All posts by h716a5.icu

In which the teams’ season report cards are ruthlessly reviewed, one in more detail than the others

Andy Zaltzman02-Apr-2013It is April. In India, the IPL casts its annual envious glance at Major League Baseball. A hundred and sixty-two matches per side – truly, commercial dreams can come true. And as cricket’s annual big-bucks slugfest begins, the 2012-13 Test season has been tagged, bagged, and taken away to the ICC laboratory for analysis (assuming that you consider the Zimbabwe v Bangladesh series to be part of the 2013 season) (an issue which has, no doubt, exercised your mind considerably over recent weeks). Around the cricketosphere, the world’s Test nations are taking stock. Some with more relish than others.Australia, who began the season by initially dominating the world’s best team, have ended it in something vaguely reminiscent of a poorly directed theatrical farce. The whole of Australia will be desperately hoping that Michael Clarke’s troublesome back recovers within the next 99 days, that his troublesome team reads a few coaching manuals in the same time frame, and that the government’s secret research into the development of an age-reversing serum that it can slather on seven or eight of its former world-dominating stars bears fruit.India is basking in the afterglow of emerging from its era-ending slump, with perhaps a smidgen of concern over how quickly its bright new dawn might be clouded over in South Africa later in the year, and a tinge of regret that they needlessly delayed their obviously-needed process of regeneration until after they had caved in against England in two disastrously low-octane performances in Mumbai and Kolkata.South Africa themselves have spent the last few days having the ICC Test mace analysed by scientists to discover why it seems to possess the supernatural power to magically transform turn a good team into a thoroughly average one. Thus far, they have succeeded only in turning Morne Morkel into a zebra, and Dale Steyn into Sreesanth, although thankfully that metamorphosis was temporary, and lasted long enough only for the world’s leading paceman to put on a headband and throw some excitable shapes on a dance floor. The Proteas may also be wondering why it took them so long (a) to pick Vernon Philander, (b) to fulfil their potential after years of underachievement, and (c) to realise that (a) and (b) might be linked.Sri Lanka have been largely unimpressive with the now-35-year-olds Rangana Herath and Kumar Sangakkara in the team. Without them, they would have been sub-dismal.Since Tino Best produced the most unexpected innings of 95 in the history of cricket – possibly the most unexpected innings of over 70 in the history of cricket – West Indies have won six out of six (for the first time since 1988). That is as many Tests as they had won in their previous 73 matches over eight years. New dawn, or inevitable result of playing the three teams ranked below them? Or a bit of both?New Zealand, amidst concern for the hospitalised Jesse Ryder, are assessing the fall-out from a turbulent season on and off the field, in which creditable drawn series bookended an absolute and merciless cauterisation in South Africa.Pakistan are contemplating how difficult it is to win Test matches without (a) playing regular Test matches, (b) a batting line-up, and (c) England in the opposition dressing room.Bangladesh have made distinct progress in batting, but have, at best, stagnated with the ball. Zimbabwe are playing again.And England? A curious melange of excellence, adequacy and ineptitude, a curious cocktail of rugged determination and inexplicable fragility. They have been brilliant and decisive at times, shoddy and hesitant at others.The batsmen, having enjoyed an extraordinary collective purple patch, then endured an equally extraordinary collective funk in the UAE at the start of last year. Since when, through last summer and this winter, they have been, with the exception of Matt Prior throughout and Alastair Cook in India, mostly inconsistent.The bowling unit on which their previous successes were built had shuddered to a halt at The Oval against South Africa. It has since spluttered inconsistently. From the start of the Pakistan series of 2010, when the bowling unit clicked into a higher gear, until the end of the West Indies series last summer, England picked eight different frontline bowlers. All of them, from Graham Onions in his solitary Test in that time, to Graeme Swann, who played all 24, averaged under 30. Collectively, with the ball, England averaged 26 runs per wicket, and took a wicket every 55 balls.

Pakistan are contemplating how difficult it is to win Test matches without (a) playing regular Test matches, (b) a batting line-up, and (c) England in the opposition dressing room

Since then, the six bowlers England have used in their last three series have all individually averaged over 33, and collectively, they have averaged 40, with a strike rate of 80. Tino Best seems to have transformed more than one team’s fortunes. Before his eye-popping, precedent-obliterating innings, England as a team had taken their opponents’ wickets for less than 30 runs apiece in 19 of their previous 23 Tests. In ten Tests since then, they have done so only in their two wins in India.England should still win one, and probably both, of their impending Ashes contests. Australia’s weaknesses look more pronounced. However, after only two series wins in six, and with no opportunity to avenge their conclusive defeats by Pakistan and South Africa until the 2015-16 season, England’s opportunity to establish themselves as a great Test side has probably passed them by.● Cook’s decision to put New Zealand in to bat certifiably, incontrovertibly and almost disastrously, did not work. This does not mean it was the wrong decision. Even with hindsight, I think it may, in fact, have been the right decision. But it was followed by a rubbishly executed team performance for four days. So it looked wrong. Very, very wrong.There must, similarly, be times when the captain makes the wrong decision at the toss, but his team plays well and wins, so everyone agrees that he made the right decision.Cook’s captaincy is prone to extreme, almost unfathomable, caution in the field. It was visible at times in India, even when England were completely dominant. It was painfully obvious on the fourth morning of the Auckland Test match, when England ran up the tactical white flag and waited for the merciful release of declaration.But Cook’s insertion of New Zealand on day one was a bold move, aimed at maximising England’s chances of winning. It backfired – if this had been a children’s cartoon rather than a Test match, Cook would have been left with gunpowder all over his face, hair on fire, and teeth falling out of his head with a comic twang – but it was strategically sound and statistically sensible.On a pitch that looked likely to remain batsman-friendly for five days, as indeed it did, Cook gave his team the earliest possible opportunity to start the difficult process of taking 20 wickets, with the subsequent options of either trying to force the game forward, or shutting up shop and seeing out a comfortable draw. The fact that they then took only one of those 20 wickets in the first day of the match, and became only the 13th Test side ever to put their opponents in to bat and then see their first two wickets rack up more than 250, does not invalidate the decision. Necessarily.Perhaps England were thinking back to Andy Flower’s first series in charge, when they failed to take the initiative at 1-0 down in the West Indies and needing to force a win on a similarly dull and featureless pitch. Then, England won the toss and, in accordance with convention, chose to bat, thus constricting the time available for taking the 20 wickets they required. They scored 546.West Indies were quite happy to let them score 546. Five of the 15 sessions they would have to survive to secure the series had already gone by the time they went in to bat. One solid team innings on a moribund pitch and they would be almost safe. They replied with 544, and six more sessions had scuttled down England’s drain. England thrashed a quick 237, set West Indies a notional 240 to win in 66 overs, a target that was never going to tempt them, given that they had the lead in the series, and the game ended with West Indies’ ninth-wicket pair clinging on, and England thinking “Oooops.” Cook wanted to avoid a similar scenario, in which his team could be denied a series victory by a lack of time to take the crucial final wickets on a non-deteriorating 21st-century fifth-day pitch. And he did avoid that scenario. By a massive margin. Albeit not quite in the way he was intending to.● Some stats on winning the toss and electing to bowl:Since 1 January 2000, toss-winning Test captains have elected to bat 396 times. Their results: won 142, drawn 96, lost 158. They have chosen to bowl 209 times – won 86, drawn 55, lost 66. In terms of their win-to-loss ratio, captains choosing to bowl first have been 45% more successful than captains choosing to bat (1.30 wins per defeat, to 0.89 wins per defeat).This was the 23rd time England had chosen to bowl first since 2000. They have won 12 and lost only two of those matches. In the 53 Tests in which England have won the toss and batted in that time, they have won 19, drawn 16, and lost 18.

Stats highlights from Zimbabwe’s 335-run win against Bangladesh in Harare

S Rajesh20-Apr-2013Brendan Taylor scored two centuries in the Harare Test; none of Bangladesh’s batsmen managed even a half-century•Associated Press The 335-run margin is Zimbabwe’s biggest Test win in terms of runs. They’ve won ten Tests so far, of which six have been against Bangladesh, and two each against India and Pakistan. Against Bangladesh they have a dominant 6-1 record, and have won five of six Tests at home, including all four in Harare. Given that Harare is also the venue for the second Test, this doesn’t bode well for the visitors. Bangladesh’s margin of defeat is their second-largest, in terms of runs, in Tests – against Sri Lanka in Chittagong, they’d lost by 465. This is their third defeat by 300-plus runs: they’d also lost to England by 329 runs at the same venue in 2003. Bangladesh’s performance was particularly disappointing because they didn’t even put up a semblance of fight, against an opposition they were fancied to beat. None of their batsmen managed even a half-century – the highest was Jahurul Islam’s 43 in the first innings, followed by Mohammad Ashraful’s 40 and 38. The last time they didn’t notch up a single 50-plus score in a Test was in Bloemfontein in 2008, when they were bundled out for 153 and 159 by South Africa, and lost by an innings and 129 runs. In 21 Tests since that game and before this one in Harare, they had at least one score of more than 50. In the first innings, Bangladesh’s last eight batsmen, from No. 4 to No. 11, totalled 18 runs among them, the lowest in Bangladesh’s Test history. In the two Tests in Sri Lanka before this tour, Bangladesh’s batsmen had played more than 180 overs in each match. This time, they lost 20 wickets in 103.3 overs, which works out to an average of a wicket every 31 deliveries. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, lost 17 wickets in 216.3 overs, an average of a wicket every 76 balls. In their first innings, Bangladesh lasted 325 balls, only one more than the number of balls Brendan Taylor played for his 171, while in the second innings Bangladesh didn’t even last that long, getting bundled out in 49.2 overs. In the entire match Bangladesh scored 281 runs, Taylor alone had a match aggregate of 273. The only player who emerged from the thrashing with his reputation enhanced was Robiul Islam, the right-arm seamer. Robiul took six wickets in Zimbabwe’s second innings and finished with a match haul of nine, becoming only the second seamer from Bangladesh, after Shahadat Hossain, to take nine in a match. While Bangladesh had little to cheer, apart from Robiul’s lion-hearted display, Zimbabwe had many heroes. Their bowlers were all among wickets, but the batting star was their captain, Brendan Taylor, with innings of 171 and 102 not out. It was only the 14th instance of a captain scoring hundreds in each innings of a Test, while Taylor became the 12th captain to achieve this feat. (Ricky Ponting did it three times.) Taylor’s match aggregate of 273 is the third-best by a Zimbabwean – only Andy Flower has scored more runs for them in a Test. In his last seven Tests, since 2011, Taylor has averaged 59.50, with four hundreds in 14 innings. In ten Tests before that, he had averaged 21.10, with a highest of 78 in 20 innings.

Daniel Brettig12-Oct-2013Australia’s solitary Test series victory in India since 1969-70 is one of the more humbling statistics in the record of the world’s ‘winningest’ cricket country. The series ledgers alone – 2-0, 0-0, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1, 1-2, 2-0, 4-0 – tell a tale of ignorance, difficulty in adjusting, and lessons often learned too late in a tour, then invariably forgotten in time for the start of the next one. Those results would suggest that there is no more difficult place on earth for an Australian cricket team to prosper, not least in the years after the greats began to retire in 2007.Yet the Antipodean ODI tale on the subcontinent is more about triumph than humiliation. Starting with a 1987 World Cup victory that marked the official start of Australian cricket’s regeneration under Allan Border and Bob Simpson, the 50-over format has brought something near to consistently strong results in India. Since 1998, when regular international series contact between the two countries was resumed after a mid-1990s freeze-out phase, Australian teams have emerged triumphant in five out of the six limited-overs series contested there, whether they be triangular tournaments as in 1998 and 2003, or bilateral visits on other occasions.They also won the 2006 Champions Trophy and reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup. In 2009, Ricky Ponting’s team managed to claw to a 4-2 victory despite having a full XI first-choice players absent injured.These series victories have come in a range of circumstances, whether after a Test series or standing alone. The only time Australia have not won a limited-overs contest against India in recent times is 2010, when the one match of three not to be washed out resulted in a home victory at Vizag after a high-scoring chase. But otherwise, the tourists have found themselves excelling away from home at a vast assortment of venues, from Bangalore in the south and Mumbai on the west coast, to Mohali in the north and even Guwahati on the distant eastern fringes. A multitude of factors can be pointed to by way of explanation, but here are a few of the most salient.A history of successConfidence in the knowledge that those before you have achieved great things in India has helped Australia’s ODI teams ever since Border lifted the Reliance Cup aloft at Eden Gardens 26 years ago. The doubts, phobias and conspiracy theories that cloud the mind of an Australian Test cricketer on the subcontinent tend to fall away for one-day matches, while the roars of Indian crowds feel less claustrophobic and distracting for the knowledge that they have not stopped the visitors before. Individuals, too, have benefited from strong records there. Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have all fared better in ODIs than Tests, while the likes of the tweakers Nathan Hauritz and Brad Hogg have held their own in coloured clothing despite being swatted away in the five-day game.More familiar pitchesAustralia’s stand-in captain, George Bailey, believed this to be one of the most critical factors in the team’s greater level of comfort relative to Tests. Where five-day wickets are commonly worn, spitting and spinning, Indian groundsmen prepare their most even-tempered surfaces for limited-overs contests, sometimes allowing grass to hold them together and so granting fast bowlers a little more assistance. Add this to the swing that can be occasionally generated in early starts and the picture becomes far more familiar to Australian players. Damien Fleming, Nathan Bracken, Doug Bollinger and Johnson all profited from early morning seam and swing at various times, while Shaun Marsh, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Ponting and Watson have played freely without worrying too much about the ground beneath their feet.Less reliance on spinAnother notable quality to Indian ODI surfaces is the fact that they seldom require the selection of a team brimful with quality spinners. Australia’s preferred reliance on fast men with the odd slow bowler for variety has worked effectively, with Shane Warne, Hauritz and Hogg playing fair supporting roles. It is arguable the ability of the pacemen to make headway in 50-over matches on the subcontinent has at times lulled the national selectors into thinking that the same might occur in Test matches, but the differences in pitch preparation have generally conspired against the success of such a tactic.A lower keyIt cannot help a team to view anywhere as the final frontier, even if the 2004 tourists managed to accomplish a Test series win while embracing the idea of India as their last mountain. The pressure Australian Test players feel in India, both in the middle of the ground and from the edges, has inhibited their performances at times, timid strokes and indifferent bowling spells reflecting the sense that the world is closing in around them. By contrast, that feeling tends to be on the other side during ODI series. No nation loves the one-day game more than India, and the expectations upon the home team for ODI tournaments that mean little in the wider scheme have allowed an unfancied Australia to sneak up on them more than once. The 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Ahmedabad is a notable exception.Ricky Ponting’s captaincyThree ODI series in India for three victories is one of many garlands Ponting gained over a storied career, though as he has noted it will be one of many obscured by the loss of three Ashes series. Nonetheless, his calm leadership, sparkling but sturdy batting and peerless example in the field contributed greatly to a legacy of limited-overs confidence on Indian shores. In this, Ponting shares something in common with Border. Both men provided a solid core around which transitional teams swirled and bubbled, while they showcased a greater tactical alacrity in 50-over matches that occasionally eluded them in Tests. His binding together of the injury-strewn 2009 tour party was something few on the tour will forget. Before departing, Bailey consulted Ponting about how best to tackle the current series. There was no better man to ask.

Plays of the Day from the 1st Twenty20 between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Chittagong

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong12-Feb-2014The sunglasses
Kumar Sangakkara timed a short Shakib Al Hasan delivery towards midwicket, perhaps hoping to pick up a couple if not a boundary. But as Nasir Hossain hared towards the long-on and midwicket curve, the speed of the pick-up shot was evident. By the time Nasir had taken the catch, the ball was slightly past him. But the most telling piece was when Nasir’s sunglasses first bumped up on his forehead, and then fell right into place on the impact of his fall.The gymnast
Kusal Perara was starting to settle down after crossing fifty, but Anamul Haque’s gymnastic landing brought an end to his innings. He stood at deep midwicket and just as the ball was going to sail over his head, he caught the ball, turned and twisted, and made sure he balanced himself awkwardly at first, and then like a balance beam gymnast, on one leg.The smack
Shamsur Rahman had just smacked Ajantha Mendis to the left of mid-off but the batsman suddenly crumpled to the ground. In his follow through, the bat had swung back and struck him in the back of his head. The physio came out, and there was no joy of playing such a class shot.The sight
Tamim Iqbal was on fire when his innings was cut short by an excellent running catch, perhaps the best technical catch of the day compared to Nasir and Anamul’s pyrotechnics. As Tamim miscued the ball, Angelo Mathews ran back from midwicket, dived full length and completed the catch perfectly. The best part of the catch was his eye level, which never wavered despite the difficulty in turning back and finding the ball in the right trajectory.The full toss
Thisara Perera had almost lost the match for Sri Lanka when Anamul Haque went after him with 11 needed off the last three balls. He bowled a full toss, when Bangladesh needed three off the last ball, which should have been deposited in the stands, but it was top-edged, and went up to be taken easily. Sri Lanka got another scare when the umpires checked for no ball, which it was not going to be since Perera bowled it from inside the crease, and it was not too high either as it was the perfect length to hammer out of the ground.

The heat, the frenzy, and the broken chairs – all made you feel like you had gone back in time

Nandakumar Ganesh28-Apr-2014Choice of game
The temperature was rising towards 40 degrees, the humidity was 78%, and the traffic was literally stop-and-go. The parking area was strewn with dirt and throngs of people were huddled outside the rusty iron gate. But when I entered the ground, a whiff of nostalgia hit me as I remembered some of the greatest matches played here in this veteran host of ODIs. Welcome to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium for the battle between the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.Team supported
Chennai have hit a purple patch and there is no stopping them. The opening stand between Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith had already devastated three very renowned bowling attacks of Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, so Chennai entered the game as clear favourites.Key performer
A much-improved cricketer now, Smith played with gusto and common sense, giving the utmost respect to Dale Steyn’s bullets and whacking Amit Mishra’s over-pitched deliveries. He made never looked troubled for runs. The ferocity with which he hit the straight fours showed how he had picked up some of McCullum’s batting traits.Shots of the day
Hyderabad’s run-scoring was flagging after Aaron Finch was dismissed. Karn Sharma, an underrated batsman, rose to the occasion and dispatched a Ben Hilfenhaus short ball into orbit. The ball disappeared behind the canopy-shaped tents of the west stand, possibly landing in the traffic outside. The next delivery was pitched on outside off: Sharma used a high back-lift and shaped a wonderful six over deep extra cover.In Chennai’s innings, Smith straight-batted a six over Ishant Sharma’s head and followed through the picturesque shot with a stylish pose, something for the photographers.Crowd meter
Despite Sunday being a working day here in the UAE, spectators flocked in thousands; some even grouping up outside the stadium to watch from the big screens. In contrast to the one-odd Australian, South African or a West Indian in the Dubai Cricket Stadium, Sharjah was inundated with Indians. The seating also had ’90s feel to it – some of the chairs coming off their hinges, the north stand seats sporting no backrests, and the stairs being used as seats in some areas. But the fans were undeterred by all these inconveniences. They had come to get their fill of high-octane T20 action. And they did.Entertainment
The localisation of sound was not all that impressive in Sharjah, as it was in Dubai. The light show made up for this deficit though. Lasers from the east stand reached every nook and corner of the stadium and spot-lit the cheerleaders sporadically, when the chance came.Darren Sammy provided comic relief when he copied a couple of jigs from the cheerleaders while manning the boundary, sending the nearby spectators roaring with laughter.Marks out of ten
6.

A plethora of “experts” who have spent the last few weeks repeating the myth that Moeen is a “part-time” spin bowler may now afford him a little more respect

George Dobell at Headingley22-Jun-2014Two wickets to the good and with his confidence soaring, Moeen delivered the first “doosra” of his international career. Not just the first doosra of his career, but the first bowled by an England bowler in Tests. It was a significant moment in English cricket history.It was not hard to pick from the hand – it is slower and more floaty than his normal offbreak – but it drew a respectful “well bowled” from Mahela Jayawardene and it may well have given him the confidence to bowl it more often. Most of those who believe the delivery cannot be bowled without throwing did not even notice it happen.”I was feeling pretty confident so I thought ‘why not bowl one’?” Moeen said afterwards. “It’s the first one I’ve bowled. I just wanted to do a job for the team first. I’m not as confident to bowl it with the red ball as I am with the white ball. He played it quite well, but he did sort of say it was alright.”He is improving, too. He has a close relationship with Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has returned to Worcestershire for a stint as an overseas player, and has spent many hours working with him in the nets. Ajmal has shared the secrets of his doosra with Moeen and, he says, nobody else. In recent weeks, Ajmal has watched Moeen bowl 30 or 40 doosras in succession in practice. While there is a long way to go before Moeen’s doosra is anything like Ajmal’s, it is worth remembering that Ajmal only learned the delivery in his mid-to-late 20s. Moeen, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Wednesday, has time on his side.The knives were out for Moeen Ali long before he bowled on Sunday afternoon. “He’s useless,” the pundit in the press box roared when Alastair Cook finally threw Moeen the ball. “He can’t bat and he certainly can’t bowl.”The pundit’s opinion is, up to a point, understandable. Having heard the England coach, Peter Moores, describe the spin position as “a weakness” after the Lord’s Test and having heard the captain, Cook, describe the spin position as “a cause for concern,” it would seem natural to conclude that neither of them had much faith in Moeen’s spin bowling.It was a view that could only have been reinforced when Cook, despite the dry pitch and an off-colour display from his seamers, seemed reluctant to trust his spinner until the 56th over. It was beginning to be hard to understand why they had selected him.And it was a view that could have only been reinforced by the plethora of “experts” who have spent the last few weeks repeating the myth that Moeen is a “part-time” spin bowler. Experts who have clearly not spent much time at New Road watching Moeen fulfil the main spinner’s role for Worcestershire for much of the last few years.Perhaps he will now be afforded a little more respect. While he is a long way from proving his long-term viability as a Test spinner, Moeen did at least show on the third day here that he is far from the bits and pieces player that he has been dismissed as by some.Swann to coach England spinners

Graeme Swann, who retired from international cricket in December after claiming 255 wickets in 60 Tests, is to take on a part-time role working with England’s young spinners.
“Peter Such is the head of the spin department at the ECB,” Swann told the ECB. “He has asked me to talk to bowlers. So at Lord’s I’ll sit down with the spinners who might be asked along, like Simon Kerrigan, Adam Riley, Scotty Borthwick, just to try and impart some advice or knowledge about Test cricket, because it is different to county cricket. I was lucky to go on a couple of tours and not play so I learned a lot then.”
Swann also defended his decision to retire mid-way through the Ashes tour in the winter, insisting that his elbow injury had given him little option.
“If I could bowl at half of what I thought was acceptable in Test cricket I would have done,” Swann said. “You’re walking out on a million-pound-a-year job – nobody is going to do that on a whim. I don’t think people realise how bad my elbow is. I can’t rotate it so can’t get any spin on the ball. If I bowled now, I’d bowl garbage.”

His first wicket was that of Kumar Sangakkara. That is the Sangakkara who had just become one of only four men in history to score seven successive half-centuries in Test cricket and the Sangakkara with more than 11,000 Test runs to his name.But, having turned a couple sharply enough to demand the batsman’s respect, Moeen drifted one into the left-hander. This one did not turn, or turned very little, and though Sangakkara pushed forward, the dip and drift defeated him and he was struck on the pad and trapped lbw. It could have been Graeme Swann bowling. It was exactly the way Swann tortured so many left-handers.Moeen Ali claimed two important wickets•Getty ImagesBetter was to come. Two balls later, Lahiru Thirimanne pushed forward at another bowled from round the wicket and, having been drawn into playing the ball on middle and leg by the drift, was beaten past the outside edge by one that turned sharply and hit the top of off stump. It was, by any standards, a lovely piece of bowling. “It’s the best ball I’ve bowled on TV,” Moeen said.Moeen has now taken 93 first-class wickets since the start of 2012 at an average of 32.18. They are not extraordinary figures, certainly, but they compare well with most other spinners who have been utilised by England in Test cricket in recent years. James Tredwell, by contrast, has taken 49 (at an average of 45.12), Monty Panesar has claimed 153 (at 30.77 apiece), Gareth Batty has taken 74 (at 30.60), Scott Borthwick has taken 71 (at 36.11), Simon Kerrigan 140 (at 29.31) and Samit Patel has taken 63 at 47.09. Adil Rashid, who has not played Test cricket, has taken 60 (at 41.58). Whether Moeen is a Test class spinner remains to be seen, but on those figures, he has a good argument to be considered among the best available to England at present. Calling Moeen a part-timer spinner is simply factually inaccurate.If England are demanding instant success, he may not be the answer. If they are building for the future, he may well be worth some perseverance.Besides, England’s failings here have not been caused by the absence of a world-class spinner. Instead they have dropped catches – Chris Jordan was the latest to put down a straightforward chance, reprieving Dimuth Karunaratne in the slips on 12 – let a strong position slip when batting – they lost their last seven wickets for only 54 runs having surpassed the Sri Lankan total with eight wickets in hand – and then bowled with unusual lack of control or even sense. The manner that James Anderson and Stuart Broad – bowling far too short and often too wide as well – wasted the new ball at the start of the Sri Lankan second innings may yet cost England this match.Complacency surely cannot have been an issue. A team that has now won any of its last seven Tests and was defeated in the World T20 by Netherlands has no reason for anything of the sort.They should not be complacent about their over-rate, either. After being fined for a slow-rate in the Lord’s Test, England have again failed to bowl the minimum number of overs demanded in a day here.One day the ICC will look at the pitifully small crowds which have now become the norm in Test cricket and act to prevent such self-defeating practices. They will suspend a high-profile captain and focus the minds of the players on the demands of the spectators. But until they do, the punters will continue to be asked to pay ever more for less and continue to drift away from the game.

Plays of the day from the first ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-Aug-2014Saved by the elbow
Kumar Sangakkara had just arrived at the crease when he drove hard at a wide one from Junaid Khan. He connected well, but hit it uppishly, to the right of Fawad Alam at cover. Alam flew horizontally and grabbed the ball with his right hand, but his – and Pakistan’s – joy only lasted the few fractions of a second that elapsed till he landed, the impact of his elbow against the outfield causing the ball to pop out of his grasp.The short-ball barrage
Dinesh Chandimal came into this match with some form behind him, including two centuries during Sri Lanka A’s tour of England. But none of that must have prepared him to deal with the lift and awkward angle of a 7’1″ left-arm seamer on a bouncy, slightly two-paced pitch. Mohammad Irfan kept banging it in short, and kept getting it to rear at Chandimal’s throat. He tried to fend the ball away initially, squirting it down with an uncomfortable roll of his wrists and only occasionally succeeding, before deciding to take Irfan on. Deep backward square leg took a simple catch, and he must have known the top-edged pull was around the corner.Priyanjan’s fancy footwork
When Ashan Priyanjan walked in, with just over three overs remaining, Sri Lanka might have been looking to accelerate to 250. They ended up with considerably more, and a lot of it had to do with Priyanjan unsettling the Pakistan bowlers with his movement in the crease.In the penultimate over of the innings, Priyanjan gave himself room and smacked Wahab Riaz down the ground. Then he moved the other way and lap-swept him to the fine leg boundary. In the last over, he treated Junaid to the same one-two treatment. First he backed away towards the leg side to cream him over cover, and next ball he walked across his stumps and clipped him off his hips for a one-bounce four over the leg side.The boundary-line balancing act
Among the more fascinating aspects of Misbah-ul-Haq’s batting are his sudden forays into expansiveness. It’s almost as if he decides in the middle of a long stretch of blocks and leg-side nurdles to surprise everyone and launch the ball into the crowd. In this way, he’s picked up 71 ODI sixes at a rate better than one every second innings. In the 19th over of Pakistan’s innings, Misbah decided he would hit six number 72, and lofted Rangana Herath down the ground. But Chandimal foiled his plans, running back to the boundary, catching the ball just short of the rope, and throwing it behind him just as he was about to totter over the edge.Sanga’s lightning reactions
In the 23rd over of Pakistan’s chase, Misbah sank down onto his knees to try and sweep Herath. The bowler read his intentions and bowled it a tad shorter than the batsman might have expected. The ball bounced more than Misbah expected, and popped off his glove to the left of Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps. It was travelling quickly, but Sangakkara moved quicker to ghost sideways and trap the ball between his gloves and his midriff.

Stats highlights from the third day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Christchurch

Bishen Jeswant28-Dec-2014Most runs in a calendar year |Create infographics152 Dimuth Karunaratne’s score, the highest by a Sri Lankan batsman when following on. It’s the fifth best by a Sri Lankan opener in Tests outside Asia and Zimbabwe, and the highest in the second innings in these matches.7 The number of Sri Lankan batsmen who have scored hundreds when the team has followed on. Two of the previous six helped draw the game: Sanjeeva Ranatunga’s 100 not out saved the Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 1994, while Mahela Jayawardene’s 119 saved the Test against England at Lord’s in 2006. The only other opener among these seven is Russel Arnold, against England at Old Trafford in 2002.3 The number of Sri Lankan openers with hundreds in New Zealand. The two others are Marvan Atapattu in Napier in 2005, and Asanka Gurusinha in Dunedin in 1995. Both were dismissed for 127.85 Karunaratne’s previous highest Test score, against Australia in Sydney last year.125 Overs that Sri Lanka have played in their second innings, which is already their second best in the 19 matches when they have followed on. Their highest is 199 overs, against England at Lord’s in 2006.2813* Runs scored by Kumar Sangakkara across formats in 2014 (only matches that started in 2014), the second most in a year after the 2833 that Ricky Ponting scored in 2005. Sangakkara needed 28 runs in this Test to go past Ponting’s record, but managed only 1 and 6 in his two innings. Sangakkara has been dismissed in both innings of a Test for 28 runs or fewer only 10 times in his 129 Test career.28 Runs scored by Sangakkara in his last five Test innings against New Zealand. His scores read 5, 0, 16, 6 and 1. In his last five innings against other teams, Sangakkara has scored 395 runs, with scores of 72, 221, 21, 22 and 59.4 Number of Sri Lankan batsman who have followed up a first-innings duck with a second-innings hundred. Apart from Karunaratne, who achieved this in the current Test, Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de Silva and Sangakkara are the other Sri Lankans to do this. In all, ten Sri Lankans have scored a century and a duck in the same Test.4 The number of New Zealand bowlers who have taken 30-plus Test wickets in successive calendar years. Trent Boult has done this in 2013 and 2014. The other New Zealand bowlers to achieve this are Iain O’Brien, Richard Hadlee and Chris Martin.

Stats highlights from the first ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan in Wellington

Shiva Jayaraman31-Jan-2015231.03 Shahid Afridi’s strike-rate in his innings of 67 – the second-highest by a No. 8 batsman in ODIs in innings of 50 or more. Afridi figures in three of the top-five instances in this list.39 Number of times New Zealand have beaten Pakistan in ODIs; they have won more matches only against India and Sri Lanka, whom they have beaten on 41 occasions each.10 Number of times a New Zealand allrounder has hit a fifty and taken three or more wickets in an ODI, including Grant Elliott in this match. The last such instance was when Jacob Oram hit 59 and took 3 for 29 against Zimbabwe in 2012.2004 The last time a Pakistan No. 8 scored higher in an ODI than Afridi in this innings. Before Afridi in this match, Moin Khan had hit 72 against India in Lahore. Afridi’s 67 is the joint fourth-highest score by a Pakistan No. 8 in ODIs and is also the highest score by a Pakistan No. 8 against New Zealand.177.97 Difference between Afridi’s strike-rate and that of other Pakistan batsmen in this innings – the fourth-highest for an innings of fifty-plus runs in ODIs. AB de Villiers’ 44-ball 149 against West Indies leads this list. On that occasion, the difference in strike-rate was 229.29 – the only instance of a batsman out-pacing the other batsmen in his team by 200 percent.38 Fifties by Misbah-ul-Haq in ODIs; he is still to make a hundred and already holds the record for scoring the most ODI fifties without hitting a century.13.33 Pakistan’s average opening stand in their last-six ODIs, all of which have been played against New Zealand. This was Pakistan’s second consecutive instance of losing their first wicket for no score in ODIs.

Stats highlights from the World Cup semi-final between Australia and India in Sydney

Bishen Jeswant26-Mar-20155:00

Insights: Spinners in the World Cup

328 Australia’s score at the SCG today, the first 300-plus total and the most any team has made in a World Cup semi-final. No team has chased a 300-plus score in a World Cup knockout game.95 Australia’s margin of victory in this game, the highest for any team in the semi-final of a World Cup. The previous biggest margin of victory was 91 for India versus Kenya during the 2003 World Cup.3 Number of players who have scored 6000 ODI runs when captaining their respective sides; MS Dhoni (6022) is the third. The other players to achieve this feat are Ricky Ponting (8497) and Stephen Fleming (6295).10 Fifty-plus scores for Steven Smith in ODIs. Australia have won each of the ten ODIs when Smith has gone past this mark. This is Smith’s fourth hundred, but today’s 105 is his career-best score.1 Indian bowler who has taken a four-wicket haul in a World Cup knockout match – Umesh Yadav, who has achieved this twice, in the quarter- final and semi-final of the 2015 tournament.18 Wickets taken by Umesh in this World Cup, the third-highest for any bowler. He went past his team-mate Mohammed Shami, who has taken 17. Mitchell Starc picked up two wickets to retain second spot (20 wickets) while New Zealand’s Trent Boult leads the pack with 21.4 Indian batsmen who have scored 400-plus runs in a single World Cup. Shikhar Dhawan, with 412 runs is the latest and joins Sachin Tendulkar (1996, 2003 and 2011), Saurav Ganguly (2003) and Rahul Dravid (1999).2 Times R Ashwin has dismissed Glenn Maxwell in seven ODI innings. Maxwell has scored 77 runs off 55 balls, a strike rate of 140, against Ashwin. Maxwell has also scored 71 runs off 27 balls, at a strike rate of 262, against Ashwin in the Indian Premier League, where he has been dismissed by Ashwin only once.4 Wickets lost by Australia between the 34th and 44th overs. They only scored 61 runs in this period. Australia scored 197 in the 33 overs before and 70 in the six overs after that phase.