Thursday 4 September 2014

For the good of cricket, IPL should not exist: Botham

Ian Botham used the platform of his MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture to brand the IPL "too powerful" for the good of cricket and said he believed it should not exist.

The tournament is too powerful, says BothamThe tournament is too powerful, says BothamIan Botham used the platform of his MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture to brand the IPL "too powerful" for the good of cricket and said he believed it should not exist.
He said that the tournament provided the "perfect opportunity for betting and therefore fixing" and on the subject of corruption also called on the ICC to do more to expose the "big names" involved.
"I'm worried about the IPL - in fact, I feel it shouldn't be there at all as it is changing the priorities of world cricket," Botham said. "Players are slaves to it. Administrators bow to it.
"How on earth did the IPL own the best players in the world for two months a year and not pay a penny to the boards who brought these players into the game?
"I know this has been modified to a degree, but it is still an imbalance. The IPL is too powerful for the long-term good of the game.
"Corruption is enough of a problem in itself, but the IPL compounds that problem given it provides the perfect opportunity for betting and therefore fixing."
Expanding on the corruption theme, he added: "We have seen a few players exposed, but does throwing the odd second XI player into jail solve it? To kill the serpent, you must cut off its head. The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit must pursue the root of the problem and if necessary expose the big names."
Closer to home, Botham questioned whether the presence of central contracts had made England's players too "cosy" and also called on the UK government to do more cricket in schools.
"Central contracts are brilliant, but it has now become so essential to the England player that the sharpness goes," he said. "A long contract is a cosy contract. To play international sport, above all else - above even freshness and rest - you must have desire. Hunger is still the most important attribute for any sportsman."
On the facilities and time given to sport, especially cricket, in schools Botham said it drove him "insane" how little is being done and called on the Prime Minister David Cameron to live up to his promise of making change happen.
"Why aren't the Government focusing on sport as a necessity in the school curriculum?" he said. "This subject drives me insane. I feel it is my duty to point out the problems that face sport in schools, and specifically cricket.
"The problem is now that schools are too big and there is no personal touch with the teachers. And as schools get bigger, one of the things you lose are your playing fields," he added. "Come on David Cameron - when I came to Downing Street to meet you, you made all the right noises and promised to come back to me with your ideas. I'm still waiting."

Tuesday 2 September 2014

Why Usain Bolt didn't play cricket

Highlights from the Jamaican sprinter's interaction with the media in Bangalore where he will play an exhibition cricket game with Yuvraj Singh.

Bolt during his interaction with the media in Bangalore, September 2. Bolt during his interaction with the media in Bangalore, September 2.
Nobody complained that the fastest man in the world was running late but when Usain Bolt finally struck the stage in Bangalore, his entry anticipated by thunderous music and archival footage, the effect was strangely disarming. Limned against the darkness in a ‘lightning’ pose, Bolt proved unequivocally through the next thirty minutes that swiftness in his being was not confined to just the limbs. His most surprising offering though was the absolute candidness with which he approached the interaction.
His link to cricket: I watched a lot of cricket as a kid. We had two TVs in the house. One was in my room. My father was a huge cricket fan and he couldn’t watch the matches at strange times with my mother sleeping. So he used to watch them in my room.

Why he didn’t take cricket up: Blame my father for that. When I was in school I had two options. Cricket or athletics. I chose track because my father said there would be less competition to make it into the national team.

On his cricket skills: Didn’t you see what I did to Chris Gayle? (Bolt had famously bowled Gayle and smacked him for a six in a charity game in 2009. Video below.)


Fastest cricketer: Certainly not Chris Gayle. That South Africa cricketer (AB de Villiers) is really quick.

On athletics in India: A lot them (Indian children) may have talent to run but they’ll never find out ‘coz all they want to do is play cricket.

What goes through his head at the starting gun: If you’re thinking about something then you’re in the wrong sport.

How he trains: I train Monday to Saturday. Work out in the gym for an hour. Train for two-three hours depending on the hotness…train longer in winters. Come home and do core work for a few hours. Totally I train for about six hours every day,

His focus: From the time I was around 15 the 200 m has become my favourite event. There is room for improvement in the timing and a sub-19s time is my target.  Pushing in the 200m will also help me attack the 100m.

Most memorable field moment: Surprisingly it’s not from some big event but from when I was 15. It was the World Juniors in Jamaica that I won in front of my home crowd.

On showboating: I saw I was going to win and was just happy. When you see all your accomplishments coming true after all that hard work it’s a great feeling,

On his plans: One more season after Rio (2016). Then I’ll play football though I don’t know how good I will be at it.

Dhoni's evolved wicketkeeping

Plays of the day from the 4th ODI between England and India at Edgbaston.

The field placement
It didn't take MS Dhoni long to realise this was not a quick pitch. As early as the first over, he had moved his second slip to a fine gully and placed him a little close too. Almost like a wide fourth slip standing a couple of paces up. In the fifth over, Alastair Cook got a shortish, widish delivery that he didn't cut whole-heartedly, playing just a chop, right into the ankles ofSuresh Raina at that fine short gully.
The field placement, part II
Ever since the start of the South Africa tour last year, Dhoni has been obsessed with the leg slip and leg gully. It initially looked like a plan just for Graeme Smith's strong leg-side play, but the presence of that fielder almost everywhere for many other batsmen, and for both spinners and quicks, has been a source of frustration for observers. In this match, too, when Eoin Morgan and Joe Root got a partnership going and limited Dhoni's catching options, the India captain went for a leg slip as opposed to a regulation one. Finally, at long last, that leg slip got a catch. Morgan moved across toRavindra Jadeja, got inside the line, closed the face, played it with the turn, and found that man Raina again. Dhoni stood and clapped nonchalantly.
The passage
While wicketkeeping has not evolved as much as batting and bowling with the advent of shorter formats of the game, one of the modern features is wicketkeepers standing in front of the stumps to save that half a second when they have to whip the bails off. On some occasions, though, you can come in the way of a direct hit. Not Dhoni. His knowledge of where he is with relation to the stumps is phenomenal. He showed it in this game. First he deflected a throw, from in front of the stumps, by opening the face of his glove to hit the stumps, but couldn't beat the batsman. Later in the innings, though, when Raina threw from short third man, Dhoni was in front of the stumps again. This time Dhoni knew the throw was accurate even though the stumps were behind him, and made way for the ball. Chris Woakes was caught short.
The reaction
In the third over of the day, Ajinkya Rahane made a diving save at cover. He saved four runs. As per the modern convention all the fielders, led by Raina, converged on Rahane to congratulate him in a manner mildly more animated than that of the 1970's bowlers after taking a wicket. The change this time was Dhoni, who ran nearly 30 yards from his wicketkeeping position to pat Rahane. Only fielding efforts manage to draw such emotion from Raina. Later in the day he was seen clearly cross when an outfielder was slow to come around and conceded a second.
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Rahane hundred caps crushing win

4th ODI in Birmingham: Ajinkya Rahane struck his maiden one-day hundred and Shikhar Dhawan finished on 97 not out as India raced to a nine-wicket win with almost 30 overs to spare.

Rahane celebrates reaching his century at Edgbaston.India 212 for 1 (Rahane 106, Dhawan 97*) beat England 206 (Moeen 67, Shami 3-28, Bhuvneshwar 2-14) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
As India marched to one of their most comprehensive victories against England, a third no-contest in as many matches giving them the series, about the only similarity between the teams was the blue of their shirts. India, the reigning world champions in this format, will need little introduction as one of the favourites for the 2015 World Cup in six months' time. England are struggling to find an XI to compete at home, let along challenge in Australia and New Zealand.
MS Dhoni has captained with an easy panache since the return to limited-overs cricket and he again marshalled an impressive display after inserting England on a fresh morning in Birmingham. This was Dhoni's 91st victory as India ODI captain, breaking the record of Mohammad Azharuddin. Only one batsman had him momentarily ruffled, as Moeen Ali produced the first England half-century of the series, but it was a bit like a fart competing with thunder, to borrow Graham Gooch's phrase.
Having been set a modest target, India's batsmen set about exposing it as indecent. Ajinkya Rahanemade his maiden ODI hundred during a stand of 183 with Shikhar Dhawan, a record opening partnership for India in England. Dhawan's unbeaten 97 was his first fifty of the tour, a flurry of blows helping to end the contest with almost 20 overs remaining.
Although the pitch flattened out, England's attack was made to look horribly blunt. India's openers tip-toed through the first four overs, scoring the same number of runs, before Rahane struck four sumptuous fours off James Anderson; Dhawan rattled three more from Chris Woakes' first over, taking them to 57 from ten. It was a clear case of the fours being with India.
And the sixes, too, both openers reaching their half-centuries by clearing the ropes. They hit four apiece, the most dismissive a front-foot pull from Rahane off Steven Finn. The sight of England's fastest bowler being treated so disdainfully by India's most diminutive batsman was one of a number of instructive passages. The video analysis will make painful viewing for Alastair Cook and Peter Moores.
If England were to take anything from their display, it would have been Moeen's batting. Moeen was brought in for his fifth ODI to fill the allrounder slot, with England keen for a more thorough examination of his credentials as a limited-overs spinner ahead of the World Cup. He proceeded to bat with greater dash and security than any of his team-mates during an innings of 67 off 50 balls.
After Joe Root departed attempting a reverse sweep that might have made Mike Gatting wince to leave England five down, Moeen struck the ball with a languid intensity, hitting three sixes - the only sixes of the innings. Such was his dominance, albeit brief in the context of the match, that Moeen clouted 43 out of a 50-run stand with Jos Buttler, nominally England's power hitter. His efforts lifted England to the bare respectability of 200 but the target scarcely gave much opportunity for his bowling to impress.
It was debatable whether India had found a new way to win or England a new way to lose. This time, the glissando of wickets came at the top and bottom of the innings, as England ended the Powerplay on 25 for 3 and then lost 4 for 12 in the final five overs. In between, India's spinners largely remained a lurking threat, although the way R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina threw a blanket over the middle overs was proof that England had not suddenly discovered their pipe and slippers when it came to playing slow bowling.
Root has struggled to transfer his puckish energy into one-day cricket this summer but he at least did a job in repelling India's early broadside during an 80-run stand with Eoin Morgan. The pair managed to see off ten overs of spin before Morgan, having narrowly flicked wide of leg slip, picked out Suresh Raina in that position for a simple catch to give Jadeja his 32nd wicket against England - a tally he would increase to 33 in 17 ODIs.
England's approach tends to revolve around the proverbial best-laid plans but things went awry even before the toss, as they were forced to bring in Gary Ballance for Ian Bell, who was hit on the toe in the nets. Bell was later revealed to have a "small fracture" and will be assessed before the final ODI, at Headingley on Friday. That enforced change was the third from the XI at Trent Bridge, with Moeen and Harry Gurney also coming in for Ben Stokes and James Tredwell.
India, meanwhile, included the debutant Dhawal Kulkarni, who kissed the ball before his first delivery in international cricket, only to see it treated rather more roughly by Alex Hales spanking a half-volley for four. That was about as encouraging as it got, as England stumbled, bleary-eyed in the Birmingham sunshine.
India's fielders were certainly in the wide awake club, Raina and Rahane setting a fine example as Cook managed just a single from his first 15 balls, repeatedly thwarted trying to hit through the off side. After opening partnerships of 54 and 82, England this time lost Cook and Hales in the fifth over, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar located the moisture in the pitch that his captain had spied at the toss. In the previous two matches, this had been the one area where India had allowed England some respite.
The breakthrough did not require any outstanding India out-cricket, however, as Bhuvneshwar snaked his first ball to Hales past the inside edge and on to the stumps. It was a femme fatale of a delivery, curving back in seductively and leaving Hales dumbstruck as he looked for his favoured cover drive. Bhuvneshwar had already bowled 12 deliveries at Cook without conceding a run and he gilded his figures further by picking up the England captain, Raina intercepting a thick-edged chop at gully to end another laboured stay at the crease.
After Dhoni's travails in the Tests, both as captain and wicketkeeper, the extent of his comfort in limited-overs cricket was displayed by an instinctive, near run-out of Root, deflecting the ball with one glove down on to stumps behind him. Such was the hold he currently exerts over England, he could get away without asking Bhuvneshwar (8-3-14-2) to bowl a second spell. The batsmen then ran amok in approved style. It was fitting that such an assured display confirmed him as India's most successful ODI captain.
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Monday 1 September 2014

Australia look to overcome losses

PREVIEW—The Zimbabwe upset and Clarke's departure have opened up the tri-series.

Australia must overcome the embarrassment of losing to Zimbabwe and the departure of captainMichael Clarke to injury when they take on South Africa in the fifth match of a one-day triangular series on Tuesday.
Clarke's hamstring problem flared up during his innings of 68 against Zimbabwe on Sunday, and insult was added to injury when the hosts chased down a target of 210 to pull off one of the great upsets in cricket's history.
Clarke flew out of Zimbabwe on Monday to return home for treatment, leaving Australia with a squad of just 13 to pick from for Tuesday's encounter.
George Bailey will lead Australia again. George Bailey will lead Australia again.The three-wicket defeat to Zimbabwe saw Australia slip from No. 1 to No. 3 on the ICC's one-day rankings table, below India and South Africa.
It was just the second time ever that Australia had lost to the No. 10-ranked nation, following Zimbabwe's win at Trent Bridge in the 1983 World Cup.
"There's probably not enough expletives in the English language at the moment for the way I'm feeling," coach Darren Lehmann said.
"We weren't good enough, and we've got to learn really quickly because teams are going to see that and they're going to react to it."
Australia's problems centred largely around spin, with Zimbabwe's four spinners taking a combined six for 117 in 36 overs as the tourists were limited to 209 for nine.
With Clarke able to bowl just one over in the Zimbabwean innings and Steve Smith not selected, Nathan Lyon was the only spin bowler who posed any threat for Australia.
Although Smith is guaranteed to come back in for the game against South Africa, and strike bowler Mitchell Johnson will also return, Australia will face many of the same challenges against the Proteas if another dry wicket is produced by the Harare Sports Club groundsmen - as seems likely.
Legspinner Imran Tahir took two for 45 as South Africa beat Australia by seven wickets in the first round of matches, and he should have the support of left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso on Tuesday.
"Immi (Tahir) and I have come a long way," Phangiso said. "We are always planning when training in the nets; talking about what we both want to achieve with our game plans.
"I know I have been labelled more as a containing bowler and Immi as more of a wicket-taker. Those are some of the things we discuss; if I can keep it tight at one end he is allowed to capitalise with his variations from the other end."
Should Australia fail to beat South Africa, it would leave the door open for Zimbabwe to qualify for Saturday's final when they take on South Africa on Thursday in the last game of the round robin stage.
South Africa currently lead the table with nine points from two games, while Australia and Zimbabwe have played three games and have five and four points respectively.
South Africa will be bolstered by the return of AB de Villiers, who scored 136 not out against Australia but missed the subsequent victory over Zimbabwe due to illness, for Tuesday's game.
Fast bowler Morne Morkel is also expected to return after sitting out the Zimbabwe game.

Sunday 31 August 2014

Zimbabwe beat Australia after 31 years

The captain Elton Chigumbura engineered the 210-runs chase that changed 11,406 days of history.

Zimbabwe 211 for 7 (Chigumbura 52*, Lyon 4-44) beat Australia 209 for 9 (Clarke 68*) by three wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Zimbabwe's players celebrate a famous win at the Harare Sports Club. (AFP)In the 30th ODI meeting between these sides, Zimbabwe did what they had not for 31 years and beat Australia. The captain Elton Chigumbura engineered the chase that changed 11,406 days of history, after his spinners had applied a stranglehold that kept Australia to their lowest total against Zimbabwe, and achieved only their second win against these opponents.
Chigumbura's opposite number, Michael Clarke, battled a hamstring niggle that ruled him out of the rest of the tri-series, and held his side together on a spin-friendly surface on which none of the other Australian batsmen settled. But Zimbabwe's challenge was always going to be chasing a total over 200 - they were dismissed for less in their last four ODIs - and when Nathan Lyonpicked up career-best figures and they were reduced to 156 for 7, another collapse seemed likely. A 55-run stand between Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya for the eighth wicket ensured Zimbabwe did not fold and sent Harare Sports Club into frenzied celebration.
The dancing in the stands had begun in the morning when Zimbabwe reduced Australia to 39 for 3. John Nyumbu bowled Aaron FinchProsper Utseya had Phillip Hughes caught at slip, and Sean Williams bowled George Bailey to give Zimbabwe early control.
Clarke was still there but needed a partner to rebuild and could not find one in Glenn Maxwell, despite him being the recipient of the first of five let-offs from Zimbabwe. Maxwell was on 13 when he edgedMalcolm Waller as he tried to drive but Brendan Taylor could not hold on. Fortunately for Zimbabwe, Waller bowled him with his next delivery to ensure no harm was done from that missed chance.
They could not say the same about all the others. Mitchell Marsh had not scored when he flicked Nyumbu to short leg but Tino Mawoyo put down the chance. Marsh added 40 runs with Clarke, although he only contributed 15. Brad Haddin should have been out on 5 but Waller dropped a return catch from a top-edge, on 14 when Chatara fluffed a chance in his follow-through, and on 17 when Chatara put down an easier opportunity at short fine leg.
Amid all of that, Clarke brought up his 50 off 80 balls, but left the field on 68 in the 43rd over because of hamstring trouble. That gave Zimbabwe the opening they wanted and they stormed through. Utseya had James Faulkner caught at slip off the first ball he faced and Williams bowledMitchell Starc through the gate in the next over to leave Australia 150 for 7.
Only Cutting's cameo at No. 10, Haddin's 49, and Chigumbura using seamers at the end instead of spinners took Australia over 200, but this time it was not enough, especially because their attack was without Mitchell Johnson, who was rested.
Zimbabwe had not made such a total in their last four ODIs but that changed because they got a better start today. Tino Mawoyo and Sikandar Raza delivered the best opening partnership of the last eight matches through patience and application.
They waited until the third over before taking their first run and Raza reined in his usual aggressive instincts as much as he could. He could not resist if anything was too short or too full but he got away with it until Australia introduced spin in the 12th over. Lyon's second legitimate delivery turned sharply from outside off into Raza, who was surprised by extra bounce as he tried to cut and handed first slip a catch. In his next over Lyon got rid of Mawoyo too.
Those wickets brought Zimbabwe's most experienced batting pair, Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor, together. Taylor swept with confidence and the pair negotiated flight and turn from both Lyon and Maxwell. They were separated only when Clarke, who returned to lead in the 19th over, brought Starc back. He fired one in full and fast to cut Masakadza in half and end the third-wicket stand on 56.
Seven deliveries later, Taylor went forward to a loopy ball from Lyon that snuck between bat and pad to hit off-stump, but it was only when Sean Williams was caught at slip to give Lyon career-best figures of 4 for 44 that Zimbabwe were in danger of unraveling. They teetered on 102 for 5 and Lyon still had 26 balls to bowl.
Chigumbura eased concerns with two fours off Lyon to suggest Zimbabwe were far from done. Waller helped to see Lyon off, though it meant defending rather than looking for runs. His 11 came off 39 balls and when he handed Maxwell a return catch, Chigumbura was left with the tail.
Donald Tiripano was dismissed for 3 but Prosper Utseya was not anywhere. He sliced Starc through point for his first runs and showed he was willing to move the score along to take pressure off his captain.
Zimbabwe entered the last ten overs needing 44 to win and Chigumbura and Utseya hunted them down in calculated fashion. Chigumbura's finishing skills shone through when he guided Marsh to third man, but he largely concentrated on rotating strike and letting Utseya take risks. With the field spread, the pair did not have to take too many, apart from when Utseya cleared mid-on off a Faulkner length ball.
Chigunbura's 50 came off 61 balls with a punch through point and took Zimbabwe within 15 runs of victory. Even as they got closer, Chigumbura did not get over-ambitious and maintained a level head. Utseya struck the winning blow - a smoke over midwicket - with two overs to spare and gave Zimbabwe an outside chance of making the tri-series final.
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Friday 29 August 2014

Raina targets more England success

"The contest between England and India is always challenging. We did well in the last game so the atmosphere in the dressing room is very positive.”

Suresh Raina is hungry for more runs and success. (Reuters)
Nottingham (United Kingdom): India's Suresh Raina is looking to carry on from where he left off in the third one-day international against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday.

The 27-year-old's left-handed batsman's score of exactly 100 was the cornerstone of world champions India's dominant 133-run win over England in the second ODI at Cardiff on Wednesday.
That victory put India 1-0 up in the five-match series following Monday's washout in Bristol and saw the team return to winning ways against England after a chastening 3-1 Test campaign defeat earlier on tour.
For Raina, it was his latest ODI success against an England side where his average now stands at nearly 48 in 29 matches compared to a career mark of 35 in 193 matches.
"The contest between England and India is always challenging. We did well in the last game so the atmosphere in the dressing room is very positive," Raina told reporters at Trent Bridge on Friday.
"Everyone is looking forward to the next three games," he said of a series that marks the start of both India and England's preparations for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Reflecting on his dynamic 75-ball knock, featuring 12 fours and three sixes, Raina said: "It was good. God has been very kind. I love batting against England.
"I have done it in the past. When I played first game against them in Faridabad, I got my first man-of-the-match. At the same time I am looking to the next game. I just want to continue my good form."
India will be without Rohit Sharma, who made a useful 52 in Cardiff, after the opener was ruled out of the rest of the series with a broken finger suffered while fielding at Sophia Gardens.
India have called up Murali Vijay, who opened in the Test series, as cover but he is not expected to arrive in time for Saturday's match.
Now the tourists could promote Ajinkya Rahane to open alongside Shikhar Dhawan, with Ambati Rayudu coming into the side.
"Opening in England is always a difficult job, but unfortunately he (Sharma) has got injured," Raina said.
"Still we have a lot of youngsters. Sanju Samson is here, we have Ambati Rayudu.
"And we have Vijay coming. He is a Test specialist, but he has done well in one-dayers and the IPL (the Twenty20 Indian Premier League)."

Wednesday 27 August 2014

India roar back to form in familiar format

Raina's 100 and Jadeja's 4 for 28 set up a massive 133-run win over England in the 2nd ODI.

India 304 for 6 (Raina 100, Dhoni 52, Rohit 52, Woakes 4-52) beat England 161 (Jadeja 4-28) by 133 runs 
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The Tests have departed into the folder marked "Red Ball Disasters"; India's intention is now to stage a party to help them forget what has gone before. One game into the Royal London ODI series, the outlook has been transformed. They look empowered again.
Raina made precisely 100 of 75 balls. (AP)Raina made precisely 100 of 75 balls. (AP)Suresh Raina, ignored for the Test series, had the undamaged mindset to fill the role of party compere as he played with an exuberance rarely seen from India during their mauling in the Test series, proceeding with a cheerful vigour to make 100 from 75 balls, his first ODI century for four years.
England's response was dire, resulting in their second-heaviest defeat against India, in terms of runs. They can console themselves that people tend to lose interest when games are decided by Duckworth-Lewis calculations, but a passing stranger wandering down the banks of the Taff and armed only with an abacus could have concluded that this was a trouncing.
India have happy memories of Cardiff: they have made 300-plus here three times, the only side to do so, and beat South Africa and Sri Lanka here during their Champions Trophy success last summer. England did not get a look in as Ravindra Jadeja, whose left-arm spin has repeatedly tormented them in the limited-overs game, just needed to turn in a routine shift to yield 4 for 28. At the end, Ravi Shastri, imposed for the series as emergency team director, applauded seriously and shook hands with men in suits.
With ODIs predominating in the months ahead, England have a much-anticipated chance to develop a new brand of one-day cricket. On this evidence, they should call it "Careworn". Faced by a slightly rejigged target of 295 in 47 overs, they survived the new ball convincingly enough - 54 on the board by the 11th over - but then five wickets tumbled for 31 in 12 overs as all their old doubts resurfaced.
Alastair Cook cobbled together some sort of form during the Test series to protect his captaincy but that is a long way removed from discovering the dash needed in the one-day game. He played in Alex Hales' shadow, making 19 in 33 balls, before he fell lbw to Mohammed Shami, manufacturing a leg-side shot. Ian Bell's leave alone saw him bowled second ball later in the over. No immediate retort then from the top-order players who Graeme Swann, a former team-mate has said will leave England's World Cup challenge stillborn.
Batting under the lights looked a more onerous proposition than when Raina sallied forth earlier in the day, particularly when Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought one back to bowl Joe Root, but it was England's deficiencies against spin bowling in mid-innings that were most galling for them as a deteriorating position left them unwilling to hit through the infield.
Hales had unfurled some flowing off-side drives - his trademark - during a debut innings of 40, but a top-edged sweep against Jadeja silenced him. Jadeja's extra bounce also fooled Jos Buttler into poking a furtive catch into the off side. With light drizzle in the air, Eoin Morgan's stretching sweep at R Ashwin lobbed to deep square leg.
For England, the collapse could hardly have been more disheartening. Up on a rain-spattered balcony, the coach Peter Moores checked his notes and Cook checked his fingernails. Neither offered a solution. At least Ben Stokes, whose average of 1.8 in his last 10 England innings was barely credible, could find a score of 23 faintly consoling. And James Tredwell hit his first ODI six - off Jadeja, too. Driftwood in a sea of despond.
There were also troubles for England with the ball. Chris Jordan delivered 12 wides in a return of 0 for 73, five of them in a single Powerplay over, as a lack of rhythm that had been apparent during the Test series turned into something more ghoulish in the 50-over format. Jordan, shaking his head and perspiring heavily, looked perplexed. It was another bad moment on that England balcony as David Saker, the bowling coach, scratched his teeth in concern.
But it was Raina, carefree even by his standards, who smash-and-grabbed the match for India. This was his first ODI hundred for 95 innings, stretching back to a tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh, when he made 106 against Sri Lanka in Dhaka in 2010. England's quartet of right-arm pace bowlers offered an unvaried challenge, although the offspinner Tredwell had a rewarding outing considering his difficult season during which he was loaned out by Kent to Sussex.
He was dismissed the ball after he had reached his century, making room to flay Chris Woakes through the off side but picking out James Anderson on the cover boundary. Woakes, despite conceding 20 from one over as Raina took charge, somehow returned 4 for 52.
Raina, unsurprisingly considering his lack of cricket, had a few streaky moments early on. Early boundaries included an unattractive leg-side swipe at Tredwell and an uncertain edge against Anderson, and he was fortunate to escape Tredwell's lbw appeal on 17 but, as the floodlights cut through a murky South Wales day, he became electrified.
England conceded 62 in the Powerplay between 35 and 40 overs - 42 of them in 16 balls to Raina. He withdrew his front leg to loft Woakes straight for six and then top-edge over the ropes to assert that his luck was in.
For Virat Kohli, though, there was no release from a miserable summer. After an unproductive Test series, in which he made only 134 runs at 13.40, the opportunity beckoned for Kohli to reassert himself in the one-day series, but he fell third ball for nought as he tried to come down the pitch to crash Woakes over the off side and plopped the ball into the hands of Cook at mid-off.
India began nervously. It took only two deliveries for them to be reminded of their deficiencies in the Test series as Anderson curved an outswinger past Rohit Sharma's outside edge. Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan twice survived after running mix-ups; Woakes had Dhawan caught at the wicket. But Rohit found an ally in Ajinkya Rahane in a third-wicket stand of 91 in 16 as England's back-up seamers failed to maintain the pressure on the sort of dibbly-dobbly day that would have made Ravi Bopara, a controversial omission from England's squad, a useful man to have around.
Rahane carelessly allowed himself to be stumped off Tredwell, who then added Rohit to the sort of inside-out swing which had proved his downfall against Moeen Ali at the Ageas Bowl, his sole Test appearance. At 132 for 4 with barely 20 overs left, there was much work to be done and Raina did it. For once, a one-day half-century from MS Dhoni, ended by Woakes' slower ball, was entirely overshadowed.
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