Most of the Indian cricketers have a high level of motivation and mental strength, but the inability of the set-up to allow players to make mistakes and learn from them is the biggest roadblock to their progress – these were some of the revelations of a report by Sandy Gordon, a sports psychologist at the University of Western Australia.Gordon spoke to The Times of India about the findings of a study he conducted with current and former Indian cricketers over an 18-month period from July 2003. “Every player that I interviewed has a very high level of motivation and commitment which goes a long way in being mentally tough. Though they are different individuals, there were more similarities than dissimilarities that came up during my discussions.” The report mentioned the names of 14 players who Gordon spoke to, including Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and former players like Bishan Bedi, Ravi Shastri and Dilip Vengsarkar.Talking about the biggest flaw in the Indian cricketing system, Gordon said: “Indians are far too intolerant of mistakes. Players should be allowed to make mistakes. They need to try and fail and then try again. This gives them motivation and resilience. Right now, if a player performs poorly – doesn’t take too many wickets or scores a couple of ducks – the Indian selectors are most likely to drop him. The player knows this too. That shouldn’t be the case. If India want mentally tough players, they need to learn to be patient and give the players a chance.”Gordon also talked about the Australian system to highlight his point: “There are plenty of examples in Australian cricket where players made mistakes but bounced back because the selectors stuck with them.”In his interviews with the Indian players, Gordon asked them their views on how mental resilience could be developed. “Most players thought that mental toughness cannot be taught. You can’t teach it in a classroom, and neither are you born with it. It’s something that you develop, and we have to develop that environment for them to become resilient.”Gordon was involved with the Indian players during the 2003 World Cup and on their tour to Australia in 2003-04, and was instrumental in introducing the celebratory huddle in the field every time the Indians took a wicket. Many players admitted that Gordon’s technique of having the cricketers stay positive had a huge role to play in India’s journey to the finals of the World Cup. With a view to having the upcoming players pick up these techniques at an early age, the board also had Gordon work out a specific programme for the National Cricket Academy, highlighting the ways in which the players training there can work on the mental aspect of their games.Gordon also revealed that he was doing a similar study for the Australian board as well. “The Aussies don’t lack in mental toughness. Cricket Australia’s reason for doing this study is to see how the bar can be raised. I’ve already interviewed four of the 21 players – Steve Waugh, Trevor Hohns, David Boon and Greg Chappell – and I must say the results are very interesting.”

Records tumbled on arguably the most one-sided first day of a Test in 128 years of international cricket. It was gruesome to watch, but at least the statisticians had something to get excited about.First to go was Zimbabwe’s lowest Test score. Their previous-worst was 63, at Port-of-Spain in March 2000, when they wilted in the face of what seemed to be an easy victory target of just 99 runs. But today was worse: only Stuart Matsikenyeri made double figures, although curiously there was only one duck as Zimbabwe succumbed for 54. Click here for a list of the lowest innings in Tests.As South Africa toyed with the bowling as if it was the Father’s Match at school, another record loomed into view. The biggest lead that a side batting second had established by the end of the first day in any Test was 233, when England ran up 286 for 8 after bowling out Australia for 53 in 75 minutes at Lord’s in 1896. That 109-year-old record was soon in tatters – like Zimbabwe’s spirits – as the runs cascaded after tea, a session in which South Africa scored 249 in 33 overs.Jacques Kallis, soon after smacking three successive sixes off Graeme Cremer, hurtled to his half-century in just 24 balls – the fastest-known in terms of balls faced, relegating Ian Botham’s slaptastic 26-ball fifty at Delhi in 1981-82 down a place.There was also the little matter of Makhaya Ntini’s 200th Test wicket – he’s the third South African (after Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock) to get there, and the 46th from all countries – and Mark Boucher’s 300th Test dismissal behind the stumps (only Ian Healy and Rod Marsh have made more). There was even one bright moment for Zimbabwe: Tatenda Taibu scored his 1000th Test run.Wisden doesn’t do records for hurt pride, or the Zimbabweans might have clocked up a few more. But Cremer’s figures of 9-0-86-3 were a candidate for Most Unusual in Tests (Asanka Gurusinha runs him close, with a spell of 1.5-0-25-2 in 1986-87), while Tatenda Taibu’s persistence with a slip and a gully almost all day would have come in high on the mythical Most Optimistic Field Placings table.

New Zealand have been given a much needed boost ahead of the First Test against Australia at Christchurch, with Nathan Astle and Daniel Vettori both declaring themselves fit. The two players missed matches during the recent 5-0 ODI drubbing but are confident of making the Test series.Astle was suffering from a shoulder injury and Vettori back pain, but as two of New Zealand’s most experienced players their return can not come soon enough for a heavily depleted squad. Injuries have ruled out Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, and Michael Papps as well as long term absentee Shane Bond.”It’s good, it was just a bit of a niggle in the AC joint,” Astle told the news agency. “It was more precautionary than anything else. With the [one-day] series gone I just wanted to rest it and be right for Thursday. Everything’s fine – throwing, batting, I haven’t had a bowl yet, but I’m sure that’ll be all right as well.”Vettori is vital for a threadbare Kiwi bowling attack and will once again shoulder a heavy workload in the three-match series. He is just 12 wickets short of 200, and would join Chris Cairns and Sir Richard Hadlee as New Zealanders with that milestone. But despite the number of overs he is likely to bowl Vettori is not concerned: “I’m pretty confident about what I can do. I talked to Stephen [Fleming] and John [Bracewell] about it and I won’t be putting any restrictions on myself and they won’t be putting any on me either. It’ll just be a feel thing but I’m reasonably confident at the moment.”

The weather has kept a soppy series bubbling. Australia’s bright summer streak popped at six with the draw at Wellington and New Zealand – amazingly, considering the way they have been allowed to perform – have a chance of squaring the series at Auckland. It is a limited but valid opportunity.Historical records tell the Black Caps they have an even chance of taking the three-Test affair. Eden Park has hosted six Trans-Tasman Tests and the ledger is square at three-all. However, the forecast says it could be another dreary contest with showers predicted until Monday. At least. A draw would be a positive result for Stephen Fleming as he looks ahead to two Tests against Sri Lanka.The most relevant question is do Australia, a week out from holidays after eight months on the road, have one last burst left? They have thumped Fleming’s side over two series this season, and Ricky Ponting wanted 40 more overs at Wellington to mop up New Zealand’s second innings. Instead the dried-out Australians would like to sign-off on their dominating gallop across the two islands with a convincing performance. At Christchurch they won by nine wickets; at the Basin Reserve they had a 278-run advantage in less than three days when the plug was pulled. It is an equation of Australia’s energy versus New Zealand’s resistance.Fleming’s side, batting and captaincy are suffering, but he could afford only one alteration to the squad, James Marshall joining his identical twin Hamish at Craig McMillan’s expense. The less things change the more the result should stay the same. Fleming has taken the downward step to No. 4 and been looking for ways to upset Glenn McGrath’s ease at finding his front pad in front. Australia’s attack will not be touched and there was barely a whisper of push for Brett Lee.The Paul Wiseman v Iain O’Brien debate is still alive after two weeks and is vital to the power – or impotency – of an attack that has given up 1137 runs in two Tests at 3.9 an over. The rain and early life of a drop-in pitch didn’t win O’Brien his third Test, but the return of Wiseman’s offspin was a sensible option to provide slow support for Daniel Vettori.Australia won the last encounter at Eden Park in 1999-2000 when Colin Miller’s second-innings five wickets were more valuable than Vettori’s 12 in the match. Before that New Zealand were victorious three times in a row on a ground that makes Australians shudder at their team’s lack of success. Bruce Edgar’s 161 and Richard Hadlee’s seven victims in 1981-82 toppled Chappell, Lillee and Marsh, John Bracewell, the current coach, took 10 to claim the 1985-86 series, and in 1992-93 Dipak Patel and Danny Morrison hauled five-wicket bags to draw New Zealand level against Border, Warne, Waugh, Healy and Martyn.They were heady matches, but Eden Park is now in the grip of rugby season – the Auckland Blues have a Super 12 bye after a two-two win-loss record – and cricket has one last hold before the goalposts are wheeled out properly for winter. However, the low attendances of the opening Tests suggest local views are All Black once autumn arrives and they have little appreciation of any-coloured caps. It should be a sombre end to a draining summer.Peter English is Australasian editor of Cricinfo.

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has announced the establishment of a fund aimed to help with the education, development and welfare of West Indies cricketers.The West Indies Players’ Benevolent Fund , which will benefit cricketers not only during their cricketing life but also after they have retired, is backed by First Citizens Bank, Prestige Holdings and Toyota. Any players who has represented the team at Test, A, Under-19 and Under-15 level will be eligible, as will anyone who has played in official regional competitions.Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA’s chief executive, said that the fund had become necessary to help cricketers in all aspects of their life. “Cricket is a very jealous and possessive wife,” he said. “There are far too many examples of young men who have sacrificed education, career and family life in service of this great game, only to find that their time in the middle was short-lived…then to painfully discover there was no support system beyond the boundary. The establishment of this Players’ Fund is the first step to change this unfortunate reality.”

The apppointment of Mickey Arthur as South African coach has impressed Graeme Smith, the captain. Smith, who had a short stint with Arthur in the South African A side, said he was an admirer of Arthur’s coaching style and his work ethic.”He gets the best out of his players, and he’s definitely not a soft touch,” said Smith, quoted in The Star. “I was impressed with his work ethic. He’s a disciplined man. His man-management is a key component of his make-up as a coach.”Ray Jennings, who was replaced by Arthur, was often questioned about his unconventional coaching style. When asked about his relationship with Jennings, Smith said, “Jet [Jennings] and I didn’t see eye to eye on certain things, and we had the odd run-in now and then, but that’s a natural part of the captain-coach relationship. It’s good to have those challenges.”We always knew that Jet might not stay. But we’ve had more stability in the team, and the result is that more players have responded well,” he said. “The team is comfortable with the process that has been followed to pick the new coach. Now we have a definite plan going forward.”However, it is said that several players were sad to see Jennings leave and had considered a campaign to retain him as the coach. However, Smith ruled out the possibility of any turmoil within the team due to the new appointment. “When I appealed for stability [after the first Test against England at Port Elizabeth in December], I was talking more about the need for stability within the team.”The team is playing very well at the moment. Our aim is to be No. 1 in the world in both forms of the game, and once we’ve played Australia, we’ll have a better idea of what we need to do to get there.”

Simon Jones has targeted England’s tour to the Caribbean in March next year as a possible comeback date from his knee injury. Jones has slowly worked his way back to fitness after tearing his cruciate ligament in the Ashes series last November and he played a few games for Glamorgan’s 2nd XI at the end of last season. He will also be with the academy this winter.”The knee is nice and strong, obviously it gets stiff from time to time, but apart from that it has been good,” Jones said. “I’ve been itching to get back and to play three games in the second XI for Glamorgan at the end of last season was a big bonus for me.”Months ago I thought about the tour of Bangladesh that England are on now as a time for my comeback, but it didn’t happen and now I’m looking to West Indies next year. It is a personal goal of mine to play for England again then.”Jones’s horror fall at Brisbane is now nearly a year ago and he has made good strides towards a full recovery. “I’ve got a good medical team around me and they’ve looked after me well through my rehab,” he said. “I will concentrate on working my socks off until Christmas and then go on tour with the academy to Malaysia and India in the new year. Coming to the academy will help me. I know I need to work on my fitness and my bowling action as well and this is a perfect opportunity for me.”

Back in December 1959, Australia were, as they are now, the finest team in the world, having routed England 4-0 in the previous Ashes series. And when they thrashed India by an innings and plenty at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi, the Indian selectors knew that changes were needed to prevent total annihilation.Three years earlier, Richie Benaud’s legspin – his match figures of 11 for 105 remains the best by an Australian in India – had helped clinch victory in a hard-fought game at the Eden Gardens as Australia won their first series on Indian soil 2-0. The drawn match at the Brabourne Stadium had also been dominated by the visitors, with Burke and Neil Harvey scoring big hundreds. India’s riposte had been led by Gulabrai Ramchand’s 109, and three years later, he found himself leading the side against a team that could boast of the talents of Benaud, Harvey, Norm O’Neill and Alan Davidson.

Ramchand needed a secret weapon, and he found one in the unlikely figure of Jasu Patel, an offspinner, whose relatively undistinguished career was thought to be almost over at 35. Patel’s quirky action flummoxed the Australians, and despite Davidson bowling superbly for match figures of 12 for 124, it was Patel – with 9 for 69 and 5 for 55 – who spun India to a historic 119-run victory.It was to be an engrossing five-match rubber, decided at the Corporation Stadium in Madras where Les Favell’s only Test century inspired an innings-and-55-run triumph. But Benaud’s men were more than just a great side, and despite touring conditions that were nothing like as comfortable as they are now, they won admirers everywhere for the manner in which they conducted themselves.Honours were shared five years later, as another Australian win at Chepauk was offset by a tremendous rearguard action from Chandu Borde at the Brabourne as India eked out a two-wicket victory. Bill Lawry made significant contributions with the bat on that tour, batting with typical cussedness against the spin of Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bapu Nadkarni, but it would be as captain that he would garner the headlines five years later.Unfortunately for Lawry and Australia, their 3-1 triumph would be overshadowed by the public relations disasters that dogged the tour at every step. A controversial umpiring decision on the penultimate day at Bombay – Srinivas Venkataraghavan was adjudged caught behind after his flail at an Alan Connolly delivery had missed the bat by about a foot – resulted in rioting in the stands, and projectiles being thrown at the Australians after Lawry refused to lead his team off the field.Australia won that game by eight wickets, and after a draw in Kanpur, the teams proceeded to Delhi where Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna bowled India to victory despite a marvellous 138 from Ian Chappell. India were left to score 181, and Ajit Wadekar saw them home with an accomplished unbeaten 91. It was all to play for when the teams arrived at the Eden Gardens, but sadly – not for the last time in the stadium’s annals it must be said – events off the field would cast a pall of gloom over what happened in the middle.A surge in the demand for tickets caused a stampede on the final day, and India’s meek capitulation led to further unruly behaviour in the stands. After Lawry had a mid-pitch altercation with a local photographer during a hold-up in play, Australia knocked off the 39 needed for victory. But any thoughts of celebration were stifled by the anger of the local population which pelted the Australia team bus as they left for the airport.

A 77-run win in Madras clinched the series 3-1, but Lawry’s team for South Africa – where they would be routed 4-0 by Ali Bacher’s side – having won few admirers. They haven’t won in India since. The golden generation that followed never toured India, thanks to the vagaries of the international schedule and World Series Cricket, and as a result, Indian spectators never got the chance to watch the likes of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rodney Marsh in action.After a weakened Australian team was pummelled 2-0 in 1978-79, India had to wait until 1986 for the next group of Australian visitors. Despite being rated as one of the poorest teams to leave Australian shores, Allan Border’s men left their mark, with the first Test in Madras ending in the most dramatic of ties.With India needing 348 on the final day, Greg Matthews trapped Maninder Singh leg before in the final over to steal the limelight from Dean Jones, who had batted over eight hours in oppressive heat and humidity for his 210 before being taken to hospital to be administered a drip.The rivalry intensified in the 1998 when Australia – who had been thrashed in a one-off Test at Delhi in 1996 – were routed in Chennai and Kolkata, before they salvaged some pride with a Michael Kasprowicz-inspired coup at Bangalore. Sachin Tendulkar gave Shane Warne nightmares, smashing 155 (191 balls) at Chennai and following up with an awe-inspiring 177 (207 balls) at Bangalore.In 2001, even he would be eclipsed by VVS Laxman, who matched and then eclipsed Ian Botham’s Headingley heroics of 1981 with a glorious 281 at Kolkata after India had been asked to follow-on. Thrashed out of sight in Mumbai after Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist had slammed imperious centuries, India were down and out at the Eden Gardens despite Harbhajan Singh’s first-innings hat-trick. But Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who made 180, gave their team the kiss of life, and another devastating spell from Harbhajan, backed up by the legspin of Tendulkar, on the final afternoon saw Australia surrender a match that they should at least have drawn.And though Hayden battered his way to a splendid 203 in the decider at Chennai, a Tendulkar hundred gave India the buffer they needed as Harbhajan, with 15 wickets for the match and 32 for the series, spun Australia out. Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath bowled magnificently on the final afternoon with India needing only 155, but Harbhajan was on hand at the finish, with Sameer Dighe, as India closed out the most celebrated series victory of modern times.Steve Waugh, who had carved out a gutsy 110 in front of an adoring crowd at Kolkata, would retire two years later, and his dreams of crossing what had been called Australian cricket’s final frontier would remain unfulfilled. When Adam Gilchrist and his men take to the field on Wednesday, they will need to draw inspiration from Benaud and his team of long ago, who not only mastered Indian conditions, but did so without antagonising the locals like Lawry was to a decade later.

The West Indians have arrived and are ready to play Test cricket, but the Wankhede Stadium is not up to it. The pitch has not seen any cricket on it, the outfield is so hard and patchy that parts of it have been painted green to fool the world, and the take-up of tickets has been 40%. It is, perversely, all Sachin Tendulkar’s fault.Mumbai, Tendulkar’s home ground, was meant to have hosted the third Test of this series, not the first. But the Indian and Mumbai cricket boards felt obliged to make Tendulkar the first player to have an itinerary rescheduled on the occasion of his 101st Test.So now, the preparation time for a newly-laid centre has not been enough, the outfield has not been pampered as it should have been, and, because the match now falls just before exam time rather than during the Diwali holidays, students have not flocked in. Without Brian Lara, West Indies are a far less saleable product anyway. And at 38 degrees centigrade, it is five degrees hotter than a typical October in Mumbai – which is none of Tendulkar’s fault.The contest is not expected to go beyond the fourth day – if the players don’t melt before that. The Wankhede pitch was never short of support for the bowlers in the first place. The previous two Tests here both ended in three days – India lost both. There was enough bounce and seam movement for the South Africans and Australians – and turn too, for Shane Warne and Mark Waugh – to exploit, and in both matches, Tendulkar, and he alone among the Indians, stood tall. While the curator expects the new pitch to retain the general properties of the Wankhede surface, there is a fear that it is underdone, and will keep lower.India will field an improved version of the XI that played their last two Tests, in England. The balance will be the same – two spinners, two seamers and the gentle swing of Sanjay Bangar. But Javagal Srinath, who has apparently rethought Test retirement without having said so, will play ahead of Ajit Agarkar, who is no longer even in the squad.West Indies will need to fill Lara’s hole in the middle, and the man most likely to do that is Ryan Hinds, a young attacking left-hander. As if one Hinds, Wavell, who spanked a carefree 147 in the solitary warm-up game at Bangalore, was not enough. The seam bowling will be led by Mervyn Dillon, supported by Cameron Cuffy and Pedro Collins. Mahendra Nagamootoo will bowl his brisk legspin. Carl Hooper, despite a precautionary MRI scan on his knees, remains fit to lead in what will be his 100th Test. (Yes, he will be presented a memento along with Tendulkar.)Whether or not revenge is on the minds of the Indians after losing 1-2 in the Caribbean earlier in the year is hard to tell. These contests do not have the edge, say, of an England-India encounter. But things have changed since May. India are more intense than they were then, after winning two one-day tournaments and drawing the away series in England. West Indies have lost a home series to New Zealand and, despite winning the one-dayers that followed, the most newsworthy features of their trip to Colombo for the Champions Trophy were Mervyn Dillon’s match-losing wide and the lurid (and much-denied) reports of women in their team manager’s room.India have better batting than West Indies, a better spin attack, and equally good seam bowling. They are in possession of a genius, while hepatitis has robbed West Indies of theirs. And they are at home: in the heat, on what may be a crumbling surface. West Indies will need to raise themselves.Probable teams
India 1 Sanjay Bangar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Javagal Srinath.West Indies 1 Wavell Hinds, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Carl Hooper (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ryan Hinds, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Mahendra Nagamootoo, 9 Mervyn Dillon, 10 Cameron Cuffy, 11 Pedro Collins.Rahul Bhattacharya is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

Tino Best’s inclination for delivering fast, high full pitches got him into trouble again yesterday. The volatile West Indies fast bowler was immediately barred from bowling when he sent down his third such delivery of the innings to left-hander Rangana Herath in Sri Lanka’s second innings early on the fourth day of the second Test. Ironically, Herath cut the ball to the boundary.Best hit Mahela Jayawardene on the glove with a similar ball on Satuday. Kumar Sangkkara received another during his hundred on Sunday when Best was cautioned. Herath’s was the third.Muttiah Muralitharan had been caught off a high full toss from Best that was called no-ball in the first innings but it was the only instance. Under the regulations, the matter has been reported by match referee Mike Procter to the International Cricket Council (ICC), “who shall take such action as deemed appropriate against the captain and bowler concerned”.Best is only the third bowler taken off for the offence in Tests. The others are fellow West Indian Colin Stuart, coincidentally at the same Asgiriya Stadium in the second Test in 2001, and Zimbabwean Travis Friend.It is not a first-time offence for Best who was debarred from bowling in the innings in the 2003 Carib Beer Series and reported during the West Indies ‘A’ team tour of England.The law states that the umpire must call no-ball when he “considers that a high full pitch which is deemed to be dangerous and unfair was deliberately bowled”. He issues a caution and on repetition directs the captain to take the bowler off “forthwith” with the over to be completed by another bowler. In this case, it was Daren Powell.The offending bowler is not allowed to bowl again in the innings and the umpire has to report the occurrence, with the other umpire, “as soon as possible to the executive of the fielding side and to any governing body responsible for the match.