These are times of suspicion in international cricket, and another little thread in the dark passage of play is the attempt to ask Sunil Gavaskar to either shut up or get out of the ICC's cricket committee. Something that this blog welcomes whole-heartedly, having recommended such a separation after growing tired of the Little Master's chuntering off the pitch while being embedded in the establishment.
A Flem-matic end
Joining the rest of the mid-30s pack (a list that includes Shaun Pollock, whom I forgot last time!) is Stephen Fleming who faced his last Test match ball today. He got out in typical fashion, having similarly wafted outside the stumps a couple of times earlier in his innings. It's a regretful individual career, but a critically acclaimed and lengthy captaincy regime. Fleming didn't exactly endear himself to all with some of the nonsense he spouted from time to time, but then we must consider that this was a man, whose every word and action was towards some tactical or strategic end, intended to give his slim but fighting units every advantage he could squeeze. I can't help feeling that a more successful career as coach, in the all-encompassing Woolmer mould, beckons somewhere down the road.