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ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2016Peter Siddle chipped in with 49 as Australia cruised past 550•Getty ImagesVoges was the last man to fall, for 239, as Australia were bowled out for 562 with a massive lead•AFPMartin Guptill started briskly for New Zealand, smacking seven fours in his 55-ball 45•AFPBut had to depart after Mitchell Marsh pulled off an outstanding catch at cover off Nathan Lyon’s bowling•AFPAustralia then had the big wicket of Kane Williamson, for 22, as the hosts slumped to 121 for 2•Associated PressTom Latham provided some stability with a patient half-century…•Getty Images… but was coaxed by Lyon into skying a catch to Usman Khawaja at mid-off•Getty ImagesHenry Nicholls dug in with 31•AFPBut New Zealand lost Brendon McCullum in the last over of the day, ending the third day 201 runs behind the visitors. McCullum managed just 10 in his final innings at the Basin Reserve•Getty Images

Also: India’s youngest and oldest centurions, and an autobiography called

Steven Lynch09-May-2016Who has had the highest batting average in a calendar year, given a reasonable number of innings? asked Richard Edelman from England
Two Sri Lankans lead the way here. Kumar Sangakkara averaged 138.29 in 2007 – he had nine innings, two of them not-out, and his 968 runs included four centuries. Second comes Hashan Tillakaratne, with 136.40 from ten innings in 2001, helped by five not-outs. Next is Garry Sobers who, in 1958, made 1193 runs in 13 innings at an average of 132.56. Four of those innings were not-outs, including his 365 not out against Pakistan in Kingston, the Test record at the time. If you insist on a qualification of ten completed innings, then the leader is Michael Clarke, with 106.33 from 15 completed innings in 2012, the year he completed a record four double-centuries in Tests.Is Sachin Tendulkar both the youngest and oldest Test and ODI centurion for India? asked Ashish Mittal from Singapore
Sachin Tendulkar was only 17 (plus 112 days) when he made his first Test century, against England at Old Trafford in 1990. He was, by nearly three years from Kapil Dev, India’s youngest Test centurion. In fact, Tendulkar made five hundreds before his 20th birthday, and no other Indian has made one. His last Test century came in January 2011, when he was aged 37 years and 255 days. Three Indians have been older when they reached three figures in a Test: Rahul Dravid scored seven hundreds at a greater age, the last in November 2011 when two months short of his 39th birthday, while Vinoo Mankad made two – both double-centuries – against New Zealand in 1955-56 when he was 38. But the oldest Indian centurion is Vijay Merchant, who was 22 days past his 40th birthday when he scored 154 against England in Delhi in 1951-52, in what turned out to be his final Test.It’s the other way round in one-day internationals. In these, Tendulkar is the oldest to make a hundred for India: that elusive 100th international hundred, his 114 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in March 2012, came up when he was aged 38 years and 327 days – around seven months older than Sunil Gavaskar when he made 103 not out (his only ODI century) against New Zealand in Nagpur during the 1987 World Cup. Tendulkar was 21 years 138 days old when he made his first ODI hundred, in September 1994. Three Indians have reached three figures when younger. Yuvraj Singh was aged 21 years and 120 days when he made an unbeaten 102 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in April 2003, while Virat Kohli made two centuries in 2009-10, not long after turning 21. But the youngest of all for India remains Vinod Kambli, whose 100 not out against England in Jaipur in January 1993 was scored on his 21st birthday.I noticed that Ravi Bopara has scored three Test hundreds, but no fifties. Has anyone else done this? asked Duncan Field from England
The Test career of Essex and England’s Ravi Bopara featured an unusual sequence. After three ducks in a row in Sri Lanka late in 2007, he was ignored for more than a year, then was recalled and made 104, 143 and 108 in three successive Tests in which he played in 2009 against West Indies, despite being dropped after the first of those centuries! Bopara has played only seven Tests since, the last in 2012, with a highest score of 44 not out: his international career appears to be over, even though he only turned 31 last week. No one else has finished their Test career with three centuries but no scores of 50-99. The only men with two hundreds but no fifties are Barry Knight (another Essex man) and Allan Steel of England, Australia’s Harry “Dasher” Graham, Amal Silva of Sri Lanka, and former Pakistan opener Wajahatullah Wasti. India’s KL Rahul currently also has two hundreds but no fifties to his name, but will probably play again soon.Will Ravi Bopara ever get the chance to score a Test fifty?•Getty ImagesAs per a recent question, Brad Hogg is the oldest player to figure in the IPL. But who’s the youngest? asked Jamie Stewart from Canada
The youngest player to appear in the IPL is Sarfaraz Khan, who was only 17 years and 177 days old when he made his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Chennai Super Kings in Bangalore in April 2015. Sarfaraz just edged out Delhi Daredevils seamer Pradeep Sangwan, who was two days older on his IPL debut, against Super Kings in Chennai in May 2008. Unmukt Chand was 16 days past his 18th birthday when he played his first match in the IPL, for Daredevils against Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla in April 2011.Which cricketer called his life story Run Out? Was it Jonty Rhodes? asked Simon Ellis from England
I suppose that’s what Rhodes should have named his autobiography, but actually his 1998 book is actually just called Jonty (and subtitled “Fruits of the Spirit”). Others might suggest that Denis Compton or Inzamam-ul-Haq should have had books by this name, but actually I can only find one cricketing title that broadly fits the bill. Graham Halbish called his 2003 book Run Out: it details the events that led to his removal as the Australian Cricket Board’s chief executive.Further to last week’s question about most missed Tests, how many did Bob Simpson miss in his ten-year break? asked Peter Blundell from Australia
Between his initial retirement in 1967-68 and his surprise recall, rising 40, to captain Australia in 1977-78 in the wake of the defections to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, Bob Simpson missed 71 Tests. That’s joint 14th on the overall list, but second for Australia, behind Brad Hogg, who missed 78 matches between his debut in 1996-97 and a short-lived recall in April 2003. Simpson’s gap of nine years and 305 days between Tests is another Australian record (Edgar Mayne also went more than nine years between appearances, mainly thanks to the First World War), although overall he is well down that particular list. Over his entire career, Simmo missed 86 Tests after his debut: that’s fifth on Australia’s list after Mike Whitney (92), Peter Sleep (95), Damien Martyn (101) and Brad Hogg (129).Send in your questions using our feedback form.

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2016Hashim Amla rotated the strike with dabs and cuts…•AFP…even as Rilee Rossouw was lbw to Nathan Lyon for 7 in the 10th over and wasted a review•AFPAmla’s innings was cut short at 35 when he was run out in the 19th over•AFPNathan Coulter-Nile then bowled AB de Villiers and JP Duminy to reduce South Africa to 104 for 5•AFPFarhaan Behardien and Aaron Phangiso resuscitated South Africa with a 37-run stand for the seventh wicket before Phangiso skewed a catch to long-off•AFPA patient 62 from Behardien helped South Africa finish with 189 for 9, one more than they managed in their previous game•AFPWayne Parnell got South Africa’s defence off to the ideal start by trapping David Warner lbw in the second over•AFPKagiso Rabada had Usman Khawaja bowled to reduce Australia to 10 for 2•AFPTabraiz Shamsi struck in his first over on international debut as South Africa’s bowlers gained the ascendancy•AFPAaron Finch, though, was fluent from the other end, using sweeps and muscular lofts to take Australia forward•AFPBut the South African spinners strangled the Australians and Rabada’s second spell dented the chase further. He finished with figures of 3 for 13 as Australia were bundled out for 142•AFP

With remorseless accuracy and an ability to find swing and cut, Ken Higgs might have won more than 15 Test caps for England

David Hopps07-Sep-2016Ken Higgs, observed an admirer, was a wonderful fast-medium bowler with great stamina, an instantly recognisable curved run and an arse that crossed two postcodes. He played in 15 Tests for England, and, especially in Lancashire, many will profess he should have played more. With his passing, at 79, one of the Red Rose county’s cricketing legends has been lost.Higgs was a heart-of-oak bowler, who took pride in his remorseless accuracy and his ability to find swing and cut when conditions offered the slightest encouragement. Few bowlers of his pace – early 80s perhaps – have jarred the bat with such regularity.His England record was a fine one: 71 wickets in 15 Tests at 20.74 each and with an economy rate of only 2.14 runs an over. Better economy for England than Brian Statham, Lancashire’s prince of parsimony, and at Old Trafford there was no higher accolade than that.Born in Kidsgrove, in Staffordshire, on January 14, 1937, he lived there throughout his Lancashire career. He did not drive and would commute daily to Old Trafford by bus and train. This was an era in which all but a few high-profile batsmen habitually walked for a dismissal if they had edged the ball. Higgs was incensed one day at Old Trafford when David Steele stood his ground after the bowler believed he had found the edge. They were due to return to Staffordshire on the same train from Manchester Piccadilly after the match, but Higgs was resentful enough to catch the next one.He had suggested no particular aptitude for cricket as a schoolboy. He was more taken by football and as a centre half attracted the attention of Port Vale junior sides and was selected for an FA youth tour of Germany in the winter of 1953-54. But military service intervened and gradually his interests shifted to cricket, encouraged in part by watching his brother, Roy, play in the Staffordshire League. When his military service was over, it was not long before he broke into Staffordshire’s Minor Counties side. The Lancashire coach, Stan Worthington, a former Derbyshire and England allrounder, recommended him to the county, suggesting that he “might develop into another Alec Bedser”.Higgs quickly proved himself to be Statham’s most faithful new-ball partner at Lancashire after making his debut against Hampshire in 1958, taking seven wickets in the second innings. He took 67 wickets that year and 113 in his second, the first of five years in which he was to take more than 100 first-class wickets in a summer. He was not averse to a scathing quip or two if he felt that luck was against him.These were difficult times for Lancashire. They were runners-up to Yorkshire in 1960 but finished no higher than 11th for the next seven seasons. Job insecurity did not help Higgs’ cricket and there was some talk of his release, until a dramatic recovery of form that led to an England Test debut alongside Statham against South Africa in 1965. It was to be Statham’s last Test, but Lancashire’s pace attack now briefly served country as well as county.Higgs was summoned for the 1965-66 Ashes tour but illness and injury prevented him following up a useful first outing in Brisbane. A subsequent tour to New Zealand brought more fortune, with 17 wickets in three Tests.His best series came against a powerful West Indies in 1966, when his 24 wickets were not only the most by an England bowler but were heavy with top-order wickets: Conrad Hunte, Rohan Kanhai and Basil Butcher to the fore. His 6 for 91 in a drawn Test at Lord’s remained his best Test figures. “A grand effort,” , they had intended to pose for the photo with a pint of beer – their chosen reward for thirsty work – only to be informed that it did not set the right tone.Higgs retired after the 1969 season, at 32, with 1033 first-class wickets at 22.90, his departure influenced to some degree by the belief that Lancashire were not paying him his due compared to Farokh Engineer and Clive Lloyd, two of the overseas players who brought a much needed shot in the arm to the county game in the late 1960s. Suitably, for family fallouts, the Old Trafford flags flew at half mast on news of his death, nearly half a century later.He played two seasons for Rishton in the Lancashire League, but county cricket retained a pull for him and he was persuaded to make a return by Leicestershire’s chief executive, Mike Turner, and made such a success of it that he took his first-class tally past 1500. He took 4 for 10, including a hat-trick, in the 1974 Benson & Hedges Cup final, and a few years later scored 98 batting a No. 11, during what remains a club record partnership of 228 with Ray Illingworth. As ever, Higgs’ sweep shot, which he doted upon for his entire career, was to the fore.Illingworth, whose captaincy was to transform Leicestershire after he cut his ties with Yorkshire, wrote later: “He was just the type we needed – as strong as a bull, and he never turned it in. He was a bit temperamental at times, because he needed to blow up about twice a season, and then you had to handle him a bit diplomatically, but he has a big heart, and was always willing to put everything into the game with you.”After his retirement Higgs became Leicestershire’s bowling coach, but after four years in retirement, a spate of injuries pressed him into an emergency return against Yorkshire in 1986. Conditions were perfect for swing and seam, and possessed of a statelier heft than ever, he came on second change and returned 5 for 22 in 11 overs at the age of 49, passing the outside edge at will. He was proud of the coaching clinic he had just enacted. “I knew he’d do that to us,” bemoaned Yorkshire’s wicketkeeper, David Bairstow.Higgs’ partner for much of that spell was a player at the extreme opposite end of his career. Phil DeFreitas, then aged 20 and in the second season of his first-class career, took four of the remaining five Yorkshire wickets to enhance a reputation that would later that year earn him his first England call-up for Mike Gatting’s tour of Australia. DeFreitas was one of many who praised Higgs’ mentoring abilities upon hearing of his death. “He taught me so much about the game,” he said.Higgs could be a gruff soul, not much given to small talk, and he was no fan of authority, especially when it came with limited knowledge. But former team-mates often spoke warmly of his willingness to offer advice and guidance, and of his strong, uncomplicated team ethic. He just got on with his job, operating around 80mph, but getting enough life from the pitch to jar a batsman’s hands and make batting a demanding task. After his retirement he ran a guest house in Blackpool, where further wisdom was offered over the fried breakfasts.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between Sri Lanka and Australia in Dambulla

Brydon Coverdale28-Aug-2016The first-over specialist
Has Mitchell Starc been so dangerous with the new ball on this tour because Sri Lanka’s openers have been dreadful? Or have they looked dreadful because Starc has been so good? If it was the chicken-or-the-egg question, the answer would be an egg-and-chicken sandwich. In other words, a bit of both. Twice in the Test series, Starc struck in the first over of an innings and he has now done so twice in the ODIs as well, first in the opening match in Colombo and now in Dambulla. This time his pace and good length did for Danushka Gunathilaka, who played on. It continued Sri Lanka’s wretched record of opening partnerships in these Tests and ODIs against Australia – their highest so far is 12, set in the previous ODI.The undead ball
There was a bit of wind around in Dambulla and in the third over of the day it blew one of the bails off at the striker’s end while Dilshan was ready to face Starc. Nobody seemed to be bothered by it, though – certainly not Dilshan, who flicked a boundary through square leg. However, under Law 23 it should have been called a dead ball. The Law states that either umpire shall call and signal dead ball when: “one or both bails fall from the striker’s wicket before the striker has had the opportunity of playing the ball”.The missed review
Aaron Finch loomed as a danger man in the chase and had struck three fours and a six on his way to 30 off 29 balls when he was given out lbw off the bowling of Amila Aponso. Aleem Dar raised the finger and Finch walked down for a chat to his partner Shaun Marsh. However, Marsh had been backing up to the side of the pitch and was hardly in an ideal position to provide advice. The upshot was that Finch did not ask for a review. Had he done so he would have been reprieved: replays showed the ball was going on with the arm to miss leg stump.The missed stumping
Kusal Perera’s lightning hands effected a couple of brilliant stumpings during the Test series, but this time perhaps he was trying to be just a little quick. With Australia still needing 49 runs with six wickets in hand, Sri Lanka were desperate for a breakthrough when Matthew Wade lunged and missed a delivery from Seekkuge Prasanna. Perera gloved the ball and went to whip the bails off – but missed. Had he done so, Wade would have been out, but by the time Perera’s second attempt had knocked the bails off, Wade had the tiniest fraction of boot behind the line and was safe.

A fitter, faster Bangladesh will focus on showing up well-prepared to face New Zealand as they look for their first series win in the country

Mohammad Isam24-Dec-2016Little can be gleaned about a rivalry where the teams have played only two times in the last three years, but a look back at bilateral records between Bangladesh and New Zealand throws up interesting numbers. While Bangladesh have been on the losing side between 2001 and 2010 at home and away, in the recent past they have had the wood on New Zealand, especially in ODIs.Bangladesh’s 3-0 win in the 2013 ODI series was a follow-up to the surprising 4-0 result in 2010. Bangladesh had a quiet 2014. But since 2015, they have become a fitter, faster and smoother team. In the 2015 World Cup, New Zealand’s bowlers were made to work hard by Bangladesh in one of their closest matches during the group stage.Bangladesh followed that up with a hot streak at home, beating three top sides in ODIs. They have played six matches in 2016, with three wins and as many losses, but still enjoyed success with a maiden Test victory over England recently.The trip to New Zealand is Bangladesh’s first bilateral away tour after visiting the West Indies in August 2014. Since that West Indies tour, Bangladesh have won 21 out of 29 ODIs and have an average scoring rate of 5.48 per over, compared to an overall rate of 4.44. That improvement in the run rate is telling as it has meant bigger scores, and, thus, more cushion for the bowling unit.Along the way, they have discovered match-winners like Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar and Mehedi Hasan Miraz, even as senior players like Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah have gone deeper into their roles in various formats.To gain all-round balance, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha has put in place a stringent training regimen since the 2015 World Cup, stressing on a high degree of preparation before every competition. This approach has been followed for the New Zealand tour too. Bangladesh trained in Sydney for nine days, playing two practice matches, and arrived early in New Zealand where they played another practice match.Although they lost in Whangerei on Thursday, Bangladesh have shown they are a better-prepared side, with long pre-series camps and practice games in conditions similar to the ones likely for the matches. Allrounder Mahmudullah is perhaps the best example of how a cricketer can improve by leaps and bounds even after playing international cricket for eight years.During the training camp at home and in Australia prior to the 2015 World Cup, Mahmudullah’s constant use of a granite slab to master shots on the up helped him score two centuries in the tournament. Earlier this year, his work during training camps in Khulna and Chittagong made him Bangladesh’s designated hitter in T20s.Hathurusingha and limited-overs captain Mashrafe have also put in much effort to build a strong pace attack. During the World Cup, Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed bowled well before Bangladesh discovered Mustafizur, whose bag of tricks has changed the way opponents think about the side’s bowling.For the ODIs against New Zealand, they have seamers Subashis Roy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and the raw Ebadot Hossain in the mix. Subashis was picked for the Test against England but did not get a game. Rabbi is proficient at bowling yorkers, while little is known about Ebadot, who at this time last year, was playing volleyball for the Bangladesh Air Force.Bangladesh would also want their skilled batting unit to carry their form at home into the matches overseas. Tamim is currently the team’s best batsman and he will be expected to bring his experience into the fold against New Zealand’s vaunted pace attack.Imrul Kayes has developed into a more aggressive opener while Sabbir, Mahmudullah, Shakib, and newcomer Mosaddek Hossain will look to provide stability at different stages of the innings. Sabbir and Mosaddek also have their own challenges: while Sabbir will look to get over his off-field actions during the BPL, Mosaddek has yet to pass the short-ball test.Fans in New Zealand would remember a tame Bangladesh unit touring the shores in previous years, notching up losses like the one in the Queenstown ODI in 2007, which remains the largest margin of defeat in a match between Full Members in terms of balls remaining. This time, however, a different team will walk out to play – one that crushed New Zealand at home, one that runs faster, and bats and bowls with more heart and mind in the contest.

Replacing a senior batsman like Mahmudullah comes with a lot of scrutiny and the 21-year-old handled it well, scoring a half-century and helping Bangladesh claim a rare first-innings lead

Mohammad Isam in Colombo17-Mar-2017Mosaddek Hossain is no stranger to pressure, and not the kind that comes out of a cricket match.Since his first-class debut in 2013, he has played for Abahani Limited, the most successful club in Bangladesh history. The BCB’s most influential directors come from their stables and they don’t like losing. That brings pressure wholly different to having to run down a big total, or weather a top spell, or keep pace with a rapidly climbing asking-rate.Yet it is in this environment that Mosaddek thrived, helping his team avoid relegation in his first season as a professional cricketer and making them Premier Division champions in 2016. He is nothing like the usual young Bangladeshi batsman. Not flashy. Not emotional. Just calm and calculated. Like a robot. It is for this reason Tamim Iqbal called Mossadek mature beyond his years.So how was he going to handle making his Test debut after replacing a senior player like Mahmudullah, who also hails from the town of Mymensingh and who was dropped for the first time in his career? A failure might not only hamper his career, it might make the higher-ups who backed him look bad.The first ball he faced was a peach. Suranga Lakmal pitched it on a length and darted it past his outside edge as if it were a puppet. Had Mosaddek gone at it with harder hands, he might have been out for a duck. Everyone talks about luck in this game and it seemed this 21-year-old certainly had some. He then spent his first half hour as a Test batsman learning to avoid the blatant threat of a fast bowler’s bouncers and the subtle traps laid by a master left-arm spinner.Eventually, it was off Rangana Herath that Mosaddek got his first boundary. A classic, inside-out cover drive for four. It wasn’t quite Mohammad Ashraful taking on Muttiah Muralitharan in 2001 and later boasting that the man who would go on to take 800 Test wickets was like anyone else he faced in the Dhaka nets. But it was something.The next challenge was batting with Shakib while the latter was in the nineties. The period when a senior player can essentially do whatever he wanted but the rookie’s job – his only job – was to rotate the strike while making sure he didn’t run his partner out. Mosaddek walked the tight rope perfectly.The milestone passed and it was time to let loose a bit. So in the 94th over, when he was getting into position to avoid the short ball, he realised there wasn’t too much bounce in the pitch and decided to pull it away. Bangladesh went into the lead with that four.Most of Mosaddek’s runs came on the off side. His shots were crisp, his ability to pick the gaps was excellent and the fact that his style was all his own made watching him all the more delectable.”I am no one to judge his standard or quality but I think that he has a big future in Bangladesh cricket,” Shakib said. “If you talk about his one-day or his international career – he has made a very good start. I would of course want that he continues as much as possible for the country.”Since I have batted with him in domestic cricket, it didn’t seem like we were batting together for the first time today. So whenever we bat together we are very comfortable with each other. We don’t even have to call when taking a run.”It is not because we have played together for long – I have only played five or six matches with him in the Premier Division and a few games in BPL – but there is a good understanding. His approach is appropriate for international cricket.”That is high praise from one of Bangladesh’s greatest cricketers. Mosaddek should feel happy about it, but he can’t get carried away. His 75 on debut showed promise but one innings does not make a good batsman. His technique and temperament will be tested again and again on the world stage – possibly even as soon as the second innings of the Colombo Test.What’s going in his favour is a giant appetite for long-form cricket. In a country that prioritises the limited-overs game, Mosaddek struck seven centuries between February 2015 and March 2016, including scores of 250, 282 and 200 not out. He has all the ingredients for success. Can he mix them in just the right way?

Are you a keen follower of the India-Pakistan rivalry or one who only watches the big matches?

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2017To relive more India-Pakistan matches, read this article.

Sachin Tendulkar is the only overseas batsman to score more centuries than Cheteshwar Pujara in Sri Lanka

Bharath Seervi03-Aug-20172 – Number of Indians to have brought up 4000 Test runs in fewer innings than Cheteshwar Pujara’s 84. Virender Sehwag had got there in 79 innings and Sunil Gavaskar in 81 while Rahul Dravid got there in his 84th innings. Pujara is one of four Indians to score over 4000 runs in their first 50 Tests.3 – Centuries for Pujara in three Tests in Sri Lanka. He had scored 145* at SSC in 2015 and 153 in Galle in the first Test of this series before making another century on Thursday. Sachin Tendulkar is the only overseas batsman to score more centuries in Sri Lanka. Outside India and Sri Lanka, Pujara has just one century in 29 innings.52 – Balls taken by Pujara to move from 50 to 100. He had taken 112 balls to reach his half-century. At one point in the innings, he had faced 94 balls for 28 runs, amounting to a strike rate of 30.85. He finished the day with a strike rate of 56.88.743 -Combined runs made my India on the opening days in Galle (399 for 3) and SSC (344 for 3), in this series. scored by India on the first days of the Tests of this series: 399 for 3 in Galle and 344 for 3 in this Test at SSC. These include four centuries.5.66 – India’s run rate in the last 15 overs of the second session, in which they struck 85 runs. Overall, the second session produced 137 runs off 30 overs at 4.56. They scored 101 for 1 in first session at run rate of 3.60 and 106 for 0 at 3.31 in the final session.6 – Number of consecutive fifty-plus scores for KL Rahul. He became only the third Indian to record this. Gundappa Viswanath, between 1977 and 1978, and Rahul Dravid, between 1997 and 1998, are the other two to have recorded this streak. Rahul hasn’t converted any of these fifties into hundreds.ESPNcricinfo Ltd6 – Number of double-century partnerships for India in Sri Lanka. But this is the first time two such stands have been recorded by India on the same tour. Shikhar Dhawan and Pujara added 253 runs for the second wicket in Galle. Here, Rahane and Pujara’s stand is unbroken at 211 after the first day.138 – Rangana Herath’s bowling average in this series, easily his worst in a series where he’s played more than one Test. He’s bowled 72 overs for 276 runs and has just two wickets to show so far.34.25 – Virat Kohli’s average against left-arm spinners in Tests this year. He has got out four times to left-arm spin in 10 innings this year, the most against any type of bowling. Before this year, he was out only twice to left-arm spinners and averaged 170.50. He’s been out to Taijul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Steve O’Keefe and Herath this year.

Few batsmen are hitting a cricket ball better than Colin Ingram at the moment as his destructive performances for Glamorgan attract global attention

Vithushan Ehantharajah02-Aug-2017″It just felt like I was meant to be playing out here,” says Colin Ingram, as rain hammers away on the roof of the pavilion at the SSE Swalec Stadium in Cardiff. It’s not long before the deluge ends what might have been a Friday night blockbuster with Surrey, without a ball bowled. Not for the first time in this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast, a Glamorgan home fixture was sodden by the Welsh weather. Ingram has a peek outside, shrugs and smiles.There are not many people hitting a white ball better than Ingram at the moment. The numbers say it all: with three hundreds and two fifties, he made the most runs in this year’s Royal London Cup – 564 – followed by two T20 hundreds in six Blast innings so far. That builds on his 2016 tournament of 502 runs and 29 sixes (equal top with Chris Gayle).It is in the game’s shortest form that Ingram’s work is truly distinctive. Of the 10 players, at the time of writing, who have scored more than 1000 T20 runs in English domestic cricket since the start of 2015, Ingram (1162 – third most) has the highest strike rate – 165.05. As a No. 3 batsman, in that same period, he has developed a near-complete game for the various scenarios packed into 20-over cricket – striking at 151 in the Powerplay, 145 in the middle before shifting up a couple of gears to 210 in the final five overs.Glamorgan worked quickly to secure his services for two more years, solely for limited-overs cricket. The rest of the world are starting to pay attention too: he is currently in talks with the Adelaide Strikes ahead of their Big Bash League season. If there are not many bludgeoning better than Ingram, at 32, it could be because there aren’t many as comfortable in their own skin. For that, Ingram credits his move to county cricket.”It felt like starting a new chapter,” he says of the decision he took in 2015 to draw a line under part of his career and sign for Glamorgan on a Kolpak contract.

Unfortunately I ran into a few really good bowlers when I ended up opening, which wasn’t my preferred position

Although there was anger at the spate and quality of South African players going Kolpak this summer, there was understanding and sympathy for Ingram two years ago. Here was a player with 31 ODIs and nine T20Is spaced out between 2010 and 2013, who batted in every position across the top seven. There are regrets, but none that keep him awake at night.”I definitely feel I held my own at international level and put in performances,” he says. “Unfortunately I ran into a few really good bowlers when I ended up opening, which wasn’t my preferred position. But when you get a chance to play international cricket, you don’t turn it down. It was an unsettling period because I did move around, I was in and out of the side and I didn’t feel backed. But that’s top-end sport. If you’re in the top 15 players in the country, you take whatever you can get. I tried to make the most of it. I’m a positive sort of guy.”A switch of Bays, from Nelson Mandela to Cardiff – at least for six months of the year – has proved cathartic, allowing Ingram to renew his free-wheeling younger years in Port Elizabeth where he learned his trade on slower pitches similar to those in modern county cricket.Failure had changed Ingram, curbing an intent that he has finally rediscovered. “I started off quite fluent and then became a bit of a blocker. As most players do, you wiggle your way through and find a way. Then, in the last couple of years of my career in South Africa, I became quite tight and nervous under pressure all the time. Coming out here, I wanted to let myself loose and rediscover my game.” And how: this season he has hit 28.3% of balls faced for boundaries.”After playing international cricket, when you have a lot riding on each performance, you can get quite tight. So I’ve come out here and really enjoyed my game and rediscovered a lot. The freedom has come with that and it has been great.”Colin Ingram pummels another boundary•Getty ImagesSouth Africa’s limited-overs sides are in a constant state of flux, but no one from Cricket South Africa has asked Ingram to reconsider his position, apart from a moment last year when a national selector shouted across a packed room to tell him he had proved his point and that it was time to come home. A heckle taken with a heavy pinch of salt.Ingram’s affinity for the UK goes beyond his stint as Somerset’s overseas player in 2014. He’d long been wise to the rhythm of county cricket through a childhood of anecdotes from a schoolfriend’s father, Ken McEwan – a stylish batsmen who played for Essex between 1974 and 1985, and who himself was introduced to county cricket by Tony Greig. “I grew up listening to stories from Kenny and, from then, it was something I always wanted to do.”After making his first-class debut for Free State in 2004, before representing Eastern Province, Ingram had his first taste of cricket in England two years later with a stint for Spondon in Derbyshire. “I was only 20-years-old when I came to do that. I needed a job in the winter. I wasn’t really making much money playing cricket at that stage. I was taken in by families and made some great friends.”He returned in 2007 but in a far more precarious state, having lost his domestic contract. In search of the best-paid gig, Ingram spent 2008 north of the border, playing for Dunfermline.

“Those pay cheques are what paid my rent at home and kept me playing first-class cricket. It was an incredible experience at a young age to come out and pro at a club.”

“Yeah, that was… interesting. I didn’t play much cricket. It rained a lot. It wasn’t a particularly great standard but I had lost my contract so I was unemployed. I was just looking for a good deal.”Luckily, he had a supportive girlfriend, who upped sticks in the middle of her university studies to back his attempts to stay in the game and tour Scotland on the side. Ingram can’t help but laugh about aspects of this period – “from being stuck on the tip of Africa to Dunfermline!” – but appreciates the debt he owes to both cricket clubs for the platform they provided him.”Those pay cheques at Dunfermline are what paid my rent at home and kept me playing first-class cricket. It was an incredible experience at a young age to come out and ‘pro’ at a club and have that responsibility. I encourage our guys at home to get out as well; you learn a lot from it.”In 2013, Ingram opened South Africa’s batting during the Champions Trophy and the following year signed for Somerset as cover for his compatriot Alviro Petersen. It was this period at Taunton, with a shrinking window to get his place back in the national side and an enduring desire to experience county cricket to its fullest, that convinced him to go Kolpak. Unfortunately for Ingram, a change of focus at Somerset eventually saw the county reject him.At that point that Glamorgan captain and former South Africa international Jacques Rudolph came to Ingram’s aid. The pair were not particularly close – they’d brushed shoulders on a national camp before, recalls Ingram, but not much more – but their paths did cross in 2014. They bonded over a love of the outdoors.A month or so after his Somerset deal fell through, with every week pushing Ingram out of his eligibility window for a Kolpak deal, he got a defining call from Rudolph. “He just walked out of a wedding in South Africa,” remembers Ingram. “He asked me, ‘Are you keen to come back to England?’ I asked him ‘who do I need chat to.'”A day later, Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris called, gave him the sell. That was that. The next conversation would be his hardest. That girlfriend who selflessly moved to Dunfermline was now Ingram’s wife, with a different Celtic adventure put to her. “If that’s what we’ve got to do, it’s what we’ve got to do,” came her reply. So, Ingram, his wife and their daughter made the move. “I’ve been fortunate to have her support.”Ingram’s duty of care extends beyond those within the walls of his Cardiff apartment. Even at his team in South Africa, the Warriors – a “passionate, hard-working” domestic franchise, one of the smallest in the system, “growing with a lot of young guys” – his focus is skewed towards pushing those around him.Hugh Morris has stressed Ingram’s developmental role•Glamorgan CCCPart of Morris’ initial chat with Ingram was to underline that as much as he’d be needed out in the middle, his work behind the scenes would be just as important as Glamorgan bring more Welsh players through.Criticism of a lack of local players in their system has been widespread. Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes is one figure who took aim at the likes of Ingram and a Glamorgan squad packed full of imports.Ingram bit back: “I know what’s going on under my roof. Maybe for people from the outside it’s easy to look in and make a comment without knowing the full facts. But I know my role here is to work with the young Welsh players and bring them through.”One of those is Aneurin Donald, one of the brightest prospects on the circuit. “We talk a lot about the game,” Ingram says of the prodigy. “I’ve encouraged him to have separate accounts: your white ball account and a separate red ball account. If you structure it up in that way it makes it a lot more clear-cut and you don’t wander between the three formats. When you’re working on your red ball, you’re working on your red ball.”Ingram’s next focus is broadening his horizons on the international T20 circuit. The finer details are due to be ironed out with Jason Gillespie and the Strikers – he has everything crossed after a gig with Sydney Sixers fell through last season – but with this and another two years at Glamorgan, he has a solid base of work lined up.”A lot of the opportunities that have come from playing out here,” he acknowledges. “I’m really grateful for that.” He hopes, too, that he will be able to earn a spot in South Africa’s new Global T20 League this November.Pakistan celebrate dismissing Ingram for a duck•AFPAs for the IPL, that is a little more complicated because of the need for “No Objection Certificates” from Cricket South Africa and, in essence, from Glamorgan: Kolpak players are required to prioritise their county.”It gets quite confusing,” says Ingram. “I play six months back home and I play six months here so both sides feel they have some sort of right to me. But I think I’m moving towards a stage where I’d like to get out to international tournaments in the next two years. That’s my plan. Being 32, I know I’ve got loads of cricket in me. Without international cricket on the table, that’s the next challenge.”Prior to sitting down with ESPNcricinfo, as the rain begins, he is in deep conversation with Surrey’s Kumar Sangakkara, picking his brain about what options might be open to him in the off-season. In fact, Ingram breaks off his chat for this interview.”I’ve not seen Sanga in a while. I’m fortunate that I’ve played against and chatted to these really high, marquee players. So it’s great to touch base with him and throw out a few ideas and see what he thinks. Often in life it’s who you know and not what you know.”Ingram is right. Luckily for him, he is now one they’ll want to know, too.