| Cover Story |
Mr. Keeper, can you bat?For some time now, wicketkeepers in many parts of the cricket world have been judged on bat-work not glove-work. Wisden tells us that wicketkeepers averaged 24 between 1877 and 2000, and 32 in the next 12 years. Even accounting for the inflation of batting averages over this period, it’s a significant statistic. By S. Ram Mahesh.
| Cricket |
Madras and Chennai — different culturesThe city’s cricket faithful have, over the years, not only increased exponentially in numbers but also acquired different identities. Arun Venugopal reports.
INTERVIEW
What’s on Watson’s menu?“I am trying to prove to the selectors and other people that I am one of the top six batsmen in Australia,” says Shane Watson in a chat with Arun Venugopal.
INTERVIEW
‘Hopefully, I am going in the right direction’At a media interaction in Chennai, Mitchell Starc, his wide smile surfacing frequently, speaks passionately about his growth in the fast lane, missing the IPL, and not discussing the sport with his girlfriend, who is a cricketer. Arun Venugopal has the details.
| Chess Corner |
| Column |
Sachin v The Don: the eternal debate
Whenever a comparison between Don Bradman and Tendulkar is debated, the pro-Sachin brigade bring out the argument that he was the more versatile batsman as he spanned Tests and T20 while Bradman was strictly Tests-only and never stood the pressure of batting against India on their own grounds, writes Ted Corbett.
| General |
Mind over matter“In Mindroom, we profile each athlete and work with his strengths to help him become stronger mentally,” says sport performance coach Dr. Pierre Beauchamp, in a chat with Nandakumar Marar.
Shooting and mind games
Conditioning the mind is now an essential training tool for competitive shooters. Techniques like stress management have become part of daily life for Indian 10m air pistol shooter Heena Sidhu.
“Using Mindroom tools like ...
Mindroom explained
Prof. Bruno de Michelis, a Scientific Director with the Canadian biomedical company, Thought Technology Ltd., developed Mindroom in 2002 for the Italian football club, AC Milan.
Italy used the technology during EURO 2008. Later, ...
Increasingly influential
It has been an incredible journey for the Swans and also Ashley Williams, who is now Wales’ captain and reportedly being eyed by the likes of Liverpool, writes Daniel Pilkington.
| Football |
It has been an incredible journey for the Swans and also Ashley Williams, who is now Wales’ captain and reportedly being eyed by the likes of Liverpool, writes Daniel Pilkington.
STARWATCH
A class actGareth Bale’s progression in terms of build, technique, goal-scoring ability and strength draws comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo’s development at Manchester United which saw him begin to perform at a level light years ahead of his peers.
KICKING AROUND
In troubled waters
The Arsenal board has promised Arsene Wenger large sums of money to plug the evident gaps in his team, yet mere money is not the answer. By Brian Glanville.
