Eventually, with the batting failures accumulating and his captaincy not compensating, the reasons for persisting with Alastair Cook are wearing out

George Dobell at Lord's18-Jul-2014Had an undertaker taken measurements of Alastair Cook as he made his way back to the pavilion, the signs could hardly have been more obvious: after another poor display in the field on the opening day and another poor display with the bat on the second, time is running out for England’s captain.Cook’s failure at Lord’s was familiar in every sense. Not just because it extended his run of low scores to the stage where they can no longer be ignored by an England management desperate for him to succeed, but for the manner of his dismissal. Cook, as so often, was caught behind after poking at one just outside off stump without moving his feet. He has now gone 26 innings without a century and averages 13.37 this calendar year. Those are figures that can no longer be ignored or excused.The groan that rose from Lord’s upon Cook’s dismissal spoke volumes. It spoke of a crowd desperately willing Cook to succeed; it spoke of a crowd that understood how hard he is working, how much he is struggling and of their empathy for a decent man descending into his own private hell.He had looked in better touch. He left the ball well. His defensive strokes all hit the middle of the bat and, in general, went straight back to the bowler. There was a sense that this might be his day.And it is true that he has enjoyed little luck. While Gary Ballance benefited from a reprieve in the slips early in his century, Cook had no such fortune. And while the ball that struck his thigh pad at Trent Bridge might usually have glanced away for leg byes, it instead cannoned onto his leg stump.But only fools and losers continually blame luck for their failings. Eventually you have to accept that if a result recurs often, there is an underlying reason.It has not been unreasonable to keep faith with Cook until now. His long-term record remains good – though his average has dropped to a fraction over 45 – and he is, at 29, young enough to come again. But eventually, with the run of low scores growing longer, it appears ever more as if the England management are desperate for him to succeed as much so save their own face as anything else.They staked everything on Cook. They sacked Kevin Pietersen and decided to rebuild upon the rock of Cook’s run scoring. But perhaps due to the pressure that decision added, he has been unable to sustain the form required for a Test opening batsman. The management’s faith and continuity is starting to look desperate rather than loyal and sensible. Just as it is becoming impossible to deny the deterioration in Matt Prior’s keeping, so Cook’s problems have become impossible to ignore.While Cook is batting ever more like Mike Brearley – who, speaking on , questioned whether Cook would survive his current malaise – he is no nearer to captaining like him.After an improved performance at Trent Bridge, he chased the game in the field on Thursday and suggested that all the criticism he has attracted had started to distort his thinking. Just when England needed to patiently persist on an old-fashioned line and length attack, they experimented with three men out on the hook and a round the wicket bouncer barrage. It was, by any standards, poor captaincy.And eventually, with the batting failures accumulating and his captaincy not compensating, the reasons for persisting with Cook are wearing out. If England lose this match, a match in which they won a crucial toss, Cook’s future will be hanging by a thread. We may well be in the end days now.If and when the end comes for Cook, he might well reflect on the lack of support he has gained from his senior players. For various reasons – fitness mainly – Prior has been unable to provide the support he might have done in previous years, while James Anderson and Stuart Broad let him down with their bowling both at Headingley and in the first innings here. Ian Bell’s lack of runs is bringing no respite, either.Cook is now clinging to his position by the flimsiest of reasons: the lack of alternatives. Neither the candidates for replacement opening batsman or the opening position spring out. If they did, Cook would surely have gone by now.The most obvious alternative as captain is Bell. He has captained, albeit on a part-time basis, with some success for Warwickshire. He showed himself to be an imaginative leader whose own game seemed to improve with the responsibility.But not only is his own form a nagging worry – nobody doubts Bell’s class but it is now 18 innings since he registered a Test century and, since the start of the Ashes series in Australia, he is averaging 27.53 – but there is some doubt as to whether he can replicate those leadership characteristics at this level.While at county level Bell is something of a giant, respected by his peers and confident in the environment, most insiders talk of him in very different terms in the England set-up. He is seen more as a follower than a leader and there are doubts whether he could control other senior players as required.Captaincy might well prove the making of him, but it would constitute a risk.Joe Root also has his supporters. But just as his premature elevation to the opening spot threatened to derail his progress, so the burden of captaincy might prove unhelpful for a 23-year-old whose game is still in its development phase. He has little experience in the role – his one game as captain of Yorkshire earlier this season ended in Middlesex chasing 472 to win in the fourth innings for the loss of only three wickets – and to promote him now might risk spoiling one of the more exciting prospects in the English game.Cook has one more chance in the second innings. But if he fails again and England lose the game, his days may be numbered. He will be batting for his future in the fourth innings at Lord’s.

Stats highlights from the fifth day of the first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Abu Dhabi

Bishen Jeswant13-Nov-201415 Misbah-ul-Haq’s Test wins as captain. He has become Pakistan’s most successful Test captain. He previously held the joint record of 14 wins with Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, both of whom captained Pakistan in more Tests than Misbah.248 Pakistan’s margin of victory in this Test, their second-biggest against New Zealand in terms of runs. Pakistan have won 11 Tests by a margin of 200 runs of more, twice against New Zealand. Three of the 11 wins have come in 2014.5 Number of wickets Pakistan lost in this Test. Only twice previously have they lost fewer wickets in a Test victory. New Zealand feature four times in the top eight entries in the table listing the fewest wickets lost by Pakistan in a Test win .120 The difference between Pakistan’s batting average (145.2) and bowling average (25.4) in this Test – their third highest in a Test victory.1 New Zealand’s Test series wins against Pakistan in the last 45 years. This victory came 29 years ago, in 1985. New Zealand need to win both remaining Tests in the series to improve their record.3 Consecutive Tests Pakistan have won – two against Australia and one against New Zealand. If they win the next Test, it will be the first time since 1990 that they will have won four Tests in a row without the sequence including Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. In 1990, Pakistan had three wins against New Zealand and one against West Indies.52 Pakistan batsmen’s average (51.5) in Tests at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, their second best for any ground in the world (min. five Tests). They only average more, 53.04, at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad, Sind.1 New Zealand’s Test wins over Pakistan in the last 12 years. Post May 2002, New Zealand have played eight Tests against Pakistan, winning one, losing four and drawing three.54 The tenth-wicket partnership between Ish Sodhi and Trent Boult, New Zealand’s highest in the fourth innings against Pakistan, and their fourth highest overall. This is New Zealand’s fourth 50-plus partnership for the tenth wicket in the fourth innings, but their first in Asia.

Atul Gaikwad has devoted significant resources to the study of the problem of illegal actions

Amol Karhadkar25-Nov-2014Atul Gaikwad, a coach in Pune, was disturbed by the fact that one of his wards, a promising left-arm spinner on the local circuit, was identified as having a dodgy action. When the bowler’s action was exposed during the second edition of the Maharashtra Premier League in 2010, which was televised, the young bowler was not only barred from bowling but also was heckled as a “chucker” frequently. He sank into depression and even attempted suicide.”While the kid suffered, I thought that being his coach, the fault was on me to not have been able to identify and rectify his suspect action, so I took it upon myself to not let the same mistake happen again,” Gaikwad says.The incident sparked off his research into the problem of illegal actions, which then evolved into a thesis. Gaikwad recently became possibly the first person in the country to be awarded a doctorate for his extensive work on the topic.While the cricket fraternity is scratching its head over how to get rid of chucking in international cricket, Gaikwad’s thesis, “Study of Illegal Bowling Action in Cricket: Causes and Remedial Programme”, revolves around the need for early detection and corrective measures. It concludes that the sooner a dubious action is detected and worked on, the better it is for the bowler’s prospects of being able to continue bowling legally in the long run. Gaikwad also concludes that coaches and umpires at the grass-roots level need to be educated in order to prevent the menace of illegal actions spreading.”Most of the coaches and umpires are either uneducated or ill-educated about the basics of what constitutes an illegal action,” he says. “As a result, most of them either don’t recognise a suspect action or ignore it, which results in the bowler getting used to bowling with the same action without realising that there is a problem.”Gaikwad based his findings on a comprehensive study of Under-14 bowlers in Maharashtra. In 2011, he examined 106 bowlers from 12 prominent academies in Pune, who were competing in the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s selection trials and found 37 of them had dodgy actions. Those 37 bowlers were then divided into two groups -19 of them went through monitoring with corrective measures, while the remaining 18 were only monitored.After six months, when all 37 were tested again, 17 of the 19 who were undergoing rehab were found to be bowling with legitimate actions, while the 18 who didn’t get technical support continued to bowl with flawed actions.”This sample study proved that if you have the basic facilities of video analysis and decent technical know-how as a coach, you can convert an illegal action into a legal one at an early stage in a bowler’s career,” Gaikwad says.

Key findings in Gaikwad’s thesis

What leads to illegal actions?
There is a direct correlation with bowling with a leather ball at a young age, and playing shorter formats
Lack of understanding of rules, or proper guidance
Attempting to bowl the doosra
How can the problem be solved?
Extensive education on rules and techniques for cricketers and coaches
Individualised motor-learning programmes
Restriction on shorter formats; encourage multi-day matches
Close supervision of the doosra
Support centre for bowlers with problematic actions

Gaikwad’s study recommends that coaches and umpires at the local level need to be educated and made accountable. “Strict vigilance in youth cricket, strict action by umpires and officials on chucking, and accountability from them, including coaches, is crucial,” he says.Gaikwad stresses the need for helping budding cricketers with the basic techniques of video analysis. “If a coach has spotted a player with a suspect action, if he shows the video to the player, in most cases, the player realises what is wrong with his action. Then it is up to the basic corrective measures, which work for most teenaged cricketers.”The thesis also suggests the basic corrective measures. According to the study, the early turnover of the bowling arm, upward palm position of the bowling arm when horizontal level, and inappropriate follow-throughs lead to bowlers developing illegal actions. “By changing palm position of bowling arm from upward to sideways and downward position, chuckers were converted into legal action,” Gaikwad notes.Most bowlers struggling with illegal actions – especially in the subcontinent – are spinners. Gaikwad’s study has attributed the phenomenon to “role-modelling or imitating elite bowlers having history of dubious action”.”This is where a coach’s role comes in. There is nothing wrong in a ten- or 11-year-old trying to bowl like one of the top bowlers by watching him on TV without knowing that his action is suspect,” Gaikwad says. “It is the coach who has to stop him from copying a dubious bowler and teach him to develop his unique style instead.”Gaikwad belongs to the rare breed of a successful coach in India who has not played first-class cricket. After being certified as a Level-III coach in the National Cricket Academy’s top-rung examinations, he has been in-charge of various state and zonal women’s teams, and has been assisting at the BCCI specialist academies over the last six years. In 2013 he got himself a Level III certification from Cricket Australia. And he has been running a coaching academy in Pune for almost two decades.Over the years, Gaikwad observed that the emphasis on making children bowl with a leather ball on a 22-yard wicket results in young bowlers developing a flex in their action. And his research for his thesis confirmed his observations. “In all of the western countries, kids are made to first bowl with a tennis ball, then a semi-hard ball, and then a leather ball, so that their body can get used to the weight of the ball. And most of the Under-12 and Under-14 matches are played on 18-yard wickets over there, which should also be implemented in India.”Gaikwad also notes that chucking is rampant, and frequently overlooked, in women’s cricket. “Some of the coaches tell me it’s okay, since these are girls. But how can we ignore it? A clean action is a clean action. Doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl bowling.”One of the key recommendations in his thesis is to establish “support centres” for coaches and umpires to detect illegal actions and suggest remedial measures. For this, Gaikwad has been in touch with Ratnakar Shetty, (the BCCI’s general manager – game development), and MV Sridhar (general manager – cricket operations), both of whom “have been very supportive and positive”.It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, though. Gaikwad sent his findings to some of the top bowling coaches hired by the BCCI, to get feedback. “And many of them unfortunately didn’t give any suggestions about the content but pointed out grammatical errors. Since the thesis has been translated into English from Marathi, some errors are bound to creep in.”Gaikwad’s work could well prove to be handy for further research in India, since hardly any research material based on Indian conditions and bowlers is available. For his research, Gaikwad referred to papers by various sports scientists in England and Australia. He hopes that his work will be useful for coaches and researchers in future.

Stats preview to the Pool B game between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Brisbane

Bishen Jeswant28-Feb-201535.9 The bowling average of Pakistan’s pacers since 2013, the second-worst for any Test team. Zimbabwe are the only team whose pacers have a worse average (43.2).4.52 Zimbabwe’s run-rate in the middle overs of an ODI innings since 2013, the worst for any Test nation. Pakistan are second-worst, with a run rate of 4.79.19 Fifties scored by Misbah-ul-Haq since 2013, the second most for any batsman after Kumar Sangakkara (20). Among batsmen who made at least ten 50-plus scores in this period, Misbah is the only batsman who has not scored a single century.4-0 Pakistan’s win-loss record against Zimbabwe in World Cups. Pakistan have not lost a single World Cup match against two Test nations – Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka (7-0).1 Number of times that Zimbabwe have beaten Pakistan in their last 29 ODI meetings. Their overall record against Pakistan is 3-42.2 ODI hundreds scored by Zimbabwe’s batsmen since 2013, the fewest by batsmen from any Test nation. Pakistan’s batsmen have scored 13, with batsmen from only Bangladesh (5) and Zimbabwe (2) making fewer.0 Number of times that Zimbabwe have beaten a Test nation in the last three World Cups. Their last win was against South Africa in 1999. Associate teams like Ireland and Kenya have achieved multiple World Cup wins against Test nations in the intervening period.267 Average score since 2011 when batting first at the Gabba. There have been eight ODIs since 2011, with the team batting first being bowled out for less than 200 in two of the last four ODIs here.7 Number of times in eight ODIs since 2011 that captains have won the toss and chosen to bat at the Gabba. The only instance of a captain choosing to bowl was during this World Cup, when Ireland’s William Porterfield decided to field in their victory against UAE. In the eight ODIs since 2011, teams batting first have won four games.5 Number of 50-plus scores for Sean Williams since 2014, all five in chases, the most by a Zimbabwe player during this period. Additionally, Williams has also picked up 12 wickets, which is the third-most for any Zimbabwe bowler.

The ICC deserves credit for helping weaker teams prepare better for this World Cup – though the Big Three are threatening to undo all the good work that has been put in

Tim Wigmore16-Mar-2015The clarion cries to keep the “world” in the World Cup were largely absent four years ago. And the sea change has been driven by the ICC.If few organisations are more castigated than the ICC, perhaps even fewer are less understood. The decision to contract the 2019 and 2023 World Cups to ten teams is the will of the ICC Executive Committee – in reality, Giles Clarke, N Srinivasan and Wally Edwards. Yet the ICC is brimming with employees who look at the plans no more favourably than the Twitterati do, and are zealous in their commitment to the organisation’s creed of building “a bigger, better, global game”.The 2015 World Cup has provided much vindication for their work. While, just as in the 2011 World Cup, Ireland have been the flag bearers for those who want cricket to be more than a ten-nation game, the real story has been the improvement in the other three Associates.They often made for unpalatable viewing in 2011. Netherlands (who did push England hard in their opening game) lost by 215 runs to West Indies and 231 runs to South Africa, and were bowled out for 160 in their six-wicket loss to Bangladesh. Canada lost by 210 runs to Sri Lanka and by 175 runs to Zimbabwe. Worst of all were Kenya, who were bundled out for 69 in their ten-wicket thumping by New Zealand, and then lost by 205 runs to Pakistan, nine wickets to Sri Lanka, and 161 runs to Zimbabwe. Few were willing to argue that this trio added to the spectacle of the tournament.So there was plenty for the ICC to review when it analysed the performances of the four qualifiers in 2011. “We looked at 50 or 60 different factors across everything from administration to domestic structures to the support around the team,” explains Richard Done, the ICC high performance manager.The ICC did well to have the 2014 World Cup qualifier played in New Zealand, co-hosts of the World Cup•ICCIreland were regarded as the model, and not just on the pitch. They had “the best structure, the best administration, the best support staff and the best coaches”. Done endeavoured to import these standards into other leading Associates. “Over the last four years we’ve really worked hard on the quality of the people. We’ve got a better group of CEOs.”Until 2011, most leading Associates were pop-up cricket teams. Besides the World Cup and the qualifying tournament, many had no other guaranteed one-day cricket. That changed during the latest World Cup cycle: the World Cricket League Championship gave Associates 14 games against each other between June 2011 and November 2013, providing a constant focus and a barometer of their progress. It also gave Associates a pathway to World Cup qualification, with Afghanistan and Ireland securing the two automatic berths to the World Cup.Qualification for the 2011 World Cup was determined exclusively by a tournament in South Africa in April 2009. This was deeply unsatisfactory for two reasons. Firstly, the four qualifiers in 2009 were probably not the best four Associates by 2011; Afghanistan “may well have made it,” had the qualifier been a year later, Done notes. Secondly, conditions in South Africa did not much resemble those in the World Cup in Asia. Judiciously, the tournament to determine the final two qualifiers for the 2015 World Cup, alongside Afghanistan and Ireland, was held in New Zealand last January. “It certainly helped getting some experience on the wickets,” says David East, the chief executive of the Emirates Cricket Board.The challenge now was to ensure the four qualifiers would provide the ICC with more to show for its work in expanding cricket beyond its traditional frontiers than in previous tournaments. At a meeting of the ICC High Performance Programme in 2013, a target of four wins for Associates over Full Members – three more than in 2011 – was set.An extra $1 million was released to help the four qualifiers prepare. The bulk was spent arranging tours to Australia and New Zealand between September and November. All four qualifiers played seven or eight matches against state, district or representative sides, including at venues they would play at in the tournament.”There’s no experience like playing against good teams in the specific conditions that you’re going to be playing in in the World Cup,” says Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland. “It certainly helped our guys visualise what they could expect when it came to the matches themselves.” Camps were then arranged for all four teams in November in Dubai, to review the tours and work with specialist coaches like Paul Collingwood.In 2011, none of the Associates were fully professional (Ireland, with 13 professionals, came closest.) But in 2015, three have fully professional squads. UAE are the exception, but it is not quite accurate to label them a team of amateurs. UAE introduced player support agreements for 20 players in preparation for the World Cup, providing coaching staff with far greater access to the players in the nine months prior to the World Cup.They also recruited a strength and conditioning coach. “This improvement in fitness and agility has arguably been the biggest, most important difference to the professionalism of the team,” East believes. Indeed, better fielding has been a hallmark of all Associates this tournament. “If you were to compare the Associate sides this time round to the Associates in the past, you can see the quality of fielding has really picked up,” Deutrom says.The ICC’s decision to contract the next two World Cups seems myopic, thanks to the fight shown by the Associates this time round•AFPIncreased funding for top Associates has helped this cause. Since the last World Cup, the ICC has tweaked its funding model for Associates to target the more successful nations, which have received around 20% more in real terms than in the previous four-year cycle.But most important has been the introduction of the Targeted Assistance Performance Programme (TAPP), a fund created in 2012 to boost the competitiveness of Associates and the lower-ranked Full Members. The fund paid for Ireland to set up its new inter-provincial structure in 2013, providing players not involved in county cricket with strong domestic competition in all three formats of the game. TAPP also bankrolled a new academy in Afghanistan.It has funded playing opportunities for Associates, like Ireland’s tour of the West Indies last January, and Afghanistan’s four-match ODI series in Zimbabwe in July. It also funded New Zealand A’s tour of UAE last winter, when they played Afghanistan, Ireland and the hosts. Lindsay Crocker, New Zealand Cricket’s head of cricket, credits TAPP as being “essential” in helping emerging talents like Adam Milne be “schooled” before playing international cricket.The New Zealand A games against the Associates were mutually beneficial: Andy Balbirnie’s 129 against an attack including two members of New Zealand’s World Cup squad sealed his Ireland berth. However, as part of the Big Three’s drive to reduce spending on ICC development programmes, TAPP was scrapped after the restructuring of the ICC last year. “It’s a worry if TAPP funding isn’t going to continue,” Deutrom says.Although Done admits that more competition between Associates and Full Members would have helped – Ireland played only eight ODIs against Test teams between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe declined to take part in a pre-World Cup tournament with the Associates in the UAE – the four qualifiers for the 2015 World Cup were comfortably the best prepared in the tournament’s history.With every passing world event the trends point to Associates becoming more competitive still. The ICC only developed an interest in expansionism in the mid-1990s. Only now is the first generation of cricketers to develop since then benefiting from much-improved domestic structures. Most importantly, there are a lot more of them. Since 2005, official participation numbers in cricket have risen six-fold in the UAE, quadrupled in Ireland and Scotland, and risen by 30 times in Afghanistan.So while David Richardson described “relief” at the performance of the Associates in the World Cup, those in the ICC who follow them more closely do not share his feelings. “I haven’t been surprised at all. What we’ve shown in terms of competitiveness generally has been exactly what I hoped for,” Done says, noting that the Associates also toppled three Full Members in the 2014 World T20. “We’ve had four or five really good opportunities to secure more wins and just haven’t got across the line. We’d all be a bit disappointed as a collective.”Still, that the Associates’ showing this World Cup has converted so many to their cause amounts to that rarest of things: a triumph for the ICC. It only makes the will of Australia, England and India to contract the World Cup look more myopic.

There was that time, in the sun, at the G, during a World Cup knockout game, where they looked beautiful. And then it all went bad

Jarrod Kimber at the MCG19-Mar-20152:02

Crowe: Bangladesh’s best World Cup so far

Thirty-three overs and two balls. Bangladesh were in the game for precisely that long. How long they could, or would, have been in the game after that is unimportant, that is the moment their World Cup ended.Before that, it was wonderful. It was a land of lollipops and hope. The line and length was more from a fiction on Bangladesh cricket than the real one. The sight of Mushfiqur Rahim, their wicketkeeper, so far back and still taking it above his head was almost surreal. They were at the MCG, a ground their players have dreamed of more than they have played at, which in their almost 30-year ODI history is now twice. And this was a knockout game in a World Cup. Their first.They were playing for each other in a World Cup knockout match at the MCG against India. They were keeping each other in check in a World Cup knockout at the MCG against India. They were together as a team in a World Cup knockout match at the MCG against India. They had a chance in a World Cup knockout match at the MCG against India.There were poor moments. Mashrafe Mortaza’s first ball was so slow and tame that a pack of elderly mall walkers passed it before Rohit Sharma guided it to the rope. Nasir Hossain dropped, or seemingly missed a return catch from Rohit. Shakib Al Hasan got upset at another misfield. There were some sloppy overthrows.However, they were outnumbered by the seemingly endless well-placed seam and spin deliveries. Mashrafe kept the field up and the fielders kept the pressure up. Taskin Ahmed’s carry. Rubel Hossain’s pace and carry. They took three wickets. One through good flight from Shakib and quick hands from Mushfiqur. Rahane was kept quiet until he behaved in an odd way.Virat Kohli’s dismissal was perhaps the moment that Bangladesh cricket would like to mount on their office wall. Rubel went quick and short. Then peppered Kohli four times short of a length outside offstump. Finally, a wide one. Kohli had spent a summer smashing these balls through cover regions all over this land, but Rubel took his edge. He started with aggression, went with patience and then finished with bait.In 33.1 overs, though one of the best batting line-ups in the world had seven men waiting, Bangladesh had the scoring rate at less than 4.5 an over. It’s not pour-champagne-on-yourself-while-dancing-at-Southbeach time, but it’s a good place to be.Virat Kohli’s dismissal energised Bangladesh•Getty ImagesMashrafe kept six men in the circle. Mashrafe bowled a very good ball. Umpire Ian Gould didn’t think it was good enough. It was straight, and it was probably hitting. But it was near leg stump. Suresh Raina didn’t hit it; he was not even in the same postcode as the ball. The only question was whether it pitched in line. It looked like it did.DRS suggested it wasn’t.The next ball Mashrafe beat Raina again, this time outside off stump. It looked like his quickest ball of the match. Raina had now faced 19 balls for 10 runs.The next over he faced against Mashrafe was the first of the batting powerplay. Raina backed away, took a length ball from the stumps and Raina’d it over cover. The rest of the match was much like that shot.There was a no ball that wasn’t that could have stopped Rohit’s carnage. There was the complete loss of line and length. There was the complete loss of hitting the pitch at times. Bangladesh turned on each other, they went from chest bumps to angry exchanges. There was an edge from Tamim that he wanted to bounce before Dhoni, but it didn’t. There was the comedy run out of Imrul Kayes. Dhoni even dived to take a catch. And then there was a catch down on the padded boundary triangle. That maybe moved, it probably didn’t. It maybe mattered, it probably didn’t.Five overs after DRS went against them, it rained on Bangladesh. It cleared up soon after for India. For Bangladesh, the clouds seemed to follow them for the rest of the game.There was that time, in the sun, at the G, during a World Cup knockout game, where they looked beautiful. Thirty three overs and two balls is fleeting, but at least it is something.

Either way, WG Grace generated more than his share of column centimetres, in his lifetime and beyond

Ivo Tennant22-Mar-2015Mr W. Grace, as called him before settling, somewhat arbitrarily, on the addition of his second initial and a medical prefix, died during World War I. It was said that one of his last acts was to shake his fist at a zeppelin flying close to his home in south London, a symbol of his autocracy and defiance. Whether or not he was the most prominent exponent of the finest and purest game, as Lord Harris declared, there can be little doubting that he still remains, 100 years after his death, the most recognisable of all cricketers.So an anthology is wholly deserved, even if his feats will be familiar to many followers of the game. The prime interest in Jonathan Rice’s collection of match reports and articles is in the reporting of the Victorian day. Do we learn more about his technique, his character, his utter dominance of the game? This was a period when was not known for its analysis, or “colour”, to use a more modern term. The accounts, nonetheless, are descriptive, and sometimes unintentionally amusing.Who is Jonathan Rice? Like his brother, Sir Tim, he is an unabashed cricket fan who has taken to editing anthologies. He sits on Kent’s committee and hence must bear some of the responsibility for the financial state of the club and consequent encroachment of housing on the St Lawrence, Canterbury, where WG played often and which he would not recognise today. He would, however, be familiar with Bank Holiday engineering work. Trouble on the railways meant that he did not take the field on the ground on one occasion until around lunchtime when “a hearty Kentish cheer greeted Mr W. Grace’s walk to the wickets”.WG became synonymous with the Victorians’ love of muscular Christianity. At the crease, although he was too heavily built to use his feet nimbly to slow bowling, he was, as AG Steel put it, “a master of playing with the left leg close to the bat”. He stood with his right leg on line with leg stump, his rigid right foot pointing slightly in front of the crease, his stance calculated to assist his placement of leg-side shots. Grace was the hero of Empire builders and the hero of .There was, though, as Rice points out, a strange equivocation in the Almanack’s view of him. While his brothers received almost uniformly good reports, the attitude to the “Champion” as called him, was grudging initially. It was apparent also that the social aspect of the cricket was as important as the scorecards. Grace was neither a professional nor an amateur: for the purposes of assisting the finances of the Marylebone Club, he was an amateur. In terms of his bank account, he was a pro – making far more money out of the game than any professional of his day.As to the reporting of the game, some of the phraseology is surprising. To have been “licked by a lob”, the fate of one hapless batsman, was a foretaste of how cricket would be covered in the popular prints. There is much rain and wintry weather and comment on Grace’s capacity for money-making. In a 1998 appreciation for , which is included here, Geoffrey Moorhouse wrote: “Nothing more exposed the humbug of Gents v Players than an examination of Grace’s financial rewards from the game.” Grace was, he opined, “sometimes a shameless cheat”.This is a sad summation, wholly at odds with Lord Harris’ view and not one, of course, that any cricket writer would have dared state during WG’s lifetime. Best, perhaps, to concentrate on the extraordinary achievements, the Victorian context, the interest he brought to the game and the financial benefits for MCC, as well as for the clubs where he played. The wonderful painting by Archibald Wortley that hangs at Lord’s, the cap, the beard, the cummerbund, the brown shoes and all, depicts a champion indeed.Wisden on Grace
Edited by Jonathan Rice
Bloomsbury, 2015
£20, 234 pages

In a tournament that gave the appearance of being dominated by the bat, the ball had the last word and it was Australia’s attack that provided a degree of redemption

Sambit Bal30-Mar-2015If the essence of Australia’s World Cup-winning campaign could be distilled to one moment, this would be it. A thunderous ball, full, fast and swinging, from Mitchell Starc zipping past Brendon McCullum’s bat to rattle his off stump. It was a match-shaping, tournament-defining moment: New Zealand never recovered from it, and it electrified Australia to a performance worthy of champions.A previous moment of such significance had belonged to Grant Elliott, whose final-over six off Dale Steyn had carried New Zealand to their first-ever final. It can be argued that the drama and the definitiveness of its impact made Elliott’s six a more iconic image, but Starc’s ball established Australia’s dominance even before New Zealand could begin their challenge.And it was fitting, too. In a tournament that gave the appearance of being dominated by the bat, the ball had the last word. Starc was the Man of the Tournament, James Faulkner was the Man of the Match, and the best bowling side won the Cup.Australia brought to the tournament arguably the most powerful batting assembly in recent times, but the destruction was wrought by their bowlers. Their explosive opening pair failed and, barring Steven Smith, none of their batsmen featured in the list of top 10 run-makers. The only match they lost in the tournament was an outcome of a sensational batting collapse. Even that match was almost salvaged by their bowlers. In the knockout round, they were irresistible, never allowing a challenge even to develop, never conceding at a rate of more than five runs in the innings.The bowling story, however, wasn’t limited to Australia. Three of the four semi-finalists were carried by their bowlers. Until they ran into Australia, India bowled out all their opponents and New Zealand nearly did so. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were the third and fourth highest wicket-takers in the World Cup, and they defied their pre-tournament form by conceding less than five an over each. Trent Boult’s bowling was one of the most compelling parts of New Zealand’s journey to the final: rare was an opening spell from him that didn’t produce a wicket.Until South Africa get over the line in a global tournament, their ability to hold their nerve in the vital moments will continue to be questioned.•Getty ImagesAnd while the 400-mark was breached three times, and overall there were 28 scores of 300 or more – 11 more than the 2011 World Cup – only three times in the tournament was a target of over 300 chased down. Ireland managed it against West Indies in their first match, Sri Lanka sauntered in their chase against England, while Bangladesh secured a record chase against Scotland. In 2011, there were two instances of winning teams chasing over 300 and England scored 338 to tie against India.By themselves, the numbers told a story. There were bigger scores, but fewer even contests. Only one of the seven knock-out matches produced a grand-stand finish, and only more match that mattered – Bangladesh’s win over England that helped them qualify – went to the last few overs. It wasn’t as much a World Cup of bat v bat as had been feared, but the playing conditions – two white balls that never aged sufficiently to allow reverse-swing or turn, and one less fielder in the outfield which made protecting boundaries that much harder – made sure that batting first, despite the final and two of the quarter-finals, created almost an unfair advantage between equal teams.A couple of days before the final, Mark Nicholas hosted for us Ian Chappell, Michael Holding, Martin Crowe and Rahul Dravid in a discussion over the ideal format for the 2019 World Cup. Opinions were split about the size of the tournament and the place of the Associates in it, but there was unanimity that the balance between the bat and ball had to be restored. The vote was in favour of abolishing two new balls and for sending one more man outside the 30-yard circle.Holding argued passionately, and found unconditional support, for restricting the depth of the bat. “There was a time when the bat used to have a sweet spot,” he said, “these days, there are sweet bats.” Wickets in the first 20 overs made the big difference for Australia, but 150 runs in the last 15 overs feels thrilling only as an exception. As a routine, it dulls the senses.Inarguably, the four best teams made it to the semi-finals but, of these, South Africa under-performed again. They lost three of the five matches they played against top eight teams and, once again, vital errors in the closing stages cost them a spot in the final. It was a gut-wrenching result for them, but unless they get over the line in a global tournament, their ability to hold their nerve in the vital moments will continue to be questioned.On the other hand, New Zealand and India went as far their ability could have taken them. In some ways, their clean record till the losses to Australia flattered them somewhat. Barring South Africa, India didn’t meet a team that could give them a contest. Their death bowling went largely untested until the semi-final, and their lack of finish at the end of the innings never cost them. New Zealand played all their matches at home, and even though they beat Australia at Eden Park, they still arrived at the final decidedly as underdogs.But Australia won because they were a class above and in each of their final three matches, the ones that really counted, their bowling – the fast bowlers applied such pressure that even Glenn Maxwell took wickets – proved decisively superior. And in the process they provided the World Cup a degree of redemption and a clue to shaping its future: even one-day cricket needs to cherish and nurture bowlers.Pity the behaviour.

Stats highlights from the second ODI between England and New Zealand at the Kia Oval

S Rajesh12-Jun-2015763 The aggregate in this game, the highest ever in an ODI in England. The previous record was 651, in the NatWest Series final between England and India at Lord’s in 2002, when England scored 325 and India chased it down with three balls to spare. In the history of one-day internationals, there have only been two games where more runs have been scored: in game in Johannesburg between South Africa and Australia, which produced an aggregate of 872, and India versus Sri Lanka in Rajkot in 2009, when 825 were scored.398 New Zealand’s total, their second-highest in ODIs, and their best against England. Their highest total was against Ireland in Aberdeen in 2008, when they made 402. The score of 398 is also the highest ODI total at The Oval, 51 runs more than the previous best, also by New Zealand, against USA in the 2004 Champions Trophy. No team has ever scored more in an ODI against England.365 England’s total, their highest when batting second, and their third-highest overall in ODIs.27 Number of sixes hit in this game, the most for any ODI in England. In fact, this is twelve more than the previous-most in an ODI in England – 15, which came in the previous ODI between these two teams at Birmingham on 9 June 2015.1 Number of times a team has scored more than 365 without a century. The only such instance was by South Africa, who scored 392 against Pakistan in Centurion in 2007 – the highest in that game, as in this one at The Oval, was 88. England also scored 363 without a hundred against Pakistan in 1992.191 England’s score after 25 overs, their highest at that stage in a 50-over ODI innings since 2001. There have been two instances of higher scores after 25 overs during this period, but neither was in a completed innings: they were 192 without loss off 24.5 in a successful run-chase against Bangladesh at the same venue a decade ago; against Sri Lanka at Headingley in 2002, they were 195 after 25, but that was in a 32-overs-per-side game.187 Eoin Morgan’s strike rate (88 off 47), which is the second-best ever for an England batsman scoring 50 or more in an ODI. The best is also by Morgan – against South Africa in Centurion in 2009, he scored 67 off 34 (SR 197).76 The partnership between Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid, England’s joint second-highest for the eighth-wicket in ODIs.13 Number of ODI hundreds for Ross Taylor. Among New Zealand batsmen, only Nathan Astle, with 16, has more. This is his first century in 13 ODI innings in England.123.9 Taylor’s strike rate, his second-best among the 13 innings when he has gone past 100. It’s the quickest among the 13 ODI centuries scored by New Zealand batsmen against England.97 Runs conceded by Chris Jordan, which equals the highest given away by an England bowler in ODIs – Steve Harmison had conceded 97 against Sri Lanka at Headingley in 2006. Harmison, though, had bowled ten overs compared to nine by Jordan. Jordan’s economy rate of 10.77 is the worst for an England bowler who has bowled more than seven overs in an ODI.3 Number of 90s for Kane Williamson in ODIs; among New Zealand batsmen, only Astle, Martin Crowe and Stephen Fleming have more. Of the last four 90s by New Zealand batsmen in ODIs, three have been by Williamson.40 Fours in the New Zealand innings, which equals their highest in ODIs; they had also hit 40 fours against Pakistan in Napier earlier this year.4 Number of 350-plus scores for England in all ODI cricket, with two of those coming in the last two games. In the 645 ODIs before that, England only managed to do this two times.300 ODI wins for New Zealand. They are the eighth team to achieve this milestone. They’ve taken 684 games to get there, which is the most among these eight teams. South Africa got to 300 ODI wins the fastest – in only 483 matches, while Australia (519) and West Indies (540) are next.

A deficit of 296 could have been reason to be bogged down, but Tamim Iqbal led Bangladesh into a fighting position in the Khulna Test by reprising his firebrand approach to batting

Mohammad Isam in Khulna01-May-2015

Tamim dedicates hundred to late aunt

Tamim Iqbal dedicated his century on the fourth day to his aunt, who passed away in the early hours of Friday in Chittagong. Fatima Hossain was the sister of Tamim’s father and being from a close-knit family, her sudden demise shocked Tamim.
He had wanted to go to Chittagong but decided against it as he would have already missed the janaza and burial.
“I got a call from my brother early in the morning,” Tamim said. “I was very shocked. All I can do is dedicate this hundred to her. It is a very sad day for my family as she was not ill or anything. Her children are very close to us.
“I asked the manager if I can leave after my batting finishes today. But then I realized that I wouldn’t be able to attend the janaza or the burial. When you play for the country, you sometimes have to think differently. Family is also important, but so too is cricket.”
Tamim relayed an emotional story from his childhood about his father and aunt Fatima.
“She used to cook for me and my father, who loved to eat. There used to be an Indian cooking show called Khana Khazana where I saw something and told this aunt to cook that for me. It was my last meal with my father.”

The Khulna-Jessore highway adjacent to the ground was emptier than usual. Like a weekend siesta. The crowd was light, weather hot and Tamim Iqbal was batting at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.His seventh Test hundred, third in successive matches, was a sign of Bangladesh’s change in thought, action and spirit during the first Test against Pakistan. Having chosen to bat and a flat pitch to exploit, both he and his opening partner Imrul Kayes had adopted a conservative approach. Today though, they amassed 273 runs at a run-rate of 4.47.Tamim looked quite assured, like he had inside knowledge of the bowlers’ plans. If there was the need for a cover drive, he was leaning into it with aplomb. When it was short, he got on top of it and never let it out of sight. Every gaps, big or small, offered by Misbah-ul-Haq was pierced with ease. He picked up boundaries quite frequently because his defensive game has improved.The unbeaten 138 on the fourth afternoon was a better example of how Tamim bats than the 74-ball 25 in the first innings. He was able to maintain his usual tempo without having to charge the bowler unnecessarily. Last year, those flays had invariably taken the outside edge. So the they were done away with. Many of his shots did take the edge but when a batsman is doing the right things at the right time, luck becomes his friend. That’s how it was for Tamim.Another impact of his batting was Imrul, who had kept wicket for 120 overs, was filled with renewed vigor. Their unbroken 273-run opening stand is now Bangladesh’s best for any wicket, beating the 267-run fifth wicket stand between Mushfiqur and Mohammad Ashraful in Galle in 2013.The five hours from mid-day to early evening was a transition of energy from one side to another. Bangladesh began 296 runs behind but are now 21 runs away from wiping the deficit off. With the final day left to play, the hosts couldn’t have asked for a better position. Tamim reasoned his attacking approach was needed to unsettle the Pakistan attack and keep them on the field for a longer period. He also said that the stodgy first-innings approach wasn’t going to help them against scoreboard pressure.”When we were chasing 318 against Scotland in the World Cup, our coach [Chandika Hathurusingha] told us that if you look at the scoreboard, we won’t get anything but pressure,” Tamim said. “There were two ways to look at it. We could have played defensively in a bid to play out 150 overs, but they would have got us out due to our negative mindset. The other way was to attack, [which is] the best defense. We knew that we could have been caught in the boundary trying to hit those sixes or when I played the reverse sweeps [and] there would be a lot of talk about it. We just didn’t want them to settle down. They are a good bowling attack.”Imrul and I didn’t really talk about going after them. We just wanted to bat in our way. They will get you out if you give them the upper hand. They bowled well in the first innings, the wicket wasn’t conducive to stroke play. As a result, we also played a bit defensively. Saving this match would be difficult if we go out of character.”Tamim hardly played anything through midwicket or mid-on, but he speared cuts away and timed his cover drives to pick up five boundaries. Two more boundaries came with a turn of the wrists through square leg and a flat-batted pull over midwicket. And then there were the four straight sixes, the first off left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar and the next three off his nemesis Mohammad Hafeez, who had dismissed him five times previously in international cricket.Tamim said he hadn’t premediated his attack on Hafeez, that it simply tied in with the plan to remain positive.”Hafeez is very dangerous against left-handers. If I was defending him, he would find a way to get him out. He would get confused if we attacked him, but he is a really good bowler. Today I was successful.”However, Tamim admitted Wahab Riaz’s second spell, six overs for 14 runs, had tested him so much that he could only think of survival. During this spell, Pakistan spent their second review after the umpire declined Wahab’s appeal for a leg-before in the 28th over. Replays showed it pitched outside off-stump, ensuring it went the batsman’s way.”Wahab Riaz’s second-last spell was high quality pace bowling in this wicket where there wasn’t any pace. He was reversing the ball. These are small battles that build to something big. It has happened in my career before where a quality pace bowler is reversing the ball, and I am surviving,” said Tamim.Once he had survived, Tamim latched on to Junaid Khan in the 40th over to move from 93 to 101 with a cover drive and an edge through third-man, both times going on the charge. It was the first time that a Bangladesh batsman has scored three hundreds in as many matches.”I am very proud of the effort. It feels good to have made three hundreds. The hope is to extend this form as long as possible. Even two weeks ago I didn’t think I would score three centuries in this tour. I try to remain confident despite what people are saying about me.”But he was aware that there was still work to be done. “We have to start afresh. Tomorrow I will think I am starting from zero, not 138. If we can cross the first session and the second new ball, the situation will be in our favour. But it won’t be easy,” he said.Tamim and Imrul had also added 224 in Bangladesh’s last Test, in November against Zimbabwe in Chittagong. The only other time that a Bangladesh opening pair had batted longer was when Javed Omar and Tamim’s brother Nafees Iqbal played out 83 overs against Zimbabwe in 2005 to ensure Bangladesh’s first-ever Test series win. When it comes to rearguard actions, the Javed-Nafees partnership is still ranked as one of the best in Bangladesh’s history.The Tamim-Imrul pair showed the other way of a rearguard, a more modern method of taming a bowling line-up. Tamim was the fire starter and when Imrul found his groove, he became the anchor. At 11:50 am Bangladesh were precariously placed. By 5:00pm, they were taken over the treacherous second and final session of the fourth day on Tamim’s shoulder. Bangladesh would now be more comfortable riding on Tamim’s speed.