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The two have met for 128 ODIs in the last 19 years. Some of those matches were thrillers, some were absurd, and some plain refused to live up to the hype

Sidharth Monga03-Jun-2017The last-over classic that everyone remembers
At least 17 ODIs and four T20 internationals have been decided in the last over, but how many do we remember, really? Javed Miandad’s six, that was heard around the world, for sure.In the 2007 World T20, the tie, followed by the shot that expedited the birth of the IPL, both gave a new format just the kickstart it needed.Then there has been the India offspinner connection: Harbhajan Singh’s roar after hitting Mohammad Amir for a penultimate-ball six in 2010, Rajesh Chauhan’s swipe in Karachi in 1997, and R Ashwin falling prey to an almighty Shahid Afridi swing in 2014. These last-over finishes tend to favour the chasing sides in India-Pakistan clashes, but there have been famous defences too, no more so than Ashish Nehra succeeding with only eight runs to play with in 2004.The forgotten last-over classic
These are some of the better matches, but largely not remembered as well because the stage was relatively smaller. Inzamam-ul-Haq brought on multiple heart attacks in Ahmedabad 2005 by chasing the three remaining runs in the last over, bowled by Sachin Tendulkar, thus: going dot, dot, two, dot, dot, four. And not just any four, one caressed all along the ground.Tendulkar was involved, in Brisbane in 2000, again when he went looking for a run-out but conceded the overthrows that proved to be the difference in the last-ball win with a scampered bye. Surely MS Dhoni would have had one glove off for the last ball?Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s dink in the 1998 Independence Cup puts a tick in India’s column in these forgotten last-over thrillers.One of the real underrated last-over classics is from back in the day when chasing 300 was not as boring as it is now. Ten years ago, Younis Khan set it up with a hundred, but Afridi and Sohail Tanvir saw them through.Sourav Ganguly and Aamer Sohail collide, Toronto, 1998•Getty ImagesIn Toronto in 1996, with a twisted ankle and No. 10 for company, Saleem Malik chased down 44 off 44, ending it with a square-cut boundary off the second-last ball, bowled by – get it – Sunil Joshi, a left-arm spinner.Malik also played one of the most astonishing ODI knocks, coming in with 78 needed at more than ten on over with mostly the tail for company, and scoring 72 off those in 36 balls, a good 30 years ago at Eden Gardens.The other Malik who could have ended up among the greatest chasers in ODIs before he threw it all away, Shoaib, chose more violent methods, but ten in the last over of a T20I – in Bangalore in 2012 – didn’t really challenge him that much.This is from those days when India-Pakistan matches at ICC events used to be competitive. India put up a spirited defence of 200 in the 2004 Champions Trophy match, but the artist formerly known as Yousuf Youhana kept his cool in the company of the tail to do it on the foot. Pakistan didn’t hit a single boundary in the last 31 balls of their chase.Obscure last-over finishes
Did you know India and Pakistan once played a 16-over ODI with Pakistan scoring 87 for 9 and for some reason winning by seven runs? Yes, they did, with poor light in winter in Gujranwala, 1989, forcing the start beyond lunch and then India failing to bowl the allotted 20 overs in their allotted time of 85 minutes. Had they taken one more wicket, they would have got the whole 20 overs to chase in, and might have probably won.India’s over rate also haunted them in a dead rubber in Toronto in 1997, resulting in two fewer overs for India to win in, but this was the Summer of Sourav, and Ganguly chased it down with the help of Ajay Jadeja.Miandad loved hitting Indians for sixes, even when asking their spinners for their room numbers in the adjoining clubhouse so he could hit them there. He loved it so much that this feat is not even on our mental highlights reel: in a dead rubber in Jamshedpur in 1987, it came down to 12 required off the last over, and he ended it in the first two balls, according to , “Pakistan seemed overcome by both tension and the cold: the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees Centigrade. Moin Khan missed a stumping off Jadeja, Mohammad Akram converted a catch off Ganguly into a six by stepping over the boundary, and three run-out chances were muffed.”Crowd-disturbance classics
Many believed that the match that Chauhan won for India would have been Pakistan’s had the crowd not thrown stones at Indian fielders for the fourth time, which is when play was stopped and Inzamam – 74 off 92 then – was denied the finishing kick he looked set for. Pakistan batted only 47.2 overs, and there was no target correction; except that India were asked to chase 266 in two balls fewer.Indian crowds didn’t paint themselves in glory, but in limited-overs matches, the Pakistan crowds have provided more material. On a damp Karachi pitch in 1989, in a match reduced to 40 overs, with Manoj Prabhakar running riot with the ball, the stage was getting set for a proper chase against Wasim Akram, Waqar, Aaqib Javed, Imran Khan, but the crowd trouble meant only 14.3 overs were possible. Tear gas had to be used inside the stadium, and gun shots were heard from the outside.Sharjah classics
Between World Series Cricket and the many T20 leagues, there was Sharjah, home of lucrative cricket. Pakistan obviously dominated the terrain, with India being the most commercially viable opponent. Apart from the Miandad classics, apart from the dodgy classics, it produced many memorable India-Pakistan clashes. Not least of which is India’s successful defence of just 125 runs in 1985. They would have fancied themselves a year later, this time in defence of 144, but Manzoor Elahi took Pakistan home from 65 for 6. As might seem, India tended to run Pakistan close in Sharjah only in low-scoring matches, but when they finally did manage their first ODI 300, in 1996, they did get into a close fight as Pakistan kept coming at them. They were 172 for 2 in 25 overs thanks to a pinch-hitting fifty from Rashid Latif, but then, as a runner, he ran Aamer Sohail out, and the collapse began.A pinch hitter was successful, and opener Shoaib Mohammad was run out with Pakistan 105 adrift in 1989, but there was no meltdown then. Forty required off the last six overs was not a match sealed back then, but Pakistan did so with eight balls to spare.The 2009 Champions Trophy fixture – won by Pakistan – was one of the few contests on a global scale that didn’t underwhelm•Getty ImagesCanada classics
This might be worth a book in in itself. Sixteen matches, seven to India, eight to Pakistan, one no-result. Ganguly wreaked general havoc. As a bowler. Malik chased chases. Meltdowns happened, not just on the field, when Pakistan missed five chances ostensibly because of the cold, but just off the field too.Classics when no one knew the playing conditions
Add to the Sharjah twilight the only tied ODI between India and Pakistan. With the scores level with a single to get off the last ball, Abdul Qadir did as you would expect: try and steal the extra run no matter how impossible it seems. Except this was a special case.In the process, Qadir got himself run out, and from just outside the playing field, Miandad began to swear at him. That is because this was a rare series with no tied matches. The tie breaker was number of wickets lost first, and then the score at 25 overs. Had Qadir kept his wits, Pakistan would have ended up with scores level and with same number of wickets lost, but with a higher score at the end of 25 overs. Now instead, they lost because India had lost fewer wickets.Miandad’s anger was directed not just at Qadir but also the umpires, who had missed that India had only three fielders inside the 30-yard ring for that last ball.Non-last-over classic that everyone remembers
World Cup 1992; World Cup 1996; World Cup 1999; World Cup 2003; World Cup 2007; World Cup 2011Oh, Bangladesh and Ireland turned up for that 2007 match? Poor babies, India and Pakistan. It’s okay, the ICC has now changed tournament structures to make sure they never get knocked out early. They have also fixed draws to make sure they meet each other at every world event. Except that can’t prevent what makes our next section.Classic duds
World T20 2012; Champions Trophy 2013; World T20 2014; World Cup 2015; World T20 2016; Champions Trophy group match 2017.Forgotten non-last-over classic
The best kinds. Like at Champions Trophy in 2009: high-voltage match with ebbs and flows, a quick Pakistan start with consolidation and slowing down in the middle, then a late kick, followed by a fiery India start, a collapse brought about by a run-out, a strong final push by Rahul Dravid, but ultimately a win for Pakistan.This is from the top of the head. There are many more such classics that didn’t go to the last over, that didn’t feature skirmishes, that need some searching in memory banks. Tell us about those in the comments section.

Being trained to put the hard yards in and be match aware at all times from a young age has helped the young Guyanese bowler excel under crunch moments

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur13-Feb-2016Like the rest of his West Indies Under-19 teammates, Keemo Paul listens to Hall of Fame for motivation before a game. They will all do so, again, on Sunday morning, ahead of their Under-19 World Cup final against India in Mirpur.”One particular video that we see as a team is a song called Hall of Fame by will.i.am. It is just a motivational song. It teaches you that if you train and work hard, you will be sitting in the hall of fame,” he said.While the song is their heartbeat, Shimron Hetmyer, the captain, said Paul, his deputy, was the last person to need external motivation at crunch moments. While the pressure of the occasion could get to a few players, Hetmyer is sure his deputy’s confidence and tactfulness will be vital.”Keemo Paul is probably one of the smartest bowlers we have here,” Hetmyer said. “He could probably bowl at any time for me – open if possible, in the middle or in the end. He is not really the death bowler for me but I think he handles pressure better than most of the players in this team, if not all. Pressure doesn’t get to him that much. He can play his natural game, as you saw against England. He stood out in that pressure game for us. He handles pressure as good as anyone I know.”Against England in their first group stage match, Paul took the key wicket of Sam Curran, who was batting on 39. West Indies later slipped to 103 for 5 in the 23rd over when his counter-attacking 58-ball 65 nearly won West Indies the game. Against Zimbabwe, he kept things tight before he effected the Mankad that took West Indies to the quarter-final. In the first of their knockout clash, he dismissed the dangerous Hasan Mohsin. Then when the chase was getting tight, his unbeaten 16-ball 24 hastened the victory.In the semi-final against Bangladesh, he got injured while trying to save a boundary at third man, but returned to bowl in the last five overs. He first bounced out Mehedi Hasan Miraz before bursting through Mohammad Saifuddin next ball. “I think it was very big over in the game. I think I had a clear mind and executing the basics,” Paul explained. “He [Miraz] was batting really well. I think he was settled. My plan was to bowl good length balls. He was going deep in his crease so I just decided to pop a short one. I caught him half yard. It was a very important wicket,” he said.Both set batsmen were removed and he added a third wicket of big-hitter Saeed Sarkar in his next over. Bangladesh could have scored 240 but they were cut down to 226. The difference was huge in the context of the game.So how does Paul, at the age of 17, handle pressure moments?”I think it is just knowing the game from an early age, and being around a lot of experienced people. You just gain as much intelligence from them and use it in the game,” he said. “You just have to know how to manage the pressure, just know how to be confident. Learn from it. You have to take in some things. Just stay focused and do what you are doing. In pressure situation, I just clear my mind. It motivates me. I always want to win and do well in the game. Pressure situation motivates me.”West Indies manager Dwain Gill believes Paul is the “brain” in the team and has a way to get everyone together in the dressing-room and in the middle. “He is our vice-captain, and it is because he is our most intelligent cricketer,” Gill said. “Off the field he is the one who brings the players together. He is the brain in the team, and everyone relates to him.”Paul is from Guyana where he “looks up to Shiv Chanderpaul”. He comes from the Essequibo Islands where he belongs to a logging community called . Paul said that Chanderpaul guides him, and owes much of his cricketing acumen to the West Indies legend.”I played with Shiv. I get a lot of advice and intelligence and guidance from him,” he gused. “I am very good friends with his son too, we are both Under-19 cricketers.”Paul didn’t show signs of pressure even if he was feeling it. Sunday is another chance for him to execute his plans in his ice-cool manner.

The home of Australia’s first – and possibly last – full-time dealer of his kind is a treasure trove of cricket literature amassed over 45 years

Russell Jackson25-Nov-2014″Cricket has one of the richest literatures,” said John Arlott, “yet often the invitation from a good friend and cricketer to ‘come and see my cricket library’ strains tact to the limit.” Though he’s a lover of Arlott’s works himself, veteran cricket book dealer Roger Page might disagree with that particular aside.Though some nominative determinism might have played a role too, a love of cricket and cricket books has remained constant throughout Page’s life. Nestled on shelves that line every available wall space in his hybrid shop-cum-home in Melbourne’s north-east is a treasure trove of cricket literature, amassed over a remarkable 45 years (as of last month) as Australia’s first and only full-time cricket book dealer.Visitors expecting a crusty old septuagenarian will be surprised and maybe inspired by Page’s enthusiasm, energy and passion for his cricket pursuits. For 38 years and counting he has been scoring for Victorian Premier cricket side Fitzroy-Doncaster. (I probe him for recollections of Abdul Qadir’s late-’90s season in those ranks and he admits, “I haven’t seen anything else like it.”) And in addition to his primary concern of selling books he also edits a new Australian journal, , named in honour of his former acquaintance and titan of Australian cricket writing, Ray Robinson.As the business creeps towards its half-century, Page recounts that the wicket was actually a bit dicey early on. The A$300 worth of profit from his first year of operation was swallowed by the taxman and it was four years before the full-time business started making money. “It took longer than I thought to really become established,” he says, but by then he’d dug in for the long haul.In those formative years Page travelled to England for stock, stashing books (“three or four bob each”) in “ridiculous” large cabin trunks at his grandmother’s house in London. Those were then ferried on to his Tasmanian home for the princely sum of £10 each and arrived at his Tasmania home a few months later.On those early treasure hunts the Epworth Press in London, and Charing Cross Road, were ripe for plunder, as was a small bookshop Page spotted as he alighted from a train in Leeds. In that instance he was drawn inside by a row of 1930s that would complete his own personal collection. Moments later, the shopowner was heading upstairs to dust off a pristine copy of Pelham Warner’s , unknown to Page at the time.The shopkeeper mistook Page’s reservations about lugging the hefty volume home as haggling and halved the £3 asking price. It couldn’t be left behind for a deal like that, and sits in Page’s collection to this day. In those early days he could buy a full run of original (from 1891 through to 1970) off John McKenzie for £150. Now the same set would pay off the best part of a luxurious holiday house.Since the recent passing of his wife and business partner Hilda, Page’s only visible sign of slowing down is the help he gets in on Fridays to pack the orders that now flow a little more regularly again since the creation of his website, a nod to modern business that he credits with saving the shop over the last half-decade.

Neither the state of the publishing industry nor of the game itself particularly ruffles him, neither does the fact that the completists and obsessives of yesteryear are not being replaced by younger collectors. He now sells far more new books than he does old ones

Many of the consignments end up at the MCG, on the shelves of the Melbourne Cricket Club library, whose librarian, David Studham, marvels at Page’s longevity and exacting service. “All our cricket books come from Roger,” says Studham. “He’s amazing, really.”At regular intervals meticulously wrapped packages will arrive at the ground – as they do for scores of private collectors – bolstering the collection with the latest journals, magazines, elusive limited-edition releases and obscure periodicals from around the globe. All are sourced through Page’s extensive overseas contacts in England and the subcontinent. Without his services, acquiring them would be a logistical nightmare or impossible. “Service” is a word Page himself uses often, perhaps unknowingly, and his brand of it is old-fashioned and reliable.A quick glance at one of his early-’70s price lists is good fun. Back then tour guides went for 30 or 40 cents apiece, Arlott titles for $1.50, and classics by the likes of Robertson-Glasgow and Alan Ross barely a dollar more. When I pick up one of Ross’ early tour diaries in the shop, Page smiles and says he’s “one of my favourites too”.Otherwise his tastes, perhaps predictably, lean towards the cream of the cricket writers whose books have passed through his hands in epic quantities. “The books in my collection, aside from the annuals, have got to be written with style and power,” he says. “I just can’t read the stuff that’s poorly written, with hackneyed and clichéd expression, which drives you up the wall.An advertisement for Page’s wares that appeared in the in 1987″It just varies depending on my mood. A year or two ago I went through some of EW Swanton’s tour books of the ’50s and found them interesting because he could sum up a game so very well. I like the Cardus works and the Arlott works, and Gideon [Haigh] is a favourite, of course.” His other contemporary likes include David Frith, Rob Steen and George Dobell.Though I shouldn’t be, I’m a little surprised when Page says he’s an ESPNcricinfo devotee on account of his passion for county cricket. In the middle of his book-lined office space sits a gleaming iMac, the only noticeable concession to modern times.Page foresaw none of this when he started selling books in 1969 as a means of furthering his own collection, back when he was an English master at Parklands High School in Burnie, Tasmania. At 22, while juggling an arts degree, he wrote and published a history of Tasmanian cricket. Before he and new wife Hilda, once a fashion designer, left the Apple Isle to make a full-time go of the cricket book business in Melbourne, he had also found the time to form the Tasmania University Cricket Club, now a mainstay of the TCA competition.”There was no cricket club, so I called a meeting and became their first secretary,” he says. Later he also became their first life member.Thus, in a literal sense, our hour-long chat covers births, deaths and marriages. Page no longer struggles for stock, though this is a bittersweet scenario, because many of the collections he once helped swell – extensive and lovingly compiled ones – have arrived back on his doorstep as older collectors sell up and slowly die out.Some older collectors even worry that Page will drop off the perch before them, a suggestion that makes him laugh. Neither the state of the publishing industry nor of the game itself particularly ruffles him, neither does the fact that the completists and obsessives of yesteryear are not being replaced by younger collectors. He now sells far more new books than he does old ones.Still, so many of the older volumes Page stocks contain stories separate and sometimes every bit as poignant as the actual texts themselves. “I just acquired a collection from a bloke from South Australia,” he says. “It was marvellous because he kept a record of pretty well every book he got and all about it. Going through that year by year, it became obvious that the love of his life was the cricket books.” Like many collectors, he found a kindred spirit in Roger Page.As for anyone else taking up the baton and continuing what Page has started, the man himself is doubtful. “I’m sure no one at the age of 30 is going to start a business like I did, so that’s the end.” With a laugh and a wry smile he concludes, “I’m sort of the last of the Mohicans”.

The reason English viewers aren’t all that interested is not because the IPL is Indian

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013Kevin Pietersen clobbered his first Twenty20 hundred yesterday, clinching the match for the Delhi Daredevils, and passing three figures with a characteristic six. It was a startling innings by a startling player, although startling things happen so often in the IPL that their startle capacity is less startling than you might expect of cricket so startlingly startling.Last week Pietersen, who is admirably open, passionate and forthright in his media utterances, bemoaned the lack of English interest in the IPL, and the sometimes negative publicity it receives in the press here, attributing some of these problems to “jealousy”. From the selected quotes reported, it is hard to know who is supposed to be being jealous of the IPL – ex-players in the media who missed out on its glamour and financial bounty, or supporters who feel it takes the sun-kissed multi-million-dollar glitz and glory away from the April skirmishes in the County Championship, or the prime minister, who secretly wishes he was an IPL dancing girl.However, the reason for any lack of English interest in the IPL is simple. It is not because the “I” stands for Indian. The same would be true if it was the Icelandic Premier League or the Idaho Premier League. More so, probably. Idaho has no business muscling in on cricket. They have snowmobiles and processed cheese. They should leave cricket well alone.Nor does this relative lack of interest have anything to do with the format of the cricket and England’s general national preference for the longer game. Nor does it reflect on the quality of play, which although variable (as in any league in any sport), is often spectacular and dramatic. Nor even is it because the rampant hype and commercial insistence of the IPL might grate with a sport-watching public unaccustomed to having branded excitement blasted into their faces with the relentless determination of a child who has just discovered the joys of banging an upside-down cereal bowl with a spoon.It is simply that, in an already saturated sports-watching market, the IPL does not, and I would argue cannot, offer enough for the English fan to actively support.As a sports fan, you cannot force an instant emotional attachment to and investment in a team with which you have no geographical or familial link, and which has little history or identity with which to entice you. A Mongolian football fan might support Barcelona, or a Tanzanian baseball nut could develop a passion for the New York Yankees, for what those clubs are, what they have achieved, and what they stand for, and be drawn into their historic rivalries that have evolved over 100 years or more; but an English cricket fan is, as yet, unlikely to find the same bond of attraction to the five-year-old Chennai Super Kings. Supporting sport requires more than guaranteed entertainment and being able to watch great players competing.Perhaps, in time, this will develop. The process was probably not helped by the franchise teams being largely disbanded and reconstituted before the 2011 season, so that any identity that had been built in the first three IPL seasons was fractured or destroyed.It is also not helped by the fact that the star players might represent three or four different T20 franchises, and a country if time allows, over the course of a year. What if I love the Barisal Burners but am non-committal about the Sydney Thunder, scared of the Matabeleland Tuskers, unable to forgive Somerset for a three-hour traffic jam I sat in on the M5 ten years ago, and absolutely viscerally hate the Royal Challengers Bangalore (how dare they challenge our Royals, in Jubilee year especially) (despite any lingering historical quibbles)? What am I supposed to think about Chris Gayle? Is he hero or villain?English cricket fans, even if sceptical or ambivalent about Twenty20, can admire the range of skills on display, appreciate how the format is expanding human comprehension of what mankind can and will do to small round things with flat bits of wood, and relish the high-pitched drama and tension of the endgames. They can simply enjoy seeing dancers jiggle their jiggly bits for no obvious reason, and be moved and uplifted by the sensation that unbridled commercialism is slowly destroying everything pure about sport and the world.But, without teams and identities for which English supporters can root, and thus the emotional commitment that makes supporting sport such an infinitely rewarding experience, the IPL will continue to struggle to find active support in England. Not that the IPL, or Pietersen, or any of its other players and protagonists, should give two shakes or Billy Bowden’s finger about that.I’d be interested to know your views on this, from English, Indian and other perspectives. I love cricket. I think I have probably made that abundantly clear in the three and a half years I have been writing this blog, and in the 30 years I have been boring my friends and, latterly, wife about it. I have tried watching the IPL, I have enjoyed some of it, but it just does not excite me. Am I normal, or should I see a shrink?● At the opposite end of the scoring-rate see-saw, a curious but increasingly intriguing Test match in Trinidad found itself donning its Wellington boots and staring forlornly at a dark and soggy ending. Not for the first time in its annoying history, The Weather intervened to spoil a potentially thrilling Test match denouement.Much of the cricket had been on the stodgy side of gloopy, and the seemingly endless behavioural idiosyncrasies of the DRS continued to irritate more than resolve, but another trademark jaunty Michael Clarke declaration had set the West Indies 215 to win in 61 overs. The stage was perfectly set for Chris Gayle. Or Dwayne Bravo. Or, at a stretch, Marlon Samuels.They were, regrettably for Test Match fans, otherwise engaged. A full-strength West Indies would not be world-conquering, but they might at least conquer the occasional Test match. Selectors, schedules and squabbles look set to conspire to ensure that the world waits an extremely long time to see a full-strength West Indies Test XI again.In the absence of proven hitters, Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, after a largely ineffective match in which he had raised further questions about his suitability as prong four of a four-pronged bowling attack, promoted himself from 8 to 3 in an effort to kickstart the chase. Many things have been written about Sammy as a cricketer, but the words “reliable batsman” are not amongst them. At least, not unless preceded by the words “no one’s idea of a”. He is, however, a potent thwacker of a cricket ball, and knew that, on a pitch that had been a connoisseur of slow-scoring’s dream, a swift blast from him could potentially enable the eternally crafty and virtually impregnable Chanderpaul to shepherd the rest of his fragile team to victory.Sammy promptly clonked a rapid 30 before the gloom intervened. Victory was still distant, but had become possible, and it was refreshing to see both captains striving to concoct a positive result from a somnolent surface.● If Clarke’s declaration was enterprising, his team’s batting had lacked the positivity that had become its trademark in the early part of the millennium. The Baggy Greens plinked their runs at 2.39 per over – their slowest batting match since the Galle Test of 1999. In their 147 Tests since then, Australia had averaged 3.59 per over. Their first innings of 311 in 135 overs was their slowest score of 300 or more since 1989. During it, four different West Indies bowlers bowled more than 15 overs for less than two runs per over – the first time any team had done this against Australia since 1961. Watson’s 56 off 172 and Hussey’s 73 off 207 were respectively the second-slowest 50-plus and 70-plus scores by Australians in Tests this millennium.The pitch was awkward and the bowling admirably disciplined, but Australia plodding along at under 2.5 runs per over is further proof that the apocalypse is nigh ‒ alongside economic collapse in Europe, political upheavals around the world, the unstoppable rise of reality television, the branding of time-outs in the IPL, anything to do with Silvio Berlusconi, Vernon Philander’s Test bowling average, and the current state of the world cricket calendar.

Jos Buttler’s thoughtful manner is at odds with the dynamic, explosive brand of batting that has turned heads on the county scene for the last two seasons and has now led to further honours in the international arena

Liam Brickhill26-Aug-2011Grounded, calm and realistic are not words one would usually associate with a 20 year old, but Somerset’s Jos Buttler – called up by England for the first time on Friday – is all of the above. Buttler’s thoughtful, almost self-deprecating manner is also at odds with the dynamic, explosive brand of batting that has turned heads on the county scene for the last two seasons and has now led to further honours in the international arena.”I know there are a hell of a lot of good players in English cricket, English cricket is very healthy at the moment and there is a lot of competition out there,” Buttler told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s obviously nice to be thought of in that context.”Indeed, Buttler has been thought of as a future England cricketer for some time, and that with less than two full seasons of county cricket under his belt. His call-up seems to be the culmination of a veritably meteoric rise, Buttler’s senior Somerset debut having come as recently as the end of the 2009 season, but even a cursory glance at the performances that led to his apprenticeship as a professional cricketer show that there’s always been something special about him.He broke several records at King’s College in Taunton, thrashing 227 not out in a national schools game in 2008 – an innings that Dennis Breakwell, the former Somerset allrounder and coach and groundsman at King’s College, said “warrants every accolade it can get” – and, almost inevitably, found his way into Somerset’s Second XI. By the following year, a full-time county career beckoned and England Under-19 had come calling.It was not until 2010, however, his first full season with Somerset, that his talents began to reach a wider audience. His maiden first-class century arrived against Hampshire in May, and in one-day cricket his clear-minded and quick-footed batting helped him to 440 runs, including a 37-ball 64 against Lancashire and a blistering 33-ball 90 in Somerset’s annihilation of Glamorgan, at 55.00 in the CB40.And then there were the Twenty20 knocks, most notably his 23-ball 55 in the midst of an unbroken 75-run stand, in just over six overs, with Kieron Pollard in the semi-final win over Nottinghamshire at the Rose Bowl. It wasn’t the first time Buttler and Pollard had combined with explosive results, nor was it the last – their barnstorming 66-run partnership at at Trent Bridge carried Somerset through to Finals Day this season.”Kieron is obviously one of the best if not the best Twenty20 player,” said Buttler. “He goes around and he just does his thing. It’s been brilliant to have a few partnerships with him. You know you can almost play with no pressure when you’ve got a guy like that at the other end. He’s very cool and calm obviously and he passes that effect on to me and keeps me nice and calm.”Obviously we’re very different batsmen. Kieron can hit you pretty much anywhere, and hit you a long way. He can really put the bowlers off their game, which helps me too. It’s been good fun batting with him, I’ve enjoyed it.”There’s certainly something complementary in Buttler and Pollard’s contrasting styles, and while Buttler has no trouble clearing the ropes when the situation demands it, he also has the priceless ability to manipulate the ball in virtually any direction. He’s used the paddle scoop – a shot that he watched Tillakaratne Dilshan and others play with increasing regularity as a teenager – over the wicketkeeper’s head to good effect in virtually every one of his match-turning limited-overs innings, and it’s a shot he’s worked very hard to perfect.”I practice it, a lot. It started from just playing around in the nets, trying to work on different shots, and with one-day cricket you’ve got to have a good range of shots. One of those shots is trying to scoop it over the keeper’s head, which I’ve had some success at. I want to be able to hit the ball through 360 degrees, so whatever field the bowler sets I can find a gap in it.”There aren’t any fielders behind the keeper, and if you can play that shot against yorkers, you take the yorker out of the game for the bowlers, and that’s probably the most bowled delivery at the death of the match. Cricket has evolved, innovation has become a huge part of one-day cricket. So you pick things up, you try to copy them, and then use the shot to the best of your ability.”Having found his natural groove so early, Buttler has time on his side to expand his game – readily accepting that it could be 10 years before he realises his full potential – but there is already an enviable completeness to his limited-overs game. “He knows his game inside out, knows where he wants to hit boundaries,” Andy Hurry, Buttler’s coach at Somerset, has said. “His one day game is nailed on.””I’ve had more success in limited-overs cricket so far,” agrees Buttler, “which you might say is natural for a youngster who doesn’t have much experience in the first-class game. But once I play a few more games I’ll be able to find a way of going about a first-class innings and setting my own tempo. I think in one-day cricket the situation dictates to you how you have to play, so that’s the way I look at it. Once I become a bit more mature with my four-day game, certainly I could have success in that as well.”His willingness to soak in ideas and lessons will surely stand Buttler in good stead, and he has a fine cricketing brain to pick and learn from in Marcus Trescothick, his captain at Somerset. “Having watched Marcus play for England, and now to be sharing a dressing room with him was quite surreal, to start with,” admitted Buttler. “But he’s a down to earth guy, a brilliant team-mate and a good captain too. He’s great to talk to about different things and he’s only too happy to help me and the other youngsters try and develop our games. He’s been a huge asset for me and the other youngsters, and Somerset, as our captain.”Trescothick has spoken of his young charge in glowing terms, as has virtually every county hack on the scene, but the encouragement of others means nothing without self-belief. Fortunately, Buttler isn’t lacking in that department either.”I definitely feel ready [for the next level]. Why not? If someone’s picking me for that, they obviously believe in me. And why shouldn’t you believe in yourself as well? You have to.”Playing for England is where you want to be. I’m no different from any other county cricketer, we all want to play for England. And Test cricket is the pinnacle of that. I’d definitely want to be involved in that. I know I’ve got a long way to go and a few things to work on, but if I can put in a few good performances and score some runs, hopefully that can happen.”

A statistical preview of the four-Test series between West Indies and England

Siddhartha Talya03-Feb-2009England’s domination of West Indies for the last nine years is an indication of how chronic cricket’s decline has been in the Caribbean. England have been ruthless after finding themselves at the receiving end of much hardship from West Indian teams for almost 20 years, and have favoured playing them more than anyone else since winning the Wisden Trophy for the first time in over 30 years in 2000. They’ve won 13 Tests against West Indies since then – including three out of four in the Caribbean – and lost just once. And despite the recent turmoil in English cricket, Andrew Strauss has a good chance of putting the off-field drama out of the spotlight and further extending England’s dominance.

Strauss has been in good form since the start of 2008, but has a modest record against West Indies: he had a forgettable home series against them in 2007 where he averaged 24. However, the rest of the top six have performed impressively and will bank on their past record to improve their recent run. Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood all averaged under 40 since last year, but against West Indies, they’ve been formidable. Andrew Flintoff missed the home series in 2007, but in nine Tests before then, he averaged 51.25. (Click here for the batting records of England’s batsmen in the last one year.)

A feature of England’s success has been their ability to seize the advantage in the first innings. In 17 Tests since 2000, England have gained the first-innings lead on 13 occasions – the average lead has been 157.46 runs, and they’ve won 11 of these Tests. Partnerships have been the key: England’s top six wickets have averaged 44.75 per stand since 2000, while West Indies have managed 33.98 – a significant difference of close to 12 runs for each wicket. The fourth wicket has been the most productive for England, averaging 63.96 in 28 innings, but for West Indies, no stand has yielded an average of more than 50 – 43.90 for the fifth wicket is the highest.

However, in two of England’s three wins in the 2004 series in the West Indies, the home team ran them close in the first innings, only to capitulate in the second and surrender the Test. England managed a lead of 28 in the first Test in Kingston, but Steve Harmison took a career-best 7 for 12 in the second innings to bowl out West Indies for 47. The Bridgetown Test was more closely fought with the visitors gaining a slender lead of just 2 runs, but their fast bowlers skittled out West Indies for 94 in the second innings to win by eight wickets.The England bowlers have played a pivotal role in the victories – five of England’s ten Test wins since 2004 have been inside four days. Harmison has been their most successful bowler, with 56 wickets at 24.85, but he had a poor 2008, averaging 57.33. Despite the slide, his past record may win him a place in the eleven after being dropped for the second Test in Mohali against India. Flintoff, recovering from a side strain, missed the 2007 series, but has proved a handful in nine Tests against West Indies, taking 26 wickets at 24.69. Monty Panesar and Ryan Sidebottom featured prominently in England’s wins in Manchester and Durham in 2007; their impressive display against the hosts, and a satisfying 2008, augurs well for their team’s bowling attack. (Click here for England’s bowling records since 2008.)

The statistics of West Indian batsmen show the extent to which their team has struggled against England. Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul stands out as a noteworthy performer, as none of the others average over 35. West Indies are without allrounder Dwayne Bravo for the Test series, and have an inexperienced team which will also rely heavily on the services of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle. The two, however, have struggled to rally around Chanderpaul – who is in terrific form, averaging over 100 since last year – in previous encounters against England, but with a productive 2008 behind them, they have the confidence to change that trend this series. (Click here for West Indies’ batting records since 2008.)

The performance of Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle will be critical to the home team’s fortunes in this series. England’s main strike bowler against the hosts, Harmison, has gone for a plenty against Chanderpaul, conceding 232 runs and dismissing him just once. He’s had more success against Gayle, getting him out seven times, but at a price – 235 runs at a rate of 5.88 an over. Sarwan has struggled against Harmison – dismissed six times at an average of 16.83. Flintoff has bowled well to Chanderpaul and Sarwan, but Gayle has dominated him, scoring 76 off 78 balls. James Anderson, who had an impressive 2008, has struggled against the three, conceding 120 runs and taking one wicket. Panesar and Sidebottom, while doing well against the rest, have been handled with ease by this trio.

West Indies have an inexperienced bowling attack, but the ones who have played against England have struggled. Fidel Edwards averages 43.68 for his 22 wickets, and Darren Powell, 48.55 for his nine. Jerome Taylor has taken three wickets in four Tests against England at 90 apiece, but was West Indies’ second-highest wicket-taker in 2008 with 27 at 32.92. (Click here for West Indies’ bowling records in 2008, and here for their top individual performers against England since 2000.)Kingston stats

Newell’s Old Boys were asking for $3 million for the 38-year-old goalkeeper — a price Pumas were unwilling to meet

• Navas and Pumas had reportedly reached personal terms
• He was left out of Newell’s last match
• Pumas now eye David Ospina and Esteban Andrada as alternatives

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Real Madrid star Keylor Navas will not be joining Liga MX side Pumas after negotiations for the veteran Costa Rican goalkeeper fell apart, according to multiple reports. The 38-year-old had reportedly agreed to personal terms with the Mexican club, but the transfer ultimately collapsed due to financial disagreements with his current team, Newell’s Old Boys.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Navas, who joined Newell’s following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, was left out of their most recent match – a strong signal that talks with Pumas had advanced. However, the Argentine club rejected Pumas’ $1 million offer and countered with a $3 million asking price – a figure deemed unfeasible by the UNAM board.

  With the deal off the table, Pumas have shifted their focus to other veteran goalkeeping options. Colombian international David Ospina and Argentine keeper Esteban Andrada are reportedly on the club’s radar as alternatives to reinforce the position.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Another name that has surfaced is Guillermo Ochoa, currently a free agent. The former Mexican national team captain is seeking regular playing time ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PUMAS?

  Efraín Juárez’s team started the tournament with a humiliating 3-0 loss to Santos Laguna, but now, back home and in front of their fans, they’ll look to earn their first points when they host Pachuca on Sunday – a team that just thrashed Sergio Ramos’ Monterrey 3-0.

The hosts were crowned Leagues Cup champions after a 3-0 victory over the Herons before a record crowd at Lumen Field

Messi falls short of 47th titlePlayers from both sides clash after the final whistleThe Herons return to action on Sept. 13Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano expressed his regret over a brawl that erupted following his team's 3-0 defeat to the Seattle Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.

Following the final whistle, Inter Miami's Luis Suarez rushed to headlock the Seattle Sounders' Obed Vargas, which sparked a brawl with players and coaches from both teams. As Suarez walked away from Vargas, he got into a verbal confrontation with a Seattle staff member and spat at his face. 

"None of us likes to see this kind of behavior," Mascherano said. "When there’s a reaction, it usually means there was some provocation."

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The Inter Miami coach also reflected on his team's defeat, which prevented the club from lifting what would have been only the third trophy in their history.

“In matches like these, details are decisive. The first few minutes cost us the game. We tried to grow into it, but unfortunately, we conceded in the first half. In the second half, we dominated and created chances,” he said. “The 3-0 scoreline is too heavy. We took risks, and their second goal effectively ended the game.”

Getty Images SportDID YOU KNOW?

The Sounders' win now means they have won four U.S. Open Cups, two MLS Cups, one CONCACAF Champions Cup, one Leagues Cup and one Supporters’ Shield – compared with Inter Miami’s 2023 Leagues Cup and 2024 Supporters’ Shield. Seattle's Brian Schmetzer became the first manager to win every major North American trophy.

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WHAT NEXT FOR INTER MIAMI?

With the international break coming up, the Heronswill be back in action on Sept. 13 when they visit Charlotte FC.