Enough about the wait for the hundredth

All right, everyone, he's not having fun himself, you know.

It's bloody 2005 all over again. When room service carries in his dinner or housekeeping changes the sheets and towels, they all give him sheepish, respectful smiles and mention just one thing. Hello, sir, wishing you the best, sir, to get "it". Please, sir, soon. Then there's the liftman, the receptionist, the bus driver, the gateman, the dressing-room attendant. Then you, me, the boss, the rookie, mummy, daddy, uncle, auntie, grandparents, gym instructor, chaiwallah, all asking him to deliver the hundred as if it were a pizza that could reach your door in 30 minutes.

Now you know why he wears those giant headphones.

In 2005, it was about the 35th Test century. When it was done, he said he had been "glad and relieved… I could then start enjoying the game again". Until then, the same old room-service-housekeeping-liftman-general-public-entreaty. From No. 34, it took five Tests and seven innings to get to 35.

Only five Tests, you're thinking. Only seven innings. What about this excruciating torture now, which doesn't seems to end? It's been 14 innings, 14 , nine matches - ODIs, Tests, World Cup, England tour, Kotla, the whole fruit basket. Still we wait. And we will begin all over again in Kolkata. Best now to think of Master Shifu and find inner peace.

Waiting for the 35th took a whole year. That is how they stretched out five Tests in the pre-IPL days. So zip it. Be patient. It has only been eight months since No. 99. Be grateful that he can get this in either of two formats. Remember, he was so spent after 35 that it took 17 months, 17 innings and 10 Tests to get to No. 36, which doesn't seem like such a big deal now. It is the longest he's ever been without the reassurance of a century since he started playing for India. Once he got to No. 36, he raced away; between then and now, 15 centuries in Test, seven in ODIs, 7500-plus runs in both forms, the world's first one-day 200, a World Cup finally won.

He knows how this hundred business is done, okay? He's just approaching middle age, you know, when we all begin to creak a little. Everything takes time these days. Now stop fretting, go study, pay attention to office mundanities, spend time with the family. Take the damn hundred off your mind. He's not thinking about you, anyway. Who knows, maybe he's even not thinking about his 90s. Twenty-seven in 743 innings for India, after just five in the first 10 years of his career.

To closely study the effects of the 100th on crowd behaviour, psychologists should have gone out to all the grounds where he has played since March 13. They would have come across classic case studies in these key categories: worshippers, worriers, theoreticians, tall-poppy trimmers, poets, even, sitting next to each other, hearts beating, minds racing.

Please, God, this time, this one. I promise you I won't ever call him God again. Please, please, please.

Suppose he gets out again? Suppose he can't do it? The sun won't rise, I won't able to live.

Cross-bat? On a wicket that kept low? Refusing a single? Farming strike? Clearly the sight of that 100 caused a brain-freeze.

Serves him right, let him stew; obsessing about records. He's old, he should retire. The team comes first.

Ninety nine, no more.
O, Bradman. Incomplete.
Yet rounded off.

The 100th isn't just about the score anymore; ideally it must involve a suitable, noble occasion. Which is why the Oval innings made some sweat; as if he would have gone around the ground in a lap of honour. Versus West Indies at the Kotla, it was said he had "missed" another chance - narrowly by 93 runs. The second innings 24-run "miss" had effectively controlled India's third-highest successful chase, before the 100th got in its way. Now, as if we control it, like a choice between margherita or quattro formaggi, we think, what would be better - Kolkata or Mumbai? Kolkata didn't get an India World Cup game; November 15 is the day his first Test began 22 years ago. But surely, Mumbai, his hometown.

To generate real suspense, Hitchcock believed, "you must let the audience have the information". What would he have made of this? The information here is available not only to the audience but to the central character as well. The suspense, all the same, is killing. Eden Gardens begins on Monday.

We'll let you in on a secret. When the moment comes - and it will, it will - everyone will stand up and applaud, dignified, teary, joyful. Including us, undearly unbeloved journalists. We will not, though, be scrambling.

While you were chewing fingernails and hiding behind the sofa, the media, dear reader, was getting ready. Newspapers, magazines, erm, websites, television channels. Reams have already been written about the 100th, pages designed, programme packages prepared, footage edited, voiceovers recorded, even quotes obtained. Like everyone, they are waiting too, pulled in by the allure of the 100th. This is tribute, not deceit.

At the end of the day, what's marvellously monumental about a 100th international hundred, is equally so at 99. Qualitatively the difference of that one more is really, just a number.

Another spin test for West Indies

Match facts

Monday, November 14
Start time 0900 (0330 GMT)

	West Indies need to play India's slow bowlers better if they are to stand any chance © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Matches: India v West Indies at Kolkata

Big Picture

Delhi was a perfect summation of why West Indies weren't expected to add to India's tally of two home losses in six years. It was the third instance this year of West Indies losing a Test despite keeping the opposition to under 300 in their first innings. To put it in perspective, India have taken nine years to lose three Tests after dismissing sides for under 300. West Indies aren't a team incapable of surprising India, but Test matches aren't won on surprise alone.

In the first Tests of both series between these sides, West Indies have managed to shock India, reducing them to 85 for 6 on the first morning at Sabina Park, and then bowling them out for 209 on a benign Kotla track. West Indies lost both games. It is a credit to Darren Sammy and his men that despite all the constraints they face, they have reached positions from where they can win matches, but they need to find a way to convert these opportunities.

There's already a feeling that West Indies' chance in this series might have come and gone. In Delhi half the Indian side was just coming back to high-level cricket. India hadn't won any of their last six Tests. It was the best time to strike, but West Indies couldn't land the knock-out blow. It is hard to see India slipping up again.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
India WLLLL
West Indies LWDDD

Watch out for…

The turnout at Eden. This has been a strange home season. For the first time in what seems like forever, ODIs involving India in India were watched by half-empty stands. Then came the similar lukewarm response to the Kotla Test, which wasn't surprising, because you don't need research analysts to know that there are five venues in India that draw crowds for Tests: Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kanpur and Kolkata. Brace yourself for the shock now: two days before the Test, Kolkata's Telegraph reported that only 324 tickets had been sold at ticket counters until then. Here's hoping that the legendary Eden Gardens lives up to its reputation, and doesn't reject this Test like it did the ODI against England.

West Indies against spin. Sammy was honest with his appraisal of his side in the first Test. "As long as I've known, spin has been our problem," he said. "Losing 15 wickets for 220 odd runs ... As soon as the spinners settled, we went into a shell. Maybe we could bat a bit more positively, like Shiv[narine Chanderpaul] showed us … We need to find a way to score against spin and not let them get us out … Most of the time, we have been out lbw, playing with our pad instead of the bat."

At Kotla, Indian spinners bowled 101 overs for 240 runs and 16 wickets, seven of which were lbw and none a bat-pad catch. West Indies know where they have been wrong. Now might be a good time to correct it. A start could be to split the inexperienced top three by promoting Marlon Samuels, who could do with a change of scenery, a start against the hard ball and fast bowling.

Pitch and conditions

Like Kotla, Eden Gardens has been a sluggish pitch of late. In fact MS Dhoni criticised the track after the Twenty20I against England. An ugly wicket, he called it. The curator now promises even bounce, some lateral movement, and a track which isn't a rank turner.

Light fades fast in eastern parts of India, and accordingly the Test will start at 9am as opposed to 9.30am in other centres. Still it has been observed in the past that half an hour is not correction enough, and we could have trouble squeezing in the extra half hours to make up for poor over-rates. No rain is forecast over the next five days.

Team news

India are likely to retain the XI from Kotla unless the pitch is a raging turner or if there is any injury in the nets on the eve of the game.

India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav

Adrian Barath should replace Kieran Powell as the opener. Samuels should get another chance despite twin failures, although it will be interesting to see where he bats. The choice between Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach remains an interesting one, but could be easily settled if Ravi Rampaul does recover from a stomach ailment in time for Monday's start. Sammy has hinted at two spinners, which mean Shane Shillingford could play.

West Indies (probable) 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Kirk Edwards, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Marlon Samuels, 7 Darren Sammy (capt.), 8 Carlton Baugh (wk), 9 Ravi Rampaul/Kemar Roach/Shane Shillingford, 10 Fidel Edwards, 11 Devendra Bishoo

Stats and trivia

• The anxiety among the nation is palpable, but Sachin Tendulkar has gone only five Tests and four ODIs without a hundred.
• If West Indies don't win one of the next two Tests, they will have spent a decade since they last beat India, in Jamaica in May 2002. They have won at least one Test against all other teams bar New Zealand since 2002.
• This will be Fidel Edwards' 50th Test. No West Indies fast bowler since Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh has reached 50 Tests. Eleven West Indies bowlers have taken more wickets than Edwards' 151.

Australia say India should not host Commonwealth Games

India should not have been allowed to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, according to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates.

Construction delays have hampered the preparations for the Games, which start on 3 October, and the athletes' village was this week called "uninhabitable".

Coates said: "In hindsight, no, they shouldn't have been awarded the Games."

However, Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell is heartened by the "considerable improvements" made.

The village had previously been described as "filthy" by CGF chief executive Mike Hooper and photographs, taken in the last few days confirmed that.

But Fennell is encouraged by the work carried out in recent days.

Before a tour of the village on Friday, he said: "The briefing I've received from Mike Hooper was that considerable improvements have been made within the village, with further significant resources deployed by Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Dikshit, to make good what was a concerning situation.

"I am certainly pleased to arrive in Delhi to the news that Australia has moved into the village ready for the arrival of their athletes, and with the confirmation that England and Wales will be on their way to Delhi shortly.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
With nine days to the opening ceremony, there is still work to do outside the main venue for the Games - the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

India should not have been allowed to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, according to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates.

Construction delays have hampered the preparations for the Games, which start on 3 October, and the athletes' village was this week called "uninhabitable".

Coates said: "In hindsight, no, they shouldn't have been awarded the Games."

However, Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell is heartened by the "considerable improvements" made.

The village had previously been described as "filthy" by CGF chief executive Mike Hooper and photographs, taken in the last few days confirmed that.

But Fennell is encouraged by the work carried out in recent days.

Before a tour of the village on Friday, he said: "The briefing I've received from Mike Hooper was that considerable improvements have been made within the village, with further significant resources deployed by Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Dikshit, to make good what was a concerning situation.

"I am certainly pleased to arrive in Delhi to the news that Australia has moved into the village ready for the arrival of their athletes, and with the confirmation that England and Wales will be on their way to Delhi shortly.

David Bond's blog
Delhi may yet surprise us. No major event enjoys a smooth build-up with no problem. But this does feel different

"Already so many athletes from around the Commonwealth have started their journey to Delhi.

"Our job across the next week is to help ensure that all the corrective work is completed in good time.

"We must ensure that a suitable environment is provided to ensure the welfare of the athletes and their support staff.

"It is vital that all remedial work that has already started continues with the greatest urgency."

Buoyed by the progress made, New Zealand have announced they will compete at the Games.

New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley said that developments over the last 24 hours had been significant but his team would continue to review hygiene and security issues on a daily basis.

"We are confident now that this can be turned around," he said.

"What we found was inexcusable and unacceptable, but we've seen a change in leadership and this is positive."

England's hockey and lawn bowls teams were among the first foreign athletes to arrive in Delhi on Friday.

However, they will stay in hotels over the weekend while further work is carried out on the athletes' village.

Australian Coates was one of the leading members of the organising committee for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and is also an elected member of the International Olympic Committee's executive board.

He pointed out that part of the problem facing the CGF is that they only have five people overseeing Delhi's progress.

In contrast, the IOC, which is currently monitoring preparations for the 2012 Olympics in London, has 400 staff.

"The CGF is under-resourced," he continued. "It doesn't have the ability to monitor the progress of cities in the way the IOC does."

Coates also said that the IOC has contracts in place with London and 2016 Olympic hosts Rio de Janiero to ensure construction deadlines are met and test events are carried out one year before the Games.

"If that had been the case here [in Delhi], then certainly something would have been done a lot sooner because obviously the venues are not ready," he stated.

"Certainly the Commonwealth Games for its future needs to move away from just the old countries - Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Britain taking turns. But the problem is, they [India] weren't ready."

Delhi is expecting 7,000 athletes and officials to begin arriving on Friday to stay in the village.

Continue the superb work!

Indian weightlifter Chanu fails dope test

It comes as an embarrassment for the Indian sports fraternity. Ahead of the Commonwealth Games, weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu has failed the dope test.

The weightlifter tested positive for methyl-hexa-neamine, a banned substance.

This is the second time Chanu tested positive for drugs. She had tested positive for diuretics earlier during the Athens Olympics in 2004.

According to newspaper reports, Chanu could face a life ban and also be ousted from the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

However, the Weightlifting Federation is claiming that all 15 lifters selected for the games have come clean.

As many as 12 Indian athletes are under the dope cloud at present.

Pakistan quartet under the microscope over allegations

Who are the four Pakistan players named by the News of the World over spot-fixing allegations?

The quartet were interviewed by the police on Saturday night, with captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif also having their mobile phones confiscated.

MOHAMMAD AMIR

Still only 18, during day two of the second Test at Lord's the left-arm paceman became the youngest bowler in Test history to take 50 wickets.

He went on to take his best Test figures, picking up 6-84 in England's only innings, and is currently ranked the eighth-best bowler in Test cricket.

He made both his Test and one-day debuts in July 2009 and has gone on to snare 51 Test wickets at a shade over 29 runs apiece, and has a further 25 victims in one-day internationals.

Born in Gujjar Khan, Punjab, he has a whippy action that enables him to swing the ball both ways at a lively pace that can touch 90mph.

Of the three no-balls bowled which led to the investigation, Amir is alleged to have bowled two of them, one on Thursday and one on Friday.

MOHAMMAD ASIF

A controversial figure who has twice been suspended after testing positive for banned substances - although one ban was subsequently overturned - and who was also detained in Dubai for suspected possession of illegal drugs.

He is a fine swing bowler who can manipulate the ball sufficiently at no more than medium pace - he says "pace is nothing" - to remove the very best at Test level.

Although he could bowl quicker he is happy to hover about the 80mph mark and his guile and ability to move the ball both ways have brought him 106 Test wickets at an average of 24.36.

Now 27 he made his Test debut in 2005 and is currently ranked third in the ICC bowling rankings.

He is alleged to have bowled one of the three no-balls in question on Thursday, the first day of the Test at Lord's.

SALMAN BUTT

The 25-year-old was only appointed Pakistan's Test captain in July after Shahid Afridi stepped down from the role - after a single game in charge - following their defeat in the first game of their two-Test series against Australia earlier this year.

Butt had previously been appointed vice-captain at the beginning of the tour after a number of senior players were discarded following what turned out to be a disastrous trip down under.

A stylish if inconsistent left-hander, who averages 30.43 from 30 Tests, he has proved more successful in ODIs, scoring 2,725 runs at an average of 36.82, including eight centuries.

He made his debut back in 2003 but was in and out of the side for several years until nailing down a regular place in 2007.

Along with Amir and Asif, Butt has had his telephone taken away by police but he said: "These are just allegations and anybody can stand out and say anything about you, it doesn't make them true."

KAMRAN AKMAL

The wicketkeeper was interviewed by the police along with the other three on Saturday night.

Kamran, older brother of batsman Umar, is renowned more for the explosive nature of his batting than the quality of his glovework.

At 28 he has already played 53 Tests and 118 ODIs, adding 184 Test catches and 22 stumpings to his 2,648 runs at 30.79 in the longest form of the game.

He was fined and put on probation by the Pakistan authorities after their dire tour of Australia in 2009-10 and a poor all-round display in the first Test against England led to him being dropped, only for the broken finger suffered by his replacement, Zulqarnain Haider, to see him recalled for the third Test.

He made his debut back in 2002, with the biggest of his six Test centuries the unbeaten 158 he scored against Sri Lanka in 2009.

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