South Africa’s maiden ODI series win in Sri Lanka showcased the lessons they had learned from a chastening 1-4 drubbing the last time they visited – An improved top-order and a better spin attack

Firdose Moonda12-Jul-2014If progress can be measured by the way the result changes when going to back to the same place, South Africa’s one-day team has made some impressive advances.South Africa’s last visit to Sri Lanka 12 months ago presented them as a disjointed unit, lacking in key players, and clear game plans. Russell Domingo’s coaching tenure began with a 1-4 drubbing and the side deserved every bit of flak it attracted. But over the last week, South Africa have buried those memories with two clinical and energetic team performances to earn a first-ever ODI series win in Sri Lanka. They are due some generous praise and it was good to see the captain, AB de Villiers, leading the chorus.”We learnt from our mistakes. We came back here a more experienced team this time,” de Villiers said. “When I pushed on the buttons, everyone came forward and performed for the team.”Being wiser and responding to expectations were not the only differences between the South African class of 2013 and 2014. This year’s group had better personnel, improved techniques, sound strategies and a more focused mindset, all of which bode well for the future.They have dropped the dead weight from a year ago when Colin Ingram and Alviro Petersen were part of a rotating opening pair that never quite clicked and Robin Peterson was still being used as the premier spinner.Quinton de Kock’s progress has contributed to South Africa gaining better solidity. Twelve months ago he was a talented, but clueless kid who was riding on his promise but unravelled when he couldn’t meet his potential.De Kock returned home and demanded seemingly never-ending net sessions with his franchise coach Geoffrey Toyana. He honed his skills against spin and also worked on his temperament and timing. The results were evident last December when de Kock joined an elite club of six batsmen to have scored centuries in three consecutive innings. But there was still a question over his ability in the subcontinent. After two quiet games, de Kock answered them with a century that showcased improved levels of concentration to match his capability. He has inked his place as Hashim Amla’s partner.While de Kock’s international career is just starting, South Africa’s administration appear to have ended Peterson’s. His phasing out had begun during the T20 series in Sri Lanka last year, and Imran Tahir has taken over in all formats. Tahir was not part of South Africa’s limited-overs squads to Sri Lanka last year which cost the visitors dearly. From his international debut at the 2011 World Cup, the legspinner announced himself as a threat, particularly in subcontinent conditions and ideally should have had more matches under his belt by now.But Tahir is the type of bowler who does not mind being hit and South Africa have traditionally preferred a spinner who can contain. On this tour, Tahir has proved he can do both. He was South Africa’s second-most successful bowler with six wickets. He accounted for Mahela Jayawardene, an excellent player of spin, in all three matches and maintained an economy of 4.44.He also had an able partner in JP Duminy whose bowling has developed to the point where Domingo no longer considers him a part-timer. Duminy plays as one of three, perhaps, four allrounders in a South African side that likes the depth he provides. Although he lacked for runs in this series, his ability to find them in future should provide stability in the batting line-up and set David Miller up for a final assault. Miller was also not a major player in South Africa’s success but showed that he can be. Together with Ryan McLaren he added teeth to the lower middle-order and appears to have grown comfortable in his role as finisher.However, it was McLaren who was the find of the series for South Africa, if a 31-year-old more than a decade into his career can still be considered as such. He averaged 13.11 and his nine wickets was the best tally for the series from both teams. He was effective in the powerplay and at the death and out bowled the men he usually operates in the shadows of – Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.Steyn’s return was thought to bolster South Africa’s attack but he had only a modest impact. Morkel had better success, but McLaren, often operating at third-change was the danger man. His unlikely rise to heroism is a sign South Africa’s talent identification and nurturing is working.The individual components of South Africa’s one-day outfit have only two major questions: how much longer will they wait on Jacques Kallis to find form and if he delivers against Zimbabwe will that be enough to continue benching Faf du Plessis? And how does Vernon Philander fit into the attack? The return of Lonwabo Tsotsobe to full fitness may make the latter a moot point.There has been a sense of community in South Africa’s performance, which should buy them some time in answering those questions. It could be picked up in how JP Duminy was careful in ensuring de Villiers got as much strike as possible in Hambantota, from how the irritation is subdued when a catch is dropped as De Kock found out when he failed to convert a chance Dale Steyn produced or when Kallis, despite not bowling himself, was seen offering advice to the rest of the attack.There’s also evidence that South Africa are having fun: They enjoyed a team dinner at Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s restaurant, Morkel flew kites in Colombo and Steyn, McLaren and Miller went for a stroll on the beach to do some bird-watching in Hambantota.Their maiden series win in Sri Lanka ranks highly not simply because it allows them to enter new territory and make history but it also helps them override the more recent past; a past many of them were part of. Returning to the scene of their most severe series defeats and emerging victorious this time is something to be savoured.But de Villiers knows it is just the start. “It’s not a World Cup but it’s a huge step in the right direction.” Now, South Africa have to stay the course.

The cricket book of the season brings many regrets about the rancour surrounding an incredible talent

David Hopps10-Oct-2014There have been outspoken autobiographies in English cricket before. A generation ago, Geoffrey Boycott outlined the wrongs he felt he had suffered at the hands of Yorkshire and England. Even further back, in 1960, a few tart paragraphs from Jim Laker – scandalous for their time – caused his MCC honorary membership to be rescinded and instead brought him Life Membership of the Awkward Squad. takes the grievances and the settling of scores to a new level. Like it or loath it, it is a book of considerable significance, the aggrieved story of the most maverick, bloody-minded, exciting and ultimately tragic England player of his generation.Even as publication day arrived, such had been the publicity generated that battle lines were already deeply entrenched, countless words written. is not destined to change minds. It will be dismissed as self-obsessed bleating by his critics, presented as a courageous attack on cricketing conservatism by those who cherish the entertainment he has given them. This will be before most people have read it.Is it the truth? As somebody remarked perspicaciously, “It is the truth as Kevin sees it.” Nobody should question that. But it is a truth seen through a distorted lens.Pietersen v the World (because that is how it reads, with suitable apologies to wife, child and Piers Morgan) is variously Man v Machine, Rebel v Conformist, Agitator v Compromiser, Freedom v Responsibility, Individual v Team, Instinct v Planning, Attack v Defence, Difference v Normality, New v Old , Sensitivity v Machismo (and what sensitivity!), Emotion v Logic, Perception v Judgement. Sometimes it is also about Right v Wrong, but mostly it is about English cricket’s failure to control – and, yes, often to understand – the most individualistic, egotistical, inspirational, crowd-pleasing cricketer of his generation.Whether Pietersen realises it or not, it is also about a failed relationship. Virtually every breakdown in Pietersen’s career can be traced back to a disastrous and debilitating character clash with Andy Flower, known to most as the former England coach, now routinely referred to by Pietersen as the Mood Hoover. Flower, in Pietersen’s terms is “contagiously sour, infectiously dour”. Flower has rarely allowed himself to comment upon Pietersen, but if he felt inclined to retaliate there is reason to think that “supremely talented, self-obsessed brat” would not be far from the mark.In his drive for marginal gains, Flower once encouraged psychometric testing of England’s players and one of the discoveries was that Pietersen was an introvert; Flower did not need a psychometric test to know that about himself. But that is where their similarities surely ended. Flower is conventional, diligent, precise and rigid; Flower likes to plan and gives praise sparingly; Flower is a private man of great integrity who keeps his relationships on an even keel. Pietersen is the opposite. Pietersen is intensely emotional, lives for the moment, craves praise and dislikes criticism. By his own admission, he has no time for planning – he stares out of the window at team meetings and views coaches as largely redundant.This aversion to critical thinking was so pronounced that he tells how he routinely avoided breakfast with Moores and Flower in case they deflated his mood. Moores’ attempt to bring him into the fold by promoting him as captain after the departure of Michael Vaughan therefore failed almost as soon as it began. Batting liberates him and to capture that perfect state of mind he seeks truth in psychology and something called The Chimp Paradox, which basically tells him how talented he is. Pietersen and England’s coaches never build a trusting relationship. Flower, it appears, quickly dislikes him.When does not push you into taking sides, it leads you into a contemplation of a flawed character. It is forthright, populist and written in such an agitated, self-justifying manner that even the brashest paragraphs cannot disguise the loneliness of the sporting maverick. There is an “I” in team he asserts, reminding us that cricket is an individual game in a team setting. And so there is. But there is a limit. He forever smacks of an individual refusing to accept the strictures of a team sport.

It is forthright, populist and written in such an agitated, self-justifying manner that even the brashest paragraphs cannot disguise the loneliness of the sporting maverick

Many will read all this and wonder how this madness was ever allowed to happen. It is as if those in authority repeatedly sense a virus in their midst only for their clunky anti-virus programs to warn that if they quarantine him several major programs will not function so effectively. Pietersen’s very presence repeatedly lays bare the problems of a conservative, fastidious and unwieldy hierarchy in handling the assertive individualism more prevalent in the modern game. The moment England start losing, and Pietersen’s form dips, they get shot of him.Right from the outset, Pietersen identifies with Fred The Soldier, who “follows a different drummer”. He says: “I don’t set out to go against the flow… but I won’t sit down and be told to bat this way or train this way without asking why.” This assertion of self, often blind to the team ethic, does not go down well. Everybody who has raised a family can remember the “why?” phase. The first claim to individual freedom comes at two years old. Pietersen has it in abundance.Some of his explanations of his behaviour are more convincing than others. His version of his fallout with Moores, a coach he found to be a “human triple espresso – so intense” is instructional. He insists that he never gave the England and Wales Cricket Board a Him Or Me ultimatum, just told them that his philosophy was so different from Moores that they could not work together. The ECB, fearing player power, sacked them both. It is a decision that smacks of convenience.When Pietersen is not demeaning Flower, he is warring with the ECB, forever suspecting – often with good reason – a “world full of little agendas”. When Andrew Strauss, who replaces him as captain, proves to be at ease in mollifying such a world, he thinks less of him because of it, suggesting that he is “playing the long game”. His unabashed belief in the IPL is another fault line – he loves it, so English cricket does not love him. Here, more than anywhere, he is a victim of his time. As cricket changes, coming generations will see him, on the IPL at least, as unfairly brandished.But he is not the only victim. Pietersen, who likes to play cricket in a happy frame of mind, sparked a debate in the days leading up to publication by complaining of a bullying culture in the England dressing room. His criticism struck a chord. But there have been few nastier pages in cricket literature than his own destruction of Matt Prior, a sequence where his ghost writer is allowed to go for the jugular – a task he accomplishes with considerable skill – without on the face of it too much justification.As for fake Twitter accounts and Textgate, why the coaching staff did not bang heads together and sort both in 24 hours is a question that lingers. In English cricket, authority is too often invested in those away from the action. England players’ involvement in KP Genius displays a crass failure to recognise that with his ego came sensitivity. For Pietersen’s exchange of texts with friends in the South Africa side criticising his captain, Strauss, to be magnified into traitorous behaviour still seems to be an overreaction. The world has heard too much about both subjects. This book adds too many pages to the nonsense and it will be a reader with a healthy sense of perspective who skips the lot of them.But it’s batting that Pietersen is about – even if, reading this autobiography, it is easy to forget. Only when Pietersen gets a bat in his hand, is he truly liberated. “I’m a risk taker by nature,” he says in response to those such as the Sacking Judge Paul Downton, who deemed him reckless, not accepting that without the risk he is vastly diminished.Off the field, he is forever insecure; he jars with those he must live with in close proximity for 250 days a year. He can say he loves someone one day, hate them the next, and both responses feel equally true. He is a South African in England, a star player who needs his ego perpetually feeding, but who is not just excluded from the dressing-room clique but is mocked by it. When he asks for a break to see his wife and family, it is routinely refused. Others get their breaks: it is that IPL punishment thing again. Even his injuries – serious injuries – are disparaged by Flower. A fair and honest man, Flower’s disenchantment with Pietersen begins to demean him.KP: The Autobiography has briefly descended English cricket into chaos. It has no humour, only fleeting references to camaraderie, no praise for the talents of his team-mates, and precious little cricket analysis. But it is a legitimate work of propaganda (so much propaganda has been thrown in his direction, he had little choice but to reply in kind). For those of us not wedded to one side or the other, it leaves an immense sadness that so wonderful a talent has repeatedly exasperated, vexed and been disparaged and excluded.Why did it have to be this way? Why was England’s man management so unsuccessful? As those in charge of England cricket congratulate themselves on the prospect of simpler times ahead, they need to reflect on that question.England cricket is hurting because of the arguments surrounding Pietersen: arguments that are often Machiavellian in high places, often rabid on social media, ultimately unbearable in the dressing room. But the chaos in England cricket will be transient. New heroes will come and one hopes the public will eventually learn to love the game in records numbers again. Disillusionment is evident and widespread. As Pietersen remarks, you cannot promote a game for the people without communicating with and respecting the people.Saddest of all perhaps is Pietersen’s imaginings that, even after a book as uncompromising as this, he might somehow play again for England. His naïve failure to understand that his challenge to the system has been so extreme that it will never be tolerated symbolises how gauche his self-obsession can make him. It’s over and it was quite a ride.But at a time when so many cricket autobiographies are cravenly dull, when player interviews are delivered as if by rote, and the governing body forever asserts its right to rule in near-secrecy, Pietersen’s flawed and overwrought cri de coeur is a book that was better written. Somehow, in this imperfect, suspicious world, he summoned some of the finest innings in England history. We should all be grateful for that.KP: The Autobiography
By Kevin Pietersen
Sphere
324 pages, £20

While by no means a definitive list of Jacques Kallis’ best ODI performances, these five efforts showcased his versatility and match-winning qualities

Karthik Krishnaswamy30-Jul-2014113* v Sri Lanka, Dhaka, 1998
Rain delayed the start of the first semi-final and the match had been reduced to 39 overs a side by the time South Africa, sent in to bat, began their innings. Sri Lanka had bowled New Zealand out for 188 in their quarter-final, and were looking good once again when Nuwan Zoysa took two wickets in the 10th over to leave South Africa 57 for 3.This was when Jacques Kallis walked in and deflated Sri Lanka’s hopes, smashing five fours and five sixes to power South Africa to 240 for 7 with little help from anyone else. Daryll Cullinan, who had opened the batting, made 30, the second-highest score in the innings. Muttiah Muralitharan bore the brunt of Kallis’ assault, finishing with figures of 1 for 48 from six overs. With more rain falling during the innings break, Sri Lanka’s target was revised to 224 from 34 overs. They didn’t get remotely close, getting bowled out for 132 in 23.4 overs.5 for 30 v West Indies, Dhaka, 1998
Having played a massive role in taking South Africa into the final, Kallis won them their first – and to date only – ICC title with a match-altering spell of bowling. Having chosen to field, South Africa ran into a marauding Philo Wallace, who smacked 103 of 102 balls. When Hansie Cronje dismissed Wallace, West Indies were 180 for 4 with more than 15 overs left and a set Carl Hooper at the crease, and 300 seemed possible. Kallis, though, had other ideas. West Indies lost their last six wickets for 52 runs in 11.3 overs, and Kallis took five of them, including three lbws. Chasing 246, South Africa won with three overs to spare, with Cronje guiding them home with an unbeaten 61. Kallis played his part with the bat too, scoring 37.53* and 2 for 15 v New Zealand, Edgbaston, 1999
With their twin heartbreaks against Australia still to come, South Africa were looking the side to beat at the 1999 World Cup. Describing their 74-run Super Six win over New Zealand, wrote that South Africa “looked like raging bulls determinedly charging along the road to the final”. Kallis was the architect of that win with bat and ball. Coming in at 187 for 2, after Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs had put on 176 for the first wicket, Kallis applied the brutal finishing touches to South Africa’s innings, smashing three sixes in an unbeaten 53 off 36 balls and putting on 54 in 31 balls with Hansie Cronje. And he wasn’t done by any means. Opening the bowling as New Zealand began their chase of 288, Kallis dismissed both openers to finish with figures of 2 for 15 in six overs.139 v West Indies, Johannesburg, 2004
By the time the final match of their tour rolled around, West Indies were sick of Kallis, who had scored four centuries in the Test series and another in the first ODI. Now, in the fifth ODI, he broke West Indian hearts for the final time on their tour, and in most gut-wrenching manner. With rain ensuring there was no result in the third ODI, West Indies came into the match with a chance to level the series 2-2. With Chris Gayle scoring 152, they began brilliantly, scoring 304 for 2 in their 50 overs. But they still weren’t Kallis-proof.South Africa’s No. 3 walked in at the fall of Herschelle Gibbs in the sixth over, and was in the middle till the penultimate over of South Africa’s innings, having put on productive partnerships with Graeme Smith, Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Rudolph. When Kallis was out to Ravi Rampaul after striking 11 fours and three sixes in a 142-ball 139, South Africa needed nine runs from eight balls, and they eventually sneaked home with two balls to spare.86 v Sri Lanka, Guyana, 2007
Lasith Malinga’s astonishing four-wicket burst had gone on to overshadow everything else that happened in this match, but Kallis’ 86 was as effective as South Africa sneaked a one-wicket win in their first Super Eights game at the 2007 World Cup. Charl Langeveldt’s 5 for 39 had sent South Africa on their way, as Sri Lanka, having chosen to bat first, were bowled out for 209.Kallis walked in early, with Chaminda Vaas bowling AB de Villiers in the first over of South Africa’s chase, and proceeded to do what he does best. Steady at one end, he put on 94 with Graeme Smith, 65 with Herschelle Gibbs, and was still at the crease when South Africa needed four runs to win with five wickets in hand and more than five overs remaining. Improbably, Malinga nearly won the game for Sri Lanka, taking four wickets in four balls, before Robin Peterson and Langeveldt saw the gasping South Africans home.

Plays of the day from Lahore Lions’ last league match against Perth Scorchers

Devashish Fuloria30-Sep-2014The jailbreak
Things had gone pear-shaped for Lahore Lions from the start. They had lost one of their key players, Ahmed Shehzad, to sickness, lost the crucial toss, lost Nasir Jamshed to the third ball of the afternoon, lost their other opener in the same over after a 43-minute rain break and showed no sign of recovery thereafter. At 11 for 4, things were looking rather bleak for Lions. That’s when Umar Akmal arrived and broke the shackles with successive boundaries off Yasir Arafat and finally got the innings in motion.The distraction
In the context of how low-scoring this match was, and the net run rate calculations that would determine whether or not they reached the semifinals, Lions would have welcomed the two extra runs. Saad Nasim flicked an Arafat delivery behind square on the leg side and it looked as if the fielder running in from deep square leg was set to cut it off. Just as he might have been looking to put in the dive, though, the fielder noticed the crane-mounted camera – it was a safe distance away – in his peripheral vision and stopped, covering his head, and let the ball slip through to the boundary.The field placement
Lahore Lions needed early wickets. They did not have the cushion of runs. The result: Test-match fields from the outset. As Mohammad Hafeez came in to bowl, he had a slip, a short leg and a silly point in place. And they were immediately into action. Hafeez got one to dart in from round the wicket and as Craig Simmons pushed outside the line, the thick inside edge was gobbled up by Umar Siddiq at short legThe howler
Sam Whiteman had walked to the crease at the fall of Simmons’ wicket and with close-in fields, he knew what to expect. Still, he made exactly the same mistake as Simmons had the previous ball, playing outside the line of an angled delivery from Hafeez. Simmons had been unlucky to be given out bat-pad though – the ball had not touched the bat at all. However, for Whiteman, there was a clear inside edge and Siddiq grabbed another smart catch at short leg. Lions had two wickets in two balls. Except umpire Rod Tucker completely missed it this time.

Following the heart translates into migrating from England to Australia – and no regrets

Jenny Thompson17-Nov-2014″You left London for… Adelaide?” My new colleagues in the Adelaide Oval press box were incredulous. “Yep!” I said. “And how lucky are we to live here?”They weren’t convinced. It was 2007 and Adelaide was a sleepy city, its Test ground statuesque but jaded. Both have since been radically overhauled, but even back then I knew I’d found my paradise.Since I was a child, I had dreamed of leaving damp and dreary England for bright and beachy Australia. and the Ashes painted sunshine onto my drab ’80s existence, while real-live Aussies at my cricket club taught me heaps-good phrases.”Nine inches” – less dodgy than it sounds – reminds an outfielder to throw within the width of the stumps, and “We’re not playing for sheep stations” means “Don’t take the game so seriously, punk.”Teenage me was so hooked on cricket – specifically Aussie-style – that while my mates were cruising Topshop, crushing on Kurt Cobain and applying grungy eyeliner, I was smearing on Warnie-esque zinc, fearing AB’s captaincy and perfecting my impression of Merv’s bustling trundle-and-release.* Yeah, I was cool.By my twenties I’d decamped to London to work in sports media while fantasising about escaping to less stressful, more spacious Australia – even though I’d never been there. I continued to do nothing about it till I landed a transfer to… Adelaide.Brilliant, but I couldn’t place the city on a map, nor tell you it was the capital of South Australia. I knew it had a Test ground, though, and beaches, so I figured it must be all right.Ducks by the banks of the River Torrens•UniversalImagesGroupAfter renting a four-bed beachfront house for the same price as a third-floor room in London, and being stoked to be in a country where cricket was still televised for free, the next thing was to head down to Adelaide Oval to catch some Sheffield Shield. Under an endless blue sky, I instantly felt at home among the picket fences, and I loved that, unlike at England’s Test grounds, here you could sit on the grass.I’ve seen some memorable moments since – a Tendulkar ton; du Plessis’ absorbing debut; Lehmann’s emotional retirement; Cook destroying the Aussies; Johnson destroying the Pommies. I’ve slowly embraced the Big Bash and day-night Sheffield Shield. I’ve even played on the Oval in an A Grade club final (we were flogged, but it was awesome).Over recent years I’ve seen the ground itself transformed through a A$500m facelift. The saggy orange skin of the Bradman Stand has been sloughed away, leaving intact the beautiful bone structure of the brick walls. I had worried the scoreboard would be exiled to the outer perimeter, à la the SCG, and that they’d take away my hill. But both stayed, and as a progressive traditionalist (if that’s not oxymoronic) I was super-happy with the result.The redevelopment also means the AFL boys are back in town, with record crowds making the city pump. Pre-development, I did watch an Aussie-Kiwi soccer friendly, but footy at the ground felt incongruous. The Oval used to host Rugby Sevens and there was an ATP World Tour tennis event on adjacent courts, but both have since been lost to Queensland, and the F1 to Victoria. While we’ve retained the lucrative Clipsal 500 and Tour Down Under races, they just ain’t as sexy.Watching cricket in perpetual sunshine: what’s not to like?•Getty ImagesMelbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are only short plane rides away anyway, and great for weekend breaks. It’s probably sacrilegious to my adopted city, however, to admit that visiting the MCG – albeit “only” to watch a Sri Lanka trouncing – was particularly special.Adelaide’s the modest little sister of those big cities so I’m happy to take the loudhailer and boast on her behalf about why I love this place. It’s on Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2014 and consistently makes the world’s top ten most liveable cities for good reasons, ranging from low unemployment and low crime to a fairly robust economy and an enviable pace of life.It’s as relaxed as you want it to be, or as hectic. With a small population, people have time for you, nobody’s ever in a rush. Carl Hooper and JM Coetzee have made it their home, Ben Folds wrote a song about living here, and Julia Gillard has moved back post-prime ministership. Yes: Adelaide’s very liveable, and ultra-loveable.It’s less the City of Churches these days, more the City of Culture. Beyond sport and beaches, there are concerts, festivals and cute little laneways housing pop-up bars, all building a growing vibe about town. The 2015 World Cup will be an integral part of “Mad March”, a month where the Adelaide Festival, WOMADadelaide, Writer’s Week and Clipsal converge in Adelaide’s very accessible space.Beyond the city, there are wine regions and natural splendour and shark diving and swimming with dolphins. Our clean food and wine are world-renowned. We’re also proud of being a free settler state… a little too much in the case of the original governors, who never even planned a jail. The state has its fair share of dark history, though, with the so-called Snowtown Murders particularly notable.Of course Adelaide’s not perfect – no place is. It has dodgy areas and patchy public transport. Geographically, for me, it will always be a long way from my family: Skype’s no substitute for an in-person cuppa. And in Australia, I further feel disconnected from English cricket and other league sports that were once the fabric of my existence. Foxtel helps but watching live games can be tricky with opposing time zones.McLaren Wharf at Port Adelaide•Raymond Warren/Getty ImagesFurthermore, cricket clubs here don’t have the same atmosphere as English ones. Strip lighting makes them feel stark and the ridiculously hot weather contributed to me quitting after a few seasons. I still do some ad hoc coaching but mainly I want my summer weekends for camping, fishing, cycling, yoga and beach running: in other words, living la dolce vita.Actually, every day feels like a holiday in my coastal suburb of Largs Bay, which is only a 20-minute train ride from the city. After beach cricket matches, it’s fun to sink a pint at the Largs Pier Hotel, where Cold Chisel’s Jimmy Barnes began his career. I love having a local, and being one – and in Adelaide, I’ve found the sense of community I always found lacking in London. Citizenship has further cemented my belonging. Now I support both England and Australia, although when they clash, my heart orders me to back the Poms, even when my head counsels otherwise.When I moved to Australia, I only wanted a Test ground and a beach, yet I’ve found more than I ever dreamed possible. For once I was ahead of a curve and now me ‘n’ Adelaide are surfing a big barrelling wave together – and we’re loving it.*This involves setting your arms roundly and holding them firm towards the ground while bounding in as hard as you can, determination etched into your face. Fake mo optional.

No cricketer was closer to Phillip Hughes in the horrible hour between his collapse and conveyance to hospital than David Warner. The emotion of Warner’s hundred in Adelaide was apparent all the way through

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval09-Dec-20145:41

MacGill: Warner clear about who he is as a batsman

It was as if the heavens themselves decided that this was the day for cricket. Adelaide had been shrouded in a haze of clouds and the odd rain shower over the past few days, reflecting the grey countenance of all those involved in the game since the death of Phillip Hughes. But on Test match dawn the sky was the purest blue, ushering in the sort of morning when it was impossible not to yearn for a sight of the game.After his captain Michael Clarke had won the toss and granted Australia first use of a pristine batting strip, David Warner looked skywards towards that endless blue, as though searching for a glimpse of Hughes. He did so when the two teams and the crowd acknowledged Hughes with 63 seconds of applause. He did again upon reaching 50, and once more when cresting 63.When Warner punched through mid-off for his century, the eyes went up again, this time taken higher by his signature leaping celebration. First seen against India at the WACA Ground in January 2012, the jump has become a familiar sight for team-mates and opponents. This time Warner’s back and neck arched a little further back, his triumphant yell directed not towards the stands, but to Hughes and the heavens. Scarcely a spine among the 25,619 present failed to tingle.The emotion of Warner’s innings was thus apparent all the way through. Recurring glances above recalled nothing so much as Darren Lehmann’s century against Sri Lanka in Galle a decade ago, where he acknowledged David Hookes with similar reverence. But the triumph of this innings was that whenever a bowler entered his run and delivery stride, Warner’s eyes were level and hands steady – he kept his emotions in check.This sort of focus has not been easy for Warner in recent days. No cricketer was closer to Hughes in the horrible hour between his collapse on the SCG pitch and his conveyance to St Vincent’s Hospital by ambulance. Perched at Hughes’ side while medical staff worked on him, Warner held his friend’s hand and spoke the most encouraging words he could muster. The struggle to comprehend what happened, then the grief of Hughes’ death, have caused Warner’s moods and emotions to swing. In preparation for this Test he even had to abandon one net session while struggling to find his focus.Yet here and now, under Adelaide’s blue sky, Warner made himself ready. For a batsman so often labelled impulsive, his composure was exemplary, his purpose was crystal clear. A slight jumble of feet when he ducked the first bouncer of the day was Warner’s only misstep. Even the early flurry of boundaries that allowed Warner and Australia to gain the momentum arrived in a manner less risky than the scoreboard would suggest.Recurring glances above recalled nothing so much as Darren Lehmann’s century against Sri Lanka in Galle a decade ago, where he acknowledged David Hookes with similar reverence•Getty ImagesMohammed Shami and Varun Aaron started the day with a plan to bowl around the wicket to Warner, perhaps hoping to tuck him up the manner that England once managed against Adam Gilchrist when they were also coached by Duncan Fletcher. But they drifted wide of the stumps, and without the angle across Warner that an over-the-wicket line would have provided. This reduced the degree of difficulty, and the flurry of boundaries prevented Virat Kohli from exerting any pressure on his first day as India’s stand-in Test captain.By the time Kohli had Shami and Aaron moving back over the wicket, Warner had already galloped to 34 from 16 balls, and much of the shine had been cuffed from the Kookaburra’s surface. It was from over the wicket that Ishant Sharma tempted Chris Rogers into an airy drive and an edge to Shikhar Dhawan at second slip, but by then the Australian 50 had already been posted. Warner had bolted.Though Shane Watson did not last, Warner demonstrated that not only is he enormously strong in mentality but he has also eclipsed Clarke as Australia’s finest current batsman. Back and hamstring troubles have restricted Clarke’s chances to find the rhythm and power of his batting peak, and an ill-timed recurrence would force him from the field when finding a little more fluent territory on 60. This has left Warner as the man most feared by opposing bowlers, capable of rapid bursts like that against the new ball but also more considered accumulation and manipulation of fields.Nothing Kohli tried by way of field placings or bowling combinations troubled Warner, and it was ultimately waning energy and concentration that did for him. Karn Sharma’s legbreaks were looped a little more teasingly in the late afternoon, and after Warner missed one tired-looking sweep, he connected too awkwardly with an attempted slog and shelled a catch to deep midwicket. His acknowledgement of the applause looked weary, having drained so much energy in finding a way to not only play but thrive two Tuesdays after Hughes was hit.”It was quite tough early on there with the 63-second applause and getting through the national anthem that set me off a bit inside,” Warner told Channel Nine. “I played with a lot of adrenaline there but really had to pull it back after I got going. Being there on the day it happened it was quite tough, the memories are still stuck in my head. But I spoke a lot to Michael Lloyd our psychologist, and the support from everyone has been amazing.”Warner’s downbeat visage was to be mirrored by his team-mates in the final hour, as a late decline of 3 for 9 illustrated how hard it is to maintain vitality and resolution after the trials of the preceding two weeks. At the same time it showed how great Warner’s effort had been, and how much he had honoured a fallen friend by his batting beneath the brilliant blue. Hughes would have enjoyed it.

The ECB has revealed how it intends to bolster cricket participation in the recreational game. The ideas are sound: implanting them is a different challenge altogether

David Hopps26-Feb-2015The ECB’s strategy to implant itself once again as a sport second only to football extends well beyond the discussions about how to regenerate the professional game.Deep-seated problems in the recreational game, with many long-standing clubs struggling for survival, impacts not just on participation levels, or upon the potential fans of tomorrow, but undermines cricket’s place in the social fabric. The ECB’s consultative document, the “Strategy Consultation Summary” which was exclusively revealed by ESPNcricinfo, has a raft of sensible proposals about how to respond.If the ECB brand is regarded as toxic, suggested by a planned change of brand to Cricket England & Wales, it is particularly regrettable at this level where much good work is attempted, and many grants awarded, with little publicity.At this stage in the process, however, the ideas – as worthy as many are – do not form a coherent national policy as much as a series of initiatives, many already underway, which seek to maximise cricket interest at a time when many players want many different things.”Increased player retention (various ages)” is listed as the No. 1 goal, and the recent fall in participation numbers suggests such aspirations will be hard won.Many juniors stop playing the game once they become more socially active, with cricket not producing enough national heroes to persuade them to continue. Many more players are lost as soon as relationships, and young families, make the long Saturday afternoons a show of independence too far: it is not for the ECB to lead a philosophical debate on the nature of love and individuality.Recreational cricket: key aims

Increased player retention (various ages)

Structure fit for purpose

More grounds (particularly in cities)

Customer-led competitions and clubs, which fit with modern society and lifestyles

More shorter versions of the game available

Strong women’s infrastructure

Better club facilities for disabled cricket

Year-round opportunity to play the game

Clubs and schools linked – T20 product for schools

Playground cricket flourishing

Women – making the most of the economic opportunity; real iconic figures visible

Strong integration with Asian community

Cage cricket and similar innovations supported

Develop good artificial wickets

Many of those players – natural spectators in professional cricket – instead gradually lose contact with the game.A rise in Twenty20 cricket at club level, especially in midweek, but also considered as salvation for Saturday afternoons nearer the foot of the pyramid, inevitably is part of the solution with the ECB proposing “customer-led competitions and clubs, which fit with modern society and lifestyles”.But the ECB is also promoting Last Man Stands – an eight-a-side version of the game involving 20 five-ball overs – which has been adopted with some enthusiasm but which, counter intuitively, clashes with the short-form product it regards as the potential saviour of the professional game.More emphasis will also be placed on facilitating indoor competitions to provide “year-round opportunity to play the game” – another way of ensuring players do not become entirely divorced from the game.It is also good to see Cage Cricket get a favourable mention. Perhaps now Hampshire, a strong advocate, will get more support for the grant they requested. The game was well received at the Ageas Bowl Test against India, even if you did need a Maths degree to understand the scoring system: so very cricket, a game forever caged in its own complexity.The difficulty, with many amateur clubs still operating outside ECB auspices, is whether some of the leagues, characteristically ruled by arch conservatives, will show any willingness to listen. Good league and club officials are hard to find. For every amateur cricket official who is driven by a praiseworthy desire to promote and spread the game there is another who is a roadblock to change.For a generation or more, the ECB has been trying to cajole leagues into embracing the sort of pyramid system that by and large was adopted in football nearly half a century ago. Only in this way do the best clubs, and the best amateur players, progress. Progress continues – the Yorkshire leagues, for instance, are finally beginning to respond favourably – but it has been a painfully slow process.The relationship between the ECB, the counties, the county boards and the clubs is not one designed in heaven. It is good to hear the ECB referring in its consultative document to the need for “a better aligned league/county structure… a structure fit for purpose” and the need to “engage” with the more recalcitrant leagues.The ECB will seek to increase its number of Focus Clubs, especially at the highest level of club cricket, where longer formats can be expected to survive. It is for these clubs that the ECB can encourage good practice, but there are already complaints about the bureaucracy involved: simplicity should be the watchword.On women’s cricket, too, the ECB senses a chance to spread the game as well as improving income streams. “Women – making the most of the economic opportunity; real iconic figures visible,” is the message.The ECB has also been enlightened in its promotion of cricket in schools, and continues to support the admirable Chance to Shine charity, which works to keep cricket alive in the state sector. But cricket’s perpetual over-reliance on the private sector has tended to create state PE teachers who are not just unconcerned about cricket, but who are actively resistant of it because of their own lack of specialist knowledge.

Council-run cricket grounds were no longer a sensible option even before government cuts began to bite

That challenge will be met head on by the development of a school Twenty20 competition. The ECB will do will to place the emphasis heavily on the state sector where the need is greatest.The ECB also has a real commitment to protecting cricket in the inner cities and among Asian communities which often, but not always, amounts to the same thing.Reversing the loss of city cricket grounds, though, will not be achieved without buying the land, developing or improving a ground then entrusting a club to look after it. Council-run cricket grounds were no longer a sensible option even before government cuts began to bite.Problems with the quality of squares, and the absence of voluntary labour, has understandably led the ECB to explore an extension of artificial wickets: again, grants are increasingly available.But even this should not be regarded as a perfect solution. A vandalised artificial strip becomes an eyesore. A vandalised grass pitch is simply repaired. And, a courageous governing body might even try to argue that the intricacy of pitch preparation is all part of the fun. After all, there are few things in life more rewarding than rolling a cricket square on a sunlit summer’s evening.

Our correspondent enjoys postcard-pretty New Zealand, rough landings and all

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Jan-2015December 23
Air New Zealand’s Hobbit-themed safety video is an ideal introduction to the country. It features some of the nation’s beautiful vistas, adventure sports, vowel-less accents, and Tolkien nerds, all wrapped in a cutesy, lighthearted tone. Perfect for a country so friendly, its national bird has de-evolved to become little more than a flightless blob of feathered flesh.December 24
Almost all of Christchurch’s inner-city streets are named after places that exist more famously elsewhere. There is an Oxford Terrace, a Madras Street, and to my surprise, even a Colombo Street that runs through the heart of town. I assume it was thus named because of the earthquake-related holes in the pavement that so resemble the sidewalk-graves that currently beset Colombo while the drainage there is upgraded.The Colombo mimicry is only half-hearted, though. I walk along the road for at least two kilometres and not once does Mahinda Rajapakse’s glorious moustache beam down upon me from the nearest billboard, lamp post, street sign, public transport vehicle, tree trunk, abandoned building, mound of dirt, or string clenched between the beaks of city crows.Only a few days out of Sri Lanka, and I’m starting to miss the old guy. I pull out my wallet to check if I have any of the 1000-rupee notes on which he features. I do not. I am heartbroken. Is this what drug withdrawal feels like?December 26
Hagley Oval is a cricket ground for romantics. Ensconced in foliage, with gentle grass banks and a low, elegant pavilion, it is the kind of venue where you feel intimately connected to the match, no matter where you’re sitting. You can hear the batsmen’s calls, clear as crystal, scoot around to catch the ball when it leaps up from the boundary and over the pickets, and smell the players’ lunch as its aroma wafts out of the dressing room.Christchurch has not seen Test cricket since 2006, so the city turns up in its finery for this momentous day. Brendon McCullum gives the 8000-strong crowd the show they deserve.A Christchurch cathedral lies dilapidated following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011•Andrew Fidel Fernando/ESPNcricinfo LtdDecember 27
Christchurch was once New Zealand’s prettiest city, the locals say. Walking past ruins and empty gravel lots that would once have been buildings, it is difficult now to see what it was like before the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The caved-in cathedral in the centre of town is now fenced off; its once-manicured lawns now sprout knee-length weeds.But there are pockets of the city that are still lovely enough to draw you in. Waking up earlier than intended (I seemed to be suffering some sort of weird reverse jet-lag at this point), I walk to the banks of the Avon River and settle into a book as ducks waddle past and birds chirp away the morning. Occasionally a tourist will float by quietly in a gondola. At 10am I have to tear myself away from the tranquility, and head to Hagley for the start of the day’s play.December 30
Meet up with a few Sri Lankan friends living in Christchurch, and head to their place for an evening of music and black-label whiskey. They make a chicken curry to go with their version of a , which I’ve never seen made at home. Roti or paratha bread is hard to come by in Christchurch, so they chop up bits of taco wraps instead. I tell them that in Sri Lanka we use roti or as taco substitutes when in the mood for some Mexican food.December 31
The pilot on the flight to Wellington makes announcements unlike any I’ve ever heard. While most try to pass off severe mid-air shaking about as “mild turbulence”, this guy not only pulls no punches, he seems to delight in our peril. About 15 minutes before landing, he tells us that there is a “ferocious northerly” blowing in Wellington, which will “certainly make for a rough descent”. There is more than just a hint of glee in his voice. He’s almost daring himself to land the plane in the gale.Having ratcheted up the tension in the cabin, he then points the nose downwards and takes us into the worst of the weather. It quickly begins to feel like I am sitting in a jackhammer. The lady next to me has clutched her seat so tightly I fear she will never be able to unclench it, and so will have to be buried with an aeroplane seat still attached to her hand, once they find our bodies in the wreckage. I swear I hear the pilot cackling over the PA, but suddenly, we’re on the ground. You would expect, hugging, applause and tears of joy after that kind of landing, but New Zealanders are too laid-back for that. “Flying to Wellington is not for everybody,” says a guy sitting a few seats over.The Avon river is a great place to catch up on your reading•Andrew Fidel Fernando/ESPNcricinfo LtdJanuary 1
Spot Angelo Mathews and Dhammika Prasad floating down Courtenay Place just after the clock strikes 12 and the New Year has begun. Both are distinctly sober. Rangana Herath soon bounces down the road and stops, beaming, for a brief chat. He was by far the highest Test wicket-taker in 2014, turned Sri Lanka’s World T20 campaign in an outstanding spell, and capped off the year by welcoming his second child into the world late in December. Not a bad return. He wishes me a happy new year and trails off after his team-mates. To call Herath down-to-earth would almost be an insult, because in his own mind, why on earth would he be any other way?January 2
The Basin Reserve is gorgeous when the Pohutukawa trees that skirt the outside of the venue are in full bloom, shocking the lush green of the grass banks with splashes of red. The pitch, too, is as green as they come. It’s virtually indistinguishable from the outfield. Several journalists try to go out onto the square to get a photo, but are stopped by the ground staff. Apparently the curator, who also looks after the Westpac Stadium turf, had some bad press recently when a football player blamed an ankle injury on a crater in the outfield. He hasn’t quite begun to trust the media after that, or so the story goes.January 4

Wellington is a hodge-podge of handsome villas perched tightly together on hillsides, and higgledy-piggledy streets that twist one way, then another, all the while oscillating up and down like a cardiogram. The centre of town is cupped in a flatter valley, around which the suburban hills have formed a circle. The wind can be brutal in the winter, locals say, but they love the city’s vibe. It’s easy to see why. Street performers take over the pedestrian malls during daytime, then live music pours out of the bars and eateries at night. Have a beer and a burger at a joint where the bearded restaurant owner leaves paper and pencils on the table, so you can explore your art as you wait.Christchurch’s Hagley Oval is a delight for cricket romantics•Andrew Fidel Fernando/ESPNcricinfo LtdJanuary 6
Kane Williamson is incapable of talking about himself. I discover this because on a day on which he has hit 242 not out and transformed his team’s position in the match, he wants to do nothing but talk about his team-mates – particularly BJ Watling, who was his other half in that 365-run record stand.The press pack keeps trying to get him to reflect on his own innings. “How did you concentrate, Kane?” “How did you negotiate the bowling, Kane?” Nothing works. He deflects praise like it was a back-of-a-length ball outside off stump. We could have asked him about his haircut, and he’d reply with something like, “But have you seen BJ’s do? He looks mighty dashing in it, doesn’t he?”Speaking of hair, Williamson’s beard is also quite impressive up close, especially as he’s only 24. It glows a fierce ginger in the sunlight, which makes him look like he has been lapping at a puddle of Fanta before the day’s play..January 7
ESPN’s wants someone who was at the ground to talk about Williamson’s extraordinary catch to dismiss Angelo Mathews, which has become their top play of the day. As ESPN’s lackey at the ground, this falls to me. The producer gets me to talk him through the catch before they call me to go on air, and by the end of the conversation, Americanisms have seeped into my own vocabulary and I’m calling it a “play” rather than a “catch”. A few minutes later, I hear that has contacted Williamson himself, which unceremoniously knocks me off the show.January 8
“Middle of Middle-Earth” reads the sign at Wellington Airport. JRR Tolkien took inspiration from Europe of the Middle Ages when he crafted his fantasy world, but now New Zealand is the spiritual home of the . As my flight to Wellington takes off (thankfully in much calmer weather) and loops around the Cook Strait, I wonder if New Zealand is selling itself short. The world Tolkien describes is wondrous for sure, but in parts, this country is a 360-degree postcard. Sometimes you are convinced the landscape has been photoshopped, but then there you are, standing in it. The view over the bays and inlets at the base of the North Island, as the setting sun skips across the ripples of the sea, is breathtaking.

A two-day tour match in St. Kitts is England’s first stop in a five-month stretch of cricket that could decide the futures of Alastair Cook and Peter Moores

George Dobell in St. Kitts06-Apr-2015Like the M1 and Donatella Versace, it seems the England side is in a constant state of reconstruction.Less than two years since they won an Ashes series 3-0 and reached the final of a global ODI tournament, England’s captain and coach are – again – fighting for their futures.But amid the debris of England’s World Cup campaign – “campain” might be a better description – it could be forgotten that the team have actually won their last three Tests. That they have, in Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler the foundations of a decent batting line-up for years to come and that James Anderson, for all his problems with the white ball, bowled as well as ever with the red one towards the end of last summer.The morale of English cricket as a whole may be low, but the Test side is, by some distance, in better health than the limited-overs teams.The fate of the current England team management – certainly this captain and coach – will be decided over the next five months. In that time, they will play Test series against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia. Victory in two of the three could probably be considered a decent return, though the Ashes remains – probably incorrectly – the barometer by which much in English cricket is judged.To reach the Ashes, though, England’s management need good results in the Caribbean. With Colin Graves, the incoming chairman of the ECB, having already – and rather unhelpfully – suggested that West Indies offer “mediocre” opposition and that defeat will provoke “some enquiries”, Peter Moores, in particular, will know that failure here will leave his position most precarious.It is true that West Indies are not the fearsome proposition they once were. And it is true that they will be weakened by the absence of some players on IPL duty. But they still produce players with huge amounts of natural talent – not least fast bowlers – and they did win the last series at home against England (in early 2009) 1-0. Under Phil Simmons, their new coach who did such a tremendous job with limited resources in Ireland – they are at the start of a rebuilding job themselves, but it is foolishness to underestimate them.This first of two two-day warm-up matches in St Kitts from Monday will – subject to agreement between both team managers – be a 12-a-side encounter. While England would, in an ideal world, like to ensure everyone is match-ready for the Test series, they are also aware that they have little time to prepare for their first Test since August. The 12 named here will, therefore, provide a strong hint of the likely Test side. It is possible that the second two-day match, starting on Wednesday, will feature England players on both sides.The pitch for the warm-up games is expected to be slow, but the Test track in Antigua is said to be quicker than it has been previously – though that is not saying much – and offer less assistance to spin than was widely anticipated. For that reason, England will probably play only one spinner – and judging by Adil Rashid’s performance in the nets, that spinner will be James Tredwell – with Moeen Ali expected to join up with the squad ahead of the second Test in Grenada.England may well send a few of this squad home before the end of the tour. If it becomes clear that there is little prospect of them taking any part, they will be sent back to county cricket and considered for the ODI in Ireland on May 8. While James Taylor is currently the most likely captain for that match, the likes of Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad could all be considered if not required in the Caribbean. James Vince – who impressed on the Lions tour – is another possibility.Broad will probably start the series, but can no longer be viewed as an automatic selection in any England side. While he still shows flashes of the great fast bowler he might have become, his diminished pace has compromised his effectiveness and he no longer has any pretensions as a batsman. Mark Wood, bowling with good pace and swinging the ball, has been most impressive in training here and was the stand-out seamer on the Lions trip, but Liam Plunkett looked especially hostile and unusually swift. Chris Jordan, too, offers swing and some pace. Broad is currently looking over his shoulder at all of them.If Trott plays here – and the fact that he opened with Alastair Cook in middle practice indicates he may well – it seems safe to assume he will make his 50th Test appearance in Antigua. While he owes his recall, in the main, to the weight of runs he has scored in county cricket since his recovery, his long-standing relationship with Cook may also have been a factor.Last summer Cook found, just as Eoin Morgan did at the World Cup, that he could not always rely on his senior players – Anderson and Broad, in particular – when they were most required. With Matt Prior and Graeme Swann gone, Cook will be looking to Trott and Ian Bell to provide experience and stability on and off the pitch. Adam Lyth, an exceptional catcher and attractive batsman, might be in for a frustrating few weeks.Most of Cook’s problems will melt away if he scores runs. There are many ways to lead and Cook showed, in helping England to victory in India in 2012, that his methods – by example and by taking responsibility for his side’s run-scoring – could work just fine.If he scores heavily here – and he has half-centuries in three of his last four Test innings but no century since May 2013 – all the talk about Kevin Pietersen and all the unfavourable comparisons with Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum will abate.If he doesn’t, England could yet go into the Ashes with a new captain and coach.

Nearly seven years ago, legspinner Yogesh Golwalkar quit cricket for academics and a corporate career. Picked by Kings XI Punjab in the auction, he has another shot at a return to top-flight cricket

Amol Karhadkar09-Apr-2015Over the last seven seasons, the Indian Premier League has given lesser-known players a platform to perform alongside some of the best cricketers in the world, often leading to headlines like ‘From rags to riches’ or ‘from obscurity to fame’. In its eighth season, the IPL will give a former first-class cricketer, who gave up the sport for academics and a corporate career, a chance to return to top-flight cricket.Legspinner Yogesh Golwalkar, 35, was a member of the India A squad to Zimbabwe and Kenya in 2004, which was also MS Dhoni’s first overseas tour. He emerged as Madhya Pradesh’s first-choice spinner even as Narendra Hirwani was still around at the fag end of his career, and Golwalkar also had a county stint with Middlesex. Then he gave it up to pursue academics and a career as a corporate banker in the United Kingdom.Almost a year after returning to India from England, Golwalkar received an email from Kings XI Punjab. “I have uploaded several videos of my legbreak bowling on YouTube, so they had gone through them and wanted me to send them my latest videos. I did that and they asked me to get registered for the IPL auction. Here I am now, hoping to ply my trade at the highest level yet again,” an excited Golwalkar told ESPNcricinfo.Seven years ago, however, some of that excitement had disappeared for Golwalkar, who found difficult to prepare for a first-class game, and struggled with the monotony and challenge of playing first-class cricket in India.”I thought I would be able to take the next step but somehow it didn’t happen,” he said. “I had kind of hit a roadblock when it came to cricket. I was still taking wickets, but I wasn’t really enjoying it. It had become too monotonous.”And as you know, first-class cricket in India is not as exciting as it is in England or Australia. Nobody comes to watch you. I couldn’t really motivate myself to continue doing the same, and thought of exploring something different.”At 28, in the 2008-09 season, when he was one of the prime legspinners in India, Golwalkar packed his kitbag and bid farewell not just to the first-class arena but also his hometown of Indore.He pursued a Masters degree in business administration in the United Kingdom, where he had played county and minor county leagues for well over half-a-dozen years. He got through to the University of Bradford and specialised in finance and marketing strategising. In a short span, he went from a professional to an amateur cricketer.While studying and even during his three-year stint as a professional in the corporate banking sector, Golwalkar continued playing amateur cricket. In 2011, he represented Broad Oak in the Huddersfield Cricket League and picked 70-plus wickets. Two years later, he had a successful outing for Hall Bower in the same tournament.A legspinner in the classical mould, Golwalkar bowls all the variations of a wrist spinner. The googly is his stock ball but he has an effective flipper, too. Except for Tuesday night Twenty20 games on the minor county circuit, he hasn’t played any T20 cricket. But he isn’t too bothered.”Having played first-class cricket and one-dayers for almost a decade, I know that you should be able to adjust to all forms of the game. And if you have done it in the longest format, it becomes easier to adapt to shorter formats. You will see that if I get the opportunity,” the bowler said.The IPL wasn’t on his mind at the time and it didn’t come into the picture last year either when an impressive career opportunity brought him back to India. While working for an IT firm, Golwalkar began rolling his arm over for his club side, Cricket Club of Indore, whenever he was in town. Sanjay Jagdale, a former national selector who was his first coach, was always forthcoming with advice and support.Jagdale, who is now the president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, was disappointed when Golwalkar decided to pursue academics. “He should have continued. He had so much of potential. As a selector also, we knew he had all the skills required to succeed. Legspinners take time in maturing. Usually they will have their struggles, they will go through bad patches more often than the finger spinners. They will go through technical problems. Somehow they manage. I was expecting him to overcome all that but he decided to move away.”Jagdale has no doubt that in terms of skill, Golwalkar can match with the requirements of IPL, but admits that physical and mental fitness will be a challenge for the bowler. “He has been out of top-flight cricket, so it would be a challenge for him. He has to be very fit, physically as well mentally,” Jagdale said. “It’s a good break for him. It would be great if he gets and opportunity and can come good.”For Golwalkar, the IPL stint gives him an opportunity to go through the grind all over again after a prolonged break where “he learned a lot about life in general in a cross-cultural environment”. He added: “It is an unexpected opportunity for me to compete at such a big stage again, naturally it’s a win-win situation for me.”In their breakthrough 2014 season under head coach Sanjay Bangar, Kings XI Punjab focused on signing players who were desperate to prove their ability to the world. Golwalkar, who has played a lot with and against Bangar during their heydays, would be keen to join the long list.