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The team’s now starting to find ways to recover from setbacks, and credit should go to the middle-order and Robiul Islam’s consistency

Mohammad Isam30-Apr-2013A mere look at the difference in numbers between the two Tests suggests a large break between the two matches. It was as if Bangladesh had played the first Test in 2002 and the second in 2013. Of course, it was a four-day break during which time they mostly looked around Harare for a morning spot in the nets.But the nature of the contest was such that Bangladesh’s recovery from a 335-run defeat to a 143-run win didn’t seem implausible. They were the better team on paper with more experienced players, and came into the Tests with a more impressive showing in the previous tour.Bangladesh, for once, found resilience at their beck and call. Robiul Islam ran in, all day, with the new ball and old, before and after a break. It wasn’t just the odd spell but every time Robiul delivered, it started off straight, pitched and curved out. Consistently. It went on for 110 overs over nine days.There have been instances of these newfound characteristics becoming infectious in the Bangladesh dressing-room. No sooner had Sohag Gazi told the team manager that he was not afraid of facing West Indian fast bowlers under lights, it became clear that the rest of the team would man up. It was the same with Shakib Al Hasan’s unshakable confidence some years ago. It spreads, and this resilient bit would certainly be helpful to the cricketers’ psyche.Another set of numbers that fascinates is the twin half-centuries by Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain in the second Test. And those invariably came in the same sequence, to the same effect.The engine room has found its core. All it needs are the pivots on the top and bottom to work properly. Shakib was forceful, almost intimidating to the Zimbabwean bowlers. There were moments in which he looked as if choosing between two or three shots to certain deliveries. It was quite evident in his manner of dismissals that he was bored by Elton Chigumbura and Hamilton Masakadza’s pace, but Mushfiqur’s earnestness to the cause kept the other end watertight.The Bangladesh captain was the only batsman in four innings to have made the bowler earn his wicket, or fallen to a fantastic catch. Each of those happened twice, but by the time he was out in both innings of the second Test, the job was done. He had to plant a certain sense of belief among the batsmen that runs are available as long as there is a good supply of patience.Nasir takes on from his captain. He comes in at No.7, a graveyard for middle-order batsmen in some teams but he makes it look like fun. Nasir doesn’t hold back from his shots and doesn’t defend astutely.

Among many of the Bangladesh players, there is a lack of Plan B, a failsafe if their natural game doesn’t suit the conditions

The attitude has to spread, just like Robiul’s resilience and Mushfiqur’s assuredness. They are not really free spirits in the dressing-room but have devised ways to bounce back from setbacks. They do it their way, but some of the others haven’t quite found their methods.
Among many of the Bangladesh players, there is a lack of Plan B, a failsafe if their natural game doesn’t suit the conditions. Shahriar Nafees left a massive gap between bat and pad in the second innings of the first Test, by merely taking too much of a liking to Kyle Jarvis’ width. Eventually, a full ball knocked back his stumps.Jahurul Islam too has resorted to one kind of batting in respective formats. In Test cricket, he seems to have employed his full repertoire of his defensive game has to be employed. So when he has to get out of a jam, like he was in both Tests, he couldn’t move quickly enough. He was unlucky once but his swish in the first innings of the second Test is the sort of shot that the selectors won’t forget.Despite coming into the series in good form, Mohammad Ashraful showed no inclination to adjust according to the bowlers, conditions or situations. If an all-out attack doesn’t suffice, it is straight back to dead defense.The bowling too has suffered as a result of this fixation towards to one method. Rubel Hossain needs to be given a few bowling plans he understands fully and can integrate into his thinking. Enamul Haque jnr was another who relied heavily on just bowling one type of delivery.Mushfiqur too has been too reliant on whoever does well with the ball. He probably doesn’t believe in short spells, so even the pace bowlers ended up bowling long spells. It becomes easier for a batsman to predict what would come next from a certain angle. His field placings too have been on the defensive side, especially when the batsmen had flirted with danger.However, Mushfiqur has shown a lot of courage over the last few months, and not just on the field. The decision to drop vice-captain Mahmudullah was the “toughest” in his captaincy. It sounds easy especially when a man is out of sorts, but you don’t want to drop your deputy ahead of a crucial game. That was a signature move for Mushfiqur from these two Tests: the guts to take the tough decisions and stand by them.

After years of travelling to Jaipur for a match or two, a player decides to take in the city and its surrounds properly

Aakash Chopra01-Apr-2013A visit to Jaipur, the vibrant capital city of Rajasthan, only a few hours’ drive from my home in Delhi, was an annual fixture on my cricket calendar when I played for my club Sonnet in the all-India tournament organised by the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.The easiest way to travel the 250km to the Pink City, as Jaipur is often called because most of its pre-modern buildings were painted that colour to welcome Queen Elizabeth II during one of her visits, was by the Rajasthan Roadways bus from Bikaner House in Central Delhi.These “deluxe coaches” ply at regular intervals and are well-maintained even now, as they were several years back. In fact, it is among the best state-run public transport systems I have ever used. The colourful Rajasthani puppets painted on the white façade of these buses can be spotted from a distance and are quite the head-turners.The bus would always stop for snacks and tea at Midway-Behror, and it took me a few years to realise that it was called that because the state-run complex was a midpoint between Delhi and Jaipur, in Behror. In my defence, when you travel in a group, you often tend to miss out on aspects of a place you might otherwise have discovered. Conversations take precedence and you spend the rest of the time in the back seats.Over time, most of my travel to places close to Delhi became mechanical. They were more about going through the motions. The journey wasn’t as important as the final destination, which is why, perhaps, my memories of Jaipur from those years are just a blur. While I remember the tiniest details of the matches I played there, I don’t remember anything about the city itself, barring of course, a few places near the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, where we’d drop in for a bite at the end of the day.So it was only after several years, when I decided to switch teams from Delhi to Rajasthan to play professional cricket, that I got acquainted with Jaipur intimately.This time I didn’t travel as a visitor but as a person hoping to make the city his second home. Instead of taking the bus, I drove down from Delhi, intently looking for landmarks, stopover opportunities, and also taking the time to admire the topography I had not bothered to look at before.Usually when crossing state borders you don’t sit up and take notice of the changes in the landscape. A “Welcome to…” sign is the only mark of change, though these days there are also reminders in the form of texts from mobile networks that flood your phone with messages welcoming you into the new state.That isn’t quite the case with the Haryana-Rajasthan border, clearly marked with two intricately carved pillars on either side, reminiscent of the grand and elaborate architecture of the fort-state. The farmlands of Haryana give way to mountainous terrain with long, barren patches of sand. If you’re in luck, you’ll also spot a camel or two soon.Finally, after six hours of driving on NH8, you enter a landscape with mountains on one side and the walls of the famous Amber Fort on the other. You might begin to feel like a royal personage entering your kingdom, sadly minus the cavalcade of men, elephants, horses and camels.Turn right from the highway to enter Jaipur city, a distinct amalgamation of the old and the new. En route to the stadium, my address for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, you’ll see the engineering marvel of Hawa Mahal and the famous, bustling shopping lanes of the city – full of colourful puppets, textiles, artefacts and spices.Though I became a local, I’d often feel like a tourist here, and every now and then stumble upon a “guide” who wanted to introduce me to the history and culture of the state. While it may be a good idea to use a guide to get to know the city, I like treading the less-known routes and discovering places you won’t find on a postcard or on a travel agent’s itinerary.I am assuming the readers of this article will most likely be in Jaipur to either play or watch cricket. I recommend visiting the ground soon after you reach the city. As much as the visit to the hallowed turf is enticing, the beautiful surroundings of the stadium are equally captivating. Situated next to the magnificent Vidhan Sabha (the legislative assembly), the Sawai Mansingh Stadium is one of the few grounds in the country that doesn’t feel like a concrete jungle. The immaculate green of the outfield is accentuated by the pink walls around the ground. There are stands on only one side of the ground (the other hosts the offices of te Rajasthan Sports Council Board) and they aren’t huge. The structure gives you the feeling of being in an expansive, airy place, which is how you feel wherever you go in Rajasthan. The roads are really wide, there’s enough greenery for a desert city, and the old historic buildings have been protected and haven’t lost their charm. Jaipur is the perfect melting pot of old traditions and modernisation.For the longest time, the city was also the cricket centre of Rajasthan. Club matches were fought closely, and invariably players from the Jaipur District Cricket Association made up most of Rajasthan’s Ranji team. But over the last few years, other districts have stolen a march over the capital and dominated the Colvin Shield, Rajasthan’s inter-district tournament.Udaipur has now become a stronghold. It not only wins the Colvin Shield regularly but is also the biggest contributor to the state team. Hanumangarh is now the pace foundation of Rajasthan and has produced fast bowlers by the dozen. Kota, Barmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur have all started to pitch in too.But Jaipur is still where all the major cricketing action takes place – the IPL and international matches. While many Ranji Trophy matches have been moved out, the bigger fixtures have mainly remained in the capital. The ground also has a state-of-the-art residential academy with a gym, swimming pool and an indoor cricket centre. These facilities put even some of the bigger associations, including Delhi, to shame, because most other states still operate with really basic infrastructure.Amber Fort•Getty ImagesWhile Jaipur and Rajasthan aren’t lagging behind in infrastructure, their players, at least till the state won a couple of Ranji trophies recently, were reluctant to dream big. Since there are no major cricketing heroes in the state, most aspirants refused to think beyond wearing the state colours. But now that Rajasthan has its own IPL team and its Ranji team is also showing signs of serious improvement, the mental make-up of a Rajasthan cricketer has changed. He’s no longer happy with mediocrity.This transformation in mindset is palpable physically too — swanky branded watches, clothes, shoes, hair now styled, gelled, and even spiked. While most of these young cricketers draw salaries as government employees, under the sports quota, they have successfully managed to use cricket as a ticket out of their lives in small towns. Their appetite for a life in a metro with all its perks and pomp is growing with the advent of IPL and all its paraphernalia. This is good for cricket, for the divide between a big- and small-city player is shrinking, and so are the inhibitions. Cricket is now being played on a level field.If you’re visiting Jaipur to watch an IPL game, set a couple of days aside, before or after the match, to explore the city. There are many must-visit places: Amber Fort, Rambagh Palace, Hawa Mahal, and the famous Moti Doongri and Birla Mandir temples. Chokhi Dhani, on the outskirts of Jaipur, is another stop for everything typically Rajasthani. You’ll get a peep into Rajasthan’s rich heritage, and of course, a full course of the sumptuous Rajasthani food – dal baati choorma, gatta curry etc are guaranteed to satiate the taste buds. The only flipside is that you’re likely to consume an enormous amount of calories in one sitting, for even if you resist the temptation to indulge yourself, the hospitality will ensure you eat a bit more than you would have liked to.As for me, I’d but give all of this a happy miss and head straight to Statue Circle, just minutes away from the stadium, for a hot cup of coffee, the likes of which you won’t get anywhere else.

The future of Chris Tremlett as a Test bowler may become clearer over the next few days; does he have the firepower of two years ago?

George Dobell19-Aug-2013It is not hard to understand what the England selectors see in Chris Tremlett. Tall, broad and lean, Tremlett has many of the natural attributes of a top fast bowler and the record to match: before injury struck, his 11 Tests had brought 49 wickets at a cost of 26.75 a piece. Even Shane Warne, often reluctant to lavish praise on England, suggested Tremlett could become the best seamer in the world.But Tremlett owes his latest recall as much to reputation and wishful thinking as he does to achievement. This season, since returning from back and knee surgery, he has claimed only 19 Championship wickets at an average of 36.93. To some extent those figures can be explained away by the type of pitches that he has played – low, slow and lifeless – but it cannot be ignored that he has been recalled for the Test on that same Oval square.On the surface, Tremlett looks the same now. Just as broad, just as fit, just as strong and lean. He looks magnificent. He still has the pleasing high action too and, given some assistance, can still gain steep bounce. The England players report he has bowled impressively in the nets and the England selectors have never found anyone who could completely replace his formidable array of skills: the bounce, the control, the swing and the pace.But there is a suspicion that, through no fault of his own, Tremlett is not quite the same bowler. All the evidence of this season – and the vision of him being slogged into the stands on T20 finals day on Saturday, in particular – suggests he has lost that bit of pace that separates the decent from the dangerous.The thought remains that he is not quite capable of replicating the lift and bounce he once could. Tremlett has not always won selection for Surrey at The Oval this season. Reasoning that pace through the air would be more useful than bounce, Surrey have sometimes opted for Stuart Meaker and Jade Dernbach ahead of Tremlett not on a rotation basis, but on merit.Tremlett, of course, is desperate to play. It was the dream of experiencing international cricket again that persuaded him into the painful and frustrating business of rehabilitation after his operations and the selectors still hope that, on Australian pitches, his height could prove a key asset.”I’m dying to get an opportunity,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of time out through injury and it’s taken time to find my rhythm again and get back into shape. The start of the season was tough finding rhythm and getting match overs back into my legs. As the season has gone on, the better I’ve bowled.”My figures might not suggest that on paper, but the last three or four Championship games I’ve played in I’ve been up near my best. Certainly the game at Yorkshire – which was my best game all season – I felt I was at my best rhythm. I only took a couple of wickets [2 for 127 in the match] but I was in back in my best rhythm.”The motivation has always been to get back playing for England. I’ve always believed I can compete at that level. That motivation has always kept me going even though I’ve had some dark and testing times coming back from injury.

Hard yakka

Scores of opposition teams in the 2013 County Championship when Tremlett, usually the new ball bowler, has taken his first wicket of each innings

526 v Yorkshire

141 Middlesex

417 v Middlesex

1 v Derbyshire

76 v Derbyshire

No wicket in score of 631 for 9 v Warwickshire

265 v Sussex

No wicket in score of 201 for 2 v Sussex

62 v Yorkshire

114 v Yorkshire

105v Nottinghamshire

“It’s generally a good wicket to bat on here. It’s a wicket where you have to make the most of the new ball and where you have to be very patient.”He is not certain to play. While Tim Bresnan’s injury – cruelly timed after he had enjoyed, arguably, the best Test of his career in Durham – has created an opportunity for someone, Steven Finn remains almost as likely to return. Finn is still not back to his best and may not fit into the economical style that England embrace, but he remains a long-term part of the plan. But, on a pitch where attrition might prove key, Tremlett may well prove the tighter option.There are other options. England could play two specialist spinners – Simon Kerrigan joining Graeme Swann in the side – which might well necessitate the inclusion of allrounder Chris Woakes, preferred in the squad to Ben Stokes, at No. 6 or No. 7. It remains an unlikely scenario – England have not played two specialist spinners in a Test at home since Cardiff in 2009 and Joe Root’s development as a bowler has done nothing to increase its likelihood – but on a dry pitch and against a side who look more uncomfortable than most against spin, it is as likely now as it has been for four years.Woakes’ inclusion would surprise those whose only experience of him is in white ball cricket. In that format it has become apparent that he lacks the pace or the skills to flourish as a bowler, with a failure to deliver yorkers to demand proving a major weakness.But he is a far more proficient bowler with the red ball. He can swing it both ways and, while his lack of pace will remain an issue, his natural length should enable him to fulfil a holding role when required. What he is not, though, is a like-for-like replacement for Bresnan. He is a better batsman, but less versatile bowler and cannot be expected to deliver the back of length spells that have proved so important in the last few Tests.The other option England have – and it is an option they utilised in India – is to play a four man attack with two seamers and two spinners. Bearing in mind the workload that James Anderson and Stuart Broad have carried this summer, though, that seems unlikely. Anderson, in particular, has looked jaded of late, so asking him to play as one of two seamers would seem an unnecessary risk.Whichever of the seamers misses out may console themselves with the thought that this may not be the worst Test to miss. Wickets at The Oval no longer offer anything like the pace and bounce they once did and it may prove that, whichever seamer plays does their chances of inclusion in the squad to Australia little good. While a dry pitch and the large, abrasive square should offer some opportunities for reverse swing and spin, patience and attrition tend to be the keys to bowling at The Oval these days.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Momentum one-day cup with Lions looking the team to beat

Firdose Moonda10-Oct-2013South Africa had their summer perfectly planned out: they scheduled the one-day competition first to prepare players for a seven-match series against India, which was spoken about as step one of the building for the 2015 World Cup. That contest is now in doubt and even if it happens, it is likely to be severely shortened.But the season cannot wait for the suits. While a decision is yet to be made on whether India will tour South Africa at all, never mind how many ODIs will be played, the domestic one-day competition will start on October 11. The national one-day squad is, by head coach Russel Domingo’s own admission, still a work in progress, so even though he will be otherwise occupied with the series in the UAE, he will have half-an-eye on the tournament back home.Here’s what Domingo has to look forward to:Cobras
CAPTAIN: Justin Ontong
COACH: Paul Adams
IN: Hashim Amla, Sunil NarineThe joint-winners of last season’s competition have made no significant changes to their squad; the acquisition of Hashim Amla and Sunil Narine will only become a factor in the 20-over competition. Their unit remains a settled one of experience and youth with the likes of Charl Langeveldt, Johann Louw, Justin Kemp and Andrew Puttick mentoring younger players such as Lizaad Williams and Yaseen Vallie.Special attention was due to be paid to opening batsmen Richard Levi, who led the run charts in this format last season but has not done enough to earn himself a national recall. After his century in a T20 against New Zealand, Levi proved too loose outside the off stump and vulnerable against spin but has since made progress in both areas but he injured his back in late August and the latest news is that he could miss the first half of the tournament.The injury is a setback for Levi who, with the South African top two yet to be decided, would be keen to heed Ontong’s words that the selectors are on the lookout. “The national team in one-day cricket are still searching for game breakers,” Ontong said. “So there’s definitely opportunity for young guys to go out there and perform well.”Dolphins
CAPTAIN: Morne van Wyk
COACH: Lance Klusener
IN: Morne van Wyk, Graham OnionsOUT: Hashim Amla, Lonwabo TsotsobeHaving not won a trophy in seven seasons, Dolphins will want to get their head above water quickly and mount a serious challenge this time. The first thing in their favour is the timing of the competition which may allow them to avoid the summer rains and too many no-results.When they do get on the field, they will be a new-look outfit again. Morne van Wyk, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman from Bloemfontein has moved to Durban to captain them and word is that he will also keep wicket in the shorter formats. That will free up former skipper Daryn Smit to bowl legspin – an art he neglected in favour of the gloves in recent seasons.They will also have the services of Graham Onions to rely on, which will help plug the gap left by left-armer Lonwabo Tsotosbe who was their joint leading wicket-taker in this format last summer. A talent to keep an eye on is Calvin Savage, a young seam-bowling all-rounder who has already impressed in the amateur competition this summer.Knights
CAPTAIN: Johann van der Wath
COACH: Sarel Cilliers
IN: Diego RosierOUT: Morne van Wyk, Ryan BaileyPerennially lingering in mid-table, Knights have been forced out of the comfort zone with the departure of Morne van Wyk. Johann van der Wath will lead the side in his absence and attempt to inject energy into the side but he’s set to miss some of the campaign with a calf injury; Nicky Boje will captain in his absence.The Knights batsmen are usually among the top-scorers in the competition with Reeza Hendricks and Rilee Rossouw attempting to “knock down the door” – Domingo has asked them to finally be considered for the national team. Under-19 talent Diego Rosier is also part of their squad. After making waves at age-group level, Rossier has scored three half-centuries in four matches for Griqualand-West in the last two weeks and the Knights will hope he can translate that to the franchise scene.In Ryan McLaren’s absence due to national duty, it will be up to Quinton Friend to lead the attack. Malusi Siboto and Romano Terblanche will have to come of age quickly if the Knights are to pose an attacking threat with ball in hand.Chris Morris is part of an exciting Lions bowling attack•Getty ImagesLions
CAPTAIN: Stephen Cook
COACH: Geoff Toyana
IN: Lonwabo TsotsobeThe other half of last season’s trophy belonged to Lions, who were the best-performing franchise of the 2012-13 season and this will be Geoff Toyana’s first taste of second season pressure. They already experienced some of it at a disappointing Champions League T20, where they did not win a single match and will want to get back on the bike immediately at home.Lions have a familiar-looking outfit, led by Stephen Cook who will also open the batting and will look to improve on his second-place finish in the batting rankings last summer. Their middle-order is held together by Neil McKenzie, around whom the younger players Temba Bavuma and Grant Mokoena will bat.With exciting quicks in Hardus Viljoen, Chris Morris and Pumi Matshikwe and a spin contingent that includes Aaron Phangiso and Imran Tahir, and Jean Symes and Eddie Leie who could fill in if either are with the national side, Lions seem to have it all. That’s why Cook said: “Other sides are really coming for us this season.”Titans
CAPTAIN: Henry Davids
COACH: Rob Walter
OUT: Martin van JaarsveldThe other franchise who have already had a run out this summer are Titans and it was a decent one. If it was not for the weather, they may have gone further in the CLT20 and even though they didn’t, it gave Rob Walter an opportunity to get to grips with his new job.Walter has worked as South Africa’s fitness and fielding coach and this is his first season in charge of a franchise. He has already had the players’ buy-in on conditioning and infusing them with the “care” factor which worked for the national side. What he now needs is performance. Long-serving batsman, Martin van Jaarsveld, who also captained the team in the longer format recently, has retired, leaving the accomplished Henry Davids to do the job.He will have Jacques Rudolph Albie Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe to back him up and the enthusiasm of youngsters like Mangaliso Mosehle and Shaun von Berg to nurture. Grooming David Wiese for international level will be one area of focus, ensuring Marchant de Lange is back at his best will be another.Warriors
CAPTAIN: Andrew Birch
COACH: Piet Botha
IN: Ryan BaileyBACK IN: Rusty TheronFrom winners of the domestic one-day cup three seasons ago to last place finishers last summer, Warriors have a lot to do. Andrew Birch will lead a side filled with talent but will need to mould that into something tangible.Ashwell Prince is their senior statesman with Colin Ingram also able to add international clout to the line-up. Ryan Bailey, previously with Knights, will bring an all-round ability to their set-up.What they will be most looking forward to is letting their bowlers run it at the opposition batsmen. With Ayabulela Gqamane, the youngster who grew up next door to Makhaya Ntini, Gurshwin Rabie and Wayne Parnell in their ranks, this seems to be the area of their game worth keeping an eye on.Best of all, death-bowling specialist Rusty Theron has fully recovered from the stress fracture that kept him out of most of last season. The ability to bowl yorkers at the end of the innings is also something the national team are searching for which is why Theron would do well to announce himself this summer. “This is a good season to perform,” Birch said.With domestic cricket likely to take on a bigger focus because of the certain-to-be curtailed India tour, Birch’s statement may have a greater meaning than just making sure players stake a claim for the national team.

Victory in a short and, at times, low quality one-day series should not be over-hyped but all recoveries have to start somewhere and England’s may just have begun in Antigua

George Dobell in Antigua06-Mar-20140:00

Croft: Fielding first was a mistake by West Indies

The road from Durham to North Sound has been long and has claimed several casualties. But, after a miserable and momentous winter, Antigua may just have witnessed the first signs of recovery from England.In the seven months since they clinched the Ashes in Durham, England have lost the coach, the spinner and the middle-order batsman who did so much to achieve their period of relative success. They have had to abandon their long-held plans and begin again with fresh faces and lower expectations. They are at the start of a journey that may be hard and will not always be pretty.But they have, at last, won their first series since that day in Durham. Not only that, but they have come from behind and won two games in a row for the first time since September. The harsh might point out that they have hardly won one in a row since September.But it was not just the result that was significant here. It was the architects of the result.For this was a victory forged by those young men who have been identified as the future of this side: Jos Buttler, Joe Root and Moeen Ali, among them. All three registered their highest ODI scores, all three demonstrated the class that will surely win bigger games on bigger stages and all three have their best years ahead of them. On such men, will England’s new team will build its foundations.Root, with a century of class and composure, displayed not just his quality but a toughness and bravery that the boyish exterior could easily conceal.The way Jos Buttler built his innings, despite a tricky start, bodes well for England•Getty ImagesHe sustained a nasty blow to his right thumb off the bowling of Ravi Rampaul when he had scored just 1 and, when rain took the players off the pitch a few minutes later, was advised to retire hurt and allow Eoin Morgan to bat in his place. But he insisted on continuing and, with the pain forcing him to limit his game, deflected and nudged his way to a maiden ODI century.In the short-term, he may well be proved unavailable for the World Twenty20 after an X-ray in Antigua on Thursday morning, but in the long-term he surely has a bright future at international level.”One thing that Joe wouldn’t mention is that his was an incredibly brave knock today,” Stuart Broad said afterwards. “His thumb was very ugly and Eoin was going to go out after the rain break, but then two minutes before the resumption, Joe wacked his helmet on and stormed out. It was clear for everyone to see the discomfort he was in.”That is the sort of commitment and desire you want people to have in playing for England. We’ve tried to make a big point of that within this squad about how much it means to play for England and how it must not be taken for granted.”Here we got a real-life example of someone putting themselves through the pain barrier and showing that level of desire. And you saw the passion he showed when he reached a 100. That’s the sort of thing that will help England going forward.”Buttler was equally impressive. While known for his outrageous invention and strength, here he also showed admirable restraint and composure. After 11 balls he had scored only 1 and looked less than confident against the wiles of Sunil Narine.But he retained his calm, built his innings and, towards the end, unleashed the shots of power and ingenuity that will surely become familiar over the next few years. Just as impressively, he did so against the bowling of Narine and Dwayne Bravo that had previously caused him such difficulty. Such skill, such character and such ability to learn quickly bodes well.Ben Stokes contributed, too. While he again failed with the bat – England’s No. 3 position has now contributed 91 runs in eight ODI innings since Jonathan Trott’s departure – he took one fine catch and showed wonderful commitment in diving forwards to attempt another.Some perspective needs to be maintained. England have still only won only four of their last 11 ODIs. They have still lost 16 of their last 21 games in all formats against Test-playing opposition. This was still their first ODI series win since they left New Zealand a year ago.Nor was this a particularly high-quality series. It contained some poor death bowling and a batting collapse from England in the first ODI and some poor batting from West Indies in all three games. Both teams will face sterner opposition in higher-pressure situations.There are clear areas of improvement required, too. England’s reluctance – or inability – to bowl yorkers is a significant weakness (Hawkeye suggests they delivered three in the West Indies innings here) and will continue to hurt them. The preferred policy, at present, is to deliver bouncers of various speeds and hope for the batsmen to make an error. It is like shopping in Harrod’s. It was telling that when Bresnan did, at last, deliver a yorker, it ended Denesh Ramdin’s outstanding innings. “We could have bowled a few more,” Broad admitted afterwards.But the mood of the England squad has been notably lighter on this trip. With young faces replacing the tired and in some cases cynical ones of recent times, there is a heightened sense of enjoyment and purpose that has been reflected in the much-improved fielding performances. That old adage about the fielding reflecting the mood of the side so often rings true.Root and Buttler and Moeen and Stokes are all raw at this level. There will be days, as they learn their trade, that they make mistakes and England fail. The World T20 surely comes too soon in the rebuilding process.But, after a grim winter that has ended the careers of huge figures in England cricket, such players represent hope and progress. And at the end of a winter that has at times been hopeless, such qualities are worth a great deal. Spring is on its way.

Shivlal Yadav had achieved his dream of building a world-class stadium in Hyderabad, but at a price. His challenge as the new interim BCCI chief will be to keep further controversies at bay

Amol Karhadkar and Nagraj Gollapudi30-Mar-2014Shivlal Yadav’s term as the BCCI chief for all matters barring the IPL will begin on a depressingly familiar note: a court hearing in Hyderabad on April 5 in a case related to alleged embezzlement of funds during the construction of a cricket stadium. Yadav is one of 20-odd Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) officials facing various allegations, including misappropriation of funds.But that’s not on top of Yadav’s mind now. In fact, he says he is “not bothered” with the allegations and the three-year-old court case. “When you want to do something good, there will be a few people who will always want to stop you and create hurdles. You can’t stop working because of them,” he told ESPNcricinfo.The statement might sound arrogant but for those who know Yadav it is typical: confident and outspoken. The offspinner played the last of his 35 Tests in 1987 and left the game as one of the few Indians at the time with more than 100 Test wickets. Since then, he’s succeeded in entering the club of officials who run the richest cricket body in the world.He was always going to be an administrator; that much was clear from his statements, as a player, of wanting to build a modern cricket stadium in Hyderabad. The former bank officer at Syndicate Bank started off in 1990 as a managing committee member of the HCA, and two years later became the joint secretary. In 2000, he rose to the most powerful post in the state association – secretary of HCA. He gave it up in 2009 but stayed in the association as its vice-president. In between, he had two stints as a national selector – from 1996 to 1999 that famously sacked Mohammad Azharuddin as captain, replacing him with Sachin Tendulkar and from 2001 to 2002 when the Indian team was recovering after the match-fixing scandal.”My ambition was to build a modern cricket stadium in Hyderabad, something that was missing despite our great cricketing tradition,” Yadav said, when asked about what drove him into administration following a prolonged career on the field. “In fact, once the stadium had been completed, I had resigned in 2009 but my colleagues at HCA asked me to stay on.”He did manage to turn his dream into reality, when the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on the outskirts of Hyderabad emerged as India’s newest Test venue. Arshad Ayub, another India offspinner who was Yadav’s teammate and colleague at HCA for a long time, gives him credit for the hard work he put in the project. “But it wasn’t only him. No doubt he worked really hard, but there were many others in the HCA who worked as hard. It was a team effort,” said Ayub, a former HCA president.That dream project, however, became the focus of corruption charges; it was alleged that, in the decade 2002-2012, around Rs 100 crore was diverted from the BCCI’s annual funding to HCA. In 2011, the Anti-Corruption Bureau began investigating the alleged financial irregularities following a complaint in 2011 by two HCA members, Sagar Cricket Club and Roshanara Recreation Club. The allegations were levelled against several personnel, including Yadav, former HCA secretary MV Sridhar and Ayub.Yadav challenged the order in the Hyderabad High Court. But on the evidence presented by the petitioners the court passed an order later in 2011 that investigations should be carried forward.A fresh affidavit to expedite the probe by the Anti-Corruption Bureau was submitted in the High Court in December 2013. The bureau served a notice on Yadav and 20 others in February, listing out 199 charges including misappropriation. Yadav sought more time to reply in the court. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for April 5.Regardless of what was happening in court, Yadav’s rise in the HCA continued, with the influential people on his side. Sridhar, one of the most prolific domestic cricketers of the ’80s and ’90s, joined HCA in 1998 and has been around in various capacities. A former Hyderabad captain, Sridhar was appointed the BCCI’s General Manager – Cricket Operations during the BCCI’s annual general meeting in September 2013.Yadav’s growing clout coincided with the rise of N Srinivasan, the two men now staunch allies. Yadav has stood firmly behind Srinivasan ever since the latter has been cornered following the IPL corruption scandal that saw his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan arrested and chargesheeted. In September 2013, at the BCCI AGM, a few months after Gurunath’s arrest, Yadav was named BCCI vice-president (South zone).His rivals, who prefer to remain anonymous, paint him in colours that most powerful men are painted with. They call him manipulative and say he’s used that quality to retain control. They also say he has not always followed the HCA constitution. They point to money spent without any sanction or any authority, which the committee is then asked suddenly to ratify. There’s also the charge of buying votes.What ran alongside Yadav’s ascension to power and its attendant controversies, was Hyderabad’s dismal on-field record. Ever since the change in the Ranji Trophy’s format from zonal league to knockout to two-tier league cricket in 2002 (two years after Yadav became secretary), Hyderabad has failed to graduate from the lower rungs of Indian domestic cricket. At the time of the change of format, Hyderabad always belonged to the top rung of the premier domestic tournament. Since then, the graph has kept dipped consistently and Hyderabad find themselves in the bottom third of the restructured three-tier Ranji Trophy league format.Hyderabad cricket connoisseurs say the slide has coincided with Shivlal’s brother Rajesh being the coach for a considerable period and his son Arjun a permanent fixture in the team for most of the last decade. A talented player like Ambati Rayudu, who was also involved in an on-field spat with Arjun in 2005-06, left Hyderabad for Andhra. A year later, there was an exodus from the Hyderabad team when the Indian Cricket League (ICL) was launched in 2007; along with Rayudu, seven other Hyderabad players crossed over.Ever since, Hyderabad has lost to minor teams like Kerala, Goa, Jharkhand and Andhra. More than their on-field performances, they have been in the news for other reasons: doling out either under-prepared pitches – as was the case during their home game against Maharashtra that ended in less than five sessions – or flat tracks, experienced during the last season when two of their four home games resulted in drab draws where even the first innings couldn’t be completed in four days. It is a tide that has not turned even as Yadav has risen to high office in the BCCI.Shivlal Yadav has had a controversial and colourful run as an administrator; it is a pattern that cannot be repeated in the seat he occupies now.

Plays of the day from the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad

Abhishek Purohit12-May-2014Finch’s placement
Aaron Finch had already moved to the leg side and lofted Pragyan Ojha for six over extra cover in the left-arm spinner’s first over. Finch continued to make room and Ojha tried to outwit him by bowling full and wide of off stump. Finch was far from the line but he somehow reached out and drilled the ball through the off side. Despite his awkward position, he also managed to pick the small gap at extra cover.Bumrah’s failed tag
In Ojha’s second over, Finch timed one through extra cover again. Jasprit Bumrah ran across from sweeper cover, Corey Anderson did so from long-off. As the fielders converged, Bumrah dived, and parried the ball away. It would have been an ideal team effort if Anderson had picked it up but by the time Bumrah palmed the ball, Anderson had overrun it and was behind his team-mate. The ball rolled into the boundary as both fielders watched helplessly.Tare’s misfield
Mumbai Indians had leaked a few late runs after keeping Sunrisers Hyderabad in check for most of the innings. David Warner pulled the penultimate ball of the last over in the air. It bounced in front of Aditya Tare at deep square leg. It spun a bit as it bounced, but Tare seemed to have it covered, until he let it slip through. His captain Rohit Sharma was so incensed he swore in frustration.Steyn’s rage
Sunrisers did not have a good night with the ball. Even Dale Steyn went for 12 runs in his third over. At the end of the over, he collected the ball as it came in from long-off, and slammed it into the stumps, uprooting the middle one. He collected his cap from the umpire and walked off in a huff.

Also, most balls faced in a T20, first instance of day-night cricket, highest limited-overs score at Lord’s, and long lives after Test debut

Steven Lynch22-Jul-2014Further to the last-wicket record by Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson in the first Test, what’s the best stand by No. 10 and No. 11? asked Kieran Messiter from London

The highest partnership between Nos. 10 and 11 in Tests is 128, by Ken Higgs (63) and John Snow (59 not out) for England against West Indies at The Oval in 1966, which completed a recovery from 166 for 7 to 527 all out! Snow’s innings was the only previous Test half-century by an England No. 11 before James Anderson’s 81 at Trent Bridge, although Andy Caddick made 49 not out against Australia at Edgbaston in 2001.There have been eight higher last-wicket partnerships in Tests now, but all of them featured one batsman who came in higher than No. 10. For the full list, click here.What is the largest number of balls faced by one batsman in a Twenty20 match? asked Mark Long from England

There have been three instances in all Twenty20 cricket of a batsman facing 76 balls – the equivalent of 12.4 of the 20 overs. The first was by Misbah-ul-Haq, during his 107 not out for Pakistan A against New Zealand A in Darwin in July 2006. His feat was equalled by Scotland’s Calum MacLeod (104 not out) against Oman during the World T20 Qualifier in Sharjah in March 2012, and then by Rassie van der Dussen (112 not out) for North West against South West Districts in Potchefstroom in South Africa’s Provincial Pro20 competition in February 2013. The T20 international record is 69 balls, by Martin Guptill (101 not out) for New Zealand against South Africa in East London in December 2012. For the full list, click here.Norman Gordon, South Africa’s centenarian, played his first Test nearly 76 years ago. Has anyone ever lived longer after making his debut? asked Mark Allardice from England

Norman “Mobil” Gordon should, god willing, celebrate his 103rd birthday on August 6. He is already the longest-lived Test cricketer – no one else is known to have made it to 100 – but even so doesn’t quite hold this particular record. Gordon, then a 27-year-old fast bowler, won his first cap on December 24, 1938, in the first match of South Africa’s home series against England (the one that ended with the famous Timeless Test in Durban). He has thus been a Test player for about 75 years and seven months – but remarkably there has been someone with an even longer span than that. The New Zealand batsman Jack Kerr made his Test debut at Lord’s as a 20-year-old in June 1931. He died in May 2007, aged 96, some 75 years and 334 days after his Test debut. Gordon is thus about four months adrift as I write. Wilfred Rhodes survived for more than 74 years after his first cap for England in 1899. In all 11 players have lived for more than 70 years after their Test debut – five of them New Zealanders.Was Aaron Finch’s innings the highest individual score in a limited-overs match at Lord’s? asked Jamie Stewart from Canada

Aaron Finch’s unbeaten 181 for MCC against the Rest of the World in the special match at Lord’s last week to celebrate the ground’s bicentenary is the highest in a senior limited-overs match there. But the bad news for the big-hitting Finch is that it won’t count in the records, as the exhibition nature of the match means it doesn’t count as a List A fixture. The highest score in an official List A game at Lord’s remains David Boon’s 166 for the Australians in 55 overs against MCC in 1989. The highest in a county match is Graham Barlow’s 158 for Middlesex against Lancashire in the 1984 NatWest Trophy quarter-final. That was a 60-over game: the 50-over record is Matthew Maynard’s 151 not out for Glamorgan against Middlesex in 1996, although England’s Claire Taylor hit 156 not out in a women’s one-day international against India in August 2006.When the first day-night cricket match was played? My home-town ground, Willowmoore Park in Benoni, claims the first day-night match was played between South Africa and Australia there in 1962 – but I don’t think that can be right, as Australia didn’t tour that year… asked Marius Roodt from South Africa

I believe that the first floodlit cricket match involving professional players was one staged for the Middlesex spinner Jack Young’s benefit, against Arsenal FC at Highbury in August 1952, about a year after the lights were installed at the football ground. Because of the short square boundaries, a crowd of 7000 were warned to keep their eyes on the ball during the match, which was televised by the BBC. There was a close relationship between the two clubs at the time: several Middlesex cricketers, including the Compton brothers Denis and Leslie, had played football for Arsenal over the years. I did find a web page that suggested the floodlights at Willowmoore Park in Benoni were the oldest in South Africa, having been erected in 1929, and another that said they went up in 1943. Both sites talked of a match involving the Aussies in the 1960s, but the years mentioned were different – and neither was one when the senior Australian side visited (after 1957-58 they didn’t tour South Africa until 1966-67, and went again in 1969-70; the 1966-67 team did play a two-day game in Benoni).I watched Alfonso Thomas take four wickets in four balls this season: an announcement claimed no Somerset bowler had done this before. How often has this happened in the County Championship? asked Kenneth Wilson from Taunton

It’s right that no Somerset bowler had ever taken four wickets in four balls in a first-class match before Alfonso Thomas did so against Sussex in Taunton in June. It was only the 16th time the feat had been achieved in the County Championship, and the first since 2000, when Gary Butcher took four in four for Surrey against Derbyshire at The Oval (and that was the first one since Pat Pocock, another Surrey bowler, in 1972). The first such instance was against Somerset, by Nottinghamshire’s Frank Shacklock, on his way to 8 for 46 at Trent Bridge in 1893. (Shacklock’s name is thought to have been Arthur Conan Doyle’s inspiration for the name of his famous detective.) No one has yet taken four wickets in four balls in a Test match, but the Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga did it during the 50-over World Cup match against South Africa in Providence in Guyana in March 2007.

Cricket has picked itself up and carried on in the weeks since Phillip Hughes’ death, but its emotional impact has never been far from the surface

Brydon Coverdale23-Dec-20141:05

Under the Southern Cross #408

It’s Christmas Day on Thursday. December 25. One month to the day since Phillip Hughes was struck by a bouncer at the SCG. Cricket has continued, life has gone on for his team-mates. Bouncers are bowled, hook shots are played. There is a guise of normality. But the emotions are never far from the surface. The shock has eased, will lessen further. It will never go away. For now, the pain of his death is still raw.When Shane Watson was hit by a bouncer in the MCG nets on Tuesday, the collective reaction said it all. Watson and the bowler James Pattinson were both visibly shaken. They left the nets soon after. Watson was not really hurt. But he was very rattled. Watson was one of the New South Wales players who was first on the scene when Hughes was felled in the Sheffield Shield game.When the first bouncer was bowled by Varun Aaron in the Adelaide Test, it felt like a milestone moment. Cricket could carry on. Fast bowlers from both teams went on bowling bumpers throughout the first two Tests. Short balls were ducked, hooked, fended, took wickets. But there have been flashbacks to the tragedy.As much as the players want to play their normal way, it is always there, that little doubt. Mitchell Johnson was fearsome in the home Ashes last summer. England’s batsmen were, at times, obviously frightened of him. But after Hughes’ death, Johnson initially had trouble convincing himself to bowl bouncers again. Especially to his team-mates.”I had been [reluctant] in training,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “I definitely wasn’t too keen on bowling it in training. But I’ve been able to move on from that and play the way I wanted to play. I’ve bowled a couple [at training, now].”Johnson’s comments came before Watson was struck by Pattinson. It is little wonder Pattinson was shaken by the experience in the nets; Johnson too had been visibly worried when his bouncer hit Virat Kohli on the helmet during the Adelaide Test. Johnson was the first to check on Kohli’s well-being; most of his team-mates were quickly on the scene as well. Emotions ran high.Mitchell Johnson was visibly shaken after he struck Virat Kohli on the helmet during the Adelaide Test•Getty Images”I did hear somewhere that we all over-reacted and carried on,” Johnson said. “But that was just a normal reaction. That was just how I felt. It was just an emotional sort of feeling. It was the first time that I’d struck someone in the helmet [since Hughes died] and that was just a normal reaction by me.”I was able to move on from that – not straight away. But as the Test series has gone on we’ve seen that aggression come back into the game and that’s what works best for me, bowling aggressive and getting up their guys.”It is not just batsmen and bowlers who have had the death of Hughes in the back of their minds. Chris Rogers was clearly unsettled by an incident on the first day at the Gabba, when he was fielding at short leg while Nathan Lyon was bowling. Rohit Sharma pulled, Rogers spun around to protect himself and was hit in the back of the helmet.The 20-year-old Marnus Labuschagne fielded at short leg for most of the rest of the match, on as a substitute for the injured Mitchell Marsh. Labuschagne is a short-leg specialist. Asked at the MCG on Tuesday whether he would expect to field in close again or might encourage the debutant Joe Burns to take the job, Rogers was initially a little jokey.”I’ll be pushing for the young fellow to get in there,” Rogers said. “As you saw from my technique I’m probably not the bravest in there. But it’s one of those necessary rules. You have to get in there but preferably I don’t want to be in there if I don’t have to.”When it happened, nothing could hide the fact that Rogers was genuinely rattled. The team doctor Peter Brukner ran on to the field to check on Rogers, who kept turning his back on the doctor, unwilling to look him in the eye.It was as if Rogers thought denial was his best mental defence, pretending it hadn’t happened, pretending he wasn’t in fear of his life, pretending that he wasn’t flashing back to his former Test team-mate Hughes. But such thoughts were precisely what went through Rogers’ mind. He was, in a word, upset.”You get hit in the head and with everything that has happened recently it’s probably two inches from where Phil got hit,” Rogers said. “A lot of things go through your mind. At 37 fielding at short leg you’re thinking ‘what the hell am I doing here?'”It was interesting times. The team asks you to get in there so you do. And then when you take a knock like that it’s a little bit confronting. I was a little bit upset at the time and didn’t really want to speak to anyone, as you might have seen.”Of course, anyone would be upset in a similar situation. Pattinson was in the nets on Tuesday. Watson was shaken. Johnson’s raw emotions kicked in when he struck Kohli. Every such blow now has the “what-if” factor about it. What if it was two inches that way? What if he turned his head in the other direction?Training continued in the nets after Watson was hit. The cricket will continue on Boxing Day. Australia are 2-0 up over India. They have come together bravely over the past month, carried on as normally as they could. But, naturally, Australian cricket remains in a state of latent shock. For this group of Hughes’ friends and team-mates, the what-ifs will never really go away.

Plays of the day from the Group A game between England and Scotland in Christchurch

George Dobell in Christchurch23-Feb-2015The statement
After two humbling defeats, the temptation to make changes must have been strong. But by naming the same XI that had been beaten in their opening games, England’s selectors made a statement of belief in their team and their tactics. As if to say, whatever else has gone wrong, there will be no panic.The chance
Had Freddie Coleman been standing a foot closer at cover, the whole complexion of this game could have been altered. As it was, Coleman was just unable to gather a low chance offered by Moeen Ali, driving Josh Davey uppishly, when he had scored 7. Moeen went on to score 128 and provide the only fluent contribution in the England total.The other chance (at redemption)
Eoin Morgan had scored 11 from 21 balls when he launched into a pull of Iain Wardlaw. Had Coleman, at deep midwicket, been on the fence as he surely should have been, the ball would have gone straight to him. But Coleman had drifted in about 10 feet and instead the ball passed over his head and landed on the foam-covered boundary rope. Morgan went on to clobber 46 – perhaps recovering a little form in the process – and taking England’s total above 300 and out of Scotland’s reach.The shout
Alasdair Evans, in his first over, thought he had trapped Ian Bell, who was also on 7, leg before with a delivery that nipped back and kept a little low. Umpire Rod Tucker was unconvinced, however, and adjudged the batsman not out. Replays showed the ball would have hit the leg stump but Scotland’s decision not to utilise their review was vindicated by the “umpire’s call” verdict. It was a decision that could easily have gone the other way.The difference
Scotland were always likely to run into trouble with their fifth bowler. The problem was exemplified when Richie Berrington, as gentle a medium-pace bowler as you will see in international cricket, ambled in off a few yards and delivery an innocuous full-ish delivery on off stump. It may have been a decent ball in club cricket, but Moeen, who has faced significantly more hostile bowling in recent games, lofted his drive with an ease that belied the power in the shot. The 10 overs supplied by Scotland’s part-time trio of bowlers – Berrington, Matt Machan and Kyle Coetzer – conceded 73 runs.The record
England’s record for the opening partnership had stood since the first World Cup in 1975 when Barry Wood and Dennis Amiss posted 158 against East Africa at Edgbaston. But Moeen Ali and Ian Bell bettered that with 172 in 30 overs. The record was broken with the shot – a slog sweep for six by Moeen off the spin of Majid Haq – that brought up Moeen’s maiden World Cup century, which ended 27 years without an England batsman scoring an ODI ton in New Zealand.The streaker
Generally there is nothing more tedious than a flabby streaker who runs on to a pitch and we certainly don’t want to encourage any more. But the man who interrupted play towards the end of this match showed a turn of pace and a quickness of foot that just might have been the most athletic thing witnessed all day. He sidestepped a dozen or so stewards before vaulting the boundary, running up a grass bank and racing over the net area where he scaled a wall to escape towards the park and the centre of the city. Eventually he was caught. His nakedness did make him stand out a little.