Richards blames attitude for team debacle West Indian chief of selectors Vivian Richards has expressed disappointment at the performance of his team in the Tests, singling out the attitude of the players for blame. "We have not performed well. We have to come to terms with the fact that we are not being good enough on this particular tour," said Richards to a television channel. "Because of the legacy of West Indian cricket and a glorious past, I am feeling sad. I know it could have been better if attitudes were much better as well." The absence of Brian Lara also contributed to the losses, said Richards. "It has an intimidating effect on the opposition if you have players like Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar, whether they score runs or not." He continued: "There are a few good men in the team and a few negative factors which will continue to poison the side until we get our balance right. We will have to take some drastic measures in future if we want to get back at the top."

Parthiv Patel - Eyes on the ball International wicket-keepers never came so young but that does not seem to deter 17-year-old Parthiv Patel. His ice-cool temperament and his almost impeccable glovework have made him one of the long-term prospects as far as the Indian cricket is concerned. It has been a happy ride for the youngster who had to be awakened and told about his first call-up to the Indian side. "I was sleeping, my dad had watched the news on TV and he woke me up to inform me about the selection (the Indian squad for the tour of England)," Patel said. After being selected for the second Test at Nottingham after Ajay Ratra was injured, Patel went on to prove his mettle with a stubborn unbeaten knock in the Indian second innings which helped India save the Test. "I told myself, even if I don't score runs it is ok, but I have to hang on there in the middle. I was asked by my captain to stay at the wicket, and I am glad that I could do that," he said. Patel also opened up about the challenges of keeping to the two Indian master spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. "Harbhajan Singh can bowl six different balls in one over - the off-break, the straighter one, the one that goes away, and all that. I have to concentrate very hard, keep watching his hand. Kumble is a bit quick in the air and also off the pitch. He also bowls topspin, googly and everything...I have to watch very carefully for what comes next. I have done a lot of practice and chat with him. It takes a lot out of you while you keep to Kumble, it is very demanding, and on Indian wickets it can just shoot up or keep very low," he observed.

A compendium of Madras cricket Except for historian S Muttiah, every other speaker at the release of V Ramnarayan's book "Mosquitos and other Jolly Rovers: A history of Tamil Nadu cricket" had played in the Madras leagues. Rahul Dravid reminisced about being fresh out of college and away from home for the first time. Chairman of selectors Brijesh Patel quipped that Karnataka won the Ranji Trophy more thanks to the magical properties of Cauvery water. Krish Srikkanth lambasted unnamed Tamil Nadu players and administrators for pulling each other down instead of fighting the good fight together. But the highlight was undoubtedly the gesture of gifting copies to a multitude of Tamil Nadu stars, past and present - VB Chandrasekhar, CD Gopinath, Hemang Badani, Robin Singh, S Sriram, to name just a few.

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