Plays of the day from the IPL game between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur

Sidharth Monga29-Apr-2013The view
The best view – as you will know if you have played snooker – is from the same level as the ball is. In the first over of the match, Chris Gayle tried to sweep Ajit Chandila, slipped, and landed on his face. However, instead of looking embarrassed he lay down there and watched the ball travel all the way to the square-leg boundary for four. As if watching TV from the bed.The reaction
When Shane Watson removed Gayle with an innocuous shortish delivery outside off, he didn’t exult as bowlers who get Gayle should. Gayle had already scored 34 off 16, but this was still a huge wicket. Watson just smiled with his face brighter than ever. It began as a smile of relief, then glee, and it stayed just as wide until he had walked past Gayle and to the cordon.The reprieve
In the 12th over, AB de Villiers lobbed Stuart Binny straight to deep cover, but Sreesanth was too charged up, ran in too far, completely misjudged the catch, and watched it lob him like a tennis player after playing a poor approach shot. And no, he couldn’t have lost it in the setting sun because the sun was behind him.That was not the reprieve, though. The reprieve was for Sreesanth. His captain, Rahul Dravid, threw him the ball and asked him to right the wrong. He responded with a wide half-volley, but de Villiers lofted it to the deep cover again, and this time James Faulkner took the catch easily, despite the sun being in his eye. Sreesanth was relieved, and followed it up with six dot balls in a row.The slower balls
Faulkner has been bowling back-of-the-hand slower balls well, but as with all good and bad things excess is not good. In the final over of the Royal Challengers innings, with the visitors stuck and the final kick nowhere in sight, his slower ball became predictable, and R Vinay Kumar smote two of them over long-on for massive sixes. When Faulkner corrected the length, Vinay smote that length ball too. Not how you wish somebody on a birthday.

Who wouldn’t want to see KP and Ian Bell blazing away on a balmy summer’s day? Apparently the England team

Peter Bowman24-Aug-2013Choice of game
In 1997 I was lucky enough to tour with the University of Newcastle Cricket Club and attend the fourth day of the Lord’s test which was marred by rain, but included Matt Elliott’s debut ton. Great day.This time, as our touring group was going to be in London for the Last Man Stands T20 world Championships, we picked the game closest to the tournament. Through our tour organizer TTGolf, we were very fortunate to be hosted by the Surrey Cricket Club in the India room for the day at the Kia Oval.Team supported
We’re Aussies through and through. We’d hoped we would see Australia bat but after getting off the plane in Dubai, we discovered the score was 4/307 and that we would most likely be watching our boys bowl. Upside to this is we’d get the chance to see the likes of KP and Ian Bell batting together. Who wouldn’t want to see that combination blazing away on a balmy summer’s day? Apparently the England team. What we saw was batting as though they were trying to save the series.It’s interesting to hear the English talking about how wonderful an effort it was by their side to grind out such a day. Talk about being poles apart. Unlike earlier in the year where they staved off defeat in New Zealand by batting out a day, this time they were 3-0 up with the forecast for rain on days 4 and 5 and they didn’t even have a crack. Awful.Key performer
Tough to name a key performer on a day when the cricket was so dour. I was impressed with the way Steve Smith bowled and the few times that Ian Bell played a shot it was great to watch. My man of the day though, would be Chris Woakes for hitting a boundary straight up. It was also the shot of the day – slim pickings on a day of stone-walling.One thing you’d have changed about the day
The approach of the England team. I would have sat the England team down at lunchtime and told them to fire up. ‘We’ve won the series. The pitch is a road. Let’s have a crack. It’s going to rain tomorrow. Surely we can’t lose it from here. Let’s give the fans what they want.’Polite applause for 150+ ball 50s from the English crowd was diminished in the second half of the day by their own boredom when beer snakes and poorly executed Mexican waves became the centre-piece.The ground was packed. The weather was fantastic. The service of the staff in the India room was outstanding. The cricket was diabolical.Wow moment
Did I mention how negative the cricket was? My wow moment was talking to locals who genuinely believed their team had performed well on the day. While Australians have been blessed by the Border to Ponting years with success, we are happier when our team shows some heart and puts in some effort. I was genuinely blown away by the glowing praise of the home side.The funny moment of the day was watching a beer snake break on the far side of the ground before seemingly being supported on our side of the ground as fair play and entertainment to appease the masses.Crowd meter
The biggest cheers of the day were for beer snakes. Even the Barmy Army’s trumpeter was scarcely heard throughout the day. Perhaps the shout of “Boring army, Boring army” should have been embraced earlier in the day.Fancy dress index
We really didn’t see too many guys in fancy dress but noticed the cave men being introduced to the ground. It certainly wasn’t a carnival atmosphere but we were graced by a cow in our section. He must have lost a kilo or five in that suit over the course of the day.Entertainment
Brass bands and Kia racing cars were the two stand-outs for me. Kids (big and not so big) lined up to challenge themselves on the Kia racing remote control cars. Laughs were aplenty in the only driving event you could compete in and not worry about the fourth pint you had just had.We were treated to a wide selection of seafood, stir-fries and curried meats as well as build your own burgers for those with less adventurous palates.It was a real treat to have Jeff Thomson and Mark Butcher host a 20 minute chat at lunchtime. Would have been great to get a few photos with the guys post discussion, but they were on the clock and looked like they had to motor to the next venue.We were also lucky enough to win a bat signed by Andrew Strauss and Mike Gatting. The raffle was in support of a great cause here in the UK.Tests v limited-overs
I’m a cricket tragic. I love a contest and I love the fight it doesn’t matter what format.I’ve been blessed over the years to be at the ground when Steve Waugh hit his ton off the final ball in Sydney, Matthew Hayden smashing runs all around the WACA vs Zimbabwe on the way to world record, Glenn McGrath’s 50 at the Gabba, Michael Bevan’s match-winning last-ball four against the West Indies, and Sachin Tendulkar at the Adelaide Oval. Each of those games highlighted what is great about our game. Mental toughness, great skill, passion and fight. I don’t like cricket. I love cricket. But I love seeing positive cricket in any form. We didn’t see that yesterday.Enhanced viewing
The Oval really has a wonderful set-up for viewing. Two clear replay boards and the relatively close proximity meant you didn’t struggle to see the score or information provided on the day.I carried to the ground with me my club tie and baggy yellow-red. They didn’t help my viewing, but helped start conversations. As a proud life member of the Woden Wanderers Cricket Club, I’ve sported the red and yellow all around the world. The similarity to the MCC colours did pose a number of questions late in the day. Some wondered why someone working for the MCC was supporting Australia.Overall
It may sound like we didn’t have fun. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The people were engaging, the crowd tried its best to stay involved and customer service provided by the Surrey Cricket Club was second to none. We saw glimpses of the talent in the English side. Just not enough.The cricket was stodgy, cold, boring and uneventful. Not even the DRS could generate more banter.The Oval is an outstanding venue to watch cricket. The thing I appreciate the most about the smaller Test grounds in the UK is the feeling that you could reach out and touch the players as they’re so close. That you’re really a part of the contest and you’re cheering could influence the outcome. I’d love to come back again one day and see some attacking cricket.Marks out of 10
Venue, service, people, food and drink – 12/10. Cricket – 2/10.With apologies to Lord Tennyson, it is better to have tried to win 4-0 and have failed than to grind out a 3-0 series win. Or to paraphrase a former Australian prime minister, “Well may we say God save the Queen… for no one will save the crowd from English cricket.”

With 3596 runs scored in 11 innings over six India-Australia ODIs, the time has come to revisit the imbalance between bat and ball

Abhishek Purohit04-Nov-2013″Welcome to F50. It’s like a normal T20 game, only it’s played over seven hours instead of three. And to compensate for biting a bigger chunk out of your day, there will be one less deep fielder to prevent boundaries. The entertainment doesn’t stop, all day long.” In a few years, one-day international cricket might well be sold like that, along with visuals from the ODI series between India and Australia to make for irresistible advertising.For a series written off as meaningless even before it began, India and Australia may just have provided a glimpse of the future. Of what one-day cricket might become, especially on the subcontinent, with dead pitches, fast outfields, moderately sized boundaries and dew.Australia and India scored 3596 runs in 11 innings over six games. Had the Ranchi ODI not been washed out halfway, and the Cuttack ODI been played, this series would have comfortably breached the 4000 mark, which has never happened before.Fours. Sixes. Hundreds. A double-hundred. Take your pick. Feel like it’s becoming stick cricket? Well, you asked for it when you started feeling “bored” during an ODI. There used to be something loosely called the middle overs, when batting teams tried to build by taking singles and twos and fielding sides tried to contain by restricting boundaries. Fans apparently found the middle overs too tedious, especially with the rise of T20 cricket.To make ODIs interesting, administrators injected more “excitement”. Now, with only four men allowed in the deep, a boundary is never too hard to hit and there are no middle overs. There are only boundaries. There is only excitement. The assumption, of course, is that more excitement will make ODIs more interesting.An ESPNcricinfo correspondent who covered the Bangalore ODI did not come across anyone who appeared to negate that assumption, as India racked up 383 in 50 overs. People screamed and danced at each of the 30 fours and 19 sixes India hit. Most will remember it as the time they watched Rohit Sharma hit only the third double-hundred in an ODI. For many, it was an unforgettable evening, one of the best they have ever had. Stick cricket? Not for them. Reminiscent of an IPL evening’s entertainment? Yes, with nationalistic fervour thrown in.This is to take nothing away from Rohit’s achievement, or Virat Kohli’s or George Bailey’s. Rohit, or any of the other batsmen, did not ask for the game to discriminate further against bowlers. Like some batsmen, he can’t even be accused of slogging wildly. He largely played smooth, orthodox cricket strokes. Which is what is scary. The fact that he did not seem to take too many risks, and yet managed to compile 209 off 158, leaves one with plenty to ponder about the future of the game.The fact that India did not seem to take too many risks, and yet chased 350-plus totals twice in the series, and that in one of them they sealed the match inside 44 overs for the loss of just one wicket, just adds to the horror. Australia were 211 for 8 in Bangalore, and still scored so rapidly that for some time, there was a realistic chance of 384 being overtaken.A line of argument is that the bowling in the series was so bad even five deep fielders would not have made a difference. An example is Ishant Sharma’s 30-run over to James Faulkner in Mohali. MS Dhoni put three of the permissible four men on the leg-side boundary, but Faulkner’s sixes cleared them comfortably. Was it just plain bad bowling and good batting?The fear of getting hit, of having reduced protection on the boundary, and of having no margin for error, could well have led bowlers to lose lines and lengths more frequently. You can try bowling outside off stump to a packed off-side field, but what if the batsman takes the ball from there and hits it to deep midwicket? The new restrictions mean the captain might not be able to place anyone in that region at that moment.The batsman now knows one of either mid-off or mid-on will be in the circle. If not, then both third man and fine leg will be. On quick Indian outfields, a healthy edge will get you four more often than not. There is a smaller risk of being caught in the deep. With the kind of monster bats in use, an attempt to clear mid-off could easily go for six. An attempt to hit a six might clear the ground.The one-day format has suffered so many tweaks it has become a hideous degenerate in some conditions, almost an extended form of T20. This series has shown us the kind of excesses the latest mutation can cause. Australia in India 2013-14 may well be remembered for introducing the world to F50 unless something is done about it.

David Saker, England’s bowling coach, made no attempt to disguise his disappointment at the end of the first day at the Waca, even conceding that England’s selection might have been mistaken as a result

George Dobell at the WACA13-Dec-20130:00

‘England bowlers lacked killer instinct’ – David Saker

David Saker, England’s bowling coach, could not conceal his disappointment after England “let it slip” at the Waca, suggesting that the bowlers became over excited and, as a result of their performance, even threw England’s selection into question.England brought three giant fast bowlers to Australia with the pace and bounce available in Perth very much in mind, but Boyd Rankin, Steve Finn and Chris Tremlett have all to varying degrees failed to press their claims for selection during the tour and all sat out the game as Australia amassed 6 for 326.The reality is that rightly or wrongly England just have the tallest drinks waiters in cricket.”We assess things all the time and try to make sure we get selection right,” Saker said on Sky TV. “Like everything, we make mistakes, like cricketers make mistakes.”We could have made a mistake this game, but I’m sure if our bowlers bowled to their capabilities we wouldn’t have got it wrong. We picked the side we thought would get 20 wickets and I still think we can.”By the time he spoke to the print media, Saker had adopted a calmer analysis. “We thought that the balance of the team would be best with Tim Bresnan in,” he said. “If we then bring in another tall bowler to have another quick we probably leave ourselves short somewhere else. Yes, it probably is an ideal place to have one of the taller bowlers but we thought the best balance of the team was Tim Bresnan.”Australia had slipped to 5 for 143 on an excellent batting surface before Steve Smith and Brad Haddin took the game away from England with a sixth-wicket stand of 124. It left England’s Ashes hopes hanging by a thread. Two-nil down with three games to play, England are going to have to produce their best batting performance for many months if they are to avoid defeat.While Smith and Haddin deserve credit for their batting, the cause of Saker’s “disappointment” – a word he repeated seven times in his post-play media conference – was the self-inflicted nature of England’s injuries.Having selected – some might say controversially selected – a team full of accurate fast-medium swing bowlers, Bresnan included, England’s tactic was clear: they were to bowl tight and frustrate Australia’s batsmen.It almost worked, too. So desperate were Australia to destroy England, to make amends for the last four years and crush their opponents into the dirt, they briefly threatened to squander their opportunity to efficiently dispose of them.So instead of waiting for the poor ball, the Australian top-order went looking for it. Every one of the six wickets to fall owed a great deal to batsmen error, with two men falling to pulls, two more to loose drives and another to a run-out. England were on top.But then their bowlers – experienced men who really should have known better – went chasing the game. They stopped attempting to bowl ‘dry,’ as the England camp call it, and instead went for the kill. They stopped delivering a nagging length outside off stump and started searching for bouncers and yorkers. Both Stuart Broad and James Anderson were timed at 90mph over the course of the day. The result was a surfeit of run-scoring opportunities which dissipated any pressure and allowed the batsmen to pick-up runs without risk.There are mitigating factors. Losing the toss here, in scorching heat and just days after the Adelaide Test, was a tough blow, while the excellence of the pitch from a batting perspective leaves precious little margin for error.Saker advises Anderson: ‘Don’t panic’

David Saker admitted James Anderson’s record since the Trent Bridge Test in July had been “disappointing” but backed the bowler to rediscover his wicket-taking form soon.
Anderson has claimed only 17 wickets at an average of 45.94 in the subsequent six-and-a-half Tests since the middle of July, with Saker urging him to “just do what you do really well.”
England’s bowling coach said: “He bowled some fantastic spells this series and he bowled some good spells after Trent Bridge as well. He just needs to get some wickets. For all our bowlers it’s just about doing what they do really well. Don’t go searching for wickets, don’t panic, just do what you do really well.
“Jimmy’s a really skilful bowler. The ball hasn’t swung as much to be fair over here than I thought it would. But I still think he’s bowling some good spells.”

But Broad, in particular, will be disappointed with a performance that cost 4.58 runs per over. His second new ball spell was quite ghastly.”We let it slip,” Saker admitted. “And probably not for the first time this series. We had them on the ropes and we didn’t finish the job. It’s partly down to the way they played with the bat, but we also didn’t deliver what we should have delivered today.”We pride ourselves on being able to hold lengths and hold good areas, bringing the batsmen forward and always making it hard for the opposition to score. It’s always hard in Perth to stop teams scoring because it’s a fast outfield and a good place to play your shots. We found it really hard to do that. It can be disappointing when you plan these things, but we didn’t do it right.”It’s disappointing we can’t finish teams off. We’ve usually good a good record that way and, other than today, I don’t think we’ve done too much wrong at that stage.”But today we mixed our lengths and went to the short ball too much. We didn’t hold our lengths for long enough to put pressure on them. We know that. We’re not going to shy away from that. There are some disappointed bowlers in there and a disappointed bowling coach.”England’s bowlers have, by and large, performed admirably this series. They reduced Australia to 6 for 132 in the first innings in Brisbane and, had Michael Carberry taken a simple catch to dismiss Brad Haddin, would have had Australia 6 for 266 in Adelaide.Any weakness has tended to come in the second innings when they have been forced back into action without adequate rest and with Australia’s batsmen enjoying the freedom of an enviable match situation to play aggressively. But here, perhaps as a result of England’s desperate position in the series, the cracks began to show.”The disappointing thing today is we did chase wickets,” Saker said. “And that’s probably one of the first times we’ve done that as a group for as long as I’ve been in charge. That was a little bit disappointing.”We didn’t bowl the areas we would have liked, but we had a chance to put some really good pressure on and we didn’t take that. To be fair we probably bowled a little too short. We drilled into the group not to do that but we probably got a bit excited and that’s not good enough.”It was not Australia’s batsmen who were on the floor by the end of the first day•Getty ImagesWith the pitch likely to quicken on the second day, however, England will need a vastly improved batting performance if Ashes defeat is not to be confirmed some time over the next three or four days.There left the debate about the fast bowlers who did not play. There was a reason that England selected three unusually tall seamers for this tour. The intention was that at least one of them would play in Perth in the hope their pace and bounce would make life uncomfortable for Australia. It looked, at first glance, an attractive proposition.The fact that none of the three has been deemed suitable for selection raises questions about the selection or coaching of the side. It should, for example, have been obvious to the selectors that the Tremlett who played for Surrey in the 2013 county season was a lesser bowler than the Tremlett who bowled for Surrey in 2010.Equally, it should have been obvious that this version of Finn is nothing like the bowler he threatened to become a year or two ago. On his performance on the tour to date, there is no way he could have been picked for this game. If the selectors felt that the England coaching system would work wonders on them, their naivety has been punished.Saker’s own record requires some scrutiny, too. To be presented with bowlers with such obvious attributes and make so little of them reflects poorly on him. Even Rankin, who looked so imposing towards the end of the England season, has gone backwards while on tour and was not trusted to hit the correct length here.That is not to say the match selection was wrong. Picking Finn in such form would not have been picking a man to fight fire with fire; it would have been fighting fire with petrol. Tremlett lacks the pace to prosper at this level. It wasn’t England’s selection that was wrong – not on the day, anyway – so much as their performance.

Qualification scenarios for teams in Group B of the Ranji Trophy 2013-14

Kanishkaa Balachandran29-Dec-2013Tamil Nadu and Bengal face-off in what is essentially a do-or-die game for both teams, and will still need other results to go their way after victory•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Points and tie-breaker

• Innings victory or win by 10 wickets – 7 (for winners) and 0 (for losers)

• Other outright wins – 6 and 0

• First-innings lead in a draw – 3 and 1

• First innings not completed – 1 and 1.

• If teams are equal on points at the end of the league, the number of wins will be the first tie-breaker. If that is also equal, the quotient is taken into account. A team’s quotient is arrived at by a set of divisions. Runs scored against wickets lost divided by runs conceded against wickets taken.

Uttar Pradesh –
UP were denied enough time to push for a win in their previous match against Madhya Pradesh, due to fog in Kanpur. They had to settle for three points in the draw. They will need at least three points in their next game to seal their qualification. If they lose, they will have to hope that the Tamil Nadu-Bengal game is drawn. If that game isn’t drawn, they will need Baroda to take no more than one point against Rajasthan because if the two teams are tied on points, Baroda will be ahead because they have more wins.Baroda –
A last-minute win against Saurashtra has boosted their chances of qualifying, but there’s much left to do. Currently in third place, a win in their final game against the struggling Rajasthan will take them through. A draw with innings points will take them to 23, and then they will need other results to go their way. A UP defeat will certainly help, and they will hope that the Tamil Nadu-Bengal clash doesn’t end in an outright victory. They will also keep an eye on Saurashtra’s fortunes. If Saurashtra win with a bonus point, and Baroda get first-innings lead, the teams will be tied on 23. But Baroda have the edge over Saurashtra by virtue of more outright wins in the competition.Tamil Nadu –
In fourth place, Tamil Nadu haven’t dropped a game in the tournament, but go into the final game desperate for points. A win will take them to either 24 or 25. Wins for UP and Baroda will knock Tamil Nadu out. Essentially, they need a victory, preferably with a bonus point, and need UP and Baroda to collect minimal points. A draw with an innings lead will take Tamil Nadu to 21, which will still give them a theoretical chance. Then, if Baroda get one point from a draw, Tamil Nadu and Baroda will be tied on 21 points but the latter will go through by virtue of more victories (three as opposed to one).Bengal –
Bengal’s position is exactly like Tamil Nadu’s, and since these two are playing each other, Bengal will need to beat Tamil Nadu with a bonus point to feel safe.Saurashtra –
Down but not out. Last year’s finalists failed to squeeze out a point against Baroda and need nothing less than a bonus-point win in their final game to stay in the race. If they end the league on 23 points, they will need other results to go their way. With a bonus-point win, they could be tied on points with UP, if the latter are defeated. Both teams will also be tied on number of wins, with the quotient coming into play. They will also hope the TN-Bengal game is drawn.Rajasthan –
Seventh-placed Rajasthan need nothing less than a bonus point to have a mathematical chance. That will take them to 21. They will also need the TN-Bengal match to end in a draw. Should that happen, then they will be tied with either of the two teams on 21 but will go through on the basis of more outright wins.Madhya Pradesh –
No chance of qualification. They will, however, escape relegation to Group C if Services fail to win their final game.Services –
No chance of qualifying, but can escape relegation if they win their final game, with or without a bonus point. That will push MP to the bottom.

Group B table

The Under-19 World Cup was a test for young players in conditions which challenged them, particularly the batsmen. ESPNcricinfo lists some of the things to take away from the tournament

Kanishkaa Balachandran03-Mar-2014Top-order collapsesThe current format allows for one mistake to undo months of hard work. India were consistent in the lead-up to the tournament, but crashed in the quarter-finals•IDI/Getty ImagesPrior to the tournament, the pitches in the UAE were expected to be loaded with runs. Top-order collapses at the Dubai International Stadium were a regular feature, especially in day games. India were 8 for 3 against England, 22 for 5 against Scotland, West Indies had slumped to 70 for 8 against Australia, and in the final, Pakistan had lost half their side by the 20th over, to name a few examples. The early morning moisture and two-paced pitches in Dubai also played a big part in giving the bowlers a bigger say.The top order needed to treat it like the first morning of a Test, giving the early overs to the bowlers. Teams also had to realise that a score of 20 for 0 after ten overs is acceptable. It was an affliction particularly for the side batting first in a day game. South Africa got it right in the semi-final, with the openers nullifying the new ball and adding 105. Overall, it was a good education for batsmen in dealing with swing bowling and learning to respect the conditions. Patience was the key because the surfaces didn’t always encourage hitting through the line.Low scores and a statistical quirkThe collapses would suggest that this was a bowler’s tournament, but the stats reveal a twist. The run-aggregate of 17694 over 48 matches makes it the second highest in World Cup history, after Bangladesh 2004.Ironically, it’s the highest in terms of runs-per-wicket – 23.12. Sharjah had the highest runs-per-wicket with 30.04 while in the main stadiums in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the numbers were 22.46 and 21.44 respectively, at the bottom. The two smaller grounds in Abu Dhabi and the ICC Academy ground in Dubai produced more runs, with the runs per wicket between 25 and 30 at the three venues.The large outfields and pitches at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai International Stadium explain the difference in numbers. In Dubai especially, even senior teams have to put that extra muscle behind their shots to clear the long boundaries. But the juniors had no leeway either. Towards noon, the pitch would ease out and the lower order would come to the rescue, time and again. England captain Will Rhodes’ comment that even 204 is a defendable score in Dubai was significant because it summed up the control the bowlers had, overall. Once a team had passed 200, a psychological battle was overcome.The U-19 World Cup was compelling from a purists’ point of view because it taught batsmen how to graft, as it did for Aiden Markram, the South Africa captain who was also the Man of the Tournament.”Personally, I have learnt to bat time. I think the longer you bat and the longer you drag it, the easier it becomes,” Markram said. “You have more time to assess how the conditions are playing on the day. The longer you drag the game, the more the opponents fade off.”South Africa’s consistencyThe two-paced pitches in Dubai gave the batsmen a torrid time during the early overs•ICCIt was fitting that the most consistent team, South Africa, won the competition. South Africa were unbeaten from the start, while their final opponents Pakistan dropped just one game. They were the better all-round side, with several players making contributions. They were given a scare by West Indies in the beginning but managed to defend 198 with ease. Markram was the pivot and the allrounder Yaseen Valli was effective in batting under pressure, especially against West Indies after a collapse, and in the semi-final when South Africa needed runs in the latter half of the innings. Valli was also their main allrounder, as their main spinner.For pace, Kagiso Rabada was the sensation, knocking over West Indies and Australia and while Justin Dill and Corbin Bosch don’t yet have the pace to match, their accuracy played a crucial part in the final. A predominantly pace-heavy attack found the conditions to their liking. The ‘chokers’ tag was finally off their backs. The coach Ray Jennings said the difference between this U-19 side and those in the past he has coached is the attitude. Their work ethic, he said, made up for what they lacked in talent.”Each game there was a different player who stepped up,” Clyde Fortuin said. “And like we said in the beginning of the tournament we have no superstars.”Format could be tinkeredThe current format has 16 teams divided into four groups of four each, with the top two from each qualifying for the quarter-finals. But given how some teams had spent months preparing for the tournament, it was heartbreaking for them when one bad match, hour or a dropped catch, spoils all their efforts.Two dropped catches at the boundary in knockout games proved decisive to the outcome – Deepak Hooda’s and Jake Winslade’s. One coach suggested that the format could be revised, splitting the teams into two groups of eight, with the top two teams contesting the final, or the top four going through to the semi-finals. Such a format would reward consistency. It would have been bad news for the organisers had Pakistan and India been eliminated at the group stage.The 2007 World Cup was a lesson. When big teams have to compete for places in the playoffs instead, the motivation drops. The ICC has stuck to the current U-19 World Cup format since 2006. Since the groups for the next World Cup are allotted based on where the teams finish in this World Cup, it is unlikely the format will change. Dropping the quarter-final and having a Super Eights (like in the senior World Cup) will give all teams a chance of coming back after a poor start. While it might lead to more matches, the challenge is for the organisers to crunch the schedule to within two weeks.How much preparation is enough?Not all cricket boards may have had the resources to get their U-19 squads ready for the World Cup by participating in various tournaments. The Indian side for instance underwent an extensive program, having played four tournaments in the lead-up and winning all. They had claimed the Asia Cup also in the UAE just weeks before the World Cup. However, a quarter-final choke shattered their dreams.South Africa’s preparation wasn’t as extensive as India’s. The quadrangular tournament in Visakhapatnam, featuring Australia and Zimbabwe, was their only exposure to Asian conditions and yet they won. Before the final, the players were asked to watch video clippings of the opposition and analyse their strengths and weaknesses.England too gave space to their U-19 program, playing a tri-series in the UAE late last year and performed above expectations by finishing third. New Zealand, however, were the least prepared, having played only seven ODIs since the 2012 edition, all of which were either at home or in Australia. They eventually lost to Bangladesh in the Plate final.The examples above show that preparation doesn’t confine itself to nets and skills sessions, either before or during a tour. It’s also about the homework done indoors. Markram too said before the final that the side that panics will not go all the way. The side that does the basics right by taking catches and saving runs in a pressure scenario will succeed.

Angelo Mathews has had his share of heartbreak in chases, but lately he has shown a thirst to do whatever it takes to ensure Sri Lanka come out the victors

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Mirpur06-Mar-2014Pressing forward to a length ball from Shakib Al Hasan, Angelo Mathews bunted the ball into the off side and ran, ran like he’d just lit the fuse of a firecracker. Thisara Perera, sprinting to the batsman’s end, may well have feared the cricketing equivalent of a loud explosion in his face. Perera had barely got halfway down the pitch when Arafat Sunny, running in from point, was poised over the ball, shaping for an underarm flick to the keeper.Sunny failed to pick up the ball, and Perera glanced anxiously at the undisturbed stumps as he jogged into the crease. At the other end, Mathews barely acknowledged the fact that he’d reached 50. He probably knew, though. He probably knew as soon as he’d set off for that suicidal single. It was harebrained, it put his partner at risk, but it showed, perhaps, how much he had wanted it.Mathews had walked in with Sri Lanka 47 for 4, chasing 205. They were now 164 for 6, needing 41 runs from 47 balls. At this point, Mathews would have wanted desperately to remain at the crease till the end. All batsmen do, of course, but Mathews had more reason than most to really, really want it.Before this match, Mathews had scored six half-centuries in run-chases. He had remained not out in three of those innings. All three of those unbeaten half-centuries had taken Sri Lanka to famous victories.Back in the 2010-11 season, at the MCG, Mathews and Lasith Malinga came together with Sri Lanka 107 for 8 chasing 240. They put on 132, and Mathews was unbeaten on 77 when Sri Lanka sneaked to a one-wicket win.In June 2012, Mathews had remained not out on a 76-ball 80 as Sri Lanka sneaked to a two-wicket win over Pakistan in Colombo, with Mathews slapping the winning four over point with two balls remaining. Five months later, Sri Lanka had to chase a revised target of 197 in 33 overs against New Zealand in Pallekele. They had romped home with 11 balls remaining and seven wickets in hand, with Mathews unbeaten on a 47-ball 54.Mathews, however, has also been unfortunate enough to score three half-centuries in Sri Lankan defeats. In Hobart last year, he was dismissed for 67 when Sri Lanka needed 61 from 36 balls; they went on to lose by 32 runs. Against England in 2011, Sri Lanka needed 17 from 12 balls when he miscued a Jade Dernbach slower ball high above Manchester. Mathews was out for a 64-ball 62. Dernbach dismissed Malinga next ball to win the game and the series for England.Most heartbreaking of all, though, was Perth, two years ago. Then, Sri Lanka needed six runs from two balls when Mathews was last man out, caught at long-on. With wickets falling all around him, his innings of 64 had kept Sri Lanka in the hunt all the way.Mathews’ mixed fortunes with half-centuries in chases is only one aspect of a broadly disappointing second-innings record. When Sri Lanka bat first, Mathews averages just over 40. Of late, he’s become an expert at applying the finishing touches to Sri Lanka’s first-innings totals.In his last 13 innings when Sri Lanka have batted first, Mathews has made five half-centuries. In that sample, he’s been not out six times on 40-plus scores. In five of those six innings, he’s ended up with a strike rate of over 100. Those are the numbers of a top-class number six. While chasing, however, Mathews’ average drops to just over 30. He’s got most of the ingredients a world-class finisher needs, but he’s still working his way towards becoming one.Now, he had a chance to improve that record. He had come in with Sri Lanka in trouble, and the team suffered another setback when they lost Lahiru Thirimanne to find themselves 75 for 5. Conditions weren’t easy to bat in either. Ziaur Rahman was in the middle of a testing spell, getting the odd ball to bounce awkwardly from just back of a length.One of these deliveries had consumed Ashan Priyanjan and Mathews was a touch lucky to survive another, his edge screaming past the right glove of a diving Anamul Haque. Whether it was plain old conservative captaincy or because of Mathews’ reputation, Mushfiqur Rahim, had declined to give Ziaur a slip despite how often he was threatening to create that precise sort of chance and despite the fact that Sri Lanka were 80 for 5.Mathews ground on, most of his runs coming through a steady drip of leg-side singles against the spinners. Occasionally, Sunny dropped short, and he punched those balls to the off-side sweeper. Once, out of the blue, he stepped out to Ziaur and smashed him over long-off for six. But it was an otherwise subdued Mathews at the crease. The body language of Bangladesh’s fielders, though, deflated steadily with each over he spent there, and Chaturanga de Silva made things worse for them with a 52-ball 44.Soon after reaching his fifty, Mathews gave Bangladesh a half-chance, edging Mahmudullah past the keeper. His heart rate would have gone up a little more when Perera ran himself out with Sri Lanka needing 12 from 18 balls.But Mathews had done the hard yards, and he’d brought Sri Lanka too close to falter. When he swatted Sunny across the line to bring up the winning boundary, Mathews restricted his celebrations to a quiet hug with Sachithra Senanayake. His body language didn’t show it, but just being there at that moment must have meant a lot to him.

Maharashtra’s Kedar Jadhav has passed 1000 runs for the season. The aggressive batsman has understood the importance of defence, thanks to his coach, and it was his composure that helped him outclass Mumbai

Amol Karhadkar in Mumbai 12-Jan-2014Coming into the ongoing domestic season, Kedar Jadhav had four first-class centuries to his name, including the mammoth 327 against Uttar Pradesh in 2012-13. That number has gone up to nine, with his match-winning hundred against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final being his fifth of the season.Jadhav’s unbeaten 120 at the Wankhede Stadium took his Ranji tally for the season to 1034 runs. And with potentially two more matches for Maharashtra, he can not only surpass Dheeraj Jadhav’s record of 1066 for the most runs in a Ranji season for Maharashtra but also pose a threat to the all-time top three run-getters in a Ranji season – VVS Laxman (1415, in 1999-00), Vijay Bharadwaj (1280, in 1998-99) and Wasim Jaffer (1260, in 2008-09).Jadhav has always had a reputation of being an aggressive batsman. He’s gifted with an exceptional ability to read the length of the ball and hand-eye coordination. He has, therefore, been billed as a limited-overs’ specialist. He has shown glimpses of his abilities against reputed bowlers during his limited opportunities in the IPL and for India A in 50-over games.Besides his consistent scores, an equally impressive factor about Jadhav’s batting is his scoring rate. While his record 327 against Uttar Pradesh had come off just 312 balls, his 1000-plus runs this year have come at a strike rate of 80.40.The big difference in his technique this year has been his ability to defend balls. Jadhav credits Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave for making him realise the importance of it. It started two years ago when Bhave, then a Maharashtra and national selector, managed Torna Tigers in the Maharashtra Premier League.”Players like Kedar who are extremely talented don’t usually pay heed to anyone else’s advice. He is an exception,” Bhave told ESPNcricinfo. “Since we knew each other for long and we had an opportunity to work together for a considerable amount of time, I could make him realise the important of forward defence.”Once Bhave took over as coach midway through the last season, the duo started working virtually on a daily basis. During the off-season, Bhave spotted the problem in Jadhav’s technique, which wasn’t just about forward defence. The root cause was the “lack of a forward stride that had found him wanting in pace-friendly conditions”. Once the problem was identified, the measures were easy.Jadhav admitted that he felt at his best at the start of the season. “Once the technical modification had been done, I was feeling much more confident going into the season. I knew I could build an innings and bat long all through the season,” Jadhav said.When he travelled to Mumbai along with his team-mates, his 863 runs till then wasn’t enough to convince the experts since they were scored “in Group C”, the lowest tier of the Ranji Trophy. Not many realise that while the quality of bowling is not the best in Group C, the conditions are also far from favourable at most venues.However, he showed his prowess in his first opportunity against a more superior attack. Though his 51 in the first innings at the Wankhede was scratchy, his unbeaten 120 in the second was the opposite. What stood out in his century was his composure. He and Vijay Zol, who made an unbeaten 91, had been instructed not to fiddle away with anything that was pitched outside off for the first 90 minutes. While Zol almost frittered away the opportunity, dropped at point trying to chase Abhishek Nayar, Jadhav put him right. It was remarkable to see Jadhav being patient till lunch and then exploding after the break.He scored just 35 runs in his first 77 balls after lunch and then smacked 85 off 67 in the second session to help Maharashtra overhaul a stiff target of 252 on a seamer-friendly track. And the 28-year-old had no qualms in admitting his knock could well be a milestone in his career. “This was an innings which had required everything that I have been working on to be put to test. And I am glad it all came good when it mattered the most. This has further boosted my confidence,” he said.Asked about his aspirations, Jadhav, the youngest of four children of a retired clerk from the state electricity board, said: “All I hope is to continue in the same vein, help my team’s cause as much as I can and make my father and coach proud.”

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from Dhaka

Abhishek Purohit in Dhaka23-Mar-2014The confusion
It is usually reporters facing deadlines who get stressed when there is confusion over the score at the end of an innings. This time, they had company, from the teams and the umpires, as the start of India’s chase was delayed to determine whether West Indies had made 129 for 130. That took more than ten minutes. The source of confusion was what was ultimately deemed an extra single credited to West Indies for crossing over when Lendl Simmons was caught off what was called a no-ball on review. It was surreal for fans and awkward for the organisers as the players and umpires chatted away in the middle when they should have restarted some time ago.The start
Dwayne Smith’s innings was an excruciatingly troubled existence at the crease, his 11 taking 29 deliveries. The signs were there as early as the first over. First ball, he pushed at a Bhuvneshwar Kumar outswinger and was beaten. Second ball, he tried to drive another outswinger and was beaten again. He put bat – at least some of it – to ball on the third attempt but the edge fell short of the wicketkeeper.The anti-climax
The crowd had instantly broken into a roar when Chris Gayle’s face was flashed on the giant screen as the teams lined up for the anthems, expecting the man to entertain them later. They were made to wait and wait. Gayle’s approach of batting himself in at the start of a T20 innings is now well known. It seemed to be another of those days – although he also struggled to middle the ball – when he trotted to 34 off 33. But even as the crowd waited for release, their hopes were dashed when Gayle was run-out by yards, responding slowly after Marlon Samuels cut one behind point and set off for a single.The catch
India put down Gayle twice, and R Ashwin was the culprit on the first instance, at first slip. Ashwin came back from that blip to end Smith’s crawl in the eighth over. A clueless Smith popped one in the air towards vacant short mid-off. Ashwin is a slow mover but he did well to keep his sights on the ball and even as it was dying on him, dived to cover a lot of ground and pluck it low.

The performances of Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan in dismantling India suggested they could translate their county form to international level

George Dobell at The Oval15-Aug-2014It would be nice to think that this, the first day of the final Test of the Investec series, was the day when another piece of the jigsaw fell into place for England.It would be nice to think that this was the day when one of the few clouds that had lingered on England’s horizon – the effectiveness of their support seamers – was banished.It would be nice to think that this was the day that Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan came of age as Test cricketers.And it may prove that way, too. It may well be that the confidence gained by each claiming their best figures to date on a first-day Test pitch allows them to feel more comfortable in this environment and settle into the consistent form that has rendered them among the best seamers in the county game.Certainly Jordan, who has looked as dangerous as anyone with the new ball in domestic cricket over the last 18 months, is looking more relaxed with each day he spends at this level.Chris Woakes claimed three wickets in an innings for the first time in Tests•PA PhotosHis progress seemed to stall when he was dropped after the two Sri Lanka Tests. Upon his return, he appeared more anxious than before. He sweated profusely within a couple of balls of starting a spell. He bowled as if every game might be his last. As if he felt he was on trial. His stiff, anxious wrist resulted in a number of deliveries sprayed down the leg side and little of the swing that renders him so dangerous at county level. It is sometimes forgotten that bowlers, like batsmen, benefit from continuity of selection.But, as England stick with him, so he looks more assured. As he realises that he is part of the future, so he is able to replicate the form he has shown for Sussex. His action – the way he positions the ball in his right hand with his left, the odd swing of his shoulders as he starts his run – will always look a little deliberate, but there is nothing in there that would be a surprise to those who know him best at Sussex. If England stick with him, he will provide pace, hostility, swing and free-hitting lower-order batting. He will repay the investment.Here Jordan bowled with good pace, his quickest delivery was timed at 91.2mph, and generated decent swing. If he was donated at least one of his victims – Bhuvneshwar Kumar threw his hands at a wide long hop and edged to the keeper – he defeated Virat Kohli with some well-executed bowling: after setting him up with away swing, he deceived him with one that went straight.Woakes, too, enjoyed his finest day as a Test cricketer to date. Benefitting from some extra time in the gym and greater use of his front arm, Woakes has added a little pace to his bowling over each of the last three or four seasons. His pace here, an average of 84.7mph with a peak of 87.7, compared favourably with Anderson (84.3 and 87.6) and Stuart Broad (83.4 and 87.4) and he was bowling with an older ball.Woakes has long been an underrated cricketer. Perhaps partly because of his unassuming nature – Ashley Giles used to refer to him as “the most low-maintenance player you could imagine” – partly because England used him mainly in white-ball cricket, where his skills are less useful, and partly because his first Test was played on a lifeless surface on this ground a year ago, he has been dismissed prematurely.He is an intelligent bowler. He uses the crease to lure batsmen into playing at his outswinger – both R Ashwin and M Vijay will feel they had to play at balls that nipped away from them – and if his length was just a fraction short to take the edge of the bat, his nagging line ensured, for the first time this summer, that there was no let-up for the batsmen once Anderson and Broad were out of the attack.But his primary weapon will always be movement. Here he nipped the ball away sharply and moved it back just enough to create doubt in the minds of batsmen already lacking confidence in such conditions. While it would be stretching a point to say he lost little in comparison to Anderson, he at least lent the sort of support required to sustain pressure upon India and suggest that, when the day comes and Anderson moves on, England do possess similar swing-bowling resources.He would do well to learn from Anderson, though. While Anderson conceals the ball behind his left hand until the moment of delivery, batsmen talk of the ease with which they can “line up” Woakes. From the moment he starts his run-up to the moment he releases the ball, he presents it in his right hand for all to see. He is so orthodox, so committed to the coaching manual that states bowlers should run in straight lines, that he can, in less helpful conditions, be just a touch predictable. But he has much to build on and he will be eager to learn. And, in Anderson, he could hardly ask for a better role model.But it would be disingenuous to assess this performance without some mention of the opposition and the conditions. These were the damp, overcast and sultry conditions of which England seamers dream and like which they will rarely, if ever, find in most of the rest of the world. They exploited them expertly but it would be naive to expect Woakes and Jordan to enjoy as much success in Asia.Perhaps there might be a slight concern at the struggle to finish off the tail, too. Not for the first time this summer, England struggled to end a tenth-wicket stand. A lack of extreme pace, a lack of mystery spin, a lack of fear factor in their attack remains a weakness.Most pertinently, a nagging doubt remains that this India team has, since Southampton, presented feeble competition. Lacking confidence and ill-prepared for such challenges they were, for the fourth successive time, dismissed for under 200. Such batting might flatter any attack.They will go on lacking confidence and looking ill-prepared, too, while the BCCI’s reluctance to let them play in domestic competitions continues. What the likes of Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara and Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane are crying out for is a season or two of county cricket. A season or two where they can learn how to cope with such conditions and the moving ball. Such an apprenticeship served Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar well. India will always place themselves at a disadvantage while the current thinking pervades.So, in terms of looking ahead at series against Australia and South Africa, both of which loom for England in 2015, this was like preparing to wrestle a tiger by petting a kitten. But it was another step forward, another day when the new-look England team took shape. These remain early days in the rebuilding operation, but so long as it continues to progress, it is unreasonable to expect more.