His performance in the Indian Premier League has more or less reassured that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ready to return as India’s lead pacer in limited-overs formats

Amol Karhadkar14-May-2015They show promise. They establish themselves. They lose pace. They lose swing. They get injured. They fade away into oblivion. That’s been the story of most of India’s pacers over the last decade.When Bhuvneshwar Kumar got injured and looked like his own long-lost brother during his sparse appearances in Australia, many feared even he would follow the same path. But his performance in the Indian Premier League has more or less reassured that Bhuvneshwar is ready to return as India’s lead pacer in limited-overs formats.Not just because Bhuvneshwar has emerged as one of the top wicket-takers of IPL 2015. But more importantly because he has surfaced as the leader of the most potent pace attack in the tournament.Dale Steyn. Trent Boult. Praveen Kumar. Ishant Sharma. All these seasoned campaigners are Bhuvneswhar’s colleagues in the Sunrisers Hyderabad line-up. And Bhuvneshwar has overshadowed each one of them with his immaculate line and length up front and at the back-end of each of the 12 matches Sunrisers have played so far.With Twenty20 being primarily a batsman’s game, Sunrisers’ comeback in the latter half of the tournament is often attributed only to David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan’s stupendous contributions with the bat, and Bhuvneshwar’s influence on the team is often ignored.”To have a bowler who is as effective with the new ball as at the end of the innings is a great asset to any side,” Sunrisers coach Tom Moody said. “He has the wicket-taking ability. With the new ball he can swing the ball both ways.”His discipline at the death overs has been second to none. He is up there with some of the best death bowlers that have been playing this year. He has got his yorkers in and the use of the timing of his slower ball has been very impressive. We are very lucky to have him.”Since the balance of the game has shifted more in batsmen’s favour, Bhuvneshwar’s economy rate of 7.51 so far appears impressive in general. Consider the fact that all but one of his 46.5 overs have been bowled either in the first six overs with fielding restrictions or in the last five overs. His dot-ball percentage of 43 [122 of 281] is also highly appreciable considering the difficult times when Warner has thrown the ball to him.Pace has never been Bhuvneshwar’s forte. He belongs to the good old clan of those who bowl in the right channel and get the ball to move consistently. When it comes to death overs, he again sticks to the conventional method. While many great bowlers have tried to bowl full outside off and have thus been punished by the batsmen, Bhuvneshwar has relied mostly on yorkers. To his credit, he has got most of them right as well, even while bowling against the best of the finishers.It was evident during Sunrisers’ last game, against Kings XI Punjab. David Miller was belligerent with the bat. With 57 required off three overs, Miller amassed 18 runs off the 18th over against Boult, his most expensive over in IPL, and 22 off the last over, bowled by Ishant. The only reason Kings XI fell short by just five runs was the penultimate over, which saw Bhuvneshwar bowl low full tosses to keep Miller at bay, and concede 11 runs.Miller had no qualms in admitting Bhuvneshwar’s over being the difference between the two teams, saying had he managed to get after the pace bowler, “it could have been a different story”.It wasn’t to be for Miller. But if Bhuvneshwar manages to keep himself fit, his can definitely be a tale different than many of his predecessors.

ESPNcricinfo relives the passages of play that turned the second Test in India’s favour

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2015The platformHaving chosen to bat, India were quickly reduced to 12 for 2. KL Rahul, who had failed twice in the first Test, profited from an early let-off, dug deep, and scored his second Test century to set up India’s first-innings total of 393.Ishant breaks throughAngelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne were eating into India’s lead with a century stand for the fourth wicket, and had taken Sri Lanka to 241 for 3 when Ishant Sharma intervened. He dismissed Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal in quick succession to help India secure an 87-run first-innings lead.Binny gets on the board, finallyEarly in Sri Lanka’s first innings, Stuart Binny thought he had his first Test wicket when he had Kaushal Silva caught behind. It wasn’t to be, though, as replays confirmed he had overstepped. But he wasn’t to be denied for too long. Another ball that seamed away just a touch, and India had the big fish: Mathews c Vijay b Binny.Rahane shuts door on SLIn the first innings, Ajinkya Rahane was out early, playing a loose shot after coming in at No. 3, having swapped places with Rohit Sharma in the batting order. He walked in early once again, in the second innings, with India looking to build on their first-innings lead and set Sri Lanka a big target. He did his job to perfection, scoring his fourth Test hundred and helping India set a target of 413.Ashwin spins India to victoryIndia were always going to look to R Ashwin to lead their attack in the fourth innings, and he didn’t disappoint. He dented Sri Lanka’s chances early, picking up two wickets on the fourth evening – including the retiring Kumar Sangakkara’s, for the fourth time in four innings – and then took three more on the fifth morning to pick up his 12th five-for and give India a memorable, series-leveling win.

Trevor Bayliss’ enlightened knowledge of the game coupled with his ability to make the players feel comfortable could take England out of the mire they have got themselves into

Daniel Brettig in Cardiff07-Jul-20155:51

Ashes Key Battles: Bayliss v Boof

Ask Darren Lehmann how Trevor Bayliss will fare as England coach, and he says all the right things: a good cricket man and a quality mentor who wants the game to be played the right way. Ask Lehmann about his memories of Bayliss the cricketer, and he breaks into a broad grin.”He used to whack ’em! He used to slog ’em at number three for New South Wales.”Lehmann bears no ill towards Bayliss for choosing to coach England, and so far nor do many of his countrymen. If there have been fewer raised Australian eyebrows about this appointment than some expected, it is largely because of satisfaction at how Bayliss’ old Sheffield Shield opponent Lehmann has done his job. There is also the fact that Bayliss has always kept a low profile, letting his work speak louder than his words.Certainly Lehmann’s cavalier batting tendencies were more widely known and celebrated, but there was scarcely less swash in Bayliss’ buckle, something he was able to demonstrate in 1989-90 as the unavailability of Steve Waugh on national duty gave him prime responsibility for the No. 3 spot.Walking to the wicket, the stocky and bespectacled Bayliss gave the appearance of a stodgy grafter. But his love for the game was evident in how he spent years driving the more than two-hour round trip from a job working on Navy armaments at Emu Plains to the SCG for practice as a fringe player, and in how he loved nothing more than to belt the ball. Teammates remember him hitting sixes inside out over cover when such a shot was unheard of.Bayliss was always moving the scoreboard along, buying time for Greg Matthews, Mike Whitney and others to bowl opponents out across the summer of 1989-90. He was also an outstanding cover fielder, often snaffling catches when most eyes had darted from ball and batsman to outfield or boundary. “If you wanted a job done,” says his former state captain Geoff Lawson, “you put Trevor there.”While Lehmann got in first for South Australia, soaring to an innings of 228 against NSW in Adelaide that made national headlines and helped catapult him into Test 12th man duty in January, Bayliss chose his moment in the return match. A run-a-ball 59 set the Blues on the path to a victory that helped push them into the Shield final – the “slog ’em at No. 3″ innings Lehmann remembers.An aggregate of 992 runs was second only to Mark Waugh among the NSW XI, and Bayliss earned the players’ Player of the Year award. His spoils were a week’s holiday for two at Opal Cove Resort at Coffs Harbour, flying Ansett. It was a simpler time, but an influential one for Bayliss, who has never forgotten the importance of building strong relationships within teams.Where Lehmann was heavily influenced by the freewheeling ways of David Hookes, Bayliss was immersed in the value of positive thinking and aggressive play through the liberated approach favoured by the NSW captain Lawson and the coach Steve Rixon. At the time, both South Australia and NSW favoured styles of play somewhat at odds with the more measured, calculated ways of a national team led by Allan Border and ruled by Bob Simpson.Lawson and Simpson often disagreed, as did Hookes and Simpson, and it was the path of the aggressor that both Lehmann and Bayliss chose to carry with them into coaching. At the same time Border’s Australians were laying waste to England on the 1989 Ashes tour, Bayliss was based in Glasgow, playing league cricket for West of Scotland CC and filling the considerable shoes of Clive Rice. It was perhaps the germination of his globetrotting ways.”It’s the first time I’ve been over here,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald that year. “I’ve got my wife here and I’ve got a car and we look around when I’m not doing any coaching at Glasgow High School. The club expects the pro to be the best player on the team … the pressure is on me a bit. But I’m not doing too badly. I’m averaging 150 after six or seven bats and have 18 wickets. I run the practices and do extra practices with the younger players if they need or want it.”The habit stuck. After his playing career fizzled out in the mid-1990s, Bayliss coached NSW junior teams, where he mentored Michael Clarke among others, before taking on the state coaching job. Quickly he showed himself to be a softly-spoken but firm mentor, always preferring quiet counsel to histrionics. As common to his teams as regular trophies is a lack of internal strife.Among his dictums for NSW was to insist that when on tour, all players met in the hotel bar at 7 pm each night and stayed long enough for a drink and shared chat. Other plans were fine, so long as they were scheduled for later. This simple measure meant no player would feel isolated away from home and hearth, while rapport had a chance to build. England’s players can expect similar instructions.”He takes a lot of the anxiety out of a change room and gets guys to enjoy the game for what it is,” says Brad Haddin, who was state captain for much of Bayliss’ first stint with the Blues. “He’s been great for my cricket. He’s been one of the guys that helped me get to where I am now. I think he’s a really good appointment for England.”After four years with Sri Lanka, where Bayliss and Paul Farbrace built the fruitful working partnership they have now rekindled with England, a return to the NSW job was initially denied to him. Instead he was left to coach the Sydney Sixers, where a young Steven Smith was emerging as a batsman and leader. Remembering how their axis developed, Smith remembers Bayliss being strong in maintaining that captains, not coaches, run a cricket team.”He never gives any specific instruction,” Smith says. “I think he realises it’s the captain’s job and it’s up to the captain to make the ultimate decision. However he is very good to talk to about the game, he understands the game really well.”He talks about it non-stop, whether you’re out having dinner or a beer at the bar or anything like that, he’s talking about the game of cricket, and that’s great for learning, particularly as a young player. He’s been very successful wherever he’s coached, whether it be IPL or back at NSW and the Sixers. He understands what a good environment’s all about, what a good cricket team’s all about.”Much like the former NSW administration, England were slow to realise Bayliss’ value, declining to choose him over Peter Moores in 2014. Andrew Strauss proved to be sharper in his analysis than Paul Downton had been, ultimately presenting Bayliss with the “offer he couldn’t refuse” and coaxing his man to the ECB. Lawson reckons that Bayliss will hasten slowly, ensuring he has built constructive relationships before enacting major change.Anthem time at Cardiff will doubtless be the source of mixed feelings, but Australians seem comfortable that an avowed lover of the game is ensuring its virtues are propagated abroad. In 2005, when the Tasmanian Troy Cooley was England’s Ashes-winning bowling coach, not only had Australia let a countryman slip through the net, but the equivalent role did not even exist with the baggy greens. No such oversight exists this time.Should Bayliss’ simple methods reap success this summer, a few more hackles will of course be raised. Lehmann might not grin quite so much at the memory of a blue-capped slugger, either.

Stats highlights from a gripping final day in Dubai

S Rajesh26-Oct-2015178 The margin of victory, Pakistan’s biggest victory in terms of runs in a Test against England.137.3 Overs batted by England, the fourth-highest by any team in the fourth innings of a Test in Asia, and the highest in a defeat. England had also played 140 overs in a draw in Kandy in 2003. It’s England’s sixth-best in the fourth innings of any Test since 1980.322 Balls faced by England’s last four batsmen (Nos. 8-11) in their second innings. It’s the highest by any team in the fourth innings of a Test match; the previous-highest was 298 balls, by New Zealand against Sri Lanka in 2009. It’s England’s second-highest in any innings against Pakistan, and the fourth-best for any team against Pakistan.176 Balls faced by Adil Rashid and Mark Wood during their partnership, the highest by any ninth-wicket pair in the fourth innings of a Test match. Among all matches where balls-faced data is available, the next-best is 143 balls, by Mark Boucher and Fanie de Villiers, also against Pakistan, in Durban in 1998.8 Wickets for Yasir Shah in this Test, the seventh time in 11 Tests he has taken seven or more wickets in the match. In his last five Tests he has taken 39 wickets at 19.87. In 2015 he has 42 wickets, next only to Stuart Broad’s 46; while Broad has played 12 Tests this year, Yasir has played half that number.10-3 Pakistan’s win-loss record in the UAE in 20 Tests since the beginning of 2010. In all other countries during the same period their record is 11-15 in 30 Tests.1-7 England’s win-loss record in away Tests since the beginning of 2013; in home Tests during the same period they’ve won 12 and lost only five. In the UAE this is their fourth defeat in five Tests.172 Balls faced by Rashid in his innings of 61, the second-best for an England No. 8 batsman in the fourth innings of a Test, after Matt Prior’s 182-ball 110 not out against New Zealand in 2013. It’s the fifth-best by any No. 8 batsman in the fourth innings – the record is 190, by Ajit Agarkar at Lord’s in 2002.7-2 Pakistan’s win-loss record in Tests since October 2014. During this period they’ve registered series wins against Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and drawn a series against New Zealand.62 Innings taken by Joe Root to get to 3000 Test runs. It’s the fastest by an England batsman since 1970, and an innings faster than Kevin Pietersen, who got there in 63. Overall, 15 batsmen have reached 3000 Test runs in fewer than 62 innings, including six from England.125 Test wins for Pakistan, which pushes them one ahead of India, who have 124. While India’s 124 wins have come in 491 Tests, Pakistan have played only 394 to win 125. They are now fifth in terms of overall Test wins, after Australia, England, West Indies and South Africa.63 Years, to the day, since Pakistan won their first Test match. On October 26, 1952, they beat India by an innings and 43 runs in Lucknow to register their first win in Test history.

England’s reliance on three all-rounders to bowl spin has failed to offset the critical absence of a specialist slow bowler able to exert control

Andrew McGlashan in Sharjah04-Nov-2015The final numbers are in.

The bowlers finally completed their work for this series in the final session of the fourth day. James Anderson and Stuart Broad tried all they could, but the support just wasn’t there.Anderson, weary after his herculean efforts, was frank in his assessment of the challenge facing England’s spinners ahead of next year’s series in India and Bangladesh.”In international cricket, you have to learn fast; if you don’t, you don’t stick around in it. So they’re going to have to if they’re going to improve and help us win next winter,” he said. “They’re bowling at batsmen who have grown up playing against spin. I’d say some of their guys are experts at it. They’re going to take a lot from it.”There was an over from Samit Patel which encapsulated where English spin bowling currently sits. Here’s how ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary recorded it:104.1 Patel to Sarfraz Ahmed, FOUR, a low full toss, swept, with a slight top-edge, but safely through fine leg to bring up a vital 50-run stand104.2 Patel to Sarfraz Ahmed, no run, forward and blocked104.3 Patel to Sarfraz Ahmed, FOUR, swept majestically, that went like a tracer bullet, as Ravi Shastri would doubtless say104.4 Patel to Sarfraz Ahmed, no run, forward and blocked104.5 Patel to Sarfraz Ahmed, OUT, bowled him! Samit lands one on the money, tweaks past the edge and smashes middle and off!104.6 Patel to Yasir Shah, FOUR, low full toss, and pumped for a straight four! That’s not the way to greet the tailenders!Two full tosses, two blocks, another boundary and a beauty to bring a wicket. England’s spinners have bowled some good deliveries in this series, and on the fourth day here Adil Rashid produced some hard-spun leg-breaks and googlies, one of which brought a missed stumping in the first over of the day, but there has been too much dross in between. Not every good ball will take a wicket, but most of the bad ones have been dispatched.England’s spin struggles have not just begun in this series – this situation has been building since Graeme Swann retired and Monty Panesar’s career hit crisis – but to provide some context, the 1992-93 tour of India is often considered a nadir for England in Asia. Still, the spinners used in that series – John Emburey, Phil Tufnell, Ian Salisbury and Graeme Hick – fared better collectively than the three here, taking 17 wickets at 50 with an economy rate of 3.16.This series is the first time a group of England spinners have conceded more than four-an-over, while the average of 60.01 (a notch higher than most records will show due to Ben Stokes’ over of offspin in Abu Dhabi) places it third worst. Above it are the 2003-04 series in Bangladesh, where England’s quicks were able to do most of the damage and the limited resources of Gareth Batty and Ashley Giles were not punished, and the 2005-06 series in Pakistan.It is that tour, a decade ago, which provides a neat bookend for 10 years of English cricket alongside this one, a period within which they have had a period where Swann and Panesar gave them as rich a spin resources as they had had for 30 years.Samit Patel’s celebration after dismissing Sarfraz Ahmed had a hollow feel•Getty ImagesPanesar made his debut on the tour that followed the 2005-06 series in Pakistan, when England visited India, and he formed a motley crew in Nagpur alongside Shaun Udal and Ian Blackwell. Udal had made a surprise debut in Pakistan, partnering Giles in the first Test, before becoming the lone spinner by the end as Giles flew home injured.Through Panesar, and then Swann when he finally made his debut in late 2008, England emerged from a period where they had used spin firmly as the second-string to an attack which, like now, had a strong hand of pace bowlers. Duncan Fletcher had demanded that a spinner could bat – because he could not see a matchwinner in county cricket – but also that he could contain. Giles ticked both boxes and did superbly as England built towards the 2005 Ashes success.Fletcher never quite bought into Panesar – preferring a half-fit Giles at the start of the 2006-07 Ashes despite Panesar’s success the previous summer – but that was Fletcher’s last Test series. Peter Moores, on his first overseas assignment, to India in 2008, handed Swann his debut in Chennai. Two wickets came in his first over. The rest is history.For five years, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook (for the record, Kevin Pietersen captained Swann in his first two Tests) knew they had a world-class spinner who could attack and defend. England could field a four-man attack that was effectively five. Did the vast workload shorten Swann’s career? Probably, but while he was on the park the results were emphatic with three Ashes victories and the win in India in 2012-13 when he and Panesar dovetailed wonderfully.Since Swann’s shoulder finally gave in on the 2013-14 Ashes, which coincided with Panesar’s problems emerging, life has become much harder. Better spin did not always mean victories, as the 2012 series in UAE showed, but the decline England are suffering is currently stark.Now it has to be decided what the role of the spinner is in the England side, especially in Asia. The notion to be attack-minded is well intentioned, but this series has been crying out for a holding spinner and, unless significant improvement takes place over the next 12 months, the same will be the case in Bangladesh and India this time next year.It was the right time to play Rashid, and he should not be completely discarded, and Moeen Ali will continue to develop but with the over-riding strength being in the pace attack, this series has shown that a different type of support is also necessary in these conditions. If a holding spinner helps to offer the control that bring Test victories, why should it be viewed as negative?The methodology in 2000-01 in India did not bring victory, and perhaps Nasser Hussain took it a step too far against Sachin Tendulkar when Giles hung it outside leg stump for over after over, but at the time it was a means to an end given the resources available.You probably would not see England go to those lengths now. It is not in Trevor Bayliss’ outlook or, increasingly, Cook’s but surely coach and captain would be grateful for some economy. There is no way of knowing if, for example, James Tredwell or Gareth Batty would have done any better out here (or how well Zafar Ansari may have gone) but those two are at least spinners who can land six deliveries in roughly the same place.At 38, Batty’s time has probably passed him by, but Tredwell should not be forgotten for next winter. He is not a long-term, or exciting, solution but could be better value than conceding runs by the bucketload and help buy a little time to try and begin the revolution that has to take place in English cricket to nurture a new generation of spin bowler.

Asad Shafiq might be one of the more understated members of the Pakistan side but on the ground where his Test career began he proved his worth again with his eighth Test hundred

Umar Farooq14-Oct-20151:00

‘We had a plan against Adil Rashid’ – Asad Shafiq

In the 30-minute journey between hotel and stadium, Asad Shafiq hardly spoke. Neither did he talk during the morning warm-session before the start of the second day. He was clearly lost in thought, seeking an inner calm as he resumed an innings still alive because Ian Bell had dropped him on 10 at second slip the previous evening.Shafiq knew that he could be one soft target, as Pakistan needs to create a place for Azhar Ali to return in the side in the next Test in Dubai. There is an extensive sense of competition as Malik, who replaced Ali in the line-up, had already marked his remarkable comeback with a double hundred. The playing XI in the next Test is already a talking point.Shafiq is generally one of the more muted players in the Pakistan dressing room with Sarfraz Ahmed is the only best friend around. Introverted he might be, but he has silently absorbed a lot of skills: he is the most technically accomplished player in the side. He scored his eighth hundred to prove his worth yet again at the venue where his career started in 2010.He emerged in 2009 when he was the top scorer at the domestic circuit at time when Pakistan underwent ugly debacles in the 2009 Australia tour, followed by the 2010 spot fixing saga in England. He was bought in the team for the same reason as Misbah-ul-Haq assumed the captaincy – to find a calm within the storm.His posture was exactly the factor Pakistan had needed. It was a new era – post the captaincy of Mohammad Yousaf, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and the fall of Salman Butt. He was a productive investment. His career growth and development was not centred upon junior development, as in so many modern day cricketers, but he only emerged only after playing first-class cricket.Most of his hundreds came in pressure situations either to save his slipping place or to prove his ability. He remained underrated and was never applauded, probably because of his introverted approach. He had an immaculate defence, as did Pakistan’s greatest opening batsman Hanif Mohammad, and never played big, rather relying on elegant strokes all around to tick up the runs. But he has scored heavily against every opponent he has played in his 33 Test matches.His 107 off 218 balls was pleasing though as the day was much warmer in Abu Dhabi compared to the last two days in the city. He batted with Malik to share 248 runs for the fifth wicket stand to give Pakistan a reason to declare. Two generations of cricketer combined to become the face of the bland Misbah team.Ben Stokes attempts to run out Shoaib Malik•Getty ImagesShafiq had never batted with Malik in his career at any level but fluency was the defining feature of his innings. He ran for 13 doubles, and 2 threes and 35 singles along with 10 boundaries. His scoring rate against the spinners was 57 while he contained himself to score at 29 against the pacers.”I batted very comfortably with Malik and I never felt a sense of diffidence,” Shafiq said. “He kept on talking with me about how to keep yourself focused. He was guiding me about the pitch condition and helping me building up the innings.”I wanted to concentrate and Shoaib bhai gave me enough confidence. We shared the burden and played exactly the way we planned. We had a special plan against Adil especially – not to let him settle right from the start – and we did that.”Misbah and Younis Khan have both appraised Shafiq as a key investment for the future after the old guard walk away. In coming years his role is likely to be redefined to bat higher than No 6 and it will be interesting to see how he rises to the challenge.Pakistan have never had such an unsettled Test XI for many years, let alone the inconsistent selection in limited-over cricket. Pakistan selection is cruel sometimes: not as kuch sensible as circumstantial. Shafiq might have been pushing his career with hundreds but his life has not been easy. He could be a whipping boy at any time.He career is often presented as part of Pakistan’s transition after the 2015 World Cup, an idea that has not made any sense so far. He admits that that he faces some difficulty to switch himself from ODI to his specialist format but he makes light of it. It too early to judge that the experiment with Shafiq in ODIs will be a success or not but it certainly distract from his regular place in Tests.”Of course this is something difficult to explain – at the same time I am flourishing in Tests, I am not able to apply myself in ODIs but I don’t let myself carried away with thoughts of an ODI flop and try to work out on every opportunity I get. I always try to think like a professional and try to forget failures in the past, live the moment and build a new innings.”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015Imrul Kayes then anchored the innings with an attacking 76 that included six fours and four sixes•AFPKayes was eventually dismissed off a full-toss from Sean Williams, leaving the score at 151 for 5 by the 32nd over•AFPNasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman tried to give the side a strong finish but Bangladesh eventually ended at 241 for 9•Associated PressZimbabwe got off to a horror start with a top-order collapse that reduced them to 45 for 3 by the ninth over•AFPElton Chigumbura once again tried to revive Zimbabwe’s innings..•AFP..building a 73-run partnership with Sikandar Raza, after Zimbabwe lost Sean Williams and Craig Ervine•Associated PressChigumbura was dismissed for 47 in the 36th over and Zimbabwe were eventually bowled out for 183 in 44th over, as Bangladesh sealed their fifth successive bilateral series win with a 58-run victory•Associated Press

For a team used to frequent collapses from its brittle batting line-up, a partnership of 122 in 48.5 overs between Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal was a pleasantly surprising display of restraint

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dunedin11-Dec-20153:10

Arnold: Sri Lanka weren’t intimidated by conditions

In August this year, Sri Lanka lost half their side for less than 110 in five of their six Test innings against India. In the previous series, against Pakistan, Yasir Shah and company had spun out, reverse-swung, and metaphorically undressed them. Sri Lanka batted a little better against a modest West Indies side [see current score of Hobart Test] in October, but even in that series lost 6 for 29 to Kraigg Brathwaite, who had had three first-class scalps until then. Sri Lanka have, in short, been caliphs of the collapse in 2015.Pitch still has some life in it – Boult

Trent Boult said there was some movement to be had in the University Oval pitch, despite only six wickets having fallen on the second day. The surface in Dunedin has been known to flatten out through the Tests. Four of the six Tests played here have resulted in draws – but most of those have also been affected by rain.
“There were bumps and divots coming out of the pitch on day one, which was quite strange,” Boult said. “It’s a little two-paced maybe, but there’s still some life in it.
“From experience, here you need to tick up a few overs but, on the flipside, things can happen quickly if you can sustain pressure. If you keep it on the opposition eventually something cracks. We stuck to our plans, and if we can continue to give the batsmen nothing, then hopefully things will happen for us.”
Boult said Sri Lanka batted well through a wicketless second session, though they scored at only 2.17 in the 30 overs between lunch and tea. “They withstood the pressure we threw at them through that entire second session and did play very nicely. We didn’t bowl badly, but they patient enough to block that out and wait for the bad balls,” he said.

But now, on a difficult tour, with a No. 3 on debut and an opener in his second match, they have survived until the second new ball. Sri Lanka may still give up a large first-innings lead. They haven’t yet avoided the follow-on. But after the 12 months this top order has had, their mere competence on day two was cause for celebration. On a deck still dancing for a good seam attack, 197 for 4 was gloriously, resplendently – even triumphantly – adequate.New Zealand had sped at over four-and-a-half runs an over on the first day, but Sri Lanka progressed at mellower pace. There is another reason to rejoice. Given the number of occasions their batsmen have been out playing attacking shots recently, their stonewalling was almost heroic. They hit no more than 20 from the first 10 overs, and sure, they also lost a wicket in that period, but to be mired in such minutiae is to miss the point. They were a little rubbish, beaten wafting on several occasions, but the thing is, they weren’t nearly as bad as they are capable of being. In a season in which so many uncontrolled shots have carried directly to the slips, the fact that Dimuth Karunaratne’s inadvertent edge in the second over carried well over the cordon was the kind of progress that should bring a tear to the eye.After so many spiralling-inferno innings, each Sri Lanka defensive shot now took on a scintillating aspect. The leaves, of which there were many, were all sublime in their passivity. The forward-defensives – so sure, so secure – were marvelously unambitious. For about a session and a half, Sri Lanka played dazzlingly morose cricket, progressing until the 36th over at a run rate of 1.83. A sparse Dunedin crowd was coaxed gently to sleep, but 10,000 kilometres away, in Galle, Kandy and Colombo, fans rising to their day will have been thrilled to the core by the scoreline.Restraint was particularly impressive from the two batsmen who combined to provide the guts of Sri Lanka’s total with a 122-run stand. Karunaratne had once been the opener who flashed his bat in the early overs like a rapier, before falling on his sword when a substantial score beckoned. Now, he is a man desperate to continue to the big scores. He has expanded his off-side play at home recently, unlocking previously barren areas of the field, but he pared his cricket down to basics in Dunedin. A great majority of his runs came through that naturally-favoured leg side.”The new ball had a lot more shape, so when I started, I had wanted to get through that period,” Karunaratne said. “Boult bowled some good lines, and though I’m pretty confident with my off-side drives, I thought that maybe I’d make a mistake with them. I tried to wait for their mistakes, and I wanted to get those straight balls. So when they did that I was able to hit straight and through leg. Once the ball lost its shine a little, I played a few more off-side shots.”Dinesh Chandimal, whose most memorable Test innings so far has been that strapping, reverse-slapping 169-ball 162 against India, was even more reticent for most of his stay. He took 46 balls to reach double figures, and 83 deliveries to hit his first boundary. After 116 balls, his score was still 31. Only after tea was a little of Chandimal’s innate aggression seen at the University Oval. He finished the day on 83 not out, after Karunaratne had struck 84. Both innings were chanceless, apart of course from the under-edge that got Karunaratne out.As stumps drew near, even Kithuruwan Vithanage, who had been bowled playing a ludicrous reverse-sweep in his previous Test, contributed 10 not out from 49 deliveries. The boredom he imposed on spectators was the final cherry to top a delightfully drab day. If Sri Lanka want to emerge from the opening new-ball spells unscathed on Saturday, Vithanage and Chandimal will need to commit whole-heartedly again to inaction.

After being completely outplayed on the opening day, South Africa would not have minded an extra day off to reflect on their mistakes and plot an unlikely coup to get back into the series

Firdose Moonda in Bangalore15-Nov-2015Rain is exactly what every South African wanted today. Back home, the country is facing its worst water crisis since 1992, five of the country’s nine provinces have been declared drought disaster areas, and water restrictions have been imposed. In Bangalore, the rain has poured like the blessing South Africans believe it to be.The entire second day was washed out, eating into the time India wanted to wipe away the first-innings deficit and begin building a lead. Even though the rain also munched away at the minutes South Africa could have used to start plucking Indian wickets – and in humid, overcast conditions their seamers would have hoped for some assistance – they would have preferred to lose time on this occasion.South Africa’s pace pack is depleted down to only one frontliner: Morne Morkel. The two who could have made use of any movement on offer – Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander – are injured and the replacement pair – Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada – need some time to gear up for the magnitude of the task facing them.Rabada needs more experience – in less than two years he has gone from impressive schoolboy to international cricketer across all formats – but Abbott, who is a swing bowler, could have used the extra day off. Abbott was barely 36 hours off a plane when he was thrust into a Test match with his captain’s assuring words that “when he puts his boots on, he’s ready even if he got off the plane 10 minutes before he bowled the first ball.”The Abbott of day one was not quite ready. In his six-over spell, he found movement, beat the bat and held his length back. But even with Morkel testing the surface’s spongy bounce and Rabada poison-tipped with potential, Abbott could not create any pressure. India’s opening pair were very rarely made to feel as though they would be lured into making a mistake, much less that there was any menace coming from their opponents.South Africa’s batsmen are partly to blame for creating that sense of security of their hosts, who put them in – a rarity in Indian conditions – and then bundled them out. In the two-and-a-half sessions India spent out there, they would have seen there were no demons in the pitch, not even the sluggish, sleeping ones like they were in Mohali They would have known they could seize an advantage by batting carefully to the close.But in-game advantage is delicate and for India to hold on to it, they need to continue blunting South Africa’s seamers, who generally do not remain passive for extended periods and will have the importance of sharpening up stressed on them. Morkel will have to lead with a little more authority and a little more meanness. He will have to bowl fast and back of a length to extract the bounce that a bowler of his height can generate and make the Indian batsmen uncomfortable. Abbott will have to conjure up his inner-Steyn, in swing terms, and make the conditions work for him. Both of them have to be careful not to bowl too straight, but to make the batsmen play outside the offstump.Rabada will have to back both of them up by being the other half of Steyn: fast and furious. He will have to be the one who bends his back the most, bangs in the hardest and bears down on the batsmen the most. He already has the right bowling character to intimidate, now he has to trust it at the highest level and he has reason to. He has the backing of the best.During the first Test, Steyn posted a photo of himself in wicket-celebration mode with his steely, scary eyes trained on Rabada. “I am looking at the future of SA cricket!,” Steyn captioned it. “Remember this name, people. You gana (sic) be seeing a lot of it. Congrats on your Test debut bud. #fastbowlingpartner.”Steyn will not be on the field to guide Rabada or anyone else but his presence from the dressing room may serve as a reminder of what South Africa’s attack need to protect. Before the Mohali Test, South Africa had lost only one Test away from home – to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in October 2013 – in five years. The team owes a lot of that form to Steyn, who before Saturday had not missed a match in six years since he sat out the first Test against England in December 2009.The stability Steyn provided in that time has meant South Africa have usually had the luxury of pushing for wins rather than settling for draws. They tended to prefer time in the game than time out, but without Steyn, that dynamic has shifted. Time out – and there could be more of it with rain also forecast on Monday and Tuesday – could allow them to save the blushes after their batting blunder. But it will also leave the series open wide enough for them to begin plotting an unlikely coup, even with their new attack.

It will take some time to reflect on what unfolded in the Wankhede, but too many wides, a misfiring strike bowler and Faf du Plessis’ difficult day all played a part

Arun Venugopal in Mumbai18-Mar-2016Extra(s) baggageThe extras column is usually a pretty damning indicator of how disciplined or naughty a bowling side has been. On this count South Africa licked England 26-4 with a collection of 20 wides (from 10 wide deliveries). And, it was not just the more common wide either side of the batsman. They focused on height as well.It was Kagiso Rabada who first tried to challenge Quinton de Kock’s elasticity. He had been hit by Jason Roy for fours off the first two balls of the innings but he reacted with the very next delivery by squaring up Roy. Rabada then dug one in forcefully which sprang up, rose higher and eventually soared past de Kock, who did a Sergey Bubka impression without the pole but the ball had made it to the boundary not long after his descent.This egged Kyle Abbott on to reach for greater heights, quite literally, as he nearly bounced his leading foot in the fifth over.  The flying de Kock continued to make excellent contact with air.  South Africa eventually settled for regular wides but still flirted with going vertical every now and then.Captain Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy said in no uncertain terms that such freebies hurt their chances of winning. But Duminy refused to play up the dew factor as an excuse. “We expected it to be a little bit worse but the groundsman actually mentioned to us before the game started that there was a bit of a breeze throughout the day so it wouldn’t be too bad,” he said. “We unfortunately made the errors and we have to take responsibility for that and rectify that for the next game.”Errant gunEngland’s Reece Topley made it through the evening like a sloppy stand-up comedian lapsing from one flat joke into a more disastrous one.  He dropped a chance at mid-off offered by Hashim Amla, got clobbered both at the beginning and the end of the innings and bled 33 runs in two overs. The scorer in the media box accurately summed up Topley’s night when he erroneously mispronounced his name as “Topple”.You surely can’t get worse than that, especially in the same game. And from Dale Steyn of all people? You have got to be kidding.Except that’s what happened as Roy and Alex Hales mauled him for four fours and a six in his first over, as Steyn’s expressions morphed from incredulity to disappointment to wryness in the space of six balls. His first ball, though, was that delightful theory of what might have been. Short and angling in, Hales tucked it off his hip to short fine leg where the ball burst through Abbott’s fingers. But with a dodgy radar that had him spraying almost every other delivery down the leg side Steyn can’t complain much. With their main strike force misfiring, South Africa’s attacking threat was severely diminished. If it’s any consolation for Steyn the scorer pronounced his name right.Powerplay samenessWhat hurt South Africa more than Rabada’s 21-run first over was his re-introduction in the fourth and sixth overs where he gave away 19 further runs. Abbott, too, wasn’t lending a great deal of stability, although it could be argued that between him and Rabada England’s top three batsmen were accounted for. The costly trade-off came in the form of 89 runs being conceded in the Powerplay. Surely there was a case for du Plessis to accommodate an over from Duminy in the over after Hales was dismissed not least because Ben Stokes, a left-handed batsman, was new to the crease having been promoted to No. 3. By not doing that on a pitch where spinners achieved considerable success du Plessis probably missed an opportunity to alter the tempo and consequently rein in England’s momentum.Faf-fing aroundIn a match where both teams managed tall totals it is the break-ups that tell you where one team surged while another slumped. From overs 10 to 15 South Africa managed a mere 41 runs while England managed 65 without losing a wicket. South Africa took a hit when Amla was lbw sweeping at Moeen Ali, and du Plessis, the new batsman, struggled to score at more than a run-a-ball.  It was only after du Plessis was out in the 16th over that South Africa’s final push hit the high gear. Du Plessis’ counterpart, Eoin Morgan, played a similarly sluggish knock, but considering England’s breathless start to the chase such consolidation only served to stabilise them before the final assault.