Graeme Smith plots revenge

AFP

January 6, 2006

Graeme Smith predicts a hard-fought return series © Getty Images

Graeme Smith was ever defiant after Ricky Ponting batted Australia to a 2-0 series triumph at Sydney on Friday, promising a tough time for the Australians in their return Test series in South Africa in March.

Ponting scored an unbeaten 143 as Australia easily chased down the 287-run target with more than 15 of the innings' allotted 76 overs remaining to win the final Sydney Test by eight wickets on the last day. Smith's gamble to declare an hour before lunch backfired but the South Africans were only interested in winning the match and not holding out for a draw having fallen behind in the series after the defeat at Melbourne.

"When we get back home in front of our supporters, we're going to play for a win," Smith said. "We're going to back ourselves, we're going to be confident, we're going to stand up and we're not going to back down. Certainly, when Australia come to South Africa it's going to be one of their toughest times ever."

Smith blamed missed opportunities for his team's series loss here and urged his players to develop a killer attitude to knock over Australia the next time they meet.

"In the first two Tests we let ourselves down in key moments, so that's certainly one key area we can look at, " he admitted. "A team like Australia has been dominant over the last few years and when they get into that mode where they can smell the kill, they take it and that's an area that we're looking to get to. I believe that against any other team in the world we would have won this series, we would have dominated the series. We still believe we can beat them, other teams think they can beat them. Credit to them, they've played the better cricket, they got the better results, and we're looking forward to the home series."

Smith backed his declaration decision as being positive and right for his team and for cricket. "Everyone in the whole team wanted to be positive this morning and go for a win," he said.

Smith said his team can take heart from the series with Jacques Rudolph batting for over seven hours to save the first Perth Test and having Australia in early trouble in Melbourne and amassing 451 for nine in the first innings of the Sydney Test. He said, "I think we've dominated a large portion of this Test match. We've had our noses in front the whole game and because of the weather we had to take a very big risk on a pitch that was probably playing like a third-day wicket.

"I think for a side that's come here with a lot of guys playing in Australia for the first time we'll take a lot of positives out of it."

South Africa's brave new world

The last time South Africa lost a one-dayer, England had no chance of winning the Ashes. Australia were the gods of the game, and the fact that the Poms had just won their first Test series in South Africa in 40 years was neither here nor there.

We all knew that the Aussies would burst their bubble of smugness. Of course they would. On another side of the world, Sourav Ganguly shrugged off rumblings about his captaincy with high-caste haughtiness, and Zimbabwe were pathetic. Hang on, they still are. Some things, at least, do not change.

But much has since January 30, when England won a drippy first one-day international in Johannesburg by 26 runs. Since then, South Africa have played 19 ODIs, won 16 of them, tied one, and lost out to the weather in the remaining two games. They will attempt to extend that streak in India, where they will play five one-day internationals.

The most obvious change to the South African situation from January to now is the appointment of Mickey Arthur as coach. So far, so good, said Justin Kemp: "Mickey's such a good human being, he's someone you can trust." But he's hard; he's not scared to put you in your place."

Kemp's view resonates in a still-splintered South African cricket scenario that is haunted deeply and darkly by powerful figures who harbour agendas they would rather the rest of us did not know about. Arthur would seem, at this stage, to be a rare exception. He has but one agenda, and he doesn't mind who knows it: he wants to win. And he seems to understand the importance of using South Africa's complex reality to achieve that goal. In this view, South Africa will win because it is a diverse country, not despite that truth.

The early dividend of Arthur's appointment is a return to the unadulterated cheerfulness that should be the point of departure for all young men who are paid well to travel to exotic places and play games. South Africa's net practices have always been driven by the belief that if you do something hard enough and often enough you will, eventually, get it right. If you don't, keep trying. That hasn't changed, but these days practice sessions seem to snap and crackle with sharper banter and more gleam in the eyes.

"The team is a whole lot more settled," Kemp said. "Individuals aren't looking over their backs the whole time, and they're starting to perform. For me, it helps to know people have confidence in you. When that happens you can start enjoying what you're doing.

Justin Kemp: 'The settled nature of the side has made a huge difference' © Getty Images

"That's a huge factor, but it's not a comfort zone: the guys know they have to perform. But the settled nature of the side has made a huge difference."

Under Arthur, who shares Graeme Smith's headspace, South Africa have aspired to play what they are calling "brave cricket". "It's about not being fearful, about expressing yourself out there and being who you are," Kemp said. "You shouldn't go into your shell when the situation gets tough, instead be the person who wins the game for your country.

"We have been known as chokers in the past, and now we're winning the tight games. We're not afraid, we're wanting the limelight. We want to go out and play almost extravagant cricket. You'd rather fail that way than be cautious and fail."

Neutrals might argue that the selectors have also bought into the "brave cricket" notion, what with their decision to send to India an offspinner who 10 months ago was a medium-pacer. Uncapped Johan Botha was forced into his new role by a back injury, and he is reportedly taking to tweaking at an impressive rate of progress.

Botha, 23, has already fashioned a prototype doosra and his armoury is also growing mentally. "As a spinner you have to have a lot more patience, because you don't have bouncers and yorkers anymore," he said. "I wasn't that quick as a seamer, but I was quite aggressive in terms of body language and that sort of thing, and I've learnt that you can't just throw your toys as a spinner."

Along with Robin Peterson and Justin Ontong, Botha is one of three slow bowlers in South Africa's squad of 15. Given that Peterson and Ontong own 17 wickets from 39 one-day internationals between them, and that it's a struggle to name South African spinners worthy of the designation beyond Hugh Tayfield, John Traicos - who is in any case an Egyptian-born Zimbabwean - Pat Symcox and the googly quartet of 1907, taking three, umm, spinners on a two-week jaunt comprised solely of one-day matches smacks of desperation.

Or is it bravery?

Rejections Steals ganguly

Centuries, centuries, centuries; like a hawk tailing its prey, deposed India captain Sourav Ganguly now has only one thing in sight -- hitting up as many hundreds as he can in the upcoming domestic matches.

Many believe even that might not be enough for him to regain his place in Team India, but Ganguly isn't giving up just yet.

When the selectors overlooked him for the inaugural two ODIs versus Sri Lanka, the first thing Ganguly did was bringing out his kitbag and practicing at the nets. Since then, he has sweated it out everyday at the gym, at the nets -- spending almost three hours every session.

His coaches and practice mates said he has never looked in better shape and he's never timed the ball more sweetly. The sparkling 117 in Rajkot against North Zone in Duleep Trophy was, perhaps, testimony to that.

So, on Friday when he was once again left out for the third, fourth and fifth ODIs against Sri Lanka, it would have been natural for him to get distressed and maybe lose hope.

Instead, the omission has steeled him. He will now spend more hours at the nets.

Even though he hasn't given an official reaction, his close circles say Ganguly's resolve has strengthened further.

Someone asked him, "If they continue to ignore you?" Prompt came the reply, "Then I will keep scoring centuries in domestic matches."

His next opportunity to come good on his comment is on November 4 in the Duleep Trophy match in Mumbai.

His friends say Ganguly wasn't as surprised by his omission from the team as he was by the fact that hardly anybody put in a word for him at the selection committee meeting. He would also like to know the reasons for his exclusion.

Ganguly is now surprisingly calm. Not that he has many options. But the calm is an indication of his ability to stay focused on his goal and to get it.

Some of Ganguly's friends still refuse to believe that it is the end of the road for him.

"Sourav deserves a place because he still can unsettle his opponents," says former India selector Sambaran Banerjee.

There are many others like Ajit Wadekar who believe, Ganguly still has lots to contribute to Indian cricket.

Only the people at the helm of affairs -- the selectors and Team India think tank -- don't think so. Not yet

India a superpower? Not without...

September 10, 2005

In a TV poll conducted hours before Sania Mirza's fourth round match against Maria Sharapova in the US Open, a full 82 per cent of those taking part in the poll predicted a Mirza victory. In another poll, 55 per cent felt Sharapova would be under greater pressure than Mirza.

The score for the one-sided match that followed may have been unfair to Mirza, but there was little doubt that it was an unequal contest, and at no stage did anything other than a Sharapova win look likely. Yet, large numbers in India had convinced themselves that a Mirza win was on the cards.

This is not a column about sport. The poll on Mirza's chances is relevant because the tendency to make wish the father of fact goes beyond tennis matches. For instance, the easy assumption by many people today is that the 2003 BRICs report by Goldman Sachs has pre-ordained India's destiny as one of the great economic powers of the 21st century.

Indeed, some would argue that India is already a major force to be reckoned with. This, unfortunately, is at the same level of wishful thinking as the 82 per cent who forecast a Sania Mirza victory.

Like Mirza, India has the potential to achieve greatness. And just as Mirza has to work hard at improving her serve and her mobility on court, and reducing the errors in her ground strokes, India has many things to do before it can hope to be among the front-ranking economic powers.

The inescapable fact is that even today India accounts for only 2 per cent of the world's GDP, less than 1 per cent of world trade, less than 1 per cent of global investment flows and an even smaller share of global technology breakthroughs - with 16 per cent of the world's people.

While it is good to be optimistic and to be conscious about the country's latent potential, and indeed to capitalise on recent positive trends, it would be dangerous to get into the mindset that says we have already arrived.

The distance to be covered between today's reality and tomorrow's potential was emphasised in bold relief this last week, with the release of UNDP's latest Human Development Report. At a rank of 127, India is still among the laggards. And despite the front-ranking rate of 7 per cent economic growth, we are making precious little progress in education, health care, sanitation and other elements of social infrastructure.

Most other international rankings also show India in a poor light, whether it is the World Economic Forum's competitiveness report, or Transparency International's corruption perception index. In none of them do we match
Sania Mirza's global rank of 42, and she to her credit is likely to move up the numbers ladder faster than the country.

The problem with celebrating too early - and there are many elements in both the political and media worlds that have made a religion of premature triumphalism - is that we ignore the hard work that has to be done today, and the tough decisions that have to be taken.

To the credit of the UPA government, it has posed questions on basic issues to do with employment and education, empowerment and social security. The problem, of course, is not with the questions but with some of the UPA's answers.

The even bigger problem is that some other questions are not being asked - about the continuing mess in power, the other constraints imposed by India's physical infrastructure, the unfinished and perhaps abandoned task of fiscal correction, the absence of reform in agriculture, and much else. And when questions are not even asked, there are, of course, no answers.

If one can look for other parallels in the world of sport, it would be the Indian cricket team - full of individual stars, and full of potential, but without the organising ability to mount the sustained team effort and consistent performance that wins tournaments.

Pray that does not become the fate of the Indian economy - where we celebrate individual success while the team as a whole fails to perform.

Swimming sensation Michael Phelps

How's this for pressure?

You're 19 years old, America's number one swimmer and preparing to compete in eight events at the Olympics.

And your fans - and the media - expect you to win them all!

Welcome to the world of Michael Phelps - winner of six world titles, holder of three world records, and currently the best all-round swimmer on the planet.

In 2000, aged 15, he became America's youngest Olympian for almost 70 years, reaching the final of the 200m butterfly.

Phelps is cool under pressure

This time around he's expected to clean up, so how does he cope with such enormous expectation?

"You can look at pressure in two different ways," says Phelps. "It's either going to hurt you or help you.

"I see it as something that helps me. If there's pressure on me or someone thinks I can't do something, it's going to make me work even harder.

"I guess it'll give me that little extra edge - that extra fire that I need."

The Spitz factor

Ask any American swimming fan to name their country's greatest ever swimmer and you'll probably get the same answer every time: Mark Spitz.

In 1972 Spitz won a record seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics. Can Phelps equal - or even beat - that record?

US legend Mark Spitz

"My goal is to get one gold medal," he says.

"You've got to start somewhere and after coming back from Sydney with nothing I think that's the place to start."

If he does equal the record, Phelps will earn a $1m bonus from his sponsors. It seems like yet more pressure, but Phelps always keeps a level head.

"If it happens it happens and if it doesn't it doesn't," he says.

Try our swimming challenges!

"When it happened in 1972 everyone said it was unbeatable, but I think there are a number of swimmers in the world today who could put up a fight to it."

Whatever happens in Athens, the teenager from Baltimore seems destined to break records for years come.

And if he can achieve that magical total of seven golds he'll become an instant American legend.

Dhanraj is good...

Sunday was the Independence Day and all of us badly wanted to win our Olympic opener as a gift to our motherland. The reality, however, is that a combination of defensive lapses and poor finishing by the forwards forced us to go down to holders Holland 1-3.

We have to now pick up the pieces and raise our game to the desired level to try and bag life-saving three points against South Africa on Tuesday.

Let me make one thing clear to my readers: I personally feel that there was not much difference between the two teams as far as strategy and skills were concerned. But it was sad and unfortunate that we conceded 'soft goals'. It could have been easily avoided. Being down by a goal by the second minute just goes to show how unsettled and nervous we were at the start. Perhaps some of our youngsters, who played their first Olympic tie on Sunday, were a bit overawed by the situation. Under such circumstances mistakes were bound to happen.

But, then, why blame the young boys only? Even the senior players like us were unable to convert the chances that came our way. We did create chances and showed some individual brilliance, but it was teamwork and finishing that left much to be desired.

I would not accept that Holland were far superior to us, but I must give them credit for converting the half chances into goals. And that's what matters most in big events. It all boils down to who commits the least mistakes and converts the most chances. We failed miserably in both departments.

Looking back at the game, I cannot help saying that mistakes we committed were simply unforgivable. We practically played into their hands and gave away three points on a platter. Such acts not only break the rhythm and momentum of the team but also turn the fighting spirit into frustration, despair and anger. Let us hope that we learn from these mistakes and such things do not happen again in the rest of the encounters.

It will not be right if I do not point out some positive points of our side in Sunday's tie. Adrian D'Souza, who played his first Olympic match, had a great game under the bar and played like a seasoned goalkeeper. Our midfielders controlled the game much better in the second half and were zestful in assisting the forwardline. Although in the first half we played in patches and were unable to get going, we could dish out much more disciplined hockey in the second session. We were able to play through the flanks and then attack through the centre. All our efforts came to a nought as time and again we failed to convert the chances.

We are now left with no other option but to pull up our socks and rise to the occasion with more purpose and vigour. All is not lost yet and we have four more games to play. If the players can put this defeat behind them and concentrate on winning the other games, then we would still be left with a fighting chance to make the semi-finals.

I am sure there will be many more upsets in this pool as a wounded Argentina will try their best to come back into contention. There will be thrilling encounters till the end before the two semi-finalists emerge from our group.

Personally, I am not the one who throws in the towel too easily. We will fight it out till the last match and not take it lying down. I am taking this defeat as a blessing in disguise for better things to come. With this prayer and hope, I appeal to you all to stay with us and support 'Your Team' in the rest of the outings.