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Why did you retire from Tests so suddenly?
It was a question of body and mind. It had been on my mind for a while and I got enough signals from the body during the series in the West Indies. I really wasn’t prepared for that, and my body didn’t respond during the last two Tests. Like the team, I started the series well, but things fell away after the first two Tests. Also, I don’t think I was bowling upto to my expectations on a consistent basis. I was looking for a green patch or two to help me and to be honest, at this point in time, I don’t see myself in the Test squad on Indian wickets.I’ve always advocated that only the best fast bowlers should play and I had reached a stage where my body couldn’t do what my mind asked of it. I was running out of steam and I was depending on helpful wickets, regardless of the fact that I was still bowling a decent line and length. The results also played their part. Had we won in Jamaica, I might have changed my mind and played through the tour of England.Why did you want to carry on playing one-day cricket then?
A lot of wrong signals have been given by certain sections of our board. I love one-day cricket with its entertainment value and high intensity, but the real game is Test cricket. Having played so much cricket – and bowled so many overs in both forms of the game – it wasn’t possible to keep going without a break. I did ask the selectors to rest me for one or two one-day tournaments just so I could be fit for the Tests. The bowlers who are playing now will face the same problem soon enough, with so many matches being played.I still maintain that Test matches are special. You win one, you’ll cherish it for life; and if you lose, it might haunt you forever. In the one-day game, you can win today, lose tomorrow and then win again the day after. It’s not right for people to say that I pick and choose my matches. I took the break because my body needed it but when I’m not playing, I really miss the game. I don’t think it’s right to perform well below your best – but just about good enough – merely to keep your place in the side. In such a case, it’s better to take a break and come back refreshed.Disappointed to miss out on the one-day squad?
Not really. I expected these things to happen. A few people in the system haven’t understood me. After all, how many have bowled for the country as much as I have? Only someone who has done that can understand the plight of fast bowlers in this country.Wasn’t the English tour a big temptation for you, having done so well the last time?
You could say that, but the West Indies tour was very disappointing, especially after we started so well. If we had won in Jamaica, things might have been different. But by then I was tired, body and mind, and bitterly disappointed with my own performance.When you look back at your Test career, are you satisfied?
There are highs and lows.But do you feel you’ve underachieved?
To some extent, yes.You once said that you were a mediocre performer compared to someone like Glenn McGrath…
I don’t like to make excuses for myself. For example, I could say that I have played half my cricket on docile tracks that aren’t conducive to fast bowling. Even if it’s a good grassy pitch overseas, you still have to bowl well to take wickets. At the end of the day, it comes down to your own performances and how they’ve served the team, and in that aspect I don’t think I’m in the same bracket as Waqar [Younis], Wasim [Akram], McGrath and a few others.Your strike-rates and averages are much better at home…
I think one of the biggest problems when we go abroad has been the lack of a third seamer. The situation is getting better now. But over the last 10 years, how often have we had an effective third seamer? Why didn’t the third seamer deliver most of the time? We invariably got breakthroughs in most of the games but the third seamer failed because he had no experience at that level. Why is that? Because he can never find a place in the team when we play at home. I think the change has to come at the grassroots. We need to see pitches that allow you to play three seamers.One of the biggest criticisms directed at you down the years has been your comparative lack of aggression…
I respect those opinions but I’m aggressive in my own way. It’s just that my brand of aggression is not for the TV. I just take the ball and do my job.But could your body language have encouraged the opposition?
Body language doesn’t get you wickets. I don’t believe that aggression can get you wickets…Of late though, you had taken a different approach to your bowling, pitching the ball up a lot more…
Things were getting better, yes, but the results still weren’t there. I was trying my best to do that. You have to adapt as you go along and this was one of the changes that paid dividends. When you’re a young fast bowler, there’s always a tendency to pitch it a little short. It depends on the conditions too, to an extent. But sooner or later, a bowler realises that pitching the ball up is the key.Did you get the right advice in the early stages of your career?
Yes, I did. Kapil [Dev] was great and I used to speak to him all the time. Dennis Lillee was another great influence. The sad thing is that I didn’t get to play enough with Kapil.But did any of them tell you to pitch the ball up more?
Yes, they did but I used to get wickets even otherwise. Maybe if I had pitched it up more, I might have got more wickets. That is certainly one of my regrets.You once said that most Indian captains were batsmen, which was why you never got bowler-friendly pitches here. Can you elaborate on that?
That’s a matter for the captains and the team management. They need to realise that if we are to win consistently abroad, we need to produce pitches that give at least some encouragement to the fast bowlers.How disappointing was it for you to see a grassy pitch shaved off on the captain’s instructions?
This was one of the factors that contributed to my retirement. Earlier, I never used to think about how the wicket might play, whether it had grass or not. But with age catching up, you look at these things.Did your relationship with the captain have anything to do with the decision to retire?
A lot of people have been talking about my relationship with [Sourav] Ganguly. As such, there is no problem between us. Why would my decision be based on someone else’s actions or reactions? Ganguly and I go back a long time. I’m much senior to him and I know him very well.Expressing your emotions on the field doesn’t mean that we don’t get along well. People have read it wrong. As long as our expressions are directed towards winning the match, there is no problem.We are both very frank people who have known each other a long time. People just try too hard to read something into certain gestures.Any regrets when it comes to your batting?
It was disappointing, but with the amount of bowling I did, it was hard to concentrate with the bat. The injuries and the fractures didn’t help.Talking of injuries, how much did that shoulder injury in 1997 set you back?
Tremendously. That was a period when I was peaking and had I maintained that form for three or four years, I might have been a very different bowler. That pushed me back to square one and it took eight to nine months just to get back.Who complemented you best with the new ball?
Look, I don’t have any favourites. [Venkatesh] Prasad and I got the chance to bowl together for quite a long time; Zaheer [Khan] is a very good bowler. So is Ashish Nehra. He moves the ball well. Tinu Yohannan is one of the best athletes I have ever seen in Indian cricket.You were a young man when you first toured abroad. How did you think the touring experience can be made easier for rookies?
Long tours are always hard. I think fitness is key, and in that regard Andrew Leipus has done a fantastic job for us. The physiotherapy aspect is just as important. You need to get to the root cause of the injury and treat it…But from a mental aspect?
That’s all part and parcel of the game. When you go abroad, you have better conditions, better practice facilities and the best food. There is nothing to complain about. The only thing is, when you lose, your mental state can become quite fragile and you start doubting your own capabilities. The food, the travelling, the different culture, that shouldn’t really bother you. It’s for the seniors to buck up the young players if they’re going through a bad patch.Were the seniors very supportive when you were starting out?
Yes, and that’s still the case. The players take a great deal of interest in each other’s game and the youngsters get a lot of encouragement. Some of the youngsters – [Mohammad] Kaif, [Dinesh] Mongia and the fast bowlers to name just a few – have a great attitude and that helps.What does the future hold for Javagal Srinath?
I believe I just need to work hard and keep myself fit for the World Cup. I’ll make myself available and it’s up to the selectors to pick me. It’s only right that they groom players for the future but I’ll keep working and see how it goes. I really want to play the World Cup though.That would be the logical conclusion to your career…
Yes. I don’t see anything beyond that.

Canterbury will need no special motivation for their State Shield opener against Central Districts in New Plymouth tomorrow.The two teams are the finalists from last year’s one-day competition and with Central Districts upsetting Canterbury there is every incentive to give the holders a reminder of who the real bosses are.On the occasion, Canterbury has to be favoured. With its internationals back in for the match it has a formidable look to it.Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Shane Bond and Chris Martin give the side a real edge, and CD without their mastermind captain from last year Jacob Oram will have a real battle to take this game out.Canterbury will also be looking to get a good start to the competition as they follow up with a game on Thursday in Auckland, so maximum points would be a good start from which to launch the remainder of the campaign.CD are not without hope however, as Mathew Sinclair especially is looking for runs in a big way and if he could get going on the Pukekura Park pitch there could be some scoring fireworks.The teams are:Central Districts: Glen Sulzberger (captain), David Kelly, Jamie How, Mathew Sinclair, Ben Smith, Richard King, Campbell Furlong, Bevan Griggs, Andrew Schwass, Michael Mason, Brent Hefford, Richard Scragg (12th man).Canterbury: Gary Stead (captain), Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Chris Cairns, Paul Wiseman, Shane Bond, Chris Martin, Brad Doody, Michael Papps, Darron Reekers, Gareth Hopkins, Carl Anderson, Warren Wisneski.

Surrey completed a resounding victory over Leicestershire by 10 wickets atGuildford today – their sixth win in the championship this summer. The homecounty scored 119-0 from 39.3 overs with Mark Butcher (47 n.o.) and Ian Ward(61 n.o.) taking the title-holders home with a day and a half to spare.Martin Bicknell, who took all four wickets in the first innings, producedyet another magnificent display of fast bowling. His return of 9-47following 7-72 in the first innings gave him a match analysis of 16-119 -the best achieved in England since Jim Laker, also of Surrey, took 19Australian wickets in the Test Match at Manchester in 1956. Bicknell becamealso the first bowler to achieve 50 wickets in the championship this summer.
The 47 runs put on for the seventh wicket by Vince Wells and Phil DeFreitas,who hit 24 in one ball less, alone provided any resistance. Bicknelldismissed both within three deliveries to catches by Butcher and Brown. Withthe last two wickets folding tamely Leicestershire were all out for 87. Incontrast to that batting debacle the Surrey opening batsmen showed howplacid for run-scoring the pitch could be, and they knocked off the runswithout giving a chance. Butcher brought up the victory with a cover-drivefour, one of eight boundaries in his innings.Bicknell, who played club cricket for Guildford, said: “I love playing atGuildford, it’s my home ground and I know a lot of people here. Playing thisweek every year is something I look forward to.”He has taken five-wickets in an innings three times this season – a feat hewas not able to achieve once last year. Although he claimed to be doingnothing different this summer to the blast four or five seasons Martin washappy for the figures to speak for themselves. He recognised that chanceshad to be taken when they arose because otherwise Saqlain Mushtaq and IanSalisbury would take the wickets, but he would gladly exchange this analysisfor another championship.

Zimbabwe may be facing certain defeat in their four-day match againstPatron’s XI at Karachi, but Ray Price, the veteran left-arm spinner,believes there are still positives to be drawn from the game.Zimbabwe have largely struggled through three days, bowled out for 209 onthe first day and struggling at 111 for six in their second innings. Theirbowlers fared little better, conceding 479 runs, though admittedly thelocal squad has been a strong one.But Price maintained at the end of day three that the game was a significant one. “The game is very important, especially to get some time out in the middle for our guys. It is important for our batsmen to spend time in the middle and doubly important as we are such a young side,” Price said.Price is one of only two players in the 15-man squad to have played more than ten Tests (and of only two men over 30 years in age) and has only recently returned to the national side. Zimbabwe have been suspended from Test cricket since January 2006 but have since been playing four-day matches against representative sides in order to find a way back.”It’s important for us to keep progressing towards starting to play Test cricket again,” said Price. “We’re very positive about it. We played some good cricket in South Africa before this [where Zimbabwe won four four-day matches].”Ultimately, these matches are more beneficial to us, playing four-day cricket against good sides, because we’re trying to spend some time in the middle and improve.”Price, one of Zimbabwe’s most successful Test bowlers before their suspension, was the tourists’ best bowler against the Patron’s XI, picking up 4 for 130. “This is my first time in Pakistan but I always enjoy bowling in the subcontinent.”

A series of dropped catches by the India Under-19s let New Zealand Under-19s off the hook on the second day at Carisbrook in Dunedin, as the hosts ended the day at 245 for 6. New Zealand, after wrapping up the Indian innings for 129, were in trouble at 100 for 5 before Kane Williamson and M Tairoa averted another collapse.The duo were particularly harsh and against the spinners, and dropped catches from Abu Nechim Ahmed and Sumit Sharma didn’t help India’s cause. Williamson fell 12 short of a ton while Tairoa remained unbeaten on 56, helping New Zealand finish with a lead of 216 with four wickets in hand.

ScorecardAnand Rajan, Madhya Pradesh’s debutant fast bowler, gave his side a good chance for victory by bundling out Jharkhand for 131 on the third day at Indore – leaving MP 210 to win on the final day. This was an impressive performance from the 20-year-old Rajan, whose five wickets completely dominated the day’s play and capped a fine comeback for MP, who had earlier lost four quick wickets in the morning as Shankar Rao’s medium pace ripped through the tail. Much of MP’s fortunes in the run-chase will rest on Devendra Bundela, their first innings centurion, after they got off to a shaky start, losing two quick wickets towards the end of the day.ScorecardSwapnil Asnodkar compiled his highest first-class score as Goa surpassed Tripura’s first-innings total on the third day’s play at Margao, ending on 316 for 6. Asnodkar batted for a marathon 530 minutes, stroking 21 fours, and he added 117 runs for the seventh wicket with Shabad Jakati, the left-arm spinner. Eight bowlers were used by Rasudeb Datta, Tripura’s captain, with only Vineet Jain’s medium pace accounting for two wickets on a tough fielding day.
ScorecardSadagoppan Ramesh’s fine hundred and fifties from Koragappa Chandrasekhara and Suresh Kumar took Kerala to 370 in its first innings, but Rajasthan’s openers had whittled that lead down to just 15 at the end of the third day at Jaipur. Ramesh’s 16th first-class hundred, which was punctuated with 15 fours, set the base while Chandrasekhara and Kumar used the long handle to good effect towards the end of Kerala’s innings, striking two sixes apiece. Mohammad Aslam, the left-arm spinner, was the most successful bowler for Rajasthan with 5 for 87.
ScorecardThe spin duo of Sanjay Satpathy and S Sehgal combined to dismiss Vidarbha for 271, giving Orissa a lead of 111 going into the final day of their Plate Group match at Nagpur. For Vidarbha, a fine opening stand of 117 between Faiz Fazal and Amit Deshpande made way for a frenetic collapse as Satpathy and Sehgal – who bowled 78.2 overs between them – ripped through the batting order. Orissa, whose top order came good in the first innings, now had the chance to put some quick runs on the board before letting their bowlers have another crack at Vidarbha on the final day.
ScorecardJ Arunkumar’s hundred was the highlight on the third day of the Plate Group match between Assam and Jammu & Kashmir at Guwahati, taking the hosts to 353 – a clinical 101-run lead – heading into the final day. His was an assertive knock, and he was ably supported by Nishantha Bordoloi in a 146-run partnership for the seventh wicket that propelled Assam past J&K’s first innings total. Significantly, Vikrant Taggar and Sajjad, J&K’s openers, played out 16 overs for a paltry 12 runs – an indication of what lies ahead for those planning to watch the final day’s passage.

The former Zimbabwe left-arm seamer Bryan Strang has bounced back into the picture after he was named in a 17-member Zimbabwe A side to play four limited-overs matches in Namibia.Strang, 32, has not played for Zimbabwe since 2001 because of a career-threatening injury. His bid to make a first-class return hit a brick wall last year when Zimbabwe Cricket banned him after he said that Zimbabwe should have not hosted World Cup matches in 2003 on moral grounds.Strang has played a number of matches for Old Hararians in the national league this season, and is one of the leading wicket-takers despite having lost pace and bowling off a shortened run-up.He played 26 Tests and 49 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1995 and 2001, taking 56 Test wickets. His last appearance was against West Indies at Harare Sports Club in July 2001. Between 1995 and 2001, Strang formed a useful opening bowling partnership with Heath Streak.

Thilanga Sumathipala, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has made a personal plea to the country’s prime minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, for an urgent investigation into a series of newspaper articles linking him to underworld killers.Sumathipala released details of a personal letter to the prime minister in the media following the third week of front-page allegations by the Sunday Leader newspaper.The articles alleged that Sumathipala had a close relationship with a mafia figure called Dammika Amarasinghe, who is facing trial for a series of contract murders. The newspaper also alleged that Sumathipala was involved in a failed plot to assassinate the Sunday Leader editor.Sumathipala refused to make public comment after the first two articles appeared, but broke his silence after being accused of authorising the use of cricket-board funds to pay for a trip for Amarasinghe to watch the 1999 World Cup in England.On Monday, he called for an emergency meeting of the board todiscuss the allegations. The executive committee unanimously resolved to conduct an investigation into the alleged use of funds, announcing in a media release: “We have taken this action to clear the name of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka and have asked for a full report from the auditors within 14 days.”Sumathipala, who is also the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, a government-controlled telecommunications giant, claimed that the newspaper has been “continuously and sustainedly endeavouring to humiliate me in the public eye by making false accusations”.In a personal letter to the prime minister, in which he requested an urgent investigation into the behaviour of the newspaper, Sumathipala continued: “This malicious smear campaign is replete with inaccuracies, falsehoods, manipulatively misleading distortions and innuendos.”Sumathipala also asked for special security and protection, arguing that his family was now in danger. “It has been written with calculated intent to incite underworld elements to kill me and I consider this is a grave danger and threat to my life.”Sumathipala was elected as board president for the third time in June, winning a landslide victory against the former national captain Arjuna Ranatunga.

Manicaland’s cricketers advanced closer to the top of the table with a crushing eight-wicket win over league leaders Kwekwe Sports Club at Mutare Sports Club last Sunday. Winning the league has assumed huge proportions for cash-strapped Manicaland with the generous prize money that comes with the title.Caught with the majority of their first team away on national duty, the Midlands side was dispatched by early afternoon. Three pensioners who left the ground at the end of the first innings for a quick lunch were amazed to find the game all over by the time they returned. Families of the players outnumber regular spectators at most matches so there was concern the old-timers might feel cheated.Batting first, Kwekwe were rolled over for 145 in 47.2 overs. Having rested up after driving the five hours from Kwekwe the day before, the visitors couldn’t blame road-weariness for their abject display. Jameson High School coach Luther Mutyambizi from Kadoma hit an assured 39 and was the only batsman to look comfortable. He was particularly severe on Mark Burmester who found himself withdrawn from the attack earlier than he might have fancied.Queuing up to take wickets for Manicaland were Richie Sims (three for 32), Ian `Coolbox’ Coulson (two for 28) and — making a rare comeback — veteran Zimbabwean seamer Jon Brent (two for 6). An unusual spectacle was the sight of young wicket-keeper Neil Ferreira standing up to the former Manicaland assassin whose nickname `Moggy’ is still well earned. As one seasoned spectator remarked, the 45-year-old Brent would have spent much of his spell hitting the gloves as hard as he could to drive Ferreira back.Manicaland reached the target in 21.1 overs with Burmester blasting 39 and Sims a powerful unbeaten 73. Standing with umpire Kevan Barbour for the first time in a Manicaland match was 46-year-old medical doctor Mike Deary. Such was his enthusiasm for a game that he had driven the five hours from his home town of Chiredzi the day before.The Manicaland second team travelled to Alexandra Sports Club in Harare the same day to play BAC second team in a rain-reduced 25-over match. The high-flying seconds had an easy 60-run victory to consolidate their position at the top of the second league. Manicaland posted 190 for nine with demoted first-team batsman Tafadzwa Madondo hitting 77. Former Manicaland stalwart Lee Adams (currently living in Harare) weighed in with 44. BAC sank to 130 for nine off their 25 overs.This Sunday Manicaland first team travels to Harare to meet Bulawayo Athletic Club at Old Hararians. Home and away games between Manicaland and Bulawayo clubs are played in Harare to allow Bulawayo sides to fly in and avoid lengthy car trips. BAC – mischievously nicknamed `Bring Another Crate’ after recently scoring only 28 and losing to OGs in two overs (before the pub had opened) – were promoted from the second league last season. So far they have done little to justify the ZCU’s regular Z$170 000.00 air-bill to keep them in first league cricket.

The rumours of raging turners in the Tests against India have not got South Africa in a strategic spin just yet, as they plan to start things off by sticking to their traditional strengths. Three seamers and a lone specialist spinner is the way South Africa have always done things, and they seem set on starting that way in India as well, irrespective of the conditions.”There’s an old West Indian saying, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,’ so if the seamers do the job for you, be it in the subcontinent or anywhere else in the world, so be it,” Hashim Amla said. The phrase actually originated out of farmers in Texas and popularised a director in Jimmy Carter’s administration but Amla’s point stands.Now the question is which three seamers and which spinner?The first answer is obvious. South Africa’s premier pack is made up of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, as has been the case since 2011. They have not featured in every Test over the last four years, but the ones they have missed have only been because of injury. It’s unlikely the case will be any different this time around.Morkel is the only one carrying an injury – he tweaked a quad muscle in the third ODI in Rajkot – and will have a last-minute fitness assessment on the morning of the match to determine his availability. If he pulls up unfit, South Africa will have to give uncapped Kagiso Rabada a debut.The issue of the spinner is more complex, though. South Africa have given themselves a choice between Simon Harmer, Dane Piedt and Imran Tahir, but are keeping their cards close to their chest as to which one will play. Essentially the choice is between an attacking spinner (Tahir) and a containing one (Harmer or Piedt), which is further complicated by the unavailability of JP Duminy.”When JP plays, he adds that added spin option for us. But with him not being in the team for the first Test, it adds dynamics to our team,” Amla said. That means South Africa’s holding overs have to either come from part-timers or from a specialist holding bowler.”In conditions where the pitch is turning, spinners have multiple roles. When it doesn’t turn they fall into a defensive role. When it does turn, naturally they fall into an attacking role. A lot depends on the surface,” Amla said. “We have been very strong with our seam bowlers wherever we have been in the world. We have a few options in the seam department and we have been blessed and done well. We are fortunate in that our seam bowlers have done well in the subcontinent. They can be an attacking option. Not many countries around the world can say that. Our spinners will probably do both roles depending on what the game needs.”Both Harmer and Piedt are also wicket-takers, albeit to a lesser degree than Tahir, and if South Africa are looking for a spinner who can switch gears, they are more likely to go with one of them. Being the incumbent, having played in Bangladesh, Harmer appears to be the frontrunner.Sticking with Harmer for now also seems to tally with Amla’s overall philosophy of trying, “to do what’s most efficient to try and win a game.” That may sound incongruous on first reading because Harmer is not the most attacking spinner South Africa have at their disposal. So he may not be the most efficient appointment but, as Amla explained, going for the kill does not always mean relentless aggression.”There will be times when you have to play the game in a way that will ensure a result. Sometimes you have to play a slightly defensive game to make sure the result comes a bit later, he said. “We all know the game of cricket is a bit like chess – you have got to make the right moves. Sometimes you will get it wrong and sometimes it works in your favour. That’s as simple as I keep it.”And that’s a phrase Amla can call his own.