31-Jul-2016Jermaine Blackwood then launched a counter attack. His run-a-ball 62 in an 81-run fourth-wicket stand with Marlon Samuels lifted West Indies•Associated PressSamuels scored 37, before his promising innings was cut short by R Ashwin’s wile•AFPThe procession continued thereafter, despite cameos from the lower order•AFPMiguel Cummins had a few close shaves before getting off the mark, but made use of it to stay unbeaten on 24•Associated PressAshwin finished with 5 for 52 as West Indies were bowled out for 196•Associated PressIndia’s openers made a solid start. Shikhar Dhawan played second fiddle to KL Rahul in an 87-run opening stand, before spooning a catch to short cover•Associated PressCheteshwar Pujara made a characteristically sedate start and stayed unbeaten on 18•Associated PressBut it was Rahul who took the batting honours on the opening day for his unbeaten 75 that helped India finish on 126 for 1•Associated Press

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2016Stuart Broad was the wicket-taker, his 350th in Tests and added Mohammad Amir to his bag to bowl Pakistan out for 215•Getty ImagesEngland were set 283 to win and came out with the pedal to the metal. Pakistan were a touch rattled by it, until a peach from Rahat Ali had Alastair Cook nicking behind•Getty ImagesAlex Hales flashed at a wide delivery to be caught at first slip…•Getty ImagesBut that didn’t quite deter the England batsman from playing their strokes…•Getty Images…And Pakistan exploited that. When Root top-edged a pull to Yasir Shah at deep square leg, the hosts slipped to 47 for 3•Getty ImagesJames Vince directed his intent towards staying in the middle, instead of hitting out, and took his team to lunch without any further damage•Getty ImagesVince fell shortly after lunch when he drove at a wide revere-swinging delivery from Wahab Riaz•Getty ImagesGary Ballance was looking reasonably solid against pace and spin to offer England some hope…•Getty Images…until Yasir Shah pulled out a ripping delivery which spun from the footmarks to bowl him around his legs•Getty ImagesMoeen Ali will not want to see a replay of his shot against Yasir as he charged down the pitch and missed•Getty ImagesJonny Bairstow was far more of a challenge for the Pakistan bowlers, and with Chris Woakes, who finished with 11 wickets in the match, in tow held all of England’s hopes•PA PhotosThings took a grim turn for the hosts as Wahab Riaz unleashed a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling after tea•AFPYasir capitalised on that pressure to remove Bairstow and Woakes to finish with 10 wickets in the match, the first legspinner ever to do so at Lord’s•Getty ImagesThe limelight then fell on Mohammad Amir, who at the very ground where he had played a role in spot-fixing in 2010, sealed Pakistan’s 75-run victory•Getty ImagesPakistan last won at Lord’s in 1996, so it called for a special celebration•Getty ImagesAnd the whole squad lined up to do press-ups in front of an appreciative crowd that had been enthralled by four days of brilliant cricket•Getty Images

Stats highlights from the tri-series fixture between West Indies and South Africa in Basseterre, where Imran Tahir returned the best figures by a South Africa bowler in ODIs.

Shiva Jayaraman16-Jun-20166-16 South Africa’s previous best bowling figures in ODIs – by Kagiso Rabada against Bangladesh last year. Imran Tahir’s 7 for 45 is the first instance of a South Africa bowler taking more than six wickets in an ODI.2 Number of ODI hauls from spinners that have bettered Tahir’s 7 for 45. Shahid Afridi took 7 for 12 against the same opposition in an ODI in 2013 and Muttiah Muralitharan returned 7 for 30 against India at Sharjah in 2000. This is only the third time that a spinner has taken seven wickets in an ODI. Tahir’s figures are ninth in the list of ten seven-wicket hauls in ODIs.14 Number of innings Hashim Amla has taken to complete 1000 runs against West Indies – the fewest by a batsman to score 1000 runs against an opposition in ODIs. Viv Richards had completed 1000 runs against England in 15 innings. The 17 innings that AB de Villiers took to complete 1000 runs against West Indies is third on this list.2 Number of five-wicket hauls by South Africa spinners in ODIs before Tahir’s 7-for. Nicky Boje had taken 5 for 21 against Australia in Cape Town in 2002 and Tahir himself had taken 5 for 45 against West Indies at the 2015 World Cup.58 Matches needed by Tahir to complete 100 wickets – the fourth fewest by any bowler and the second by a spinner in ODIs. Saqlain Mushtaq is the fastest bowler and spinner to reach the 100-wicket mark; he achieved the feat in his 53rd ODI. Shane Bond (54 ODIs) and Brett Lee (55) are the other bowlers to achieve the feat faster than Tahir. The legspinner has taken one match fewer than Morne Morkel, who was the quickest South Africa bowler to 100 wickets before him. Click here for a list of bowlers fastest to 100 ODI wickets.87.25 Amla’s batting average against West Indies – the highest for a batsman with at least 1000 runs against an opposition in ODIs. Mohammad Yousuf’s average of 73.78 against Zimbabwe is second on this list. Yousuf made 1033 runs in 22 innings against them, including three hundreds and seven fifties. Amla has made five hundreds and four fifties in 14 innings against West Indies. Only Quinton de Kock has taken fewer innings to hit five centuries against any opposition in ODIs. De Kock’s five ODI hundreds against India came in just nine innings.6 Number of batsmen who have recorded more ODI centuries than Amla. Among batsmen with active ODI careers, only Virat Kohli (25) and de Villiers (24) have more centuries. Amla has taken just 132 innings to notch up 23 ODI hundreds – the fewest by any batsman, and 25 innings fewer than Kohli, who is next best.9 Wickets taken by South Africa’s spinners in this match – the most they have taken in an ODI. These are the most wickets by spinners of a non-Asian team against a Test team in an ODI. The previous highest was the eight wickets taken by West Indies’ spinners in an ODI against South Africa in Karachi in 1995-96.4 Number of 150-run stands between Amla and de Kock in ODIs. Only three other pairs have more such partnerships. India’s former opening pair of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar leads this list with ten stands. Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith put together five stands, the most by a South African pair. West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes also had five 150-plus partnerships. The 182-run stand between Amla and de Kock in this match was the fourth-highest opening partnership in ODIs in West Indies and the highest against the hosts at home.139 Margin of defeat for West Indies in this match – the second biggest at home while fielding first. Their biggest loss had also come at this venue – 169 runs to Australia in 2008.4 Number of times South Africa have made 300 or more runs against West Indies in eight ODIs since 2015. All these scores have been in excess of 340. Overall, it was the eighth time South Africa had made a 300-plus total against West Indies in ODIs.

West Indies, Australia and South Africa are going through different stages of transition and meet in a tournament format that was once the bread and butter of ODI cricket

Daniel Brettig02-Jun-2016Australia have declared themselves favourites on the eve of a tri-series that will provide a thorough survey of three teams at contrasting points of their development. It will also offer an intriguing look at the international game immediately following the conclusion of the IPL, as many of the chief combatants are still dusting themselves off after eight hectic weeks traversing India.’Warner an outstanding leader’ – Finch

Aaron Finch has pointed to David Warner’s inspired IPL leadership of Sunrisers Hyderabad as evidence Australia have another natural captain waiting in the wings should Steven Smith ever choose to give up the job in one of cricket’s three formats.
“To lead the Sunrisers to the title I think shows how much he loved the responsibility of captaining,” Finch said. “He led from the front with the bat, in the field he led from the front and I think as a captain he was someone who captained the way that he plays. He always took the aggressive option, he never backed down.
“They didn’t start off the tournament overly well but I think he stuck to his guns, stuck to what he believed was right and they got the job done. It’s all about backing your ability and backing what you think is the right thing at the right time and he certainly did that. The way he dominated the tournament with the bat, but also winning close games in finals shows a lot of character from a team and a leader, so he was outstanding.
“I think a part of that is having confidence in your own game but also having the confidence of your team-mates in your own game as well, that you’re almost the number one picked player. And he is certainly that, along with Steven. They’ve been exceptional for a long time now and as captain and vice-captain they’ve done a fantastic job. I think if something did happen and he had to take over, he’d do an amazing job as well.”

In a way the series is a throwback, for triangular ODI tournaments were once the bread and butter of the international schedule, having first been popularised in Australia following the end of the World Series Cricket split. Barely a year went by in the 1990s and early 2000s without numerous competitions of this kind, and after some years of a more bilateral focus there is an appetite at the ICC level for a return to three-cornered contests.For Steven Smith’s team, the tournament is a chance to reassert some authority in the 50-over format after a defeat at the hands of an emotion-charged New Zealand side in February. Ranked comfortably, the world’s leading ODI team and reigning World Cup champions, the Australians will be challenged by slow and awkward conditions in Guyana and St Kitts before the tournament concludes in Barbados. But in the words of Aaron Finch, they have earned the favourites tag over several years of strong displays around the world, not only in home territory.”Absolutely we’re still favourites,” Finch said in Guyana. “We’ve had good success all over the world, we’re the No. 1 team in the world for a reason. We’ve played some great cricket over the last two to three years including the World Cup, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be favourites.”The South Africans and West Indies are two quality sides so that really doesn’t mean anything going into it, but at the same time we appreciate the position we’re in as No. 1 and also we’ve put a lot of hard work into that. It’s going to be tough on wickets we haven’t played on for a while, so it’s a case of getting stuck in and playing our best cricket whenever we can.”There is also something of a transitional air to Australia’s touring party, not only in terms of players but also support staff. The interim coach Justin Langer may one day find himself in the role full-time, while the selector on duty Trevor Hohns may be pondering another stint as chairman of selectors – he previously held the role from 1996 to 2006 – depending on when the current chairman Rod Marsh chooses to retire from the panel.Among the players, Mitchell Starc is returning after foot surgery and will add the threatening edge temporarily missing from Australia’s attack. Langer and Hohns will manage him carefully in full awareness of later assignments in Sri Lanka and back home, but at the same time Smith will be eager to unleash the swing and speed Starc used to such great effect in the World Cup and elsewhere.There will be jostling among the top order as Finch, Smith, Usman Khawaja and David Warner duel for places in the top three, while the spin bowlers Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon can expect opportunities on pitches expected to take turn. Behind the stumps Matthew Wade will hope to atone for an underwhelming series in New Zealand that allowed Peter Nevill to leap ahead of him for the World T20 campaign that preceded the IPL.”There’s 16 players here on tour and obviously that doesn’t fit into 11, so whoever gets the nod is going to be under pressure to perform well because there are guys here to fill every spot in the side,” Finch said. “As a group that is a great space to be in, because it pushes everyone hard, it also makes everyone appreciate the position they’re in at the time. It’s going to be exciting and whoever gets the nod first up is good.”For South Africa, it is patently clear that the team and their management will be under pressure to show evidence of progress. The coach Russell Domingo is the subject of plenty of job speculation, for he is out of contract later in the year without a record of enormous success to keep him safe. South Africa are widely thought to be in a position of some decline, while the absence of Dale Steyn, ostensibly rested but actually playing in the T20 Blast with Glamorgan, will raise a few eyebrows.Nevertheless, a strong batting line-up and the eminent threat of Morne Morkel will provide plenty of headaches for the opposition. Domingo and AB de Villiers will be expected to guide the team into the tournament final, and anything less may bring dire consequences for the coach. The tournament may be cast as the start of a run towards next year’s Champions Trophy in England, and Domingo will need to generate better results here in order to make it that far.And what of West Indies, World T20 champions but paupers otherwise? A preparatory cycle that featured a pair of losses to a Barbados Select XI did not suggest promise, and the hodgepodge selection of some T20 stars – Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine are in – but not others – Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy are out – gives the squad a somewhat muddled look.It is disheartening for all concerned that West Indies failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy by being ranked outside the top eight at the September 2015 cut-off date. Their absence will be the first time West Indies have missed out on a global tournament since they were victorious in the very first World Cup as far back as 1975, reflecting the decline of regional cricket. The tri-series offers the chance for some consolation on home turf, but squabbles at board and management level seem unlikely to abate any time soon.West Indies’ current predicament makes for quite a change from the halcyon days of tri-series, when the teams led by Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Richie Richardson lifted the World Series Cup in Australia no fewer than six times in eight attempts. Their current coach Phil Simmons was part of the team that edged Australia in 1992-93, and would want nothing more than to repeat the trick on home soil 23 years later. Whether a confident Australia or a motivated South Africa will let that happen is another matter.

On a typical WACA pitch, Australia’s fast bowlers outdid those of South Africa, who bowled far too short, far too often, to let David Warner race away to a quickfire fifty

Firdose Moonda in Perth03-Nov-2016The promise of pace was so alluring that one Perth resident ended a 30-year hiatus from Test cricket to pursue it. Shortly before 10 am on the Red Cat Number 2 bus, said denialist told his fellow travellers he was making a special trip to the WACA to watch the quicks. The South African quicks.”Their fast bowlers are really fast,” he said.As it turns out, so are Australia’s.Mitchell Starc clocked speeds, in kph, of 147.3, 145.9, 141.5, 147.6, 146.4 and 145.9 in his first over. Peter Nevill caught the first three balls at shoulder height. The bounce and carry would have, in Dale Steyn’s own words, “got him going”, had the fourth ball not taken Stephen Cook’s outside edge.What followed was the most intense hour of Test cricket South Africa have played in recent memory, comparable to the pressures of last summer but not. Same same but different. In India, the spin challenge was expected to exploit areas of the game South Africa are not supposed to be good at. Here, they were in familiar territory, facing fast bowlers on a fast pitch.They may not have grown up with a slew of Starcs but there are enough Marchant de Langes and Hardus Viljoens in South African domestic cricket to keep everyone on their toes. All the surfaces in South Africa are not as spicy as the WACA, but everyone makes enough trips to the Wanderers and SuperSport Park to have some idea of how it can play. Yet for the first 13 overs, it looked like South Africa had none. Truth be told, they even looked a little afraid.The usually sure Dean Elgar didn’t know if it would swing – it did, but only a little – and was beaten, wasn’t sure if he could leave and did tentatively, and wasn’t always sure where the fielders were. He came close to giving Usman Khawaja a catch at short leg and was lucky the ball popped out. It hardly mattered because he nicked off in the next over.All that meant was that South Africa missed AB de Villiers a lot earlier than they would have liked to. By the 13th over, his absence loomed large. South Africa were 32 for 4, with their two most experienced batsmen, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, already out. The inexperience of their middle order was laid bare and the prospect of being embarrassed, especially after all the big talk, was real.If they are to take anything positive out of this day, it will be what happened next. Temba Bavuma played his most accomplished innings to date, more impressive than his maiden hundred against England last summer which came when South Africa already had more than 400 on the board. This one showed his temperament is up to Test cricket, something which continues to be unfairly questioned because of the transformation targets.Bavuma is compact, not just physically, and has a solid defence. He is not easily intimidated, even when he becomes the subject of an interrogation. His first one came from Josh Hazlewood who, having seen the full ball dealt with, pulled his length back a touch. He hit Bavuma on the hip, then aimed for his ribs, and when Bavuma pulled off a flick, stuck a fielder in to invite him to try again. Bavuma did, but was struck on the thigh pad. Starc opted for the more traditional line off attack: full, full, full, full, bouncer, but Bavuma swayed out of the line. Bavuma warned the short ball would not scare him and stayed true to his word.Though they occasionally discomfited Australia’s openers with it, South Africa’s quicks perhaps overdid the short ball•Getty ImagesHis ability to block out the surround sound served him best when he was joined by Quinton de Kock, who complemented him perfectly. De Kock’s natural game is to play his shots and find runs and neither reverse-swing nor an impending collapse would stop that. He coped by counterattacking.It would be too easy to suggest that de Kock demonstrated the approach his team-mates should have taken because none of them can play with the same freedom. Instead, the partnership itself showed what should have been done. A bit of fortitude, a bit of a fightback, a bit of fortune, even. It’s not even that the rest of South Africa’s batsmen did anything particularly poorly; they were shot out by an attack even Australians had underestimated.If the man who hasn’t watched a Test in three decades hung around until the last hour, he would have got what he wanted. Sort of. South Africa’s fast bowlers got their chance and should have taken it.Questions will be asked about why they did not go all-pace and the official line is that Morne Morkel is not yet at the level of match-fitness they want him to be at, and why their quickest bowler, Kagiso Rabada, did not open the bowling, and the explanation may lie in the fact that Vernon Philander is his most effective up front. The biggest question will be why South Africa got so carried away with the surface that they defaulted to a short-ball strategy that was not working. Mitchell Starc noted that in the 21 overs Australia faced, 88% of the deliveries were short. “Too short,” he said.The big talk about cutting the head off the snake and getting nasty did not turn into any big action. The only real words were those of disbelief when Warner nicked one over the slips.”Did you mean that?” Steyn asked him.”No,” came the reply as Warner shook his head and practiced the shot he wanted to play. The upper-cut which came later. Steyn did not need to wonder what Warner’s intentions were for the rest of the day. Or for the rest of the innings.Australia are on top and can drive home an advantage over the next few days but South Africa won’t count themselves out just yet. Four years ago, they scored 17 fewer first-innings runs and still won the match. Then, they bowled Australia out midway through the second session on the second day. If they are to repeat that, their “really fast,” fast bowlers will have to be fierce too.

Through patience and tactful strike rotation, Tom Latham and Kane Williamson ensured New Zealand built a solid platform to challenge India’s might on a slow turner

Sidharth Monga in Kanpur23-Sep-2016On a day India managed to get just one wicket in 47 overs despite having a more threatening attack than New Zealand’s and on a more difficult pitch than the one they batted on, a glaring statistic stood out: R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowled just two maidens between them.More importantly, though, the most continuous deliveries that Ashwin got at one batsman was six. Jadeja managed to keep one batsman on strike for longer, but not with telling effect. He had Martin Guptill facing for nine straight deliveries, but was hit for two boundaries. That meant no pressure was built. He then had Kane Williamson on for nine straight deliveries, but this time Williamson managed to avoid pressure with a couple.It was the next string of 12 deliveries that Jadeja bowled in a row at Williamson that resulted in two close calls. This was around the tea interval where India felt New Zealand began to slow the game down. The crux, though, is that in the unbeaten 117-run partnership between Tom Latham and Williamson – their sixth century stand in just 24 innings together – the right-left duo didn’t let the Indian bowlers bowl at them for long periods of time.It was down to India’s in-and-out fields as well as the enterprise of Latham and Williamson. Teams nowadays, especially on turning tracks, prefer to operate with in-and-out fields, knowing the batsmen are not patient enough to keep picking singles. Then there’s the knowledge that modern bats are good enough to send half-hits over the infield. Williamson and Latham, though, showed the patience and skill to keep picking those singles and turning the strike over. Every time they did so, the bowlers had to change their angle and their plans.”That is one of the keys,” New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan said. “You don’t allow Ashwin or Jadeja to bowl 12 or 15 balls at one person. You have to find a way a way to get down the other end and both those guys did that really nicely today.”Their discipline [stood out], they stuck to their game plans and when the Indian bowlers missed, we jumped all over it. I thought the way they rotated the strike with that left- and right-hand combination throughout the partnership was crucial. They just worked really hard, and showed how hard it is out there. This surface is still playing pretty well, but there is a few balls taking off and turning. All in all the self-discipline from both those guys throughout the partnership was crucial.”With the pitch deteriorating significantly from the opening day, but the turn being slow, there was a likelihood of them getting beaten often but equally there were chances of edges not carrying, especially with Williamson’s soft hands. It will be crucial to not let these extraordinary deliveries affect you as long as they don’t dismiss you.”That’s part of playing in India,” McMillan said. “We are confronted with two very good spinners who know the conditions well and are going to challenge you at different times. Mental [focus] plays a big part, not getting flustered, being comfortable in those conditions and being comfortable with the ball beating the outside edge and not letting that worry you. Both guys soaked that up really nicely throughout that partnership and whenever they got a scoring opportunity they made the most of it.”One of the basics of playing spin well is to pick the length early, something McMillan thought both Latham and Williamson did well. “We’ve done a lot of work in terms of using the feet and getting deep in the crease, they’re all key things to playing spin well,” he said. “You watch the best players of spin around the world and they don’t get caught on the crease. They are either forward or back.”All our guys have done a lot of work on that, and everyone does it differently. Everyone’s technique is different, and it is important you don’t just try and play the same way. You have to use what works for you, and we’ve done that really well. Both players today used the depth of the crease really well. The key to that is picking up the length early. If you do that you can go forward or back.”As India batting coach Sanjay Bangar pointed out, New Zealand were in similar position to that of India before they collapsed: 150-plus for 1. This is a pitch where one can bring many. Also New Zealand might have to bat last on this pitch unless they can show similar skill till they reach 500. McMillan knows there is a lot of hard work to do still, and with the bat that has to be done in the first innings.”There is a lot of cricket to be played,” McMillan said. “It is the end of day two, and we are only halfway to what India scored in their first innings. We still have a lot of cricket and batting to do before we even start looking at what will happen on day four and five.”

Forcing Sri Lanka to strain every sinew on a slow pitch with little help for either seam or spin, Zimbabwe came agonisingly close to a draw in their 100th Test match

Tristan Holme in Harare02-Nov-2016When John Hampshire was appointed coach of Zimbabwe in the lead-up to their first Test match in 1992, the Yorkshireman was quick to lay out the extent of their ambitions. The batsmen were taught how to leave, and the bowlers instructed to bowl a foot outside off stump. When Zimbabwe crossed 400 in their first innings against India, taking nearly two days to do so, a player had the temerity to suggest that they might declare. Hampshire’s spiky response made it clear that they would be doing nothing of the sort. Zimbabwe drew the match, and viewed it like a victory.Forever the underdog (aside from the years of Bangladesh’s Test infancy), Zimbabwe’s ambitions have rarely risen since. The country’s pitches are the very definition of ‘nondescript’, boasting little pace, average bounce, no real turn to speak of. Little wonder then that, asked how difficult it had been to take 10 wickets on the final day to beat Zimbabwe in their 100th Test, Rangana Herath’s eyes became wide as the air escaped from his mouth.In truth it shouldn’t have even been close. With Tino Mawoyo and Brian Chari seeing off the first hour of the day, Mawoyo and Hamilton Masakadza taking care of the second, and lots of batting to come, Zimbabwe should have notched up the 27th draw in their history, leaving everyone to debate Herath’s decision not to declare earlier. “You cannot plan for whether it’s raining or not,” was how he saw it. “We had a plan with the coaches to declare before the end of the [fourth] day but we couldn’t do that because of the rain. You can’t rely on the weather, so you have to keep on playing as it is.”When Mawoyo got a rough decision from umpire Simon Fry, given out lbw to a delivery from Dilruwan Perera that was comfortably missing his leg stump, Zimbabwe embarked on their standard collapse and questions around Herath’s decision-making receded. “We were really happy with the start we had, but then when we started to lose a few wickets we panicked,” said Graeme Cremer.Yet over the next 45 minutes, the air of inevitability around Zimbabwe’s defeat dissipated. Sean Williams and Peter Moor dug in, and Herath found himself being tested in his first Test as captain. Unlike fifth-day pitches back home, he could not wheel away from one end all day knowing that he could do the job all on his own. Nor could he post three slips and a gully and back his quicks to wrap it up. Field placements were changed, bowlers were rotated.Eventually it was Lahiru Kumara who showed why he had been picked at the age of 19, with just two first-class matches under his belt. Kumara endured a tough introduction to Test cricket on day two, when he registered a first-ball duck with the bat, started his bowling with five wides down the leg side and was taken off after two overs.Over the next three days, on a slow pitch with no lateral movement, his pace proved its worth. In the first innings he had separated a 132-run stand when, bowling in the heat of the day, he sent down a bouncer that Moor could only fend to slip. Now, with the sun at its hottest once again, he rattled Moor with a series of short deliveries before trapping him lbw, jumping on the crease.”For me he’s an interesting character,” Herath said of Kumara. “He’s quick and I’m sure he’s a good prospect for Sri Lankan cricket. I tell you a lot of credit goes to the fast bowlers. There was not much assistance for the spinners and the Zimbabweans batted well. But the fast bowlers played their heart out and gave 100%, which is the main thing.”That was the back of Zimbabwe’s innings broken, but Sri Lanka still had to contend with Cremer. And Williams was in belligerent mood, blocking out delivery after delivery, then reverse-sweeping the spinners for four when he wanted to silence the fielders around the bat. Asela Gunaratne’s inclusion at the expense of another spinner began to look questionable, given the friendly nature of his medium-pace.Before tea, Herath changed ends. During the interval, clouds welled up in the south, as they had prior to the fourth evening being lost to rain. The light faded. But fourth ball after the break, Williams edged to slip. When Herath trapped Donald Tiripano lbw soon after, it looked like Herath was just doing what Herath does on the final day of Test matches: bowl his side to victory. Sri Lanka didn’t care that Tiripano had edged it, giving them a sixth dubious decision – and 10 lbws in a game where not one had gone against them. “It’s just one of those things that happens in cricket,” Herath said.The clouds moved off, and the sun came out. Carl Mumba started blocking. At the other end Cremer looked immovable. Herath switched ends. He then took the second new ball and switched ends again. The overs ticked down. 15, 14, 13, 12. Zimbabwe, through their captain Cremer, were on their way to their objective. Herath switched ends. Then something unbelievable happened. For the first time in over seven hours at the crease, Cremer lost his head.Out of nowhere, with Zimbabwe less than 10 overs from drawing, he leaped down the pitch, missed one from Herath, and was stumped. Having cheered every dot ball wildly, the small crowd went quiet. “I blame myself for losing this game,” said the Man of the Match. “If I was there then at least if Carl [Mumba] or Chris [Mpofu] had got out then I would have felt a lot better about myself, but I think my wicket was the turning point in us losing this game.”It wasn’t quite over yet. Mpofu, one of Test cricket’s worst No. 11s, saw off the over from Herath. Then Mumba took care of two more. Seven overs to go. On the balcony, Heath Streak was in the same seat he’d occupied all day. “Even with No. 10 and 11 out there we still thought, ‘Shee, we’ve still got a chance here,'” reflected Cremer.Dilruwan returned. Mpofu fended one to midwicket, then dabbed another square on the leg side. The crowd cheered. 7.4 overs left. But Dilruwan flighted the next one, Mpofu pushed forward, and the ball took off stump. A young Sri Lankan side had passed their first test. Zimbabwe had lost their 100th, but rediscovered some of their moral fibre. Test cricket felt alive in Zimbabwe once again, and so did the spirit of Hampshire.

Jake Ball’s tactful use of angles and Alastair Cook’s problem of having too many bowling options feature in Aakash Chopra’s technical breakdown of the third day’s play in Mumbai

Aakash Chopra10-Dec-2016Cricket – game of angles
Jake Ball is playing only his second Test but has shown maturity in using the crease. He has gone to the corner of the box while bowling bouncers and has come closer to the stumps to bowl fuller. The first ball of the third day was bowled from the outside half of the box and Pujara left it comfortably. The second ball that dismissed Pujara was bowled from closer to the stumps and while the length remained almost identical, the closer release point ensured the ball pitched six inches closer. Pujara failed to read the subtle variation and let it go, instead of playing, and was bowled.England spinners inconsistent
The fact that fast bowlers have taken only one wicket is this Test suggests that the pitch is spin-ready right from the outset. While the pitch has definitely assisted spinners, one must not start assuming that if you’re a spinner, you will be among the wickets. Engand’s spinners have realised the importance of peppering the same length and also that it is difficult to do consistently. The lack of bounce on most Indian pitches allow you to get away even when you miss the length by a foot on either side but the red-soil Wankhede pitch is severe if you err in length. The ball sits up to get hit. It’s not often in Test cricket that you see so many full tosses and half-trackers.Moeen Ali’s pitch map•ESPNcricinfo LtdEngland’s problem of plenty
Adil Rashid was held back until the 22nd over of the day. He might have been expensive on the second day, but it’s unfair to ignore the fact he is England’s most successful bowler in the series. Alastair Cook has an option too many at his disposal and one way or the other, one bowler gets under-bowled. Chris Woakes has bowled only eight overs so far and he did not bowl in the first 70 overs on third day. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that England have played with ten players in most games in this series.Defend higher
We, the players from north India, are given invaluable advice while traveling to the western part of the country. In Delhi and Mohali you can easily manage with low hands while defending but on pitches with extra bounce it’s critical to keep the hands higher.Adil Rashid’s pitch map•ESPNcricinfo LtdSecond new ball delay
India waited for 121 overs to opt for the second new ball. England took it after 129. Mohammed Shami’s absence and the presence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja could explain India’s approach but England’s choice was interesting. They have played as many as four fast bowlers, and both Rashid and Moeen Ali haven’t bowled with the same penetration. Also, the absence of reverse-swing could have prompted such a different approach.New-ball tactics
James Anderson found the outside edge of Jayant Yadav’s bat in the first over with the second new ball. Because he had bowled only 12 overs till then, a long spell was expected from Anderson. But surprisingly he bowled only 2.4 overs with the new ball. It was equally baffling that even Woakes bowled only two overs from the other end. In addition, the lack of bouncers after the morning session showed poor planning.

Ben Duckett was found wanting by the best spin bowler in the world during England’s Test series in India, but he believes he’s better for the experience

David Hopps28-Jan-2017Ben Duckett heads for Sri Lanka with England Lions determined to put his torment against R Ashwin behind him and remain in contention for England’s Champions Trophy squad.Duckett firstly wants to make an impact in the Pakistan Super League before joining the Lions for five one-day matches against Sri Lanka A in early March, which he hopes will show that he has benefited from being put through the mill by Ashwin, the India spinner who is ranked at No. 1 in both the ICC Test bowling and allrounder rankings.After a promising introductory tour of Bangladesh, Duckett went to India as an exciting gamble at the top of England’s batting order, but was dispensed with after two Tests and then excluded from the one-day series as Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings put themselves ahead of him in the list of batsmen still eager to force their way into England’s Champions Trophy squad.Lions squad for four-day matches v Sri Lanka A

Keaton Jennings (Durham, capt), Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire), Nick Gubbins (Middlesex), Tom Alsop (Hampshire), Tom Westley (Essex), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ollie Rayner (Middlesex), Jack Leach (Somerset).

Duckett’s plight was summed up in the second Test in Visakhapatnam when he suppressed his aggressive instincts in a bid to follow orders and block out the final day, but made a 16-ball duck which ended with a misconceived sweep.Duckett spent the latter part of the India Test series working on his batting method with England’s batting coach Mark Ramprakash and he makes no secret of the fact that Ashwin exposed his technical frailties as he dismissed him in all three innings he faced.”Obviously there are technical issues,” Duckett said as the Lions finalised preparations at the national performance centre at Loughborough. “I went out there as a good player of spin – that’s what people were saying – and coming back, I’ve been told I’ve got plenty to work on.”I hadn’t faced world-class spinners in those conditions. I can learn all there is to learn in India. But I’m used to playing in England – it’s not going to pitch outside leg and hit the top of off stump in England. I definitely think, in a strange way, I’ve come back from it as a better player of spin.”Ashwin dismissed Duckett cheaply in all three innings, leaving him increasingly perplexed as how he could score off him and aware of the media scrutiny on a technique that often left the left-hander’s stumps dangerously exposed.50-over series v Sri Lanka A

Keaton Jennings (Durham, capt), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Tom Alsop (Hampshire), Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Craig Overton (Somerset), Tom Helm (Middlesex), James Fuller (Middlesex), Ollie Rayner (Middlesex), Josh Poysden (Warwickshire).

“During the series, it’s extremely tough to play around with it when you realise you’ve got a problem – the way I got out, with my front leg going outside leg and showing my stumps and the ball pitching outside leg and hitting the top of off.”I’ve never had that experience before in a series, needing to find a way to score runs. That was extremely tough. But the best thing at the time was that, when I actually did get dropped, it took a bit of pressure off me and I could go and work with Ramprakash in the nets and play around with a few things.”I’ve also got to remember I’ve faced one of the best spinners in the world in his conditions, and he was the one that got me out a few times. I didn’t get out to any of the other bowlers – I didn’t face many of them too much. The balls he bowled me were fairly good balls – it wasn’t like I was getting caught at cover or mid-off.”Ashwin took 28 wickets in five Tests against England as India took the series 4-0, two ahead of his team-mate Ravi Jadeja and five ahead of Adil Rashid; in a series dominated by spin bowling, no-one else took more than 10.After a few weeks’ holiday, Duckett can now relive the experience without his eyes glazing over. “He changes his pace very well, turns the ball… and the difference with him is he’s got so many variations, and he doesn’t really bowl too many bad balls.”He’ll bowl you the same ball three times, and one will rag, one will turn a tiny bit and one will skid on. I know, if I go back out there and face him in those conditions, my footwork has got to be perfect.”Duckett’s technique against spin was exposed on the subcontinent•Getty ImagesDuckett was loath to imply criticism of the instructions from Alastair Cook, England’s captain, that they should seek to block out the final day. “When the England captain asks for a group to do something, and everyone buys into it, you do it really,” he said.Even Cook would be the first to admit that such an approach would rest less easily with Duckett than the rest of England’s top order, with Cook himself, Haseeb Hameed and Joe Root all better versed in the art of passive resistance.”Cookie spoke to us – ‘we’re going to try to bat all day here, whether it’s 20 runs off 160 balls’. That isn’t my game, but I did try to do what we were asked. On another day, my way of batting for the draw is actually trying to get 120 off 160. I think if anyone is going to be successful against spin, you’ve got to be positive – especially out there.”Even the likes of Haseeb – he likes to bat all day, but he found you can’t just block against world-class spinners. You’ve got to find ways to put them under pressure – not necessarily running down and hitting, but sweep, use your feet and manoeuvre it and get off strike.”But I ended up trying to sweep one which wasn’t there for the shot – a different mindset to normally. On another day, I might commit to that and nail it.”Cook’s caring captaincy was again to the fore after Duckett was excluded. He was besieged by assessments about his technique – a world apart from a quiet day in Northampton – and with England largely confined to their rooms for security reasons, he found it hard to relax.”You go on your phone and your name’s there, and you almost think ‘I’m getting dropped’ before you even are. It is easy to go ‘Hang on, I’m a rubbish player of spin’. If people are talking about it, then you sometimes believe it.”Cookie asked me when I actually got dropped: ‘What can we do to prepare someone like you that’s coming in again [to international cricket]?”I said: ‘Well, I don’t really think you can’ – because county cricket, the pressure of that, is nothing like when you’re playing for England.”Duckett has ample opportunities to rebuild his England case before the Champions Trophy. As well as the Pakistan Super League, and the Lions trip, he is in the North squad to meet the South over three 50-over fixtures in the UAE in March.If any England players in the IPL are given licence to miss the two ODIs against Ireland in May – and that debate is ongoing – then Duckett might also be in contention for those. After all, his first three ODIs for England in Bangladesh in October were deemed a success. Then came India, Ashwin and a wholly different ball game.

Plays of the day from the second ODI between West Indies and England in Antigua

George Dobell in Antigua05-Mar-2017The milestone
When Steven Finn dismissed Kieran Powell via a top-edged pull that ballooned back to the bowler it made him the tenth England bowler to claim 100 ODI wickets. He became the third-fastest, too, in terms of games played, behind Stuart Broad and Darren Gough, who both reached the milestone in 62 ODIs. This was Finn’s 67th ODI, which means it took him the same amount of games as Joel Garner (the record is held by Mitchell Starc, who only took 52). Only Andrew Flintoff has a better strike rate of England bowlers to have achieved the record. All of which renders his absence from the side – before this series, Finn had not played ODI cricket since September 2015 – all the more puzzling.The drop
Ben Stokes has a well-deserved reputation as one of England’s best fielders. So it was a major surprise when he was unable to cling on to what appeared to be a relatively simple chance at midwicket offered when Kraigg Brathwaite, on 41, mistimed a pull off Finn. Perhaps Stokes lost track of the ball in the sun, or perhaps he was deceived by the strong wind blowing across the ground but, instead of taking the ball cleanly, he sustained a blow on the second finger of his right hand which obliged him to leave the field for treatment. While that briefly raised the possibility that it could be ‘the most expensive drop in history’ – in financial terms, bearing in mind his IPL deal, rather than runs conceded as a consequence (Brathwaite for out for 42 in the next over) – Stokes soon returned to the field and was able to resume bowling.The review
Jason Roy is increasingly looking like the most dangerous batsman in this side. So when Jason Holder saw his strong appeal for a caught-behind dismissal turned down by umpire Nigel Duguid (on his ODI debut) before Roy had scored, it was understandable that he should utilise West Indies’ review. Without Ultra Edge, though, West Indies were asking the TV umpire, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, to overrule on limited evidence. And while replays showed what might have been some deviation – the angle of the seam of the ball appeared to change a little – and the stump microphone picked up a noise that could have been the edge and could have been a stud on the pitch, there was nothing definitive that convinced him to change the decision. It is understood that Ultra Edge technology would have cost around USD10,000 for the series but the WICB and host broadcaster, who between them would have had to pay for it, went for the budget option as the ICC does not, at present, demand the standardisation of DRS protocols. Roy went on to score a rapid half-century that took England a long way towards victory.The edge
Having seen Sam Billings taken in the slips from the second ball of the innings, Shannon Gabriel found the edge of Joe Root’s bat just three deliveries later. This time, though, with Powell standing barely two yards inside the 30-yard fielding circle and the slow pitch sucking the pace out of the delivery, the ball dropped just short of the fielder. Root, scoreless at the time, went on to make 90 not out – easily the highest score of the match – and help England to a four-wicket victory.The injury
For the second game in succession, Gabriel’s first spell troubled the England batsman with its pace and control. But when he was forced off the pitch with a side strain after just three overs, it left Holder with a huge problem. His spinners bowled splendidly but Carlos Brathwaite struggled to sustain the pressure and, when he was recalled with 58 required from 13 overs, he conceded 10 from his first over back. With part-time offspinner Kraigg Brathwaite bowling at the over end, Gabriel’s absence made life considerably more comfortable for England than might have been the case.