Beau Casson, the former Australia spin bowler, has spoken for the first time about the heart condition relapse that forced his retirement from cricket

Daniel Brettig03-Apr-2012Beau Casson, the former Australia spin bowler, has spoken for the first time about the heart condition relapse that forced his retirement from cricket.Honoured by New South Wales at the Steve Waugh Medal presentation in Sydney last month, Casson told ESPNcricinfo of his traumatic exit from the game after he was forced from the field during a Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval in October 2011.That day Casson had felt distressed on the field and fared little better in the dressing room, before being taken to hospital by the Blues chairman of selectors David Freedman. There were echoes in the case of the footballer Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup tie between Bolton and Tottenham and has since fought an almighty battle for his life in hospital.Casson now works as an ambassador for Heart Kids NSW, intent on keeping both sporting participants and their coaches and support staff aware of the many complex permutations surrounding the heart. While not wanting to speak much of the Muamba incident, he said its public nature had provided a reminder of how delicate life can be.”What happened [to Muamba] was absolutely terrible, but it makes people realise you’re not invincible,” Casson said. “When it first happened [to Casson in Adelaide] it was incredibly frightening, quite a traumatic event. Personally I found it really hard because naturally I hadn’t played my part in the game and the boys were one down, so that’s what I struggled a fair bit with.”It wasn’t an ideal time and I’m incredibly happy with the way I’ve got through it. It was incredibly frustrating, frightening, things were pretty chaotic around that sort of event, but New South Wales I much appreciate their support through it all, and for them to make sure I looked after myself. It wasn’t easy that’s for sure.”Casson has managed the condition, which makes it difficult for him to lower his heart-rate after it has risen, since his teens. He battled back from a collapse during a Sydney grade game in the 2010-11 season to earn a recall to the Blues’ team last summer, however the Adelaide episode forced the closure of his playing days at the age of 29.”It’s always been a challenge for me through my whole career with a congenital heart condition. It’s always something I’ve been incredibly diligent about,” Casson said. “I had an episode early last season in club cricket, which once again was incredibly frightening and we sorted out what needed to be.”But it’s an incredibly complex issue and hence the reason why things have happened the way they have. I don’t think anyone could foresee the way things would happen. There’s obviously been a fair bit written of late in the media about certain people in other sports, and it’s just the nature of the condition.”Following his forced absence from the remainder of the Adelaide match, Casson flew home to Sydney where he underwent further tests and spoke with medical experts including his long-time heart specialist. Their decision was for Casson to retire, ending a career that had once shone brightly enough to merit a baggy green cap in 2008.”I left it to the people a lot brighter than me,” Casson said. “I had a series of tests and I was waiting to see what they came back with, and that was that. When you get told both sides of the story when an event like that happens, you have to weigh up exactly where you’re at. Their advice was the best thing for me was to stop playing and that’s the way it happened.”Studying teaching and also doing some coaching in addition to his ambassadorial role, Casson said the whole experience had given him valuable perspective on life as well as cricket, and he valued its lessons even as he came to terms with the sudden end to his days as a cricketer.”It was only the other day I was talking to a few younger cricketers about what this great game offers and you learn so much about yourself,” he said. “You might have some setbacks in cricket, that you can take out into your university degree or whatever it is, employment.”You learn a hell of a lot about yourself and how to deal with certain situations, and I’ve had a few situations I’ve been able to deal with and it’s given me a lot of insight and strength for the future to be even tempered and be able to take the good day with the bad days. Like any cricketer, that’s probably the most challenging aspect of the game.”

Yuvraj Singh, the India allrounder, is back in the country after two and a half months in the USA, where he had received treatment for cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2012Yuvraj Singh, the India allrounder, is back in the country after two and a half months in the USA, where he had received treatment for cancer. Yuvraj arrived in Delhi on Monday morning, and was received by his mother and several fans.Yuvraj was diagnosed with a type of cancer called “mediastinal seminoma”, a germ-cell tumour located between his two lungs, in February. He underwent three sessions of chemotherapy in Indianapolis, at the IU Simon Cancer Centre at the Indiana University Medical Centre, under Lawrence H Einhorn, who headed the treatment of cycling champion Lance Armstrong in 1996. He finished the last cycle of chemo in mid-march, and his response it had left his medical team “fairly confident” that he would not suffer a relapse. He had spent a few days in London while recuperating from the side effects of the treatment.He arrived on a Jet Airways flight, sporting a red sports cap – he has suffered hair loss, a common side effect of chemo – and flashing a victory sign to the waiting crowds. A friend who was with Yuvraj in London said the cancer is “completely out of his system”, reported. Yuvraj had tweeted about his homecoming on Sunday.
While in the USA, where he was since the last week of January, Yuvraj had done as much gym work and played pool as was physically possible during his treatment. He will hold a press conference on Wednesday, to presumably talk about his treatment and his comeback plan.

Kapil Dev, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain, has said that the BCCI cannot question Indian cricketers who are not employed by or contracted to it on matters that the board considers contradictory to its policies

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2012Kapil Dev, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain, has said that the BCCI cannot question Indian cricketers who are not employed by or contracted to it on matters that the board considers contradictory to its policies. His comments come in the wake of his exclusion from the BCCI’s list of former players who received a one-time benefit payment out of the profits of the IPL playoffs. It is believed Kapil was excluded because he had not accepted the amnesty offered by the BCCI following his involvement in the ICL – the now-defunct Twenty20 league that was not recognised by the ICC or the Indian board.”It [the BCCI] should realise that only those cricketers — present or former — who are contracted to it and are paid salaries, like selectors or coaches, are accountable to it,” Kapil wrote in the . “Not all cricketers are answerable to the board.”You can’t deny that player his due, which he is being given for the services rendered during his playing days. If you are taking money from the board — like the late Tiger Pataudi and Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, to be on the IPL board — then the board or any organisation has a right to question you. But a Dilip Vengsarkar, [he] is not answerable because he is not holding any post today where he is drawing money from the board.”He took up the ICL post, Kapil said, with a view to promoting cricket. “If they don’t want to recognise my game, I would like to say thank you and move on. Yes, I was connected with the ICL – if someone gives me a job, I would love to do it, especially when it is for the promotion of the game and when I am not an employee of any other institution.”There is one common thing in what the board [the BCCI] does and what I did, and that is promoting the game. If by doing that I have hurt someone, what can I do? All I can say is that I have no intention of hurting anyone, but it is too bad if it has been taken that way.”The BCCI has also excluded Kirti Azad, Kapil’s team-mate during the 1983 World Cup, from its list of beneficiaries. This was after Azad, a member of the Indian parliament, had spoken out against the IPL and the controversies surrounding the tournament. The board should have “reached out to Azad”, Kapil said, instead of ostracising him. “It should have heard his [Azad’s] views and sorted out the issue.”He was an India player and is now an MP. Ideally, the BCCI should have ensured he becomes a voice for it in parliament. It is the duty of the board, as patron of the cricketing fraternity, to find out why he spoke against it [the IPL] and resolve the issue. I am proud to see cricketers entering parliament — Kirti, Azhar [Azharuddin], [Navjot] Sidhu and Sachin. The board should ensure they become its backbone where national policy is being made.”

South Africa enjoyed the type of day teams dream of which ended with England staggering on 102 for 4 after being overwhelmed by the insatiable hunger of two batsmen

The Report by Andrew McGlashan22-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMorne Morkel added to a wonderful day for South Africa by removing Kevin Pietersen•Getty Images

South Africa enjoyed the type of day teams dream of which ended with England staggering on 102 for 4 after being overwhelmed by the insatiable hunger of two batsmen. Hashim Amla scored the country’s first triple century in Tests, building an overwhelming stand of 377 with Jacques Kallis, as South Africa amassed a lead of 252. The visitors then made major inroads into a dispirited England side who lurched to the close with a huge task ahead to leave The Oval with the series level.The first two sessions of the day were filled with Amla and Kallis earning themselves a place in the record books. Mostly those honours belonged to Amla who, after overtaking AB de Villiers’ 278 as South Africa’s highest innings, reached his triple century with a drive which brushed the fingers of a leaping fielder at cover. He barely put a foot wrong and looked as though he could have gone past Brian Lara’s 400 if the opportunity had presented itself.However, South Africa had a Test match to win. Graeme Smith surprised most people at the ground when he declared at tea, rather than giving England’s footsore bowlers and fielders another half an hour of drip-drip agony. Smith, though, knew his team were in an impregnable position and it was a show of attacking intent from the captain.Apart from a period on the first day, Smith has had a wonderful Test both with the bat and in the field, and his decision soon brought rich rewards. By the close Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara were clinging on, still facing a deficit of 150. An escape here would match anything achieved at Cardiff or Cape Town.With the eighth ball of the innings Vernon Philander – who again shared the new ball with Morne Morkel – found Alastair Cook’s outside edge with ball that nipped away to bring the first wicket of the day. By the 11th over, South Africa had as many wickets as England managed in 188 when Jonathan Trott, for the second time in the match, nibbled outside off stump when he could have left the ball. That gave Dale Steyn his first wicket after he had been brought into the attack much sooner than in the first innings.Kevin Pietersen’s brief stay in the middle was not one of his finest moments. A feature of how South Africa batted was that they were willing to give periods of time to the bowlers, but Pietersen wanted to impose himself from the start. When that method comes off it thrills; when it does not it will invite criticism.Pietersen played two well-timed pulls, one in front and one behind square, but also top-edged another over the keeper. He was then dropped at slip by Kallis when he flapped at a short delivery from Morkel and in his next over Pietersen managed to miss what was basically a straight ball as he was caught on the crease.The early breakthroughs made life much less pressurised for Imran Tahir and he proceeded to work over Andrew Strauss with a classy over from round the wicket. He located the footmarks to make one delivery spit and also skidded one past the outside edge. Then, in a flashback to England’s problems in UAE, Strauss was drawn into sweeping a wide delivery and the resulting top edge looped to square leg. Strauss had turned in disgust before the catch had been taken. This was not the first time an England captain had been humbled by a Smith-led team.This was the same pitch that, a few hours earlier, had produced a scoreboard that read 637 for 2. Amla and Kallis firstly ensured they played themselves in as Smith and Amla had done 24 hours previously. The first hour brought just 36 runs, but each demoralising over England spent in the field meant it was less likely they would be able to quell the onslaught once South Africa decided to switch gear. The second half of the session saw 75 runs added and a further 123 came between lunch and tea even without it feeling the batsmen went quite into top gear.Amla’s innings was a display of unyielding concentration and determination, yet he rarely lost his graceful touch until he became a little tense in the 290s. His driving continued to be the stand-out feature of the innings and even when England packed the off side he would calmly and carefully pierce the gaps with regularity.Kallis, who began the day on 80, batted at his own pace and reached his hundred from 227 deliveries with a glide to third man and immediately pointed to his eye, a clear reference to his team-mate, and close friend, Mark Boucher who was forced to retire early in the tour. The incident shook Kallis badly, but like many of the greatest sportsman he has channelled his emotions to the benefit of his team.It was also, notably, his first Test hundred in England since Old Trafford in 1998. This will be his final Test tour to the country and he appears determined to at least go some way to narrowing the gap between his record here and everywhere else. His partnership with Amla, to follow the 259 for the second wicket, was the highest third-wicket stand against England by anyone and meant it was the first time they had conceded two 250-run stands in the same innings.It was a sobering experience for the England attack. When James Anderson managed to swing a delivery with the third new ball past Amla’s edge the crowd gave him a warm round of applause. Early in the afternoon session all England’s frontline bowers went past their centuries, Stuart Broad completing the set when he was driven for three boundaries by Kallis who took the lead in upping the scoring rate while Amla focussed on his triple hundred.Broad had been off-colour throughout the innings and operated at no more than medium pace on the fourth day. Although that could partly be put down to conditions, England’s policy of a four-man attack means they cannot afford to carry any of their quicks especially with Graeme Swann proving ineffective as he sent down 52 wicketless overs, the most he had bowled in a Test innings. Since the start of the second day’s play they have looked anything but the world’s No. 1 team.

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said India have adapted to the change in nature of Sri Lankan pitches better than the hosts on this tour

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2012MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said India have adapted to the change in nature of Sri Lankan pitches better than the hosts on this tour. India won the ODI series 4-1 and beat Sri Lanka comfortably in the only T20 game in Pallekele.”The wickets have changed here,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “When I first came here the ball used to stop a lot. But now the pitches have been relaid. I think we mastered our bowling and batting better than them.”India made 155 after being put in and while Dhoni admitted that was at least 15 runs short, the swinging ball, he said, ensured that going hard at the ball was not all that easy. “Overall we were really good. The ball was swinging till the 20th over so not easy to slog,” Dhoni said.Irfan Pathan, who was named Man of the Match, took advantage of the swing and picked up three wickets in Sri Lanka’s chase, removing three senior batsmen – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene. “Mahela was going great guns. The ball was swinging and we knew that if we got wickets, it would be difficult for the Sri Lankan batsmen,” Irfan said. “Our bowling coach [Joe Dawes] has been keeping a good eye on us.”Ashok Dinda was also among the wickets, taking 4 for 19 – the second-best figures in a T20 international by an Indian bowler – and three of them in one over, including the tail. “The kind of wicket this was, any amount of runs could have been chased so we had that tension too [while defending the total] but in the end we bowled well, fielded well and we won,” Dinda said. “We have been playing a lot of cricket in domestic matches and IPL.”Among Dinda’s strengths is the short ball. “No batsman thinks that the ball will come into the body at this height at 140 kph so in that sense the short ball is a surprise. If the batsman tries to hit, it can go for a six or a four also but at the same time the chances of getting a wicket are also high. Whenever I have bowled a short ball the fielder is at the back at fine leg or square leg.”

Australia were grateful for the 29 balls given up by Pakistan as the latter half of their innings collapsed, using them to secure a meritorious victory in the first ODI in the heat of Sharjah

The Report by Daniel Brettig28-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell Starc followed up his four-for against Afghanistan with a five-wicket haul•AFP

Australia were grateful for the 29 balls given up by Pakistan as the latter half of their innings collapsed, using them to secure a meritorious victory in the first ODI in the heat of Sharjah. The frenzied conclusion of Pakistan’s innings contrasted with the composure shown by Michael Clarke’s team, who took a major step towards preserving an unbeaten record against the subcontinental side that has lasted since 2002.While Clarke played a critical role, notching a fluent 66 when all around him looked fraught in the face of Pakistan’s spin, it was equally heartening for the Australians that the less seasoned George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell supplied the game-clinching stand. Maxwell perished to an impetuous reverse sweep with the win in sight, but Dan Christian kept Bailey company until the final runs were collected, with four wickets and 10 balls to spare.Australia owed much, too, to Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson, who snipped the top off the Pakistan innings with the new ball then strangling the middle order in the batting Powerplay on the way to rounding up Misbah-ul-Haq’s men for 198 in 45.1 overs.This had seemed a good toss for Pakistan to win but, apart from an energetic stand of 61 between Asad Shafiq and Umar Akmal, it was the batsmen who did the wilting in the early evening. Starc followed up his four wickets against Afghanistan with five here for his best ODI figures, while Pattinson claimed three and conceded little more than two runs per over.They were the beneficiaries of some abject Pakistani batting, as a succession of players succumbed to the pressure applied by the pace bowlers in concert with the constricting fields set by Clarke. The tourists’ sole specialist spinner, Xavier Doherty, had been deemed surplus to requirements as Clarke chose to lean heavily on his pacemen, and the strategy was justified by how effectively Pakistan’s strokemakers were neutralised.By contrast, Misbah wasted little time using the tweakers at his disposal, handing Mohammad Hafeez the new ball for the second over. He soon defeated David Warner, aiming an ambitious swing and missing by miles, and played a large part in softening up Matthew Wade for Shahid Afridi, who had the wicketkeeper caught from a skied slog sweep attempt. Both Australia’s openers have some thinking to do.Michael Hussey is usually an accomplished player of spin but even he struggled, playing for more turn than was offered by the surface perhaps due to the sharply turning surfaces prepared for the Australians at their pre-season camp in Darwin. The crafty Saeed Ajmal pinned Hussey lbw on the back foot with his first ball, the batsman wasting his team’s one review on a ball that was going on to hit middle.David Hussey fared no better, struggling to read Ajmal’s doosra and eventually edging one to Misbah at slip, a fate that might also have befallen Clarke until he adjusted to the wiles of his opponent. Bailey struggled mightily through his first handful of deliveries, and Clarke had to survive a review for a concerted caught behind appeal when Ajmal floated the ball across him from round the wicket.Slowly, however, Clarke and Bailey built a stand that crept the tourists closer. Bailey gathered surety if not momentum, while Clarke continued to punch the ball about with confidence and purpose. In the end it was something of a surprise when Clarke did fall, caught on the crease to be lbw to Hafeez, but his wicket re-opened the contest.Maxwell is the kind of batsman who answers to the description “brazen”, and he proved it by attempting to reverse sweep his first ball from Ajmal. He showed a prominent bottom hand and an array of more considered strokes the longer he batted with Bailey, who demonstrated an ability to fight through a situation even when faced with opponents more talented than him.Misbah tried all his regular options, plus the part-time spin of Azhar Ali. There was one edge from Maxwell that might harshly be deemed a chance to Kamran Akmal, and another pull into the outfield that Asad Shafiq narrowly failed to hang on to. But Bailey and Maxwell played with calmness, allowing the equation to whittle down without undue haste, and making the most of their full quota of overs.The Australians would have briefly contemplated a far larger target in the opening overs of the match, with Pakistan making an aggressive start as Pattinson and Starc strained for early swing by pursuing a very full length. Starc twice appealed for LBW against Hafeez, only to be denied by each ball pitching a fraction outside leg stump – the second also costing Australia their lone decision review.Pattinson’s penchant for landing the ball on the seam was to be rewarded when one such delivery stopped a little, causing Hafeez to pop a catch to short cover. Azhar fell in similar fashion, chipping to mid-on, but Nasir Jamshed was victim of a snorter from Starc, who coaxed sharp bounce from an otherwise moribund surface to offer Wade a sharp chance behind the stumps.Though Christian’s change-up had Misbah undone, Umar Akmal’s aggression in Shafiq’s company had Pakistan placed neatly enough at 159 for 4 when they took the batting Powerplay. Having played with no little intelligence to that point, Shafiq could not resist the temptation to try to pierce the field, and an ugly swish at Starc had his stumps splayed.Kamran Akmal could not get comfortable, and in the last of the Powerplay overs he spooned a catch to mid-on. Clarke’s knack for astute field placings was to be rewarded the very next ball with the prized wicket of Afridi, edging Starc low to the captain at slip. The Powerplay had thus reaped three wickets at a cost of 16 runs and the rest of the innings petered out, wasting that critical 29 balls.

The Australian umpire Simon Taufel will step down from the ICC’s elite panel at the end of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2012The Australian umpire Simon Taufel will step down from the ICC’s elite panel at the end of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. He will be replaced by his countryman Bruce Oxenford, who will join the elite panel from November 1, having impressed the ICC with his work at international level over the past few years.Taufel, 41, will take up the newly-created role of umpire performance and training manager with the ICC, a job that he hopes will allow him to spend more time at home in Sydney with his wife and children after nearly a decade of travelling the world as a match official. Taufel was named the ICC’s Umpire of the Year five successive times from 2004 to 2008 and has remained one of the game’s most respected umpires throughout his career.In 2011, he stood in the World Cup final and has also been in the middle for the deciders of the World Twenty20 in 2007 and 2009, as well as the Champions Trophy in 2004. However, Taufel also endured the horror of being part of the group of officials shot at during the terrorist attack in Pakistan in 2009.”Following the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012, I’m moving on from active international umpiring for personal and professional reasons,” Taufel said. “My wife and children have supported me immensely throughout my career and it is time for me to spend more time with them.”My passion for cricket umpiring and personal professional development has shifted from on the field to off the field. In my new position as ICC umpire performance and training manager, I look forward to help create professional programmes and resources to support the current and future generations of cricket match officials. The new role includes working closely with the national cricket federations which is really exciting as is continuing to work with the entire cricket community in helping the development of our cricket umpires.”The ICC’s chief executive, Dave Richardson, said: “Simon has been one of the most respected umpires for over a decade due to his excellent decision-making and man-management skills. He has been a role model for umpires globally who look to him for inspiration and guidance.”I am delighted that he will be working with us to groom and develop the next generation of elite umpires and have no doubt that he will be equally successful in his new role as ICC’s umpire performance and training manager. In the meantime I know that Simon, thorough professional that he is, will want to focus on the job at hand, that of getting things right on the field, something he has done as well as any other umpire in the history of the game.”Taufel will leave the game having stood in 74 Test matches and 174 one-day internationals. He made his international debut at the age of 27 in a one-day international in Sydney in 1999 and his first Test appearance came in the Boxing Day Test of 2000, when he was 29.A former leading schoolboy cricketer in Sydney, Taufel was a fast bowler who played in teams alongside Michael Slater and Adam Gilchrist. However, a back injury ended his playing career and he took to umpiring at a young age.His replacement on the international panel, Oxenford, is a former first-class cricketer who played eight matches for Queensland in the early 1990s. Oxenford, 52, made his debut as an international umpires in a T20 match in early 2006 and over the past three years has regularly been appointed to tours outside Australia as part of the ICC’s international panel.”Bruce is a very experienced and respected umpire, and follows a long line of elite Australian umpires,” Vince van der Bijl, the ICC’s umpire and referee manager, said. “He has been umpiring at the first-class level for well over a decade and is committed and dedicated to officiating. We are delighted to welcome Bruce, who will add his own brand of professionalism, energy and love of umpiring to the elite panel.”

Clive Lloyd has said the World Twenty20 winning West Indies team should now aim for the “next level” by targeting the No.1 ranking in ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2012Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, has said the World Twenty20 winning West Indies team should now aim for the “next level” by targeting the No.1 ranking in ODIs. “The win suggests that we can be a good ODI outfit. This is the start, the impetus that we needed to excel in the longer version,” he told .Lloyd, who led West Indies to World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979, said he expected the team to do well in Sri Lanka, as it had explosive batsmen and decent bowlers who are capable of performing the same way in longer formats.”Out of the 15 big hitters in the world, six belong to our team. They are all phenomenal strikers,” he said. “It gives them impetus on the field. They know they can go out there and dominate. That’s what they must do in the longer version too. Apart from Chris Gayle, we have [Marlon] Samuels who’s growing in confidence in both Tests and ODIs. We have a couple of good spinners and decent fast bowlers, basically an attack that can dislodge any opponent. We’re close to being quite a balanced side.”Lloyd added the team needed to identify its players for different formats. “Someone like Kieron Pollard can do the kind of job Andrew Symonds did for Australia. Pollard is explosive and can be a handful down the order. We have enough bowlers to choose from – both pace and spin.”At least we have two spinners who are able to confuse the batters,” Lloyd spoke of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree, both of whom played important roles in Sri Lanka. “In the longer format, we’ll know how good they are. In the one-day game, I don’t think too many people will attack them and be successful.”West Indies’ T20 title was their first major international success since the 2004 Champions Trophy, but Lloyd said the current team appeared stronger than the 2004 winners. “They are gelling together. They seem to be quite happy when they go out there. Nothing seems to faze them. And they’re showing purpose. You have got to give credit to the captain.”Lloyd said he was happy to see Gayle back in the team, as he was a “decent fellow” to work with. “Chris just wanted to be back. He looks a really happy soul. Once he is happy, I’m happy. He creates that force and sort of generates the warmth needed for team spirit. I don’t think he’s giving the establishment any problems. They had one little spat.”

MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag’s captain in 35 of his 99 Tests, has hailed Sehwag’s positive outlook as his biggest asset

Sidharth Monga22-Nov-2012MS Dhoni, who has captained Virender Sehwag in 35 of his 99 Tests, hailed Sehwag’s positive outlook as his biggest asset. A day before Sehwag plays his 100th Test (including one for the ICC World XI), against England at the Wankhede Stadium, Dhoni said it was not easy to do justice to his team-mate’s impact by sitting and talking.”When it comes to Viru, you need a bit more time to understand him,” Dhoni said. “It is not easy to sit here and say a few lines on how effective he is. All those who have shared the dressing room with him realise that his mindset is very different. He is very positive and bats with instinct. It doesn’t matter if the wicket is turning or seaming. He only looks to score runs.”His mindset is so different that it doesn’t really matter whether he is in form or not. He just keeps thinking positive. He has been working a lot on his batting, but his approach remains the same. It is the mindset that really helps you get back into the game.”Dhoni also spoke about the huge move Sehwag made from middle order to the top of the order when there were few vacancies in the middle. “If you see, the crucial decision of his career was when he decided that he will open the innings,” Dhoni said. “It was a big challenge for him and he accepted it. He has the best statistics.”He is someone who is very different for everyone else. He has got a very important role from the start because he’s someone who can play his shots from the very first delivery. He looks to put pressure on the bowler. It certainly becomes a bit difficult for the bowler to get back into the game. Of course, not to forget the experience he has got in all the formats. And, also the fact that he can get a few wickets as well. We haven’t been using him much, though.”

Graeme Smith is expected to recover from bad blow on his elbow in time for the two-Test series against New Zealand early next year

Firdose Moonda09-Dec-2012Graeme Smith is expected to recover from bad blow on his elbow in time for the two-Test series against New Zealand early next year. Smith was hit in the nets while training for the domestic one-day semi-final on Friday and had to sit out the fixture when his discomfort did not ease.”Initially, we thought he would recover in time but because he was in a lot of pain it wasn’t worth the risk, especially because he has to be ready to play Test cricket in three weeks’ time,” Mohammed Moosajee, South African team manager, told ESPNcricinfo. Smith is unlikely to play in the three-match Twenty20 series, which starts on December 21, as he has not been part of South Africa’s recent T20 squads.The rest of South Africa’s team, except Jacques Kallis who is recovering from a hamstring strain, were all available to play for their franchises, five days after returning from Australia. Six of them – Dale Steyn, Rory Kleinveldt, Robin Peterson, Jacques Rudolph, AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel – were in action.That number could have been as many as eight but Vernon Philander and Faf du Plessis were not selected by their respective teams. Philander missed out to Steyn, Kleinveldt and Cobras’ old hands Johann Louw and Justin Kemp.Du Plessis, though, appeared to have been left out because of fatigue. He played for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League opener against Melbourne Stars on Friday. He scored 14 off 17 balls, took a catch and was involved in a run-out.Steyn was also due to take part in the BBL having signed up to play one match for Brisbane Heat. However, Cricket South Africa withdrew his no-objection certificate because the match clashed with the domestic one-day cup final.Meanwhile, JP Duminy, who ruptured his Achilles’ tendon after the first day’s play of the Brisbane Tests, is progressing well. He is able to walk with a moonboot and crutch and is on track with the physiotherapy required to make a full recovery. He is aiming for a return in the Champions Trophy in June 2013.