Cricket Uncut

When a batsman comes out and starts playing his strokes straight away, hitting a succession of boundaries, you might think that he is in a confident frame on mind. But it is not always so. Consider Abdul Razzaq, for example. Razzaq played a strokeful cameo today, throwing his bat at everything, but it came not from self-belief but because he clearly did not back himself against this quality of bowling. He was beaten a few times, and looked hapless when he tried to defend, particularly against Anil Kumble. Better to attack then, he must have decided, and get as many as he could in the time he was at the crease.

But then he threw his bat at a wide ball outside off stump, edging it through to the wicketkeeper, in the last over before tea. You'd expect a senior member of the team to be more responsible than that. And to feel more confident of playing a long innings.