While Harshad Khadiwale has shown glimpses of his talent in seasons past, his consistent start to the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy shows how much he has matured as an opener

Amol Karhadkar in Pune22-Nov-2013When Harshad Khadiwale first toured with Maharashtra’s squad as a teenager, almost a decade ago for the West Zone one-dayers in 2004-05, he was labelled the boy wonder of Maharashtra cricket. But, despite creating ripples on the Under-19 circuit and making his first-class debut as an 18-year-old, Khadiwale somehow couldn’t live up to his potential.The first half of the current season, though, seems to suggest Khadiwale has finally matured as an opener. No doubt he has had the advantage of flat decks and mediocre opposition in Group C of the Ranji Trophy. Still, a century in each of Maharashtra’s three games so far, the latest being a double, has supported the notion that Khadiwale has finally reached the peak of his career. His 262 against Goa was a lesson in pacing an innings as an opener.He began cautiously, then focused on rotating the strike, before getting into boundary-scoring mode. When an aggressive batsman like Kedar Jadhav was in full flow, Khadiwale was happy to take the back seat. But the moment Jadhav perished, he balanced the roles of sheet anchor and aggressor to perfection. It reflected in his numbers, as more than half of his runs came in boundaries in an innings that lasted seven minutes shy of 10 hours.Khadiwale may have been sporting a beard, perhaps to appear mature, but his face still has that boyish charm. Usually a man of few words, Khadiwale did open up a bit after his marathon innings, admitting he has taken time to come of age, but adding that he doesn’t think he has done badly either. “First and foremost, it’s difficult for an opener to be consistent at any level. Opening the batting is perhaps the most difficult role and I don’t think I have fared badly. It’s just that the big runs were not coming as consistently as it is happening now,” Khadiwale told ESPNcricinfo. “I am glad things are falling in place now and I hope to continue in the same vein.”The other major factor behind his lack of consistency was captaincy, which was thrust upon him at the tender age of 21. Ever since Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s relationship with the state association’s top bosses turned sour, Maharashtra seem to have experimented too much with leadership and team selection. As a result, in 2009-10, when Khadiwale was perhaps too young for such responsibility, he was entrusted with it. “You had to think of not just your batting but also about all other things, so it may have affected me a little,” Khadiwale said. “Once I was relieved of the captaincy, I have been able to concentrate much more on my batting.”Over the past eight seasons, Khadiwale had given glimpses of his talent. Except for his debut first-class season, in 2006-07, he hasn’t had a season without at least one century. But he hasn’t been able to convert his starts into big hundreds. This is the first time that he has managed to score more than two hundreds in a season.Khadiwale said the presence of Surendra Bhave – the former Maharashtra stalwart who was Khadiwale’s mentor ever since he was child – as the team’s coach has helped a lot. “He has always been supportive and some of the small tips that he gives helps us a lot. Since he has also been an opener, he understands my game very well,” Khadiwale said.Bhave said while there is no doubt about Khadiwale’s technique, he had been conditioning him mentally. “He has got the most fluent technique of all our batsmen and it has reflected into his performance,” Bhave said. “[But] before the season, we had to prepare him mentally for greater responsibility, and he has delivered by carrying [the team] on his shoulders.”Khadiwale said that he has “stopped setting targets” for himself. “All I am thinking of right now is to spend as much time at the wicket as I can. If I can do that, the runs will obviously follow.”If he can convert his words into action, by the end of the season Khadiwale would have done a world of good not only for himself but also for Maharashtra, who are looking to be promoted from the lowest rung of the Ranji Trophy.

Also, nervous nineties, most keeping dismissals on debut, 100 successive Tests, and most lefties in an XI

Steven Lynch21-Jan-2014Nathan Lyon played throughout the recent Ashes series without being dismissed. How often has this happened? asked Jayram Amrith from Singapore
Nathan Lyon had six innings in the recent Ashes series and was not-out in all six. The only person other than Lyon who has played throughout an entire five-Test series and not been dismissed at all is Bill Johnston, the fabled Australian tailender, in South Africa in 1949-50 – and he actually only batted twice, scoring 1 not out in the first Test and 2 not out in the third.*Was Eoin Morgan the first player to hit six sixes in a one-day international in Brisbane? asked Ian Hugo from Nigeria
Eoin Morgan’s six sixes was a new record for any one-day international innings in Brisbane – although he was pushed by James Faulkner, whose remarkable assault at the end of Australia’s run-chase included five hits over the ropes. Before last week the record for any ODI at the Gabba was four sixes in an innings, which was first done by David Gower during his 158 for England there in 1982-83, the highest individual score in Brisbane until David Warner smashed 163 against Sri Lanka on March 2012. Since Gower’s effort Tom Moody (1989-90), Dean Jones (1990-91), Chris Cairns (1997-98), Adam Gilchrist (2005-06) and Cameron White (2009-10) have also hit four sixes in an innings at the Gabba.In the last few months we have seen two players – Ashton Agar and Dilruwan Perera – get out in the nineties on Test debut. How many other people have suffered this fate? asked Hemant Kher from the United States
Dilruwan Perera was actually the 29th batsman to reach 90 on his Test debut but not make it to three figures. The first was Stanley Jackson, a future England captain, who made 91 on debut against Australia at Lord’s in 1893. Three of those players – Australia’s Arthur Chipperfield, Robert Christiani of West Indies, and Pakistan’s Asim Kamal – were out for 99 in their first Test (Asim never did make a Test century). Stephen Fleming scored 92 on his Test debut for New Zealand, against India in Hamilton in March 1994, and 90 on his one-day international debut in Napier a few days later. Only two others have been out in the nineties on ODI debut – Phil Jaques of Australia, and Eoin Morgan (playing for Ireland at the time), who was actually run out for 99.Has anyone ever played 100 straight Test matches after making their debut? asked Michael Warner from England
No one has yet managed a run of 100 consecutive Tests from debut. The nearest was 96, by Adam Gilchrist, which constituted his entire Test career, between 1999-2000 and 2007-08. Rahul Dravid played 94 successive matches from his debut at Lord’s in 1996 to the second Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi in December 2005, but missed the next Test after being hospitalised with gastro-enteritis. (That run included 93 for India, and also the Super Series Test for the World XI v Australia in October 2005.) Kapil Dev missed only one match during his 131-Test career – after playing 66 straight from his debut, he was controversially dropped for India’s third Test against England in Kolkata in 1984-85. He returned for the next match, and embarked on another run of 65 successive appearances. The record run for any stage of a career is 153 successive Tests, by Allan Border for Australia between 1978-79 and his retirement in 1993-94. Three other players have completed a run of 100 successive Tests: Mark Waugh (107 between 1993 and 2002-03), Sunil Gavaskar (106 between 1974-75 and retirement in 1986-87), and Alastair Cook (2005-06 to date).On his first-class debut in November 2008 wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar took ten catches in the match, including seven in one innings. Was this a record for a keeper on debut? asked Zaheer Ahmed from the United Arab Emirates
Jamal Anwar’s eye-catching feat was for Federal Areas against Punjab in Pakistan’s Pentangular Cup in 2008-09. There have been 30 bigger match hauls in first-class history, including 21 cases of 11 dismissals – and one of those was by a player making his debut. Samarjit Nath, playing his first game for Assam in their Ranji Trophy match against Tripura in Guwahati in January 2002, made eight dismissals (one a stumping) in the first innings, and three more in the second, for 11 in the match. Remarkably, that was poor Nath’s only first-class appearance!England had eight left-handed batsmen in the final Ashes Test in Sydney. Was this a record? asked Hari Narayanan from India
England’s side in Sydney produced only the third instance of a Test team containing eight left-hand batsmen. The other two were by substantially the same West Indian side in two matches in 2000. Against Pakistan in Georgetown in May their XI included Jimmy Adams, Curtly Ambrose, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Adrian Griffith, Wavell Hinds, Ridley Jacobs and Nixon McLean. Then in the fifth Test against England later that year, they fielded eight left-handers again, with Brian Lara and Mahendra Nagamootoo replacing Chanderpaul and Gayle from the earlier team.*An earlier version of this article wrongly said Lyon’s feat was the ninth instance of a player having six innings in a Test series and remaining undefeated in all of them.

The plays of the day from the fourth ODI between New Zealand and West Indies, in Nelson

Siddarth Ravindran04-Jan-2014The six
Corey Anderson’s New Year’s Day splash means that his arrival at the crease produces a buzz among the fans, who expect more massive hits. Anderson had provided the Queenstown spectators 14 chances to win a $100,000 jackpot if they caught any six with one-hand, and wore the sponsor’s shirts. This time, they had to wait till the last ball of the innings for an opportunity. A monster hit from Anderson nearly cleared the grass banks beyond long-on, though that didn’t stop two fans from enthusiastically diving for it on the downslope behind the viewing area. Both were dives for the camera, though, as neither of them had a chance of catching it.The run-out
Chadwick Walton picked up a third duck in his four-ODI career after a mix-up in the first over. He steered the ball in front of point, where Kane Williamson swooped on the ball. Walton was already a long way out when he saw that his partner was not coming through for the run. Williamson realised he didn’t have to go for a difficult direct hit and threw it to the wicketkeeper who was charging towards the stumps. Like a football cross, it was perfectly timed for Luke Ronchi to collect and take the final steps to tap off the bails.The boundary rope
One delivery that highlighted the difference between the two sides was the second ball of the fifth over in the chase. Kirk Edwards punched the ball down the ground and was ambling, expecting the ball to go through. Nathan McCullum had other ideas, though, sprinting after it and putting in a headlong dive to try stopping the ball from reaching the rope. He would have succeeded too, had it not been for a kink in the boundary rope, which was pulled in about a yard around the sightscreens. Medium-pace bowlers are often told they need an extra yard, but this time it was the fielder who needed it.The drops
West Indies’ batting and bowling weaknesses could be blamed on the absence of senior players, but there’s no excuse for the fielding standards observed in the match. Three regulation chances went down off Jason Holder’s bowling, leaving the 22-year-old distraught. Denesh Ramdin dropped a thin edge that came through just above waist height, and barely needed him to move. Dwayne Bravo tried the reverse-cup as he let the ball burst through his fingers at first slip, and Nikita Miller reprieved Brendon McCullum first ball by putting down a sitter.The over
Tino Best is a bowler who guarantees entertainment, through his raw pace or his uninhibited celebrations or his lack of control which leads to loads of runs. The 44th over of the innings showed why he has earned the nickname ‘El Tino’. The first ball was a trademark Ross Taylor hit to midwicket for four, the next a pacy delivery that was outside edged past the keeper for four. Two balls later, an inside edge raced to the fine leg boundary. Best was willing on his fielder to hold on to a catch at deep midwicket next ball but it landed just short of Lendl Simmons. Best then fired in a full toss, which Brendon McCullum top edged and the ball swirled to McCullum’s left. Best charged through hoping for a caught-and-bowled, but the ball just evaded him. Already frustrated, his mood worsened when the umpire called it a no-ball for height. That meant he had to bowl another ball in the over, which was promptly dispatched over cover for six by McCullum, ending an over of drama, and dismay for Best.

Stats preview to the series decider in Cape Town, a venue at which South Africa haven’t been beaten in their last ten Tests

S Rajesh28-Feb-2014Having won the second Test in Port Elizabeth – a venue which was one of their least favourite home grounds before that match – South Africa will be pleased that the decider will be played at Newlands, Cape Town. Since their readmission to international cricket, South Africa have an 18-3 win-loss record here, their second-best among all home venues during this period – in Centurion they’ve won 14 and lost 2.The last time South Africa lost a Test match here was in 2006, and their opponents were Australia. The visitors won that Test, the first of the series, by seven wickets, and went on to win that series 3-0. That was Australia’s third win in Cape Town in three Tests there since 1992, but after that they’ve lost twice in succession – a dead rubber in 2009, and a live one in 2011, when they were bowled out for 47 in their second innings. That means Australia’s Cape Town record has reduced from 3-0 to 3-2, though they still remain the only side to defeat South Africa in a Test here since 1992.Since the beginning of 2007, though, South Africa have been unbeaten here, winning eight out of ten Tests, and drawing two, against England in 2010 and India the next year. During this period they’ve beaten Australia and Pakistan twice each, and have won once each against West Indies, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.The batting and bowling numbers indicate just how dominant South Africa have been at Newlands – they’ve averaged more than 41 with the bat, and 27 with the ball. Their batsmen have also struck 35 centuries in 26 Tests, an average of 1.35 per Test. Australia’s batting and bowling averages are far closer.

Team stats in Cape Town

TestsWonLostBat aveBowl ave100sSouth Africa, since 19922618341.5527.2035Australia, since 199253232.6031.974South Africa, since 2007108040.7325.5213South Africa have won the toss in both Tests in the series so far: their decision to insert Australia backfired in Centurion, but the move to bat first worked well in Port Elizabeth. The pitch in Cape Town is expected to be dry, which suggests the captain winning the toss will choose to bat, but the past record here suggests batting first isn’t profitable at Newlands. In the last ten Tests here, seven have been won by the team batting second, and only one by the team batting first. That happened when South Africa scored 580 for 4 declared against Sri Lanka in 2012, and then bowled Sri Lanka out for 239 and 342, eventually winning by ten wickets. In that match, though, Sri Lanka had won the toss and chosen to field, perhaps going by the past record at the ground.Apart from that match, teams have generally struggled in the first innings of Tests there. India scored 414 in 2007 but still ended up losing, while, more recently, New Zealand were bundled out for 45 in 2013. The average runs per wicket in the first innings here is 31.09 since 2007, but excluding the match in which South Africa scored 580 for 4, it’s only 26.03, which converts into an average first-innings score of 260.All five Tests between South Africa and Australia here since 1992 have also been won by the team batting second. South Africa batted first in the first three Tests – in 1994, 2002 and 2006 – and lost each of them, while Australia batted first and were defeated in 2009 and 2011. However, given the conditions that are likely to prevail this time around, the captain winning the toss might still prefer to bat first.

Innings-wise runs per wicket in Cape Town since 2007

1st inngs2nd inngs3rd inngs4th inngs31.0932.3727.4243.63Graeme Smith has had a lean series so far, scoring 37 from four innings, but he returns to a venue where he scored an unbeaten 101 in a successful fourth-innings run-chase the last time the two teams played here, in 2011. That was his last significant Test innings here – he has scored 65 in four innings since then – but Cape Town’s generally been a good venue for him: in 28 innings he has ten scores of 50 or more, and averages 52.11. AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla are the others who’ve played significant amounts of Tests here, and while both average in the early 40s, their recent form here is far more impressive: in his last four Tests at Newlands Amla has scored 3, 112, 16, 66, 25 and 58, while de Villiers has scored 160 not out, 67, 61 and 36 in his last four innings here.Among the current members of the Australian squad, there are a couple who’ve scored centuries here: Michael Clarke scored an outstanding 151 in 2011, and averages 50 here, while Mitchell Johnson scored an unbeaten 123 in 2009, and averages 60.33 with the bat here.

South African batsmen in Cape Town

BatsmanTestsRunsAverage100s/ 50sGraeme Smith16135552.114/ 6Hashim Amla1282741.352/ 5AB de Villiers1482441.202/ 3Alviro Petersen427746.162/ 0Faf du Plessis25819.330/ 0Dean Elgar25527.500/ 0JP Duminy24314.330/ 0Among the bowlers, Dale Steyn has been outstanding here (as he has been at most home venues), taking 57 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 21.14. In two Tests against Australia, he has been even more effective, taking 13 wickets at 17.69. Vernon Philander’s stats are still better: in four Tests he has 30 wickets, including a match haul of 8 for 78 against Australia in 2011. In his most recent Test here, against Pakistan in February last year, Philander’s match figures read 9 for 99, and he has never taken less than six wickets in a Test here.Among the current bowlers in Australia’s squad, Johnson is the only one to play more than one Test here, and his stats are fairly ordinary: five wickets at an average of 47, and an economy rate of 4.39. Shane Watson has played only one Test here, but was superb in South Africa’s first innings in 2011, taking 5 for 17 to bundle them out for 96.

South African bowlers in Cape Town

BowlerTestsWicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/ 10WMDale Steyn115721.1445.51/ 0Vernon Philander43012.0028.43/ 0Morne Morkel62425.9150.41/ 0Robin Peterson2634.8368.30/ 0Overall, pace has been more effective than spin at Newlands, but that’s especially true of South Africa’s pace attack – opposition fast bowlers have averaged 43 runs per wicket, compared to 23.24 for South Africa’s pace attack, which further emphasis the extent to which South Africa have dominated here.

Pace and spin in Newlands since 2007

WicketsAverageStrike rateSA – pace15223.2449.7Other teams – pace8543.0371.6SA – spin3435.0276.5Other teams – spin4234.4767.1Australia, though, have a pretty potent attack themselves, and with the series at stake, there’s plenty of motivation for both teams to be at their best. South Africa haven’t won a home series against Australia since their readmission to international cricket, while Australia need to win or draw the series to move past India and become No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings.

Australia’s success against England and South Africa is down to the arresting form of their most talented players – David Warner and Mitchell Johnson

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town04-Mar-2014In examining Australia’s resurgence against England and South Africa, many possible catalysts can be tossed up for consideration. The arrival of Darren Lehmann as coach stands as one signal moment, and the collective hunger for success that had built up in Australian cricket over some years lurching between mediocrity and ineptitude offers another explanation. So too does the fact that in Australia and South Africa, Michael Clarke’s team have largely found fertile conditions for their preferred approach to the game, favouring velocity with the ball, initiative with the bat and high energy in the field.Yet the most fundamental marker of the team’s success can be found in contrasting personal narratives for a handful of cricketers in each of the three countries. Australia’s two most outsized talents, David Warner and Mitchell Johnson, are at a peak of fitness, motivation, skill and mentality that has allowed Clarke to unleash them at their very best. In contrast, England and South Africa have grappled with the reality of pivotal figures beyond their peak as players, leaders or team-men, time and tide having caught up with them.It is quite a list, of those senior men reaching a moment of personal crisis or retirement realisation when confronted by Clarke’s team. Jonathan Trott, Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and now Graeme Smith have all passed from Test match view across these two series. Andy Flower, England’s erstwhile team director, also slid from his role in that time. Australia, grown increasingly bold in their outlook as they witnessed the feats of Johnson and Warner, have meanwhile remained happily settled, all team members equally focused on the task at hand and not feeling any need to think beyond it.This is not to say that Australia’s show of strength has been the deciding factor in any of the decisions made. In Smith’s case it was just one of many, from a young family with roots in two nations and a career now 12 years old, to the labyrinthine politics and distractions of leading a cricket nation of such diversity. Trott was overwhelmed by stress and dark thoughts he had largely been able to manage over his time in an England cap, Swann felt the increasing effects of a chronic elbow problem, Pietersen exhausted his state of détente with team management, and Kallis recognised the dulling of his reflexes even before battle was joined, leaving an enormous hole in his team.Yet the sight of a hungry horde rushing headlong into one’s path has the tendency to crystallise any encroaching desire for the quiet life. It has been Johnson and Warner leading that charge for Australia, playing a kind of muscular, intimidating cricket that is thrilling to watch and disheartening for an opponent unable to summon the resources to match it. On day four at Newlands, both men offered up passages of their most brazen play, no doubt providing Smith with a certain reassurance that he had made the right decision – so swift and sure were Warner and Johnson that only the most alert and committed of combatants could be expected to hold them.Warner’s finest batting of this match and series had already been and gone when he walked out to bat in the morning, his first-innings hundred the best and most complete since he compiled a first, against New Zealand on a seaming Bellerive Oval wicket in 2011. But the disdain he exhibited in crashing the hosts to all parts of a ground they had been accustomed to dominate on was still breathtaking. Among the most compelling qualities Warner can offer a team is the confidence he inspires in other batsmen. Morne Morkel has been terrifying at times in this series, but his treatment by Warner has made every other batsman think him a little more mortal.For Smith, setting a plan to claim Warner’s wicket has been perhaps the most maddening on-field exercise of his entire captaincy. The more Warner has matured, the more adept he has become at manipulating a field and a bowler to his advantage. Morkel is often criticised for dropping too short – against Warner the bouncer has often seemed his only option to prevent a boundary or a single. Similarly Smith has not been able to win through either attack or defence. The lopsided battle between captain and batsman reached its climax when Smith sent all nine fielders to the Newlands fence, only to watch Warner squirt a boundary fine of third man.The only time Warner did not crash through Smith’s fields was when JP Duminy pursued a line wide of the stumps into the footmarks with his part-time spin. This seemed more a matter of Warner stubbornly unprepared to fall for such a stratagem than a sudden aversion to scoring; after lunch normal service resumed, and the opener’s familiar leap toasted his second century of the match. Instances of batsmen cracking more than 500 runs in a three-Test series are few. To do the trick in this series, on foreign territory, is an achievement Warner may never quite top.Mitchell Johnson troubled Graeme Smith all series, and he dismissed him in his final innings•Getty ImagesJohnson has of course had a previous peak on South African shores, his 2009 series the ideal he was striving to return to when taking an extended break from the game in 2011-12. On both occasions his furious speed has been allied to accuracy, leaving batsmen with nothing loose on which to feed, and nowhere to hide. His command over Smith in this series has been near total, and it was fitting that the captain’s final innings ended with a short ball, a fend and a catch at short leg – grateful no doubt to have avoided another broken hand from a Johnson bullet. Dean Elgar was then no match for a facsimile of the ball that castled Alastair Cook in Adelaide, pace and just enough movement to beat a groping blade before dismantling the stumps.At 32, Johnson is older than many fast bowlers at their peak. But as Michael Holding has previously observed, the earlier break from the game and a wayward career before it leaves Johnson fresher than he might otherwise have been, and the better to accompany Warner on further ransackings of international opposition. Pondering how he and Johnson had met England and South Africa at an opportune moment, Warner recognised now was their time, a fruitful phase that will eventually meet its end.”It’s always handy when someone bowls 150kph, but I just think where we’re both at in our stage of our careers, we don’t go out there and think these guys are going to retire,” he said. “Whether it was form that might have brought that down with Graeme Swann or Graeme Smith, we’ll never know, all we can do is keep playing to the best of our ability. It’s going to happen in time as well, India with Dravid and Laxman retired as well. We’re coming to the age where the older guys are starting to push on a little bit and look for other careers after cricket.”Australia have numerous key components far nearer to the end than the beginning; Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers to name three. Yet Warner and Johnson were both followed up on day four by cameos from others who can ensure a continuity of success from one generation to the next. Steven Smith’s impish talent took him to 36 runs from 20 balls as the declaration ticked near, before James Pattinson’s pace and reverse swing accounted for Hashim Amla in lengthening evening shadows. For Johnson and Warner the moment is now, but there is enough around them to suggest the sun can shine on Australia’s cricketers for some time yet.

West Indies invest heavily on the Chris Gayle method in T20s, but the day it fails, it could leave the team in a spot of bother

Abhishek Purohit in Mirpur25-Mar-2014Chris Gayle is the king of Twenty20. His sheer presence under a helmet with bat in hand is intimidating for most bowlers. He can obviously intimidate with his tremendous six-hitting ability. He can also intimidate with what he does not do. He does not change hisexpression, whether he is on 15 off 30 or 30 off 15. It remains the same if he hits three successive sixes or plays three successive dots.He has also developed this method of going slow at the start, leaving the opposition even more anxious about what is going to come next. Often, it is carnage. If he is around by the tenth over, and hasn’t done much, the bowling side is not doing anything wrong if it expects the worst for the last ten. This method has worked for Gayle throughout the world in the numerous T20 competitions. He takes huge risk in an already risky format, and backs himself to get proportionate returns. That he often does generate thosereturns shows his pedigree in the format.Risk is risk after all, though. And the magnified risk that Gayle’s method involves means he needs someone to mitigate that risk, totemper it to a more manageable proposition. Dwayne Smith was the answer this night. Marlon Samuels was the answer in the 2012 World T20 final. There was no answer against the Indians two nights ago.Smart strategy or a bubble waiting to burst?•AFPSmith pottered to 11 off 29 against India. He made 72 off 43 against Bangladesh. It was a terrific innings on a pitch almost every other batsman from both sides found difficult to score on. He pulled and swept ferociously and kept hitting boundaries, especially against spin, even as Gayle plodded on. Smith hit 10 of West Indies’ 17 fours, and three of their five sixes.Smith has his on days and his off days, with usually no middle path. On the former, he is a runaway train which runs over everything in its path. On the latter, his inertia is broken by his own downfall. Tonight he was on. Against India he was off. More risk.The point is all these elements of risk could hurt West Indies badly in a crunch game, in conditions that are not going to get any easier for their hitters who would much rather prefer to have the ball coming on. It has already happened against India, who did not provide any leeway for West Indies to push on from a slow start. Their fast bowlers got the new ball to dart around, and their spinners then took over in helpful conditions. Fortunately for West Indies, it was their opening game in the tournament, and not a must-win one. Even more fortunately for them, Bangladesh then produced an apologetic performance on the field. How many times will you see successive deliveries go for four byes each, or the same fielder dropping catches off successive balls?When asked if it was team strategy for him to go after the new ball while Gayle played himself in, Smith said that if he maderuns, Gayle would be free to do what he was doing. “I don’t know if it is a strategy or not,” Smith said. “My aim is to get off to a good start and that’s how I play. It’s just for me to keep scoring and if Chris is working himself in, at least there won’t be pressure on him if I am scoring freely.”Of course, the pitch was not easy to accelerate on. And even Gayle ideally would not take so much risk that he reaches a strike-rate of 100 only in the 18th over. It was probably one of those days where it just did not come off for him. It can happen to the bestof batsmen. There can be a case that you have invested so much in your build-up that you then do not feel like throwing it away. And before you know it, the end of the innings is approaching. Seeing what we have from Gayle in the past, it is unlikely this approach will not pay off for him in some game in this tournament. Smith was confident about that.”I am sure that Chris would get the runs at some point of time in this tournament because he has been batting through the first six, he has been batting to ten 10 overs. I am sure that at some point, he is going to get off to a good start, get some good scores.”Again, the point is, this approach could also pull West Indies down to the point of no return. It is high risk after all. There are alwaystwo sides to it.

Steven Davies on the pain of keeping to Stuart Meaker, rainy days in the Surrey dressing room, and who’d play him in a movie

Interview by Jack Wilson24-May-2014You have shared a dressing room with legends of the game, like Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting. What have you learned from them?
The beauty of having these guys around is, I can tap into their experience. Graeme has immense leadership abilities and I’m trying to pick things up about that from him. Ricky has played in all sorts of conditions all around the world that I could pick his brains about.How do you rate your England career?
Pretty brief, to be honest with you. I’m looking to change that and get back into it. I think I’ve got a good chance to break back in, providing I start the season well.Which bowler hits the gloves the hardest?
Definitely Stuart Meaker. He’s an absolute nightmare. He’s 5ft 5in, tiny, but bowls at 92mph and swings it and wobbles it. I’m standing pretty close too, because he doesn’t get much carry.Who is the tidiest gloveman in county cricket?
James Foster.Which of your team-mates would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?
Jason Roy would be a nightmare. He’s all over the place. He has a lot of energy and I don’t – and it wouldn’t mix well.Who would play you in a film?
Leonardo Di Caprio.You wear the squad number nine. Why?
I’m a striker.When it’s tipping down with rain, what’s going on in the Surrey dressing room?
A lot of messing around. We’ve played a lot of indoor cricket recently too. I’d like to say gym work but no, chilling out and messing around.Who do you least want to be near during a rain break?
He’s not boring but Zafar [Ansari] has always got his head in his books. He went to Cambridge and is always studying something. We leave him to do his thing.What’s the toughest thing about being a wicketkeeper?
Standing up to seamers who are pretty quick. It can be pretty daunting at times.If you weren’t a cricketer what would you be?
A tennis player.You are a big Arsenal fan. Do you want Arsene Wenger in or out?
I think it’s time for a change. I’m getting rid of him. I want to freshen things up.You have to choose a five-a-side football team for Surrey. Who would you have in it?
My team would be Davies to captain the side, obviously. I’d be running the centre of the park. Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Jack Winslade, and I’ll put Jason Roy in there too.And who would be nowhere near it?
Tim Linley.

After his match-winning performance at Lord’s, India fans can’t complain. Or can they?

Fram Hansotia22-Jul-2014Choice of game
The Lord’s Test between England and India had been see-sawing for four days. At stumps on day four, both teams were presented with a clear path to victory: India needed to take six wickets, and England needed to score 214 runs. This situation, coupled with the fact that watching a Test at Lord’s is a must for any cricket fan, meant attending this match was a no-brainer.Team supported
From a neutral perspective, logic and recent form suggested India would win comfortably. However the cricket romantic in me was desperate for England to fight back and regain some of the confidence and swagger that they possessed under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss. Indeed, if they had managed to scrape a win, it would have been one of their finest victories.Key performer
It’s difficult to look beyond the Man of the Match, Ishant Sharma. During a scratchy first session, England were regaining momentum due to a series of boundaries off Ishant, but the Indian pacer maintained his composure the following over to break the partnership that was threatening to take the game away from the Indians. After lunch, he bowled with pace and hostility, to finish with his best Test figures of 7 for 74 – the best figures by an Indian bowler in England. Ishant has been the subject of a lot of mirth in the past, but today he repaid the selectors for their faith, picking him even when his figures suggested that they do otherwise. An Indian fan behind me remarked to his friend (with a hint of disappointment in his voice): “Now we can’t make fun of him for at least another month!”One thing I’d have changed
Moeen Ali and Joe Root seemed to have luck on their side in the morning session, as a couple of chances bounced just short or just wide of the slip cordon. However, their luck ran out at the stroke of lunch, when Ishant bowled a well-directed bouncer at Ali, who contorted his body in a half-attempt to play a shot, but to no avail. The ball bounced off his glove, and into the grateful hands of a gleeful short leg that had been positioned for exactly that sort of chance. Astute captaincy by MS Dhoni, who never let the match get away from his control. If Ali had managed to stick around for another hour or so after lunch, this report could have been very different indeed.Wow moment
In ten years, when people remember this Test match, they won’t remember Ajinkya Rahane’s century or M Vijay’s patient vigil at the crease. This match will be remembered for an English implosion that was astonishing in its lack of professionalism and its pace. In one hour, just one measly hour, Matt Prior, Ben Stokes, and Root undid all the hard work that their team-mates had put in for the last four days. Dhoni didn’t need to resort to one of his unorthodox tactics. His strategy was simple: put three fielders on the leg-side boundary, get Ishant to bowl bumpers, and test the mental fortitude and determination of the English batsmen. They failed this last test. Miserably.In essence, this was leg theory (oh, go on then, Bodyline!) and everyone in the ground – me, my uncle, the Englishman behind me, the Indian sitting beside him, even the exasperated little boy in front of me – knew what was coming. Well, it was more like everyone except the batsmen, who made unforgivable, schoolboy errors that have no place in the international arena. Three moments of madness. Unbelievable.Close encounter
Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and “Sir” Ravindra Jadeja all fielded in front of us in the Compton Stand. The highlight was Jadeja, who embraced his role as the pantomime villain in the Indian squad after his controversial and infamous confrontation with Anderson at Trent Bridge. He re-energised the crowd, most of whom seemed much more animated after what must have been quite a liquid lunch. Chants ranged from the unusual “Sirjee Jadeja, get us a wicket” to the rather more common “[player’s name], give us a wave!”Shot of the day
In a game that ebbed and flowed, Root’s series of three boundaries off Ishant in the 74th over injected some urgency into the England chase. The second one was not off a half volley as it was for the first boundary, nor was it short and wide as it was for the third boundary. This delivery was just short of a length and a fraction outside off stump. Root caressed it through the covers, with the ball on the up at the point of contact. Sheer class.Crowd meter
The crowd at Lord’s is usually quite knowledgeable, and today was no different. Wherever you looked, people were chatting about topics ranging from the Anderson-Jadeja spat, to the origin of the term “Bodyline” (an interesting anecdote!). The crowd was split pretty evenly between Indians baying for English wickets, and Englishmen praying for rain! The crowds streamed in throughout the morning session, and the atmosphere improved as the afternoon progressed. In a bit of gallows humour, Jimmy Anderson was even heralded as “The Burnley Lara” by a group of fans who seemed determined not to let the inexplicable batting collapse ruin their day out.Tests v limited-overs
For a real cricket fan, just as for any respected cricketer, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. I feel limited-overs cricket will continue to coexist with Tests, but that the genteel nature of the game, coupled with the mental fortitude and concentration required to consistently excel, raises Test cricket to a higher level than limited-overs cricket.Overall
A morning session that set up what seemed to be a potentially fascinating day of cricket was cruelly cut short by the same unforgivable pull shot to the man in the deep, not once, not twice, but thrice. Ali enhanced his reputation as a gritty, determined player in this English line-up, as did Joe Root, who improved his reputation before falling victim to a lapse in concentration that he will be ashamed off. Ishant Sharma was instrumental in engineering the English implosion, and the manner in which they feebly collapsed should be of concern to the management. England have not won a Test since beating Australia in Chester-Le-Street a year ago, and it’s quite plausible that this run of poor form won’t change in the remaining three Tests.Marks out of ten
8. Decent weather at Lord’s. Determined, focussed batting this morning. A flurry of boundaries either side of the lunch break. Good fast bowling by a very decent Indian pace attack. A nice little rivalry established between Root and Ishant Sharma. If only the afternoon session lived up to our expectations.

Huge sixes and great costumes at Edgbaston on T20 Finals Day

Ali Merali24-Aug-2014Choice of game
The T20 Finals day is arguably the best event in the domestic cricketing calendar and therefore not one I wanted to miss. Whilst I would have loved to have seen my home county, Middlesex, sadly the final was competed by Lancashire and the hosts, the Birmingham Bears.Weather
It always seems to be raining on big match days at Edgbaston and today was no exception. Luckily the interruptions were brief and while one semi-final was played under Duckworth-Lewis, the final itself was unaffected.Face-off I relished
With Freddie Flintoff returning to his Lancashire side for the final, I wanted to see how he would fare against the international class of Ian Bell. I needn’t have worried as his first delivery was chipped into the air by Bell before being caught well by Karl Brown.Key performer
Laurie Evans may have won the official Man-of-the-Match award for his stunning half-century off 28 balls, but I would have given it to his team-mate Chris Woakes, who added some useful lower-order runs in the first innings, but it was his sublime death bowling that sealed it for the Bears. After a slow-ball bouncer ended up as a rank long-hop, dispatched easily for six by Brown in his penultimate over, Woakes responded superbly to bowl him with a perfect yorker two balls later. Bowling the final over, with Lancashire needing 14 to win, he gave nothing away.One thing I would have changed
It seems a shame that many of the overseas players weren’t able to play on finals day. Lancashire were deprived of Junaid Khan and Birmingham of Shoaib Malik. While this may be an inevitable by-product of the scheduling, which gives a three-week break between the group stage and the finals, it was disappointing to not get to see some of the star talent.Drop of the day
While Evans was brilliant with the bat, his drop of a simple catch from Brown, then on 1, could have proved costly. Brown hit a huge six in the same over, this one sailing over Evans’ head at the midwicket boundary, and added three more in his half-century, which nearly made him the match-winner.Shots of the day
With 26 needed of just eight deliveries the game seemed over, but Flintoff changed that with two towering sixes. The first was smashed over the bowler’s head while the latter was clubbed just over deep midwicket.Fancy-dress index
T20 Finals Day always seems to attract some fancy dress, and the usual groups of superheroes, giant hotdogs and Smurfs could be spotted around the ground. The best came from a group with a Yogi Bear, Pooh Bear and a grizzly, who had unsurprising come to support the Birmingham Bears.Marks out of ten
9. Overall it was a great day of cricket and the crowd was in good voice to support the respective teams. I would definitely like to go again next year, hopefully this time supporting the Panthers to glory.

One of the world’s most revered grounds, Adelaide Oval still clings to its old-world charm

Aaron Owen04-Nov-2014Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, with a population of over one million people, is known as the “City of Churches” in the “Festival State”. The city is ringed by vast parklands that, in summer, are host to many of Adelaide’s suburban cricket matches. Just north of Torrens Lake lies Adelaide Oval, the state’s premier cricket venue and one of the world’s most revered grounds.The venue
Now capable of accommodating more than 50,000 spectators, following the recent AUD$500 million redevelopment, the stadium combines its modern facelift with an old-world charm. The northern grassy mound, edged by giant fig trees, still makes for mostly shaded seating, and there’s also the manually operated Edwardian-era scoreboard. The ground held its first Test in 1884 (and has hosted 72 till date), and the first of 77 ODIs (as at the time of writing) in 1975.Ground page | FixturesGreat matches
England v Sri Lanka, 8th ODI, Carlton & United Series, 1999
Despite the possible distraction and frayed nerves caused by umpire Ross Emerson’s no-balling of Murali – prompting Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga to attempt to lead a team walk-off, which was thwarted only after the team management called the board back in Colombo for directions – Sri Lanka stayed strong and proceeded to a one-wicket victory. Hick’s undefeated century in England’s 302 for 3 was not enough to secure a win as Sri Lanka reached 303 for 9 with two balls remaining. Fittingly, Murali, the centre of controversy, hit the winning runs.India v Zimbabwe, 8th ODI, VB Series, 2004
It was VVS Laxman’s day. Starting his innings from the team position of 4 for 3, he scored 131 as India went on to post 280 for 7. After a shaky start, Zimbabwe fought back to a winnable position deep in the game. However, a vital late-innings catch by Laxman ensured India held on to win by three runs.Top performers in ODIs
Most runs Michael Clarke 618 at 56.18 | Top score Brian Lara 156 v Pakistan
Most wickets Brett Lee 23 | Best bowling Carl Rackeman 5 for 16 v PakistanMajor players
George Giffen | Joe Darling | Clem Hill | Vic Richardson | Don Bradman | Ian Chappell | Greg Chappell | Greg Blewett | Darren Lehmann | Jason GillespieHome team
The South Australian Cricket Association (the SACA) was formed in 1871 and is the body responsible for Adelaide Oval during cricket season. It plays men’s cricket as Southern Redbacks in domestic first-class and 50-over competitions, and as Adelaide Strikers in T20 cricket (the Big Bash League). In women’s cricket (50 and 20-over competitions), the SACA is represented by Southern Scorpions.