All posts by h716a5.icu

Pakistan’s bowling compares favourably with that of the hosts but the visitors’ batting will undoubtedly hold the key to their fortunes

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan30-Jan-2013At first glance, South Africa, the No. 1 Test team, seem clear favourites in the upcoming series against Pakistan. Since the beginning of 2008, South Africa have lost only one series at home and won twice in Australia and England.Pakistan, on the other hand, have had a mixed bag of results in the same period. They were beaten convincingly in Australia (2009-10) and England (2010) but turned their fortunes around by beating England 3-0 in the UAE at the beginning of 2012. However, given Pakistan’s unpredictability, the result of the series is hard to predict. On their previous tour of South Africa in 2006-07, Pakistan won the second Test and missed out on a great chance to register a series win in the third Test in Cape Town. The variety in Pakistan’s bowling will test the hosts but the visitors’ batting frailties are just as likely to be exposed against a top-quality attack in pace-friendly conditions.Pakistan played their first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1995 and lost by a huge margin of 324 runs. South Africa also won their first series in Pakistan in 1997 but were upstaged in Durban (1998) by 29 runs in a low-scoring game. Pakistan’s next win in South Africa came in 2006-07 when they won by five wickets in Port Elizabeth. Overall, South Africa have the superior head-to-head record winning eight Tests and losing three. In the previous series played between the two teams, both matches ended in high-scoring draws as the South African pace bowlers struggled to bowl out Pakistan on flat tracks in the UAE. The visitors, looking to become the most successful subcontinent team in South Africa, will draw confidence from the fact that their varied bowling attack was a major factor behind both their wins in South Africa.

Pakistan in Tests against South Africa

PlayedWinsLossesDrawsW/L ratioOverall183870.37Home71240.50Away92610.33Neutral2002-As has been the case with all subcontinent teams, Pakistan have also struggled on the batting front in South Africa. In five Tests played in South Africa since 2000, Pakistan average 24.24 with the bat while the hosts average a much higher 37.66. Both teams, however, have the same number of centuries (4) while South Africa have a higher number of five-wicket hauls (3). In the same period, the teams have played each other four times in Pakistan winning one Test each. At home, Pakistan have a much better batting average (35.98) compared to their performance in South Africa. The average difference (difference between Pakistan’s batting average and bowling average) at home (-2.04) is significantly better than the corresponding number in Tests in South Africa (-13.42). South Africa also batted and bowled Pakistan in the two Tests played in the UAE in 2010 but were unable to emerge with a win. Overall, South Africa have a superior average (41.00) and more centuries (14) and five-fors (8).

Pakistan’s stats v South Africa (Tests since 2000)

MatchesWins/LossesBat avgBowl avgAvg diff100s (Pak/SA)5WI(Pak/SA)Tests in South Africa51/424.2437.66-13.424/41/3Tests in Pakistan41/135.9838.02-2.041/52/4Tests in UAE20/045.3057.11-11.811/51/1Overall112/531.2141.00-9.796/144/8Pakistan’s greatest strength over the years has been their bowling attack. A top-class pace/spin combination has consistently given them opportunities to win Tests abroad. Since 2010, South Africa, unsurprisingly, have had the best numbers for pace bowlers. In 28 matches, South Africa’s fast bowlers have picked up 384 wickets (wickets per match 13.71) at an excellent average of 25.95. In contrast, their spinners have picked up 81 wickets at a much higher average of 45.97. Pakistan fast bowlers, who have picked up 221 wickets in 26 Tests, have the fourth-best average (30.30) behind those of South Africa, Australia and England. However, they have the best average on the spin front. Saeed Ajmal, who has picked up 104 wickets in his last 18 Tests, has the best average (24.47) and strike rate (58.3) among spinners in Tests since 2010 (min 50 wickets). The narrow difference (1.76) between averages of Pakistan spinners and pace bowlers is bettered only by England, who have a corresponding number of 0.95.

Pace/spin stats for top teams since Jan 2010

TeamMatchesPace (wickets/avg)Pace (5WI)Spin (wickets/avg)Spin (5WI)South Africa28384/25.952281/45.970Australia33427/28.1620118/37.115England37417/29.1914199/30.1414Pakistan26221/30.309221/28.449West Indies26229/32.5511143/39.155New Zealand23218/35.75879/48.512India35260/37.267268/37.8012Sri Lanka28148/52.573209/32.0513The hosts’ outstanding batting strength can be gauged from the fact their batting line-up possesses three of the five batsmen who average more than 60 (2000-plus runs) since 2010. Only Alastair Cook has scored more centuries (13) than Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, who have scored 12 centuries each. While Amla and Kallis have more centuries than fifties, AB de Villiers has struggled to convert his half-centuries to three-figure scores. While Graeme Smith, who is set to become the first player to lead in a 100 Tests, has scored over 2000 runs at an average of 48.28, his opening partner Alviro Petersen, has been less successful scoring 1514 runs at 42.05.As expected, both Amla and Kallis have excellent numbers against pace and spin. While Amla has slightly better values of average and balls-per-dismissal against pace, Kallis has the better numbers against spinners. De Villiers has comparatively lower numbers against pace bowling but outperforms Kallis and Amla against spin. While Smith has fairly even stats against fast and slow bowling, Petersen has struggled against spin with an average of 29.41 and a balls-per-dismissal value of 65.58.

South Africa’s top batsmen in Tests since Jan 2010

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverage100/50Pace (avg/balls per dismissal)Spin (avg, balls per dismissal)Hashim Amla28291269.3312/1074.88/125.8468.92/139.14Jacques Kallis27256967.6012/564.47/121.5677.00/132.42AB de Villiers28230662.325/1254.52/93.2485.00/157.54Graeme Smith28217348.288/1047.96/79.6347.08/96.25Alviro Petersen21151442.055/550.43/92.9529.41/65.58Younis Khan, who has scored three centuries in his last four Tests against South Africa, averages nearly 60 since the beginning of 2010. He also played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s win in Port Elizabeth in 2006. Azhar Ali, who is the highest run-getter for Pakistan in the same period, averages 45.27 with four centuries and 13 fifties. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, averages 58.60 but has a very poor ratio of centuries to fifties (1:13). Mohammad Hafeez, who has scored three centuries at an average of 41.35, is likely to be partnered at the top of the order by Taufeeq Umar or Nasir Jamshed.Both Younis and Azhar have very similar stats against fast bowlers. Against spinners, however, Younis has been the better player; he averages 75.50 and has a balls-per-dismissal value of 149.40 while Azhar has corresponding numbers of 47.80 and 141.00. While Misbah has very good numbers against pace and spin, Hafeez and Taufeeq have had their struggles especially against spin (averages 34.92 and 35.90 respectively).

Pakistan’s top batsmen in Tests since Jan 2010

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverage100/50Pace (avg/balls per smissal)Spin (avg/balls per dismissal)Azhar Ali24181145.274/1343.76/96.7647.80/141.00Younis Khan16130559.314/545.83/96.8375.50/149.40Misbah-ul-Haq18128758.501/1367.77/169.6652.07/111.53Mohammad Hafeez18128241.353/546.00/74.3334.92/61.84Taufeeq Umar18121437.933/539.00/81.9035.90/91.45Since 2010, both South Africa and Pakistan have had five century opening stands but the hosts average higher. Similarly, for the second wicket, South Africa have a higher average but the same number of century partnerships (8). With Amla and Kallis have been in top form, South Africa average a superb 76.11 (ten century stands) for the third wicket. In contrast, Pakistan have struggled averaging just 33.43 (two century stands). The hosts’ dominance extends to the fourth-wicket partnership as well but the trend is reversed for the fifth wicket. Pakistan have more centuries (7) and a higher average (47.48) than the hosts. However, South Africa are by far the better team in terms of averages for wickets 6-10.

Partnership stats for the two teams (since Jan 2010)

WicketSA (Innings)SA (Runs/avg)SA (100/50 stands)Pakistan (Innings)Pakistan (Runs/avg)Pakistan (100/50 stands)1492038/42.455/9511710/34.895/92482677/56.958/8492271/48.318/103473349/76.1110/11471538/33.432/74432307/56.268/8461883/44.836/75401323/34.813/7421947/47.487/96381587/45.345/942757/19.410/3735898/27.211/738819/23.400/78-10871934/23.301/101021517/15.171/5In Johannesburg, the venue for the first Test, teams batting first have had no significant advantage, winning and losing two matches each. However, in Cape Town and Centurion, teams batting first have struggled badly winning just one and losing 11 Tests. The first-innings average is the highest in Cape Town (30.77) and lowest in Centurion (25.16). While the second-innings averages in Johannesburg and Cape Town are not much higher than the corresponding first-innings numbers, the difference is massive in Centurion (second-innings average of 48.44).Both Centurion and Cape Town have third-innings averages below 30 while Johannesburg has a corresponding average of 34.45. Cape Town, which has shown a trend to ease out as the match progresses, has a fourth-innings average of 46.59 while the other two venues have averages of 28.62 and 35.58 respectively. Pace bowlers have picked up the highest percentage of wickets (bowler wickets only) in Johannesburg (84.55%) followed by Centurion (79.76%). Despite picking up very few wickets, spinners have the best average at the Wanderers (33.85) followed by Cape Town (37.93).

Venue stats since Jan 2007

VenueMatchesResult%Bat first (wins/losses)Avg (1st inns/2nd inns)Avg (3rd inns/4th inns)Pace (wkts/avg)Spin (wkts/avg)Johannesburg41002/228.45/28.5634.45/28.62115/28.3421/33.85Cape Town983.31/630.77/32.3528.63/46.59217/30.2860/37.93Centurion677.70/525.16/48.4426.41/35.58138/31.8735/40.57

The inter-university Rohinton Baria Trophy is no longer the premier tournament it was decades ago. Can the newly-launched T20 University Cricket Championship revive interest in ailing university cricket?

Devashish Fuloria04-Mar-2013Kaunain Abbas is a right-hand batsman. In a Twenty20 match at Chinnaswamy Stadium on February 24, he smashed eight sixes en route an unbeaten 128 off 65 balls. His cricketing idol may be Rahul Dravid, but his game is more in line with current times. He is 22 and a first-year MBA student.Abbas’ clean hitting didn’t go unnoticed – it was live on television unlike the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in which India’s state teams compete; the highlights are also available online. His runs came in the second match of the University Cricket Championship (UCC) – the newest entrant in the Indian cricket calendar. The innings would have caught the attention of talent scouts from IPL teams, if not the state associations. For some players like Abbas, the tournament could be a big step towards realising their dream of playing top-level cricket. It is with this intention – of bringing university cricket to the fore – that the T20 tournament was introduced.The initiative is backed by the BCCI and India’s ministry of human resource development and is an extension of the annual Rohinton Baria Trophy. It promises to be the boost an ailing 77-year-old inter-university tournament, and the once healthy university cricket system, needs.Unlike the disconnected relationship between the Ranji Trophy and the IPL, Rohinton Baria’s fortunes are closely intertwined with that of the UCC. Eight universities – the top two from each zone – compete for the Rohinton Baria Trophy. The same eight teams qualify for the UCC. If the UCC is successful, the interest in next year’s Rohinton Baria could get a massive surge. Abbas, you see, is also the captain of the Jain University team that won the Rohinton Baria Trophy this year.The Rohinton Baria is not the premier tournament it used to be and could do with a marketing push. Things were different a few decades back. The tournament blossomed in the 60s and the 70s and launched many careers. Sunil Gavaskar played in the 1966-67 final for Bombay University, Mohinder Amarnath led Delhi University to the title in 1972-73, Sanjay Manjrekar used it as a springboard to the Mumbai Ranji team after six consecutive hundreds and Dilip Sardesai’s 435 runs at an average of 87 pushed him straight into the national reckoning.

Unlike the disconnected relationship between the Ranji Trophy and the IPL, Rohinton Baria’s fortunes are closely intertwined with that of the UCC. Eight universities – the top two from each zone – compete for the Rohinton Baria Trophy. The same eight teams qualify for the UCC. If the UCC is successful, the interest in next year’s Rohinton Baria could get a massive surge.

They were not the only ones. Vijay Manjrekar, Ajit Wadekar, Kapil Dev, Arun Lal, Sandeep Patil, Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, Manoj Prabhakar, Shivlal Yadav, Roger Binny – all played university cricket. “For us, it was the biggest tournament and the college was the be all and end all of our cricket,” says Lal, who played for Delhi University.Sifting through the archives, many more recognisable names pop up. Harsha Bhogle, Rajdeep Sardesai, Piyush Pandey.”To be selected in the university team was big. I remember the day our team was being picked, my friend had got up early searching for newspapers to see the list,” reminisces Bhogle, who was a chemical engineering student at Osmania University in Hyderabad.The universities that did well in the tournament were the ones from regions with strong cricketing cultures and established Ranji teams – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Punjab, Bangalore.The quality was high, and competition to get into the sides was tough. Delhi, in a 10-year period starting in 1973, won seven titles despite the transient nature of the teams. Lal fondly remembers the 1977-78 final when he played with a fractured leg and scored an unbeaten 165 – 76 of them in an 80-run stand with No. 10 Sunil Valson.”The management wanted to send me home but I told them if I go back, my mother would never let me come back to play. So we waited for ten days, cut the plaster off. Our manager asked for a fitness test, and I said ‘Are you crazy? I will stand in the slips and I will hobble while batting.’ And that’s what happened. It was one of the best innings I have ever played.”It was serious cricket, a primary route to be selected for state teams. A combined universities squad also used to take on visiting international teams.A positive side effect of the structure was that the players got a degree too. Back in the days when there were no mass employers and campus placements were not in fashion, the value of a graduate degree was almost as much as a professional degree and university cricket came with this insurance. Sanjay Manjrekar mentions the positive role his college administration played in helping players manage academics along with pursuing their cricket. The lack of jobs also meant that for amateurs in the team, there were no distractions during the cricket season.But around about the same time the Buggles recorded their debut single , India’s university cricket scene was being threatened by a new commodity -age-group cricket.”I tell you what killed it, it was Under-19 cricket,” says Bhogle. “The moment U-19 became big, people stopped playing for the university or didn’t go to the university.”With tournaments such as the U-19 World Cup starting, it wasn’t a surprise that players started choosing age-group cricket over university cricket•ICC/GettyThe BCCI started age-group cricket to expand the game and to ensure that talent met opportunities irrespective of the background. The board-run age-group versions also received further boost with the inception of global tournaments like the U-19 and U-15 World Cups. Players received exposure like never before. Moreover, as the board grew richer and started improving the general standards around the tournaments by including daily allowances, comfortable travel and stay arrangements, it wasn’t a surprise that players started choosing such tournaments over university cricket.Sanjay Manjrekar presents a terse assessment: “We are not missing anything. For me if U-15, U-19, U-22 and club cricket remain vibrant and the quality of cricketers coming through remains good, there is no need for a tournament like the Rohinton Baria as a feeder.”But in a country like India where choosing sport over a stable profession has always been tough, the safety net of education doesn’t exist for young cricketers who now skip university to focus on age-group cricket. The harder choices, for some, need to be made earlier in their lives. So although the new structure has provided opportunities, it could possibly also have been a deterrent to some for not taking up the game.Age-group cricket is not the only reason as Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s cricket development general manager, points out. “The popularity of university cricket is further diminished because of the large number of universities that participate (in inter-zonal qualifiers). This tournament is now about quantity more than quality and in most cases it’s played on matting wickets,” Shetty says.The question is, with so much cricket, does an additional T20 tournament do any favours to the university cricket system? N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, speaking at the launch of the UCC last month, was positive when he said, “the viewership will make a big difference as it will enable people to see university cricket close at hand.”The matches are being covered live on Star Cricket and have sponsor support from NDTV and Toyota. The ‘viewership’ is guaranteed for three years at least. But it is hard to predict how a minor tournament with unknown names is going to sustain interest.”The idea is that you will get to know some names soon and build around it,” says Lal. It is now over to Abbas and other boys to bring some attention back to university cricket.

Plays of the Day from the third day of the Galle Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Andrew Fidel Fernando and Mohammad Isam10-Mar-2013The rush of blood
Mahmudullah made an uncharacteristic charge at Rangana Herath shortly after he had arrived at the crease. It was the sort of wicket left-arm spinners enjoy: the batsman beaten in flight and stranded in the middle of the pitch. It was Bangladesh’s second wicket of the day, and it had come right after Mominul Haque and Mohammad Ashraful added 105 for the third wicket. Mahmudullah rushed back to the pavilion, but his dismissal didn’t trigger a collapse because Mushfiqur Rahim set fort for the rest of the day.The drop
Mohammad Ashraful was batting flawlessly and had passed his century when he popped a chance at silly mid-off. Dimuth Karunaratne spilled the catch as the ball came off high on Ashraful’s bat. It would have been a coincidence had Ashraful scored one more run at that point, because Kumar Sangakkara on the first day and Dinesh Chandimal on the second day were both dropped on 111. Ashraful was batting on 110 at the time.The shot
There were plenty to choose from, especially off Ashraful’s bat but there was a period during the second session when he was completely on top of the Sri Lankan attack. One of the three boundaries in the 86th and 87th overs – a square drive through point – looked the best. The Angelo Mathews delivery was slanting away and Ashraful carved through point, where he beat two fielders, one stationed outside the circle. Neither of them moved, nor did Ashraful.The celebration
After he had run a single to long-off in the 120th over,Ashraful turned around and raised his bat. He had reached 159, the highest score by a Bangladesh batsman in Test cricket. He beat his own record, the 158 he had made against India in Chittagong in 2004. For someone who remembers most of his dismissals, it was quite natural for Ashraful to realise he had passed his own and the country’s highest score.The close call
Kithuruwan Vithanage has had little to do on debut so far, having not had to bat in the first innings, but he has been useful in field, despitelong, lonely stints at the boundary. His best moment came when Mushfiqur drove towards the cover boundary, and Vithanage sprinted around from long-off to dive and collect, and get the throw away. Ashraful, who had expected the ball to go for four had turned slowly, but was quickly aware he may be run-out. Vithanage’s 70-metre direct hit sparked a referral and almost had him out.

Plays of the day from the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore

Mohammad Isam07-Apr-2013The wicketThe last time Hanuma Vihari bowled in a Twenty20 game was more than three years ago. So when he had Chris Gayle caught behind off his first ball, it should have been a bigger surprise to Vihari himself than to his team-mates, the fans and commentators. Leaving aside the surprise element, it was a good enough first ball to dismiss a batsman of Gayle’s quality.The grooveThere could have been a run-out in the 14th over of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s innings. Vihari had pushed the ball to mid-off from where the throw from Gayle had him short by a few inches. But the bails took time to get off the groove on which they were set, saving the batsman from the long walk back.The 100% effortVinay Kumar is an agile fieldsman and he gave a good account of himself when he slid full length near the backward point rope and saved a certain boundary. That was not all. He picked himself up, sprinted to where he had pushed the ball and arrowed in a throw to Arun Karthik’s* gloves as Amit Mishra was caught several inches short of the crease. It was at par with Gurkeerat Singh’s catch earlier in the day, given the dramatic nature of both efforts.The pick-upRoyal Challengers Bangalore were getting out of the woods through their captain’s will. Virat Kohli had put together a fourth wicket partnership, and began to ascertain his dominance, smashing Ishant Sharma out of the ground. It went 95 meters deep into the stands, a shot oozing with Kohli’s natural confidence.The golden armKumar Sangakkara had used Vihari for one over very successfully, but Ashish Reddy too turned out to be a one-hit wonder. In his only over, he got rid of the dangerous Kohli off the last ball. Reddy showed good reflexes to take a low return catch, but surprisingly that was his last ball of the match.* April 7 7.45pm The wicketkeeper’s name has been corrected

England’s batsmen did not appear to know whether to stick or twist on the opening day, but should have followed the lead of their captain

George Dobell at Chester-le-Street09-Aug-2013After the apocalypse, when the first few survivors emerge from their bunkers and caves, it seems safe to assume they will find only two types of creature unscathed: a certain type of hardy insect and, marking his guard and waiting for his next ball, Alastair Cook.There is more than something of the dung beetle about Cook. There are times when he makes his job appear hideously unattractive, when he appears unequal to the struggle, when his batting is so grindingly unattractive that you want to hide your children’s eyes from it. He is as much cockroach Cook as captain Cook.But Cook has always been more interested in substance than style. And despite the fact that he was clearly not at his best on the first day of this Test, he provided an example to his team-mates in determination and persistence.Cook’s innings was torturous. He batted as if his feet were set in concrete and as if the bat handle were laced with barbwire. He never looked comfortable and barely timed anything sweetly.But he survived. He survived for almost four hours. He fought and he concentrated and he refused to give it away. He saw the shine off the ball and the energy out of the bowlers. He put so great a price on his wicket that it took an excellent delivery, a peach of a ball that pitched outside off and nipped back, to finally prise him out.The point that Cook understands better than any of his team-mates is that there is no hurry. There are times in Test cricket when it is necessary to score quickly and seize the initiative. But generally, particularly as an opening batsman, the priority is survival and accumulation. The runs follow. They may come slowly, but they come a lot less slowly than they will if you’re back in the dressing room ruing your dismissal.There is no need to try to steal the initiative with aggressive batting. It can be gained with more certainty and more security by stealth. It can be gained by refusing to give the opposition a chance and by gradually wearing them down and batting them out of the game. It doesn’t have to be gained the Kevin Pietersen way. Draws, at least draws where the weather has not intervened, have become almost an anachronism in Test cricket in England and Cook understands that the game still allows the time to build an innings over a day or more.Our position is our fault – Trott

Jonathan Trott admitted England had been the architects of their own downfall after losing nine wickets of the opening day of the fourth Investec Ashes Test at Chester-le-Street. Choosing to bat on a slow but blameless surface, England subsided from a position of 107 for 1 to end to the day on 238 for 9.

“We’re disappointed as we got ourselves into a good position and then got ourselves into a bad position,” Trott said. “As a group, we’re disappointed that we’ve ended the day probably behind.

“Generally in cricket you get yourself out. It can be due to good pressure from the opposition and you end up playing a shot to a ball you shouldn’t. It’s not too often you get unplayable deliveries.Generally the fault is on yourself as a batsman and I think we could all say that today. It was a little bit uncharacteristic of us as a side. We put a lot of value on our wicket, so when that doesn’t happen, there a few disappointed guys.

“250 is an average score at Durham. We could say we’re at par, but clearly we’re not. We didn’t have the best of days towards the end.”

Trott defended England’s slow scoring rate, but accepted they had not played the offspin of Nathan Lyon very well. He did insist, however, that England could still win the game.

“You look at his figures and say we didn’t play him the best,” Trott said. “My dismissal started it. We’re disappointed because we were getting out in soft ways. The ball wasn’t really turning a huge amount, so the guys are disappointed and keen to put it right.

“You don’t have to go out there and score like a one-day game. You hang in there and wait for your time. You earn the right to score runs in Test cricket.

“But we have a similar score to the one we made at Trent Bridge. We ended up winning that game, so hopefully we can do the same here.”

But while Cook made Australia work for his wicket, some of his colleagues gave theirs away as if contributing to a charity. While much of the day was characterised by grim defiance, several of the batsmen – Cook apart – fell to aggressive strokes or playing at deliveries they would have been better leaving alone. To lose four wickets on the first day of a Test to a finger spinner on a pitch offering little or no turn speaks volumes for the self inflicted nature of England’s problems.There was little balance to their approach. Jonny Bairstow, surely desperately in need of a strong second innings performance to retain his place, went scoreless for over an hour at one stage then he squandered that resistance by falling to an unnecessary sweep. While Jonathan Trott batted beautifully to help England to a promising platform of 107 for 1, the flick he attempted across the line that resulted in his dismissal was unnecessary.The same word – unnecessary – may be used to describe Pietersen’s stroke, pushing at a non-turning off-break angled across him and edging to the keeper, or, perhaps the nadir of the innings, Ian Bell’s decision to skip down the wicket four balls after tea in an attempt to hit over the top and lofting a catch to mid off. Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad fell to strokes so gormless that it is tempting to try to sell them a time share. It was all so unnecessary.England’s problem was not that they blocked too much for too long; it was they did not do it for long enough. They seemed so uncomfortable with the policy of defence, so full of the need to assert themselves, that they perished in an unnecessary attempt to break the shackles. They should have had the mental strength to know that ending the day on 160 for 1 was quite adequate.There is an irony here. Earlier this summer, Nick Compton was dropped, in part, due to a perceived inability to score with the requisite impetus. Despite having registered two centuries in his previous five Tests, England replaced him with men who were deemed more positive. Even in the two games prior to his dropping, Compton seemed uncomfortable with his natural game, like a man forced to drive too fast in dangerous conditions. He did not play his natural game.This sent out a message to England’s other batsmen. It told them, possibly subconsciously, that they had to be more assertive. That they had to push on. That their run-rate mattered. It was, in retrospect, a significant error on the part of the England management.The problem actually stems back further than that. Since they reached the No. 1 Test ranking, England have lacked the patience to build formidable Test totals. Whether that is due to sated hunger or whether other sides have worked out methods to bowl to them is debatable.Certainly England’s struggles here owed much to the pressure built by Australia’s bowlers. While the seamers did not use the new ball quite as well as they might have done – Cook and Joe Root were barely forced to play – the ability to ‘bowl dry’ and to build pressure on England was executed brilliantly by a very well disinclined attack.But England had done the hard work. They had seen off the new ball, the bowlers at their freshest and the pitch at its most lively. They had built the foundations. All of which just goes to make their largely self-inflicted collapse all the more galling.

Forcing heart and nerve and sinew, Alastair Cook showed a precious ability to fight even when hope was fading, providing an example of the character and courage required in his team

George Dobell at the WACA14-Dec-20130:00

Michael Carberry defends Kevin Pietersen

England may well relinquish the Ashes in the next couple of days but they will, metaphorically at least, have to be prised from Alastair Cook’s grasp.He failed in the end, but Cook produced a gallant performance on the second day in Perth. His struggle was obvious: like a runner with a limp or a boat with a leak, he was never secure and often painfully uncomfortable. He was battling not just the heat – at one stage a spectator fried an egg on the top of an advertising hoarding – but a disciplined bowling attack and, most of all, his own technique.Like most batsmen, when Cook is in form, the runs flow and batting appears a simple business. But here, unsure where his off stump was and struggling with his balance, it felt as if each run had to be carved out of granite.Yet, through grim determination and a surfeit of obduracy, he recorded his highest Test score since May and his highest score in eight successive Ashes Tests. When he couldn’t run he walked; when he couldn’t walk he crawled. It was an innings as low in style and as high in substance as Cook has played for some time.Those watching the highlights – and from a batting perspective there really weren’t many – may see only a somewhat loose cut to end his innings. Cook will spend much of the night – perhaps much of the next few weeks and months – regretting the thick, top edge that ended his resistance. It wasn’t beautiful and it was the second time this series he has fallen in such fashion.But what the highlights will not convey is the struggle that led up to the false stroke. They will not convey the three-and-a-half hours of fight that preceded it, the wonderfully consistent bowling that induced the false shot, the burden of a situation in which Cook knew that his team were desperately in need of a performance to sustain any hope in this series and that, sans Jonathan Trott, they are horribly overly reliant upon a few senior players for their scores. Somehow, over recent weeks, England seem to have gained the tail of a Diplodocus.Carberry sympathetic to Pietersen

Michael Carberry defended Kevin Pietersen and praised the patience of the Australian bowlers after England were forced to work hard for their runs on the second day in Perth.
Pietersen was caught at mid-on attempting a pull stroke to leave England struggling to reach parity with Australia in their first innings on a wicket that is expected to deteriorate later in the match.
But while the stroke may have looked an unnecessary risk in the circumstances, Carberry was sympathetic to Pietersen’s intentions.
“We’re out there to score runs and Kevin is a positive player,” Carberry said. “That’s what has made him successful over a long career. He does things that not many of us can and it’s a shot many of us have seen him play time and again and hit the ball out of the ground.
“It’s disappointing for him and us but we want people to play how they play naturally and I wouldn’t want Kevin to leave that shot in the locker.
“Ideally we would have liked to lose fewer wickets. But Australia bowled very well and were very patient. That’s what pressure does. They shut down the scoring at times and we know that, when that happens, wickets are likely to follow.
“It was a good scrap and we’re still in the hunt.”

There will be those who suggest that Ashes defeat should spell the end of Cook’s time as captain. Those, presumably, who have forgotten Cook’s achievement in reintegrating Kevin Pietersen into his side and leading them to success in India little more than a year ago. Those who when pressed can’t think of a better option as captain.But you might equally argue that Cook proved his worth as a leader in this innings. That he forced heart and nerve and sinew to serve long after they had gone. That he showed a precious ability to fight even when hope was fading. That, with men wilting around him and worn out tools, he provided an example of the character and courage required in his team. Anyone can lead a winning side. It takes courage to lead a struggling one.Whether Cook has the same durability as captain as he does as a batsman remains to be seen. But here, despite being beaten more often than a punch bag in a boxer’s gym, he survived through a mixture of grit and that phlegmatic attitude that enables him to shrug off setbacks that would make others lose their composure. It was not, perhaps, quite as dramatic as Brian Close taking blow after blow from the West Indies fast bowlers on his body, but there was an inherent bravery on display in the face of an unequal battle, nevertheless.It has been stated before that there is something of the cockroach in Cook’s batting and the suspicion remains that, the morning after a nuclear holocaust, Cook would be there, quietly marking his guard and waiting for the bowler, as the first survivors peeked around their curtains.Alastair Cook showed admirable heart and desire, battling his current deficiencies•Getty ImagesCertainly he shrugged off several near-misses here. He was drawn into a push outside off stump before he had scored – a result of his current insecurity around off stump – he was dropped on 3 – a desperately tough chance, but the result of playing across his front pad having fallen to the off side – and was later lured into an attempted hook off Mitchell Johnson that he was lucky to miss.It is sometimes overlooked, but Cook is often the man who provides the foundations upon which others build more eye-catching innings of their own. So it was Cook who was at the other end when Pietersen played that remarkable innings in Mumbai, Cook who laid the platform ahead of Pietersen’s remarkable innings in Colombo and Cook who contributed the century in Ahmedabad that showed his team how to prosper in such conditions. While he is at the crease England always have hope.But once he departed, England’s resistance creaked. Pietersen soon followed, having played with uncharacteristic restraint, taking 15 balls to get off the mark – a record for Pietersen in Tests – and 44 balls to hit his first boundary. Again, the shot that brought his departure will not flatter him taken out of context, but Pietersen showed no lack of fight or application. Like his long-serving colleagues – the likes of Trott, Cook, Graeme Swann and James Anderson – Pietersen looks jaded and weary.But the effort and passion shouldn’t be questioned when a lack of fight from England has been most galling at times this series. On this occasion, they fought and came second. There’s no disgrace in that.

There was only one winner of the fast-bowling contest at Centurion Park, but Makhaya Ntini believes South Africa can turn the tables if Dale Steyn is given the support that Mitchell Johnson receives

Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2014It was billed as a battle of the bowlers and after one round there is already a clear leader. Mitchell Johnson’s 12 for 127 was the difference between Australia and South Africa in Centurion and poured cold water on the flames that were supposed to spark between him and Dale Steyn. But that does not mean the clash can be called just yet.Even though the series is moving to more placid pitches in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, Makhaya Ntini thinks South Africa’s attack can still have their say. For that to happen, he told ESPNcricinfo, they have to allow Steyn to operate at his most effective and the rest of the line-up to conform to their roles better than they did in the first Test.”Steyn needs to bowl in four or five over spurts when you can get 100% from him. That’s how to use him as a main strike bowler and nothing else. Then he can bowl at 145kph and faster through the spell,” Ntini said, suggesting that Steyn should be managed in the same way Johnson is by Australia.While Steyn did not bowl a spell longer than five overs at Centurion, typically he starts off with a six-over burst at the beginning of innings and follow-up spells are about five-overs long. The pattern was not exactly that in the first Test but Steyn was still South Africa’s most used pace bowler, sending down 29 overs in the first innings, more than Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Ryan McLaren, and 43.2 overs in the match compared to the 35 Philander and Morkel offered up. The difference was markedly less with Australia’s attack. Johnson bowled 33.1 overs in the match compared to Ryan Harris’ 29.4 and Peter Siddle’s 29.Steyn’s stamina despite his upset stomach was impressive, but the back-up bowlers less so. “He wasn’t feeling very well, which is one thing and we all know how capable he is,” Ntini said “If you can see Steyn is bowling at 60% and doesn’t have the energy and isn’t aggressive then someone else should take over. They shouldn’t all go flat.”McLaren admitted South Africa’s attack dropped their intensity after lunch on the first day and because conditions also became easier for batting that allowed Australia to get away. In lulls like that, Ntini would like to see Morkel “taking over,” and someone else like McLaren doing a holding job so that Steyn can be “only used in critical moments.” And in those moments, Ntini would like him to see him use his licence to attack strategically.”When you are the leader of the attack you have to plan your bowling so that you don’t overuse any delivery. You can’t be bowling six bouncers in a row, you have to know when it’s time to attack. In general, South Africa overuse the short ball and you can see Australia have a game plan for that.”Luckily, Steyn does not have to rely on the bouncer excessively. Jason Gillespie believes Steyn’s main weapon is “bowling the fuller ball, challenging the pads, stumps and outside edge” and said his “consistency with line, length and pace make him a constant threat.”Johnson poses the same kind of danger, but for different reasons. “Johnson comes in from a different angle, a bit slingy, which makes it more difficult to judge. Slingy bowlers can bowl the same length ball for a different result,” Gillespie said. “For example a short-pitched ball can pass the batsman at sternum height or nose height so the unpredictability is always in the back of the mind.”With Steyn batsmen are more aware of what they are going to get but that does mean it is any more comfortable. “With Steyn, I believe batsmen don’t have that fear of getting hurt, it is simply the fear of getting out,” Gillespie said.Ntini thinks South Africa can come into their own by operating as a unit to make Steyn’s wicket-taking ability more dangerous. Johnson is Australia’s outright threat, he is able to do that because Harris and Siddle play their part. “Siddle bowls 99% of deliveries in the same area,” Ntini said. “He helps create pressure.”McLaren should be the person doing the same role for South Africa and Ntini would stick with him rather than opt for Wayne Parnell. “Nobody can be judged on only one game,” he said. “If you use Parnell, your three seamers are offering the same thing in terms of pace. You don’t need that in Port Elizabeth.”So what do you need there? “You just have to hit proper lengths,” Ntini said. “You need someone to be a boring bowler, going at two runs to the over and keeping it outside off stump because for one of those balls the batsman is going to play the wrong line.”That could mean a twist in this bowling battle with the stage set for the official No.1, Philander, who has barely been spoken about in the contest of the quicks at all, to do this thing. “Why not?” asked Ntini.

The blame game seems all the rage at the moment. Andy Flower and Kevin Pietersen are both attracting flak and English cricket is all the worse for it

Andrew McGlashan09-Jan-2014The blame game seems all the rage at the moment.It’s obvious, isn’t it, that Kevin Pietersen was entirely at fault for the 5-0 Ashes score? He constantly falls out with coaches and management; plays irresponsible shots; doesn’t pull his weight; fields on the boundary; gives warm-up matches short shrift; is a bad influence on younger players and, of course, he wants to play in the IPL.Or is it? How about it is Andy Flower who can’t work with Pietersen; those irresponsible shots were an attempt to wrestle some initiative back (this is, after all, was an England team called too timid and defensive); he was his team’s top scorer and if someone had helped him could have laid a foundation for a win in Melbourne; he has never been much of a catcher so why not field on the boundary; he trains as hard as anyone and if those young players have his work ethic they will go far; and all England contracts now allow for an extended IPL window.The ECB dropped the ball on Twenty20, it’s not the players’ fault for wanting their slice. Those that want to play should not be castigated, just as those who decline should not be made out to be saints.The point is not to suggest that either side of the Flower-Pietersen argument is wrong or right – some of those examples are too simplistic – but just to encourage some rational thinking in the whole affair.It is a good job Flower is no longer in day-to-day charge of the one-day side and to a lesser extent that Pietersen is rested because everyone just needs to take a step back and a deep breath. In defence of Flower, that is what he has publicly said he wants to do.Clearly differences have emerged on the tour – these things tend to happen during a whitewash – but no one believed that Flower and Pietersen would become bosom buddies after what happened in 2012. Even before then it was fairly obvious it was nothing more than a professional relationship. Flower, remember, was part of Peter Moores’ backroom staff when the debacle between Pietersen and Moores occurred at the end of 2008. Then when Pietersen left the 2011 World Cup injured, Flower made it clear that he thought the batsman could have battled through the pain.Neither does it sound like Pietersen, if he has transgressed, was the only one. Matt Prior, in his column, talked in general terms about the team losing their respect, becoming lazy with little details such as dress code and team meetings. They sound trivial, but also sound strikingly similar to what happened to Australia in India.During that episode four players were suspended for not doing ‘homework’. One of them was Mitchell Johnson, now an Ashes legend, along with Shane Watson, a key part of Australia’s side, and James Pattinson who can still develop into a world-class quick. Only Usman Khawaja has drifted off the scene.The man to pay the biggest price, ultimately, was Mickey Arthur. His reputation has taken a hammering due to how his Australian career ended, but he remains a highly credentialed coach. In the end, Cricket Australia decided it was him, rather than some potential bad influences among the players, who needed removing.Life behind the dark glasses for Andy Flower and Kevin Pietersen is hard to comprehend•Getty ImagesThat is not to say the same should happen to Flower – it clearly won’t, given the support he has within the walls of the ECB boardroom. The only way he will leave is if he is not backed over his Pietersen stance, once it becomes apparent how extreme that stance will be.Flower had his chance once to remove Pietersen from English cricket and was talked around, in no small part to Alastair Cook and it remains to seen how much influence Cook (who is in Australia for another three weeks) will have this time. The call has been for Cook to be allowed to build the team in his mould, but Flower will be in a tough position if that mould still includes Pietersen.Pietersen is far from faultless in all this. For starters he needs to step away from Twitter for a while and just lie low. There are some raw feelings at the moment and retweeting columns where Michael Vaughan calls for you to be made vice-captain are unlikely to help. Neither, for that matter, is engaging with respected cricket journalists who make cogent arguments regardless of which side of the fence you sit on.Pietersen’s track-record of alienating people is long, involving most, if not all, his former teams. But since committing his future to English cricket (what happened in South Africa was perhaps a warning of what could occur later on, but also stemmed from wider issues) would any of them really be telling the truth if they said they were a better side without him?What must Paul Downton be thinking? Those 5.30am alarm calls to go and tackle high-level investors and stock-market fluctuations will seem easy compared to the mess he is stepping into. In fact, he doesn’t actually start officially until February 1 but you suspect that his inbox is already overflowing.The transition of control from Hugh Morris to Downton (along with James Whitaker taking over from Geoff Miller as national selector) has encouraged a feeling that Flower has unimpeachable authority within English cricket. He is a fine man and outstanding coach but that is not a healthy position to be in.And, while it is not the be-all and end-all, English cricket could do with regaining a human element. It is easy to make too much of the ‘fun’ introduced by Darren Lehmann, but neither should it be overlooked. What can’t be doubted is that Lehmann has helped Australian cricket re-engaged with the public.If it is Flower who wins out in this latest power struggle, he could do worse than heed that lesson. It would not look good to have ousted the most dynamic player in the team and not respond by becoming a touch more accessible.This may be the end for Pietersen, who knows, but it should not be made out that he provided all the ills of an Ashes campaign where few came out smelling of roses. The problems in English cricket, which have festered for longer than this blighted tour, will not be solved by just removing one of the greatest batsmen of this generation.

From two embattled captains to the challenge for India’s openers against the new ball, ESPNcricinfo picks five contests that could determine the series

Alan Gardner07-Jul-2014Alastair Cook v MS Dhoni
Two captains who think defence is the first line of attack, Cook and Dhoni will be under pressure for different reasons coming into the series. His tactical limitations and England’s eight-Test run without victory aside, it is a lack of runs – 24 innings since his last hundred – that will weigh heaviest on Cook. When leading England to victory in India 18 months ago, he scored 562, including three centuries. That inflicted a rare defeat at home on India but they continue to travel about as well as ice cream in the desert. It is now three years and 14 Tests since they won away, with Dhoni in charge for all but one of them. Over the course of a five-Test series, will either abandon their innate conservatism?Peter Moores v Duncan Fletcher
The sphinx-like Fletcher comes up against his original successor in the England job, whose utterances are sometimes equally difficult to decode. Moores has only had 11 weeks in charge since being appointed coach for a second time but, after losing in all three formats to Sri Lanka, a one-off ODI in Scotland remains his sole success. He may reflect uneasily on the parallels with 2007, when he took over following an Ashes whitewash and promptly lost at home to India. For Fletcher, the young batsmen he has groomed for the last three years to replace India’s old guard of Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman have begun to produce the requisite stacks of runs. They won the Champions Trophy in England a year ago but, according to Fletcher, suffered from overconfidence on subsequent tours to South Africa and New Zealand.Ian Bell v Virat Kohli
While the heat of the kitchen has been getting to Cook, Bell has coolly donned the “England’s best batsman” apron. With 100 Tests under his belt and having shifted up the order to occupy Kevin Pietersen’s old berth at No. 4, Bell is now expected to provide steel and silk to order. Consistency can still be an issue – he followed a Man-of-the-Series 562 runs at 62.44 in last year’s Ashes with 235 at 26.11 during the return leg in Australia – and England will need more than the two half-centuries he managed against Sri Lanka. Opposite Bell in the India line-up is Kohli, an avenging angel in limited-overs cricket but who is still negotiating with the devil on his other shoulder in Tests. Nevertheless, his average of 46.51 is already better than Bell’s and, as centuries in Adelaide, Johannesburg and Wellington prove, he has the game to flourish overseas.James Anderson v Shikhar Dhawan
On India’s last tour of England, they used four different opening combinations in as many Tests and only managed three stands in double figures, the highest of which was worth 63. While Stuart Broad was England’s leading wicket-taker, it was Anderson who knocked over more top-order batsmen, his removal of Virender Sehwag for a king pair at Edgbaston symbolic of India being deposed as the No. 1 Test nation. Dhawan has inherited Sehwag’s cutlass as opener but he will hope not to suffer a similar affliction against the swinging ball: in England, Sehwag averaged just 27.80. Dhawan and his partner, Murali Vijay, will face an undeniably wearier Anderson than three years ago, however, and England’s attack leader may struggle to get through five Tests crammed into seven weeks.Spin v Seam
The workload for Anderson and Broad will in part be determined by England’s selection and tactics. Unless Moeen Ali is given more overs (or a specialist spinner comes into the side), or India disintegrate with the same alacrity as 2011, England seem bound to rotate their fast bowlers – James Whitaker has already suggested all six seamers in the squad for the first Test will play at some point. India’s pace attack, meanwhile, will be greener than the surfaces England hope to be given. However, if the pitches remain flat and dry, as is increasingly the case in England, and the weather warm, it is not inconceivable that spin will play a greater role than expected in determining the series. Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin could yet be trump cards.

Is MS Dhoni’s reputation of a last-over specialist justified in international cricket?

Bishen Jeswant21-Sep-2014The only Twenty20 international between England and India in September was the last match of a long tour – India had been thoroughly outplayed in the Tests and England had lost the ODIs. India needed 17 runs off the final over to take the T20.MS Dhoni was on strike, facing Chris Woakes, and Ambati Rayudu was at the other end. Dhoni began the over with a six, and hit a four later on, but despite having a specialist batsman as a partner, he refused two singles. Dhoni took the burden entirely upon himself and India eventually fell short by three runs.Opinion was divided on whether Dhoni’s tactics of keeping the strike was justified. He has a reputation of thriving in such situations, but should he have trusted his partner more? Since the match was a T20I, the table below lists Dhoni’s performances in the final over of a chase in this format.

Dhoni in the last over – T20Is

YearOpposition Runs neededRuns scored by DhoniResult*2014England1713Loss2009England197Loss2013Australia76Win2012New Zealand135Loss2012Australia383Loss*Click on the results to view match scorecardsDhoni has batted in the last over of five T20I chases and pulled off only one win, when India needed seven runs off six balls, a favourable equation for the batting side. One of the other four games was impossible to win – 38 needed in the last over – and two others were extremely difficult – with 17 and 19 runs required. The other match, against New Zealand, was within reach with only 13 needed, but Dhoni got to face only two balls and scored 5. While Dhoni isn’t solely to blame for the defeats, there isn’t much in his T20I stats to burnish his image of being a clinical final-over finisher.Does the reputation come from ODI cricket then? With an average of 53 and a strike rate of 89, Dhoni is certainly one of the most productive players in the 50-over game.

Dhoni in the last over – ODIs

YearOppositionRuns neededRuns scored by DhoniResult*2012Australia1311Win2013Sri Lanka1516Win2011England88Win2012Sri Lanka97Tie2013Australia66Win2007Sri Lanka115Loss2008Sri Lanka32Win2009**West Indies119Win*Click on the results to view match scorecards
**This match was not originally in the piece and has been added since, 22-Sep-2014 22:00Dhoni has batted in the last over of eight ODI chases and India have won six. Three finishes can be directly credited to Dhoni: against Sri Lanka in the Caribbean, where India needed 15 in the last over, in the Commonwealth Bank series against Australia in 2012, when India had to get 13; and in a bilateral ODI in 2009, against West Indies at St. Lucia, where India needed 11. In the other situation where India needed more than 10 in the last over, against Sri Lanka in 2007, Dhoni was not able to win it.So in international cricket, there have been seven instances of India needing between 10 and 20 runs in the last over of a chase with Dhoni at the crease, and he has come good thrice. Those numbers aren’t convincing enough for a great finisher. That being said, there may be several international games where Dhoni has bailed India out of difficult situations and achieved victory without taking it to the last over, but this article only looks at final-over finishes. The only other form of cricket left to analyse is domestic cricket, or more specifically, the Indian Premier League.

Dhoni in the last over – IPL

YearOppositionRuns neededRuns scored by DhoniResult*2010Kings XI Punjab1618Win2013Mumbai Indians4216Loss2014Kings XI Punjab4014Loss2013Sunrisers Hyderabad1514Win2014Delhi Daredevils1112Win2014Mumbai Indians1112Win2014Rajasthan Royals1211Win2012Rajasthan Royals86Win2014Sunrisers Hyderabad65Win2009Mumbai Indians34Win2009Mumbai Indians251Loss2012Kolkata Knight Riders90Win2013Mumbai Indians120Loss*Click on the results to view match scorecardsIn the IPL, Chennai Super Kings have lost only four of the 13 T20s when Dhoni has batted in the last over of a chase. In three of those four defeats, Super Kings needed 25-plus runs in the last over. In six matches when Super Kings needed between 10 and 20 to win off the last over with their captain batting, Dhoni achieved victory five times. An 83% success rate shows that Dhoni is exceptional in such pressure situations in the IPL. These numbers suggest that Dhoni’s reputation as a master of the last over stems from the IPL, rather than international cricket, where the quality of bowling is generally higher and the conditions tougher.