us options down the order. Craig has improved over time and his selection indicates real competition for places which is only healthy for the England team. Despite missing selection for this format of the game Matt Prior very much remains in the England set up and a part of our plans.

“Michael Lumb has consistently performed well in limited overs cricket for Hampshire and has also impressed during his time in the IPL and with the England Lions. As a powerful left-hander Michael adds aggression to our batting and has the ability to compliment the rest of the line-up.

“Michael Yardy has also performed at a consistently high level for his county, Sussex, in limited overs cricket and knows his game inside and out. Both Michael and Ravi Bopara have earned recalls to the England squad after going away and working hard on their cricket with excellent results.”

Commenting on the England women’s squad, Clare Connor , Head of England Women’s Cricket, said: “We believe we have selected a squad of players with the necessary skills to retain the ICC World Twenty20. Whilst this will be no easy feat given the strength of our group ( Australia , West Indies and South Africa ), the Twenty20 series win in India in February has prepared the squad well for the challenge.

“In order to make way for the return of Claire Taylor and Holly Colvin, who missed the India tour due to other commitments, the selectors have had to make some tough decisions. Young Academy graduates Heather Knight, Danielle Wyatt and Danielle Hazell all seized their opportunities in India and, as such, have retained their places in the squad.

“A couple of senior players have missed out on selection but the door remains open to them with a huge summer ahead against New Zealand in July. It is exactly this sort of competition for places that we are always striving for. We wish Charlotte Edwards and her squad every success in their bid to retain their ICC World Twenty20 champion status.”

England men’s ICC World T20 squad:

1. Paul Collingwood ( Durham , Captain)
2. James Anderson ( Lancashire )
3. Ravi Bopara (Essex)
4. Tim Bresnan ( Yorkshire )
5. Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
6. Craig Kieswetter ( Somerset )
7. Michael Lumb (Hampshire)
8. Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
9. Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
10. Ajmal Shahzad ( Yorkshire )
11. Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire)
12. Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)
13. James Tredwell ( Kent )
14. Luke Wright ( Sussex )
15. Michael Yardy ( Sussex )

England women’s ICC World T20 squad:

1. Charlotte Edwards ( Kent, Captain )
2. Katherine Brunt ( Yorkshire )
3. Holly Colvin ( Sussex )
4. Lydia Greenway ( Kent )
5. Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire)
6. Danielle Hazell ( Yorkshire )
7. Heather Knight (Berkshire)
8. Laura Marsh ( Sussex )
9. Beth Morgan (Middlesex)
10. Nicky Shaw (Surrey)
11. Anya Shrubsole ( Somerset )
12. Claire Taylor (Berkshire)
13. Sarah Taylor ( Sussex )
14. Danielle Wyatt (Staffordshire)

Afridi-inspired Pakistan storm to ICC World Twenty20 final

Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul were the heroes as Pakistan beat favourites South Africa in the first ICC World Twenty20 semi-final at Trent Bridge.

Pakistan (149/4) beat South Africa (142/5) by seven runs before a raucous, largely Pakistani crowd. For the tournament favourites South Africa, it was their first real test of the whole event. This was the fourth time the Saffers have been knocked out in a world event semi-final since re-admission.

Each side took the initiative by turn in in an epic, tense game. Having won the toss and batted, Pakistan raced from the blocks, with another brutal cameo from Kamran Akmal (23 off 12) setting the pace. Pakistan were 47/1 after the Powerplay and after Afridi, who again came in at No 3, had hit Botha for four consecutive boundaries in the 11th over, Pakistan were 86/2.

Yet Pakistan managed just three more boundaries in the rest of the innings, as South Africa appeared to seize back the initiative. With Afridi (56 off 34) hoisting the first ball of the 13th over, from J-P Duminy, to AB de Villiers and the Pakistan middle-order coming off second best against Dale Steyn (1/28) and Wayne Parnell’s (1/26) death bowling. Parnell, apparently able to bowl yorkers at will, bowled his last two overs, to Younis Khan and Abdul Razzaq, for just ten runs.

Despite Jacques Kallis’ 64 off 54, South Africa were stalled by two key wickets from Afridi (2/16), who bowled Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers in consecutive overs to leave the Saffers 50/3.

By the time, star bowler Umar Gul came on to bowl the 14th over, South Africa already needed 77 off 42 balls. After taking several balls to tune his radar, it was another brilliant display from Gul, whose control and ability to bowl yorkers excelled even Parnell’s. His three overs went for 19.

With the big-hitting Albie Morkel sat on the bench while Kallis and Duminy slipped further behind the run-rate – Morkel only made it into the middle for the 18th over – South Africa seemed to have misjudged the run chase.

The only concern for Pakistan fans seemed to be Younis’ miscalculation in bringing on left-arm spinner Fawad Alam for an over that went for 15. It was a weird decision that left Umar Gul unable to complete his allocation of overs and meant that teenager Mohammad Umeer bowled the final over.

By then, though, South Africa needed 23 off six balls and even a six from JP Duminy (44 off 39) could not get them close enough.

West Indies knock England out of ICC World Twenty20

England are out of the ICC World Twenty20 after losing to West Indies by five wickets in a game shortened by rain.

England hit 161/6 off their 20 overs, with Ravi Bopara top-scoring with 55 from 47 balls.

But after an hour had been lost to rain, West Indies were set a target revised by Duckworth-Lewis to just 80 from nine overs.

Though England took regular wickets and had the Windies at 45/5, Shiv Chanderpaul (17*) and Ronnie Sarwan (19*), surely the most experienced sixth-wicket partnership going, saw them home.

England, omitting Dimi Mascarenhas and again refusing to include Graham Napier, again laid a solid foundation but lacked any firepower in the final overs of their innings. Remarkably, they did not hit a boundary between the 11th and the 20th overs. Stuart Broad came in at No 8 for the last two balls of the innings and hit a four and a six, but it was much too little much too late.

At the top Luke Wright (6) fell again top edging a hook from a ball that got large on him. Today, it came from Kieron Pollard.

KP hit 31, before top-edging a sweep from medium pacer Simmons. After that Shah (18), Collingwood (11) and Foster (13) all managed to score at a run a ball but there was no sense of the innings taking flight, despite a massive hooked six from Shah.

In fact, it was after that Shah six in the 11th over – he fell in the next over to a brilliant catch from Fletcher on the square leg rope – that the boundary drought began, lasting until the penultimate ball of the innings.

The first rain break, midway through the 17th over, came at a bad time for England, as they were already struggling to rebuild momentum after the dismissal of Bopara. England failed to hit a single boundary between the 11th and 20th overs and, though the Duckworth-Lewis calculations appeared to favour the chasing side, it was this lack of adventure that ultimately cost them the game.

Defending the meagre, rain-adjusted total, England bowled well and fielded tenaciously. Ryan Sidebottom yorked Chris Gayle in the second over and James Foster pulled off another brilliant stumping, of Bravo off Swann, leaving the West Indies 45/5.

With Windies needing 30 off 18 balls, a James Anderson over went for 13, thanks to some clever batting from Sarwan that brought him two successive fours – the first saw him sweeping a ball from wide of off-stump for four .

After that, the Windies were in the box seat, and soon they were though to the semi-finals. Ryan Sidebottom came to the last over trying to defend three runs; England spent an age shuffling their fielders around but it was all too late; Sarwan smashed him for a four over extra cover and England were out.

Pressure on India and Dilshan’s genius

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The fact that we came back so strongly against Pakistan last week after the defeat to Holland gives us a good precedent in preparing to play India today at Lord’s. Seeing India lose to West Indies reminded us that they are beatable and that, as champions, there’s an enormous pressure on them to stay in this fantastic tournament. More than there is on England, I think. The expectations on India are very high. We certainly believe that if we go out with the same fearless approach we showed against Pakistan, we’ll beat India.

After losing to South Africa in the first Super 8s game on Thursday, we had Friday off. I’ve just moved into my new flat so I spent the day moving wardrobes and painting walls. I mean, I was taking it easy: I’m not going to get injured shifting furniture in the middle of a World Cup and end up as a quiz question.

The team are all together in a hotel but I live close to Lord’s now and since we spend so much time on the road anyway, it was nice to spend a day at home. It was relaxing to get out of cricket mode. And in a big tournament, that can be important.

Saturday, we trained. We had a good game of football to start with, then some individual preparation. Once you’re in the tournament it’s about mental preparation. The football brings a competitive edge out of people and helps us to relax and not get uptight. Who’s the best footballer in the England side? I’d say… Jimmy Anderson. He’s in the mould of, well, a Frank Lampard.

After football, we worked on our individual skills; I just work on my basics throughout the competition, keep me ticking over.

The tournament has been awesome. I love Twenty20 anyway – but turning up mid-afternoon and playing Twenty20 in front of a packed house every time, with the support we’re getting. It’s phenomenal. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

Looking at the other teams, Tillekeratne Dilshan is an absolute phenomenon. I was watching him a lot during the IPL. The way he plays, with so many unusual shots might make people bracket him with my style; I’m just fascinated to see a right-hander do it. I’m not sure he actually has all that many shots that I don’t have: I’ve used the flip that puts the ball straight back over the wicket-keeper’s head, for example. So I think it’s not so much how he plays his innovative shots, technically, that interests me, as the times that he plays them and the way he has uses them to string such a good run of innings together at this level.

He’s obviously a very good player at the top of the order, full-stop, but then given time, he can innovate too. I suppose people might associate those sweeps and flicks and flip shots with batting against the spinners in the middle overs but in some ways it’s easier to play them when there’s pace on the ball in the early overs.

Did we feel as if South Africa were playing a different game to us on Thursday? Not really. They’re not invincible. Beforehand we had talked about the last time we had played them, last summer when we beat them 4-0: as a team, you can take confidence from those sort of series. Obviously they’re a strong side but on a different day I think we could have beaten them.

After we lost Kevin and we were 25/3, Owais and Paul got a bit of a partnership going but after that we struggled. It can happen. Some people have said that our shot selection might have been better but I think that’s unfair. The wicket was pretty slow and losing wickets regularly meant that new batsmen had to work out a way of moving the game on as soon as they came in. And the South Africans have two very good one-day spinners, in Botha and van der Merwe. And you don’t want to come in and start smashing it about straight away – but as it happened, every release-shot we tried didn’t come off. That can happen in Twenty20 cricket.

Wayne Parnell is turning out to be one of the bowlers of the tournament. I played against him for Middlesex against Kent early in the season. He doesn’t swing it or reverse it like Umar Gul. He just hits the deck hard: in some ways, nothing out of the ordinary, but he bowls those angles, left-arm over the wicket, which makes the difference.

We had a debrief after the game. The captain and the coach both spoke and then other players chipped in. Having not played, it’s difficult to give an opinion or make a valid point so I tend to keep quiet.

On Sunday, I’ll get to Lord’s about halfway through the second innings of the first game. Ireland are playing Sri Lanka so maybe a little bit earlier. I’ve been in touch with a couple of the Irish guys during the tournament. The captain William Porterfield, is my best mate and we went for dinner the night before the South Africa game. We’ve known each other since we were nine or ten – I played for Ireland under-13s when I was 10 and he was the captain.

William’s obviously with Gloucestershire, but most of the Irish team are still amateurs – they work all week and only play cricket on a Saturday, so that does give them a real passion about their cricket. To find themselves in the middle of this amazing tournament instead of working at their day jobs gives them a real drive: any ‘professional’ team that shows any weakness can come unstuck against that. I saw it when we lost to Holland – the sheer passion that the Associate countries can bring to a tournament like this. That’s how the upsets happen.

We’ve had a bad game, then a good game, then a bad game… so we’re due a good game again today against India. Everyone’s optimistic about the talent we have in the squad and our chances of getting things going again.

Previous entries

Losing to Netherlands, beating Pakistan

How and why I play those Twenty20 shots

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Umar Gul blows Black Caps away

Pakistan cruised to a six-wicket win over New Zealand at the Oval, with seven overs to spare.

Having bowled out New Zealand for 99, thanks to Umar Gul’s 5/6, the best figures in the history of international Twenty20, the run chase was a formality, despite a determined effort in the field from Daniel Vettori’s side.

Gul, already the most successful bowler in the history of international Twenty20, was not even introduced to the attack until the 13th over, but proceeded to finsih off a New Zealand side was already on the ropes and reeling.

Brendon McCullum had started the innings with a four off the first ball from teenage pacer Mohammad Amir; the first over went for 14. But when McCullum went for 12 in the second over – trapped lbw by Abdul Razzaq, returning after two years’ out – it began a procession of Black Caps wickets.

The only partnership of any length was that between Scott Styris and Jacob Oram – but their four overs at the crease brought just 18 runs as shahid Afridi (1/17) and Saeed Amjal (o/24) applied the brakes. New Zealand – lacking Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder, after McCullum, their two best batsmen – had already suffered the first maiden of the tournament, bowled by Abdul Razzaq – drafted in to replace the erratic Sohail Tanvir – and finished the Powerplay on just 37/3.

Worse, though, was to follow.

Twice Gul was on a hat-trick. He picked up Styris – to a magnificent catch from Shahid Afridi, sprinting back towards the boundary under a high ball – and McGlashan – leg before sweeping – with the third and fourth balls of his spell. Then Gul switched ends to clean bowl Nathan McCullum.

In the 18th over of the innings, Gul again picked up two in two, bowling Franlin with a ball that seamed back in – and having Mills caught off a leading edge from a ball that seamed away from him.

Gul, bowling at 85-87 mph, moving the ball both ways from just the right length, and apparently able to serve up perfect yorkers at will, finished with five wickets for six runs.

Chasing, Pakistan looked purposeful from the off with openers Akmal (19 off 14) and the 19-year-old debutant Shezaid Hasan (35 off 28) putting on 36 for the first wicket and driving Pakistan to a Powerplay score of 54/1.

Afridi rounded off the victory with a crowd-pleasing knock of 29 off 18 balls. Afridi is relishing this tournament in all three areas of his game and, typically, he tried to win the game with a six only to sky the ball – and see it fall safe. The win was completed with an anti-climactic two.

So now Pakistan and New Zealand have one win each from their two games. the rets of the group sees Sri Lanka play Ireland tomorrow; Pakistan play Ireland on Monday; and New Zealand play Sri Lanka on Tuesday. It looks like it will be tight – but Pakistan must now be favourites for a semi-final spot – unless the Irish have something to say.

Shahid Afridi: the story of my life

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First published in SPIN, September 2006

No-one in world cricket plays quite like Shahid Afridi. Not Flintoff, not Pietersen, not Jayasuriya, not even Gilchrist. His strike-rate is higher than any batsman in Test cricket history; his slightly pigeon-toed walk to the wicket a guarantee of fireworks. All the pundits say it and it’s true: Boom Boom Afridi only knows how to play one way. The first time he batted in international cricket, aged 16, he hit a century off 37 balls, a world record that still stands. The decade since that debut is littered with similar feats.

The Pakistan management haven’t always known what to do with their maverick entertainer over the years. Thought to be uncoachable, Afridi plays his natural game, regardless of match situation or designated role and it took well over two years for the ODI prodigy to be entrusted with a Test call. Even when he was, appearances were sporadic, despite his ODI successes and the love of the Pakistan public. When new coach Bob Woolmer recalled him to the team in January 2005, he had not played a Test for two and a half years.

Woolmer, recognising Afridi’s chaotic potential to turn even a Test in half an hour’s brutal hitting, is happy to back Afridi as the team’s wild card. His faith has been repaid: it was Afridi’s 58 off 34 balls on the fourth day – the second fastest 50 in Test history – that helped turn the last game of the India series at Bangalore in 2005: the next day, he ripped out the India middle-order (Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman) to clinch the win and a series draw. Afridi followed that up with 92 off 85 balls against England at Faisalabad in the winter and two consecutive tons against India in January. The ton in Faisalabad – 156 off 128 balls – included 116 runs in boundaries.

In April, having finally established himself as a truested first-choice in both forms of the game, Afridi announced his retirement from Tests, saying he wanted to concentrade on the World Cup. Two weeks later, he changed his mind.
Born in the Khyber Agency – the region of Pakistan nearest Afghanistan – Afridi grew up, and learnt his cricket in, Karachi, though his links with the northern areas remain strong. Still only 26, Afridi’s profile internationally remains low, despite his duel status as Pakistani icon and the world’s quickest-ever batter. Full-length interviews are a rarity for him, despite the fact that he speaks good English and has an extraordinary tale to tell. Afridi broke his silence to speak to SPIN in a revealing interview that covered everything from his philosophy of batting, to the history of bust-ups in the Pakistan dressing-room to – oh yes – his love of guns…

How do you prepare for an innings? What are you thinking about when you walk out to bat?
Before I go out to bat, I’m thinking I’ll play two, three, four overs, just ball to ball, and then I’ll start trying to hit boundaries. But sometimes, that doesn’t happen. I get the right ball early on and I go for it. If it’s in my target range, automatically I go for it. I sometimes laugh at myself… maybe I could say I’m not mentally very strong, not disciplined… [laughs]

Have you had captains and coaches shout at you over getting 
out irresponsibly?
In the old days, two or three years ago. When I came off, and I was saying bad things to myself about how I’d got out and I was trying to take my pads off and the coach is standing over me going “What the f**k you doing, what kind of shot was that?”

Over the years, we’d always hear that the Pakistan dressing-room was ‘difficult’…
Yeah, it’s always been difficult. A few of the selectors didn’t like me. The main thing in Pakistan is liking and disliking, rather than anything to do with form or talent. After the 2003 World Cup I was out of the squad so I went to South Africa and played domestic cricket there, performed very well and when Bob Woolmer came to Pakistan, he said: “Where’s Afridi – whenever we played against Pakistan, he was the guy we needed to work out.” So Bob told the selectors he needed me. Bob talked to me – I told him the only thing I need is confidence. So he gave me confidence and after that, my performances have been getting better and better.

The 2003 World Cup seemed to be a special low-point in Pakistan’s recent cricket history. What happened there?
Before the tournament, there were four or five guys who said to the chairman that they didn’t want Waqar Younis as captain. So if the senior guys don’t want the captain, what can you expect? I didn’t see any unity in the team. Right from 1996 when I came into the team, the cricket board has changed a lot of times, the captaincy has changed a lot: I’ve played under eight or nine captains; a few of the captains didn’t like me. Because of all the ins and outs, all the liking and disliking, they made the atmosphere shit. But after that, Inzamam and Bob Woolmer have come in and really worked hard with the guys. Now the team combination is very good and Bob and the captain keep the team very united. In the past we missed that. Now, Inzamam is the senior most-guy and we have a lot of juniors. But in the past, everyone was senior: Wasim, Waqar, Moin, Ijaz, Rashid Latif. And it cant work if there’s only big names in the team. So now the team is very united. They’re listening to what the captain says and that makes a big difference.

You’re senior now, too…
Yeah, after Inzamam, I’m the senior-most player, with Mohammad Yousuf. The captain gives us the confidence that we are the four or five guys who he relies on.

Is it fair to say that you didn’t achieve your potential in the early part of your career the way you are doing now?
The diference is that at the start if I didn’t perform in one or two games, then I’d be dropped. So I didn’t get confidence from that. But now I’m playing cricket full of energy and focus. My last two years’ performances are much better than before and I don’t want to go back. The captain and coach have really given me a lot of confidence. They’ve said, “Don’t worry too much if you’re out; dont think too much about it; just go and play your game”. And that’s what our players want. Confidence from the captain and coach.

Are you playing differently now – more straight and less across the line?
No, I’m still playing my own game; across AND straight. But now I know that if I don’t perform, they’ll keep giving me a chance again and again… If you see Pietersen, Sehwag, Jayasuiya… they’re playing their own way. It doesn’t matter if it’s one-days or Tests. And this is the modern way. You don’t play 100 balls and score 40 or 50 runs. The Bradman time is gone. [laughs]

Have you always been an attacking player?
I come from the Northern areas, the Khyber Agency. I’m Pathan: all the Pathans are very aggressive. They’re like the Irish. [laughs] Very aggressive people. It’s in our blood. I like to play positive cricket. I like to be aggressive. It’s what cricket’s all about, you know? I don’t care if I get out. I try and play a positive game.

Can you tell us some more about being a Pathan, about what it means to come from a Pathan background?
My tribe is from the Northern areas. There’s no law there, no governmental law, it’s our own rules. When British books mention our tribe, they say, “Never say anything to these people!” [laughs] It’s very close to Afghanistan. We go back to our village every year. We have a very big family. Six brothers and five sisters – all the brothers live together.

How did you start playing cricket?
In my family, no-one likes sport. In the tribe, in the Khyber agency, no-one’s interested in cricket. They belong to the army or do business. One of my uncles is in the army: he told my elder brother, Tariq, to play cricket because he had talent. He played a lot of first-class cricket but had to give up because of an elbow injury. I was very keen to play cricket; I didn’t like studying. We lived in the same lane in Karachi as [’80s Pakistan batter] Haroon Rashid, so the whole street loved cricket and there were a lot of cricketers there. We played a lot of cricket in the street and I was the youngest guy to play club cricket there – I was 12 or 13 – and the standard was very good. I was the youngest in all the clubs. And the first time Haroon Rashid saw me he said, “You’re a very talented guy, just keep playing cricket”. my father was very strict. He didn’t like cricket. He said: “You’re just spending the whole day standing around in the sun…”

What did he think you should be doing instead?
If I hadn’t been a cricketer I would have loved to join the army. I like a tough life, you know.

Can you shoot a gun?
Yeah. It’s a normal thing for me.

What, for hunting?
No, if I go to Peshawar, I go to a place near the Afghanistan border for firing. I’m using M16s on the shooting range…

Serious weapons…
Yeah – so? We’re used to it – in my village 12, 13-year-old guys are always walking about with guns.

It’s a protection thing? A respect thing?
Yeah – that’s the culture over there.

If it’s lawless in the northern areas, who’s in charge?
Well, my father, my grandfather, they’re all leaders there, they rule the city there. They make decisions. People come to them . If anyone does something bad, all the elders sit together and decide what to do about it.

Wasn’t there a riot when you played your first big game in Peshawar?
The Afridis are a very big tribe in the northern areas and I was the first Afridi to play first-class cricket. So all the people came to see me and I got out first ball – and all the crowds were saying, “No, that’s strike 1, give him one more chance” and all this. A lot of them didn’t understand cricket, they were just there for the Afridi name. A lot of people were there. About 45,000. It was jam-packed.

Do you feel you’re representing your people as well as Pakistan?
Yeah, I’m representing the tribe as well. Sometimes, it’s very difficult. A lot of people call me from the northern areas, saying, ‘You are the only Pathan guy, we want to see you…’ They give me a lot of advice. Especially if we’re playing in Pakistan. Before I get to the ground, I think I’m going to be out there batting for three or four hours. I get to the ground and the crowd is all making all that noise – “Come on: six six six” – and everything I thought before just disappears!

Are there any bowlers you can’t cart around the park?
With the new ball, McGrath is the best; Harmison is very good too. They are the bowlers you can’t hit easily – you’re forced to survive. I used to open when we went to Australia but last time I said I wanted to go in at No 6. And I faced Mcgrath and Lee and gave them sixes and fours, a lot of boundaries. But in Australia and England you can’t take a chance against the new ball – it isn’t easy.

Who do you most like scoring runs off?
I like Muralitaharan. He’s a very good bowler, a great bowler but I like to hit him. Shane Warne: I love to hit him. Brett Lee. Mcgrath – but Murali and Shane Warne are my favourites.

Can you read them?
[dismissively] Yeah, yeah.

You find them easy?
Not easy. You can’t take chances on every ball. One or two sixes in an over is enough…

What’s the biggest six you’ve ever hit?
I’ve hit a lot of big sixes – but I hit one against Brett Lee that I can’t forget. I was on the front foot and he was bowling 145-148 in Sydney: he had the fielder back at long-off and the ball just flew flat over the ground and over the boundary for six. It just happened automatically. Naturally. After that six, Hayden came to me and said, “I want your bat”.

You’ve got a very individual style of leg-spin bowling. where does that come from?
When I started playing in the streets I was a fast bowler: Imran Khan was the legend at the time and I saw him and copied him. But someone said I was throwing, so I started to copy Abdul Qadir instead… I wasnt a bad spinner at the time. I batted No 9 or No 10.

Do you feel you’re not taken as seriously as a bowler as you might be?
Pakistan didn’t play me in a Test until I’d played 50 or 60 ODIS – and then I got five wickets on my Test debut. If they’d given me a chance in Tests when I started my one-days, it might have been different. But they just put the stamp on me that i was just a one-day player. [stamps table incredibly hard]

You got those three vital wickets against India last year: Tendulkar, Ganguly…
Yeah, and Laxman. That was a crucial performance for me. Some very big wickets for me. The wicket gave me a lot of support, so I enjoyed bowling there. I enjoyed bowling in Australia [in 2004/05] too. Batting is my plus point; but I really want to focus on my bowling. 
I enjoy my bowling.

You retired for a full fortnight back this April. What was that about?
When the India tour finished, I said I’m not playing anymore: you guys are playing too much cricket, you can’t expect me to perform in both times of cricket. It’s not like a sport now, it’s like a business. So I wanted a rest. And some time to spend with my kids. This is the right age to spend time with your kids – when they get older, they just keep themselves in their rooms!

But then you changed your mind…
I didn’t ask any of my friends about it. I was just sick of playing. I just said I wanted to focus on one-day games until the World Cup: my Test performances had become very good, but my one-dayers weren’t so good, batting-wise: the bowling was okay. But after I said I was retiring, the Board president called me and said they needed me. A lot of people were worried, everyone was calling me. And I was like,”Oh God, what have I done?

Can you tell us something about the way the team apparently takes Islam more seriously now?
I’d love to be come a very good Muslim. I’m trying. But I want to learn my religion and then I will talk to others. I want to become a good Muslim. After my cricket career, it’s my wish to go into the way of Allah and be a good Muslim.

What does that involve? Reading the Qoran every day?
Yeah, we’re reading the Qoran and sitting with religious people and we’re getting a lot of good things with them.

Do you have a religious advisor with the squad?
No: I know things, Inzamam knows things, Mohammad Yousuf… we try to be good Muslims, because we believe that this life will finish but the next life never finishes – so we believe if you do good things here, you will be rewarded…

Why has the team got more religious in the last five or ten years?
It’s not five or ten years, it’s only the last two years. One of our religious leaders in Pakistan worked very hard on us, told us that there’s something apart from cricket. When this life ends, was it all about just hitting fours and sixes? They tried to put good things in our heads, to make us good people, to be all-round people. And that’s the type of situation we’re in now. God has changed our lives now. We’re not drinking or going with girls or clubbing. We’re trying to be good Muslims. So our life has become very simple, very good, very down to earth. If we perform or not, we are satisfied from the inside.

Do you see your younger self as a wilder person, then?
Yeah – with age, you learn more, have more experiences. As you grow older, you learn things about yourself and your life. Now we’re older, life is completely different.

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Friday: India face first real test of ICC World Twenty20

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At Lord’s on Friday, the defending World T20 champions do battle with the most unpredictable side in world cricket. It should be a corker.

The group stages have not given us any conclusive proof of what to expect from either side. While India have cruised to wins over the inferior opposition of Bangladesh and Ireland, West Indies have a) thrashed Australia before b) looking back to their usual haphazardness against Sri Lanka.

On Wednesday, in a dead rubber, Sri Lanka named their best side and played to win and maintain momentum, while the West Indies rested key players and showed that they couldn’t give two hoots whether they won or lost.

Sri Lanka scored 192 runs and in reply the West Indies fell 15 runs short, far fewer than the number of runs they gifted to Sri Lanka through over ten counts of appalling outfielding from, some of whom wore neon pink, yellow and orange sunglasses. Chris Gayle’s pair looked like the kind you get in a one pound store – fortunately he only used them to watch from the sidelines as he was sitting out to rest his various injuries.

You never know which West Indies will turn up on the day.

Maybe it will be the West Indies that thrashed Australia through Gayle’s onslaught of 88 runs off 50 balls looked dangerous with the ball and didn’t field too badly, which is saying a lot.

By contrast, India found themselves in the easiest pool of the opening round. Bangladesh and Ireland might have given India an effortless route through to the next round, but they offered precious little by way of match practise.

Virender Sehwag, the most explosive batsman in world cricket, has pulled out of the tournament, thanks to his shoulder injury. Luckily India have a more than able replacement in Rohit Sharma, the Under-23 player of the IPL. Sharma grafted a graceful 36 off 23 balls against Bangladesh, which he bettered with an unforced and unbeaten 52 off 48 balls against Ireland. He is a batsman in form who offers a handy bowling option too. Sharma took one of the three hat-tricks in the IPL and is just one of a team of potential match-winners.

Dinesh Kartik, who was excellent with the bat and the gloves during Delhi’s IPL campaign, has been added to the India squad in replace of Sehwag.

Zaheer Khan showed he has recovered from his own shoulder injury when he claimed the figures of 4/19 that helped his side reduce Ireland to 112/8 in and 18-over match on Wednesday.

“It will be good if we can get early wickets against the West Indies,” Zaheer said after India’s eight-wicket victory. “Removing Gayle will be a great advantage for us. I am hopeful because we are clicking as a bowling unit and each bowler understands his role.

“We are chipping in with wickets at the right time.”

“The shoulder is coming along well. I feel better day by day and I am improving, I feel 100-percent now” added Zaheer.

Captain M.S. Dhoni admitted that his team was yet to peak when he said, “Every game you start from scratch.”

“The bowlers did very well and it’s a real positive that they are doing their jobs. But we can do better in the field. It was not our best day. I am talking about 85-90 percent efficiency, but we can do it.”

The match is certainly India’s first real test of the tournament and after South Africa’s comprehensive win over England, it will no doubt tell us a lot about who is likely to go through to the semi-finals from that group – and what England have to do in the next three days to stay on at their own party.

West Indies (possible): Gayle, Fletcher, Marshall, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Bravo, Pollard, Ramdin, Taylor, Benn, Edwards.

Lendl Simmons – who came in for Gayle – batted, bowled and fielded well against Sri Lanka – and may retain his place, possibly at the expense of Pollard.

India (possible): Gambhir, R. Sharma, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Raina, Y Pathan, I Pathan, Harbhajan, Zaheer, I Sharma, Ojha.

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South Africa ease past England

South Africa beat England by seven wickets with ten balls to spare in the first game in Group E of the Super Eights. In truth, it was a thrashing, with England well behind from the first Powerplay. The South Africans cruised to their minuscule target of 112, taking a massive 46 singles in the process.

England were bowled out for 111, with only Owais Shah (38) offering much in the way of stickability or inspiration.

South Africa made their way to the 5.5 runs an over target cautiously, and though it took them until the 18th over to pass England’s total, the result was never in doubt.

England bowled well – Adil Rashid (1/24) in particular showed plenty of variety and confidence. But England had no chance of making up for an inept batting performance against one of the most skilled attacks in world cricket.

Ravi Bopara (2) and Luke Wright (1), England’s bankers over the last week or so, were both back on the bench within two overs, as Dale Steyn (1/19) and the brilliant left-armer Wayne Parnell (3/14) gave South Africa the immediate initiative.

Kevin Pietersen fell to a sensational catch from Roleof van der Merwe, diving to his left at mid-off. That made it 25/3.

Shah, having taken a long time to play himself in, briefly threatened to make a game of it when he hit van der Merwe for 6-6-4 in consecutive balls. But England, short of runs – their six-over total of 25/3 was the lowest of the tournament so far – simply had too much ground to make up.

England’s procession of batsmen dismissed thanks to poor shot selection was a return to familiar scenes, after the excellent showing against Pakistan on Sunday. Shah was out trying to steer the ball fine past the wicket-keeper; Foster was out reverse sweeping; Mascarenhas was out dabbing at a ball outside off-stump. The reluctance to try and hit down the ground with the face of the bat was marked. Already up against it, England’s refusal to play the percentages in their shot selection made their task almost impossible.

South Africa were mustard in the field; England less so. Skipper Paul Collingwood’s field placements were a puzzle, looking to defend 111 rather than going for wickets, he introduced a slip only very belatedly once the game was gone.

For a time, tight bowling kept the score rate down: Mascarenhas went for just a single from the first over of the innings. But it was improbable that England could win without taking wickets: Broad hurried Graeme Smith into a top edge (17/1); Graeme Swann bowled Herschelle Gibbs with a quicker ball as Gibbs looked to finish things off (91/2); and Rashid picked up a late consolation wicket when he had AB de Villiers caught at slip (108/3). But there was little to challenge the inevitable result or sense of anti-climax.

The Saffers are the world’s No 1 ODI side and England’s record in the short form is patchy at least. The result, perhaps, should have come as no surprise. The meekness of England’s surrender – especially in the light of the 4-0 win they handed out to the Saffers when the sides met last summer – was what will have disappointed the Trent Bridge faithful.

Man of the match Jacques Kallis (57 off 49) anchored the run chase without really breaking sweat. He didn’t need to.

Now England must beat reigning champions India on Sunday to stay in the competition.

Eoin Morgan World Twenty20 blog: Netherlands & Pakistan

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As it turned out, I think losing to Holland did England a lot of favours. The extra pressure put on us in the 48 hours before the game with Pakistan allowed us to go out and throw caution to the wind and play fearlessly. It was almost ideal. T20 cricket should be played instinctively; you should express yourself and that’s how we were against Pakistan. The crowd at the Oval was unbelievable. It was the best atmosphere I’ve been a part of. Ridiculous. The support was magnificent. The fact that we’ve bounced back so well and so quickly will give us a lot of confidence going into the Super8s.

Losing to Holland was a massive shock. I’ve been playing against them for years and I’d never seen them play like that before. It certainly came as a surprise to me. Because I’d had so much experience against the Dutch, I had been giving the guys the low-down on the Dutch batters and bowlers in the build-up to the game. Or what I thought was the low-down! But nothing prepared us for what they threw at us. They played so well. We’d been in high spirits, we felt we’d hit the ground running with the ODIs and our T20 warm-up games. So it was a massive shock for us.

I certainly didn’t have any idea that Tom de Grooth could play like that. I’ve played with and against Tom for years. We spent three months together at an ICC High Performance camp in South Africa and I’d certainly never seen him strike the ball like that. Every time we looked to peg them back, they found a boundary – either by smashing it or by getting an inside edge. It just seemed to be their day.

It’s true that there’s probably less video footage of the Associate nations, so in some ways the bigger teams are less well equipped to prepare for games against them. But, really, it’s not down to the video footage or laptop work: it’s more down to whether you’ve faced certain players before. So Associate nations do have a small advantage in that way.

It’s difficult to pin point where we went wrong. Obviously we could have done better in the field; we missed those run outs. But I don’t think we played that badly. We just needed another 10 or 15 runs.

At the time – even though we hadn’t got any partnerships going after Luke and Ravi had set things up – we were pretty happy with the total we’d set. It wasn’t a case of underestimating Holland and saying, ‘Oh, 160 is enough’, it was more backing our bowlers. The only real mistakes we made were the run out chances: we must have had the chance to hit the stumps five or six times and if we’d taken those the result might have been different.

Our ground fielding and catching was pretty good considering the conditions: it was raining for the best part of the last eight or nine overs and the ball was pretty slippy.

It was quiet in the dressing room afterwards. Everyone devastated. Shell shocked, more than anything. Really down. We spoke about it and picking ourselves up. The belief was that we could beat Pakistan.

Between games, we didn’t really talk about the prospect of going out of the tournament. We were focused on what we had to do positively: we had to beat Pakistan, we had to bring our ‘A’ game and play fearless cricket. If you’re tentative, you’re lost. It’s all about momentum, taking everything to the opposition. The whole experience geed us up. We went out on Sunday with a point to prove.

I was left out of the 11 against Pakistan. We were playing on a wicket that had been used three times already and we’d seen it turn in the first game of the day – South Africa against Scotland – so we decided to play two spinners. The balance of the side worked brilliantly. Graeme came in and bowled fantastically. Adil just nailed it, too. The Dutch game was his first, but he’s a very fast learner and always very keen to learn. He spends a lot of time with Mushtaq Ahmed. Adil’s a very skilful bowler in the way that he can change his game straight away.

We set our stall out unbelievably well, with Kev and Luke and Owais, which put a bit of a downer on the Pakistani guys. In Twenty20 runs are so valuable; so when you see catches go down or misfields, you get that feeling that the opposition aren’t quite as up for it or haven’t worked quite as hard as you have. It gives you a little mental advantage.

Luke is doing fantastically – he seems to have recaptured the same form he had a couple of years ago in county cricket. It’s great to see him doing it in international cricket now – he’s such a great talent and a lovely fella as well.

I ended up playing a decent role in the win. Owais came off after six overs of the Pakistan innings – a hamstring twinge – and I was on the field for the rest of the innings. The ball seemed to follow me around, and I picked up two catches. I’m sure Owais will be fine for Thursday.

I was just really pleased to get to play a part. I do a lot of work with the fielding coach, Richard Halsall. Because I don’t bowl, 30 to 40 per cent of my training time is spent on fielding. I work on it quite hard. I played other sports as a kid – rugby, football, gaelic football, pretty much every sport – so I’m quite well co-ordinated and it comes naturally to me.

Monday I was back at home. Chilling out. Watching the cricket on TV. Going out for dinner with friends. We’re not ‘in-camp’ at this stage. We trained pretty hard ahead of the tournament but we all went our separate ways after Sunday. Of course I watched the Ireland win over Bangladesh. Fantastic. It’s great to see them doing so well. The O’Brien brothers thrive on playing in the big competitions and the spotlight being put on them. It was the first time I’d watched Ireland in a major competition – I was playing for them until April – and it’s brilliant to see them do so well. Playing with Ireland in the [2007] World Cup was the best time in my life. But for me, it was always the dream to play for England. Everyone in Ireland knew that and they’ve all been pleased for me. I haven’t heard one begrudging word.

England are meeting up again in Nottingham on Tuesday evening for a game of football. Playing not watching. I love it. I play upfront in the mould of, say, Robbie Keane. Playing for Spurs or Ireland, that is. We’ll practice together – cricket – on Wednesday, before the game against South Africa on Thursday. We’ve a good bunch of lads; as a newcomer, you feel at home very quickly. Everybody’s been really welcoming and easy to get along with. It’s been so easy coming into the changing room, especially as we’ve (mainly) been winning.

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West Indies shock Aussies at World T20; Yuvraj blasts Banglas

West Indies blasted their way past an apparently shell-shocked Australia to produce the second upset of the ICC World Twenty20.

Having restricted the Aussies – who won the toss – to 169/7, the Windies, fired by skipper Chris Gayle on top form, chased down the runs within 16 overs. Brett Lee’s first three overs went for 51, as Gayle (88 off 50) and Andre Fletcher (53 off 32) put on 133 for the first wicket – a record for international T20s.

Gayle’s innings included six sixes, one of them possibly the largest ever seen at the ground. He left the park to a standing ovation when he was finally out with the Windies just 12 runs short of victory.

Australia were on the back foot from the off, thanks to an extraordinary first over from Jerome Taylor.

The nine-ball over included three wides, two wickets and no runs off the bat: first, Shane Watson was caught at mid-off by Sarwan trying to hit over the top; then Ricky Ponting – having faced two consecutive wides – was trapped lbw by the first legitimate ball he faced.

When vice-skip Pup Clarke went, the Aussies were 15/3 – but then David Warner (63 off 53) led a fightback that brought them to apparent repectability.

But they were blown away by Gayle and Fletcher’s onslaught, with Ponting using seven different bowlers in the 15.5 over innings.

“We spoke about getting the first over of each innings right and as it turned out we lost two wickets in our first batting innings and they took a lot off our first bowling over as well,” said Aussie skip Ricky Ponting afterwards.

“With the game being as short as it is, you can’t afford to give momentum like that away in either innings and we did it in both.

“I thought 169 was going to be a competitive total if we could take wickets up front with the new ball but they took us on, hit some early boundaries and got the momentum going their way. They outplayed us for sure.

Australia must now beat Sri Lanka on Monday to have a chance of staying in the competition.

• At Trent Bridge, India beat Bangladesh by 25 runs. Having won the toss and batted, they looked in danger of being bogged down as Gautam Gambhir took 46 balls over his half-century. But a majestic display of big-hitting from man of the match Yuvraj Singh (41 off 18 balls) changed the momentum of the game.

India finished with 180/5 off their 20 overs. Banglas opener Junaid Siddique hit 41 off 22 including three sixes to give Indian fans something to worry about: but when Siddique fell to Ojha in the ninth over, Bangladesh were 77/4. They lacked the firepower down the order to pursue the chase and the game fizzled out as a contest, with Ojha finishing with 4/21 off his four overs.

In the first game of the day, New Zealand (90/3) beat Scotland (89/4) in a seven-over shoot-out with an over to spare. With the Black Caps still needing 22 runs off the last two overs, another upset, after England’s debacle on Friday night, had seemed on the cards. But Scott Styris and Ross Taylor blasted the penultimate over from Jan Stander for 22 to finish the rain-delayed game in no-nonsense fashion.

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