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In other words, the World T20 in all its glory

Andy Zaltzman25-Mar-2014The World T20 has been doling out its trademark Molotov cocktail of brilliance and bloopers, topped with the over-sugared glacé cherry of incidental entertainment. Its early stages have shown the characteristic mayhem of cricket’s shortest format [correct at the time of writing] in full chaotic swing.It is, as yet, impossible to predict the ultimate destiny of the trophy – on the evidence of previous tournaments, it is barely even worth speculating for at least another few matches, although unbeaten Sri Lanka and India will be extremely concerned at their disastrous early successes and an-almost-certainly-fatal failure to secure a Bad Start, which has been a prerequisite for triumph in the four World T20s played to date.Six WT20 Talking Points
1. Netherlands are unlikely to be tying orange ribbons on the cup next Sunday, but have nevertheless played two hours of unforgettable cricket. Unfortunately, the second of those two hours was unforgettable in a waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-screaming-“please-make-it-stop” kind of way. In their past two matches, they have managed to launch themselves off both ends of the T20 statistical diving board, with one gloriously high-tariff record-splattering run chase, and one landing-painfully-on-the-side-of-the-pool number-crunched capitulation.”Unbelievable” is an overused word in 21st-century sport. It generally functions as shorthand for one or more of: (a) “believable but surprising”; (b) “unprecedented, but, logically, likely to occur at some point”; (c) very good; or (d) “quite good”. But the Dutch hammering of 193 in under 14 overs, after two and a half games of moderate cricket (and following their recent subsidence in the 50-over game), I think just about qualifies as authentically “unbelievable”.Their dismissal for 39 in 10.3 overs against Sri Lanka – the second-lowest score and second-fastest skittling in any T20 match – was more comfortably within the realms of credibility, but nonetheless rather dispiriting, and arguably the most disastrous Dutch collapse since the tulip market took a nasty tumble in the late 1630s.2. T20 is a laboratory of cricketing experimentation, in the quest for new shots that combine run-scoring effectiveness with an almost heroic level of physical ugliness, and in new bowling strategies to counteract the facts that batsmen can now hit the ball in what often seems to be a mathematics-defying 420-degree radius, and that modern bats have alarmingly expanded the batsmen’s margin for slogging error. However, the most significant advance on display in this tournament has been the stumps, which light up when struck.It seems almost tragically ridiculous now that cricket persisted – survived, even – for hundreds of years without stumps and bails with flashing lights in. By ignoring technology about which someone must have thought within approximately 25 seconds of Thomas Edison first demonstrating the electric light bulb in 1879 (thanks be to the internet, for she is all-knowing and all-seeing), cricket missed the opportunity to become the world’s most popular form of entertainment.Had the automaticoflashwickets been implemented in the late 19th century, would football hold its current global pre-eminence? Would anyone bothered to invent cinema, when all the entertainment the human brain could possibly require was already available at either end of a cricket pitch? Answers: no, and definitely no.Cricket may have realised the need for, and glory of, instantly illuminating stumps far too late in its history, but it must now embrace further technological enhancements to improve the great game still further. These should include:* An anti-tampering ball programmed to says “ow” when scratched, or, “oi, hands off” when illegally fondled. Uses technology developed by the doll industry.* The honesty bat, which emits smoke from the edges when the ball has been snicked. There must be some chemical compound that burns instantly on contact with hard leather spheres. We put a man on the moon almost 45 years ago, there should already be an honesty bat in every household.* Umpires on Segways. Controlled by an official ICC game-accelerating-chivvier in the stands. No more will cricket fans suffer the agonising trudge of two umpires converging on the midwicket area to discuss (a) fading light, (b) impending lightning, or (c) pub options. Instead, the officials will be forcibly whizzed at high speed for an instant confabulation, before a three-second big-screen countdown forces them into making a decision before (a) nightfall, (b) Armageddon or (c) closing time.* Injured batsmen on Segways. The cricketing authorities in the sky declared incomprehensibly that runners would be outlawed from top-level cricket, thus preventing non-injured batsmen cheekily taking advantage of the absolutely zero advantage offered by having a runner, and depriving the paying spectator of slapstick run-out opportunities. If they are to persist with this measure, they should at least allow (or force) hobbling batsmen to use Segways to move between the wickets.* Overweight fielders on Segways. Can you honestly tell yourself that you would not have paid to see Inzamam-ul-Haq zooming around the outfield on a Segway? No, you cannot.3. Dale Steyn is good at bowling.4. Stuart Broad is no stranger to slapping his chequebook on the ICC desk, whipping a pen out of his pocket, and saying, “Who shall I make it out to this week?” His fine for a meteorological dig at the umpires seemed a little harsh, however. If anything, he was charitable in claiming that the officials had indulged in some “distinctly average decision-making” when not taking the players off the field in England’s D/L-aggravated defeat to New Zealand. Yes, the game was exciting and the atmosphere was electric. But it was too electric. If leaving the players on the field whilst all manner of a thundering hell was breaking loose in the skies above was distinctly average decision-making, then below-average decision making would presumably have involved ordering the players to carry on playing throughout the storm, whilst wearing medieval suits of armour, accessorised with pointy Kaiser helmets.This is not to say that England were on the wrong end of a massive injustice. They have become extremely adept at finding methods of losing T20 matches. But deciding the outcome of a match after just five second-innings overs seems too contrived, even by T20 standards. More evidence is required. Evidence provided when New Zealand failed in an almost identical chase two days later. We can infer, therefore, that they would 100% definitely have done exactly the same against England, had Apocatequil the ancient Incan thunder god (currently on a gap-year trek around Asia) not intervened. England should be awarded the points. We can also infer that New Zealand would have learned their lesson from this failure, and thus closed out the victory against South Africa. Who should therefore be deducted two points.5. A microstat: Dwayne Smith’s 11 off 29 for West Indies against India was the slowest innings of more than 20 balls by an opener in a T20 international, and the fourth slowest in all T20 history by an opener when batting first.6. There have been 19 matches in nine days in the men’s tournament. After today’s match, and tomorrow’s day off, there will be 12 more games in six days, then two semis and a final played from Thursday to Sunday next week. The women’s tournament has just begun; it comprises 27 matches in 15 days. It feels like a festival of cricket, giving cricket’s newer forces a moment in the spotlight, whilst also pitting the top teams against each other in meaningful contests, and almost guaranteeing daily stories of interest. The 50-over World Cup must be looking on in the greenest of envy.

Plays of the day from the Champions League match between Kings XI Punjab and Hobart Hurricanes

Karthik Krishnaswamy18-Sep-2014The run-out
After a stuttering start, Hobart Hurricanes had recovered momentum courtesy Travis Birt and Jonathan Wells. Their partnership had moved to 52, and Hurricanes looked poised to post a 150-plus total, when Wells chopped Akshar Patel straight to backward point and set off for a single. There was no run in it, but Wells was halfway down the pitch by the time Birt sent him back. Karanveer Singh only had the simple task of throwing the ball to the keeper, and Wells was caught well short of his crease. In the 14 balls that remained after Wells’ departure, Hurricanes only scored 14 runs.The over
Hobart Hurricanes had just lost Wells, but they still had a set Birt in the middle and two overs to come from seam bowlers without too much exposure to the big time. If they thought Anureet Singh would provide them the fodder to launch to a fairly big total, they were mistaken. Anureet bowled the first ball into the blockhole, angling it into the left-handed Birt, and all he could get was a leg-bye. The right-handed Evan Gulbis came on strike, but Anureet stayed around the wicket, and continued to attack the base of the stumps from that angle. Giving neither batsman any room to free their arms, Anureet conceded five singles from the last five balls, and Kings XI were keeping Hurricanes to a very manageable total.The first-baller
It’s Twenty20, of course, but Virender Sehwag is still likelier than any other batsman to chase an extremely wide ball when it’s the first ball of the innings. Having thrown his bat at Doug Bollinger’s first delivery, short and wide and potentially one that the umpire would have called a wide, he only got the toe-end of his bat to it, and third man took an easy catch. It was the 14th time Sehwag had been dismissed in the first over of a T20 innings, enabling him to join David Warner on top of that list.The footwork
Glenn Maxwell might be in the process of writing a new textbook for batsmen, but the virtues that allow him to do so are as old-fashioned as they come – a good eye and lightning-quick feet. On a difficult pitch for unorthodox strokes, he had already struck three fours and two sixes when Evan Gulbis began the 11th over. First ball, Maxwell charged out of his crease, making room to hit through the off side. Gulbis saw this and followed him, angling a shortish ball in towards his body. Far from being cramped for room, Maxwell found a way to adjust, skipping away from the ball in one quick step and freeing his arms to slap the ball over wide mid-off for four.

Our correspondent takes in scenic drives, listens to legends of mobsters, and bids Bangladesh goodbye

Devashish Fuloria11-Nov-2014#KhulnaIsSoSleepy
Khulna is so sleepy its alarm clocks need alarm clocks. It needs its own hashtag and its jokes.At night, though, Khulna is dressed up. Decorative lights along the roads, welcome posters, national flags. It’s the biggest event the city has seen in a long time. The local MP, also a BCB director and a cousin of the prime minister, has taken care of it all.A road near a major intersection is blocked. There’s a stage in it. A concert is on. Flashing lights, lasers. Massive crowd. People pile up on rickshaws to get a view. The backdrop to the stage is a collage of images, at its centre is the ubiquitous face of the MP, flanked by pictures of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe cricketers.One evening in my hotel room, there’s a knock on the door. I open and there is a middle-aged man with a few people behind him. He walks in past me, asks for the CEO. It’s the man from the posters, the MP. He’s looking for the BCB CEO but has the wrong room number.The players’ neighbour
The teams are staying in a hotel nearby but the road that runs past it has been blocked off completely. The fortifications are a bit excessive. Legendary mobster Ershad Sikdar’s house is barely 100m from the hotel, but Sikdar doesn’t live there anymore. Khulna is not the wild west it used to be.Sikdar was famous for his modes of killing. Chopping people up, turning them into blocks of ice, weighing bodies down to sink them in the Rupsha river, putting victims into tanks of carnivorous fish. Used to run a court on his jetty on the Rupsha. Sikdar was a James Bond villain in real life. He was sentenced to death in 2004. His massive two-storeyed villa, the Sworno Kamal, doesn’t say Sworno Kamal anymore. The nameplate on the gate is blank.The official tea-maker
Bullu bhai is everywhere. Dhaka. Khulna. He will make his special lemon tea when you want it, when you don’t want it, before the match, during the match, after the match. The Bangladesh players know him, the journalists and photographers can’t work without him. Once, MS Dhoni tasted a cup of Bullu bhai’s tea. He couldn’t stop at one, and soon the Indian team were fans. Dhoni gave away his team shirt to Bullu bhai, signing it with a personal message. It’s not the only memento Bullu bhai has.He claims he was once Tendulkar’s lucky charm. The day before a match, he says, he showed Tendulkar a picture of Lord Jagannath of Puri while serving him tea. Tendulkar touched the picture, for a blessing. The next day, he scored his 100th hundred.

One policeman comes in, flashes a torch in our faces. Wants to see ID. Hits our driver for smiling. Not sure how I would have reacted to muggers, but policemen are certainly scary

The toughest job in cricket
I spend an hour watching the Test from the terrace of the media centre. The cameramen are there too. I keep my gaze moving; they don’t move. I take a chair; they keep standing. One of them is from Bangalore. He shows me his rig during the break. Heavy machinery. Controls on both handles – buttons to switch the communication feeds on the right, and a dial to control focus on the left. The dial has to be managed while moving the camera to keep the ball in sight, a process repeated 540 times a day by the cameraman. The players get to rest, the umpires swap ends, but the cameramen just cannot switch off. It’s physically demanding – like driving a motorbike while standing.The moonlit ride
Mashrafe Mortaza is from Khulna. When in town, he likes to eat at a roadside shack at Zero Point, outside the city limits. I head there for dinner via the impressive Rupsha bridge. It’s a segmental bridge, fairly new, quite tall, gives great views.The road is fantastic but lonely. Open fields on either side. No artificial light anywhere. The electric rickshaw has its lights off too, saving its batteries.One of those in the company is quiet. Says road is notorious for muggings. We are stopped. Police van parked in the darkness. No lights again. One policeman comes in, flashes a torch in our faces. Wants to see ID. Hits our driver for smiling. We are let off after a few minutes. Not sure how I would have reacted to muggers, but policemen are certainly scary.The selection news
Limited choices for dinner in Khulna town centre. #KhulnaIsSoSleepy. Local journalists list all the restaurants they have been to, or would want to visit. The number is three. One of them caters at the stadium. The second is within our hotel complex. Third is a short walk away. Nothing to do in Khulna either.One evening gets interesting. I get a call from another journalist. A surprise selection is on the cards for the third Test. I am told to keep it quiet and confirm it the next morning. It could be an exclusive. After dinner, I notice others discussing it softly. So it’s not an exclusive anymore. I wait. The next morning I am the last to realise the news was planted to send everyone on a wild goose chase. Someone even called up the board to check, but was told off. Luckily it was not me.Bullu bhai: Lemon tea specialist and Sachin Tendulkar’s lucky charm•Devashish Fuloria/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe most soothing bus ride ever
The bus is late. Next, we hear it is cancelled. Lots of upset people force the company to arrange for a better bus.Khulna to Jessore is one of the most beautiful routes ever – tree-lined, ditches full of water all along, palm trees, shacks with roofs thatched with cucumber vines, no plastic litter, small towns. A shop, not a showroom, with cycles stacked outside reminds me of the day I bought my first bicycle. There is nothing to see as such, but that’s the point; it slows your brain down. So peaceful. It’s like being in the back country in Goa. One day, development will come, the roads will be broadened, trees will be hacked down, ditches filled.Return ferry ride. Long queue of buses. Someone on the bus calls up a friend in the police. We get priority, overtaking 13 other buses. Forty minutes early for the fresh served on the ferry.Farewell Bangladesh
Big plane, small airport. I am the first to get off in Sylhet. A car is waiting. It takes me past the town centre, the tea gardens and the Sylhet Cricket Stadium in their midst, through open roads with paddy fields on either side, on roads so bumpy that going zigzag is the only way forward, all the way to the Tamabil border.I should have got a receipt from a bank to say I have paid travel tax, I am told at immigration. Stuck now. Only have 12 takas. Need 500. Pay in Indian rupees. Now left with 12 takas and Rs 20. Twenty steps and I am at the India post. A member of the Border Security Force strikes up a conversation. I am offered tea. His Beretta is on the table, pointed towards me. I move on, get my stamps done. No shuttle cars as it’s a Sunday. Need to walk 2km with bags to Dawki for a taxi to Shillong.Dawki is 20 houses and 10 cars. No one is moving. I buy tea. Twenty metres ahead is the most amazing sight: the trees clear up to reveal the cleanest, greenest, stillest river I have seen. It’s so clean I can see the shadows of boats on the riverbed in deep sections.It’s hot. Five minutes later, I am in the water. Twenty days, two wins in two Tests for Bangladesh all because of me, fish and mustard, meat and rice, calm and chaos, cricket madness. Now taxis with Liverpool, Barca, Real, Arsenal stickers. Exit cricket nation, enter football country.

West Indies’ young captain Jason Holder can console himself as he reflects on the 34 runs he conceded in an over against South Africa that he is not the only World Cup bowler to take a trouncing

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-20151. Brendon McCullum v Steven Finn, Wellington, 2015 – 44 from 10 ballsBrendon McCullum destroyed Steven Finn in the Cake Tin•Getty ImagesFinn’s previous three deliveries, against Australia, had brought one of the scruffiest hat-tricks in history but his luck was out against a rampant McCullum. Chasing a small target, New Zealand’s captain started quickly and then went into overdrive when Finn came on. His first ball disappeared into the crowd and his first over cost 20 – although it did include two dots. Worse was to come, as McCullum cracked four consecutive sixes in an over costing 29, breaking his own record for the fastest World Cup fifty and leaving Finn with wince-inducing figures: 2-0-49-0.2. Ross Taylor v Shoaib Akhtar, Pallekele, 2011 – 28 in an overRoss Taylor found his touch from nowhere against Pakistan in 2011•Associated PressTaylor was in poor touch on his 27th birthday but, finding himself still at the crease towards the death, he broke free with unprecedented violence, taking 28 off an over from Shoaib Akhtar and 30 – a tournament record at the time – off Abdul Razzaq. New Zealand crashed 114 off the last six overs. There were a few gifts thrown in, as Kamran Akmal ignored one catch and dropped another with Taylor in single figures.3. Herschelle Gibbs v Daan van Bunge, Bassetere, 2007 – six sixes for the first time in international cricketHerschelle Gibbs made history in 2007•AFPGibbs slammed six sixes in an over as South Africa plundered 353 from 40 overs against Netherlands and then restricted them to only 132 for 9, winning by the embarrassing margin of 221 runs. It was history in the making but ESPNcricinfo recorded it thus: “Beyond a point the punishment was not a joy to watch. It was like a heavyweight boxer pounding away at an untrained flyweight long after the bell had rung.” Van Bunge, the unlucky bowler, became the quiz answer that only the most committed cricket follower can recall.4. Ajay Jadeja v Waqar Younis, Bangalore, 1996 – 22 in an overAjay Jadeja launched an audacious assault on the world’s best bowler•Getty ImagesOnly 22 runs off this over but consider the magnitude of the fixture: India v Pakistan in a World Cup quarter-final in Bangalore. The bowler was no mug, either. Jadeja described it like this: “I received a half-volley first ball, which I dispatched through the covers. From there on, everything I hit was perfect. I knew Waqar would not try to do too much and would rely mostly on his stock ball, the inswinging yorker. The first of the two sixes I hit in that over came against that ball. I picked it up early, stepped out, and flicked it over midwicket. I was just playing my instinctive game.”5. Sanath Jayasuriya v Manoj Prabhakar, Delhi, 1996 – 47 in four oversSanath Jayasuriya gave Manoj Prabhakar a swansong to forget•Hamish Blair/Getty ImagesThis assault not only helped establish the reputation of Sri Lanka’s openers, Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, as batsmen from the future but it ended the career of Prabhakar. A solid servant over more than a decade for India, Prabhakar was approaching his 33rd birthday when India and Sri Lanka met in Delhi – and his first two overs disappeared for 33, before he resorted to bowling offspin. Booed by his home crowd, Prabhakar was dropped for the next game and promptly retired. Jayasuriya did the same thing to England in the quarter-final, forcing Phil Defreitas to turn spinner as well.

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2015Sandeep Sharma had Sanju Samson lbw on the last ball of the third over to leave Rajasthan Royals on 14 for 2•BCCIKarun Nair tried one shot too many and missed a straight delivery from Axar Patel•BCCISteven Smith struck five glorious fours for his 23-ball 33 but was outsmarted by Mitchell Johnson…•BCCI…Who struck two balls later to dismiss Stuart Binny leaving Royals at 76 for 5 after 11•BCCIJames Faulkner smashed three sixes and two fours for his 33-ball 46 that helped Royals to finish on 162 for 7•BCCIThough Royals scored 52 runs from the last five overs Anureet Singh conceded just four of the final one and finished with 3 for 23•BCCIKings XI’s chase was off to a jittery start as Tim Southee dismissed Virender Sehwag for a first-ball duck•BCCIRoyals quickly nudged ahead with the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Glenn Maxwell, who were both dismissed for 7•BCCIM Vijay held the chase together with a calm 37•BCCIBut Vijay was done in by a sharp throw from Sanju Samson that found him short of his crease•BCCIRoyals were electric in the field, capped off by the relay catch between Tim Southee and Karun Nair to dismiss George Bailey•BCCIAfter his impactful knock with the bat, Faulkner finished with 3 for 26 to set up the 26-run win for Royals•BCCI

Also: the slowest to 1000 Test runs, and other trivia from the 2015 Headingley Test

Steven Lynch09-Jun-2015I was impressed with the way that every New Zealander made a tangible contribution to their Test victory in Leeds: the least significant performers were Kane Williamson (six runs, three wickets) and Matt Henry (39 runs, two wickets). Has there ever been a Test where the minimum performance in runs and wickets was so considerable? asked Stephen Taberner from Australia

It’s obviously difficult to quantify this sort of thing exactly, but I asked ESPNcricinfo’s ace number-cruncher Travis Basevi whether he could come up with a formula. He told me that, excluding extras and run-outs, the overall bowling average in all Tests is 31.43. That means that the smallest contribution to New Zealand’s fine win at Headingley was by Ross Taylor (68 runs, no wickets), as Kane Williamson’s contribution was 100.29 and Matt Henry’s 101.86. And, Travis informs me, that is indeed the highest minimum contribution in Tests, beating Mushfiqur Rahim’s 61 in Bangladesh’s victory over Zimbabwe in Chittagong in 2014-15, and three instances of 59 (Mohammad Kaif for India v West Indies in St John’s in 2006, Nayan Mongia for India v South Africa in Kanpur in 1996-97, and Michael Hussey for Australia v South Africa in Johannesburg in 2011-12). It’s not a perfect formula – the presence of two wicketkeepers in the names mentioned reminds us there’s no provision for catches – but, as Travis points out, “even if you change the value of a wicket to 20, or 40, New Zealand at Headingley are still significantly in front – so a most excellent spot.”In his 104th Test match, James Anderson finally reached 1000 runs. Has anyone taken longer to get there? asked Jeremy Bourke from Australia

As you suspected, James Anderson was the first player to require more than 100 Test matches to reach four figures in the runs column; he got there in his 143rd innings (another record) in his 104th match. Muttiah Muralitharan needed 95 matches (and 121 innings), while Waqar Younis got there in 86 (118 innings). Zaheer Khan reached 1000 in his 73rd Test (102 innings) and Dale Steyn in 70 (91). Curtly Ambrose needed 99 innings, but got there quicker in terms of matches (69). Just for the record, Don Bradman reached 1000 in just seven matches, although he needed 13 innings; Herbert Sutcliffe and Everton Weekes both got there in 12 innings, spread over nine matches. George Headley also got there in his ninth match (17th innings).James Anderson has surpassed 1000 Test runs but he has reasons to not shout from the rooftops about it•Getty ImagesJames Anderson reached 1000 Test runs at Headingley, at an average just over ten. Is this the worst average for anyone with more than a thousand? asked Nair Ottappalam from India

After the Headingley Test, James Anderson’s batting average stood at 10.77: there’s only one person with a worse average than that, given a minimum of 1,000 runs, and that’s Waqar Younis of Pakistan – 1010 at 10.20. Next comes Muttiah Muralitharan (1261 at 11.77), Zaheer Khan (1231 at 11.95), and Curtly Ambrose (1439 at 12.40). For the full list, click here. Anderson is the 60th man – the 13th from England – to complete the Test double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.At Leeds England and New Zealand were both bowled out in their first innings for the same score. How many times has this happened in Tests? asked Stuart from South Africa

Those two instances of 350 at Headingley was the eighth time both sides had made the same score in the first innings of a Test. The highest total involved is 593, by West Indies (who lost only five wickets before declaring) and England in St John’s in 1993-94, in the match in which Brian Lara scored 375. Australia (for seven wickets) and West Indies both started with 428 at Kingston in 1972-73, while in the previous Test chronologically New Zealand and Pakistan swapped 402s at Auckland. At Edgbaston in 1986 both England and India scored 390, while in St John’s in 2002-03 both sides made 240 (Australia then made 417, and West Indies broke the Test record by overhauling that). In Kanpur in 1958-59 both West Indies and India started with 222, while the first instance was in Durban in 1909-10, when both England and South Africa made 199 in their first innings. Stuart Broad took a five-wicket haul in the second Test but went for more than six an over. Was this a record? And what’s the record for a ten-wicket match haul? asked Dhanushka Edussuriya from Sri Lanka

Stuart Broad’s peculiar figures in the first innings at Headingley – 17.1-0-109-5 – meant he went for 6.34 runs an over, which is the highest rate for any five-for in Test history. The only other one completed while conceding more than a run a ball was by Dale Steyn (13.1-1-82-5; that’s 6.25 an over) for South Africa against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2006. Jeff Thomson had figures of 13-1-77-6 (5.92 per over) against West Indies at Bridgetown in 1977-78. For the full list, click here. The most expensive ten-for, in terms of runs per over, was by the Australian legspinner Arthur Mailey, whose match figures against England in Adelaide in 1920-21 were 61.3-6-302-10 (4.91 an over). Next up is another Aussie, offspinner Jason Krejza, who marked his debut – against India in Nagpur in 2008-09 – with figures of 74.5-4-358-12, at 4.78 per over. For that list, click here.Who are South Africa’s oldest and youngest debutants? asked Andrew Webb from England?

The youngest player to represent South Africa in a Test was the unorthodox left-arm spinner Paul Adams, who was aged 18 years 340 days when he made his debut against England in Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day in 1995. He broke a record that had stood for over a century: South Africa’s previous-youngest debutant was the Transvaal batsman Arthur Ochse, in his country’s inaugural Test, against England in Port Elizabeth, a match that started on March 12, 1889, the day after his 19th birthday. The oldest debutant among South Africa’s 321 Test cricketers to date was another left-arm spinner, Omar Henry, who was 40 years 295 days old against India in Durban in 1992-93. Geoff Chubb, in England in 1951, was the only other South African to win his first Test cap when over 40 years of age.

Sri Lanka sensed a slightly soft centre in India’s much-advertised aggressive approach. If anything, competitors pick up the smallest of signs and the Indians gave out a few big ones today

Sharda Ugra in Galle14-Aug-20152:23

Let’s Talk About – How good is Dinesh Chandimal?

About eight nautical miles off the coast of Sri Lanka, about 15kms from Galle, the continental shelf that south Asia is rested on, breaks off, the Indian Ocean dropping into marine canyons and the deep sea. India find themselves not so far away from that that kind of an edge. From a position of sure-footed security at the start of the third day in the Galle Test, they were made to get their sea legs going into day four. After session after session of crisp and controlled cricket, on course to win the Test inside three days, India were knocked sideways by Sri Lanka. Or rather, by Dinesh Chandimal for over two hours. The tide of the match has not changed yet, but the Indian boat has certainly been rocked.Tests in Galle usually begin with easy-to-handle narratives but as they head towards the finish, they take on a life of their own – featuring drama and turnarounds, suspense and shredded nerves. Like those movies with breath-snatching twists at the end. Galle promises a wild weekend, too. Except, here everything is for real.To return to hard numbers: at the end of day two, Tharindu Kaushal had said he believed Sri Lanka could defend around 250, but the truth is that the highest successful chase in Galle is a piffling 99. It is Chandimal who has set up this action thriller, playing several key parts through his blistering, post-lunch counter-attack. He gave Sri Lanka the fuel needed to turn this Test into contest, took the match into its fourth day and also gave India much to think about.Their bowling was under attack in away conditions – not through the expected ennui of slow, low turners and long days in the field, as they had expected – but another kind of attack. Chandimal turned the field and common sense around through a series of reverse sweeps and switch hits, with the willingness to risk it all.The three decisions that went against India before lunch will no doubt cause much anguish. But it is best that they remember it as a bad-umpiring virus that has run through this game. Both in terms of the number of errors and the degree of the bloopers given and taken on both sides.India had squeezed the Lankan innings enough to believe they deserved to have them five down at the break before the umpiring handouts. Truth is, they did have 45 minutes in the shade, to kick a few kit bags, curse officialdom the ages, darkly mutter about DRS and then, with adult counsel and some food, work out that they had been dealt a bad hand and move on.India knew what their tactic had to be, as Ajinkya Rahane said later, “to give as little runs as possible.” When Chandimal forced the bowlers to change the very angles that they were coming at him from, they ran into a wall. With the old ball and a slowing wicket, they could not find a plan-B.  They lost their tightness and control of lengths, and the stinging turn at the start of the day was negated. Chandimal’s tactics were very simply evident, but none of the spinners found the variety or the fizz to land the ball where it could negate the angles he was reworking.After two firestarter partnerships with Lahiru Thirimanne and Jehan Mubarak, perhaps the most telling set of runs that could hurt India are the 65 runs that Chandimal scored with three tailenders. He laughed about it,”I tried to face three balls and rotate the strike on the fourth ball. They thought I would try to rotate the strike on the fifth ball, but I did it on the fourth ball.”Other than the Indian bowlers, Virat Kohli found himself in a situation of some discomfort early on his captaincy career. For an aggressive cricketer, to have aggression in its most elemental form flung at him when his team is ahead, can be very disconcerting. And maybe clarifying for the future. The balance between being aggressive and absorbing punishment can be the worst of trials for a captain. Kohli was faced with the dilemma presented to him by the four bowlers he was depending on.Other than Varun Aaron, they were a fairly experienced group in terms of matches and situations under their belt. To concede 155 in 28 overs, in the second session (including 88 from Chandimal), is not being caught by surprise. To concede over 5.50 an over for two hours non-stop, is being actually caught in the headlights. Kohli was trapped as to when exactly to go into a run-squeeze and through it concede a little ground; his bowlers, however game, however committed and however skilled, did not give him the run-drying overs that would have made the batsmen try to release the pressure.Aaron, however hostile, had conceded close to six an over in the first session and bowled a total of seven overs all day. This included a spell of 2-0-7-0 in the second session, before the new ball ended the innings in the last session in which Aaron didn’t get the ball.Sri Lanka would have sensed this slightly soft centre in India’s much-advertised aggressive approach. Already, it is being said that seamers are being prepared for the second Test at the P Sara Oval. If anything, competitors pick up the smallest of signs and the Indians gave out a few big ones today.

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2015However, Mohammad Hafeez completed his ninth Test century to cement Pakistan’s position•Getty ImagesHafeez was adept at working the spinners for singles•Getty ImagesGetty ImagesAt the other end, Misbah-ul-Haq was his usual solid self•Getty ImagesEngland’s players took the field wearing black armbands in memory of Tom Graveney, who has died aged 88•Getty ImagesStuart Broad eventually trapped Misbah lbw for 38 with the second new ball•Getty ImagesSarfraz Ahmed made a sprightly 36•Getty Images… before being bowled by Samit Patel•Getty ImagesBut Asad Shafiq marshalled Pakistan’s tail to keep the lead growing•Getty ImagesHe was eventually bowled for 46 by a beauty from Stuart Broad•Getty ImagesBroad and Anderson returned the combined match figures of 11 for 126•Getty ImagesAlastair Cook and Moeen Ali launched England’s pursuit of 284•Getty ImagesMoeen began with aggression and a fair amount of luck•Getty ImagesHe was struck a painful blow on the back of the helmet by Wahab Riaz•Getty Images… but it was Shoaib Malik’s offspin that dismissed him, lbw for 22•Getty ImagesShoaib added a second in his next over, when he bowled Ian Bell for a duck•Getty ImagesPakistan reached the close needing eight more wickets to win a hard-fought Test•Getty Images

Jagmohan Dalmiya did a lot for Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and in turn those countries supported him, and India, at the ICC

Mohammad Isam22-Sep-2015When Jagmohan Dalmiya recognised the value of a united Asian front in the early 1980s, he took the initiative to build an alliance, cutting through political lines on many occasions to renew India-Pakistan cricket ties, using left-field strategy to push Bangladesh towards Test status, and strongly backing Sri Lanka when it faced security trouble. The crowning moment was the successful hosting of the 1996 World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but the effects were more long term and wide ranging.Dalmiya realised Asia’s strength lay in its numbers and set up the now-defunct Asian Cricket Council, which strengthened India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh’s position in the ICC. The result was a change in cricket’s commercialisation – and the creation of a unified voting bloc that effectively ended the dominance of the sport’s traditional powers.Former ICC president Ehsan Mani, with whom Dalmiya worked with in plenty of ICC and ACC programmes, said the BCCI and PCB had worked together at an “unprecedented” level when Dalmiya had led the Indian board.”He was a visionary and a champion of India-Pakistan friendship and cooperation,” Mani told ESPNcricinfo. “During his time as the secretary and then president of BCCI the two boards worked together at an unprecedented level. His wise counsel and behind-the-scene maneuvering will be sorely missed today as India and Pakistan struggle to resume bilateral series in the face of the interference in the game by politicians in India.”When another Asian country felt hemmed in or troubled by the actions of the wider cricket world, Dalmiya would step in. Less than a month before the start of the 1996 World Cup, Sri Lanka were in danger of losing their co-hosting rights because of a bomb blast in Colombo. Australia and West Indies refused to travel to the country but Dalmiya assured the Sri Lankan board that the other matches would still take place.”He was president of the ICC the year I represented SLC at the board,” said SLC president Sidath Wettimuny. “I remember him being keen to promote the Asian bloc and he was very supportive of Sri Lankan cricket.”The maximum benefit, though, was enjoyed by Bangladesh, who were awarded Test status during Dalmiya’s term as ICC president in 2000. According to former BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Dalmiya formulated three steps for Bangladesh to get Test status and oversaw each of them.”The first step was to be recognised by the ACC, without which it would have been difficult to get the ICC’s full membership,” Saber told ESPNcricinfo. “He arranged the ACC’s support for us. Secondly, we had to establish Dhaka as an international venue. This was a big part of the strategy. There was a lot of doubt about whether the 1998 mini World Cup would be held in Bangladesh because a large part of the country was under water. There was a flood in the country. Dalmiya’s support was amazing, in giving us the tournament and then holding on to it.”The third step was to align Bangladesh’s Test bid with his vision of globlisation. Who will be the tenth Full Member? That’s when Bangladesh’s name came forward. If he didn’t want to establish globalisation, then we couldn’t have pushed for Bangladesh.” Bangladesh’s Test status also hinged on Dalmiya’s long friendship with Syed Ashraful Haque, then the BCB general secretary and a leading name among the administrators of the Asian bloc.”He was the first one to say out loud that cricket can be a billion-dollar sport,” Haque said. “Everyone thought it was a joke, especially the Australians and the English who laughed at him.Haque worked closely with Dalmiya during the 1996 World Cup and was later put in charge of his ICC presidency campaign. “He put me in charge of the 1996 World Cup’s opening ceremony. During the semifinal of the tournament in Kolkata, he wanted me to host a dinner for all the Associate Nations who were a big factor in those days. I asked him how I could invite so many people in such a fancy hotel?”He said, “The Indian board will pay for it, but the card will bear your name.” So the card said, ‘Ashraful Haque requests the pleasure of your company …’ He announced there that he would run for the ICC presidency.”Mani said that as ICC president, Dalmiya created the knockout tournament – later called the Champions Trophy – to not just generate revenue but to bring lesser-known nations under the umbrella of world cricket.”The ICC knock-out was his brainchild to generate money for the running of the ICC and the development of cricket around the world. The first of these events was held in Bangladesh, followed by the second one in Kenya. They underpinned the viability of the ICC and provided a foundation on which others, including me, built.”He was a great supporter of Bangladesh’s endeavours to become a Test-playing nation and it was for this reason that he was particularly keen to put Bangladesh on the world cricket map by arranging to stage the first ICC knock-out in Dhaka.”Saber, who was BCB president at the time, said the strong bond between Asian nations that Dalmiya helped develop no longer exists. Saber remembered how Dalmiya could bring India and Pakistan together to play in a tournament celebrating Bangladesh’s independence.”One of his big achievements was how he brilliantly cultivated ACC’s solidarity and unity. You just see how he brought India and Pakistan to play at our Independence Cup in 1998. India and Pakistan fought against each other during our Independence War but he brought these two nations to play in this tournament. This was his diplomatic genius.”His other vision was to globalise the game, yet cricket is shrinking now. There are more people playing sports like football and rugby, but fewer people play cricket these days. Those running cricket nowadays are going in the opposite direction to the vision of men like Dalmiya, Dr Ali Bacher, John Anderson, Ehsan Mani and David Richards.”

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2015In response, West Indies lost Kraigg Brathwaite early to Josh Hazlewood•Associated PressRajendra Chandrika and Darren Bravo added 41 before before Nathan Lyon got Chandrika out for 25•Getty ImagesLyon sent back Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood in the 26th over, reducing West Indies to 78 for 4•Getty ImagesAustralia continued to add to West Indies’ troubles, as Josh Hazelwood bowled Dinesh Ramdin with one that kept low•Getty ImagesPeter Siddle trapped West Indies captain Jason Holder lbw for 15, as West Indies slumped to 116 for 6•Getty ImagesBravo, however, continued his resistance and brought up his 14th Test fifty in the process•Getty Images