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Lindsay Tuckett lost his best years to the war, and when he got the chance to play Tests, he bowled with virtually no support

Luke Alfred08-Sep-2016tLindsay Tuckett (back row, fourth from left) with the South African squad that played the tour opener in Worcester, 1947•Getty ImagesStrange as it sounds in the age of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, there was a time when South Africa didn’t produce fast bowlers. There were spinners – and “bosie” bowlers, who graduated from matting wickets – and what Rod Marsh might have called “pie chuckers”, but quick men were as rare as winter flowers in the veld.So when Lindsay Tuckett, who died on Monday in Bloemfontein aged 97, came on the scene, great hope followed in his wake. He caught the eye before the Second World War while still a schoolboy at St Andrews College in Bloem, with his strong physique, efficient run-up and easy action, but it wasn’t until the 1947 South Africa tour of England that he became someone little boys would seek out for an autograph.He only took 2 for 51 in the traditional tour opener in Worcester but took nine wickets (5 for 27, and 4 for 32) against Leicestershire before being rested against Cambridge University. Big hauls followed against Surrey and Glamorgan as the English press corps, ever eager for a story, began to peck out approving notices on their typewriters.His finest moments came early. He was one of seven South African debuts in the Test opener at Trent Bridge, taking 5 for 68 in 37 overs of toil as England responded to the visitors’ 533. He only managed a single peg in England’s follow-on innings, but as Drew Forrest recounts in his painstakingly researched book on South African fast bowlers, , it might have been rather different.

Tuckett was a taciturn man, not given to self-promotion or sentimentality, and he didn’t discuss his war years with anyone, describing them as “five years of my life best forgotten”

Fielding in the slips, Bruce Mitchell dropped Norman Yardley off Tuckett’s bowling at a crucial juncture in the England second innings – doing so “unaccountably”, according to . Tuckett always maintained that Mitchell was distracted by his wife entering the ground and wasn’t concentrating. The match was drawn.As he had done in the first innings in Nottingham, Tuckett accounted for Denis Compton at Lord’s in taking 5 for 115 as England won by ten wickets. By now a pattern had emerged. Tuckett bowled 84 overs at Trent Bridge and 50 at Lord’s. All in all he bowled 252 overs in the five Tests, becoming progressively more and more blunted the deeper the season eased into an exceptionally hot summer.He ended up using a knee brace around his niggly groin, recounts Forrest, and although Tuckett took four England wickets in the third Test, in Manchester, he went wicketless at Leeds and The Oval. In all, he bowled 724 overs on tour, his captain, Alan Melville, literally bowling him into the ground.In a sense, Tuckett was doubly unlucky. Not only did he have to spearhead the South Africans’ bowling vanguard with little support, he also lost the best years of his cricketing life to the war, turning 28 on the mail ship journey to Southampton ahead of the ’47 tour. He was a taciturn man, not given to self-promotion or sentimentality, and he didn’t discuss his war years with anyone, describing them as “five years of my life best forgotten”.The war darkened many a life among those in the ’47 team. Tufty Mann, the spinner, survived only because he lived in a pigsty with a false wall. He was befriended by a family of Italian peasants in the land north of Venice and lived for years in a state of feral high alert. He had lost so much weight hiding from German patrols that his sweetheart didn’t recognise him when he was finally shipped home. For years afterwards she would find apples secreted underneath pillows and half-eaten sandwiches under the bed.The 1947 tourists were issued with ration cards when they arrived in England. With slightly neurotic attention to detail, the South African newspaperman Louis Duffus, recorded that red meat and butter were so scarce that he ate no fewer than 131 kippers while on tour. Athol Rowan, the offspinner with big hands, frequently used to eat second dinners after dining at the team hotel. Ossie Dawson, another team-mate, mentioned the post-war scarcity of soap.Tuckett played in four Tests in the 1948-49 home series against England, but there is an argument to be made for the fact that he was crippled by the 1947 tour. Despite also being overshadowed by the rise of Cuan McCarthy, Tuckett ended up bowling the final – infamous – over of the fifth Test, in Port Elizabeth, with John Arlott in the commentary box reporting: “…and heaven knows who dare bowl it [the last over]. Lindsay Tuckett looks to me like a man who doesn’t want to.”In the event, he conceded six runs in the over, as England won via a leg-bye off the last ball. Tuckett believed his captain, Dudley Nourse, never forgave him. And so died his Test career.

Despite the lack of tangible reward on a tough third day, England’s seamers and spinners both displayed an admirable attitude to keep India waiting

George Dobell in Rajkot11-Nov-20163:28

Compton: England bowled well on an unresponsive wicket

There were bound to be days like this.There were bound to be days when the ball didn’t reverse, when the batsmen didn’t err and when the chances didn’t stick. There were bound to be days when India’s daunting batting line-up came out on top and taking 20 wickets in a match looked an almost impossible challenge.The scoreboard doesn’t really show it, but England bowled well on the third day in Rajkot. Chris Woakes, generating impressive pace from the sedate surface, struck Cheteshwar Pujara three times on the helmet or upper body, while Stuart Broad maintained an immaculate line and length and threw himself around in the field with admirable commitment. Both demonstrated fitness, control and resolve in delivering 43 overs between them for a combined total of 83 runs. Nobody could reasonably ask for more from either of them.”Our seamers have done a fantastic job in tough conditions,” England’s assistant coach Paul Farbrace said. “Our plan was to stifle India. This is a very good batting pitch and they are outstanding batsmen, so our plan was to be patient and make it as hard as possible for them to score runs. We were never going to be attacking today. We made no excuses for the fact we tried to make it as difficult for India as possible.”We gained late reward for our perseverance. We’ve had a very good day today.”The spinners were much improved, too. We know they are not world beaters but, by conceding between 2.93 and 3.25 runs per over, they proved no more expensive than their Indian counterparts (who conceded between 2.86 and 4.17) and, in Adil Rashid’s case, beat the bat a couple of times along the way. It was easily his best display of the tour and perhaps the best of his Test career to date.He needed this performance. There were signs in Bangladesh that his captain’s trust in him was waning and, when he came on for a couple of overs at the end of day two, amid a fine googly, he threw in both a long-hop and a full toss. But on the third day, his control was improved and his googly beat the batsmen more than once. He fully deserved his late reward.”Our spinners took a bit of stick in Bangladesh for not holding their line and length,” Farbrace said. “But they’ve bowled particularly well today.”In the past there has been lots of talk about Adil bowling a bit slowly. But the work he has done with the bowling coach, Saqlain Mushtaq, has been about trajectory, not pace. So he has been aiming to get the ball above the eye-line, allowing it to spin and getting the ball up there for batsmen to drive.Ben Stokes was hampered after cramping on the second day but claimed the key wicket of Pujara•Associated Press”The key thing is that he has learned quickly. He has worked hard on trying to be more disciplined. He was calm between deliveries and set in his plans and he has bowled consistently. He didn’t rush it or try and bowl too quickly. But he spun the ball out of the hand and got a nice bit of drop. It’s only one day and we’re looking for consistency across the series, but he did have a good day.”Such control at least slowed India’s progress. While they may still go past England’s first-innings total, it will take them well into the afternoon of day four to do so. Little more than a couple of sessions of decent batting should, therefore, be enough to make the game safe for England on the final day, though you don’t have to go back very far to find an occasion when that was beyond them. While there is, at present, little sign of this pitch deteriorating as anticipated, it is not impossible they may yet come to regret those sloppy middle-order wickets they squandered on day two.Certainly Farbrace still expects batting to become much more difficult.”Things start to happen around tea-time on day four and on day five they can happen quickly,” Farbrace said. “I think both sides are expecting the wicket to turn more. The cracks have opened over the last three days and some of them have started to crumble, so you might start to see some variable bounce as well. When you’re 200 ahead, you hope that happens.”In a perfect world, England would have a bit more pace or variation in their attack. There had been talk that Sam Curran, the Surrey left-arm swing bowler, might be added to the squad. It was not so much with a view to him becoming a realistic playing option, but so the England coaching team – who have little opportunity to watch county cricket – might take a closer look at him. Aged 18, he has clearly been identified as a player of great potential but, for one reason or another, that idea was shelved. England maintain they will only call for reinforcements in the event of injuries.But it is hard to imagine many bowlers unlocking this surface as it is. Perhaps a Murali or Warne; perhaps Malcolm Marshall or Mitchell Johnson at his best. But such bowlers don’t come along too often and you cannot judge these by those standards. Even James Anderson, who spent part of the day acting as substitute fielder, would have struggled.The one thing that may concern England a little is their inability to gain any swing, be it conventional or reverse. India’s seamers managed some reverse for a while but England, without Anderson or, for much of the day, Ben Stokes, managed no more than a hint of movement.That meant they were never able to fully benefit from their probing line with the batsmen defending expertly without any meaningful threat to their outside edges. And while Pujara struggled a bit against Woakes’ short ball, it never prevented him coming forward as required to the full ball.Stokes continued to show the aftermath of the cramp that bothered him on day two. He produced one stiff-looking, loose spell early in the day and then was hardly seen again until the evening session. According to the team management, the problem is exacerbated by his difficulty in eating during play as it leaves him feeling uncomfortable. But in these gruelling conditions, it is essential he finds a way to replenish himself. With bat and ball, England are greatly diminished without him.

Lehmann’s second autobiography offers a compelling window into his philosophies and experiences, but it’s not quite timed perfectly

Daniel Brettig15-Jan-2017In addition to the story it tells, every book has another story: that of its making. The tale of , Darren Lehmann’s insight into his time running the Australian team, begins with an earlier autobiographical tome entitled . Released in November 2004, it chronicled Lehmann’s playing career up to the point where he finally and belatedly demonstrated all his talents on a fitting stage, that year’s Test tour of Sri Lanka.That tome ended on a hopeful note, suggesting that Lehmann might see a rich final chapter as an Australian cricketer. Its final words were: “I finally felt I belonged in the Australian cricket team; I had shown that I was capable of making a significant contribution to a winning side and no longer felt on the periphery. Also, I felt that the emotional roller-coaster I had been on might finally be slowing and I started to feel some closure about recent events. I looked forward to the future.”As the following summer started, Lehmann enjoyed a blaze of publicity. He was Wisden Australia’s cricketer of the year, he was promoting a book, and he seemed firmly ensconced in the national team. But the seeds of a very different book were to be sown that season. Even as he travelled around the country, selling himself as the rough diamond all grown up, Lehmann’s Australia career was coming to a swift close. The final Test of 2004, against Pakistan at the MCG, was to be his last. Hopes of showcasing his rich English experience with Yorkshire on the 2005 Ashes tour were limited to observations from the commentary box.Lehmann’s obvious regrets about the way his Australia career ended provide a pair of the more notable passages in a book styled, in collaboration with the unfailingly professional craftsman Brian Murgatroyd, after the half-instructional, half-anecdotal fashion of Sir Alex Ferguson. He notes that the night before his final innings, which ended when he turned Shoaib Akhtar to short leg, he was out on the town until “far too late” as the result of a “far too relaxed attitude”, and found his Test days ended soon afterwards.

A relatively experienced collective unit [in Lehmann’s first two years as coach] was ideally placed to respond well to his combination of jocular, simple advice and the occasional clip around the ears

A few pages later, Lehmann relates how his mind had swung within the space of a few weeks from relaxation to panic, as his ODI career reached a similar point of no return. In his penultimate match, he tried to reverse-sweep Shahid Afridi first ball and was dismissed, leading his friend and captain Ricky Ponting to ask, “What on earth were you thinking?”Lehmann’s lack of an answer then contrasts with his explanation, in hindsight, of a feeling many have felt whether in sport or elsewhere: “There was no logic at all to my decision to play that shot other than the fact that I felt under pressure to deliver something special to maintain my spot. Rather than thinking clearly, I succumbed to pressure and allowed my mind to become clouded. I played one more match and then never played for Australia again.” was never updated to feature the tribulations of that final international summer, nor those that followed in state cricket afterwards. It was a case of striking while the iron was hot, rather than waiting until the metal had cooled to get a more rounded picture of the man and his times. When Lehmann helped to helm Australia’s return of the Ashes in 2013-14, the publishers of the original reprinted with the subtitle “My playing career”. By all accounts, Lehmann was not best pleased about this, and preferred to reframe his story in the coach’s context.The likes of Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin appreciated the senior-player-driven system that Lehmann reintroduced•Getty ImagesWhat we have, then, is a run through the various elements of his own philosophies and experiences as coach, served up with a substantial dose of self-deprecation and hindsight about his time playing the game. Significantly, he offers a more conciliatory view of Australia’s former coach Bob Simpson than he held as a young man; having walked away from his first week or two with the Australian squad in 1990, he admits to thinking the coach was a “f***wit”, but now better understands exactly why he was harshly judged, as an outrageous talent happy to coast off those skills.If this all sounds like a case of “do as I say, don’t do as I did”, then the proof is in the use of that very phrase more than once; on pages 82 and 119, for those keeping score. He reserves particular praise for David Warner’s ability to avoid a similar fate by smartening up his behaviour, and also asserts that the key to any sustained success in sporting sides is to “convince the players that success is just the start of something”.But in chronicling how he was able to make a positive difference to the Australian side in the first two years after his arrival as coach, Lehmann also outlines the circumstances that made this possible. A relatively experienced collective unit in England was ideally placed to respond well to his combination of jocular, simple advice and the occasional clip around the ears; the likes of Shane Watson Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin remembered this as the senior-player-driven system of their youth, not the discipline-by-committee that entangled them during the “Homeworkgate” saga.Random House AustraliaTellingly, he speaks of wanting to develop a side that regulates itself, through the observance of senior players and their ability to have trusting conversations with the coach and the captain. That, as much as any technical or tactical advice, is at the core of why Lehmann has been successful, and why this summer’s changeover of players and push for a more youthful direction has been challenging. Lehmann mentions Haddin, Watson, Johnson, George Bailey, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle as key men in this sort of structure: all are either gone from the scene now or close to leaving.And there, ultimately, lies the rub with . It does offer some new insights, and some useful reflections. But as Lehmann did in putting together while his playing career was still unfolding and ultimately unravelling, he has left us with a less than complete picture. The irony here is that just as the season after Lehmann’s first book turned out to be his most challenging as a player, the pattern has been more or less repeated this time around, thanks to Sri Lanka and South Africa.Of course with a contract inked in to 2019, Lehmann need not fear for his future as he did in 2004-05. But it would be gratifying for all concerned if the next book – if there is one – can be composed at a time when Lehmann is in position to reflect fully and frankly on his life in the round. Only then may readers be fully privy to the sort of robust honesty that many of Lehmann’s players have admired him for.Coach
By Darren Lehmann
Random House Australia
287 pages

Australia have two points from two rained-off fixtures, exactly the tally they’d have had in dry conditions. But they were never stretched in this latest washout

Jarrod Kimber at Edgbaston05-Jun-20172:04

‘We respond well to must-win games’ – Starc

The 36th over was bowled by Glenn Maxwell. He hadn’t bowled an over in an ODI since June 2016 – in the last nine ODIs, not one over. Before that period, Maxwell had never even missed nine games of bowling in his entire career. And now here he was, in a must-win game, bowling for the first time in ten ODIs, bowling his first over of the year when the opposition were 141 for 5.The over before, Adam Zampa had taken a wicket maiden; it was also his first over. A full-time bowler, not being called upon to bowl until he couldn’t bowl out his overs, starting with a wicket maiden in the period of the game when the batting team had a guy approaching his hundred. Zampa didn’t get a bowl largely because Travis Head bowled his handy offspin for seven overs as Bangladesh’s batsmen, for the most part, just chipped him around for the odd single. The man whom Head usually combines with for his fifth-bowler overs is Moises Henriques, but they bowled more than their required ten overs. Because, why not.It was a must-win game, in an ICC tournament, and Australia was treating it like a practice match. They only played one warm-up, the second was washed out, as was their first game against New Zealand. They’ve seen more rain than cricket.Then they batted well, David Warner and Aaron Finch ran well from the first over, a three and an all-run four. Then Finch eased a couple of boundaries away. They were tested by the new ball as Mustafizur Rahman beat the bat a few times, then clouds came in and they were under lights. Finch was trapped lbw by one that slipped through him but, straight away, Smith came in and worried little about the bowling or the conditions.Steven Smith and his team spent a frustrating evening trying to finish off a match that they dominated throughout•Getty ImagesWith Warner and Smith clipping the ball around and strolling through for agreed-upon singles, there was such a lack of energy in the match that, at one point, the Oval groundsman came out to the middle and put up a net as he was so convinced this wasn’t a real match. That may not actually have happened, but had it done so, it would have been the most interesting thing to happen since the Australian quicks ended the game as a contest in the 13th over.They only had two wickets at that stage, but at 45 for 2, the game already felt over, so much so that Australia could bring Head on without fear. Cummins had four overs, 1 for 10; Hazlewood six overs, 1 for 21. Starc was 0 for 9 from his three. They were fast, accurate, and impossible to handle on a tired Oval pitch. The Bangladesh batsmen looked completely outgunned, except of course for Tamim Iqbal. It might as well have been dads against the kids.Australia’s quicks were more accurate than at Edgbaston. They were beginning to look like the attack that the other teams feared, and they barely had to get out of third gear. They took wickets, hit the batsmen and beat the bat regularly. Cummins was very quick, Starc came back later to destroy the tail, and Hazlewood bowled better than when he took six wickets in the New Zealand match.It was the perfect practice match, except this time it was for points, and they were going to collect them all after only a small chase against an underwhelmed Bangladesh who had already stopped using catching fielders and seemed to be hoping just to slow the runs until the rain came. And then it did.So, Australia have finished just one of their four matches since arriving in England. They have two points from two games in the Champions Trophy, the same number of points they would have had, had neither of their games had been rained off. The net result is that they’ve got rid of their rust, and they are fully warmed up for their one-off eliminator against England.Glenn Maxwell’s one over for nine runs. No one seemed to mind.

Ashok Dinda has bowled three of the six worst 20th overs in IPL history. He has conceded 272 runs in 20 final overs, going at 13.6 an over

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2017Ashok Dinda – 30 runs
Pune Supergiant v Mumbai Indians, Pune, IPL 2017
Ashok Dinda’s 30-run last over against Mumbai Indians was the most expensive 20th over in any IPL game. Mumbai were heading for a middling total against Rising Pune Supergiant before Hardik Pandya went ballistic and struck four sixes and a four off the final over. Dinda tried different lengths, but Pandya kept hitting straight and took Mumbai to 184. The last seven deliveries of the innings cost 36.David Hussey – 27 runs
Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians, Mumbai, IPL 2013
After 19 overs in their innings, Mumbai were at 147 for 3 and barely heading for a par score on their home turf, when Kings XI captain David Hussey brought himself on to bowl the final over. Rohit Sharma feasted on his friendly neighbourhood off-spinners, smashing him for three sixes to bring up what was then IPL’s most expensive final over. Eventually, the last ball boundary would prove the difference, as Mumbai won by 4 runs.Rahul Shukla – 27 runs
Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru, IPL 2014
Rahul Shukla, the Jharkhand seamer, played only seven IPL games, and in one of them he ran into a belligerent Yuvraj Singh in the last over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s innings. Yuvraj hit Shukla for four sixes, and there was a wide and a no-ball thrown in. Shukla played only one more IPL match.Ashok Dinda – 26 runs
Pune Warriors v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune, IPL 2013
This is only a list of six most expensive final overs, and it is one in which Dinda features thrice. He has bowled the 20th over 20 times and has conceded 272 runs in them at an economy rate of 13.6. This time, it was in the same stadium, for the other IPL franchise from Pune. AB de Villiers was still at the crease for Royal Challengers Bangalore, though he hadn’t not taken off on one of his late-innings blitzes. Short, slow stuff filled the entire over, and de Villiers plastered the ball all around the wagon wheel. He breezed to yet another half-century, having only been at 24 at the start of the over.Ashok Dinda -26 runs
Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors, Mumbai, IPL 2011
This time around, it was Pune Warriors dishing it out, and the common factor was Dinda turning out for the opposition. Yuvraj Singh created a series of picture postcard moments for himself, as Dinda flung in more of his slower bouncers in the final over of an IPL match. Bouncer followed bouncer, with a wide ball in between for good measure, as all of Daredevils’ good work went to waste in the last six balls.Masrafe Mortaza – 26 runs
Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers, Johannesburg, IPL 2009
With 21 runs needed from the final over, a combination of Mashrafe Mortaza’s indiscipline and Rohit Sharma’s excellence in IPL chases ended up resulting in one of the most thrilling finishes in IPL history. Mortaza bowled an eight-ball over, and with just 1 needed off the final ball, Rohit hammered a six into the Wanderers stands.

By impressing in the role he hasn’t been picked for, the frontline spinner has made his case as a batting allrounder

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle28-Jul-2017″I will do whatever the team needs.” It is the most lukewarm answer in cricket. But then, Dilruwan Perera is not a hot-blooded man. If you yelled at him on the street, or cut him off in traffic, he would probably go home and discuss his options with his lawyer.He’s an asset to this team at present – though perhaps not the one they expected him to be. In 2016’s mid-year Galle Test, Dilruwan claimed 10 for 99 and sent the match hurtling to a two-and-a-half day finish, striking almighty terror with his slider – a ball that on the surface is as innocuous as he is, yet on that occasion was like a grenade into the opposition dressing room.Since then, his bowling returns have been more middle-of-the-road than menacing. In seven Tests – five of which have been at home – he has taken 25 wickets at 40.96. In three innings he has gone wicketless, and never has he claimed more than three at a time.He was the fastest Sri Lanka bowler to 50 Test wickets, so there was hope once that if Rangana Herath ever hangs up his extra-elastic Test kit, here is a willing and ready replacement. There was never Herath’s subtlety in Dilruwan’s game, but his bowling was not without its own cunning. He didn’t size batsmen up as quickly or effectively, but in varying his trajectory, drifting the ball both ways, and never over-using his excellent topspinner, Dilruwan had a drawer-full of traps as well.Now the wickets have dried up and he is that annoying selection quandary: the cricketer who keeps performing, but not quite in the discipline he was picked for. He claimed 3 for 159 in the lost Test match against Bangladesh in March, but without his second-innings half-century, Sri Lanka would not have stood a chance in the fourth innings of that match. He sent down 54 overs and took only two wickets against Zimbabwe, but if it were not for his 29 not out in the second innings, Sri Lanka may have stumbled to a shock loss in a year full of hands-in-heads defeats.So what to do? It may be that with his spirited shellacking on the third morning at Galle, he has shown Sri Lanka’s selectors what he is good for. Maybe he is not Herath’s replacement after all – but a different sort of cricketer altogether. With his adventurous cross-bat shots, and his daring trips down the pitch to the spinners, he has, perhaps unwittingly, suggested he can be a balance-giving allrounder who allows four other bowlers to play. Think of him here as a more smiley, less-bearded Moeen Ali of the East.A possible criticism is that he has not yet scored runs consistently for long enough. But have any of Sri Lanka’s batsmen? And chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya should know Dilruwan’s batting pedigree better than most. He opened the batting with him in Dilruwan’s ODI debut in 2007 – a lifetime ago.Moving him up to No. 7 and accommodating a new frontline bowler has several benefits. In the short term, it will see Sri Lanka fill the void left by the injury to Asela Gunaratne. Team management had toyed with playing five frontline bowlers even in the ongoing match, but had decided against it, largely because they expected Gunaratne’s offbreaks to be of use. Now, if they merely draft in Dhananjaya de Silva into that vacated spot, they will be lighter on the bowling front than they have already been proven to be in Galle.If Sri Lanka do not beef up their attack for the second Test at SSC, they will have completely failed to take stock of the current disparity between these teams. In any case, fielders have grassed so many catches in recent months that it is now clear Sri Lanka can’t do with an attack that takes less than 30 wickets in a Test.Maybe they can take a cue too, from their most impressive Test win of the year: against Bangladesh in Galle. On that occasion, Dilruwan had batted at No. 7, and Sri Lanka had won handsomely. Five bowlers will not be required on every pitch, but the three most recent Tests (including the ongoing one) are proof there is a penetration problem. There is an easy fix to this.”I will do whatever the team needs,” was the reply Dilruwan gave when asked if he would be happy with a little extra responsibility with the bat. He doesn’t seem the kind to demand to be promoted up the order. But Sri Lanka might do well to put the option to him, so that at least he and his lawyer can mull it over.

And what is the strangest talent he possesses?

Interview by Jack Wilson21-Oct-2017You are one of the quickest bowlers on the planet – so how old were you when you first hit a batsman in the head?
I think I was around 15 when I first hit another lad. I don’t think I got properly quick until I was 18, so a few years after that.Who was your fast-bowling idol growing up?
Shane Bond, as far as New Zealand goes, was one of the best. I always used to enjoy the way he played the game when I was a kid. Then there’s two others I really admire – Jacques Kallis and Jimmy Anderson.Whose wicket do you prize the most among those you have taken?
It would have to be Kumar Sangakarra. I got him caught behind in my second ODI. I’ll remember that forever.Talk us through the best ball you have ever bowled.
It was in a domestic game against Otago and I was bowling to Michael Bracewell, a left-handed batter. I gave him a big awayswinger first ball, which started outside leg and took the top of off. That was pretty sweet.Which batsman of the past would you love to have bowled to?
Can’t it just be anyone who would give their wicket away? () There’s so many legends of the game with incredible talent. It would have been tough to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar and I never got the pleasure of doing that. The same goes with Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis. I’ll pick any one of those three.Who is the best captain you have ever played under?
God, that’s a tough one. You’re throwing me under the bus here! Brendon McCullum was fantastic to play for during the period where we reached the World Cup final in 2015. But now we have Kane Williamson and he’s very, very good too, and goes about what he does it in a slightly different way. I’ve massively enjoyed playing under both of those.What are the differences in captaincy styles of those two?
Brendon was quite extravagant and liked his different ploys and tactics. Kane is more unassuming as a person than Baz – but he’s equally as tactical and a good thinker.The New Zealand squad are lined up for a 100 metre race. Who’s going to win?
Guppy would be up there. He’s got some good pace. He’d probably win it.And who’d be last?
There’d be a battle for that one between Ish Sodhi and Jeet Raval. One of those two.Who is the last at the bar to buy a round of drinks?
That would be Trent Boult.

Brendon was quite extravagant and liked his different ploys and tactics. Kane is more unassuming as a person than Baz – but he’s equally as tactical and a good thinker

Who has the worst dress sense?
A lot of us dress the same. Maybe it’s me?! Okay, I’ll go with Jimmy Neesham.Who is the most naturally talented team-mate you have played with?
There’s just so many in our New Zealand team. We’ve got a bunch of massively talented guys and some incredibly hard workers too. Kane, for example, is incredibly skilful and he works so hard at his game too. I can’t pick out one.A catch goes up for New Zealand to win the World Cup. Who do you want under it?
Martin Guptill. He’s a very good fielder and he’s got a big of set of mitts. I’d be pretty confident if it was him.You have six balls to bowl at one stump. How many times do you hit?
I’ll go with two.What’s the strangest talent you have?

I like to do a bit of beatbox-boxing. I think I’m all right at it but my missus disagrees – she tells me I’m no good.If you could have any one superpower, which would you choose?
I’d like to be able to fly.What is your one guilty pleasure?
Chocolate. And biscuits. I’m a sucker for either of those two. We’ll go with one and combine them – chocolate biscuits.If you could be a professional in any other sport, what would it be?
Basketball. I played in my last year at school and I used to love it.

He went past Sunil Gavaskar and MS Dhoni to take the record

Shiva Jayaraman26-Jan-2018Kohli scores tough runs
On a pitch that was extremely difficult to bat on for most of the day – and misbehaved enough to trigger an official discussion on whether it was safe enough to continue playing on – Virat Kohli made 41 runs from 79 deliveries to help India along to a total that gave them the chance to score an elusive away win and only their third Test win in South Africa. During the course of the innings he went past MS Dhoni and Sunil Gavaskar to become India’s highest scoring Test captain. He has made 3456 runs at 65.20 in Tests while leading India.Early in his innings, Kohli was hit on the thumb while playing forward to a ball that climbed off a length from Kagiso Rabada. However, that didn’t stop the India captain from getting on to the front during the course of the rest of his stay at the crease: off the rest of the 40 balls that were bowled at him on full or good lengths, Kohli played forward to at least 17 balls. Kohli made 27 runs off 47 balls off those lengths at a strike rate of 57.44. On a pitch that troubled the batsmen with unpredictable bounce off full and good lengths, Kohli batted well to return a control percentage of 72.34% off those lengths.Kohli’s tally of 95 runs in this Test took his aggregate for the series to 286 runs – the second-most scored by an India batsman in a series in South Africa. No India captain has made as many runs as Kohli has in this series. Before Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 runs in three matches in 1996-97 were the highest by an India captain in a series in South Africa. Rahane makes it look easy
Sat out of the first two Tests of the series, Rahane came in to bat with India 93 runs ahead. He looked the most comfortable batsman on the third day, scoring rapidly off lengths that were troubling batsmen at the other end. Rahane faced 33 deliveries pitched on full and good lengths, and was in control of his shots a whopping 90.00% of the time – easily the best control shown by any of the India batsmen.

The ball perhaps jagged around a little less as the overs progressed, but even while Kohli was fighting hard at the other end, Rahane looked in control playing off balls that were pitch on full and good lengths.

Bhuvneshwar contributes with the bat again
Bhuvneshwar Kumar added 33 runs to his crucial contribution of 30 runs in the first innings making him only the second India batsman in this match to get 30 or more runs in both innings. In a series in which batsmen have struggled to put together meaningful partnerships, his 55-run stand with Rahane in India’s second innings was the second time he added 50 or more runs with a partner in these Tests. Out of the six fifty-plus stands India have had in the series, only Kohli has been involved in more such stands. In fact, Bhuvneshwar has faced more balls per dismissal in this series than any other India batsman. In four innings that he has batted, Bhuvneshwar has faced 252 balls, getting dismissed three times.

The best of the stats as India enjoy a day to remember at Trent Bridge

Bharath Seervi19-Aug-201829- Number of balls in which Hardik Pandya completed his five-wicket haul. It is the second quickest five-wicket haul by an India bowler, where known. Harbhajan Singh reached his five-for in 27 balls against West Indies in Jamaica in 2006. Three years ago, at the same venue, Stuart Broad had picked five wickets in just 19 balls in the Ashes.ESPNcricinfo Ltd158- Number of balls in which England lost their 10 wickets – the fewest balls in which England lost all their wickets in an innings against India and the fourth-fewest, (where partnership balls data is available). Their openers were well set without losing a wicket for 71 balls and adding 54 but after that they lost ten wickets for 158 balls adding 107 runs.2007- Last time India had gained a bigger first innings lead in England than the 168 in this Test. They gained leads of 319 and 283 at The Oval and Trent Bridge respectively in the 2007 tour. India did not manage such a big lead on any of the tours to Australia and South Africa as well in this period. They did so three times in New Zealand though.3- India have managed to take the first innings lead in three of their last four Tests at Trent Bridge. They gained leads of 283 and 67 in the 2007 and 2011 tours respectively while on the 2014 tour England went marginally ahead taking lead of 39. At all other venues combined, on these four tours (2007 to 2018), they gained the first innings lead only once, in 11 Tests.3- Number of wicketkeepers to affect five or more catches in their debut Test innings, including Rishabh Pant in this Test. The others to do so have been Australia’s Brian Taber in 1966 and John Maclean in 1978. No other India wicketkeeper had taken more than three catches in his debut innings before Pant. Pant was involved in the first three wickets to fall in England’s innings.17.50- Pandya’s bowling average in this series, the best among all India bowlers. He has picked eight wickets at that average and strike rate of 24.80. His strike rate is the best among all bowlers from both sides in this series. He took his career’s first three-wicket haul in the last Test and maiden five-for in this Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1986- Last time India openers shared 50-plus partnerships in both innings of a Test in England, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul became the first such pair since Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth at Edgbaston in 1986. The last time any India pair achieved this anywhere was in 2012, also against England, in Ahmedabad and the last outside Asia was at Basseterre in St Kitts against West Indies in 2006.5- Number of times teams have been all out within 60 overs in this series, the most in any India-England series and the joint-most in any series in England in last 15 years. It is also the joint-most such innings in a Test series involving India.

Our snippets from the Vitality Blast include the Ed Pollock battle plan and the contrasting fortunes of Aaron Finch and Nic Maddinson

Matt Roller and David Hopps18-Jul-2018Football supporters have always been able to take comfort in home advantage. The four teams that qualified for the Champions League last season – Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool – lost at home in the league only seven times in 76 matches.Even the three relegated clubs found comfort in winning in front of their own supporters 15 times between them.It is often claimed that home advantage counts for a lot in T20 cricket. Teams say they know which boundary to target, how the surface plays, and that their home fans spur them on. At Chelmsford they even like to borrow the football lingo and term themselves a fortress.But so far travelling teams have had the upper hand in the Blast – and markedly. Durham’s shock wins at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge within 48 hours took the tally of away wins to 23 out of the 36 games so far – 64%.And the last two seasons have finished with home sides losing more than they win.

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There are a few key reasons for the change. Counties are preparing flatter, harder pitches for T20s – with the logic that big crowds like big scores – and few teams are preparing low-scoring pitches to suit the balance of their side. In 2011, Hampshire’s home pitches were invariably used and worn to suit their three-pronged spin attack of Shahid Afridi, Danny Briggs, and Imran Tahir, but no ground in the Blast currently has a reputation for particularly low scores.The main reason for the lack of home advantage, however, is the comparative importance of the toss. 69% of captains have elected to chase rather than defend when winning the toss so far this season, compared to just 38% ten years ago, and whether a team is chasing is a better indicator of whether they win a T20 than whether they are at home.For the powers that be, this is 20-over cricket’s fatal flaw. When fans flock to Old Trafford, Hove, or Chelmsford on a Friday night, they want their team to win. Cricket crowds have a history of also admiring performances from opposing players but in T20 that tradition is breaking down.Attendances across the tournament have been impressive so far. Now the challenge for counties is to keep fans coming. And nothing encourages spectators to come back than the pleasure of seeing their own team win. For that to happen, they might need to become a good deal noisier.

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The Blast has become the time of season when county cricket’s transfer market, once so sedate, reaches peak intensity.Expect Somerset to announce soon that they have beaten off suitors for Lewis Gregory, their T20 captain. But Liam Plunkett’s faltering relationship with Yorkshire, never the same since his last-minute IPL deal persuaded the county that he simply was not value for money, is expected to result in a move to Surrey.Liam Norwell, Gloucestershire’s seamer, could become the latest recruit for Warwickshire who – in their T20 guise as Birmingham Bears – have take a bit of a battering with the ball in their past couple of games.

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Aaron Finch brought Sussex to their knees•Getty ImagesSurrey bounced back from defeats in their first two games with convincing wins against both Essex and Sussex, and the arrival of Australian batsman Aaron Finch had plenty to do with that.After limbering up with 58 in his first game, Finch dominated the Surrey innings at Hove in scoring his fifth T20 hundred. His boundary-filled 131* made up 68.2% of Surrey’s total of 192 for 3. That made it the second-most single-handed innings in English T20 history, behind Cameron White’s 141* for Somerset at Worcester in 2006.It was also the longest-ever T20 innings by balls faced, at 79 balls; another Finch innings is joint-third on that list, as his record 172 at Harare ten days previously took 76 balls.When you throw his 84 in Australia’s T20I defeat at Edgbaston and an unbeaten 68 against Pakistan in the recently-completed tri-series, it is clear that the bullish Finch is in a remarkable vein of form. With Justin Langer as good as confirming he would captain the ODI side this home summer, Finch is at the peak of his powers.The same cannot be said of Nic Maddinson, his Australian team-mate, whose Surrey stint started with two single-figure scores. Maddinson’s return to the international fold was unsuccessful, as he was dropped after seven runs in four tri-series games. A career once filled with promise and expectation is at a crossroads.Maddinson is what cricket probably classes as an eccentric. He calls himself a “vegan, cricket player, and whisky enthusiast” in his Instagram bio, sports an incongruous moustache, and was spotted eating a toastie while fielding at mid-wicket in a New South Wales game in 2013.He could do with a run of scores in the coming weeks: he was released from his state contract at the end of the 2017/18 season, and recently switched Big Bash franchises to join the Melbourne Stars. Perhaps a move to Brisbane would have been more appropriate: the Heat is certainly on.

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The rumour is out about Ed Pollock – bowl the spinners – and the Birmingham Bears batsman, armed with the fastest T20 strike rate in the world, knows he must formulate a response.Worcestershire were first side to open with a spinner against him in a 50-over match and he shovelled a catch to deep square early on. They felt they knew his vulnerability from the days when he was on their academy.Over last weekend Pollock was bowled coming down the pitch to Colin Ackermann against Leicestershire on Friday and he then holed out to deep square again when Will Smith opened for Durham on Sunday. Success for two slow bowlers who would never claim to be specialists in the art.Pollock’s overall T20 split is interesting: 264 runs in 133 balls off the seamers at a SR of 198 and 124 runs from 71 balls from spinners at 174. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the weeks ahead.

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Derbyshire and Middlesex were hailed as trailblazers when they appointed specialist T20 coaches at the start of 2017. The men tasked with improving the fortunes of two historical underperformers were John Wright and Daniel Vettori respectively, both of whom have experience coaching IPL teams.Having changed the side’s fortunes around last season, Wright’s Derbyshire have reverted to type in 2018. Alongside Northamptonshire, they sit at the foot of the North Group with four defeats from four, and have passed 150 only once. While the injured Luis Reece’s top-order runs have been a big loss, their form so far suggests a side low on confidence after a mediocre start to the season in the longer formats.The same is true of Middlesex, who have lost both games since their opening win against Surrey. Vettori has come under scrutiny for his underwhelming record as a T20 coach – his Brisbane Heat, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Middlesex sides have won 49 of the 114 matches he has overseen – and expensive death bowling has been a feature of their campaign so far.Both counties recently lost important staff – Richard Scott was dismissed as Middlesex’s head coach, and Kim Barnett left his supervisory role at Derby – and both Wright and Vettori will point to the lack of time they have had to work with their squads, having arrived only a week before the start of the Blast.The manic structure of the county season simply doesn’t allow teams much time to work on their T20 strategy before the tournament gets underway, as the two Kiwis have found out to their detriment.

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Matt Parkinson stirred a bit of interest among IPL franchises in 2018 without quite attracting a bid – and he has started reliably for Lancashire Lightning as they put spin bowling at the heart of their challenge.In his last two matches, against Derbyshire and Northants, Parkinson has conceded only two boundaries in eight overs, advancing his reputation as one of the least hittable legspinners in the tournament.He certainly fits into the Lancashire modus operandi: entering Wednesday night’s match against Leicestershire, they had bowled 46% of their overs with spin – the highest tally in the league in this sun-baked summer.

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Dillon Pennington is making a good impression at Worcestershire•Getty ImagesWorcestershire’s faith in young fast bowlers Patrick Brown and Dillon Pennington, both only 19, has reaped rewards for the county.Pennington took 4 for 9 in his third game for the Rapids, claiming the notable scalp of Ben Duckett in the process. After playing just three matches in the Vitality Blast, Pennington has taken seven wickets and is the sixth most economical bowler in the tournament, out of those who have bowled more than five overs.While he has been slightly more expensive, Brown is the leading wicket taker in the Blast this year, with ten wickets in five matches.Worcestershire’s turn to youth has invigorated their bowling in this Blast campaign. They have won four out of five matches, even managing to restrict Northants to under 90 in a nine over game.