Pirate Galaxy » longevity with Mike Atherton

Australias assistant coach, David Saker, has questioned the wisdom of an extra half hour being taken on the fourth evening at the Gabba as Australia sought in vain to wrap up victory over Pakistan.The final session was already extended to make up for earlier rain, and Australia had claimed only two wickets in the two-and-a-half-hour session when the extra half hour was granted. They still needed three wickets to win.The extra time meant the session ballooned to three hours and nine minutes, and Australia managed only one more wicket during that period, while Pakistan added 51 runs and went to stumps only 108 runs short of their monumental target of 490.The ICCs playing conditions state that the umpires may decide to play 30 minutes (a minimum of eight overs) extra time at the end of any day (other than the last day) if requested by either captain if, in the umpires opinion, it would bring about a definite result on that day. If the umpires do not believe a result can be achieved, no extra time shall be allowed.The wording of the rule suggests that Australias captain, Steven Smith, would have to have requested the extra half hour from the umpires, but Saker believed Australia might have been better off ending the days play on time and coming back fresh on the fifth afternoon.Actually I dont know what happened, Saker said. It was a bit frustrating from where we were sitting. We were quite happy to come off, as a support staff, because I thought wed done quite a bit of work and wed probably rather our fast bowlers put their feet up. We werent sure what was going on.I know the umpires and Steve were talking out there. I havent had the chance to talk to Steve about what happened. Obviously theyve just given them the half hour extra, which is allowable. I suppose with an in batter in, that probably wasnt the right decision. But a lot of people wanted the game to finish today, and the umpires are probably one of those.Pakistans No. 6 Asad Shafiq was well set on 77 when the extra time was taken, while No. 9 Wahab Riaz had already faced 31 deliveries. Shafiq went on to raise his century and Wahab struck a pair of sixes before he fell in the final over of the day when he edged Jackson Bird to Smith at slip.Smith was pleased to pouch the chance after earlier missing two opportunities at slip during the evening session. He gave Sarfraz Ahmed a life on 19 off Josh Hazlewoods bowling, and then missed another straightforward chance when Shafiq was on 72 and edged Mitchell Starc.Hes obviously a very good slips fielder and he has dropped two catches that hed usually catch, Saker said. It was a bit frustrating in the dressing room as well. I think he wouldnt have wanted to have been in our rooms with Darren [Lehmann] and I going off.But thats the way it is, and thats cricket. Hes usually a very safe pair of hands and then he ended up taking a pretty good one at the end, which is a pretty important wicket in the context of the game.Although Australia remain favourites and Pakistan would need to complete the highest successful run chase in Test history in order to win, they at least gave themselves a slight chance by their fighting work with the bat in the second innings. By stumps they had 8 for 382 in pursuit of 490, and already had the highest fourth-innings total in Gabba Test history.Right towards the end of the day when they were hitting some boundaries quite at will, Saker replied when asked when he began to think Pakistan had a chance of winning. The game hasnt really gone like that throughout. It sort of came into our mind. You think youre just one wicket away from breaking that. Were still in a very strong position. 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Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum.Alastair Cook looks like he could go on and on and on as England captain as he prepares to make his record-equalling appearance as Test skipper, says Michael Atherton.Cook will match Athertons own mark of 54 games as England captain when the second Test against Bangladesh begins in Dhaka on Friday - live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30am.Speaking to the Sky Cricket Podcast Atherton says he has tremendous admiration for Cooks longevity in the role and offers an insight into the many and varied demands of the job. Cooks Captaincy Stats How do Cooks numbers compare to Athertons? I remember how beat up I felt at the end of the years that I did it due to a combination of things - the physical demands, which were intense at a time when we didnt play as much international cricket as they do now - but we played a lot of cricket in between for counties, says Atherton.Obviously the 1990s when I captained was not a particularly successful time comparative to now so that combination of criticism and getting beaten meant that I was very, very weary.A bit like Alastair, I was batting at the top of the order and I think that adds an extra layer of pressure; you do get a break when youre out but you are out there trying to lead from the front. For all those reasons four years did me in and I was really ready to pack up then. Having done it for four years I felt it was almost like having played for eight years - captaining and opening the batting was a double whammy.What Im getting round to is I have tremendous admiration for Alastair, having got to 54 games, and looking as fresh as a daisy. I saw him in the gym the other day; he was pounding out 5km in about 18 minutes, lifting weights and looking in fantastic physical nick.He looks as though he could go on and on and on. Generally I feel there is a bit of a shelf-life for captains - I did it for three-and-a-half to four years, Michael Vaughan did it for four years, Nasser Hussain did it for four years and all of us looked very, very beaten up by the end of it. Cooks captaincy journey We chart some of the highs - and lows - of Cooks spell as England Test skipper All of the factors that led to me being beat up are almost the opposite for him. England are doing well, now - they are pretty successful. He will feel very different now from how he felt at the end of the Ashes when England where white-washed, when he looked like a haunted man.ddddddddddddSecondly, what I think was absolutely vital for him, was being removed from the one-day captaincy which he didnt like at the time but it means that he gets a fantastic work-life balance; it means that he can come to every Test match series focused on a pretty short period of time.The third thing is that he has a life away from cricket; hes got the other interest, which is farming. He gets away and hes not on social media so when he is away from cricket, he is away from cricket.The final factor is that the support network around the team now is so far removed from what it was in terms of the coaching staff, the physical support and the commercial support means that a lot of the load is taken off the captain. Alastair Cook talks Test longevity with Mike Atherton... Listen to the interview in full by downloading the Sky Cricket Podcast here, and get Athertons thoughts on how…Cooks ability to change, keep learning and listen to a wider range of advice has helped him to grow as a captain how the appointment of Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace - and their almost hands-off approach - has helped Cooks confidence his thoughts on whether Haseeb Hameed is likely to stay on the sidelines while Gary Ballance gets another goWatch the second Test between Bangladesh and England live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30am on Friday. You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price!Also See:Cooks captaincy statsCooks captaincy journeyCook: Test record surrealLive cricket on Sky ' ' '