All posts by n8rngtd.top

Pakistan’s withdrawal may have taken some sheen off the BPL, but the tournament’s survival still rests on the game’s popularity in Bangladesh, and the optimism of the organisers

Mohammad Isam17-Jan-2013The Bangladesh Premier League begins its second season on Friday amid hope and expectation but also controversy and the wrong sort of headlines. The organisers will tell you not to judge BPL 2013 on its first week and it is true to an extent – all debate on the tournament’s success or otherwise should be on hold until the replacements for the Pakistani players arrive.The build-up of controversial issues over the last 11 months includes that of unsigned contracts, unpaid players from home and abroad and the pull-out of Pakistani players. It has culminated in the tournament beginning with mismanagement as the dominant theme and the amount of negative press about the BPL has already affected its image as a burgeoning Twenty20 competition.The organisers too have changed after the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s elected body of directors had finished their terms, and hence the new BPL governing council hasn’t had enough time ahead of the tournament to put together a neat organisational unit. Instead, they were inundated with claims from unpaid players and running after franchises to sign the contract. Immediately after these issues were tackled, they had to deal with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s hushed reluctance to send their players and the pull-out happened a before the opening ceremony.The organisers, especially the new men in the BPL governing council, are confident of a successful tournament despite the setbacks. “Commercially, the BPL is in good health. We have more sponsors than from the last edition. The issue that is bothering us is the arrival of replacement players,” said BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick.”We have the likes of Kieron Pollard and Brett Lee lined up, but we are not sure when they can fly in. That’ll be a problem for the franchises who depended on the Pakistani players.”There is still optimism about the tournament’s viability among the financial backers and team owners as well. Tanjil Chowdhury, director of Prime Bank, the title sponsor, feels that there is no reason to pull out of the competition at this hour. “I don’t think the cricket will be affected without the little glamour. It is not the end of the world. I think cricket has become a commercial success in Bangladesh, but this is definitely a problem,” he said.Some have cited the little impact the absence of the Pakistani players had on the IPL from the second season, but the BPL is not as financially strong as its Indian counterpart, and many questions have been thrown about its integrity, value and productivity.While introducing Brian Lara as his team’s brand ambassador, Chittagong Kings owner Sameer Quader Chowdhury was slightly more robust in his judgment of recent events. But Chowdhury is relatively in a better position than the other owners. He only has to replace two Pakistani players in Imran Nazir and Wahab Riaz, while Khulna Royal Bengals is still searching for a minimum of seven replacements.”I don’t think the value will depreciate in any way. If you notice, internationally, Pakistan players don’t play a lot in other tournaments either so I don’t think the value will decrease in our case,” Chowdhury said. “I have heard that it’s extremely difficult for other teams. I think if the decision was not taken yesterday but around 10 to 20 days back, we wouldn’t have had so many problems.”The BPL has been criticised for many things. When it was first pitched, the tournament was viewed as a hindrance to the brimming talent pool in Bangladesh cricket, seen in many quarters as a trouble-maker rather than a tournament to churn out a new production line of players. It was expected that the players would appreciate the enhanced pay cheques but that too hasn’t materialised for the locals. Cricket’s popularity in the country will hold the BPL but any more of last season’s shenanigans would tip it over the edge.

The spot-fixing scandal in the IPL has brought into focus the vulnerability of other domestic Twenty20 leagues, including the Sri Lanka Premier League, and there are many lessons that the nascent tournament can learn

Andrew Fidel Fernando18-May-2013The spot-fixing scandal in the IPL has brought into focus the vulnerability of other domestic Twenty20 leagues, like the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), to corruption. It has also emphasised the need for effective anti-corruption measures and education. Last year’s inaugural SLPL was seemingly well-equipped to deal with the threat of corruption, but when allegations surfaced that a fix was in the works, the SLPL’s response was muddled, and concrete results from the ensuing investigation were never announced.The allegations surfaced before the tournament had even begun, when an unnamed source purported to be close to the tournament’s operations handed over a taped conversation to a local newspaper in the week before the opening ceremony. The conversation, said to be almost entirely in Hindi, allegedly had a franchise owner speaking about fixing matches in the tournament. After having the tape translated, staff at the newspaper were unwilling to publish the story, and instead handed over the tape to Sri Lanka Cricket.On receiving the tape, SLC issued a release stating they had passed it on to officers of the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), who were in Sri Lanka to oversee the tournament. The release said an investigation was underway, but it was not immediately clear which body would conduct it.Upali Dharmadasa, who was the SLC president at the time, was adamant the ACSU officers were conducting the investigation. The ICC, however, asserted that because a domestic tournament was the subject of the alleged corruption, the home board would carry out the investigation, with the ACSU involved insofar as SLC deemed fit. Confusion ruled the reactions from officials, and reassurances that the truth about the tape would be uncovered seemed hollow as a result.Eventually, the tournament overcame the pall of corruption that clouded its beginning and the team that was supposedly embroiled in the affair performed surprisingly well, given their talent pool. The tape was not officially mentioned either by SLC or the ICC again, but SLPL tournament director, Ajit Jayasekara told ESPNcricinfo that the whole incident effectively amounted to a hoax.”The SLC anti-corruption people conducted their investigation in coordination with the ICC unit, and they found that the tape wasn’t an authentic one. Everything was done properly,” he said on Saturday.According to Jayasekara, SLC were satisfied with the anti-corruption measures in last year’s tournament, and will not alter its arrangements for the 2013 tournament. “The ICC anti-corruption unit briefed all the players and officials before the tournament, and our anti-corruption unit was constantly involved as well,” he said.Given the ACSU’s official involvement and the fact that the SLPL operates in a minuscule market compared to the IPL, it would appear the tournament is less susceptible to fixing. However, although the SLPL’s anti-corruption measures are effectively identical to those adopted in international cricket, a fixing allegation revealed weaknesses in the authorities’ response, and failed to reassure fans that the league was safe from corruption.

Evenly-matched teams, a condensed format and interesting weather in England – we are in for an intriguing Champions Trophy. Will it be able to rebuild the fan’s faith in the sport?

Krish Sripada, India01-Jun-2013The voracious appetite of cricket fans has been tested quite a bit in the last couple of years. The pinnacle of Test performances, the mace, has changed quite a few hands. A World Cup was won for the first time by a team playing the final in its home ground. A few seasons of IPL have flown dazzlingly past us, much like fire crackers that create the illusion of stars, only to fade away much too early to be noticed. The cricket lover is befuddled by the palette of cricketing news that is presented to him every morning. While he expects scores, stats and records being broken and legends being made, all he finds is suspended umpires, jailed players and suspect officials. The grandstands have taken a back seat, pun intended.Even as Bayern Munich vanquishes its ghosts, and Rafael Nadal prepares to do something never done before in the world of tennis, cricket lovers are wistfully looking at the Champions Trophy. The tournament has always been the under-performing brother to the 50-over World Cup. It is a tournament that pretends to be something big, only to fizzle away as the show goes on. It is a tournament whose very existence is questionable. It doesn’t serve much purpose, apart from irking the Associates which don’t get to participate, and consuming a few days in a busy cricketer’s life. So many stars have got on a plane again barely days after the IPL – colours altered, motivations rediscovered, enmities rekindled. Can this tournament do enough to drown the chaos that surrounds us in the form of news, bits and pieces, scraps of wheels coming off, mud slung and surprises thrown, almost at will, every day?It could, if only because this promises to be of the more open limited-overs events in recent years. A few teams, including the world champions of the ODI format, are in transition. The host nation, perpetually gives the impression that cricket in coloured clothing isn’t their thing. The men from Australia will have a small urn at the back of the mind, not the big trophy. The Caribbean bunch, led by a new captain, and the dust storm called Pakistan, that nearly lost a series to Ireland recently, will be unpredictable and dangerous as ever. The weather in England will add to the intrigue. The chill is in the air, the ball will swing, and a few hands are already weary after long seasons.South Africa looks like the team to beat, with Dale Steyn in red-hot form and their captain AB de Villiers beginning to treat short-format cricket like a picnic in the backyard. For once, they will have an emotion stronger than the normal dread they carry into big tournaments. That emotion is the attachment to their coach, Gary Kirsten, in his last assignment. India gave him quite a memorable goodbye with arguably the biggest prize in international cricket. Can the Saffers do something similar? Two groups of four countries each, in a league shootout for semifinal berths: this is the no-nonsense format the full-fledged ODI World Cup will never give us. With the chances of one-sided contests greatly reduced, it might well be two weeks of spirited cricket.What cricket needs is a good tournament. A few good days of hard fought cricket, hopefully clean and cheerfully tight. What the fans need is a few days of distraction, sadly speaking, from what cricket has offered in the last two weeks. Let the redemption begin.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line

Plays of the day from the fifth ODI between Zimbabwe and India, in Bulawayo

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo03-Aug-2013The luck
Zimbabwe haven’t had the best of luck in this series. Brendan Taylor has lost four tosses out of five, and having to bat first in tricky conditions has brought out the worst in the local batsmen. Hamilton Masakadza, though, enjoyed two slices of good fortune in one over from Jaydev Unadkat early on this morning. Umpire Owen Chirombe gave Masakadza the benefit of the doubt on a very tight lbw call, the ball having pitched in line with leg stump and struck the batsman on the back pad. Three balls later, Masakadza swished at one going across him and the Indians went up in unison as there appeared to have been a clear sound as ball passed bat on the way through to Dinesh Karthik. Again, however, Masakadza was given not out. Virat Kohli wandered up to the batsman to voice his displeasure, but Masakadza couldn’t make his let-off count. Eight overs later, he chopped a cut off Ravindra Jadeja onto his own stumps to depart for 32.The duck
Taylor’s misfortune at the toss appears to have spread to his batting. The Zimbabwe captain, possibly the team’s best batsman, waded through 10 runless deliveries before aiming a flat-footed drive at the 11th only to edge to slip and depart for a duck. Having also failed to score in the previous game and in the second ODI in Harare, Taylor’s run-tally for the series stands at just 35 and his own poor form has exacerbated Zimbabwe’s problems.The let-off
Taylor’s day got even worse when he fluffed what should have been a simple run-out chance. In the seventh over, Ajinkya Rahane nudged a length delivery from Kyle Jarvis towards mid-on and set off for a single. Dhawan, however, wasn’t the slightest bit interested and both batsmen ended up at the same end. The ball was hurled towards Taylor in good time, but in his enthusiasm he dived forward and smashed the stumps empty handed. While Taylor hung his head in disappointment, Rahane would have been mighty relieved with the let-off. An early dismissal in something of an audition match might have proved quite a setback to a budding international career that hasn’t quite kicked off yet. Instead, he was allowed to compile a neat fifty.The record
Portly, balding and short, Amit Mishra doesn’t immediately strike one as a record-breaker. Yet, with 18 wickets on this tour, he’s equalled Javagal Srinath’s record for the most dismissals in a bi-lateral series. The record should now, perhaps, actually belong to Mishra, as while Srinath achieved the feat in seven games against New Zealand in 2002-03 the legspinner has needed just five. It was fitting that Mishra took his sixth and final wicket with a googly that found Brian Vitori’s outside edge – most of his wickets have come via the variation that Zimbabwe apparently find unreadable. With a record and a career-best haul in the bag, it’s not a day that he’ll quickly forget.The drop
It’s often said that Zimbabwe’s strongest ever team was the one which plied its trade in the late 90s, and that their strongest suit was their fielding. Given the number of chances that have gone begging in this series, and the two that were missed in this match alone, one might argue that fielding is one area where Zimbabwe have really let things slip. Yet, a member of that ‘glory years’ team, Bryan Strang, turned up to watch this match and even he couldn’t hold a catch today. Sitting under the trees on the Western side of the ground, Strang watched a six sail off Shikhar Dhawan’s bat, rushed forward in an attempt to get to the chance, but couldn’t quite get to it.

He swivels his neck first left, then right and then all around before putting on the helmet. Rubbing his palms and swinging his hangs he tries to release the stress as he waits for his turn to bat

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai13-Nov-2013Exactly at 0954 hours Wednesday morning Sachin Tendulkar walks down the steps from the Indian dressing room at the Wankhede Stadium. Sudhir Gautam, the man who has created his own niche as Tendulkar’s most popular fan, blows the conch shell while waving the Indian tri-colour, from the adjacent MCA Pavilion. At the same time a local train chugs out of the Churchgate station. A journey has started for many. For Tendulkar it will be his final nets before he walks in tomorrow to play one last time.With his pads tugged under his shoulders along with his hip and elbow guards and helmet, Tendulkar carries two bats with one hand and an unbranded bat in the other. The shutterbugs fire away, making a noise like the flapping wings of pigeons taking off for a flight.An hour after entering the ground Tendulkar, finally enters the nets where he can breathe easy finally. He has already obliged the while sitting with them for a group picture as well as giving a special thanks to the pair of Lalsuram Jaiswal and Vijay Tambe, the oldest groundsmen at Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). When Jaiswal wanted an exclusive picture with Tendulkar, the player jokingly said: “Make-up (did you wear make-up and come?),” eliciting a loud laughter all round. A short while later N Srinivsan, the BCCI president, had a short chat with Tendulkar.It is amazing that Tendulkar for decades has never let the outside elements distract his game. So as soon as he joins the rest of the squad, his eyes are on the ball. On a bent knee as he put his pads on Tendulkar continues his diligent watch across the nets watching the Indian top order bat.He swivels his neck first left, then right and then all around before putting on the helmet. Rubbing his palms and swinging his hangs he tries to release the stress as he waits for his turn to bat. Two bats, both branded rest on a chair while the third lies flat on the ground. On Tuesday, Tendulkar, on his way to taking throwdowns, had by mistake stepped on one of the bats. Immediately he bowed and lowered one hand towards the bat and then towards his head. Usually Indians do that gesture if they mistakenly step on the toes of another person. For Tendulkar, his bat is a sacred weapon and he dare not step on it.As soon as he has marked his guard he asks the bowling coach Joe Dawes to describe the field. The first ball, from a net bowler, pitching on off stump and moving away, is left alone. For the next 10 minutes Tendulkar plays the trio of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma and two net bowlers with confidence and ease. When Shami bowled an inswinger, he left it again. The bowler enquires if the ball has come in. Tendulkar tells him to focus on keeping his wrist upright.As those early nerves disappear and Tendulkar is picking length easily, you can see he is playing strokes with certainty. One of his best shots of the morning comes when he moves quickly on the back foot, rises on his toes to punch a handsome square drive – a certain four in the match.To watch Tendulkar from a close space is not just a privilege but can also leave you with a spine-tingling sensation most times. There is no better sight than watching Tendulkar prepare to face a ball. He will mark his crease by dragging his toe a few times across the batting crease. Even before he pats his bat down, he will flex his knees up and down like a coil of spring. Then he will pat his bat down between two or three times with his bottom-handed grip. His stance has always been side-on as he stands still with an erect posture: shoulders, left elbow, hips and knees all in a straight line. His head does not move. There is no trigger movement. Cricket pundits talk about balance and it becomes clear if you are near Tendulkar in nets.That sequence has barely changed in decades. Perhaps it is a habit that Tendulkar needs to make himself feel relaxed and confident. In the second net he faces the spin pair of Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra. Today he is not facing the offspin of R Ashwin as he had done that on Tuesday. Yesterday Tendulkar had come in with a pre-determined plan. He wanted to practice the sweep shot and he focused on that. Today it is all about reaching to the pitch of the ball and defending.So when Ojha manages to dip a ball on the off stump and it is about spin into him, Tendulkar nips the turn in the bud decisively by stretching fully on his left leg to defend while his right foot is rooted to the crease. Although Tendulkar is bowled by Mishra attempting a slog sweep, the batsman is back in ascendance as he lofts the legspinner for a one-bounce straight four and over the covers to show who is in command.People who have worked with Tendulkar in the nets point out Tendulkar’s sole intention to make sure he has ticked all the boxes primarily. But the most important thing is the feel. And to understand that feel, you need to be around. Because when Tendulkar plays a forward defense and you see his left elbow straight, his head bowing like a Japanese saying hello to the ball and the toes pointing towards cover you know as much as him that it is textbook perfect. It is just not his perfection that stands out. It is the ease with which he manages to impart that technique that increases the awe.As Anil Kumble, Tendulkar’s former team-mate and former captain, reminded us during the MAK Pataudi Memorial lecture, that fans tend to forget the thousands of hours of hardwork Tendulkar has put in to play strokes so clean, so elegant, so timeless, so memorable. In the end it is in the nets where Tendulkar started his dream.

It is too early to draw any long-term conclusions, but the home side’s top order was given a rude awakening about the challenges facing them from Australia

Firdose Moonda at Centurion Park13-Feb-20140:00

Cullinan: Advantage Australia, and not just on the scoreboard

A shave over six years ago, South Africa crumbled to 63 for 4 against the touring West Indies in Port Elizabeth. A combination of seam and swing from Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor destroyed the top order and eventually accounted for the rest as well. The only South African batsman who managed more than 30 that day was AB de Villiers who fought himself to a plucky 59.That was the last time South Africa had four of their batsmen out in the first 15 overs of a Test innings before today. This time it was vicious pace and an unforgiving short ball from Mitchell Johnson that sparked the procession. Again, the only South Africa batsman who showed there is a way was de Villiers.He worked his way to a half-century with a combination of cautiousness and counterattack that could serve as an illustration of how much he has progressed from December 2007 but more importantly, could be an example to his team-mates for how they should approach Johnson as this series develops. For all South Africa’s preparedness, even Russell Domingo admitted that they could “never replicate,” Johnson in the nets and nothing “prepared you for the intensity of a Test match” and the “pressure you will face there.”AB de Villiers managed to survive but his colleagues weren’t so lucky•Getty ImagesEven though Johnson has broken Graeme Smith’s hand twice, both times with a short ball that reared up and struck him on the glove, Smith was not ready for that delivery again. Who can be? It is like asking someone to be ready for a rush of oncoming traffic when they are behind the wheel. In the end, he may well have just been grateful his hand was intact when he walked off.Even though Alviro Petersen would have seen a far less dangerous Johnson on Australia’s last tour here in 2011 – Petersen played in the warm-up match but not the Tests – he would have been told to expect a different man. In the end, the ball he got out to was not laced with venom, it was just short and wide and he did not have to play at it. Maybe he was too concerned with looking out for the nasty one that he forgot how to deal with the nice one.Even though Faf du Plessis knew he would be targeted, it still unnerved him. He was squared up by the first Johnson delivery and the edge fell just short of second slip. Four balls later, Johnson became too brutal and du Plessis could do nothing about it. It does not mean he should not be persisted with as the new No.4, it just every now and then he will have to live with getting a snorter like that.Even though the first ball de Villiers faced was a Johnson one, he immediately looked less rattled. Granted, it was not a short ball and he only had to get forward and defend but he did. It did not take too long for Johnson to hold his length back and de Villiers got inside the line and defended again.

Johnson did not surprise us – Domingo

Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, denied South Africa were surprised by Mitchell Johnson but conceded the Australian quick is in the midst of a “hot streak,” that raised the heat on South Africa. “This is what we expected. He is an x-factor bowler. He has done really well on previous tours here and he has just come off a hot Ashes series.”

Although the pitch did not offer much significantly more on the second day than it did on the first morning, Domingo said Johnson’s danger is in the way he delivers the ball. “Because of his action, the challenge is always going to be knowing which balls to leave and which not to leave. He can be quite skiddy and that’s dangerous,” he said, hinting he is even trickier to face than Morne Morkel. “Morne gets bounce but it is probably more consistent because of the high arm action. Mitchell’s is less consistent.”

Domingo conceded Australia are “well on top,” but said his side have not lost belief in their ability to bounce back, despite consistently starting slowly. “Over the last year or so, we’ve played catch up cricket and that’s something we need to address. But this side’s character has been tested and we’ve come out on top in the past.”

The others had not been particularly poor in identifying Johnson’s line but where they erred was where de Villiers prospered. Unlike at St George’s Park, when he was only 22, de Villiers did not play at deliveries he could have left. He dutifully left them, something South Africa’s batsmen did not do enough against the Johnson short ball.His maturity and ability to assess the situation is what stood out about his innings. No other batsman appeared to have the time he did to play a Johnson ball that was directed at eye level, no one seemed to be able to adjust well enough so that two balls later when Johnson over-pitched, they could move forward and drive him for four.JP Duminy came closest, although he was beaten for pace by Johnson far more often than de Villiers. He gave it away when instead of attacking Nathan Lyon selectively, he tried to do it routinely. Eventually those go wrong and it did. With Duminy gone, it fell on de Villiers solely to steer South Africa to calmer water.Johnson knew that and he also knew if he could somehow get in de Villiers’ way, he could sway the advantage even further Australia’s way. He did that when he managed to deceive de Villiers into playing a pull too early and struck him on the forearm. There was grimacing. There was flexing of fingers of a hand that seemed to have gone numb. And there was a stony expression on his face that de Villiers maintained to try and hide the pain.Unlike the three before him, he did not want to give Johnson a hint that he may have caused a mental scar. That was the weapon used to dismantle England and they helped him by wilting at the sight of him. Whether Johnson has managed to inflict the same on Smith, Petersen and du Plessis will only be known in the next innings or even the next match but it is unlikely he has done the same to de Villiers.

Mark Craig’s debut figures made the headlines, but other bowlers, and batsmen not named Taylor and McCullum, also contributed to New Zealand’s Sabina Park victory

Andrew Alderson13-Jun-2014Few New Zealand cricketers have exceeded expectations in their first Test as much as Mark Craig did.The Otago offspinner generated bounce and turn on a cooperative Sabina Park pitch to produce the country’s best bowling figures on debut (8 for 188). He also hit a six from his maiden delivery – possibly a first.His debut might not have been to the standard of Lawrence Rowe (214 and 100 not out) or Narendra Hirwani (16 for 136) but it certainly ranks among the outliers on the expectation-versus-reality curve.The evidence was in the build-up – Craig took 3 for 17 from nine overs in the practice two-dayer and 4 for 8 from four overs in the three-dayer – but it was downplayed as seizing on spin-friendly conditions.Even New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said: “He [Craig] couldn’t have wished for a better pitch to bowl on but still created uncertainty for the batsmen. Hopefully the wicket for the second match will play flatter to challenge him more.”By the time the first Test started Craig was the one doing the challenging.There was also a synergy between coach, captain and bowler. “Brilliant,” Brendon McCullum said about Craig’s effort. “He went about his work and was never fazed. Obviously the conditions were helpful but you’ve still got to be able to apply pressure over a long period to get the rewards.”Craig appreciated the responsibility: “The big thing was the confidence Brendon and Mike gave me to do what I can do. Backing me was massive.”All great spinners tend to experience an epiphany. For Shane Warne, it came midway through his third Test, in Sri Lanka, when he had taken one wicket and had a bowling average of 335. With Sri Lanka needing 31 runs to win chasing 181, Warne took three wickets in 13 balls without conceding a run, to eke out victory. Daniel Vettori’s moment came in his fourth Test, against Sri Lanka in Hamilton in 1997. He took nine wickets, including his first five-wicket bag in the second innings, to secure a 120-run win.It’s rare for it to come instantly. Craig joined Stephen Fleming and Mathew Sinclair as New Zealanders to be awarded Man of the Match on debut. His display also raises questions. Is Ish Sodhi the No. 1 fit spinner, given McCullum went to Craig as his first-change in both innings? Where does this leave Vettori’s Test future? Craig needs to back this performance up, but selectors Hesson and Bruce Edgar should be taking a bow.After his selection Hesson said: “Mark has had a strong Plunket Shield, taking 22 wickets and his offspinners will be valuable against their [West Indies’] left-hand-heavy top order. He’s been in our sights for some time.” The comments now seem prescient – at the time Craig had 43 first-class wickets at 42.88.With Vettori’s ongoing injuries, Jeetan Patel’s contractual obligations to Warwickshire, and Bruce Martin’s lack of consistent penetration, Sodhi was expected to inherit the crown of the country’s premier Test spinner. In a New Zealand rarity across seven Tests, he hasn’t played in a losing team but is yet to put in a pivotal performance. Craig showed the way, although Sodhi’s lbw of Shivnarine Chanderpaul was a key wicket in the second innings as part of 3 for 42.Craig’s role was part of a triumphant tapestry. Tim Southee reinforced his claim to the bowling “spearhead” title with six wickets for 51 runs from 25.2 overs, including Chris Gayle twice caught behind.Tom Latham exuded solidity in his second Test – and first opening – with 83 and 73. Conscientious and stable, he spent more than four hours at the crease in each innings. Latham, along with Kane Williamson, Jimmy Neesham and BJ Watling, who stepped up with fifties or better, showed there is more to New Zealand’s batting than Ross Taylor and McCullum. They increased the workload for opposition intelligence.Watling remained perhaps the most underrated performer. He conceded four byes across 129 overs and further enhanced his record as the only New Zealand wicketkeeper to take eight catches or more in three Tests. Ian Smith, Brendon McCullum and Warren Lees did it once. Watling’s first innings of 89 was also pivotal in the 201-run sixth wicket stand with Neesham.The main concern remains Peter Fulton. He prodded to 1 off 19 balls in the first innings and a lazy shot had him traipsing back for a duck off two balls in the second. Fulton is a quintessential team man but Hamish Rutherford might get a reprieve in Trinidad. Persevering with Fulton has been an admirable stance but in his last 12 Test innings – since twin fifties against Bangladesh in October – he’s had one score (61) over 14. The loyalty must be wavering.

Despite a final nerve-wracking session, the tourists had plenty to take away from the first Test as they avoided a first defeat at Lord’s since 1991

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Lord's16-Jun-2014Alastair Cook is a defensive captain. Angelo Mathews is a defensive captain. Put their teams together on a flat deck that saw three centuries and a double-hundred, and you have a draw. Right?For much of day four and some of day five, the Test was headed for that fate, but of course, the cricket gods – purveyors of surprise and perennial makers of mischief – connived to make it so much better than that. The result did not change, but would-be-follicles in Marvan Atapattu’s bald scalp will have turned grey, and even Mathews, who has overseen his share of heart-stoppers in his brief time at the helm, appeared shaken from the experience.The only man in the Sri Lanka camp who seemed to have a grip on the situation, was the same guy who had smashed his own stumps with his bat in the first innings. England had begun raucous celebrations when ice-cold Nuwan Pradeep called for perhaps the most undeniably game-changing review since Galileo decided to take another look at the solar system. Then, when he survived the final ball, he and No. 10 Shaminda Eranga shook hands casually in the middle of the pitch. One can only guess from their body language at the contents of their conversation.”Shame this match has to end now, no ? We could have both hit hundreds otherwise.”Earlier, in the afternoon, Kumar Sangakkara had dead batted 31 deliveries in one stretch like he was facing backyard throw downs from his four-year-old daughter, then went over 100 deliveries without a boundary, with not so much as a grunt of frustration. He has gone some way to silencing critics in this match, raising his average significantly in England, where he has struggled in the past. In the second innings, he silenced supporters as well. So many cricket pundits and fans were predicting another ton on Twitter, it seemed almost inevitable that he would fall well short. He cut James Anderson back on to his stumps to truly set some panic in the visiting dressing room.Nuwan Pradeep’s fourth-day spell was part of a smart Sri Lankan performance•PA PhotosLater that same over, Lahiru Thirimanne took guard against Anderson. His five most recent international dismissals had all been effected by this one bowler. In seven innings before this against England, Anderson had claimed him four times. The bowler, by now, must feel he only needs to sneeze in Thirimanne’s direction to claim his wicket. Thirimanne had been in good nick before the tour, but at present, he is like Superman in Lex Luthor’s kryptonite jail cell.Mathews had an outstanding Test as a batsman, hitting an almost surreptitious century in the first innings, after the crowd had used up all their fanfare on Sangakkara the previous day. Mathews traded in that pizzazz for passivity in the second dig, taking cover in his trench for 89 nerveless balls, before Anderson got the better of him as well. It was the kind of innings that should not hurt personal statistics, but it did. He now only averages 76 each time he comes to the crease as captain. He has undoubtedly grown as a leader, and he has become skilled at deflecting praise and indulging in less-than-enlightening captain-speak as well.”I’m just trying to give my best to the team, regardless of being the captain or not,” Mathews said of his own performance after the match. “I’m working really hard. I always see the big boys working hard. Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela, Dilshan – they all work hard. We’ve got some inspiration within the team. The senior guys are helping the junior guys as well. Especially in Test cricket, you need to make those changes and bat to the situations. You might need to change your game plan some time. You’re always learning.”Tactically, he was somewhat weaker in this match. Given the Sri Lanka top order’s recent struggles against swing and seam, Mathews’ decision to field first was perhaps understandable, but it was undoubtedly the more conservative option. There were times on the second morning when Sri Lanka forgot their attack was not comprised of Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Zeus. The “lightning-bolts” aimed at the batsmen’s heads did some damage, and claimed a few lower-order wickets, but the short-ball plan cost the team over 200 runs as well.Sri Lanka will have been encouraged by what they saw from Eranga and Pradeep, not so much with the bat, but with the new ball in hand. Eranga’s fourth-day spell was perhaps the best in the game until Anderson’s day-five burst, and Pradeep had been effective when the pitch took seam on day one.Ultimately, Lord’s threw up the kind of result that will satisfy both teams. England proved they can do something other than draw unbroken streams of ire, and Sri Lanka have avoided a first defeat at Lord’s since 1991. Best of all, the finish had a meagre crowd talking, and no one was even mankaded.

Despite a lingering legal case, the most important verdict on Andrew Gale came in the Headingley long room

David Hopps at Headingley23-Sep-2014Andrew Gale, a Yorkshire captain metaphorically holding a Championship trophy in one hand and allegations of racist abuse in the other, stood before a members’ forum in the Headingley Long Room and awaited judgment. Not the judgment of the ECB: for that we must wait a little longer. In Yorkshire, more than most places, the judgment of your kith and kin is what matters most of all. As if confirmation was needed, appreciative applause confirmed that support remained unstinting.Unstinting, but not entirely uncritical, because a few members have been heard to bemoan the mess Gale has brought upon himself by his rant at Ashwell Prince in the Roses match. Words that will now be forever etched on Yorkshire’s history and which, whatever the outcome, will tarnish his own career.Colin Graves, the Yorkshire chairman, has stood back from Yorkshire’s defence of Gale because of his conflict of interest as vice chairman of the ECB. But a Yorkshireman’s vow of silence is the last promise to put your mortgage on. Graves, who famously saved Yorkshire from bankruptcy 12 years ago, said: “I did it for people like Andrew Gale. For me that is what cricket is all about: prizing the tradition of players who have developed into England players. To win the Championship is one of the proudest days I have had in my life.”Actually what he seemed to say, if you were stood at the back of the room, was: “People…Gale about…players… life,” because the microphone was perpetually on the blink. Dangerous rumours could have taken hold that Graves had said something about not wanting people like Gale about; that he’d had enough of players like him in his life.”Any more questions?” the room was asked.”When are you going to buy a new microphone?”Yorkshire priorities are nothing if not practical.Gale, too, emphasized Yorkshire’s commitment to developing England players. “How are we going to cope when England come calling again?” he was asked. “We have to find the next lot,” he said. “We are not going to bring in any extra players from overseas. We pride ourselves in our academy. Ultimately, our job is to provide England with players and we have to accept that.”There were some in the Long Room who will swear blind that when Gale ranted at Prince to “F*** off back to your own country you Kolpak f*****,” his hostility to Prince voiced not racism, or xenophobia, or even antagonism, but a crudely expressed belief in Yorkshire’s commitment to player development.It is the lawyers who now hold sway and as Gale faced the members, behind the scenes, lawyers representing Yorkshire and the ECB were involved in a preliminary skirmish about the form the hearing should take.With none of the four main protagonists – the two umpires, who opted for a Level 2 charge of offensive and abusive behaviour – or the two batsmen, Prince and Usman Khawaja, who both have been unwilling to condemn Gale publicly, it would be no surprise to find that the ECB is already considering a possible retreat from a charge of racism – perhaps even before the envisaged hearing next month.So there were no apologies, no hints of regret, no vague metaphors tossed into the room as a show of mitigation. Instead, Graves announced he had set Yorkshire a formidable challenge. “This could be the start of a new era,” he said. “The target I am setting is for Yorkshire to dominate county cricket for the next 10 years.” He wants mass recruitment, “bums on seats”, and victory after victory in all competitions to help make a sizeable hole in the £22m debts. No pressure there then.Some find Yorkshire’s unyielding approach too stubborn for their tastes, although it would be naïve to presume that lawyers were not exploring potential concessions. Others will now imagine that after only one title in 13 years hubris is already taking hold. The old line: “You can always tell a Yorkshireman but you can’t tell him much,” the joke that defines the county, will again be doing the rounds.Such criticism would have been shrugged aside in the Long Room. There was no sign of burning resentment from the members on Gale’s behalf, no calls to man the barricades (hard admittedly as Yorkshire refused to take questions on the matter). There was just an overriding sense that Yorkshire supporters, to adopt a phrase used by my Granny, who to admit a conflict of interests hailed from a farm in Bilsdale on Yorkshire’s northern outskirts, had concluded that the ECB charge was “stuff and nonsense”.But, as a God-fearing woman, she would have been disgusted by his language.

In a Test series where a lot has surprisingly gone right for Bangladesh, the opening combination has been one of their few worries

Mohammad Isam11-Nov-2014Shamsur Rahman and Imrul Kayes had added 232 runs for the second wicket in the last Chittagong Test, against Sri Lanka, which is Bangladesh’s second highest partnership overall. Only nine months later, Imrul has replaced Shamsur as an opener in the squad for the third Test. But nine months in Bangladesh cricket is long enough to have a batsman, who scored a first-class double-hundred and Test hundred, become so woefully out of form that a replacement is sought mid-series.In a Test series where a lot has surprisingly gone right for the home side, this has been one of the few worries.By dropping Shamsur, this year’s opening pair has been disturbed for the first time. Either Imrul or Anamul Haque will partner Tamim Iqbal in the third Test in Chittagong. However, the drop, the change and the replacement still don’t end the worry over the opening stand.Anamul’s struggle as an opener, scoring just 64 runs in six innings last year, was why Shamsur was handed a Test debut at the start of the year. Imrul last opened in 2011 and he averages 17.15 across three years from 32 innings at that position.His return to Test cricket earlier this year had been as the No. 3, but the jury is still out on his stature as a batsman with better skills than his first foray in international cricket. Anamul has been the regular ODI opener but before the Khulna Test, he was considered a middle-order option. Needless to say, neither of Imrul and Anamul is a sure shot.Mushfiqur did not reveal who he would choose between the two and even threw Marshall Ayub’s name in the pot to slightly confound everyone. But he admitted that the lack of consistency worries him and said there is no quick fix.”He [Imrul Kayes] is not certain to open,” Mushfiqur said. “We also have Bijoy [Anamul Haque] and Marshall [Ayub]. I think the opening position is a difficult place to bat. If you look closely, almost every Test team has faced the challenge of playing the new ball in the longer version. We have tried a few combinations. Having the top three fixed means that they are performing consistently. It is still a problem for us. We hope to fix this quickly and come out of it.”At least one part of the opening partnership has been solved. Tamim has the century monkey off his back and the old confidence is visibly returning, evident through the first day of the second Test when he was unbeaten on 74. He has worked through several lean phases in his career, and the latest ran for nearly 12 months. But the same cannot be said about his assortment of opening partners.Apart from Imrul, Anamul and Shamsur, Tamim has also been partnered by Junaid Siddique, Nazimuddin and Jahurul Islam. As some of the most talented and skilful batsmen to be produced by Bangladesh, none of them have flourished as Test openers despite having a free-flowing partner at the other end.Among them, only Imrul has been reasonably successful as part of an opening stand, adding 1,229 runs in 32 innings at an average of 38.40 with Tamim, whose form during the period contributed heavily to the stand. But as an individual opening batsman, Imrul struggled more often than not. His other trouble had been the tour of West Indies where not only did he fare poorly on the field, a rash developed in his lower body which forced him out of the tour.The man he has replaced, Shamsur, has an average of 14 in the last four Tests (112 runs in eight innings), and that has obviously cost him his place. But he can still force a comeback with domestic runs. He would have to switch back his mindset to where it was before his Test debut; regain his hunger.As a cricket team however, Bangladesh would want to plug gaps when they are on a winning high. If either Imrul or Anamul is successful in making a decent score which helps the team make it 3-0, the position would become stronger due to the current situation of the Bangladesh team.