Headbanders
Dale Steyn sported a headband in the Test series against Bangladesh. Who’s your favourite bowler with a headband?
31-Jul-2015
Dale Steyn sported a headband in the Test series against Bangladesh. Who’s your favourite bowler with a headband?
31-Jul-2015
Statistical highlights from day two of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies at the P Sara Oval
Shiva Jayaraman23-Oct-20152006 The last time before today when Sri Lanka took the first-innings lead after making 200 or fewer while batting first in Tests. They had bowled out Pakistan for 176 in the first innings at the SSC, after they themselves were dismissed for 185. Overall this is only the fourth such instance for Sri Lanka in Tests. This is also the seventh time that West Indies have conceded a first-innings lead after bowling out their opposition for 200 or less. The previous such instance for West Indies had also come in 2006, against India in Jamaica, when they had bowled out the visitors to 200 and then got bowled out for just 103.4/34 Dhammika Prasad’s returns in West Indies’ first innings – his second-best bowling figures in an innings in Tests. This is the third four-wicket haul he has taken in his last three Tests at the P Sara Oval. He had taken 4 for 43 against India and 4 for 92 against Pakistan in the previous two Tests. Prasad has 23 wickets at the P Sara – the most he has at any venue – at an average of 21.78.55 Partnership runs between Kaushal Silva and Kusal Mendis for Sri Lanka’s second wicket, the highest of the match and only the first fifty-plus stand. As many as five partnerships of between 30 and 39 runs have come in this Test of which 16 have gone into double-digits, but the second-wicket stand in Sri Lanka’s second innings was the first to reach 50 runs.2001 The last time before this Test when two openers of a team got at least one golden duck in each innings. Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne were dismissed for a duck off the first ball they faced in the first and second innings of this Test. Incidentally, the previous instance too had happened in a match between the same teams, but on that occasion it had been the two West Indies openers – Daren Ganga and Chris Gayle – who had got out off the first ball. This was only the sixth such instance and the second for Sri Lanka: both their openers had got out without scoring on the first ball they had faced in the first innings of the Kandy Test against South Africa in 2000.8 Total runs added by the opening stands in three innings in this Test. Only seven other Tests have had eight or fewer runs scored for the opening stands from three or more innings. The previous such instance came in the Cape Town Test between South Africa and New Zealand in 2012. However, there is one more innings left to be played in the ongoing Test.13 Runs Marlon Samuels scored in West Indies’ first innings. Samuels has now failed to score more than 15 runs in his last 12 Test innings against Sri Lanka. His 16 innings against them have produced just 151 runs at an average of 10.06. Only two other batsmen have averaged lower against an opposition from 15 or more innings batting in the top-order (No. 1 to No. 7). Ken Rutherford averaged 6.78 from 15 innings against West Indies and Charlie Turner averaged 9.85 against England from 15 innings.222 Runs scored from 90 overs that were bowled in the second day of this Test, the fifth-lowest on any day at P Sara Oval in Tests since 2000. This is also the second-lowest total on the second day of any Test since 2000 at this venue. Only 191 runs were scored in the second day of the Test between the hosts and England in 2012.0 Boundaries by Kaushal Silva in his 90-ball unbeaten innings of 31. He has batted out 66 dots and has taken 17 singles and seven twos. This is only the second time in his last 11 innings that he has managed more than 30 runs.
A detailed lowdown on the squad strengths, weaknesses, surprise picks and players to watch out for in the Pakistan Super League
Umar Farooq22-Dec-20150:59
Inaugural PSL draft complete
Technically a sound selection with a good collection of specialists in most slots. The side will centre around the experienced hands of captain Misbah-ul-Haq, allrounders Shane Watson and Andre Russell, and pace spearhead Mohammad Irfan, with players like Umar Amin, Babar Azam and Ruman Raees for support.The selection of Mohammad Sami and Khalid Latif, however, will invite debate. Latif has scored 8180 runs at 37.38 in 50-overs cricket, but a modest average of 23.17 across 84 T20 innings does not inspire too much confidence. Sami, 34, has spent more than 15 years in the international circuit, but hasn’t lived up to potential. While pace is still his defining feature, his fragile temperament and inconsistency have let him down time and again.Weakness
Andre Russell’s presence in the middle order could be reassuring, but if he fails, there isn’t much experience in Babar Azam, Sam Billings or Umar Amin. Brad Haddin is currently playing in the Big Bash League after his international retirement, but at 38, he isn’t the force he once was.Surprise pick
Most teams might have ignored him, but Islamabad created an opening for Kamran Ghulam, a rookie allrounder who bowls left-arm spin. He is expected to partner Samuel Badree, the West Indies legspinner.First choice XI: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Amin, 6 Sam Billings, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Kamran Ghulam, 9 Samuel Badree, 10 Mohammad Irfan, 11 Ruman RaeesBench strength: Ammad Butt, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Brad Haddin, Imran KhalidSupplementary picks: Ashar Zaidi, Saeed Ajmal, Hussain Talat, Umar SiddiqUmar Akmal is part of a Lahore batting line-up that threatens to be among the PSL’s most explosive•AFP
The platinum category was brimming with international stars, but Karachi surprisingly went for Sohail Tanvir at that stage. City loyalty was clearly not on their minds when they formulated a strategy for the drafts. That perhaps explains why only two player from the city – Sohail Khan and Mir Hamza – found a place in the squad.While they tried to have all bases covered, the 16-man squad looks a little off-balance with a plethora of allrounders. Shoaib Malik has been named captain, and the side’s bowling attack will be centred around Mohammad Amir, clearly the most celebrated pick.Weakness
It seems, from the outside, that they have all their eggs in one basket. The plethora of allrounders may upset their team composition as they will have to mix and match their playing XI.Surprise pick
Sohail Tanvir was a baffling selection. He hasn’t been in the best of form and was even left out of a conditioning camp with the national team ahead of the T20 season. He managed to pick just one wicket at a bowling average of 110.0 for Sylhet Super Stars and scored 57 at 14.25 in the BPL. Therefore it isn’t clear what inspired his selection.First choice XI: 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Nauman Anwar, 3 Shoaib Malik (capt), 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim 7 Sohail Tanvir, 8 Mohammad Amir, 9 Sohail Khan, 10 Mir Hamza, 11 Usama MirBench strength: Imad Wasim, Bilawal Bhatti, Nauman Anwar, Iftikhar Ahmed, Safiullah BangashSupplementary picks: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shahzaib Hasan, Fawad Alam
Potentially the most explosive batting side in the competition, Lahore have an array of flamboyant batsmen in Chris Gayle, Umar Akmal and Cameron Delport, who can win them matches single-handedly on a given day. There is depth too, in case of a top-order wobble, with Mohammad Rizwan and Dwayne Bravo to follow.Weakness
Lahore possess the most inexperienced bowling line up in the tournament, with Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman looking like their most important signing in that department. Hammad Azam and Yasir Shah – who is yet to fully translate his successes in the longer format into limited-overs cricket – will offer support with the ball.Surprise pick
Pakistan’s ODI captain Azhar Ali might not seem an attractive T20 proposition, but he has not only made the Lahore line-up but is also likely to captain it. Azhar was originally in the Diamond category but remained unpicked, and was relegated twice, to the Gold and Silver categories, before Lahore eventually picked him.First choice XI: 1 Chris Gayle 2 Cameron Delport 3 Azhar Ali 4 Umar Akmal 5 Dwayne Bravo 6 Mohammad Rizwan 7 Hammad Azam 8 Yasir Shah 9 Mustafizur Rahman 10 Zafar Gohar 11 Zia ul HaqBench strength: Adnan Rasool, Naved Yasin, Zohaib Khan, Kevon Cooper, Sohaib MaqsoodSupplementary picks: Imran Butt, Ehsan Adil, Mukhtar Ahmed, Abdul RazzaqPeshawar will welcome Afridi’s charisma and inspirational leadership, but might have reason to worry about his form•AFP
The most charismatic side with Shahid Afridi, the hottest pick in the draft. Peshawar paid Islamabad the hefty amount of £50,294.85 for the right to the first turn in the auction, and with it a chance to pic£7.38k Afridi. The squad is a decent one, with a good mix of players from the region as well as Pakistan stars such as Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Hafeez, and international stars like Darren Sammy.Weakness
Afridi’s form is a bit of a worry. Peshawar’s likely captain is in a bit of a slump at the moment, and the World T20 will be his last international tournament.Surprise pick
A 35-year old Abdur Rehman was the forgotten man of Pakistan cricket. He last played for Pakistan in August 2014, and his last game for them in the T20 format came as far back as November 2013. His selection may have raised eyebrows but his utility as a left-arm spinner and his enormous experience could prove valuable to Peshawar’s spin department, perhaps their weakest link.First Choice XI: 1 Kamran Akmal, 2 Tamim Iqbal, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Darren Sammy, 5 Musadiq Ahmed, 6 Shahid Yousuf, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10, Abdur Rehman, 11 Junaid KhanBench strength: Jim Allenby, Aamer Yamin, Dawid Malan, Imran Khan Jr, Hasan AliSupplementary picks: Mohammad Asghar, Brad Hodge, Israrullah, Taj Wali
Quetta was one of the more economical franchises, having been picked up for million. One of their first big recruits was Kevin Pietersen, an icon player. They then snapped up Sarfraz Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad to bolster the batting. The bowling unit packs a punch with the presence of Umar Gul and Zulfiqar Babar. Interestingly, only one local player – Bismillah Khan – was picked, but it is highly unlikely that he will get too many games.Weakness
The absence of an out-and-out fast bowler could be one area where they could feel short-changed, although Gul will pose a threat if fully fit. But given his injury-prone ways, the side will bank on their batsmen more.Surprise pick
Akbar-ur-Rehman is smart pick from the domestic circuit. He has a decent record with three one-day hundred and a first-class double century. His ability to bowl useful seam-ups makes him a full package.First choice XI: 1. Ahmed Shahzad 2. Luke Wright 3. Kevin Pietersen 4. Elton Chigumbura, 5. Sarfraz Ahmed (capt) 6. Saad Nasim 7. Akbar-ur-Rehman 8. Jason Holder 9. Anwar Ali 10. Zulfiqar Babar 11. Umar GulBench strength: Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Nabi, Bilal Asif, Asad Shafiq, Bismillah KhanSupplementary picks: Kumar Sangakkara, Aizaz Cheema, Rameez Raja Jnr
Stats highlights from the first day’s play between India and South Africa in Bangalore where AB de Villiers fell 15 short of a century in his 100th Test
Shiva Jayaraman14-Nov-20158 Number of times R Ashwin has picked up at least four wickets in an innings in Tests in 2015 including his 4 for 70 in this match. This is the most such hauls by any bowler in 2015. Yasir Shah is next on this list with seven such hauls this year. Ashwin has taken at least one such haul in each of the seven Tests he has played in 2015.592 Runs by AB de Villiers in international matches on South Africa’s current tour – the most any batsman from either side has made from the ten games played. His 85 in South Africa’s first innings was his sixth score of fifty or more runs. De Villiers has made three hundreds and three fifties and has averaged 65.77. The next highest is by Rohit Sharma, who has made 383 runs at 54.71.51 Wickets by Ravindra Jadeja in just 13 first-class innings this season including his four in South Africa’s innings in this Test. This equals the most he has taken in any season in first-class cricket. He had taken exactly 51 wickets in 2012-13. However, Jadeja’s bowling average of 11.54 of 2015-16 is his best in any season.1029 Runs made by de Villiers against India in Tests. He passed 1000 runs during his innings of 85 in this innings. De Villiers is the third South Africa batsman after Jacques Kallis and Amla to score 1000-plus runs against India. De Villiers has made three hundreds and four fifties against India in Tests and averages 42.87.1974 The last time a captain winning the toss in Bangalore chose to field before Virat Kohli in this Test. In each of the 19 Tests after that and before the current one, teams winning the toss had batted first. In fact, this was only the 20th time in 246 Tests in India that a team had opted to field. This is also only the second time in 39 Tests in India since 2007 that a captain has opted to field. MS Dhoni had chosen to field against West Indies in the last Test of the series in 2013-14.55.50 De Villiers’ average against spinners on this tour; he has scored at a strike rate of 93.27 against them and has been dismissed six times in 357 balls. In contrast, the other South Africa batsmen have averaged 19.90 against the India spinners and have conceded 43 wickets off 1290 balls. De Villiers had made 44 runs off 62 deliveries in this innings before being dismissed by Jadeja.2009 The last time South Africa played a Test without Dale Steyn in the team, which was against England in Centurion. Since then Steyn had played in each of the 48 Tests South Africa had played before this match.2000 The last time a team batting first in a Test in Bangalore posted a total lower than the 214 by South Africa in their innings. On that occasion, India had been on the receiving end against the same opposition, and had been bowled out for 158. Since then, this is the first time in eight Tests that a team has failed to post at least 300 runs in the first innings.2 Wickets by Ashwin in the eighth over of South Africa’s innings; he got Stian Van Zyl and Faf du Plessis out in what was his first over in the match. This was the earliest a spinner had dismissed two or more batsmen in an over in the first innings of any Test since 2002. The earliest before this was the 15th over in the first innings of the Guyana Test in 2003 when Brad Hogg got the wickets of Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels in the same over.490.00 Hashim Amla’s batting average in his previous Test series in India; in three innings in this series he has managed just 50 runs. In international matches in India before this tour, he had made 1192 runs at 79.46 including five hundreds and four fifties from 17 innings. However, ten innings on this tour have produced just 177 runs at 17.70 and a highest of 43.0 Number of fifty-plus opening stands for India in eight Test innings before the unbeaten 80-run stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay in this Test. The last time their openers had added 50-plus runs in an innings was against Bangladesh in Fatullah earlier this year where the same pair had added 283 runs. Since then India had managed only 44 runs in eight innings with a highest partnership of 14.
The Mirpur pitch, topped with a layer of grass, has tested batsmen but India have displayed impressive temperament and skill to build for the World T20
Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur02-Mar-2016Stupid Asia Cup. Stupid green pitches. Stupid low-scoring matches. Didn’t you get the memo? The World T20 is coming, and its in the subcontinent. Your job was to prime the batsmen to rack up or run down big totals and smother the bowlers with the toughest of love. So what’s the big idea?Only three out of 14 totals in the tournament have tiptoed over the 140-mark. A chase of 84 ended up not being one-sided. That’s not normal, is it? Only, why did Virat Kohli say that batsmen to play games like those? To weather spells like Mohammad Amir’s where the ball was hooping around and zipping about like it was remote-controlled? To endure a nerve-wracking examination of one’s technique and temperament first before coming out the victor? Must’ve been a misunderstanding.After all, Kohli’s idea of a good contest also meant a limited-overs legend like Yuvraj Singh ended up like a sitting duck at a carnival shooting gallery. It’s one thing that seven-foot tall Mohammad Irfan made the ball trampoline past Yuvraj’s nose at 145 kph, but Thisara Perera, another comeback man, who would sooner bowl 145 kph than run at 145 kph, was making things difficult for Yuvraj on Tuesday.He made only 14 not out off 32 against Pakistan and 35 off 18 against Sri Lanka. He set up two victories, but how much more fun would it have been to see him on a featherbed treating fast bowlers like slow bowlers and slow bowlers like net bowlers?Instead, the Asia Cup offered conditions that were prickly for the batsmen. As if Yuvraj didn’t have enough working against him.”When you return to international cricket, there is a lot of pressure from yourself. There are people’s expectations as well,” MS Dhoni said “So the first few matches go out in just figuring out what to do. Whether you want to go out and play the big shot. The minus being that, if you don’t do well in the first couple of innings, then there is more pressure on yourself.”Now consider the sordid past Yuvraj has with Mirpur. It was here, against Sri Lanka, under the overwhelming glare of a World T20 final, that he withered away.”I felt that his approach has always been very good,” Dhoni has said for three straight matches. “He gives himself two or three balls before playing the big shot. And you saw today, he’s someone who can hit sixes at will. So if the same thing continues gradually, he will be in a very good position before the World Cup.”Why did India’s captain – a limited-overs legend himself – offer such glowing testimony to a man who has only 64 runs in three matches at a strike-rate of 96?Because the conditions were so difficult. Because Yuvraj has withstood them for 125 minutes. Because he is nowhere near his best, and yet only Kohli and Sabbir Rahman have bested him at spending time at the crease.The Asia Cup has offered bowlers a chance, and as a result the cricket has been intriguing. There has been a thrust and there has been a parry. Even an Associate nation like UAE has been able to cause a few scares. So much that none of the results so far have been foregone conclusions and all of the matches have demanded the batsmen to be clever.Take India’s innings today, for example. They were 16 for 2 by the fourth over with the ball nipping just about enough to make Sri Lanka believe 138 could be defended. Virat Kohli was at the crease, Suresh Raina joined him and they stuck together for 47 balls. Only 14 of them were dots. There wasn’t any release in pressure but dew had set in and the seam movement had diminished.Kohli and Raina had faced enough deliveries to ascertain the line of attack practiced by Nuwan Kulasekara and company – off stump and just outside – and the field was appropriately set. Point, cover, mid-off and the sweeper. Which meant there were gaps on the leg side; gaps that could be capitalised now that the ball wasn’t jagging about anymore.Out came the flicks. Gentle ones, played late and with a roll of the wrist to keep them down. Kohli diminished his chances of getting out even further by batting outside the crease. This meant he could reach the ball before it had the chance to deviate laterally and even force Sri Lanka to hit a shorter length lest they gave away half-volleys.Such finesse becomes surplus on flat pitches, as was amply clear during India’s tour to Australia in January. Perth was a puppy dog. The Gabba left onlookers gobsmacked. The fastest pitches in the world had been put to sleep. No total seemed safe and the cricket almost numbed the senses. Matches like those can help youngsters like Hardik Pandya get used to the pressure of chasing mammoth targets or Jasprit Bumrah get used to the pressures keeping big-hitting batsmen quiet when nothing is in his favour. But luck may play as prominent a part as skill in such circumstances. In the Asia Cup, with these sporting tracks, skill has been the deciding factor.Even if the conditions have not exactly mirrored those likely for the World T20, there is plenty that all the teams can take away from Bangladesh.”It [this experience] will help us assess the conditions [better],” Dhoni said “You won’t go in with the mindset that ‘generally this what happens here and we will bat like this’. It will push the openers especially to play a few deliveries. Especially, if you are batting first. If you’re batting second you get some sort of an idea as to what is happening. But if you’re batting first, they will give time to the bowler. Then after the second or the third over, depending how much it’s deviating off the wicket or if there is some swing, then they will play their shots. I think that’s very important.”Even on the flattest of wickets, it is the first couple of overs that are really important. We will be able to give that respect to the opposition and the condition, which I think is crucial. Because one or two overs for this side won’t make a lot of difference. Even if we don’t get too many runs in the first two overs, we still have the firepower to get those runs in the next 18 overs. That has been our strength.”What is important is to keep it in the back of your mind as to ‘this is what were thinking like when we were in Bangladesh when it was doing a bit but now’s it’s not so what’s a good score?’ All these things, being a cricketer is a part of your subconsciousness. I feel it will only help us.”This Asia Cup has provided some fantastic cricket, compelling stories, a refreshing balance between bat and ball. If the price for that is a little grass on the pitch, then so be it.
West Indies have been enterprising, but there is that tentativeness of first-timers in their ranks as they gear up to face three-time champions Australia
Vithushan Ehantharajah02-Apr-2016A team looking for a four-peat and another looking to score with their first attempt. Australia versus West Indies on Sunday, for the 2016 Women’s World Twenty20, feels different to previous finals.Perhaps because previous showdowns have felt like two of the world’s very best slugging it out. Australia arrive like locals: they know what they want to order and have nabbed the winner’s booth on the last three occasions. West Indies have never been here before and, between cycling through their options and seeing what’s good, there is that tentativeness of first-timers.Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies captain, says it will allow them to be fearless. But nothing highlights the difference in mindset and sense of deserving quite like the two dances that are associated with both teams.This tournament’s ear worm and corresponding celebration has, yet again, been brought to us by the West Indies men. , a Dwayne Bravo ditty, has become the soundtrack in their run to the final. And yet, the women have come just as far without so much of a double fist-pump.With both West Indies teams sharing semi-final and final venues, the players have spent a lot of time together. As well as exchanging tips on how to approach batting against a disciplined Australian attack, Bravo had one complaint for Taylor. They weren’t “Champion”-ing enough.They are a separate team with their own moves. Each wicket against New Zealand was greeted with various two-steps and skips. Shamila Connell took out Rachel Priest’ off-stump and broke it down. It’s certainly no . In fact, it’s almost as if they’ve been trying to avoid it. West Indies men have co-opted , and seems to have co-opted the women, whether they like it or not.There’s an element of convincing themselves that they deserve to be here. It’s not so much in their performances, which have warranted a final berth, but in Taylor’s word’s. She was bullish – “we’re not intimidated at all” – and also coy: “we’ve never been to any final before so, for us, to get this one would be like a dream come true”. In between, her admiration for the opposition came through too.Stafanie Taylor has promised to emulate the men’s team and bring out the ‘champion’ dance should they stop Australia from winning their fourth Women’s World T20 title•IDI/Getty ImagesAs for Australia, they have taken the opportunity to embrace a craze that speaks of their dominance. The dab.Hailing from the Atlanta hip hop scene, the dab is a dance move which, basically, involves sneezing to the beat. It’s a simple maneuver, which involves leaning into the crux of your elbow with a sharp twitch. It moved from the street corners to the screens and, now, has started to come into professional sport.It’s an expression of confidence. A nod to your own brilliance: almost as if that things are going so good right now that you just can’t keep it in. The phrase is “dab on ’em folks”. Essentially, show them why you’re the best. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton dabs. LeBron James has been known to dab. Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is football’s lead dabber.When Australia thumped Ireland by seven wickets in the group stages, Megan Schutt dabbed. She hadn’t enjoyed the best of starts, going for three consecutive fours in her first over. Isobel Joyce, the Ireland captain, decided to try and walk across her stumps to inflict a bit more grief. But Schutt saw what was happening, fired one in straight and trapped Joyce lbw. She appealed, then roared in celebration. Then she dabbed.It seems fitting that Australia, and Schutt, would bring it to cricket. The 23-year-old is one of the game’s brightest stars at the moment, with an ability to move the ball both ways and a strong nerve.Against England in the semi-final, she was entrusted to bowl the penultimate over. Wih 21 to defended, she was hit for four off the first ball by Katherine Brunt. Off the next ball, she cramped her for room and knocked out the middle stump. The ball after, she chased an overthrow to the non-striker and affected a direct hit at the other end to get rid of Jenny Gunn. The word you are looking for is “clutch”.While Schutt will be key to Australia’s bowling fortunes again, there’s no talk of dreams coming true in Australia’s camp. Meg Lanning is leading a group of players who are on the cusp of becoming the first Australian cricket team to win four global events in a row. “We love winning as a side,” she said. “We’re a very competitive side and anything we do we want to win.”So far, West Indies have been helped by the form of a select few in Taylor and Deandra Dottin. Australia can point to the fact that almost everyone is pulling their weight.Australia will look to put a dab on. As for West Indies, well Taylor has made a Champion promise: “If we do win, we’re going to be doing it. A lot.”
Jonny Bairstow has gloriously fast hands when it comes to being one of the world’s most in-form batsmen. But they deserted him in his wicketkeeping duties, and it’s not entirely his fault
Jarrod Kimber at Lord's10-Jun-2016Jonny Bairstow is on his knees, clutching for the ball. Instead he clutches in vain as it bounces off his glove. It’s not an edge, but a throw from Stuart Broad. It’s low and bounces in front of Bairstow, but far enough away that it sits up well. But Bairstow never looks like collecting it. The next ball is a single to fine leg, the soft throw comes in on the half volley. Bairstow puts down one hand to grab it, but he fumbles it again. Two balls later, a ball is under-armed above his head. Somehow he fumbles again.In the three balls that have come to him, he’s taken a hat-trick of fumbles.Lord’s is a bad ground for wicketkeeping. The ball swings late. It dips. It isn’t easy. Then there is a slope as well. The world’s best wicketkeepers have often looked untidy here. But they have worked it out.Prior to today, Jonny Bairstow’s professional experience of wicketkeeping at Lord’s amounted to 78 overs. His most recent stint had come in a Pro40 contest in 2011. He dropped a catch today. Jonny Bairstow is not one of the world’s best wicketkeepers.That game in which Bairstow last kept at Lord’s, he made 114. That is why he is here now. Them runs. Lots of runs. His technique might still worry some, there might be a question as to how much luck he has, but no one can question his runs.His wicketkeeping, you can question that.Although when it was questioned at Headingley, after he dropped a catch off the low-in confidence-Steven Finn he said, with the air of a man trying his very best: “If you’d like to give me an explanation of what you think that was, I’d love to know about it because there’s a lot of things that people talk about that. I’d love to know about it, because obviously they’ve kept wicket for however many years and know all the technicalities of it. If people want to go into the intricacies of keeping wicket, I think it would be quite interesting.”Bairstow is right. People know very little about wicketkeeping. Books about how to bat or bowl are printed every year. If it is a complete book about coaching, there will be a section on wicketkeeping. But how many wicketkeeping specialist coaching books are there? Chances are, you don’t own CrickiTeacher: The Art of Wicket-keeping by Stephen Pope, or Major Ronald Thomas Staynforth’s seminal classic, Wicket-Keeping. And if you don’t own them, chances are you don’t own a book devoted to one of cricket’s most important skills, as they seem to be two of a very, very, rare breed.
Cricket data is naked when it comes to wicketkeeping. Missed chances are barely recorded around the world, and counting byes has never truly worked when working out the class of a wicketkeeper
Before play, the cricket charity Chance to Shine were handing out copies of a cricket “bucket list”, including such must-do-at-least-once gems as “take a crowd catch” and “go to a Test in fancy dress”. One of the list items was, “fill in as a last-minute wicketkeeper”. That is not quite how modern cricket works, but it is the direction it does seem to be heading.Michael Bates, the former Hampshire wicketkeeper, is only 24 years old. But he is now a wicketkeeping coach, according to his Twitter profile, rather than a player, because while Bates can wicket-keep to a highlight-reel level, his batting isn’t up to the modern standard. Don Tallon, perhaps the greatest wicketkeeper of all time, only ever batted as high as seven in one innings in his career, and averaged 17.13 in 21 Tests. Since the war, according to Lookatthedata.blogspot.co.uk, the amount of runs produced by wicketkeepers in Tests has risen from 6% to 10%. Wicketkeepers have slowly and surely been turned into batsmen. We all know that. And the actual skill of wicketkeeping is struggling as a consequence.Modern wicketkeeping involves batsmen with fast hands, all of them tremendous athletes, diving and hoping. They are point fielders with gloves. Some don’t run up to the stumps when the ball is played into the field, thus missing the chance to complete run outs. Others don’t expect the ball to be missed, and are caught looking silly when it is. And almost none of them use their feet.It is not Bairstow’s fault his keeping is not better than it is. There is no doubt he works hard, he consults experts, and he works with the ECB keeping coach, Bruce French, a lot. He is fit, hungry, and he wants to be a success. And because of that, he might be. But he isn’t right now, and that isn’t his fault, that is the selectors’ fault.It is the England selectors, and selectors the world over, who have turned wicketkeepers into fast heavy handed allrounders. The wicketkeeper usually touches the ball more than anyone else, they take around 20% of the total dismissals in modern Test cricket. That is four wickets a game, the same as a top-class Test bowler.Yet teams rarely pick a batting allrounder as a frontline bowler, unless they have back-up in another couple of batting allrounders. There is no back-up for the keeper (unless you’re the Sri Lanka team), you are on your own, in a position in which you don’t create many chances so you have to accept the ones that come your way. So we have, as a sport, given away one of the most important positions in a cricket side to point fielders. Why? Because cricket doesn’t rate wicketkeeping, it rates runs.Jonny Bairstow dropped an chance early in Sri Lanka’s innings•AFPCricket data is naked when it comes to wicketkeeping. Missed chances are barely recorded around the world, and counting byes has never truly worked when working out the class of a wicketkeeper. And chances created by wicketkeepers isn’t even a conversation yet. Cricket’s lack of data means runs win.The scenario wasn’t so different when Matt Prior was picked for England. No one would say Prior was James Foster, but he was a top-class batsman who could make a Gilly-esque impact. Early on the second day, Prior was up on the balcony with his old team, watching the man who has inherited his job make 167 not out. The highest score by an English keeper in a Test match in England.In 2013-14 at Sydney, Prior watched Bairstow again. This time it was during a wicketkeeping drill he took him through before his second Test with the gloves. Prior had Bairstow on the mat that keepers use to practise against spinners. The balls hit his hands, they had the softness of a tank filled with anvils, and the balls ricocheted accordingly. As he ran off to collect the many balls he had missed, Prior shook his head.It was the same kind of shake the bowlers gave in South Africa, especially at Centurion where Bairstow missed chances from Stephen Cook and then Hashim Amla as the pair compiled a matchwinning partnership on the first day.Today it was Woakes who was shaking his head. Well he would have, but he was so put off by what he had just seen he didn’t know whether to perform a tea pot, point and shout, or kick the air and swear like he had in Centurion. Woakes has 13 Test wickets to date. He has also had five dropped chances, three of them from Bairstow.Bairstow has missed four chances this series. Three catches and one stumping. According to CricViz England are -153 in the field. Bairstow is -109 on his own. If the average batsman makes 32 runs, he’s -128 by that measure. All this after he had adopted goalkeeping practice that he said had improved his keeping.If it has improved it, perhaps that is because he was starting from such a low base. In 2013 Bairstow was keeping for Yorkshire at The Oval, but his glovework was so poor it seemed his job wasn’t to stop the ball, but to parry it and then run off to collect it.Today, people fumbled for excuses much as Bairstow had fumbled for the ball. Lord’s is a bad ground for wicketkeeping, you know. The ball swings late, you know. It dips, you know. It isn’t easy, you know. Then there is a slope as well, you know.Not to mention he is still learning. The last time he played a first-class game at Lord’s, Andrew Hodd was keeping for Yorkshire, and he is still early in his career. You know.But that catch, you know.When Woakes hit that area just short of a length at a good pace, when the ball bounced well and took the finest of edges, and went through to Bairstow, it just didn’t seem like there was an excuse. It didn’t seem like it was possible for a Test keeper to drop such an offering.If you were in a catching competition, and you had to take ten catches to win 100 dollars, and you dropped this catch, even as a fat amateur who hadn’t put the gloves on for years, you’d never forgive yourself.And not only did Bairstow not take it with those glorious fast batting hands, those 167 not out hands, they barely got near it.Bairstow didn’t shake his head, he had a nervous smile, and then buried his head in his arms. Had his head been a chance, he might have dropped it.
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2016Umesh Yadav broke through when he swung one back in to trap Guptill lbw•Associated PressKane Williamson got off to a start, but then perished to the part-time offspin of Kedar Jadhav•Associated PressRoss Taylor shared a third-wicket stand of 73 with Tom Latham to lay a solid platform•AFPTaylor’s dismissal triggered a collapse. When Luke Ronchi was stumped – thanks to some lightning work behind the stumps from MS Dhoni – New Zealand had slid to 161 for 5•Associated PressBut Latham tried to keep the fight going with his fifth international half-century of the tour…•AFP… before Kedar Jadhav got him – his third wicket•Associated PressTim Southee chopped a short ball on and New Zealand were down to 199 for 8•Associated PressBut James Neesham biffed 57 off 47 balls and put together 84 for the ninth wicket with Matt Henry; New Zealand recovered to 285•Associated PressMatt Henry struck in the third over of the chase when Ajinkya Rahane chipped a simple catch to cover•AFPHenry was denied a second wicket when Ross Taylor dropped Virat Kohli at wide slip. Kohli was on 6•Associated PressBut with Tim Southee trapping Rohit Sharma lbw with a slower ball, New Zealand edged ahead in the first Powerplay•Associated PressMS Dhoni promoted himself, steadied the chase, and completed 9000 ODI runs•Associated PressWith Kohli also scoring freely at the other end, the duo added 151 for the third wicket•Associated PressHenry broke the stand when Dhoni mistimed a shot to cover on 80•Associated PressKohli stayed till the end, completing his 26th ODI century and racing away to 154, as India eased home with 10 balls and seven wickets to spare•Associated Press
Taskin Ahmed’s rehabilitative work has paid dividends and led to joyous scenes in his neighbourhood, but there remains much hard work to be done by other Bangladesh bowlers with suspect actions
Mohammad Isam24-Sep-2016A garland was put around Taskin Ahmed’s neck as he was mobbed by neighbours, friends and relatives on Friday evening. The Bangladesh fast bowler couldn’t enter his house in southern Mohammadpur as kids of all ages tried to lift his hand. He waved at the crowd and shed a few tears.Less than a kilometer to the west, selector Habibul Bashar was about to go to the pharmacy when his wife, scared of all the bursts and pops in the nearby area, asked him to stay indoors. Bashar headed out nonetheless, unaware of what was happening just few blocks away. When he arrived at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Saturday, he greeted Taskin who then described what had happened outside his house.”They burst crackers and rockets worth thousands. Everyone was celebrating, including my parents. I joined in too,” said a smiling Taskin, who had informed his mother first when he heard the good news on Friday afternoon.It was a scene out of an election campaign, and hardly something you would imagine for a fast bowler who had just had his bowling action cleared by the ICC. Certainly no cricketer who had just got cleared for an illegal bowling action has received such a reception.But that is how they roll in Zakir Hossain Road, Taskin’s quiet central Dhaka neighbourhood. When he plays for Bangladesh, there are posters of him everywhere in the area and kids try to imitate his bowling action and latest hairstyle. When he does well, his parents see neighbours bursting crackers and wishing them well. Now, they were celebrating the end of his exile, or at least that’s what it felt like.”When I walked out in the street, people asked me why my arm wasn’t straight,” Taskin said, recalling the time after his action had been reported. “There was a lot of pressure on me, so I am really happy now. This is an occasion to feel relieved, and I look forward to returning to international cricket.”The clean chit for Taskin’s action came as a satisfying reward for his hard work in the nets with bowling coach Mahbub Ali Zaki. It also vindicated his decision to play for Abahani Limited in the Dhaka Premier League, Bangladesh’s domestic one-day tournament, which was seen at the time as a risky move and a hindrance to his rehabilitative training routine.But Taskin regularly worked overtime after Abahani’s training sessions between April and June, ensuring he was progressing as planned by Heath Streak and later Zaki. He monitored every single delivery, and then the footage was passed on to the BCB’s newly-formed bowling action review committee in August. He gave a mock test in front of their cameras, after which he was told that his bouncer, the delivery identified as illegal in Chennai in March, looked clean. But no one could be sure.Taskin and Arafat Sunny headed out earlier this month to Brisbane for their reassessment, their only route back to international cricket. Both are now in the clear, and for Taskin there is immediate on-field action in the Afghanistan-Bangladesh ODI series.The boisterous celebrations demonstrated Taskin’s popularity, but the experience he and Sunny have had over the last six months should serve as a cautionary tale for the many domestic bowlers whose actions have been questioned by the BCB’s review committee. It was the suspensions of Taskin and Sunny that spurred the BCB to take suspect bowling action seriously in domestic cricket, so the garlands and firecrackers shouldn’t mark the end of this problem.It was Taskin and Sunny who were given the relief, and before them Abdur Razzak and Sohag Gazi. The rest of the country’s suspected and illegal bowlers would still need to correct their actions, and the BCB must remain vigilant and keep weeding out the suspects.
Stepping down to spinners is an important skill but, while India have picked the length early and avoided premeditation, England’s batsmen have been far less adept
Sidharth Monga in Mumbai06-Dec-2016In the 49th over of the Visakhapatnam Test, Cheteshwar Pujara pulled and drove successive Zafar Ansari deliveries for six and four. To the first ball, he rocked back to manufacture the length a little, and advanced down the crease to take the second on the full. Freeze frames from both these deliveries might illustrate a big difference between the two sides so far.As Ansari completes his action and the ball leaves his hand, Pujara has pushed on to the front foot to both deliveries. With the first, he sees the ball flat and goes back to use the depth of his crease. With the second, he sees the flight and charges out, not letting it pitch. And there is no way to tell from these freeze frames what Pujara is going to do.This is Pujara – or any other accomplished Asian batsman – at his best. Ready to move forward, picking the length early, and then attacking any error from the bowler – be it from the back foot or the front foot. Pujara’s use of this movement out of the crease is a return to how he played on debut in Bangalore six years ago, charging out at every opportunity after a shooter had done him in in the first innings. In this series, he has charged out once every 8.5 balls of spin he has faced, scoring close to 15% of his runs against spin by stepping down the wicket.More important, though, is the timing of Pujara’s charge. As those two deliveries suggest, he is always on the lookout to go forward, but he is never committed too early or so much that he leaves himself no way to bail out. By contrast, in Mohali, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler gave themselves no second chance and paid with their wickets.Bowling to Stokes, when Ravindra Jadeja is in an identical position to that of Ansari earlier, you know Stokes is coming. You can tell. It’s not just the front foot shuffling across a little but also the movement in his upper body. He comes out all right, and is beaten on the outside edge. The difference between the two charges is a fraction of a second, but that premeditation can be lethal against good spinners. Buttler, looking to bat positively, left his crease often, but twice he charged out without reaching the pitch of the ball. The result: he was caught at short cover once, and dragged the other intended straight hit into the waiting hands of cow corner.For the second time in the series, Moeen left the crease, found himself nowhere close to the pitch of the ball, froze and paid the ultimate price – lbw once, and chipping one to mid-on on another occasion. Moeen is often guilty of leaving the crease with premeditation and then not knowing what to do. His dismissal giving Yasir Shah the charge at Lord’s is a better known case in point.Now, it is up for debate whether spinners see that movement a fraction of a second too soon even as they are in the process of delivering. The bluff masters that they are, the spinners will tell you they do, but it is fair to assume they don’t always spot it. Even if they don’t always do, as batsmen you don’t want to leave yourselves exposed to those occasions when they adjust and bowl wider or shorter.It doesn’t help England that their spinners – apart from Adil Rashid – haven’t done much with the ball in the air. The Ashwin ball that got Moeen in Mohali dipped on him and drifted appreciably into the pads. Jadeja got Stokes with one that drifted away from his bat. Add Joe Root’s dismissal in Visakhapatnam, and England have lost six wickets with batsmen out of the crease; India haven’t lost even one to a proper charge.It’s not as though India batsmen haven’t ventured out: Pujara and M Vijay in particular have frequently used their feet to reach balls before they turn, but they have been more effective. Their charges have been less premeditated and swift once they do come at the ball. While Pujara has not hit one ball in the air after advancing down the wicket, Vijay has left the crease with the sole intention of hitting over the straight field to get himself a release from the intense concentration his game needs. Even when the batsmen have charged out too soon, there hasn’t been much aerial deception from England’s spinners.To leave the crease and take a spinner on is an important tool for a batsman, but England have been doing so a fraction of a second too soon, and against better spinners.