Michael Clarke declared Australia’s innings when he was on 329, giving up the chance to try and break Brian Lara’s world record. He said he wanted to put the team’s priorities first

Daniel Brettig at the SCG05-Jan-2012Where others saw records or dollar signs, Michael Clarke could only surmise Australia’s chances of victory. In declaring on 329 not out after a stand of 334 with Michael Hussey, Clarke gave his side half the match to round up India a second time, and had taken two choice wickets in the form of Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid before the close.Against a nation that has a well-entrenched fascination, even obsession, with individual run-scoring achievements, Clarke’s decision drew plenty of post-play questions about why he had not gone on in pursuit of Brian Lara’s 400, or even surpassed Don Bradman and Mark Taylor only five runs further on from his tally. But Clarke was adamant that the pursuit of the win came first.Michael Clarke: “It’s about respect, continuing to earn the public’s respect, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”•Getty Images

“I didn’t think about it at all, I didn’t have Don Bradman or Mark Taylor’s score in my head whatsoever,” Clarke said. “It was about trying to get the team to a number, a total I thought would be a good score to make a declaration, then have a crack this afternoon to get a couple of wickets.”I think it is about putting the team first, that’s why we play. What I love most about this game is seeing this team win. I’ve always been like that as a player and I’ll be no different as a captain. If it was best for the team to continue batting I would have continued to bat.”While he stopped short of such records, Clarke could be content with the highest Test score ever made at the SCG, surpassing RE Foster’s 287 for England more than a century ago. He said the magnitude of his innings would not sink in until the match ended, preferably in victory for his side.”I don’t think it’ll sink in properly until we win the Test match,” Clarke said. “That’s why we play, that was my goal walking out there today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m stoked that I’ve managed to make 300-odd runs in this Test match, but the most important thing for me now is we win the Test.”That was a big part of the reason for my declaration. I spoke to Huss just before we declared and I really wanted him to make 150, he deserved it, and once he got that I thought now we have a 450-run lead, it is a good time to pull up stumps and try to get a couple of wickets tonight.”I didn’t expect to score 300 in one innings, so the fact I’ve done that I’m stoked, and [as for] all the other records, I’m happy where I sit to be honest.”Clarke said the most testing aspect of his innings was simply to sustain his energy and concentration over nearly two days of batting. His previous first-class best of 201 not out for New South Wales had receded a long way into the distance by the time he had finished.”Batting the amount of time for me [was the toughest thing]. I’ve never batted that long in any form of the game in any team in my career,” he said. “Physically I felt pretty good, when I came to the ground I felt pretty fresh, and my body felt in a pretty good position. It’s just the mental application and concentration that you need to have.”Clarke’s application has if anything been enhanced by the captaincy, and he is now doing great things in the role to earn the respect of his team and the Australian public. The former captain Mark Taylor has said vice-captaincy can be difficult when the leader is a figure a legendary as Allan Border or Ricky Ponting, but Clarke said he had appreciated the apprenticeship, too.”I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, it’s about respect, continuing to earn the public’s respect and that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he said. “People are going to dislike me, that’s life, the way it is, but the most important thing for me, especially being the Australian captain now, you want your home fans to respect you, so that’s all I’ve ever asked for.”I enjoyed the vice-captaincy a lot. I thought it was fantastic to sit underneath Ricky and learn as much as I could from him, learn about leadership, learn about captaincy, learn about what it takes off the field to captain Australia. That probably opened my eyes to leadership more than anything else.”And I’ve enjoyed this challenge. It’s an honour and privilege to captain Australia, there’s a lot that goes with it, but I’m enjoying it at the moment. The team having some success obviously makes life a lot easier. We’ve got a lot of talent out there so that makes my job a lot easier as well.”Hussey’s own 150 was put in the shade by Clarke, much as anyone who batted any length of time with Don Bradman had been. But he said he had simply enjoyed the chance to bat alongside Clarke for 334 runs, and to witness the SCG’s highest individual tally from the other end.”I don’t really mind [being overshadowed]. I said to Pup out in the middle I was honoured and privileged to witness and be a part of that,” Hussey said. “It was a fantastic innings and one I’ll remember for a long time, I’m sure Pup will as well, and one that got our team into a very strong position in the Test match, that’s what I’ll remember about it.”

A round-up of the third match-day’s action from the ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Singapore

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2012Argentina slipped to their third straight defeat, going down by 29 runs to Guernsey in a rain-affected match at Padang, which was eventually reduced to 29 overs a side. The start was delayed by rain and the Argentina opening bowlers, led by Pablo Ryan, made early inroads, taking two top-order wickets to reduce Guernsey to 53 for 4. The complexion of the innings changed when Ross Kneller came out and blasted 86 off 54 balls, with six sixes. He took the score to 213 for 7 after rain reduced the game to 42 overs a side. It was reduced further to 29, following another rain interruption when Argentina were struggling at 54 for 3. Grant Dugmore top scored with 42 but lacked support as Guernsey, led by David Hooper, chipped away at the wickets.At the Indian Association Ground, Cayman Islands coasted to an eight-wicket win over Bahrain in another rain-affected encounter. Bahrain were put in to bat, and like Guernsey, were struggling at the start before they were revived by the middle order. Adil Hanif made a patient 56 off 86 balls to steady the innings, before Tahir Dar made an unbeaten 60 off 50 balls to take the score past 200. He hit six sixes in his knock. Rain intervened 17 overs into the chase, when Cayman Islands proceeded steadily to 50 for 1. However, Duckworth Lewis reduced the game to 21 overs, leaving Cayman Islands needing 30 off the last four. Ramon Sealy and Omar Willis ensured they reached the target with three balls to spare.Malaysia recorded their third-straight win, beating hosts and neighbours Singapore by 27 runs at the Kallang Ground. Malaysia’s opening duo, R Madhavan and Shafiq Sharif, made half-centuries but the rest of the batsmen failed to measure up, stumbling to a combined bowling effort. Sharif fell for 48, but Madhavan remained unbeaten on 77, off 141 balls. The next highest score was 13. Chasing 185, Singapore were in trouble at 117 for 5 in 30 overs when rain interrupted play. Their target was reduced to 161 from 39, and they eventually folded up for 133.

Surrey once again departed Lord’s glum-faced after another defeat. Their record is miserable over the Thames – one win in their last 18 visits

Alex Winter at Lord's15-Apr-2012
ScorecardToby Roland-Jones took four wickets in the second innings•Getty Images

Surrey once again departed Lord’s glum-faced after another defeat. Their record is miserable over the Thames – one win in their last 18 visits. They turned on the wicket as the primary cause of this loss: a soft pitch, perhaps underprepared after poor weather in the days before the match, which created havoc for the 76 overs the final two innings lasted.Chris Adams, Surrey’s team director, described it as the worst pitch he had ever seen at Lord’s. Surrey, in pursuit of 141, lost 6 for 36 to fail by three runs – Surrey’s narrowest margin of defeat to their neighbours.Victory here was envisaged as part of their early-season run to confirm them as many people’s outside tip for the title. Sussex, Middlesex and Worcestershire – with two of those games at The Oval – are the three opponents many would pick out for early-season points. But they were left stunned by their final morning collapse.”It was one of the worst wickets I’ve played on,” Surrey’s captain Rory Hamilton-Brown said. “It went up and down, the seam movement was so exaggerated, people were getting hit and two first-class sides scored not many more than a hundred. It made for a battle out there.”Hamilton-Brown is grateful for a quick return to The Oval next week where Surrey should bounce back against Worcestershire. But his victorious Middlesex counterpart did not see the surface as a hindrance to playing good cricket.”It was one of those wickets you knew there was something in it all game,” Neil Dexter said. “The pitch lasted almost the four days so to be playing on that wicket early season I don’t think was too bad. The way they got out this morning had nothing to do with the wicket, it was the shots and some good bowling.”The victory song in the home dressing room wasn’t quite by Dexy’s Midnight Runners but Middlesex’s “Dexy” – of no pop music fame – was certainly declaring: “I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven” after a miraculous victory.The celebrations probably sent the MCC secretary straight to his inkwell. Tim Murtagh has a history of wild abandon after sealing big wins – once whipping off his shirt to acclaim his success in a T20 quarter-final bowlout for Surrey against Warwickshire at The Oval. Here his fourth wicket sparked a 50-yard sprint towards the Tavern, creating a heap of elated Middlesex bodies on the Lord’s turf.”I think I’ve been watching too much football recently, but that’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a cricket field,” said Murtagh, a Liverpool supporter, of what he described as his best win for Middlesex. “It would have been a great shame to lose two games having played decent cricket in both. We have had two collapses in both games but we’ve showed unbelievable fighting spirit.”Middlesex would have begun to move a little uneasily with consecutive defeats and a powerful Durham side arriving next week. This victory is an early fillip for their survival hopes. And they have Andrew Strauss and Steven Finn against Durham, causing a selection headache. Dexter said he will feel bad leaving out players who have done little wrong.None of the bowlers deserved to be dropped. On the final morning, Gareth Berg took two wickets; Tim Murtagh bowled Chris Jordan and took the final wicket; Toby Roland-Jones removed Tim Linley caught at slip and had Hamilton-Brown caught behind.Hamilton-Brown sought to blast his way through the dangers of a seaming ball and varying bounce. His 49-ball half-century was the most aggressive innings of the match. But he watched Tom Maynard, for the addition of three, and Gareth Batty, for a duck, depart as the task of 46 more runs lurched from the formality it was proving the previous evening to a stern examination of technique and guts. Had bad light not intervened on Saturday evening, Surrey may well have claimed the extra half hour that would have allowed Hamilton-Brown and Maynard, both free scoring, to knock off the runs.The small chase was created by Jon Lewis’ five wickets the previous afternoon – the spell of the match. His 17-ball 21 looked to be the late-order innings Surrey needed but he could only look to the heavens as Hamilton-Brown edged Roland-Jones, who was excellent from the Pavilion End, to the wicketkeeper John Simpson. Lewis was then too trusting of Nos. 10 and 11; leaving Linley the entire 38th over to face from Roland-Jones. He nicked the fifth ball to slip. Lewis then offered Jade Dernbach the chance of five balls from Tim Murtagh. A straight-drive gone wrong skied the winning catch to Sam Robson at cover.

The fifth edition of the IPL, which began in tepid fashion, finally had a nail-biter as Rohit Sharma hit the last ball of the match for six to seal a thrilling finish for Mumbai Indians

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran09-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rohit Sharma’s two sixes in the final over, including one off the last ball, sealed it for Mumbai Indians•AFP

The fifth edition of the IPL, which began in tepid fashion, finally had a nail-biter as Rohit Sharma hit the last ball of the match for six to seal a thrilling finish for Mumbai Indians against Deccan Chargers, who fought tooth and nail while defending 139. Daniel Christian, not the wisest choice for the final over, as very recent history tells us, dished out two full tosses to Rohit. One of them was off the final ball, which was dispatched over long-on to spark wild celebrations.The Chargers were still favourites with 18 to defend off the last over. Kumar Sangakkara had bowled out his best bowler, Dale Steyn, leaving the final task with Christian. The first ball was smashed by James Franklin past long-off for four; the second down the same region; the batsmen sneaked a bye off the third; the fourth was a high full toss slammed by Rohit Sharma over deep backward point. With five needed off two, the penultimate ball was forced to long-off and Rohit Sharma timed his dive just in time to survive a run-out appeal. Christian couldn’t come up with anything special, gifting Rohit Sharma the most hittable delivery of the over, breaking the hearts of the home fans who saw their side slip to a second straight defeat.Fortunes kept oscillating in the final overs, but for most periods in the chase, the Chargers were in control. Much of the credit should go to Steyn, who ran in with the same vigour as he does for South Africa. He defeated the best hitters in the Mumbai line-up with raw pace and fizzy bounce, nipping out three wickets for just 12 runs. He took 2 for 6 in his first spell, conceded just two off his next over and only five off his final over. In hindsight, Sangakkara will feel he should have kept him for the final over.Steyn gave the Chargers the early advantage by plucking a return catch in his follow-through to get rid of T Suman. The fourth over, a wicket-maiden from Steyn, was the spectacle of the evening. He ran in high on adrenaline and had his fellow countryman Richard Levi all at sea with raw pace. He targeted the stumps, forced Levi to stab at deliveries cramping him for room, foxed him with a slower one that sneaked past the outside edge and the stumps, bounced him, but saved his best delivery for the last. Levi played all around a fiery full ball that knocked back his middle stump.For a team with big hitters at the top, Mumbai were struggling at 15 for 2 after five overs. The run-rate touched the five mark only after 11 overs, indicative of how miserly the Chargers were. The ball spun, gripped and even kept low, meaning the batsmen had to concentrate harder. Rohit fetched two boundaries and a six – over extra cover – off Christian to keep Mumbai afloat.The arrival of Kieron Pollard, in the 12th over, perked up the run-rate. The spinners were always vulnerable against Pollard, who swung two sixes and a four to leave Mumbai a gettable 56 off the last six overs. Another spiteful over from Steyn, in which he hit the deck hard, softened up Pollard. He slammed Amit Mishra over long-off the following over, but perished trying the same against Christian, skying it to Shikhar Dhawan at long-off. Mumbai’s shoulders would have dropped after Pollard walked off, but not Rohit’s, as he walloped two more sixes off Mishra to restore hope for his side.Rohit’s hitting overshadowed Munaf Patel’s four-wicket haul, which was responsible for restricting the Chargers. It also masked an ugly incident involving Sangakkara’s dismissal, where some of the Mumbai players got confrontational with the umpires. Munaf bowled a low full toss which Sangakkara shaped to drive, but got an inside edge which shaved the off stump and knocked off the bails. The wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was standing up close and the ball deflected back to the stumps off his pads, causing confusion as to whether he was legitimately bowled in the first place. The umpires initially gave Sangakkara the benefit of the doubt, choosing not to refer it to the third umpire. The Mumbai players were peeved, particularly Munaf, who flung the ball on the turf as he ambled back to his mark.A furious Harbhajan Singh marched to the square leg umpire Johan Cloete, who was soon enveloped by Munaf and Karthik. A clueless Sangakkara went across to have a word with the umpires but by then, it was as if the umpires were coerced into referring it. In theory, Sangakkara was legitimately out and the umpires should have had the presence of mind to consult. Mumbai’s road-rage, though, left a bad taste in the mouth and it makes one wonder how different it could have been had Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai’s original captain, been in charge. Tendulkar, unfortunately, was at the dug out, and there was nobody around to defuse the situation.Cameron White and Christian added a quick 41 for the fifth wicket, smashing four sixes in their stand to boost the Chargers before the lower order was reined in. The target proved a challenging one, but the visitors were fortunate to run into a bowler who suffered another nightmare of conceding a six off the last ball in front of a global television audience.

Fast bowler Pat Cummins has been named in the Australia squad for the one-day matches against Ireland and England scheduled for June this year

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2012Fast bowler Pat Cummins has been named in the Australia squad for the one-day matches against Ireland and England scheduled for June this year. Allrounder Steven Smith and quick Mitchell Johnson have also made a return.Cummins had been sidelined by a bone stress injury in his foot since Australia’s tour to South Africa in October-November 2011. He then missed the series against New Zealand, India and West Indies, and made a return to competitive cricket for Australia Under-19s in a quadrangular series in April. Johnson too has been out of action with an injured foot – he had done severe damage to his ligaments after being struck on the foot while batting in the Wanderers Test last November, resulting in a condition commonly referred to as ‘turf toe’.Smith, who had also last played for Australia during that tour to South Africa, is being rewarded for the fine form he showed late in the domestic season, according to national selector John Inverarity.”He [Smith] has come into strong contention for the Australian ICC World Twenty20 squad to be named in August and the national selection panel is keen to have him in the set-up in England as the reserve batsman, noting that his legspinners would provide good variation to our attack,” Inverarity said. “He [Johnson], also, is in strong contention for the ICC World Twenty20 and needs to be in the set-up and have some quality competitive cricket leading into this.

Australia’s 15-man squad

Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, George Bailey, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner
In: Pat Cummins, Mitchell Johnson, Steven Smith
Out: Daniel Christian, Peter Forrest, Nathan Lyon, Peter Nevill

“We are also excited about the return of Pat Cummins and we are looking to ease him back into the team. He will not be expected to play in all of the eight scheduled games.” Australia are scheduled to play one one-dayer against Ireland, followed by five against England, interspersed with two tour games.The players to miss out from the squad that played the limited-overs games in the West Indies are Daniel Christian, Peter Forrest, Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill. Mitchell Starc, who featured in the Commonwealth Bank Series against India and Sri Lanka, also missed out. However, Inverarity said, Christian remained in the mix for the World Twenty20.”Dan Christian has shown what a useful allrounder he is, and is making some strong contributions. He has been omitted to make way for Mitchell Johnson, but remains very much in our plans for the ICC World Twenty20, and a distinct possibility for the ODIs and Twenty20s against Pakistan in August-September.”Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill have not been included as Xavier Doherty has been preferred as the only spinner and Matthew Wade is the only keeper. It is a great deal easier getting replacements to England than to the West Indies, and both Nathan and Peter will be on standby should they be required.”

Sri Lanka Cricket has made a provision for reserve days for the two remaining ODIs against Pakistan in Colombo

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Colombo14-Jun-2012Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has made a provision for reserve days for the two remaining ODIs against Pakistan in Colombo. Pakistan made the request after the third ODI on Wednesday was washed out. The matches are scheduled for Saturday and Monday and rain is forecast for both days. The five-match series stands at 1-1.”The next two ODIs will have reserve days,” Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, told ESPNcricinfo. “There was a plan to shift the games to Hambantota, as it was the only area not experiencing rain at the moment, but due to logistical issues we had to drop it.”Only 6.2 overs in total were possible on Wednesday, leading the umpires to call off the game at around 8.40pm. A sharp shower curtailed play by more than an hour after the first ball was bowled, but rain returned shortly after play resumed. No play was possible after the second interruption. The first ODI in Pallekele was also interrupted by rain, but the match was eventually reduced to 42 overs a side.Rain was always going to be an issue as the series was scheduled during the south-west monsoon. Parts of the southern coastal belt, including Matara, experienced gale force winds yesterday. Only two ODI series have been played in Sri Lanka in the month of June: the Nidahas Trophy in 1998 which had half its matches wiped out by rain, and the Asia Cup in 2010 which was held in the dry zone of Dambulla. However, no matches will be played in Dambulla on this tour.

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, has been barred from playing any official cricket in Pakistan until the outcome of his appeal against a lifetime ban

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2012Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, has been barred from playing any official cricket in Pakistan pending the outcome of his appeal against a lifetime ban handed by the ECB last month for corruption. The decision was taken after a meeting of the Pakistan board’s integrity committee on Monday.Kaneria, Pakistan’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests, was handed the life ban by an ECB disciplinary panel hearing the spot-fixing case involving former Essex fast bowler Mervyn Westfield. Kaneria had been found guilty of inducing Westfield to under-perform and of bringing the game into disrepute. He has indicated that he would contest the verdict, though he is yet to formally lodge an appeal.The PCB’s integrity committee, headed by board chairman Zaka Ashraf, said that any final decision on Kaneria would be taken only after the appeal was dealt with. Kaneria had already been barred from playing for the Pakistan national side in 2010, and the PCB has said that it would in principle stand by the sanctions imposed by the England board.So far, he had been allowed to participate in Pakistan domestic cricket, and he was among the highest wicket-takers in last season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the first-class tournament. He represented Habib Bank Limited, who have written a letter to the PCB asking for clarity on his cricketing status. HBL are set to suspend ties with Kaneria, and are waiting for a formal response from the PCB before taking a call on his job status. Kaneria’s last domestic match was a Twenty20 for Karachi Zebras in March.Although his punishment was handed out by the ECB, the ICC’s anti-corruption code states that decisions based on a domestic board’s regulations should be upheld by boards around the world, including the PCB.

Essex eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire in their bottom of the table Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Chelmsford.

05-Aug-2012
ScorecardEssex eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire in their bottom of the table Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Chelmsford. In a match reduced to 25 overs each because of rain, the hosts surpassed Leicestershire’s 151 for 7 with nine deliveries to spare.Owais Shah led the way for Essex with an unbeaten 45 from 46 deliveries, which included three fours and a six.The foundation had been laid by openers Mark Pettini and Tom Westley who shared in a stand of 62 in nine overs before both fell to medium-pacer Wayne White. Westley fell lbw to the last ball of his first over for 27, while with the first delivery of White’s next over, Pettini put up a simple catch to Robbie Joseph at short extra cover.Greg Smith made 20 while helping Shah carry the total to 102 in the 19th over, at which point he was superbly taken low down by Rob Taylor at deep square leg.Essex arrived at the final five overs still requiring 42 but Shah then stepped up a couple of gears to help see them home. He took successive fours off medium-pacer Michael Thornely before despatching Nathan Buck for an on-driven six. Then Ryan ten Doeschate maintained the tempo, sealing victory with three successive boundaries at the expense of Buck.Although White emerged as the visitors most successful bowler with two wickets for 17 runs from four overs, it was left-arm spinner James Sykes who impressed the most – the 20-year-old’s five overs cost only 15.Leicestershire’s innings owed much to Thornely. Fresh from his century in the County Championship battle between the two counties, he again batted with a confident assurance that brought him 55 from 53 balls. The pick of his shots was a towering six over long-on off the bowling of left-arm spinner Tim Phillips.Thornely had also laced his innings with four fours until he was brilliantly caught on the long-on boundary – Graham Napier racing 20 yards and diving to cling on to the ball inches off the ground.Of the other batsmen, only Matthew Boyce topped 20, before he drove Napier into the hands of extra cover in the final over when on 24.Essex, who put their opponents into bat, used seven bowlers, the most successful of whom was off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who took 3 for 29 from five overs and among his victims was opener Ramnaresh Sarwan, who needed 22 deliveries to gather 14 runs until he holed out to Phillips on the midwicket boundary.Greg Smith was another top-order batsman who failed to out his foot on the accelerator, requiring 28 balls to make 18. Smith was also caught on the midwicket boundary, this time by Harbhajan, when he decided to open his shoulders against ten Doeschate.

Kevin Pietersen remains the centre of most cricket date in England but it as his batting most were talking about in Taunton as he struck a fantastic hundred

David Lloyd at Taunton28-Aug-2012
ScorecardKevin Pietersen scored his second Championship hundred of the season, this one coming on a tricky pitch•PA Photos

What is that old line about death and taxes being the only two certainties in life? By lunchtime today, most if not all of those present here would have added ‘a Kevin Pietersen century before tea’ to their list – and been proved right with five overs to spare.Batting was not straightforward on a relaid pitch, especially during the morning session when the new ball seamed and swung enough to excite Somerset’s pace attack, but the man whose England career is on hold (at the very least) did what had to be done: he battled through.From then on, it became a case of how many runs Pietersen would score, whether colleagues would hang around long enough for the visitors to post a truly commanding total and when, or if, Surrey’s extremely special No. 4 might lose interest and give his wicket away.The answers, in the same order, were: 163, from 168 balls with three sixes and 20 fours; not really, because while a return of 317 looks more than handy on a surface which should take a fair bit of turn and may produce increasingly variable bounce, the visitors might have climbed to 400; and not at all, despite taking a blow to his left hand after going beyond 150.Although Pietersen was last out, having arrived in the middle this morning with his side 44 for 2, he perished trying to do nothing more exotic than defend against Sajid Mahmood, Somerset’s loan signing from Lancashire. He had batted for four hours but clearly wanted yet more time at the crease.No-one should need reminding but if there were any doubters among the 2,000 or so spectators here today then Pietersen gave them a good old nudge: this is someone in a different class to most who play this game.Yes, there was power – paceman Peter Trego and spinner George Dockrell were both hit for sixes. But mostly this innings will be remembered for its certainty and control. Good balls were defended with great respect while almost everything even remotely inviting was put away with crisp authority. Those who witnessed Pietersen’s double century against Lancashire at Guildford in mid-July say the two knocks were similar in that there, as here, he never went into overdrive but still scored at a rapid rate.Having been booed to the crease in Hampshire a week or so ago and then jeered all the way back after making a first ball duck in a CB40 game against his old county, Pietersen was politely applauded when he made his entrance here – and given a long and deservingly warm hand on completing the 45th first-class century of his career.How much this hundred meant, only the man himself will know (and he continues to reject media requests in the wake of his fall-out with England). But he raised his bat to the dressing room, then acknowledged the crowd’s generous response before pumping his fist two or three times – not in a showy, ‘look at me’ kind of way but simply, it seemed, to underline his pleasure. A hug with batting partner Gary Wilson came next, followed swiftly by another driven four off Alfonso Thomas.”He’s looked as good here as he ever has,” said Surrey’s team director, Chris Adams. “We’ve seen him hitting the ball really well in the nets and it is great for him to have gone out there and played as well as he has today.As Adams pointed out, with a couple of balls having already gone up and down (Stuart Meaker was bowled by a low one late in Surrey’s innings) the pitch “was not all in favour of the batsmen”. And Pietersen, given all that is going on and with a crucial meeting with England captain Andrew Strauss coming up at some time, might not have been in the mood to play himself in.No chance, apparently. “He has been superb in our dressing room and worked very hard,” said Adams. But how is Pietersen away from cricket? “There are unresolved issues and the sooner there is a solution to those issues the better for everyone, Kevin in particular,” added Adams. “My job is to focus on Surrey and make sure he is in the frame of mind to deliver.”As for Somerset, they could have done with facing a fully focused Pietersen like a hole in the head. After a weekend of woe – losing out on Twenty20 Finals Day yet again and then being eliminated from the CB40 48 hours later – they must win this match to have any hope of challenging hard for that elusive Championship title.The hosts kept 10 of their opponents on a tight rein with only their former all-rounder, Zander de Bruyn, going past 30. And he didn’t make many more than that. But Pietersen dominated them so completely that the loss of openers Arul Suppiah and Marcus Trescothick before the close came as no real surprise.A win here should secure Surrey’s Division One status. One thing is already certain, though: they are the only winners out of the rift between England and Pietersen.

Stuart Broad found himself in a familiar position for England captains – trying to explain a calamitous display against spin bowling

David Hopps in Colombo23-Sep-2012Stuart Broad found himself in a familiar position for England captains – trying to explain a calamitous display against spin bowling – as his side, dismissed against India for 80 in 14.4 overs, registered England’s lowest total in Twenty20 internationals.”It doesn’t change our destiny a huge amount – we still hop on a bus to Kandy in the morning,” Broad said. “It is not like tomorrow is going to be a different day. It is not as if we have to go home or anything.”It was understandable, indeed it was necessary, that Broad found consolation in the fact that both sides had already qualified for Super Eights and that, for the sake of their travelling supporters, England and India were already locked into matches in Pallekele (near to Kandy) or Colombo respectively, irrespective of whether they finished first or second in the group.But that underplayed the psychological effect that a defeat of such magnitude will have on a relatively untried England batting line-up that had grown in confidence during the warm-up matches but which collapsed spectacularly when faced by the first real test against significant opposition.As Broad had mentioned destiny, he did bring to mind Freud’s theory of repetition compulsion – a psychological phenomenon in which a person (or in this case the England cricket team) repeats a traumatic event, or its circumstances, over and over again.Freud’s theory says the patient does not remember anything about what he has forgotten or repressed, but just acts it out until the end of time, which is a depressing thought for when England next face spin bowling in Asia as well as an intriguing challenge for the team psychologist. The alternative, of course, would be to listen instead to Mushtaq Ahmed, the spin bowling coach, and start hitting the ball down the ground.”Our error today is we lost early wickets,” Broad said. “Spinners always enjoy bowling to new batsmen. We talked the other day about how we need to hit straight and hard and today to lose the first couple of wickets across the line was a bit disappointing. Hitting straight was a much better option than going across the ball.”England’s display was so woeful that when they lost their ninth wicket at 60 they were in danger of recording the lowest score in T20 internationals, undercutting Kenya’s 67 against Ireland. Somehow, they avoided that. But this was their heaviest defeat, by runs, in T20 internationals.There was no alibi for the batsmen and Broad was not about to give them one. There was no sharp turn – there may be as the tournament progresses so if England do reach the semi-finals and face India once more at Premadasa it could be worse – and India’s 170 for 4 was, at most, 10 over par so the target did not demand the impossible.”I don’t think the wicket turned massively to be honest,” Broad said. “The guys getting out said it was just skidding on a little bit. There was a little bit of turn, Harbhajan bowled very nicely with his top-spinner going well but no, I don’t think it was a raging turner or anything.”We made it easy for India in the end. We will have to learn from our mistakes and there were some pretty clear ones in the batting line-up. Young guys seem to learn pretty quickly.”He did not entirely exonerate the bowling, where England suffered in this match by giving Tim Bresnan a run out as a fourth seamer, in defiance of a dry pitch, because of their conviction that the ball will seam and swing in Pallakele and he will play in their opening Super Eight tie against West Indies or Ireland on Thursday as a result. The fielding was also scrappy by England standards, but these were details compared to the car crash of a batting performance.”I think we were a little bit sloppy in places: we had a few soft twos in the outfield,” Broad conceded. “We didn’t hit our lengths as well as we could up front. But I think it was the lowest first-innings score on this ground so far in the tournament. We thought it was very chaseable. The wicket was pretty flat, although it didn’t have the pace in it that it had the other night.”It will be interesting to see what the Pallakele wickets offer. There has been talk that in the Sri Lankan Premier League it seamed around a bit. We knew it was a bit dryer at the start but we wanted to try a different balance of side with the four seamers in a game that we could afford to lose. It was a risk that we took and it didn’t help us.”Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, was quick to point out England’s deficiencies. “This is a sorry display from England,” he said. “There’s been a lack of footwork, application and the will to stick around and fight it out.” It was accurate enough but England regard Gavaskar as a serial critic; perhaps this is a comment that will be heading for the dressing room wall.