All posts by n8rngtd.top

Also, the fastest ODI 150s, and the highest Test totals without a half-century

Steven Lynch27-Jan-2015New Zealand managed to score 360 against Sri Lanka in the fifth ODI after losing a wicket from the first ball of their innings. Is this the highest score posted after losing a wicket first ball? asked Danushka Edussuriya from Sri Lanka

It looks as if it is: the only higher total I can find after a team had been 0 for 1 is Australia’s 368 for 5 against Sri Lanka in Sydney in 2005-06. Adam Gilchrist was out second ball in that one: actually Australia were 10 for 3, before Ricky Ponting made 124 and Andrew Symonds 151. The previous highest score after losing a wicket first ball is Ireland’s 329 for 7 – after William Porterfield departed for a golden duck – in their famous victory over England in Bangalore during the 2011 World Cup.Was Luke Ronchi’s 170 the highest score for New Zealand in ODIs? asked James McCormack from New Zealand

Luke Ronchi’s blistering 170 not out – it lasted only 99 balls – against Sri Lanka in Dunedin last week was actually the fourth-highest score for New Zealand in one-day internationals. Glenn Turner made 171 not out against East Africa at Edgbaston in the first World Cup in 1975, and Lou Vincent beat that by one against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2005. But Martin Guptill claimed top spot with 189 not out against England in Southampton in June 2013. Just behind Ronchi in the list come Brendon McCullum and James Marshall, who hit 166 and 161 respectively in the same match – against Ireland in Aberdeen in 2008. Ronchi hit nine sixes, a number exceeded for New Zealand in an ODI innings only by Corey Anderson, with 14 in his breakneck 36-ball century against West Indies in Queenstown in January 2014, and 10 by McCullum in the innings mentioned above.Luke Ronchi reached 150 from the 93rd ball that he faced in Dunedin. Is this the minimum number of balls faced to make it to 150 in an ODI? asked Zaheer Ahmed from the United Arab Emirates

Luke Ronchi actually reached 150 from 92 balls. This is the second-fastest in one-day internationals: during his blistering 185 not out for Australia against Bangladesh in Mirpur in April 2011, Shane Watson reached 150 from just 83 deliveries (he zoomed from 100 to 150 in 14). For Sri Lanka against England at Headingley in 2006, Sanath Jayasuriya reached 150 in 95 balls.Apart from “Laker’s Match” in 1956, has it ever happened that just two bowlers have shared all 20 wickets in a Test? asked AK Srivastava from India

That famous match at Old Trafford in 1956 – when Jim Laker took 19 Australian wickets and Tony Lock had to be content with just one – was actually the fourth occasion in Tests that two bowlers had shared all 20 opposition wickets. The first instance was at Melbourne in 1901-02, when Monty Noble took 13 wickets and Hugh Trumble seven for Australia (only three England bowlers took wickets either, and the match total of five bowlers is also a record for a Test in which all 40 wickets fell). The boot was on the other foot at Edgbaston in 1909, when Colin Blythe (11) and George Hirst (nine) shared all the Australian wickets. Not long afterwards, in Johannesburg in January 1910, Bert Vogler (12) and Aubrey Faulkner (eight) claimed all 20 England wickets (remarkably, six other South Africans bowled but failed to strike). Since Laker’s tour de force, it has happened twice more: later in 1956, Fazal Mahmood (13) and Khan Mohammad (seven) shared all the wickets as Pakistan won their inaugural Test against Australia in Karachi, and in 1972 the Australians Bob Massie (16) and Dennis Lillee (four) carved England up at Lord’s. For the full list, click here.I noticed that England made 304 against South Africa in 2004-05 without anyone scoring a fifty. Is this the highest Test total without a half-century? asked Brian Kemsley from England

That innings of 304 by England, in the third Test in Cape Town in 2004-05, was notable for another reason: the highest score was Steve Harmison’s 42, from No. 11 – the seventh of ten such instances in Tests. But there has been one higher Test total without an individual half-century, and it was also by England: against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1985-86 they made 315, the highest individual contribution being David Gower’s 47. There has been only one other total of more than 300 without an individual half-century in Tests: in Wellington in 1963-64 South Africa made 302 against New Zealand, but the highest score was Peter van der Merwe’s 44. The record in one-day internationals is England’s 285 against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in 2006, when the highest score was Andrew Strauss’s 45.The former Scotland wicketkeeper and captain Jimmy Brown died just before Christmas. He played 57 first-class matches for Scotland – was that a record? asked Dougie Winchester from Scotland

Jimmy Brown, from the Perthshire club, kept wicket for Scotland almost continuously for 20 years from his debut in 1953. His tally of 57 first-class matches for them has been exceeded by only one other man: RHE “Ronnie” Chisholm, an equally legendary figure in Scottish cricket, appeared in 61 between 1948 and 1971. The Rev. Jimmy Aitchison played 50 first-class games for them from 1946 to 1963, scoring five centuries. Brown made two further first-class appearances – for the Gentlemen against the Players in 1959 and 1960, both in Scarborough. Cricket Scotland’s website gives the national team’s records in all matches in which caps have been awarded: there have been more of these in recent years, with one-day and Twenty20 internationals as well as first-class matches and one-day games against counties. Majid Haq has played in 206 such matches (only 18 of them first-class), having recently overtaken Fraser Watts, who made 204 appearances between 1998 and 2012 (21 first-class).

AB de Villiers and Angelo Mathews. One captaining a must-win game of cricket, the other captaining a past awash with disappointments. For AB de Villiers, the disappointment was banished

Jarrod Kimber18-Mar-2015AB de Villiers’ face. It was different than Angelo Mathews’ face. Mathews had the face of a man hoping he won the toss. De Villiers had the face of a man hoping he wouldn’t lose it.Two captains: one captaining a must-win game of cricket, the other captaining a past awash with disappointments.Then de Villiers’ face got worse, much worse. The Sri Lankan crowd cheered. There weren’t many of them in, but they knew what this meant. Everyone knew what this meant. Sri Lanka would bat first; South Africa would chase. All of South Africa’s past flashed up on de Villiers’ face. The coin was against him. History was against him. His own emotions seemed against him.It even looked like David Boon leant in to sledge him.This was a knockout game. This was knockout game.Kusal Perera opening the batting, with an average of 22, would be a good sign for many sides. For South Africa, it might have brought back thoughts of 361 days ago in the World T20 where Perera opened the batting and made 61. South Africa lost.This time Kusal Perera was different. More 22 than 61. He left one ball. Pushed the next to point. Then missed a swipe. Missed second slip with an edge. Missed the ball. Edged safely again. Tried to run himself out. Play and miss. Swipe and miss. There is a point when you nearly get a batsman this many times that you think a malevolent spirit is orchestrating your downfall.Then Kusal’s edge is found, again. It is flying beautifully straight into first slip’s hand. Instead Quinton de Kock dives. He clutches. The ball bounces. It could go anywhere. Instead it hangs in mid air. And de Kock pulls off a hell of a catch for a man called mentally shot earlier in the week. Luck, and skill.Soon it is 4 for 2. Dale Steyn is so excited his body almost explodes into pure light.Or, maybe it just explodes. The elation is gone and there is concern on the faces of Steyn and de Villiers. A wide ball seems to set it off. Steyn is trying to reach a sore spot that looks like it could, or would, stop him bowling. He finishes the over, and continues to touch this mystery spot. On the boundary, the physio and Allan Donald come around to see how it is. Steyn and the physio touch it 12 times in 8 balls. That’s a worrying pain strike rate.Steyn does not bowl the next over.Instead, he bowls two overs later. And it is fine. So fine, it’s a maiden.In the ninth over there are two shots by Lahiru Thirimanne. Both through point and cover point. Both in the air. Both miss hands. If any country could catch these, it is South Africa. This is the region of Colin Bland. Jonty Rhodes. AB de Villiers. The second one goes over de Villiers, close enough that he could smell it. De Villiers, one of the nicest men in cricket, swears at the sky. Swears at his luck. Swears.Kumar and Mahela are in. The Sri Lankan dream team. Mahela is hit in front by a Tahir wrong ‘un he simply did not pick. Not out. Tahir is certain. De Kock is pretty sure. They review. They want to end this pairing. They are desperate. It is only 22 overs into the innings. That is a long time to not have a review. Replays show he was struck outside the line of off stump. What chances Mahela will not pick another wrong ‘un?

Before Kumar has even left, it rains on the SCG. Rain. South Africa. Knockout game. No. No. Come on

Tahir’s next ball is a short wrong ‘un. Mahela hits it twice. The second hit is the one that does Mahela: it ends with short midwicket. The first hit would have been safe. Maybe. Just maybe.Mahela is replaced by Angelo. Angelo and Kumar. Two dogged men. Two men who can bat for 20 overs and make bad starts into distant memories. Two men who bat for close to ten overs at a slow pace, because they have to, and because they can.Then Mathews walks down to smite JP Duminy, South Africa’s weakest bowler. He sees a gap between mid-on and midwicket. And he cracks the ball towards it. It would have reached the boundary – if it ever got past South African hands, du Plessis’ hands. Eight balls and three more wickets later the match is won. Isn’t it?It’s only Kumar left. Only. Kumar.The first ball of the 36th over has Kumar swiping. He has been nudging, leaving, blocking and occupying space until this point. That Kumar is no more. The swivel-hipped gunslinger is back.’Singles, I don’t want your stinking singles’, as he leaves one on the table to third man. Next ball, he corrects, so there is no need for a single, just four. The next ball he is down the wicket and finds a gap for two. Then another four. The next ball is timed so well, the off-side sweeper nearly didn’t see it, but Kumar hit it straight at him: it’s ball six, it’s time to reload for the other end.It’s just one over, with eight wickets down, and virtually no runs on the board. But it’s Kumar.Next over he starts by trying to send Morne Morkel into outer space. The follow-up ball, sort and wide, is perhaps one of the worst Morne balls of the night. It is also the greatest Morne ball of the night. It is the ball that Kumar finds third man with.Before Kumar has even left, it rains on the SCG. Rain. South Africa. Knockout game. No. No. Come on.”Don’t worry, folks, it’s just a sun shower,” says the announcer. Who is this guy, does he know who he is watching, does he know what he is saying? Social media talks of 22 off one ball. Rain map websites in Australia are watched by a whole country from Africa. When the rain does stop, the covers stay on. Even the groundsmen are trolling South Africa.There is no plucky tenth-wicket partnership. There is no first-over wicket. There is no sign of collapse. South Africa just coast to the ICC-enforced mid-innings rest stop. Even when the mighty Hashim Amla is out, right on the rest stop, there is no panic. There is no uneasiness. There are no worried faces.For the finale, de Kock smashes a ball through cover, the last ball of only the 18th over. As it races away he breaks into a quick step. It looks like he is about to run like a mad man to the changeroom. Then he slows, walks purposefully and gives a tiny fist pump.After all that, this was just a quarter-final. It wasn’t a monster. It wasn’t a demon. It wasn’t an invisible crushing force. No one averted an apocalypse. They just won a game. Not the final game. But game.AB de Villiers’ face at the next press opportunity is different. He is smirking before the question has even been asked. He breaks into a full smile before the question is finished. It is the face of winning a quarterfinal. face.

Have you ever had the experience of watching a Pakistan fast bowler attempt to defend a slim total?

Hamza Khan09-Apr-2015Ever had an experience where you are not really there, but you are there? A moment stuck in time wherein the thrill of witnessing what someone is doing, the ‘why’ of that performance is lost in between? Let me rephrase the question, have you ever had the experience of watching a Pakistan fast bowler attempt to defend a slim total?At the biggest stage, in front of a large hostile Adelaide crowd, Wahab Riaz came up with a performance so sensational that the players watching it in the stadium, the 30,000-plus crowd present in the stadium, and the millions watching it on the television will remember it for years to come.Wahab’s bowling was filled with undisguised anger; it was a near miracle he didn’t lose control of his bowling or temper. His bowling seemed a direct response to his team’s insipid batting and the sledging from the Aussies, who had got under his skin right from the moment he came to the crease. Perhaps the Australians sensed that in the absence of Irfan, roughing Wahab up was the key, and continued their ploy of getting on the nerves of the opposition. In that, they ended up complimenting him, perhaps inadvertently reaffirming Wahab of his value and prowess.The first eight overs were captivating yes, but one felt a slight uneasiness, inevitability even as to when Misbah would introduce Wahab. What could he do? The tension Wahab brought into the opposition was visible in Warner’s first shot, a mistimed cut off the back foot off a short and wide delivery that went for three runs The second ball to Warner was a wide flung down leg. And then Wahab struck, a short rising ball which Warner could not control, caught ironically in hindsight, by Rahat at third man.Enter Michael Clarke. Wahab is cranking up 90 mph in his first over. A short-leg fielder comes up to say hello. The fourth ball of the second over is venomous, it is a missile aimed at the narrow length between Clarke’s neck and head. Wahab cruelly choses to exploit Clarke’s weak back. The Australian captain could only fend off the ball to forward short leg. And Wahab had burst the door open. Angry, fast and hungry for more.Wahab was in complete sync with the most quintessential of human instincts that day – he was the hunter. His rhythmic run-up and delivery was hypnotising. Your pulse raced with the rise and fall of his own. As a spectator on TV, you felt your emotions spilling over and body temperature rising a few degrees as the force that is Wahab overwhelmed everything else. In that moment, you felt a part of your soul had formed a neural connection of sorts with Wahab and the impact of his aggression.Wahab hurled bouncer after bouncer, reminding Watson about the bat he had come out with. Wahab bullied Watson and brought him out of his comfort zone – a battle that transcended the result of the match itself. We were moved by one man’s mastery of swing and pace that dominated the opposition.The bouncers stood out, often tearing open the portal to the Bodyline series in Adelaide in 1932-33. With two close-in catchers on the leg side, Misbah certainly attacked. Judging by Wahab’s accuracy, in hindsight, he could probably have had all others in the deep to come up and threaten Watson further.That Wahab couldn’t inflict more damage was due poor fielding. Also, the resilience of Watson and Steven Smith cannot be ignored. One can only imagine what would have become of Pakistan batting had they faced such a ferocious spell of bowling. When Wahab returned for a second spell the game was as good as loft, but he still gave Pakistan hope. Maxwell made an ugly attempt at a pull that went high towards third man. Predictably, this attempt to catch the ball was doubly ugly. It was dropped and Wahab screamed in anguish and the World Cup was over for Pakistan. The rest was just semantics, the last rites of one of those many ‘what-if’ games Pakistan has been a part of. Coach Waqar Younis may consider putting an arm around Wahab, and let him know why he and Wasim Akram concentrated more on bowling the batsman and trapping them lbw.Considering the chaotic management and inconsistency of Pakistan, I had tried to disassociate myself from the team’s World Cup campaign, dispassionately declaring for a need to lose 0-6 in the group stages so that the disease which plagues Pakistan cricket does not remain covered. A friend asked me the day after the match that why was I so emotional about the result now, and I could only respond with a phrase fast becoming a legend, courtesy some Pakistan cricket journalists and fans, “Kya karun yaar, Pace is Pace Yaar (What to do man, Pace is Pace man).”If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

After managing scores of 29, 17,8 and 23 in his last four innings, Suresh Raina bounced back to form and led Chennai Super Kings’ batting with a knock laced with his go-to shots: back-cuts, glides to third man and wristy flicks among others

Arun Venugopal in Chennai04-May-2015Considering the multiple roles Suresh Raina plays in the Chennai Super Kings set-up, it would be limiting to view him as only a gun batsman. More on that later, but he has almost been condemned by comparison this season. Compared against his own relentless run-making from previous years, Raina has managed scores of 29, 17,8 and 23 in his last four innings. He was, in his own words, in ‘good shape’, but couldn’t capitalise on bright starts on each of these occasions.It was always going to be a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. It was to be on Monday, against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Raina’s role on the day wasn’t dissimilar to an opener’s, after Dwayne Smith was dismissed for a duck off the last ball of the first over. Raina’s work was as much about accumulation as it was about flair-dripping pick-up strokes. It was a happy marriage between the two, as Raina never forsook one for the other till his exit in the 15th over.By the time Harshal Patel had completed the eighth over, Super Kings were on 48 having lost Brendon McCullum as well. Raina was on 22 off 23 balls. On display were his go-to shots: back-cuts, glides to third man and the wristy flick of the hips, apart from the odd uppish on-drive. Raina had waited for the right time to break free and in Iqbal Abdullah he found the bowler to attack. After clattering him over cover with an inside-out drive, Raina went a lot straighter the next delivery: two fours in two balls.He went back to being unnoticed for a while, before he jumped out of the crease, his bat completing a whooshing arc, to whip Yuzvendra Chahal’s delivery into the stands. Raina also unfurled a half-pull, half-sweep against David Wiese while going across and falling over in what looked like a parody tribute to Rohan Kanhai.Importantly, Raina would bring up his fifty the very next delivery, and despite his dismissal soon after, he had done enough, pushing Super Kings to an eventually match-winning total. Raina said later that his ‘good chat’ with Dhoni basically revolved around him batting till the 14th or the 15th over, and to ‘read circumstances’ better.Raina did all of that, but he has been doing a lot more even if not always with the bat. On the field, his is an unmistakable presence, as he happily mans any post he is assigned besides chipping in with his handy offspin in R Ashwin’s absence.He is also invariably the first man to acknowledge the efforts of a colleague. To see a Super Kings fielder making a desperate dive and coming up trumps is a common sight. A more common sight is Raina running up to the fielder, even if it involves him going the distance from cover to third man, and patting or back-slapping him.If a batsman has been struck by a bouncer, he would be the first man calling on him. Before the Sunrisers Hyderabad game on Saturday, Raina went up to Shikhar Dhawan and his Uttar Pradesh team-mate, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and exchanged hugs.If he were a wrestler in the WWE, he would go high-fiving every fan on his way from the locker room to the ring. If he were a movie director, Raina would make an assembly line of saccharine, feel-good films. This is the Raina way, even if some might find it too cloying. Raina’s press conferences themselves are an extension of the theme even as journalists groan at his refusal to go beyond ‘exciting times’ and ‘wonderful dressing room.’But it’s easy to see why he is loved the way he is by Super Kings fans: they see him as the ultimate team-man. The ovation Raina receives each time he strides out, which is next only to that of Dhoni, is proof of the pudding.

India have several questions on the make-up of the playing XI to mull ahead of the Mohali Test, including how many bowlers of which type to pick – and their nets session has provided some clues

Sidharth Monga in Mohali03-Nov-2015India start the series as favourites – even Dale Steyn concedes that – but they also start the series with tough selection calls. In the last Test they played, they were without both their first-choice openers, and one replacement – a makeshift opener – scored a century, carried his bat, and took the Man-of-the-Match award. The other replacement scored a hundred earlier in the series. Their leading fast bowler is out of the first Test with a one-match ban. They have been playing with only five specialist batsmen of late, but can they afford to do so against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander at the start of a big series. If they do play only four specialist bowlers, will they have any reservations against playing just the one quick?Two days before the Test, team director Ravi Shastri spoke about a few of these issues. The number of bowlers, he said, depended on the conditions underfoot and overhead. Sri Lanka was oppressively hot so India needed that extra bowler there. It has cooled down in India’s November now, and if the pitches turn as asked, India could beef up their batting and go with just four bowlers. The big question, then, is will this new leadership team of Virat Kohli and Shastri, who have shown an inclination towards pace, be okay with playing just the one quick?”Tomorrow you can play four spinners if you give me a pitch that will turn on the first day,” an emphatic Shastri said. “No rule that you have to play a fast bowler. West Indies played four fast bowlers in their time. No spinners. What stops a team from playing four spinners if you get a track of that kind?””Home conditions,” Shastri added mischievously.So that still remains a riddle because Shastri said he hadn’t seen the pitch, and it is the pitch that will decide whether India play four bowlers or five. So let us start by eliminating players based on the nets session. What happens in the nets is not always conclusive, but KL Rahul, Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar can be ruled out for the moment. The two fast bowlers bowled at stumps in a side net as the others practiced at the main nets, and Rahul’s lack of activity sits consistent with Shastri’s backing of Shikhar Dhawan, who has had a rough ODI series but has scored three hundreds in his last three first-class matches, two of them Tests.”That’s a mistake people make here,” Shastri said. “They mix Test form with one-day cricket form. Test form, he comes on the back of two hundreds in two matches. So is he in form or is he out of form? For me he is very much in form. And hot. If you remind me of that 187 against Australia [in India’s last Test in Mohali, which was also Dhawan’s debut], that I am sure will be in his mind, and will help him.”Shastri said it was a big series and compared it with the one against Australia in 2000-01 – a young Indian team against world-beaters – and added that the pressure was equally on South Africa because they are the No. 1 side and have not lost an away series in nine years.There is every chance India might not take the big risk of playing just five specialist batsmen. That might also save them the happy headache of having to choose between Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a hundred in his last Test as a replacement opener, and Rohit Sharma, in whom they have invested time and Tests because they see something in him. Both had proper stints with the bat in the nets, so it is safe to say neither of them is out of contention at the moment.Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra look primed to join R Ashwin, who is “absolutely fine” now, which means India could have only Umesh Yadav as the pace bowler. There is an out-of-the-box thought that Stuart Binny could be added as the extra pacer at the expense of Pujara or Rohit. Binny wasn’t present at the nets, though. Jadeja and Binny both finished their Ranji Trophy matches, but Jadeja was playing in Delhi and Binny in Jaipur. Delhi is better connected and closer to Chandigarh.With only one more nets session to go before the first Test of the series, there are plenty of permutations and combinations. The team won’t divulge their thought process because they don’t want the opposition to get any clues. Another way of looking at it, albeit simplistic, is that one-and-a-half days before the Test, only 12 players had proper stints at the nets. One of them, Ishant Sharma, is banned from playing the first Test. That leaves six specialist batsmen including Dhawan, Pujara and Rohit, a wicketkeeper in Saha, three spinners and Umesh Yadav.

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2015Ajinkya Rahane, however, found a higher gear and helped India surge ahead•BCCIAfter India declared on 267, setting South Africa a 481-run target, R Ashwin had Dean Elgar edging behind for 4, minutes before lunch•BCCIHashim Amla and Temba Bavuma engaged in a blockathon as South Africa saw out a wicket-less session, their first in the series•BCCIHowever, R Ashwin broke the stubborn 44-run partnership when he removed Bavuma•BCCIAB de Villiers then joined Amla as the pair added 23 runs in 29.2 overs to help the visitors end the fourth day at 72 for 2•BCCI

Stats preview of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and West Indies at the MCG

Bharath Seervi24-Dec-20151 Boxing Day Tests in Australia that have ended without a decisive result since 1998. The last match between India and the hosts in 2014 ended in a draw, but the 16 Tests before that had produced a result. Among the 36 venues that have hosted at least 10 Tests in this period, the MCG is one of only four venues which has produced just one draw.2 Defeats for Australia in Boxing Day Tests since 2000. They lost to South Africa in 2008 by nine wickets and to England during the2010-11 Ashes by an innings and 157 runs.1998 The last time a Boxing Day Test was not won by a margin of an innings, more than 100 runs or by six or more wickets. Australia lost by 12 runs to England in the 1998-99 Ashes Test. Since then in the 15 matches that have had results, three were innings wins, six were by more than 100 runs, four were nine-wicket wins, one by eight wickets and one by five wickets.3 Centuries scored in the last Boxing Day Test – Steven Smith 192, Virat Kohli 169 and Ajinkya Rahane 147. In the five matches prior to that, there were only four centuries in all, but 30 fifties. The 2014 Test was also the first time since 1975 that two visiting batsmen scored centuries in the same match at the MCG. From 2005 to 2013, only two centuries were scored by visiting batsmen – 166 by JP Duminy in 2008 and 168 not out by Jonathan Trott in 2010.29.79 Runs per wicket in Tests at the MCG, the lowest in Australia on any ground except the TIO Stadium in Darwin which has hosted just two Tests. It is also the second-lowest among all Test venues that have hosted at least 30 Tests. Only at Headingley in Leeds, the average runs per wicket is slightly lower – 29.77. Since 2000, only three other venues have a lower average runs per wicket than MCG’s 31.41.1 Number of Australian players from the current squad who have a Test century at the MCG – Steven Smith (192 against India). But in his other four innings, Smith has been ordinary, with scores of 6, 38, 19 and 14.8 Number of times a team has been all out for less than 100 runs in the first innings of a Test in Australia. Incidentally, four of those instances have been at the MCG and the last was also at this venue, when England bundled Australia for 98 runs in the Boxing Day Test of 2010.30.36 Fast bowlers’ average at the MCG since 2000, the second best among all Australian grounds. The MCG has been the best ground for fast bowlers in Australia since its inception.3.16 Run rate at the MCG since 2005, the lowest among all 18 venues that have hosted at least 10 Tests in this period.7 Tests lost by West Indies in 2015 so far. If they lose this Boxing Day Test as well, it will equal their most Test defeats suffered in a year. West Indies have just one win in nine Tests this year. In the previous four years, they won at least two Test matches.2000 Last time West Indies and Australia played a Test against each other at the MCG. Australia won that contest by 352 runs. The venue has never been very productive for West Indies, who have won just three out of 14 matches here, losing 10.

Plays of the day from the Asia Cup opener between Bangladesh and India in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur24-Feb-2016The costly dropAfter having survived the new ball on a green pitch, Rohit Sharma threw his hands at a wide Taskin Ahmed delivery. The opener timed it well but hit it straight to point where Shakib Al Hasan had the ball in his grasp for a second before it burst out. Rohit, who was on 21 when he was reprieved, struck two fours and a six off the next three balls; all went past Shakib. Rohit would later bring up his fifty off Shakib.The tag-team effortJasprit Bumrah got rid of Soumya Sarkar for 11, but it was Ashish Nehra who deserved the wicket more. Nehra toyed with Soumya in the first over, where he failed to put bat on ball. Bumrah built on Nehra’s work and beat Soumya a couple of times outside off before having him edging behind in the fourth over.The ominous coincidenceJust like Rohit Sharma had hit a six a ball after he was dropped in the 11th over, Sabbir Rahman offered a half-chance in the 11th over of the chase and hit a six a ball later. Sabbir struck it sweetly over midwicket but unlike Rohit he tried too much and looked to force boundaries as Bangladesh fell away.The drop-kicked caressThe Bangladesh bowlers couldn’t get Hardik Pandya with good-length deliveries and shorter deliveries and therefore Mashrafe Mortaza attempted a full ball. It, however, came out as a full toss, which was caressed through the outfield with superb wristwork. The shot was the definition of a drop kick through midwicket.The miscuesVirat Kohli, who had talked up Mustafizur Rahman’s growing prowess on the eve of the Asia Cup opener, kept playing and missing deliveries from the left-arm fast bowler in the fourth over, having failed to blast him through the covers or over his head. Kohli’s more familiar timing deserted him in the next over too as he lobbed a catch to Mahmudllah mid-off.

Plays of the day from the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Raipur

Shashank Kishore20-May-2016Brathwaite’s brilliance, Act-1Carlos Brathwaite was in the thick of things immediately after being summoned in the sixth over. David Warner flat-batted a slap off a length ball to send umpire Bruce Oxenford, with a protective shield on his left arm, ducking for cover. Brathwaite instinctively stuck his hand out on his follow-through, but could only get his finger tips to the ball. Such was the brute strength of the stroke that the parry nearly lobbed to Amit Mishra at mid-off. Most bowlers may have let it go, not Brathwaite.Brathwaite’s brilliance, Act-2In the same over, Shikhar Dhawan squeezed a full Brathwaite delivery towards the on-side and was a couple of paces down the pitch in his quest for a single. But Brathwaite’s towering reach meant he simply had to extend his left hand to stop the ball from rolling towards a straight mid-on. His athleticism then shone through as he quickly got up, transferred the ball from his left hand to the right hand before firing a throw at the striker’s end to send back a shell-shocked Dhawan, who was well short of the crease.Mishra magicAt his best, Amit Mishra’s googlies and flippers can be hard to pick. On Friday, he perhaps exceeded his own expectations with a brilliant effort to effect the night’s second run-out immediately after Dhawan’s dismissal. In the seventh over, Warner swatted a flat delivery back to Mishra, who half-stopped it with his right hand. The ball deflected to his right, and Mishra got to the ball in a jiffy, before turning around to fire a throw at the bowler’s end. For a split second, Mishra contemplated running to the stumps. But his instincts eventually took over and, with just one stump to aim at, Mishra took the stumps down to send back a scampering Deepak Hooda.Nair’s costly reprieveKarun Nair’s attempted glide off a length ball from Moises Henriques in the ninth over elicited plenty of excitement from behind the stumps. Nair, who was cramped for room, seemed to have the got the faintest of bottom edges as the ball went through to Naman Ojha. Umpire Nand Kishore was convinced there was no bat, and he may have been confused by the noise of the bat hitting the flap of the pad when the edge was taken. Nair was on 23 and went on to score 60 more. While it’s hard to say what may have been had Nair been given out, the fact that it was a big moment in the game wasn’t lost on anyone in retrospect.Warner’s costly lapsesDavid Warner is an outstanding fielder, but even the best have their off days, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain certainly had one on Friday. Nair attempted a pull in the 15th over off Barinder Sran, but was cramped for room and the ball lobbed towards long-on. Warner did well to run in at least 10 yards, but was on the move when the ball lodged in his hands. He dropped the catch as the momentum took him forward. Nair was on 51 at the time. The Sunrisers captain somewhat made up with a low catch at mid-on to dismiss JP Duminy with Daredevils needing 42 off 24.The tension escalated further when Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s near-perfect execution in the first four balls of the final over brought the equation down to six off two. Nair flat-batted a pull that flew over the infield and a desperate Warner, who nearly ran 30 yards to his left – from long on to long off – dished in a full-length dive only to see the ball elude him and run away for a boundary. Then, off the last ball, came Nair’s short-arm jab towards Warner, who dived to his right at mid-on, only for the ball to race to the boundary. A furious Warner slapped the turf in disgust even as the Daredevils players ran on to the field to celebrate their last-ball heist.

Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan may look innocuous, but they have led unsuspecting Australia into a dark alley, drawn shivs, and merrily stabbed away

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle05-Aug-2016Sri Lanka’s spin bowlers are as innocuous a group of people as you may care to encounter.The gang’s kingpin, Rangana Herath, is approaching the age and shape whereupon Sri Lankan men begin taking abrupt daytime naps on the verandah while the tea they had been drinking is incrementally spilt upon themselves. He has never been known to sledge, through a career that now spans 318 wickets. And such is his commitment to cricketing honesty, that he once famously walked with five balls remaining in a Lord’s Test, when he wasn’t actually out, and only Nuwan Pradeep stood between a draw and defeat. (Pradeep, by the way, had been out comically falling onto his stumps in the first innings, and bless him, has the batting competence of a coconut husk).Dilruwan Perera, meanwhile, seems more likely to produce vomit than a coherent reply when a reporter poses a question. Lakshan Sandakan is chattier, and more excitable – but in the way of a toddler still discovering the world around him. When he appeals, you can almost picture a child on the supermarket tiles, pleading for a chocolate bar.But in Pallekele, and now in the first two days in Galle, these men have led unsuspecting Australia into a dark alley, drawn shivs, and merrily stabbed away. They have smiled their way through the brutality. They have benigned their way through 29 wickets. And seven days into the series, it’s time to start preparing the large black trash bags. It is time to make room in the boot of the black sedan, and pick out a spot in the woods.

Rangana Herath on

His hat-trick: “The hat-trick is very pleasing. I haven’t taken a hat-trick since my school days. It’s a good achievement, especially considering the Aussies are the number one ranked team in the world, and ours is a team that has not got much experience.”
His batting: “If you put in the hard yards at training, then it gets easier in the match. Since Starc is playing in this game, I practice playing for yorkers and bouncers a lot and then as Lyon is there, I practice the sweep shot a lot.”

A spinner’s menace is often in the turn he extracts. Yet in this series, Steven Smith has repeatedly warned Australia about that seemingly harmless straight ball. In being dismissed by that very ball by Herath early on day two, Smith was like the police commissioner who read out the description of a known area suspect, then was found in a city dumpster the next day, all rolled up in an old carpet. Usman Khawaja was out to Perera’s slider, just the previous ball. Late in the day, the same ball, from the same bowler, took his off stump out again. So stricken by fear of this sliding mass-murderer was he, that not even a stroke was offered. Not a shot was fired in self-defence.Mitchell Marsh and Adam Voges attempted to solve the case of the non-spinning delivery through their 8.3 over morning stand, but were beaten lavishly and repeatedly throughout. Marsh blocked out a Herath delivery to end the 23rd over. When he got to bat again, three wickets had fallen at the other end. In this he was like the inspector who gets knocked unconscious in a gang fight, and finds his team completely overrun when he comes to. People have woken up from long comas with less having changed in their world.Nathan Lyon then fell prey to the same ball. Josh Hazlewood was gone almost as soon as he appeared. Sri Lanka are sometimes criticised for never considering an XI with five frontline bowlers, but the incredible thing about this innings, is that for its majority, two of their four main bowlers were completely superfluous. Sandakan finally got the ball in hand with nine wickets down, and he struck almost immediately, what else, but with a ball that drifted a little, but pitched and went virtually straight on.In the afternoon, like criminals who receive plea deals and begin working for law-enforcement, Herath and Perera picked up their bats, and made Australia’s bumbling seem even more ridiculous. They swept gaily away as Lyon told Perera, that he can “only play f***ing Tests at home” because he is the second spinner. They drove Mitchell Starc down the ground, and pulled Hazlewood to midwicket. Just to rub it in, it was with a six that Perera moved to a score that was higher than any Australia batsman had mustered so far in the series. They put on 61 together. Australia’s best partnership in Pallekele had brought 62.The visitors will now begin day three 388 runs adrift, on a pitch they do not like, facing bowling they do not understand, playing for a trophy they are very likely to lose. All this thanks to the work of three undemonstrative men who, on the surface, appear as inoffensive as a slow, loopy ball that lands on the pitch, and continues in the same direction.If a Sri Lankanised Scorsese character introduced any of these spinners, he’d say: “You’re going to like this bugger. He’s all right. He’s one of us, no? He’s a good fellow.”