It would have been hard to design a more intoxicating and unfathomable Test than that witnessed at Headingley and the upshot after an innings each was 350 runs each and an entirely unpredictable outcome

David Hopps31-May-2015After an inspirational Test at Lord’s has come the volatility of Headingley. A Test series that was imagined as a modest aperitif ahead of the Ashes series has variously enthralled and mystified. After seven wonderful sessions, New Zealand and England both had 350 on the board. You might as well have blown a dandelion to predict the outcome. Do New Zealand have to leave so soon?”Do you like this new-fangled Test cricket?” asked a dyed-in-the-wool Yorkshire observer with a strong sense of tradition. He sounded a little bemused, unsure if he welcomed the gifts bestowed upon him. On TV, there were times when the adverts had more of a sense of reality than the cricket. It is heady, dangerous stuff, is fun.Everything at Headingley has combined for the giddiest of Tests. Another good pitch encourages strokeplay just as the rumpled blanket of cloud overhead insists it is a risky business. England’s lower middle order is awash with attacking potential, but still vulnerable with it.New Zealand must make do with a four-strong attack, but two of them, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, can be devastating with a new ball in their hands. And tail-end batsmen, spared express pace or high-class spin, have twice slogged to good effect, losing themselves in the belief that they are briefly indestructible. Even Kane Williamson is getting out badly and he is better equipped than most to cope.Even without Brendon McCullum, New Zealand’s captain, forever cranking up the mood for attacking cricket, a representation of the belief that Twenty20 cricket has fostered a new appetite for attacking cricket, this Test was always likely to risk ahead at a frantic rate. Periods of stalemate are now measured in minutes where they were once measured in days. Test scoring rates are still creeping up. The Test is in a spin; turn around, pad up and begin again.Trying to draw conclusions for the Ashes series from such an exuberant Test is largely pointless, but England’s loss of six wickets for 29 to the first 14 overs of the second new ball – the first eight delivered under floodlights on the second evening, the next six sent down on Sunday morning – does not auger well. After Southee and Boult, excellent practitioners both, come Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, both with additional pace on their side.There was an intriguing chat on Test Match Special between Michael Vaughan and Vic Marks ahead of play in which Vaughan expanded on his faith that, as part of the brave new world, batting orders should become more flexible.Vaughan’s philosophy was an attacking one. Once England’s opening stand of 177 had ended, why not take advantage of 21 remaining overs with the old ball by promoting players of attacking intent? If England had broken the hold of Mark Craig, an offspinner who had bowled poorly at Lord’s, then New Zealand’s four-strong attack would have been compromised.
Instead, England did it by the book, preferring conservatism and an attempt to build a sizeable first-innings lead.That policy failed because Gary Ballance ran out Adam Lyth and then Boult and Southee, with energy reserves unspent, proved irresistible with the second new ball under Headingley’s new floodlights which are designed in Yorkshire’s White Rose emblem, but considering how cranky conditions are likely to be for batting whenever they are turned on might have been better cast as skull and crossbones.Ballance’s reliance on crouching back-foot play has given him a productive start to his Test career, but he looks a crabby version of his former self as bowlers, as they tend to do, have formulated a response. When Boult comprehensively bowled him with a length ball that straightened, it was easy to imagine Starc, in particular, finding the length to repeat the trick. But as ESPNcricinfo’s HawkEye tool showed, he was defeated by low bounce.Joe Root, the new darling of the Yorkshire crowds, got a going over. His arrival came with the second new ball only three balls old and Boult gave him a torrid welcome: the first ball jammed into the splice and fell wide of short leg; the second snaked past an outside edge; the third, swinging back in, was jabbed uneasily into the offside for a single. Three balls into Southee’s next over, he was gone, a regulation catch to the keeper. Perhaps no opening attack in the world grows so much when bowling with new ball rather than old. Headingley’s mood swing was so abrupt, lorry loads of Prozac should have been delivered to the groundsman’s hut.If flexible batting orders should be the order of the day for attacking reasons the case can also be made for defensive reasons. For all the brilliance of his batting at Lord’s, nobody should pretend that Ben Stokes coming in against the second new ball is a perfect scenario. Far better to promote Moeen Ali, a batsman with experience at the top of the order, to maximise the chances of combating the new ball.As it was, no England batsman had an answer. On the third morning, Ian Bell continued a largely meek run of form since his glorious last Ashes series in England two years ago – 866 runs at 30.9 is no average for a batsman held to be at the peak of his career – and Southee’s morning’s work, three for 20 in six, gave him four for 27 in 10 overs of impeccable attacking length, a sequence interrupted by a good night’s sleep, or at least as good a night’s sleep as you can get in a Leeds city centre hotel on a Saturday night. But then in this Test there is no time to sleep, merely time to gape and wonder, and occasionally see something that you recognise as the five-day game in its traditional form.

England weren’t just beaten, they were blown away. The selectors will not want to show signs of panic but none of the struggling batsmen should be surprised if they are dropped

George Dobell at Lord's19-Jul-2015Well, that didn’t last long. After basking in the glory of a fine performance at Cardiff for all of four days, ‘new England’ produced the sort of performance – or lack of it – to bring back memories of the bad old days and bad ‘old England.’ Perhaps it was not a corner that England turned. Perhaps it was a roundabout. There was no invite to the Australian team to join them for a drink after this match.You have to go back to 1976 since England were beaten by such a crushing margin, in terms of runs, anyway and overall there have only been three heavier defeats. On that occasion, too, it was fast bowling that proved their undoing with Michael Holding and Andy Roberts combining to claim 16 wickets between them. It will be of little comfort to England to reflect that they subsequently went two-and-a-half decades before they beat the same opposition in a Test series.There was a time when, defeated in such a manner, the selectors would swing the axe. By the end of the 1989 Ashes, for example, almost every county player with a pulse and bladder control had played a game.It seems unlikely that the current selection panel will react in similar fashion. Continuity of selection has been a theme of recent England sides and there has been an acceptance for some time that this developing side would require patience. There were bound to be days like this.There is a modicum of mitigation for this thrashing. By losing the toss, England were sentenced to bowling on the pitch at its flattest and, certainly in the final innings, batting on it when its bounce had become variable. If England asked for such a surface, they deserve no better. If they did not – and that is what they claim most vociferously – the MCC should reflect on the surfaces they regularly provide on this ground and the service they are providing English cricket. This really was not very good.”We want to play on English wickets,” Alastair Cook said afterwards. “And that wasn’t too English.” If England are going to challenge in this series, they need to be providing their own bowlers some encouragement – particularly seam encouragement – and backing their own batsmen to deal with the conditions – what might be termed typical English conditions – better. It would not be easy, but it would give them a chance.But England would be deluding themselves if they hid behind the pitch or the toss as the only reason for this defeat. They would be deluding themselves if they did not accept that they had a problem with their top order, accept that their bowling attack was comprehensively outperformed here and admit that their excellent catching in Cardiff was the aberration. With bat, ball and in the field, Australia were better.England’s most pressing problem is that, even on these slow pitches, their top-order scores have been inadequate. In the four innings to date, they have been reduced to 43 for 3, 73 for 3, 30 for 4 and 64 for 7. And, in nine of their most recent 14 innings, they have lost their third-wicket with the score on 52 or fewer. It has happened “too often,” Cook said. “It’s just not good enough.”Such figures tell of a recurrent problem. They tell of a problem with the opening partner to Cook and the recent contributions of both Ian Bell and Gary Ballance. While Joe Root’s excellence has masked the problem quite often, it cannot do so indefinitely. Bell, Ballance and Adam Lyth all face an anxious wait ahead of the announcement of the squad for the third Investec Test on Tuesday. None can have much cause for complaint if they are dropped.Adam Lyth, despite a maiden Test hundred against New Zealand, has had a pattern to his dismissals•PA PhotosLyth’s dismissal here was revealing. Caught behind playing a ball – a good ball, certainly – that he could have left on length, it was the seventh time in his eight innings he has been caught in the cordon. The other dismissal was a run-out. While he scored a century three Tests ago, he has reached 40 only once in eight innings and looks to have a major issue playing at balls just outside off stump. For an opener, that could be a terminal problem.Ballance, too, is struggling. While his dismissal here, a victim of the variable bounce that saw Root bowled by one that kept low and Ballance receive one that lifted sharply, was somewhat unfortunate, it is happening too often to be dismissed so charitably. Only once in his last 10 Test innings has he reached 30 and, on five of those occasions, he had been bowled. Talk around the England camp suggests he is the most precariously placed of the three in-danger batsmen.And then there is Bell. Nobody doubts Bell’s inherent class or can seriously question his long-term record. But he has reached 30 only once in his last 12 Test innings and, in that time, has been out in some oddly soft ways. His dismissal here, caught at short-leg as he prodded forward to an off-break, was infuriatingly facile for a man of such experience. England need more from him if they are to win the Ashes. He needs to provide more if his international career is not to end within weeks.It seems most unlikely that England would drop all three. Not only would such a move suggest panic but there are not so many top order batsmen pressing for inclusion from county cricket.In the middle-order, Jonny Bairstow is in terrific form. He has made centuries in his last three first-class games and won the Man-of-the-Match award when recalled to the England one-day side against NewZealand. It is entirely possible he could be recalled and Joe Root – who has the highest average of anyone but Cook who has previously filled the opening role that has proved such a problem since Andrew Strauss’ retirement – promoted up the order to make room for him.Alex Hales, Mark Stoneman and, perhaps, James Taylor might also come up in the selectors’ conversations. England have a Mitchell of their own, too, though it seems that Worcestershire’s Daryl Mitchell – averaging 47.35 in Division One this season – is not in the reckoning at this stage.The optimistic might even point out that Bairstow’s recent century came against a side containing two left-arm seamers. It might be pointed out, however, that Jack Shantry and Ross Whiteley – Worcestershire’s bowlers – may be left-arm and may be mammals, but there the similarities with Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson end.”You don’t face that kind of pace in county cricket,” Cook said. “You may get one quick bowler. You won’t get three.”Whoever comes into the side is going to find there is quite a step up to this level.Another man who could make a difference – Nick Compton – spent the weekend at the beach. Compton’s Test career was ended (for now, at least) after he went six innings in succession without reaching 20. His Test average – 31.93 – does not make his case for a recall especially persuasively, but he remains as hard to dismiss as anyone in county cricket and has a defensive technique that would appear well-suited to negating pace bowling. He really should come into the equation.That he probably will not is largely due to a misunderstanding. Having taken a blow in the 2013 Headingley Test against New Zealand, Compton was sent for a scan and, while chatting to a doctor, was informed that he probably had a cracked rib. When the scans were analysed, however, he was shown to have suffered nothing more than deep bruising and it was alleged by the team management that he had shirked his fielding duties as he did not want to put himself in the firing line. Compton was offended, words were exchanged and he has never been selected since. It is two years since the selectors even spoke to him about a possible recall.It would be a shame if such a trifle issue were to have any bearing on selection. While his record this season is unexceptional – he has averaged 40.47 in the Championship with one century and five other half-centuries – it is hard to think of a man in the county game who has a better package of skills for this particular challenge.Such a recall might be seen as a climb down by England. They have, after all, talked a great deal about aggression and expressing skills in recent times. They have talked about banishing words such as “fight” and battle.” And Compton, for all of his pleasant drives and strong cuts, is basically a battler. He might even make Cook look like a dasher.It should not be an issue, though. Both the Tests in this series to date have finished inside four days. Time is the least of England’s worries. Seeing off the new ball seems rather more pressing a problem. As Cook showed, old fashioned technique, old fashioned temperament and old fashioned running your bat into the crease is just as important as flair and flamboyance.

Australia’s unassuming batting coach Michael di Venuto has the responsibility for rousing into form a batsman of far greater accomplishment than his own

Daniel Brettig in Derby26-Jul-2015Coaching can throw up numerous intriguing and bizarre dynamics, not least when a journeyman player and now mentor finds himself trying to solve the problems of a man acknowledged as one of his country’s great performers. It is not always easy. As the longtime Western Australia coach Daryl Foster once observed, his path to coaching the national team was forever blocked by that old rejoinder, “How many Tests did you play?”For Michael Di Venuto, Australia’s batting coach, the unvarnished surrounds of Derbyshire County Cricket Club are something like an English home, its minor key setting also similar to that of his Tasmanian homeland. For Australia’s captain Michael Clarke, such venues are footnotes, minor junctures in a career of bold, broad brushstrokes on the game’s biggest and brightest stages. Had he been scoring runs, it is highly doubtful Clarke would even have played.Yet in the week between Lord’s and Edgbaston, it is the unassuming Di Venuto who has primary responsibility for rousing into form a batsman of far greater accomplishment than his own. Clarke’s career numbers stand for favourable comparison to just about anyone in the game; Di Venuto’s handful of ODI matches reaped him 241 runs and a pair of half centuries. When discussing Clarke, there is a sense of enormous respect from mentor for pupil.”We’d like him to spend some more time in the middle obviously,” Di Venuto said of Clarke. “He’s had a couple of good starts in the Test matches, a caught and bowled to Moeen Ali up in Cardiff and a 32 not out in the second innings at Lord’s – I know circumstances were we were setting up a declaration. He would like some more time in the middle, there’s no doubt about that. He’s meticulous in his preparation, he’s playing well in the nets, he’s preparing well, he just needs a bit of luck. I’m sure a big score is not too far away.”We talk regularly like with all the batsmen. He’s pretty set in his ways what he wants to do, he knows how to go about it and how to get himself back to scoring runs. You can’t do that in the nets, you’ve got to do that out in the middle and at the moment, it’s not quite happening for him out in the middle. As happens every now and then as batsmen, you go through little patches where things don’t quite click. But he’s not too far away.”Di Venuto’s blend of simple advice, plenty of balls whirred down with the “dog thrower” and positive reinforcement has worked in numerous instances since he was chosen for the job by the team performance manager Pat Howard and former coach Mickey Arthur during the summer of 2012-13. Most notably, his reassurance of Steven Smith that he was “not out of form, just out of runs” early the following summer has reaped untold riches since, as the vice-captain chose to persist with an essentially sound method rather than tinkering.Nevertheless, the troubles confronting Clarke are of vaster dimensions than the brief blip in Smith’s progress 18 months ago. He has not made a century in any form of the game since he ignored back and hamstring problems to score a statuesque hundred against India in Adelaide last December. Moreover, Clarke’s once dancing feet have become worryingly leaden, leaving him a simple target for England’s bowlers thus far.

“Most teams these days and most batters know how people are trying to get them out. There’s no secrets running around, their plans are pretty stuck in place, so we work around that and try to combat that.”Michael di Venuto on dealing with the strategies of opposition bowlers

The tactic of setting a short leg and even leg gully, then probing outside off stump as Clarke hangs back in anticipation of bouncers has worked all too easily in recent times. At Cardiff, Clarke’s bat wafted without anything like due care and attention, while at Lord’s his pull shot at Mark Wood was the reactive last resort of a batsman entirely unable to get the bowlers operating on his terms.”Most teams these days and most batters know how people are trying to get them out,” Di Venuto said. “There’s no secrets running around, their plans are pretty stuck in place, so we work around that and try to combat that. As we do when we bowl, we want to try to push people back and then nick them off with the fuller ball. That’s a basic plan the majority of people in world cricket use.”True as Di Venuto’s words are, they serve mainly to make Clarke’s predicament look still worse. How can a player of such accomplishment fail to find a way around such tactics unless his technique and mentality are less than optimal? There is no evidence of physical infirmity, as hamstring surgery has freed up Clarke’s legs while the physio Alex Kountouris has not needed to work anywhere near as much on the captain’s back as at other times.”I thought he looked pretty good in the World Cup final for his 70-odd not out, no difference,” Di Venuto said. “And he looked pretty good when he couldn’t move when he scored a hundred when his back was no good against India. He’s moving around, he seems unrestricted and he hasn’t had a problem since, so I certainly don’t think that’s any reason why he hasn’t been able to get a big score of late.”One man who has helped Clarke at times down the years is Ricky Ponting. Despite their difficult relationship as captain and deputy, Ponting was often seen to be watching Clarke in the nets and assisting him in sorting out the kinks of a batting method that required freedom of movement and clarity of thought to continue counterpunching the world’s bowlers.Ponting, of course, was that rare cricketer to possess a superior batting record to Clarke’s own. For most of the time since Ponting retired, Clarke has relied on his own reserves of batting insight and muscle memory to keep his game in gear, though it is notable that he played at his very peak during his first two years as captain, when Ponting was still alongside him as a senior player and source of occasional advice.Clarke’s second innings at Derby was nothing special, and included a dropped catch. But he at least made a start, and by day’s end his feet were certainly better positioned than they had been for most of his halting first-innings stay at Lord’s. How much help Di Venuto provided only Clarke knows, but the captain would do well to listen to the advice of the batting coach over the next few days. Even if he would be well within his rights to stump up with the question that had once haunted Foster.

Stats highlights from the first T20I between India and South Africa in Dharamsala

Shiva Jayaraman02-Oct-20151:28

By the numbers – Duminy’s fastest T20I fifty

200 Target chased successfully by South Africa, the second time they have chased a target of 200 or more in T20Is. The highest score they have chased is 206, against West Indies in the 2007 World T20. Besides these two occasions, South Africa have conceded a target of 200-plus only once, against Australia at the Gabba in 2006.1 Centuries in T20Is by India batsman before Rohit Sharma’s 106. Suresh Raina had made 101 against the same opposition in a league match during the 2010 World T20. Rohit’s century in this match was the fourth by a batsman against South Africa in T20Is. Rohit’s ton is also the third highest score to come in a losing cause in T20Is.28 Number of balls taken by JP Duminy to reach his fifty, the fastest of his eight fifties in T20Is. Duminy’s strike-rate of 200 also equals his highest when he has faced 10 or more balls in a T20 match.136 India’s previous highest stand in T20Is, which was between Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag in the 2007 World T20. Rohit and Kohli added 138 runs in this game, which is also the third highest stand against South Africa in T20Is.57.40 Rohit’s batting average in T20Is against South Africa; he has made 287 runs including one hundred and two fifties in six innings against them. Among batsmen with at least 150 runs against any opposition, none average better than Rohit against South Africa.27 Number of innings taken by Virat Kohli to complete 1000 T20I runs. He is the fastest to the landmark, having reached it in five innings fewer than the previous quickest batsmen to it. England’s Alex Hales and Kevin Pietersen both did it in 32 innings. Kohli is the first India batsman to complete 1000 T20I runs and the 20th overall to do so.186 India’s previous highest total against South Africa in T20Is, which had come in the 2010 World T20. India’s 199 for 5 today is their fourth highest total in T20Is.11 Sixes conceded by South Africa in this match, the second highest they have conceded in a T20I. West Indies hit 12 sixes in an innings against them on two separate occasions. The number of sixes South Africa conceded in this match also equaled the second highest number of sixes India have hit in a T20I.67 Runs conceded by India in the Powerplays, the third highest they have conceded in these overs in any T20I and the most they have conceded in a Powerplay without taking a wicket. They had conceded 74 runs against Australia in 2013, the most they have conceded in the Powerplays in any T20I.105 Runs added by the stand between Farhaan Behardien and Duminy, South Africa’s highest fourth-wicket stand in T20Is, and also the fifth highest stand for South Africa for any wicket while chasing.20 Sixes hit in this match, the most in a T20I in India. While India hit 11 sixes, South Africa contributed nine. The previous most sixes hit in a T20I in India were 17, in a game between the hosts and Sri Lanka in Mohali, in 2009.7 Sixes hit by Duminy in this match, which equaled the most hit by a batsman against India in a T20I. Four other batsmen have hit seven sixes in a match against India. Duminy’s seven sixes were also the joint third highest by any South Africa batsman in a T20I. Richard Levi’s 13 sixes against New Zealand in a match in 2012 are the highest.

Stats highlights from a day dominated by Alastair Cook

S Rajesh16-Oct-20151:44

Alastair Cook played the third longest Test innings in history

263 Alastair Cook’s score, the second-highest for England in a Test against Pakistan. The only score to exceed this is 278, by Denis Compton at Trent Bridge in 1954. It’s also the second-highest in a Test in the UAE, after AB de Villiers’s unbeaten 278 at the same ground in 2010. The four highest Test scores in the UAE have all been made in Abu Dhabi. Cook’s knock is easily the highest by an England batsman in Asia – the previous-best was 207, by Mike Gatting in Chennai in 1985.836 Minutes batted by Cook, the third-longest in Test history, after Hanif Mohammad (970 minutes for 337 v West Indies in Bridgetown, 1958) and Gary Kirsten (878 minutes for 275 v England in Durban, 1999)2065 Runs scored by Cook in Asia, the most by a non-Asian batsman in the continent. He went past Jacques Kallis, who has scored 2058 runs in 44 innings (average 55.62). Cook has got his runs in 37 innings, at an average of 62.57.3 Number of double-centuries for Cook in Tests. Only two England batsmen – Len Hutton (4) and Wally Hammond (7) have more. Kevin Pietersen is the only other England batsman with three double hundreds.1014 Number of balls bowled by spinners in the Test before they finally took their first wicket of the match, when Shoaib Malik bowled Ben Stokes. Add another six if you count an experimental over of offspin along the way from Stokes. Since 2002, this is easily the most balls bowled by spinners before their first wicket in a Test; the previous-highest during this period was 547, in the Australia-India Sydney Test in 2012.3 Number of century stands that Cook was involved in, in the England innings – 116 with Moeen Ali, 165 with Ian Bell and 141 with Joe Root. Had Stokes hung around for nine more runs – their partnership yielded 91 – this would have been the second instance of a batsman being involved in four century stands in an innings, after Hanif Mohammad during his 337 against West Indies in Barbados in 1958. There are only five previous instances of an England batsman being involved in three century partnerships in an innings; the last of those was by Kevin Pietersen, against Australia in Adelaide in 2010. Overall, this feat has been achieved 23 times, with West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite the last player to do it, against Bangladesh in 2014.Zulfiqar Babar bowled 70 overs, the fourth highest by any Pakistan bowler in an innings•AFP37 Instances of two or more double-centuries in a Test; 19 of them have happened since 2000. In 2015 there have been three such instances; in previous years there had never been more than two.70 Overs bowled by Zulfiqar Babar, the fourth highest for a Pakistan bowler in an innings. Only Fazal Mahmood (85.2), Haseeb Ahsan (84) and Saqlain Mushtaq (74) have bowled more overs in an innings for Pakistan.68.25 The average runs per wicket in this Test so far – it’s easily the highest for a Test in the UAE. The previous highest was 51.56, when Pakistan played South Africa in Dubai in 2010. However, Abu Dhabi has hosted six of the seven Tests in the UAE with the highest runs per wicket.30 Years since Pakistan have bowled more overs in an innings. They’ve already bowled 196.3 in this innings; against Sri Lanka in Faisalabad in 1985, they bowled 200.3 overs. Overall, this is ninth in the list of most overs bowled by Pakistan in an innings.

Our readers express their thoughts on Kohli’s spat with the Indian media, the uniqueness of Bradman, Rahane’s rise, the BPL final and more

19-Dec-2015A letter to Virat Kohli
Reader: Anuraag Agarwal
Hi Sharda,When media, ex-cricketers and commentators can give their viewpoint on everything and are allowed to speak their mind (so to speak), why is it a problem if Virat has mentioned what he thinks about the whole issue? Instead of saying that Virat has a problem with criticism, I would rather say that he is entitled to say what he feels about what is being said. It is purely his freedom of speech and I reckon everyone including India’s captain (a job which comes with so much pressure and responsibility purely due to amount of expectations) has right to say what he feels. Virat has simply asked for more support rather than criticism all the time. Way to go Virat… I am sure true fans of Indian cricket understand and share your viewpoint. Probably time has come when someone needs to stand up against all the negativity that is being generated in the media for every possible issue not just cricket… way to go.Reader: Ranjith Kumar Patnani
An insightful article written on how and why media’s questions are more pointed towards what’s to be improved or corrected than what’s already achieved. And the metaphor drawing the question as to why not only cricketers can comment on cricketing subjects or matters is commendable. But as far as I followed the recent press conference, we shall also contemplate captain Virat’s comments here. While media hit at the drawbacks or wrong decisions taken in the team’s performance, they should also have, in my opinion, applaud what the team has achieved so far in the series in the typical pitch conditions, more importantly. You can be cynical if the performance is not up to the mark, but not while winning. At the end, they should also need some encouragement, at least vocally, through media, right? But yes, as a captain, we would expect Virat to be more careful and meaningful in his comments and answers. One year is already enough time for a captain to lead the team in all aspects, including answering the media.Sport is more about philosophy than we might think
Reader: Delwood
Unfortunately there is not much cross-over between the average sports fan and philosophy. But I recall the Dutch historian Huizinga said that the basis of civilization is play and games (not labour and productivity as Marx and others have insisted). This insight was taken up by Michael Oakeshott, an English philosopher who was also keen on cricket and horse-racing analogies in his essays. If there is a sport for the thinking man it is certainly cricket.Why didn’t everyone copy Bradman?
Reader: Nutcutlet
The Jesuits (SJ) have a well-known saying regarding education: give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man. In the case of Bradman, perhaps the word ‘batsman’ would be appropriate. It’s generally recognised in this article and elsewhere that the Don had his own technique which was obviously allied to superb – utterly exceptional – hand-eye coordination. That Bradman’s unique approach to batting was down to the water-tank, stump and golf-ball practice is so well known, but it was more than that: growing up in Bowral, he saw no first-class cricket at all until he saw a day’s play of the ’20-’21 Ashes at Sydney, aged 12 and a half. The Don was unsullied, and therefore uncomplicated, by having a batting hero whom he could attempt to imitate. It’s impossible in today’s world for a lad to remain so completely uninfluenced by cricketing role models. Genius needs no mentoring, only the opportunity to express itself. He remains the only batting genius, IMO. Only the Don!Can a batsman ever come close to Don Bradman’s Test record?•Getty ImagesRahane: India’s all-conditions expert
Reader: sarangsrk
Just watched yesterday highlights of that Lord’s Test. A pitch where cattle should be grazing. A bowling attack which was swinging it more than 40 cms and seaming the ball at almost 70 degree angles. India 145 for 7. One short man stands tall, plays drives, cuts, back-foot punches, pulls and scores a 100. The man is Ajinkya Rahane. What an innings, what a player.Reader: SupportTestCricket
Elsewhere I had commented that Rahane along with Kohli and Ashwin are the only three players who should play all three formats of the game for India. People who still question Rahane’s talent, temperament, and commitment do not know what they are talking about. He is perfectly suited to play under any conditions. He had been kept away for too long while players with half his talent were promoted over him. He will now show what he is made of. He may not be captaincy material (I see Ashwin as captain, but age may come in the way as Kohli seems set for a long reign) but Rahane will serve India for quite a few years. It is irresponsible to bring down players from other countries to make our players look good. Have patience and you will see good players make their own statements with their talent. Looking forward to Rahane making more runs in the future as also Ashwin taking more wickets overseas to silence everyone (even me!) about his ability to do so. More power to these two special talents!Kapali 39* seals Comilla’s tense title win
Reader: Jamilism
Barisal Bulls really played well. I personally saw a future captain of Bangladesh in the making. We can’t replace the great Mash on what he has done and maybe it’s too late to pick Mahmudullah Riyad but as an interim Test captain or even a transitioning captain for Mash, Riyad showed a lot of character today. He played the role of the icon player, he played the role of a captain, he played the role of a batsman, he played the role of a bowler and he played the role of an awesome allrounder. Congrats to Comilla camp! A great final and made the wait so much sweeter. It was great to see Mash bowl – just goes to show the level of dedication he has for his game. Lead, captained three BPL victories – WOW ! We have not seen any new talent come out of BPL as far as batting goes. On the flipside we might have found a new partner for Mustafizur. Abu Hider Rony would be an awesome show with Mustafizur in T20 or ODI – we can safely say Taskin and Rubel is a write-off for the next few games. We need new batsmen to come out and play.Ponting stands up for embattled Hobart
Reader: 2929paul
Tradition is a wonderful thing but sometimes you need to know when to shake things up a bit to stop complacency creeping in. When the ECB decided to stop giving Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Headingley guaranteed Test match slots every year and make them all fight it out with the young pretenders, nobody thought it was serious. Then Cardiff was awarded the first Ashes Test in 2009 and suddenly everyone realised they had to get their act together. Now, Test cricket is available to more of the British public and in rapidly improving stadiums, as Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Headingley have all embarked on expensive improvements to the visitor experience and more is hopefully coming at these and all our other international grounds. Australia is fortunate in many ways with the quality of its stadiums but shaking it up a bit can’t hurt.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in Sharjah

Vishal Dikshit02-Jan-2016Purrfect visitorZimbabwe would have been somewhat pumped after Hamilton Masakadza and Graeme Cremer revived their innings to post 175. Their fielders walked out with energy and enthusiasm to defend the score and dispersed all over the field as the Afghanistan openers walked out. But just as Neville Madziva ran in to deliver the first ball, he had to pull out because a cat was spotted on the field. It was soon spotted on the camera too, and shortly sprang across the field, not too far from the pitch, and stationed itself in the deep to get a better view of the two wickets Madziva got off consecutive deliveries in the first over.Six and outBrett Lee would have probably hummed a song if he watched Masakadza bat in Sharjah on Saturday evening. Masakadza had resurrected Zimbabwe’s innings with his 30th ODI fifty and was looking to stretch the team score when he struck his third six of the innings in the 48th over. He had been pouncing on the short balls along with Cremer, but when he got a long hop from Mohammad Nabi, he rocked back and hammered the ball that landed on the roof of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Lee’s rock band would be proud.SikandarSikandar Raza was the fifth Zimbabwe batsmen to be dismissed. Peter Moor was lbw when he didn’t move his feet. Chamu Chibhabha poked at one away from his body for an edge. Richmond Mutumbami played an unnecessary sweep and Elton Chigumbura missed one when he unleashed a rash shot. But Raza got the best ball of them all when Mirwais Ashraf landed one just outside off and seamed the ball in beautifully to find the gap between bat and pad as Raza’s feet hardly moved. While most of the others before him gave their wickets away, Raza could probably say his (destiny or fate in Urdu) did not help him at all.Inzamam the singerVirender Sehwag was known to sing while batting, fielders do all sorts of bustling while talking to commentators in the Big Bash League, but singing while sitting outside the boundary…who does that? When Afghanistan were well and truly in the game and had nearly taken all ten Zimbabwe wickets, the TV broadcast showed Afghanistan’s head coach Inzamam-ul-Haq singing all by himself, sitting alone in the dressing room. Afghanistan’s grip on the match at that time was such that Inzamam could have afforded to croon a soothing song that went with his gentle-giant image, even as the DJ at the ground played Pitbull’s “Let it rain over me.”

An in-depth look at Fiji’s display against Zimbabwe in the Under-19 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2016Playing their first international tournament at the Under-19 level, Fiji have endured a difficult time. Having lost their first game against England by a whopping 299 runs, they faced Zimbabwe and began with a certain degree of promise before subsiding to 81 all out and an eventual seven-wicket loss. Here is a detailed look at how they fared in the three departments.BattingAfter the nightmarish start against England, the Fiji openers Jordan Dunham and Tads Veitacini left everything outside off stump in the first eight overs, and only played balls that were on the stumps. It was a batting exercise rather than a batting partnership, even if Dunham did not exactly struggle through his 38 minutes at the crease. The openers seemed more comfortable against pace, and Veitacini showed determination to stick to coach Shane Jurgensen’s instructions before edging Kundai Matigimu.”We had a good start,” Jurgensen said. “We were no wickets [down] after eight overs, which was our plan. I know that here batting is easier if you take time. If you lose no wickets in eight overs, it is pretty disappointing to completely lose our way.”Peni Vuniwaqa, Saimoni Tuitoga and Josaia Baleicikoibia are promising batsmen but none of them looked at ease against spin. Zimbabwe had variety in offspinner Wesley Madhevere, leg-spinner Brandon Mavuta and left-arm spinner Rugare Magarira, and the trio picked up nine of the ten wickets to fall. Madhevere bowled from around the wicket mostly, and the angle seemed to have confused the batsmen, who were perhaps playing for turn but the ball usually went on straight and either beat the bat or produced edges.”They may have come around the wicket, which was something different, but there are no excuses,” Jurgensen said. “We just didn’t react accordingly. We made some bad mental errors.”Jurgensen said Fiji were not used to playing spinners back home, and said the batsmen needed to concentrate better against them.”There aren’t many spinners in Fiji,” he said. “We play on artificial pitches where a bowler might get a bit of turn and bounce now and then but you don’t get the ball to rip or stay low. We have been training for it, especially getting the net bowlers here.”It is like we go across the rope and forgot how to play them. There’s a lot of learning for these guys. If we had scored 150, it would have been a different game since they slipped to 3 for 30.”Four batsmen were bowled, two were out leg-before, three were caught behind or in the slips while one was caught in the deep. At training, the Fiji batsmen have been doing plenty of drills to groove defensive blocks and drives but adjusting to spin and swing still does not seem within their grasp.BowlingFast bowler Jack Charters had severe control issues at the start, giving away five wides in the first over alone. Charters is quite tall and well-built and has a nice action with a high arm coming down smoothly but he seem to have some trouble keeping his wrist fixed while he flings the ball towards the batsman.Charters was removed from the attack after that first over and brought back for another later on. Baleicikoibia, who picked up two wickets, and Vuniwaqa bowled with less pace and more control.Fiji were only defending 81, but they could have tried bowling fuller lengths and varied their pace more. There was also hardly any spin in their bowling attack with the first six bowlers they used ranging from fast to medium-pace.FieldingThe Fijians were athletic around the big ground but their reflexes need to improve. A catch went between the wicketkeeper and slip early in the Zimbabwe innings. It might not have happened had slip stood a little finer. Fiji continued to station the slip fielder squarer for all the seamers until he was moved to gully. Just then, a thick edge went to his left, where he had been standing the previous ball.In one instance, the cover fielder made a wild, unnecessary throw towards the keeper that went far over his intended target and conceded an overthrow at the end of a tight over from Vuniwaqa. Throwing seemed to be an issue, as was the awareness of backing up behind the stumps. But the ground fielding was generally athletic, and wicketkeeper Tuitoga looked spry for most of the innings.Jurgensen said the players were disappointed with their performance, the match lasting just over three hours. “Our strength is bowling and fielding,” he said. “It is all learning and playing under pressure of playing against a Full Member side. We targeted this game to see where we are at, and give ourselves a chance.”They are disappointed, and still learning. We just need to look at it positively. I know we can play better, we have done so in the past. We have to focus a lot in the next games of the tournament.”

Two captains and a 44-year-old are among the players who could make an impact in the qualifying stages of the World T20

Peter Della Penna07-Mar-2016Group AMahmudullah – BangladeshUntil the 2015 World Cup, most opposition resources would’ve been focused on shutting down Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. Mahmudullah’s progress since making Bangladesh’s first World Cup century against England last March hasn’t slowed down. Most recently, he has reeled off 114 runs in his last four T20I innings without being dismissed, scoring off 76% of his deliveries in that stretch to prevent any pressure from building, and has the most sixes in T20s for Bangladesh, with 25.William Porterfield – IrelandThough never a headline grabber in the Ireland side, the captain has been one of his country’s most valuable assets, particularly in T20 cricket. Porterfield is the only player to score a T20 century for Ireland, with his 127 not out coming against USA at the 2013 World T20 Qualifier. In almost anonymous fashion, he sits atop Ireland’s run charts in T20 cricket, with 1497 runs at 25.81, more than 200 clear of Paul Stirling. Including Ireland’s two unofficial warm-up matches ahead of this tournament, Porterfield has scored 421 runs at 42.10 in his last 13 T20 innings at a time when Ireland’s overall batting unit his struggled.Stephan Myburgh – NetherlandsNames like Ryan ten Doeschate, Dirk Nannes and Tom Cooper might be more prominent in the annals of recent Netherlands cricket history, but Myburgh has been a force at the top of the order since making his T20 debut for them in 2012. He is Netherlands’ all-time leader in T20 runs with 1199, half-centuries with 11, and sixes with 50. He’ll play a central role if Netherlands are to repeat their qualifying heroics from 2014.Aamir Kaleem – OmanThis left-arm spinner could become the tournament’s biggest hero … or villain. It all depends on which side of the mankad debate you are on. Kaleem set off a firestorm during the qualifying round of the Asia Cup when he ran out Hong Kong star batsman Mark Chapman for creeping out of the non-striker’s crease. Scotland’s Rob Taylor tweeted about an unnamed Oman bowler attempting it against them in a warm-up match on Friday. Don’t look away, or leave your crease early, when Kaleem comes on to bowl.Group BNajibullah Zadran – AfghanistanFormer coach Andy Moles famously characterized this middle-order batsman as someone who “can’t block the ball to save his life”. That isn’t so much of a concern in T20 cricket. The 23-year-old’s kamikaze-style batting is a left-handed mashup of Shahid Afridi and Glenn Maxwell. Never one to play for his average, Najibullah still claims a robust mark of 27.21 in 20 T20Is, nearly eight runs higher than his mark in ODIs. Fans may want to get the hard hats out in the stands if he gets going.Ryan Campbell – Hong KongThe oldest player in the tournament at 44, former Australian international Campbell has been playing on the Hong Kong domestic scene for the past several years. In his second warm-up match for Hong Kong in India, he top-scored with 46 and took 2 for 10 in three overs of offspin. It’s been 10 years since he played his last professional match for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, but Campbell might just have a few gallons left in the tank.Matt Machan – ScotlandThe left-hander has only played 16 T20s for Scotland, but his eye-popping average of 39.69 is seven runs better than his nearest team-mate. Already, he is fifth on Scotland’s run list with 516 and reaches fifty once every four innings. In their last T20I before the tournament, Machan top-scored with 43 in a win over Netherlands in Dubai. His part-time offspin may be vital as well at this tournament in support of newly-minted lead spinner Mark Watt.Hamilton Masakadza – ZimbabweThe captain’s 1425 T20 runs for Zimbabwe are more than twice as many as the next-closest active player, Elton Chigumbura. He also holds the marks for highest individual innings for Zimbabwe, set two months ago with an unbeaten 93 off 58 balls in Khulna against Bangladesh, and most career sixes with 47. Heading into this tournament, his bat is smoking hot. Last month he struck 162 not out off 71 balls for Mountaineers in a domestic T20, and an unbeaten 68 off 49 in a warm-up win over Ireland on March 7, including six sixes.

Dhawal Kulkarni’s international career may not have gone as he expected since being fast-tracked into the team in 2009, but on the domestic front, he has evolved as the undisputed leader of Mumbai’s seam attack

Shashank Kishore in Pune24-Feb-2016Dhawal Kulkarni’s career has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. He was fast-tracked into the Indian team as a 20-year old in 2009, and soon found himself in the wilderness without getting a game. If you were to run through a list of injuries he has suffered since, it is likely he has ticked most modern-day injuries associated with fast bowlers – hamstring, ankle, side strain, knee and groin.If you have not seen Kulkarni bowl, it is unlikely you will mistake him for a medium-pacer. There is always a smile on his face that masks the disappointment. He is apologetic, most times, in his demeanor on and off the field, and does not have looks that can intimidate. But when you see him hare across the turf, sprint with the energy of a fast bowler who is conditioned to sustain the modern-day rigours, the other side of him surfaces.When Kulkarni first burst onto the scene, he was no more than a skiddy bowler. On surfaces that lacked bite, he was deemed largely as a containing option. Bowling alongside Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar at the nascent stage of his career meant he was mostly pressed into service when a bulk of the damage was already done or when he had to give the strike bowlers a breather.All that seems to have changed now. At 27, Kulkarni is no spring chicken. He is the undisputed leader of Mumbai’s seam attack, even though Shardul Thakur has looked more potent of the two at various stages this season. With 12 wickets in seven games spread across three stints because of constant niggles, Kulkarni’s form and fitness were in question, even if there was not an immediate threat to his place in the XI. Despite having missed the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh, there was a sense of anticipation when the team management waited on his fitness before naming their XI for the final.On Wednesday, the sprightly side of him surfaced as he used a green Pune surface as an ally to clinically dismantle Saurashtra’s top order. His figures of 4 for 30 after 18.4 overs of toil was reward for his discipline, for most parts; the nagging length, the late swing with the new ball and the extra dimension in his repertoire through a few extra yards of pace all came together to give Mumbai the edge in the Ranji Trophy final.”It did a bit in the first session, and then the surface eased out considerably, so it was important to stem the flow of runs,” Kulkarni said “That’s what (Abhishek) Nayar and Ballu (Balwinder Sandhu) did. Till around 20 overs, the ball did a bit off the surface, but later on it became easy if the batsmen applied themselves.”Even though it later became easy to hit the ball through the line, there was also a small matter of the batsmen not being offered freebies, which was the case for most parts of the day. Watching Kulkarni bowl with the new ball was a throwback to January 2013, when he scythed through Saurashtra to pick up a nine-wicket haul that helped Mumbai win their 40th title. From then to now, Kulkarni’s evolution as a senior statesman in a side that has been in a rebuilding phase has been important.”There was always responsibility on my shoulders since I started playing for Mumbai,” Kulkarni countered, when asked to explain his role in the Mumbai setup over the years. “I was never at ease when I wanted to bowl for Mumbai. The responsibilities that you have, it makes you feel really proud. Being the senior-most bowler in this team is something I really enjoy.”Leading a young attack has somewhat completed his transformation. The proof lays in the manner in which he plotted Cheteshwar Pujara’s dismissal. After bowling a succession of in-swingers that had Pujara searching for deliveries outside the line, he cleverly varied his angle and nipped one away. Pujara was up to the task as he drove one handsomely past mid-off to collect his first boundary.He then removed mid-off to and brought in a close-in fielder who was in Pujara’s eyeline. By once again bowling a similar line, he drew Pujara forward, except the length was held back ever-so-slightly. Within the bat of an eyelid, the edge was found and Saurashtra’s most-prolific batsman was walking back shaking his head vehemently in disappointment.”Pujara is always a little dicey on the ball which comes in and that’s what I had in my mind,” he said. I have played against him before as well, so that’s what was there in my mind, to keep bowling it in and then surprise him with the outgoing delivery.”Kulkarni attributed his success to a combination of factors. While he admitted to being “disappointed” at spending time on the India bench without getting game time for most parts of the season gone by, he was not “disheartened”, for the prospect of bowling to some of the most feared white-ball strikers in the Indian team egged him on.”I just took (the snub) it in a positive way,” he said. “I learnt a lot. I kept bowling in the nets. I practiced on my skills in Australia, and bowling there helped me get better. Just being with the Indian team has helped me because everybody shared their experience, and I’ve bowled to good batsmen over there. And that’s how I feel I have improved in these years.”While there’s little to suggest he won’t add to his eight international appearances, a match-winning effort here to deliver Mumbai a title that could end their three-year itch for silverware, could go a long way in speeding his return to the national setup.