Well, that happened. Sometimes, when you're writing about barbecue sauce, other stuff goes down, and the barbecue sauce doesn't seem that important anymore. As a result, I'm going to keep this one a bit short today, and encourage y'all to watch this. Statesmanlike!

The recipe comes from The The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook, a recipe tome based on Erin Chase’s excellent frugal cooking site. It’s a bit more family-and- (duh) dinner-oriented than this interweb destination, but absolutely worth a few hours of browsing/menu-planning/other stuff, especially if you’re just starting out in the wide world of Getting Your Grocery Bills Down.

The dish came out to $5.08, but I’ll chalk that extra $0.08 up to Brooklyn pricing and my snotty insistence on Grey Poupon. (If mustard can’t be passed to you through a Rolls Royce window by a stately gentleman wearing a bowler, what good is it? Harrumph harrumph.)

I did make two big changes to Erin’s original dish. First, I reduced the amount of red pepper flakes pretty drastically. A full teaspoon sounded like a lot for my particular face to handle, so down to 1/2 it went. If you’re into spicy things and/or feel like clearing out your sinuses, opt for the original prescription.

Second, I swapped out a bun for simple slices of whole wheat bread. Why? Only my hairdresser knows for sure. Though, how she obtained that information, I have no idea. My guess is it involved a hot curling iron and some thinly veiled threats.

Overall, the dish isn't quite something you'd serve to company, but it makes for a solid weeknight dinner. Thumbs up!

(Thanks to my friend B. for the Twain quote.)

~~~

If you like chicken and gettin’ sloppy, you’ll quite enjoy:

• Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
• Rosemary Chicken Salad
• Skillet Chicken Fajitas

~~~

Open–Faced Sloppy Chicken Joes
Serves 4
Adapted from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook


1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, sugar, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until thoroughly combined. Pour into a large, nonstick skillet and turn heat to medium. Add chicken. Cover. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, but still moist, about 8 to 12 minutes. If you’d like to reduce the sauce somewhat, remove the cover about 6 minutes in.

2) Spoon chicken on to toasted bread. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
462 calories, 8.1 g fat, 4.8 g fiber, 58.3 g protein, $1.27

Calculations
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce: 147 calories, 0.9 g fat, 6.9 g fiber, 6.1 g protein, $1.39
3 tablespoons brown sugar: 156 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.08
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard: 15 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.14
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar: 2 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.02
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: 3 calories, 0 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.02
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.03
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2-inch cubes: 1123 calories, 24.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 211.1 g protein, $2.97
4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted: 400 calories, 8 g fat, 12 g fiber, 16 g protein, $0.42
TOTAL: 1846 calories, 32.5 g fat, 19.2 g fiber, 233.3 g protein, $5.08
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 462 calories, 8.1 g fat, 4.8 g fiber, 58.3 g protein, $1.27

Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene cracked brilliant half centuries to put into shade the maiden ton of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the shortest form of the game as Kochi Tuskers Kerala easily chased down a mammoth target of 183 to beat Mumbai Indians by eight wickets with one over left in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here tonight.

Chasing the target of 183 for victory, Kochi Tuskers made 184 for two in 19 overs with R Jadeja on 25 and Brad Hodge on 11 at the crease when the winning runs were hit.

With this win, Kochi Tuskers registered their first victory in three matches, while for Mumbai Indians this was their first loss in three matches of the fourth edition of IPL.

Kochi Tuskers opener McCullum looked forward to take the battle to the opposition, but Lasith Malinga nearly got a wicket again with his first ball when he fired in a yorker to McCullum who squeezed it away towards Rohit Sharma at first slip, but was lucky as the fielder dropped a hard chance.

McCullum with this lucky break then decided to attack Malinga and smashed the Lankan seamer for 3 fours in his second over, the third of the innings, which was finished off by Jayawardene adding another boundary off the last ball of the over to get the chase underway in right earnest.

Munaf Patel at the other end continued to impress with his line and length giving away just 6 runs in his first two overs to keep a check on the Tuskers' scoring and with left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza also bowling tidily, Kochi's run rate was kept under check.

However, the introduction of Keiron Pollard in the sixth over once again saw the Tuskers openers attack the slow medium pace of the West Indian hitting him for three boundaries in his first over which also saw Jayawardene being dropped by Murtaza at backward point failing to latch on to an upper dab.

Murtaza dived to his right and got two hands to it but could not hold onto it and to rub salt into the wounds, the ball went to the point boundary for another four. Kochi Tuskers brought up their 50 in 6 overs.

McCullum then brought up his half century in just 41 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes as Kochi Tuskers pressed on the accelerator with the 100 of the innings coming up in the 12th over to set the stage for a thrilling finish.

The Kochi Tuskers captain Jayawardene then brought up his half century in just 30 balls with eight hits to the fence. Jayawardene who hit a classy century in the World Cup final was again elegance personified.

Malinga was brought back in the 14th over in hope of a breakthrough and though he went for 13 runs in the over he managed his trademark yorker to get rid of Mahela Jayawardene for 56 which came in 36 balls with nine hits to the fence to leave Kochi Tuskers on 128 for one.

Malinga coming back for his final over in the 18th over of the innings with McCullum in tremendous form got the breakthrough once again for Mumbai Indians, castling McCullum as the New Zealander tried a scoop over short fine leg but missed the ball and was bowled.

McCullum made 81 off just 60 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes to leave Kochi Tuskers on 156 for two, still needing 27 runs in 2.5 overs.

Hodge, the new man in, kept the pressure on the Mumbai Indians with two boundaries in Malinga's over as Kochi Tuskers now needed 19 runs of the last two overs.

Jadeja then finished off the match hitting Murtaza for a four and 2 sixes as Kochi Tuskers registered their first win with one over to spare.

Earlier, a masterly century by batting maestro Tendulkar, his first ever century in the shortest version of the game, saw Mumbai Indians pile up a mammoth score of 182 for two.

Put in to bat by Kochi Tuskers, Mumbai Indians rode on the brilliant 66- ball 100 by Tendulkar and his 116-run second wicket partnership with Ambatti Rayudu who made 53 of 33 balls with three fours and four sixers to set up the mammoth total.

Mumbai Indians were given a rollicking start by Tendulkar and Davy Jacobs as they put on 61 runs in 8.2 overs before Jacobs was bowled by R Gomez for 12.

Rayudu then joined Sachin and the two put the bowling attack to the sword and it rained fours and sixes at the Wankhede stadium as the two put on 116 runs in just 11.2 overs before Rayudu was run out for 53.

Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 100 from 66 balls with 12 boundaries and three sixes as the Kochi Tuskers bowlers wilted under the onslaught of the master who made them pay after missing out on a ton in the World Cup final on the same ground.

R P Singh was the only bowler who kept things in check by giving away just 15 runs in his four overs.

NNN

Deccan Chargers defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 33 runs to break the home ground jinx and register their first win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here tonight.

Put in to bat, Chargers scored 175 runs for the loss of five wickets in their stipulated 20 overs and then restricted Royal Challengers to 142 runs for 9 wickets in their 20 overs to win their first match in the fourth season of IPL.

Chasing 176 runs for victory, RCB were never on target as they kept losing wickets constantly. Tilakratne Dilshan was first to go for just seven runs, as he edged Ishant Sharma and Sangakkara behind the stumps made no mistake.

Then Steyn bowled Zaheer Khan (0) on a full toss delivery. Mayank Agarwal was next to go as Manpreet Gony, Amit Mishra combination scalped his wicket, putting RCB in to real trouble.

Real trouble came when AB De Villiers edged Gony to Sangakkara behind the stumps. RCB lost four big wickets for just 29 runs.

At this juncture Sourabh Tiwary and Virat Kohli tried to repair the RCB innings, but the former too fell when RCB's score read only 56.

Kohli made a valiant and fluent 71 with the help of five boundaries and three sixes, but the effort was in vain.

Earlier, three crucial partnerships helped Chargers consolidate their innings with, skipper Sangakkara (36) adding 50 runs for the second wicket in the company of opener Sunny Sohal (38) and 43 runs for the third wicket with Bharat Chipli.

Later Chipli and Duminy added 55 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter fell.

Hosts Deccan Chargers made couple of changes, replacing left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha with medium pacer Manpreet Gony and opener Ishank Jaggi with Punjab opener Sunny Sohel.

RCB made three changes, replacing injured fast bowler Dirk Nannes with South African all-rounder Johan van der Wath. Abhimanyu Mithun and Azad Pathan were also kept out of the playing eleven. In their place, S Aravind and Ryan Ninan came in.

NNN

28 years ago, I was rudely woken up by relatives screaming "We have won the World Cup". It is quite likely that Saturday's final between India & Sri Lanka also ended around the same time as that game in 1983. I was well awake this time around!

I can't recall exactly when I started following cricket with a lot of interest, but I definitely recall watching games from the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia keenly. I did watch at least 1 day's play of the India v Pakistan test at Chepauk in 1987 and definitely remember Azhar taking a blinder of a catch. I can't recollect if it was off a spinner (Maninder) or off a medium pacer (Raju Kulkarni), most likely the latter since I didn't bunk school, and the last day of the test was on a Sunday. The 1987 tied test at Chepauk enthralled me. A few months earlier, I had read an account of the final over of the Brisbane tied test. Around the same time that the India v Australia game was coming to an end, with India in a winning position (50-odd runs to get with 5 wickets in hand), I was at my music class, and wondered aloud if a tie was possible. Needless to say, I got thrashed when umpire Vikram Raju's finger went up.

Back to the present though. The final was an excellent exhibition of classy batting by Jayawardene, who I still believe to be over-rated in comparison to Sangakkara, nice partnerships (Sangakkara-Dilshan, Mahela-Samaraweera & Mahela-Kulasekara, Gambhir-Virat & Gambhir-Dhoni) and a fair amount of power-hitting at the end.

Now that the tournament has ended though, teams & individuals need to introspect into whether they have achieved what they set out to.

Australia needs to take a serious look at their approach to grooming spin bowlers. Under Ricky Ponting's captaincy (possibly because of his limitations when it came to playing spin bowling in tests), the only time he used "spin" with some degree of seriousness was when he was washing his clothes. They've never identified any sort of backup options for Shane Warne other than Stuart "watch-me-bowl-a-half-tracker" MacGill. They need to find at least 1 more young batsman to play alongside Watson, Clarke & Ponting. It is rare for Aussie ex-captains to play on for too long after they've quit as captain. While Ponting may play on until the 2013 & 2014 Ashes, it is quite likely that he'd have quit ODI cricket by then.

Bangladesh need to have a rethink about their domestic cricket structure, and ensure that the top 25-30 players get a lot more exposure to cricket against first-class teams from countries that are better than them. It's quite obviouso that the talent is there, but they're not progressing beyond an odd upset every World Cup and getting thrashed by the rest of the stronger sides. Given their proximity to India & the vote that they bring to India's table at the ICC, I can't understand why they don't engage in some quid pro quo for test & ODI tours to India, and for IPL sides to pick their players.

England performed extremely well against the stronger sides, but lost it against the weaker ones (and barely survived against West Indies). This seems to indicate that it isn't a skill problem, but an inability to understand how to play limited overs cricket. Constantly complaining about the schedule doesn't get them anywhere. The Ashes-World Cup schedule was known well in advance, and they had the better part of 3-4 years since the 2007 World Cup to have a squad of 20-odd quality players to pick from. They have the bowling. Anderson, Broad, Ajmal Shahzad, Tremlett & Swann are a pretty handy lineup. But the batting is far too unidimensional with Strauss, Trott, Bell and Collingwood providing at least 2 too many 'bat 30+ overs' batsmen & only Pietersen, Bopara and Morgan providing the flair.

India won despite a bowling attack that was under threat of being smacked around every game, and a fielding unit (barring 2 or 3 players) which was ever willing to help opponents convert 1s into 2s, 2s into 3s, routine saves into 4s, etc. There's absolutely no doubt that they were the best side of the tournament, and they defeated all the top sides barring South Africa (England, perhaps conveniently, don't count). Yet, players like Virat Kohli & Sreesanth need to think about their game, and what they want to achieve. It is bizarre that Kohli, at 22, is unable to adapt his game to a situation where he goes in at #6 with a couple of overs left to go. He has to realize that he may not go in at #4 with 30 overs to go every time! Similarly, Sreesanth needs to realize that this was his 'last chance saloon'. He only had 2 opportunities to prove that he can be an effective #2 or #3 bowler in ODIs, and he fluffed up both times. If his strength is around generating late outswing, why did he pitch it so short on a very flat batting track in the final? Ashwin has most likely become the 2nd choice spinner, and I'd expect that he gets a lot more games over the span of the next 6-10 months to show that he can do a good job.

Ireland had at least 2 opportunities other than the game against England (v Bangladesh & v West Indies) to show that they should be given many more opportunities to compete against good sides, and also that a World Cup was better off with them than without them.

The Nagaland Cricket Association (NCA) has condoled the death of three upcoming cricketers of the state, who were killed in a road mishap on National Highway (NH) 61 on the Christmas eve near Tseminyu town.

In a press release here today, the NCA said the players were identified as Govind Pradhan (NCA Under-16 player), Deepak Sinha and Deepak Shrestra.

It said the victims were club cricketers from Dimapur and were returning from Wokha after playing a match at the ongoing Winter Challenge Cup when they met with the accident.

Govinda and Deepak Shrestra died on the spot, while Deepak Sinha succumbed to his injuries at the hospital after a few hours of accident.

Lima Wati, who sustained serious injury in the mishap, was still in hospital.

The release further said Govinda Pradhan had returned two days back from Chattisgarh after playing U-16 BCCI Associate Members Trophy in which he scored a total of 323 runs in six matches, including one century of 112 runs.

Deepak Sinha (Under -22) represented Nagaland at the North East T-20 Cup, the Nagaland U-19 team and the Nagaland U-22 at the BCCI Associate Members Trophy.

Sinha was the opening batsman in the Nagaland team, while Deepak Shrestra was a very good medium pace bowler and was listed for the Nagaland Under-19 team trials, which were to begin soon.

The incident took place on December 24, when a taxi in which they were travelling met with the accident on NH 61 near Tseminyu sub-divisional headquarters under Kohima district killing five persons on the spot, including the cricketers, and leaving as many injured. Later, two other succumbed to their injuries at hospital, raising the toll to seven.

NNN

India's Selectors panel, led by former Indian captain Kris Srikanth, named the 30-man probables list for the 2011 World Cup, which is going to be held on the sub-continent. There were some surprise inclusions like that of Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha, while Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan were two of the high-profile exclusions from the squad.

India have had a dearth of all-rounders in the past, which has contributed to the imbalance in the team. The current Indian team has some potential all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan. Irfan Pathan was supposed to be India's best all-rounder since the days of Kapil Dev, but he has been rather unfortunate to lose his way and has faded into obscurity in the recent past.

Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan are both expected to make the cut for the 15-man squad for the World Cup and the duo will compete for the No. 7 slot in the Indian first team. They both are spinning all-rounders and could be utilised as the fifth bowler.

Jadeja has had his fair share of criticism in the past for not being a good enough batsman at the international level. He was woeful in the T20 World Cup 2009 in England where he was unable to accelerate the scoring rate which ultimately led to the demise of the team in the tournament. He can score quick singles and keep the scoreboard ticking but at No. 7 in sub-continental conditions, it is important to score quickly and Jadeja is not the ideal candidate for that.

Yusuf Pathan has amazing prowess in the field of big hitting, however, he has not had a very successful time for India with the bat. His recent century was one of the best attacking innings in recent history, but he would have to face much stronger bowling attacks than the paltry New Zealand attack. Also, he has a tendency to lose his wicket when the need of the hour is to stick around to rebuild the innings which proved costly in the game against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2009, when he had the experienced Rahul Dravid for company.

In my opinion, Irfan Pathan could have provided more options than both of these crickets for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has admitted in the past that he would like to have all-rounders in his team. Jadeja's left-arm spin does not provide much variation to Yuvraj Singh's effective left-arm orthodox. Yusuf Pathan has not been economical in the 50-over format at 5.66 runs per over and also does not have a good strike rate.

Pathan emerged on the scene as one of the best fast bowlers that India have ever produced and he justified his tag by performing immensely in the start of his career which included good performances against Australia and Pakistan. With the arrival of Greg Chappell as the coach of the Indian team, Irfan was promoted to the No. 3 slot on a number of occasions to provide a surprise hitting option in the powerplays.

As a result, Pathan's batting improved tremendously and he has a very decent average in both One Day Internationals and Test cricket. His bowling took a turn for the worse as he suffered a hge dip in form. A number of niggles and injuries did not help his cause and he had to eventually lose out on his place in the team. 

He made his comeback in the successful T20 campaign in South Africa where the young brigade led the energetic Dhoni won the World Cup final against Pakistan. He was India's third choice fast bowler behind Sreesanth and R P Singh but he impressed with his pace variations and clever bowling in the shortest official version of the game.

He was awarded the Man of the Final for his excellent performance in the Final where he picked 3 important wickets and it was the beginning of a false dawn for the career of Irfan Pathan. The left-armer was subsequently selected for many One Day tournaments where he was the third/fourth choice seamer and the No. 7 batsman for the team. He was also selected for the tour of Australia in which he turned in a superb performance which helped India win at Perth.

However he was not consistent enough and with the emphasis on T20 cricket through the IPL, his form dipped badly. He has lost his pace and has not produced the swing that he was capable of in the past and as a result was smacked all round the park in the IPL editions of 2009 and 2010 where he was the main bowler for Kings XI Punjab. 

He has performed very decently with the bat and has produced some good knocks in the Ranji trophy and the IPL but as far as his bowling is concerned, he has been a pale shadow of himself. He was recognised as a special talent when he broke into the talent and the selectors, BCCI and more importantly, Dhoni must retain his faith in the lad.

At this juncture, I wish to present you an example of Stuart Broad to illustrate why the BCCI has to shoulder a part of the blame for the dip in form of Irfan Pathan. Broad was hit for six sixes by Yuvraj Singh and it would have destroyed his confidence. The ECB decided to rest him and put him through a intense regime to develop his physical fitness which would enable him to increase his pace and at the same time, develop his bowling without the scrutiny of the media.

The BCCI has left Pathan to rot in the Ranji Trophy where it is very difficult for a swing bowler to capture his best form in conditions which do not favour movement. Pathan could be criticised for not stepping up to perform when given the chance but one must understand that the drop in his confidence is massive and it does take time to get over it.

For the World Cup, Pathan could bowl effective Left arm Medium as the fifth bowler while contributing runs at No. 7. He does not have the ability to excel during the powerplay overs but that is the case with Jadeja and Pathan as well. Also, his sensible batting is what is needed at No. 7 and he does have the ability to change the tempo of the game as well.

In my opinion, Irfan Pathan should have been selected in the 30-man squad to give him an incentive to respond with strong performances which could push him to the doors of selection. However this exclusion is only going to destroy him and this special talent might be one of those cricketers who could not fulfill his potential.

Halloween is nearly here, so move quickly to get your little monster properly outfitted! It's not often that it's societally validated for pups and kitties, as well as their owners, to voice their creativity by dressing up as a stick of butter, a miniature pharaoh (pictured below) or a tiny bride and groom. Hopefully these patient pets will enjoy the fruits of their labors in the form of snagged jelly beans from unaware trick-or-treaters.

 

 

Photos of the Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade by TeenAngster and Stacie Joy.

pet hat - monster By xmoonbloom, $25.	Pet BRIDE and GROOM costume By ilickyou, $10.
Jack O Lantern Pumpkin By KMSORIGINAL, $12.	The Arbour Shirt - Medium By RoverDog, $25.
Little Sailor By amandalyn, $15.	Buddy Holmes 3 piece outfit By DownUnderDogDesigns, $45.
French Chic Mini Beret By ToScarboroughFair, $23.	Lady Gaga bubbles costume By lenapavia, $39.99.
Pet Sun Hat By PamperedWhiskers, $14.99.	Andre3000 PET FLEECE COLLAR By samandsteves, $5.
Blooming Ume Dog Jacket By shopKCQ, $80.	Sharkdog (or cat) By QUILLERinstinct, $45.
The William Bowler Hat By melpdesigns, $18.	Dog Jacket - Bumble Bee By TheGreenGarden, $25.
Kitten Shark Cat Sweater By YouthDiaspora, $34.	Halloween Ladybug Costume By dukeandprincess, $20.

 

What last-minute costumes do you have in mind? Share in the comments!

The Vikings Stock Market took a beating again Monday, and Viking investors worldwide are perched on the metaphorical windowsill, ready to jump.  I’m not a trained suicide prevention person expert guy, so if you’re thinking of jumping (metaphorically, of course-- If you’re really suicidal, well, you should  get help…and not be on a sports blog of one of the most tortured fan bases in all of professional sports) let me channel my inner Senator Al Franken Stuart Smalley and try and help you out:

Jump.  Get out.  Kill yourself, from a fan perspective.  You’re not smart enough, you’re not good enough, and everyone hates you.  It’s time to cull the herd, anyway, and I don’t want a bandwagon full of Debbie Downers.  So I’ll slow down to about 10-15 mph, edge over to the side of the road, and you just jump right the hell out and wait for the next Bandwagon bus that comes along.  Ready, ready….JUMP!

Okay, for those of you who are left, lean in, because I want to let you in on a little secret:

This team is going to the playoffs.  There, I said it.*

I’m all in.

*What I said in the post game thread doesn’t count.  The Leinenkugel Brewing Company influenced my thought process.  As a matter of fact, I’ll go delete any incriminating evidence right now while you read.  Carry on.

I don’t know how, I’m not sure if they even deserve to, but they’re going, and it’s going to be freaking EPIC.  The NFC North is about the worst division in football right now, and in many ways the Vikings still control their own destiny.  They have yet to play the Packers or Bears, and have beaten the Lions once already.  They have to sweep both the Bears and Packers, but it’s eminently doable.  The Bears are the worst 4-1 team I have ever watched, and it isn’t going to last.  Green Bay is an injury train wreck right now, and Aaron ‘I can’t get it done during crunch time’ Rodgers might miss a game due to a concussion.  Detroit is still learning how to win, and even though they had a convincing one on Sunday, it was against the Rams.  Yes, the Rams are improved, but it’s still the Rams.  Do that to the Steelers and you have my attention. 

On to the report.

Blue Chip Stocks:

Defense:  Once again, the defense kept Minnesota in a game a lot longer than it deserved to be.  This unit has been taxed early and often so far this season, and they have answered the bell time and time again.  Unlike the offense, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has this technique that we like to call ‘making halftime adjustments’, and the runs that were gashing the Vikings in the first half were pretty much non-existent in the second half.  I’ll talk more about the linebackers in a minute, but they were money last night in keeping the Jets out of the end zone until very late in the game.    

Percy Harvin:  THAT’S the Rookie of the Year from 2009 we’ve been waiting to see.  And if Favre makes that late throw on second down right before the game ending interception, I think Harvin is still running.  There was NO ONE around him, as he completely pwned Darrelle Revis on that play.  With Harvin back in his natural slot position and Randy Moss attracting the focus that a true #1 receiver demands, this offense is ready to explode.  After last night, I feel it starts next week against Dallas, and Harvin will be a catalyst.

Chris Kluwe:  Punter Chris Kluwe was once again Minnesota’s most dangerous offensive weapon for three quarters, and his ability to change field position helped the Vikings stave off disaster early.  It’s tough to score on this defense, and it’s hard to drive the field consistently against them.  You can make a case for Kluwe being a borderline Pro Bowler right now, as he is doing all that is being asked of him.

Leslie Frazier:  I worry about 2011 for a number of reasons.  Pat Williams and Brett Favre will retire, there are a lot of contract extensions that need to be worked out for several key players, and Leslie Frazier will almost certainly get a head coaching job somewhere.  Yes, Frazier has talent to work with, but he makes the most of it, and has this defense playing at a very high level.  The Vikings are championship=caliber on Frazier’s side of the ball, and put the Vikings in position to win again last night. 

Zygi WIlf:  What more can you say about someone who I think is the best owner in the NFL?  He cleaned house after the Tice era and brought in a new coach and a new philosophy.  When the staff has said they need player X, Wilf allows them to go get him.  The latest was the stunning trade for prodigal son Randy Moss, who looks great in purple, by the way.  Wilf has done everything in his power to give the coaching staff the players needed to compete and win.  The coaching staff and players need to start returning the favor against Dallas, or this could end horribly.   

Sound Investments:

Jon Cooper:  A couple of weeks ago I lauded the play of C Ryan Cook, and thought he did a good job overall as an injury substitute for John Sullivan.  With Sully inactive again last night, Cook started, and the Vikings offense was downright offensive in the first half.  At halftime, Cook was replaced by Jon Cooper, and the offense came to life late in the third quarter.  Coincidence?  Yeah, to a point it is, but consider this.  The center is responsible for audibling the protection scheme, and in the first half the Vikes offensive line was out of position and not correctly identifying who was rushing and who had the pickup responsibility.  It got much better in the second half, but I imagine altering the playcalling had some effect on that as well.  Did Cooper?  We'll see, I'm sure.   

The Linebackers:  Ben Leber, EJ Henderson, and Chad Greenway all made big plays when the defense needed a lift, and helped to keep the Vikings in a game that could’ve easily morphed into something we haven’t seen since early 2005.  Greenway made some big third down stops on short passes over the middle, Leber was solid in coverage and made one or two key stops, and EJ Henders on absolutely launched himself to take on Shonne Greene and put the Jets in a 3rd and long situation.  I love these guys, and they all bring a different skill set to the table, and they all complement each other well.  I personally think this is the most under rated LB corps in the NFL.

Ray Edwards:  In a season where Jared Allen has disappeared, Ray Edwards has stepped up.  Edwards has been a force from the left defensive end position, and he got a sack and brought consistent pressure all night long.  Ray is one of the guys looking for a contract extension, and I hope the Vikings pay him.  He has come a long way since the Vikings took a fourth round flyer on him, and he seems to get better and better every week.

Junk Bonds:

Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell:  I have three words for you two:  What…the…hell.  There is absolutely no excuse in the world for that kind of offensive ineptitude for that long of a stretch.  You have a HOF QB, RB, WR, and a guy that was the offensive Rookie of the Year, and you forced me to sit through 3 quarters of what can only be described as something a little less painful than the standup comedy of a Dane Cook-Janeane Garofalo love child.  Yes, it was in fact that bad, and that unfunny.  The Jets defense is good, and I expected a relatively low scoring game, especially when you add in the deluge that they played in.  But that looked like a day 1 training camp practice, and for that much talent that the Vikings have, it was a flat out embarrassment.  It’s like Chilly and Bevell went in the Not-So-Wayback machine to the 2006 script of run, run, screen pass, punt, except they didn’t even draw up a screen pass.  Hello?!  The Jets blitzed constantly in the first half.  Maybe a screen pass, which is…here, let me look it up in my ‘Football 101’ book…yep here it is, page 1, right after ‘players must wear a helmet’…which is designed to neutralize a blitz…might’ve worked once or twice.  It’s either stubbornness or stupidity at this point in terms of play calling, and it’s got to stop.  Now.        

Cedric Griffin’s knee:  When Cedric Griffin went down, he knew right away that something was wrong, really wrong.  It wasn’t a look of pain, it was a look of ‘SON OF A…’, like he had been there before.  The word coming out of Winter Park is that it doesn’t look good, and he’s having an MRI today.  It’s a damn shame if it’s the ACL or something as significant on his right knee this time.  He really busted his rear end to get back to playing, and considering he was rehabbing all through training camp, he was playing at a very high level.  We saw a glimpse of how good the secondary could be with Ced, Chris Cook, and Antoine Winfield all in the secondary at the same time, and it was a sight to behold.  Unfortunately, it looks like we might have to wait until next season to get another glimpse.  Hang in there, Ced.  We’re all pulling for you, and hoping it’s not serious.

Jared Allen:  If I could channel my inner Simon and Garfunkel for just a second…ahem…’Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio Jared Allen, oh, Viking Nation turns its lonely eyes to you.  What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson, Joltin’ Jared has left and gone away?  Hey hey hey…hey hey hey.  Jared Allen’s wife Delilah Mrs. Allen made him cut his mullet, from whence all power and ability to sack the quarterback apparently came from.  It’s a secret, mystical power that should not ever be messed with, kind of like what jersey to wear, where you sit to watch the game, pre-game rituals, etc.  In all seriousness, D’Brickishaw Ferguson had Jared’s number last night, and his early season slump continues.  He’ll snap out of it, but someone keep the scissors away from Mrs. Allen, okay?    

Buy:

Favre to Moss:  A thing of beauty.  Highlight of the season, and came at a time when I thought the Vikings were just about dead in the water, and it completely changed the complexion of the game.  It energized Favre, the Vikings, and the fans, and we were on our way.  Coverage on Percy loosened up, and it was setting up nicely for a great win until…they didn’t win.  Still, I’m very encouraged by last night, and they’ll only get better.

Moss to Favre:  I don’t care if that was ad-libbed or not, it was awesome.  THAT kind of play calling is absolutely kick ass.  The run into Cook’s ass, run into Cook’s ass again, and run into Cook’s ass AGAIN and then punt is NOT.

Run Blocking:  Maybe I’m looking at this line with purple colored glasses, but the ‘woe is me’ attitude a lot of folks have towards the line I just don’t see.  The pass protection was bad in spurts, but the run blocking has been pretty good all season.  Adrian Peterson had 88 yards on only 18 carries, and was generally effective in first and second down at giving the Vikings a decent down and distance advantage.

Chris Cook:  Get healthy soon, Mr. Cook.  It looks like you’ll be starting for awhile.

The Fourth Quarter:  Now that was the offense we saw last season, and it gives you a glimpse of what this offense is really capable of.    

Sell:

Bernard Berrian:  The last receiver to challenge the head coach about his role in the offense was Marcus Robinson, who was promptly cut on Christmas Eve.  Bobby Wade was asked to restructure his contract, which he did.  He was cut a few days later.  The point is that Chilly doesn’t tolerate mouthiness from wide receivers.  He doesn’t even tolerate receivers that do what is asked of them.  Bernard Berrian is a Dead Man Walking.  It’s stupid, but it’s true.  Berrian is a good #2 guy, and could contribute in a meaningful way.  A dime gets you a dollar says Berrian gets cut when Sidney Rice comes off the PUP. 

The First Three and a Half Quarters:  It was the most inept play calling I have ever seen.  Can you, or anyone, tell me what the hell Bevell and Childress were thinking?  The players sure didn’t.  Said Percy Harvin: 

"If we had come out and had some of the play calling we had in the second half, I think it would be a different outcome."

Said Favre (pulled from Kevin Seifert’s excellent NFC North Blog on ESPN):

Favre said he was "thinking aloud" when he suggested that Childress and Bevell were trying to find something that worked. "Sometimes you go in with a plan and it doesn't really work out that way," Favre said, noting the Vikings found a "happy medium" during a second half in which he threw for 233 yards.

So I go back to my point that I made earlier about Childress or Bevell:  It’s either stubbornness or stupidity at this point.  They’re not dumb guys; at least they don’t come off as such.  So it must be stubbornness.  Either way, the maddening inability to change gameplans on the fly will doom this team if they don’t get it fixed.  I’m all about just letting Favre play sandlot football, and see what happens.  It can’t be any worse than that craptastic game plan we saw last night, can it?  Can it?

Favre’s Tendinitis:  Yeah, it was bugging him, but Favre with tendinitis is still better than any option currently on the roster.  No, I don’t think Tarvaris Jackson should start, like a lot of you on the game thread last night, and Mike Florio today. 

Going For Two:  Again, Childress incompetence laid out for all the world to see.  You go for one until you absolutely, positively, have to go for two.  There was almost 10 minutes left at that point, and a one point deficit translates to an 8 point deficit if New York scored again.  Which they did, making the pick-6 a backbreaker.  Had Chilly not gone for two, the Vikings still would’ve had a tall order to score a TD and make a two point conversion to tie, but the game wasn’t out of reach.  And he couldn’t even decide what to do, because he first sent the FG unit out, then the offense, then called a timeout.  And it was a timeout the Vikes really could’ve used late in the game.  It was just a dumbass move all the way around.

Game Ball Goes To:  Percy Harvin and Randy Moss.  Harvin had two TD’s and almost 100 yards receiving, and finally looked like the electrifying playmaker that he is.  Moss had the first TD catch that ignited the offense, and it made the Jets re-calibrate and focus on Moss, freeing up Harvin.

I think the Vikes will get to the midway point at 4-4, and then Rice returns.  It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but it’s going to be a helluva show at the same time.

Keep the faith, Viking Nation, and SKOL!!!

The global recovery, including Britain's export ambitions, may depend on the purchasing power of Asia's middle class

The extraordinary "dandelion" design of Britain's pavilion at the Shanghai Expo excites strong views. Developed to challenge old stereotypes of Britain as a nation of fog, bowler hats and Monty Python, the building is composed of thousands of long, clear acrylic rods holding rare seeds sticking out like a hedgehog from a large hollow cube. One MP out here with me at the UK-China Forum for the Future branded it "a cross between a stealth bomber and a disused skate park". But Chinese visitors love it; it's become the UK's busiest tourist attraction anywhere and it's tripled the number of UK investment deals under discussion in China. Not bad for 25 million quid.

Yet the sheer scale of the export challenge faced in the "dandelion" should inspire some new lessons for British economic strategy and our ambitions for "export-led growth".

The pace of change in cities such as Shanghai is simply breathtaking. The Shanghai stock exchange only opened in 1991. But by 2020 it aspires to be one of the world's top financial centres. Yet the stark reality is that our exports to China – a market that has grown at 10% a year for 30 years – may be growing fast but they remain tiny. Exports last year were £5.1bn in value but just over 2% of the UK total. We traded three times more with Ireland.

Now, when the Americans think about exports to China, they quickly start an argument over the value of the yuan. Thursday's splash in the China Daily reports on US Congress hearings investigating whether the yuan is undervalued. In fact Congress may be misguided. If the yuan was revalued, America would simply import its low-cost goods from somewhere else.

Europeans, on the other hand, are much more concerned about the myriad of constraints on companies' access to the Chinese market. One businessman here told me that in 20 years he hadn't heard the European Chamber of Commerce so vexed about the difficulties of doing business.

But views are mixed. Many say foreign small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China are doing well. And in the UK's principal export opportunity – financial services – City of London people, here on the Lord Mayor's annual visit, reflect that business isn't getting harder, but it's not getting easier either. It remains stuck in what one leading regulator described to me as China's "slow-motion" reform plan.

Next year China publishes its next five-year plan ahead of important leadership changes in 2012 and communist politicians from senior levels down have all expressed their determination to press on with "reform and opening up". The Communist party is widely soliciting ideas from the public, including from China's 500 million-plus online citizens; calls to reduce income disparities and strengthen the social safety net top the list of ideas.

Herein lies the real clue to opening China – and, indeed, maximising China's impact on global growth over the next 10 years. A smaller story in Thursday's China Daily vividly describes the challenge. A Chinese village in eastern Anhui province is pioneering reforms to China's medical system. The village lies in the province that is the first to test wide-ranging reforms to its "grassroots" medical system that will cost $125bn and offer new access to drugs and basic insurance. For despite China's gigantic steps forward since 1978, the nation has become the world's first simultaneous superpower and developing nation, with a GDP/capita of $3,600 but a limited social safety net of healthcare, pensions and unemployment benefit.

This accounts for why most Chinese workers save – rather than spend – almost half of their income. Yet only when this savings rate comes down will the real power of Chinese growth begin sucking in exports of the kind that Britain provides so well – and on a serious scale. Indeed this may be one of the keys to rebooting growth in the post-crisis era.

Privately, senior politicians and policymakers are not really popping the champagne corks at the prospects for global growth. For the G20, it seems that the moment of immediate crisis is past.

Politically, globalisation is no longer in the best of odours and there is now no driving force on the international stage pushing a global plan for growth. Crucially, the great motor of the global economy – namely the American consumer – is seriously damaged. Don't underestimate this; over the past 25 years the US consumer has come to be worth some $10tn – that's roughly 20% of global GDP.

But the financial crisis has destroyed around $8tn of this wealth and the damage will take years to repair.

That means the great hope for world growth may soon become the rise of the great Asian middle class. On some estimates, this new economic powerhouse could match the US and European middle class in numbers by 2015 and stand 2 billion people-strong by 2020 – with the biggest slice in China. For some time now, Chinese domestic consumption has been growing; for the first time, it hit more than half of domestic consumption last year. But China's 1.3 billion people won't seriously make an impact on global growth until China's welfare state begins to look like a safety net we would recognise in Europe. So if we want exports to China to really grow, Europe would do well to add some help and advice about social security to the calls for economic freedom. The "harmonious society" here in China is more than just a slogan.

Come the Ashes the struggling England batsman should have his touch and confidence restored

Kevin Pietersen may not have expressed it in the most elegant terms but he was certainly not wrong. It has been quite a comedown from the lofty heights of Mount Olympus to the second division of the County Championship. From Kensington Oval to Kennington Oval in the blink of an eye.

A little under four months ago, in Bridgetown, I sat transfixed and watched as Pietersen systematically brutalised Dale Steyn, the best fast bowler in the world, with pyrotechnic strokeplay of the highest order. It mattered not that it was Twenty20. This was one of the most scintillating passages of play I have seen, up there with the evening I witnessed at close hand Jeff Thomson, ferociously fast, and Viv Richards, immense, in single combat.

Move on then to Lord's last week. All the hours of practice (and there is none more diligent in that regard) counted for nothing as he flayed wildly at his first delivery from Mohammad Amir, edged and made his way back to the dressing room.

It was the stroke of a desperate man, who has done what he can to reverse the tide of his form and had finally settled on what he might have seen as the only course left open to him: give it a go.

Two years ago, at Edgbaston, Paul Collingwood found himself in a similar situation, survived the chance that might have seen him reduced to the ranks, discovered an inner calm and made a career-saving hundred.

If Pietersen had made proper contact with what was little more than a wide half-volley, then who knows what might have followed. Perhaps there was an inevitability about it. Maybe fate was intervening and saying that there is nothing to be gained from papering over the cracks.

It presented a dilemma to the England management, though, for under the circumstance there were two courses of action open to them. On the one hand, they could rationalise that they have a batsman of the highest calibre, going through a difficult period against high- class bowling in helpful conditions, and that sooner rather than later everything would come around.

With two Twenty20 matches in particular, but then five one-day internationals to follow – albeit the form of the game in which he has suffered most since losing the England captaincy at the start of last year – here was an opportunity for him just to go out and give it a belt, without the possible repercussions were he to take such a cavalier approach into Tests.

But then again, in both an individual and team context, how much leeway is it reasonable to allow someone before it becomes counterproductive? Alastair Cook, for example, has survived through some difficult times, while Ian Bell was sent back to county cricket. The answer lies not just in the ability of the player concerned but in his personality, too.

In Pietersen we have someone whose cricket is almost driven by the internal engine of his ego. No one can match his strut. Underlying it, though, say those who know him best, is an insecurity that ultimately (and uncharacteristically) manifested itself in his soul-bearing interview on Sky last week where he made it plain that his confidence was shot. When the cock of the walk is reduced to that, it really is time to sit up and take notice.

His continuing presence in the glare of the international arena, especially for a tournament that does not really matter a huge amount in the scheme of things, would serve no real purpose. Andy Flower has made the right call. What Pietersen needs now is not the intensity of competition but the chance to feel his hands again, even if it is in a less challenging environment.

Are there any real doubts that by the middle of November Pietersen will once more be in a fit and proper condition physically and mentally to be a thorn in Australian sides? He will have two championship matches for Surrey and three proper warm-up games in Australia before the first Test in Brisbane that starts on 25 November. No one-day cricket will interfere with the preparation.

By then surely he will have rediscovered that state of mind where instinct, his strongest suit, is not taken over by indiscretion. As always there has to be a happy medium. We cannot, in one instance, marvel at some of the more outrageous aspects of his play, those that elevate him above the norm, and then castigate him for his excesses or lack of responsibility when these very extravagances fail him.

As with, say, David Gower, we need to recognise and accept him for what he is while not trying to make him what he is not. The break now will do him nothing but good: an opportunity to take stock. He will be stronger for it. If anyone outscores him this coming Ashes series, then my bet is they will have played exceedingly well to do so.

The day's play from around the county grounds. Click here to see the scores and county cricket video highlights can be perused here

11.04am: May's Bounty day two and although the covers are off, there is already rain about and the forecast is pretty grim, writes Mike Averis. The other interest will be in whether Hampshire waste the considerable advantage granted them by Michael Carberry and Michael Lumb who put on 314 for the second wicket, before the innings threatened to slip away. The third wicket stand put on one, the fourth two, the fifth 17 and the sixth has currently added eight.

Key will be the performance of James Vince, the 19-year-old currently on four and the man named as Kevin Pieterson's replacement when Hampshire said they could do without the their England batsmen's talents for the remainder of his contract.

Last week, against Warwickshire Vince saw Hampshire into the Twenty/20 finals day with an unbeaten 66 on a far-from-easy Edgbaston wicket. He played with considerable maturity until two panicky overs at the death came close to throwing away all the good stuff that had gone before.

Durham's selection of a couple of spinners suggests that they think the wicket will turn - a lot was banked on winning the toss - so much depends on Vince, probably in the company of his captain, Dominic Cork, pushing home the advantage in a match which could go a long way to deciding who goes down, along with Warwickshire.

11.13am: Sorry folks, M62 horrendous, writes Andy Wilson from Headingley. But the start has been delayed here anyway, with heavy morning rain meaning we're unlikely to have any play before lunch. That will be frustrating for Nottinghamshire, who have already established a strong position after dismissing Yorkshire for 178 on the first day, and reaching 147 for three in reply.

I've just heard a shocking weather forecast for Friday, so they can't afford to lose much time if they are to press for a victory inside three days that would take them well clear of Yorkshire at the top of the table, still with a game in hand.

Ryan Sidebottom was good value at the close yesterday, chatting amiably about his close family ties with Jonathan Bairstow, the jaffa that got him out, the knee injury he picked up playing football at Taunton last week, and his desire to sign a new deal with Notts beyond the end of this season.

11.36am: It's raining and suddenly May's Bounty is almost empty, writes Mike Averis. It's one of the miracles of cricket that as soon as rain arrives the crowds vanish as if by magic. On Test grounds there are plenty of places to go, but on festival grounds like Basingstoke they either head for the car parks or for what tents are available.

Here the pavilion is full to overflowing. Ditto the tented bar down near The Bounty – Arlott's pub. Every available space is taken under the horse chestnut trees, but strangely the shop still seems empty.

The other difficulty for festival grounds is the lack of kit to keep the weather off the playing area. May's Bounty is still pretty dry and will soak up quite a lot of rain, but there's work being done by anxious groundsmen to make the covers are doing a better job than the tent which holds the scorers and journalists.

1.44pm: Play started at 1.10pm, after an early lunch, with three maidens followed by an assault on Steve Harmison by Vince, the 19-year-old twice smacking the former England bowler off the back foot through the offside, writes Mike Averis at May's Bounty.

Callum Thorp was also driven straight and twice through the covers by night watchman James Tomlinson to suggest that the covers had done their stuff and that Hampshire were looking to make up lost time. The fifth batting point came up with six overs to spare.

1.59pm: Eleven overs gone, most of them played in bright sunshine, but with thunder rumbling around May's Bounty, and we're off again. Hampshire 421 -5, writes Mike Averis.

2.21pm: What was that about festival cricket? Fifteen minutes of rain and May's Bounty is more puddle than pitch, writes Mike Averis. Rivers are running down the ground and a decent paddling pool has built up around the raised wicket.

A couple of the Durham players, trapped in the press tent at the height of the storm, are wearing big smiles while their scorer Brian Hunt gathers his stuff together fearing the new river which now rises as the top end of the tent and flows its length. A couple of the Australians just look bemused as we're done for the day.

Any ideas about what to do on a wet day in Basingstoke?

2.30pm: David Hussey is taking this game rapidly out of Yorkshire's reach, writes Andy Wilson at Headingley. The Australian, who had 35 overnight, has raced on to 90 out of an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 117 with Samit Patel, who is playing a sensible supporting role having just reached a 102-ball 50.

Hussey plundered 18 off a single over from David Wainwright, with fours through extra cover
and mid on before he launched him back over his head for six. Yorkshire have resorted to Anthony McGrath's medium pace wobblers, but nobody seems to be questioning the decision to omit Tino Best. Having seen him rip out Lancashire's top three at Old Trafford the other week, I wonder if the locals are being a bit harsh. Anyway Notts were 215 for three a little while ago, already 37 ahead.

2.53pm: The umpires took the briefest of looks before formally calling off play, writes Mike Averis, and within 30 minutes Steve Harmison was questioning whether there would be any more cricket at May's Bounty this week.

He also talked about the value of festival matches: "They are a good thing in one way because you get close to the crowds, but the way counties are spending fortunes on drainage and then you come to this... There is nothing much you can do with the weather, but if this was at the Riverside or at the Rose Bowl at 11am tomorrow the game would start. This game might not start anymore."

After inspecting the flood, Harmison added: "It's over the boot and apparently it's under the covers at the bottom (end). I think they might struggle tomorrow... The way the weather's come, that's possibly the end of the game. The weather has just killed the game."

3.08pm: Yorkshire are having an absolute shocker, with Nottinghamshire apparently determined to inflict the same level of pain and embarrassment on them that they themselves suffered at Taunton last week, writes Andy Wilson.

David Hussey has just reached a 106-ball century, his first of the season, and Samit Patel is on 81 – after being badly dropped by Ajmal Shahzad at long leg in the last over. Patel played a couple of lovely lofted cover drives off Adil Rashid. Notts now 260 for three, already 83 ahead – and Yorkshire's only hope is that more rain will help them salvage a draw.

3.32pm: Yorkshire have finally made a breakthrough, and Samit Patel was furious with himself for missing out on a century – but here at Headingley, the carnage continues, writes Andy Wilson.

Patel, on 96, drove loosely at Adil Rashid and Jacques Rudolph made a sharp one-handed slip chance look easy. That ended a fourth wicket stand of 184 inside 41 overs with Hussey, who is still there on 120. At 293 for four, Notts are 116 ahead, and batting with impressive purpose – they look like potential champions. Hard to believe it's only a few days since they were being similarly savaged by Somerset in Taunton.

4.59pm: In other news Azeem Rafiq was today banned from all cricket for a month and fined £500 for
his Twitter tirade about the England Under-19s coach, John Abrahams, writes Andy Wilson.

The England and Wales Cricket Board ruled at a disciplinary hearing that the teenage Yorkshire all-rounder was guilty of a serious breach of regulations.

Rafiq's obscenity-laden outburst last week came after he was dropped from the Under-19s team to face Sri Lanka.

5.50pm: That's all for today - see you all again tomorrow. For the latest scores, click here - the highlights of which reveal Surrey are currently 255-3.

The hapless wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal is costing Pakistan dearly in the First Test

Older readers may remember a 1960s US television comedy called Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and a regular item on it called the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate in which fun was poked at the incompetence of a topical target. It probably wasn't great shakes in Pakistan and besides which Kamran Akmal is far too young to have watched it even if it had been. But even so, there it was, 20 minutes after lunch, the Fickle Finger, hovering over him, the chosen one.

Kamran arrived here this year with the reputation of being one of the most hapless wicketkeepers ever to have survived in Test cricket for any length of time – 50 Tests and counting – and since then has done little to disabuse anyone of that impression. He can be calamitous. This is the Clouseau of keeping. If Tommy Cooper had ever taken up the gauntlets, this would be: "Gloves, ball, ball, gloves ... ground." Just like that. In England's first innings, Kamran's capacity to drop the ball cost his perspiring bowlers and his team dearly. He uses gloves made by a firm with long and close association with Trent Bridge and the suggestion, made over a drink with a company big wig on Friday, is that they should double his money to use those of a rival instead.

By lunch though, as England batted again, he had taken two catches to see the back of the openers. The first, offered by Andrew Strauss, was deflected to him by his juggling brother Umar, clearly auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, and taken with a gleeful dive; the second, a legside flick and faint edge from Alastair Cook, was straightforward enough, although by no means copper bottomed. Then, in the space of two deliveries from Umar Gul, redemption was dangled in front of Kamran and then, just as he seemed to have grasped it in his white gloves, whisked away again.

Kevin Pietersen had battled away for an hour and quarter, trying to find some rhythm to his game and had looked as if he was starting to emerge from the darkside when Gul got one to jag back and bounce. Kamran had every right to be wrong-footed as the ball caught a thickish inside edge, but he changed direction instantly, dived to his left and, to his obvious glee, came up with the ball in his left hand – a quite magnificent catch. One in the eye for the critics then. Alas. Gul's next ball was shorter and wide of the new batsman Paul Collingwood, who flashed, edged, saw the ball disappear into Kamran's right glove and then bounce out again. Hero to zero in the time it takes to say St Godfrey of Evans.

These have been conditions in which keepers can be tested however, the edge always an option. Earlier in the day, Anuruddha Polonowita, Sri Lanka's national curator (groundsman in other words) had defended the surface at Colombo's SSC ground, where this week Sri Lanka and India batted each other into a stupor, saying, at length but in essence, that criticism of his pitch as too batsman-friendly was nonsense and that the bowling, against stellar batting on each side, had been rubbish. He has a point. Trent Bridge however has produced what is proving an enthralling contest, where ball (as opposed to the pitch), like Graeme Swann, has had a lot to say for itself.

With the singular exception of the record first-innings stand between Eoin Morgan and Collingwood, wickets have tumbled as batsmen have had trouble coping with the movement in the air, exploited so well by the trio of Pakistan pacemen and England's James Anderson. Trent Bridge has a well-earned reputation for swing, although when and why this should occur – configuration of the stands, proximity to the river, height of water table, fluctuations in the FTSE index or simply cloud cover– is a mystery.

As Mohammad Asif once more wobbled the ball around mesmerically, Kamran was forced into a little more active duty than, to judge by the reaction when so asked, he might have wished. Asif is a cannily deceptive bowler, who lopes in with total economy of effort; the bowling equivalent of easy listening. To try and negate the movement, or at least lessen it, both Pietersen and Jonathan Trott had opted to bat well out of their crease. This frustrates the bowler, particularly one of Asif's pace, for whom the obvious response is to ask the keeper to stand up to the stumps, forcing the batsman back into the crease, and susceptible once more to the swing.

Great medium and fast-medium bowlers had their keepers up to the stumps: Evans famously to Alec Bedser; while at Somerset, Tom Cartwright had Derek Taylor, with Leo Harrison there for Derek Shackleton at Hampshire. Salman Butt asked Kamran to do likewise, and he crept up with the reluctance of a young lad who has just been asked to wash behind his ears. Suffice to say it didn't last.

Yesterday saw me at Old Trafford to see Lancashire play the Unicorns in a 40 over match. The Unicorns are a side made up of cricketers not under contract to a county. They play in this competition along with Scotland and the Netherlands. I guess the idea is that it is a place where young cricketers can be seen alongside some older pros. Well Lancs won easily -by nine wickets. As to young cricketers taking the opportunity to impress two took the eye. Firstly the young Zimbabwean medium pace bowler Glen Querl who took the only wicket for the Unicorns ...

Comparisons with McGrath and Ambrose are premature, but England's young fast bowler has all the attributes to be a star

All too often the reality doesn't match the hype. Anticipation is followed by disappointment. But then occasionally the opposite occurs, when expectation is exceeded. Instances, at random, for me include a first sight of the Taj Mahal, watching Jimi Hendrix for the one and only time, and, as a moderately enthusiastic but fairly pedestrian runner, witnessing the incredible pace at which Steve Jones ran a marathon.

In cricket, I recall the strange noise at Queen's Park Oval as a young Ian Bishop, of whom I had heard but never seen, delivered his first ball of a one-day series to, I think, Wayne Larkins, which I realised was the crowd en masse hissing disbelievingly the word "shit". That recalled Graham Gooch's party-piece snatch of a Tony Cozier commentary: "Patterson in to Gooch, bouncer, Gooch hooks … through to Dujon, no run …"

This summer I have seen how James Taylor moves silkily into the ball, and witnessed the remarkable, much-heralded hitting power of Craig Kieswetter. Now I'm looking forward to watching Ben Stokes, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler, whom I saw briefly on the television on Tuesday evening. None of these, though, has, or will, stir me quite as much as seeing Steven Finn in the first Test. It's probably a bowler thing. Once Andrew Strauss came to his senses and had him striding in from the Pavilion End at Lord's, I was watching something special in its raw formative state.

England bowlers come, promise and, all too regularly, they are gone. Actions are flawed, bodies not up to it, injuries prove terminal. But for five days, in which he took nine wickets, Finn looked the absolute business. If there are sceptics saying that it was "only Bangladesh", then have a look at how the other seamers fared when the pitch flattened out under the sun.

Us former bowlers, we pick up on actions easily. We can spot flaws and idiosyncrasies, see what works and what doesn't. We understand that not every paceman has an action like Fred Trueman (although Bob Willis was convinced he did until he saw footage of himself), but that often it is the quirks that elevate a bowler to the top echelon. Without it we might never have seen Jeff Thomson, or Mike Procter, Shoaib Akhtar or Lasith Malinga.

But Finn is pure. My only previous sighting, apart from on broadcasts from Bangladesh last winter, was while sitting in the Lord's indoor school a couple of years ago, watching Middlesex practise on the Nursery. He looked gangly, awkward and not much beyond medium fast. The difference now is profound. He has an excellent, measured, accelerating run, just enough on the angle to help him get in tight to the stumps rather than veer out as happens with some who run in too straight, and an aid to getting in to his action, which is classically side on.

Finn's right foot lands parallel to the crease, perfect, straight from the text book, rather than pointing down the pitch, a favoured and in my view erroneous modern method that can result in the ankle impingements that have blighted some bowlers. His left arm is thrown cloud-clutchingly high (think of pictures of Harold Larwood or Dennis Lillee), not always the case in bowlers who do not understand that the left side is as important as the right, and from there, everything, in a straight line, is directed down the pitch. Nothing is wasted in getting energy behind the ball: Newton would have approved. From it comes accuracy in terms of line, the only variable coming in length. As his playing stature grows, so will his understanding of his role, which may well incorporate aggression through containment as much as outright attack.

Already the comparisons are being made with Glenn McGrath, who exploited Lord's brilliantly from that same end. This is unfair. McGrath was a relentless genius, helped by his capacity somehow to get in so tight that he could deliver the ball from over the stumps. I cannot think of another paceman with that facility (and personal experience, in which regular painful contact of the nail-bed of the middle finger on my right hand with the stump on delivery has left a permanent fault in the nail, tells me how hard it is). His general method though, attrition through precision, might well serve as a template. Curtly Ambrose too, another tall genius, who just kept coming and coming, offering nothing. I witnessed at first hand what must be the most devastating spell in Test history, his extraordinary seven-for-one-run spell in Perth that destroyed Australia in 1993 (the single run a dribbly bat-pad past short-leg), and it was the relentless nature of it rather than cricket ball acrobatics that did the job.

This pair are cricketing gods of course, up there on Olympus. Comparisons are wrong. They were each unique. But there is nothing wrong with aspiration and these are the standards to which Finn should aspire. He may not get there, but he has been given the right tools. Give him time. He looks the real deal to me and I'm actually rather excited.

Who to watch out for at Northamptonshire Steelbacks and their prospects of making the Twenty20 finals

T20 pedigree

One of the most formidable teams, reaching Finals Day last year and progressing past the groups in three of the four seasons before that.

Captain

Andrew Hall

Overseas players

Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe)

Powerful big hitter in the final overs, a brisk medium pacer, outstanding fielder and the captain of his national side.

Juan Theron (South Africa)

Expert death bowler who was man of the match on his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab.

Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka)

Vastly experienced bowler and a useful batsman down the order, an asset to any side.

Watch out for

Andrew Hall

Reliable former South Africa all-rounder, who hits a long ball and bowls thrifty wicket-to-wicket fast-medium.

How they're hoping to get the punters in...

Every Friday night is party night, with cheerleaders and DJs aplenty.

Prospects

May be left to wonder what might have been had the signing of Virender Sehwag not been blocked.

Odds

25-1

Group fixtures

3 June Warwickshire Bears (a), 5.30pm

8 June Leicestershire Foxes (h), 6.50pm

9 June Lancashire Lightning (a), 5.30pm

11 June Worcestershire Royals (h), 6.50pm

13 June Yorkshire Carnegie (a), 2.30pm

18 June Leicestershire Foxes (a), 4.30pm

20 June Derbyshire Falcons (h), 2.30pm

22 June Nottinghamshire Outlaws (a), 6pm

25 June Worcestershire Royals (a), 6pm

26 June Durham Dynamos (h), 2.40pm

2 July Yorkshire Carnegie (h), 6.50pm

9 July Warwickshire Bears (h), 6.50pm

11 July Nottinghamshire Outlaws (h), 2.30pm

15 July Lancashire Lightning (h), 6.50pm

16 July Derbyshire Falcons (a), 7.30pm

18 July Durham Dynamos (a), 2.30pm

• England, 505 v Bangladesh, 282 and 328-5
• James Anderson makes inroads with new ball

There was no rout at Lord's yesterday. Bangladesh, brilliantly, survived and flourished until the second new ball late in the day knocked them back as James Anderson tore in heroically.

And for 156 glorious minutes either side of lunch, we watched in wonder, hard-bitten hacks, seen-it-all-cynics and the sparsest crowd of the match, as Tamim Iqbal, 21 years old and an uninhibited genius in the making, batted himself into Bangladesh cricket folklore and the Lord's hall of fame. Sometimes, there is nothing else for it simply to gape at the sheer impudence of someone who can bat with such abandon and disregard for the conventions.

Living by the sword and finally perishing by it, Tamim made 103 runs before he hooked, to Jonathan Trott on the long-leg boundary, a bouncer from the persevering Steve Finn and took just 94 balls to reach three figures. In 1990, anger burning at his indefensible decision to put England in and so concede almost 700 runs, the Indian batsman Mohammad Azharuddin made a hundred from 87 balls.

Eighty‑three years prior to that, before the number of deliveries were recorded, the South African Percy Sherwell is said to have made his 115 at faster than a run a minute, which must have been brisk. But no one else has matched Tamim's rate of scoring.

Under the sun, which transforms the Lord's pitch from the cloudy capriciousness of the opening day and the rain-affected Saturday, to a more benign personality, Tamim's ebullient enthusiasm for the task, a monumental one of overcoming a first‑innings deficit of 223, was astonishing. He knows no fear. England's bowlers were simply treated with disregard, his opening salvo audacious if flirty, his treatment of Graeme Swann, whom he decided to deposit into the Mound stand a couple of times, little short of disrespectful. The pull shot with which he reached 50, swivelling on one leg, might have been vintage Lara and there are few higher compliments than that.

Has Lord's ever witnessed anything quite as audacious as his fleeting visit to the 90s? A seminal moment in the history of Bangladesh cricket was approaching. Already his bowling team-mate Shahadat Hossain had had his name inscribed on the visitors' honours board and now, with 87 to his name, there was a chance of a memorable double. There should be nerves at such a time, should there not? Tim Bresnan was eased off the back foot to the extra-cover boundary to take the total to 163, a Bangladesh record for the first wicket, and scored in partnership with the excellent understudy Imrul Kayes who was to make 75. Next, a precise off-drive to the pavilion rails, followed by a brace through midwicket.

Caution now, this was for posterity. Bresnan bowled length, Tamim swung and the ball sailed over the infield and hit the boards below the Bangladesh dressing room. At Trent Bridge in 1938, Bradman had called his team on to the balcony to watch Stan McCabe in full flow saying they "would never see anything like it again". No such urging was necessary for Tamim's team-mates, whose collective weight throughout might have caused structural damage. The batsman, meanwhile, ran through and then ran on, and on, until it looked as if he might actually charge up the pavilion steps and write his name on the board himself. "Me" he shouted, pointing to his back, "Put my name up". If he was gone shortly after, taking with him 15 fours and two sixes, he left behind, indelibly, the memory of a great innings.

By the close of a long day Bangladesh, at 328 for five, with Junaid Siddique on 66, had established a lead of 105, and still retained a prospect of saving a game that seemed beyond them.

England have been thwarted by pitches such as this before when in the ascendant. There was little swing, despite the fuller length that the seamers employed, and nothing off the pitch except for new ball bounce. Swann, from the Nursery End for all but a couple of overs, found some occasional sharp turn but not enough to trouble decent players of spin and has had his bubble burst temporarily.

Under the circumstances, England stuck to their task well, with Finn outstanding once more. Clearly he has heart although by the end of the day, his pace was down: this is a summer where England will build up his stamina and fitness.

To Finn went the first two wickets of the second innings, both from around the wicket, with Ian Bell, deepish at short-leg, taking a sharp catch in front of his face as Imrul Kayes turned a delivery off his hips. Later Trott garnered his first Test wicket with his medium pace when Jahurul Islam offered a return catch via bat and pad.

That he was bowling at all brought thoughts that England should have a fifth frontline bowler, to which a response is to cast the mind back four years to a similar game on a similar pitch, when England's four seamers and a spinner, having seen Sri Lanka make only 192 in response to England's 551, and following on 359 in arrears, then conceded 537 for nine second time around. Runs or wickets? The game is rarely a simple one.

Since that coveted 2004 draft class in which we were spoiled with Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger and perennial Pro Bowler Phillip Rivers, fans and NFL organizations have been praying for another class to emerge as that dominate.

And since then, we’ve had our fair share of what looks like some solid franchise guy. Quarterbacks such as Matt Stafford, Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, and even Alex Smith look like franchise quarterbacks that their respective teams have or are trying to build around.

But three in one class? Since 2004, there’s only been one three quarterback first round in 2006, and at least one of them hasn’t quite worked out.

However, this 2011 draft class has a chance to have as many as five quarterbacks taken in the first round. 

Last year, the Rams took the usual quarterback with the first pick, and the Broncos landed their franchise guy in Tim Tebow. But, even though as many as three teams found their future guy (Carolina snatched up Jimmy Clausen), many teams still need a franchise signal caller.

Buffalo, Jacksonville, Oakland, Washington, Arizona, and Minnesota all need a quarterback of the future, and the first round could be their target area.

Jake Locker from Washington is the favorite to be not only the top quarterback taken, but the likely number one overall pick. Locker was touted by some NFL personnel as a better quarterback prospect than Sam Bradford last season if Locker declared, and I agree with that evaluation. Locker is a very mobile and well-built quarterback with a strong arm. He has a little Ben Roethlisberger in him in his ability to keep the play alive, and if he can improve his pocket presence and medium to deep range accuracy, he could have a Big Ben like impact in the NFL.

One of the main foes of Locker’s first overall dreams is another well-built, strong armed quarterback in junior Ryan Mallett of Arkansas. The former Michigan, highly-touted prospect transferred after Rich Rod took over, and in year one under Bobby Petrino Mallett improved by leaps and bounds over the season. His pocket awareness and play reading ability are outstanding for a second year starter and college player. And if he can show some mobility and better touch on the out routes, he could challenge for that top spot.

Who looks to be the final competitor for the top quarterback billing in the 2011 debate? Red shirt sophomore Andrew Luck of Stanford may be a bit of a wild card. Only started for one season, Luck was an instrumental factor in Stanford’s surprising success this season. A big part of his evaluation will be to see if he can thrive without the power running game lost by now NFL running back Toby Gerhart. Luck has all the tools, but hasn’t shown them consistently over his career and still has to work on his technique. If he can improve those deficiencies, then he could really challenge with Locker and Mallett.

As for the other possible first round quarterbacks to even improve this class one step further; guys like Christian Ponder of Florida State, who has the mobility and size to be a more NFL ready version of Colt McCoy without the production in college, red shirt sophomore Blaine Gabbert of Missouri, who combines Chase Daniel’s accuracy and an NFL body, Case Keenum of Houston, who could emerge as the next Kevin Kolb, and junior Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State, who has the athleticism but hasn’t translated it to on the field passing success.

As of now, the board looks like this:
1. Jake Locker
2. Ryan Mallett (JR)
3. Andrew Luck (RS SO)
4. Christian Ponder
5. Blaine Gabbert
6. Case Keenum
7. Terrelle Pryor

But a lot could fluctuate for what could be a quarterback class like 1984 and 2004, with three possible All-Pro and Hall of Fame hopefuls.

 

Check out www.NFLHouse.com or email me at EricG@NFLHouse.com.

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Analysis of the opposition has underpinned team's journey to the World Twenty20 final

Andy Flower is a realist. The hyperbole he leaves for others. For now, he is a man content with the idea that his side are in today's World Twenty20 final, but with the perspective that second is nowhere. And in one-day cricket, England have been nowhere for a long time now.

They will meet an Australia side that have the most extraordinary resilience and recovery of a kind that is not available to England. Mike Hussey's half-century to defeat Pakistan must be recognised as remarkable – "freakish", Michael Clarke, the Australia captain called it – played as it was with the heaviest prospect of elimination from the competition, and it came in partnership with Cameron White, whose power hitting snatched the momentum away from Pakistan in an instant.

It is these two who are the stand-out batsmen in the side, the ones whose hovering presence elevates Australia's batting to a threatening level beyond that of any other side, including England, for whom Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan, occupying the same positions at six and seven, do not carry quite the same threat, worthy cricketers as they are. It is telling, though, that too often for their comfort the Australia top order has collapsed, key being the dismissals of the muscular openers, Shane Watson and David Warner. If White and Hussey have been stand-out performers then it is, in part, because they have had to be. Wright and Bresnan have faced only 100 balls between them; White and Hussey twice that number.

Then there is the Australian bowling, backed by brilliant fielding, with Dirk Nannes the most incisive new-ball bowler of the tournament, Shaun Tait the fastest and Mitchell Johnson reliable, and possessing some of the variation lacked by the other two. From this, the young leg-spinner Steven Smith has been able to reap wicket-taking advantage, knowing that he has to be targeted for treatment in the wake of the bombardment at the other end.

The fast-bowling trio are not invulnerable to attack, however. Speed alone, even on the Bridgetown pitch, is not a guarantee of success. Consider the treatment meted out by England, and Kevin Pietersen in particular, to Dale Steyn – whom he hit for 23 runs from the eight balls faced – and his partner Morne Morkel, regarded as the best pairing in world cricket, but who conceded 90 runs from eight overs here last week. Pace off the bat counts too. They are vulnerable with their fifth bowler, a mixture of Watson's ordinary, hittable medium pace and the spin of Clarke and David Hussey.

But England, despite Flower's dead-pan pragmatism, are comfortable with their progress. They have a brace of destructive openers – although neither has yet to convert a pyrotechnic start (no side has matched England's top two powerplay scores) into a large individual innings – and in Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and the iceman Eoin Morgan, one of the best T20 middle orders, on paper at least. Of these, Collingwood has yet to produce, but has shown the capacity in the past to do so when it matters most.

If England win this final, and they certainly can, it will ultimately be down to the bowling. Every over, bar one from Collingwood, has been sent down by the same five, who, under the eye of new bowling coach David Saker, go into each match with a complete understanding of their role and of the opposition.

England have adapted their methods to the change in conditions better than Australia. Perhaps the most significant development has been an upgrade in the analysis of the opposition. Knowledge is everything: where does he score; what are the innovations, vulnerabilities, default big shot?

They have assembled a bowling attack that covers angles and variations: Ryan Sidebottom, left arm; Bresnan, bustling right arm; Stuart Broad, tall instinctive wicket-taker; the contrasting spin of Graeme Swann, the best finger-spinner in the business at present; and Michael Yardy, a mystery bowler in the sense that it is a mystery how he gets away with it. But he does. They know that the role of the seamers is to take early wickets during the powerplay so that the spinners can bottle up the middle of the innings. And they know their role in the final assault.

Maybe, though, it has run its course. There is a chance for one final change. Has Bresnan's method become too obvious? Could England spring a last surprise and unveil Jimmy Anderson?

Our cricket writers on the day's the action from around the county grounds

10.55am: Nevil Road isn't exactly bathed in sunshine, but it's (marginally) warmer than at the start of play yesterday, writes Mike Averis. And there is no sign of the showers promised by the local BBC weatherman. Without them Gloucestershire could be second in the second division by the close of play. It depends which Leicester turn up this morning and how the Bristol wicket plays; it's still pretty green after a couple of days.

First time around Leicester were skittled in under 35 overs, their batsmen as responsible as some decent bowling from Gloucestershire's medium pacers. Following on 274 behind, Matt Boyce and Paul Nixon then stood logic on it's head, both making undefeated half centuries as Leicester bit a 122-run chunk out of the Gloucester lead.

Of longer-term importance, Ian Saxelby, an England age-group bowler, will miss the remainder of the season after dislocating his right shoulder three times in as many months. Saxelby, nephew of the Notts Saxelby's, Kevin and Mark, is due to have surgery this week .

The initial dislocation happened in February when he was climbing out of a pool in South Africa while with the England performance squad. He damaged it again making an appeal in a warm-up game and then while fielding in a 2nd XI match against Worcester.

Gloucester offered the 20-year-old Saxelby a two-year contract after their coach, John Bracewell, then looking after the New Zealand Test team, spotted him in the nets at Trent Bridge. "We are not putting any time limit on Ian's recovery. The main thing is that the operation does the trick and, hopefully, he will be bowling for us again next season," said Bracewell.

Gloucestershire 376; Leicestershire 102 & 122-0

It is a brave bowler who accepts the offer of missing a game at Bristol these days. With the wicket early-season lively and occasionally sporting more than just a tinge of green, heaven for the medium pacer can be 22 yards of turf at Nevil Road, as Anthony Ireland found today.

The Zimbabwean, playing his first championship game of the season only because Steve Kirby was due a rest, put the skids under Leicestershire, leaving Matthew Hoggard's new county following on 274 behind before an early tea on the second day.

Gemaal Hussain, the leading wicket-taker in the second division, and James Franklin, the Kiwi left-arm swing bowler, took three wickets each as Leicestershire were bundled out in 35 overs, but the 25-year-old Ireland's three in nine balls were sat at the heart of their troubles.

Until then it looked as though the Bristol pitch, which received the repeated attentions of the Lord's inspector last month, had calmed down. Gloucester had picked up a fourth bonus point in the morning – the first batting points of the season at Nevil Road – and Will Jefferson was safely passed his half-century in Leicester's reply. Then came mayhem.

Hussain had the promising James Taylor caught behind – his 27th wicket of the season – then Ireland reduced Leicester from 67 for three to 73 for six. Andrew McDonald played on, Jefferson shaped a cover drive while the ball nipped and flattened leg and Tom New tried to pull away from a snorter, only to become one of the wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty's five catches.

With Hussain mopping up the tail, four ducks on the first innings scorecard, only two batsmen in double figures and 43 overs to survive the day, Leicester hearts were in their boots, only for the game to take another turn. Matthew Boyce, six first time around but 59 so far in the second and Paul Nixon, a three-ball duck followed by an unbeaten half-century, batted out the remains of the day to cut the home side's lead to 122.

Speaking of changes to the Australian team and no one calls Nathan Bracken. Our best bowler one day for some reason, overlooked in test selection. Why? You do not believe that if we worth fighting pacers with our fast medium, there is someone who can be almost guaranteed to go the ball swing is? Do ...

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LONDON (AP) Former England test bowler Alec Bedser, who twice dismissed batting great Don Bradman for nought and also took 39 wickets in an Ashes series triumph over Australia, died Sunday at age 91 after a short illness.
ICC president David Morgan and ECB chairman Giles Clarke led the tributes to the Surrey fast medium bowler who later served as an England selector for 23 years and was knighted for his contribution to the sport.

LONDON (AP) Former England test bowler Alec Bedser, who twice dismissed batting great Don Bradman for nought and also took 39 wickets in an Ashes series triumph over Australia, died Sunday at age 91 after a short illness.
ICC president David Morgan and ECB chairman Giles Clarke led the tributes to the Surrey fast medium bowler who later served as an England selector for 23 years and was knighted for his contribution to the sport.

England's stand-in captain Alastair Cook is the latest in a long line to ignore the cascade of runs to the third-man boundary

Perhaps, for true evocation, this should be read while sitting in the Café Mozart in Vienna, eating strudel while listening to Anton Karas and his zither, for it concerns the third man and his virtual disappearance, a species threatened with extinction. Along with fine-leg, this was once the habitual between-overs grazing land of pace bowlers intent on escaping the inanities and banalities of what is as often as not crumpet-based chatter of the close fielders.

Now, save for the occasional scout who gravitates behind square, those boundary acres are left as empty as a Steinbeck dustbowl farm and across them the runs flow freely. As the ball scoots repeatedly down to the boundary boards behind square on the offside, and the persevering bowler offers a rueful look of frustration as an involuntary stroke brings rewards way beyond its worth, cricketers from former times shrug their shoulders and wonder.

"Why doesn't he post a third man?" could be cricket's most asked question in cricket after 'Howzat?' and 'Is Jonathan Trott ready yet?"

Many years ago a well-meaning Middlesex committee man buttonholed Mike Brearley during an interval and wondered if he had noticed that most of the runs being conceded were going through gaps in the field. Brearley thanked him and vowed to try and ensure it stopped happening. But the committee man did not quite say what he meant, which was that maybe the fielders could have been deployed better so that the areas in which the ball might have been expected to go were protected. And, of course, just as the chancellor's budget always takes with one hand in order to give with the other, so with field placing: protect one area and in theory you weaken another.

Think, though, of the various reasons why a captain and bowler place their fielders where they do. First, to take catches and to save runs. There is no point, simply for convention's sake, in having a fielder in a certain position if you do not anticipate a chance going there or if it is not in the batsman's scoring area. Then, though, fielders are placed for other more subtle reasons. A silly point or short-leg may be posted for a spinner for the possible bat-pad catch but also to make the batsman play differently, going back perhaps instead of forwards.

Then again a swing bowler, with his fuller length, could leave mid-off open invitingly, offering the option to drive there but once again with the risk of an edge increased (although he can unwittingly drag his length back as a defensive gesture while, conversely, the presence of protection at mid-off encourages a fuller length).

It is a tempter and so to an extent is leaving third man open. Here the risk of conceding easy runs, when there is no extensive slip cordon, is weighed up against the knowledge that a batsman, in eyeing up that area, will have to offer what is effectively half a bat's width. It is another tempter.

Whether or not there should be a third man ought to be dependent on a set of variables. If there are three or more slips, it renders the position more redundant. Fewer than this, though, and a large scoring area appears. Time was when most seamers with only two slips would not contemplate an absent third man. Times change. But there are further elements to be considered: the pace of the bowler, for example, and that of the pitch together with its bounce; the line of attack, with a wider line more likely to offer the chance to score behind square; whether the batsman is a front- or back-foot player, off-side or leg-side specialist; and the length that the bowler intends to bowl.

And, while it is easy to generalise, it is this last that bemuses me more than any. For while I understand completely why some fast-medium bowlers, swing bowlers especially, might not like the idea of leaving mid-off open, the notion that some of the tall men – Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath, Steve Harmison – who operated from a shorter length than most, felt the need of the comfort blanket at mid-off while leaking to third man too many of the few runs they conceded anyway, is anathema.

Why would they resent runs through mid-off yet be prepared to suffer those to third man? I wonder whether any of the computer analysts employed by teams now have any empirical evidence to show whether runs saved at mid-off from the pace men exceed those conceded to third man. For the big men, I know which I would back.

Hats off to the boys in Berea for the first new additions of the 2010 free agency period. Both Scott Fujita (ILB) and Tony Pashos (RT) come in as experienced NFL starters arguably in the prime of their careers (Pashos is 29, Fujita is 30), both fill positions of need for the Browns, and, per GM Tom Heckert: "They are two players we had targeted from the start of free agency. Both are smart, tough and physical - the type of players that the Browns are looking for." It's an especially big relief to see the hole on the right side of the offensive line addressed so decisively via free agency. While Pashos missed 11 games last season due to a broken shoulder blade, he started all but one game over an impressive three-year period from 2006-08: [I]nclud[ing] 16 with the Ravens in 2006 and the Jaguars in 2008, and 15 for Jacksonville in 2007. In 2006, he was part of a Ravens line that allowed only 17 sacks, the second-lowest total in the NFL that year, while RB Jamal Lewis rushed for 1,132 yards. In 2007, he was a member of a Jaguars line which led a running game that averaged 149.4 yards per contest, the second-best figure in the league, led by a 1,202-yard rushing effort by Fred Taylor, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry. In 2008, Jacksonville averaged 4.2 yards per rush attempt as both Maurice Jones-Drew (824) and Taylor (556) surpassed the 500-yard rushing plateau.If Pashos can recapture his 06-08 form, the Browns already formidable run-blocking unit becomes significantly stronger, and if he plays at all, he's a clear upgrade over weak link John St. Clair. Fujita might be an even better addition, an excellent fit with Mangini's Browns. Per Heckert: Scott possesses tremendous size for a linebacker (6-5, 250), and this will allow him to play inside or outside in our 3-4 defense . . . He has been a starter throughout his career, has been exposed to several different defensive schemes and has been successful in all of them . . . He is a great leader and played a big part in the success that the Saints achieved last year. Tony Grossi adds that Fujita, "a mainstay" on the Saints Super Bowl-winning defense, was "one of the most popular Saints, inside the team's locker room and within the city," having been chosen as the Saints "man of the year" in 2008. According to Grossi, the Saints "didn't expect Fujita to leave" via free agency. The addition of Fujita gives the Browns added flexibility in dealing with D'Qwell Jackson's restricted free agency. In view of David Bowens' excellent performance inside during the Browns late season run, a linebacking corps of Bowens, Roth, Fujita, and Wimbley looks like another significant upgrade, with or without Jackson. All the better if Jackson remains a Brown. Meanwhile, in New York . . . while the Browns are adding smart, tough, physical veterans, and "men of the year," the Jets are ditching such guys, like Thomas Jones, to add folks like five-time-paternity-suit defendant Antonio Cromartie. Said one Jet, speaking anonymously on Jones' departure: I can tell you, it's not going to be a popular move in the locker room . . .We loved T.J. The man loved the game and put it all on the line only to get dumped after his best season. Brandon Moore went on record to note that: [Losing Jones creates] a major void . . . A passionate guy like that, with the intensity he brought at certain points in the game, it ignited sparks in everybody. You would've liked to have kept a guy like that.And Damien Woody added that: "Some players bring things to the table that you can't put a price on, and T.J. is one of those guys."Which raises some good questions, as noted by Dave Kolonich at Cleveland Reboot: Would anyone be upset with a Jerome Harrison/Thomas Jones pairing heading into 2010? Wouldn’t the natural connection between Jones and Mangini seem to make this potential deal obvious? Or, how about this? If Mangini were still fully in charge, would this have already happened?Those questions being at least mostly rhetorical, let's get back to the Jets. As much fun as Rex Ryan's training camps are, one has to wonder if a guy like Jones wouldn't have been an especially important guy to keep around. Especially after having added a guy like Cromartie, who's "had his share of legal troubles," including the aforementioned five paternity suits: Cromartie . . . had a bar patron claim that he hit him in the head with a champagne bottle hours after the team's victory at Denver last November.And suffered a "low moment" on the field "against his new team in the playoffs in January:"Cromartie froze as Jets running back Shonn Greene hit the hole at the start of a 53-yard touchdown run that gave New York a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter of a 17-14 win in the AFC divisional round. It looks like the Chargers couldn't wait to get rid of him. Interesting that the Jets took him on for a third-round pick that could turn into a second rounder despite that Cromartie only has one year left on his current contract. While we're talking about former Florida State stars with one year left on their contracts who were available for third-round picks . . . Bye-bye Boldin. It's especially sad to see him go to the Ravens after just having been talking about what a great fit he'd be in Cleveland and the AFC North. ESPN's K.C. Joyner offers some consolation in suggesting that Boldin isn't a true "game-breaking wideout," Boldin has a short/medium-pass skill set similar to the one that Derrick Mason gave Baltimore over the years. That makes this much more of a lateral move than an upgrade, but one that GM Ozzie Newsome smartly made at low price. But what seems more important than a "game-breaker" now in Cleveland is a veteran who can offer a reliable target. Kudos to Terry Pluto who noted again this weekend that, "come on, they have to upgrade the position and they need a solid veteran, a Torry Holt type who can help with all the young receivers." Which reminds us of what Pluto wrote last month about Holt: They need a player who can make an impact in the film and meeting rooms, along with still being reliable on the field. He has to be a high-character guy, which is said to be the case with Holt. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler. At 33, he no longer is a featured receiver, but still caught 51 passes for a 14.2-yard average with Jacksonville. . . .After cutting Holt and two other veterans, General Manager Gene Smith said Holt was "a player-coach for us this past year in the way he mentored our inexperienced receiving group. . . . While Holt is not the same star that he was in his prime with St. Louis, 35 of his 51 catches were for first downs. Massaquoi led the Browns with 23 catches for first downs, then came Furrey with 13. Massaquoi and running back Jerome Harrison led the team with only 34 catches. Rather than use a high draft pick on a receiver, I'd prefer to add a veteran and develop the younger receivers. Holt was credited with only two dropped passes and flagged for three penalties. Which at least suggests that Holt might be a better addition than Boldin. As does this, again from ESPN's Joyner: Holt's 8.1 overall YPA was actually higher than Owens' 7.6. It was also higher than Braylon Edwards (7.7), Larry Fitzgerald (7.6), Brandon Marshall (7.6), Roddy White (7.5) and Calvin Johnson (7.5). Holt did have fewer attempts than any of these pass-catchers, but his 93 targets still ranked 33rd in the league, so he wasn't terribly lacking in this area.Whatever about Boldin, I'd be thrilled to see Holt in Orange and Brown in 2010. Joyner also makes the case for Kevin Walter, Chris Chambers, and Terrell Owens as viable vertical threats. Call Holt my favorite from this bunch. Finally, nice to see the Cribbs business settled. Have to agree with Mr. Pluto once again here: It was a pleasure to watch how new Browns president Mike Holmgren, General Manager Tom Heckert and Vice President of Business Bryan Wiedmeier were able to rework Joshua Cribbs’ contract without responding to some of the inflammatory charges by the players’ agents. You know that Holmgren & Co. wanted to scream, "Guys we just got to town, I don’t even know where the weight room is yet," when Cribbs and his agents began publicly demanding a new deal within a few days of the team’s regime change. . . . The former Super Bowl coach showed his maturity with how he dealt with some of the silly things said by Cribbs’ camp right after Holmgren joined the Browns. . . . It was done in a very professional manner without the team lashing out at the player. It was done without the coach needing to be involved. That makes relationships with players easier when the coach is not part of the contract talks.More on the up and up in Brownstown. "It's amazing how much can be accomplished . . . " Here's to another productive week, and to some pass-catchers paying visits shortly.

Hats off to the boys in Berea for the first new additions of the 2010 free agency period.  Both Scott Fujita (ILB) and Tony Pashos (RT) come in as experienced NFL starters arguably in the prime of their careers (Pashos is 29, Fujita is 30), both fill positions of need for the Browns, and, per GM Tom Heckert:

"They are two players we had targeted from the start of free agency. Both are smart, tough and physical - the type of players that the Browns are looking for."

It's an especially big relief to see the hole on the right side of the offensive line addressed so decisively via free agency.  While Pashos missed 11 games last season due to a broken shoulder blade, he started all but one game over an impressive three-year period from 2006-08: 

[I]nclud[ing] 16 with the Ravens in 2006 and the Jaguars in 2008, and 15 for Jacksonville in 2007. In 2006, he was part of a Ravens line that allowed only 17 sacks, the second-lowest total in the NFL that year, while RB Jamal Lewis rushed for 1,132 yards. In 2007, he was a member of a Jaguars line which led a running game that averaged 149.4 yards per contest, the second-best figure in the league, led by a 1,202-yard rushing effort by Fred Taylor, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry. In 2008, Jacksonville averaged 4.2 yards per rush attempt as both Maurice Jones-Drew (824) and Taylor (556) surpassed the 500-yard rushing plateau.

If Pashos can recapture his 06-08 form, the Browns already formidable run-blocking unit becomes significantly stronger, and if he plays at all, he's a clear upgrade over weak link John St. Clair. 

Fujita might be an even better addition, an excellent fit with Mangini's Browns. Per Heckert:

Scott possesses tremendous size for a linebacker (6-5, 250), and this will allow him to play inside or outside in our 3-4 defense . . . He has been a starter throughout his career, has been exposed to several different defensive schemes and has been successful in all of them . . . He is a great leader and played a big part in the success that the Saints achieved last year.  

Tony Grossi adds that Fujita, "a mainstay" on the Saints Super Bowl-winning defense, was "one of the most popular Saints, inside the team's locker room and within the city," having been chosen as the Saints "man of the year" in 2008.  According to Grossi, the Saints "didn't expect Fujita to leave" via free agency. 

The addition of Fujita gives the Browns added flexibility in dealing with D'Qwell Jackson's restricted free agency.  In view of David Bowens' excellent performance inside during the Browns late season run, a linebacking corps of Bowens, Roth, Fujita, and Wimbley looks like another significant upgrade, with or without Jackson.  All the better if Jackson remains a Brown. (Short video interview of Fujita re: his background here (via @LoriSchmidt)).

Meanwhile, in New York . . .  while the Browns are adding smart, tough, physical veterans, and "men of the year," the Jets are ditching such guys, like Thomas Jones, to add folks like five-time-paternity-suit defendant Antonio Cromartie.

Said one Jet, speaking anonymously on Jones' departure: 

I can tell you, it's not going to be a popular move in the locker room . . .We loved T.J. The man loved the game and put it all on the line only to get dumped after his best season. 

Brandon Moore went on record to note that:

[Losing Jones creates] a major void . . . A passionate guy like that, with the intensity he brought at certain points in the game, it ignited sparks in everybody. You would've liked to have kept a guy like that.

And Damien Woody added that:

"Some players bring things to the table that you can't put a price on, and T.J. is one of those guys."

Which raises some good questions, as noted by Dave Kolonich at Cleveland Reboot:

Would anyone be upset with a Jerome Harrison/Thomas Jones pairing heading into 2010?  Wouldn’t the natural connection between Jones and Mangini seem to make this potential deal obvious?  Or, how about this?  If Mangini were still fully in charge, would this have already happened?

Those questions being at least mostly rhetorical, let's get back to the Jets.  As much fun as Rex Ryan's training camps are, one has to wonder if a guy like Jones wouldn't have been an especially important guy to keep around.  Especially after having added a guy like Cromartie, who's "had his share of legal troubles," including the aforementioned five paternity suits:

Cromartie . . . had a bar patron claim that he hit him in the head with a champagne bottle hours after the team's victory at Denver last November.

And suffered a "low moment" on the field "against his new team in the playoffs in January:"

Cromartie froze as Jets running back Shonn Greene hit the hole at the start of a 53-yard touchdown run that gave New York a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter of a 17-14 win in the AFC divisional round. 

It looks like the Chargers couldn't wait to get rid of him.  Interesting that the Jets took him on for a third-round pick that could turn into a second rounder despite that Cromartie only has one year left on his current contract. 

While we're talking about former Florida State stars with one year left on their contracts who were available for third-round picks . . . Bye-bye Boldin.  It's especially sad to see him go to the Ravens after just having been talking about what a great fit he'd be in Cleveland and the AFC North. 

ESPN's K.C. Joyner offers some consolation in suggesting that Boldin isn't a true "game-breaking wideout,"

Boldin has a short/medium-pass skill set similar to the one that Derrick Mason gave Baltimore over the years. That makes this much more of a lateral move than an upgrade, but one that GM Ozzie Newsome smartly made at low price.

But what seems more important than a "game-breaker" now in Cleveland is a veteran who can offer a reliable target.  Kudos to Terry Pluto who noted again this weekend that, "come on, they have to upgrade the position and they need a solid veteran, a Torry Holt type who can help with all the young receivers." 

Which reminds us of what Pluto wrote last month about Holt: 

They need a player who can make an impact in the film and meeting rooms, along with still being reliable on the field. He has to be a high-character guy, which is said to be the case with Holt. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler. At 33, he no longer is a featured receiver, but still caught 51 passes for a 14.2-yard average with Jacksonville. . . .

After cutting Holt and two other veterans, General Manager Gene Smith said Holt was "a player-coach for us this past year in the way he mentored our inexperienced receiving group. . . . 

While Holt is not the same star that he was in his prime with St. Louis, 35 of his 51 catches were for first downs. Massaquoi led the Browns with 23 catches for first downs, then came Furrey with 13. Massaquoi and running back Jerome Harrison led the team with only 34 catches. Rather than use a high draft pick on a receiver, I'd prefer to add a veteran and develop the younger receivers. Holt was credited with only two dropped passes and flagged for three penalties.

Which at least suggests that Holt might be a better addition than Boldin.  As does this, again from ESPN's Joyner:

Holt's 8.1 overall YPA was actually higher than Owens' 7.6. It was also higher than Braylon Edwards (7.7), Larry Fitzgerald (7.6), Brandon Marshall (7.6), Roddy White (7.5) and Calvin Johnson (7.5). Holt did have fewer attempts than any of these pass-catchers, but his 93 targets still ranked 33rd in the league, so he wasn't terribly lacking in this area.

Whatever about Boldin, I'd be thrilled to see Holt in Orange and Brown in 2010.  Joyner also makes the case for Kevin Walter, Chris Chambers, and Terrell Owens as viable vertical threats.  Call Holt my favorite from this bunch.

Finally, nice to see the Cribbs business settled.  Have to agree with Mr. Pluto once again here:

It was a pleasure to watch how new Browns president Mike Holmgren, General Manager Tom Heckert and Vice President of Business Bryan Wiedmeier were able to rework Joshua Cribbs’ contract without responding to some of the inflammatory charges by the players’ agents. You know that Holmgren & Co. wanted to scream, "Guys we just got to town, I don’t even know where the weight room is yet," when Cribbs and his agents began publicly demanding a new deal within a few days of the team’s regime change. . . . 

The former Super Bowl coach showed his maturity with how he dealt with some of the silly things said by Cribbs’ camp right after Holmgren joined the Browns. . . .

It was done in a very professional manner without the team lashing out at the player. It was done without the coach needing to be involved. That makes relationships with players easier when the coach is not part of the contract talks.

More on the up and up in Brownstown.  "It's amazing how much can be accomplished . . . "  Here's to another productive week, and to some pass-catchers paying visits shortly.

Bangladesh A 202; England 68-3

Kevin Pietersen's Ashes summer was ruined by achilles trouble and now, as if by way of variety, he is ending the winter plagued by his achilles heel. His vulnerability against left-arm spinners is becoming more bizarre by the day.

Pietersen succumbed cheaply to left-arm spin in all England's three one-day internationals against Bangladesh and the irrational sequence was extended to four dismissals in eight days here as it took Mehrab Hossain Jr only one ball to encourage his feelings of paranoia.

Not since Geoffrey Boycott became increasingly aghast at falling four times to the wobbly left-arm medium pacers of the Indian Eknath Solkar back in 1971 has a sequence of dismissals for an England player so defied logic. Solkar even took to sledging Boycott in confused fashion. "I'll get you, bloody," he used to shout, not quite versed in the vernacular.

Hossain, who has taken four wickets in four Tests and is regarded in Bangladesh as a part-time spinner of limited pedigree, did not sledge; he just looked stunned. Brought on five minutes before the close by the captain Mohammad Ashraful as a touch of devilment, he struck in his only over of the day, when Pietersen's thoughts were entirely on survival and a prolonged tune-up for the first Test on the second day.

Just the sight of Hossain seemed to bring about paralysis. The bowler found slow turn around off-stump, struck the edge of a cagey defensive push and the wicketkeeper, Saghir Hossain, held the catch. Pietersen flounced off to the pavilion in bewilderment. In Bangladesh, this is getting silly; in his career as a whole, it is getting serious. He has fallen to a left-arm spinner 33 times in international cricket, which might only amount to 20 per cent, but which is a striking figure considering their scarcity. Tellingly, his average against slow left-armers is slightly more than half his career average of 45.

Bangladesh will pray that his vulnerability extends into the Tests, firstly on the same ZA Chowdhury ground, beginning on Friday, and then the final Test in the second and final Test in Dhaka, and in Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzaq, the two bowlers who exposed the defect in the ODIs, they are well placed to take advantage. He has played for turn and found none; played for none and found turn. The fault seems both technical and mental, although he may struggle to accept either.

This all overshadowed the heartening success of James Tredwell, Kent's experienced off-spinner, who took six for 95 as Bangladesh A were dismissed for 202, Raqibul Hasan probably playing himself back into the Test side with an unbeaten 107, and damaging Tredwell's figures with 14 from one over to reach his hundred.

Tredwell bowled unchanged for 27.3 overs apart from a switch of ends to take the final wicket. He is now certain to make his Test debut in Chittagong alongside his fellow off-spinner Graeme Swann. He had a thoroughly satisfying day, even if he sounds like the sort of brand name a tyre fitter might come up with to sell a retread, the sort of tyre you might reluctantly opt for if you could not quite afford the real thing. You would want assurances about its quality, not push it too hard and not expect it to last a particularly long time.

It was Pietersen, though, who had the blow-out and it was Pietersen whose state of mind that Tredwell was asked to analyse at the end of play.

"I think he was a bit upset," he said. "Obviously he would have liked to get a score but we all know that KP is a confident character and he will come bouncing back. Bangladesh will try to [take advantage] but I'm sure that KP will combat that."

England have not fielded two off-spinners in a Test for 15 years, since John Emburey and Mike Watkinson teamed up on an Old Trafford turner. Swann and Tredwell do have different approaches, with Tredwell the slower, flightier bowler, although that tendency was not so apparent as he quickened his pace to find purchase on a slow surface. Three of his six wickets were pouched by Ian Bell at short leg. Steven Finn, Middlesex's uncapped 6ft 7in fast bowler, just off the plane after being called up as emergency cover, showed up well with two for 13 in seven overs.

From the Troubles to Iraq, from Thatcher to Blair, no one can reinvent a contemporary news image like pop art veteran Richard Hamilton

Mordechai Vanunu is disappearing through the Jerusalem streets in the back of a police van. He is on trial for exposing Israel's covert nuclear arsenal to the west. Unable to communicate with the outside world, he presses his palm against the window in the hope that the message written there will tell his story to anyone with a camera: "Vanunu M was hijacked in Rome ITL 30.9.86, 21:00."

It is a harrowing photograph, not least because Vanunu really is about to disappear into solitary confinement, for more than a decade of his 18-year sentence. Richard Hamilton's painting reproduces the shot exactly. But it also commemorates the young man's passing, so to speak, for Vanunu's face is fading into the soft and muzzy surface of the paint (and the future). The terrible intensity of the photograph – the news of what had happened, what would happen – turns slowly, pensively, into the profundity of the painting. The chance reflections of foliage now look like laurels around Vanunu's head.

Or so it may seem to some viewers (me, for one). Others might find it peculiarly mute. It doesn't tell you that the Mossad drugged and "hijacked" Vanunu, how he was punished, why he is holding up his hand, what revelations he brought the world. It doesn't look so very different from the original photograph and if it weren't for the title – Unorthodox Rendition? – might seem equally neutral.

Consider, for instance, that the very same approach is taken to a bowler-hatted Orangeman on the march in Northern Ireland, a British soldier in Belfast and an IRA prisoner in a blanket: long-haired, bare-chested, Christ-like. You might put quite different interpretations upon these works according to your politics or you might imagine Hamilton to be some sort of militant republican. Though think again; he spells out his "vehement rejection" of the IRA in the catalogue.

These works are all based on photographs; this is crucial to their content. Hamilton isn't just relying upon news reportage because he cannot be there at the historic moment. The Troubles, the campus riots at Kent State, Israel, Iraq, the regimes of Mrs Thatcher or Tony Blair: our sense of each is inflected, of course, by the media images. Hamilton was there at the very beginning of this vigorous strain in art, and one of the fascinating aspects of this show is just how many different directions he takes within it.

Take the Irish paintings. They come big-screen, small-screen, split-screen; in diptych and series, more or less legible or remote. Hamilton observes that the Maze protesters have achieved a strange mythic power in the midst of their self-created squalor, lone figures isolated from time and life.

Sometimes he breaks into three dimensions and the rusted metal verticals of the picture frame invoke the bars of a cell. Sometimes the paint precisely imitates what it describes: excrement smeared on the walls, staining, dragging, depicting; excrement itself deployed like paint.

Nothing came over so viscerally in the television images. And the medium's limitations are well-expressed in the Kent State pictures, where you can just about make out a body, or at least a lifeless arm, in the dozen bleary screenprints shaped like televisions. Hamilton had set up a camera to shoot the news footage of the university massacres in 1970 directly from the TV. Transmission diminishes; so does repetition. With each generation of screenprint, the outrage – in both senses – is correspondingly suppressed and obscured.

One of the great strengths of these works is their skilful match of one kind of image with another, of medium with media. But there are times when the two fall out of kilter. Hamilton has had some coins struck with newsprint shots of Blair and Campbell, complete with Latin epigrams; the actual objects are even less potent than the title – Medals of Dishonour.

And Tony Blair as an all-American cowboy (lifesize, in the manner of Warhol's gun-toting Elvis) is toothless either as propaganda or satire. It marks the point where politics takes over and art become subordinate. For those opposed to the war, it is insufficiently complex and forceful; for those in favour, one imagines it may appear, by the same token, naive and simplistic.

Well, leave Blair to Steve Bell. And leave Margaret Thatcher to her own devices. Making something of Thatcher – something more horrifying than she made of herself, at any rate – still seems to be in the gift of other kinds of artists, such as novelists and playwrights. It is good to see Hamilton's Treatment Room from 1983, a walk-in operating theatre where Margaret Thatcher is administering her brand of medicine from a video above the operating table on which you are cast as the helpless patient. But she is doing all the work merely by dictating her message in a party political broadcast with the sound turned off.

Hamilton has produced some of the most potent images of our times. The deathless shot of Mick Jagger and the art dealer Robert Fraser being driven away after a swingeing sentence for possession, the flashbulb flaring on their handcuffs, went through many permutations – smeared like newsprint, fitted with solid silver cuffs, blurred as black-and-white telly – to become more redolent of the period than the original photo. And his Portrait of Hugh Gaitskell as a Famous Monster of Filmland is a tremendous coinage, a hybrid of collage and painting, comedy and fear, with its prissy little mouth and protruding sci-fi eyeball.

What they have in common with the Maze pictures, say, or Unorthodox Rendition, is true staying power: sufficient force as images to keep some of the most catastrophic episodes of modern history alive. That may be latent in the source, but Hamilton, now in his late 80s, continues to find ways of bringing it out and keeping it before our eyes.

IPL chairman sees no let-up in cricket's commercial and sporting revolution and expects to challenge football's Premier League

At 9.30 on Saturday night in Mumbai, while a fevered city eases into the weekend and the spring spiritual celebration of Holi, Lalit Modi keeps grinding away. The chairman of the Indian Premier League works incessantly as he expands an empire that has transformed the way in which cricket is played and watched around the world.

Work comes to Modi in many guises. He still faces various late-night meetings to assess the few remaining security issues before the latest IPL tournament starts a week on Friday. Beyond this interview, and his ongoing analysis of international sporting trends, Modi's work is also shaped by constant tweeting as he uses Twitter to communicate the IPL's unstoppable blend of Twenty20 cricket, Bollywood and big business.

Ambition and entertainment fuse further in his mind as he digests the soap opera of a clash that took place three hours earlier between his beloved Chelsea and a bristling Manchester City on the other side of the world. The Premier League is a striking barometer for the massive scale of Modi's IPL – and more relevant to his global plans for Twenty20 cricket than an insignificant one-day international being played this same Saturday evening between India and South Africa in Ahmedabad.

"Unfortunately I never get a chance to watch cricket – ever," the bustling but charming 46-year-old says. "Even with the IPL I've never watched a full match. It's unfortunate but I'm working and I only get to watch a few small sections of matches. We're up a lot of nights, until two or three every morning. The IPL keeps me busy."

Modi laughs huskily – then unveils his ultimate goal. "We hope to become the dominant sporting league in the world," he says calmly, brushing aside the swaggering football powerhouses across Europe and the giant franchises of American sport. "That's our aim. We are only a two-year-old league but we had close to 3.8 billion eyeballs last year. I use that phrase every time a person sits down and watches an IPL game live or on TV – that's an 'eyeball'. Every game last year we had 100m eyeballs. But because our objective is to become the most watched sporting event in the world we are now targeting 150m every day.

"This new deal with Google and YouTube will take us to a new level. I strongly believe my job as an administrator is to make sure our product is available to the widest possible audience in the world. Until now, if you're sitting in America or Finland and you want to watch cricket, you have a problem. Because cricket is not a major sport in these countries it will not be broadcast. But the IPL will now be live on YouTube. If someone watches the IPL we can monitor it and the numbers will mean advertisers and subscribers are going to follow.

"Of course we want it to be traditionally broadcast as well. The IPL has sold broadcasting rights for $2.4bn [£1.6bn]. Our Champions League, for clubs, will receive a billion dollars for 10 years of broadcasting rights. But there are so many devices now you can just connect your broadband to the TV and watch that way. Or you can watch it on your mobile. The consumer can decide. He can communicate with his friends on a social network site at the same time as he watches the IPL."

Modi stresses his belief that Twenty20 cricket will eventually surpass the Test game. "Twenty20 will become the dominant format – without doubt. It lasts only three hours and people don't have time any more to sit all day watching cricket. We're competing with football and other sports and I think three hours is a good time limit to help us expand the market. We are definitely bringing new consumers to cricket."

All this talk of "product" and "consumers" will distress followers of the ancient and still compelling art of Test cricket. But Modi is relentless in his logic. "I am a great supporter of Test cricket. People say I'm not but I also run the marketing department of the BCCI [the Indian board of control] and Test cricket is extremely important to us. All I am trying to do is remind people that we live in a modern age and Test cricket has a big problem: it is played in the daytime when most people are working.

"We should be embracing every opportunity for getting viewers into watching Tests and the most effective way is making it a day-night game. If you take it to day-night, then people can watch it on TV when they get home from work – or they can go to the stadium. There has been a big drop in Test cricket viewing [outside England and the Ashes] and it's because people don't have the leisure time in the day to watch it."

If Test cricket does not adapt to a floodlit future could it eventually disappear? "Yes," Modi says, "because the broadcaster won't be interested. Whether we like it or not, broadcasting determines whether a game survives. Without broadcasters you don't have money to pay players or keep the sport alive."

Intriguingly, for a man wedded to the modern media phenomenon, Modi does not believe Test cricket needs to change its actual format where matches can unfold with deliciously slow subtlety. "The five-day game should still be the pinnacle and the ultimate test of skills. You don't need to fiddle with the format at this stage. All you need do is change the timing. If we went day-night then we would see a real resurgence in the ratings. Look at Twenty20. It has gone to night cricket and the viewership has exploded."

In the face of Modi's rampant commercialism fears have grown in England. There have been concerns he could threaten the stability of England's Test team or use his Champions League to ride roughshod over the County Championship. Yet, diplomatically, he seems willing to compromise. Commenting on his strained relationship with English administrators, Modi is conciliatory: "I don't really blame them. They have a schedule to worry about. I understand that. All I keep saying is that we are ready to adjust and bring our games forward a few weeks. If they do the same and move their season back a few weeks, we'll find a happy medium."

Modi talks animatedly about how Twenty20 cricket, unlike its Test equivalent, can reach new markets in America and China. He also believes the IPL can eventually take on the Premier League. "Don't forget that our model is unique. All our teams are equal. And the sports fan wants unpredictability. Look, my son is a Manchester United fan and I'm a Chelsea fan – and I was very upset to see my team lose [last Saturday]. But, normally, we know exactly what is going to happen. My son and I know that nine times out 10 either Man U or Chelsea is going to win it. The Premier League is basically so predictable. I wanted to base my league on an unpredictable model – so we don't have a Man U or a Chelsea in the IPL.

"Everybody has the same purse and it is a healthy purse. Individual players are earning a lot. Some are earning $200,000 a day as they only play about 14 IPL matches. But the IPL is built around the teams. You all buy on the same auction day and you all have a chance to pick the best players. One team may pick up the best batsman but someone else will get the best fast bowler or the best all-rounder. It automatically gets evened out.

"If you look at our ratings, all 59 games in the IPL last year were within a 5% margin of each other in ratings. That has never happened in any other league in the world. From a broadcaster's or advertiser's point of view this is a dream because when they buy a match, or advertising, they know they are going to get value for money. The other key point is that 52 out of those 59 matches went down to the wire. No one knew who was going to win until the final stages."

The IPL's unpredictability will continue this Sunday when Modi holds another auction for new franchises to emerge. "Our model works but a lot of English football clubs are going under. Look at Portsmouth going bankrupt. With the next auction we might have even more surprising figures and people coming into the IPL."

Yet uncertainty also prevails in a worrying security risk which, last year, forced the IPL to move temporarily to South Africa. "This year we are definitely going ahead in India. Our top priority is to ensure security – but we cannot let terrorist organisations dictate to us.That's why we work closely with national security companies and governments. I think all the players will be here for the IPL because we have made the correct precautions. Reg Dickason [English cricket's security expert] had some suggestions which were very good. He also wanted to know how some of our strategies were being implemented but I don't see any problems."

Nothing can be guaranteed in a volatile world. And there is fleeting weariness in Modi's voice when he reflects on other serious concerns closer to home. His wife, Minal, has been stricken with cancer. "She has been in the US for treatment and she just got back home. She is recovering and the outlook is good but it has been very tough to deal with and to balance my time with her and my family and the IPL."

Modi takes refuge in more amusing stories – and laughs uproariously when confirming that he shocked his family when he went to university in the US. His millionaire father had given him $5,000 to buy a second-hand car. Modi, instead, used the money for the first instalment on a spanking new Mercedes. That same gambling instinct emerged when, over a cup of tea at Wimbledon in 2007, Modi broached his ideas to Andrew Wildblood, a sports agent with IMG.

"I had been working towards the IPL for 14 years when I asked Andrew to help me prepare a blueprint. When we announced our plans in September 2007 India had not even played a Twenty20 match. But then they went to the Twenty20 World Cup and won it. Everything changed. I knew cricket had undervalued itself for so long but I still thought it would take us five years to get where we were in year one. So it was quite dramatic – even for me. And, now, all our hard work is paying off. The future looks very promising."

Telegraph.co.uk

Tuffey for Yorkshire sportal.co.nz New Zealand fast-medium bowler Daryl Tuffey has been secured by Yorkshire for a stint in the early part of this year's county cricket season. ... Herschelle Gibbs to play Twenty20 cricket for YorkshireBBC Sport Gibbs to play T20 for YorkshireAFP Yorkshire challenge excites GibbsSportbox Clubcall -The Press Association all 46 news articles »

• South Africa 296 & 289; India 643-6dec
• Victory retains India's position at top of ICC rankings

Harbhajan Singh took five wickets as India secured a dramatic innings and 58-run victory on the final day of the second Test against South Africa at Kolkata.

India's victory at Eden Gardens tied the two-Test series at 1-1 and retained their place at the top of the International Cricket Council rankings.

India, starting the day needing seven more wickets for victory, chipped away steadily at South Africa's line-up but Hashim Amla provided another twist in a match that ebbed and flowed with a brilliant, unbeaten 127.

Amla – who took the man of the match award and man of the series awards for centuries in each innings at Eden Gardens and 490 in total for once out – had raised hopes of a draw for South Africa in a last-wicket stand with Morne Morkel (12) that had spanned more than 20 overs and was reminiscent of the defiance England had shown against in their recent series, but Harbhajan returned to snare Morkel with around 15 minutes remaining in the day.

Having already lost over a day to rain and bad light, India suffered another blow before play resumed as their strike bowler Zaheer Khan was forced to sit out the final three sessions due to a leg muscle strain sustained during play yesterday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened with the part-time spinner Virender Sehwag and the fast bowler Ishant Sharma, but shuffled his bowlers around and soon had spinners operating from both ends.

Harbhajan and the leg-spinner Amit Mishra stuck admirably to the task, striking a probing line, but were thwarted for more than an hour in an extended morning session by Amla and Ashwell Prince, who made 23.

Amla, on 49 overnight, went past the half-century mark and had painstakingly constructed a 47-run stand with Prince before the latter was dismissed by Harbhajan. The off-spinner had the out-of-form left-hand batsman in all sorts of trouble and eventually removed him with a ball that was pitched just outside off, Prince chipping carelessly to Ishant at mid-off.

Mishra then claimed his third scalp, trapping AB De Villiers (three) plumb in front with a googly while he played down the wrong line and the Proteas were still 183 runs behind at lunch, but with only five wickets in hand.

India began the afternoon session with vigour and Harbhajan had JP Duminy dismissed for six when the batsman rocked back to defend a delivery that was pushed slightly quicker through the air, misjudged the line completely and was hit on the back pad right in front.

South Africa were still 175 behind at that stage and Amla, the last recognised batsman, was left waging a lone battle alongside the tail.

Dale Steyn went quickly, leg before to Harbhajan who had shifted his line of attack from over to around the stumps but Wayne Parnell (22), showing a far better technique against the spinners than most of the middle-order batsmen, stalled India's attack but was let off on 14 when Suresh Raina, on the field for the injured Gautam Gambhir, grassed a catch at fourth slip.

Amla had moved into the 90s with consecutive boundaries off Ishant and raised his ninth Test century and third of the series with another off Mishra, who had shared the second new ball. Parnell, however, was extracted in the fourth over after the tea interval, momentarily losing composure and handing Ishant his first success despite a strong showing from the medium-pacer.

Parnell went tamely, chipping a full delivery straight to Harbhajan at mid-on, his dismissal ending a stubborn eighth-wicket stand that had yielded 70.

Paul Harris (four) hung around for a while, negotiating 24 deliveries, but his resistance too was ended by Ishant, as he perished to an edge.

Morkel then joined Amla and India were put under severe pressure as the pair stood firm. Even Sachin Tendulkar, who rarely bowls these days following a shoulder injury, twirled his arm without success.

But Harbhajan eventually trapped Morkel in front, sparking wild celebrations. The spinner finished with five for 59, while Mishra took three for 78.

Amla was named man of the match though. He finished the series with an average of 494 – the second highest, behind Wally Hammond, in the history of Test cricket.

The 24-year-old polled 46 and New South Wales all-rounder Steven Smith was next on 30, with Queensland paceman Ben Cutting third on eight. Hastings played for the Prime Minister's XI earlier this month against the West Indies. The fast-medium bowler...

ABC Online

Cricket: Limited-over whitewashes little help for test selectors New Zealand Herald Gone from that squad are fast-medium bowlers Shane Bond (retired from tests), Iain O'Brien (retired from all international cricket) and Grant Elliott ... Handy Andy impresses friends and foesTVNZ Cricket: Black Caps wrap up series with easeOtago Daily Times Vettori wants moreStuff.co.nz New Zealand Herald -New Zealand Herald -New Zealand Herald all 342 news articles »

The return of South Africa to India brings back memories of the little master at Wankhede in 2000

In one of his finest articles, Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford wrote: "I've always wondered how people in olden times connected back to their childhoods. After all, we have hooks with the past. When most of us from the 20th century reminisce about growing up, we right away remember the songs and the athletes of any particular moment. Right?" When the many who were teenagers in India at the turn of the millennium look back at February 2000, what will they remember? Some might recall Kaho Na...Pyaar Hai blaring out through a million speakers, while the more Anglo-centric will remember humming along to Santana's Smooth. There will also be at least a few whose minds go back to the Wankhede Stadium and one of Sachin Tendulkar's finest innings.

Memories of the actual game may be hazy now, especially given the devastation caused by the match-fixing scandal that followed, but South Africa's tour of 2000 represented a real nadir in Indian cricket history. Imran Khan's Pakistanis had been the last touring team to win a series in India [1987], in the pre-satellite-TV-pre-Tendulkar era, and Hansie Cronje's side weren't expected to change that statistic despite the awesome new-ball duo of Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

When Tendulkar arrived at the crease to the usual raucous acclaim, India were 39 for 2. When he departed 208 minutes later, the scoreboard showed 173 for 8. On a pitch that had even been given the wire-brush treatment after the extermination of any traces of grass, other batsmen struggled to work the ball off the square. He made 97 from 163 balls. When he then chipped in with 3 for 10 to give India a 49-run lead, it seemed as though the gamble on a Russian-roulette pitch had been worth it.

But Cronje, whose innocuous medium pace always troubled him, got him cheaply in the second innings, and it triggered an embarrassing slide to 113 all out. South Africa were then cruising to victory at 107 for 2 when Wasim Jaffer, on debut, brilliantly ran out Cronje from short leg. That became 128 for 6 with Anil Kumble getting stuck in. At the crease were a 24-year-old and a 23-year-old with four Test caps on the subcontinent between them. The collapse that cost them a series win at Ahmedabad in 1996 was uppermost on many minds as the younger man marked his guard.

In the event, it was the hosts that blinked first. Murali Kartik was making his debut, and the sense of occasion appeared to overwhelm him as he tried to pitch the ball into the huge rough patches outside leg stump. The two batsmen added 36 in 10.1 overs, with victory clinched just before stumps on the third evening. The younger man swept and pulled his way to 27 from just 32 balls, while his poker-faced compatriot defended with all the solidity that would come to typify his game in the years to come.

Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis are still around a decade later, as are Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Gary Kirsten, whose 50 and 20 played a huge part in the success, will now plot the downfall of his countrymen, while Kartik remains a peripheral and almost forgotten figure in Indian spin circles.

That series triumph – they would go on to thrash India in Bangalore – should have been the crowning glory of the Cronje captaincy. Instead, it was the beginning of the end. Since his greed made him forget what Jesus would have done, South Africa have visited twice, losing 1-0 in 2004 and sharing honours two years ago. This time, a rivalry that has nothing like the needle seen when India play Australia or Pakistan has some extra spice, thanks largely to the vagaries of a ranking system that has the teams at the top of the table.

A month ago, India would have been prohibitive favourites. Since then though, South Africa have shown both pragmatism and courage to dump Makhaya Ntini and bring in Wayne Parnell, while India's chances have been damaged by a fracture to Rahul Dravid's cheekbone. They were also far from their best in Bangladesh, with only Zaheer Khan of the bowlers looking truly world-class. Laxman certainly isn't the only one with concerns about the declining slow-bowling stocks.

That though is South Africa's weakness as well, a glaring one at that. Paul Harris and Johan Botha went for 115 runs in their 24 overs in the warm-up game, with Manish Pandey in particular taking Harris to the local laundromat. If Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel don't do significant damage with the new ball, then a leather-hunt along the lines of Chennai 2008 – when Sehwag slammed a 278-ball triple-hundred – could be in prospect.

The most watched man in the Indian line-up will be Subramaniam Badrinath. By his prolific standards, he hasn't had the best of domestic seasons, but at 29 he can finally see the Test cap that has driven him all these years. Virat Kohli may be the flavour of the season, but by giving Badri a chance, the selectors have indicated that sustained excellence on the domestic circuit does count for something. Like Murali Vijay, his Tamil Nadu colleague who takes Yuvraj Singh's place, he's a superb fielder as well.

Sreesanth, whose outswing and pelvic thrusts discomfited South Africa at the Wanderers in 2006, is ruled out with a hamstring problem, which means another opportunity for Ishant Sharma to rediscover the spitting-cobra menace that had Ricky Ponting in such strife in Perth two years ago. The second spinner will be as crucial. Pragyan Ojha was the one entrusted with the job against Sri Lanka, but don't rule out Amit Mishra's leg-spin. Both, along with Harbhajan Singh, might ask questions of a line-up that Graeme Swann embarrassed more than once.

Those are the sideshows though. The contest within the contest involves Zaheer and Steyn. Both are masters of swing, and on abrasive Indian pitches, the ability to get the ball to reverse as soon as possible is priceless. After a slow start against England, Steyn ended the series looking like the best bowler in the world, while Zaheer, who's now played five Tests in three months, insists that his rhythm improves the more he bowls.

Not even Australia can boast of a winning record in India over the past decade, and it's no secret that South Africa [three wins and two losses since 2000] have troubled India with consistent execution of the basics. They've never had a Warne, or batsmen like Hayden and Gilchrist, but time after time they've managed to hit India where it hurts. Forget Mickey Arthur's departure and the underlying tension about the transformation policy. No matter which XI takes the field in Nagpur on Saturday, India will be wary. And more than a few greybeards will recall a time when even Tendulkar's best wasn't quite enough.

First off, I want to apologize for not being so active here of late, work has kept me hopping and we’re getting busier than the proverbial one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest and that only means that I have to ref stupid drama.  Oops, not PC?  Err…Sorry!!!

Well, we start off with that freaking Groundhog Day and those nuts at PETA who want to use a robot on February 2nd, instead of a Groundhog who is well taken care of.  You know, this is an example of why people who have nothing but time on their hands are dangerous.  Hey PETA, shut up and bring me a steak, medium rare, and if you don't like that, my boy Garry Groundhog up there has a little something for ya!  Oh by the way Puxatawney Phil, bring me Springtime now you little rodent, my business could use it!

Bryant McKinney (a graduate of "the U" and a Viking) getting whacked from the Pro Bowl because he partied too hard in Miami?  What part of MIAMI doesn’t the NFL understand?  Oh, I get it, dude twittered about it too much, naming clubs by name!  Uh, am I missing something here?  Hey Gabbers, don’t you remember the old days when the Raiders (when they mattered) used to run gauntlets, define the term pub crawl and dodge bed checks in order to carouse and it was considered cool?  That was when the NFL had personality and fun!

Three All-Star games, two of which I could care less about (mostly because the participants don’t care about the fans who watch that drivel).  I’m intrigued by the NHL all-star game.  The skills challenges seem to be cool, and the game itself will be fast and furious.

Don’t look now, but aren’t we about ready to hear about “pitchers and catchers report”?   That can only mean one thing – YANKEES SUCK, THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YANKEES SUCK!  Oh yeah, nice loyalty you pinstriped douchebags, signing Randy Winn at the expense of both Johnny Damon and Godzilla who pretty much carried your monkey asses through last October?  I hope Godzilla has a career year in Angel-land!  Oh yeah Johnny, stop begging the Yankees to come back, play for somebody which will give you an opportunity to punk the Cranks on the field!  Be a man!

Hey, what’s this crap about the Pittsburgh Pirates turning down an offer from Mario Lemieux to buy the team?  This on top of not selling to Mark Cuban a few years back?  Damn Pittsburgh fans, will you rise up on this screwed up owner who flat out doesn’t give a shit about a city with a winning tradition or its fans?

Lastly, its about time that the Minnesota Twins are playing home games outdoors, how Baseball is meant to be played!  Oh yeah, the pics of the new stadium make it look like a baseball shrine.   If my Giants and A’s have to suck, go Twins!

Daytona comes up in two weeks (insert redneck, err dueling banjo or deliverance jokes here!).   Look, this stuff is gaining in popularity and all, so who am I to criticize, but I’ll stick with regular stuff.

So John Daly says he’s not gonna play on the Pro Golf tour anymore?   I thought he gave that up years ago to burn heaters, drink like a fish, and gain weight.  Dude was great for the game of Golf and its too bad he let himself get so bad because right now, the PGA needs something to offset Tiger being missing.  Hey, I have an idea, a reality show with Daly and Charles Barkley going through life and celebrity PGA events.  Now that’s some reality there – 800 pounds of human flesh living life to the fullest?  What’s not to love about that?

Roger Federer and Serena Williams just keep on winning majors, eh?  Wonder who’d win a match between those two?  You know, I think Serena could give Federer a match.  She has just as much power…

Oh yeah, there was a big deal last week over a female winning a Pro Bowlers Tour event.  So what?  I’m a bowler, and at one point participated on a part-time basis as a semi-pro, and at times having my head handed to me by females.  I’ve seen women who are great bowlers, and frankly I’m surprised this hasn’t happened sooner.

Fan's Recipe of the Day:  I'm gonna make some Brandy flamed Peppercorn Steak, with some rice and/or some grilled veggies for me and Mrs. Fan before she sits down and catches her Extreme Home Makeovershow and all.  Have a great day!

• Former captain ordered to rest after breaking jaw
• Sreesanth and Karthik also out of game in Nagpur

India have left their former captain Rahul Dravid out of the squad for the first Test against South Africa next month after he fractured a jaw against Bangladesh at Dhaka on Monday. The 15-man selection omitted several other established players, including the batsman Yuvraj Singh and fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, both also currently injured, and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India named a 15-man squad today, bringing in several new faces to replace injured regulars. Middle-order batsman Subramanium Badrinath, wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, and medium-fast bowlers Abhimanyu Mithun and Sudeep Tyagi were the inclusions.

Dravid has been advised to have three weeks' rest, while Yuvraj Singh has an injury to his left wrist. Sreesanth suffered a hamstring strain against Bangladesh and is expected to be fit for the second test. Saha, who was selected ahead of Karthik, had scored 318 runs at 38.75 in the domestic Ranji Trophy competition this season.

Badrinath was one of only six specialist batsmen in the squad and therefore looks set to make his test debut against South Africa. Mithun was the leading wicket taker in the Ranji Trophy, claiming 47 at 23.23, while Tyagi made his debut for India last December in a one-day international against Sri Lanka.

The first Test will be played in the western Indian city of Nagpur from 6 February.

India Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Murali Vijay, Subramanium Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sudeep Tyagi.

With a passion for cricket burning through Samoa, the native variation of the game - which once involved teams of 300 and whip-wielding 'coaches' - has had to readapt

Granted brief respite from the seemingly ceaseless cycle of English cricket the Spin, like the Walrus, has decided that the time has come to talk of other things. A way away from India and further still from Lord's a row is taking place that will be recognizable to anyone who regularly reads about cricket. On one side of the divide are the modernisers and on the other, unsurprisingly, the traditionalists.

So far, so familiar. The sharp end of this particular squabble, though, is on the far side of the planet. 1,798 miles as the crow flies, in fact, from the nearest Test match ground, out towards the centre of the south Pacific on the island of Samoa.

Ten days ago the Samoan International Cricket Association (SICA) picked its first-ever women's squad. On 2 February they will host their debut fifty-over game against local rivals Fiji, the first of a three-match series. The reward for the winner is a place in the ICC East Asia-Pacific Women's Trophy, in Japan this May. The series against Fiji is the latest step in SICA's drive towards attaining Associate member status of the ICC.

Samoa were awarded the junior Affiliate status in 2000. This secured them an annual development grant of $40,000 from the game's governing body. Becoming an Associate member would triple that amount. It is a steep leap up. There is a long list of strict criteria to be satisfied, including a clear three-year development strategy. That last must include a program for growing women's cricket, hence the series against Fiji.

Last September Samoa's men hosted the fourth East Asia-Pacific Trophy, which, for the first time, included a Twenty20 competition. Samoa finished third, and thrashed both Japan and Vanuatu despite being ranked below both teams.

"Twenty20," explained Matthew Weisheit, the ICC's head of development for the region, "is tailor-made for Samoa, it is fast, exciting, entertaining and time-friendly too." The trouble is that, for some Samoans, Twenty20 is not the game they grew up with. Never mind whether it is or isn't cricket, Twenty20 just isn't kilikiti.

Samoans have been playing kilikiti, their own version of cricket, since 1884. The British consul in Samoa at the time was William B Churchwood. Three years after finishing his posting he published a memoir of his time overseas, calling it My Consulate in Samoa: Four Years Sojurn in the Navigators Islands. So far as The Spin is aware, the fascinating insight it provides on the history of cricket on the island has not been published since. Churchwood recalled how "For the first two years [1881-1883] of my stay in Samoa, neither I nor any of the few British residents could ever persuade one single Samoan to join in our cricket." They were, he suggested, more interested in wave-riding and pig-hunting.

In 1884, though, the Samoans had a dramatic change of heart. "All at once," he wrote, "the village of Apia Samoa was seized with a most frantic desire to fathom the mysteries of the game, and to become proficient in its practice."

The reason for the switch was local rivalry. The Tongans had taken to cricket with such fervour that a law had to be passed preventing them from playing it for more than one day a week. The Samoans found themselves, in Churchwood's words, "being twitted on the subject of their ignorance of so grand an amusement" by a party of visiting Tongans. Deputations of local elders were duly sent to both Churchwood and the crew of the HMS Diamond, a British corvette moored off Apia. HMS Diamond's crew, 225 men under captain Alfred Taylor Dale, began to organise matches against the locals. As Churchwood remembered it:

"The Samoans explained that as it was a British sport, we as British were likely to know more about it than the Tongans, and they thought that we could teach them in such a way that they might be able to beat these boasting men. We accordingly took them in hand, and soon succeeded in instilling the initial idea into their heads. For a time all went on very smoothly, but the quiet and serious English style did not suit them long. One by one, innovations of their own manufacture crept into the game, until soon nothing remained of cricket, pur et simple, but the practice of one man bowling a ball to another man trying to hit it. Samoan cricket found great favour all round, giving as it did in its improved form the excuse, always welcome, and never rejected, for feasting and parade, so dear to all Samoans. Soon all the neighbouring towns were playing, and cricket at last becoming quite an epidemic."

The Samoans named their bespoke version of the sport kilikiti (or kirikiti), a Polynesian transliteration of cricket. The major change was in the number of players per side, which was increased to allow greater participation. "It is nothing unusual to see 30 or 40 opposed to one another," Churchwood wrote, "and I have known them to play as many as 200 odd a side. The fact is, that these matches are of one town against another, in which all insist upon taking a hand. These huge meetings, as may be readily imagined, last a week or more, junketing going on the whole time, and generally wind up with a big feast."

Kilikiti is a prime example of sporting syncretism, the melding of traditional culture with elements imported by outsiders. In areas of the globe where British influence was both more pervasive and more concentrated, such mutation in Laws of the Empire's own game would have been arrested and corrected. Across the south Pacific however, cricket was adopted and then adapted, turned towards the population's own ends. Samoa was not the only nation to develop its own form of the Laws. The Trobriand Islands invented their own version of cricket, the subject of the fascinating documentary Trobriand Cricket - An Ingenious Response to Colonialism.

As with Trobriand cricket, kilikiti acted as an a new conduit for village rivalries which had previously been expressed in ritual warfare. It was rich in pageantry, dancing and procession. Philip Snow, who joined the Fijian civil service after a brief career in first class cricket at Cambridge in the late 1930s, later recollected that:

"Cricket's set-up seemed to the Samoans such an opportunity for carrying on feuds under a thin veneer of courtesy and laws that the men of entire districts grappled on village greens, 200-300 a side, with three batsmen at each end and a new bowler to deliver each ball with all his unsapped frenzy."

So popular did the sport become that, as Snow archly put it, "work and Wesleynism and women all suffered in these amplitiduinous struggles, renewed weekly to stretch over months." In the end, cricket was banned in Samoa after 1900, when Britain ceded control of the country to Germany. The Germans saw the sport as a kind of "British-induced mania".

Perhaps they were right to be leery. According to Churchwood, in 1885 a team of 200 men sent by sea from Apia to play a cricket match in a nearby territory was in fact a Trojan Horse war-party of royal loyalists planning to ambush a pretender to the throne who lived in the region.

"No one had the smallest idea 'but that it was the peaceful expedition it was stated to be," Churchwood wrote, "Nothing more dangerous than cricket-bats and balls were seen going on board their boat; but I am afraid that if the mats had been lifted, it would have been found that for every bat there was an accompanying Snider or Winchester rifle, and that balls of not quite so harmless a nature formed the principal part of the ballast." The coup was foiled thanks to the indiscretion of one of the players, who let the secret slip.

Despite the ban, kilikiti continued to grow in popularity. In 1949 the English writer CHB Pridham provided a more detailed comparison of how the sport differed from 'English' cricket.

"The wicket-keeper stands close to the wicket, which consists of three rods fixed close together without bails, with about four long-stops behind him. Then come the batsmen - six of them (three for each end - one to bat and the other two to act as running relays). The bowling is all throwing - very hard and straight. The striker tries to make every ball into a full-pitch, and hits his hardest at everything with no idea of defensive play. The pitch is about twenty yards long. The scorers use a pin and a banana leaf. Barracking is not of the Australian model, but consists of pious invocations of the Deity."

Pridham goes on to tell how "an official unknown in English cricket presides over the field armed with a long whip, which he uses quite relentlessly on the backs and legs of any fielder who fails to do his part well."

The armed fielding-coach is one custom which did not survive the passage of time, but Kilikiti is still played in Samoa, between mixed-sex teams of 20-a-side. The ball is smaller than the equivalent used in cricket, made out of pulu tree rubber, and the bat is more akin to a cudgel than a willow blade. It is 1.2m long, and has three sides, one of them rounded, meaning a well hit shot can disappear in any direction. Chiefly though, a good stroke will send the ball soaring high over cow corner or shooting backwards over slip. The batsman is obliged to swing at every delivery - otherwise he is out.

Given that the players wear coloured clothing - traditional lava lavas - rather than whites, your average kilikiti player sounds rather well suited for Twenty20. Indeed, SICA launched their inaugural domestic Twenty20 competition in 2008. One lesson they learned was that in future they would have to set aside a separate budget to pay for lost balls, because the local batsmen were so keen challenge each other to see who could hit the longest six.

And that cross-over appeal is partly the problem. Until 2001 Samoa hardly bothered with cricket as the rest of the world knows it. The island's most conspicuous contribution to the sport had been when a Samoan bouncer clocked the half-cut Ricky Ponting with a right hook outside the Bourbon & Beefsteak Bar in Sydney, leaving him with a black eye and a three-match ban. Kilikiti, old-fashioned as it seemed to the younger generation, was still the national game.

One man decided to change that, and devoted himself to the task of bringing cricket back to Samoa. He is Seb Kolhlase, a Samoan of German ancestry. In the 1960s he played first class cricket for Northern Districts as a medium-pace bowler. The recent work done by the Kolhlase, who is now president of SICA, to grow the game in Samoa has been remarkably successful. It is one of the ICC's great unsung, unseen success stories, with SICA now boasting eight pitches, 16 senior teams organised into two domestic leagues, their youth programs and women's sides.

Crucially, the prime minister, Tuilaepa Malielegaoi, has thrown his (considerable) weight behind cricket. According to an interview with Kolhlase in the Samoa Observer, Malielegaoi has been sold cricket on the logic that it and rugby "are the only two sports that can earn the type of money our players can achieve professionally and support their families because we have the talent.

And so, with kit donations and coaching help coming from Australia, the popularity of cricket has sky-rocketed. Undoubtedly the speed with which the development has taken place owes something to the ingrained kilikiti culture on the island. Roughly 95% of SICA's registered players came to cricket through kilikiti. But the worry for the traditionalists is that cricket is growing at kilikiti's expense. Kilikiti has already begun to change in response, with standardized rules being introduced to enable a regional competition.

For the last 10 years Samoa's grand national jamboree, the Teuila festival, has featured a game of kilikiti. In 2009, for the first time, kilikiti was replaced with a cricket match. Prime Minister Tuilaepa defended what was described in the local press as "a snub" by saying that "the country should get more involved in developing international cricket because it would provide financial benefits for the players and their families."

Kolhlase told Radio Australia that the traditionalists are "are so used to kilikiti they treated us with apprehension as if we would stop them." He insisted there is room in Samoa for both: "I don't want kilkiti to stop, but we are sending people to Savai'i to hold [cricket] clinics." Kolhlase has made it clear that he has had to battle against the more conservative older generations who are seeking to protect kilikiti from the threat of Twenty20. The two versions of the sport, Kolhlase points out, are competing for the attention of the same set of talented younger players.

Wherever it is played it seems cricket, rapidly evolving and yet still so attached to its own history, has an essential tension between old and new. Twenty20 has increased the divide. The growth of cricket in Samoa is heart-warming, but just as in England and the rest of the cricket world, it has a cost which some fans are loathe to pay. Samoa's match against Fiji will certainly herald the dawn of a new tradition, but it may also signal the decline of an older one.

• Taken from The Spin, guardian.co.uk/sport's weekly take on the world of cricket. Subscribe now, it's free.

Worcestershire have signed James Cameron, an attacking left-hand batsman and medium pace bowler, on a two-year contract. A British passport holder, Cameron was born in Zimbabwe and was the contemporary of the likes of Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya and Se

• Cameron has British passport and has been playing in Perth
• 'I have always dreamed of being a professional cricketer'

Worcestershire have signed the left-handed batsman and medium pace bowler James Cameron on a two-year contract.

The Zimbabwe-born Cameron has a British passport and for the last four years has been playing A grade cricket for University CC in Perth.

The Royals are striving to bolster their playing staff after the departure of Kabir Ali, Steve Davies, Gareth Batty and Stephen Moore since the end of last season.

Worcestershire's director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, said: "I am delighted with this signing. James has been highly recommended by people I respect. He was scouted by [the bowling coach] Matt Mason on a recent trip home to Perth. We look forward to him arriving in March to prepare himself for the new season."

Cameron said: "I have always dreamed of being a professional cricketer and I am thrilled to take up this opportunity with Worcestershire. I see it as a real challenge and cannot wait to come over in a few weeks time."

Worcestershire sign attacking left-handed batsman and medium pace bowler James Cameron on a two-year contract.

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Quite a long time ago, we told you about the Bowler "Race" Rovers. As it turns out, about 18 months ago, these Race Rovers (actually called Wildcats) were sold to another British company, QT Services. The Wildcats have been busy: aside from being sold to new owners, a Jaguar-engined 500DKR Wildcat placed third in Egypt's treacherous Pharaoh's Rally.

What's a Wildcat? You can think of them as an extreme crossover vehicle of sorts - specifically the least hardcore of the three model lineup, the 300STR. It's a crossover in the same way that a Porsche Cayenne is a crossover. Full of capability on both the street and the dirt. Though we would imagine that the Wildcat 300STR might be a touch more capable than the Porker...

All three Wildcats feature a lightweight, tubular spaceframe chassis with fiberglass bodies. The three models go up only in off-road prowess - in order they are the aforementioned 300STR, the medium duty 400NSR and the hardcore, Pharaoh's Rally running 500DKR. If you didn't guess, DKR is an abbreviation of "Dakar."

The 300STR is the street legal one of the bunch. As such, it's available with air conditioning, some form of audio system and even a place to stow your golf bag. Notice we didn't say "bags." The next level up 400NSR has been developed for smaller events like the British Cross Country Championship or the French Tout Terrain series. It's not street legal, but it's not an out-and-out thug like the 500DKR, either.

Speaking of the 500DKR, it's the self-described "jewel" in QT's "crown." Whereas the less extreme Wildcats featured Rover's tired tried-and-true 4.0-liter V8, the 500DKR gets a previous-gen Jaguar petrol motor good for 285 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. Everything else on the 500 DKR has been "ruggedised" to the Nth degree. It also sounds like if you write a large enough check, QT will build you whatever you like. As they put it, "Options are available to make this car a serious contender for international honours." Indeed. Press release after the jump, high-res images below.



[Source: QT Services | Images: Richard Streeton]

Continue reading New QT Wildcats promise tube-framed filthy good times

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CHENNAI, Jan 11 — Former South Africa coach Eric Simons will work as a bowling consultant for India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said today.

“Eric Simons has been appointed bowling consultant... for the test series against Bangladesh and the test and ODI series against South Africa,” BCCI said in a statement.

Simons, 47, represented his country as a medium-pace bowler and lower-order batsman in 23 one-day internationals between 1994 and 1995 and took up coaching after retirement.

One of England's most gifted batsmen and heroes at Newlands must prove that his temperament is as strong as his batting

Ian Bell has been warned by the England coach, Andy Flower, that he must continue to score runs consistently if he is to repay the investment made in him. The batsman has made a vital contribution in three of England's last four Test matches, his 72 in the Ashes-winning victory at The Oval at the end of last season, the 140 in Durban last month and his 48 and match-saving 78 here this week.

But as the team moved into one of Cape Town's most luxurious hotels beside the waterfront for a three-day break yesterday, Flower seemed anxious to ensure that the self-congratulatory atmosphere following the draw at Newlands did not permeate the new resolution that has been evident in his No6 batsman.

Flower said yesterday: "We're looking for him to make consistent and medium to long-term contributions and not just nip in with a couple of scores. These have been fine contributions but we're looking for a lot more from him. England invested a lot with Ian Bell and this is some of him paying England back."

Flower, like most in the game, has been worried that the batsman's considerable technical gifts have only partly compensated for a certain temperamental flabbiness. Perhaps because Flower's own game was based on considerable mental resources the coach has never come across as one of Bell's more conspicuous supporters. Certainly Flower thought there was work to be done when he dropped the player after a defeat in Jamaica last winter. But he has been pleased with the response and with the character Bell displayed in the five-hour innings that – for all Graham Onions's heroics at the end – did most to save England on the final day.

"It was a significant innings for Ian. Especially backing up the one in Durban, because they were both innings that contributed to changing the momentum of the game. And he's been accused of not doing that often enough in his career. His contribution at The Oval in that last Test against Australia was huge. And then to see him back it up fairly soon after is excellent.

"He's put in a lot of hard work, a lot of hard physical work. The two to three training sessions a day contribute to becoming a tougher competitor. Through hard physical work you can certainly toughen yourself up, physically but also mentally and emotionally. He's seeing the results, personally, and we reap the benefits as a team."

The pressure remains on Bell because even though he has taken his Test average to more than 40 in the past two matches that is still modest in modern, batsman-friendly times. He has still not secured his long-term position. When the side leave South Africa for less bowler-friendly conditions – Australia next winter, say – they may choose not to play six specialist batsmen and Bell struggles to make runs when he is higher up the order.

For now, though, Kevin Pietersen is a bigger worry than Bell, which would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. Whether it is mental or physical scar tissue, impending fatherhood or the shortage of cricket, Pietersen's game is not where it should be. He is often described as a great player but great players usually have only short lean spells.

Flower denied that he was worried about Pietersen. "He's strong enough as a person and he's definitely a good enough as a player. I'd be surprised if he didn't contribute in a significant way at the Wanderers next week. In this series he made some significant contributions in Centurion. And then he's had a couple of very quiet Test matches.

"Perhaps he isn't feeling as confident as he always has. He was used to playing cricket all the time and then he had this big break out of it with a significant injury."

With one Test to go England hold an unbeatable 1-0 lead in the series, and the conditions in Johannesburg, where the fourth Test starts on Thursday, could help their bowlers more than South Africa's. England will be unchanged but South Africa have brought the uncapped left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir, a former Pakistan leg-spinner, into a 15-man squad as they bid to square the series and retain the Basil D'Oliveira Trophy. The batsman Alviro Petersen and the all-rounder Ryan McLaren have also been added to the side that drew on Thursday.

These are the sort of knife-edge Tests in which on piece of brilliance can decide the outcome

Two days gone and we have a real cut-and-thrust, tooth-and-claw, quarter-neither given-nor-asked Test match. These are the games where one innings of consequence, one inspired spell with the ball, a single run out or a blinding catch, can tip the balance. For South Africa, it might already have come from Jacques Kallis, whose century on the first day gave them the edge.

He was out to the first ball be receivedthis morning, however, to set in motion the total collapse of their innings from an overnight 279 for six to 291 all out against James Anderson and the second new ball. Kallis' innings was not something England could replicate although their collective effort was compensating.

Alastair Cook tried, just as he had last week at Kingsmead, showing great restraint for almost four hours before he was out for 65, clipping indifferently to midwicket before he could get back into the zone after tea. Then there was Ian Bell who played himself in diligently, made 48 in three eye-pleasing hours, and then slapped a long hop so maddeningly to backward point that even his most ardent supporters were left shaking heads while gently murmuring "Oh Belly, Belly, Belly".

By the close of a day fought under azure skies England had reached 241 for seven, a first-innings deficit of 50. Unless the lower order can rally round Matt Prior, unbeaten on 52, and reach parity or beyond, it will be South Africa who consider themselves to have a crucial if slender advantage – psychological rather than physical – and an opportunity to square the series.

The pitch played well enough, with good carry for the seamers and a more consistent bounce, although that should be the case after only six sessions.

However one or two deliveries kept a little low while JP Duminy, South Africa's part-time offspinner, managed to get several balls sharply off the straight in the lead up to the second new ball. In 17 Tests at Newlands since readmission there have been five fourth-innings totals in excess of 300, generally regarded as in the upper reaches of expectation, the highest of them 354 for five made by West Indies in a draw here six years ago. Australia, too, have made 334 for six to win.

A curious aspect, which defies explanation, is that of the 15 wickets to fall to seamers all but that of Kallis and Stuart Broad have fallen from the Kelvin Grove end. Such imbalance in distribution would tend to point to an awkward spot on the pitch, but nothing was evident: presumably then a statistical anomaly.

Having cut short South Africa's innings first thing, preventing them from posting a really challenging total, England, or rather Andrew Strauss, looked to continue the aggressive approach to the new ball exhibited in the first two Tests. This time, though, there was no Makhaya Ntini to bowl medium-fast long hops but instead Morne Morkel, from round the wicket. His fourth ball found the captain driving and edging to the wicketkeeper.

Jonathan Trott then made 20 unflustered runs before dragging Dale Steyn on to his stumps whereupon Kevin Pietersen, a world away from the ebullient batsman we know, clipped his second ball back to the bowler, who stuck out his right hand to take an excellent reflex catch.

That 36 for three became 73 for four, and trouble, when Paul Collingwood was lbw to Morkel, precisely the sort of situation that Bell-watchers prescribe as a true test of his capabilities to bat under pressure. This, to general perception, is not his forte. Were it Steve Waugh, say, striding out, or even Collingwood, they would say "thank goodness, it will be all right".

Bell carries our own nervous dispositions with him. We bite our nails. After 50-odd Tests responsibility, an air of flinty-eyed toughness, does not sit kindly on him, a perception not helped perhaps by his mean and moody photograph on the big screen in which his mum seems to have just parted his hair and slicked it down with love and bit of spit.

In fact while Cook continued batting at his own serene pace, judgment unwavering outside offstump, Bell played himself in with considerable patience. It took 15 balls before a sumptuous cover drive saw him off the mark, and a further 22 deliveries before he added to his score with another.

But there were eight fours in all, including delicate dabs to third man, and several forces square that evoked another era when back-foot play was pre-eminent. The pity was that when dismissed he had seen off the threat posed by Morkel and Steyn, who bowled formidably well in tandem. The hard work had been done, and he recognised, as he trudged off, a concentration lapse when so close to a real breakthrough innings. It was such a shame.

The first 20 minutes of the day were extraordinary as Anderson and Graham Onions exploited a ball that was only eight deliveries old. Onions' second ball was immaculate, the sort he had been practising for half an hour beforehand, on a length, to the tightest of lines and just shading away from Kallis.

To Anderson went the rest of the spoils, with his first delivery finding the edge of Steyn's bat and flying to the right of Trott at fourth slip, who completed an acrobatic catch. Morkel was bowled third ball and Friedel de Wet fell lbw. Figures of five or 63 were only Anderson's second such haul abroad.

Top 10 Bowlers of the Decade: # 3 Glenn McGrath http://bit.ly/6HdfcT http://bit.ly/8Ruh2h I Relentless fast medium stuff effective this era

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• Finger injury threatens to keep Collingwood out of third Test
• Opener Carberry set to bat at No5 to preserve 'balance'

Tomorrow, to the dramatic backdrop of Table Mountain, comes the biggest test yet of the developing resilience of Andrew Strauss's team. Leading the four-match series by virtue of the mauling they inflicted on South Africa in Durban, they come to Newlands knowing that it is within their power, over the next few days, to win the series and render irrelevant the final Test in Johannesburg.

They also understand from experience that it pays not to get too far ahead of themselves. At home last summer they arrived at Headingley with similar ambition only to depart tails between legs. Now they find themselves at the ground which South Africa regard beyond all others as their hunting ground. Fourteen matches have they played there since readmission in 1992, and they have been beaten just three times, each by Australia. Three further matches have been drawn, generally a by-product of the weather, the rest won.

For England it represents a massive hurdle for, if they have had their success on all other South African grounds over that period, Newlands has remained a bridge too far, with losses by 10 wickets, an innings and 37 runs, and, last time, 196 runs. If they are choosing to push the portents of history to the back of their minds, then Strauss and Andy Flower recognise the dangers all right. England may have thoroughly outplayed South Africa in Durban, and the opposition may be in some disarray, but they were within a single delivery of losing at Centurion: this remains a close series.

Such was the overwhelmingly thorough performance by England at Kingsmead – in which the batsmen did a fine job in racking up more than enough runs with which the bowlers could work, and the bowlers, for their part, responded accordingly – there is little danger of a change to the balance of the side. Flower admitted yesterday that the decision to begin and then continue the series with four frontline bowlers was a close one, but that they realised that in Graeme Swann they had a spinner in whom they had absolute trust that he could bowl a lot of overs in all conditions. The pay-off, he knows, is a deep batting line-up. The circumstances of the series now, in which it is South Africa who have to do the catching up, mean that there is no chance of that balance being altered.

What has changed is the condition of Paul Collingwood's left index finger. He dislocated this digit on the fourth day in Durban during one of the intensive fielding sessions he undergoes before every day's play. With the third Test coming so hard on the second, the chances of full recovery so that not only could he bat without discomfort, but could also resume his place in the slip cordon (where he was missed by Swann on the final day) did not seem hopeful.

Yesterday, ahead of schedule, he batted in the nets against medium pace and spin, had some throw-downs and did some reasonably gentle slip catching. He is, as Flower admitted, absolutely bursting to play, but it is looking unlikely that he will. The decision will not be his, for while there are instances where the best judge is the player, Flower would not want the potential misjudgment of one whose heart may rule his head in his urgency to get on the field to impact on the team effort. As with Andrew Flintoff at Headingley, Collingwood will play if the England medical staff decide he is fit, not if Collingwood himself says he is.

Should he not recover in time, then it seems certain that the Hampshire left-hander Michael Carberry, a batsman whose virtues have been promoted by Shane Warne (vested interest notwithstanding), will make his debut. England did not carry a spare batsman on this tour, largely because their designated back-ups were playing in South Africa until recently with the performance squad and were an overnight flight and a mere two hours' time difference away. Carberry will be 30 in September so is no youth, and a veteran of three counties, but he had a successful season in England, impressed with the performance squad and, says Flower, looks like a fellow who knows his game.

How to fit him in is another matter. He is an opener by trade, but with the lack of a middle-order player pushing for inclusion (Eoin Morgan is clearly talented but as yet has no pedigree beyond one-day cricket), he will be asked to adapt, probably by being Collingwood's direct replacement at five, thus avoiding disruption to a batting order that has started to have a settled feel to it.

At Durban, the bowling attack fired as a unit, and silenced, for a while anyway, those who had doubts that such a formula was capable of taking 20 wickets in a match. Swann's contribution has been key, allowing the rotation of three seamers at the other end. A concern, though, is the absence of the devastating away swing that first brought James Anderson to the world's attention when he destroyed Pakistan with the white ball under Newlands' lights in the 2003 World Cup.

It would seem that in bowling to the increasing number of left-handers (research shows that the number of southpaws in Test sides has pretty much doubled in the last two decades), particularly openers, he has concentrated on firing across their bows at the expense of the dangerous ball that moves into the pads. Why is a mystery but so grooved has he become in this that his wrist action seems to preclude away swing even when he is seeking it and the conditions allow. There are techniques he can try which include a different angle of approach, and visualisation, but he needs some serious work to recover this vital weapon in his armoury.

• Paceman's waning powers spell end of Test career
• Only iconic status can save Ntini from being dropped

Mike Procter and the rest of South Africa's selectors face one of their most difficult decisions on Sunday when they must decide whether to bring down the curtain on the Test career of Makhaya Ntini, their iconic, black fast bowler.

South Africa have won their last three Tests against England at Newlands, their fortress ground. The 32-year-old Ntini, though, has struggled for pace and penetration in the Tests in Centurion and Durban and has taken just two wickets – both during England's first innings in the first Test – for 233 runs.

But, ultimately, the decision on Ntini, who has also struggled in domestic cricket, where his speed has waned, may not be taken by the selectors. Even though Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, has attempted to dismiss suggestions that there is political pressure to pick the bowler, it is understood that the selectors have made an unwritten commitment to include at least one black African in their team. The only other candidate is the left-armer Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who has played in three one-day internationals. But Tsotsobe's medium pace is considered too gentle for Test cricket.

Micky Arthur, the South Africa coach, said: "I guess Makhaya hasn't performed as he would have liked over the last two Tests. We've got to look at what is our best possible attack to take 20 wickets. We're 1-0 downand we need to take 20 wickets to win this Test match. We've got to look at what our best options are. It's the same with any icon cricketer. You tend to give them a bit of a longer run because they deserve it, because they have earned it. Makhaya has certainly earned it."

Ntini's bluntless is all the more noticeable because Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis have not been at their best following injury while Paul Harris looked less effective when the England batsmen went after him. But even if Ntini is dropped it may be no more than a short-term move, with political pressure demanding his reinstatement. "We had a pretty serious discussion after the Durban Test," said Arthur. "It's certainly not panic stations but we asked a lot of questions. The one thing we can take out of it is that we didn't play a lot of Test cricket in 2009. We felt that in 2008 we got on a roll where guys knew exactly where they stood and the results went accordingly. So we're hoping 2010 will be good for us."

Arthur praised Graeme Swann, the man of the match in each of the first two Tests, as being "probably on a par with Daniel Vettori as the best finger spinner in world cricket at the moment."

He added: "He's really bowled exceptionally well through the first two Test matches. It's going to be up to us to counter that and certainly to be positive is one way of doing that."

The other South Africa player under pressure is JP Duminy whose place, like that of Ntini, appeared to be secure just a year ago.

Arthur, though, seems in the mood to stick with his top six, despite the fact that his team were bowled out for just 133 in 50 overs in Durban.

"I back JP hugely," he said. "I think JP's an unbelievable talent. This time last year he was on top of the world and it was always going to happen that he was going to face a little drop in his career.

"It's how quick and how mentally strong he can stay to come through this. And I know he will. Technically, there is one little issue we're working on. Other than that he's technically very sound. It's a matter for him to get through this mentally now and I've got full faith that he will."

South Africa's top order collapsed to 50 for six in the second innings in the second Test, with only two specialist batsmen reaching double figures, in a passage of play that effectively handed England victory.

"There has been a lot of speculation around several places and that's understandable after such a poor performance," Arthur said. "But as far as our top six batsmen are concerned, I back them completely and I am convinced that they are the best we have. They have performed for us in the past and I back them to do it again."

Andy Flower cautioned that England were "nowhere near" winning the four Test series. "South Africa are a very proud cricket nation and we know they will come hard at us from the first ball on Sunday," said the England coach. "There's a lot more hard cricket to be played."

Popular Labour backbench MP who was prepared to vote against his own government

David Taylor, the Labour MP for North West Leicestershire, who has died from a heart attack aged 63, was that rare thing among politicians: someone who was liked and admired equally by his constituents, his parliamentary colleagues and his political opponents. It was a tribute to his diligence, his decency and his determination in pursuit of the many political causes he espoused and it was something that was recognised when he was chosen two years ago as the House of Commons' backbencher of the year.

He was in many ways a role model for all backbench MPs. He had an impressive record for attendance, for his partici-pation in debates at a time when most MPs' performances in the chamber have been declining, for questioning the executive and for voting against his own government. An instinctive leftwinger – he described himself as "a traditional mushy-peas rather than an avocado Labourite" – his rebelliousness had increased over the years since 1997 when he was first elected. He voted against the government in 4% of the votes in which he participated in the first two parliaments until 2005, but notched that up to 12% in the last four years, defying the whips 115 times. He had voted in 87% of the votes in the Commons since the last election. He was in the top 10 of a league table on the "best value for money MPs".

But Taylor was also a man who did not lose touch with those who sent him to Westminster. He was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, the son of a civil servant and a postal worker, and he was raised in the village of Heather, where he continued to live. He went to Heather primary school, Ashby boys' grammar and Leicester Polytechnic. He qualified as a chartered accountant and studied for a degree in maths and computing with the Open University. He worked for Leicestershire county council as an accountant and computer applications manager and was elected to North West Leicestershire district council in 1981 and to Heather parish council in 1987.

Taylor was also a lay magistrate and church warden. He joined the Labour party at the age of 24 and was elected to the Commons at his second attempt. He had a wide range of interests and he spoke often and fluently. He could never resist an alliteration and once, speaking about Manchester City, inquired of the house: "Is it forever the fate of football fans to be fleeced by flaky foreign financiers?"

He had been a member of Greenpeace, Labour Rural Revival, the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform and the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England when he arrived at Westminster. Once there he served on the modernisation of the House of Commons select committee until 2001 and then joined the Environment Food and Rural Affairs committee. He chaired the all-party committee on smoking and health and was appointed to the chairman's panel in 2002. In May 2008, he announced his intended retirement at the forthcoming election.

Like many other MPs, Taylor became enmeshed in the expenses scandal, although he demonstrated his openness by releasing his "unredacted" claims to his local newspaper and repaid £8,000 for second home expenses. He asserted the need for a more transparent system at Westminster, but said that this should not stop "ordinary people like myself from becoming an MP".

In his youth Taylor enjoyed some success as a medium pace bowler in village cricket and in the 1980s he started running marathons. He completed the London marathon in 1989 in just over three hours. He is survived by his wife, Pam, whom he married in 1969, four daughters and two grandchildren. His only son predeceased him in 1997.

• David Leslie Taylor, politician, born 22 August 1946; died 26 December 2009