The Great Game Called Cricket...

India's bowling is their Achilles' heel and recalling Rahul Dravid to prop the batting order is a retrograde step, according to former cricketers Wasim Akram and Sanjay Manjrekar.

Both reckon that Zaheer Khan's absence will render India a lesser force in this month's ICC Champions Trophy. Unless their batsmen step up to the plate to compensate with those extra runs, they feel, the team will be found wanting in South Africa.

"Their bowling is their weakness. The batsmen made up with some extra runs in Sri Lanka and that's how they won the tri-series there. To win Champions Trophy, the batsmen would have to do it again," said Manjrekar, who will be one of the 13 commentators during the September 22-October 5 tournament.

The one-day format has come under much flak recently, but it'll get a huge shot at redemption over the next couple of weeks with the Champions Trophy, which, under a new format, will feature the best teams and the best teams only. All eight teams, barring a weakened West Indian outfit, have a shot at the title, but if recent form - over the last few years and in the country where the tournament is being held - is any indication, the winners will be one of Australia, South Africa or India.

They are the three top teams in the ICC ratings, with only one point separating them - South Africa are on 127, with Australia and India on 126. However, the gap between the third- and fourth-ranked teams is 17 points, with Pakistan on 109.

The stats of teams since the last Champions Trophy - which finished on November 5, 2006 - back the rankings completely. Australia, South Africa and India are the only teams to win more games than they've lost against the top eight teams. India have a win-loss ratio of 1.40, and the next best is New Zealand, with 0.88, which indicates just how big the gulf has been between the top three and the rest during this period.

During this period India have won 11 out of 17 series (including multilateral tournaments), of which six have been on the trot, the latest being the Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka. Australia have won six out of 12, but one of those was the 2007 World Cup. South Africa have won seven out of 10, including five out of five at home.

Top eight ODI teams against each other in ODIs since last Champions Trophy Team ODIs W/ L = ratio Bat ave RPO Bowl ave RPO
Australia 70 43/ 23 = 1.86 37.12 5.33 27.76 4.97
South Africa 46 28/ 16 = 1.75 35.37 5.31 29.10 4.93
India 78 42/ 30 = 1.40 33.87 5.38 33.69 5.41
New Zealand 55 22/ 25 = 0.88 31.00 5.20 34.53 5.15
Pakistan 44 20/ 23 = 0.86 30.97 4.99 34.15 5.31
Sri Lanka 60 25/ 31 = 0.80 28.98 4.96 28.58 4.94
England 62 25/ 34 = 0.73 28.74 5.00 31.40 5.19
West Indies 49 11/ 34 = 0.32 27.09 4.99 36.91 5.34


Not only have these three teams been the best everywhere in the last three years, they're also the top three in South Africa since the beginning of this decade (against the top eight sides). The home team have been by far the most dominant, which makes them - notwithstanding their ability to somehow lose key games - the favourites for the trophy. Australia have an excellent record here as well, thanks largely to their 2003 World Cup success, but India's stats in South Africa are considerably worse than their record elsewhere - in 14 matches, they've only won five, four of which came during their glorious run to the final in the 2003 World Cup.

India's numbers in South Africa aren't great, but five other teams have done much worse. Pakistan, for example, have a 20% success-rate, the same as West Indies, while New Zealand and Sri Lanka aren't much better.

Teams in South Africa in ODIs among the top eight teams since 2000 Team ODIs W/L = ratio Bat ave RPO Bowl ave RPO
South Africa 87 58/ 21 = 2.76 37.14 5.21 28.04 4.83
Australia 27 17/ 9 = 1.88 34.45 5.32 29.19 5.08
India 14 5/ 9 = 0.55 24.82 4.66 35.93 5.11
England 14 3/ 9 = 0.33 27.77 4.59 27.22 4.67
Sri Lanka 17 4/ 12 = 0.33 25.53 4.52 39.73 5.27
New Zealand 19 3/ 14 = 0.21 27.52 4.70 37.07 4.94
West Indies 13 2/ 10 = 0.20 28.43 4.86 44.35 5.27
Pakistan 13 2/ 10 = 0.20 23.98 4.72 38.20 5.61


The individual batting stats of players in South Africa offer some interesting insights too. For one, it explains - partially at least - why Rahul Dravid was brought back into the Indian team. He leads the averages chart among batsmen who'll be playing in the tournament - in 17 innings (against the top eight teams only) he has notched up nine half-centuries. Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis, the mainstays for Australia and South Africa, are next on the list. Only three other batsmen average more than 40.

On the other hand, there are several big names who'll be looking to improve their stats. Sachin Tendulkar, for instance, averages less than 32, with five 50-plus scores in 26 innings. Sanath Jayasuriya and Mohammad Yousuf haven't done much better. Sri Lanka's other big batting stars have struggled too - Kumar Sangakkara averages 28.85, while Mahela Jayawardene has embarrassing numbers: in 20 innings he has scored a total of 280 runs. In fact, the last time Sri Lanka toured South Africa was for the 2003 World Cup, a tournament in which Jayawardene had a shocker. His last eight innings in the country (against the top teams) read thus: 9, 3, 1, 9, 1, 0, 0, 5. That explains why Sri Lanka's record in South Africa is so poor.

Batsmen against the top eight teams in ODIs in South Africa Batsman ODIs Runs Average Strike rate 100s/ 50s
Rahul Dravid 17 737 56.69 67.42 0/ 9
Ricky Ponting 22 1031 54.26 94.06 4/ 4
Jacques Kallis 113 4080 46.89 74.33 6/ 28
JP Duminy 13 398 44.22 81.72 0/ 2
Michael Hussey 10 338 42.25 93.62 0/ 3
AB de Villiers 34 1159 41.39 85.22 0/ 9
Graeme Smith 56 2079 39.98 83.72 3/ 16
Herschelle Gibbs 87 2739 34.23 82.97 9/ 9
Sanath Jayasuriya 29 899 32.10 81.72 2/ 5
Mohammad Yousuf 18 509 31.81 77.12 1/ 2
Sachin Tendulkar 26 822 31.61 73.92 1/ 4
Kumar Sangakkara 17 404 28.85 68.94 0/ 2
Mark Boucher 101 1522 27.67 82.58 0/ 5
Michael Clarke 10 243 27.00 71.68 0/ 3
Brendon McCullum 12 237 26.33 69.50 0/ 1
Paul Collingwood 10 181 25.85 78.35 0/ 1
Younis Khan 13 336 25.84 67.74 0/ 2
Yuvraj Singh 10 180 22.50 81.08 0/ 1
Shahid Afridi 13 206 17.16 120.46 0/ 1
Mahela Jayawardene 20 280 14.73 61.81 0/ 1


Among the bowlers, most of the wicket-takers have been the quick ones. Brett Lee leads the way with an excellent haul of 41 wickets in just 19 games, with three four-wicket hauls and a five-for. Shane Bond and Makhaya Ntini have been among the wickets as well. The spinners have reasonable economy-rates, but apart from Muttiah Muralitharan, they haven't had a lot of wicket-taking success.

Bowlers against the top eight teams in ODIs in South Africa Bowler ODIs Wickets Average Econ rate
Brett Lee 19 41 21.75 5.30
Shane Bond 10 17 24.52 4.80
Makhaya Ntini 67 99 26.75 4.69
Muttiah Muralitharan 22 31 27.80 4.06
Dale Steyn 10 16 30.12 5.18
Nathan Bracken 10 14 32.14 5.21
Jacques Kallis 113 95 33.30 5.09
Daniel Vettori 12 11 36.00 4.00
Shahid Afridi 13 12 37.75 4.81
Harbhajan Singh 11 10 44.10 4.72
Johan Botha 1 8 48.50 4.27
Sanath Jayasuriya 29 16 55.18 5.23

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has agreed to the ECB's request to appear in the first-ever day-night Test during the team's tour of England in May-June next year. However, the ICC has not yet cleared the idea and its approval will be subject to suitable equipment being developed for the purpose.

The idea was first proposed by the MCC during its World Cricket Committee meeting at Lord's in July as a way of making the game's longest and oldest format more appealing. The other proposals included the use of pink balls and a World Test Championship.

The ICC has made it clear that though the concept of day-night Tests was discussed by its cricket committee, no decision has been taken yet. "The ICC cricket committee had last year agreed in principle that the notion of day-night Tests should be investigated," an ICC spokesperson said. "For now, we are happy for members to try this at the domestic level first and if it proves successful, the cricket committee would consider recommending this on a trial basis at the Test level."

Apparently, there are a number of key issues related to the concept that are still being discussed: the colour of players clothing, whether the suggested pink balls retains its colour or needs to be changed frequently due to discolouration or wear and tear, to what extent would batting, bowling and fielding conditions vary and so on.

An MCC spokesman confirmed to Cricinfo that the World Cricket Committee would meet with the ICC in November. The future of Test cricket is on the agenda, and within that floodlit Tests will be discussed. "We are very keen to help in any way we can," the spokesman said, "and have been continuing with our trials of coloured balls to see if it will work on television."

The MCC could have a dual role in this process: as well as being fully behind floodlit Tests. Lord's could be the ground to host the match. One of the Bangladesh Tests is currently allocated to Headingley; the other is part of the bidding process, with Lord's in the running to hosting it. "We would like to host it and we have our brand new floodlights," said the spokesman.

The future of Test cricket has been the subject of debate within the ICC over the last year with the concept of a Test championship initially gaining ground. But the idea was opposed by the India and England cricket boards who did not find merit in sharing their substantial TV revenue that would have gone to a common pool.

India and England have subsequently backed the idea of day-night Test cricket as a way of taking the format forward amidst the rise of Twenty20 cricket. However, the ICC, which is finalising its Future Tours Programme post-2012, is yet to arrive at a decision on the matter. The ICC's executive board meets next in October, when the issue is likely to be discussed again.

Michael Holding

West Indies Full name Michael Anthony Holding

Born February 16, 1954, Half Way Tree, Kingston, Jamaica

Current age 55 years 207 days

Major teams West Indies, Canterbury, Derbyshire, Jamaica, Lancashire, Tasmania

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast

Other Commentator
Batting | Bowling | Career statistics | Profile | Notes | Latest Articles | Latest Photos
Batting and fielding averages Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 6s Ct St
Tests 60 76 10 910 73 13.78 0 6 36 22 0
ODIs 102 42 11 282 64 9.09 377 74.80 0 2 30 0
First-class 222 283 43 3600 80 15.00 0 14 125 0
List A 249 153 25 1575 69 12.30 0 7 81 0
Bowling averages Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 60 113 12680 5898 249 8/92 14/149 23.68 2.79 50.9 11 13 2
ODIs 102 102 5473 3034 142 5/26 5/26 21.36 3.32 38.5 5 1 0
First-class 222 38877 18233 778 8/92 23.43 2.81 49.9 39 5
List A 249 12662 7074 343 8/21 8/21 20.62 3.35 36.9 9 3 0
Career statistics Test debut Australia v West Indies at Brisbane, Nov 28-Dec 2, 1975 scorecard
Last Test New Zealand v West Indies at Wellington, Feb 20-24, 1987 scorecard
ODI debut England v West Indies at Scarborough, Aug 26, 1976 scorecard
Last ODI England v West Indies at Melbourne, Jan 30, 1987 scorecard
First-class span 1972/73 - 1989
List A span 1975/76 - 1989
Profile
Wisden overview
It began intimidatingly far away. He turned, and began the most elegant long-striding run of them all, feet kissing the turf silently, his head turning gently and ever so slightly from side to side, rhythmically, like that of a cobra hypnotising its prey. Good batsmen tended not to watch him all the way lest they became mesmerised. To the umpires he was malevolent stealth personified so they christened him Whispering Death. No-one in the game has bowled faster. His over to Geoff Boycott in the cauldron of Kensington Oval early in 1981 has gone down in history as the finest, fastest, most ferocious gambit of all time. Five years earlier, towards the end of the drought-ridden summer of 1976, The Oval had become a wasteland, parched beyond recognition, with slow flat heart-breaking pitches, and it was on this, in the final Test of the season, through the simple device of bowling ramrod-straight at high pace and to a full length, that he conjured 14 wickets for 149, the finest match figures ever by a West Indian. Now in the commentary box, he is gentle but fearless, a rational critic who beguiles with his deep fruity measured Jamaican twang. Mike Selvey

Notes
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1977

Tasmania First-Class Career Span: 1982-83