Harsha, Shoaib and a few others

Harsha screams Yaahooo in his write-up after India demolished the Lankans at Nagpur. Of course, most of it was on Tendulkar's resurgence as a batting bully. He suggests that the maestro's problems were in his mind.

It happens to the best. The mind is made up and instinct is buried. We seek to become conformists, from making the rules we bow to them. Sometimes we grow weary with battle, the next conquest becomes daunting. We start looking at obstacles rather than opportunities, worry about getting out rather than think of scoring runs; once again we see the fielders not the gaps between them.

I for one think that it was Tendulkar's physical problems which made him prolong his cautious approach to batting. The injury so obviously hampered his ability to play some of his best shots and reluctant as he might have been, Sachin was forced to curtail his agressive approach.
Something I like about Harsha's columns is his optimism and I thought this was lacking in recent times. Hopefully, the coming days will continue to provide him (and us ) with more joy.

Elsewhere, Shoaib continues his life in normal fashion. His latest grievance is against someone who remarked on his unchanging attitude to discipline, using the analogy of a dog's tail that never straightens.

"This TV channel aired derogatory remarks against me without any rhyme and reason and tomorrow they can also do so against my country. I will fully pursue litigation against this TV channel instead of accepting an apology from them."

It is funny how people resort to grandiose arguments when they have nothing else to put forward. Shoaib in this case seems to think that Pakistan as a country is under threat from unsuspecting ESPN. I say, Pakistan will be well served if he is engrossed with the litigation processes and misses the England series as a result.

WI suffered their first casuality when Wavell Hinds fractured his little finger. Devon Smith will now accompany Gayle at the top. The team desperately needs Lara to fire on all cylinders and the rest to provide able support if they are to pose any kind of challenge to the Australians.

Finally, in the Guardian, Mike Selvey writes on the Englishmen touring Pakistan. The article is a day old but Inzi's fitness and training methods under Miandad's able tutelage are particularly interesting.

It all bypassed Inzy, who had yet to leave the airconditioning of the dressing room. Fielding drills followed, during which he emerged, tracksuited and padded up. He wandered across to a large wicker chair by the nets and slumped down to observe the efforts of his team-mates.
Then came a net session that he also viewed nonchalantly for a while before deciding it was time for a spot of batting. So he unzipped his top, removed it, placed his green Pakistan helmet on his head, and strolled into the nearest net, where for 20 minutes he proceeded to bat like a prince, before deciding enough was enough. Out he came, collecting his extraneous gear on the way, and disappeared back to the dressing room, not to be seen again. Next day, of course, he made a century.

I wonder if Inzi is given the same kind of treatment with Woolmer in charge.