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Joe Mennie might not be a household name, but his selection for Australia A is a reward for consistent performances in the Sheffield Shield

Brydon Coverdale27-Jul-2016Imagine an identity parade of Australia’s leading domestic bowlers, lined up as in a crime film. John Citizen, that generic member of the public, is asked to name them. If he’s watched Australia play in the past couple of years, he might pick out Jackson Bird, Scott Boland, Fawad Ahmed. And was that James Hopes who just left the room? But who’s the tall bloke with sandy hair?That, Mr Citizen, is Joe Mennie, the top Sheffield Shield wicket-taker of last summer and one of the competition’s most consistent performers of the past five years, during which time he has collected 143 wickets at 27.89. And if you don’t know him, that’s just the way he likes it. Although Mennie dreams of playing Test cricket one day, public attention is something he can live without.”I’m pretty happy flying under the radar,” Mennie told ESPNcricinfo. “I’m not one for putting myself out there massively. It’s probably not my thing. I’m at the stage where not a lot of people, unless you really know cricket, know my name. I’m not too dissatisfied with that.”If the average punter has not especially noticed Mennie, at least the national selectors are starting to take notice. Mennie is part of the Australia A squad for their series of two four-day matches against South Africa A starting in Queensland this weekend. And, while Mennie may lack the pace Australia’s selectors most desire, he knows how to pick up wickets regardless.Mennie, 27, has long since accepted that he will never bowl express like his childhood role model, Brett Lee. Instead, he, like his South Australia team-mates Chadd Sayers and Daniel Worrall, operates in the low 130s, and uses accuracy and movement to cause problems. It was encouraging for Mennie that Sayers was chosen for this year’s Test tour of New Zealand, even if a baggy green did not eventuate.”It’s exciting to be recognised,” Mennie said. “To be picked in Aussie A, or any Aussie setup, is a big tick in your favour. For me, it’s just continue what I’ve been doing, playing my role and not trying to go away from that. Stick to my game-plan, and I should do pretty well, hopefully.”There’s still a big push for blokes who bowl quick, but it’s good to see blokes who are performing well in Shield cricket getting noticed and picked at times now. That’s positive.”If you’re not express, there’s no point trying to be express. If it’s not your game-plan, it’s not your game-plan. That’s probably not me. I’m probably never going to be pushing the 140s, 145s. Some of the other blokes do, but I’ve just got to recognise my role and be happy with that, and go out and perform.”That approach brought Mennie 51 Shield wickets at 21.21 last summer, which made him the leading wicket-taker in the competition, seven clear of Worrall. That Mennie’s success has come largely at Adelaide Oval, a venue traditionally viewed as hard work for fast bowlers, certainly justified his move from home in New South Wales – he grew up south of Coffs Harbour – five years ago.”SA approached me and wanted me across,” Mennie said. “To get the experience at first-class level – I was probably going to struggle at New South Wales. I was probably not high up in their minds, so I always knew I was probably going to have to make the move somewhere. SA have been great to me. They’ve been outstanding for the five years I’ve been there now.”It [Adelaide Oval] has always been seen as a batter’s paradise. The last couple of years, there’s been a little bit there for the quicks. Last year, there was a little bit more grass on it, which has probably helped us. It’s still a great batting track, but it has offered a little bit for the bowlers. It’s a tough place to bowl, but a great challenge.”

Also, KL Rahul’s ODI debut feat, and Dhoni’s T20 streak

Steven Lynch14-Jun-2016MS Dhoni has played 68 Twenty20 internationals – and has captained in 67 of them. Who was in charge for the other one? asked Daan Koorneef from the Netherlands
The match in question was actually India’s first T20 international, against South Africa in Johannesburg in December 2006 – the captain that day was Virender Sehwag. Dhoni has skippered in all his 67 T20Is since then. All told he has missed only five of India’s 73 20-over matches, four of them against Zimbabwe. On those occasions they were captained three times by Suresh Raina and twice by Ajinkya Rahane.Which players – both from England and overseas – have played the most Tests and ODIs at Lord’s? asked Divyesh Bhatia from India
The overall Test record is likely to change hands later this season. Alastair Cook made his 21st appearance in a Lord’s Test in the match that has just finished against Sri Lanka, equalling Graham Gooch’s mark – so Cook should make the record his own when Pakistan play there later this summer. Alec Stewart played 20 Lord’s Tests and James Anderson 19 so far. Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss both featured in 18.Anderson and Darren Gough have played 16 one-day internationals at Lord’s; the leading overseas players are Viv Richards (nine), Gordon Greenidge and Ricky Ponting (both eight). Nineteen players – all from Pakistan or Sri Lanka – have played three T20Is there.Lumping together all three formats, Anderson has played 37 international matches at Lord’s, Stewart 33, Gooch 32 and Bell 31. The overseas list is headed by Richards, with 13, again one ahead of Greenidge and Ponting.How many Indians had scored a century in their first one-day international before KL Rahul? asked Rahul Bhasin from India
The short answer is none. The highest score by anyone making their one-day international debut for India – before KL Rahul made 100 not out against Zimbabwe in Harare the other day – was 86, by Robin Uthappa against England in Indore in 2005-06. Overall, Rahul was the 11th batsman to reach three figures on ODI debut. The first to do it was Dennis Amiss, with 103 for England v Australia at Old Trafford in 1972 (the first ODI ever played in England), while the most recent was Hong Kong’s Mark Chapman, with an undefeated 124 against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai in November 2015.Donald Carr was one of two Test cricketers born in Germany•PA PhotosI noticed that Donald Carr, who died recently, was born in Germany. Was he the only Test cricketer to come from there? asked Colin Harrison from England
Donald Carr, who captained England in one Test in 1951-52 before embarking on a distinguished career as an administrator, was born in Wiesbaden in Germany in 1926, while his father was serving in the British army. Only one other Test cricketer was born in Germany: Paul Terry, who appeared against West Indies in 1984, first saw the light of day in Osnabrück in 1959, again because his father was in the army there. Coincidentally, Carr and Terry both won just two Test caps.Only four other Test cricketers have been born in mainland Europe. The South African seamer (and sometime captain) Eiulf “Buster” Nupen was born in Norway in 1902, the England skipper Ted Dexter in Italy in 1935, Dick Westcott (who played five Tests for South Africa in the 1950s) in Portugal in 1927, and Amjad Khan – who played one Test for England in 2008-09 – in Denmark in 1980. Moises Henriques, who has played three Tests for Australia so far, was born on the Portuguese island of Madeira in 1987.What’s the highest score by a No. 11 in a Test? asked Allan Alexander from the United States
This record has changed hands a fair bit in recent years. For some time the highest was 68 not out, by the New Zealand fast bowler Richard Collinge, against Pakistan in Auckland in 1972-73. That lasted more than 30 years, until Zaheer Khan hit 75 for India against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2004-05. At Edgbaston in 2012, Tino Best clubbed 95 for West Indies against England, but his new record lasted only a year, as the 19-year-old Australian debutant Ashton Agar strolled out at No. 11 in the first Ashes Test against England at Trent Bridge in 2013 – and made 98, which remains the Test record. The highest in ODIs is 43, by Shoaib Akhtar for Pakistan v England in Cape Town during the 2003 World Cup, while two Associate players – Dewald Nel of Scotland and Ireland’s Alex Cusack – have made 13 not out from No. 11 in T20Is.Andy Flower is first, second and third on the list of keepers with highest match aggregates•Getty ImagesJonny Bairstow scored 199 runs in the Lord’s Test. Was this a record for an England wicketkeeper? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England
Jonny Bairstow’s match aggregate against Sri Lanka at Lord’s – he scored 167 not out and 32 against – placed him second on this particular list for England, behind Alec Stewart, who made 204 runs (40 and 164) against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1998. The overall list is headed by Andy Flower, who made 341 runs (142 and 199 not out) for Zimbabwe against South Africa in Harare in 2001-02. Flower is second and third on the list too, with 287 and 253.Actually Bairstow had a couple of other near misses at Lord’s: his 167 not out was one short of the highest individual score by any wicketkeeper in a Test in England – Clyde Walcott made 168 not out for West Indies at Lord’s in 1950 – and was exceeded for England keepers only by Stewart’s 173 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1996-97.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2016Imrul Kayes gave Bangladesh a positive start as they chased 286•Getty ImagesEngland took a little while before breaking through with Tamim Iqbal the first to fall…•Getty Images…he was well caught by Gary Ballance at short leg off Moeen Ali•Getty ImagesImrul continued to put pressure on England but fell moments before lunch when he gloved a sweep•AFPIt was Adil Rashid who made the inroad, leaving England feeling better about life at the interval•Getty ImagesGareth Batty claimed two lbws in consecutive overs to put England in command•Associated Press… before Moeen Ali claimed the big wicket of Shakib Al Hasan for 24•Associated PressHowever, Sabbir Rahman hit back with aggression against the spinners…•Associated Press… while Mushfiqur Rahim anchored their progress•Associated PressGareth Batty broke the stand when he got one to bounce at Mushfiqur which he could only glove to short leg•Getty ImagesSabbir showed outstanding composure on his debut to reach fifty•AFPBut England pushed hard late in the day, Stuart Broad striking twice, to set up a gripping conclusion•Getty Images

James Anderson’s determination to battle back from injury and return to a country where he played a defining role in the 2012-13 triumph is both admirable, and typical

George Dobell in Delhi14-Nov-2016When the time comes to look back on James Anderson’s career – and that time might not be so far away – the options for highlights packages will be plentiful.There have been many magical spells and memorable matches. There was the dream debut, the impeccable performance in Kolkata (2012), the first ten-for (against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 2010) and the unplayable spells against Sri Lanka earlier this year. And that’s before any mention of the numerous Ashes-defining performances, such as the destruction of Edgbaston 2015, the determination of Nottingham 2013 and the relentlessness of Melbourne and Adelaide in 2010.But maybe it was a far less-heralded spell that typifies Anderson. A spell that left him with one of the great unwanted records in cricket.In December 2013, England reached Perth with their grip on the Ashes hanging by a thread. While Anderson – and his fellow seamers – had bowled admirably in the first innings of both the previous two Tests, England’s batsmen had been blown away by Mitchell Johnson and their fielders had failed to hold on to a succession of crucial chances. As a result, Anderson et al had been forced into the field again without the rest required for full recovery.By the time the Adelaide Test was at its halfway stage, it had become clear that the pillars of the best England side in living memory were crumbling. Broken in body or mind, they looked dispirited and disunited. Australia had something special in Johnson and England, their tools worn out, knew they were beaten.It was hot that week in Perth. Hell, it’s hot every week in Perth, but that week was ferociously, absurdly, breathlessly hot. In the press box – actually a tent that might have been designed as an effective method of torture (or an oven) – laptops had to be placed in the fridge as they overheated and at least one person fainted. If the Fremantle Doctor exists, he wasn’t taking calls.Out in the middle, Anderson was trying to pick up the slack left by his colleagues. Through no fault of his own, Stuart Broad was off the field – and on crutches – having sustained a blow on the foot while batting. Graeme Swann had just been thrashed for 22 in an over – his last over in international cricket, as it transpired – and was coming to the conclusion that all his guile and experience could no longer conceal the fact that his exhausted elbow no longer allowed him to gain the dip and turn he once could. Tim Bresnan, for all his goodwill and efforts, was not the bowler he had been in 2010-11 – elbow operations do that to a bowler – and Ben Stokes was, at that stage, an unsophisticated batting allrounder.James Anderson and Alastair Cook, shoulder to shoulder for England•Getty ImagesSo Alastair Cook turned to his old friend Anderson. Anderson had opened the bowling for England that fourth morning. Just as he had bowled the final over on the third evening. After a couple of fruitless overs, Cook took him out of the firing line, knowing that he was too precious to use in such a hopeless cause. Australia’s lead was already around 450. The game had gone; the Ashes were going with it.But then Swann was thrashed for 22 in that over, Stokes was taken for 9 and the new ball became available. Where else could Cook turn? His strike bowler had become his stock bowler and was then required to be a strike bowler again. As ESPNcricinfo noted, Anderson was the sports car used to transport scaffolding. By the end of the series, he had bowled more overs than any other bowler.His reward? He was thrashed for 28 in an over by George Bailey. That’s the same George Bailey whom Anderson had famously clashed with in the Brisbane Test. George Bailey who, while at short-leg, had been having a few words with Anderson as he prepared to face Johnson, whereupon Anderson mentioned that a fellow in his first Test might like to pipe down and earn the right to an opinion. Michael Clarke, supporting his team-mate, strode in and told Anderson to prepare for a “broken f****** arm”. There are no rights and wrongs in there; it’s just history and context. Being smashed around like this by Bailey was adding insult to injury. No bowler has conceded more from an over in Test history.It’s not much of a reward for answering his captain’s call, is it? It’s not much of a reward for his fitness, his commitment, his loyalty to his captain and team. He deserved better. But as Clint Eastwood put it, deserve has nothing to do with it.Some see it as Anderson’s most heroic performance; some his lowest ebb. There’s no reason it can’t be both.Perhaps there are similarities with his early arrival in India? That’s not to say this is a mission destined to fail. Not at all. History has taught us better than that.The point is more that, as in Perth, this is an episode that demonstrates Anderson’s remarkable character. It is an episode that demonstrates his unstinting desire to represent his country, to help his old friend Cook, and his competitive streak.Some bowlers, looking at the India line-up and the pitches they can expect to find, would look at this tour, exhale and wonder if their injury might not have been rather well timed. They might not malinger, but they certainly wouldn’t push the recovery process as far as Anderson has. They would make sure they are fully recovered and look to return on the early summer surfaces of England, on which Anderson is still peerless. They wouldn’t send videos of themselves bowling to the coaches to prove their fitness. They wouldn’t arrive on tour three Tests before the medics originally said they would. They wouldn’t push themselves in the gym, at his age and with his reputation, to go on a tour where he seemingly has so much to lose and so little to gain.Anderson has nothing to prove in India. He was magnificent in 2012. Series-defining good.But he was 30 then and he’s 34 now. The window between injuries seems to be closing. The pace seems to be diminishing. The spirit is willing, but the body? The sword outwears its sheath; the soul outwears the breast. He found little swing in 2012 but hit the pitch hard enough to gain just enough seam movement to trouble the batsmen. Can he still do that?There is context here, too. India are spoiling to take Anderson down. The incident with Ravi Jadeja at Trent Bridge in 2014 was never satisfactorily resolved from an India point of view – the BCCI admitted at the time they saw their attempt to have Anderson banned as a service to world cricket – and they are passionately motivated to repay the trouble he has given them on the pitch and the abuse they allege he has given them both on and off it.But Anderson doesn’t fear that. Instead, he seems to relish the battle. He is desperate to throw himself into a series where the ball won’t swing, there won’t be any pace and when his own powers would appear to be on the wane. He is as hungry to represent England as he was as a teenager; determined to go the extra mile and risk his personal reputation for the good of the team.You can see why Cook wants him. He knows that, whatever the match situation, he will have someone prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. He knows that, however bad things are, he can rely on Anderson. When times are tough, these things matter.Whatever happens in the next few weeks – and it seems as if Anderson is going to have to wait until the third Test, at least, before he wins a recall – it’s hard not to admire Jimmy Anderson.

Given the milestone, it was only appropriate that Bangladesh came up with their best fielding effort of the series, and across the last few Tests, on the opening day in Colombo

Mohammad Isam in Colombo15-Mar-2017Mehedi Hasan was a livewire in the field on the first day of the Colombo Test, but the hot weather can take the sting out of even the fittest player. Mehedi had taken one catch and two wickets, and had been bowling long and short spells. So when Dinesh Chandimal top-edged a sweep off Taijul Islam before the tea break, not many expected Mehedi, fielding at fine leg, to go for the catch.He did, running in a fair distance, and nearly pulled it off. As he got up with the ball in his fingertips, Chandimal waited for the umpires to check the catch. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, the replays were inconclusive in showing whether he had collected it cleanly and with the soft signal given as not out, the catch wasn’t allowed.Mehedi and the rest of the Bangladesh team kept up their spirits after that opportunity, however, and in his next over, Taijul removed Dhananjaya de Silva to end a dangerous fifth-wicket stand on 66.It was that kind of day for the visitors, the start of a landmark 100th Test that had them looking sharp on the field. They bowled well to take seven Sri Lanka wickets, took their catches and created plenty of wicket-taking opportunities, forcing the home side to use referrals repeatedly. Sri Lanka were successful on three occasions while Bangladesh lost one review, an optimistic one to a ball that was certainly going down the leg side.Given the landmark, it was natural that all the attention at the P Sara Oval would be on the visiting side. A pre-match felicitation ceremony was backed up by a great start with the ball and once Mehedi had pouched Dimuth Karunaratne, the confidence of the fielders, having been battered in New Zealand and India, was boosted to an extent.There were plenty of theories about what had caused such an upturn in confidence and the body language in the group. Perhaps it was seeing Mehedi take the catch at gully, or the sight of Mustafizur Rahman beating the bat consistently in his first spell.The occasion of their 100th Test inspired Bangladesh to a better fielding performance•Getty ImagesOr maybe it was the occasion of Bangladesh’s 100th Test, a milestone which means a lot to the players, many of whom were teenagers in 2000. Some are too young to remember the inaugural Test but on the eve of the Colombo match, Mushfiqur Rahim said that seeing Bangladesh play their first Test meant that he could dream of playing one himself one day.Perhaps it was also their position in the Test series. Leading into the series, Bangladesh had spoken of how they could challenge Sri Lanka, only to suffer a 259-run loss in Galle. Apart from the criticism that follows a defeat, there was also the added drama surrounding Mahmudullah’s exclusion on Monday and Liton Das’ last-minute withdrawal due to injury. Team sports, however, are all about dealing with last-minute pull-outs and form issues and unexpectedly big losses.The meeting with BCB president Nazmul Hassan could also have motivated them. The discussions at the meeting are unknown but, stick or carrot, it is never a great feeling to meet the headmaster before an exam.It was hard to deny the role that the senior players Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur and Shakib Al Hasan played in this. Tamim had stated on the eve of the match the need for someone to make heavy contributions at the start. In the Dhaka Test against England, which Bangladesh won by 108 runs to level the series, Tamim’s first-day century had inspired positivity.In Colombo on the first day, Tamim, Shakib and Mushfiqur kept the team positive in the field. Shakib and Mushfiqur made direct contributions in terms of wickets, even as vice-captain Tamim was always at the bowler’s ear, either cheering him on, telling him off or sometimes just sharing a joke. Tamim plays much the same role in his interactions with the younger players. He sets the mood in the dressing-room and helps them out with small off-field issues, and they listen to him intently.Whatever the reason, Mushfiqur and his side have to ensure it is repeated over the next four days, and in every game they play going forward. Bangladesh reacted well to the situation on the first day in Colombo but they need to keep it up. They know well what the other side of this upturn looks like.

The IPL has pulled all stops to engage India’s cricket-watching public over the years, and while we can argue over the extent of their success, there has been no want of trying

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2017CheerleadersAt the World T20 in 2007, cheerleaders and fireworks by the boundary-side were a feature across stadia, and the IPL saw no reason why they couldn’t have their own. With the American notion of franchises imported into the shortest format of cricket, the introduction of cheerleaders followed suit: Royal Challengers Bangalore got themselves a cheerleading troupe from the Washington Redskins, while Kochi Tuskers brought in an ensemble of Ukrainian models. However, it was Pune Warriors who added an ethnic touch to the phenomenon, with the introduction of Indian-classical dancers, who broke into Bharatnatyam or Kuchipudi routines every time Pune Warriors cleared the boundary or picked up a wicket.Strategic time-outsThe IPL’s marketing mavens have consistently invented new dimensions to the T20 game, while managing to garner sponsors to christen them with. One such commercially successful innovation was the strategic time-out, which, in the words of the league’s founder Lalit Modi, was designed “to help teams re-strategise and confer among themselves”. The time-out in its original avatar lasted a snooze-worthy seven-and-a-half long minutes at the half-way stage of the innings, but was split into two sets of two-and-a-half minutes each, after the completion of the inaugural edition.The trumpet tuneOr, as its Spanish originators know it, of Paso Doble fame. From a tune that was part of a Spanish music composition popularised by French DJ-producer John Revox, the IPL’s trumpet tune has become the go-to for DJs at every other stadium, apart from being transformed into the casual fan’s ringtone of choice. A peppy piece of music without any linguistic affiliations, the tune is now played at most limited-overs international fixtures and franchise T20s the world over.Umpire Simon Fry models the umpire cam•Getty ImagesHelmet cams, umpire cams and spider camsWhile the IPL cannot claim to have introduced any of these sports-broadcast innovations, it can, at the least, boast the bragging rights for having revolutionised the way cricket is viewed in the drawing room. The spidercam, came to India via the Indian Cricket League, whereas the helmet cam found its way into the game about 45 years after American sport had introduced it. Regardless of their context of origin, these bits of remodelled video-recording equipment provide breathtaking live shots of what may be otherwise deemed routine occurrences in a cricket field. Run-out decisions and emphatic shots down the ground look more real than ever before, courtesy the cameras attached to the umpire’s hat that follow the movement of their eyes and give the TV viewer a whole new perspective on close calls.MaximumAnother of IPL’s additions to the cricket vocabulary, this Latin term, previously only a favorite of math nerds working out calculus, made its way into the mainstream to describe sixes. After a few seasons with different sponsor plugs, TV commentators have now come to apply it to sixes of all manners and distances. The word, an embodiment of the IPL’s success in wedding commercialism with hyperbole, perfectly corresponds to the inversely-proportional relationship between shrinking sizes of boundaries in the modern-day game and the hunt for new philological varieties of existing cricketing terminology.Fan umpiresIn a move to “increase involvement of viewers”, the think-tanks behind the showpiece event, came up with an innovation in 2016 that allowed fans in the stands to express their views on decisions referred to the third umpire. As part of this exercise, fans could participate in the decision-making – albeit only to the extent of holding placards that carried ‘out’ and ‘not out’ – while letting the cameras pan around and show the most animated ones on the screen. Given that the decision of the umpires was final and binding regardless of the fans’ verdict, the hype around this innovation quietened as the season progressed.Fan ParksAmong the IPL’s newer ventures, fan parks have taken the tournament to India’s second- and third-tier towns, attracting massive turnouts that are known to shoot up to 300,000, as per the organizers’ estimates. Fans turn up to not just watch the game on large screens, but regale in the entertainment that accompanies the visual experience offered by any IPL match. From covering just 16 cities two years ago, the runaway success of these parks is touted to spread its reach to 36 cities across 21 states in the tenth edition.Danny Morrison, up to one of his gags, during an IPL game in Mohali•BCCIDanny MorrisonIn Morrison’s own words, his commentary career post-IPL can be summarised thus – . Team names and player initials, all became spelt-out acronyms, as “Double G”s and “Double R”s rang out at tens of decibels louder than cricket fans were used to. A mix of on-the-spot analogies, pantomime gags and an all-too-ready approach to embracing local flavour, Morrison’s idiosyncrasies have made him every franchise T20 tournament’s commentator of choice.BlimpDebates over the classification of the flying object aside, the hot-air balloon, which was sold as a ‘blimp’ on air, was yet another consumerist trope experimented with in the IPL that died down after a solitary season in the spotlight. Commentators, throughout the 2010 edition, could not stop themselves from going on about the object every IPL stadium, often invoking and praising the sponsors for being at the forefront of technological innovation. However, when the 2011 edition hit us, the much-vaunted object above the stadia vanished quietly into thin air, contrary to the manner in which it first appeared.Mic’d up players and umpiresMic’d up players, often a feature of Channel Nine’s broadcasts in Australia, predate the IPL by a few years. However, the tournament has taken the concept to a whole new level; be it Billy Doctrove speaking in Tamil with a Caribbean accent to launch the 2011 edition, or Faf du Plessis doling out insights on coconut water in its natural and bottled forms – these hilarious moments were nothing short of live-broadcasting gold.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja all have a wealth of experience in pressure situations, but they had no answer for Sri Lankan aggression at The Oval

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval 08-Jun-2017India’s bowling attack is one of the best in the tournament. Their bowling is their strength for a change. That was the reading and verdict of pundits, opposition captains and even India captain Virat Kohli. The variety in the Indian fast bowling attack coupled with the experienced spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja contributed to such a conclusion.India’s fast bowling contingent comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami was effective in all the matches played before Thursday – in the two warm-ups (against New Zealand and Bangladesh) and their first group tie, against Pakistan. Despite not getting any swing, these bowlers used their experience, pace and variations to dominate the opposition thoroughly.On Thursday, though, a young and daring opponent dominated India. On the eve of the contest, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews had said the pressure was on India. Having set a good enough target, Kohli would have been confident of his bowlers finishing off the job.Then how did India get rattled in the end? In fact, they got rattled by the pair of Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis, who scored with freedom, and put Sri Lanka in a winning frame of mind by the halfway stage. Neither batsman backed off throughout their long partnership. Having seen Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma stitch a strong alliance in the morning, the Sri Lanka pair was aware there was no devil in the pitch despite it wearing a faintly greenish tinge.But the most important thing Gunathilaka and Mendis did was impose themselves straightaway. Gunathalika, upright in his posture, firm grip, played eye-catching strokes. He wisely utilised the pace of the Indian quicks to his benefit. At the other end, Mendis did not hesitate to throw the kitchen sink at anything – be it an over-pitched delivery or a wider one away from his body. No doubt such a display threw some ungainly edges, even a couple of chances, but Mendis kept getting away.The boldness of the duo only added pressure on the Indian medium-pacers. Sri Lanka also had a plan for Jadeja, the lone specialist spinner after India opted to bench Ashwin for the second match in a row. The plan was simply to attack Jadeja as much as they could. With the ball not taking any spin and the pitch remaining hard, Jadeja found it difficult to stop them. It did not help that he bowled lengths that allowed Mendis and then Kusal Perera to sweep, pull and charge with abandon.Another bowler that was dominated was Pandya, who pitched fuller more often than to his captain’s liking. Gunathilaka took a step forward to club Pandya for a six over deep midwicket to bring up his half-century.Hands on heads was a familiar sight for India’s bowlers, who struggled to take wickets against Sri Lanka•Getty ImagesGunathalika and Mendis could only be stopped by spectacular run-outs by the Indian fielders. But Mathews and Kusal took the momentum forward with another bright partnership. As the match entered the final bend, Kusal limping back to the change room after retiring hurt might have given a fresh wave of hope in the Indian hearts.The first few balls Asela Gunaratne played certainly gave some anxious moments to Mathews. But the third ball he faced from Umesh was pitched short, enough to take a step back and pull it for a six. Gunaratne would continue to hurt India just the way the other Sri Lankan batsmen did. He also regaled the minority Lankan presence at the ground with his breathtaking strokeplay: like sweeping Bumrah over backward square leg for a six.According to Kohli, the absence of any swing did not affect the fast bowlers. It was just the fact that Sri Lanka’s batsmen remained positive throughout, a strategy India have used often to numb oppositions.”The good thing that they did was they did not lose wickets, and they kept getting a strike, which we as a team have done so many times,” Kohli said after the defeat. “Sometimes teams are going to come up and do that against you, and sometimes you literally can’t do anything in the game. When we got those two run-outs, we thought we can get a couple of wickets now. But, again, those guys came in and played their shots, and it came off well.”You try to find ways to get people out, but it doesn’t happen. If you have a couple of guys with off days in between, you can’t go in with eight bowling options. You literally have five or six with a part-timer. In any case, you play two spinners, or you play four seamers.”Kohli did say that with Jadeja and Pandya off colour, he had to resort to bowling himself along with the part-time offspin of Kedar Jadhav on a pitch that was dry.”Yeah, if two guys aren’t able to execute their lines, it does become difficult. Me and Kedar chipped in with our overs, and the game pulled back at that stage. But then, again, everyone came out and played positive cricket from their team.”Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Bumrah, Pandya and Jadeja – all these men have at different times over the years handled pressure situations, especially in the IPL. But against Sri Lanka they could not.”Our bowlers also bowled decently well,” Kohli said. “If batsmen come out and play like that and everyone plays well, you have to give credit to the opposition as well. We’re not invincible.”

South Africa’s opening stand has been a problem area for a while and the balance of the side remains a topic of debate

Firdose Moonda01-Aug-20172:40

Moonda: SA batting not stepping up

A seesaw series has given South Africa two tactical issues to think about, not just before they head to Old Trafford, but also ahead of a potential 10-Test home summer.The openers – Keeping KuhnDean Elgar has had five opening partners since Alviro Petersen’s retirement in January 2014 and none of them have stuck. In the last two Test series, things have got particularly shaky with the first-wicket stand averaging 12.91 with a highest stand of 21. The decision to drop Stephen Cook and pick Heino Kuhn is being questioned, especially with young opener Aiden Markram in the squad.All indications are that Kuhn will keep his place, perhaps even beyond the fourth Test after he received vocal support from his captain, coach and batting partner Elgar.For Faf du Plessis, giving Kuhn an extended run is in the right thing to do because every player deserves enough of an opportunity to show what they are capable of. “It will be fair on Heino to give him the series. England is a tough place to make an impact straight away. It’s like a middle-order batsman in India, batting at five or six with the spinners in. I don’t think we should be too hard on judging him on what is a really tough series so far,” he said.Russell Domingo blamed both conditions and the quality of the opposition for Kuhn’s struggles but acknowledged Kuhn has some weaknesses that need work. “England and South Africa are probably the hardest places to open and he’s playing against two high-quality bowlers in Broad and Anderson who have nearly 350 Test wickets between them. It’s also just his third Test match,” Domingo said. “Heino Kuhn has a fantastic record and is a great team man. He has some technical stuff he can work on but he’s earned the right to be given an opportunity to play because of the sheer weight of runs for South Africa A and the Titans. So sure it hasn’t been an ideal start, but it’s a hard job. Hopefully he can turn the corner and make a big play soon.”Last summer Kuhn became one of only four players to score 1000 runs in a season since the start of the franchise era in 2004-5. Kuhn plays for Titans, the same franchise Elgar has been part of for the last few seasons and they have opened together since Kuhn gave up the wicketkeeping gloves and moved up the order. Elgar’s international duty means they do not bat together that often, but they know each other well enough to start performing together on the international stage, at least according to Elgar.”Opening partnerships need to have a chemistry. You need to know where your partner’s ones are so he gets off the mark, Just to rotate strike, you need to know his strengths and weaknesses. It’s almost like you need to know his gameplans and his technique as well.” Elgar said. “When you’re playing in this country where the opposition is high class and in their own conditions, they are going to bring out the small weaknesses if you have a new combination. And that’s something I understand will happen. Hopefully in the not too distant future we will have a substantial partnership so that we can obviously solidify a pair for quite a long time.”Ready to rip your hair out? Chris Morris reacts to a boundary•Getty ImagesTeam balance – a seventh specialist batsman or an allrounder Since their tour of England in 2012, South Africa’s preferred team balance has been to play seven batsmen – one of whom is their wicketkeeper – three quicks and a spinner. At Lord’s in 2017, they discovered that left them without enough options in the attack, primarily because two of their premier pacemen – Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel – need to have their workloads managed. For Trent Bridge, South Africa replaced a batsman with an allrounder and it worked. At The Oval, it left them short in the batting department.Now, they have to address how they want to structure their XI and it seems they will stick to the combination of six batsmen, two allrounders, two quicks and as spinner but that means the line-up need to produce bigger runs. “It’s wonderful to have an extra seamer. It could work having three seamers and a quality spinner like Keshav, but Vernon and Morne are in their 30s and we’ve had bowlers break down so much in the past that it leaves you completely shot out of the water when you’ve only got two seamers left. So it’s nice to have the four seamers,” Domingo said. “With those four seamers it puts a lot of responsibility on the top order to get runs and we haven’t managed to do that. It’s obviously a focal point for us going forward if we want to continue going that route.”But there is also the question of who that fourth seamer is. Chris Morris is the man in the possession and perhaps the only viable option at the moment but his inconsistency is a concern. Though Morris is quick and can produce some excellent deliveries – the yorker and bouncer that dismissed Joe Root at Alastair Cook in Nottingham is a case in point – he has not been able to get a handle on controlling the movement the Duke ball can get and South Africa’s coaches are working on his discipline.”He’s that type of bowler who bowls bad balls and in between that he bowls fantastic balls. The wickets that he has got are almost unplayable deliveries, so you’ll give a little bit to get those unplayable deliveries. Hopefully there are more of them and less of the bad stuff,” Adrian Birrell, South Africa’s assistant coach said. “But that’s him as a player. You don’t want to inhibit someone so much that his flair or x-factor go away. It’s something he’s conscious of and we are conscious of and we will work very hard.”Morris has shown a willingness to work on his game but Domingo said, for now, he remains very much the fourth seamer, who may not be used as much but will be expected to make an impact. “In terms of his work ethic and his energy he’s been fantastic and that’s shown in his one-day performance where he seems to have become a bit more consistent. It’s only his third or fourth Test and he’s shown with the bat again today that he’s really got the potential to become a high-quality allrounder. I don’t think he’s a front-three seamer; he’s going to be your fourth seamer,” Domingo said. “His overs are always going to be niceties to have – come on, try and break a big partnership. He can’t be one of the three front seamers because of his inconsistency but it’s something to work on.”

The 25-year old has been able to stifle batsmen even as dangerous as MS Dhoni, at a time when fingerspin is starting to lose ground in one-day cricket

Vishal Dikshit in Rajkot03-Nov-2017While wristspinners have drawn all the attention in the recent past, a quiet figure from New Zealand has made his name as a creative fingerspinner, especially on Indian soil. He has collected wickets, he has been stingy and he has contained one of the biggest names in the history of ODI cricket.When one thinks of Mitchell Santner’s best performances with the white ball, the most obvious one to come to mind would be his match-winning 4 for 11 against India in Nagpur at the World T20 last year. He doesn’t often collect a bagful of wickets, which is why memory can give away for his second-best performance in the country.He is a left-arm spinner, isn’t a big turner of the ball and doesn’t give it too much flight either. Nevertheless, his forte has been his ability to stem the flow of runs when he is introduced towards the end or just after the first Powerplay, and in the middle overs. Santner himself says he does not try to bowl any “miracle” balls.”As a fingerspinner, you obviously don’t turn it as much as a wristspinner. So our main threat is control,” he had said in Mumbai before the ODI series against India began. “If we can control one end, tie up one end and hope for a big shot and get a wicket that way…obviously depending on the surface. If it’s spinning, it’s obviously an asset.”Rewind to October 2016 and a sluggish surface in Delhi. India are 139 for 5 chasing 243, their hopes resting on the shoulders of MS Dhoni, who is batting at No. 5. Santner is brought back for a second spell in the 26th over but gives up 24 runs in his two overs – six off Dhoni’s bat, 18 off Kedar Jadhav’s. The required rate mellows a bit from 5.84 to 5.45 and Williamson is forced to take his spinner off.As soon as New Zealand dismiss Jadhav, however, they turn to Santner again. He sticks to tight lines while bowling at Dhoni from wide of the crease, with a fairly packed off-side field. Dhoni, on 26 off 37 until then, struggles against a spinner at home. He tries to score by going back in the crease, then by coming on the front foot. He attempts to pierce the gap by cutting or by lunging forward to work the ball past midwicket. Nothing works.Mitchell Santner celebrates a wicket•IDI/Getty ImagesSantner bowls 13 of his next 18 deliveries to Dhoni and concedes only seven runs in all. The pressure mounts and Dhoni falls soon after for a 65-ball 39. Santner ends with figures of 10-0-49-1 and India lose by six runs.Six days later, India are chasing 260 in Ranchi, another slow track. They have a slightly better start this time and Williamson brings Santner on as soon as the first Powerplay ends. Santner knows the pitch is to his liking and he slows down some of the deliveries, makes the ball turn, and pulls off a spell of 4-0-16-0 against Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.Dhoni promotes himself to No. 4 this time but struggles to get going again. In the first over of Santner’s second spell, he delivers five consecutive dot balls to Dhoni. In his next, he tosses one up, darting a couple in, extracts some turn and stymies Dhoni again. Five balls, three runs.The pressure builds again and Rahane and Dhoni fall in alternate overs. The wickets go to Jimmy Neesham but Santner’s figures read 6-0-20-0 and eventually 10-0-38-1 as India fall short by 19 runs.After the match, Dhoni called the middle-order slide a repeat of the Delhi loss because “the bowlers tend to bowl in the right areas so it becomes a bit difficult to freely rotate [the strike]”. This is one of the best middle-order batsmen India have produced and Santner has had the unenvious job of bowling to him in almost every match between these two teams. His record against Dhoni is envious, though.

Batsman Runs BallsBoundaries Dis SRManish Pandey 6 230 0 26.08Ajinkya Rahane 1022 0 0 45.45Dinesh Karthik 21 381 0 55.26MS Dhoni 54 954 1 56.84Shikhar Dhawan 915 0 0 60.00Santner has bowled a total of 95 balls to Dhoni in ODIs, 58 of those dots. He has conceded only only 54 runs, including two fours and two sixes; that’s a boundary after every 24 balls. Among bowlers who have sent down at least 10 overs to Dhoni in ODIs, he has struggled the most against Devendra Bishoo (42 off 81 balls) and then Santner.While he has learnt a lot from Daniel Vettori on how to tie up batsmen and “wait for them to make a mistake”, Santner also researches India’s bowlers to do well in subcontinent conditions. “Especially on wickets that do a little bit [for the spinners], I watch a lot of Axar Patel and [Ravindra] Jadeja, they just try to bowl very consistent and very good areas and then try and spin it and then wait for batsmen to play a big shot and get out or run past one.”On this tour, Santner was preferred over Ish Sodhi for the three ODIs and he showed why. He took only four wickets, but his economy rate of 4.56 was better than anyone’s in the series. He bowled 33 dot balls in his 10 overs in Mumbai, 30 more in Pune, and another 24 in the high-scoring match in Kanpur, by far the most economical New Zealand bowler on the day with a minimum of two overs bowled.Even in T20s, it is his ability to contain that enables Sodhi to bowl more aggressive lines and lengths. Among bowlers with minimum 10 wickets in T20Is in India, Santner has the best dot-ball percentage of 51.13, followed by R Ashwin (45.45%) and Yuzvendra Chahal (43.26%). His only weakness there lies in the fact that after he sends down those dots, he also tends to give away boundaries. But he has managed to keep his economy rate under 6.50 in the format in India.Even so, his economy rate in the shortest format in India is under 6.5, and if he can put a check on batsmen going for big hits in Rajkot, he may well be able to show up Axar and Jadeja on their home turf.

Najam Sethi’s resignation has significant implications for Pakistan cricket. Here, we take a look at the technicalities of the process involved in electing a new PCB chairman

Umar Farooq21-Aug-2018What happens now? The Prime Minister of Pakistan is constitutionally a patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board. According to the PCB constitution, the patron can exercise his power to nominate two people to the Board of Governors (BoG), from which the chairman is selected. In the present scenario, newly elected PM Imran Khan has named Ehsan Mani as a direct nominee to fill the vacant seat in the governing board. Another seat on the BoG has also become vacant after Arif Ejaz, too, resigned on Monday.When was the PCB’s governing board formed?The composition of the BoG was reworked in 2014, reducing the members from 14 to 10. The body is made up of four representatives of regional associations (chosen from the top four regional teams from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy), four representatives of services organisations (from the top four department sides) and the two representatives directly appointed by the patron. An official from an inter-provincial coordination government body acts as an ex-officio, non-voting 11th member. The term of each member of the BoG is three years – equivalent to one term of the chairman in a bid to encourage continuity in the set-up.How is a new PCB chairman elected?A special meeting of the PCB Board of Governors will be convened to elect a new chairman from amongst the 10 board members, by a majority of the total voting membership of the Board of Governors. Anyone from the BoG can step up and submit their nomination papers for the chairman’s election. The entire process must be done within four weeks of the chairman’s office becoming vacant. In the present circumstances, Mani will submit his papers and likely be elected unopposed.Who will perform the duties of the chairman while a replacement is confirmed?The rule says if the office of the chairman falls vacant for any reason, all powers of the PCB Chairman shall be vested in and be assumed by the Election Commissioner, albeit with limited power. He can only run day to day affairs, not take long term decisions during his interim time in office. His primary responsibility is to carry out a fair and transparent election of the new PCB chairman.What qualifications does one need to become a PCB chairman?The rules say a prospective candidate for PCB chairman needs to be a holder of at least a Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent professional degree or higher from a local university or college recognised by the Pakistan Higher Education Commissioner, a foreign university, or college recognised by a similar body in the relevant country, and possesses sufficient administrative, managerial or financial experience.No person shall be elected as, or hold the office of, chairman, if he, -(a) is not a citizen of Pakistan or ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan(b) has been convicted for an offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced for such an offence with imprisonment of either description for a term exceeding two years for any offence under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999 (XVIII of 1999);(c) has been dismissed, on account of misconduct from the service of any Government, Statutory Corporation, Organization, Authority or a Body established or controlled by or under the authority of a federal or provincial government, or in which any such government has a controlling share or interest;(d) has been adjudged as insolvent by a competent court of law; and(e) is incapable of discharging his functions for reasons of physical or mental incapacity