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Azhar Ali looks ahead to his new role as Pakistan’s ODI captain, talks about his leadership style and adjusting to the format

Interview by Umar Farooq16-Apr-2015It has been two years since you last played ODI cricket. And now all of sudden you are not only in the team but also its captain. Did that surprise you?
Not at all. I have been knocking for the opportunity to play ODIs for more than a year. But maybe there was a team combination where I didn’t fit in. But now with three senior players exiting there is space and I have the chance to fulfill a great responsibility.How tough do you think captaincy will be?
I have been with the Pakistan team over the last five years and have closely observed everything. I understand captaining Pakistan is not an easy job and you have to cope with different pressures. I know it will be tough and challenging, not only as captain but also as a batsman. But I accepted the job only after evaluating the challenges ahead and I am ready for it.Did the PCB ask you or was the job imposed on you?
The board chairman [Shaharyar Khan] called me and asked before the formal announcement was made. I was mentally prepared and it didn’t take much time for me to decide whether I want to be captain or not. I wasn’t reluctant to say yes, because I thought I can do it.It’s widely believed that you need to be a yes-man to become Pakistan’s captain.
Being a yes-man doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person. You can’t make everyone happy with your decisions. It’s about perceptions and how you think. When things are going according to what you want then why create a dispute? I am happy that I am being heard and that the selection committee and all the stakeholders are on the same page.Sometimes, to make your point you have to convince them with your logic. But at times there will be a difference of opinion. If you understand the other point of view then there is no problem in accepting it.What is your leadership philosophy?
I believe in listening and letting the player flourish with his natural ability. What is important is to trust each player. My style of captaincy will be to let the player decide what he wants to do rather than imposing a role on him. Every batsman has a role and bowlers have their own style of bowling. I will empower them to believe their instincts. Obviously there are times when as a captain you need to talk to your player and tell him, “See your idea is not working and not being effective, so now you have to listen and execute what I tell you to.”

“My style of captaincy will be to let the player decide what he wants to do rather than imposing a role on him”

You have an easy-going personality. Will that hold you back as captain?
When I started captaining at the domestic level I surprised myself with how differently I behaved from my usual self. When you are captain there is a change in your personality because you have to be dominant and aggressive.
In a match situation your mind and body act in a different way because you are not only controlling the situation but the entire team. There is another man inside me who comes out. It’s not that I will be scolding anyone in the field, or being aggressive. There are other ways to express yourself. You don’t have to be talking too much for that to show.What are your strengths?
My commitment. Even if you lack in skill you can achieve an impossible result by your commitment. I want my team to have one vision to perform. I am the sort of player who believes in letting the performance speak for itself. I hope I am able to take the best decisions for Pakistan and that my intentions are positive.Is there a captain in the past who has inspired you?
Every captain has his own style. In Pakistan you have to deal with many more aspects of leadership and its challenges than elsewhere. Therefore I rate Misbah very high. He is the world’s best captain when it comes to handling pressure. You can say he has nerves of steel.
Others may not have understood him well, but as one who played under him I have observed a lot of good things in him. I have learnt a lot from him, but obviously there are things I want to add. I have my own vision and style but I idolise Misbah as a captain.For a while there has been a sense of competition between two contrasting approaches to captaincy, Misbah and Shahid Afridi, defensive and aggressive.
Yes, there has been a lot of discussion about this but it’s more exaggeration than anything else. Both have played under each other and the clash of approaches just looks so from the outside. There was never a contest between the two. Both have won a lot of matches for Pakistan and that is more important than arguing about who is better at it. Being aggressive doesn’t always ensure you victory, and neither does defensiveness. What really matters is the intention and the commitment towards victory. It may lie in a mix of both approaches.”I have already played with the pace required for the [ODI] format in the Sharjah Test against Sri Lanka”•AFPPlayers like Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad are not living up to their potential. How you going to treat them?
You get selected because you are a good player and it’s your responsibility to give your 100% to justify the opportunity. Each of the six batsmen in the playing XI has a role to play according to the situation, and he must play that. As captain I emphasise whatever role is given. The player should understand it and play with respect to it. Every player has his natural style too and I do respect and encourage it, but in the end you need to play according to the requirement.There are some players who play steadily, some take time, and some play aggressively right from the start. But for the team one must be able enough to turn around his style of play. If you are required to slow down, or play with over eight runs required per over, you have to do it for the sake of the team and the country.One-day cricket requires a different mindset and energy. Is it easy for you to adapt yourself to this format?
I have been tested in different situations in Test cricket and I think to be a good ODI player you have to be a good Test player. It’s easy to adapt from Tests to ODIs, and it’s about confidence. Pitches in one-day cricket are better than you have in Test cricket, where your nerves are tested significantly. Given the form I have at the moment I am brimming with confidence. It’s not like one-day cricket is an alien format for me. I have already played with the pace required for the format in the Sharjah Test against Sri Lanka.You were labelled a Test batsman until you were appointed ODI captain. Don’t you think you have to prove yourself in this format first?
Obviously, I am a batsman and I have to contribute to keep my place. It’s not like because I am captain I have immunity. If I don’t perform it will be tough for me to keep my place.Is there added pressure in being scrutinised as captain and one-day batsman?
Pressure is always there when you are representing your country. I believe the more I contribute with the bat the more confident I will be. There is never a sense of insecurity. In fact when you are captain you are able to perform with more control than when you are a player, because you have the first-hand plan in your mind. You are the one who executes the plan. You don’t need to wait for instructions from the dressing room.Your batting strike rate is low as an ODI batsman and is seen as a major shortcoming. What do you think?
Yes, I have to improve my strike rate. The one-day cricket I have played in the past was mostly batting in survival mode. But the more I play the more things will improve.”Both Misbah and Afridi have played under each other and the clash of approaches just looks so from the outside. There was never a contest between the two”•Associated PressMisbah played a major role in bridging Pakistan’s weak batting. What role do you see for yourself?
It will be different, because I will play in the opening slot or as a No. 3, and that requires a different approach.
One problem we face is that we are not able to bat the entire 50 overs. My role at the top will be to give a sound start and for our top six batsmen to play the most number of overs. We also need to match the pace of cricket being played these days. Big scores will also offer some comfort for the bowlers, who have been enduring a large share of the burden.How do you plan to use Saeed Ajmal, now that he is back after clearing his action. He may or may not be the same bowler he was.
I have never led Ajmal in domestic cricket, but I know him very well. He is a good listener, which is a big advantage for a captain. Despite being the world’s No. 1 bowler he never made his captain feel like he knows everything. He is regarded as a brilliant team man who always treats his elders and seniors with great respect. I am honoured to captain such a world-class bowler.Misbah was relying heavily on Ajmal during his tenure. Are you going to pick one bowler to execute your plans?
Every team depends on their best bowler. But we have to look forward and give new players chances to play under pressure to test their skills. Whatever job Saeed bhai did for Pakistan, now they should step up and take charge to ensure Pakistan’s future. I am going to give more opportunities to the young players, give them tough roles to make them match-winners.The PCB chairman said your appointment is for the time being. Are you comfortable with a short-term appointment?
I haven’t thought much about it. What I am seeing is an opportunity I have to avail and give my 100%, which is why I am here. I believe that whatever has to happen will eventually happen. Nobody can prevent it and control it. I only pray that whatever happens should be good. I am clear that I have been given a responsibility and I have accepted it regardless of any long-term planning.If you can’t keep your place in the one-day side, do you think it will affect your spot in the Test side?
Yes, I’ve been through that during my first stint in the one-day side. My performance in the shorter format overshadowed my Test spot. But I have learnt from my senior players to not play with a sense of proving something to someone, since it will add pressure. But like I said earlier, I have no sense of insecurity. I am not worrying about anything except to perform naturally.

Mashrafe Mortaza and his men were felicitated in front of the parliament for their World Cup exploits, but they would hope to put that performance in the shade considering the many important series coming up

Mohammad Isam11-Apr-2015The Bangladesh players watched their own highlights reel from the World Cup, projected on the giant screen in the main stage as their felicitation was winding up on Saturday in Dhaka’s Manik Mia Avenue.Some of them took photos of those on-screen moments while the others either had hands on their team-mates’ shoulder or stood and watched. Coach Chandika Hathurusingha pointed something out to captain Mashrafe Mortaza, and when it ended some of the younger players took the opportunity to take selfies with the crowd behind them.With the late afternoon sun sinking behind the buildings and trees on the west end of the Manik Mia Avenue, which runs along the south end of the (the national parliament house), the players became a collective silhouette on stage. It was a poignant moment as they watched what they had done and contemplated what lay ahead in the rest of the year.These cricketers gave joy to their fans by reaching the World Cup quarter-finals, but with sterner tests awaiting them in less than a week their consistency will once again be under the spotlight. Ideally, they would want to put their World Cup performance in the shade, unlike on Saturday when their World Cup performance put them in the shade for a few minutes.Eight years ago, Bangladesh’s form took them to the Super Eights of the 2007 World Cup and then took a tumble. In 2015, they are scheduled to face Pakistan, India, South Africa and Australia. It should be seen as a platform to prove their mettle. The fans already see it that way.Then there was a call to action. “You, especially, were with us throughout the good and bad times,” Mashrafe said. “You were always there with us. I hope you will always support us as long as Bangladesh plays cricket. We have big assignments this year. We start with Pakistan on April 17. Hopefully you will all support us and we will try our best on the field.”But this was not a day for worry. The BCB had organised a public reception for the team that qualified to the World Cup’s knockout stage for the first time, albeit three weeks after they returned home.The programme began at around 2:30pm and the Bangladesh players took the stage a couple of hours later. They were called up one by one by an energetic Athar Ali Khan, Rubel Hossain was given the loudest cheer and whenever he felt shy, one of his team-mates would forcibly raise his hands in a move to appease the fans.Several organisations and institutions presented Mashrafe with bouquets while the BCB directors put garlands on the cricketers. The number of people on the stage was a reminder that this was not just a celebration for the cricketers, but also an occasion that was lapped up by politicians and other influential people.Amid the chaos, Mashrafe delivered an anecdote that showed how the public views its team: “I want to thank the honourable Prime Minister. After every match whether we lost or won, she called us. She spoke to me and the rest of the team. She gave us the confidence to do well. She is a big fan of cricket and I hope she will always be with us.”Sheikh Hasina was Prime Minister the last time a Bangladesh cricket team was felicitated in front of the parliament as well. On April 14 1997, she received Bangladesh’s ICC Trophy winning side at the airport, took them to breakfast at her residence and brought them to the spontaneous reception. There she raised the players’ hands in celebration to an audience of 50,000 people. It was the first day of the Bengali New Year, and Bangladesh had won the trophy the previous day in Kuala Lumpur.This was a much milder event by comparison. Around 5,000 people turned up by the time the Bangladesh team were invited on stage. Most were concerned for the residents in the southern and central part of the city as they struggled to cope with one of the major east-west arteries being closed since morning due to the function. With international cricket around the corner again, there is a danger that this Saturday afternoon will be remembered for what should have happened, than what actually happened.

Shakib Al Hasan had asked for more practice bowling long spells ahead of the first Test against Pakistan, and his mediocre performance on Thursday showed why

Mohammad Isam in Khulna30-Apr-2015You can’t blame Shakib Al Hasan for not giving a warning about his difficulties. Two days before the first Test against Pakistan, he had said that he needed more training bowling long spells and that he wouldn’t want to bowl for a long time in the first innings.But he has had to in Pakistan’s first innings, and the on-the-job training didn’t go to plan for Shakib, who had taken a 10-wicket haul in the last Test held in Khulna, in 2014. He went wicketless for 31 overs, giving away 122 runs. After Mushfiqur Rahim dropped Azhar Ali in his fourth over on the second day, there was hardly any other chance Shakib produced. This was a rare bad day for Shakib, who is Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker with 140 scalps; unarguably their best bowler of all time.Between the last Test series against Zimbabwe and this game, Shakib has played 14 ODIs, eight List-A matches for Legends of Rupganj in the Dhaka Premier League, four T20s for Melbourne Renegades and two for Kolkata Knight Riders. Rubel Hossain too hadn’t played a first-class match during this period while Taijul Islam played just one.This so far is Shakib’s second most expensive spell (for a minimum of 31 overs bowled) after the January 2014 Test against Sri Lanka in Mirpur, where he conceded at 4.35 for 35 overs but took five wickets. Only twice has he bowled more overs without a wicket, against Pakistan in 2011 when he bowled 41.5 overs and against West Indies in Mirpur the following year.Shakib was heavily leg-sidish even when he was bowling around the wicket to the right-handers, conceding 95 out of his 122 runs in that area. Mohammad Hafeez milked him for 48 out of his 57 runs through this region, picking up four fours and two sixes.Mushfiqur, who sat out on the third day to nurse his injured finger, participated in some fitness drills at the end of the day’s play, and said that Shakib will bounce back. However, his poor day meant that the other bowlers suffered too.”I don’t think he has been able to bowl at the level he is expected to operate,” Mushfiqur said. “It could be physical fatigue or may be it is because he hasn’t played the longer version. But he is a very smart player and he will pick up these things quickly. We are in the back foot now. If the best bowler doesn’t bowl well, it becomes hard for the other bowlers in the attack.”Taijul Islam took three wickets, but leaked plenty of runs on the leg side•AFPRubel and Mohammad Shahid had their moments but were either too straight or too wide at least once an over. Left-arm spinner Taijul took three wickets, he castled Younis Khan, had Sami Aslam caught behind on the second day, and Misbah-ul-Haq caught at fine-leg late on the third day. Shuvagata Hom bowled Azhar Ali with one that broke through his defenses and removed his middle-stump while his wicket of Hafeez was more the batsman’s bad luck than anything else.But Taijul, Shuvagata and the rest of the bowlers gave more runs on the leg-side than the off-side. Tamim Iqbal, the stand-in captain, set good fields at times and there were moments he could, along with the bowler, make the Pakistan batsmen stay patient but it was not to be for too long. Eventually there was a ball on leg or middle which would be whipped or swept for runs.Mushfiqur said that the bowling was a disappointment, particularly the way Hafeez collected 131 out of his 224 runs from the leg side. He admitted that catches were dropped but said more chances should have been created and better lines bowled.”Bowling wasn’t up to the mark. Hafeez’s wagon wheel will tell you that he didn’t get too many boundaries off good balls. You have to at least make them sweep at deliveries on the stump. If you look at the pitch map of Hafeez and Babar when they bowled, you will see they didn’t give many bad balls.”We don’t have to take five-six wickets but create chances. It is our fault if we can’t take those chances but bowling in the right place is our livelihood. The bowlers have been disappointing, but it was still a better day than yesterday. We got a few more wickets.”Mushfiqur said that the bowlers let down Tamim, who gave them close-in fielders, but were still hit for four. He also said that the lack of first-class cricket since Bangladesh’s last Test cannot be an excuse.”You have to execute what you have planned, no matter where I was. The bowler has to do it. If you give four close fielders and then bowl a long-hop, you won’t be successful. They scored a lot of runs on the legside, as you said. You have to take 20 wickets to win a Test match, even if you score 1,000 runs.”We were playing the ODIs, so at least they would bowl well in the first ten overs. We cannot use it as an excuse. At this level, you have to manage it. The batsmen worked hard to get runs,” he said.Bangladesh’s upwardly mobile cricketers, particularly riding on the high of the last five months of limited-overs cricket, were expected to help them stay confident in the first Test against Pakistan. But two days of training and only a couple of bowlers with recent first-class matches was never going to be ideal preparation. They will now have to minimize the damage on the fourth day and hope their confident batsmen can bail out their side.

With the ODI series on the line, South Africa face a selection quandary, needing to balance giving everyone a run with going for a win

Firdose Moonda 14-Jul-20151:43

‘We are up for the challenge’ – Tahir

Choice, as South Africa are discovering, can be a double-edged sword. After approaching the series against Bangladesh with experimentation on the agenda, they have found themselves under pressure, with too many options in the bowling department and too few in the batting line-up.Batting is where South Africa may want to make adjustments, especially after the way they were strangled out of the contest on Sunday but they can’t. There is no reserve batsman in the squad and none was called up even after AB de Villiers was withdrawn.That is not a bad thing for Rilee Rossouw, who has slotted into the No.4 spot and done so fairly well – his slow-go and eventual succumbing to spin in the second ODI was not unique – or Farhaan Behardien, who is starting to show his ability to marshal the tail. But it means that the under-fire Quinton de Kock is not under pressure, although he should be.De Kock does not face any competition for his spot, primarily because he performs the dual role of opening the batting and keeping wicket and should not need to be substituted too much. That in itself is a dangerous notion. South Africa need look no further than their struggles to replace Mark Boucher to know that hegemonies over position are best avoided and although de Kock remains the long-term future, he should still have to look over his shoulder, especially in a situation like the one he is in now.Since making his comeback from an ankle injury, de Kock has played only one notable knock – an undefeated 78 in the World Cup quarterfinal against Sri Lanka – and has otherwise looked a little out of touch. His primary struggle is with his timing on slow surfaces but South Africa can only hope he snaps out of it for good on Wednesday, especially with the Tests looming.At least in that format, South Africa have cover despite de Villiers’ absence. Dane Vilas is in that squad and while it remains unlikely that he will play, he will be there. Just so de Kock knows. Vilas appears to be the man the selectors are identifying as an alternative to de Kock in all formats. He has played an international T20 and is part of the South Africa A squad that will tour India later this year. Perhaps he should have been with the ODI outfit as well but because he isn’t, de Kock has the chance to contribute in Chittagong.Morne Morkel should be given the same opportunity, after being the only member of South Africa’s premier pace pack who was included in the ODI squad. Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were allowed more time off before the Tests but Morkel was taken away from his pregnant wife, only to find himself carrying drinks. In his place, South Africa have blooded Kagiso Rabada and given Kyle Abbott an extended run – both valuable endeavours – which only increase the expectation that if Morkel plays the decider, he will have to make an immediate impact.The same can be said of Ryan McLaren. His international career, which looked over after he was left out of the World Cup squad, seemed to be given a second life when he was recalled for this series. Now, that seems premature because he was benched for the first two games. Chris Morris, who sat on the sidelines of the T20 series, was preferred but may make way for one of McLaren or Wayne Parnell – both more experienced players – as South Africa search for a series win.Parnell’s penchant for inconsistency should mean McLaren is the man for the crunch situation, but that may depend on the make-up of the attack South Africa want. On a new surface in Chittagong, they could decide two seamers are enough and give Aaron Phangiso the remaining place in the attack, to work alongside Imran Tahir and JP Duminy. Phangiso, unlike the other three who have not featured in the ODIs, did at least play in the T20s so will go in to the match with some game time.Ultimately, it’s exactly that – game time – which South Africa wanted to give its players in Bangladesh. But now that the series is on the line, they will have to come up with a way to balance giving everyone a run with going for a win.

How the slower delivery came to become an essential weapon in every seamer’s armoury

Jo Harman14-Nov-2015When tracking the evolution of the slower ball, there’s really only one person with whom to start: Franklyn Dacosta Stephenson. AOC located the former Notts and Sussex allrounder on a golf course in Barbados where he now plays professionally. He also runs the Franklyn Stephenson Academy, a training facility for the island’s emerging young cricketers and players from overseas, and is only too happy to describe how he pioneered a delivery that has now become an essential weapon in any seamer’s armoury.Stephenson first conceived the slower ball while playing for Rawtenstall in the Lancashire leagues during the early ’80s. As the club’s overseas star he was expected to bowl a lot of overs and would sometimes switch to bowling off-breaks to ease the workload. While bowling spin he’d send down the occasional quicker delivery with no discernible change in action, which in turn lead him to invert the method and use the slower delivery as his change-up when bowling pace.”I tested it in the nets and it really caused a lot of havoc,” he says. “When I tried it in a game it was a real revelation – nobody knew what had happened! As I let it go of the ball the batsman would duck and the ball would then drop and hit the base of the stumps. When it came out of my hand it kind of floated and a lot of batsmen thought it was a beamer. That was an amazing thing. I got stronger and stronger at it for a couple of years in the leagues before I then bowled it at county level.”County batsmen didn’t know what had hit them. Stephenson was one of the domestic game’s most prolific bowlers in the late ’80s and early ’90s, first with Notts between 1988 and 1991 and then Sussex from 1992 to 1995, and his slower ball, delivered as an off-cutter, became his trademark. In 1988 – when Stephenson took 125 first-class wickets at 18 and hit more than 1,000 runs – he says 25 of those victims were snared using his slowie, a phenomenally high percentage for four-day cricket when the batsman’s modus operandi is defence.Such a potent weapon was never going to remain secret for long and the arms race began. Chris Cairns, who famously fooled Chris Read into thinking a yorker was a beamer at Lord’s in 1999, was a flatmate of Stephenson’s and would pick the Bajan’s brains for hours on how to bowl the perfect slower delivery. Wasim Akram, one of the true masters of the art, said he first developed his in 1991 after watching Stephenson bamboozle county batsmen. “I said I must learn to bowl it,” he said. “I spoke to a lot of people, Malcolm Marshall, Richard Hadlee, and then went to the nets and worked on it.”

“It’s Charles Darwin’s evolution, mate – you’ve got to survive. I was never going to be Glenn McGrath or Dennis Lillee… I had to develop other skills – I was forced to evolve”Adam Hollioake

Adam Hollioake, another who used slower balls to great effect as Surrey gobbled up trophies in the late ’90s and early ’00s, says it was Steve Waugh who first alerted him to the delivery’s possibilities. In a neat twist, Stephenson recalls that Waugh was the recipient of his finest-ever slower delivery when the Aussie was playing for Somerset in 1988. “First ball I bowled to him was a slower ball and he ducked it,” remembers Stephenson. “He never saw it but he was still trying to play the shot with his head down to the ground.” It would seem that the dismissal left an imprint on the future Australian captain, but while Stephenson delivered his slower ball as a cutter, Waugh’s preferred method was out the back of the hand.”I remember when I first joined Surrey everyone used to bowl this off-spin slower ball which I never really liked,” says Hollioake. “That was the most popular one, I think it probably still is. It’s an easy one to bowl. The first guy I saw bowling a slower ball really well was Steve Waugh. He started bowling it out the back of the hand and what I worked out then from watching on TV was the key to a good slower ball was the bounce, because that’s what made the batsman hit the ball up in the air. When you bowl a normal ball there’s an element of backspin on the ball – through the sheer release of the ball you impart backspin on it as it leaves your hand – which makes it skid on, so if you can bowl a ball with topspin or no spin on it, theoretically it should bounce more. That was my thinking. With all due respect, Waugh wasn’t Wasim Akram or Glenn McGrath, he was your average sort of medium-pacer. It was then that I realised what a successful delivery it could be.”The likes of Waugh and Hollioake using the slower ball so effectively marked a new chapter in the delivery’s evolution. While Stephenson was a genuine quick, using his slower ball as a dramatic change-up, military medium-pacers were now utilising it in a more subtle way. “It’s Charles Darwin’s evolution, mate – you’ve got to survive,” says Hollioake. “I was never going to be Glenn McGrath or Dennis Lillee or even Darren Gough or Dominic Cork. I had to develop other skills – I was forced to evolve. I wasn’t good enough to bowl without that change of pace. Some people have an inswinger and an outswinger, and it’s not like I’m 6ft 4in or bowled at 90mph, so varying my pace was pretty much solely what I relied on.”When charting the progress of the slower ball, it seems all roads lead to Waugh. Hollioake too says his most memorable slower ball dismissal was that of his hero at the SCG. “I got Steve out first ball, I think it was his 200th ODI. I was like, ‘Take that, I’ll give you a slower ball!’ It’s like the coward’s way of getting a wicket! It’s not like bouncing someone out or cleaning up someone’s stumps with a 90mph yorker. It’s not exactly gladiator-type stuff!”

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Franklyn Stephenson developed the slower ball while trying to manage the great workload of an overseas pro in county cricket•Getty ImagesWith 2003 came the advent of T20 – a format that would revolutionise the role of the slower delivery. While slowies were already a familiar part of the game, there were a relatively small number of bowlers who would use them regularly throughout an innings. It was still by and large considered a specialist art reserved for skilled death bowlers such as Gloucestershire’s Ian Harvey.With batsmen now on the charge from ball one and bowlers feeling the pinch more than ever, the slower ball became an essential delivery for any seamer worth his salt. Surrey won the inaugural Twenty20 Cup with their skipper Hollioake topping the wicket-taking charts. “I think I adapted to T20 pretty well,” he says. “Because I tended to bowl my overs at the end of the innings anyway, when T20 came in it was like the whole innings was the end of the innings. I didn’t feel like it made any difference to me but I think it accelerated the need for guys who didn’t necessarily bowl at the end of the innings to develop a knowledge of slower balls.”One of those guys was Hollioake’s Surrey teammate Rikki Clarke, now perhaps the finest exponent of the slower ball in county cricket. His preferred method is the back of the hand delivery and it’s proved so successful that he rarely deviates from it, despite having a couple of variations in his locker. Now at Warwickshire, Clarke’s economy-rate of 5.41 in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast was by far the lowest in the competition, in no small part down to his well-disguised slower delivery.

The variations

Back of the hand
Delivered out of the back of the hand in the manner of a quicker googly, the seam remains upright but overspin creates extra bounce. The key here is disguise.
The master: Ian Harvey
Split fingers
Fingers placed wider and either side of the seam, with the ball lodged in the webbing between index and middle fingers, thus slowing release and meaning that a full delivery should dip late.
The master: Glenn McGrath
Off-cutter
Rather than having the index and middle fingers together on or either side of the seam, the middle finger moves round the ball and is slightly pulled down at the point of release, making the ball jag from off stump to leg.
The master: Franklyn Stephenson
Leg-cutter
Reverse of the off-cutter, the index finger shifts round the ball – and again is slightly pulled down at point of release – meaning the ball cuts from leg stump to off.
The master: Malcolm Marshall
Knuckle ball
An idea borrowed from baseball, the knuckle ball is gripped with the outside of the crooked knuckle – using either two fingers or one – and sees the ball flicked out at the point of release, slowing it down and creating skid off the pitch.
The master: Zaheer Khan
Deep in the fingers
Typically fast bowlers grip the ball with the tips of their fingers, creating pace and whip. Holding the ball deeper and back in the palm of the hand slows the release and gives the delivery late dip.
The master: Brett Lee

“For the back of the hand slower ball I try my best to finish my action, and everything else is just normal,” says Clarke. “As the arm is coming over, I just turn the wrist slightly to get the palm facing the batter, then pull through as fast as I can and finish my action. The only time you have problems is when you’ve not finished your action properly. Finish the action and it should go where you want it and have that dip, topspin and kick that buys you that split second where a batter is thinking, ‘What is that?’.”I was a bit self-taught, but watching Adam Hollioake in my younger days I saw how effective they were and how they picked him up wickets and got him dot balls when he wanted them. When I first came through it was predominantly off- or leg-cutters, then Ian Harvey introduced the back of the hand slower ball and Adam had the knuckle ball or split finger ball.”Generally these days it’s moved away from the cutters but it’s down to the individual and what’s best suited to them. Matt Coles at Kent uses a split finger ball and a knuckle ball, there’s Jade [Dernbach] with the back of the hand slower ball. At Warwickshire we have Recordo Gordon who uses the leg-cutter and people just can’t hit it. It’s so subtle in his action and it just holds up, moves a touch and it looks like he’s bowling a quicker ball but people are through their shot. If I went with the leg-cutter it wouldn’t work as well because I don’t have the pace, so I have to go with a more deceptive seam-up delivery that looks like a normal ball but drops down by 12-14mph.”

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With the slower delivery becoming an increasingly important tool for bowlers, and batsmen wising up to the myriad variations, it’s no surprise that standards are rising. “We’re talking about evolution,” says Hollioake. “There are so many guys who bowl it so well now. Back in our day there weren’t as many guys doing it well so I stood out. If I bowled it these days I’d just be another bloke bowling a slower ball. The general standard has lifted. The guys these days, they’ve got to have a bloody good one. You can’t just run up and turn an off-spinner out because you’re going to get whacked out of the ground.”So if the general standard of slower balls is rising, and more bowlers are equipped to deliver them, then should we be seeing them utilised more frequently in Test and first-class cricket? After all, many of the most famous slower deliveries – Cairns, Walsh, Harmison – were Test dismissals, but perhaps they’re the exceptions that prove the rule?Clarke says they’re typically a “last resort” and should perhaps be used more, but Hollioake doesn’t expect to see many sent down in Test cricket. “The guys who are bowling in Test cricket have all the features that I lacked: height, pace and swing,” he says. “If I wasn’t 5ft 11in, bowled 10mph faster and could swing the ball both ways, you probably wouldn’t have seen me bowling slower balls either!”The past master Stephenson says he’d like to see more, but points out that there are drawbacks. “If you’ve got a good slower ball it should be used in Test cricket but the thing is batsmen aren’t setting up to play shots. In the one-day game you know that the batsman wants to play big shots, so he’s often already into the stroke. They’re really effective when you know the batsman has already planned to play a big shot. There the slower ball really works.All Out Cricket”You really need to have a fantastic slower ball to actually bowl it in Test or first-class cricket and trouble batsmen because another thing about bowling a slower ball [in Test cricket] is that if you’ve got three slips and a gully for instance, then you don’t have the field set for the delivery.”It’s an intriguing prospect, though, as we contemplate the next process in the slower ball’s evolution. In years to come, will it become commonplace in Test and first-class cricket, just as it has in one-day and T20? With run-rates soaring and bat dominating ball more than ever, bowlers are having to continually evolve in order to redress the balance. It’s a tough world out there. Only the fittest will survive.

West Indies’ marks out of ten after their 2-0 defeat in the Tests against Australia

Brydon Coverdale08-Jan-2016

8

Darren Bravo
Consistently, Bravo looked a class above his fellow West Indian batsmen, and he finished the series second only to Adam Voges on the runs tally with 247 at 49.40. His first-innings hundred in Hobart and 81 in Melbourne both came with little support around him, and his MCG effort was notable also for the way he dug in and batted time. If there were times when his running lacked urgency or he didn’t rotate the strike enough, they could be forgiven, for he was at least placing a high price on his wicket and scoring strongly.

7

Kraigg Brathwaite
The only specialist batsman who came close to matching Bravo, Brathwaite finished with 229 runs at 45.80. His 94 in the second innings in Hobart was remarkable for the way it dominated the total of 148; it was the highest percentage ever scored by one West Indian batsman in a completed Test innings. That was followed by 85 in the rain-ravaged Sydney Test. Brathwaite might have missed two chances to score a Test hundred in Australia, but he only enhanced his reputation as one of the key men for the next decade of West Indies cricket.Carlos Brathwaite
What a breath of fresh air this Brathwaite was. He debuted in Melbourne and with the bat immediately showed that he was up for the fight in Test cricket. His 59 in the first innings was punctuated by two let-offs from no-balls, but his 69 in Sydney showed that it was no fluke. As a batsman he showed he was capable of defence but preferred to take the attack to the Australians. As a bowler he took only one wicket but was the only bowler besides the captain who was able to keep the runs down to less than four an over. Off the field Brathwaite was just as impressive, whether speaking during the pink Test about his mother’s fight with breast cancer, or during the Melbourne Test of the bat company he started in Barbados.

5.5

Jason Holder
What to make of Holder’s series? As a bowler, he took only two wickets at 93 apiece, but he was the one man who throughout the series kept the runs down, costing only 3.04 an over. With the bat he had only one innings of value but it was an impressive one, his second-innings 68 at the MCG and century partnership with Denesh Ramdin giving West Indies half a chance of playing out a draw. And as captain he held himself well, led from the front and did not shirk responsibility, though he is very much learning on the job.Denesh Ramdin
Things were looking grim early in the series for Ramdin, who began with 8, 4 and 0. But his second-innings 59 in Melbourne, part of a 100-run stand with Holder, was important in showing West Indies were up for the fight, and he backed it up with a half-century in Sydney, albeit completed on the fifth day when there was no chance of a result. Behind the stumps he was presented with very few chances throughout the series, a result of lacklustre bowling.

4

Rajendra Chandrika
Chandrika did not pass fifty in any of his four innings, but he did display an ability to take the shine off the new ball. Aside from his duck in the second innings in Hobart, Chandrika gradually lasted longer and longer as the series wore on, to the point where he soaked up 130 balls and 164 minutes in the second innings at the MCG. He missed the final Test in Sydney due to injury, but there were signs that Chandrika – a man with only one first-class century to his name – has the patience to be effective as a Test opener.Jomel Warrican
The only West Indian who took more than two wickets in the series – and doesn’t that say a lot in itself? – Warrican finished with five at 76.00. By collecting two in the first session of the series Warrican did his part in giving West Indies a good start, but it was all downhill for them from there. After he took three in that first innings he did not claim another wicket until the last day in Sydney, where a couple more were added to his tally in the rained-out draw. And to his credit, he was not dismissed in the series: five innings, five not-outs, 44 runs. Perhaps a promotion from No. 11 beckons.

2

Kemar Roach
These marks are entirely for his batting. Roach scored more runs at a better average than specialists Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood, and his 31 from 94 balls in West Indies’ first innings of the series was instrumental in allowing Bravo time to reach his century. But Roach’s place in this team is as a bowler, and he was so far off the pace it was hard to believe he kept his spot. His speed was down and he failed to build any pressure. The low point was being taken off after just one over (which cost 15 runs) with the new ball on Boxing Day. Series figures of 0 for 247 at 6.02 an over are about as bad as it gets for a strike bowler.Jerome Taylor
Like Roach, Taylor was unable to keep the runs tight even if the wickets weren’t coming. He leaked 5.58 an over and picked up 2 for 257 in the series, both of his wickets coming in the first innings at the MCG. Before the series, many observers thought West Indies’ batting would be its major concern but the bowling was in fact the big worry. That the two most experienced members of the attack, Taylor and Roach, combined took 2 for 504 at nearly a run a ball tells the story of the series.Jermaine Blackwood
A young batsman of great promise, Blackwood is currently experienced the first real slump of his Test career. After his 92 against Sri Lanka in Galle in October, he has played seven innings for a top score of 28, and this tour of Australia brought him 58 runs at 11.60. It began with a pair in Hobart, and Blackwood had little impact on the series.Shannon Gabriel
It is hard to mark a man who took part in only one innings of the series, but Gabriel at least took one wicket during that innings, bowling Joe Burns on the first day of the campaign. He finished with 1 for 59 from 10 overs but took no further part due to an ankle injury.

1

Shai Hope
Like Gabriel, it is hardly fair to judge Hope on one innings, but the fact is that by scoring 9 runs in his only involvement, in the rained-out Sydney Test, he had no impact on proceedings at all.Marlon Samuels
West Indies needed their experienced batsmen to stand up on this tour. Bravo did. Kraigg Brathwaite did. Samuels did not. This was a stinker of a series for Samuels, who scored 35 runs at an average of 7. His body language was criticised, his lack of obvious on-field assistance for the young captain was noted, his fielding poor and his running between the wickets confused. To add insult to other insults, he was banned mid-series from bowling by the ICC due to an illegal action.

Former Sri Lanka opener Marvan Atapattu opens up about the challenges facing him in his new role as Zimbabwe’s batting consultant

Interview by Karthik Krishnaswamy12-Mar-2016What brought you to this role with the Zimbabwe team?I am a professional and one of the reasons I left my earlier coaching job [as Sri Lanka’s batting coach] was that I wanted to spend time with my family, which I haven’t done for, not years, but decades. And this suits me well. This is a consultant job. Also, this is a set-up where I know the personalities that I am working with and so I didn’t have much hesitation [in accepting it]. I am not working on a full-time basis but on a consultancy contract which gives me time to allocate to my family.Were there any cultural changes that you had to overcome?That was one of the biggest questions that arose when I took up the job. But, honestly, it was not difficult at all. These guys are very easy to work with, and willing to learn and work with a new ideas. As far as I am concerned, no one is a guru in this game. We are all learning. There is always a new experience coming up every minute, as long as you are open to it. Then it’s easy to get into different cultures and pass on information.What were the differences you found between the Sri Lankan players you have coached before and this Zimbabwe team?It’s more my approach than them, to be honest. It was a case of knowing some people from a very young age in my previous job, whereas here that’s a bit difficult. Initially, I was not quite sure how these guys would take it, but let me tell you they are very humble people, very willing to learn, trying to explore themselves, wanting to do well. They know that they had a rich cricketing culture before and they value that. So they know a bit of history, how they have gone about their game in the past, which is good, and they want to achieve something better for their country – all that helps.How do you assess Zimbabwe as a batting unit?I would like to see them perform at a slightly higher level – that goes without saying. That’s one of the reasons we are here playing the qualifiers. If we were any better than this, we would have been playing from the 15th [of March, when the Super 10s start]. You have to accept that. Zimbabwe have not done all that well to get into the main group. It does not mean that you have to write yourselves off; it does mean that you have to work that much harder, and try and get there. Hopefully we all understand that. ICC can provide us with a bit more cricket than what they have provided us with. This exposure won’t happen by staying at home. You can talk about improvement till the cows come home but how do you get there? Only by exposure, by playing matches. People need to support countries like Zimbabwe to develop the game.People like Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza have said the mental area of the game is a major area you focus on. Could you talk about that?I believe when a cricketer gets to a stage – everyone has a limit, not everyone can be Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul [Dravid] or Brian Lara – but pushing people from their comfort zones to see what levels they reach is one of the main challenges for a coach. You don’t know until you push what that limit is. You don’t push by having them for just one hour in the nets. You push them by understanding what their thinking is, where they stand in terms of mental stability. So I try talk to them. It’s not rocket science. Share experiences, a few ideas here and there, to get a picture of the person.You spoke about challenging players to get the best out of them. Any specific examples?Top-order batsmen in most countries today have not been top-order batsmen from age-group cricket, like Under-19, that they have played. It’s a challenge for those individuals. The greatest example I can give you is Chris Gayle. He started as an offspinner for West Indies and batted at No. 8. He is one of the greatest openers – at least in the shorter game – the world has seen. It’s all about the challenges you present the players and you never know what can happen.When you were a young player coming up, are there things coaches told you that you did not pay heed to then, but understand better now?You use that to your advantage. At this juncture, as a coach, the main thing is to sell your idea. You don’t walk up to a batsman and say, “Do it”. I try to sell an idea which might be right for a person but I do not force it on him. If it’s a player who is sure of his place, cemented his place, I might do it bit differently from what I would do with a youngster. I would do it a bit differently for a person who I think is a bit arrogant. It’s more personal management and about knowing the players. That’s why you need a bit of time with them to know where they come from, how they react, how emotional they are, what their background is – all that needs to be understood before you challenge or present an idea to somebody.How do you see this Zimbabwe group in terms of temperament?With [more] exposure, I think they can challenge themselves a bit better. If you don’t have enough cricket it’s hard to experiment. You are talking about a limited number of games which you need to win. If you don’t win you don’t get any more matches. But for you to win, you need exposure. It’s kind of hard to come to a balance.”My biggest line is: ‘Let your bat talk’. You can say you don’t have exposure but when you are going well, make it a day everybody remembers.”•AFPHow do you deal with a situation where the best players Zimbabwe produce might leave international cricket for better financial opportunities in County cricket, like Brendan Taylor?I am not into that. I have worked not even 30 days [with this team] but I have heard some things. That shouldn’t be an excuse, I think. If you are a good player, you will be able to manage it. All that can be taken into consideration.In these 30 days, are there any examples of changes in a player’s technique or mindset that have given you a lot of satisfaction?That’s something you have to ask the players, but what I can guarantee is that I haven’t kept anything inside. I am a person who gives his opinion. It may not be right every time, but I am not shy at all to give my opinion through correct channels, which is important at this stage.How would you challenge a player like Sibanda, or maybe even Hamilton Masakadza, who have the skills but haven’t reached the levels they are capable of?My biggest line is: “Let your bat talk”. You can say you don’t have exposure but when you are going well, make it a day everybody remembers. That was the line when I was playing too. Things have gone well but, hopefully, with time, I will understand them more and more.You had six double hundreds in Test cricket. When you were going well, you really made it count. Is that something you talk about with these players?That’s always the case with an opening batsman’s life. You face the new ball, you don’t know what the wicket is doing. There are days when a catch gets dropped, an lbw is not given, you take charge and maximise. There are days when you are given out, days when you get out to a good ball, and times when a bowler bowls an outswinger but it has turned out to be an inswinger. That’s cricket. All that happens. So you’ve got to maximise on days when you get starts.Do you also speak to players a lot outside training? What kind of conversations do you have?I haven’t done much, to be honest. I must tell you that they are very, very cooperative. For them, somebody bringing in experience must be interesting. Certainly, it would have been interesting if I were one of them. I think things have gone well. It seems people have started to come out with their ideas. That’s very important. I can talk for an hour without a problem but if I don’t get a response from the person to whom I am talking, it’s not a healthy conversation. They have started talking about themselves, about their game, how they play, how they think, how they prepare. It’s important as I can know that this person thinks along these lines and I can adjust my approach accordingly. The more open a person is, the easier it is to get across to him to sell my ideas to him. I might say the same thing differently to two people.To create a bond with players, do you need to know their personal lives well too?That’s one of the key things. When I say personal, I don’t have to know personal, personal things. But I would like to know what their education levels are, how attached they are to their parents, what kind of family life they have. Is he a cool person or hot-tempered? What time is he at his best – is it morning or evening? For example, if I get hold of a person at 9 am, and he is not a morning person, he won’t like it. If he is a night bird, then I have to make the effort to meet him at 11 pm. That’s when conversation gets healthier.You have known Dav Whatmore for a long time. What is your working relationship with him like?He is one guy who changed my career, just by talking. I am very grateful to him. It’s been very easy working with him.You said he changed your career. What is that one thing he said to you?When I made those five zeroes [at the start of my Test career], he said to me that if I made another zero, my mother and father wouldn’t change.You must have learned a lot from him as a coach as well.My coaching experience at the higher level is six years now, compared to his 30 years. There is a lot to learn from him. He may look an arrogant man, he may look a guy full of emotions while the game is on, but once he gets to the bus or the hotel, he is a different man. He calms down very soon and knows how to talk to players.Having played against them before, what difference do you see between that Zimbabwe team and the current one?The consistency is missing, at least in two departments – bowling and batting – compared to the guys I played against. It comes from exposure. And maybe the hunger from the players.

Having returned to England’s Test side, James Taylor was finally gaining reward for hard work but all of a sudden his cricket dreams have been shattered

George Dobell12-Apr-20164:20

Iain O’Brien: Taylor a genuine fighter

A week ago, James Taylor was approaching the season with a view to consolidating his positions in the England Test and ODI squads.It was the next step in a progression that started long ago. Long before the England debut or the limited-overs captaincy of Nottinghamshire. Long before he was winning awards at Shrewsbury School or setting records at Loughborough Town and Leicestershire. Long before he was having dispensation to miss school to play county cricket or representing England Under-19. He has been playing cricket for as long as he can remember. It has been the constant theme of his life and he was, in his coach’s word, right on the cusp of fulfilling all the dreams of childhood.But now he is lying in hospital, awaiting a major operation and reeling from the knowledge that his life has changed irrevocably and his dream has been dashed. Everything he was building towards – in career terms, anyway – has been swept from under him. Aged just 26, his life as a professional sportsman is over.When he started to feel unwell, during warm-ups ahead of the second day of the match against Cambridge MCCU last Wednesday, he presumed that it was the first signs of a virus that had swept through the Nottinghamshire squad during their pre-season tour of Barbados. As he returned home, driven from Cambridge to Nottingham by his team-mate Jackson Bird, his heart began to race and his light headedness increased. His girlfriend and mother, sensing these was something unusual in this normally phlegmatic character complaining of chest pains, insisted he went to A&E. It was a wise intervention.He was admitted to hospital that evening and, as each test followed, the extent of the problem became apparent. On Monday the final set of scans revealed, as Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, put it “the worst case scenario.” His Nottinghamshire team-mates were informed at around 9am on Tuesday and a statement released an hour later.It is a desperately cruel twist of fate. There are many examples of cricketers forced into retirement through injury: from well-known cases such as Craig Kieswetter to dimly remembered such as Matt Bulbeck or Simon Ecclestone. Each case represents a personal tragedy. But to add to the loss of a career, the acute health anxiety is a doubly cruel development.It is no exaggeration to suggest that England have lost a future captain. Taylor had already led them in one ODI – the rain-ruined match in Dublin last May – and, with Eoin Morgan’s future uncertain and England keen not to overburden Joe Root, it seems highly likely more leadership opportunities would have presented themselves.”Absolutely he was a potential England captain,” Newell, who is also an England selector said. “He captained for us and he batted better when he was captain. With the Champions Trophy and the World Cup coming up in this country there was every chance he could have been a star in those. He was an intelligent batter who finishes games off. He was right on the cusp.”His team-mates, understandably, were shocked and upset. Steven Mullaney, with whom he shared a house for a couple of years, dedicated his century in the on-going match against Surrey to his friend, while Nottinghamshire confirmed that a role could be found for him to “help out” around the club when he has recovered from his operation.”He was a lad who had the world at his feet and unfortunately it has been taken away from him,” Mullaney said. “But we are just glad he is still with us and we will give him our full support.”James Taylor pulled off some stunning grabs at short leg in South Africa•Getty ImagesHis fitness – Newell referred to him as “the original gym bunny” and “the fittest man in the squad” – will be a huge asset now as he battles to recover from heart surgery. “That level of fitness has saved him from a worse fate,” Newell said. “But what he wanted to do since he was a kid has been taken away from him.”In the short term it might be quite painful for him to come and watch cricket and be involved. But there’s no reason he can’t be involved in cricket in the future. In the short term, that may be something that keeps him going through the rest of the summer. There are all sorts of options for him.”As a player, he will be remembered for some stunning catches at short-leg – his fielding during the Test series victory in South Africa was exceptional – a strength that belied his diminutive stature and a maturity that belied his years. His ODI century against Australia at Old Trafford last year was a model in assessing the conditions and batting accordingly. He was robbed of another international century by some poor umpiring during England’s opening match of the 2015 World Cup.’Titch’ as he was known to team-mates and friends, leaves behind him a career that many who played for a decade longer could envy. Almost as soon as he started playing, he broke records: the youngest Leicestershire player to 1,000 Championship runs in a season; the youngest to a List A century and, at the time, the fifth youngest English player to record a first-class double-century.He was the Cricket Writers’ Club’s young player of the year in 2009 and captained Nottinghamshire’s limited-overs side in 2014 and 2015. He had shown, without registering the scores to underline the point, that he had the temperament and quality to prosper at Test level: an innings of 76 at Sharjah demonstrated he could play spin; an innings of 70 in Durban that he could play pace. He was popular, calm and exuded enjoyment for the game and the lifestyle. The future was golden.So there is no way to disguise the fact that this is an innings cut horribly short. Encapsulating the sense that there was so much more to come, his final List A innings – and his final England innings – was a century in Kimberley. He retires from the game younger than Andrew Strauss or Jonathan Trott were when they made their Test debuts. It is, put simply, a damn shame.But this is a case of a career lost and a life saved. This condition often manifests itself only after it is too late (as a statement from the British Heart Foundation put it: “Tragically the first sign that the condition is present can be when someone has a sudden cardiac arrest”) and, at least in Taylor’s case, there is no reason he cannot go on to enjoy a rich and fulfilling life.As Newell put it: “I think the initial devastation of being told he’s not going to play cricket again has been tempered by how grateful he is to be alive.” Such choices provide welcome perspective.The ECB were in the process of reviewing their cardiac screening process anyway, but this incident will no doubt raise questions as to whether his condition might have been picked up sooner. At present, professional players are screened at around the ages of 20 and 23 and, unless any abnormalities are found, not usually after that.Taylor had not undergone a scan since 2013. Such screening probably saved the life of Calum Haggett who was diagnosed with an aortic root dilation and leaking heart valve in 2010. He underwent surgery and continues to play for Kent. Wilf Slack, who died at the crease aged 34, was less fortunate.Though the condition – generally genetic – is incurable, it can be managed. Taylor will undergo surgery on Thursday or Friday. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) will be fitted that detects dangerous heart rhythms and shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm. It may also be some comfort to know that he is insured – both under the terms of his incremental contract with the ECB and personal accident and illness cover through the PCA – so any potential financial worries will, at least, be eased.Sympathy for Taylor will extend far beyond any of his clubs – Worcestershire, where he attended the academy, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire – and far beyond supporters of England cricket. He is bright, well connected – as Taylor was born upstairs, his father was drinking tea with Prince Charles downstairs – and personable. If he shows any interest in moving into coaching or the media, he will find many doors open to him.There will be a period, no doubt, of transition and even mourning for what has been lost. But better to mourn a career than a young man. James Taylor’s playing career may be over, but he has the character and chance to take a fresh guard and build a different sort of successful innings. For that, at least, we can be grateful.

He was at the inaugural T20 international in Auckland, but 20-year-old Australia A opener Matt Renshaw is anything but the T20 generation’s typical batsman.

Brydon Coverdale28-Jul-2016David Warner, it turns out, is not the first left-handed Australian opener to lose the plot with Joe Root. Not by a good decade or so. Way back, when Root was far too young to enter a Walkabout pub, a young fellow got upset with him – a young fellow who may even become Warner’s batting partner in Tests one day. His name was Matt Renshaw.True, Renshaw was not at the time Australian. He was as English as Queen Elizabeth, though somewhat better at batting. And he got plenty of batting practice, often at the expense of Root, who was five years his senior. Renshaw’s father, Ian, and Root’s dad, Matt, played together in the firsts at Sheffield Collegiate, and the two boys would take the field after play.”We used to play on the outfield after the game, which was a lot of fun,” Renshaw told ESPNcricinfo. “I went back to England in 2014 and I caught up with him and their family for a week or so. One of the first things he said was he never used to get a bat, it was always me. Then, if I got out, I’d start crying. I think I ended up doing most of the batting.”To be fair, Renshaw was young enough that crying was still an acceptable response to being dismissed. By the age of seven, he had moved with his family to New Zealand. When he was nearly 11, the Renshaws moved again, this time to Brisbane, and have been there ever since. Renshaw found a new national identity, and now, at 20, is about to make his Australia A debut.It could easily have worked out differently. Renshaw said he never felt like a New Zealander during his four years there, but England was a different story. He still has a British passport, and when he left on that same trip back home in 2014, he did so with the thought in the back of his mind that pursuing a career in England could be a possibility.”There was a time when I went to England, I wasn’t signed to anyone over here and I was thinking it could be a possibility,” Renshaw said. “But then, a week into my trip there, on my 18th birthday, I got a text from Dad saying Queensland want to sign you on a rookie contract. That made my decision pretty easy.”Queensland knew it was worth investing in Renshaw. He became the youngest batsman to make his first-class debut for Queensland since Martin Love, and in his fifth match he ground out 170, making him the Bulls’ youngest Shield centurion of all time. The previous record-holder, Love, was at that match in Mackay, working as the Queensland physio.”I was in the ice bath and someone came and mentioned that stat,” Renshaw said. “He looked over and gave me the little ‘Lovey’ smile and said ‘you’ve got 30 more to go to beat my overall hundreds’.”One of the most remarkable things about Renshaw’s effort was that, at 19, he had the patience required to bed in on a slow and challenging Mackay pitch. His 170 took nearly nine hours, and featured just seven fours and two sixes. That meant 130 runs had come in a combination of ones, twos and threes.”Growing up, I went to the first Twenty20 match, Australia v New Zealand at Eden Park,” Renshaw said. “Everyone was getting into the Twenty20 mode. But I could never really hit those big balls because of my size. I always loved Test cricket as well.”I’ve got quite good at switching on and off between balls. It’s something I’ve worked on. When I was younger, I wasn’t the biggest player, so the only way I could really score runs was to nurdle them around and try to bat for as long as I could, which I loved.”I’d like to expand. I’ve been doing a lot of work in this off-season,trying to work out my one-day game, and, hopefully, maybe get a game in one-day cricket in the future. But I’ve got my opportunity with longer form cricket, so I don’t want to try and make something in the short form and then lose that longer form.”Renshaw nominates Alastair Cook as the kind of batsman he would like to become. Not surprisingly, he has watched a fair bit of England over the years, given his parentage. His father, a university sports scientist who moved around for work, bought the DVD box set of the 2005 Ashes, which a young Renshaw watched, thinking that one day he might like to play for England.Instead, he has already played for the Australia Under-19s, and, after finishing fifth on the Sheffield Shield run tally last season with 738 at 43.41, this weekend is likely to mark his debut for Australia A in their four-day match against South Africa A in Brisbane. When he first wore the Australian colours, it was not Renshaw, but his parents who found it a little bit strange to see.”I think it was probably harder for Mum and Dad watching me,” he said, “because they’d lived in England their whole life, and then watching me play Under-19s for Australia, they’re like ‘who do I support here?'”

Stats highlights from the fourth day in Colombo where Sri Lanka stretched their lead with Kaushal Silva’s century

Bharath Seervi16-Aug-20160:58

By The Numbers – Kaushal Silva ends his lean patch

298 Most runs added by the sixth wicket in a Test against Australia, by India at Wankhede Stadium in 1986-87, before Tuesday. At the SSC, Sri Lanka’s sixth wicket aggregated 301 runs – 211 in the first innings and 90 in the second. For India, the sixth wicket had added unbroken 298 runs in the only Indian innings in that Mumbai Test.8 Fifty-plus partnerships for wickets five and lower for Sri Lanka in this series – their joint-most in any Test series. They had eight such stands in India in 2009-10 and in UAE in 2013-14. There have been only two such partnerships from their first four wickets in this series.18 Runs scored by Kaushal Silva in his first five innings of this series, before making 115 in the second innings of this match. He was out for single-digit scores in all those innings and his highest score was just 7. He became the ninth Sri Lanka batsman to score a duck and a century in the same Test.3 Sri Lanka batsmen who made centuries in their maiden Test innings at No. 3. This was the first time Silva batted at No. 3 in Tests, and scored 115. The two other Sri Lanka batsmen to do so are Roshan Mahanama (225 in 1997) and Thilan Samaraweera (142 in 2003-04).2 Occasions of three centuries by Sri Lanka batsmen in a Test against Australia – both at the SSC in Colombo. Before this match, they had three centuries in the same innings in the 1992 Test which they lost by 16 runs.1 Targets of 300 or more successfully chased by visiting teams in Sri lanka – 377 by Pakistan in Pallekele in 2015. Sri Lanka already lead by 288 at the end of the fourth day and the highest successful chase against Sri Lanka at the SSC is 131 by Pakistan in 2000.4 Sri Lanka players who have made centuries in this series – most for them in a series against Australia. Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal and Silva have done it in this series.301 runs added by Sri Lanka’s sixth-wicket in this Test is the most by any team against Australia•ESPNcricinfo Ltd155 Previous highest match aggregate by a Sri Lanka batsman at No. 7 or lower in a Test, by Chamara Kapugedara against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2008-09. De Silva has already made 173 runs in this Test – 129 at No. 7 in the first innings and an unbeaten 44 at No. 8 in the second.0 Instances of a Sri Lanka batsman at No. 6 or lower making 150-plus runs in a Test against Australia, before this match. But two Sri Lanka players have done it in this match – Chandimal (175) and Dhananjaya (173).24 Wickets for Mitchell Starc in this series – most by a non-Asia fast bowler in a Test series of three or fewer matches in Asia. He beat Richard Hadlee’s tally of 23 wickets which also came in Sri Lanka, in 1983-84. The most wickets by any non-Asian bowler in a series of three or fewer matches in Asia is 27 by Shane Warne – against Pakistan in 2003-04.233 Runs conceded by Nathan Lyon in this Test, already the second-most by a non-Asia bowler in a Test in Sri Lanka. Nicky Boje had conceded 236 runs in Galle in 2004.