Rudi Webster appointed KKR mental skills coach

In a first-of-its-kind in the IPL, Rudi Webster, the renowned sports psychologist, has been appointed by Kolkata Knight Riders as their mental skills coach for the fifth season.

Webster, who has influenced minds like Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Greg Chappell, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag, felt that there is a lot of value addition he can provide to the Kolkata players, especially in a pressure-filled Twenty20 environment where players "people tend to panic".

"A lot of people panic under these conditions. Usually, under pressure like that, people who stay calm and take step by step usually do better than people who panic and take bad decisions," Webster told ESPNcricinfo, explaining the need for someone like to him to sit on the coaching bench and an "asset" to have.

According to Webster, his primary job is to assist the coach and captain to get the best out of the players, and to help the players get the best out of themselves. The Barbados-born Webster, a former Warwickshire fast bowler with 272 wickets, had worked with the Indian team as a consultant during their West Indies tour in 2006 and briefly during the Champions Trophy later that year. It was in the West Indies where Sehwag, going through a slump in form and fitness, had a three-hour long chat with Webster, post which he admitted he had never chatted so "deeply with anyone." The transformation was immediate and Sehwag thanked Webster to clearing his mind.

The idea to get Webster came from Venky Mysore, the Knight Riders' CEO. Mysore, who joined the franchise last year, realised that the tight scheduling in an IPL season and a short time window was a big challenge for a team to come together. He consulted the pair of Gautam Gambhir and Trevor Bayliss, Kolktata's captain and coach, and the team management before calling up Webster.

"There is very little time for a diverse group of players to come together and get to know each other and then focusing on the common goals and align the individual objectives, which is a huge challenge," Mysore said.

There was also the possibility, at times, of a young Indian domestic player being overwhelmed in the presence of more experienced international players. "For an uncapped Indian boy to find himself in the presence of legends like Jacques Kallis or a Brett Lee in the set-up suddenly and say 'I am good enough' and be confident, it is always easier said than done."

	Performance is built on four pillars: fitness, technical skill, strategy and tactics and finally the mental component. The first three of those components is controlled by the fourth - how well you express the skills and how well you set your strategy is controlled by how well you use your mindRudi Webster

Hence, Mysore felt the best way to groom young players was to get a professional on board, like Webster, who had the credibility and experience to interact individually with the players and that could bring comfort to the squad. "He is someone who can relate to the players and make a difference because of his experience of having worked with so many great players," Mysore said.

Webster said the reason he took it up was because it was a "different and new challenge." According to Webster, the performance problems remain the same across all three formats, the only difference being the pressure is condensed into a smaller time-span. "It is much quicker. There's a lot more pressure," he said. "The pressure is compressed into a shorter time, so in some respects it is slightly different from the longer formats."

Asked how he aimed to bring about a change, Webster pointed out that everything in sport is linked to performance. "Performance is built on four pillars: fitness, technical skill, strategy and tactics and finally the mental component. You must be strong in all four of them if you want to play well," Webster said. And most are inter-linked. "The first three of those components is controlled by the fourth - how well you express the skills and how well you set your strategy is controlled by how well you use your mind."

According to Webster, in any form of sport - shorter or longer version - it is the mental skill that determines how well the athlete expresses his physical skill. And that is where his role, as a mental skills specialist, comes to the fore.

Because of the demands on the players in a pressure-packed Twenty20 match, dealing with pressure is more important than in the other two formats. And being mentally confident becomes vital in such a scenario, but players are not so well trained in that area. "It is the pillar (mental) that has been neglected," Webster said.

England stay No 1 thanks to Dunedin rain

England will retain the championship mace as the top side in the Reliance ICC Test Championship rankings on the cut-off date of April 1 after a rain-wrecked final day in Dunedin ended South Africa's chances of beating New Zealand in the first Test. South Africa needed to beat New Zealand 3-0 to overhaul England at the top of the table.

England, who will also receive a cheque for $175,000 (£110,000), have a greater financial incentive to retain the No. 1 ranking in future years. For the next three years, a total of US$3.8m (£2.4m) will be distributed in prize money with the side topping the table on April 1 next year receiving a minimum of $450,000 (£285,000).

The best series result South Africa can now achieve is a 2-0 win, which would keep them at 117 points, one behind England. South Africa will remain second unless they lose the remaining two Tests, in which case they would slip behind both India and Australia in the rankings.

England overhauled India to take the No. 1 ranking after inflicting a 4-0 whitewash last summer, but their hold on top spot has been unconvincing, beginning with their own humiliation in a 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan in the UAE.

Former India domestic spinner Uday Joshi convicted of abuse

Uday Joshi, a former India domestic player, has been jailed for six years after being convicted of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy in Northern Ireland three decades ago, according to the BBC. Offspinner Joshi, 67, maintains his innocence and has lodged an appeal against the conviction.

Originally from Rajkot, Joshi had played 186 first-class matches for Gujarat, Railways, Saurashtra and Sussex between 1965 and 1983, claiming over 500 wickets. Currently an American citizen, residing in North Carolina, Joshi's offence occurred in August 1979, during his stint with Sussex - he was in Northern Ireland for the summer to play for a local club.

Gul heroics edge Shakib's in thriller

Pakistan 262 for 8 (Hafeez 89, Jamshed 54, Gul 39, Shahadat 3-53) beat Bangladesh 241 (Shakib 64, Tamim 64, Gul 3-58) by 21 runs

Pakistan built, nearly self-destructed and counter-attacked with the bat. Bangladesh built, nearly self-destructed and counter-attacked with the bat. Pakistan's base was strong enough to weather the near-self-destruction. Their counter-attack proved sharper in the end as they stopped hosts Bangladesh short of what would have been their highest successful chase at home.

Bangladesh produced most of the unexpected passages in the game. They reduced Pakistan to 198 for 7 from 135 for 0. They recovered from 135 for 5 to become the favourites towards the closing stages of the game. But when it came to the critical moments which decided the match, Pakistan proved superior.

Umar Gul smashed his highest ODI score of 39 from 25 deliveries to convert 198 for 7 into 262 for 8. With Bangladesh requiring 39 off 40 with five wickets in hand, Gul and Saeed Ajmal took 5 for 17 between them to ensure that Shakib Al Hasan's heroic innings ended in frustration and disappointment.

More to follow ...

75 overs Bangladesh 113 for 3 (Tamim 50*, Shakib 5*) need another 150 runs to beat Pakistan 262 for 8 (Hafeez 89, Jamshed 54, Shahadat 3-53)

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Shahid Afridi lasted one delivery with the bat but struck in successive overs to leave the new cautious avatar of Tamim Iqbal and the Bangladesh middle order with a climbing asking-rate. The hosts' chase was on course at 90 for 1 in the 21st over when Afridi bowled Jahurul Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim in the space of five deliveries as Pakistan edged ahead at the halfway stage of the Bangladesh innings.

Till Afridi's strikes, Bangladesh would have had Misbah-ul-Haq worried with the planned manner in which they went about the chase. With Tamim clearly looking to anchor the innings, Nazimuddin and Jahurul did the attacking.

Nazimuddin drove and flicked with gusto, and hit Umar Gul out of the attack. Fourteen runs came off Gul's fourth over, the eighth of the innings, as Nazimuddin smashed a couple of fours on either side of a superbly timed flick that sailed over deep square leg for six. Jahurul kept the runs coming after Nazimuddin's departure.

Both batsmen were well-set when they gave away their wickets. Nazimuddin slashed a wide delivery to third man while Jahurul was bowled as he missed a slog off a flighted Afridi delivery. Afridi dealt a bigger blow to Bangladesh when he bowled Rahim who tried to cut his faster one.

At the other end, Tamim went on accumulating serenely, finding the boundary every now and then to keep the required-rate in check. He got to his fifty off his 75th delivery, and the landmark brought a prolonged pointing of his bat towards someone in the stands. Tamim's eventual selection for the Asia Cup had come after a tussle between the chief selector and the Bangladesh board president. Not only was Tamim proving a point with his innings, he was also keeping Bangladesh in the hunt.

50 overs Pakistan 262 for 8 (Hafeez 89, Jamshed 54, Shahadat 3-53) v Bangladesh

Pakistan's batting crumbled without warning or justification, but their openers had laid so solid a platform that even a collapse of 7 for 63 could not prevent them from setting Bangladesh a challenging target on a slow Mirpur surface.

Pakistan's innings could be summed up as accumulation, panic and aggression. After Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put on 135 at close to five runs an over, Shahadat Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan brought Bangladesh back with a flurry of wickets. It was now Pakistan's turn to hit back from 198 for 7. Umar Gul smashed a quick 39 at No. 9 to lift his side to 262, which is far more than what Bangladesh have managed to chase in a day-night game in Mirpur in the past.

Hafeez and Jamshed were scarcely bothered by the Bangladesh bowling after Mushfiqur Rahim asked Pakistan to bat. As it often happens, a run-out was needed to break the big opening partnership. As it does not often happen, batsman after batsman suddenly found ways to implode.

In a sign of what lay in store for Bangladesh, Younis Khan succumbed to a leading edge off Shahadat after playing his flick early. Shahadat, who had been average till then, immediately found some menace and produced two sharp bouncers to lure Hafeez and Asad Shafiq into fatal pulls.

Umar Akmal, never one to change his hit-everything style, slog-swept his wicket away to Shakib, who was to get more reward for being the bowler who troubled Pakistan the most. Shahid Afridi did not get the time to display hisbrand of hit-everything, as he bunted a return catch to Shakib first ball. Drama has a way of somehow squeezing itself into everything Afridi is involved in. Shakib fumbled the catch on the first attempt, prevented the ball from touching the ground on the second, lobbed it up into Misbah-ul-Haq's helmet and still had enough balance left to take the rebound on the third attempt. Misbah himself did not get the opportunity to use his crisis-recovery skills as he was soon bowled through the gate.

It was left to Gul to show that his ODI batting average of 9.28 did not reflect his flicking and pulling capabilities. After his lone counterattack, he walked back with his highest ODI score, having taken 16 runs off a Mashrafe Mortaza over, the 49th.

Pakistan would have never thought that they would need Gul to bail them out after the start given by Hafeez and Jamshed. Hafeez put his lean run against England behind him with a patient knock - his first fifty in ODIs in four months - and along with his latest opening partner, Jamshed, gave Pakistan a strong start to their Asia Cup campaign. Jamshed, whose last game for Pakistan was in August 2009, justified his selection ahead of Azhar Ali with a busy innings that afforded Hafeez the space to overcome his scratchy beginning.

Shakib had said in the lead-up to the tournament that Bangladesh's target was to win the Asia Cup. The former captain backed up his words in the field and troubled Pakistan's openers the most. Shakib apart, though, Bangladesh's attack was steady at best and allowed a visibly struggling Hafeez to work himself into some form.

Hafeez's footwork was non-existent at the start; he played away from his body and needed 12 deliveries to get off the mark. Mortaza, back in the national side for the first time since the Australia series in April 2011, kept Pakistan in check. Bowling with a slightly changed action that made him fall away in his delivery stride, Mortaza got some nip and bowled with control.

Pakistan had managed 17 off the first seven overs before Jamshed, who favoured the on side, swung Shafiul Islam past short fine leg for four. Hafeez found his timing in the same over when he whipped Shafiul from outside off between mid-on and midwicket.

Shakib came on in the tenth over and immediately bothered Hafeez. A drive fell just in front of short extra cover. Three deliveries later, an appeal for a catch at slip was turned down as Hafeez advanced down the pitch to defend.

That was as close as Bangladesh came to breaking the stand. As Hafeez and Jamshed brought up their fifties, Bangladesh's decision to bowl on the flat pitch seemed set to hurt them further, until Jamshed's slow response to a call for a single gave them an opening. They barged into it whole-heartedly, but would not have accounted for Gul the batsman.

Watson confident as Australians arrive in West Indies Brydon Coverdale

Three days ago, Shane Watson was preparing to lead Australia in the third tri-series final against Sri Lanka in Adelaide. A victory, an early-morning departure and several flights later the Australians have arrived in St Vincent for a six-week tour of the West Indies and Watson said acclimatising quickly would be one of the biggest challenges ahead of Friday's first ODI.

Watson will captain Australia for the five-match ODI series in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke and it will be his first overseas tour as leader. He believes Australia can carry their good form from the Commonwealth Bank Series into the Caribbean tour, although they will be without Clarke and are waiting on the fitness of the fast bowler James Pattinson, who has a strained buttock.

"Hopefully, we can produce some very good cricket for the fans over here," Watson told reporters in St Vincent. "We have just come off a very big series in Australia, and hopefully, we can continue the form that we showed and bring it in the games against West Indies.

"We are always confident. We know that if we are at the top of our game, we are going to be very hard to beat. Right now, the most important thing is to make sure we have recovered from our long flight and make the best of the next couple of days to make sure we are ready to go for the first match."

Australia have a vastly different squad compared to the last time they toured the West Indies. Only five men from the one-day group that whitewashed West Indies 5-0 in 2008 have made this trip: Watson, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Brett Lee and Brad Haddin, although Haddin is now the backup wicketkeeper in the ODIs behind Matthew Wade and might not play in the 50-over series.

West Indies have also had plenty of changes since then and their squad for the first three ODIs also features only five men who took part in the 2008 series: captain Darren Sammy, vice-captain Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Kemar Roach. West Indies face a tough task to defeat Australia, having not won an ODI series against anyone but Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or the minnows since April 2008, when they beat Sri Lanka 2-1 at home.

"Australia are a very competitive team, so they will be looking to come at us hard," Pollard said. "But we just have to take on board all of the preparation that has been put in place for us and it into the series and try to do our best."

Pakistan have the advantage - Misbah

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said that his side's recent exposure to Asian conditions compared to the other teams in the Asia Cup will play as important a role as coach Dav Whatmore's inside knowledge.

Few people are better qualified to coach a side in the Asia Cup than Whatmore, a man well-versed with the teams in the tournament. Born in Sri Lanka, the Australian has regularly shown an affinity and ability to work in the subcontinent.

His first major international coaching assignment was guiding Sri Lanka, a team regarded as minnows even in the early '90s, to the World Cup back in 1996. Then came an even bigger challenge in 2003 - of moulding the also-rans of Bangladesh into a competitive side. In four years under his charge, there continued to be many heavy defeats but memorable highs as well, including the shock win over Australia in Cardiff and the wrecking of India's 2007 World Cup campaign.

This was followed by a few years at India's National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, and coaching stints with the India A and Under-19 teams, including Virat Kohli's World Cup-winning one in 2008. Two seasons in charge of Kolkata Knight Riders imparted him more knowledge of the ways of Indian cricket.

Now he completes the subcontinental quartet by taking over as Pakistan's head coach. His first opponents are Bangladesh, the side he led in his previous international job. Misbah, though, said that another factor will be as crucial as Whatmore's inputs.

"He is contributing, but I think the main thing is we are playing a lot of cricket against Bangladesh," Misbah said. "We just had a series here [in December], we know each other, we know the strengths and weaknesses of each other. He can give us some input, but the players already know each other well."

Coaching Pakistan is one of the most exacting jobs in cricket, even for someone with Whatmore's vast experience, but he seems to have begun well. Misbah said the initial interactions between coach and team had been positive. "The sessions we have already had, it has gone well. The players are professionals, the coaches are also professional. We have to just gel together quickly, understand each other quickly. I see it going well."

Misbah highlighted several reasons for the Pakistan team to be confident of its chances in the tournament despite coming in after a 0-4 drubbing in the one-dayers against England previous month. "When we played some time back here, the team played really well in these conditions," he said, referring to their clean sweep of Bangladesh in both the Tests and one-dayers three months ago.

Over the past three months, India have been playing in Australia, while Sri Lanka have been touring South Africa and Australia, places where the pitches are vastly different to the ones likely to be served up in the Asia Cup. "We have a bit of an advantage in that we have been playing in Asia recently," Misbah said, before qualifying his statement. "But India and Sri Lanka have played a lot of tough cricket, and will return mentally tougher from there."

Misbah also urged his players to remember the team's outstanding record over the past year-and-a-half, instead of focussing on the recent limited-overs defeat to England. "Every game, every series is a different ball game," he said. "If you look at the series before, we have won six in a row and never lost a series. So this is part of the game. We were playing with one of the top sides in the world. What we want to do is just forget the one-day series, look forward and just play what we were playing before that series."

Another advantage for Pakistan is that, unusually, they seem the most settled team of the tournament. Bangladesh's prime minister had to step in to resolve a row between their chief selector and the board, Sri Lanka are still tussling with their board over payments due and have a mere four days between the end of their previous series and this one, and India have had a torturous tour of Australia which was plagued by rumours of a rift between senior players.

Today's press conference began with a stern reminder from Pakistan's media manager that the questions should pertain only to the Asia Cup. He needn't have bothered. Given the off-field issues bothering the rest of the teams, Pakistan's build-up has been smooth and controversy-free, with the appointment of the experienced Whatmore the only source of headlines.

Our target is to be champions - Shakib

Fans in Sri Lanka may still be coming to terms with the narrow defeat in the CB series finals, those in India may still be coming to terms with the retirement of one of their greatest batsmen, but for fans in Bangladesh, the Asia Cup can't start soon enough. Tickets went on sale four days ago, and the response has been hearteningly enthusiastic.

Another sign of the fervour for the tournament was in evidence at Shakib Al Hasan's press conference today. It was a routine pre-match media interaction, but a horde of around 70 reporters, photographers and cameramen, a large proportion being locals, filled out the press conference hall at the Shere Bangla stadium.

The zeal for cricket remains high though it has been a dispiriting 12 months for Bangladesh cricket, with many reverses after the high hopes going into the 2011 World Cup. Shakib was bullish about Bangladesh's chances in the Asia Cup. "Our target? To be the champions," he said. "We want to play our best cricket, though we are not able to do it all the time. It is possible at home. This tournament is a good place for us to know where we stand in world cricket at the moment."

There hasn't been any international cricket in Bangladesh for three months, but Shakib felt the Bangladesh Premier League had made them ready for the Asia Cup. "We had very good preparation, not as a team, but in domestic competitions. If we play to our potential, I'm hopeful we can do well."

Bangladesh were swept aside by Pakistan in the one-dayers three months ago. Their only victory over Pakistan remains the famous one in the 1999 World Cup. "We haven't won against Pakistan for a long time but in the last series we had a good chance in the third ODI," Shakib said. "We did well in the second Test. This is an opportunity to prove ourselves."

Pakistan's success in that series, and over the past year, has been built on their troika of tweakers - Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. "Their three spinners will be a challenge for our batsmen," Shakib said. "If we can put up a reasonable total, our bowling can hold the opposition."

Besides strong opponents, Bangladesh have to deal with plenty of off-field issues as well. The naming of their captain for the Asia Cup was delayed by a day, prompting speculation that perhaps Mushfiqur Rahim would be punished for his disparaging remarks about the BPL. The drama over the exclusion of one their best batsmen, Tamim Iqbal, lasted several days, revealing a dispute between the chief selector and the board president that has now been resolved, at least temporarily, after the prime minister's intervention.

Hasn't all this affected the team's focus? Shakib vehemently denied it. "We have not discussed the issues in the dressing room so it won't distract us in any way with regards to our preparation in this tournament."

Bangladeshi fans retain a craving for cricket despite the regular defeats and the many controversies. An early victory for Bangladesh will be reward for their perseverance, and also the shock the tournament needs to lift its profile outside the host nation.