Laxman must be allowed to be himself

By the time V.V.S. Laxman walked to the ‘nets' at the WACA, bat-bag slung across shoulder, helmet in hand, the Indians were hard at work in their sections. Rahul Dravid had arrived early with Trevor Penney, the fielding coach, and had discussed his batting grip, his back-lift, and the English system of batting. Dravid had done what he had on Tuesday — getting Penney to act as if he were whipping the ball at him, so he could freeze his stroke...

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A tete-a-tete with birthday boy Rahul Dravid

A press conference isn't what a cricketer would wish for on a birthday, let alone his 39th, but Rahul Dravid handled it with customary good humour. He denied allegations of the team being divided (“When you are down 2-0, all these things happen; there is absolutely no truth to any of it”), joked about his age (“Any number scares you after 30. Actually, 40. I'll be scared of that number”), and accepted several birthday wishes. Excerpts from...

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Our pace attack is confident: Clarke

Australia captain Michael Clarke on Thursday exuded confidence in his pace battery and said whether there is a four—prong pace attack or not, they are good enough to take the wickets in the third cricket Test against India starting here tomorrow. Australia would seek a replacement of James Pattinson in either Ryan Harris or Mitchell Starc, and Clarke believed both of them would be good enough to do the job. “He (Harris) is as good a fast bowler...

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Vijay's unbeaten century enhances TN's lead

Mumbai surrendered so quickly. Once its last specialist batsman Hiken Shah directed a harmless wide delivery into the hands of the `keeper, Tamil Nadu wrapped up the Mumbai tail to take a vital first innings lead of 202 in the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday. The three seamers — L. Balaji, Yomahesh and J. Kaushik — got into the wicket-taking act and dismissed the home team for a meagre 157. Not in recent times...

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