I remember when I was a little boy my father didn't love me; he couldn't. He loved my older brother but he couldn't love me somehow, at least not in a way I could understand it.

He continues to give more than 100 per cent and his schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual.

One-day cricket is a very important part of our play. We've got a long way to go until the next World Cup and for us it's one ruthless game after another where we can play well.

The coach and support staff's role is to get the players in the most brilliant frame of mind to execute things and if done effectively, it brings enjoyment to the player's game.

To me, being Australian is about looking after your mates, taking care of the less fortunate, supporting the underdog and enhancing the spirit that makes all Australians unique.

When I was a kid, my first dream was to play Test matches, and the second one was to play 100 Test matches because there are very few people who have played 100 Tests for India.

I'm not a nice guy on the field, and I've never really respected a guy who's been a 'nice guy' on the field. I want opposition to be hard, to play to win the game for their team.

I wouldn't rule out the idea of four-day Test cricket, if we can get the playing conditions right and the right circumstances it might be a good thing in some parts of the world.

We are a high-performance environment and guys being professional about how they prepare for games is not something that should be frowned upon. It should be expected of players.

Good scores are valuable, but centuries stick in the mind. There are influential people who might not notice a good innings of 60 or 70, but they will react if you get a hundred.

Bowling on English pitches is not rocket science. If you bowl a good length on off stump, the ball just has to do a fraction, up or down or side to side, and you get someone out.

I'd like to think that every captain around the world has a vision of how they want their teams to play and most of them are allowed to take their teams forward in their own way.

I've played in some spectacularly scenic grounds in Cape Town and Johannesburg, but Papua New Guinea in the Seventies was the most remote place I'd been for my cricketing career.

Playing a Test in front of my home crowd at the Rec was the greatest feeling of my career. It was the first time I felt pressure on me to perform, because I wanted to do so well.

The musical training taught me to focus my mind, before playing in an orchestra taught me how to truly concentrate. If you miss your moment in an orchestra, there is no forgiving.

I was never going to be the best player the world has ever seen but one thing I can be proud of is that I genuinely believe I have become the best player that I could have become.

I'm happy unless I'm not happy. And I think this is the thing with grief, there is no rhyme or reason to it and it's been completely different to how I thought it was going to be.

There's little that's subtle about Hardus Viljoen - he's a broad-chested, broad-shouldered fast bowler, who simply trundles up to the wicket and hurls it down as fast as possible.

The problem with West Indies cricket is that the talent is there but there is no cohesion. Everybody's pulling in different directions; the players, the selectors, the management.

I truly believe that players who tell you they don't feel the pressure of international cricket, of being away from home for months at a time, are lying to everyone and themselves.

India should not have any ties with Pakistan, be it Bollywood or cricket. I am shocked that Bollywood is saying that cricket and movies should be kept ahead of national sentiments.

In India, it is difficult for a cricketer to show that he is under some kind of stress. Here, you can only retire when you don't want to play anymore, or the motivation is lacking.

I practised as an architect for 10 years. I qualified in 1973 with a fellowship diploma of architecture. World Series Cricket gave me the freedom to go out and pursue architecture.

The Australians are a weird bunch - until the cricket starts they're really friendly, saying 'good luck' all the time, but the moment the cricket begins they have a real go at you.

It's going to get harder and harder to find guys who will play for ten years in all formats of the game, and whoever does it, good luck to him - he'll be a great batsman or bowler.

When you sit down and focus on the matches and series that took place during the 12 month period it strikes you just how broad the talent pool is in international cricket is today.

Men can see the greatest miracles and miss the glory of God. What generation was ever favored with miracles as Jesus' generations was? Yet that generation crucified the Son of God!

If I get runs in an entertaining fashion, then great. I like to get on top of bowlers and be aggressive. I don't want to be dominated by them. Hopefully people enjoy the way I play.

I take the same Timberland holdall wherever I go, stuffed with all my gear. Or a Louis Vuitton weekender my wife bought me. I'd never have a bag that you wheel; they get in the way.

I think we are going to see exciting cricket all the way. We are watching the two best teams in the world-and I think England will eventually go on to pip Australia by a single Test

Norm Smith personally came and signed me up to the Melbourne Football Club. The fact that I then played cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club - the footy club didn't like it that much.

Pujara is not fashionable, he's very much old-fashioned - he's not great between the wickets and he's not a modern, extravagant, in-your-face character like Kohli, Dhawan or Pandya.

In all my years of cricket, I've given hundreds of interviews and done dozens of TV shows, but what you will read in my memoir are the stories and thoughts I've never shared openly.

He has that uniqueness to respond to a tough situation with ease. He does not involve himself much emotionally, and that’s his quality. India are lucky to have a captain like Dhoni.

The best compliment for me is when someone says they'll pay to watch me play, And I can say that I'll pay to watch MS Dhoni bat. MS is not the next Gilchrist. He's the first MS Dhoni

Ravi Shastri has been claiming that Indian team was very successful under him, but he never told us that India lost ODI series to Bangladesh, lost ODI series to South Africa at home.

When you come out of your comfort zone, you can express yourself in front of the whole world, and there was no better stage to express yourself as a batsman and as a leader than IPL.

I think we are going to see exciting cricket all the way. We are watching the two best teams in the world-and I think England will eventually go on to pip Australia by a single Test.

Cricket has so many meanings to so many Australians. It’s become precisely that - an Australian way of life. And what a life it is. Some would even go as far as to say, ‘marvellous’.

It's a song that we sing after we win a Test match. We sing it after every one-day series win. It's been passed down through the generations. It's the culture of the Australian team.

When I walk into bat, I should know that 'Yes, I've prepared to the best of my ability. I couldn't have done anything better.' That is when I feel that I am ready to go out and play.

There's definitely something broken in the music industry clearly. Partly from downloading and partly the obstacles for discovery and listener choice and artist distribution are gone.

I have been a part of the teams which had the original great man - Sachin Tendulkar. I remember in 2007-08 tour of Australia, Sachin paaji would get all the attention from the locals.

I define friendship as a bond that transcends all barriers. When you are ready to expect anything and everything from friends, good, bad or ugly... that's what I call true friendship.

Retiring for good wasn't difficult. I knew at the time it was right. I was no longer capable of achieving the standards I'd set myself and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

When you know that batting will be tough, that the ball might move around and your technique will be tested, you have to make sure that you don't give the bowlers any more advantages.

When I was 15, I started playing first class cricket and always dreamt of being a Test cricketer, wanted to do something for the country, married in 1995, have 2 kids it's been great.

I would like to thank all my captains who believed in me and backed me to the hilt. I also thank our greatest partner, the Indian cricket fan, for all the love, support, and memories.

Playing for India was a memorable journey, and I tried to make it more memorable for my team mates and the Indian cricket fans. I believe that I was reasonably successful in doing so.

I like being out on the cricket field and performing and playing in front of a crowd. I find it quite tricky when there are press photographers outside my house. It's all very bizarre.

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