All posts by h716a5.icu

R Ashwin has taken fewer deliveries than any other spinner to take 200 Test wickets. That and more numbers on his landmark

Shiva Jayaraman25-Sep-2016 37 Number of matches R Ashwin has taken to complete 200 wickets in Tests. He is the second-quickest bowler ever to the landmark after Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett who took 36 Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan is the next quickest offspinner to 200 Test wickets, having taken 42 Tests. 9 Number of fewer Tests Ashwin has played to take 200 wickets than the previous quickest India bowler. Harbhajan Singh had taken 46 matches to reach the milestone.

Quickest India bowlers to 200 Test wickets

Bowler MatsR Ashwin 37Harbhajan Singh 46Anil Kumble 47Bhagwath Chandrasekhar 48Kapil Dev 50Bishen Bedi 51Javagal Srinath 54Zaheer Khan 63Ishant Sharma 65 10,291 Deliveries Ashwin has bowled so far in Tests – the least by any spinner at the end of the Test in which he took his 200th wicket. Stuart MacGill had finished with exactly 200 wickets in his 41st Test by the end of which he had sent down 10,511 deliveries – nearly 37 overs more than what Ashwin has bowled. Among India bowlers, Kapil Dev had bowled 11,066 balls – 129 overs more than Ashwin – by the end of the Test in which he took his 200th wicket.

Least deliveries for 200 Test wickets by spinners*

Bowler Team Balls WktsR Ashwin IND 10291 200Stuart MacGill AUS 10511 200Graeme Swann ENG 12259 206Nathan Lyon AUS 12419 204Shane Warne AUS 12470 201*At the end of the Test in which the bowler took 200 wickets 9 Number of India bowlers to take at least 200 wickets in Tests. Ashwin is the fifth spinner among them to the milestone. His average of 25.12 is currently the best among the 19 India bowlers who have taken at least 100 Test wickets. 20.58 Ashwin’s bowling average in Tests in Asia – the second best among the 25 bowlers who have taken at least 100 wickets in Asia. Only Imran Khan’s average of 20.28 is better – marginally – than Ashwin’s. Ashwin has taken 159 wickets at a strike rate of 44.0, which too is the second best for any bowler with at least 100 wickets in Tests in Asia. Only Waqar Younis’s strike rate of 38.20 is better than Ashwin’s. Shane Warne is the next best spinner in terms of strike rate in Asia. He is a distant second with a wicket every 52.6 deliveries. 18.86 Ashwin’s bowling average in Tests since 2015 – the best for any bowler with at least 50 wickets during this period. His strike rate of 38.6 is only marginally lower than Mitchell Starc’s, who, at 38.2, has struck most frequently among bowlers with at least 50 wickets during this period. Ashwin’s strike rate while taking 62 wickets in Tests in 2015 was a staggering 36.4: there are only three other instances – all by fast bowlers – when a bowler has taken at least 50 Test wickets in a calendar year at a better strike rate. 51.40 Ashwin’s strike rate – the best among 32 spinners to take 150 or more wickets in Tests. Among those with at least 100 wickets, only Johnny Briggs and Colin Blythe – who bowled on unprepared pitches around the turn of the 20th century – have struck more frequently.

Barbados is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence. Is this selection of Bajan players from over the years better than most Test teams?

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2016

Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel, who are honoured by the BCCI this week, were so much more than hard-luck stories

V Ramnarayan08-Mar-2017Between Vinoo Mankad and Ravindra Jadeja, India has produced a long line of left-arm spinners who have played Test cricket, but also perhaps an equal number of classy exponents of the craft never to have represented the country.Among the specialist left-arm spinners I have watched or played with and against, the likes of Mumtaz Hussain, Rajinder Singh Hans, Suresh Shastri, B Vijayakrishna, S Vasudevan and Sunil Subramaniam might have fared well internationally had they been selected. Then there were Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar, who with their considerable longevity in domestic cricket and innumerable match-winning exploits were in a different league altogether. They would be certainties in any all-time India XI made up of those who missed out during their playing careers.To begin with, Goel and Shivalkar emerged as talented young bowlers at a time when India had a surfeit of quality spinners at the first-class level. Even before the famous quartet became a part of the team, India often fielded three or four spinners, including allrounders, in the playing XI. Around the time Goel made his first-class debut for Patiala, Subhash Gupte, Ghulam Ahmed, Salim Durani, Vinoo Mankad, Chandu Borde, AG Kripal Singh, VV Kumar and Bapu Nadkarni were doing duty for India. For a long while, both Goel and Shivalkar were even overshadowed in their state and zonal teams by the presence of great Test bowlers of similar specialisation.Between them the two stalwart spinners of contrasting styles but comparable mastery over their art took more than 1300 first-class wickets with miserly economy. Goel yielded just 18.58 runs per wicket and Shivalkar just under 20. Why couldn’t they break into the Indian team despite such sterling figures? Quite simply because the man who kept them out, Bishan Bedi, took 1560 first-class wickets, including his 266 Test victims. He was a class act, widely regarded as the best in the business internationally in his time.Goel gets Gundappa Viswanath in the Duleep Trophy final of 1975•Rajinder GoelIt is often said that Goel and Shivalkar were unlucky to have been born when they were, with the world-class Bedi shutting them out permanently from the Indian dressing room – except once, when Goel got close, warming the reserve bench. There are ardent supporters who dismiss the bad-luck theory with scorn, saying the selectors ought to have played Goel and Shivalkar regardless of the Bedi factor, at least in a stop-gap, horses-for-courses capacity occasionally. Did India not go into Test matches with two offspinners in the playing XI, they argue. Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan both always figured in the Test squad of 14 throughout their careers, if you exclude Prasanna’s largely self-imposed exile between 1962 and 1967, and Venkat’s omission for the 1967-68 tour of Australia and New Zealand.Goel, who debuted in his teens in the late 1950s, was something of a late bloomer, to go by his early performances in the Ranji Trophy. When he moved to Delhi, he and the young Bedi often bowled in tandem, Bedi setting hard-to-match bowling records at first-class level just as he did in Test cricket. Goel was rarely far behind, though, and the two, along with offspinner DS Saxena, ran through most opposition line-ups, especially within the North Zone, which included Services and Railways, both Central Zone teams later.If Bedi’s action was described as poetry in motion, Goel’s bore the economy of movement and precision of a master craftsman at work. He began to express himself uninhibitedly in the 1970s, once he moved from the Delhi Ranji side to Haryana. With 637 Ranji Trophy wickets, and 750 first-class wickets overall, he set a well nigh unattainable goal for any bowler after him. He never led Haryana to the Ranji Trophy title, but did bring them close to the final stages of the tournament on a few occasions.Goel was a menace to opposing batsmen in the Duleep Trophy as well, his 7 for 98 and 5 for 36 in a losing cause against South Zone in the 1975 December final was perhaps his finest display in the tournament. In a match dominated by two century-makers, Brijesh Patel of South Zone and Surinder Amarnath of North, the slow bowlers, captain Venkataraghavan, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and Prasanna, bowled South to a 37-run victory. Sitting in the stands, I enjoyed the rare opportunity of watching Goel’s metronomic accuracy and ability to extract purchase from the wicket with a slightly roundarm style. He was quicker through the air and a delightful contrast to the flight and guile of his fellow left-armer and captain Bedi, who claimed six wickets in the match. Watching Goel demand the utmost respect from batsman after batsman on that sporting Chepauk pitch led you to wonder how devastating he could have been on drying or soft wickets – perhaps as deadly as Derek Underwood if not more so.Shivalkar played in a big match, against international stars, before he broke into the Bombay side•Nitin MajumdarShivalkar’s was an even more poignant story – if we believe that distinguished cricket careers must receive the ultimate stamp of approval of Test-match appearances – considering his fairy-tale beginning in first-class cricket.He found a place in the Cricket Club of India President’s XI in a match at the Brabourne Stadium in March-April 1962 (when he was barely 22) against an International XI led by Richie Benaud on a world tour. The wicket was a batsman’s paradise, the outfield fast as greased lightning, and the visitors’ batting line-up formidable and world-class. The tourists made 518 batting first, but the CCI XI, whose attack included opening bowlers Rajinder Pal and GS Ramchand, as well as spinners Gupte, Sharad Diwadkar, and Shivalkar, the debutant, withstood the onslaught bravely, especially Gupte (4 for 161) and Shivalkar (5 for 129).In the first innings, Australia’s boy wonder Ian Craig put on 208 for the first wicket with Bob Simpson, and Tom Graveney made 95. Shivalkar took the wickets of Craig, Everton Weekes, Raman Subba Row and Benaud. In the second innings he took 2 for 44, bowling Weekes and getting Graveney caught and bowled.Imagine Shivalkar’s frame of mind as he went home after that match. Wouldn’t he have nursed dreams of playing for India after dismissing so many top-class batsmen? Unfortunately he had to wait for many years to break into the Bombay XI even, thanks to the presence in that side of left-arm allrounder Bapu Nadkarni, who continued to serve India well until as late as 1968, along with fellow left-armer Bedi, who was already on the verge of greatness and firmly entrenched in the India XI by then. Shivalkar toured Australia later in 1962 with a CCI side, with some success.Goel was a senior colleague of mine in the State Bank of India team. I had the privilege of sharing the attack with him and legspinner VV Kumar, another fine bowler, in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup. Those were the only games in which I was able to watch Goel’s bowling from close quarters.There was much to learn from his focus and control. He was gentle in his ways, had a soft corner for the underdog, and took a keen interest in the careers of younger cricketers like me. He was one of few players I knew who could look beyond their own fortunes to empathise with others. Other State Bank colleagues and I, and fellow inmates of a conditioning camp at Chepauk, struck up a warm, comfortable friendship, with Goel , as we all called him. I remember he never pulled rank on us, though he was eminently qualified to do so.Shivalkar with Prasanna, another of the top-flight spinners who could have been said to have kept him out of the India side•AFPSome years later I visited him in the Chepauk dressing room when he was representing Haryana in a Ranji Trophy match. He had already broken VV Kumar’s record for most wickets in the tournament, perhaps even gone past 500 – I don’t quite remember. When I asked him if he would retire at the end of the season, he quickly replied in the affirmative.” youngsters help .” When I warned him to beware of S Venkataraghavan, still fit and rapidly closing in on his tally of Ranji Trophy wickets, a new look of determination came into his face. He quickly changed his mind about retirement, and the rest is history.Like Goel, Shivalkar was probably past his best when I first met him on a cricket field, but he was still a potent force with his deceptive flight and loop. The first occasion was a historic Ranji Trophy quarter-final match between Hyderabad and Bombay during the 1975-76 season. Batting first, Bombay were all out for 222 on the first day and we took a first-innings lead of 60-odd runs. Shivalkar sent down a marathon 50 overs for figures of 2 for 77. It was a slow surface and he had apparently lost some of his sting of yore, but he was still a slippery customer, with beautiful flight that left the batsman constantly guessing whether to go forward or back.Bombay captain Ashok Mankad and debutant Rahul Mankad counterattacked adventurously, and they declared the second innings with just over three hours of play left. We were bundled out for 146 and Bombay went on to achieve yet another Ranji win, beating Bengal and Bihar in their next two matches. Though legspinner Rakesh Tandon was the wrecker-in-chief in the last innings, taking six wickets, it was Shivalkar (4 for 39) who wove a web of controlled deceit around Hyderabad’s timid batsmen.A year later I met Paddy again at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla, when he bowled brilliantly on a good batting strip to claim ten wickets in the match as Bombay beat Rest of India by an innings in the Irani Trophy. He was at his skilful best.Goel bloomed when he moved to the Haryana side in the 1970s•Rajinder GoelI remember some other Ranji Trophy matches memorable for Shivalkar’s exploits, though I did not witness them firsthand. The first was a semi-final at the Brabourne Stadium that Bombay won by a big margin against Mysore. Shivalkar’s figures in the match were 8 for 19 and 5 for 31. Mysore’s famed batting line-up, which included GR Viswanath and Brijesh Patel, folded for 90 and 111. He followed up with ten wickets in the final, in which Bombay beat Bengal by another big margin.In yet another famous final, the very next season, Paddy had the incredible figures of 8 for 16 and 5 for 18, as Tamil Nadu crashed to defeat in two days and one ball, after their spinners, Venkat and VV Kumar, bundled Bombay out for 151 on the opening day on a wicket tailormade for them. The story of this match tends to be retold every time the act of underpreparing wickets backfires on the host team, as in the recent India-Australia Pune Test match.Goel is a tiny man, while Shivalkar is taller, Both are wiry and weighed next to nothing during their playing careers. Goel’s brisk walk to his delivery stride, his streamlined finish facilitated by his boyish frame and excellent use of the crease, tended to produce a tantalising drift towards the leg stump, after which the ball would land just short of the batsman’s reach – and spit fire on helpful surfaces. Shivalkar had a straighter, more leisurely run-up to the wicket, and a classic high-arm action. Quite possibly the best attribute of their cricket was their utter dependability. With them in the side, their captains only had to worry about their supporting bowlers.Both were tireless, with their smooth actions demanding the minimum of effort – or so it seemed. Yet it was their unstinting work in the nets that made their seeming effortlessness in match situations possible.If a comparison must be made between them, it must be to state that there was hardly anything to differentiate them, except the possibility that with his flight and subtle variations, Shivalkar posed a more attractive proposition on good wickets, with Goel perhaps more destructive on crumbling surfaces. Those who know of his parallel career on stage will, of course, tell you that Shivalkar is the better singer of the two.

Double-strikes, double-drops, and triple-strikes feature in the plays of the day from the second T20I between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the Khettarama

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo06-Apr-2017The slower-ball salvo
Lasith Malinga is the only bowler to have claimed three ODI hat-tricks. So, perhaps, it is only fitting he should have one in the format for which he is most famed. It has been a while since he was at his fastest, or his fittest, but what he lacked for firepower, he made up for in wiles. Mushfiqur Rahim was first to be dismissed – bowled by an offcutter that evaded his slog sweep and shaved off stump. Mashrafe Mortaza was also bowled by a delivery that dived on him. Having watched Malinga bowl four slower balls in succession now, debutant Mehedi Hasan perhaps expected the quick one, but was done in by another slow dipper – the ball hitting him on the pads in front of the stumps. When the umpire raised his finger, Khettarama broke into raptures.The fumble
Mashrafe had largely had an unremarkable final match and in the 14th over missed the chance to shut the door on a struggling Sri Lanka. Chamara Kapugedara had hit the ball to fine leg, taken the first run quickly and was halfway down the pitch for the second, when Seekkuge Prasanna sent him back. Mushfiqur collected the return throw and attempted to relay the ball to Mashrafe at the non-striker’s end, but though Mashrafe was in position, and the throw came in adjacent to the stumps, Mashrafe leaned over the wickets and attempted to take the ball in front of the stumps and fumbled it. Kapugedara was allowed to live on – if only for a few more overs.The first-up double-strike
Mustafizur Rahman has turned many a match for Bangladesh in the past two years, and he bowled a definitive over again in this match, claiming two wickets off his first two balls off the evening. The first one was angled across Asela Gunaratne, and though the batsman struck the ball well, he hit it straight to the cover fielder, at throat height. The next ball was slightly overpitched again, but this time to left-hander Milinda Siriwardana. He ventured a square drive, but picked out point.The double-drop
Having largely fielded well in the last two matches, the drops returned to Sri Lanka’s cricket on Thursday. Both of these chances were tough, but they would be telling. Shakib Al Hasan was on four off five balls when he slammed Seekkuge Prasanna towards deep square leg, only for Vikum Sanjaya to fail to hold on to a difficult running catch. Two balls later, he top-edged another one towards deep midwicket, which the advancing Dilshan Munaweera failed to cling to. Shakib would go on to top-score for Bangladesh with 38 off 31 balls.

By the time his battling 186-ball innings ended, Dawid Malan barely had enough energy left this time to admonish a failure

Alan Gardner at Headingley28-Aug-2017Dawid Malan played an innings that will help England win the Headingley Test match; Dawid Malan played an innings that will hasten the end of his Test career. Like a batting Mobius strip, these are two opposing statements that join in the middle to form some sort of truth.Malan came into England’s Test side almost by stealth, a batting replacement for a spinner, Liam Dawson. A free-flowing left-hander who caught Trevor Bayliss’ eye with 78 off 44 and the Man of the Match award on T20 debut in June, Malan looks like a man picked to fit in with England’s go-faster-stripes middle order – but that is not how he has played. After scores of 1, 10, 18 and 6, he hit a maiden Test fifty at Edgbaston last week, though it is not enough to quieten the chatter around England’s inexperienced top five.In the first innings of this match, with England in early trouble, Malan’s contribution was another tentative single-figure score that ended when he was bowled off an inside edge. Self-abnegation is not his style but Malan seems intent on taking that route, tightening the cilice beneath his thigh pad and wondering if he should apply to join Opus Dei.Test match batting is often about denying your instincts, packing away a shot here, resisting the bait there. But Malan’s movements at the crease have become so tight and restricted that he almost seems to be batting inside a cardboard box.His first scoring shot of the day is a compact punch down the ground off Shannon Gabriel and he eats dirt when risking a single to mid-off to the same bowler. In the same over, he nearly falls when flicking just above the leap of square leg. West Indies are circling England warily but suddenly they extract Joe Root. Malan’s burden seems to about to become unbearable.When Malan cover drives, the bat swishes out and up in an anti-clockwise arc, like the windscreen wiper on a bus. He doesn’t play that shot too often here but it should have been responsible for his downfall. The introduction of Jason Holder, West Indies’ least-threatening quick, is met by an almost Pavlovian reflex to finally try and assert himself but, having already been beaten driving at a full ball aimed into the rough outside off stump, he then nicks off.It is not a particularly surprising mode of dismissal, similar to his flash at Morne Morkel at Old Trafford (though Holder is bowling round the wicket rather than over) and familiar to anyone who has watched much of Malan in county cricket. Familiar to anyone who has ever watched a left-hander flirt injudiciously outside off, in fact.The edge flies straight and true to first slip and you can picture the windscreen wiper coming back down, this time in the form of an angry flick at the ground. England had lost Root in the previous over – though Shai Hope again juggled West Indies’ destiny in his hands – and Malan is the set batsman in a new partnership, England only 43 runs ahead. He might have been out on the previous evening, if only West Indies had reviewed, but this one has an air of finality about it; like Tom Westley, Malan may have just iced himself.The fates are about to intervene once more, however, in the form of West Indies’ Achilles hands. Tom Emmett, the Yorkshire left-armer of the 19th century, used to say: “It’s an epidemic, but it’s not catching.” Nevertheless, those watching at Headingley the past four days ought to be wary of standing too close.Malan’s outside edge is still heading to first slip but here comes the superhero intervention. Unfortunately for West Indies, it comes in the form of their wicketkeeper, Shane Dowrich, who soars across into Kieran Powell’s eyeline and then withdraws his gloves with almost exaggeratedly comic timing. Powell has been stuffed, though a man who hadn’t already missed a sitter in the first innings might have found the muscle memory to cling on. Malan’s bat swipe does not materialise; he is beaten again next ball but the mental retrenching has begun.Holder settles into a spell that is tighter than Scrooge McDuck’s wallet, bowling three of his four maidens to Malan and conceding just six runs in as many overs. Time stretches out as West Indies decline to take the second new ball and Malan inches his way to the interval. Since the drop, he has added nine runs from 51 deliveries.After lunch, an inside edge squeezed through his legs takes him to fifty for the second time in Tests. He looks drained, a little relieved; but there is more work still to do. With Ben Stokes now intent on taking the game away at the other end, Malan finds his timing to stroke fours off Kemar Roach and Gabriel. At Edgbaston, Malan talked about his ritual of tapping his partner’s bat in between overs – Alastair Cook in that instance – and Stokes seems just as happy to indulge. Their partnership is approaching 100 and England are seizing control. Malan begins to breathe a little easier, though still nothing comes easily.One ball after the drinks break, Stokes picks out long-off. Malan is then cleaned up by the 186th delivery of an innings that he has spent more than four hours mining from the core of his being. He slumps on his bat, barely enough energy left this time to admonish a failure to get forward. England are 143 ahead – exactly 100 on from Malan’s reprieve. Their future is still uncertain. And so is Malan’s.

South Africa pull one back finally, and our correspondent is there to watch – while practising a bit of yoga on the side

Firdose Moonda19-Jul-2017July 2
What should be a straightforward short commute from London to Leicester turns into a three-hour trip via Bedford because they are working on the train lines and there is a replacement bus to take us most of the journey. It means I arrive late in Leicester. So late that I miss seeing South Africa bowl West Indies out for 48 and arrive in time to watch them knock off the runs inside seven overs. It’s not really a day to talk to a batsman but I take the chance to interview Laura Wolvaardt, the young opener in her final year of school, who is deciding between a career in cricket and a medical degree. That she even has that choice is a victory for the women’s game.July 3
Back to the men in London, where Russell Domingo has returned to the team camp and confirms he has reapplied for the coach job. The team are in good spirits and many of them have their families with them. Faf du Plessis is at home with his and news comes through that mother and baby are doing well. After interviews, I walk through (you guessed it) Hyde Park, where Morne Morkel, his wife Roz and son Ari are enjoying an evening picnic. Ari has a bat and ball with him and is keen to face some fast bowling, but because his dad is managing his workload, I take the ball. After a loosener, I find my length and with my second delivery, I beat the bat to dismiss an international cricketer’s son. He has not yet turned two, but I’m claiming it.July 4
The trip just keeps getting better for me because today I get a raise. In the form of a plastic step. After almost a decade working in cricket, I will finally be tall enough to see eye to eye with my interviewees, and taller than some of my colleagues.I take a walking tour of London in the evening, exploring the history of European immigration in Soho. The French were particularly prevalent in the area and Charles de Gaulle formed the Free French Front at a pub on Dean Street. They were also waves of Dutch, Hungarian and German residents – including Karl Marx.Is that fair play in a height contest?•Firdose Moonda/ESPNcricinfoJuly 5
Dean Elgar becomes the 12th South African since readmission to deliver a captain’s pre-match press conference and he is awfully nervous about the whole thing. Far from the bullish opener we have come to know over the last five or so years, Elgar is softer-spoken today. His father, one of his high-school teachers, and his best friend will all be in attendance at the match: all of them had promised him they would make a special effort to get to Lord’s if he ever played a Test there, so this is as big an occasion for them as it is for him. He doesn’t reveal too much else, except that he probably won’t bowl himself.July 6
And at first it seems he may not need to. South Africa enjoy a good morning session even though they drop two catches. Elgar seems to have things under control – until Joe Root takes it away from him. I have the chance to chat to Vince van der Bijl about a charity project he has involved the MCC in, in Masiphumelele, a township outside Cape Town. Van der Bijl is passionate about doing good and contributing to making a meaningful change to South Africa, especially as a member of the privileged class.July 7
England get far ahead of South Africa. Temba Bavuma and Theunis de Bruyn are given a chance to bowl, neither with any success. And then the new opening pair also fail. South Africa knew it would be tough, but this tough… perhaps not.July 8
The final Test in the series between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions, who are locked at one-all, is being played this morning. I saw pubs packed early in the morning for the previous two, and I decide to try and get to one for the third match. The one I try, closest to my guesthouse and the tube station, is so full, I can’t even squeeze in, so I go to Lord’s instead. I join a throng of people huddled around a small screen in one of the shops. We see a Lions penalty that makes it 15-all and that’s the way it stays. “What happens now?” one bewildered fan asks. “Does it just stay a draw?” I tell him it does. “What an anti-climax.” I agree. See, it’s not just cricket where things happen for days only for there not to be a winner.Soho: a magnet for European immigration over the decades•Firdose Moonda/ESPNcricinfoJuly 9
At Lord’s, there will definitely be a winner. England make a mess of South Africa as returning captain du Plessis looks on. He joins Elgar for the post-match press conference and Elgar jokingly returns an imaginary armband to him.In more sombre news, Domingo has had to leave the tour again. His mother, who had recovered from a car accident she was in two weeks ago, enough to be discharged from hospital before the first Test, has suffered a setback, been put on life support, and passes away later that night. Suddenly the South African camp really is about life and death. Just a week ago, du Plessis welcomed a daughter into the world; now Domingo will bury his mother.July 10
What should have been the fifth day is now a day spent analysing the defeat. I decide to do my work at the Monocle Café in Chiltern Street, a creative hub I really enjoy. Back home, I am an avid listener to Monocle Radio and in this café, they even play it in the toilet. In the evening, there’s time for a stroll through Marylebone, which is a good way to say goodbye to London for now.July 11
Nottingham is a new stop for me and I am excited to head there. was the first play I performed in when I was at school. I was in second grade and I don’t remember my character, but I’m fairly sure it wasn’t Maid Marian. I’ve been told this is a city of students but also a good way to experience some old England, and my first look around does not disappoint. Cobbled streets and gorgeous churches greet me. So does the rain.Soaking in some of old England in Nottingham•Firdose Moonda/ESPNcricinfoJuly 12
Gunn & Moore have invited Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Duanne Olivier, Aiden Markram and some media to their factory to see how bats are made. It’s a fascinating and intricate process that involves pressing the blade and shaping it to individual preferences. Some of the staff at the factory have worked there for decades – one, Kevin Stimpson, for 43 years – and are well versed in what several international players want. Olivier meanders along somewhat aimlessly and admits he doesn’t have all that much use for bats, while Markram muses about when he might go home. I suspect it will be fairly soon, but it will also not be long before he plays Test cricket.July 13
“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the world but I was in the top one,” Brain Clough, the former Nottingham Forest coach once said. His was a story of triumph over adversity, much like South Africa’s will have to be if they are to square the series. A statue of Clough looms over the city’s main square, about a mile from the Trent River.July 14
On a cloudy morning, at a venue where England bowled Australia out for 60 in a Test, du Plessis chooses to bat first. At best, it seems brave. South Africa were skittled for 119 the last time they faced this attack, remember? But moving de Kock to No. 4 works a charm and South Africa are much more convincing. I sense the makings of an epic comeback.July 15
Qamar Ahmed, who will turn 80 later this year and is covering his 427th Test, has invited a bunch of us to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to be the oldest inn in England. It opened its doors in 1178. Qamar assures us he was not there on opening night, but regales us with tales of India in the 1940s, London in the 1970s, and everything in between. I’ve seen a lot of Qamar on the road and I always enjoy spending time with him. He promises to take me to Curry Mile in Manchester and I’m going to hold him to it.Brian Clough – an inspiration for the touring South Africans?•Firdose Moonda/ESPNcricinfoJuly 16
I have picked up a second yoga student. The ‘s Jonathan Liew joins my morning class before play, which has now evolved into a full 45-minute session. I put the boys through sun salutations, lunges, and some basic back bends. I try to keep it slow and gentle, much like South Africa’s batting. Hashim Amla and Elgar tick over and South Africa build a big lead, big enough to stick England in just before the close.July 17
A third yogi joins the group. This time, it’s Nick Hoult. Like me, he is a runner, so we have a lot of the same aches and pains – but not as many as England. Far from putting up the fight South Africa are expecting, England collapse. South Africa dedicate the win to Domingo, who should be back in a week’s time, ahead of the third Test. The squad will have a few days off but I will go to Bristol, where the South African women’s team are playing England in the semi-final. By the time I see the men again, du Plessis hopes he can pick up a few tips on how to win knockout matches from Dane van Niekerk, and there will be a decision on the coaching position. There are some big things happening for South African cricket in the next three weeks.

All the statistical peaks Pakistan scaled and the statistical troughs Sri Lanka plumbed during the fifth ODI in Sharjah

Bharath Seervi23-Oct-2017Playing just his second ODI, Usman Khan destroyed Sri Lanka’s top-order, striking four times in 11 balls and then completing a five-for off his 21st delivery. Since 2001, only two bowlers have completed a five-wicket haul in fewer balls. Chaminda Vaas did it in 16 balls against Bangladesh in Pietermeritzburg in the 2003 World Cup, which included a hat-trick from the first three balls of the innings, and Netherlands’ Timm van der Gugten completed a five-for in 20 balls against Canada in 2013. Usman is only the second Pakistan bowler after Bilal Asif to take a five-wicket haul in his first two ODIs. Bilal also did it in his second match, in 2015.All downhill after winning the tossSri Lanka, trailing 4-0, chose to bat first after they called right at the toss. That turned out to be the only good thing to happen to them all day. They lost two wickets in their first over, two in their third and were four down with only eight runs on the board. Only once have they lost their fourth wicket at a lower score. Three of their top five batsmen were out for ducks – Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella, and this was only their third such instance in ODIs.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe visitors couldn’t really recover from that nightmarish start and were eventually all out for 103, in 26.2 overs. It was their shortest innings, and second-lowest score, after choosing to bat first. It was also the fewest overs Pakistan have taken to dismiss their opposition after losing the toss and having to bowl first.Sri Lanka’s innings was the ninth-shortest for any team after electing to bat first.Third 5-0 whitewash in 2017, 12th successive defeat
Sri Lanka’s wretched year in ODIs has turned worse with every match of this series. They have suffered their third whitewash in five bilateral series this year – against South Africa, India and Pakistan. Before this, no team had ever been whitewashed more than twice in a year in bilateral series of five or more games. Incidentally, from 1982 to 2016, they had been whitewashed only once in a five-match series, by India in 2014.Sri Lanka have a 4-21 win-loss record in ODIs this year, one of the worst years for any team. This tour of the UAE has been a rare case of one team sweeping the Test series and the other sweeping the ODI series. England’s 2011-12 tour of the UAE was similar – they lost the Tests 3-0 and won the ODIs 4-0.Sri Lanka are now on a streak of 12 consecutive losses and are only two short of their longest losing run. They had lost 14 in a row between 1987 and 1988. Incidentally, none of the eight oldest full-member teams have suffered more than 11 losses in a row. England and West Indies have lost 11 in a row.

Most consecutive defeats in ODIs, by eight oldest full-member teams

Matches Team From To14 Sri Lanka Jan 1987 Jan 198812* Sri Lanka Jul 2017 Oct 201711 England Oct 2000 Jun 200111 West Indies Feb 2005 Aug 2005Pakistan extended their winning streak to nine games and are three short of their longest victory streak of 12 games between 2007 and 2008. This was the sixth time Pakistan had swept a five-match series, the joint-most instances along with India. Pakistan have whitewashed Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and New Zealand in the past and they last did so in 2008, against Bangladesh. Dream year for Pakistan’s quicksPakistan’s fast bowlers have been sensational in 2017. Statistically, this year has been the best ever for Pakistan’s fast bowlers in terms of strike rate. They have picked up a wicket once every 28.6 balls, which is their best in any year. Overall this strike rate is the third-best for any team that has played 10 or more ODIs in a year. South Africa’s quicks struck once every 27.2 balls in 2011, and Australia’s once every 27.6 balls in 2015. Pakistan’s previous best year in this case was 2008, when their fast bowlers had a strike rate of 29.

Best bowling strike rate by fast bowlers for teams in a year (Min. 10 ODIs)

Team Year Mats Wkts Ave SRSouth Africa 2011 15 78 20.23 27.20Australia 2015 19 136 23.28 27.60Pakistan 2017 18 98 25.61 28.60Pakistan 2008 21 110 24.37 29.00Australia 2010 25 167 23.42 29.50Except Wahab Riaz, none of the six other Pakistan fast bowlers have averaged more than 32 this year. Hasan Ali has been the standout with 45 wickets at an average of just 17.04.Pakistan have no more ODIs scheduled for this year. They will now look back fondly on a memorable year in ODIs, which has brought them a Champions Trophy victory and a whitewash of Sri Lanka, and seen the rise of talents such as Hasan, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan and Imam-ul-Haq.

Simon Cook, the Hong Kong coach, chats with ESPNcricinfo about the challenges of motivating a team that has lost its ODI status, and of retaining talent in a system without too much money

Shashank Kishore in Dubai17-Sep-2018How tough is it to motivate a group without ODI status? How do you deal with it?It’s tough. We try and isolate the players from political talk. There are always questions on issues like ODI status. ‘Is it fair’ or ‘is it not fair?’ We can sit here and debate that for hours together. We’re of the opinion that two-and-a-half years of the World Cricket League should be rewarded in a better way than having a bad week [at the World Cup qualifiers] in Zimbabwe. It happened to the Netherlands four years ago, so the same situation can be used as a catalyst, but the fact is we’ve lost four years. There’s a lot of talk at the moment about ways of assigning ODI status to top Associates: whether you assign it on a tournament-to-tournament basis or go through the ranking system, I’m not sure. I will be attending an ICC meeting in Madrid about the WCL. Whether we talk ODI status, I’m not sure, but the fact is we’re at the receiving end of a poor week in Zimbabwe.What did it take to lift the team from that slump?It didn’t take a lot. We know we had a bad week. You don’t become a bad player overnight. It’s about making sure the players still believe in themselves. Unfortunately it happened at the wrong time. We had honest chats about how we can improve and they responded brilliantly at the Asia Cup Qualifiers. After losing to Malaysia in the first game, it could’ve slid down, but they showed character to win the next six games in a row.What are the challenges for a Hong Kong cricketer currently? It’s largely an amateur sport. Even now, you play one week and then have three weeks off. In Premier Division cricket, you play 10 games in nine months. You can’t build momentum like that. We’ve got three grounds and so many teams, so you have to rotate fixtures. There are five premier clubs and the league is structured in different parts of the year, depending on the availability of the national team. They play in a T20 League, 50-over league and only two two-day matches. You can’t get a constant run of form by playing so little. As a player, you get a hundred, and then wonder what next for three weeks? Coming from an English system, where you play every Saturday-Sunday, train two days, then play two more games, this is different, but you have to live with it and be realistic.What have you done to drive more cricketers to the game?We’ve now brought in full-time contracts for 13 cricketers, strength and conditioning coaches and physios. Players are trained to work on other aspects of their games like lifestyle and wellness. The guys get cooking lessons, so that they can eat properly and manage their weights. The good thing is the average age of the current national team is in the mid-20s. Gradually we’re getting to a stage where we’re starting to move forward. These systems are also trickling down to the Under-16s and Under-19s. But it’s a gradual process.

“We can’t retain players who want to go to university for banking or law; they’re full-time careers. We can’t stop them, we shouldn’t stop them.”

There must be hindrances too?Of course. We lose players at 23-24. In a normal county system, that’s the peak age for a young cricketer, and you look at possibly having him in the mix for 10-12 years. That’s not the case here. Chris Carter for example is going to flight school probably after the Asia Cup, Jamie Atkinson, our previous captain, wanted to become a full-time teacher. He’s still available, but can’t commit all the time. Mark Chapman went to New Zealand at 20, and needs to have a three-year cooling-off period if he wants to return, but he played a lot of early cricket here. So we lose all our players at 23-24, so we have to make sure we invest a lot in the Under-16s and Under-19s. We’re slowly having a core group who will probably play international cricket at a young age, so we need to ensure we maximise their time with us before they go off to university.What can you do to prevent losing players?It all comes down to money. We’re governed by things we can’t control. Hong Kong is among the most expensive places to live and work in the world. Our player contracts are not enough for them to realistically live and work, have a family and make a career by just playing cricket. We know we can’t pay as much, but if we can provide a professional set-up to potentially play in CPL, Canada T20, PSL or BPL to earn franchise contracts, that’s great. It could also give us some spin-off benefits when it comes to their development. So we support them to find avenues to play elsewhere. It is a constant challenge.So if a player wants to study and yet play cricket, which may not allow him to commit 100% all the time, what do you do?We can’t retain players who want to go to university for banking or law; they’re full-time careers. We can’t stop them, we shouldn’t stop them. It’s just a case of giving them an opportunity at another career. Some delay going off, some don’t. I’m very big on players getting an education degree that allows them to buy opportunities to have a crack at cricket, without worrying about being picked or having an annual retainer. Once you have something to fall back on, you can play with freedom. We try and stress upon this for a lot of them from the 16-19 age-group.How does selection work in Hong Kong, with so many players also having alternate careers?We contract 13 players, but that doesn’t guarantee national selection. Selection-wise, it’s tough because we can’t go always by the numbers because of huge gaps between matches. We’re also constrained by dimensions of the ground. Suddenly you will see guys getting a lot of runs, and then when they transition into grounds that have 75m boundaries, they struggle, because they’d use the same options that got them runs in smaller grounds. We have a group of three selectors. Apart from them, we talk to coaches and umpires to get feedback. You try and look at how players play, are they playing in a way that will give them success. We also look at players sometimes who don’t get runs. That might be because they’re not willing to take risks, like to work the ball around, pick gaps and not look to hit a 45-metre six. Sometimes such players may be better suited to make the transition to international cricket. So we have to be careful to find a mix.How do you scout for talent?The one thing we have an advantage over any other country in the world is, we know every single player intimately in our system. We don’t have that many, but our five main clubs produce 90% of our players. We know all the players and coaches, so from that aspect it is pretty easy. No ground is farther than 20 minutes, you can watch every single game across the three main grounds on one day. You can’t do that in most countries. That is an advantage when it comes to talent identification, but it’s the other aspects like retaining them that is a challenge.

Also: was West Indies’ total of 45 the lowest in any T20I?

Steven Lynch12-Mar-2019Adam Zampa has now got Virat Kohli out five times. Which other bowlers can claim to have Virat’s number? asked Pranav from India
The Australian legspinner Adam Zampa has indeed now dismissed Virat Kohli on five occasions in internationals – three times in ODIs, and twice in T20Is. There are actually 12 men who have got him out more often, admittedly usually from more attempts. Leading the way, with eight, are the England pair of James Anderson (five in Tests, three in ODIs) and Graeme Swann (four in each). Next, with seven, come Nathan Lyon (all in Tests, the most for anyone), Morne Morkel (four in Tests and three in ODIs), Ravi Rampaul (six times in ODIs – the most – and once in Tests) and Tim Southee (five in ODIs, two in Tests).Five Englishmen – Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes – and one Australian (Pat Cummins) have dismissed Kohli on six occasions in internationals. Thisara Perera of Sri Lanka has, like Zampa, nabbed him five times.Was West Indies’ total of 45 the lowest in any T20I? asked Mark Hartford from England
West Indies’ headlong collapse to 45 all out in Basseterre last week was the lowest in T20Is by a Test-playing nation. The previous lowest was 60, set by New Zealand against Sri Lanka in the World T20 in Chittagong in March 2014, and equalled by West Indies against Pakistan in Karachi in April 2018.There has been one lower total by a non-Test nation: Netherlands were shot out for 39 by Sri Lanka in March 2014, also in Chittagong during the World T20.There have been several lower totals in women’s T20 internationals, which since last July have included all matches between ICC member countries. The record at the moment is 14, by China against United Arab Emirates in Bangkok in January.Who has scored the most runs in one-day internationals without ever making a hundred? asked Keith Matthews from England
There’s a clear leader here: Misbah-ul-Haq scored 5122 runs in 162 ODIs for Pakistan, with no fewer than 42 half-centuries – but his highest score was 96 not out, against West Indies at The Oval in the Champions Trophy in June 2013. Misbah’s highest five scores in ODIs – 96, 93 and a trio of 83s – were all not-outs.Two more Pakistanis are next on the list. Wasim Akram scored 3717 runs in 356 ODIs, with a highest score of 86, while Moin Khan made 3266 in 219 matches, with a highest of 72 not out.The record in Tests is held by Shane Warne, who scored 3154 runs with a highest score of 99, while the most in T20Is as I write is shared: both Virat Kohli (highest score 90 not out) and Shoaib Malik (75) have scored 2263 runs.Misbah ul-Haq has ten hundreds in Tests, but not one in ODIs – the closest he’s come is 96 not out against West Indies in 2013•Getty ImagesI hope he’ll play another one, but at the moment Will Somerville has played one Test for New Zealand, and won it. I think this is rare for New Zealand, who don’t win often! Has anyone else done this? asked Michael Woods… from New Zealand
Offspinner Will Somerville made his Test debut for New Zealand against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in December 2018, not long after returning to his native land from Australia, where he had played for New South Wales. Somerville hasn’t yet played another Test, although it’s a bit soon to write him off.You’re right in thinking that a 100% success record is unusual for a New Zealander. At the moment there are 31 Kiwi one-cap wonders, and only two of the others (apart from Somerville) were on the winning side in the only Test they played: fast bowlers Andre Adams, against England in Auckland in 2001-02, and Gary Robertson, against Australia in Auckland in 1985-86.You talked last week about people who had been out second ball for six. But has anyone ever been out second ball for five? asked Chris Evans from the Netherlands
My first thought was that there wouldn’t be any – but that’s always dangerous! Actually, as this table shows, there are nine known instances in men’s international cricket – six in ODIs and three in T20s. The first eight all involved a run-out – usually a case of a four followed by the player being caught short going for a second run next ball – but the most recent case was more interesting. Playing for Pakistan against New Zealand in Dubai in a one-day international in November 2018, Faheem Ashraf got off the mark first ball with a five (thanks to some overthrows), and then was out to the next delivery he faced.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

The answer is not as straightforward as it seems

Steven Lynch21-May-2019Dom Sibley has now scored a century in six consecutive first-class matches. Where does that stand in the records – for first-class cricket and for the County Championship? asked Sandy Whitlock from England
Dominic Sibley’s unbeaten 109 last week, while carrying his bat for Warwickshire against Hampshire at Edgbaston, put him on a select list of players who had scored centuries in six successive first-class matches: it had previously been done by Sid Barnes, David Boon, Don Bradman, Denis Compton, Nari Contractor, CB Fry, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Mike Procter and Bob Simpson. Bradman had a separate run of seven matches with a hundred, which equalled the feat of Lancashire’s Ernest Tyldesley in 1926.But this is one of the few such lists on which Bradman does not come out on top. His fellow Australian, Bill Ponsford, had an incredible run of ten matches over two seasons in which he scored at least a hundred. His sequence, which included a quadruple-century, two triples and two doubles, deserves looking at in full: in 1926-27, he made 214 and 54 for Victoria against South Australia, 151 v Queensland, 352 of Victoria’s record first-class total of 1107 against New South Wales, 108 and 64 v South Australia, and 12 and 116 v Queensland, before ending the season with 131 and 7 for an Australian XI against the Rest. Ponsford then started the 1927-28 summer with 133 for Victoria against South Australia, 437 v Queensland, 202 and 38 v NSW, and 336 v South Australia. The run was emphatically ended by two single-figure dismissals in the return match with NSW.Bradman does hold the record for Tests. He reached 100 in six successive matches, all against England, in 1936-37 and 1938: Jacques Kallis, Mohammad Yousuf and Gautam Gambhir come next with five. Actually Bradman scored hundreds in eight successive Tests between 1936-37 and 1946-47 in which he batted, but he was injured at The Oval in 1938 and couldn’t go in.Sibley’s current run is ongoing, which means he may yet move up the list. Five of his centuries have come in successive Championship matches, equalling the Warwickshire record set by Brian Lara in 1994. The BBC statistician Andrew Samson kindly informs me that there have been 14 other instances of five (two of them by Graham Gooch), while Tyldesley (in 1926) and Walter Hammond (1938) managed six, and Len Hutton seven in 1947. But Denis Compton set the record, earlier in that run-soaked 1947 summer, with eight centuries in successive County Championship matches.Who scored the first century in a World Cup match? asked Michael Stevens from England
This one is not quite as simple as it might sound. The first World Cup, in 1975, kicked off with four matches on the same day – June 7 – all starting at 11am. Dennis Amiss scored 137 for England against India at Lord’s in one of the opening matches, while Glenn Turner pounded an unbeaten 171 for New Zealand against East Africa at Edgbaston in another.They still stopped for lunch in ODIs in those days, and when the players went off at 1pm Amiss had 98 (after 35 overs of the eventual 60) and Turner 82 (after 40). We don’t have precise ball-by-ball data, but it’s safe to say that Amiss got to three figures first – just. He reached 100 in the 37th over, and was out in the 51st.Shakib Al Hasan has a five-for and a century set in Tests and ODIs, and all he needs to complete the trinity is a T20I hundred•AFPHas any cricketer taken five wickets and made a century in all three formats of international cricket? asked Krishna Saha from Bangladesh
No one has yet managed a full set in all three formats – but two players have managed five out of six. Chris Gayle has hundreds in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, plus five-fors in Tests and ODIs – but his best bowling in T20Is is 2 for 15. More likely to complete the nap hand is Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, who already has five-fors in all three and just lacks a T20I hundred – his highest score so far is 84, against Pakistan in Pallekele during the World T20 in September 2012.No women have completed a full set either. Deandra Dottin of West Indies has hundreds and five-fors in both ODIs and T20Is, but hasn’t yet played a Test.How many players have finished on the losing side after scoring more than 150 in an ODI, as Imam-ul-Haq did last week? asked Mauro Freitas from Kuwait
Rather surprisingly, perhaps, Imam-ul-Haq’s fine performance in Bristol the other day was the 17th occasion that a batsman had reached 150 in a one-day international innings but ended up on the losing side. The highest of all remains 194 not out, by the Zimbabwean Charles Coventry, against Bangladesh in Bulawayo in 2009.Imam’s score was the highest in a losing cause for Pakistan, which was previously 140, by Saeed Anwar against India in Dhaka in 1997-98.I read somewhere that India has the highest number of centuries in men’s ODIs. Which teams hold the record in Tests and T20Is? asked Kunal Roy from India
It’s true that Indian batsmen have scored the most individual centuries in one-day internationals: 280, going into the World Cup. That’s comfortably ahead of Australia (221, from a record 47 different batsmen) and Pakistan (200). Next come South Africa (179), West Indies (178), England and Sri Lanka (171), New Zealand (130), Zimbabwe (63), Bangladesh (50) and Ireland (35).England lead the way in Tests with 865 centuries (by 167 different players), not far ahead of Australia (848). But England have played more matches – 1010 to Australia’s 820 – so the Aussies are ahead on average; they are the only country to average more than a century a Test. Next come India (506 centuries from 533 Tests), West Indies (487 from 542), Pakistan (388 from 423), South Africa (379 from 432), New Zealand (293 from 433), Sri Lanka (263 from 283), Zimbabwe (59 from 107) and Bangladesh (57 from 114).In T20Is, India and New Zealand have seven individual hundreds, and Australia six. In all men’s internationals, Australia have had 1075 centuries, England 1037, and India 793.Australia also lead the way in women’s ODIs, with 52 hundreds to England’s 51; New Zealand are next with 42. In women’s Tests, it’s England 41, Australia 32 (then India 12 and New Zealand 11), while England shade Australia and West Indies 3-2 in women’s T20Is.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions