Category Uncategorized

Northamptonshire dismissed Championship Division Two rivals Kent for 208 to wrap up an innings-and-23-runs victory with almost a day-and-a-half to spare at Canterbury

ECB/PA06-Aug-2015
ScorecardAzharullah picked up three second-innings wickets as Kent succumbed inside three days•Getty Images

Northamptonshire dismissed Championship Division Two rivals Kent for 208 to wrap up an innings-and-23-runs victory with almost a day-and-a-half to spare at Canterbury.Hosts Kent seemingly had little desire for the fight as they lost nine wickets in less than two sessions to gift a 23-point win to Northants. That left Kent second from bottom and they went straight into the nets afterwards having banked only three points from this their seventh defeat in 12 Championship games.Resuming on 90 for 1 at the start of Thursday’s play, Kent lost four more wickets in the morning session of what transpired to be a one-sided clash.Once again, poor shot selection led to their demise with Joe Denly starting the rot with a meek clip off his hip straight into the hands of Josh Cobb at short midwicket. Captain Sam Northeast was pinned leg before when playing across a full length ball from Azharullah, as was Ben Harmison, whose painful 36-minute stay for 3 ended with a near identical stroke against Ben Sanderson.On 27 Rob Key had raised Kent’s 100 in fortunate circumstances with a top-edged hook against Azharullah that was palmed over the ropes for six by Maurice Chambers at long leg. But after adding another nine to his own score Key perished when another miscued pull against Sanderson sailed to Azharullah who safely pouched the opportunity to make it 121 for 5.The capitulation gathered pace after lunch when Darren Stevens was adjudged leg before for 15 to the excellent Olly Stone who, in tandem with Azharullah, sent down 53 of the 78 overs needed to skittle Kent.Stone then cleaned up Calum Haggett with the very next delivery for a golden duck and although James Tredwell survived the hat-trick ball, the end for Kent was nigh. Azharullah had Tredwell caught at long leg, one of three Kent players to be caught out on the hook, as was top-scorer Sam Billings (43) leaving Chambers to polish off the win by rearranging the stumps of Kent’s last man Matt Hunn.Northamptonshire captain Alex Wakely said: “I’ve just said in our team meeting that I believe that to be the best collective bowling performance that I’ve ever witnessed by a Northants team. We barely bowled a bad ball throughout and really made life tough for a Kent batting line-up that is chock full of experienced players.”I’m very proud of that performance considering we were missing the two spearheads of our attack. Stone and Azharullah were magnificent and Ben Sanderson has again proved a real asset. We’ve also given ourselves a valuable day off ahead of our T20 quarter final.”Northeast said: “I thought Northamptonshire bowled really well on this pitch. There wasn’t much in it for our lads, but they got out of it what they could.”A couple of us made starts in this match but nobody went on to play a match-defining knock. We all have to stick our hands up and say that wasn’t good enough. We have four games to go in this competition now. We need to look at our practice and how we’re going about things because there’s no denying that we’re very inconsistent.”

A round-up of matches from the Caribbean T20 on Thursday, January 17, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAnother all-round performance from Darren Sammy sealed a victory for Windward Islands in St Lucia and took them to third position in the points table. Sammy took two wickets and followed it up with a 28-ball 41 which included four sixes.Chasing 141, Windwards were reduced to 57 for 5 after nine overs by Dwayne Smith who took three wickets in three overs. Sammy walked out and stitched a 70-run partnership with Liam Sebastien who remained unbeaten with a run-a-ball 33. When Windwards needed 40 from four overs, Sammy smashed 24 off his next six balls before he was bowled by Javon Searles. Windwards finished the chase with an over to spare.Earlier, Barbados got off to a slow start after winning the toss as they were reduced to 19 for 2 by Sammy in the fifth over. Roston Chase and Shane Dowrich took the score to 50 but both were dismissed soon. Kyle Mayers’ knock of 37 from 21 pushed the run-rate up after he clobbered four sixes. Ashley Nurse’s cameo helped Barbados to 140.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAn all-round performance by Guyana got them four points against Leeward Islands and kept them in the hunt for a place in the play-off. They are now at fourth position in the points table and have a match left.After Guyana chose to bat, their openers, Derwin Christian and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, gave the team a stable start but their run-rate was under six even after ten overs. Once they departed, Christopher Barnwell steered the innings till the end with a 36-ball 61 that included nine boundaries. He and Royston Crandon (16* off 6) hit 53 off the last three overs to take the total to 156.Leewards were 62 for 1 in the 12th over but the regular fall of wickets after that made the chase tougher for them. Guyana’s Steven Jacobs bowled a parsimonious spell, giving only 15 runs in his four overs. He was supported by Crandon, who claimed 1 for 12 in three. Devon Thomas scored 46 off 27 but his knock was in vain as Leewards fell short.

It was the older players who dominated the opening night of the brand-new Big Bash League, on which the Sydney Sixers thumped the Brisbane Heat at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Alex Malcolm 16-Dec-2011
ScorecardStuart MacGill showed he had not lost his abilities•Getty Images

Who said Twenty20 was a young man’s game? The bright lights, fluorescent pink uniforms, fireworks and cheerleaders were all pitched at the younger audience. But it was the older players who dominated the opening night of the brand-new Big Bash League, on which the Sydney Sixers thumped the Brisbane Heat at the Sydney Cricket Ground.Forty-year-old Stuart MacGill, playing his first professional match since retiring in May 2008, and 35-year-old Brett Lee bowled tight spells to restrict the Heat to 8 for 139 from their 20 overs before Sixers captain, the 34-year-old Australia Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, made 76 off just 59 balls to help steer his side home by seven wickets.On a sluggish surface, the Sixers drew first blood, literally, when Lee struck Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand keeper-batsman, square between the eyes. McCullum, who is the leading run-scorer in Twenty20 internationals, was forced to retire hurt with blood pouring from the bridge of his nose.The Sixers quicks mixed up their pace well as Heat pair Matthew Hayden and James Hopes battled to find any fluency with their stroke-play. Hopes was the first to fall when he holed out at long-off to a Dwayne Bravo slower ball.Then MacGill took control. In three years out of the game it seemed he had gained more control than he ever had. He bowled with wonderful guile and skill. Given he had only played a handful of Grade games in preparation for the tournament he showed that skilled players never lose their ability.First he defeated McCullum in flight, tossing the ball above McCullum’s swollen eyes and getting him to advance and miscue to long off.Then MacGill clean bowled his former Test team-mate Hayden for 29 with one that dipped and spun back sharply. Hayden looked rusty in his 28-ball stay. He showed brief glimpses of his abilities and will undoubtedly be better for the time in the middle.MacGill finished with 2 for 21 from four quality overs, and might have had three wickets if Brett Lee had not unfortunately fallen onto the rope and dropped the ball after he had taken a brilliant catch off Andrew Robinson.Dan Christian, a New South Welshman who lives in Adelaide but is representing Brisbane for this Big Bash tournament only, was the only Heat batsman to get going. He made 32 from 22 before holing out in the deep of Mitchell Starc. Peter Forrest fell in the same manner, Steven Smith completing an outstanding catch while having to play hop-scotch to avoid stepping on the rope.The Sixers captain, Haddin, then made a mockery of a slow surface by playing with fluency and sublime timing. His 76 included five fours and five enormous sixes. He clubbed 16 from one Alistair McDermott over, first lofting straight for six, then backing away and lofting over cover for four, before pulling the last ball over fine leg and into the stands. He later thumped consecutive sixes off Nathan Hauritz, the second hitting the upper deck of the Ladies’ Stand. He fell to the only ball he mis-hit, but the damage was done. The Sixers cruised home with nine balls to spare, and without using the services of Dwayne Bravo or Ed Cowan.The Sixers look a sharp outfit with plenty of experience and depth, and they have started the tournament in fine fashion.

A round-up of the first day of the seventh round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2010After a breathtaking 19 wickets fell on the first day, Faisalabad emerged from the wreckage with the edge over Multan in the battle between the bottom two teams at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. Multan were asked to bat first, and were in trouble straight away, losing both openers with no runs on the board. The Faisalabad bowlers, led by Rauf Nazir, were then able to keep the pressure on all through the innings. Nazir knocked over the hosts’ middle order, taking 4 for 23, and was well supported by Zeeshan Butt, with 3 for 14, and Ahmad Hayat, with 2 for 27, as Multan crumpled to 81 all out. The visitors’ innings began in equally dramatic fashion, as Abdur Rauf ripped out three of the top four batsmen to leave them in tatters at 6 for 3. Unlike Multan, however, the middle and lower orders offered some resistance, and Hayat’s unbeaten 45 helped Faisalabad push on to 163 for 9. Rauf kept taking wickets, seven in total, but was also expensive, going for 3.80 runs an over, and the rest of the bowlers lacked penetration, allowing Faisalabad to take a lead that could turn out to be crucial in what is shaping up to be a low-scoring game.Table toppers Water and Power Development Authority wasted no time in asserting their authority over Pakistan International Airlines at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad. WAPDA won the toss and opted to field, and Naved-ul-Hasan and Sarfraz Ahmed removed both openers for just 26. Asad Shafiq then steadied the PIA innings somewhat, as they reached 84 for 3, before Azhar Attari and Umaid Asif each struck twice to make it 85 for 7. However, No. 9 Tahir Khan led a recovery alongside Anop Santosh, the pair adding 90 before Santosh was bowled by Sohaib Masqood for 39. Khan continued to battle, taking PIA past the 200-mark, and remaining unbeaten on 69 as the innings folded for 214. Attari was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 21 in 10 overs. In reply, WAPDA were 30 for 1, having lost Jahangir Mirza for 12.Fast bowler Rashid Latif picked up a five-for to help Rawalpindi dismiss Islamabad for 218 at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Ameer Khan topscored with 79, and Imad Wasim made 46 down the order, but the hosts failed to get contributions from their top and middle orders. Opener Nauman Masood was the only other batsman to go past 20, making 37 before becoming Latif’s second victim. Latif prised out five of the top six batsmen, including Khan, to finish with 5 for 77 from 23 overs. Naved Malik and Shoaib Nasir got the visitors off to a blazing start, adding 52 at better than a run-a-ball, before Malik fell to Shehzad Azam for 30, having faced just 17 balls and struck 5 fours.Fourteen wickets fell on the first day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as Habib Bank Limited finished with the advantage against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. HBL took just 35.5 overs to bowl ZTBL out for 118 after putting them into bat. Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder, took 5 for 41 to run through ZTBL’s top order and then Younis Khan, who is in the Pakistan Test squad for their upcoming tour of New Zealand, polished off the tail, taking three wickets with his part-time seamers. ZTBL got off to an inauspicious start when opener Yasir Hameed, who has played 25 Tests for Pakistan, was out for a duck with the score still on zero. There were two more ducks in ZTBL’s innings, as none of their batsmen past the 30-run mark. HBL then had problems of their own early on with the bat. They were 20 for 2 after opener Imran Farhat and Saleem Elahi were out for single digit scores. Younis got the day’s highest score with his 32 and captain Hasan Raza was not out on 27 as HBL finished the day at 130 for 4. ZTBL seamer Mohammad Khalil took 3 for 44. HBL and ZTBL are both tied in second position in the tablewith 39 points each.Centuries from Mohammad Ayub and Mansoor Amjad took Sialkot to a strong position against Karachi Blues after a shaky start at the National Stadium in Karachi. After being into bat, Sialkot found themselves at 48 for 4 before Ayub and Amjad led a tremendous fightback. Both batsmen were unbeaten on 109 at stumps, having added 245 to take Sialkot to 273 for 4. Fast bowler Babar Rehman had done the early damage for Karachi, taking three early wickets. Both teams desperately need points, having picked up only three each so far this season.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines put National Bank of Pakistan in and then bowled them out for 155 on the first dayat the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Seamer Asad Ali, who is the second highest wicket-taker this season, gave SNGPL an early breakthrough, bowling opener Rashi Riaz. Riaz’s opening partner Nasir Jamshed battled hard for his 40, but wickets kept falling at the other end. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who was left out of Pakistan’s Test and Twenty20 squad for their tour of New Zealand, was NBP’s second-highest scorer with 31. Asad finished with 3 for 46 and then SNGPL reached 73 for 2 by the close of play. They are six points behind NBP in the table.

No further decision was taken on the Pakistan team management’s request to call up the former captain to bolster the batting

Osman Samiuddin in Melbourne30-Dec-2009The chances of Younis Khan appearing for Pakistan in the New Year Test in Sydney have reduced significantly after no further decision was taken on the Pakistan team management’s request to call up the former captain to bolster the batting.The second Test is due to begin on January 3 and given the considerable travel time between the two countries, even if the request is accepted tomorrow and Younis were to leave the same day, he might struggle to be ready in time for the Test on Sunday.In any case, it appears as if the selection committee is not entirely convinced of the need for Younis, at least without him having attempted to find some kind of form first in the RBS Pentangular Cup, a domestic tournament due to begin on January 1. “It is not like the team is losing just because he isn’t there,” a member of the selection committee told Cricinfo.”The Pentangular is happening and that would be a good way for him to play and get some practice. The Sydney Test is looking very unlikely right now and no decision was taken today. And who will he replace there? Various batsmen have scored some runs here so it might be unfair to drop them.”Initially, the selection committee appeared to be waiting for the result of the first Test in Melbourne, which Pakistan ultimately lost by 170 runs, before taking a decision. Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s captain, reiterated after the match that the side needed Younis and that a request had been made some time ago.But there appears to be a gap in communication: one selector claims that no official request has come in writing to them from Australia and another said that the chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt, had received the request and was going to consider it after discussing it with the selectors. That, in all probability, will now happen tomorrow.Amid the confusion, it is increasing likely that Pakistan will have to do without Younis as they attempt to level the series in Sydney. Pakistan’s batting struggled in both innings of the first Test, bowled out for 258 and 251 on what was widely acknowledged to be an unusually placid MCG
surface. On the final morning, they lost seven wickets for 81 and it prolonged a run in which they have, as a side, passed 350 only twice in 14 Test innings.

KL Rahul says he has learned the lesson of not linking preparation with results

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-20253:12

Rahul: ‘I’ve forgotten what my batting position actually is’

Not many will know better than KL Rahul that outcomes in cricket – Test batting in particular – are not always proportional to your skill, preparation, fitness and application.Rahul has had an anomalous Test career to back it up. He came into this Test having scored hundreds in some of the most difficult conditions during his career – seven out of eight away from home – but never having become the dominant Test batter his game suggests he should be. He averaged 33.57 before Headingley, which is quite underwhelming for a player of so many great innings.”The sooner you learn that there is no connection [of your game, preparation, etc] with the outcome and the results that you get, the calmer you can be,” Rahul said after scoring 137 in an India third innings that threatened to go off the rails in the morning session of the final day. “And I feel like that’s the only thing that gives you the best chance to play at this level for a long period of time. And that’s something that I’ve consciously done as well.Related

• Rahul rides his luck to set India up with statement century

• Stats – Rishabh Pant breaks records with twin tons

• Tongue mops up again to highlight lower-order disparity

• Pant, Rahul centuries set England 371 to win at Headingley

“Having learned this from the seniors that I looked up to, it’s something that I’ve understood and try and do, not just in Test cricket, but in cricket overall. Just all you can do is your best in terms of preparation and giving yourself the best chance to succeed. But again, there’s no guarantees. When you have a good day, you are happy. When you have a bad day, you’re still happy that you had the opportunity. That’s how I look at the game.”The latest in Rahul’s career was the Australia tour where he was called upon to open in Rohit Sharma’s absence and scored 26 and 77 in Perth followed by 84 in Brisbane. At the end of the series, though, his average read 30.66. It left him bitterly disappointed.”It’s always disappointing for a batter when you get starts and don’t convert it and get a big score for the team,” Rahul said. “I was happy with the way I was batting in Australia, but very disappointed at the end of the series that I couldn’t convert. I think I had opportunities in every game, I got starts in every game, and in an ideal world, I would’ve wanted to convert all of those innings into big knocks.”But, unfortunately, I couldn’t do that. And that’s how the game goes sometimes. Sometimes you get a good ball, sometimes you play a bad shot. It’s part of the game, so you learn from the mistakes, and that’s something that I learned from that series, just to make sure that once I get a start, try and make it count and transfer as many runs as I can.”1:32

Draw off the table? – Tongue and Rahul on day five possibilties

This has been a trend in Rahul’s career. He has never had a series in which he has scored 400 runs. That is part of the reason why he has never nailed a position in the batting order.On his last tour of England, he got to play only because of an injury in the nets to his good friend Mayank Agarwal. Then he got the opportunity to open in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because Rohit was on paternity leave for the first Test.Rahul has taken batting in different positions in his stride. “The last couple of years I’ve forgotten what my position is and what I’m comfortable doing,” Rahul said. “I’m happy to be given different responsibilities and different roles. Makes the game exciting and makes me want to challenge myself and train that much harder and work on my game a little bit more. So I’ve quite enjoyed doing that.”And the last couple of series, my role has been to open the batting, and I’ve enjoyed doing that as well. Yeah, I mean that’s something that I did growing up and all my early years as a cricketer was me opening the batting. So yeah, I’m happy that I’m back doing that, and I’m happy that I’m doing the job for the team.”

Australia’s No. 3 took a painful blow on the finger but was cleared of injury and is now looking ahead to Melbourne

Tristan Lavalette18-Dec-20234:28

‘Pakistan don’t have the belief to beat Australia here’

Cleared of a serious finger injury, Marnus Labuschagne declared himself fit and ready for the Boxing Day Test after Australia’s 360-run series-opening victory over Pakistan on a “brutal” Optus Stadium surface.Labuschagne was one of a number of Australia batters roughed up in their second innings as the wicket deteriorated on days three and four.During the sixth over of Australia’s second innings, early in the final session on day three, Labuschagne was whacked on the little finger of his right hand from a rearing delivery by debutant quick Khurram Shahzad that jumped off a length.Related

• One last chance for Smith and Labuschagne to turn around their lean 2023

• Pakistan blame the execution but stick by their plans after defeat to Australia

• Has Perth become Australia's new fortress?

• Morris released from Australia Test squad to play BBL

He sought medical attention immediately, but resumed batting after several minutes before falling for 2 having made 16 in the first innings.”The finger is fine, there’s no break. It hit me more on the knuckle side and sort of just jammed up my hand,” Labuschagne said. “It just got me in a bit of an awkward spot. There was no padding on that side of the glove, so it just didn’t feel that good.”I was a bit nervous. I’ve had a lot of finger blows, but it just felt a bit different. It was a little bit sore overnight.”Labuschagne spent an hour in the Optus Stadium nets before play on day four where he was tested by quick Lance Morris, who is arguably the fastest bowler in the country and he was part of Australia’s first Test squad.”It [net session] wasn’t to test the finger out, it was to bat…something I didn’t do enough of in this game,” said Labuschagne, who before this Test had compiled 501 runs at an average of 167 from four previous innings at Optus Stadium.Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith also received blows to their arms, while allrounder Mitchell Marsh was twice hit on the helmet on day four as Pakistan’s quicks resorted to fiery short-pitched bowling.”Uz seems fine and Steve is all good,” Labuschagne said. “It was brutal there at the end with the cracks opening up. We’re all used to the bounce, played a lot here and some of us have good records in Perth.”But no one likes batting when it’s up and down [and] sharp steep bounce on a fast wicket. That’s not your cup of tea, but you just have to find a way when it’s like that.”Emerging unscathed from the bruising contest, Australia will almost certainly go into the Boxing Day Test unchanged meaning allrounder Cameron Green is set to miss selection once again.Labuschagne, who has played 39 Tests in a row, believed the MCG wicket – which has livened up in recent seasons after a dull period – would present challenges for the batters.”The MCG wicket has changed so much over the last four years,” he said. “It’s become probably very much like Adelaide with a bit of seam and swing…quite a bit of grass. Probably will be a little bit of a different challenge to this wicket, which was more bounce.”While Australia’s batters copped physical punishment, a hapless Pakistan may have mental scarring after crumbling for 89 in their second innings to slide to a 15th straight defeat in Australia.”I think it is a big advantage when you’re playing a subcontinent team on such a bouncy surface,” Labuschagne said. “It was certainly one of those tough games that you get in Perth.”

He believes the home side’s attack will be better after the challenging series in India

Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-20222:36

Has Tim David cemented his place in the Australia XI?

Josh Hazlewood believes that bowlers will be in the game during the upcoming T20 World Cup and not just at the mercy of the big-hitting batters.It will be the first time that Australia will host the men’s tournament which will take place at seven venues across the country.In terms of domestic T20 games played over the last two years – which gives a much broader sample than T20Is – Australia ranks mid-table in run rate at 8.22. Australia travel to five venues during the Super 12s stage so will need to adapt to a different ground for each opposition they face.Related

• Injured Jasprit Bumrah in doubt for the T20 World Cup

• Cummins wary of burning Green but 'huge demand' inevitable as IPL question looms

• Winners of 2022 T20 World Cup to get prize money of US $1.6 million

Due to the pandemic border restrictions, T20Is have only been played in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra over the last two seasons with the latter not hosting World Cup matches.”Think T20 in Australia, it’s probably a little bit better for the bowlers in a lot of regards,” Hazlewood said. “The outfields are bigger, the wickets have a bit more pace, [you can] use those boundaries to your advantage, depending where you are playing on the squad sometimes there are short and long boundaries.”There have been some questions raised about the health of Australia’s death bowling, but in T20Is this year they stack up reasonably well against the other World Cup nations with an economy rate in that phase of 9.85.Josh Hazlewood is an integral part of Australia’s T20 attack•Getty Images

A variety of options were used in the closing overs against India on the recent tour although three of them – Cameron Green, Daniel Sams and Nathan Ellis – are not part of the World Cup squad, while Mitchell Starc was rested from the trip.”It was a great test being in that situation,” Hazlewood said. “A lot of guys got the opportunity to bowl at the end against some of the best hitters in the game on the flattest wickets and small boundaries. There’s always stuff to work on, of course, what fields you want, what balls you want to bowl, but there’s no practice like that [and] we’ll be better off the for the run.”Hazlewood is currently the No.1-ranked T20I bowler in the world – one of only two quicks in the top 10 alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar – but while the bid to retain the World Cup is the immediate priority, he admitted having an eye on Test season against West Indies and South Africa having played just two matches in the format since the start of the last season.He picked up a side injury during the first match of the Ashes series in Brisbane which ruled him out for the series. He was selected for the opening Test in Pakistan on a featherbed pitch in Rawalpindi before being left out for the rest of that tour, and the two matches in Sri Lanka, as Australia fielded Mitchell Swepson as the second spinner.”I’m really looking to the red-ball stuff coming up,” he said. “I haven’t played a great deal the last few years which has been a little bit disappointing.”

The ICC’s acting CEO has said teams will continue to be ranked based on percentage of points contested

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Jun-2021The shift to a ranking based on the percentage of points contested, which came about thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, will extend into the second (2021-23) edition of the World Test Championship, with one caveat. Instead of 120 points being available over each series, independent of the length of the series, every Test match will now carry an equal number of points. At the end of the WTC cycle, teams will be ranked based on the percentage of points accrued over all the matches they have played.The above points system was revealed by Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s acting chief executive officer, during a media chat organised by the ICC on Monday. As a consequence of several series in the first cycle of the WTC being postponed due to the pandemic, the ICC altered the points system last November, deciding to rank teams based on the percentage of points won from the series they contested.Related

• Hanuma Vihari or Ravindra Jadeja? Colin de Grandhomme or Ajaz Patel?

• R Ashwin suggests neutral venues for matches that count towards WTC points

• 'Best-of-three series will be ideal' to decide WTC – Ravi Shastri

• WTC winners to take home USD 1.6 million as well as Test Championship mace

That shift allowed New Zealand, which was behind India, Australia and England in the points tally at the time, to leapfrog those teams and become the first team to make the inaugural WTC final after consecutive home series wins over West Indies and Pakistan. India’s historic 2-1 win in Australia, followed by a 3-1 victory at home against England, allowed them to book the second finalist’s slot and eventually finish on top of the WTC table.During the 2019-21 WTC cycle, every series – regardless of length – had 120 points up for grabs•Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Four days before the WTC final, Allardice said the ICC had decided to stick to the percentage-of-points-won methodology as it provided twin benefits. “We are going to stick with the percentage-of-points-won method to rank teams,” Allardice said. “When we looked at the first 12 months of the competition you had teams on a number of points, but it was all relative to how many series they had played. So one of the ways to compare teams on an ongoing basis is what proportion of the points that have been available in the matches they played have been actually won. And that percentage served us well in the second half of the Championship.

Watch cricket on ESPN+

The WTC final is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the match.

“The other thing is if we are using the percentage of points won we can put a standardised number of points per Test match. So it doesn’t matter if it is a two-Test series or a five-Test series, the same number of points will be available for each match that’s played, but every team would be judged on the percentage of those points it wins, not on total.”The alteration in the points system was originally devised and recommended by the ICC Cricket Committee, which is headed by former India captain Anil Kumble. However, not everyone was impressed by the ICC’s move. Ahead of the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, India captain Virat Kohli said the amended points system was “confusing”. India had played four out of their six scheduled series in the WTC cycle at that point and were leading the table with 360 points. However, Australia, who had earned 296 points from three series, toppled India after the revision, with 82.22 percentage points (296 out of 360) compared to the latter’s 75 (360 out of 480).Allardice understood the critics’ view, but said the ICC had had no option but to change the system. “The principle that we had when we created the competition was that every match in a series that was played as part of the Test Championship should count. The point system was also to try and reflect that a two-match series is worth the same as a five-match series. That was trying to make sure that everyone was playing for the same number of points in total, everyone was playing for the same number points home and away.The points system for the inaugural WTC was changed midway through the competition due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic•Getty Images

“One of things that happened during this cycle is that it became evident that not everyone was going to complete their six series as a result of some of the postponements due to Covid. So we left the final in the spot in the calendar where it was originally scheduled. But because we are going to have teams playing uneven number of series we needed to tweak to the points system to try and make it as fair as possible and to make sure it reflected the matches that they did play rather than too heavily influenced by they didn’t play.”As it turned out it was a fair system. New Zealand didn’t play one series as a result of the Covid disruption las year, but they’ve still been able to qualify for the final through the strength of their performances in other series. So we prefer not to have changed the points system in the middle of a tournament but due to the circumstances of Covid and the need to ensure that the best two teams got to the final we thought it was necessary that it was approved at the end of last year.”Best-of-three final not “realistic”
Allardice also said the suggestion of India coach Ravi Shastri to have a best-of-three final to determine the winner of the second edition of the WTC – was a good one but not “realistic”, due to the lack of a free window for such an event in the cricket calendar.”In a perfect world a three-Test series would be a great way to decide the World Test Championship,” Allardice said. “But the reality (of) the international cricket schedule is we are just not going to have [a situation where] blocking out a month or so for all the teams in the tournament for the final is realistic. That’s why one-match final was decided upon. Why it is quite exciting is because it brings something new. Here were are – we’ve got a one-off Test match to decide the best team in the world over this two-year cycle.”Draw “certainly a valid result”
Allardice was asked whether it was fair on the two finalists in case the match were to end in a draw due to rain interruptions. Announcing the WTC prize money on Monday, the ICC said both teams would share the Test mace, and the pot of USD 2.4 million, in case of a draw.”One of the idiosyncrasies of Test cricket is that the draw is a result,” Allardice said. “One of things while talking about the structure of the competition was to we didn’t want to start the final with one team having to win and one team having to draw, so both teams start on Friday even. They have five playing days to get a result. We have set aside a reserve day so that if time is lost during those five days it can be further made up on the reserve day. It isn’t a six-day Test match.”And if after those five days the result is a draw, then the view was that the fitting result is that the Championship is shared. Whether we like it or not a draw is certainly a valid result in Test cricket.”

England’s imposing batting pushes South Africa’s bowlers to the brink on day of toil

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth17-Jan-2020It’s a thankless job. Keshav Maharaj’s sixth career five-for came as a result of him bowling more overs than a South African has delivered in a home Test in 55 years and was also the most expensive by a South African bowler, ever.It’s a thankless job. The second ban of Kagiso Rabada’s career came as a result of a reaction that embodied the passion South Africa needed more of on a lifeless Port Elizabeth pitch. Now they will have to do without him, and all that he brings, for the series decider next week.It’s a thankless job. Between them, Maharaj and Rabada, the saint and the sinner, did the hard work and showed the heart that should have set South Africa up for a strong second day at St George’s Park. But things fell apart as England posted the highest first-innings score by a visiting team at this venue since readmission, and laid down a challenge that South Africa’s batsmen have not shown themselves to be up to meeting in the last year.Maharaj, in particular, needs the batsmen to do well. That’s what Paul Harris told ESPNcricinfo in the lead-up to this Test, when he explained that big runs will give Maharaj permission to be more aggressive.Until then, he has to do the donkey work which, in this series, has meant holding an end almost all day. He sent down 30 overs on the trot from the Duck Pond End on day one, had two tough chances dropped, two reviews go against him and several close shaves for only one wicket. On day two, he served up a further 26 overs, but at least added four more scalps to his tally. The standout feature of Maharaj’s effort was his consistency. He bowled more deliveries on the stumps than in any other Test innings he has taken part in, which speaks to his discipline, even though that’s a trait that rarely makes headlines. Drama does, and that’s where Rabada comes in.Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes added 203 for the fifth wicket•Stu Forster/Getty Images

Rabada’s dismissal of Joe Root gave South Africa a short-lived advantage post-tea on the first day, and sent a loud and long-awaited message that his desire was still there. Too loud. Rabada’s scream, which spewed out within spitting distance of the departing Root, could have been directed at the England captain but might have been aimed at the pitch, which had given him nothing all day. Either way, it constituted a breach of the ICC’s code of conduct, and whether or not everyone agrees with the decision, Rabada should have known better.This was the fourth time in 24 months, and the sixth time in 36 months, that he has been found guilty of effectively the same offence. The four most recent transgressions (send-offs to Niroshan DIckwella, David Warner and Root, and a shoulder brush with Steve Smith) are why Rabada will miss the Johannesburg Test and there seems to be no explanation for why he would have risked that.He knows the rules. He even knows the consequences because he was banned in 2017 when he told Ben Stokes to “f*** off”, at the culmination of a previous series of demerit points. That Rabada was less than a month away from the expiration of the Dickwella demerit point only makes his actions more reckless. He even knows that. Rabada has previously acknowledged that his “outbursts of emotion” may “let the team down.” And how.ALSO READ: Rabada banned for Johannesburg Test after demerit pointSouth Africa do not have the luxury of losing players. They have already had two, Lungi Ngidi and Aiden Markram, ruled out of the series with injury; one, Temba Bavuma, dropped after recovering from a niggle and another, Vernon Philander, operating as a passenger in this attack. Philander only bowled 11 overs on day one and five on day two after it became obvious the slow pitch didn’t suit him, which only increased the burden on both Rabada and Maharaj.Rabada had to make something happen, and his frustration with that difficulty showed in the celebration. Maharaj almost made something happen for an entire day, and his frustrations manifested in a lack of rewards initially and then a leaking of runs at the end. Ben Stokes was merciless against them both, bringing up his fifty off Rabada and 4,000 Test runs off Maharaj. Mark Wood made a mockery of them both, earning a reprieve off a no-ball before smashing Maharaj for successive sixes to grind South Africa down.It’s thankless job. Maharaj who toiled for the best part of two days and conceded his runs at less than three an over, had his figures stretched out of shape by a late assault. Rabada, who knows he will not be able to have a say on the decider, denied himself the opportunity to make a final statement on this innings by completely unravelling, first when he was fielding at long-on and failed to see the chance Sam Curran offered and then with a four-over spell that cost 27 runs as England approached 500. That they didn’t quite get there doesn’t exactly constitute a job well done. It’s a thankless job.